#will probably do something with this later

[mcmansionhell]

the motel room, or: on datedness

I.

Often I find myself nostalgic for things that haven't disappeared yet. This feeling is enhanced by the strange conviction that once I stop looking at these things, I will never see them again, that I am living in the last moment of looking. This is sense is strongest for me in the interiors of buildings perhaps because, like items of clothing, they are of a fashionable nature, in other words, more impermanent than they probably should be.

As I get older, to stumble on something truly dated, once a drag, is now a gift. After over a decade of real estate aggregation and the havoc it's wreaked on how we as a society perceive and decorate houses, if you're going to Zillow to search for the dated (which used to be like shooting fish in a barrel), you'll be searching aimlessly, for hours, to increasingly no avail, even with all the filters engaged. (The only way to get around this is locational knowledge of datedness gleaned from the real world.) If you try to find images of the dated elsewhere on the internet, you will find that the search is not intuitive. In this day and age, you cannot simply Google "80s hotel room" anymore, what with the disintegration of the search engine ecosystem and the AI generated nonsense and the algorithmic preference for something popular (the same specific images collected over and over again on social media), recent, and usually a derivative of the original search query (in this case, finding material along the lines of r/nostalgia or the Backrooms.)

To find what one is looking for online, one must game the search engine with filters that only show content predating 2021, or, even better, use existing resources (or those previously discovered) both online and in print. In the physical world of interiors, to find what one is looking for one must also now lurk around obscure places, and often outside the realm of the domestic which is so beholden to and cursed by the churn of fashion and the logic of speculation. Our open world is rapidly closing, while, paradoxically, remaining ostensibly open. It's true, I can open Zillow. I can still search. In the curated, aggregated realm, it is becoming harder and harder to find, and ultimately, to look.

But what if, despite all these changes, datedness was never really searchable? This is a strange symmetry, one could say an obscurity, between interiors and online. It is perhaps unintentional, and it lurks in the places where searching doesn't work, one because no one is searching there, or two, because an aesthetic, for all our cataloguing, curation, aggregation, hoarding, is not inherently indexable and even if it was, there are vasts swaths of the internet and the world that are not categorized via certain - or any - parameters. The internet curator's job is to find them and aggregate them, but it becomes harder and harder to do. They can only be stumbled upon or known in an outside, offline, historical or situational way. If to index, to aggregate, is, or at least was for the last 30 years, to profit (whether monetarily or in likes), then to be dated, in many respects, is the aesthetic manifestation of barely breaking even. Of not starting, preserving, or reinventing but just doing a job.

We see this online as well. While the old-web Geocities look and later Blingee MySpace-era swag have become aestheticized and fetishized, a kind of naive art for a naive time, a great many old websites have not received the same treatment. These are no less naive but they are harder to repackage or commodify because they are simple and boring. They are not "core" enough.

As with interiors, web datedness can be found in part or as a whole. For example, sites like Imgur or Reddit are not in and of themselves dated but they are full of remnants, of 15-year old posts and their "you, sir, have won the internet" vernacular that certainly are. Other websites are dated because they were made a long time ago by and for a clientele that doesn't have a need or the skill to update (we see this often with Web 2.0 e-commerce sites that figured out how to do a basic mobile page and reckoned it was enough). The next language of datedness, like the all-white landlord-special interior, is the default, clean Squarespace restaurant page, a landing space that's the digital equivalent of a flyer, rarely gleaned unless someone needs a menu, has a food allergy or if information about the place is not available immediately from Google Maps. I say this only to maintain that there is a continuity in practices between the on- and off-line world beyond what we would immediately assume, and that we cannot blame everything on algorithms.

But now you may ask, what is, exactly, datedness? Having spent two days in a distinctly dated hotel room, I've decided to sit in utter boredom with the numinous past and try and pin it down.

II.

I am in an obscure place. I am in Saint-Georges, Quebec, Canada, on assignment. I am staying at a specific motel, the Voyageur. By my estimation the hotel was originally built in the late seventies and I'd be shocked if it was older than 1989. The hotel exterior was remodeled sometime in the 2000s with EIFS cladding and beige paint. Above is a picture of my room, which, forgive me, is in the process of being inhabited. American (and to a lesser extent Canadian) hotel rooms are some of the most churned through, renovated spaces in the world, and it's pretty rare, unless you're staying in either very small towns or are forced by economic necessity to stay at real holes in the wall, to find ones from this era. The last real hitter for me was a 90s Day's Inn in the meme-famous Breezewood, PA during the pandemic.

At first my reaction to seeing the room was cautionary. It was the last room in town, and certainly compared to other options, probably not the world's first choice. However, after staying in real, genuine European shitholes covering professional cycling I've become a class-A connoisseur of bad rooms. This one was definitively three stars. A mutter of "okay time to do a quick look through." But upon further inspection (post-bedbug paranoia) I came to the realization that maybe the always-new brainrot I'd been so critical of had seeped a teeny bit into my own subconscious and here I was snubbing my nose at a blessing in disguise. The room is not a bad room, nor is it unclean. It's just old. It's dated. We are sentimental about interiors like this now because they are disappearing, but they are for my parents what 2005 beige-core is for me and what 2010s greige will become for the generation after. When I'm writing about datedness, I'm writing in general using a previous era's examples because datedness, by its very nature, is a transitional status. Its end state is the mixed emotion of seeing things for what they are yet still appreciating them, expressed here.

Datedness is the period between vintage and contemporary. It is the sentiment between quotidian and subpar. It is uncurated and preserved only by way of inertia, not initiative. It gives us a specific feeling we don't necessarily like, one that is deliberately evoked in the media subcultures surrounding so-called "liminal" spaces: the fuguelike feeling of being spatially trapped in a time while our real time is passing. Datedness in the real world is not a curated experience, it is only what was. It is different from nostalgia because it is not deliberately remembered, yearned for or attached to sweetness. Instead, it is somehow annoying. It is like stumbling into the world of adults as a child, but now you're the adult and the child in you is disappointed. (The real child-you forgot a dull hotel room the moment something more interesting came along.) An image of my father puts his car keys on the table, looks around and says, "It'll do." We have an intolerance for datedness because it is the realization of what sufficed. Sufficiency in many ways implies lack.

However, for all its datedness, many, if not all, of the things in this room will never be seen again if the room is renovated. They will become unpurchaseable and extinct. Things like the bizarrely-patterned linoleum tile in the shower, the hose connecting to the specific faucet of the once-luxurious (or at least middling) jacuzzi tub whose jets haven't been exercised since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The wide berth of the tank on the toilet. There is nothing, really, worth saving about these things. Even the most sentimental among us wouldn't dare argue that the items and finishes in this room are particularly important from a design or historical standpoint. Not everything old has a patina. They're too cheaply made to salvage. Plastic tile. Bowed plywood. The image-artifacts of these rooms, gussied up for Booking dot com, will also, inevitably disappear, relegated to the dustheap of web caches and comments that say "it was ok kinda expensive but close to twon (sic)." You wouldn't be able to find them anyway unless you were looking for a room.

One does, of course, recognize a little bit of design in what's here. Signifiers of an era. The wood-veneer of the late 70s giving way to the pastel overtones of the 80s. Perhaps even a slow 90s. The all-in-one vanity floating above the floor, a modernist basement bathroom hallmark. White walls as a sign of cleanliness. Gestures, in the curved lines of the nightstands, towards postmodernity. Metallic lamp bases with wide-brimmed shades, a whisper of glamor. A kind of scalloped aura to the club chairs. The color teal mediated through hundreds if not thousands of shoes. Yellowing plastic, including the strips of "molding" that visually tie floor to wall. These are remnants (or are they intuitions?) of so many movements and micromovements, none of them definite enough to point to the influence of a single designer, hell, even of a single decade, just strands of past-ness accumulated into one thread, which is cheapness. Continuity exists in the materials only because everything was purchased as a set from a wholesale catalog.

In some way a hotel is supposed to be placeless. Anonymous. Everything tries to be that way now, even houses. Perhaps because we don't like the way we spy on ourselves and lease our images out to the world so we crave the specificity of hotel anonymity, of someplace we move through on our way to bigger, better or at least different things. The hotel was designed to be frictionless but because it is in a little town, it sees little use and because it sees little use, there are elements that can last far longer than they were intended and which inadvertently cause friction. (The janky door unlocks with a key. The shower hose keeps coming out of the faucet. It's deeply annoying.)

Lack of wear and lack of funds only keep them that way. Not even the paper goods of the eighties have been exhausted yet. Datedness is not a choice but an inevitability. Because it is not a choice, it is not advertised except in a utilitarian sense. It is kept subtle on the hotel websites, out of shame. Because it does not subscribe to an advertiser's economy of the now, of the curated type rather than the "here is my service" type, it disappears into the folds of the earth and cannot be searched for in the way "design" can. It can only be discovered by accident.

When I look at all of these objects and things, I do so knowing I will never see them again, at least not all here together like this, as a cohesive whole assembled for a specific purpose. I don't think I'll ever have reason to come back to this town or this place, which has given me an unexpected experience of being peevish in my father's time. Whenever I end up in a place like this, where all is as it was, I get the sense that it will take a very long time for others to experience this sensation again with the things my generation has made. The machinations of fashion work rapaciously to make sure that nothing is ever old, not people, not rooms, not items, not furniture, not fabrics, not even design, that old matron who loves to wax poetic about futurity and timelessness. The plastic-veneered particleboard used here is now the bedrock of countless landfills. Eventually it will become the chemical-laced soil upon which we build our condos. It is possible that we are standing now at the very last frontier of our prior datedness. The next one has not yet elided. It's a special place. Spend a night. Take pictures.

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[hellenhighwater]

I have a maybe silly question, but uh. How do I become a more interesting person? I have a horrible habit of staying home and not going out and doing things. How do I not do that? This feels very goofy as a thing to ask, but you appear to have an interesting life, therefore making you a reliable source. Do with this what you will, and please say hi to your creatures! Here is my mischief goblin Jammer for your troubles:

It may seem backwards, but...don't try to be interesting, try to be interested.

Find things you find engaging, and then find ways to pursue them. It's best if you can find some kind of group or community that also does the thing you want to try--if you're struggling to find things you like, then just start trying things local to you. You've probably got a local birdwatching group, or a sewing circle, or a community theater, or a historical society, or a comic shop that does game nights, or a group of regulars volunteering at an animal shelter, or stained glass classes, or a makerspace, or any number of little communities that are out there. Try them! The first meeting will be the worst. And if you hate it, you don't have to keep at it, and trying will give you a fun story. Sooner or later you will land on something you like and then...keep turning up.

And if you're not finding things local and in person, then just take up whatever strikes your fancy at home. If you could be incredible at any three hobbies, what would they be? What's stopping you from starting those hobbies? You're going to fail at them when you start but you're already failing at them now by not starting, so what do you have to lose?

Here's the thing: nobody wants to talk with someone who's just singing their own victories. The best stories are the ones where we tried something new and different and silly and strange and maybe messed it up, but had fun. And the best stories are shared--ask other people about the things they're into, be interested and engaged and maybe see if they're open to teaching you a little, if their interests seem fun to you. It's not about being interesting, it's about sharing passion.

So find the things you're passionate about, and keep at them even after you've failed, and the rest will follow.

And pet your cat, he's doing his job so well!

[stunie]

“DIDN’T MEAN TO HURT YOU, I SWEAR!”

WIND BREAKER BOYS + ACCIDENTALLY HURTING YOU. ft. hayato suo, kaji ren, nirei akihiko, sakura haruka, togame jo, & umemiya hajime x f!reader.

filled request: “Hi there i want to request something, asking Sakura, Ume, Nirei, Kaji and Suo to play fight and they accidentally hit you hard (If it's to many you can just do Suo and Kaji, no pressureeee)”

sfw. 3.2K wc. a/n: added togame! & tried to make suo & kaji’s xtra long since those 2 look like they might be ur faves <33

HAYATO SUO.

in the time you’ve spent dating suo, you have never once managed to successfully sneak up on him. not even remotely close. it’s impossible to the point that you’ve started to consider the fact that your boyfriend may have developed a sort of sixth sense since meeting you, an intuitive awareness of your presence— because as soon as you step within a three foot radius of him, his head is swiftly turning to face you, greeting you with an amused smile and a “this again?” with that tone that has your eyebrow twitching all over again.

you continue to fiddle with the bottom of your shirt from where you’re hidden behind your apartment door, anxiously awaiting for the moment suo emerges from outside. your plan was nothing short of perfect, every little detail thought out— and you were entirely sure of it this time.

you had given suo a copy of your key ages ago, so that he could come in at anytime without you needing to be there. a second check of your phone’s messages has you mentally preparing yourself when you reread his “i’m coming~” text from exactly twenty minutes ago, and you smile to yourself. asking him to come by and babysit your cat while you went on a quick snack restock errand was the best excuse, and a part of you feels a little guilty for formulating such an intricate plan just to get a scare out of your boyfriend— but it had to be done.

the sound of suo’s key wiggles inside the doorknob, your breath hitching in your throat when you hear the lock switch just a few seconds after, followed by the eerie creaking noise that your door always seems to make.

“i’m here,” suo sings out to no one in particular, his usual smile etched onto his face as he takes a peek inside. dark, and empty. nothing unusual, not that he was expecting anything out of the ordinary in the first place.

as soon as he takes a step inside, he’s going to take off his shoes first, and you jump on the opportunity. you’re quick to lunge at him the second his thumb slips in his shoe, aiming to launch yourself into his middle and crush him in a suffocating hug. you don’t miss the way he tenses for a split second, eyes widening at the sudden movement— mind immediately flashing to his first thought…. an intruder?

he doesn’t recognize you at first, your figure reduced to a blur— and all he knows is that something is headed towards him. and fast. he’s moving on pure instinct, arm reaching for the closest thing to him at that moment: your arm.

you gasp when you realize just how agile your boyfriend really is. the truth is— you’ve never seen him fight, and he doesn’t really talk to you about it. he has a habit of leaving all the details out, and you don’t usually find yourself asking him about it after seeing the way he’s always coming out of fights unscathed. so sure. you knew he was probably pretty strong.

but you had no idea he was like this.

“w-wait!” you yelp when his foot comes to loop around your ankle, and you’re suddenly falling backwards. your hand desperately moves to catch onto something— anything to avoid falling onto the floor, so you grab a fistful of suo’s shirt.

he’s clenching his jaw in shock when you roughly yank him down with you, the familiar sound of your voice registering a second too late, because the two of you are crashing onto the ground a second later, suo’s weight knocking the wind out of your chest.

there’s a moment of silence as the two of you wince, your eyes fluttering open to meet with suo, looming over you with an expression you’ve never seen on him before. genuine concern … and what looks to be .. shock?

it takes you another moment to take note of the subtle warmth you’re feeling until you finally recognize it as suo’s hand that’s currently cradling the back of your head— and you’re at a loss as to exactly when or how he managed to do that in only a split second.

“i’m sorry,” suo chuckles sheepishly, “you got me this time. i really thought you were an intruder.”

“but did you hit your head? hard? are you okay?” he continues, other arm coming to pull you up and hold you against his chest. “tell me.”

“i think so,” you’re barely able to mumble, heat rushing to your cheeks at the realization that suo’s first thought wasn’t to cushion his own fall, but to protect your head instead. “not that hard though… i think. it doesn’t hurt very much.”

suo’s gaze on you is suddenly much more noticeable, and you’re tearing your eyes away from him a second later, sneaking glances back and forth as he continues to search for any signs of pain.

none that he notices, and the way your lips are pressed in a nervous line is a good sign, at least. suo lets out a relieved sigh before he’s smiling again, as if you hadn’t just spooked the sealed spirits out of him.

“let’s not do that again, okay?”

KAJI REN.

you’ve never seen the night market this packed in your entire life.

it’s so busy that it’s almost suffocating, each breath taking double the effort from the way your body is being smothered between people as kaji leads you towards the food stands.

‘the best fried octopus you’ll ever try,’ your friend had said…but you’re seriously reevaluating you and kaji’s decision to come here— on the busiest night all summer to top it off.

it definitely wasn’t the best idea the two of you have come up with.

you’ve lost count of the amount of times you’ve said the words “excuse me!” and “sorry, getting through!” tonight. a part of you feels bad for your boyfriend— because you knew kaji was way worse off than you, the scowl on his face running the risk of being permanently etched onto his face from the sheer intensity of his glare. the grip he has on your wrist is tighter than ever before, trying his best to weave his way through the crowd without losing you.

kaji knows his mood is worsening each time someone bumps into him, and twice— or even three times as much when he feels someone bumping into you instead. he can feel the way your body roughly jerks back from the impact, and it was stressing him out more than he could imagine. the possibility of losing you and leaving you all alone in an aggressive crowd like this was the last thing he wanted.

he’s so lost in his thoughts that he doesn’t hear you call out his name the first time, or the second time. not even the third time. he doesn’t hear your voice trail off a bit when you mention that his grip is starting to hurt a little— to maybe hold hands instead.

he didn’t hear any of it.

kaji catches a glimpse of an emptier area, and he’s suddenly pulling harder at your wrist to lead you to it, not hearing you squeak out an “ouch, that hurts!”

and it hurts badly, warm tears welling up in your eyes as you struggle to try and keep up with him. it’s only when he suddenly jerks you around a corner that you’re tripping over the curb, stumbling and crashing into his back with a loud ‘ouch!’ that he finally turns to take a look at you.

kaji’s eyes are widening at the sight— your teary eyes peering up at him through wet lashes and your hand gingerly rubbing at your wrist. his words catch in his throat, barely able to sputter out an “are you.. okay?”

you shake your head quickly, lips tugging to a shaky frown. “you were hurting my wrist, kaji.”

his chest feels tight.

kaji is quick to bring your hand in his, gently cupping your hand as he looks at your wrist, and the guilt is flooding through him all at once. the thought of hurting you has him grimacing, feeling physically ill just thinking about it, and it’s not long before his mind is racing through all the scenarios.

he didn’t want to hurt you— and he doesn’t want to be someone you saw as ‘dangerous’ either. your wrist was so delicate, and it was a terrifying reminder of his strength— because he didn’t even realize that he was squeezing in the first place.

he truly had no idea.

“it’s okay,” your voice slices through the thick air, ripping him out of his thoughts, “i know you were stressed— it was scary over there.”

“i was scared too, kaji.”

the gentle smile you give him is the only thing that can bring him this much comfort, he thinks. it’s enough to clear his head, his heartbeat settling down, and he’s ripping another lollipop open before popping it in his mouth, turning and kneeling onto the floor.

“you can get on.”

even without his words, it’s a gesture you’re very familiar with— so you don’t hesitate for a second before climbing onto his back, arms circling around kaji as he lifts you up. there’s a subtle pink dusting the tips of your ears when you press a gentle kiss to his head, thanking him for carrying you.

“it’s not a problem,” he grumbles, voice coming out low as a futile attempt to hide the excited thump of his heart.

“get comfy up there, because we’re not leaving this damn market until we get a hold of those octopus.”

NIREI AKIHIKO.

nirei swears that he had no idea that the pillow he had just thrown towards you a moment ago had buttons decorating the outside.

he really didn’t know, and of course it was the only pillow that happened to land right on your face.

“i’m so sorry! are you okay?” his voice comes out frantic as he rushes towards you, terrified eyes watching the way you rub your eye and groan in pain. this was terrible, he was terrible. pillows were never supposed to cause you any pain.

“it…it hit your eye? i’m so sorry,” he repeats, hands coming up to do something— wave around you in panic, because he’s not quite sure if he should touch you or leave you be. his hands hover just in front of your face, mind racing with potential ways he could help.

he jolts when you laugh a bit.

“you really picked the worst pillow,” your laugh comes out strained as you try and blink, vision spotted with dots from the hit you’ve taken. “…it’s okay though.”

it takes you a couple more seconds to see nirei clearly, and you can tell that he’s absolutely devastated with just one glance, nervous hands finally coming to grab at your shoulders, keeping you still so he can inspect your eye.

“let me see.”

he’s leaning in a bit, until his face is just a couple inches in front of yours. “i think um,” he squints a bit, ignoring the warmth rising to his cheeks from the proximity, “i think your eye looks fine.”

the guilt is still eating him alive. a part of him wishes that you had been the one to grab that pillow instead, because he’s certain he would have jumped on the opportunity to tank a hit from a buttoned pillow a thousand times before letting it hit you just once. straight in the eye. anywhere. it doesn’t matter to him.

“it probably is,” you give him a small smile, “but you still cheated. i won that fight.”

SAKURA HARUKA.

“i-i didn’t know you were there!”

sakura’s a complete and utter mess, and he genuinely didn’t know any better. he didn’t hear you creeping up behind him, so when your arms suddenly wrapped around his middle, his reflex was to jab his elbow straight behind him— and it hit you square in the face.

he could feel his heart shatter into pieces when the sound of your yelp rang in his ears, jerking his body around only to see you stagger backwards, clutching your nose and peering up at him through those teary eyes.

sakura doesn’t know what to do. you’re sniffling now, your arms reaching out to hug him a second time, your voice barely coherent as you start babbling with a shaky voice, the only words he could recognize being “i deserve a hug for that.”

he’s a complete mess. he’s stiff when he lets you wrap your arms around his middle this time, face flushed with red at the simple touch and his heart hurting at the sound of you sniffling against his jacket, hand coming to wipe at the tears welling up in your eyes.

it’s impossible for him to not think of the worst— because he knows other guys wouldn’t be making this kind of mistake. his friends wouldn’t have elbowed you in the face in the first place. or at the very least, his friends would know how to comfort someone in this type of situation. he wants to kick himself for just standing there, words catching in his throat every time he tries and apologize.

“sorry…” your voice is quiet, but it’s enough to yank him out his thoughts. “i shouldn’t have scared you like that.”

it takes sakura a couple seconds before his mouth is falling at the apology. “huh?” he’s dumbfounded, hands coming to grab at your shoulders, “i should be apologizing!”

his face erupts in a furious blush when you giggle at his reaction, thumb coming to swipe at the tears that have spilled onto your cheeks. it’s only then when he tugs you back into a tight hug, hand cradling the back of your head to hold you flush against him.

he thinks it’s because he can’t stand to see you cry.

“o-oh?” you whisper against his chest. “this is new.”

sakura chooses to ignore your little remark, clenching his jaw as he glares at your wall, gaze locking on anything except you. “i should be sorry,” he repeats again, his voice barely coherent with the way he’s fighting against his blush, “so you should just … you know. tell me. when you want a hug..”

TOGAME JO. (pet name: doll)

“that’s not right, doll,” togame coos from below you, lips tugging into an amused grin as he watches you struggle to master the self-defense moves that you asked him to teach you an hour ago. or maybe two. it’s normal for him to lose track of time when he’s with you anyway.

your boyfriend doesn’t seem to realize that you don’t have the same stamina he does. or the focus, because you can feel the heat rising in your cheeks again— unsure if it’s because you’re embarrassed of your confused attempts at grabbing him, or if it’s the fact that he’s so casually sprawled out underneath you.

“you listenin’?”

you perk up, followed by a delayed nod. a little too obvious, but he doesn’t say anything.

“you grab me here,” his voice is gentle, guiding your hands back to hover over his body, “and then you pull. remember?”

and you nod again. but the sound of his voice, slow and steady, paired with the way he’s lazily propped up on his elbows to look up at you through tired eyes has your mind spinning all over again, instructions already going out your other ear as you try again and take a large fistful of his sweatshirt.

“..like this?”

he hums, lips tugging into a smile. “that’s good, doll. now pull the way i showed you.”

and you do— or you try to. you tug with all your strength, but you can tell he hasn’t moved an inch. you can hear him hum in wonder above you, and that’s all it takes for your eyes to slam shut as you jerk and pull with all your strength— and you feel some movement for the first time tonight.

“wait…” togame interrupts, but you don’t stop, pulling and pulling— not realizing you’ve inched towards to very edge of your mattress. “wait— we’ll fall,” he repeats with a little more urgency.

it’s a second too late when you realize it, eyes shooting open the second gravity tips the balance, and you’re plummeting backwards with a shriek. togame’s twisting his body to catch you as fast as he can, but the frantic movement has his fist connecting with your cheek before he grabs a hold of you, yanking you upwards and into him.

“fuck,” you wince, rubbing your cheek with the back of your hand as you huff. “that hurt a bit..”

“sorry,” togame lulls, legs spread to have you seated right in front of him, “i was trying to catch you… didn’t mean to smack you like that. are you okay..?”

his hands come to cup your cheeks, tilting your head up to look at the him. the familiar heat in your cheeks returns as soon as you lock eyes with him, because he’s so close. you can feel his breath fan against your lips with the proximity.

and he’s looking right at you.

“‘m okay,” your voice is just above a whisper, “you barely even grazed me, anyway..”

UMEMIYA HAJIME.

“when did you take that?!”

your arms shoot up to reach for ume’s phone, cheeks burning with embarrassment— because that had to be the most foul photo you’ve ever seen of yourself. the sound of your boyfriend erupting into the loudest laugh you’ve heard all day only has you seething— and he’s effortlessly holding his phone just out of your reach, as if to taunt you even further.

“you don’t need to know,” he grins widely, watching the way you shift your weight onto your toes in a futile attempt to reach his phone. “and it’s cute! you don’t think so?”

“give it!” you hiss, and you lunge forward to start pulling at the arm that has the phone, “i’m deleting it!”

“no way,” he retorts with a huff, but you’re pulling his sleeve with your full strength, and it catches ume off guard a bit, foot stumbling forward a step. he’s never seen you pull with all your might— so he just wasn’t expecting it.

you’re lunging again before he’s regained his balance, and he shifts his weight backwards, lower back colliding with the table behind him. his phone slips from his grip too fast for either of you to react, and it lands on your nose with a sickening thud.

his laughter vanishes as soon as you’re letting out a pained yelp, hands coming to clutch your nose, squeezing the bridge to ease the pain.

“ow….” you whimper, voice cracking a bit as tears start to flood your lash line. his heart breaks in two when he sees you sniffle, desperately blinking away the tears that threaten to spill as you check your hand.

no blood. just a lot of pain.

“i’m so sorry,” he’s hovering over you within a second, nervous arms fluttering just above your frame— because he hasn’t quite figured out what to do, and you look so fragile like this. he just doesn’t want to break you.

“..are you okay?” he breaks the silence, “let me see you.”

your face is buried in your hands when ume kneels in front of you, hands coming to gently tug at your wrists so you can look at him. “i’m sorry,” he repeats even quieter, worry flooding his expression when you tear your gaze away from him.

it’s your attempt at trying to get rid of the tears threatening to spill, but he doesn’t know know that. his lips are tugging into a deep frown, eyes filled with worry as he tries to get you to just look at him again.

“look at me, okay?” he whispers, “let me see.”

a deep inhale, and you’re trying to make your voice come out steady again. “i think..i think it’s okay.”

your eyebrows furrow. “you klutz…”

the relief in his face is almost too obvious. he’s taking a sharp inhale, opening his arms to urge you to come for a hug. “i know,” he chuckles, “are you sure? you’re okay?”

you give ume a nod, ignoring the throbbing in your nose as your arms wrap around him, holding him close against you. “i think i’ll be okay if you delete that.”

“no way,” he retorts, relieved that you're at least not crying anymore. "but i'll give you cuddles. deal?"

he's pulling you tighter against him before you even give him your answer, and his shoulders relax a bit when you finally nestle into his arms, leaning into his hold with a soft smile and a throbbing nose.

[wileys-russo]

j.hermoso II jesus (18+)

j.hermoso II jesus (18+) this is basically just smut with a hint of a plot since i am disgustingly down bad for ms hermoso at the moment, minors DNI.

from the moment you met jenni, you knew she was something special.

you'd been introduced at a going away dinner for one of your school friends who jenni apparently now played football with. it was safe to say sports had never been your thing, and despite the fact you grew up in a football mad household you couldn't have cared less.

but that all changed when you met jenni, much to the ongoing teasing from a few of your friends who also played whose games you'd been invited to and no showed at for years.

which is how you found yourself screaming your lungs out in a barcelona jersey, a constant source of amusement for your friends as you tried desperately to follow along with the rules and failed miserably despite your girlfriends dedication to teaching you.

"thats not a free kick, thats offside!" you yelled as your girlfriend was booked, your best friend pulling you to sit down. "yeah it was. jenni was offside and a foul means a free kick, we've been over this!" carmen laughed shaking her head as your face warmed and you buried it in your hands.

"you'll get it one day. just probably after your girlfriends retired and you don't have to go and watch anymore." the girl rubbed your back reassuringly as you shot her a playful glare and shoved her lightly.

"duty calls!" carmen teased as the game had finished and jenni waved her hands around to capture your attention, gesturing for you to meet her down at the barrier. "wait you're not coming?" you frowned as your friend made no move to follow you.

"surprised you even noticed, the moment you're within five feet of her you get those little lovesick tunnel vision puppy dog eyes." carmen grinned as you scoffed. "i do not!" you crossed your arms over your chest with a frown.

"oh but you do. but its fine go see your girl amiga, i'll call you later!" and with that you both exchanged hugs, her heading off one direction as you went the other. "hola princesa." jenni beamed the moment she spotted you, her grabby hands making you laugh as she helped you over the barrier.

"hola, goal scorer." you grinned, relaxing the moment her toned tattooed arms wrapped tightly around you. "oh those? they were nothing!" jenni waved off making you roll your eyes in amusement.

"so modest mi amor." you patted her shoulder, squealing as she spun you around and pecked your lips repeatedly. "jen people will take photos." you cautioned softly, squeezing her bicep in warning as she pulled away.

"a quién le importa? let them, let everyone know you are mine." the taller girl smiled charmingly, pearly whites and bright eyes having your knees buckle a little. "such a gentlewoman." you chuckled, leaning up to peck her lips a few times making her grin widen.

"you should agree with her that the goals were nothing chica, if her head gets much bigger she will not fit through the change room door!" leila teased clearly having overheard your previous conversation, shoving your girlfriends forehead as she passed, sprinting away with a laugh as jenni lunged for her.

"corre rápido idiota!" jenni yelled after her with a roll of her eyes, flipping her off as you pushed down her hand and reminded her again of the multitude of phone cameras currently present.

"qué estás haciendo?" the brunette frowned as you closed one eye and pressed your fingers against her forehead.

"just measuring mi vida, have to make sure you still fit through my door."

as much as you were nothing but content in your relationship with jenni you'd only been seeing one another for a few months and it was far too soon to have moved in, so you spent a few nights a week together at either her place or yours.

another thing you knew to be certain about the spanish striker was that nothing got her going like the thrill of a big win when she'd scored the goals, so it wasn't a surprise that the moment you crossed the threshold of your apartment her hands were wandering.

"do you not want dinner? if you don't keep these to yourself hermoso you won't be getting it!" you warned with a smile, smacking away her hands where they sat on your hips and toyed with the hem of your shirt as you stood trying to chop vegetables.

"no i'm hungry for something else." she purred suggestively, plucking the knife from your hand and spinning you so your back was pressed lightly against the counter, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"so needy jennifer." you teased, leaning up to kiss her but stopping right as your lips ghosted hers and twisted up into a grin, a perfectly manicured eyebrow raised in your direction.

"me? oh no mi amor, that is all you. or it will be in about...ten minutes." she pretended to check a watch as you rolled your eyes, hand coming up to cup the back of her neck and pulling her down closer to you.

"you need that long? you're losing your edge baby." you tutted teasingly, watching as something shifted in her gaze, the playful twinkle that always burned brightly dimming a little replaced with something slightly more lustful, even predatory.

"that sounds like a challenge guapa."

you squealed as suddenly your legs were wrapped around her waist and you were carried off into the bedroom by the footballer, wasting no time kissing at her neck now you had the opportunity.

"hey no you're the winner here mi amor, let me take care of you for once." you tried to climb on top of her as your back hit the mattress of your bed, pushed back down as your girlfriend hovered over you with a shake of her head.

"no i know what i want my reward to be princesa, so let me have it." pearly white teeth bore down on you in a wolfish grin as your lips tugged into a smile.

"and you know you want me." and there it was, the relentlessly cocky confident smirk that admittedly had you swooning not that you tried to let her know that, leila wasn't wrong about her head growing as her ego swelled.

"do i need to measure your head again?" you snickered, teasingly holding a hand up as she swatted it away and tutted. "well should we see if it still fits between your legs mi niña?" the striked purred, effectively silencing you as your cheeks flushed red.

"so cute when you blush princesa, nothing else to say mm?" her grin grew, your eyes fluttering shut and a hand coming to tangle in her head as her lips peppered your neck with butterfly kisses.

slender tattooed fingers slid slowly up your bare legs, coming to rest just beneath the hem of your her shorts.

your breath hitched as jenni's strong hands slowly moved even higher up your thighs, going as far as to teasingly flick the top string of your underwear causing the lace to snap back against your hips.

"shut up." you exhaled, gaining a burst of confidence to push her off of you, catching the older girl off guard as you moved now on top of her, tugging your shirt off and feeling your own ego swell as you tossed it over your shoulder and her darkened gaze dropped right to your bare chest.

"my eyes are up here." you mocked with a grin, jenni letting out a small chuckle. "wasn't your eyes I intended to look at anyway." the striker bit back, one hand gripping the back of your neck and pulling your mouth down to meet hers again.

the kiss was passionate as always but now far less sweet than all those shared earlier on the drive home from the game. "off." you mumbled against your girlfriends lips, pulling at the hem of her own shirt.

"no." she smiled into the kiss, feeling you huff shortly after but you knew better than to try and take it off yourself. instead your hands tangled themselves in jenni's hair which was out for once, nails scraping gently down the thick base of her neck and back up again, tugging gently at the jet black strands.

your bucked a little on top of her, her feather light touch slowly trailing to rest just above your shorts, pointer finger tracing shapes on the warm skin of your lower stomach.

"jenni." you breathed out shakily as the older girls hand slid into your shorts, slender fingers pressing teasingly against your underwear as her lips moved to pay some attention to your neck.

"mm?" the striker hummed, not wasting anytime before her teeth nipped at the sweet spot of your neck just below your ear she knew all too well, sucking harshly of course leaving a bright red hickey as they pulled away with a small pop and you couldn't help but moan.

"better mi amor, not so quiet now hm?" her breath was warm as she chuckled, nose tucking into your collar bone and before you could even blink suddenly you were beneath her once more, raven hair falling around you both like a curtain.

"venga princesa, let me hear those pretty little noises." jenni cooed, hand still down your shorts but touching everywhere except for where you really needed her, a sharp pinch to your inner thigh having your head pressed back into the pillow with a whine.

"jódeme!" you moaned quietly, this time into her mouth as the word was swallowed by the strikers skillful tongue licking filthily against the roof of your mouth as your hips bucked, pushed back down into the mattress by her hand which moved to sit on your lower stomach.

"i'm trying, be patient bebita."

"please hurry up!" you exhaled needily, your hand knocking against hers trying to push it back where you needed her. "oh no no no mi amor, you do not tell me what to do. remember your place." her tone shifted into something more authoritative which made your head spin.

"but since you said please." your hands flew to grip jenni's shoulders as the older girl slid two fingers inside you without warning, moving around in teasingly small circles.

"jenni!" you whined, a slight wince from the striker as your nails dug into her skin, creating moon shaped dents in the tanned flesh. "mi niña buena." the girl praised, free hand coming to caress your cheek.

"mierda!" you moaned louder this time, hips bucking as her fingers pistoned in and out of you picking up place now, slender and skillful as she knew exactly what to do to manipulate your body into giving her the reaction and validation she craved that she was making you feel good.

"you're so tight amor, are you close? don't lie to me." her breath was warm as it ghosted your ear, her teeth tugging at your ear lobe making you push your head back into the pillow with a nod.

"no no no jenni please." you whined as right as you neared your peak her strokes slowed, causing a frustrated groan to fall from your lips now as they stopped all together.

"remember princesa? patience. trust me, you know i make you feel good."

you didn't even have time to utter a word as you felt jenni shift on top of you, weight moving as she slid down the bed a little more, lips kissing their way down your body agonizingly slow.

hands pulled your shorts and underwear in one move as your hips bucked again at the feeling of cool air blowing against you. you reached down and tangled a hand in jenni's hair again as the girl settled between your legs with a wink that almost had you moaning again.

still teasingly slow she peppered butterfly kisses up the inside of your thighs before her teeth grazed the skin with a nip, pushing your legs apart again as you clenched them together with need.

"jen please!" you just managed to breath out as the striker gently blew air along the fresh hickies now littering your inner thighs that you knew you'd be complaining about later, voice cracking with your words.

jenni didn't even need to say a word as her gaze flicked up to meet yours, moving to press a kiss on your lower stomach, hazel eyes alight with lust, confidence only growing as she saw the need clearly reflected on your face.

"qué? use your words cariño." the girl teased, softly kissing your stomach again as her thumbs traced circles into your hips. though right as you tried to tell her exactly what you wanted they dissipated into a moan as her tongue pressed flat against your centre.

"jesus jenni!" you exhaled, hips pinned to the bed by her large hands as you squirmed, sensitive from the bleeding remnants of your destroyed orgasm earlier.

"jesus!" you repeated louder this time, tugging on her hair which spurred her own further, her lips wrapping around your bud and sucking sending your head pushing back into the pillow with a whine, body pinned flat to the mattress as you continued to squirm.

"sí amor! sí sí sí." you chanted feeling the pressure rise again, the coil in your stomach tightening hard and fast as her tongue skillfully flicked and pressed seemingly everywhere all at once.

though right before you could come, again any trace of jenni disappeared and your eyes widened in disbelief as the older girl sat up, simply staring down at you wordlessly with a cocky smile, raven hair pushed messily to one side of her head.

"jenni are you fucking serio-" you began to tell her off with a growl, far from appreciating this ongoing teasing, your words cut off by fingers suddenly replacing her tongue as jenni laid down and pressed your bodies together again, tasting yourself on your girlfriends lips as they moved against yours swallowing your anger in a sloppy kiss.

"jesus faster!" you moaned into her mouth, the girl only slowing her pace in response causing you to drag your nails down her back in frustration as jenni smirked, ego ablaze right now feeling you buck and squirm under her.

the feeling of knowing you needed her, made jenni drunker with power than any alcohol could ever dream.

finally her fingers curled, hitting exactly where you needed her to and the striker made no move to slow down this time, your chants spurring her on, hissing as you pulled away and bit down on her shoulder which was still covered with a thin t-shirt.

"jesus jesus jesus jenni!" you cried out as finally you hit your peak, body bucking and squirming as the orgasm you'd been denied washed over you, jenni murmuring sweet nothings into your ears as she helped you ride it out.

gently she pulled her fingers away and shifted off of you as your arm came to cover your face which was burning bright red, chest heaving as you struggled to catch your breath.

"hola hermosa, estás bien?" jenni softly pushed your arm away, fingers moving a few strands of hair which clung to your sweat dampened forehead behind your ears, genuine care in her features as you nodded, still lost for words as you leaned up to peck her lips a few times.

as the taller girl laid back down you moved to tuck yourself into her arms, her hand moving softly up and down your back as you continued to bring yourself back down to earth.

"well princesa, that was less than ten minutes no?" "jenni you are so unromantic."

~

if there was something you knew you could count on with your girlfriend, it was that if that there was an opportunity to tease you she would take it.

despite being older by a few years your friends would all agree you were the more mature of the pair, your girlfriends sense of humor not dissimilar to that of a teenage boy experiencing puberty.

something you had no issues reminding her of time and time again or that she had no worries solidifying to be true over and over.

you set down her breakfast that next morning, kissing her softly and shooting her a playful glare as her hand collected your ass in a silent thank you, a wink the only response you got as she cut into her eggs.

plating up your own food you gave her a strange look as she moaned loudly at the first bite, lips tugging into an amused smile at the childish behavior. "jesus!" jenni moaned again, licking the tips of her fingers happily.

you hadn't quite caught onto her just yet.

"its good then?" you chuckled with a shake of your head, your girlfriend nodding with a happy hum before shoveling several more large forkfuls into her mouth as you winced.

"don't choke." you mumbled under your breath, grabbing your own plate and joining her at the table, the two of you eating in a comfortable silence, the news playing on the tv in the background.

"tan bueno mi princesa. jesus!" jenni moaned a few minutes later, pushing her empty plate away with a content sigh as you sent her a funny look then caught the slight smirk in her features.

then it clicked.

"are you mocking me?" you realized with a small gasp, dropping your fork as your eyes narrowed into a glare, crossing your arms across your chest. "me? amor no no i would never. god i am just so tired this morning, jesus!" she moaned once more as she stretched and your jaw clenched.

"you are so-" you inhaled sharply, unable to find the right word as you stood, grabbing your plate and leaving her to deal with hers. "irresistible?" she hummed, body pressed against yours from behind as you rinsed your plate in the sink.

"irritating." you scoffed, pushing back and sending her stumbling as you headed off for a shower, jenni stopped from following after you as the doorbell rang.

"gracias." you heard her thank whoever was there as you grabbed out a clean towel, leaving it in the bathroom as she called for you. you sent a polite smile to the postman lingering in the doorframe, a package tucked under your girlfriends arm as his clipboard was in her hand.

"amor can you just check i have signed this correctly?" jenni asked showing you the paper as you frowned, eyes scanning over her signature. "what is the second j for?" you asked confused, jenni handing the man his clipboard back with a nod.

"jesus jennifer hermoso, i think i might get it legally changed." your girlfriend replied nonchalantly as your eyes widened and cheeks grew pink with embarrassment, hurrying to almost slam the front door closed behind the confused looking delivery man.

"you are-" again you struggled to come up with the right words, the striker rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet with a cheeky grin, wiggling her eyebrows at your lack of response.

you could only huff, pushing at her chest and stalking off to the bathroom, hearing her hurry to put the package down and come after you, foot jammed in the door before you could shut it on her, slipping her body inside.

"now now mi amor don't be mad." jenni cooed, hands grabbing your face and pecking your lips repeatedly as you really hated how you couldn't stay mad at her, far too used to her annoyingly charming behaviour.

"would it make you feel better if we showered together and i helped you say you prayers?"

[sweetnans]

"You know, for the past few days, I expected to see you sooner than later but It never came to my mind seeing you sitting here in the couch of my vacation home wearing flip flops and swimsuit briefs"

Katsuki was no fool when it came to you.

"What are you doing?" He asked, leaning with his arms into his knees.

"Washing my clothes?" You were dumbfounded by his question when he was watching you closely.

"Uh-uh no, you know what I mean"

You rolled your eyes. There wasn't really a way out of this. Bakugo had known you since you were little toddlers running in the mud and getting bruises and scratches, he knew you like the palm of his hands.

"Fine" You sat in front of him and played with your naked fingers. Yeah, you took off your engagement ring after you ran off your own wedding.

"I'm fucking listening, brat"

A man of patience.

"I didn't want to get married in the first place" you blurted out lifting a heavy weight of your chest. "I solely started to hate him in the process and I thought, hey, that's not cool"

"You sound exactly like Kirishima, disgusting" he rolled his eyes but you knew what he was doing, trying to make everything more bearable for you with his twisted and weird humor.

"I just, I love him really but it's not the quite of love when you see a person and feel all these explosions and you feel that you might be torn apart because of them, breaking down in a meltdown of hearts and flowers and-and confetti" you stuttered. "I know it's lame but, I really think that's what love should feel"

Oh, you just hit the nail. Poor him, he came all the way from Musutafu to Okuto Island to be there for his best friend but instead, he was there watching you describe all his feelings for you.

"Well if you don't feel like that when it comes to that bastard then that's it. You can force it" he shrugged.

Let's face it. He was happy to see you so chill about you splitting something that almost lasted what? four years? but, he was also happy that you didn't get married.

When you told him the news, he felt torn, but he shook the feeling right away to be by your side. When you didn't show up at the church, he couldn't help but feel the happiness rising up in his body.

It wasn't so hard to find you. The first thing that he did was use the spare key you gave him of your apartment and went through your stuff. It was classic you, always leaving tracing marks wherever you go. He found your apartment neat, so he thought that probably the fact that you ran off was something premeditated.

He found the receipts of your plane tickets when he snoop through your mail, and it clicked. He needed to see you.

"I guess you're right." You sighed and clapped your hands in your knees. You stood up to move closer to him and sit by his side. "Anyway, thanks for coming all the way here"

"Of course," he said and felt bold enough to add. "You've always been my girl, and I'll back you up any day of the week, no question asked"

"I'll pack my things so we can go back." You wiggled your toes and caught him staring at your weirdness, you let a laugh.

"Hah? Nah, that won't do. They won't give me back the days I asked to get here, " he said nonchalantly.

"Days? You mean-what? Bakugo Katsuki, are you telling me that you are willingly taking your days off? For me??" You laughed at him, but in a good way, he smirked at you, kicking your feet like a little child.

"Yeah yeah shithead, whatever, let's enjoy this little shack you got." he pressed his big ass hand in your mouth to keep your laughs quiet.

"There's only one bed, tho." You quirked a brow at him, but he just shrugged you off.

"Tch, like we never had shared a bed before," he rolled his eyes. "Now come on, I want to get in the fucking ocean and hopefully get bit by a shark so I can howitzer it to the moon"

"You're joking right now, Have you ever heard of meditation?" you stumbled through his giant feet, and he pushed you. You completely lost your balance but miraculously stayed still. "Oh fuck off you psycho"

"Ha-ha, you think you're funny, don't you?" He followed you, grabbing his suitcase to leave it in your room while you stretched yourself to get the towels.

"I am fucking funny you asshole" you poked your tongue out and threw the towels at his face.

The beach was just perfect. The sun glistening in your face, leaving you with sunkisses marks that would last for a few months, giving you the ideal tan that everyone in your agency will envy. Bakugo was at your side, skin dried after he made a run towards the ocean, trying to catch a fight with any animal or kid that would get on his way. He was resting with a magazine on his face because the sun hurt his eyes.

You took a peek at him, and the memories flooded in your brain. The first time his mom introduced you to play with the only kid that was alone. You remembered thinking how that was possible, well, after he tackled you and put your face in the ground, you knew. After that, and because you punched him in the gut, you were inseparable. You remembered you two walking to school in the morning and then studying together in your house in the afternoon. You remembered when you two got in UA and how excited he was even though he didn't demonstrate it. You remembered graduating by his side and the hangover after you went partying with your shared friends, how he took care of your drunk ass, even though he was drunk too. The nostalgia invaded you, but it felt like it was more than just that.

"You know, I know we don't say this very often," you said while taking off the magazine of his face to make him look at you, "but I love you, Katsuki."

He pretended to gag. He felt things on the pit of his stomach, and it only made it worse the fact that you, for the first time, didn't add the "as a friend" part.

"You are making me sick," he murmured, putting the magazine all over his face again to hide the redness in his cheeks.

"Say it back, you bastard," you screamed at him, tickling his ribs, which was still his weak point.

The gremlin spatted your hand away and then took both of your hands in one of his, locking them behind his head in the sand. The sudden movement made you squeak and land on his perfect and toned abs.

"You damn bastard, let me go!" You tried to release your hands from his grip, but it was useless. "At least tell me you love me too"

He loved you more than anything.

"Over my dead body." he closed his eyes and ignored you, completely zoning off your attempts to get your hands back and to avoid being laid on top of him.

"You're going to pay"

"I wanna see you try," he mocked you pinching your hips.

The thought of having other feelings for your best friend scared the shit out of you, but you knew, deep down, that maybe after seeing him caring so deeply for you, maybe just maybe, the feeling was something mutual.

[rcmclachlan]

Thin Red Line (bucktommy, 6x11 missing scene)

Me: I'm rewatching "In Another Life" and had a thought. What if Buck met Tommy during his coma dream?

@dadvans: RC I’m going to kill you

+

Between leaving Christopher to wander the hospital hallways like a ghost in search of Eddie for all eternity and doing absolutely nothing to stop Bobby from popping pills like they’re Flintstones vitamins, Buck’s going to single-handedly bankroll every renovation project Dr. Copeland has over the next ten years. 

He wonders what she’ll say when he tells her about this during their next session. She’ll probably just sit back thoughtfully and muse, "You say you were trapped in a world where your biological family loved you but your chosen family had no idea who you were. Tell me more about that, Evan."

It's a moot point unless he manages to get out of here, so he swings the axe up, throws a sneer in his evil doppelgänger's direction, and is about to bring it down as hard as he can when his right arm is suddenly jerked behind him like someone’s trying to pull it out of the socket. 

Startled, he whirls around, but there’s no one there. Even Bizarro Buck is gone. 

An odd pressure tugs at his fingers. For a second, he thinks there’s something wrapped around them. He looks down but he can’t see anything. He can feel it, though. He tests the tensile strength of it by bouncing his hand back and forth, and whatever it is pulls taut when his hand gets close to his body. 

It reminds him of playing tug-o-war on the playground as a kid, except instead of deliberately allowing himself to be yanked off balance so his parents could later fuss over the bloody state of his knees, he begins gathering the palpable nothing in his palm and, with a last look at the tableau of the real him lying in the hospital bed waiting to die, follows it out of the room and back down the hall. 

He comes to a stop in front of a door that looks like all the others. He must’ve missed this one, although he can’t feel dumb about it, because there’s no way in hell he would’ve guessed this was the exit. 

"Take me home," Buck murmurs, opens the door, and walks out—

—onto an outdoor patio. 

He drops his head back with a groan. "Oh, come on."

With the wicker chairs and mind-numbingly navy umbrellas, it looks like every cafe’s outdoor seating situation in the state of California, right down to the almost oppressive number of ferns in beige planters shoved in between the tables. The only difference is that the place is completely empty. 

Correction: almost empty. 

Through the crush of the basic bitch jungle, he sees a solitary man seated at one of the tables, idly running sliding a to-go cup from side to side with his big hands. As he draws a little closer, he’s able to clock the guy’s deep blue flight suit and what looks like the LAFD insignia on his arm.

Everyone who’s made an appearance in this weird-ass dream has been someone he knows. Even Daniel, who died before Buck ever met him, still made something stir with some kind of primordial recognition in Buck’s marrow the second he woke up and clapped eyes on him. He took in the gray hair at high temples, the same nose Buck sees every time he looks in a mirror, the confident smile, and just knew who he was.

Buck has no idea who this guy is. He’s pretty sure he’d remember someone who looked like he bench presses actual benches in the morning and rushes off to be photographed for Men’s Health by lunch. 

As Buck comes up to the edge of the table, the man looks up at him, and the light of the sun catches his eyes. For a second, Buck’s back on the pier, gazing out into a cloudless sky stretched over the sea, but there’s no inhale of the earth, no oncoming wave. Just deep, Pacific blue. A slow smile spreads across the guy’s face, which takes him from unfairly handsome to utterly striking. 

"Hey."

A shiver starts from the very bottom tip of Buck’s spine and travels upwards like ripples on the surface of a lake, spreading out into all of his limbs until he can feel the eddies lapping at even the smallest arteries. For no cogent reason he can think of, his resting heart rate picks up until he’s flirting with full-on tachycardia. Maybe he’s about to code in the real world.

"H-Hey," Buck stutters, feeling caught out. "I—sorry, I’m—I’m a little turned around here."

The man gives him a look that’s both amused and commiserating, then picks up the drink cup he’d been playing table hockey with and holds it out. There's something thin and red tied around his ring finger, but Buck can't concentrate on it for some reason. It fades completely out of view every time he tries. "Want a sip? It’s the worst thing you’ll ever taste."

It's said around what is clearly a laugh, but Buck doesn't feel like it's at his expense, plus it's so infectious that he can’t help but crack a grin. The muscles in his back, which feel like they've been locked for days, are finally starting to relax.

“If it’s so gross, why’d you get it?” Buck asks, genuinely curious.

The guy shrugs. "I didn't."

Nodding as if that makes any kind of sense, Buck looks around to see if the ferns are hiding anyone else, but it really does seem like there's no one else here. He turns back to the man, who's watching him with that deep, placid gaze. 

It's so strange. He'd been so desperate to find a way out of here, psyching himself up for a battle he was prepared to fight to the death in, but all he wants to do right now is grab the chair across from this stranger and just… let the clock run out.

He reaches for the back of the chair closest to him, but it jerks away with a screech. 

The guy unhooks his foot from the chair leg and, staring straight into Buck's eyes, shakes his head gently. 

Buck swallows around a suddenly dry throat. Under his feet, the patio stones tremble. "D-Do I know you?"

When the man smiles this time, the corners of his eyes crinkle, digging lines that run down his cheeks. Buck thinks of the picture Jee-Yun gave him last week of a beaming sun. She'd drawn deep yellow lines coming off it. Sun rays. 

"No," the man says, his voice as warm as a crayon drawing made with unconditional love. "Not yet."

He lifts his hand and this time Buck can see the little red string tied around his finger, and the long tail of the other end of it draped over the table top, which Buck follows the trail of, heart pounding, until it comes to a stop. He looks down to find the other end is tangled around the fingers of his right hand. 

When he looks up, shaking and exhilarated, there's a door in the middle of the patio that swings open in obvious invitation. 

The man is no longer at the table, but there are suddenly lips at his ear. "See you soon, Evan."

Before he can close his eyes and sink into the hot wash of breath over his cheek, a large hand slides up to the middle of his back and shoves—

+

Buck knows he's being an absolute creep and Eddie won't stop giving him weird looks about it, but he can't help it. The pilot who's about to steal a helicopter for them has been nothing but friendly and confident, and he's currently wiring Buck up to his headset with brisk, competent hands, and all Buck can do is stare at him like he's got tonight's winning lottery numbers. 

Tom Kinard—"Tommy, please. Tom is my father, who I hate."—looks up from where he's bent a little at the knees, trying to get the microphone adapter to hook into Buck's belt, and shoots Buck an awkward grin. 

"Is there a spider in my hair or something?"

He hadn't realized how much tension he was putting into the air until Tommy cut through it with that. Buck ducks his head and laughs, feeling like a dumbass. "Sorry, man. It's just—do I know you from somewhere? You look so familiar."

"Maybe I just have one of those faces," Tommy says, all good humor.

For Men's Health, maybe, Buck almost replies, then has to clench his teeth so it doesn't slip out by accident. What a weird thought to have. With his luck, Tommy would've taken it the wrong way and then abandoned the mission altogether. But even thinking it feels like a lie. Buck's known the guy for all of five minutes but he's oddly sure Tommy wouldn't leave them in the lurch because Buck feels the need to share every weird thought that crosses his mind. 

"All right." Tommy stands up straight and steps back, but not before he gives Buck a friendly pat on the arm. "You're good to go."

Feeling oddly bereft, Buck says nothing as Tommy steps around him to where Chimney's been not so patiently waiting for his turn. 

"Sorry about him," Chim says, jerking a head in Buck's direction. "He was struck by lightning last year and hasn't been the same since. I mean, he was always annoying, but now he's just weird."

Buck deserves an Oscar for the fake outrage in his voice when he shoots back, "The view must be great from your glass house, Mr. I'm Dressing My Kid Up As A Ceiling Fan For Halloween," because the rest of him feels like he's in a tailspin. Every atom in his body is positively screaming for some reason. It's probably because they're all going to die. That makes the most sense.

When Tommy laughs, the corners of his eyes crinkle. 

Sun rays, Buck thinks nonsensically, and tangles the headset wire around the fingers of his right hand. 

[alvojake]

Shut Up | Y.JW

「pairing」 : bf!jungwon x fem!reader 「word count」 : 1.5k

「synopsis」 : something about seeing your boyfriend so pissed off just made you want to push his buttons even more...

「genre」 : smut

「warnings」 : MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!!!, cussing, reader is a brat, choking, mirror sex, angry sex, petnames (sweetheart, princess...), derogatory names (slut), biting/marking, unprotected sex, cream pie, orgasm denial, clit play, rough sex, dom!jungwon x sub!reader, jungwon is kinda mean, hair pulling, lmk if I missed anything!

「notes」 : when he posted these on weverse I could have sworn I gasped so loud at work that my coworkers were asking if I was okay... I was, in fact, NOT okay, bc do you see him?? the first thought that came into my mind was him and mirror sex... so I give you this drabble/hard thought 😌🤞

You aren't entirely sure what compelled you to push Jungwon's buttons. Maybe it was the scowl he was wearing the moment he walked into the house, yelling at someone on the other side of his phone. Or maybe it was the fact that you had been in a bratty mood all day long and just wanted to push him until he snapped.

It was probably a mixture of both if you were being completely honest.

"y/n, I'm not going to tell you again," his voice was cold as he pulled the phone from his ear, muting the other person. "take your bullshit somewhere else." Then he was right back on the phone, not even sparing you a glance.

Your eyes narrow into slits, arms crossing over your chest. The urge to back talk was strong, but you knew it wouldn't get you anywhere but a possible screaming match, so you opted for the other, more perfect route.

"I'm not gonna tell you again, blah blah blah." you mocked his words as you turned around to leave the living room, missing the dark stare you were getting from your boyfriend. "Whatever, I'm going to take a shower."

Jungwon didn't have to see your face to know that you had rolled your eyes; the tone of your voice was more than enough of a tale-tell sign. His eye twitched as he watched you walk away, still mocking what he had said, your fingers opening and closing as if you were using a sock puppet. However, what set him off was the last few words you spoke before disappearing into the bedroom.

"what the fuck ever, asshole."

His tongue pressed against the inside of his cheek as he listened to his friend talk. However, before too long, Jungwon told him that he would call him later before hanging up and throwing the phone onto the couch.

Standing on his feet, he made his way towards the bedroom, pushing the door open. Walking inside, he looked over to see the bathroom door wide open and you standing at the counter finishing your skincare routine.

Sensing his eyes on your body, you turned your head to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Finally, decide to stop being an ass?" you asked, trying to bite back the smirk that was tugging on your lips. however, the glare that morphed on his face told you that you had finally gotten under his skin, "guess not."

Rolling your eyes, you turn back towards the mirror, reaching for your toothbrush. Before you could even wrap your fingers around it, Jungwon stalked towards you in quick strides, hand grabbing the back of your neck and pushing your body flat on the marble countertop.

"Is this just some game to you?" His voice was low as he grabbed the hem of your shorts with his other hand. "Pushing all of my fucking buttons, and for what?"

A loud whine fell from your lips when his hand came down, landing a harsh smack on your ass. His fingers dug into the plump fat, watching the skin turn a rosy red.

"Won-"

"Shut up," he growled, moving his hand to undo the button of his jeans before shoving them down along with his boxers, allowing his hard cock to spring free.

The feeling of his top prodding your dripping slit makes a choked whimper fall from your lips. Jungwon scoffed at the feeling of how wet you had become.

"Did fucking with me really make you this wet?" He chuckled darkly, slipping his tip into your tight walls, "such a dirty fucking slut."

Then he pushed into you all at once, not giving you even a moment to adjust before he was slamming into your cunt mercilessly. His harsh movements stole all of the air from your lungs, leaving you a whining mess, tears falling from your eyes due to the immense pleasure.

"Fuck." Jungwon groaned before releasing his hold on your neck, only to tangle his fingers in your hair, tugging your head up and eliciting a loud moan from your lips. "Look at yourself, sweetheart. Is this what you wanted?" You whined, opening your teary eyes to watch as Jungwon continued to fuck into you.

You tried your best to keep your eyes on the mirror, watching Jungwon's eyebrows scrunch together every time you squeezed around him or how taunt his jaw was from the annoyance and frustration. When he brushed over your sweet spot, a choked moan of his name slipped from your lips as your eyes squeezed shut.

"Uh huh, princess, open those eyes." Jungwon seethed, delivering a peculiarly hard thrust, making you cry out. However, when you didn't open your eyes, he slowed to a stop.

"No... won, plea-"

"Keep your fucking eyes open and on the mirror, or you won't get to cum slut." his tone was harsh as he tugged on your hair, prompting you to open your eyes and meet his burning gaze through the mirror.

And just like that, he continued his brutal pace, fucking into your abused pussy until you were a trembling, crying mess in his hold.

"F-Fuck won!" you cried out when the head of his cock nudged your cervix, making stars dance across your vision.

Jungwon hissed when your cunt squeezed him tightly, "Don't you dare cum until I tell you to." He growled, tugging your body up more until your back was pressed against his chest. His fingers released your locks before encasing your throat once more.

A broken whine fell from your throat as he squeezed, head falling back onto his shoulder and your eyes rolling. His lips nipped at your jaw as his pace slowed once more, making your body shake, the pleasure being ripped away once more.

"What did I fucking say," he growled right next to your ear, warm breath fanning your flushed neck.

Incoherent whimpers and apologies fell from your plump lips as you tried to keep your eyes open. Jungwon smirked at you through the reflective glass, loving the tears that decorated your pretty face. Squeezing your throat just a bit more, he got a choked moan from your parted lips before he picked up his relentless pace.

The coil in your gut tightened to unimaginable levels, ready to snap at any given moment. Your legs started to shake, and your body felt like it was ready to burst.

"Wonnie! I wanna cum, please," you begged, tears streaming down your cheeks, eyes finding him through your hazy vision.

Jungwon chucked darkly; his fingers that were on your hip moved to toy with your puffy clit sending shockwaves throughout your body. A choked scream tore from your lungs. There was no way you were going to be able to hold off, not at this rate.

Opening your mouth to plead for him to let you cum, you were cut off by the feeling of his teeth sinking into your neck. A loud cry erupted from your mouth, almost pushing you over the edge.

Jungwon loved seeing you try so hard to keep your orgasm at bay, wanting to please him even after acting like a brat for the last half of the day. He then pressed his tongue flat over the puncture wounds, soothing the pain a bit before pressing hot and wet kisses all over your neck and shoulder.

A sharp groan fell from his lip as he felt his own orgasm building up. The way your silly walls were squeezing him drove him up a wall, wanting nothing more than to stay in your slick heat.

"Won! fuck, fuck, fuck!" the word fell from your lips like a mantra as his fingers on your clit picked up their pace. Your eyes rolled once more, pushing more tears to drop down your flushed cheeks.

"Cum for me slut." Jungwon growled against your skin, and your whole body started to tremble in his hold as your orgasm washed over you.

Soundless moans and pitiful squeaks fell from your lips as he continued his hard thrusts, his fingers never leaving your clit, prolonging your orgasm until he was spilling deep into your womb.

The two of you stood there breathless, Jungwon's hands being the only thing keeping you up, seeing as your legs felt like jelly. If he were to let go, you'd collapse onto the ground.

Jungwon chuckled before laying soft kisses along the skin of your shoulder up to your jaw. Then he had you turned around and sat on top of the counter, your hands squeezing his broad shoulders.

"Don't think we're done yet," he smirked at the look of surprise on your fucked out face. Grabbing your jaw tightly, he pulled your face close to his, lips merely inches away from yours. "Because I still have a lot of frustration left." Then he sealed your lips with his in a searing kiss, stealing the breath from your lungs once more.

@alvojake | Do not steal, plagiarise, translate, or repost any of my work

𝖉𝖎𝖘𝖈𝖑𝖆𝖎𝖒𝖊𝖗 : ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ɴᴏ ᴡᴀʏ ᴀ ᴛʀᴜᴇ ʀᴇᴘʀᴇꜱᴇɴᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴀɴʏ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴇᴍʙᴇʀꜱ. ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ᴘᴜʀᴇʟʏ ꜰɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ᴀɴᴅ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏᴍᴇɴᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴏᴛ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴛᴀᴋᴇɴ ꜱᴇʀɪᴏᴜꜱʟʏ.

[cumonstevie]

Home Sweet Home

Summary: "It's good to be home," you think as you arrive back in Hawkins, Indiana; not only three years older, but also as a mother.

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Reader

Warnings: mentions of sexual acts but not detailed

A/N: guys I'm really excited to post this frfr, I'll edit it later. I think there might be 4 parts to this, but we'll see. Also, this is like, 3.6k words and I tweaked the timeline a bit so don't worry about the logistics fr 😶 I hope you like it!

“God, Nance…” Steve panted as he tried to catch his breath from above you.

The blissful haze suddenly bursts as his words registered in your head and you open your eyes with a frown. “What?”

“Huh?” He doesn’t even realize what he’s said and that upsets you even more.

“Get off me.”

“What?” Steve lifts his head from the crevice of your neck to look at you.

“I said get off of me.”

He’s confused. “Did I do something wrong?”

“I said get off!” You raise your voice, tears already threatening to spill from your eyes.

Still confused, Steve complies and moves beside you on his bed. You immediately sit up with his blanket covering your body as you search for your clothes while he covers himself with a pillow.

“Y/N,” he calls, “Y/N what happened?”

You ignore him and pull your shorts on before searching for the rest of your clothes. Steve hurries and puts his boxers on, carefully walking over to you.

“Did I hurt you?” He slowly and softly touches your shoulder after you had just put your bra back on.

“Don’t touch me!” You whip around to face him and he immediately retreats his hand like you burned him.

“What did I do!?” He raises his voice. “Tell me what I did! I-I thought we were having a good time-”

“Yeah, we were,” you start as you finally tug your shirt on over your head, “until you called me Nancy.”

The color drains from his face once those words leave your mouth and he seems deep in thought, probably trying to recall the moment he called you a different name.

“Y/N I- I don’t- She-”

He’s at a loss for words. What could he possibly say to make this better? He doesn’t even remember calling you Nancy but by the tears silently slipping from your eyes, he knows you’re telling the truth and it crushes him to see you like this.

You and Steve have known each other since sixth grade. The pair of you had to sit next to each other for a semester which brought you two very close. You stayed friends for the remainder of the year and continued to be friends since.

You didn’t start having feelings for Steve until freshman year. It had just stopped raining when the two of you exited the movie theater and on the walk back home, there was a massive puddle blocking your way. You told him you were fine walking through it, he disagreed saying you’d get the bottom of your skirt wet and dirty. You told him that it was fine and that you could just wash it when you got home, he said no and with a blink of an eye he had picked you up, bridal style, walking across the puddle and getting his shoes dirty.

You told him he didn’t have to do that but he just shrugged and continued to carry you. You took this time to study his features and suddenly a strange feeling erupted from the pit of your stomach. When did Steve get so cute? Was he always like this? How did you never notice it before?

He sets you down at your doorstep with a grin and you finally come back to. You thank him, not only for taking you to the movie theater but for carrying you as well. He says it’s no big deal and “what are friends for?”.

For the rest of the night, you replayed that moment in your head.

Sophomore year came around rather quickly and just one month into the school year, Steve was dating a freshman named Nancy Wheeler. She was really sweet and very kind and boy did you envy her. Because she had what you wanted. Steve. As her boyfriend.

They dated for a year and you really got to know her, even befriend her. You also befriended a peculiar boy named Jonathan and an even more peculiar boy named Eddie. Your junior year, to complete your little friend group, you befriended a talkative girl named Robin.

And maybe a couple of middle schoolers. But to be fair, you only became friends with them because two of them were your friends' little siblings.

Steve and Nancy broke up a few days after their one year anniversary. Steve was torn. You were there for him, like always.

Seven months after Steve and Nancy called it quits, you finally decide to tell him that you have feelings for him. You’re extremely nervous. He doesn’t say anything but he does pull you into a kiss which leads to the two of you being intimate which then leads to the moment at hand.

“You’re unbelievable.” You scoff, throwing your bag over your shoulder and shoving past Steve.

“Wait-” He takes your hand in his to stop you but you yank it away.

“No!” You shout, “God, I thought you felt the same way about me! You kissed me!”

“I do feel the same way!” He looks at you with panic-stricken eyes.

“No you don’t!” You take a step away from him. “You’re still hung up over Nancy. I’m so stupid. God, we- we had-” You trail off, pressing the palm of your hand to your head. “Shit. I need to go.”

“Y/N please wait. Let me explain-”

“Just leave me alone, Steve.” You interrupt him. “Please leave me alone.”

He stands at the doorway of his room, defeated, as he watches you walk down the hall and disappear down the stairs. When he hears the front door slam shut he closes his eyes and bangs his fist against the doorframe.

After that day, you did everything to avoid him. You didn’t talk to him in class, you were always one of the first people to leave, you didn’t answer his phone calls, you begged your mom and dad to tell Steve you weren’t home whenever he’d stop by, you even started having lunch in the library with Eddie just to avoid him.

You continued to do all of that for the remainder of the school year and when summer came around, you and your family ended up moving to Michigan. Not because of the Steve situation, your parents didn’t even know what happened between the two of you. The only one who knew was Eddie. Your dad got a job offer and decided to take it. At least avoiding Steve would be way easier now.

You told your friends about the move and although they were sad, they wished you well with whatever came next for you and you did the same for them.

With one last group hug, you bid farewell to your friends and farewell to Hawkins.

-

Starting your senior year of high school being four months pregnant was not ideal. You only found out after the move and when you told your parents they were deeply disappointed. Their 17 year old daughter falling pregnant was not what they had wanted for you and as reluctant as they were when you told them you wanted to keep it, they were supportive. They told you it would be tough but it was a risk you were willing to take.

You blurted it out to Eddie one night when the two of you were speaking on the phone. He was telling you about how Nancy and Jonathan had started dating and how Robin was in band now, also telling you that she looked absolutely ridiculous in her uniform and that he’d mail you photos of her in it so you could laugh as well. He caught you up with the kids drama and made sure to avoid the topic of Steve.

Eddie was telling you about some D&D campaign he created when it slipped.

“All I have to do is tell those little squirts that-”

“I'm pregnant.”

There's a moment of silence before you hear Eddie's voice again. “Nooo... Why would I tell them that?”

“Eds..." You sighed.

“Ace… You're not- Are you serious?”

Ace. A nickname he gifted you when you annihilated him in a game of cards once.

“As a heart attack.”

“Oh my god…” He whispered. “Who knows? Is it… Steve's?”

You shut your eyes and rub your left temple. “Yes, it's his and no one knows but my parents and now, you."

"Y/N/N... holy shit. Are you gonna tell him?"

The thought had crossed your mind on several occasions.

“No.” You reply.

“Y/N-”

“And you're not gonna say anything to anyone, Eddie. I mean it. Not the kids, not Nancy, not Jonathan, not Robin, and especially not Steve, you hear me?"

Eddie let's out a defeated sigh. “Loud and clear.” The two of you are quiet for a few seconds before he talks again. “Can I at least know why you're choosing not to tell him?”

“I just- I don't want to ruin whatever plans he has for the future. He's probably still hung up on Nancy anyway and besides, I doubt we'll ever see each other again.” You spill. “It's better this way.”

“Whatever you say, Ace.” You can tell he's not happy with your answer. “My lips are sealed.”

January 1985 is when you gave birth to a healthy baby girl who you named Penelope.

Penelope Eden Y/L/N.

You had sent pictures of her to Eddie with a note explaining that Eden was close to his name and that’s why you chose it while also saying he would be the best uncle to your little girl. He called you that same day, pretending like he wasn’t crying on the other end as he told you how happy he was.

Two and a half years later, you and your parents move back to Hawkins. You debated on whether or not you were going to stay in Michigan but ultimately decided on following your parents back home. Sure, you made a few friends here and there but nothing would beat your friends back in Hawkins.

Eddie was practically bouncing off the walls when you told him over the phone one night. You promised him the two of you would meet up the minute you were done settling in.

A week after moving back to Hawkins, Eddie came over to your place with a hug for you and about three toys for Penelope. You told him he didn’t have to get her three of them but he shrugged and said he didn’t know which one she would like so he just got them all.

You were about to protest when he held his hand up to your face and said, “Ace, as her favorite uncle, it's my job to get her anything and everything she ever wants.”

For the rest of the time he was there, he bonded with Penelope and the two of you talked about what has been going on for the past 3 years. He told you his band was booking small gigs here and there and you told him you’d go to a few of them when given the chance. Once the catching up died down and it got later in the day, he suggested a reunion with your former friends.

“Come on, Ace, it'll be fun. I’ll invite everyone to my place-” He had gotten an apartment recently. Nothing too big, but just enough for him and his things. “-I won't tell them you're here and when they all show up, BAM! Surprise!”

“Mmm… I don't know, Eds.”

He knows why you’re hesitant.

“Steve won't be there, I promise. He doesn't really hang with us that much anymore. The only one who sees him often is Robin and that's because they work together.” He holds your hand with both of his as he looks at you with pleading eyes. “Please, Ace? It'll only be me, Nancy, Robin, Jonathan, Dustin, Max, Lucas, Will, Mike, and El. Just us. They all miss you just as much as I do.”

He continues to beg and you think it over in your head.

“You promise Steve won't be there?”

“I pinky promise.”

“If he is, I’m breaking your guitar.”

“Deal.” He doesn't miss a beat.  “That's how confident I am that he won't be there.”

-

Eddie had picked you and Penelope up a couple of days later and you helped him set up a few things for the little reunion that was about to take place in less than an hour. Eddie made sure to tell them to all arrive at the same time and as confused as they were, they obliged.

Your hands began to get clammy as time got closer and closer to your friends arriving. You didn’t know why you were so nervous to see them. They were your friends for crying out loud!

Maybe it was the fact that in a couple of minutes they’d all be meeting your two-and-a-half-year-old daughter who they had no clue even existed yet, who also just so happens to look identical to your former best friend. Yeah, that’s exactly why you were so nervous.

“Eds, I’m nervous.” You voice to him as you eye the clock on the wall.

“It’ll be okay.” He rubs your shoulders in a soothing manner. “They’re gonna freak when they see you. In a good way, though. Maybe even pass out when they see Pen.”

Your eyes widen. “That’s not helping. I think I’m about to have a heart attack.”

“You’re fine. Relax, everything is going to be alright.”

He helps you regulate your breathing and when he finally has you calmed down, there’s a knock at the door.

“Oh my god.” You panic. There’s another knock on the door.

“Come on, Eddie, open the door! it’s hot as hell out here!” You recognize the voice as Mike’s and you cover your mouth, eyes wide as you look over at Eddie.

“I’m gonna throw up!”

“No you’re not! Not in my living room, at least.” He whisper-yells back to you. “Take Pen, go into my room, and shut the door. I’ll come and get you when everyone is inside.”

You nod, your stomach doing somersaults as you quickly walk over to Penelope and pick her up. As you shut Eddie’s room door, you tell your daughter to be quiet by putting your finger to your lips and going, “shhh.”

She does the same thing back to you, showing you that she understood.

You could hear a couple of voices from outside of the room and you nervously started tapping your foot against the floor as you waited for Eddie to come get you. About a minute goes by when you finally hear him tell everyone he has something to show them.

You hear Max groan and say, “You better not have gathered all of us here just to show us another one of your new guitars.”

He’s offended by the statement and defends himself, making you believe that he has gotten them all together just to show them one of his new instruments before. You stifle a laugh.

Eddie opens the door slowly so as to not scare you and motions behind him. “You ready?”

You take a deep breath and nod. Eddie guides you down the hall and you unintentionally hold onto Penelope a bit tighter.

“Surprise!” Your friend shouts just as you turn the corner into his living room.

Dustin was mid stuffing his face with chips when he saw you. Everyone’s movements were paused, eyes wide as they stared at you.

“Oh my gosh…” Jonathan managed to get out.

“Y/N!” Robin is the first to jump up off her seat and gather you in a hug.

It’s like her actions bursted through everyone's bubbles because one by one they all came up to you with tears threatening to spill.

“It’s been so long!”

“Are you back for good?”

“How have you been?”

“How long are you here for?”

“We missed you!”

“How-”

“Wait!” Robin interrupted, “We’re all glad you’re back but uh, is this your baby sister or…?”

Everyone’s attention is now on Penelope and your heart starts beating faster. She’s oblivious to what’s happening at the moment and is even reaching over towards Dustin’s hair.

You clear your throat. “Guys, I’d like you to meet my daughter, Penelope. Penny, say hi!” you take her tiny hand and wave to your friends as she says a small “hi.”

There’s a beat of silence before they start speaking at once.

“Daughter?!”

“What the f-”

“Watch your mouth, dingus, there’s a baby present.”

“Sorry…”

“I can’t believe you’re a mom.”

“Who’s the dad?”

“Mike! You can’t just ask that!”

“Why not?”

You feel yourself getting overwhelmed the more and more they ask questions. Eddie senses this quiets them down.

“Guys, guys! Let’s all settle down. I’m sure Y/N will answer all your questions in a bit and even so, she doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to. Let’s all just appreciate the fact that she’s back, alright?”

Everyone agrees and says sorry. You tell them it’s okay and offer to tell them what they want to know as you move to sit on the couch. Penelope wiggles out of your arms and walks over to Dustin who was sitting on the floor beside you with the rest of the kids.

“Oh,” he says, “hi.”

Penelope grabs a fistful of his hair pulling ever so slightly before letting his curls go and watching them spring back up. This makes her giggle and she does it again.

“Penny, no. We don’t pull people’s hair.” You tell her before fixing your gaze to Dustin. “Sorry Dusty, she likes to play with people’s hair. Especially people with curly hair.”

“It’s okay,” he smiles, “I don’t mind. Here,” he takes his hair and pulls it before letting it go, showing your daughter that he was okay with her doing it again. She giggles and tugs his hair again.

“Okay,” you sigh as you scan over everyone in the room, “What do you want to know?”

-

You had just finished updating them on everything that has happened since you left. You didn’t go into too much detail, just told them that the father of your baby was someone you met when you moved to Michigan and that when he found out you were pregnant, he bailed.

You didn’t mention anything about Steve and to your knowledge, no one even knew that you guys were involved at one point.

They didn’t ask any further questions about Penelope or her father. They either were done asking or they didn’t want to pry any further just yet. Instead, you moved on and told them about your time in Michigan and asked about what they had all been up to over the past 3 years.

Nancy and Jonathan were still together, Robin has a crush on a girl named Vickie and is too chicken-shit to ask her out, Dustin met some girl at a science camp he went to and now they’re dating, Mike and El were still together, same as Max and Lucas, Will was still playing third wheel (poor Will), and you found out that Joyce and Hopper had gotten together which threw you for a loop.

“Wait, wait, wait-” you shake your head, “your mom-” you point a finger between Will and Jonathan, “-is dating Hopper? Jim Hopper, like the guy who never cracks a smile? The guy who doesn’t enjoy like, anything?”

“Yep.”

“That’s the one.”

“Well,” you start, “you find love in mysterious places with mysterious people, I guess. At least they’re happy.”

You turn your attention to your daughter who was in the middle of playing with Max, El, Dustin, and Lucas. They were helping her build a little tower. Well, they were doing most of the work, she was putting blocks on the tops of their heads saying, “stay!”

“Aww I wish I brought my camcorder, they’re so cute.” You pout.

“I brought my camera!” Jonathan says as he pulls it out of his bag, “I could snap a couple of photos for you.”

“Why’d you bring your camera?” Eddie questioned.

“I bring my camera everywhere.”

“Freak.”

“Says the freak.”

You’re glad to see that not much has changed within your friend dynamic.

“I’d love it if you’d take photos of them playing with Penny.” You tell Jonathan. “I’ll even pay you!”

He scoffs as he snaps his first picture. “That’s not necessary Y/N. We’re friends. Plus, I just self-appointed as Penny’s uncle so if you want me to take photos of my niece, I will.”

“Oh, you self-appointed, huh?” You say with an amused smile.

“Yep.”

“Let’s not let things get out of hand,” Eddie interrupted, “I’m still and always will be Pen’s favorite uncle.”

“We’ll see about that.” Dustin’s voice cut through the air.

“Stay outta this, Frodo.”

“Guys,” you interrupt them, “I’m sure she’ll love you all the same. Now-”

You were cut off when you heard the front door open then shut.

“Sorry I’m late,” a voice you hadn’t heard in a while dances around the room and you feel ill. “I’m assuming my invite got lost in the mail because I know my friends would never meet up and not tell me, right Eddie?”

He finally comes into view yet he hasn’t seen you and you feel like you’re about to throw up. You hadn’t spoken to him since he shattered your heart that fateful day in his bedroom. He looked older, a bit more mature. His hair was all the same, however. Maybe just a tad bit longer but nonetheless the same.

Your heart is pounding at this point. It feels like it’s about to pop out of your chest. Not a good feeling.

“So,” Steve starts, “what’s going-”

He finally sees you and his words fall off. It looks like he’s about to throw up too.

Eyes wide and jaw slacked, Steve manages to say one thing.

“Y/N…?”

“Aw man…” you hear Eddie murmur.

You inhale deeply and slowly turn your head to the one person who promised you that he wouldn’t be here. Eddie is looking at you, utterly terrified, as he chokes out;

“Please don’t hurt my guitar…”

[ahgasegotarmy116]

BANG-ABLE | Jeon Jungkook One Shot | Teaser

Summary: You've been single for way too long and you're done with causal sex and all the drama that comes along with it...so why not try something new? Pairing: f!reader x Sex Bot Jungkook (idk man 😂) Warnings: Smut and Explicit language (obvi lmao) a/n: I've been working on this for a while and I wanted to put out a teaser to see how well something like this would be received. It probably won't be going up for another two weeks or so since I'm trying to keep to a more manageable posting schedule so I hope you'll look forward to it! Feel free to comment down below if you'd like to be tagged! P.s. Ava is her best friend but it's pretty obvious lmao

"'How to bang your robot' sounds very informative" Ava giggles and I scoff, "That's not what it says dummy" I groan, thumbing through the manual until I find the most important piece of information, how to turn him on...well power him up so to say. The other part I guess I'll figure out later on when we're alone, although I'm sure she would love to watch.

I don't think I'll ever be able to understand how she can talk about things like sex so openly but I guess that's part of her twisted charm.

I brush some of the hay-like packaging off of him so the both of us can finally see what he looks like and my breath hitches once his face comes into view.

"I did a good job huh?" she says while elbowing me in the side, groaning when she hits the new tattoo I got on my ribcage the other day. "Oh shit I'm sorry! I forgot!" she says, apologizing but I brush it off as an accident and go back to inspecting him.

After taking more of the packaging off I finally find where his on switch is, which happens to be on his peck. "Really? I haven't even turned him on and I already have to violate him?" I say, hesitating for a second and then just rip the bandaid off so to say and lift his shirt up.

"Damn those abs are drool worthy" Ava whistles and I wack her in the arm, "You're not helping" I groan and find the plate that is covering the on switch, looking between him and her, contemplating on if I should go for it or not.

She nods her head, urging me to do it and after a second or two I give in and flip the switch quickly and fix his shirt so he's all covered up again. He might be a robot but I still think he deserves to be treated with respect.

Even if his whole purpose is to just fuck me senseless.

We both watch for a second and hear a few of the mechanisms start to move about before he takes his first breath. Well...kinda.

He opens his eyes and blinks a few times and I know for a fact that Ava hit it right on the head in her description. She knows me too well at this point if she was able to create a Mr. Right for me with a few clicks on her keyboard.

That or he's just very attractive to begin with.

He looks around for a second before turning his head towards me, our eyes locking for the first of many times and I can already feel my cheeks start to heat up. 'I'm fucked'

[d4rkpluto]

ᴀꜱᴛʀᴏʟᴏɢʏ ᴏʙꜱᴇʀᴠᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ ᴛᴡᴏ

follow for more content <3

paid chart readings

these are observations i've made due to people i've been around and celebrity charts i have looked at x

♇ scorpio placements like to be praised for everything they've done.

♇ online personalities who have really loud personas usually have a sag placements, ex berleezy, trap celeb, oli london, ekane etc...

♇ during a solar return chart having a stellium or more than 4+ planets in your 1h means you will REALLY be in your head, might face a lot of mental challenges.

♇ people with beneficial planets in their 9h ex jupiter or venus, specifically, usually do okay within in education, like no matter how back they are, they always pass

♇ pisces placements can RAMBLE and talk for a long time without actually saying anything.

♇ pisces mars men, the worst. the ones i've come across usually don't know what they want. but pisces mars women >>>

♇ aries degrees, specifically the 13th degree could insinuate you could be the first person to do something. janice dickson has the 25th degree and she is known as the first supermodel, beverly johnson has the 1st degree and is known as the first black supermodel, eva is the first black woman to win america's next top model and she has the 13th degree.

♇ sagittarius placements... laughing and smiling for no reason...

♇ leo moons and having hair that grows fast. for example, my brother and my nephew are both leo moons and they can cut their hair and a month later it grows back to their shoulders. i believe this could apply to 5H moons.

♇ those who have their 12h ruler conj or positively aspect their moon do become famous, [moon rules over audience] ariana grande has moon conj venus and megan has moon conj mars. if there's a negative aspect, it is still a fame indicator, but they would like get their fame after, for example chapelle roan who has moon square mercury.

♇ a lot of cancer asc men are insecure. the ones i know pity themselves so much too.

♇ much sag sun women like to dance, could be sag in big 6 + jupiter as well

♇ a fixed sign specifically scorpio in the 11h is a strong indicator of having a big online platform. but the one that is stronger than that is having moon in the 11h, most people that have this placement or even cancer in the 11h told me that they have a big platform.

♇ people with saturn or lilith in the 7h might be put into uncomfortable situations with their friend and their friends s/o, like their s/o might always likes them.

♇ uranus in 3h people might like to make up languages? or learn new ones

♇ your jupiter persona chart can talk to you about your future spouse as jupiter is the main planet to look at when it comes to your wife/husband.

♇ nara smith has jupiter in cancer and her spouse is very domestic and traditional, he even helped her give birth to their newest child, whimsy lou.

♇ dove cameron has a gemini ascendant with the 12th degree [pisces degree] probably why people say she has so many faces, she also has a heavy 8h which points to she got many procedures, khloe kardashian has a gemini moon and is also said to have many faces, also have pluto in the 8h.

♇ scorpio placements really dont like it when you enter their room all the time.

♇ a lot of dhanistha moon women have upturned eyes, or like to wear eyelashes that give them that look.

♇ people who have moon in the 11h do friend-crush a lot.

♇ aries venuses are the type to hate the people they crush on, their feelings can be quick changing but it is still intense!

♇ the reason some virgo and cancer ascendants are normally confused with each other is because they both have cat faces.

♇ its funny that when jupiter in taurus was at its peak which is the 29th degree, chef-influencers became more known on social media.

♇ people with a strong sag+virgo combination could be obsessed with perfecting their future

♇ people with scorpio/aries in their chart are likely to become alcoholics.

♇ saturn in cancer natives are likely to be less submissive to men.

♇ people with moon in the 11h or have cancer in their 11h tend to have big followers online [can work if the ruler of your 11h is in cancer]

♇ the "rumours" are true, aries venuses do get disinterested pretty quickly.

♇ the 6H in astrology can tell you what kind of skills you have, for example, if you have a venusian ruled 6H [Libra, Taurus, Venus in 6H], you could be talented a makeup, fashion etc.

+ the kalogeras sisters have leo/sun influence in their chart and they're known for their curly hair, [leo rules the mane].

pluto

paid chart readings

[martinmuhl]

• i can see you

pair: kate martin x reader

warnings: cussing, tension, angst (?)

from an anon request - friends to lovers!

“god, they are insufferable! like come on, everybody knows they like each other but them! what are we going to do?” jada paced around the room, looking down at gabbie sprawled across the bed.

“jades, i’m not sure what we can do. it’s been like this for months and they’re still so oblivious. cait? any suggestions?” gabbie asked. sprawled next to her was caitlin who looked exhausted by this conversation.

“you guys already shot down my “making each other jealous plan” months ago,” caitlin finger quoted. “and now you want my help?” she sighed, flinging her head back on the bed next to gabbie.

“you know what, let’s do it. everything else has failed so why not? cait, you and y/n had that one night together last year and you know kate hates talking about it so this your chance. so you flirt with her and make kate jealous, then boom mission accomplished!” jada exclaimed, a giant smile resting on her face. caitlin rolled her eyes.

“don’t say one night like it was this big thing! we kissed drunk off a dare one time, but fine i’ll do it. especially if it gets those two annoying fucks to stop pining after each other. bar tonight?” caitlin asks, rolling off the bed to start getting ready.

two hours later, you walk into the bar with your group of friends. after you and kate had stayed back after practice to run some more plays, you got the invite to the bar and you weren’t going to pass up the chance to see kate in her usual bar outfit. hair pin straight, white tank top that showed just a sliver of her stomach, black ripped jeans, and air forces, but the star of the show were the rings hugging her fingers. you couldn’t get enough of her.

“you guys go grab a table, gabbie and i are going to head to the bar. y/n, your usual?” kate asked, smiling at you. you blushed and nodded. she was so confusing. you two had been friends since freshmen year. she knew you like the back of her hand, but sometimes she would flirt with other girls and get mad at you for doing the same. you knew you liked her, but you just could never tell if she felt the same. rather than telling her and risking the end of your friendship, you decided to just let it be.

kate and gabbie had made it back to the table with the drinks, kate sitting right beside you. your legs touched and you couldn’t help but shiver. you looked up to say something to her, but were cut off by caitlin.

“y/n, you look gorgeous tonight. that’s the same top you wore when we kissed right?” you could feel your face get hot. why would she bring that up? kate hates talking about it and you agreed that no one would bring it up ever again.

“thanks,” you giggled, liking the attention that you wish kate would give you. “and yeah, it is. you remember my top?” you questioned, returning her energy. you felt kate shift in her seat, taking her leg away from yours.

“how could i forget?” caitlin teased, taking a sip of her drink. gabbie and jada stifled back a laugh. next to you, kate mumbled something about getting another drink as she hurried out of the booth. you gave her a weird look, not understanding why her mood shifted all of a sudden. while she was gone, caitlin asked if you wanted to dance. you agreed, not seeing any reason to say no. your friend caitlin was hot, but that kiss was nothing. you didn’t feel anything for her but friendship and she knew that, so you weren’t sure what she was doing. nonetheless you decided dancing together wouldn’t hurt anything.

stalking back toward the table, kate noticed the two of you gone. looking around, she couldn’t see you surrounded by all the bodies on the dance floor. “where did they go?” she asked gabbie and jada, her face becoming hot.

“oh caitlin wanted to dance, so they’re probably out there now. who knows though, they may be taking a trip down memory lane.” jada giggled, turning to gabbie who was also laughing. kate was fuming. of course she never told anyone about her feelings, but could they not tell? caitlin had told kate that she didn’t feel that way towards you, but what was happening now? she couldn’t take it any longer, she needed to know.

barging through the bodies on the dance floor, she found you and caitlin pressed together dancing. she couldn’t help herself, grabbing you and dragging you to the bathroom. pushing you in and locking the door, she turned to look at you. your face was red and sweaty. you were having a good time, but this is where you wanted to be… with kate.

“what’s your problem? you’ve been acting weird all night and now this? kate what’s going on?” you asked, hands on your hips. she looked devastatingly beautiful, even with a sour expression.

“so you and cait huh? you flirt and dance all night, what’s next? another drunken kiss that obviously meant something to the both of you?” she crossed her arms, staring at you. you could see the anger in her expression, but what would it matter if you and caitlin kissed again? why does she care so much?

finally, you understood. you couldn’t help but tease her now. “so what if we did kiss again? we’re both single, and you’re my best friend so you’d hear all about it.” you say with a smirk.

turning away from you, she mumbles, “i don’t want to hear about that shit.”

“why not, kate? why does that bother you so much?” you step towards her, pushing her. wanting and waiting for her to take the bait.

“because i love you, y/n. you’re mine and i can’t stand the thought of you being with her or anybody else. i flirt with other people and i get mad because im scared to lose you.” kate exhales, looking away. you’re shocked, but you smile because this is everything you’ve ever wanted.

you tilt her chin to look at you, then crush your lips against hers. “i’m yours, huh? i love you too, you jealous dork.”

[acid-ixx]

Now that someone mentioned Connor as a possible love interest I think he will be a good choice. He obviously feels a similar kind of anger at his own father(s) so they could connect thanks to it. And his super hearing and other abilities will make it possible for him to always know when something is wrong with reader. I see reader being in shock that someone wants to be there for them and dismissing any yandere tendencies, toxic traits in favour of keeping Connors attention. Not like they could loose it no matter what they do, Connor is to obsessed and I could see him being dependent on his darling.

a/n: since i am more familiar with the animated series (young justice) for conner kent and i feel your ask is describing his version so i'm basing it off of him! but yes you are so fr in this. i will never not go too far when it comes to rambling, i love long asks hehe.

it was temporarily stated in chapter one that you had your momentary bouts of anger and that in itself already paved its way into conner's heart because of course most would be put off with the rage that he kindles within. you two would really be some sort of match made in heaven— it's like you deeply understand the intensity of his emotion, and you both share that bond nobody could deter; it being anger towards your parent/s and the inability to be accepted or nor noticed/your feelings being invalidated most of the time.

but because of the level of power between you, you being human and him literally being a carbon copy of superman, conner would be incredibly overprotective and possessive of you. and i'm not just implying that he would give anyone within a fifty mile radius a death glare, no, you would literally be glued to his figure all the time.

that means a hand on either your shoulders, your waist, or hips. if you were the shy type, then expect him always holding your hands or wrist. but if you don't mind the weird display of pda, then you'll be lucky enough to have the rights to smother your face in his chest whenever and wherever— sometimes that would even be his go signal to tell anybody off whenever you feel the slightest bit of discomfort.

but other than the advantages of being with him (protective guard dog 24/7), you would pretty much lose every sense of independence nor privacy. which isn't losing much since you already have your mad family on your tail constantly tracking you down and probably a huge bounty on your head— but at least you have your boyfriend with you, right?

with the lack of attention you were given to as a child, one given willingly without the need to ask for is basically a heaven for you. and with his powers? babe, you don't even need to ask for him to take you away to somewhere safer because he could already hear your heartbeats thumping louder and louder.

speaking of superhearing; a way to calm your boyfriend down quickly and efficiently would be laying his head on your chest. you'd probably discover the method later on your relationship, but as much as conner loves to hear your heartbeats from any distance, he loves it all the more when the only barrier that keeps him away from your beating heart would be your skin and your ribcage.

since conner was raised with the lack of physical contact and he's the type to push people away, your physical affection towards him is something he doesn't even know he craves, not until he tastes it for himself.

you wouldn't even feel the need to tell creeps off anymore! because conner is out there intimidating every person who dares to show the slightest bit of romantic intentions towards you.

so really, is it so bad if he wants you all for himself?

you both eventually gain a codependent relationship with each other— but it's not like any of you would leave each other wanting for more, because you both are more than enough for each other.

and conner thinks it's better off if it would only be the two of you in this world.

screw your family.

[0310s]

wiping something off their lips (leehan ver.) 𓉞⋆｡˚☁︎｡⋆

members: boynextdoor legal line x gender neutral reader

genre: college! au, fluff, friends to lovers, they have a crush on u waaah >_<!!!, a little angst, leehan cries ૮ ◞ ﻌ ◟ ა but it’ll be ok i promise!!!

wc: 3.3k

a/n: something came over me and i had to write this immediately. leehan is so dear to me! let me know your thoughts <3

𓉞⋆｡˚☁︎｡⋆

Leehan is neat eater #2 (Neat eater #1: Sungho). While he’s not as conscious as Sungho, he’s just the type that doesn’t make a mess because he’s a slow eater. But seeing you baby Jaehyun all the time makes him want you to do the same for him. 

You’re hanging out with both Leehan and Jaehyun at a diner, with you and Jaehyun seated beside each other and Leehan opposite you both. While Leehan leisurely chews on his fries, Jaehyun’s devouring his burger so eagerly it’s worrying. He gets sauce all over his lips in the process. You’re trying to stifle your laugh at his enthusiasm but ultimately fail to keep it in—your cute giggles make Leehan’s heart beat faster, although he can’t figure out why that exactly is. Still, he stores this memory of your laugh away in his mind, just like he’s mentally catalogued bits and pieces of your personality and interests over the course of your friendship—in a totally platonic manner, of course. If you could consider having an entire library in his brain of everything about you platonic.

Moreover, Leehan’s never thought himself to be a possessive person, but when you poke Jaehyun and start dabbing at his lips with a tissue once he faces you, he feels a smidge resentful at how Jaehyun just lets you go all up in his personal space. You’re both laughing now as Jaehyun jokingly bats away your attempts to baby him; still, you persist and finally remove all the sauce off his mouth. To onlookers, you and Jaehyun must probably look like a couple, while Leehan is just your friend that’s tagged along for the ride. Was it normal to be jealous as a friend? He doesn’t know. 

“Leehan, what’s going on in your head? You got all quiet of a sudden,” Jaehyun calls him. You’re looking at him worriedly too, and Leehan secretly relishes in your attention, feeling like a little schoolboy being patted on the head by his favorite teacher.

He stares at the condensation forming on his glass of cold water, watches the droplets slide down to the surface of the table, and forces himself to take a steady breath. “It’s nothing,” he promises. “Just spacing out. What were we talking about?”

𓉞⋆｡˚☁︎｡⋆ 

The week later, you and Leehan spend the afternoon at the same diner. Jaehyun gets called to take an emergency shift at the convenience store, so it’s just the two of you now. You enter the booth first, and as Leehan moves to take the opposite seat, you tug at his jacket and happily pat at the empty space beside you. Hiding a shy smile, he slides in beside you. You then recite your orders to the waiter; you opt for a cheeseburger and fries, while Leehan’s in the mood for a milkshake. You eye Leehan’s choice of meal in tredipation, and right before the waiter leaves, you order another cheeseburger. “A milkshake isn’t lunch, Leehan. And I know you’re going to get hungry later—you always do. So eat this burger, alright?”

“Alright,” Leehan replies, head lowered to conceal how the corners of his lips curve up. He has no idea why the simple act of you ordering food for him has him flustered like this. Even as you gently reprimand him, he feels babied… in a good way? Like someone pays attention to him and cares enough to look after him. He likes when it’s you who does this out of everyone else.

You make small talk while the food is being prepared, and Leehan basks in your presence and energy. He’s always felt at ease with you, hasn’t he? You let him share marine life facts for hours on end without expressing any sort of annoyance, and he knows you’re listening by the way you chime in to clarify things he’s said or to ask questions of your own. When he shares his hobbies and interests with you, you’re there to support him. When he makes silly jokes, you always match his humor. And he gets a fluttery feeling in his heart when you rely on him too—every time you open up to him about what makes you happy, excited, scared, or sad, he feels content to intimately know another part of you. Leehan wants to know everything about you, no matter how long that takes. Maybe he just wants to be closer to you… as a best friend? Is he feeling all these things for you because he wants to be your closest friend?

He’s snapped out of his reverie when the server arrives with your food. “Eat,” you instruct, as you push the extra cheeseburger towards him. Leehan obediently takes a bite of his burger, following it up with a sip of his milkshake. Some of the whipped cream decorating the drink gets on his lips, but he doesn’t care because of the sheer joy he feels being seated beside you. So when Leehan’s in the middle of narrating a video about deep sea exploration discoveries, you interrupt him with a thumb to his lips. He trails off in stunned silence as you swipe once at his bottom lip. It’s only a couple of seconds, but it feels like eternity to him as he takes in your focused eyes, soft cheeks, and pouty mouth. 

When you turn back to your food like nothing’s happened, Leehan can feel his ears heat up, and he’s never been more grateful that he’s kept his hair this long. Clearing his throat, he takes another bite of his burger. As you talk and he eats, a plan formulates itself in Leehan’s brain. He wants all your attention on him again, wants your soft and gentle touch—but how can he do that without making it too obvious?

When he looks down at his drink, he’s found the answer.

The next time you glance at Leehan, he’s got whipped cream on his lips once again. You don’t think he knows because he’s continued recounting the details of the deep sea documentary to you and how the researchers managed to collect information from such depths. Laughing under your breath, you rub at the corner of his mouth again. Leehan stills when you do so, thanks you kindly, then proceeds to elaborate on the new species these scientists have identified. 

Over the next hour you spend in the diner, Leehan manages to get cream on his lips for a total of five more times. You don’t mind at all because you find it really adorable, given he’s rarely clumsy like this; you also love doting on him. The tiny smiles he sends your way when you wipe off the messes warms your heart even more. You’ve always found Leehan cute. Of course you can find your friends cute, no big deal. Right?

𓉞⋆｡˚☁︎｡⋆ 

When your friend group finally has the time to meet up after weeks of conflicting schedules, you find yourselves at your regular hangout place once again for dinner: the diner. You’re escorted to one of the bigger booths, where a singular, long leather bench winds around a large table. Here, you’re squeezed in between Leehan and Jaehyun. Jaehyun and Woonhak are loudly complaining about their final requirements, while Taesan and Riwoo speak in measured tones about their plans for the semestral break. You zone in on Jaehyun and Woonhak’s conversation, drawn in by their energetic storytelling.

When your food is served, Leehan is handed a burger he didn’t ask for. You’ve ordered him a cheeseburger again. You know him too well—he’s only gotten the same milkshake as the last time you two were here together. Still, as Leehan’s about to thank you, he finds that your back is angled away from him. You’re in the middle of a lengthy conversation with Jaehyun, whose loud and grating laughter bothers him. Then he pouts, silently sulking because he doesn’t have your undivided attention. Haven’t you guys been talking for ten minutes straight already? Have you forgotten he’s right beside you?

He thinks he’s concealed his emotions perfectly but fails to catch how Taesan and Riwoo share a knowing look at the spectacle in front of them. They’re both shaking their heads at their friend’s obliviousness. But all Leehan’s focused on is bringing (y/n)’s focus back on him. “(Y/n),” Leehan calls from beside you and taps your shoulder. “(Y/n).” 

“Yeah, what’s up?” you question. When you turn back, Leehan’s got cream on his lips again. He’s quietly waiting for you to wipe it off, and it makes you a little (just a little!!!) pleased that he waited for you especially to help him out. “Oh! Come here, Leehan.” 

“They’re both idiots,” Taesan sighs into Riwoo’s ear as you dab at Leehan’s lips with a tissue, both of you in your own little world. Leehan’s watching you fondly, while your own cheeks are red with shyness. Riwoo can’t agree more. When you finish wiping Leehan’s mouth and return to your conversation with Jaehyun, Leehan subtly pumps his fist at how he was effective in making you notice him—

Then finds his friends staring right at him. Taesan and Riwoo look like they’re about to burst into laughter. He freezes, cheeks burning red as he gets caught in this admittedly juvenile act. Taesan’s about to open his mouth when Leehan shakes his head. Please don’t, he mouths. Taesan shrugs and mouths back, Are you confessing anytime soon? Which—well—what exactly does he mean by that? Confessing? Romantic feelings? Him? To you? What? Taesan? What?

Leehan’s existential crisis is clear to the two of them as his eyes are blown wide open, the wheels visibly turning in his head as he comes to a realization. Understanding dawns upon Riwoo, who nudges his friend beside him. “Taesan… I don’t think he knows he has a crush on them.”

“Yeah, I’m just registering that now,” Taesan hisses back, highly entertained by all this, but also wondering what Leehan’s next move will be. 

You’re oblivious to all this happening in the background, still absorbed in your conversation with Jaehyun and Woonhak about your busy schedules. Like always, Jaehyun makes a mess of himself as he drops a piece of juicy burger meat on his shirt. “Nooo, my favorite shirt!” he wails, and of course, you—kind, lovely, beautiful you—come to the rescue. Leehan sullenly glowers as you wet some tissue and pat at Jaehyun’s chest repeatedly. You’re so close to Jaehyun you could already be hugging. And Woonhak, who’s glancing back and forth at the three of you, finally reads the room and goes silent. Locking eyes with both Taesan and Riwoo, he mouths, What the heck, and the two respond with matching shrugs. 

𓉞⋆｡˚☁︎｡⋆ 

“(Y/n), can we talk?” Leehan catches up to you as you exit the diner. The rest of the group have gone their own ways, citing their needs to catch up on homework and sleep. Woonhak, Taesan, and Riwoo drag Jaehyun away with them despite his incessant complaints of wanting to hang out with you more. Weird, you think, but nothing too worrisome, I hope.

“Sure! What’s going on?” Leehan seems troubled with the way he hesitantly makes his way over to your side as you both sit down on the benches outside the diner. There’s a considerable amount of space between you two—around two or three more people could fit. Which is odd—Leehan seemed so comfortable earlier, even as your shoulders incidentally brushed against each other in the diner.

“I…” Leehan starts but trails off. He seems unsure of himself, so you urge him to take his time. You have no idea what this is about, but you’re definitely worried. You’ve never seen Leehan this uneasy.

In the end, Leehan seems to be unable to muster up the courage to open up to you about his problem. “Nevermind,” he sighs. “It’s not that important…”

At this exact moment, your phone rings. “Sorry, give me a moment.” You hold a finger up, checking your phone. It’s Taesan—maybe he’s forgotten to tell you something, or maybe he’s left something at the diner? You hit answer. “Taesan?” You don’t catch sight of Leehan’s face paling at the mention of your friend’s name. 

“(Y/n), think about it. Do you think Leehan’s really that messy?—” Taesan manages to yell into the phone before it’s snatched up by Leehan, who swiftly ends the call. He’s not looking at you, but you spot his hands slightly tremble. What did Taesan mean by that? 

“What… What did Taesan say?” Leehan pries in a very small voice, at contrast with his hand grasping at your phone so tightly that his knuckles are becoming a ghastly shade of white.

You want your phone back first. “Leehan, my phone, please?” 

“Oh. Sorry.” Leehan passes it back to you, and they fist at his pants instead, tightening then letting go, almost like a pattern to soothe himself. 

“Well, Taesan told me to think about you being messy, which I don’t really get…?” You begin, trying to process the last two minutes or so. “What did he mean by that? You, messy?” You wrack your brain for an explanation—then you suddenly recall the other week you two met, when you wiped whipped cream off Leehan’s mouth multiple times. And just awhile ago, when Leehan waited for you to clean him up.

You have an inkling as to what this is about, but you want to really, really make sure it’s not just a product of your wishful thinking. “I could be wrong, but is Taesan talking about when you had whipped cream on your lips awhile ago?”

“Um… It’s nothing, really.” Leehan’s withdrawn into himself. It seems like he’s not going to give the acknowlegement you want, but you badly need to know the truth for the sake of your sanity. Like a godsend, your phone screen flashes with Taesan’s name again, and you answer as fast as you can, shielding yourself from Leehan’s attempts to steal your device. As you both struggle on the bench, you accidentally hit speakerphone —

“He put that cream on his lips on purpose while you weren’t looking!” Taesan’s voice rings out, then he hangs up. Then, you slowly glimpse at Leehan from your entangled position; his arms cage you on both sides of your head as he shadows you, your fronts almost pressing together if not for the hands you have clutched around your phone. You get to witness in real time how his face reddens in shame. His throat bobs and your eyes unconsciously follow the line of his neck to where his collarbones disappear under his shirt. 

Wait, you can’t afford to be distracted right now! “Leehan? What Taesan said… is that true? For today and last time?”

After a moment of silence, Leehan nods, letting out a shaky exhale, and you can feel his warm breath on your mouth. Upon realizing how close you both are, he quickly leans back and faces straight ahead, obstructing your gaze by placing an arm over his face. Despite that, his bright red cheeks are evident. You can feel your cheeks burn similarly as you process the implications of his actions.

“So, let me get this right. You intentionally put whipped cream on your li-lips so I could wipe it off you? Because you…?”

“Don’t make me say it… I’m really embarrassed now,” Leehan whines from behind his arm. “You already know what it means.”

You don’t care—you want to hear it straight from him. “No, tell me, I really don’t know,” you insist, yanking his arm down and smushing his cheeks in your palms so he can’t look anywhere except at you. Leehan’s eyes are wide and pitiful, but even as your heart clenches in guilt for what you’re putting him through, you force yourself to stay strong.

After a moment of silence as Leehan figures he can’t escape from your grasp, he starts speaking. “At-At first, I thought I just wanted us to be closer friends… But today made me understand that I-I actually want more than that with. With you.” Your heart pounds in your chest as Leehan finally admits, “I… like you. As more than a friend.” The more Leehan speaks, the more realization starts to dawn on you about your own feelings towards him. Then he starts sniffling, tears forming in his pretty doe eyes, and your heart drops to your stomach. 

“No, no, baby, why are you crying?” You feel like the worst person ever to exist as tears fall down Leehan’s face. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry.” You wrap your arms around him, and he clutches at your shirt as his little sobs resume, his face tucked into your shoulder. You just hold him and apologize a thousand times as his cries subside. Eventually, he peeks up at you, eyes still watery, and you guiltily wipe the stray tears that make their way down his pretty face—of course he’s breathtaking, even when he cries. “I’m sorry, Leehan, I’m a terrible person for making you confess even when you didn’t want to.”

“Not your fault,” Leehan mumbles, “Wanted to be honest with you. Just didn’t expect to tell you this soon. I feel… overwhelmed.”

“This soon? Overwhelmed?”

At this, Leehan lets out a little sigh. “Just found out about my feelings at the diner. I thought they were platonic, but when I really thought about why I was so desperate to get your attention… it was because I wished you would look at me like that all the time and I wanted to be your priority. Romantically. But now looking back at how I tried to get your attention, I just feel like an immature kid now,” he laughs self-deprecatingly. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. You probably don’t even want that from me…”

Before you can even say anything, Leehan seems to steel himself, disentangling himself from you and looking at you directly. “I like you, but I don’t want us to be awkward now that you know… I can keep my distance until you decide whether you want us to still be friends or not. I want to remain friends, but if you’re uncomfortable with that, just let me know… I promise I’ll step back.” Seeing how considerate Leehan is of your feelings sends a pang of affection through you, and you muster up the courage to be honest yourself.

“Leehan… While you were telling me about all this, I may have just realized that… I like you too. Romantically,” you add, seeing Leehan’s expression change from one of shock into one of tentative hope. “I thought I cared for you as a friend, but it made me happy when you relied on me. I don’t know if it’s selfish of me, but I wanted myself to be the first person you asked for help from. So everytime you wanted me to wipe your lips, it honestly made me really giddy. But Leehan, you don’t have to do that to get my attention… you’ve already had it ever since. And always,” you finish, your cheeks turning an impressive scarlet at your own bold declaration.

Leehan eyes are sparkling right now, and you almost melt (in a good way, the one that makes your insides feel all gooey) from the weight of his attention. “...Really?” he presses. You nod. “Really really?” You nod again. “Really really really? You’re sure? No takebacks?” His thinly veiled enthusiasm makes you giggle, and you agree for the third time.

“Yes, Leehan, I’m sure.” This time, your heart beats rapidly not out of anxiety, but of anticipation. “So… I hope it’s not too early for me to ask, but… do you want to be my boyfriend?”

“Yes, yes, I’m yours,” Leehan beams so hard his eyes turn into little crescents and his dimples start showing. “You’re mine too, right?”

“I am.”

𓉞⋆｡˚☁︎｡⋆

taglist: @kirbyyluvs

[poppy-metal]

dbf pat beating the fuck out of your cheating asshole douchebag boyfriend. im talking so bad it's like that scene from jennifer's body where they say the guy jen killed looked like "lasagna with teeth"

my tip will get sticky stop.... protective older patrick..... nevermind the guy is pretty much in the same vein he used to be in college - he needs to be a heartless sack of shit to someone other girl. not you. putting a bag of iced peas on his knuckles for him later, patrick thought you'd be smiling ear to ear. these days - any proof that patrick cared about you, you took in stride. when he gave an inch - you took it as a mile, and all that.

but your bottom lip is jutted out and you look sad and you have tears teetering on your lashes like raindrops and he fucking hates it when you cry. "fuck that guy." because thats what you're upset about. "dont cry over him."

but you shake your head - dart your eyes up to his face and sniffle. you lift the frozen peas to look at the red, inflamed flesh of his knuckles. frown at it and press the pack back down. "you got hurt over me." you tell him. you wont look at him now, even though he ducks his head to try and catch your eyes. "m'always causing you trouble." you sound like you're about to cry over it.

and well. "sure fucking do." but he hooks the stool you're sitting on and jerks it closer to him when you blink and make to stand up. you fall back on your ass when you're brought in, letting out a squeak. this time when patrick hooks his chin down, you meet his gaze with yours. "but I'm an adult - "

"so am i -"

"- barely. dont interrupt me. I mean. im the responsible party here. i could make you fuck off. but I don't."

you look at his lips. wet and pink and you wonder what the scruff of his stubble would feel like against your jaw. so different from the baby soft chin of her ex she's used to. a mans mouth. a mans lips on hers. a mans tongue inside her mouth.

"but you dont." you echo, leaning closer to him. he smells so good. like something intensely.... male. sweat but good sweat. something minty. cologne? it made your mouth water. his hand in your lap with the frozen peas flexes as you draw nearer. "you should just give in -"

a hand comes up, his finger halting your mouth from getting closer. he keeps it there for a second, before his palm skates down your throat - and his hand wraps around your neck.

"you really want me to fuck you?" he says, almost to himself. he sounds like hes really just realizing that for the first time, even though you've made that obvious for awhile now. so you dont answer, you just look at him. like, duh, dude. he exhales. his thumb presses into a pulse point on your throat. "you'd let me do whatever the fuck i wanted to you."

thats not a question. you swallow. he feels the motion under his palm. feels the spit travel down your throat.

"it turned me on so much to see you beat my boyfriend up." you breathe, honest. "im still wet over it."

"hes not your boyfriend." his hand tightens momentarily around you. his eyes are hard on yours. he's serious about that. no fucking around. "you go back to him and I'll beat your ass instead of his next time for being fucking stupid."

your lashes flutter. you inhale. he probably knew what threatening you like that did to you. he probably knew your little cunt just flooded with slick at the tone of his voice - at the mere threat of his hands on your ass.

you lick your lips, "yes sir."

he breathes out a quiet, 'shit.' dropping his hand from your throat. he pulls his injured hand from your lap. it'd stopped hurting ages ago. it'd just felt nauseatingly good to be doted on. he was fucking sick.

you watched him as he stood up, ran a hand through his hair.

you asked, "when are you gonna give me what i want?"

and he looked at you. jaw working side to side. you sounded so goddamn sure of yourself. like it was only a matter of time. like it was inevitable that he'd fuck you.

he needed a fucking cigarette.

"go to bed, you fucking brat."

he brushed by you - because you'd managed to needle your way into spending the night at his again. he was already fishing a pack out of his pocket, tapping a cigarette free when you called out behind him, "you have a really great ass!"

he knew he did. he threw a glare at you over his shoulder, cigarette dangling between his lips. you giggled.

[cbrownjc]

Thoughts and Speculation after 2x07 (Spoilers):

A lot of people have said that this moment from the Season 2 trailers might actually be caused by a fight between Louis and Armand in the penthouse:

gif credit: @hermit-frog

And I have to say, after watching episode 2x07? I think they might be right.

Because if you know the book, you know that it is at the very end of it, like literally the last few pages, where it's revealed that Louis knew the whole time about Armand's role in what happened to Claudia. And they break up.

And so I think the same thing is coming next week on the show. Only in the show's regard, Louis knew of Armand's role, as we saw here -- but then was made to forget the actual full context of just how involved Armand was.

Because, as I pointed out on Twitter, this image from the trial --

-- is quite something. You have both the writer and director for the Théâtre des Vampires not on stage for this whole thing. Very much underlying the fact that this is a theatrical play that is being put on. As we saw, there was even a real, actual SCRIPT for this whole thing!

Like, how much more could the show have been pointing to what was really going on here? Trust a writing staff of playwrights to be meta about all of this. 🙃

Because the ending of this trial was written and locked in long ago. And who is the one that usually says when a play or film is locked in and finished?

The Director. (And yes I know producers and studios do too, but Armand is very much all of that wrt his role for their little theater as well).

BTW, Santiago and the coven did NOT expect Armand to do that to the audience. Saving Louis was very much off-script. And if Armand really had no power here, the coven could have just taken Louis off stage and killed him another way. The only reason they didn't was because Armand was very much not powerless in all of this.

Like, I love Armand's character, I really do -- now. But that is something that only came about after I read the books from Queen of the Damned forward. For the first two books, I very much did not like him. And, particularly when it comes to the Paris part of this story, that is where we are with his character right now. I know why he's doing what he's doing, I understand it. But I can't defend it.

Louis probably figured things out before San Francisco in 1973. He probably knew Armand's full role in what went down, same as in the book, after it all happened. But it was his suicide attempt that had Armand redact that knowledge from Louis' mind. The clues for that being the case are all there after episode 2x05.

Because, at the end of the day, even knowing Armand's full role in Claudia's death, Louis still mostly blamed himself for it all.

As we see, things are slowly starting to come back to Louis, but he's not fully there yet. And I think this whole memory thing is a more literal interpretation of the veil that descended over Louis' mind after Paris in the books.

A veil that only began to lift once Armand revealed to Louis that Lestat was alive. As we've seen, Louis knew Lestat was alive back in 1973. I'm not sure if he does so now. But maybe this isn't about knowing if Lestat is alive or not. Maybe it's just Louis thinking he needed to be punished because of his own role in failing Claudia -- and staying away from Lestat was part of that self-punishment. Because that view is a feeling I got when watching episode 2x05 and Louis not wanting to speak to Lestat. His refusal to speak wasn't out of anger IMO, but more fear and even sorrow.

The show is very much sticking to the beats of the book with all of this, and not revealing things about what happened that were revealed in later books. So I don't think Louis fully knows what was going on with Lestat during that trial. I wouldn't be surprised if we learn he still doesn't, since he never learned it in the first book.

But as I said here, it was clear as day that Lestat wasn't himself during that trial. Physically and especially mentally. I didn't even guess that the show would be that obvious about it, but they were. All very much hinting about what was really going on with his appearance here.

And Louis himself might, just might figure that out for himself. Especially if Dreamstat might appear to be back in his mind again. Because Dreamstat is very much Louis' subconscious. And I think Louis' subconscious knows something important is missing wrt all of this.

It was nice that, at least in the end, someone chose Claudia. Madeleine could have escaped this but chose to die with Claudia instead when she didn't have to. Her little middle finger to the crowd gave me a smile.

They did not do the full reveal of Claudia's diaries and what was in them on stage, which I seriously thought they would. They gave a hint about it, but more so in episode 2x05 than in here. Which means that, in a later season, we're still looking at that reveal from Merrick happening it seems. But then again . . . there were some things I suspect got left out on purpose because the actual (attempted) murder of Lestat was very much glossed over for us, the audience, during that trial sequence. We are very much set to revisit that whole thing during The Vampire Lestat adaptation in Season 3, of course. But I think even more will be revealed about that there then I originally thought.

And finally, Claudia. They said in the Inside The Episode they wanted her to go out with as much strength and defiance as she could and yeah, she did. But in the end, I still think she was angry, sad, and hurt by it all, which she had every right to be. Because at the end of the day, she never should have been made and was made for all the wrong reasons. But being turned so young made her a fierce and pure vampire though and though because she never had enough time to have lived a human life to have those types of morals and outlooks fully imprinted on her. That was always one of Claudia's core traits wrt her being turned so young, and she still had it here. And yes girl, you will haunt things after this -- particularly your parents.

In fact, it probably very much was your voice Louis heard calling him back in 2x05, wasn't it?

So, for a penultimate episode, this was very, very good. And things are very much going to explode next week. I knew Louis going Carrie/Firestarter on the coven would happen in 2x08. That moment always screamed "season finale" to me. Santiago picking up Claudia's yellow dress is also significant, as I think we'll see Louis' POV of that moment with Lestat about it.

And the break up between Louis and Armand might just be much more violent than it was in the book as well.

[catalinemorosetheblog]

On Divergent Universe and Aventio

Okay, so I know that pretty much everyone has noticed the Aventio bits in the Divergent Universe video that was released a few days ago, but I wanted to take a moment to point something out in the famous question 2 section at the end.

So, as most probably already know, this is what I'm talking about. Aventurine puts up a sign that says "Find Ratio", when asked who the Trailblazer could team up with. This in of itself confirms Aventurine see Ratio as an ally, but what happens before it is just as important.

This is where Owlbert first puts forwards the question. Now, nothing particularly special happens in the prior one. Everyone gives pretty standard answers for their specific characterizations, Screwllum's is the only one that's helpful, and Ratio and Aventurine give their typical responses pretty quickly.

That changes however for the second question.

Aventurine does not answer immediately, unlike everyone else, including Ratio. Which means he had to think about his response.

Further evidence of this comes from Aventurine's pose when the question was first asked.

He's doing a thinking pose (also sort of mirror Ratio lol), and he doesn't do this for the other question (so it isn't some sort of default animation). And given that his responses to question 1 and 3 both related to money/bribes, he did not put this same level of thought into them.

It's also pretty easy to miss due to Sparkle transforming and everything, but if you look carefully...

He looks at Ratio, or in the very least glances in his direction, possibly to look at his sign. However, it also exists the possibility that Ratio was the first person he thought of when thinking of a good teammate.

And then a moment later...

Ratio glances back, which leads Aventurine to put up his own sign.

Now, Ratio staring back could mean many things. It could be that he started staring at Aventurine because Aventurine was staring at him. It could be that Ratio noticed that Aventurine hadn't answered yet, and was urging him to do so. Or, dare I say it, he saw Aventurine hadn't answered yet, and was concerned about him. Ultimately, there is no way to determine the true reason, given that none of the G&A guests talk.

But it is extremely telling that Aventurine, who could have just tied it back into money again, was the only guest who gave a specific person to team up with. And it was Ratio, not one of his IPC coworkers, not a member of the Astral Express, but Ratio. Someone who, at some point, Aventurine believed that Ratio would not understand his methods so much so that he forced him to point a gun at his chest, as seen in the infamous Final Victory Lightcone:

(Please note that, in the short video for this lightcone, Ratio tries to pull the gun away from Aventurine, but Aventurine pulls it back).

And assuming that Aventurine was reading Ratio's sign card, there exists another possibility.

As seen above, Ratio responds with the phrase "Walk Your Own Path". This is in line with pretty much everything known about Ratio. His main motivation is to "cure" foolishness. He wants people to overcome their problems. He's a teacher, a strict one, both metaphorically and literally. His role in the interlude quest before Penacony was to both push the Trailblazer to figure out what was going on with the researcher's disappearances and step in if things went south. It's also why one of the reason he gives Aventurine that note in the main story (that, and that they were likely being watched by the Family) instead of telling him directly. Every interaction, voice lines, and the fact that Ratio does not wear his plaster head in any scene he appears in with Aventurine, implies that he does not see him as foolish. He knows Aventurine is capable. Hell, in the most final Penacony main story mission, he says Aventurine is his responsibility or something along those lines (unprompted, mind you).

But it also relates towards Aventurine's backstory. Aventurine, for all his good luck, has had one sucky life. But he also has fought tooth and nail to survive, through gambles and wagers and money and being quite literally sold away to live. In that sense, his life also has never been his own. But I think he managed to regain some hope by the end of Cats Among Pigeons, and of course, Ratio's note, which told him to live (in a Ratio way).

So imagine: Aventurine sees Ratio's response in the video, thinks about what he would do, what he would do following his own path...and says to find Ratio.

Now, it could true that I am pulling at threads here, but there is evidence of trust. In one way or another, these two emotionally constipated too smart for their own good dumdums care about each other and show it in the most convoluted ways imaginable. And for the that reason, I think that these two mentioning each unprompted on multiple occasional, this video included, is very telling. They're important to each other. They went from shaky allies to two people who will bring up the other in conversations. Hell, I already made a post about the cake cats, and how in Divergent Universe, what this video was explaining, gambling got added, which could have only been done by Ratio, because let's face it, Screwllum would not.

Essentially:

These b*tches gay.

Bonus:

Their reactions to Sparkle's shenanigans.