#with a minor in computer sci and engineering”

[slattlicker]

college age schlatt i beg 🙏 like the proper nerdy computer science college student everyone seems to forget he was

╭﹐✦˚₊· 𖤐 * no recursion without return ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ ╮ imagine: hot engineering nerd meets cute cs nerd. she needs help passing a required class. he needs someone who actually listens. one tutoring session turns into two... and then they build something together. ╰﹒♡₊˚๑ *✧﹒✦ ࣪ ˖ ┊

﹒₊✦ a/n: college schlatt is real, actually. nerds deserve romance too. i'm so so sorry if this is inaccurate,,, i am an english writing major (who used to be in biochem) so take everything stem-talk in this with the biggest grain of salt ♡

warnings: academic setting · lots of stem talk (cs + engineering) · mutual nerd crushes · slow-burn vibes · tutoring sessions · project bonding · lab flirting · light insecurity · soft & earned first kisses

✧✧✧

it starts with a room that smells like dry-erase markers and burnt coffee.

tuesday afternoon, 3:15 pm. you’re ten minutes early to the cs building’s third-floor lab—mostly because the alternative was sitting through another insufferably slow dining hall lunch, and partly because you weren’t sure if you’d find the place at all.

the whiteboard has a half-erased doodle of a mushroom in glasses. someone’s labeled it fungi with a minor in comp sci.

you snort, drop your bag onto the table, and slide into the nearest swivel chair.

you're not exactly struggling in the class—but you're also not thriving. cs230: data structures and algorithms. it’s mandatory for your minor, and you’ve been putting it off for two semesters too long.

the professor announced last week that office hours would be staffed by the department’s “stem peer guides.” you hadn’t planned on going.

but then the last lab nearly made you cry in the library bathroom.

so here you are.

you’re still tugging your laptop out of your bag when the door creaks.

he walks in backwards—wearing a hoodie that probably cost too much and socks with cartoon ducks on them, juggling two coffees and a laptop under one arm.

“hey—sorry,” he says, turning around and freezing when he spots you. “didn’t think anyone was gonna show up.”

he sets the coffees down. his glasses slide a little down his nose when he tilts his head.

“you here for cs230?”

you nod. “yeah.”

he blinks. then smiles—just a little. you catch the beginnings of smile lines.

“i’m schlatt,” he says. “stem guide. i did the class last year.”

you raise an eyebrow. “and survived?”

“barely.” he slides into the chair across from you and cracks open his laptop. “what are we working on?”

you pause. he’s surprisingly cute for someone who clearly color-codes his life. his keyboard has custom caps. his notes—when he turns the screen to show you—are annotated with little pixel cats.

you try not to show your amusement. “i think i broke my brain trying to write a recursive function.”

schlatt huffs a laugh. “you and everyone else.”

he takes a sip of his coffee, then pushes the other cup toward you.

“extra,” he says. “in case you need brain fuel. also because i got nervous and ordered two by accident and i couldn't tell them i didn't want the other one.”

you accept it without thinking. warm. lightly sweet. you usually take yours iced, but it's cold in this room, so you'll take it.

“thanks,” you murmur.

“no problem,” he says, already pulling up the assignment prompt on his screen. “let’s untangle some loops.”

✧✧✧

you’re twenty minutes in and already rethinking your life choices.

not because schlatt’s bad at explaining things. actually, the opposite.

he’s good. really good.

he’s got the kind of brain that makes metaphors on the fly—comparing recursive functions to russian nesting dolls, stack overflows to a laundry chair that’s reached critical mass, and call stacks to cabinets held open in sequence.

“okay,” he says, spinning the whiteboard toward you, “so imagine you're opening those russian dolls—you know, the ones that keep getting smaller?”

you nod, watching as he draws a series of half-circles nestled inside each other.

“each function call is like opening another doll. every time the function calls itself, it goes one layer deeper. but the only way to start returning values—to actually finish—is to reach the smallest one.”

“the base case,” you murmur, tapping the smallest doll he’s drawn.

his smile quirks. “exactly. once you hit that, you start putting them all back together. one by one, returning values up the chain.”

you tilt your head. “so recursion’s not about jumping around—it's about going in and then back out in the same order.”

“bingo.”

he pivots to his laptop and pulls up a short recursive function on the screen. you lean in.

“okay, next part—this,” he gestures at the lines of indented code, “is the call stack. think of it like trying to put dishes away.”

“…dishes?”

he nods, animated now. “you open a cabinet to put a plate in. then you grab another plate, but instead of closing the first cabinet, you open a second one. and a third. and a fourth. you keep opening cabinets without shutting the old ones.”

you raise an eyebrow. “sounds like how my roommate loads the dishwasher.”

he grins. “right? but the point is, each open cabinet is a function waiting to finish. they can’t finish until the one they just called returns. so when you hit your base case, you finally start closing those cabinets, in reverse order.”

you stare at the screen, tracing the indents with your eyes.

“so,” you start slowly, “the top function keeps waiting—holding its cabinet door open—until the one it just called is done. and that one’s waiting for the one it called. like a long hallway of open doors.”

“yes!” schlatt nearly bounces in his chair. “and that hallway is your stack. it fills from the bottom up—every time you go deeper. but if there’s no base case—or it’s too far down?”

“then the hallway gets too crowded.”

you glance up at him. “and the stack… overflows?”

he throws both hands up, mock-dramatic. “you get it!”

you laugh—really laugh—and shake your head. “it actually makes sense. which is annoying. because i was ready to just declare defeat and become a barista.”

he nudges his coffee toward you. “nah. baristas don’t use call stacks.”

you take a sip, smiling into the lid. “honestly? if you’d used metaphors in the lab handout, i might’ve passed the last quiz.”

“metaphors are how i survive,” he says, then lowers his voice in mock-conspiracy. “they trick your brain into thinking you’re doing storytelling, not math.”

you grin. “you are such a dork.”

“thank you,” he says, deadpan. “that’s the highest compliment in this lab.”

you roll your eyes—but you’re still smiling.

✧✧✧

you hadn’t meant to invite him.

it just slipped out—somewhere between scribbling return values and teasing him for his handwriting—your mouth said, “hey, i’m grabbing food after this. you want to come?” like it was the most normal thing in the world.

he blinked. just once.

then shrugged and said, “sure,” like he wasn’t surprised either.

now you’re sitting across from him at a corner table in the dining hall. your tray’s got a slice of pizza and a sad salad. his has a sandwich, two cookies, and three chocolate milks.

“you know,” you say, chewing thoughtfully, “for someone who talks like a grad student, you eat like a middle schooler.”

he takes a sip of one of the chocolate milks. “middle schoolers are onto something.”

you snort. then pause. then blurt it out—because you’ve been thinking about it since the cs homework started, and he feels safe, in a quiet, weird way:

“okay, don’t judge me, but i’ve been working on this stupid little side project where i’m trying to build a low-power prosthetic hand using recycled printer motors.”

schlatt looks up, mid-bite. “wait. seriously?”

you nod. “yeah, i’ve been salvaging parts from the e-waste lab and retrofitting them. it’s dumb and janky and probably not functional, but—”

“that’s so sick,” he says, with total sincerity. “like—you’re making that from scratch?”

you sit up a little straighter. “well, not the whole thing. i’m using an arduino as the controller right now, because i suck at microprocessors and writing drivers from zero is hell. but i’ve been wiring it to flex sensors, and i’m experimenting with these homebrew 3d-printed phalanges—”

you don’t stop.

not once you get going.

you talk with your hands, gesturing wildly, pulling up half-broken images on your phone, sketching quick shapes on your napkin with a pen in the side-pocket of your backpack.

and the whole time? schlatt just watches.

listens.

not just politely—but engaged. interested. like he wants to hear it all. like you’re not over-explaining, or rambling, or going on too long about a niche thing that keeps your brain lit up at 3am.

you pause somewhere around “wrist articulation via recycled watch gears” and finally look up.

his eyes are warm.

“you know,” he says, grinning, “i think you just activated my stem side quest.”

you blink. “what?”

“i wanna help,” he says. “i mean, if you’ll let me. i’ve never coded a servo system, but… i’m a fast learner. and i think it’s badass.”

you don’t say anything.

not right away.

because your chest feels kind of full. your face feels warm. and for once, your brain doesn’t immediately try to shrink you back down.

instead, you nod. just once. “okay.”

he smiles at you over his chocolate milk.

and you think, shit, maybe office hours weren’t the highlight of the week after all.

✧✧✧

the next few weeks settle into a rhythm.

it starts with tutoring.

once a week turns into twice. then three times. not because you’re struggling (anymore), but because he’s… kind of fun to talk to. at least when he’s not roasting your variable names or trying to explain recursion using empty cereal boxes.

he sits across from you at the library table, hoodie sleeves pushed up, laptop screen smudged from how often he drags his fingers across it to point something out. sometimes he forgets to eat. you learn to pack granola bars in your pencil pouch. he never says thank you—just steals one with a smirk and keeps talking.

you start getting better. grades creeping up. error logs shrinking. you don’t dread opening your ide anymore. the code starts making sense—not just his, but yours.

one afternoon, you casually mention a project idea you’d been playing with—something stupid, just for fun. something to do with hardware integration. you expect him to laugh.

he doesn’t.

he spins his laptop around and starts mapping out a database schema like he’s been waiting for you to say it.

that’s how the side project starts.

lunches get longer. office hours get later. one day you bring your soldering kit to the library, and he lights up like you just handed him a rare pokémon card. the whole table smells like burnt plastic for an hour. no one complains. but no one sits near you either.

you nerd out hard. unapologetically. you find yourself going on tangents—about conductive thread, or how weird the i2c protocol is—and instead of zoning out, he asks questions. good ones. thoughtful ones. he doesn’t just tolerate your rants; he builds on them.

and okay, maybe you start noticing things.

like how he mumbles to himself when he’s focused. or how his hands are always warm. or how he smiles at you—not in a big, charming way, but in a quiet, earned one. like you’re the only one who gets to see this side of him.

it’s nothing serious. just… a shift.

you brush it off.

but your code’s never looked cleaner.

and your heart’s never beat louder.

✧✧✧

it happens by accident.

you’re heading toward the back patio of the student union, iced coffee in one hand, a stack of circuits notes in the other, when you spot him.

schlatt.

at one of the outdoor tables.

not alone.

there’s a group of students—three of them, maybe four—leaning in. cs majors, you recognize them. they’re the type who ask three questions per lecture and answer five more that weren’t theirs. big voices. bragging energy.

you can’t hear everything, but you don’t need to. the body language’s loud enough.

schlatt’s sitting off-center. not really in the circle. elbows tucked in, voice low, like he’s trying to contribute. like he wants to. but they’re talking over him. dismissing. one of them even laughs—not the good kind. the kind you’ve felt in your spine before.

and you watch it happen:

the way schlatt’s mouth tugs tight at the corner. the way he adjusts his sleeve, like it’ll make him smaller. the way he tries one more time to speak, then gives up halfway through the sentence and shrugs it off, pretending it didn’t matter.

they keep talking.

he goes quiet.

you’re frozen in place, coffee sweating through your fingers, because it clicks.

he’s like you.

he is you.

all that time you thought he was the confident one—the one who belonged. the one who was already part of something. but he’s not. not really. not when it comes to this. not when it comes to them.

he’s just better at hiding it.

better at laughing it off.

but the look in his eyes, right then—small and a little tired—that’s a look you know too well.

no one talks about what it feels like when your brain lights up for something and everyone else treats it like a joke.

no one talks about what it’s like to be too much in the wrong direction.

and suddenly, all your late-night rambling about microcontrollers and e-textiles feels different.

because he listened. not just because he was polite. but because he got it. you don't think you've ever felt so fully understood until him.

you take a step forward. you don’t know what you’re going to say.

but you’re not about to leave him sitting alone in a conversation that doesn’t want him.

not when you know what that feels like.

so you walk over.

“hey, there you are,” you say, nudging your knuckles gently against schlatt’s shoulder. “i was looking for you.”

he turns, surprised—then relieved. “oh—hey y/n.”

“sorry,” one of the students says, hesitant. “uh, are we… interrupting something?”

“nah,” you say, easy. “just didn’t want to miss my favorite stem guide.”

schlatt’s ears go a little pink.

you glance at the table—some kind of project group, you think. their laptops are open, notebooks out, but their conversation’s turned awkward now. the vibe’s off. not hostile—just… cliquey.

“you guys working on something for fundamentals?” you ask, glancing at their notes.

“uh, yeah,” one mutters. “trying to figure out the recursion stuff.”

you smile. “then you’re in luck. this guy’s a recursion whisperer.”

schlatt huffs a little laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.

“i’m serious,” you say, looking at him now. “you explained it to me with like…those russian dolls. made it make sense in ten minutes.”

“you remember the russian dolls?”

“obviously,” you grin. “changed my life.”

he smiles, a little shy, but brighter now.

you turn to the group. “anyway, sorry to interrupt. i just wanted to steal him for a bit. we’re working on something together—well, more like, he’s doing the hard part and i’m nodding along and pretending to contribute.”

they chuckle. the tension eases.

“good luck, though,” you add, friendly. “you’ve got a good one here.”

you tap the back of his hand.

“ready, genius?”

he nods. stands up. follows you without question.

and once you’re a few steps away, you glance over and say, casually but soft:

“for the record? you’re way too smart to sit through that kind of conversation, with those kinds of people, and not say anything.”

his voice is quiet. “didn’t think they really wanted my advice…or any of my input, for that matter.”

"sucks for them," you bump his arm. “i do.”

he looks at you.

and smiles.

“you’re different,” he says.

you shrug. “nah. i just don’t have the patience for people who don’t know a good brain when they’re sitting next to one.”

he laughs under his breath—bashful, but warm.

“besides,” you add, nudging him again, “you’re the only guy on campus who’s ever made me care about code.”

“flattered,” he says, with a little bow of his head. “high praise.”

“it is,” you nod. “don’t let that go to your head, though.”

“too late.”

you both laugh.

and as you walk side-by-side down the hallway, something feels… lighter.

✧✧✧

the lab is mostly empty—just the hum of old fluorescents overhead and the rhythmic click of schlatt’s keyboard echoing off the cinderblock walls.

you’re both hunched over the prototype, wires splayed like spaghetti across the table, your laptop screen casting a pale blue glow over your notes. it’s late. not late-late, but late enough that you’ve lost track of time in that delicious, focus-hazed kind of way.

“okay,” you murmur, “i think that’s the last adjustment on the sensor matrix. wanna try running the loop again?”

schlatt doesn’t answer right away—he’s rereading your code, brows furrowed, mouth slightly open like he’s working through it out loud in his head.

you wait.

he presses enter.

the terminal blinks once more.

and then—

nothing.

the servo doesn’t twitch. the sensor reads null. everything is still.

you groan, letting your head thunk forward onto the table. “are you kidding me?”

“hang on,” schlatt mutters, already scrolling. “it’s not a full crash. there’s something—it’s just not hitting the output loop.”

“i swear,” you grumble, face still mashed into your notes, “if this is another semicolon issue, i’m throwing myself into a ditch.”

“nah,” he says, voice calm, reassuring. “it’s not your code.”

you lift your head just enough to side-eye him. “it’s not yours either, huh?”

he doesn’t answer right away.

instead, he reaches for the breadboard, fingers quick and precise as he repositions a single wire—green to yellow. it’s such a small shift you almost miss it.

“that,” he says, “was plugged into the wrong pin.”

you blink.

he presses enter again.

and this time, the prototype moves.

just a little—just a careful curl of synthetic fingers, one joint at a time, like a hesitant wave from a ghost hand.

your jaw drops.

schlatt stares too. for once, he’s quiet.

“…did we—?”

“yeah,” he breathes. “we did.”

you let out a half-laugh, half-squeak. “dude—”

you turn to him without thinking.

and he’s already looking at you.

and before your brain catches up with your body, you’re reaching out—arms around his shoulders, heart in your throat.

he stiffens for a second. then melts into it.

his arms curl around your waist, tentative at first, then tighter. his cheek brushes your temple.

“holy shit,” you whisper, still breathless. “we did it.”

“we really fucking did it.”

the hug lasts longer than it needs to. it shifts. softens. becomes something else.

your hands curl in the fabric of his hoodie. his thumb rubs slow circles at your back.

neither of you move to pull away.

but eventually—awkwardly—you both realize you probably should.

you shift first, just a little, arms loosening. schlatt mirrors you a second later, like he’s waiting for permission.

and then—

your foot bumps a loose cable under the table.

you stumble, just a half step, enough to make you grip his hoodie tighter out of instinct.

he catches you by the elbow—quick, steady—but in doing so, he knocks into the edge of the desk.

a pen clatters to the floor. your hip bangs against the chair. both of you freeze.

then, in perfect harmony:

“sorry—”

“sorry—”

you look at each other.

he’s flushed to the tips of his ears.

you’re no better.

his hand’s still on your elbow. yours is still in the front pocket of his hoodie. neither of you seems to know what to do with yourselves now.

“…so,” you say, trying to laugh it off, “we’re, uh—officially engineers now, right? or, mad scientists? mad engineers? built something that works and almost died doing it.”

“sounds about right,” he mumbles, eyes not quite meeting yours.

you step back fully, brushing imaginary lint off your sleeves. he clears his throat and bends to pick up the pen—just a little too quickly.

“we should, uh…” he gestures vaguely at the wires. “log this. before we forget what we changed.”

“yeah,” you nod. “documentation. good. yep. very sexy.”

he snorts.

and the tension cracks just enough for both of you to breathe again.

✧✧✧

friday lunch.

same table.

you’re there first, as usual—tray to the left, elbow room cleared, and your little “project napkin” tucked just out of sight beneath your phone.

it’s not schematics, not exactly. more like an outline of “natural” movements. lean angles. average post-meal proximity. potential trigger phrases that could ease the moment into something more than just eye contact and banter.

it’s stupid. it’s excessive. it’s so you.

but it’s not like you’ve kissed him yet.

and it’s not like you haven’t thought about it. a lot.

he slides into the seat across from you—slightly out of breath, hoodie slightly askew.

“hey,” he says. “sorry, i ran into a professor who wouldn’t stop talking about his cat’s gut biome.”

you snort. “sounds riveting.”

“almost kissed him out of pity.”

you choke on a bite of salad. “what?”

“nothing,” he mumbles, sipping chocolate milk. “just—brain fried. bad sleep. lots of… thinking.”

you nod. you get that.

you were up half the night replaying yesterday’s hug on a loop. you hadn’t meant to squeeze him that tight. hadn’t meant to say “good job, genius” like that. hadn’t meant for your fingers to linger on his hoodie hem when you stepped back.

but he hadn’t pulled away.

so.

so.

you both eat in silence for a minute. your foot brushes his under the table. once. twice.

neither of you moves.

finally, you say it. quiet. almost like a confession.

“i, uh… may have tried to engineer a perfect kiss scenario today.”

he freezes, sandwich halfway to his mouth.

“...engineer?”

you nod, cheeks warm. “like… ran a few simulations in my head. built a model. set parameters. i was…probably gonna initiate if you laughed three or more times by the end of lunch.”

his jaw drops. “are you serious?”

“extremely.”

he blinks. “because i wrote a whole conditional loop for this.”

“…what?”

he fumbles in his hoodie pocket and pulls out a sticky note. it reads:

python: if eyes_hold >= 3.5 and cafeteria_noise == low: lean_in()

you stare at it.

then back at him.

and burst out laughing. “we’re so stupid.”

“no,” he says, laughing too. “we’re scientists.”

“why can’t we just communicate like normal people?”

“who needs normal?”

he’s still smiling.

you are too.

and this time?

there’s no plan. no diagram. no if/then logic.

you just… lean in. and he meets you halfway.

your noses bump. just slightly. your knees knock beneath the table. it’s clumsy at first—uncoordinated, like every group project you’ve ever had to rescue last-minute.

but then his hand grazes your wrist. your mouth fits against his like it already knew how. like maybe, all along, this wasn’t something to calculate.

it just needed to happen.

and suddenly, none of it feels theoretical. not the way his lips press softly, then more certainly. not the quiet exhale he lets out when you shift just a little closer. not the way your fingers curl in the fabric of his hoodie like you’ve done it a hundred times.

no flowchart could’ve planned this.

it’s instinct. it’s connection. it's human.

it’s easy.

you pull back first. slow. breath caught somewhere behind your grin.

but before you can say anything—

he leans back in. less hesitant this time.

his hand cradles the side of your neck, thumb brushing just beneath your jaw. his mouth meets yours like a spark catching on dry kindling—familiar, but heady. deliberate. like he’s trying to commit it to memory. like he’s making up for every time he could’ve kissed you and didn’t.

your heart stutters. your fingers grip the edge of the table.

he tastes like chocolate milk and lip balm and something stupidly addictive.

when you part again—barely—you stay close, noses brushing, breath mingling.

“you’re gonna break my brain,” he whispers.

you grin. “then i guess i'll be the one to tutor you.”

his laugh is low and warm and very, very fond.

“deal.”

[dylchillvill]

i love this!!! I’m a fan of the idea that they end up going to school a decent distance from D.C, and just speed back in the evenings for patrol, because one, it’s a very good school, two, gets them far from the Douglases, and three, added excuse of “good for secret identity”.

college freakazoid thoughts?

as in "what would dexter and freak's life be like in college"? because i posted a few thoughts on a show reboot and dex as an adult here and here. more to the point, however, i think dexter becomes an economics major and possibly goes into accounting. it bores freakazoid out of his skull, but hey, nothing's to say he can't moonlight as a superhero on the side.

needless to say, though, freak would be a terror to both villains and to dexter's sense of humor at all ages, but especially at the peak time of one's life where they're running on instant ramen and little sleep. there's definitely been more than one instance of dexter letting freak out, not because there's bad guys, but because he's practically dead on his feet and he needs some mental rest to survive midterms. it's easier when freak's the one piloting (and he's not always slouched over his desk), a sedentary lifestyle is a real and harmful thing, dex.

more often, though, he lets him out because while he likes his major, if he looks at one more computer screen, they might actually lose it, and freak needs to do something active. nothing more active than putting a bad guy in prison, after all.

[wee-larceny]

Time to Orbit: Unknown liveblog Chapters 011-020

Chapters 001-010">Chapters 001-010

So recently I've been reading Time to Orbit: Unknown by @derinthescarletpescatarian who may or may not appreciate being tagged in this thing again; a sci-fi mystery you've probably heard about if you're on this webbed site. I am definitely having Thoughts about it, so I'm abandoning my uncomfortably long post for a shiny new one, and also grabbing the opportunity to organise some of those thoughts; we have 180+ chapters and any minor detail might be key. It's only getting more complicated, so let us go through unanswered questions and assorted fuckery. Mysterious, frankly bizarre, and/or outright shady behaviour exhibited by characters:

Captain Joshua Reimann: grabbed an axe and started attacking the walls. Wrecked CR1 and his own arm in the process. Died of an untreated infection. Science Officer Claire Rynn-Hatson, possibly also Science Officer Mohammed Aziz and/or Maintenance Officer Ash Dornae: did some sort of experiment involving dangerous chemicals: the experiment ended in disaster killing Rynn-Hatson on the spot and Aziz&Dornae later due to poisoning. The experiment was conducted for unknown reasons despite the lack of any available medical professionals. Captain Kinoshita Keiko: did not authorise the jettisoning of CR1 even though it cut more than half the crew off from her and made it impossible to turn fore engines on from her position. To be fair it's kind of understandable considering the number of people in there. She also died trying to move a giant, heavy crate of protein bars for some reason. Engineer Leilea Arc Hess: spilled coffee all over a keyboard and didn't clean it up. Also kept a physical calendar even though I don't think you need the AI for the calendar or timed reminders to work. The ship's AI: so many things. Didn't wake any new crewmembers when the deaths started; didn't decrease "gravity" or do anything else to save Captain Kinoshita; woke Aspen and Aspen alone when the fore engines needed turned on; needed Aspen to identify by chip even though it was the one that woke them up just a bit ago, who the fuck else would they be; is definitely lying about CR1; is definitely acting outside its parameters; other stuff probably. The organisation that sent them up here in the first place: doesn't allow personal effects which is comic-book villain behaviour. Also made the AI. Doctor Aspen Greaves: upset the bees.

My questions at this point: Why did Captain Reimann try to damage the ship? I've read Solaris, I know that sci-fi characters don't just go crazy for no reason. Why did no one treat Captain Reimann's wounds? Whose body is missing and where is it? There were only three frozen corpses for four potential dead people in the back of the ship. What is in CR1? How did the 120-something people die there? If a guy with an axe in the process of being subdued can actually cause a hull breach then that's not a spaceship I'd like to travel on. When and why was CR1 locked ? We know when it was damaged but not when it was password-locked. Which captain did it? Riemann probably didn't have the opportunity (it was still open during his rampage and I sure wouldn't have allowed him computer access after.) If it was Kinoshita, why? Why didn't the two halves of the crew reestablish contact? What killed the people at the front of the ship? What's up with the disgusting air filer? What was the experiment that killed three members of the crew? Why can't the new captain override the previous one's orders? Captain locks a door, dies, door is locked forever. That's just bad design. How did the aft engines get irreparably damaged? What happened when the ship lurched sideways? It can't have been just the rotations slowing, because that would decrease gravity unless there's a complicated science reason as to why it doesn't. There can't be a complicated science reason because Derin explains those immediately. Did the crew keep logs? If yes, read them. Current suspects:

Captain Reimann: convenient scapegoat but probably not the root of the problems. The AI: could be. Computers sometimes do stupid shit. My company had to change one of their domains once because a widely used cybersecurity AI decided that we're a phishing scam pretending to be ourselves and wouldn't let the programmers whitelist us. The organisation that launched the Courageous, whatever their name is: programmed the AI. Aspen: no, that's stupid.

[tiredflowercrown]

Descendants College AU

Or, like a general, they grew up in Auradon au.

Ben and Audrey are both Poli-Sci majors

Ben is a public relations minor while Audrey is an economics minor

Mal is an art major with a specialization in mixed media painting

Carlos is a computer science major

Jay is on a Tourney scholarship while being a business major

Harriet is an enginering major, who's on the verge of dropping out to get a 2nd or 3rd job

Ginny is a pre-med major

Anthony is a marketing major, using his knowledge to support his dad's shop

Diego is a fashion major who runs the school radio and constantly promotes his music

Ben meets Mal when as she is vandalizing the poli-sci building with her art

Maddy is using her knowledge as a bio-chem student to help in her cousins drug ring (willingly is debatable)

[an-au-blog]

Wait what if in the trigun racer au, Vash just randomly omits details about his life. Every now and again Wolfwood will find new Lore about his crush and just need a day or two to digest it.

It wasn't enough that Vash was The Stampede, but now he found out that Knives - one of Wolfwood's richest clients and the detector of a business empire, is his brother.

And it happens in the most ridiculous ways too. Vash comes over to hang out with Ww when he's working (because Ww gives him donuts) and Knives drives in his expensive-ass-customized car and Vash ducks behind the table.

"Vash what are you doing, I can still see you. Did you do the errands I gave you?"

"... no? I was going to later-"

"You-"

And they start their sibling verbal sparing.

Or he randomly found out Vash studied at Stanford finished top of his class with engineering, minoring comp sci. And he found it because Ww's computer crashed and Vash fixed it.

Or Milly comes in one day to tell him all about this cool new humanitarian organisation that is helping Ww's orphanage and it's Vash again.

[etceteraon]

echoes of exile | chapter one

pov: female reader pov

genre: angst, sci-fi, series, slow-burn

warnings: space, sci-fi themes

word count: 7.8k

summary: After the long awaited return of the space program, seven crew members were finally announced to take the long awaited leap into space, their mission to find a safe location to build a liveable society. Their mission could take years to successfully finish, but the crew is loyal to their duty, unaware of the fact that their government is only using them for something more sinister.

a/n: This is the first chapter of a series I have been building for a few years now. The first few chapters will be introductory, but I hope you enjoy the eventual lore drops and in-depth world building that will come! For now, I will be keeping any romance and potential pairings tight lipped since I intend for this to be a slow burn. Chapters may be a little slow, but more will be coming soon.

Waking up in the comfort of your own bed was nothing new to you. In fact, it was something you had grown accustomed to. That was nothing out of the ordinary considering most of the population was used to sleeping in their own beds, wrapped in their comforters, either with a partner or alone. For you however, it wasn’t always normal. You had grown up in a normal household, it wasn’t exactly the best, but you were never considered ‘poor’ just middle class or blue collar. Once you got out of highschool however, things changed. After applying for college, all of the scholarships and money you received went straight to tuition. Unable to afford to live in the dorms or have your own place, you were constantly couch hopping, sometimes sleeping on a park bench or in a homeless shelter every now and then. It wasn’t ideal, but it got the job done. After four years of this, you graduated with your masters in engineering. 

Now, with a masters in aeronautics and a minor in electrical engineering, you could do a lot of things. Find plenty of jobs that paid the bills. But the job you had chosen wasn't exactly the most mainstream. You had decided years ago that you were going to be an astronaut. So, the first thing you had done once you received your masters was apply to the space program as an intern. Luckily, being an intern in the space program paid more than normal jobs, so you weren’t hurting for money anymore. You were able to afford a small apartment with the help of another intern you were roommates with, a male by the name of Felix who had his masters in computer science. He was also looking to become an astronaut, and luckily for the both of you, it seemed that once you had done your due diligence for a few years, you would be placed in the same crew. 

That was, until you were introduced to a pilot. Christopher Bang, he was a very well-known pilot with a masters degree in physical science. He was a genius in every sense of the word, so when you and Felix had been introduced to him by the grace of Seungmin, the flight director for mission control, you were both in shock and awe when he kindly offered to teach the both of you to pilot a jet. It would make things a lot easier for the both of you since it would only require 1,000 hours as opposed to a few years working in the field. Of course the both of you had taken him up on his offer, now spending the majority of your time learning the ins and outs of piloting a jet, eventually getting up in the air. After about a month, you were able to pilot the jet on your own, Felix as well. Another month or so later, the both of you had completed your 1,000 hours as a pilot-in-command.

Now all you two had to complete was the long-duration flight physical and you both would be deemed astronauts. The timing was almost too perfect since the space program had just announced they would be looking for astronauts for a new mission they were launching. You and Felix had decided you were going to be on that crew no matter what it took, and it seemed like Christopher had the same idea. He hadn’t originally planned to be an astronaut according to his own words, but once he had heard about the mission and heard you and Felix were aiming to be on the first flight out, he wanted to join. He stated that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and he had nothing better to do. You weren’t so sure of that, but you let his excuses slide. 

The long-duration flight physical wasn’t easy to pass. Not in the slightest. Of course Christopher had passed without much of an issue. Felix passed the third or fourth time around, meanwhile it took you around six times to actually pass. Along with the help of Christopher and Felix both instructing you on what to do and helping you work out your body in specific areas. With that done and out of the way, you were now finally able to rest after years of hard work. Simply waiting for word back on whether or not you were accepted as a candidate for the mission and interviewed along with the other candidates. 

So here you were, lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling after a long, well deserved rest. You could hear Felix rummaging around in the kitchen, a sure sign that he had been up and about for a while. Glancing over at the digital clock on your nightstand, you were made aware that you had slept in for much longer than you had intended, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as you wondered why your alarm hadn’t gone off. Slowly peeling yourself off of the mattress, you rubbed your sleep ridden eyes, yawning as you kicked your legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Stretching your arms over your head, you stood there for a moment, letting your body relax and wake itself up before heading over to the bedroom door and propping it open slightly, just enough to peek out and see if Felix had anyone over. 

You didn’t see anyone besides the brunette male, so you decided to step out of your bedroom in your strapped tank and shorts that were meant to be worn for workout purposes, but really only got worn to bed. You hadn’t even brushed your hair, so you had no idea what state it was currently in, but by the amused look on Felix’s face when he caught sight of you, it most likely wasn’t pleasant. “Well good afternoon. I take it you slept well?” He teased, raising an eyebrow as he continued to work on what he had set in front of him, cutting up various vegetables and other assorted items. A quiet hum of acknowledgement was all that left you at first, walking into the shared kitchen and opening the fridge, browsing through the contents before simply pulling out a bottle of water and cracking it open. Once the cold beverage passed your lips you sighed, closing the fridge and looking directly at the freckled boy. “Slept for much longer than I intended. My alarm didn’t go off for some reason.” 

The statement made Felix snicker for a reason unknown to you. He stopped cutting for a moment to look at you, a smirk tugging on his lips. “Your alarm did go off. I had to go into your room and shut it off since you didn’t even wake up.” Your eyes widened at the sudden realization, placing the cap on the bottled water as you approached the lanky male. “You didn’t think to wake me up? What the hell Lix?” 

“Hey, don’t get mad at me. I figured since you didn’t wake up to your alarm that you needed the rest. I didn’t want to wake you up just for you to not get enough sleep. Besides, it’s not like you have anything to do today right?” He posed a question, tilting his head slightly before going back to cutting, focusing his attention forward. “Well actually I did have plans today. But now I’m going to be la-” You paused your reprimands when you heard Felix’s bedroom door open and close, revealing none other than Felix’s boyfriend of a few months, Hwang Hyunjin, the public affairs officer of mission control. 

The tall male only paid you a glance before a smirk similar to the one Felix had worn not too long ago adorned his features. “Oh? You have plans? That’s new.” The long haired boy commented, clearly having been listening to the conversation that had nothing to do with him. “Oh shut it Hyunjin, not like you’re any better than me considering the only place you go besides work is here.” 

“She does have a point.” Felix muttered, causing the long haired male to groan in frustration. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”

With a roll of your eyes you opted to exit the kitchen, heading back to the safety of your room to get dressed and ready before you were much later to your plans than you wanted to be. Before you shut the door to your room, you glanced back at the two males, clicking your tongue at them. “Next time you spend the night, tell me. I’d rather not wake up to a strange man in my apartment.” The door was closed before any protests could leave Hyunjin’s mouth, quiet giggles could be heard from Felix, but nothing more as you went over to your closet and started picking out your clothing for the day. 

You were never one for really dressing up, mainly because you could never really afford it, but also because it just took a lot of time and effort that you didn’t really have. So when you were able to afford a nice wardrobe, you mainly stuck to a business casual look. It also made work life a lot easier since you didn’t have to think much about whether what you were wearing was ‘work appropriate’. Everything in your wardrobe was. So, today was no different, picking out a high-waisted pair of black slacks, a white cami top and a brown blazer. You decided shoes would be an issue for later, setting your clothing down on your bed before heading into your bathroom, turning on the shower before peeling off the clothes you had been in all night and half of the day and then hopping in the shower. 

It wasn’t long before you were clean to your standards, stepping out of the shower and drying yourself off with a towel. You then brushed through your hair as you walked back out into your bedroom, glancing at the door to make sure it was locked before ridding yourself of the towel and getting dressed in what you had laid out minutes before. As if on cue, there was a knock at your door, signaling someone wanted your attention. You looked over as if you could see who it was through the wood, tilting your head slightly. “Yeah?” 

“Are you going to eat before you leave?” Felix. Of course it was. You thought about his question for a moment, deliberating on it for too long according to his liking, causing the male to huff. “Yes? No?” He prodded, earning a groan from you as you went over to the door and unlocked it before opening it, going over to your closet and pulling out a pair of black strappy heels. 

“Probably not considering I’m going to be eating there.” You answered his question, thought it seemed your answer only gained more questions from him. Feuling his curiosity. “There? Where is there? Are you meeting someone? Is this a date? Oh my god if this is a date I’m going to be so mad that you didn’t tell me. Who is it?” For the second time since you had awoken, you rolled your eyes, shaking your head as you made your way back into the bathroom to pull your hair up out of your face, Felix trailing along behind you. 

“First of all, this is not a date. You of all people should know that I don’t date. I don’t have the time or energy for a relationship. Secondly, I’m going out for lunch. I was invited to this new place not far from work, I think it’s called Vincenzo’s or something. Lastly, if you want to know so badly who it is, you can figure it out for yourself when he gets here.” You stated matter-of-factly. Felix frowning and folding his arms across his chest as he leaned against the doorframe of the bathroom. “So, you were invited out to lunch by a guy… who is picking you up and taking you there? Sounds a lot like a date to me.” He muttered, his eyebrows creased. 

With your hair now in a ponytail, you turned to face the slightly older male, sighing quietly. “Lix, why would I lie to you about something like this? It’s just lunch. It’s a nice thing people do sometimes. It doesn’t always have to be a date. The only reason I’m not driving myself is because my car is being worked on, remember?” Felix seemed to lighten up a little once he realized he wasn’t being lied to, nodding his head slowly as he lifted himself up. “Yeah, sorry. You’re right. I’m just being nosy since you’re usually busy with work or just holed up in your room.” 

You nodded in understanding, paying him a small smile as you stepped past him into the bedroom, putting on some earrings and placing your watch on your wrist right as the doorbell rang. Felix’s eyes lit up and before you could tell him to open the door, he was already there. You shook your head at his eagerness, spraying some perfume on and giving yourself one last glance in the mirror before grabbing your purse and exiting the room, closing the door behind you. Sure enough, there stood none other than Christopher Bang in the doorway, Felix bombarding him with questions that male the poor male’s head spin. You looked over to your friend's boyfriend, motioning towards the smaller male. “Can you control him please?” There was a long stare shared between the two of you before the long haired male sighed and went over to his boyfriend, pulling him back by his hips and whispering something in his ear which made Felix stop asking questions. You were curious as to what was said, but before your curiosity could get the better of you, Chan stepped into the apartment, looking around. 

He had never been to your apartment before, so it only made sense for him to take everything in. You stood in silence for a while, glancing down at your feet before looking up at the pilot, noting his all black decor. It was different in comparison to his pilot uniform that you always saw him in, that or the uniforms you had been provided while training for the long-duration flight physical. He was clad in a long sleeved button up shirt along with some jeans and tennis shoes, making him look much more casual than you, but nonetheless still somewhat classy with the button up. His dark brown hair was of course in its natural state, curly and unruly. He had stated many times that despite trying to work with it, it never seemed to want to agree with him. So he let it do its own thing. 

“I take it you’re set to go?” His voice snapped you out of your trance, quickly raising your gaze to his and putting on a smile to hide your embarrassment from being caught staring. “Yeah, all good to go. Thanks for picking me up, it would have been a nightmare to have Felix drive me.” A chuckle left the pilot's lips, nodding as he stepped back out of the apartment, leaving you enough room to follow behind. 

“It’s not a problem really. I figured I might as well since I was the one who set everything up and asked you to join me. Which reminds me, did I ever tell you the occasion?” He questioned, not stopping his descent down the stairs towards his parked car. You hummed in thought before shaking your head, realizing he hadn’t told you why he had offered to take you to lunch. “No, you didn’t.” You finally answered, causing Christopher to laugh quietly to himself as he reached his car, ignoring the stares from Hyunjin and Felix.

Once the car was unlocked and you were both inside, you took a moment to take in the state of his car. Clean, so clean that it almost seemed like the car was never used. There was the scent of cologne however, which made you wonder if he had sprayed it before leaving the car. Before you could see if there was a bottle of it lying around, Chan decided to break his silence about what this lunch was really for. “Seungmin rounded up the Mission Operations Directorate Manager and apparently he wanted to talk with you. So uh, really, this is kind of like a business meeting. For you anyway. I’m already acquainted with him and Seungmin.” Your eyes widened as you turned to face the pilot, jaw dropped in shock as he simply smirked, pulling out of the parking lot and keeping his attention on the road. 

“You didn’t think to ask me if I wanted to meet him? Or even inform me beforehand? I’ve heard the guy is a total asshole and I don’t think I even want to be in his presence.” You growled, earning a scoff from Christopher. “He’s not an asshole. He’s just strict when it comes to work. Which he should be considering where he works and what he does. There’s no room for error. Besides, if you want to be on the next crew out of here, he’s going to be in charge of you. You might as well get to know him now and get on his good side, no?” He countered, making you puff out your cheeks in irritation because, goddamn it he was always right. 

“I guess.” You muttered, having no good comeback. Of course, Christopher knew that he had succeeded in winning the argument, so he stayed silent, simply smiling rather smugly in the driver's seat. The rest of the car ride was spent in silence, Christopher parking the car not far from the restaurant’s entrance once you arrived. Unbuckling your seatbelt, you leaned back in the seat for a moment, taking a deep breath and closing your eyes. It was your way of calming yourself down before something stressful, Christopher knew this since you did it almost every time you were about to fly. So, he left you to it, not saying a word as he stepped out of the car and shut the door behind him. After a minute or so, you had managed to control your thoughts, keeping your anxiety at bay. As you stepped out of the car, you noticed Christopher had been leaning on the hood, waiting for you. A soft smile formed on your lips, but it quickly faded when he turned to face you, an eyebrow raised in question. 

“Yeah, I’m all good.” You assured him, not even needing him to ask the question to know what he was going to say. He nodded, pushing himself off of the car and making his way to the entrance of the restaurant. Like the gentleman he was, he propped open the door for you, letting you enter the building first before following close behind, looking over you to see if he could spot Seungmin and the Directorate Manager. You were about to talk to the lady at the front counter when Christopher placed a hand on your shoulder, motioning to your left. “They’re over there.” He stated, nudging you slightly. It wasn’t anything invasive or pushy, just enough to get your attention. Glancing over, you saw that he was indeed right, though you only recognized Seungmin. You let him go over towards the table first, informing the server where you would be sitting with the rest of your group before following behind the pilot. Putting on a smile as you approached the other males, you noted that they didn’t stand despite acknowledging yours and Christopher’s presence. 

Before you could pull out a chair for yourself, Christopher took the liberty of doing it himself. A mumbled thanks left your lips as you sat down across from the unfamiliar male, Christopher sitting beside you and across from Seungmin. You placed your purse on the back of your chair, trying your best to avoid eye contact with anyone since it felt like all eyes were on you. You opted to look at the menu that was set in front of you, fumbling through the pages as Christopher cleared his throat, trying to fill the awkward silence. “So, Mister Lee, it’s been quite some time. It’s nice to see you again, I know you have quite a busy schedule.” A quiet chuckle could be heard from in front of you, but you kept your eyes glued to the menu, not even focusing on the words despite skimming them over and over again. 

“Chris, how many times do we have to go over this? You don’t need to call me by any special terms when we’re not at work. It’s just Minho, you are older than me after all.” Shocked by the relatively easy-going nature of the Directorate Manager, you lifted your gaze, only to see he was looking right back at you. Your eyes widened slightly, your breath caught in your throat as he smiled, tilting his head slightly. “You must be y/f/n y/l/n. I’ve heard a lot about you, moving up the ranks pretty fast hm?” 

You weren’t sure what to say, so you simply nodded, a nervous smile the only thing you could manage. How did he know about you? You weren’t the only person who was trying to become an astronaut. There were thousands of other people shooting for the same thing, Felix and Christopher included, so why was the focus on you? You couldn’t recall doing anything spectacular to gain any attention. Your mind was spinning with questions, but before you could ask any, Minho continued on. “Before you ask, I do research on everyone. I found your background quite interesting. Perfect scores throughout middle school, high school and college. Then once you became an intern, all anyone had to say about you was good things. Christopher tells me that your piloting skills are nowhere near subpar, so I have to ask, is there anything you can’t do? Or are you just another genius we have on our hands?” 

To say you were at a loss for words was an understatement. Your jaw nearly dropped at the blatant compliments and praises that were leaving Minho’s mouth, looking to Seungmin for some kind of confirmation, he simply smiled and shrugged. You then turned your attention to Christopher who chuckled at your expression, shaking his head. “You’ll have to excuse her, she doesn’t know how to respond to compliments, especially from you.” 

“Ah. Well please, don’t worry too much about your image. I know perfectly well about your work ethic and that’s all that matters to me. Feel free to be yourself outside of work, I’m just here to get to know you a little better. That’s all.” He assured, easing your nerves just slightly. Taking a deep breath and laughing quietly to yourself, you sat up straight, setting the menu back down on the table and clasping your hands together on top of it. Returning your gaze forward, Minho’s piercing gaze was still locked on you. Gulping down your anxiety, you forced a smile, ignoring the stares from Seungmin and Christopher. “Well, thank you for the kind words. However, I’m not a genius like Christopher I can assure you. I simply aced my classes because I had to. Nothing more. As for what you’ve heard about me at work, I’m glad they are all good things, but once again I must tell you that I feel like what you’ve heard is blown out of proportion. I do my work and I go home. It’s not like I’m going out of my way to do anything major.” 

A scoff could be heard from beside you, Christopher leaning forward to try and catch your gaze with a disapproving look. “That’s not true. Anyone who works with you knows that.” He grumbled, Seungmin clearing his throat to finally speak up. “I agree with Christopher. You may not think that you do anything major, but if you really aren’t trying that hard like you say you are, that only makes it more impressive.” 

“I hardly think that’s true. I-”

“So you are a genius like Christopher. Good to know.” Minho cut you off, a smirk tugging at his lips as he picked up his menu and started browsing. He seemed awfully smug with the fact that he had shut you up, causing you to huff and mutter a few things under your breath as you picked your menu back up, the server approaching just moments later. After asking the table what they wanted to drink, everyone ordered their assorted beverages, the server then leaving to give you more time to consider your meal. Silence gripped the table. Not one person speaking a word as they looked at the menus. It felt awkward, you weren’t sure why, but you weren’t about to ask. A few minutes passed before the server came back with the drinks, setting them down and earning a plethora of thanks. Once asked if everyone was ready to order, Minho answered for the table, ordering first, followed by Seungmin, then Christopher, then you. 

After everyone had ordered their meals, the server left the table yet again, leaving the four of you to your devices. You were half tempted to pull out your phone, but you knew it would be rude, so you fiddled with your hands in your lap, looking around the restaurant for some form of entertainment or stimulation. There was a couple with a baby in a high chair who was less than happy to be there, something that you saw almost anywhere you went. An old lady seated by herself, which seemed sad at first glance, but after a few moments a younger woman who looked like her daughter came out from the bathroom and sat across from her. You smiled at this, happy to know she wasn’t alone. Apparently you had been tuning out and a conversation had started at the table. Christopher nudging you and calling your name snapped you out of your trance. 

“Hm?” You looked to the pilot for some sort of explanation. “Minho was curious what made you want to become an astronaut.” He reiterated, glancing over at said male who nodded in agreement. 

“It’s not exactly a job everyone wants. Sure, we get a lot of applications, but compared to the population, it’s miniscule. I don’t think you just woke up one day and decided that you wanted to do this. Especially since your masters is geared towards the career.” Minho stated, resting his chin in the palm of his hand as his elbow rested on the table. You nodded slowly, trying to figure out the best way to word it. “Well, I’ve always been interested in life beyond Earth since I was little. I read lots of books about space and astronomy, the public library was where I went everyday after school.” You recalled, smiling fondly at the memories. 

“When I was first asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I told everyone I wanted to be an astronaut. The older I got, the more people told me that it was unrealistic, and that I should try to shoot for something else. I’m stubborn though and I decided that no one was going to tell me what to do, so here I am. I guess you could say that I wanted to become an astronaut out of spite.” You snickered, Minho chuckling at your honest response. “Well, that’s the first time I’ve heard that.” He admitted, Seungmin and Christopher agreeing in amusement. 

“I mean, Chris has said that he only applied because he had nothing better to do. I guess geniuses have nothing better to do with their time besides do things out of spite and boredom.” You shrugged, Christopher nearly choking on his spit beside you. “I- That’s not-” He stammered, Minho laughing out of pure amusement. 

“Sounds like something he would say.” He stated cooly, running a hand through his auburn hair which was clearly dyed, but it looked good on him, natural even. As you were noting his other features, eyes that reminded you of a feline, a gaze that could kill, his lips seemed to be permanently curled up into a half smirk. If you hadn’t known any better, you would chock it up to him having a big ego and cocky attitude. It didn’t seem that he was like that with what he had said to you earlier, but nonetheless, he still gave off those vibes. His nose was similar to Felix’s. You hadn’t realized you would recognize something like that, but considering you had been around Felix for so long, perhaps it was something that was just in the back of your head that hadn’t come up until now. 

“Y/N?” You looked around the table, only to realize that the person that had called out to you was the man you had been staring at not so subtly. Of course it had to be him. You could feel your cheeks heating up with embarrassment, one hundred percent sure that he was aware of your staring. You opened your mouth to apologize, only to be cut off. It seemed Minho was good at doing that. “You seem to get along well with Christopher and Felix, am I right?” He questioned, catching you off guard once again. 

Nodding your head in response, you fought the urge to look over at Christopher who seemed tense beside you. You weren’t sure why, but you made a mental note to ask him about it later. Minho hummed, leaning back in his chair, seeming to think about something. Just then the server came to the table with everyone’s food, setting them down and asking the usual questions before retreating from the table once again, Minho sitting up straight and clasping his hands together. “How do you think you would feel about them after spending two years of training with them followed by spending years with them in space?” The question in itself wasn’t really surprising, but it was the look that Minho shot Christopher when he asked you. You couldn’t quite place what it was, but it didn’t exactly seem friendly. “Uhm, well… I’ve already spent over a year with Felix as a roommate and a co-worker, so I’m sure I could manage with him. As for Christopher, I haven’t known him as long, but we’ve never had any big disagreements or arguments. We get along fairly well I think, so I’m sure I could handle him for a few years.” You giggled out the last part, finally looking over at Christopher who paid you a soft smile. It looked like he was hiding his true feelings, like he was being insincere, but you couldn’t think of a reason he would be, so you brushed it off. 

“That’s good. I’m glad to hear that.” Was all Minho said in response before starting to eat, Seungmin following suit shortly after. You figured that was a signal that you could eat as well, so you picked up your utensils, only to see that Christopher was just staring down at his food. You raised an eyebrow in confusion, nudging him slightly. He didn’t look over at you immediately, taking a few moments before actually facing you. You tilted your head, motioning towards his food. “Aren’t you going to eat?” Clearly concerned, you set down your own utensils, catching the attention of the other two males across the table. Their gazes seemed to bother Chris more than yours, causing him to pick up his own utensils with a forced smile. 

“Yeah, sorry. I just got lost in thought.” The pilot then started to eat without another word. Everything suddenly felt off, but you knew it wasn’t your place to ask any questions. Keeping to yourself, you picked your utensils back up, lifting them to your lips right as your phone went off in your purse. Quickly, you set everything down, turning around to fumble through your purse to find your phone. Once you had, you were prepared to turn off the ringer, only to note the number that was calling you, the selection board. You nearly gasped, placing your hand over your lips before looking across the table at Minho who had a knowing look on his face. “I’m sorry, I need to take this.” You apologized, Minho shaking his head and motioning to the side.

“No worries, go ahead.” Nodding, you stood from your seat, pushing your chair back before heading out of the restaurant, standing by the door as you answered the call, placing the phone up to your ear. “This is y/f/n y/l/n.” 

“Miss y/l/n, this is Taehyun Kang from the selection board. It is my pleasure to inform you that you have been selected for an interview.” Your heart nearly leapt out of your chest, but you knew you had to keep it together and keep it professional on the phone. “Thank you so much, this is great news. What time and what day will the interview be?” Information, that's what you needed right now before you got too ecstatic. 

“This Friday at 6pm. Does that work for you?”

“Of course. I’ll be there.”

“All right. We’ll talk to you then Miss y/l/n.”

The call then went dead, leaving you to your own devices. You hadn’t even realized you were shaking, a chuckle of disbelief left you as you clasped your phone in your hands. This was actually happening. You were actually going to be interviewed by the selection board. You had to make it to the second interview, you had to make all of this hard work count. If you didn’t get selected then all of this was for nothing. The stress and anxiety was starting to set in, your lip suffering due to the pressure you were putting on it. Biting your lip had always been a nervous tick of yours. 

What had you been expecting? You had applied as a candidate fully expecting for it to work out, so now that things were going in your favor, why were you so surprised? Maybe you hadn’t really thought about it much as you thought you had. Your head was spinning with questions and worries. What were you going to wear to the interview? How would you get there with your car still being worked on? How were you going to tell Felix? Had he been called for an interview? What about Christopher who was right inside, waiting for you. Right, you had people waiting for you. 

Turning, you pushed open the door to the restaurant, stepping back inside and trying your best to act as natural as possible. All eyes were on you once again as you approached the table, sitting back down and being sure your phone was on silent this time as you placed it back in your purse. Picking your utensils back up, you finally began to eat, the food was a little cold, but overall it was still palatable. Of course, you couldn’t ignore the stares for long, Christopher being the first to speak up. “Who was that on the phone?” You nearly froze, swallowing what you had in your mouth before you had the chance to choke. “Uhm, well- actually…” You tried to figure out how to phrase it, figuring Christopher hadn’t been contacted and not wanting to somehow end up hurting his feelings. 

“It was the selection board.” Minho suddenly piped up, your eyes widening at how sure he sounded. Christopher turned to face you completely now, his eyes lighting up as he smiled. “Was it really? Did you get an interview?” Gulping, you smiled sheepishly, nodding your head. 

“Y-Yeah, they set an interview for this Friday at six.” You admitted, Christopher seeming overjoyed at the news, Minho acting as if he knew it was coming all along, meanwhile Seungmin was tuned out, focused on the food in front of him. “That’s so great y/n, I can drive you to the interview if you need me to. Will your car be out of the shop by then?” You were surprised at Christopher’s reactions, something not adding up. Was he really this happy for you if he hadn’t been selected for an interview himself? 

“Chris, did you not get called for an interview?” Finally you had amounted the courage to ask. Christopher paused for a moment only to chuckle and rub the back of his neck as he looked away. “Actually, I was called for an interview last night. I didn’t want to tell you in case you didn’t get a call.” He admitted, a gasp leaving your lips. “Well that’s not fair, you should have told me. I would have been more upset if I hadn’t been called and you didn’t tell me.” 

Shrugging his shoulders with a sigh, Christopher picked up his drink, taking a few gulps before setting it back down. “So, I’m picking you up on Friday, five thirty?” He had just completely ignored what you had said to him, but that was nothing new. If he didn’t want to address something, he wouldn’t. “I don’t think that will be necessary.” Minho suddenly spoke up again, earning both yours and Christopher’s attention. 

“Felix will have an interview at the same time. You can ride with him, right?” So Felix was going to be interviewed as well? Oh the boy was going to be beside himself whenever you got back to the apartment. His poor boyfriend was probably having to deal with his spastic energy right at this moment. “I mean, yeah. I’m sure that will work out just fine.” You mumbled, noting the slight glare Christopher sent in Minho’s direction. 

The younger male seemed to pay no mind however, simply smiling and nodding his head in agreement. “Then that’s all settled. Congratulations on your interview y/n, I can’t wait to see what else you accomplish.” He sent you a wink before standing up, Seungmin following suit quickly after. It looked as if Minho had hardly touched his food, Seungmin had eaten pretty much everything however. Minho made his way up to the front counter, paying for his and everyone else's meal. Before leaving the restaurant, he turned to face the two of you that were left at the table. “I’ll see you around y/n. Nice seeing you Christopher.” He offered a small wave before leaving the building with Seungmin in tow, Christopher muttering a few things under his breath that you couldn’t make out, but it didn’t sound pleasant. 

“What was that all about?” You questioned, looking at the pilot who now had an unreadable expression on his face. It was definitely one you had never seen on him before. You knew something was going on between him and Minho, but you couldn’t tell what. Christopher had just been talking about how Minho was a good guy, just strict when it came to work. So why was he sending him glares during lunch? What was going on that you didn’t know about? Christopher forced a chuckle, shaking his head as he raked a hand through his dark brown curls. “Nothing, just thinking.” Setting down his utensils, he leaned back in his seat, looking over at your plate which still had most of the food still on it. 

“Did you want to get a box for that?” He questioned, making you frown. “Chris. You’re changing the subject because you’re lying to me. I’m not an idiot. You of all people should know that. I can see right through you. You’ve been acting weird since our food got here, what’s the deal?” 

Biting down on the inside of his cheek, Christopher looked up at the ceiling, staying silent for a while before sighing and hanging his head. “I don’t know, something about how Minho was talking to you gave me a weird feeling. I’m just worried about you and what he’s planning.” he admitted, causing you to furrow your eyebrows in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Christopher bit at the skin of his lip before rubbing his face with one of his hands, clearly struggling with whatever was going on in his mind. “I know Minho, and he’s not a bad guy, but I know that there’s more that goes on in his head than he lets on. He’s not the directorate manager for nothing. I just think it’s odd. He’s never taken an interest in someone like he is with you. Sure, he does his research on everyone, but he’s never explicitly wanted to meet someone like this. Especially not an intern.” You frowned, folding your arms across your chest while tilting your head. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“I’m not trying to say that in a degrading way. I could care less that you’re an intern, you’re smarter than half of the people I work with who aren’t interns. I’m just saying, Minho is someone who cares about status and hierarchy. Normally he wouldn’t even look in an intern's direction. So for him to be going out of his way for an intern, it’s weird. It’s not normal. He’s pulling strings behind the scenes for you and this is his first time meeting you. It’s like he knows something I don’t and I don’t like it. Not only that but it’s almost like he’s trying to push me out of the picture, or make me out to be the bad guy? I don’t know. Maybe I’m just thinking too much because it’s uncharacteristic of him. All I’m trying to say is that I’m worried you might get hurt or used.” It took you a moment to process everything that Christopher said, but once you had, you simply sighed. The server came over to your table just then, asking if you wanted a to-go box, you obliged, watching as they scurried off to get one. You then turned your attention to Christopher who was watching you intently. 

“Listen, Chris. I appreciate your concern, I’ll keep what you said in mind, but like I said before, I’m not an idiot. I’m fully aware that he’s never met me before, I think I would have remembered meeting him. I’m cautious of everyone I meet and I know when someone is trying to use me. This doesn’t feel like that, it seems like he’s just trying to be nice and give someone an opportunity. I’m not going to turn it down just because you think something weird is going on.” You watched as Christopher took a deep breath, almost as if he was containing his anger or irritation. You couldn’t tell which it was. “Y/n. I’ve never said you were an idiot. I’m fully aware that you’re not. I’m just trying to tell you to be cautious with him, please?”

“Here you go ma’am.” The server set the to-go box down in front of you. You thanked him quietly before filling the box and closing it, getting to your feet and slinging your purse over your shoulder. “I’ll think about it.” Was all you said to Chris before turning and heading out of the restaurant. You could hear an exasperated groan leave the pilot, but you chose to ignore it, going over to his car and leaning on the passenger door as you waited for him to leave the restaurant.

Why had Christopher even driven you here if he was so worried about it? What was the point of him saying all of this stuff when he had just told you that Minho wasn’t a bad person? None of this was adding up, it was just making you more confused the longer it went on. You just wanted to go home and lay in your bed at this point. You were so tired of thinking. However you knew when you got home you wouldn’t have the option to just lie in bed. Felix was going to be off the walls with excitement and he was probably going to want to do something with you and Hyunjin to celebrate. You wouldn’t have the heart to tell the male no either. You were just going to have to pretend everything was fine and that you weren’t losing your mind. 

The sound of the car door opening snapped you out of your thoughts, Christopher simply raising an eyebrow at you before he got in the car, starting the engine. You opened the door and got in yourself, Christopher not saying a word as he waited for you to buckle your seatbelt, only pulling out of the parking lot once you had. The drive home was spent in silence, much like the ride to the restaurant had been. You were sure Christopher was upset with you for not listening to him, but you weren’t going to cave because of it. You would figure out Minho for yourself, you didn’t need Chris telling you what to do. You were a grown woman and you could make your own decisions. Christopher wasn’t your dad, nor was he your boyfriend. He was a friend, a co-worker. Nothing more. You would heed his concerns, but you weren’t going to completely avoid Minho or look into every little thing the male did. 

You were on the other hand going to be paying close attention to Christopher from now on. It seemed like he was hiding some things from you, and you were going to find out what that was whether he liked it or not. If he was going to put himself in the middle of your personal life, you could do the same. Your apartment wasn’t far from the restaurant, so you arrived fairly quickly. Not waiting for the car to come to a complete stop, you unbuckled your seatbelt, grabbing your purse and to-go box before practically kicking open the door. Before you could exit the vehicle, Chris grabbed your arm, pulling back on it slightly. “Y/n. Please don’t be mad at me. I honestly wasn’t trying to offend you or make you upset. I’m just trying to look out for you.” A scoff left your lips as you removed your arm from his grip, turning back to glare at him. “I can look out for myself. I’ve been perfectly capable of it my whole life. I don’t need your help, thank you.” You huffed, stepping out of the car and shutting the door behind you. 

You didn’t leave him any room to say anything more, making your way up the stairs to your apartment before turning the knob and opening the door, not at all surprised to see Felix clinging to his boyfriend as he celebrated his invitation for an interview. You put on a smile, closing the door behind you without a second thought, leaving Chris alone in his car as you forced yourself to celebrate with your best friend and roommate.

[crab-people-overlord]

Intro 🧡

guess I might as well do an intro

diagnosed adhd software engineer here (🩷💜💙, english + español) coming to you from the Rocky Mountains (where rich people's empty ski condos are literally everywhere and driving up costs….. pls send help)

writing stuff + ao3 link

just finished a canon-adjacent story about the main kids. it’s a short story that I had so much fun writing :) and I hope to focus on more short stories in the future.

also doing a south park/good place crossover because why not

wrote this thing called "the cultish conundrum" which... exists... (planning to rewrite it someday when i git gud™️) (wrote this when I knew NOTHING of fandom so I did try to be canon-compliant but knew nothing of creative writing when I first started, so I hope to revisit to rewrite it to be actually… good one day lol)

Also if you’re an ao3 writer of your own and want me to kudos/comment just lmk!! I know this isn’t an excuse but my adhd makes it so bad for me to read others works but if I’m instructed to I genuinely love it and want to support y’all as from what I’ve seen, there’s SO many talented SP writers out there that I genuinely want to support so badly but am literally so bad at committing when there’s so many choices lmao

quick stats:

mid 20s and fresh out of college (studied computer sci so bear w me if I sound too tech bro; I won’t be offended if you call me out for doing something wrong as I not only don’t get offended easily, but acknowledge I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing since literally the only time I’ve had social media in the past is when I would look at tumblr in middle school cuz it allowed porn it im being real with you 👀) im prob never going to get a twitter account

9w8 ISTP (took the official tests in college tho acknowledge it’s only slightly scientific lol)

ex-mormon who served a mission (emphasis on the ‘ex’- 🫡 🥲 god the stories I have lmfao. also I may or may not talk too much about the BoM musical because of this - sorry, not sorry)

works in tech and works from home

builds legos and games most nights (i wanna learn new hobbies besides this, hence the whole trying to learn how to write thing. pls bear with me- i BS’d my way through English classes in college lol)

so yeah!! south park has basically been my comfort show/emotional support media for as long as i can remember. like it's literally been keeping me sane through… everything. I’ll respect any ship in the fandom (unless it’s something really weird like the things ‘pro shippers’ are for? But I’ll be honest I literally haven’t run into any of this and don’t plan on searching for it lmfao. And no, I don’t view ‘kyman’ as a ‘pro ship’ when done right, so I respect it (aside from the weird ass nazi folks who I will never get along with but thank god I haven’t run into those folks… and I’d like to keep it that way 🥲)

absolutely down to chat about anything!! just use my ask box or dm if you're 18+ (minors please no dm). This blog will likely stay sfw, but it may occasionally not be! I’ll tag when it’s not, but this is your warning now. i promise i'm super chill and just here to vibe with other cool humans who don't tolerate any transphobic/racist/etc behavior. I don’t ever do social media (aside from TikTok to share guitar covers but im way too pussy to face reveal here), but just want to connect with others in the fandom so here I am 👋

not here for any drama and will respect ships in the fandom though i am partial to style (what got me to look into the fandom space in the first place, though even here love their sbf relationship first and foremost before anything romantic as i only recently started shipping them. When I say im new to fandom romantic shipping of any kind, I truly mean it lmfao)

also I like writing meta posts, but just know I do it all for fun and that I completely understand and respect that my opinions are just that- opinions. at the end of the day it’s just a silly show and that’s the fun of fandom- being able to share these

[softlyapocalytpic]

Dr. Mae Ishikawa

Eleanora Mae Ishikawa graduated the Commonwelath Institute of Technology in 2066 with a PHD in AI Theory and minor in pyschology. She worked briefly at General Atomics before the DIA recruited her for The P.A.M Initiative. Before Boston, however, she grew up in Queens alongside her future husband, Takeshi, and twin sister, Lin. Her hobbies/interests include building model kits, gardening, chess, jigsaw puzzles, and submitting fan theories to her favorite sci fi magazines.

Dr. Malcolm Davidson

Malcolm Davidson graduated SouthWest Institute of Technology (i.e. CalTech) in 2060 with his PHD in mechanical engineering and a major in statistics. He worked briefly for RobCo before he left for the Pentagon where he worked on various projects until recruited for The PAM Initiative. He grew up as an only child in Santa Monica, California to affluent parents and has not been able to hold down a committed relationship yet. His hobbies/interests include chess, SCIENCE! Magazine, TTRPG’s, serial dating, and the French horn.

And the lead of the team Dr. Indra Ramarijan!

Indra Ramarijan graduated Commonwealth Institute of Technology in 2056 with his PHD in computer systems and a minor in electrical engineering. He continued to work at CIT as a researcher and project scientist until he was recruited for The PAM Intiative. He was Mae's mentor while she was in undergrad. He grew up in Pasadena, California with his mother as a principal of a small private school and his father the owner of a local chain of laundromats. His hobbies/interests include computer games, watching the history channel, cooking, mycology, and baking.

Here's the updated version of this! I had less changes to make then I thought there'd be.

[noblest-roman-of-them-all]

Alright this idea is not leaving me alone so some thoughts on the matter are as follows:

The Crew is all post grad and going for Masters degrees in their various fields.

Aviva in genetics

Martin in veterinary medicine

Koki in computer sciences

Jimmy in aerospace engineering

Zach in robotics and programing

Chris is only there under parental threat of being cut off from any support if he doesn't continue his education as is half heartedly studying genetic and/or general medicine, I don't know I'm writing this on impulse.

Jimmy and Koki grew up together and only met the others in their first year at college, but have been pretty tight knit with the group ever since.

Zach and Chris were always close growing up due to constantly being compared to Martin and Aviva for whom school came a little easier growing up, and for the most part had more support for their aspirations. Zach has a bit of chip on his shoulder and feels like he needs to prove himself in his field despite his parents urging to study something "more useful" and Chris is just treading water, convinced that this "potential" his parents keep going on about him wasting doesn't actually exist, and that nobody actually believes in him, they're all just taking pity because his brother is clearly so much smarter.

Martin, for his part, does try to be supportive of his brother, but it's hard to do when Chris doesn't seem to want the support.

The main conflict is introduced when in a class experiment/discussion reveals that Chris and Martin are either adopted or donor conceived. Chris almost panics at first and does a bunch of genetic testing on himself to make sure. He confronts his parents about it and finds out that Martin figured it out years and before they explain he was threatened asked not to tell him, Chris storms off.

Either due to overlapping classes or because he simply doesn't care, Chris had already offered to be Aviva's guinea pig for her project and Martin gets in on it because Aviva is his best friend and because he's trying to figure out why Chris as suddenly stopped talking to him.

An arguement breaks out when the subject of DNA and genetics comes, and Martin doesn't say anything about being adopted. Chris goes to storm out and pushes Martin back when he makes a grab for him.

The suites aren't refined enough at that point to be able to fully tell the twins apart and when Chris accidentally activates Martin's suite by shoving him in the chest, combines the two by the magic of sci-fi genetic splicing or whatever.

Zach is the only one Chris is willing to talk to about any of it and even that gets rocky because Zach fully believes Chris is a lot smarter than anyone gives him credit for, including Chris himself, and Chris accuses him of giving lip service without actually believing it like everyone else. Zach has to talk him into helping Aviva fix the suites and goes off on Martin and Aviva for not taking Chris seriously.

Things work out in the end and the twins get their own bodies back with only a minor hiccup or two. Chris decides to drop out or change his major to something he's actually passionate about now that he doesn't have the threat of his parents hanging over him as he is no longer speaking to them for lying to him and threatening to disown him and Martin if Martin ever told him the truth about them. Zach (nearly) flunks out of his own program because of how invested he was in helping Chris and maybe decides he doesn't need to prove anything at all. And one of the university's cooks is arrested for cannibalism when he was refused to enter the culinary program for the fifth time in a row.

This morning I dreamt that @martincrushcameback dropped a new au called The Missing Brother AU in which Martin and Chris were twins in college and struggling a bit in their relationship with each other.

Chris seems to be angry about something, but it wasn't clear what from the post. Martin is helping Aviva out with a project for class, which is hinted at being the creature power suited when a fight between them breaks out and Martin, while wearing a prototype of the suite (Chris might have had one too, I don't remember and reading is hard in dreams) and grabs Chris by the wrist when he tries to walk away.

The suite is accidentally activated turning both twins into a single Martin-heavy wolf. When Aviva gets it deactivated, there's still only one brother, and while he looks a little more like Chris, he still acts more like Martin.

In a panic, Aviva convinces Jimmy and Koki to help her gaslight everyone into believing there's only ever been one brother. This works apparently pretty well on everyone except Zach who had been best friends with Chris since childhood.

Martin seems to be fully aware of his brother's consciousness in his body, but without any place to go, Chris walls himself off in his brother's subconscious, very rarely trying to make an effort to communicate. When he does, it's more like he tries to full on shove Martin aside and temporarily take over their now fused body.

This is just kind of what I can remember and what I picked up from the art and animation attached to rhe post about the AU. It also seemed to imply the other villains were professors or otherwise worked in the college.

[katy-133]

Things that would actually get me interested in Nancy Drew game #34:

1) The return of Lani Minella as the voice of Nancy: The fan community and demographic of the game series have grown up since the late 90s. It's actually mind-boggling to me why they would recast Nancy with a younger voice than lean into the idea of Nancy ageing with the core players. Let Nancy be an adult even, or just college age. There are players who headcanon Nancy as being in collage (or a recent graduate) already anyway.

2) Using pre-rendered backgrounds over real time renders. The game engine Unity (which MID switched over to) has many great qualities, but it does not like rendering things like outdoor set pieces, object clutter, antique aesthetics (dust particles, woodgrain textures, etc), or other organic textures. It's why default set pieces for Unity you can download are often for plastic-looking sci-fi starship interiors. In other words, Unity is good at real time rendering the opposite of things we generally like in Nancy Drew locations. If you are going to use Unity for a Nancy Drew game, at least build the set pieces in something like Blender 3D (a modelling program that is freeware, has a vast plugin community, and allows you to save renders of what you make) and then take those renders as image layers into Unity. This will make the visuals look more appealing, speed up performance issues (many Nancy Drew fans play the games on laptops or other non-gamer heavy setups), and help the games age better and help future-proof them (even today, the pre-rendered cutscenes and backgrounds in games like 2002's Syberia still look jaw-droppingly gorgeous, while the 3D live rendered character models have aged due to faster computers and bigger resolutions).

3) Four suspect format: Bigger is not always better and this applies to the cast size. Four tends to work with the Nancy Drew games. Four is few enough to give everyone enough proper screen time, but large enough to keep the player guessing.

4) The meta puzzles: Like the first Monkey Island game, some of Nancy Drew's best puzzles use the player's (assumed) video game literacy to surprise them by subverting a mechanic the players usually take for granted. Examples include: (Minor spoilers ahead)

The Final Scene: Player is given too many keys at once that look exactly the same and has to find the right one to open a door before time runs out (messes with the inventory window)

The Deadly Device: Nancy's phone getting zapped unexpectedly just when she needs it (messes with the cell phone mechanic)

Treasure in the Royal Tower: The puzzle you use to get into the library (using the environment as the puzzle instead of a minigame screen)

Danger on Deception Island: Throwing the air tank into the water instead of throwing it at the character (using the obvious interact hotspot as a red herring and having the more obscure hotspot the correct answer)

5) Tomb of the Lost Queen's GUI: The user interface in TMB and DED are a good combination of diegetic design (wood panels, etc) and minimalist, intuitive GUI that doesn't majorly obscure the scene and background.

Note that these things I've listed do not ask for a more expensive budget than what HER is working with. Just design choices and thought during the pre-planning stage.

HER Interactive has had over thirty games worth of experience to make their next title something that pushes the envelope, which I think is part of why MID was such a disappointment to fans. The potential is there, it just needs to poke and prod at the adventure game genre like a detective, asking the question, "Why did past games make these design choices?"

[double-j]

17 questions, 17 people

thank you for the tag @antiquitea

nickname: jess

sign: leo, and yes i do have the co-star app. (which today asked me "are you ignorning your sadness?" so that's great). anyway my friend who made me download the app would want me to specify that i am a leo sun, cancer moon, scorpio ascendant.

height: 5'5"

last thing i googled: how to rearrange photos on a tumblr post LOL

song stuck in head: "arabella" by arctic monkeys

number of followers: 217

amount of sleep: usually shoot for 7-8, sometimes 6. i used to be an intense sleeper, like 9-12 hours every night, it was not great. feel much more like a person now, haha

lucky number: 3

dream job: legit i do not wanna work, oops. changed my major 4 times in undergrad (econ, econ&math, computer engineering, film&tv), added a minor because i still wasn't sold on my major (poli sci), then panicked senior year and applied to law school. now i do in fact have two degrees staring at me and don't really want to do anything with either one, but couldn't tell you anything else that i'd rather do either. sometimes think i would maybe go back and do something with film&tv, like editing, but ya never know.

wearing: aerie leggings, savagexfenty ribbed tank, savagexfenty cropped hoodie, claw clip, white ankle socks seemingly from old navy. pretty much your everyday WFH fit for me, though lately i've been subbing the hoodie for a flannel.

movies/books that summarise you: omg hahaha just realizing i was thinking about this one and never changed it okay wow. give me some time and maybe i will think of something cause right now only the most tragic books and movies are coming to me and that’s just not accurate

favourite song: usual go to when asked for all time fave is "sweet child o' mine" by guns 'n roses. a mix of current and long-term faves, courtesy of my spotify wrapped hitting today: "atlantic city" by the band; "mardy bum" by arctic monkeys; "high infidelity" by taylor swift; "vanilla" by flipturn; "still the one" by shania twain; and "julia" by mt. joy.

favourite instrument: drums. have been harassing my husband to let me buy myself/buy me a drum kit.

aesthetic: just took a buzzfeed quiz that told me it's "dark academia" and also "4am at the airportcore." feel like that vaguely fits my personal style, because i typically dress like it's 4am at the airport, and on the rare occasion that i do go out i suppose it's vaguely dark academia? idk.

favorite author: ya girl reads almost exclusively romance novels, okay? so mostly whatever is recommended to me on the kindle app, recently read a ton from natasha knight. my sister is a diehard colleen hoover fan, which i have heard is vvv basic/lame (sorry if she's ur fave), and i've given her one opportunity to convince me. she has me reading november 9, and i cannot get past the first chapter right now.

random fun fact: i mean i feel like i just gave way too much info to every question above, lol, but my go to fun fact in college was always that i still have one of my baby teeth. still do now, as a 27 year old. no adult tooth was ever underneath. luckily it's a molar so not visible from the front, cause it is incredibly short.

no pressure tags: @theharddeck; @fandomxpreferences; @cherrycola27; @imjess-themess; @wildbornsiren; @roosterforme; @3tabbiesandalab; @thesewordsareallihavetogive; @justfandomwritings; @callsignvalley

[ukiyokki]

mars reads too much dreamnotfound fanfiction for their own good

a dreamnotfound fanfic recommendation list by your resident dumbass (me)

this took way to fucking long... i’m tired

below is a (very extensive) list dedicated to all my favorite dnf fics, ranging from quick one shots to 100k+ word monstrosities that devour the storage on my computer, forever incomplete masterpieces to ongoing works of art, you get the idea. i provided links for each fic/series for your reading pleasure. there will be no smutty/nsfw fics on this list, that’s just not my vibe lmao. this list goes in no particular order, and i’ll update it from time to time when i feel like it. now, without further ado, let us begin.

Heat Waves (complete) by tbhyourelame

(wtf else did you expect, looking at a dnf rec list?) amazingly well written, and while it’s not my favorite dnf fic it’s damn near close. in the midst of a brutal heatwave, a suffering dream comes to terms with the fact that he is desperately in love with his best friend. everything i could say about this fic has already been said by nearly everyone who’s read it, so if you haven’t yet caved into the hype, just go for it. you won’t be disappointed.

Gonna be around (completed) by georgescatcafe

(mc irl) my favorite dnf oneshot to date. just read it, i don’t wanna spoil for you :)

Inferno in the Sky (ongoing)by zairielon

(star wars au) an ongoing star wars au currently clocking in at almost 200k words. need I say more? everything about it absolutely slaps, each chapter is amazingly written, and it’s just good. also, can we just appreciate dream and tubbos dynamic in here? 10/10, amazing, must protecc. oh right, a summary: george, an exiled padawan turned engineer, must return to the jedi temple after attacks on it from an unknown assailant threaten the safety of himself and the other jedi.

Like Magic (ongoing) by KangarooKen, NotGra55 (Gra55)

(harry potter au) the unofficial official dnf harry potter au. we watch the young unlikely wizard pair grow up together throughout their years at hogwarts as they battle good old fashioned wizard racism. beautifully written, incredibly fun and suspenseful, and just an overall blast and a half.

GeorgeNotFound, Son of Poseidon, and the League of Minor Gods (ongoing) by Clichewho_69, Cygnvs, Trash_Kinggg

(percy jackson au) percy jackson au? check. “road trip” (technically quest but u get what i mean)? check. enemies to friends to lovers? check. this fic follows the plot of the lightning theif (albeit loosely), but everything is explained enough where you don’t have to read percy jackson to understand what’s going on. basically after moving to the usa, george gets taken to camp halfblood where he learns that a) gods exist. b) he’s the son of poseidon and c) he needs to prove that he didn’t steal zeus’s master bolt.

Protected (completed) by aenqua

(royalty/camelot au) my favorite piece of dnf media of all time. dubbed the official dnf camelot au, where dream is the heir to the throne and george is a servants son with a secret that couldp get him killed. these childhood friends grow up together and learn trust, love, and acceptance. (that summary did not justice to the masterpiece that is this fic) here’s the directors cut

The Hunter (completed) by HederEgo

(mc irl) a choose your own adventure fic with 13 different endings, where dream the hunter must kill george and stop him from beater the ender dragon. enough said.

The official dream team cowboy AU (series)(ongoing) by antsu_in_my_pantsu

(cowboy au) cowboys and outlaws horses and shit. and the big gay. it’s a cowboy au, what else did you expect? fucking yee haw (all seriousness this is a great read, i loved it so so so so much and i can’t wait for the final chapter to release).

This is a Drista moment, let's just accept it (completed) by Qekyo

dnf fic from drista pov. considering its unique perspective, it’s perfectly done. beautifully showcases a sibling relationship through drista and her memories/moments with dream, and it just works, y’a know? also drista supremacy.

Dear Dream (completed) by Qekyo

(wwii au) i don’t cry when watching/reading anything sad. translation: i’m a heartless bitch. however, this fic is the only exception. it caused me to cry so hard my mom walked in my room and asked if i was ok. ‘nuff said.

TECHNOlogical Wingman (completed) by Closeted_Bookworm

techno is the autocorrect ai on dreams phone, and he gains sentience. interesting concept, and the author fucking nailed it. great fic.

It Was Only a Fic (ongoing) by imagineitdear

dream starts reading a dnf fanfic (we’ve all been there buddy).

Teacher’s Pet (ongoing) by niyuha

(teacher au) in which dream is a high school english teacher and george is the new comp sci teacher in room 297.

Saltwater Secrets (ongoing) by earlgay_milktea

(mermaid/high school au) a great example of the shear amount of variety in fics this fandom has to offer. when i started reading dnf fics i would have never thought i’d find one about a mermaid george hopelessly crushing on his human friend, who happens to be his schools star swimmer. yet here i am, and i am far from disappointed.

Smash My Heart (incomplete) by dontrollthedice

george and sapnap are commentators for duper smash brothers tournaments, and george develops a crush on an up and coming smash streamer named dream.

roleplaying in the dark is harder than it seems (completed) by Alienu

laser tag. 10/10

solar system (completed) by quartzfia

(mc irl) george vists dream in pandora’s vault.

Ramblings of a Lunatic (completed) by jungkooksfic

ahh communicating through a notebook left on a shelf in a bookstore- what a perfect way to start a relationship.

Paint me like your French Girls (It's Charcoal, Actually) (completed) by Turtle_ier

(artist au) george is an art student, and dream is a model.

00:00:00 (completed) by isleofdreams

(soulmate au) 00:00:00 is the moment you meet your soulmate, as indicated but the clock ticking down on your wrist until the moment you meet. i’m not a fan of soulmate aus; this fic is the exception.

Blue Skies Smilin' At Me (completed) by kivy

(artist au) i don’t usually cry while reading stuff, but this brought me damn near close. george is a painting conservator and chats it is with the ghost of the artist if the painting he is working on. they fall in a love.

Current Location (incomplete) by hendollana

(influencer au) george simps for a hot american instagram model. who knew he’d actually follow back?

The Withering (series) (series ongoing, 1 work completed) by App1e_Juice

(mc irl) lore and world building and fight scenes and everything i crave. what’s not to love? something starts making the plants and crops around dreams village wither, and must team up with new friends to find the cause of the mysterious disease plaguing the land.

Minecraft, But You Can't Leave (complete) by facadecake

(mc irl) dream and george are sucked into their own private minecraft world together and must beat the game to escape.

Free The Game, Beat the End (incomplete) by goatgoatwasfound

(mc irl) a glitch in minecraft causes thousands of players from around the world to be trapped inside minecraft, with only one way of escape- beating the ender dragon. first dnf fic i ever read, and it’s still 10/10 for me.

Why don't you come a little closer? (completed) by lifeofandoms

george gets stood up by a date, and Dream pretends he’s the date to save george from the embarrassment. simply adorable.

lightning bug (completed) by saintachesP

(band au) while on tour, dream realizes his feeling for george.

Hold me closer (completed) by Treesofmyheart

(mc irl/dsmp) i just,, really like this trope.

Dizzy on caffeine (completed) by GleamingGreenGoggles

(coffee shop au) best dnf coffeeshop au i’ve read. periodt.

living a life of crime isn’t always easy (series) (completed) by itisjosh

(mafia/assassin au) stockholm syndrome except it’s not weird.

Inhibitions Make Interesting Situations (completed) by Ship_On_The_Sea

i pissed myself laughing. it’s just a dream and george being hilariously dense, flustered idiots. serotonin central.

thy eternal summer shall not fade (completed) by gracequills

(high school au) that moment when you recite shakespeare to your crush in your ap lit class instead of confessing (hate it when that happens).

All is Fair in love and Football (ongoing) by graciegirl2001

(college au) #1 favorite college au. in which george is a cheerleader, and dream is the football teams rising star player. this one gets extra points because of the amazing karlnap moments sprinkled throughout. *chefs kisses air*

online love (completed) by andbutso

(high school au) online classes go zoooooooom

Can’t help falling (completed) by isleofdreams

dream re-learns the guitar to sing to george on his birthday. beautiful. fluffy. amazing

dance in the rain and my arms (completed) by lazy_kitkat

george is a rain god, and dream is a wind god

Weather Boy (completed) by DaintyDiizzle

wouldn't you like to know, weather boy? (where dream can control the rain)

The color orange (completed) by anon

(mc irl) dream describes the colors of a sunset

Family Mode (completed)by Strawberry_flavoured_tears

they’re dads :,)

Breathing Room (incomplete) by papercranes

(band an) an amazing band au. the mad lad author wrote original songs for each chapter. above and beyond, mad props :). unfortunately, it’s incomplete

Piece of Clay (completed) by carbonbrine

(artist au) george is a sculptor and his sculpture comes to life- but oh no he’s hot.

Try (completed) by Not4typicalwriter

(royalty au) george must choose a suitor, but none of them are up to dream, his head knights, standards. or dream is hella jelly. also protective dream is perfect

When the Roses Bloom (completed) by HederEgo

(royalty au) close second for my favorite fic. go to royalty au for a quick serotonin bost. it’s all fluff and flowers and crushes, and i love it. criminally underrated.

Heavenstruck (ongoing) by dontrollthedice

george is dreams guardian angel, and dream want to find out more about him and his past life. bittersweet :,)

Bang and Burn (completed) by App1e_Juice

(spy au) george accidentally falls for target number 1 on sapnap’s secret agency’s hit list. this ones great, i love me a spy au :)

Can I get a uhh… (completed) by lemonskies

dream keeps pulling up to the drive through mcdonald’s that george works at drunk.

Pretty Stranger (completed) by anon

when looking for dream in the terminal, george sees a cute guy and decides to flirt.

Take my Hand (completed) by latinbias

(royalty au) another royalty au? poggers. surprise twists? double poggers. love this a lot.

seconds, minutes, hours, lifetimes (complete) by meridies

ROAD TRIP ROAD TRIP ROAD TRIP ROAD TRIP *inhales to compose herself* roadtrip au. unrequited love, ignored feelings, longing, pining, you know the drill. absolutely love this one, its the best roadtrip au i have ever read, in any fandom. (maybe cause i identify with it a little too much, but thats not important. whats important is that you read this fic. right now. im waiting).

Message redacted (complete) by justyouraverageloser

(text fic) dream asks for a girls number and realises hes been given the wrong number. however, an unexpected relationship starts to form between him and the stranger on the other end of the line.

the waves (completed) by anon

(mc irl) this fic was written by the same anon who wrote the color orange, which is up there on my fav dnf oneshot list. dream and george know they have a higher purpose. they don’t know where they came from, or why they are seemingly the only humans in the world, or how they feel about eachother, or even where the skeletons come from, but they are sure of one thing: they have to beat a dragon.

The Dream Doll (completed) by PeppDream (Pep_Pizza)

(voodoo i guess) i’m a real big fan of fics with really out there or unique concepts, so naturally this one makes the cut! i really liked it, it’s really sweet and made me think a lot about what matters to me in the world. george finds a strange doll in an antique shop, and would really like to just stuff it in a drawer and forget about it. sadly (?), the doll has other plans.

last updated February 6th, 2021

[distressedjellyfish]

Every CompSci/Computer Engineering/Electrical Engineering major ever

hmmm

[thewritersafterglow]

assigning not obvious stem majors to each of the seven bc yes:

percy: zoology

yeah yeah marine biology specifically but i feel like percy would also just vibe with a lot of wild animals and be interested in all of them- even if he can only talk to the sea creatures.

annabeth: physics (phd)

since i'm doing "not obvious" i'm not picking architecture but do you remember this child at twelve in TLT doing that physics in her head?? absolute girlboss she would rock this major

leo: mathematics specifically computational mathematics w/ a minor in computer programming

does no one else remember eight year old leo doing college level math??? WHAT?????

piper: botany

oh. my. god. here is my plant obsessed queen i can just feel it in my bones piper is a botanist and no i don't know if botany is an actual major and no i don't care

jason: organic chemistry w/ a minor in astrophysics

this is getting more and more unhinged but okay jason gives chem vibes i can't explain why ALSO this is our wolfy boy ofc he wants to take astrophysics and howl at the stars or whatever /hj

frank: zoology (i know i know) w/ a minor in bio-engineering

tried my hardest and couldn't think of anything for frank bc he's not a stem kid but anyway i picked bio-engineering bc frank gives very hands-on sorta vibes so engineering just feels right idk

hazel: earth sciences w/ a minor in comp sci

okay i know she's from the 1930s or smth but i feel like hazel would do really well in comp sci idk also side not comp sci kids terrify the fuck out of me okay and then earth science is pretty obvious but i feel like hazel would be specifically interested in earthquakes and seismology bc... yeah

[spaceraceart]

Hey space, what do you study in college? I've been curious about it 👉👈

heheh im majoring in computer science! specifically software engineering. i mainly like the programming part of com sci, but admittedly im not very skilled yet when it comes to real world applications. but im getting there! im also minoring in astronomy lmao.

[binniesthighs]

coax the cold | reader x chan

Pairing: self insert, female reader x bang chan 

Genre: smut, lil bit of fluff 

Tags: softsub!chan, softdom!reader, virgin!chan, shyyyy!chan, lowkey awkward chan hehe, tinder hookup au, college au (very US college haha--or at least how I know it), guided sex, cowgirl, reader has nipple piercings sooo nipple play (my new kink) , hair pulling, use of petnames, praising, protected sex, fingering (f), someone’s impatient ;) 

Word count: 4.2k 

Recommended listening: bite by troye sivan 

*photocreds to OP! 

[02:05] 

you are messaging: chan 

me: i’m here by the bike locks? is this the right place? i don’t see a door anywhere? 

Buzzing above your head, a streetlight flickered from the erratic flying of moths to the addictive yellow glow. You were never really a squeamish person, but when it came to moths, there was only so much that you could take in the uncomfortable silence of the parking lot. 

A group of girls with their cropped shorts and bralettes came barreling out from a pair of doors farther down the building with music screeching from the phone speakers shoved in their tiny pockets. 

“You’ve got the addy right? You didn’t hear anything about it getting shut down? Becs was telling me that they were doing ratios so it looks like we can’t bring the guys--” 

You tapped on your phone screen to see if you had received a reply or if the little flame icon would flash while you watched the minutes tick by. 

You had a little shame about the position that you were in, and you started to care less and less after seeing this guy’s pictures. He was somewhat illusive from what you could tell. The way that he texted in all lowercase made him seem approachable but he still wasn’t one ask for pictures of your tits or send the odd drunk text asking for you to come over. 

You had send the message at this hour. It was likely that you were impatient from “playing the game” but he seemed intriguing enough. 

The Friday night was filled with energy from the other side of the street across from the apartment complex. His place was situated right on the edge of campus next to a couple run down houses with windows lit by multicolored string lights and creaking doors which let out vibrating trap songs every time someone opened them. You had left a house similar to that before coming here right when it was getting boring and the boys were getting a bit handsier than you would’ve liked. You were done making out with randoms in hallways who tasted like watery beer and bad decisions. 

“Um, hey!  Are you y/n?” The stranger’s voice called from a fire escape door. 

He was dressed simply, sort of like someone who didn’t care, or someone who hadn’t left their room since the morning. In this lighting, his hair seemed to be some kind of dark burgundy brown which was a bit different from his caramel blonde hair from the photos. You would’ve felt lied to on another occasion, but the simple trait wasn’t a game changer. 

“Uh-yeah, that's me.” You smiled bluntly, not really sure even what to say in a situation like this. 

Up close you saw what the pictures really didn’t give him justice: a faint press of dimples and stretching veins on his hands. You assumed that he was a bit smaller under the giant black hoodie that he wore, but he had that same kind of coziness that was just a little too dangerous for a hookup. 

“I live on the third floor.” He informed you while leading up the hollow sounding cement staircase. 

“Mm. Okay.” 

The stranger turned his head briefly to smile back at you, “I-Its nice to meet you.” 

“Nice to meet you too.” You nodded, even though he didn’t see. 

This young man’s room was nearly exactly as you had pictured it to be element by element. Like every other boy his age, he had a gaming set up with color changing LEDs on the side of his machine and a smaller TV that was hooked up to some console you didn’t care to know the name of. The floors were nearly clean and the bed made--almost like he had planned for it to be that way; you could see the dirty clothes peeping from under his bed. 

The banged up beige walls were decorated with posters of indie bands that you had heard of once or twice. He had somewhat of an organized open closet that held types of CDs and vinyl too--the room itself smelled a bit dusty like the protective covers of those albums that you associated with a record store. 

“You can...we can sit down if you’d like.” He rather awkwardly gestured to his full sized bed. You prayed that once you pulled the covers back later there would be no white stains. 

“Okay.” 

“I could-um, turn on some music maybe? If you would like?” 

“Sure!” You piped trying to sound as confident and in control as possible--it was clear he wasn’t. 

He fidgeted with his phone and a bluetooth speaker which startled him when he turned it on. Just like the posters on his walls, he picked some soft sounding acoustic song with a crooning folk singer that sounded like he was singing with the exclusive use of his head voice. 

The stranger sat next to you clasping his hands in front of him and eyes glued to the floor. 

“Sorry...this is my first time doing this.” 

“Doing...?” 

He smoothed back his dark locks, “You know...meeting up with someone like this after meeting through an app. Um...what do you study?” 

“Biochem with a graphic design minor. You?” 

You weren’t sure if this was a hook up or an interview. 

“Poli Sci Human Rights stuff and sound engineering on the side.” 

“Huh...thats...cool.” 

Both of you nodded your heads in the silence to which he cleared his throat loudly to feel the space. 

“C-can I get you anything? You thirsty or something? I can steal some of my roommate’s Smirnoff Ice--” 

“--No. I’m fine. Thank you though.” 

He smiled sweetly to hid the fact that he was rubbing his sweating hands against his pants. 

“But...how this usually starts off, you could lay down and maybe, I could get on top?” 

“Oh!” He squeaked, “Sure! I can do that.” 

The bed groaned out with the shuffling of bodies and your hookup sighed out with a shaky breath and squirming legs. “Like this?” 

Rather than saying more, you crawled carefully over to him to the tune of his quickening chest and widened eyes. The shier he got, the harder it was for you to keep it in--he was ridiculously cute and your mind could only run wilder thinking about how he would react to everything you were about to show him. Your hands crept to the hem of his hoodie where you teased cold thumbs to his torso. 

“I’m gonna take this off you, okay?” 

Chan nodded eagerly with hair fluffing once you pulled it over his head. 

“Take mine off?” You hushed into his ear to which he smacked dry lips to obey you. 

He took his time pulling it off you; he savored the way that your bare body looked in front of him with glossy eyes that shone with the soft pastel glow from his computer in the opposite corner of his room. His chest heaved with his excitement which only held even more shallow breaths once your top hit the floor. 

“I-I can touch you?” 

“You can touch me anywhere you want to, baby.” You followed his head back to the pillow where you parted his quivering lips with your own. You could feel his shock get caught in his throat, then snake out hotly from his mouth to yours. He kissed you carefully, but growing in greed once you ran the tip of your tongue over his bottom lip. His curious hands wrapped around your back where he rubbed lightly at your sides, then traversed to your chest. You sunk deeper onto him to the tune of the music skipping to the next song which sounded nearly like a chilled out pairing of twangy guitars. As far as you could tell, it sounded something like Grateful Dead. 

As your hips melded into his, Chan’s whole body jerked feeling the sudden contact of your pussy grind against him. As you had expected, he had hardened instantly, and his length bobbed and tented the thick fabric of his sweats. You kissed him deeper, exploring the corners of his mouth and the inside of his lower lip while tugged at the plush skin gently. 

You should have guessed, but this boy didn’t have a clue how to take a bra off, so you did the job for him, sure to give him a display at the same time just for the dramatic effect of your surprise. 

“H-holy shit.” Chan oggled your breasts from below. You were certain that he didn’t notice the way that he slicked his tongue slowly over his lip at the sight of you. 

“You can touch them too.” You purred back into his ear, and he eagerly brought thrilled hands to your nipples. 

“They’re really...um, pretty.” He said with fluttering eyes from your breasts to your eyes. What a gentleman he was being. 

You toyed with your delightfully hardened bud in your hand while he played with the other. You pulled lightly at the sliver stud piercing there to show him that he could do the same and wetted your fingertips with your tongue to bring the wet to your skin. He kneaded at your breast firmly at first, cupping it in his hand, then moved his attention to your sensitive skin aroused just from the softest touches. 

Your tiny moans was all the validation that he needed to squeeze harder and pull rougher. It was as if you could see his cute pent up fantasies unfolding right before you in his sparkling brown eyes. 

“Mm, that feels so good.” You coaxed him further, going to grind you ass harder into his own lap and indulging in the way that even in your shorts, your folds could part around the thick imprint of his dick. 

You collapsed over his face to align your nipples nearest his tongue which he gave no more thought. Chan kissed at them with trailing breathy moans of his own that melted into you and vibrated against the metal made one with your hardened buds. He sucked too with a flicking tongue that sent heat straight down to your clit. Each time his flattened tongue would return with the wet of his spit, you felt weaker and weaker for this boy becoming more tantalizing by the second. 

“Want to--want to take off even more?” The phrase barely escaped your lips. 

“Mmhm.” He agreed, then took to shimming off his pants quickly and watching you do the same, revealing your sky blue panties that always soaked in the way that you liked them to. 

Your show continued on, and you took two of our fingers to rub over your clit while facing him. He too had wetted a spot into his boxers that adorably bunched around the upper parts of his thighs. With your free hand, you slithered to his erection and traced the outline, leaving him on a teasing squeeze. 

“B-before we do anything else...I have to tell you something?” The young man hesitated, causing you to draw your hand back. 

“What is it?” 

“This is like my, first time, first time. You know?” 

“You’ve never--” 

“--I know. It’s...kinda embarassing...and the fact that it’s happening this way...” 

“You don’t want it to happen this way?” 

Chan stammered, but shook his head vehemently, “That's not it. I just don’t want you to be dissapointed...since I don’t really...know what I’m doing too well.” 

He cracked with a hopeful smile, and you couldn’t stand it any more. 

“Babyboy, you’ve got nothing to worry about, I don’t mind.” 

“You don’t?”

“No,” You scooched next to him to twist a couple of his deeply cherry red strands into your fingers, “In fact, the fact that you haven’t done this before...really turns me on. Got it?” 

Chan gulped, “S-so...what-what can I do for you? I’ll do anything?” 

You pressed a light kiss into his forehead with a hand trailing up his thigh and back to his dick which still throbbed with his excitement. 

“How about, you show me how you jerk off this cock of yours, angel? And I can show you how I do the same? For starters?” 

He licked his lips once more, hooking his hands under his waistband and freeing his cock pink, and even thicker than you had imagined. You slid yourself unto his arm to cuddle up close to him, one of your legs swung over his so he could see exactly how you played with your clit. 

He wrapped his hand around his dick with a tug which elicited a tiny “ah!” from his mouth. 

“That’s it...jerk your cute cock for me...just like that.” 

His eyes devoured the circles made by your hand between your legs--you strung together your slick between your fingers to him to see. The clear stringy cum shone on your fingers, making the other boy whimper out seeing how it coated them. 

“I want to touch you too...down there, so bad.” He pleaded after pumping faster at himself. 

“Oh? Pretty boy would like to feel what it’s like to touch my dripping cunt, hm? You know that watching you makes me like this...?” 

Chan gasped out at the thought, letting out an “mmhm.” that cracked in his throat. 

“C-can I?” 

The heat of your naked bodies intermingled and turned the air of his small room dense, and each of your senses became hyper aware in your own arousal: every hair that stood on end, every flinch of his muscles beside you, you could feel it all. 

“Of course you can.” 

Chan shifted, leaving his dripping cock to pulse on your thigh where he flipped on his side to dip his hand between your folds and against your swollen clit. 

“Rub in circles baby, or whatever feels right to you...you’ll know if it feels good for me.”

He nodded with hands trickling down to your pussy heated between your legs. 

There’s something different about him, it could be the fact that you know next to nothing about him, or how he makes you bothered. 

Slowly, his fingers dip between your folds slicked from your teasing--and the way that there mere sight of him teases you. Your back arches from the press of his fingers, and your bud throbs under each and every swipe of his fingers. 

“Feels good?” He whispers into your ear, tickling it. 

“Mm-yes.” With your free hand, you tangle your fingers into his hair to pull right at the roots. You bite a kiss into his lip while drawing him closer to you. His lips are plush and quivering like they can’t decide what to do with all the simulation at once. 

“Harder...you can press harder,” The words were airy on your tongue while your hips writhed. 

“Like this?” He circled harder, wider with his digits mixing with your cum. 

The room appeared to blur in your euphoria. Coupled with the gentle music playing there was a kind of peace to this boy and everything about his little space. The further he continued, the more you longed for him fully--to feel every inch of his length inside of you as you fucked him for the first time. 

Your hand grabbed at his hair even tighter: a symbol that he took as a good sign. He laughed out a little at your response. 

“You’re so fucking beautiful.” He coos. Against your thigh, his dick bobs with a flared tip, begging for more attention. 

You moan out for him as you dig your heels into his bed, and watch the way that your nipples harden around the metal piercings just from his touch. 

“Just you wait baby, we haven’t even gotten to the good part yet.” Your kisses pull at his lower lip as you fill his mouth with more moans. “You don’t even know how fucking tight it is, how it feels when I pull you inside of me and how the friction feels when you’ll fuck me.” 

Chan shivers from your words with a gulp and lets his fingers fall down to your entrance where is curiosity gets the best of him. You wince feeling his fingers fill your pussy with the wonderful way that you desperately close around his digits. 

“Shit.”

“Are you ready?” You ask him permission before trailing a hand down his torso. 

“--Yes,” He nods quickly, “Please. God--I want to feel it. Show me.” 

You twitch from the lack of contact to your pussy when you swing your leg to straddle him. Your hips meet his, and he struggles for a moment over where to put his hands. In one motion you grind your dripping folds over his bare dick, slicking him up and down with the light grind of your hips. A broken gasp escapes from his lips which you catch with your own mouth in a kiss. His closed eyes flutter from the feeling of having you so close...but not completely yet. 

“Got a condom, angel?” You caress down his cheek and let your thumb linger over his bottom lip. 

Chan gives you a grunt in response before contorting his body to the side table where he fumbles for the plastic wrapper. His curtains dance a little with a breeze caught in them, likely from the window being open. The air smells a bit like water, and it’s cool and crisp in your lungs. It cools the surging heat that your body succumbs to. 

You move for him to roll the condom on, tracing the muscles of his chest. His skin is untouched, unmarked, and suddenly all you crave is to see him bruised and scraped in pink. You dig your nails into his chest seeing the way he jerks at himself just a bit more while looking up at you in awe. 

“H-how do we do this?” He asks. 

“Just...do as I say...’kay?” 

Your date nods, letting you take complete control over his body. You start at his neck with kisses that turn heavier and heavier then darker and darker. He busies his hands by cupping into your breasts and tweaking with the hardened buds. 

“Just lay still, I can put in the work pup, okay?” You reach for his erection further down his body, and he finds handles in your hips and ass. 

“I can do that.” He sighs out with a little groan feeling your hand squeeze at him. 

At first, you tease your entrance with his head, barely letting him feel anything besides your clit against his pink tip. His skin grows dewy in his anticipation, and he licks at his lips which dry from each breathy exhale he uses to steady himself. You take your cum to wet at his dick with your hand, and push harder at his sides with your thighs. 

“Tell me if you ever want me to stop, got it?” 

Chan hastily nods, digging deeper into your sides. 

“Fuck, just--fuck me already...I can’t...it’s really...hurts to wait--” 

“Getting demanding now are you?” You tap a light slap to his face. “You’re doing what I say, not the other way around.” 

“S-sorry...” He whines. 

You resume, sitting properly on his length: all the way down, all the way to your cervix which screams in ecstasy from feeling him fill you so deeply. 

“Fuck.” He groans, but his curse is intertwined with a beautiful giddy smile. “Its really tight. Oh god--” 

You lean over him to attach your lips with his once more--a tiny distraction from the way that you start to roll your hips over his length. Chan freely lets his moans tickle your lips, each of them more gruff than the last as he looses himself in you and your rhythm. He’s dizzied: lightheaded--even you can tell. The new sensation takes him over, and he’s left a mess for you: hips trembling while you work your pussy up and down his length and his fingers claw into your shoulder blades. 

Chan’s Adam’s apple bounces as he gulps dry, forming praises the best that he can. “Feels...amazing...” 

You sit back, allowing his full length to tease your g-spot as you fuck him rougher, indulging yourself to all the pleasure that he can give you when you let him in as deeply as possible. He notices the change, and supports your body up with hands running up and down your chest, and down your arms where he pulls at the skin with his short nails. 

“You like this?” You gasp between each roll of your hips. “How my cunt feels on your cock? How I can use you like this? Use your words Channie.” 

“Yes. Fuck yes. Yo-You look...mm--” 

You giggle a little at the light pink blush to his cheeks and the way that he stumbles over his words. 

“Think you can last a little longer, baby?” Your fingers creep to his throat where you tease at squeezing his neck.  

He pauses, loosing himself in it again before giving you a rushed answer: “I think? It’s just...really intense I think that I’m c-close already.” 

You permit him only a couple more seconds of you, then glide off him carefully to which he whines out in confusion. 

“Your turn to fuck me now. Come on, behind me.” 

Chan looks bewildered and breathless, but he does as he’s told and tosses aside stray pieces of clothing on the bed to get to you. You hoist up your hips for him after burying your face into the mattress. To guide him further, you fuck your fingers for him too at this angle, only stopping once you feel the pressure of his cock once more. He slides himself in agonizingly slow until he bottom’s out with a choked moan. 

“Fuck me baby boy. You know what do to.” 

Your date’s hand finds your hips once more which he firmly grasps, then begins screwing into your pussy already blazing with heat and your orgasm building from before. He finds his pace after a while and fills the room with the fleshy sound of skin on skin. Your own fingers find their own way back to your clit where you rub in tandem with his thrusts. 

“Oh,” He gasps quietly. 

Your nails bury into the comforter of the bed, and your teeth clench harder as he milks himself into you and grows in pace. 

“Fuck yes baby, fuck me just like that. You’re doing so good; fucking my pussy just like you should...” 

Your orgasm quickens hearing the praises come from the bottom of your heart and the way that he grunts out hearing them. For someone who’s never done this before, it’s unbelievable how good he is at it all. 

He shudders, and you feel yourself tighten around him further, sensing both of your release coming near. Your hookup doubles over your back, burning you with the heat from his body as he fucks into you with reckless thrusts. 

“Shit, I’m so, so close.” He admits though clenched teeth. 

“Me too baby, finish me off, cum inside until you’re throbbing and you can’t take any-anymore.” 

A switches flips within this once innocent man, and you feel the bed creak as he kneels on one leg, then lifts one to stamp upon the bed to better his angle. The new position directly sends your g-spot into flames, and you shake from limb to limb feeling your orgasm right on the brink. 

He growls upon his release, finishing it off with shallow breaths once he nearly collapses over your back to feel each drop of his cum release inside of your pussy. You rub your orgasm out until you see lightning behind your eyelids and it’s heightened by the way that he twitches with his cum against your deepest spot. 

“A-are you okay?” Your adorable date immediately asks once you gasp and writhe under him. 

“I’m fine, I’m fine...fuck,” You laugh out, “That felt unreal Channie.” 

He shakes once his softening dick leaves your hole, and you get a good look at this stranger: chest flushed and hair messed over his forehead. He falls down to his side on the bed still breathless and letting out happy little laughs. 

“I’m sorry if that was like, really fast. It just all felt...so good, and, I couldn’t really control it--” 

“Mm, don’t you worry.” You sweep down to kiss his gasping mouth. Silently, you thank whoever it was in the universe that let you meet this boy on this night, and whoever willed you to leave that party. 

“What do we do now?” Chan asks, still bare for you to take in wholly. You wanted to tell him, but couldn’t find the words. He was kind of beautiful. 

“Whatever we want. I could go, or I could stay. Really anything goes.” 

His chest is peppered with your purple love bites, and you wish then to give him even more if you have the chance--whenever that might be. 

Chan tilts his head, “Stay?” 

“Well, we still need to get to know eachother don’t we?” 

The handsome stranger grins, and lets his hand trace the side of your face. The cool of the room feels addictive against you, and it weaves around your neck and against the little hairs of your arms. 

“You’re right.” He nods, “There's only so much you can tell about a person from these kind of dating apps.” 

“That’s true.” Your hand discovers his collarbones, which you trace lightly. “It’s nothing like the real thing.” 

~🌹~

Bunch of (Ro)ses!

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