#I'm already starting to worry what will happen when I run out of space...... lol

[mortalityplays]

Forgive me if I'm mistaking you for another person, but I remember you speaking at multiple points on the unsustainability of free social media services (I think especially in response to the cohost collapse?), and I'm curious on what your thoughts on bluesky are so far. I'm not an expert on the subject, but from what I've read previously it seemed like they were on track to be financially sustainable, but I don't know if the recent floods of users has thrown those projections off. Sorry if I'm mixing you up with someone else on my timeline, in that case just ignore me.

bluesky will almost certainly follow the same trajectory of monetisation => bloat => enshittification => decline as every other major platform built on venture capital and user hoarding. it's a terrible model that only works in the short term as a mirage for attracting funding and making founders look good for a year or two before they sell.

you can see the same effect in the decline of all the subscription box services that came into vogue just before covid: they feel great to use for as long as the initial injection of venture funding lasts, because the purpose of that funding at that stage is to attract users and impress the next round of funders with how pleasant/intuitive/efficient/ethical/good value the service is. that's the stage where they're handing out freebies and bowling over influencers, and every ingredient in the box is fresh and high quality and locally sourced. wow what a good deal, what a great system!!! why hasn't anyone done this before? the answer is because it's unsustainable by design. they rack up good reviews, sign on a billion new users, attract new funding from a bunch of much more credulous investors, and then gut all of the expensive parts. portions get smaller, ingredients get worse, packaging gets flimsier, prices go up, freebies turn into "5% off your first 9 boxes when you invite 3 friends", and customer service vanishes.

with social media (and platforms like discord) the logic is the same, it's just a little less glaringly obvious to the end user because they're not coming home to leaking packages of rancid chicken on the doorstep. bluesky has an advantage over tiny operations like cohost because it was founded by a billionaire making a point for the sake of his own image. it got a really significant chunk of startup funding, and the owner had existing connections and rep in the space to attract more. That's why it has survived the goldrush period, why it still feels good to use, and why users who have been burned so many times before are finally accepting it as a stable, reliable option. It's still in its venture capital honeymoon phase where the only thing worth spending money on is making the service attractive to users.

What I expect we will see next, with another mass influx of users from twitter and new funding from a rogue's gallery of tech venture sickos led by Blockchain Capital is a strong ramp up into monetising that userbase. They've already been pretty forthright about how they plan to do this, and I think it's a solid roadmap of how Bluesky will bloat and decay over the next few years:

this is a huge lol. don't worry, we're not going to hyperfinancialize the social experience through NFTs. the thing even crypto freaks started feigning amnesia about a year ago. real "our health conscious sodas are 100% arsenic free" messaging here. They know perfectly well that rubes users are suspicious of their typical 5 dimensional tech finance chess games and are patting our hands about last week's bogeymen so nobody worries too hard about whatever 'decentralised developer ecosystem' just happens to be helmed by a bunch of crypto guys. this definitely means something good and based and not a google-like single sign on user data harvesting operation.

This is the same shit that's currently rotting the floorboards of discord. Bluntly, there is no way to run a platform on this scale without gating functionality behind paid services. Discord has been squeezing free-tier file uploads and call quality etc. down steadily and cranking up subscription costs over the last year or two, throwing in chaff like animated avatar frames to try and justify the user cost. They're also doing the same misdirection thing again here, pointing to Thing We All Hate to deflect from thing we might not like very much when they do it. Booo elon booo we all hate elon!!! wait how do we feel about subscription models again,

watch out for this to kill porn on bsky like it has killed porn on every other social platform 👍 boooo we hate elon boooo stupid idiot and his 'everything app' booooo wait why do you need my tax information, what's that about mastercard,

Look, we are all aware social media is a money pit. Let's not forget dorsey was looking to sell twitter in the first place, long before elon's very public plunge into total online derangement. Subscription services are not going to plug the hole, so we are gradually going to see more and more spaghetti thrown at the wall while early funders shuffle cards and do their pyramid scheme bit bringing in stupider and stupider investments. this is the window in which bluesky will be temporarily worth using for us, for the idiot public, the poorly rendered crowd jpegs in the background of their venture capital MOBA. it's in their interests to slow and pad the decline as much as possible, because that is how they get maximally paid.

Given the scale of the money involved, and dorsey's weird ego investment, I think bluesky will probably manage a controlled drift for a good few years before it gets really bloated and painful. and by then we will all be so used to the *checks notes* decentralised developer ecosystem that we'll just be posting through it, watching another generation of columnists call another collapsing platform 'their beloved hellsite' and passing around that meme about not getting out of our chairs no sir until idk we all get on a fediverse neurolink alternative to stick it to the elongated muskrat and our brains pop peacefully in our sleep. which I guess is the closest thing to viability any social media platform can achieve.

anyway diogenes the cynic is also on bluesky

[meownotgood]

finally updated

[distortionposting]

Shirts And Skins

Jared Hopworth x Stranger!Danny Stoker

Running a gym is harder than expected, but especially when unpleasant clients start causing trouble.

TWs- homophobia (dw it's some rando but queer is used as a slur once), internalized homophobia, canon typical flesh and stranger content (body horror and implied cannibalism)

Also I'm American and know absolutely nothing about gym culture so don't come at me, I just wanna write gay stories lol

------

"What the hell is that tiny twink doing in here?"

The question caught Jared off guard as he snapped out of his daze. He had spaced out while sitting at the reception desk, like he typically did when things were boring. His gym may have been a front to feed on fear, but he still had to run the place like a proper business, boring or not. It had been a longtime dream of Jared's to own a gym, he just hadn't expected running it to be quite so... dull. At least something seemed to be happening now?

"What's going on...?" Jared rumbled groggily, punctuating his question with a yawn. He hadn't sensed any change in the insecurity levels permeating the place, so it wasn't affecting his fear farming. No decreases, so he didn't need to mess with the lights or the music, and no increases, which meant one of the plentiful victims was ready for "harvest." Things were just... blah.

"Are you fucking stupid? I'm asking you what the hell this guy is doing in here!" The irate man, whose biceps were the same size as his shiny bald head, gestured toward a slender figure on the treadmill, wearing a shirt with stripes on it. He wasn't sure what it was, but Jared figured it was some kind of pride flag. He had a hard time keeping up with which one was which, so he never bothered with it. Gender and sexuality hardly mattered when everyone was a walking meat slab. (Though he did admire the dedication some had in the quest to obtain the perfect body.)

Jared watched the stranger jog for a moment, saw no immediate issue with his form, then looked blankly back at the client making the nebulous complaint. This guy's steroids were probably affecting his brain. Clients did get easier to persuade into new shapes after a while of using the stuff, though, but that also meant their tempers got worse and worse... Which meant Jared had to keep them in check.

The man stared at Jared expectantly, gesturing toward the treadmill once again, a little more rude this time. Without a beat, Jared answered. "Well, it looks like he's getting a better leg workout than you. Should work on that too, you look like you've skipped a couple leg days." The swell of self-consciousness coming off his customer made Jared grin. This guy could be sent over the edge from client to victim soon, Jared could practically taste it. These types of gym bros had such frail egos, which made it so easy to mess with them. Essentially, with lax gym rules, they flocked to this place like a fly to honey. It was like working at a fear buffet, and so long as he kept the lights on, he'd never have to worry about his next meal again. Those meatheads that ditched him for the ritual didn't know what they were missing. Not to mention he thought the whole ritual plan was stupid in the first place, a meat hole lacked any kind of imagination. It's like they didn't even try.

A shout from the other side of the room pulled Jared out of his residual anger regarding his recent abandonment, and he quickly realized that the guy he was mocking a second ago was about to go full 'roid rage. Lax rules or not, a fight would attract unwanted attention. Annoyed with the whole situation already, Jared hoisted himself out of his seat and pushed past the growing crowd of gym rats. He was fully prepared to wrench the tinier man from the larger patron's grasp, but to his surprise, the smaller of the two seemed to be holding his ground. This could get interesting.

In this very moment, Danny was facing down the goliath who had unceremoniously turned his treadmill off, pulling the plug at the source. At first he had assumed it was some sort of emergency, like a small personal object had rolled underneath the track, or even an electrical fire, but this was not the case. No, this asshole was just looking for a fight. Danny was hardly bothered, though, he'd been confronted by men this size before and thrown them for a loop, easy-peasy. The big lunk seemed awfully cocky too... Danny decided that a quick stretch wouldn't hurt, especially while this asshole was trying and failing to intimidate him.

"Are you even listening to me?! I said I want you outta my gym, fucking queer!" The man snarled, attempting to shove Danny back mid-stretch. Fortunately, Danny found it all too easy to evade his touch by purposefully dropping to the floor like a rag doll. Not far from the truth of the matter, he thought, contorting himself to be standing on all fours. It was in that very second that Jared realized that he had a Stranger in his gym, and that things were about to get weird.

The instigator stared at Danny in pure shock, and Danny seized the opportunity to have a little fun.

"I'd be listening if you had anything interesting to say!" He twisted his torso around a full 180 degrees, his legs following as if it were an afterthought. At this sight, a handful of the customers bolted out the door. "At least you noticed something right, big boy~" Danny winked at the man, laughing as his opponent's face got redder and redder. Jared wondered if the man might explode if his blood pressure got too high.

Unable to hold back panic and rage any longer, the man attempted to punt the Stranger in front of him, only managing to graze Danny as he deftly somersaulted backward and subsequently skittered up the shelf holding the hand weights, like some sort of feral animal. Danny goaded him on, throwing his head back and laughing between moments of making kissy noises. The man wasn't having any of that, and before anyone else could stop him, he hurled one of the benches in Danny's general direction. Unfortunately for Jared's wallet, the man missed his intended target and knocked down an entire row of exercise bikes, which fell with a terrible crunching noise.

"Alright, everyone get the fuck out of here." Jared bellowed, sending whatever bystanders were left running. They had seen Jared mad a handful of times, and knew better than to stand up to him. Jared was an enormous man, towering over even the strongest power lifter among them. Those who stood against him either disappeared completely or were hospitalized with severe injuries. Danny, however, knew no such fear, and continued his reign of chaos by launching himself directly onto his foe. The man attempted to avoid the sudden blow by turning away from his attacker, only for Danny to cling to the straps of his tank top like a maniacal little rodeo clown. The man scrambled to pull Danny off his back, but was unable to get a proper grasp on him. Bodybuilding came with an unfortunate price: his arms were so swollen that he could no longer reach the small of his back.

Jared attempted to pull the man back toward the office, but lost his grip when the man threw himself backward against the wall instead, desperate to get Danny off his back. Danny didn't seem to be in any distress at all as he was slammed repeatedly against the bricks, but in all fairness, he was gathering a good amount of fear from this nonsense. Jared cursed under his breath, pissed about what he was about to do, but there wasn't enough time to hesitate. The longer this fight went on, the more likely someone was gonna call the police. It had to be shut down RIGHT NOW.

With a single fluid motion, Jared ripped his baggy t-shirt off as easily as if it were made of tissue paper. What might have appeared as a beer gut beneath his tee (though he was not slender by any means) was actually a well hidden second set of arms, equally strong as his openly visible set. Mourning one of the few shirts that fit him decently well, Jared threw himself into the scuffle. His lower set of arms deftly grabbed the instigator's wrists, while his right hand gripped the man's throat, pinning him firmly against the wall. The remaining left hand pried Danny off the man's back as if he were a scruffed kitten. This was done with far less force considering Danny hadn't started this whole incident in the first place... and because most of Jared's strength was being put towards holding the bigot down.

Danny looked Jared up and down, the momentary peace finally giving him the chance to actually see the gym owner up close. Ripped, shirtless, and real handsy, Danny thought, realizing it was an excellent chance to shoot his shot.

"Finally!" He exclaimed, "A man who knows how to handle me!" A sly grin crossed Danny's face as he spoke. "You can handle me anytime. Nice grip."

Jared went bright red, his grasp on the human tightening out of surprise, the tendons in his hand bulging out. The suddenly strangled man gargled in protest, all the while Jared stared back at Danny, mouth hanging open. Girls had tried fawning over Jared a thousand times before, but this felt different. He couldn't figure out why, though... maybe it was all three of his hearts fluttering in unison. He tried desperately to ignore it, which was a little easier when the man he was holding down was trying to escape not one, but two monsters.

"Stop being so annoying, I'm trying to--" Jared growled as the man beneath him thrashed, to no avail against Jared's iron grip. "You know what? Fuck this."

Jared set Danny back on the ground, pointing at him, and then the front door. "Go lock the door and flip the closed sign for me while I shove this jackass in my office. I want a word with you." Danny saluted in response, which elicited a snort from Jared. The little guy was pretty funny, he couldn't deny that. Once everything was properly settled (aside from the muffled screams from the guy locked in the office), Jared sat down on one of the benches, gesturing for Danny to sit next to him. He tried to ignore his racing thoughts regarding the seating situation as well, shaking the idea and his shaggy brown hair out of the way.

"Sorry about your gym," Danny started, idly kicking his legs. "I didn't think I'd cause a scene so soon. I thought I was gonna mess with you, actually."

An abrupt half-snort, half-laugh escaped Jared's lips. Him? Scared? Impossible. "Yeah? " Jared challenged, grinning mischievously at the circus geek next to him. "What were you gonna do, huh?"

Flirtatiously walking his fingers up Jared's massive arm, Danny laid on the classic Stoker charm. "Oh, you know~ Wait until closing time, make you come over and tell me to leave, and just when you're about to tap me on the shoulder..." Danny suddenly let his upper half go slack, his neck hanging at an unnatural angle, like a marionette that suddenly had its strings cut. The surprise of it all made Jared laugh. It definitely wouldn't have scared him by any means, but it was still well executed.

"Hey, that's pretty good, man. The dead-eyed look sells it. Woulda scared the shit outta someone who didn't harvest organs for fun." Jared lightly elbowed him, prompting Danny to pull himself into a more natural position, giggling all the while. Man, that laugh was infectious.

"Do you want any of our extras? I mean, we try to use every bit at the Circus, but even Nikola doesn't really know what to do with a spare gallbladder-- Anyway, I could bring some to you as an apology for wrecking your place? Say... tomorrow at closing time?" Danny looked up at Jared with wide, sparkling eyes. Maybe a little too wide, revealing a sliver of the plastic that kept his frame together.

Jared didn't know what to say. Nobody had offered him anything before. In his life so far, if he wanted something, he had to get it himself, regardless of how legal it might be. It took clawing tooth and nail to get his gym, and he committed plenty of murder in the process. Yet here this Stranger was, wandering directly into his hunting grounds, and apologizing for causing trouble. To say it was a touching gesture was an understatement. Blinking in complete shock, Jared managed to blurt out an astonished "Yes??"

Danny squealed in pure joy, throwing himself against Jared in as big a hug he could give the man. It ended up closer to Danny face-planting himself against Jared's bare chest. Jared blushed again, staring at Danny momentarily before awkwardly giving him a pat on the shoulder. Were all Stranger avatars this touchy-feely? It wasn't that he hated it (though he'd never admit it), it just so happened that Jared wasn't used to this kind of contact. When his ex-friends were still around, the most positive contact he would get was a slap on the back. All of this was so new.

It took a moment of skin-to-peeled-skin contact for Danny to suddenly realize that Jared no longer had a shirt as a result of all the mayhem that had occurred mere minutes ago. Sure enough, the remaining shreds of it laid pitifully on the floor. The idea coagulated quickly in Danny's mind, and he gave Jared's chest a firm, friendly slap. Damn, this guy was solid as a rock under all that muscle.

"I can get you a new shirt too! The Circus is very good with a needle and thread, see?" To prove his point, Danny held his arm up to display his seams, which were almost impossible to see unless you were looking extremely close. Jared had to admit, it was pretty impressive.

"That'd be great," Jared confessed, "Pretty hard to find stuff I like in my size. Or anything in my size, really. Liked that shirt, too."

With a sense of determination, Danny picked up what remained of the shirt to keep as a template. By god, he was going to make things up to this man. "Then it's settled!" Danny announced triumphantly, "I'll bring you dinner and some new clothes tomorrow night, sound good?"

"Er- uh, yeah, sure." Jared stumbled over both his words and emotions, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "And, uh. You don't have to worry about seeing that guy ever again, I'll take care of him." A skillful press to his chin urged a sharp set of teeth forward, tusks much like a boar's erupting from his lower jaw. A crack of the neck, a shake of the head, and Jared looked like a new man.

"On the same note, wanna thank you for finding me an early lunch. Meat is meat, y'know." Jared chuckled and gestured back toward his office, where the locked door was being rattled desperately by the man trapped behind it. His fear was already delectable, but there was nothing like sinking your teeth into a nice, juicy cut of muscle and sinew. Something of a rare treat these days.

He had already thought Jared was particularly attractive, but the sharp teeth stopped Danny dead in his tracks. Sure, he was playfully flirting with the Flesh avatar before, but that smile had him falling hard and fast. If he had a heart, surely it would have been beating in double time. How was he hotter as a monster?! Danny was so doomed. He didn't even know if this man liked guys! Hell, they hadn't even exchanged names yet!

Fuck it, it was now or never. Danny awkwardly stuck his hand out to Jared for a handshake. You know, the most normal thing to do when you want to date a guy. He was already mentally kicking himself, but it was way too late to take this back now. "You can call me Danny."

"Jared," he grunted in reply, his enormous hand engulfing Danny's as he gave a firm shake. "Names don't mean much to me these days, so it's whatever." This made Danny giggle, perplexing Jared in the process.

"Sorry, sorry!" Danny continued to giggle, "It's just, you sound more like the Circus than I do with the whole name thing. My name's the only thing that sticks with me. Nikola says I'm a special case." He shook his head bashfully, letting his arms swing idly at his sides. "You're uh, you belong to Viscera right?"

"That's a real big word when all you gotta say is Flesh. That's me though. The Boneturner." The way Jared enunciated his title could have given Danny the shivers. Why was he so hot??? Even if this guy wasn't interested in men, his looks were going to haunt Danny's thoughts for the rest of his existence.

The electric lights buzzed around them as the tension grew thicker. There was definitely something blossoming between them, though neither could put it to words so soon. The door behind them continued to shake as its occupant tried to free himself.

"You, uh, you should probably take care of that guy, huh?" Danny gave an awkward smile, fidgeting with the t-shirt fabric in his hands. Jared nodded in agreement, feeling the hunger beginning to gnaw at him. The anticipation of a good meal practically had him drooling.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then...?" Jared trailed off, barely able to tear his eyes away from Danny as he spoke. It was so odd to see a Stranger with such an athletic physique, and the very concept was intriguing to him. Hopefully he'd learn more about him under less hectic circumstances.

"It's a date!" Danny beamed, bouncing on his toes as he made his way toward the door. "Maybe next time you can meet me at my place for gymnastics rehearsal! Bye, handsome~"

And before Jared could protest with so much as a 'no homo', Danny was out of the building. The thought of it festered in the back of his mind as he closed the gym up early. He thinks I'm handsome, was the first concept to sink in, offering a considerable ego boost. Danny saw him passing as a human and a bit of his monstrous form, and it didn't change his opinion a bit. The last time he heard that was from his surrogate mother, Angela, and mothers were basically obligated to say such things, even if she wasn't his real mother. She was just the avatar who helped him get back on his feet again, that's all.

The other phrase took a bit longer to grapple with, It's a date. Jared wasn't completely sure if Danny had meant it in a romantic sense or not, but considering the handsome comment that followed, it seemed pretty damn gay. Was Danny flirting with him? The feelings around that were incredibly murky. On one hand, it was just the two of them who knew, and nobody would ever find out... on the other, if it ever got out, his reputation could be destroyed in an instant, like his father would say. He never quite understood why his father hated queers so much, but the countless news stories and videos of the violence towards them were frightening enough that Jared had tried very hard not to be anything like that. He had wanted to make his father proud.

Granted, he had been kicked out for the weird magic bone book instead. The fear was still there, though.

You know what, Jared suddenly decided, This is too much to think about on an empty stomach or three. He had left his meal stewing in fear for long enough, it was high time he had a bite. This doubt was due to low blood sugar, surely that was it. Yeah, he'd be fine, the gay thoughts would go away if his head was clear. Definitely.

Forcing himself to relax, the crackle of bone could be heard beneath layers of muscle. The sharp edges jutted out of Jared's skin deliberately, just as artfully as he had intended. The perfect form was never quite complete by design, but he always did feel better appearing precisely how he wanted in the moment. He was bone-chilling, threatening, and no one in the world would ever dare touch him. Even better, he'd be able to show off the truly terrifying look to his latest victim.

Bon Appétit.

[littlemissmanga]

If you’re still doing the 200-word game, I’d love to see Wolffe with fem!reader for prompt 10. Maybe she’s used to doing things on her own and has a hard time relaxing :)

Send me one of the following and a clone and I'll write a 200 word spicy drabble.

YES! Nonnie, IDK how you knew to send this in, but let me tell you I'm feeling this in my soul. I'm so sorry it took so long, I hope this hits the right note.

Also, this is entirely self-indulgent cause it's been a WEEK at work and it's only Tuesday lol.

Pairing: Wolffe x f!Reader

W/C: 750 (sorry I couldn't stay within the 200 tonight.

Warnings: Spice, heavy petting, nudity (f), fingering

Divider by @samspenandsword

You couldn’t even care about the concerning clink that rung out when your bag hit the floor, your poor lunch container likely cracked now.

Kriff it, what else can go wrong today!?

It had been hell. After busting your ass for three weeks, the client had changed the parameters for the project you were working on. Even worse, you knew this would happen. Saw it coming from the beginning told the client as much. But your boss — needing to save face in front of the client and always be right — told you to just do instructed.

Sure enough, now that’s three weeks of work wasted and you know you’ll be blamed if the deadline isn’t met. So instead of relaxing this weekend, you’ll be up to your elbow in work.

Not even bothering to suppress a groan, you kicked your shoes off and made your way into your apartment, only to feel strong hands grab at your waist as you passed the kitchen. Immediately, you tensed, pulling your arm back to strike, until ...

“Hey, hey, it’s just me, sweetheart.”

The low voice — unmodulated by his helmet or a holocall — instantly killed your defenses.

“Wolffe,” you sighed, turning to relax fully into his arms as you rested your forehead against his chest. He had already showered and changed into the clothes you kept for him when he was on leave. Gods, just the feel of him, the smell of him, was already calming your over-fried nerves. “Stars, I’m so glad you’re here.”

He chuckled and pulled you tighter. “Rough day?”

“Try a rough month,” you mumbled into his chest. “And it’s about to be a rough weekend.”

“Ah.”

You never understood it. Your petty corporate struggles pale in comparison to the challenges Wolffe had to face every day. And yet, he had endless patience for them, listening to your complaining. He approached everything so tactically and yet he genuinely cared enough to just support and validate you without judgement.

“Well, I can’t help with your work,” he said, rubbing soothing circles on your back. “But I do know you can’t do anything overwhelmed and overstressed. And that is something I can help with.”

Oh, now that was tempting. But…

“And before you start burning out that brain of yours, you know I’m right. Nothing of value is getting done if you’re already running on empty.”

You lean back to look at Wolffe, taking him in fully for the first time. “You’re not taking ‘no’ for an answer, are you?”

He cocked an eyebrow, giving you a discerning look that you were sure scared the boys of the 104th into obedience. “No.”

His hands slid to your front, pulling your blouse from your skirt and deftly unbuttoning it.

“You’ve been working hard. And you have more hard work in front of you. It’s not a crime to take a break to care for yourself. I … I worry you don’t do that enough,” he admitted, pushing the light fabric off your shoulders and onto the floor.

He moved on to your skirt, carefully pulling the zipper so it wouldn’t catch. “And now that I’m here, I can make sure you’re cared for the way you deserve.”

Invading your space further, Wolffe trailed the lightest of kisses across the top of your bare shoulder up the column of your neck, moving slowly to touch every inch of your skin with his lips. You barely registered how much you were leaning into him, relying on him to hold you, until he gathered you in his arms and began walking to your bedroom.

“I take care of myself just fine, I’ll have you know,” you countered as he laid you gently across your bed. “You spoil me. There’s a difference.”

Wolffe’s smile was positively sinful as he shook his head. He pulled himself over you, resting on his side so he could map out the curves of your body with one hand.

“There shouldn’t be, sweetheart.”

You would have protested more normally. Your mind was desperately trying to hold onto the urgency of your work, needing to get started lest your anxious thoughts consume you, but it was getting harder and harder. A pleasant fog overtook your thoughts, your body already having yielded to his touch, legs opening at the barest tap from his calloused hand. His rough touch pulled a gasp from you as he passed lightly over your heat.

“That’s it, baby. Just let go. Lay back and let me take care of you.”

So you did. And it wasn’t long before the only thing you could think was Wolffe.

[the-kr8tor]

Today was a rollercoaster of emotions but I GOT MY SECONDS DONE.... Daily Hobie HC! Week four, day five! Hobie tapped his fingers gently against your shoulder, resting his chin close to the nape of your neck, wondering whether he should ask or not. Finally, Hobie caved and decided to ask if he could have a drink, feeling somewhat exhausted. Once you gave him the greenlight, pulling away the fabric of your shirt from his neck, Hobie took his time to gently prep the area, not failing to tease you a little. He spared a few licks to your neck on where he planned to sink his fangs into. After a few moments, Hobie gently unfurled his fangs into your skin. The sting only lasted for a few seconds before your blood began to flow into his mouth. It felt odd, having your blood taken by a vampire. It was like having a blood test, but instead of a simple butterfly needle or syringe, it's like a vacuum taking out blood. In between his feed, Hobie stopped to run his tongue over the puncture wounds, kissing your cheek and murmuring words of encouragement. You were still a bit new to the whole thing, so Hobie was being slow and careful. Your hands held onto his, which were wrapped around your waist. All of a sudden, you began to feel a little lighthearted, even tired yourself. Without thinking, you close your eyes and let yourself be taken away to sleep. Meanwhile, Hobie immediately pulled away in panic. His fingers went to your pulse, his shoulders dropping slightly at the realization that you were alive, and that he didn't completely suck you dry. Hobie licked the puncture wounds a few times for a final coat, so it healed more quicker and didn't hurt too much when healing. Hobie gently picked you up in a bridal carry, leaning your head against his chest as he walked towards the bed. He placed a bottle of juice on the bedside before properly tucking you in, worried about what happened. He sat at the edge of the bed for a while, before giving in and joining you under the covers as well. Hobie hugged your tired body close, rubbing soft circles on your back. So far, he wasn't able to sense anything wrong apart from the fact that you might've already been sleepy. Either way, he felt incredibly guilty. Once you started to regain conscious, Hobie peppered your face with pecks, apologizing for if he was feeding too heavily or if something was wrong. In the midst of your sleep-muddled state, you chuckled and reassured him that nothing happened. You didn't even properly remember it, stating that you just felt pretty tired and that he was providing a space of comfort and security. Hobie's heart melted upon hearing that from your mouth, pulling you a little closer with a warm squeeze. He allowed you to continue to rest within his arms, internally deciding to just stick to the bags for a few days before trying to feed upon you again. As your eyelids slowly fluttered shut, Hobie pressed a gentle kiss to the ground of your head, his fingers slowly carding through your hair, being sure not to tug or anything. While you slept, he began to braid small strands for fun, his cheeky mind encouraging him to braid your hair and act clueless for when you woke up, wanting to see how long he got away with it...which he knew wouldn't be for long, but worth a shot. -🐦‍⬛

I don't know what that is but good job!

Daily Hobie HC ‼️‼️‼️

Lol I imagined him going "babe, I'm hungry 😔"

Prep the area 😳 what 👁️👄👁️ hobie babes you just need to bite down wdym u need to give R's neck a lil lick huh? 😳

W-wait h-hold on

Hobie pausing a bit to give r a lil kiss in the middle of feeding hnnnngggg 🥰

Lmaoo imagine that r suddenly fell limp in his arms and hobie was immediately panicking and trying to feel your pulse but he's panicking too much and couldn't find it and goes "they're dead! I killed them---" *finds it* "oh nvm just sleepy"

Aww he joined in with the cuddles

Hobie better get r some of their favourite juice and cookies bc that was definitely draining!

Lol r waking up to numerous braids 🤣

[coldchains]

Tips for getting involved in the IRL kink scene

(Based on my experience as a BDSM event organizer living in a midsized town in the bible belt)

Making a FetLife account.

First of all, your username is what you'll likely use to RSVP to events and keep in touch with people you meet, so make it something that won't make you cringe to hear out loud lol.

Secondly, set a profile pic, write a little something in your About, and add a few fetishes so that people know you're a real person.

Thirdly, keep in mind that FetLife is not a dating site. I don't recommend it as a way to meet people, it's mainly useful for finding events. Speaking of:

Looking for events

Go to the FetLife events tab and see what's happening near you. Make sure to see who the organizers are; I don't recommend going to anything that's run by a single person, you wanna look for stuff that's run by an established group.

To start out with, I'd RSVP to a munch. Munches are public social events where you can meet people in a casual setting (I've also seen them called Meet n Greets). That way, when you start going to play parties you might already know a few people.

Getting to know people

In my experience, people in the kink scene are very welcoming. Don't worry about being weird or awkward, I promise you're not going to be the weirdest guy at the freak convention (affectionate).

Don't get laser focused on finding people to play with or fuck. If you're a sub/bottom, it's good to talk with other subs/bottoms. They can give you advice, and help you figure out who is safe to play with. Same for if you're a Dom/top; other doms/tops can teach you things and help you vet potential subs/bottoms.

Play Parties

To get a misconception out of the way: play parties are not orgies. The ones I help organize actually don't have any sex at all, but that varies from group to group.

If you don't live in/near a big city, they're probably not going to be in an actual dungeon, either. They might be in rented spaces, hotels, someone's house, etc.

A lot of people don't play at their first party, so don't feel pressured to do so. No one will care if you want to just scope out the scene and watch what other people are doing.

Conclusion

Getting involved really isn't as hard as it seems. I was really daunted at the beginning, but I'm so glad I took that leap because my life is wayyyyyy better since joining the kink scene. It can be scary to put yourself out there, but I promise it's 100% worth it.

[purplesurveys]

1861

What was the last bad thing that happened to your phone? Not really bad per se, but getting a notice in the middle of filming something that I had no storage left. I'm a hoarder through and through, so even though I have files backed up and even have Google Drives to store my photos in, I like keeping most things on my phone and I'm very familiar with running out of space haha.

What are your plans for tomorrow? We have an all-day team building thing. The company even booked a hotel for us overnight, so I'm here in my room right now while taking this.

Have you ever been with someone while they were throwing up? I honestly can't remember if that's happened. I'm usually the one they accompany lol...

What kind of outfit are you wearing right now? Sweatshirt + sweatpants. I'm savoring this moment now because I'm in a hotel and the aircon is freezing and this will never ever happen anywhere else this time of the year lmao.

Would you go out in public right this moment? I am technically in public right now.

Who was the last person you talked to on instant messenger? My sister. I was asking for photos of the dogs earlier because I was missing them.

Have you ever done something illegal with a family member? What about with your best friend? Hmm. Probably.

Would you rather get high or get drunk? Drunk.

Would you rather get pregnant at too young an age or never be able to reproduce? I don't want kids, so.

What was the last thing you cooked? Can it be the last thing I reheated instead because I don't cook? Hahaha. Spaghetti from Jollibee.

What were you doing 45 min ago? Playing Rhythm Hive.

What will you be doing in 20 min? Changing into my sleeping clothes for tonight.

What did you do yesterday? Worked, played my game, and for like three straight hours I watched videos from this local vlogger that I really really like. I actually already started watching his stuff months ago, but then he disappeared from my algorithm never to come back. I suddenly remembered him yesterday so I looked him up and saw that he had been posting new videos the whole time, so last night was dedicated to catching up.

Did you get a full 8 hours of sleep last night? Nah. Never on weekdays as I do revenge bedtime procrastination.

Have you ever gotten alcohol poisoning? I would never drink that much in one go to be at risk of alcohol poisoning.

Are you in a good mood right now? I'm feeling pretty damn great lmao. I'm in a hotel, I'm taking surveys, I have a plate of macarons beside me, I don't need to worry about work tomorrow since we'll be team building-ing...it's all lovely.

What’s the hardest thing you have done all week? Get through a meeting with a difficult client. He's so negative, never once seemed grateful, gave very strong know-it-all vibes, even his own teammates were on edge around him...I never thought a meeting could be so soul-sucking until that happened, and I honestly wish the deal would fall through or that the event we are planning for them gets cancelled. Not worth it.

How did you feel when you woke up today? LOLfuckit's9:30andIoversleptwhydidIoversleep

Do you want to see someone at this very moment? No.

Think of the person who has hurt you the most in the past year, who is it? My mom.

Do you think two people can last forever? Sure.

Do you find it in your heart to forgive? No.

Last person you talked to on the phone for longer than 5 min? Idk, that doesn't really happen a lot. Maybe with my dad? it's always more a call between him and my mom, though. We kids just chime in from time to time to greet him and such.

Are you a morning person or night person? Night.

Did you go out or stay in last night? It was a Tuesday evening, you best believe I stayed in haha.

Who was the last person in your bedroom? My sister, if I remember right.

Are you afraid to tell your true feelings? Doesn't it always depend on the situation? I'd feel more hesitant if I'm not around people I'm super close with.

Can you honestly say you’re okay right now? Sure.

How has this past week been for you? Nothing out of the ordinary.

Do you currently have a hickey? No.

Did you ever lose a best friend? Yes, I have.

How many piercings do you have? Just two, but I never have anything on them anymore.

Do you bump into someone’s arm if you want to hold their hand? No...

Are you listening to music, if so, what song? Continued from last night. Nope.

Favorite part of summer? My birthday.

Where was your default picture taken? A museum in Makati.

What is your middle name? Eh...

What color underwear are you wearing? Beige.

What color shirt are you wearing? Orange.

Ever had a near death experience? Not really.

Have you ever kissed in the rain? I don't know. Probably?

What is your natural hair color? Black.

Could you handle living with the last boy you texted? No, I barely know them.

What are you excited for? Seeing my dad again, traveling to Vietnam, and getting the notification for Jin's first live back.

Have you been to the beach this year? Yes, twice – both related to work but it's fine haha. The first time was at a TVC shoot that needed to be set at the beach; The second was our team bonding day where Leah invited us all to her beachside house.

What makes you happy? My dogs, day offs, and BTS.

Anything happen to you within the past month that made you really happy? Sure. My birthday happened and my birthday is always one of my favorite days of the year; that's one.

Could you go the rest of your life without smoking weed? Yes.

Held hands with anyone in the past month? I don't think I have. I've linked arms with my grandma since she needs help walking now, but we haven't held hands.

Would you put your life on the line for anyone? Yes.

When’s the last time you did something you knew was wrong? Three seconds ago, lol.

Do you think that someone is thinking about you right now? Doubt it.

Are there any bruises/cuts on your body? No but there is this very uncomfortable knot(?) on the right side of the back of my neck right now that is preventing me from bending my head to the right.

How late did you stay up last night? 2 AM, as usual.

Do you want someone to call you right now? Not really.

Are you a loud person? With the right people, I can be.

Are you a shy person? For the most part.

Does it take a lot to make you cry? No. I was crying uncontrollably the other night over BTS videos.

If your parents didn’t like the person you were dating, would you lose them? Depends on the person, I'm guessing. With my last ex, I imagine I would have fought for it. Hard to imagine with anyone else since I've never dated since then.

How’s your heart lately? Steadily working its way towards peace.

How was Saturday night? Pretty uneventful. I dyed my hair and stayed in.

Will you be in a relationship in 4 months? No.

Are you tan? Yes.

Do you think you can last in a relationship for 3 months? I did. Nearly 20 times that length.

Think a lot before you fall asleep? Sometimes.

[ask-karlachbear]

(Psstt it's Rebby!)

Anyways, hi! So uhhh I'm 29, an INFP(The Mediator) personality type. They/Them

Some strengths that I agree with:

Loyal and devoted

Sensitive to feelings

Caring and interested in others

Works well alone

Value close relationships

Good at seeing "the big picture"

Some weaknesses:

Can be overly idealistic

Tends to take everything personally(I am a very sensitive person and cry really easily, I hate confrontation)

Difficult to get to know(I bottle things up in fear of being a burden)

Sometimes loses sight of the little things(I tend to get into my head, worrying about all the stresses in my life and forgetting that I shouldn't stress over things I can't control)

Overlooks details

Other details:

I have a somewhat similar past to Astarion, though it affected me differently than Astarion. Instead, my trauma causes me to fawn(people please), freeze, and run away when I get overwhelmed. I have yet to ever fight back. Because I know what that feels like to be yelled at, and well other things that I won't go into detail about.

I'm creative by nature. I love to write, read, listen to music, and sing(I would be a bard if I was in DnD world setting, lol). I also love thunderstorms and cuddling my cats. My love language is words of affirmation, physical touch, and gift giving. My sun sign is a Capricorn, moon is Scorpio, and rising is Cancer :)

-@astariondisapproves

you and wyll.

Wyll is literally sunshine wrote by a woman.

First of all you both share the same ideals, he's a very grounded man that cares for the other, that tries his best to live with kindness, and that doesn't stand back from what he believes.

His patience is key here cause he would allow you to bloom like a flower, he wouldn't push you to speak of something you are not ready for, but he will remind you that you can talk and vent with him whenever you want cause he WANTS to know when you are not ok, or when something went awry and you gotta find a solution. He will just give you daily reminders that he's a safe space for you.

He's also a very grounded man, when you start spiraling or panicking, he will help you find your way back in your steps to calm down. He has been on his own for so long that he had to learn those coping mechanisms that would put him back up right away, and he's gonna share those tools with you, he's gonna sit there and try everything to help you out as much as possible.

When you open up about your past, he's understanding. He will literally go above and beyond to make sure you will be comfortable around him. He'd actually suggest you have a chat with Astarion about it, as much as the vampire is wary about sharing his struggles with others, he would understand you and that enough sometimes is enough.. Astarion might not be the best influence, but he's surely gonna make you laugh with his self deprecating jokes, and Wyll loves when you laugh.

As i already saidm he will make sure he knows about your boundaries, he gets to know those signs that you are about to get overwhelmed and he will literally drop whatever he is doing to help you. You are having dinner with duke ravengard? He's gonna drop his fork and help you out, it's in his nature. He WILL put you first no matter how much you might tell him he doesn't need to worry, that you are gonna be ok. He's not gonna give a flying fuck.

Creative, you said? HE'S GONNA BE SO SUPPORTIVE. He would beta read whatever you are working on, asking you questions on your progress, on what you like about your projects. You are reading a book? He will literally lay next to you, and whenever you gasp at a line, he'd jump up and ask you what happened.

He'd ask you, no he'd beg you, to sing for him, he'd spend days just listening to your music. Sometimes he'd pull you for a dance, even if no music is playing, and he'd sway around with you.. and if you start humming while you are dancing with him? He's gonna be gone.. and i mean GONE.

He'd dedicate his time to praise you, care for you, and lavish you in love. His hands would be respectfully always on you one way or another, and he's gonna pull the moon off the sky for you if he needs to.

[weepy-the-clown]

Hmm...where do I even begin?

I'm trying to contain my emotions and feelings for you but it's so hard. Like the moment you message me I can't help but run to you.

It's not right nor fair...I really need to give you your space but I can't help but think about you constantly..when you go missing for hours I check my phone as if you are already mine. I know I'm delusional lol.

My heart is constantly anxious and heavy no matter what happens until I'm with you I feel okay.

I tried to find friends or people to just be acquainted with or maybe a future partner. Didn't work out at all. I blocked the guy that played with me the other night when I thanked you for saving me. I just can't stand people at all. Ughh I'm sorry I'm like I can't help it I'm trying my best to be a good person that gets along with others but I can't.

Maybe I should distant myself? Or...just fake it till I make it 😌👍.

I really don't want to overwhelm you with my feelings so please don't worry about anything I'm always ready to talk about anything you need. ❤️‍🩹

Just don't start focusing on my feelings you should continue to work on yourself. I'm proud of you 💜

[personallylivingeasy]

I dont really know what to do right now. I'm so happy i heard from you but I know you are going to say you are not ready for a relationship. that you want to work on yourself and all that jazz. which is understandable, admirable. but if i could, without interruption, hesitation, or restraint i would tell you this.

I know you are going to say you are not ready, and i respect that, i do. But while respecting that, I want you to know that not talking to you this year was so lack luster. not that i didn't have things going on, it may have been the busiest 9 months of my life. But in every fun outing or funny moment i so wished you were there. And when i was with my family and i needed a drink out of the garage i was like ugh it was so nice when jack was with me at my aunts house and we could joke and have fun while also attending a family function.

thats really just a side note. and me easing into actually being vulnerable. Which i am not good at nor do i enjoy doing.

I don't even really know how to say anything i want to say so bare with me. I don't know if you remember saying to me that if i said yes to us dating, that would be it. I'm at that place. This would be it for me, in fact i've kind of made up my mind that you are the person i want to be with. And i'm saying that as you are now. not as you should be or could be or fully healed and whatever. As you are now and how i've known you. again i'm not saying this to pressure you into starting out a relationship now. in no way do i want to do that. But i also don't want you to think that because you are working on yourself everything else has to go on pause.

I don't know how to say these things without it sounding like an ultimatum or something. I just want you to know where I'm at, how sure I am. I don't know what to do from here but i know i cant do another 9 months of no contact. I think this is a lot more grey than it is black and white.

If i could write out how I'd like it to go it would look something like this, we don't do anything different. We hangout as friends and let it progress naturally. no titles, no hard and fast rules, just as we were. obviously it won't be exactly as it were, but i think the more we put rules on it the more serious the situation is. and really it isn't all that serious.

I just feel like it's so simple. we have such a good friendship foundation. I already know all of you or at least most of you and vise versa. If it can really only go up from here with working on ourselves, then what is there to be worried about. As your friend nothing would change with you going through this, except maybe less drinking more running. But i wouldn't stop being your friend. nothing would change in that department.

So like i don't want to date while you are not at all ready. I want you to feel settled. But know that nothing is going to be perfect neither one of us is going to be 100% ready. So lets move at a glacial pace. neither one of us are in a rush to have babies, get married, move in together, so why act like that's the next step when it totally isn't.

what i don't want to see happen is we wait and wait and one of us grows resentful and our friendship goes away and then the potential for a relationship goes with it. I just really think that would be my biggest regret and what if of my life lol

idk i just think there is an answer here that neither one of us considered that makes us both happy, both able to work on ourselves, gives us space to do so, but still keeps us together on some level.

I'm saying all this as if we have remotely talked about anything important. all we've said is that we'd like to see each other. something i will be hanging on for awhile lol

i miss you, i wish you knew that. I wish you knew i want you as you are. which is good for me.

[cabbageslost]

Live Reacting to Live Action AtLA - ep 4

Nothing about this is spoiler-free. You have been warned. Skip til after you've seen if you're worried.

..

Okay, just like with the first three, this will be my space to blather my way through the 4th NAtLA episode. Almost to the halfway point. Here's hoping this one brings it, cuz if there's a Bumi who is "toned down" I will be just screaming into the void. Firing it up now...

..

Well. At least they let Katara be the one to be out looking for Aang. I feel like she hasn't gotten enough "umph" in this version.

Secret love cave is turning into secret haunted tunnels. *sigh* Gonna guess this change won't be one I like.

Wait, what? They're skipping WAY THROUGH a ton of Bumi lead up. Straight to instant knowing. *deep breath*

Yay, she gets a water skin now an-- oooh, Jet's back. Kick his ASS, girl! One hope speech then his stubborn ass goes down. YES! Yes that WAS you!! woohoo.. okay, favorite part so far. LOL

Pun game is strong with Bumi.

At least we still get the nomads, but.. this bit isn't even a book 1 thing. And it being here is gonna probably mean skipping a fairly iconic part from the OG.

Wait, Iroh dropped a pai sho tile? But that stinky sandal turned out to be an MVP later.. lol..

Okay, still having crazy Bumi trials of a sort.

Sokka's instincts showing up to lead them out of the cave. I kind of love their sibling fights. Giving me hope for Katara getting better writing as we're going on, because she clearly acts well (and her imperfect, layered self was always my favorite and I want none of that toned down.)

Guard/Iroh exchange is actually a pretty standout scene, acting-wise. And Iroh's expressions.. oh man, if those expressions didn't hit you in the feels enough, here's the flashback. Shades of Leaves on the vine..

Ah, sibling love. Um, okay. Yeah, still don't like it. This adaptation already has so much they cram in, no reason for them to try and reach out for more season 2 stories to shove in.

Aang and Bumi fight.. I wish that they would have Aang explain that he didn't "leave", not in this version. He and Appa were out for a midnight stroll when stuff happened to go down. What's the point of making that change if he's still letting the world think he left them? (Which, I mean, he was 12 and understandable.)

Yes!! A (very brief) mail chute ride AND a MY CABBAGES!! Some of my prayers have been answered.

Okay, and I approve the addition of this Zuko/Iroh flashback. "Everything I need is on this boat." Uncle Iroh, you and these ninjas-chopping-onions moments.

Ah, ending on Zuko ignoring an Appa sighting. Guessing that's why they were making Bumi completely hammer on Aang having run away (though he didn't) - because they were trying to get a couple points from The Storm in.

..

Alright, well. This one was a roller coaster for me. I actually did love the added scenes (the Iroh/Zuko flashbacks), and they seemed to start writing Katara better (please keep it up), and I got my tiny glimpse of a fun ride. Also got to see Katara put the smack on Jet, but the awesomeness was dampened a bit since she was immediately making excuses for him in the cave with Sokka. And then a lot of the rest of it was disappointing. Putting Cave of Two Lovers in there for no reason was a big L, and I remain frustrated by the repeated "you ran from this" stuff that is getting tossed at Aang - including by his own past life who would 100% know that didn't happen (in this version). It was a decision to change it to make it not a running away, but then there's no decision to have Aang reassure the world he never chose to leave them? Bonkers. I mean, it was frustrating enough in the original, since when he ran was when they were removing him from Gyatso.. he had been still around the temple after being told he was the Avatar, he wasn't running from that alone. But at least he was choosing to run, so I kind of "got it" then. But they changed it and now he hasn't even run and just.. meh. I'm also frustrated at the pretty big lack of showing the Gaang actually forming a close bond. It's all the little "fun" things that they cut out that just don't let us see how they're close friends.. we just have to be told at the end of the fight, I guess.

[spidxysense]

Back to You | 14

Summary: He broke your heart, but you’d always love him. Two souls that not even the universe could tear apart, even if you wanted it to at times.

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader x Timothee Chalamet

A/N: Yay I updated! I hope you guys like this one, I was stuck for a bit there but once I sat down and got to typing, I really finished it in one sitting. I was just planning on updating it bit by bit lol. Let me know what you guys think, Love you!!!!!!

Word count: 2,591

Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14

In a few short months of your movie premier with Timothee, you were finally able to release your double-release album, and the response was massive, to say the least. You'd been getting calls from different show hosts' upcoming awarding ceremonies. Still, you couldn't for life in you accept, all except for the Oscars, which your manager told you was a must since you'd be attending in the first place anyway and that performing at the Oscars was a big deal given that you also starred in films and shows.

You turned in bed, facing Timothee's sleeping face. He had been in town for a week now, back on a break from filming in Hungary. Then he'd be back to film in England in a couple of weeks. After your talk on your premiere night, it was to an agreement that whatever you had going on was just two people exploring and experiencing things with someone they had strong feelings for. There wasn't a need for a media circus to cover anything about you two except your movie.

You move his arm, placed it over your waist, and sit up slowly in bed, making sure not to stir Timothee. The jetlag must be shit. You stretched your arms in front of you, glancing at the clock that read 2:07 AM. You get up, grabbing Timothee's white shirt from the floor, and, putting it on, walking over to the bathroom. You looked at yourself in the mirror, touching some of the reddening parts of your neck courtesy of Timothee, and then you notice the toothbrushes… there were two. From this single thing alone, it had you catching everything about the bathroom, how there were two towels, one black, and one violet, which just so happened to be your favorite color.

You walked over to the nightstand beside the bed, putting on your skinny jeans, turning on the lamp, and noticing his wallet. Inside was a picture of you. Opening the closet doors, the ones hung up were various suits, jackets, and even dresses you've worn to events. Why didn't he just send these back? Why would he let you keep your stuff in his house?

You drag your feet downstairs, noticing small details you'd been blind to before, like the large dog bed positioned by the door despite Timothee telling you he could only ever get himself to take care of a tiny dog. You noticed the colored mugs and bowls, a deep dull navy blue color, the same as the ones in your house. Suddenly, everything feels as if it's moving too fast. You both agreed there was no relationship, and there was attraction, but why does his home feel like it's become yours as well?

You sit down, taking a few deep breaths before deciding to stand up and grab your cardigan from the coathanger, opening the front door and closing it behind you as you waited for a taxi to bring you to the more active part of the city at night.

You just couldn't deal with a relationship right now. You couldn't let your heart get broken again, so you have to find ways to distract yourself.

The car stops in front of you, driving off into the night and dropping you off by a club that Troye agreed to meet you at.

You and Timothee had an attraction, but you both agreed there was no label; ergo, there was no intimate relationship even though you both have done everything together. No boyfriend means you were free to do whatever you wanted without worrying about him. But if you were honest with yourself, this was more of you suggesting something you already knew Timothee wasn't too keen on agreeing with but would just because he thought that having something with you was better than absolutely nothing. You saw Troye waiting out by the back entrance for you when he spotted you and called you over. Almost like clockwork, every time you snuck out away from Timothee, everything in you screamed to turn back, to clear your head, and for the first time, you listened.

You motioned for Troye to go ahead and sent him a text that you'd probably just head home because you weren't feeling well. He gave you a knowing look before looking like he finally approved of your actions and sent you a quick and short 'Good." text, and headed inside.

You walked around for a while after that. Soon it was already just about 5 in the morning, and even though you wouldn't let yourself come to any conclusion as to what you even wanted out of this almost relationship with Timothee, you still found yourself back at his front door.

You took out the keys in your pocket, slowly opening the door only to find Timothee sat on the couch, his knees up to his chest as he stared off into space, either deep in thought or trying to keep himself awake… maybe even both.

When he saw you enter, a soft smile formed on his face, and for some reason, that made you smile too.

"Hey, you." He spoke softly.

You sat down quietly next to him, instantly he set his feet on the ground and reached over to embrace you in a hug, the familiar scent of Timothee that never left you that evening even more evident… It felt and smelled familiar, and right now, while your mind was a mess, familiarity was what you needed.

Timothee lifted his head, worried, "Hey, are you alright?"

You sighed, "I don't want to hurt you."

He murmured quietly into your neck as he peppered kisses, "You could never."

You pulled away, feeling guilt in your bones, "Aren't you even a little bit frustrated that we've been like this for months? That even in private, we can't even say that we're in a relationship?"

You gave you a reassuring look, "We both wanted this Y/N."

You sat up, "Except we didn't… You didn't." You corrected yourself, "You're bringing your mother to the fucking Oscars next month because I told you we couldn't be seen together at carpets for Pete's sake."

You stood up, starting to pace back and forth, "We have to coordinate outfits for the sake of not matching, and we never go out because I can't be seen with you in fear that we're going to get found out. I'm a terrible fucking person, and I don't understand how you're so okay with this."

Timothee was grinning, sleep still in his eyes, "I'm okay with it because I love you, Y/N."

You froze in your spot, "You what?"

He nodded and got up, walking over to you. The blue light of the early morning peaking through the curtain made this moment feel and look ethereal, "I said I love you, Y/N. I've known that I loved you from the moment I met you." He kissed the top of your head as he embraced you.

You shook your head, "No, no, no, you don't. I'll even list more shit I've done to you just so you understand how and why you don't love me."

Timothee chuckled, "And yet despite all this... all that's registering in my head is the fact that you've been thinking of me and only me this whole time. You've been worried about how you're hurting me because you don't want to."

And that's when you realized that Timothee was right. This whole time you've been thinking of Timothee and how much you wanted to protect him from you, but he never wanted to be protected from you because he knew that you could never hurt him. You rested your forehead against his.

"I-I need to go. I need to think."

He smiled sadly, "I'll be here when you're ready. I'll always be here Y/N until you don't want me to be here anymore."

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

You sat in your house, since leaving Timothee's earlier, you had been sat there lost in thought as you argued with yourself. It was true, the last thing you wanted was to hurt Timothee, but you were confused because it's like you couldn't understand your feelings. After all, a particular person still held a large part of it in his hands.

Timothee was there for you. Late night at the recording studio, whether through being there physically or even calling you or skyping you, he was always there. He was there with you when you bought all your albums from Target, and he was also the one who insisted you find another target that hasn't sold out your CDs so he could buy all of them too. Timothee was there with you when you had interviews that you almost felt like you could puke from nervousness backstage as he watched you talk about another celebrity you were getting linked to, and he was there with you to giggle about how stupid talk shows were. Timothee was always there. Whether it was dancing, kissing, or even fighting in the rain, he was always with you. He always wanted you around. Even when you rode the subway to get to a press conference of his or a promo for his upcoming movie, he always wanted you with him. He'd run with you in the rain, and he'd kiss away the sadness when you didn't want to speak with him. He was there with you when you get the sudden urge to buy all the popsicles from the nearest whole foods, and he was there with you when you got sick with the flu, which he also got from you. You'd spend afternoons walking around a far-off hill as you two put flowers in your hair despite knowing that you two probably had your busy schedules. Nothing mattered when you were with Timothee. Nothing mattered except each other. A part of you felt hurt that these memories you had kept of you and Tom were slowly being replaced by everything Timothee, but a large part of you also knew that the person you have now had no doubt that you couldn't ignore your feelings. You couldn't have to take Timothee out of your life.

Making up your mind, you got up, got dressed, and left for where you were sure you would find Tom.

He was in the middle of filming a new movie, but the second he saw you, he immediately asked to stop filming, a familiar, loving face plastered on as he walked over to you before being stopped by the director. They looked to be having a bit of a disagreement before he pointed you out, and the director looked at you in realization, patting him on the back and allowing him to jog over to you.

"Hey." You paused, your hand grasping your arm, and Tom took notice right away.

His eyebrows furrowed, "Hey, what's wrong?" He pulls you to sit by the curb as you two sat side by side, "You only do that when you're having a hard time saying something."

You gave him a look, "Well… I came here to ask you if it was alright if I try things out with Timothee."

He looked taken aback, "Oh, well, honestly, I thought you came by to sort things out between us…." He took notice of the way you looked down in guilt, "I don't think you could do anything with another guy that wouldn't upset me… but I don't really get that prerogative anymore, Y/N." He sighed, wrapping an arm around you to comfort you, "The fact is, you're trying to grow into who you've always wanted to be, and I'm trying to do that too for the sake of us and what we could be. If that means that you need or want to date someone again, I'll fully support you, but the most important thing is, does he make you happy?"

You sighed, looking out onto the filming lot, and nodded slowly, not noticing the slight upset look on Tom's face, "I catch myself sometimes smiling to myself when I think of him… But it's like I can't do anything because I don't want to let go of what we had."

Tom took a gulp, deciding that what was important right now was you, more than what he wanted, "What we had and what we were isn't important anymore Y/N. I'm working towards what we could become. What we had was co-dependency and a constant need to be in each other's presence to prove that what we had was perfect. I want us to find each other again in the future and know that no matter how far apart we are, if hopefully, we get together again, there is nobody in this world we'll love more… and that's what I'm encouraging you to do. I want to grow with you and grow for each other, and if that means you dating other people to understand yourself more, then I support you."

You looked at Tom for a second before hugging him and pecking him on the cheek, "I really needed that, Tom. Thank you."

He hugged you tighter, "Anytime. I'll always be here for you, Y/N."

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You gripped your seat in the car in pure nerves. You were on your way to the Oscars with your assistant constantly telling you about your performance and what not to mess up and things to remember, especially about reporters who wanted an interview with you. To say you were all nerves today was an understatement. You hadn't spoken to Timothee ever since you told him you needed time to think, so today would be the first time you would ever come face to face with him. You thought long and hard about everything between the two of you. Still, you think you're finally ready to actually put some time and effort into this… and if that meant doing things that would significantly make Timothee happy, then you'd do it.

Your assistant watched a live feed from the Oscars as she gave you updates on how Armie was on the carpet. Saoirse was on the carpet, talking about how she hoped to make a movie with you and various other stars. You were a few minutes away from the carpet when she spoke up again.

"Timothee has just arrived." then she looked at her phone and back at you, doing a double-take as you gave her a sheepish smile, all she could do was smile approvingly at you before going back to giving you live updates.

A few minutes later, and your heart didn't feel like it was going to slow down anytime soon as your assistant gave you a pep talk, "Y/N. You are gonna rock that carpet, you'll turn heads, and most importantly, you're gonna be the talk of the night. There is nothing that could go wrong tonight. Just take deep breaths and don't trip."

Luckily you were still coherent enough to understand what she said as you took deep breaths to calm your nerves.

"Alright, three… two… one." The door flew open as one of the large men in suits grabbed your hand and helped you out. Your dress was not providing you much flexibility to move, and for almost 15 seconds, it felt like everything was moving in slow motion as everyone was quiet. You found Timothee busy with an interview as the crowd looked from you to him, the topic on everyone's minds for the past few months. As if this were the only proof they needed, they held their cameras in their hands as they snapped pictures of you and a commotion started as they started asking for Timothee.

You think you gave them a quick, charming grin as you told them he was in an interview before walking towards the interviewer and Timothee. She was the first to notice while Timothee talked about how his mom stood him up as his Oscars date, something you arranged a week earlier and something Timothee's mom was more than happy to comply to.

The interviewer looks ecstatic as the only one and the first one on this carpet to get whatever the scoop was here, as she wasted no time when you slowly approached them, "Timothee! You said you were stood up, but you never told us that your backup would be late!"

Timothee shot her a confused look before he felt your arm slowly snake around his arm, "Sorry I'm late." You quickly whispered to him.

His face looked shocked. Almost as if a reflex, he almost pulled away from you before getting a good look at what you were wearing. His jaw looked like it would drop to the floor as he looked utterly awestruck.

The interviewer giggled nervously, already knowing her interview time was slowly coming to an end without any payoff to the two of you, "Timothee, you look to be speechless at Y/N's dress tonight." She looked at you hopefully, "Could everyone here assume this is date night?"

You smiled shyly at the lady before giving her a tiny curt nod, "I know it's a bit cliche to match outfits, but when I saw that Timothee was going to wear a harness, I just couldn't let him take all the attention for tonight, so I apologize, but I've kept this secret from him too just to make sure he doesn't do anything to take the spotlight, that's why he looks like he's just had a heart attack." you giggled.

He gave a quick, playful tilted look to you before blinking multiple times, "In my defense, I didn't even know that this was a harness... They told me this was a bib."

"Bib or not, you two look like the sexiest couple on the carpet, and I just so happen to be the luckiest interviewer tonight." The interviewer looked ecstatic as can be as she jumps up, more energetic to interview the two of you, "And well, Y/N, one look at you, and it's hard to believe anyone would still have the ability to speak. You look gorgeous." She winked at the camera, "But I can't help but notice you just confirmed this is date night… Is it safe to assume what everyone has been wondering for the past few months? That you two are dating?"

Somehow, Timothee finally snaps out of it and looks at you, a questioning look before you leaned over and spoke into the mic, "Yeah. We're together. We have been for a while now." You smiled sheepishly as you saw Timothee's face glow as he wrapped his arm around your waist, "I apologize for keeping quiet for so long, but we think it's the right time to go public now that we've decided to take things to a more serious level."

The interviewer waves a hand in the air, "As long as you two let us in on the secret, there's no problem there." She faced the camera, "You heard it here first, folks. Hollywood's newest and hottest up and coming power couple. From both Y/N and Timothee themselves, now going public with their relationship."

As you two walked away from the interviewer for more pictures, Timothee embraced you, uncaring of the cameras flashing in your faces, "Are you serious?"

You nodded slowly, "I'm ready to be with you completely, Timothee. I'm sorry I took so long."

He shook his head like a puppy, "As long as you're here with me now, Y/N, I don't care."

He pulled away at the sound of your name and his in the same sentence as the photographers asked for your attention. He quickly kisses you on the cheek as you shut your eyes and grinned, cameras going off and commotion started up at you two, the young hot couple everyone had wanted more details on.

Timothee clutched your waist tightly, almost like he was afraid that if he let go, this would all go back to how everything was before.

Before entering the venue, he pulled you to the side, "Are you sure about this? I don't want you to force yourself."

You shook your head, guiding his head to yours, "I think I'm in love with you too, Timothee. I'm all in with you." And then you kissed him.

[peanutpinet]

Lucas (mafia leader) x Reader (female)

A/N: I had this thought for days now and was like, ya know, just let it out. This is my first NCT (?) WayV (?) fanfic? Scenario? Yea XD For those who have read my past fanfics/scenarios, you know how horrible I am in explaining XD but yea, essentially I just imagine that you, the reader are a uni student whilst Lucas is part of the NCT mafia, "leader" of the WayV unit (I know Kun is technically the leader, but just for the sake of the story), okie, leggo

Sighing in defeat, you gathered all your books, stationery and some clothing before sneakily going out of your dorm and to your boyfriend's apartment since he gave you the spare key, saying that it was for emergencies or whenever you wanted to come over.

After texting Lucas that you were heading to his apartment, you went to grab a cab and head there. Truth be told, you never really went there and only got the address from Lucas. Which is why upon arriving, your jaw nearly dropped when you saw his apartment; even making sure whether the address Lucas gave last time was the exact one and making a mental note to yourself to look up things beforehand.

Upon arriving, you felt like you just came from the countryside to the big city. You went to the front desk and inform them who were you looking for, handing in your ID card and was immediately directed to the elevator, one of the securities pressing the highest floor of the elevator and left you in the elevator on your own.

Just when you thought that it couldn't get any fancier, the minute you stepped out of the elevator, you were amazed at the decor and the fact that there was only one door made it even grander. Taking out the key Lucas gave you, you were actually hoping that it wasn't the correct one and Lucas just sent you the wrong address but as it turns out, the key fits and you took a deep breath, walking into the room.

But on Lucas' side, he actually didn't receive your text message. So, the second he heard someone coming into his suite, he was already reaching for his gun because he wasn't really expecting anyone to come. But as soon as he heard your signature nervous voice, he felt relieved but worried at the same time. Did something happen to you?

"Lucas? Ar-are you in here? The people at the front desk just directed me here. I uh sent you a text" you called out

"I'm here sweetheart. Now, what brings you here at this late hour? Is there anyone I should be concern with?" Lucas stated, coming out of his bedroom

"Huh? Wow. I mean, no. Sorry, it's my first time here. I uh, I was just wondering if I could stay for the night. The dorm was so loud that I couldn't study nor sleep" you admitted, trying to avoid eye contact with Lucas, thinking that it was a lame excuse to come over

"Of course you can. I gave you the spare key for a reason, didn't I? Uh, sorry about the mess and all. I didn't expect you to come. I didn't receive any messages. C'mere sweetheart" Lucas mentioned, giving a hand motion for you to go to him

"Really?! I could've sworn I...(looks at your phone) I forgot to click the send button" you sighed, hitting your head as you went over to Lucas

"Hey, hey. Don't do that. You'll hurt your brain even more. No harm sweetheart. My place is yours. Come. I'll order some McDonalds as well if you'd like" Lucas cooed, bringing you into his office

"Damn. Two desktops?! Bro and this processor is the latest one?!" you commented, placing your bag down and immediately inspecting his desk

"Sometimes I play some games with the guys. Feel free to use it if you'd like. Lemon tea or coke?" Lucas asked, scrolling through his phone

"Lemon tea, no ice. It's worth the money better. Are you sure I can study here? Am I not disturbing you?" you questioned, sitting on the chair

"Not at all, sweetheart. It's almost 10pm. I'm done with work. You're free to use my computer. I've ordered your favourites already. I'm going to go for a shower for a bit. Feel free to turn on some music as well, alright? And please don't study for too long. I worry you'll hurt that gorgeous head of yours" Lucas chuckled, kissing your forehead before leaving you in his study room

After settling, putting on some music with your account (which was already in Lucas' Spotify), you grabbed your books and stationery then started to study for your finals. In the midst of it, you heard Lucas coming in with McDonalds; wearing a plain T-shirt and sweats.

Because there was only one chair in his office, with your consent, Lucas placed you on his lap as he was feeding you McDonalds whilst scrolling through his phone, occasionally leaning his head on your back as he does so.

After finishing the food, Lucas was about to get up and cleaned up so you could study a bit better since he knew you didn't like a messy space but when he felt your head slightly leaning backwards, he questioned whether you were already sleepy or not.

"What's wrong love? Tired?" Lucas murmured as he placed his chin on your neck, wrapping his long arms around your waist

"Huh? Oh? Sorry. I didn't realise I was leaning back" you yawned, scrubbing your eyes but Lucas stopped the motion

"Don't. Your eyes will get irritated. I think it's about time you sleep, hmm?" Lucas commented, tucking a hair behind your ear as he kissed the side of your cheek

"Hmm. I guess so" you sighed, leaning onto Lucas's chest

"Alright princess, let me just shut everything off. Kay, let's go to bed" Lucas chuckled, carrying your small figure in his arms and tucking you into his bed before going to the other side of the bed

The next morning, you were woken up by the sound of your phone's alarm but just stayed in bed whilst scrolling through your phone until you realised that you had exams that starts in 45 minutes. Immediately, you got up and went back to the study room to grab your clothes, without even calling out to Lucas and head to the bathroom to get ready.

After getting ready, you were so ready to rush out the door and call a cab until Lucas finally called out to you. Once you told him that your exam was starting in literally 15 minutes, he just chuckled and told you that he'll drive you there; which was a first since all this time, you guys just have dates near your campus since your dorm had strict rules and Lucas would just walk you there (A/N: how you guys met is a story for next time, lol).

After packing some food for you, Lucas grabbed his car keys in one hand and your hand in the other, making your way down to the parking lot where your jaw also almost dropped again since the car Lucas owned is probably enough to pay your whole entire undergraduate life.

Whilst in the car, Lucas told you to eat so you wouldn't be hungry during the exam. He also mentioned that he'll come to pick you up to celebrate finishing your finals since he knew that you've been stressing over this last final for weeks; saying that he'll treat you out.

Once you've arrived, Lucas pulled you to give a slight peck on your forehead, encouraging you to do well in your finals and that he'll see you right after you're done. You smiled and thank him. Getting out of the car, you saw nearly the whole campus that was by the front gate staring at you; even your friends were stunned before rushing to you, managing to get a glimpse at Lucas who just smiled before leaving.

"Gurl!! I knew your boyfriend was hot, but well off? You definitely hit the jackpot!!" one of your friends blurted

"Sis!! Can we save the conversation for later? I need to get this exam over with first" you bargained

"Okay, okay, good luck with your exams!! I'll see you later!!" your friend exclaimed as you went to your exam hall

Thankfully, the exam wasn't as hard as you'd thought. You didn't know if it's because Lucas actually helped you study since he actually knew the subject or something else but you were glad to finally be done with it. After the exam, you got a text from Lucas, saying that he'll be running a bit late which you didn't mind. Your friend, who was also done with her exam, came to your exam hall and didn't spare a second before plastering with all sorts of questions.

Asking you where you've been the night before since you weren't at your dorm; and when you told her you were at Lucas' place, she squealed, asking if you guys did anything spicy which you immediately cut her off, saying that you just went there to study because the rooms near yours were getting too loud and rowdy.

You also explained how kind and caring Lucas was; despite the amount of work he had to deal with, he was still soft when it came to you. Ordering your favourites from McDonalds, letting you just barged into his apartment whenever and even using whatever he had; hearing this, all your friend can do was just squeal, saying that Lucas was the perfect boyfriend.

And right on cue, Lucas texted you saying that he's almost at the front gate. Your friend saw your smile and teased the heck out of you before letting you off just because she supported your relationship; knowing that you had a rough past and it was nice to finally see you happy with someone; someone that genuinely cares about you.

But of course, life ain't that easy. Because just as you were skidding along the halls to the front gate, you accidentally bumped into someone and dropped your phone. You immediately apologised about to get your phone when the person you bumped into stepped on your phone. Looking up, you met with the campus' miss popular with her boyfriend.

"Can you please let go. I really have to go now" you sighed, looking up

"Can't your boyfriend get you another one? Oh wait, is he the one that you're meeting? Honestly, I dunno what he sees in you. Oh wait, I think I do. He's probably just in it to play around or probably did it because of a bet" the girl scoffed but you were just not having it and shoved her feet off, nearly falling if it weren't for her boyfriend being there

After getting your phone, you were about to make a run for it before she grabbed your hair, pulling you back and making you fall; calling you names and all. When you got back to your feet again, she nearly slapped you when you got ahold of her hand about to push her back when her boyfriend came and took your hand, twisting it behind your back, allowing an opening for her to get a good punch out of you.

It felt like forever since you were trapped between the two "bullies" of your campus and for Lucas, it meant something was wrong. It's been almost 30 minutes since he arrived and called you but there was no answer at all. Frustrated, he called Winwin to track your phone as he went in to find you; thinking that you were held captive by one of NCT's enemy.

When he did see you, he felt a slight relief that it wasn't one of NCT's enemy but he was still very much pissed at the sight. When the girl was about to hit you for like the 15th time, Lucas grabbed ahold of her arm, throwing her to the floor before looking at her boyfriend who turns out to be one of the bartenders in one of NCT's bars.

"B-boss..." the man stammered, letting go of your hand as you almost dropped if it weren't for Lucas catching you

"You better come to work tonight. We'll have a lil discussion about respect? Hmm? Make sure everyone comes. Or I'll just have to report Taeyong about this" Lucas growled, making the man cowered in fear

"N-no sir. Everyone will come tonight" the man stuttered as Lucas stood up, holding your figure firmly in his arms

"Good. Wouldn't want to make a big deal out of this hmm? Oh, and do bring your girlfriend while I take mine to treat the wounds you both caused" Lucas scoffed, bringing you out of the campus

Once you've reached his car, he gently placed you and put your seatbelt on before going to the driver's seat. Once he was in, he called Kun, telling him what happened and that he's planning to have a meeting later tonight in the bar. After the call, Lucas took your hand in his, stroking your knuckles as he drove back to his apartment.

Upon arriving, he helped you get out of the car and into his apartment. Inside, he brought you to his room before going to the bathroom and grabbing some medicine for your bruised face and cut on the lips. Lucas treated all your wounds as gently as possible, worrying that he might accidentally hurt you, treating you as if you're as fragile as an egg.

After he was done, he threw all the cotton buds and ordered some food for the both of you; knowing that you will tell him whenever you're ready. He put his hoodie onto you before bringing you to the living room to cuddle and just watch the whole day. Occasionally, food will come and it was all from your favourite restaurants.

After the next 5th Disney movie ended, you told Lucas that you wanted to take a shower and he told you that you can borrow any of his clothes. He even said that he'll run you a bath but you told him that you were just going to take a light shower which Lucas didn't mind. Whilst you were showering, Lucas prepared a T-shirt and shorts along with the hoodie you were just wearing.

After your shower and putting on the clothes Lucas prepared, Lucas came and redid the medicine on your wounds before going back to watching some heart-warming movies on the bed. Feeling better, you decided to tell Lucas what happened and whilst it seemed that he was calm, his mind was off wondering the endless possibilities of teaching the two that harm you; whether it'd be physically or mentally.

Either way, Lucas listened to all your rambles, wrapping his arm around your shoulder, leaning you onto his chest, giving kisses on your forehead, cheeks and occasionally your neck, chuckling when he saw you flustered; basically making you 10x better, treating you like a queen up until you fell asleep.

When you did fall asleep, he gently tucked you into bed, kissing your forehead, smiling at your sleeping figure before leaving the room to the bar where he was more than ready to make the two-person harmed you suffer; not forgetting to ask Hendery and Yangyang to come over to watch over you.

"Sleep tight sweetheart. I'll be back before you know it, alright? No one treats my queen like trash and gets away with it" Lucas mumbled, kissing your forehead as he left as quietly as possible

and let's just say that everyone in the bar that night experienced a side of Lucas that no one would like to see or hear ever again.

"Try and lay a finger on her again, I won't be so nice next time" Lucas scoffed, seeing all the staff looked down, especially the two-person who hurt you

A/N: I hope that this was alright but yea, this fanfic has been stuck in my head for days

[dumbikawa]

Being Stressed About Exams & HQ Boys Comforting You

GN!Reader | Comfort/Fluff | Warnings: stressed reader

Characters: Atsumu, Oikawa

A/n: This is extremely self-indulgent as school has been kicking my butt and the future post-graduation is very terrifying lol

ATSUMU

You stare at the computer in front of you, the text you’re supposed to read for class beginning to swim together as your eyes fill with tears. Everything is happening too fast and you feel completely unprepared to take any of it on. What if you spent all of this time and money on schooling only to fail so close to the end? What if you finally do finish, but then can’t find a job in your field? Should you have studied something else? The questions become more exhausting and constant the closer it gets to exams. 

Small droplets roll off your cheeks and begin to pool on your keyboard. You haphazardly wipe them away before powering off the computer and tucking it back in your bag. Out of sight, out of mind, you figure. It’s not like there’s any use in trying to finish it tonight when you can already feel another wave of stress induced tears coming on. Those have also become a regular thing.

You click the volume button on your phone so that the sounds of music fill the room before leaning back in the desk chair, testing the limits of how far you can recline before gravity takes over. Atsumu had made this study playlist for you when he first noticed how stressed you were. It contained a mixture of your favorite songs, his favorite songs, and a few ‘motivational’ songs he pulled from his work-out playlists. It was a bit of a weird Frankenstein mash up with the large variety of genres, but it quickly became one of your studying must haves.

Over the sound of the music, you couldn’t hear the shower click off and the door to the bathroom swinging open. When Atsumu steps out, he sees you sitting where he’d left you, although, in a more dangerous position than you’d been in before as he notices the way the desk char teeters back and forth. His attention is quickly caught by the music choice, though, recognizing one of the songs playing as a favorite of his he added to the playlist he made for you a couple weeks ago. A smile breaks through his face as he hurriedly jumps into a pair of sweatpants before approaching your quiet figure.

As he comes up behind you, though, he notices a slight glisten upon your cheeks and a few fresh tears that tumble from your closed eyes. His upturned lips quickly sink as worry floods through him. Exams had been taking a toll on you, it wasn’t hard to tell, but he would never get used to seeing you cry.

“Baby,” he whispers, gently wrapping his arms around your shoulders. “What can I do for ya? Food? Cuddles? Cry it out?” You nod, resting the chair back on the ground and practically launching yourself into his arms.

Atsumu catches you with ease, his strong arms holding you against his chest. His hand rubs up and down your spine, sending shivers racing down you back, but there's no ulterior motive to his gentle touches. He continues the soft touches as he guides you to the bed, only letting you go for a second before allowing you to bury yourself in his side again.

“What if I can’t do it?” you whisper, trailing your fingers across Atsumu's toned chest. “I’ve studied for so long, but what if it doesn’t work out? What if--What if I don’t actually know anything and I crash and burn and--”

Atsumu shushes you gently, placing a few comforting kisses to your forehead. He notices your breathing beginning to grow heavier as your anxiety takes over. There's a few moments of silence as you try to match your breathing to his, the two of you taking slow, deep breaths in sync.

“The future might be unsure and stressful, but I know you’re going to do your best and make it work. All you can do is continue to work towards your goals and handle everything as it comes. Not to mention, I’m always going to be here to remind you of how strong you are even if you don’t see it.”

A new wave of tears begins as his words echo through your ears. You bury your face in his chest as your arms wrap around his waist in an attempt to pull yourself as close to him as you physically can be. Somehow he knew exactly what you needed to hear and a part of you wonders if he’s ever repeated those sentiments to himself when things felt unsure.

He continues to whisper reassurances as you fully relax against him, your tears finally beginning to dry up. You lift your head and offer him a weak smile.

“Thanks for letting me cry on your abs,” you sniffle, allowing yourself to truly laugh.

Atsumu feels lighter as he watches you smile and joke, hopefully being able to forget about the more stressful parts of life for a while as he holds you close. There’s been countless times where you eased his worries about the future, so he’s just happy that he can return the favor and create a safe space where you’re allowed to simply be.

OIKAWA

The cup in your hand is warm and comforting as you trudge towards your bedroom, a sense of dread washing over you as soon as your eyes land upon the laptop you left sitting open on the bed. With finals coming up, you thought it would be a good idea to transfer the notes you had written down during lectures onto your computer, figuring it would make them easier to access and that the process of going back through the information would be a good way to ensure you remember the material.

What you didn’t realize, however, is how absolutely time consuming and exhausting it was going to be. Your neck hurts from constantly looking back and forth between the paper and computer screen, your back hurts because somewhere along the way you abandoned any semblance of healthy posture and decided to go full cave gremlin in the way you hunched over your work, and instead of absorbing the information for a second time it seemed as if your brain had completely abandoned you and gone on autopilot. Shoving the computer off the bed and taking a nap feels like the best course of action right now, but you know if you stop now there’s no way you’re going to want to finish later.

Begrudgingly, you settle back onto the bed and take a large swig of coffee before stretching your fingers and placing them back on the keyboard. It couldn’t take that much longer right? All you have to do is push through and get it done.

And, for the next few hours, that’s what you do. You jump back in where you left off and race through the next few, gruelingly long chapters. The daylight outside quickly dwindles away until you’re forced to turn on the bedside lamp when you realize the sun has sunk far below the horizon and is beginning to cast bizarre shadows around the room. It was no bother, though, because you’re so close to being done. The issue is that neither your brain nor your body could keep up anymore.

Your fingers keep hitting the wrong keys, typing made up words that have you constantly backspacing and starting sentences over again for a third of even a fourth time. The breaking point comes when you go to take a sip of your now cold coffee and look back at the screen after attempting to type an entire paragraph from your notes in one go. Little did you know your finger placement was off, yet again, and the entire paragraph is an unreadable mess that even spell check doesn’t want to touch.

The tears that sting your eyes make you feel stupid. It was entirely too dumb to cry over something as superficial as misspellings that could be easily fixed and cold coffee. But once the tears start they won’t stop. Suddenly, you’re not crying over the notes or even school work in general. You’re crying about the crushing weight of change that's soon to come once you finish with classes and how impossible everything has begun to feel.

You’re too exhausted to focus on anything anymore, letting the hot tears run down your cheeks freely, which is why you don’t hear the rushed footsteps of your boyfriend who could hear your hiccuping breaths from down the hall. 

He doesn’t say anything when he sees you curled up on the bed, your face buried in your arms. Oikawa sits on the ground closest to you and lays his head near yours as he begins to run his slender fingers through your hair. It doesn't take a psychic to tell you've been stressed with the quickly approaching exams, and from the collection of notes littered all around to the half closed computer the dots practically connect themselves.

The slight dip on the bed near your head alerts you to his presence, but you don't move. His hands guiding themselves over your scalp is quick to relax your body, but your mind feels like it's about to burst any moment as the thoughts continue to race.

“You’re doing so good,” he whispers against your temple, planting soft kisses after every word, “and you deserve to take a break. Remember when you used to have to tell me that all the time?" The feeling of his quiet laughter against your skin makes you smile, along with the memories of simpler times before either of you had barely begun to grasp how harsh the world could be.

"I picked up dinner for us, it was an apology for coming home late," he admits, kissing the top of your head. "But let's go heat it up and you can either tell me everything you're worried about or we can try to forget all about it for now and watch a movie. I'd really like it if you talked about it eventually, though. I know I'm not going to be able to fix it all, but that doesn't mean I can't try."

You turn your head to the side, exposing your tear stained cheeks that are quickly wiped away by Oikawa's calloused thumbs.

"I will," you say, voice heavy. "For now could you just hold me?" There isn't a second of hesitation as Oikawa slips his arms beneath your figure and presses you tightly against him.

"Movie it is," he announces, laying you on the couch with the remotes so that you could put on whatever you want. Your brain would never stop the constant anxious thoughts, but losing yourself in those chocolate brown eyes made it easy to imagine a future where it all works out somehow. Little do you know, Oikawa sees the same thing reflected in your eyes as he wonders about the right time, perhaps a couple years from now when you've both settled down in your careers, when he can finally buy that ring he's been looking at.

[lilacsandamethysts]

Up into Dragonspine

Pairing: Albedo x fem!Reader (she/her pronouns)

Summary: He enjoys having company with him when he does his research and who better than his lover? But will they safely make it up to his camp in Dragonspine or will he mourn the lose of a love gone too soon?

Warnings: angst, mentions of blood and getting lost, turns to fluff

A/n: Hi I'm not dead lol just overworked but I'm back now. I'm not very proud of this one but I'm in an Albedo mood. Enjoy.

Dragonspine was a dangerous place. Filled with all sorts of creatures of ice accompanied by multiple camps of hillchurls and the icy weather that only seemed to get worse; venturing alone in such a place was a death wish. Even Albedo himself, the almighty head alchemist of the Knights of Favonius, would only venture up until a certain point not trusting the weather or the landscape itself into being kind enough and not killing him. He had always warned his colleagues and companions that when they decided to visit his frozen lab they should never strain from the main path. It wasn’t hard to miss; a cobblestone road with little to no encounters with hillchurls and multiple sources of warmth. The path led directly to his work station and he always kept an eye out for any adventurers so he would definitely see them coming.

When he received word from his lab partner and lover that she was coming to work with him in Dragonspine, he was excited. Research with her was always extra interesting and he loved getting the chance to spend even more time together than usual. Besides, her cuddling up to him for warmth made him feel powerful, more powerful than he already is. Even the mere thought of her smile, her laugh, her voice made the young alchemist blush. While he waited for her to appear he was admittedly less concentrated than usual, making rookie mistakes every few minutes and knocking over piles of books every time he turned towards the path to check if her figure could be seen in the distance. As more time passed he started to grow anxious. The sun was going down and she still hadn’t shown up. Maybe she didn’t come after all? Maybe she changed her mind or something came up? There were multiple logical scenarios running through his head and one part of his brain kept telling him that everything was fine, she was fine. She was curled up in their shared room back in Mondstadt with a cup of hot cocoa beating herself up for not managing to make the trip to him. Yeah, that must be what has happened, she’s perfectly safe! But somehow he knew that wasn’t true and despite how much he wanted to believe it, he couldn’t. His stomach sank as more gruesome images flooded his brain. Her being attacked on the road or maybe the weather was too cold for her to handle. She might be stuck somewhere crying for help.

Before he knew it he was already sprinting down the sloppy hill, eyes frantic as they scanned every single surface, every alcove and slope, any spot that could possibly hold his love captive. He stumbled multiple times as he descended but he ignored the strain in his limbs, pushing himself to sprint even faster than before, tears beginning to slide down his cheeks. He didn’t want to lose her, he couldn’t imagine his life without her. If she asked him to drop everything for her he would; she was his everything and now he didn’t know if he would get to see her again. He landed finally on a crossroad half way down the mountain when he was pushed to the ground by a hillchurl. It banged on his chest with its fists, spouting incoherent phrases at him and scratching at his face. He pushed it off easily, summoning his vision and his sword, cutting it down in one swift motion. There must be more somewhere around here, they never move alone. As he looked around for the camp he spotted a few drops of blood painting the white snow crimson making his own veins grow cold with dread.

The camp was on the side of the road and judging by the few hillchurls roaming around, it was fairly new. He took care of them quickly wanting to waste no time in finding her but much to his dismay she was nowhere to be found. Not in their huts, in their tents, behind or around the camp, nowhere. She wasn’t here. Sinking to his knees defeated he pulled on his hair, his mind working overtime to come up with a solution.

“Albedo?” Great, now he can even hear her voice in his head taunting him. “Albedo darling, what’s wrong?” Snapping his head to the source of the voice, he came face to face with his love concern etched on her features as she knelt beside him, her bag strapped tightly to her body. She cupped his cheek, rubbing soothing circles on his cheekbones in an attempt to calm him. Leaning into her touch he wrapped his arms around her tightly bringing her flush to his chest pressing a chaste kiss on her hairline. She squeezed back giving him a few kisses of her own on the column of his neck allowing her warmth to envelope them both. “ What happened darling?”

“I-I thought you got lost when you didn’t show up and when I came down findinging the camp I-i thought-” She cut him off with a kiss on the lips, pushing lightly on his chest to create some space between them only to cup his cheeks again and press their foreheads together.

“I got held back in the headquarters. I'm so sorry for worrying you.” He leaned in, kissing her sensually on the lips allowing a chuckle to leave his lips followed by a relieved sigh. A whispered “I love you” was shared between them as they slowly picked each other up, and hand in hand, making their way back to the outdoor lab Albedo’s grip a little tighter than usual.

[xpeachesncream]

restart | four

[ SEQUEL TO PERFECTLY WRONG ] | [ series masterlist ]

summary: as you and taehyung start to build your life together post graduation, things become more complicated than what you expected it to be. while taehyung struggles with his inner demons, you’ve become the sole supporter, the pillar, juggling different jobs to keep you two afloat. your love for each other has been put to the test as your relationship continues to face hurdles - hurdles that have you questioning whether or not your relationship will make it through.

pairing: reader x fiancé!kth

genre: post grad au, established relationship au | fluff, angst, smut

words: 4.8k

warnings: cussing/mature language, jealousy, lots of insecurities and overthinking, angst, crying, bar scene, alcohol consumption, flashback scene in the middle of the chapter, a lil sprinkle of fluff, implied sexual content, bickering/arguments

note: honestly, this was ALSO not supposed to get this long but like… 🙃 here we are lol

tags: @enchantaeduniverse​ @thedarkwinterrose​ @sapphirejeon​ @jwlmnbt​ @bluesharksandfish​ @ra-mun-e @brightcolorsoffendme​ @jungcrookthecookbook​ @sunniejinnie​ (please message me if you would like to be added to the taglist!)

"Okay, I think that's it." You said, hands on your hips as you and Jungkook walked through your door for the final time.

"What are you selling, the world?" He huffs and puffs.

"For someone who works out often, you complain a lot." He rolls his eyes playfully.

"Where's Tae?"

"Sleeping still." He nods.

"Oh, okay. Ready to go then?" You nodded silently as you grabbed your bag to hitch a ride to the café with Jungkook since he was working today. He starts to talk about the girl who works with you two and how he thinks she's a little cutiepie. He has such a silly crush on her that his cheeks are lightly rose tinted every time he talks about certain encounters they've had. You're happy to see him happy, and you tell him to keep pursuing it since she's a super sweet girl. However, part of you is sad solely because you couldn't say you were 100% happy at this moment. You wish you were, but these problems were hindering you from feeling complete. You just wanted to get past this page in the book.

As soon as you both get to the cafe, you start unloading his trunk and getting everything inside. Jungkook claims he has the last two bags covered, so you walk to the back and take breather just to gather yourself before setting up. But you truly didn't expect to lose it right then and there.

"Okay! I got all the— Y/N?" Jungkook instantly worries when he sees you crying into your hands in the backroom and hurries over to you. "Hey, woah. What's going on?" He gets in front of you, gently trying to pry your hands off of your face.

"Fuck, I'm sorry." You continue to cry as he successfully removes your hands from your face.

"Sorry for what? What's going on?" He wipes your tears with his sweater and lifts your chin to look at you in the eye.

"Nothing."

"The day barely started and you're already crying in the backroom." He says softly. "Don't try and lie to me."

"I just don't know what's going on between me and Tae and it's stressing me out."

"What's going on? Same stuff?" You nod, tears still streaming down your cheeks. You tell him about how he had been super weird about taking Jimin's help and how you both got into a huge argument about it. Then, you told him how last night ended [sparing your poor bestfriend the details] and how you couldn't help but feel used because he simply dismissed you, which is very unlike Taehyung when it comes to arguments and disagreements. "I'm sorry, Y/N. I know he's going through a rough time, but Tae also needs to respect you and look at you as his partner, not someone who's also attacking him or against him. Do you want me to talk to him?"

"No." Simply, no. Because you never get your friends involved like that. You just don't, no matter how much they wanna help. "He looks at me like I am, especially after this whole Jimin thing. I don't wanna say it's stupid because I don't wanna discredit his feelings, but god. Like, should I just do this on my own? Tell Jimin to forget it?"

"No." Jungkook shakes his head. "You're already getting a good start on your goals, Y/N. Don't let that go because of everything going on. Give him some time and space."

"I have been. For awhile now." You sat, feeling completely defeated already, tears still coming down your cheeks.

"Here, I'll go set up and I can take over the table for a bit. I'll ask Isabella if she can cover for a quick second." He stands in front of you, hands out to help support you as if you had lost your footing.

"No, I'll be fine—"

"Y/N, just sit. Okay?" He gives off a small sigh. "Just sit for a second and let yourself take a breather." He gently sits you down and makes sure you don't get up by slowly backing away from you.

"Kook, this isn't Marco Polo."

"I'm just trying to make sure you don't run off because you're stubborn!"

"Hey!" Isabella comes running in, a little confused as to what's happening.

"Hey, can you cover me at the front for a bit?" Jungkook stands back upright in a normal position to ask her sweetly, hands tucked behind his back as he bounced on his feet. This boy.

"Yeah, of course Jungkook." She blushes.

"Thanks. I'll be right back." He gives you a quick look before dashing off. You lay your head onto your arms as they rest on the table, a small headache forming at the center of your forehead.

"You okay, Y/N?" Isabella asks softly as she puts her things away.

"Yeah, sorry. Just a really weird day yesterday."

"I'm sorry." You feel her hand caress your back. "Let me know if you need anything, okay?" She says before shuffling herself out of the room. To be honest, you had no idea what was going on with you, and why you were feeling this way. You were just so sick and tired. Sick and tired of being sick and tired.

This was slowly taking a toll on you, and you weren't even sure if Taehyung realized what he was doing was hurting you in the process.

He can't say he does.

Tae set the weights down back onto the rack aggressively before sitting on the bench, watching Jimin finish his set. They had been working out after lunch, Jimin calling him shortly after Taehyung had fully woken up.

"Are you gonna go to the café after this?" Tae shrugged.

"I don't know, Y/N said she didn't need help and wouldn't be there all day."

"You won't even visit for a bit?" Jimin asks. Usually Tae was rushing to get back to you, but he knew everything that had been going on had been affecting your relationship to an extent.

"We'll see."

"You two coming to the bars tonight then?"

"What are we celebrating again?"

"Nothing. Just getting together like old times. I told Kook, Hobi and Yoongi. They're down." Tae nodded.

"Joon, too?"

"Joon, too."

"Me and Y/N will probably go but I don't think we'll stay long. She has to do that thing at the school—" He scratched his head. "The thing— the exhibit and talking to incoming art students or whatever." Jimin chuckled at how Tae couldn't get his words out.

"It's not whatever."

"You know that's not what I mean." Tae rolled his eyes at him, annoyed all over again at how Jimin had been kissing your ass lately. Cause fuck, the way Jimin had been painting himself as a knight in shining armor, an angel even, was pissing him the fuck off. It made him feel like he wasn't doing enough to support you, or like you couldn't turn to him for help. He hated that feeling, even though he had been rude as hell and showing it in a different way.

"That's fine. Just come out and hang out for a bit." Jimin sighed as he sat on the bench next to him, drinking some water before placing the bottle back down on the ground. "You two doing okay?"

"Yeah, what makes you think we aren't?" Tae asks, getting defensive. Jimin quickly eyes him, reading his body language. He knew Taehyung so well - so fucking well that he knew almost immediately when things were taking a toll on him. Things liiiike.. his parents. As a prime example. Jimin knew Taehyung and his parents obviously didn't have the best relationship, and he knew he took things to heart whenever his father got on him about stupid shit [just like he did over that dinner]. Taehyung wasn't one to show emotion much; he liked showing people he was mentally tough and that he could handle whatever came his way. For the most part, it was true. But, Jimin and Namjoon also knew he wasn't always like that, especially when it came to things that mattered the most to him - his family and you. Taehyung hated to admit it but his family's opinion of him was important no matter what. He was hard on himself because he wanted them to be proud. He wanted to actually feel like he had been doing something good for once. He was still longing for that feeling no matter what he said or did. It was a never-ending battle; like a plot with no happy ending in sight.

"I'm just asking." Jimin threw up his hands, showing that he wasn't suggesting anything behind the harmless question.

"We're fine. I know she's been stressed lately because of work and her art."

"Mmm."

"It's funny." Taehyung chuckles at himself.

"What's funny?" Jimin laughed a bit, confused.

"I didn't expect to be caught up in her like this. After Hana, messing around with all these girls. She's my fucking fiancé."

"Yeah and you better not fuck that up." Jimin stands to gather his things.

"You sound like my dad." Tae jokes, even though he was pretty offended.

"I'm sorry, didn't mean to." Jimin instantly apologizes, knowing everyone had been walking on eggshells around Taehyung lately. "She's a good girl, you've got it good."

Taehyung softly smiles at the thought of you, but he wasn't gonna lie, he was hurt by Jimin's statement. Call him sensitive or whatever, but he wasn't feeling the fact that people were constantly looking at him as a fuck up and hinting at it. It seemed to be a reoccurring theme lately. "You ready?" Tae sighs before grabbing his stuff. They get into his car, departing from the gym to make their way to Jimin's so he can get dropped off before Tae heads home. Taehyung replays yesterday's events in his head, which instantly irks him all over again. But, he has such a soft spot for you that he feels terrible for having been too harsh about it. He was still upset, and he wasn't gonna let up on his feelings. But he knew he should have been better about how he approached it. He knew better than that. He's learned to do better.

➤ FLASHBACK

Taehyung excitedly parks his car at the café to surprise you for your pop up today. He had been working endlessly to finish off finals strongly, and he had been so busy that he hadn't really gotten a chance to help you or support you. He felt terrible about it because you were his babygirl and he wanted nothing but to spoil you for all the hardwork you've been putting in.

He creeps up behind you, bouquet of flowers hidden behind his back. "Excuse me, miss." He says lowly near your ear.

"Holy fuck!" You say as he startles you. "Babe, what the hell! Don't do that!" He laughs.

"What's cookin', goodlookin'?" He wiggles his eyebrows, making you chuckle. "These are for you." He smiles toothlessly as he hands you the pretty bouquet. "And your favorite!" He hands you a Mcflurry cup.

You squeal. "Oreo Mcflurry! Aw, thank you baby." You place a quick kiss on his lips. "But don't ever scare me like that!" You playfully hit his chest, causing him to erupt in laughter.

"You should've seen your face."

"Ha-ha, very funny." You rolled your eyes, causing him to pinch your cheeks.

"How's it going?"

"Welp, I'm almost out for the day." You giggle. "I, uh, may have underestimated." You look down at his hoodie, realizing it was one of the hoodies you had made for a previous collection you sold at Jin's. "Waaaow, cute sweater, who made it?"

"Mm, I don't know if you know her. Her name's Y/N."

"Uh huh?" You nod, hand on your hip, waiting to hear more.

"She stands about this tall." He lowers himself close to the ground, causing you to laugh. "Cute, right? She's beautiful, incredibly smart and sexy. Brilliant visual designer and illustrator. Packed with hella attitude." He pretends to ponder on his thoughts. "I could go on about her, really. She's one of a kind."

"Cute. She must feel lucky." You smile.

"I know, I'd feel lucky if I knew me too." You roll your eyes and playfully hit him. "Ah, I'm kidding." He pulls you into a hug. "I keep this sweater in my trunk."

"Oh, so you keep it in your trunk just for emergency wear?" You sarcastically ask as he holds you from behind.

"Yeah, and cause it's the only sweater I'd choose to wear out of the hundreds I own." You smile up at him. "Mhm, not gonna try and win that one." He places a big, sloppy kiss on your cheek before pulling away. "Show me. How can I help my pretty baby today?"

➤ END FLASHBACK

"Hey, I can't stay out late tonight because of the event tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know." Taehyung says softly.

"Please don't drink too much."

"I wooooooon't." He whines with a small sigh, also slightly offended at that statement. He didn't know what it was, maybe it was the fact that his own father painted him in such a negative light that everything seemed off to him lately. Like people were just out to get him or constantly looking down at him and his actions. A personal attack at who he was. It was slowly piling up for him and he wasn't sure how much more of it he could take.

You prepared a quick dinner while he hopped in the shower. You set his plate aside before taking a look at the mail that had come in today.

Bills, bills and more bills.

You sighed to yourself as it felt like you had just paid things off, but clearly not. Moving into Taehyung's wasn't the greatest idea, being that his space was much more expensive than yours. But, he did have the space you needed for your work. There was money left, but you knew it wouldn't last forever. You hated tapping into your savings and whipping out your credit cards because you wanted to keep yourself clean as much as possible. However, that was proven difficult as of late. It was a sacrifice, especially since Taehyung had cut off his mother's help. Taehyung's pride was such a curse sometimes.

You shook your head, already finalizing the fact that you would deal with it later. You had began to set your things aside for the new student event tomorrow morning. You figured you'd get there early to set up and make your table at neat and cute, so you didnt have to worry much about it right now.

Taehyung comes out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, hair slicked back and wet. You turn to face him, your eyes wandering down to his chest and bottom area. God, why was he so beautiful? It wasn't fair. You loved him so much that you could crumble even being upset. He talks a whole lot about you being the death of him, when really, this man is going to be the death of you. Truly. There's no debate about it.

Getting to the bar, you both immediately spot your friends in the corner, a huge tower of beer decorating the center of the table. Jimin is the first to stand, coming towards you two with a huge smile on his face.

"Friends!" Jimin yells. "Drink!" He says, holding up two shot glasses.

"Fuck, man." Taehyung says taking the glass. "We just got here."

"So! Y/N needs to be home early remember?" He watches wide-eyed as you two take the shot and make sour faces at each other.

"Okay, I'm good." You say, being that you were the DD tonight. Taehyung could enjoy himself if he wanted to [to an extent], but you definitely needed to be in tip top shape to be a good role model to those incoming art students tomorrow.

Throughout the night, the bar starts to get packed from end to end, you and your friends staying at the table and keeping to yourselves. You could tell Taehyung was crossing the line of pretty fucking drunk, which somewhat bothered you. You literally just told him to take it easy tonight - just for one night - so you could do what you need to do tomorrow.

"Hey." Jimin comes next to you, swinging his arm over your shoulder like he always does. "One more shot?" You give him a toothless smile. Ugh, why the hell not? Your man was drunk, and Jimin had only been helpful lately. You could at least return the favor by taking a shot with him.

"What are we drinking to?"

"You." He smiles. "Your shop. Your art. It'll only go up from here, yeah?" He rose his shot glass up before clinking it against yours and taking it to the neck.

"Mkay, that does it for me." You chuckle. "Thanks for the shot."

"No problem. You doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." You looked at your watch. "Should probably get out of here soon, but Tae looks like he's enjoying himself. I don't wanna drag him out of here."

"We can just bring him home." You shake your head worriedly.

"I don't wanna leave without him." Jimin chuckles and looks over at Taehyung.

"He'll be okay and you'll be just fine tomorrow. Besides, you can make up all the bullshit in the world to tell the incoming students, they'll believe it either way."

"That's mean." You chuckle.

"Come. Let's dance!" Jimin says, leading the way to the empty space near the table. Everyone gets up to dance, Taehyung slipping himself behind you, whispering sweet nothings in your ear.

"Can I at least get one minute with my lady without Jimin interrupting?" He says in your ear.

"Taehyung." You flatly say, looking back at him.

"That's your mad face." He holds you tightly from behind as he sways you from side to side.

"I'm not mad."

"Mhm." He kisses the back of your head. "Why don't you have fun with me for a little? We'll go home after this." You couldn't even stay mad at him, with that fucking frustratingly handsome face of his. He was definitely drunk though, you could smell the whiskey lingering on his breath as he danced with you for a bit. You let him be, just so you wouldn't trigger anything within drunk Taehyung. Everyone around you was having a good time, the feeling of nostalgia hitting you pretty hard. You missed the days where you could get together and go to parties after a long week of school. Or, when you would tease the fuck out of Taehyung as his fuckbuddy during parties, or at the clubs. You know, before graduation and responsibilities happened.

But as one hour turned into two, and two turned into three, you found yourself getting restless. It was nearing 2AM and you had to be at the school by 8am - even earlier just to set your table up. You made your way to the bathroom, hoping Tae would get the point and start getting himself ready to leave.

Right.

Once you were out the bathroom, he'd realize you had been gone for a little and start saying his goodbye's. He'd realize time got to the best of him. Right?

"It's a fucking good time tonight!" Jimin tells Namjoon, laughing with him as he watches Joon act a fool with his dance moves.

"I'm sure it is, since you've been in Y/N's space the entire night." Taehyung says it jokingly, but he doesn't realize it only comes off that way in his head. Jimin furrows his brows at him, his high quickly dying with Taehyung's unnecessary comment.

"Don't start with all that. Not tonight. Everyone's having a good time--"

"Or what, Jimin?" Taehyung chuckles like the petty ass he can be. "You know it's true. Don't you think it's a little disrespectful to be crossing boundaries?"

"Hey, let's step back for a bit." Jungkook lightly tugs on Taehyung's arm as he hears the conversation going south quickly. But Taehyung breaks from his grip, stepping forward towards Jimin.

"You really think I would do that to you?"

"Haven't you already? Swinging your arms around her and shit, being all angelic--"

"Tae, come on. That's enough. Don't." Namjoon steps in the middle. "Let's go outside to get some air."

"You really wanna make me look that bad in front of my own girl?" Jimin lightly pushes him away, Taehyung getting too into his space.

"Enough." Namjoon shakes his head, aggressively stepping in the way to create distance. Taehyung shakes his head and walks off, the rest of the group watching as he walks. You finish off in the bathroom, assuming Tae was already getting ready to go. However, you realize your assumption of leaving by the time you're back is absolutely incorrect because when you get to the table, Taehyung is nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Tae?" Kook looks at you frazzled, before his eyes begin to pan the room again.

"Look, don't freak out, but him and Jimin just got into it and he walked off."

"What the hell do you mean they got into it and he walked off?"

"It's nothing, Tae is just drunk—" Kook squeezes your wrist and shakes his head.

"No, it's not just nothing because you and I both know how he's been feeling lately." You run your hand through your hair. "What did he say?"

"He just got into it about Jimin getting close to you lately, and how he felt like he was disrespecting boundaries." You sigh heavily.

"Fuck."

"We have an issue." Namjoon comes back from out of the blue. "He's not around."

"What do you mean?! Where did he go?" You run your hand through your hair.

"Okay, let's not panic." Jungkook tries to relax you. "Let me go check the bathrooms." Namjoon nods as he continues to look around the room.

"Please? We should get home." He nods to you before he's off to check for Tae in the bathroom. You stand near the table awkwardly, worry filling you quickly the more time passes.

"Hey, you okay? What can I do?" Hobi squeezes your arm, his face flushed with a red tint from how tipsy he is. You give him a small, reassuring smile and nod to try and keep calm.

"I honestly don't know anymore, but I'll be good. I think. We're just gonna look for him and head home."

"Is Kookie looking in the bathroom?" You nod. At this point, you catch a glimpse of Jungkook coming back alone.

"Jungkook?"

"I'm sorry, I couldn't find him in there. I swear I tried."

"So, where the hell is he?" Jungkook shrugs.

"Lets check around again. I won't leave until we find him."

"Have you tried to call him?" You had already beaten Yoongi's question, calling Taehyung's phone only to see his phone vibrating and ringing on the fucking table. "Hm, okay. Maybe not."

"Fuck." You snatch Taehyung's phone from the table. "Is he serious right now? It's about to be 2:30AM. How the fuck can he get lost at this time?"

"Y/N just go home, we'll find him and bring him home." Jimin says, coming back from roaming around the place.

"No, I'm not leaving here without him."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen." He says, looking at you in the eye. Although he was pretty fucking pissed, he couldn't help but worry about him either. No matter what, that was still his bestfriend. He didn't want anything to happen to him.

"It's not your fault."

"We need to check around the neighborhood." Jungkook suddenly comes back and grabs your arm. You follow him, Yoongi, Hobi, Namjoon and Jimin outside of the bar, the cold hitting your skin harshly.

"Let's split." Namjoon says. Jimin and Hobi split, Namjoon and Yoongi sticking together to go down a different path. You kept yourself close to Jungkook, knowing there were all sorts of drunk ass men out at this hour and you weren't helping wearing a tiny ass skirt and a deep cut shirt.

"Cutiepie, let me come holla!" A dude yells as he tries to swing his arm around your waist. Jungkook easily pushes him off, glaring at him.

"Back the fuck up." He spits out, your bestfriend coming to your rescue amongst the sea of men you're encountering on the sidewalk right now. He throws his jacket over your shoulders, hoping to shield you from them and the cold. "Your outfit." Jungkook frowns, a little worried.

"I mean, I didn't expect to lose Tae tonight." Once you had gotten to a quieter part of the street, you come from behind to walk beside him. "Where the hell could he have gone?" You whine. You're more worried for his safety and wellbeing right now more than anything and all you wanted to do was find him and bring him home, even though you were slightly worrying about yourself and how things would go tomorrow. You could give him an earful later. It could wait.

"He couldn't have gone far." You both continue down the street, heading towards your car, hoping he may be around the area. Jimin calls to check in, saying him and Hobi hadn't caught sight of him yet, and the same thing goes for Yoongi and Joon. You almost want to cry when you don't see Taehyung near your car, but Jungkook ends up walking further down towards the park near your parking spot. "Y/N! Here!" He calls out, running towards an individual slumped over on their knees on a bench. "Taehyungie?" Jungkook sits next to him and shakes him a bit.

"Shit dude, I just kept walking then I suddenly had no idea where I was at." He drunkily says as you sit next to him and sigh heavily.

"No one said you had to do that, Tae."

"I just needed some air."

"Yeah and look where that got you, it's close to 3AM." You respond, irritated.

"Y/N." Jungkook says softly, shaking his head at you as if he were signaling for you to quit with your attitude. "Let's go back to the car." Jungkook watches him stand up and wobble a bit, but eases up when he realizes Taehyung is capable of walking himself to the car. You three get back safely, letting the others know that you had found him before driving Jungkook back towards the club so he can meet with everyone else. You quickly thank him for his support before driving off to head home.

The car is incredibly cold, and silent.

"Love, I'm sorry. I just needed air and got lost." He breaks the silence.

"I see that." You say softly as you drive home, keeping your eyes glued to the road in front of you.

3:23AM.

"Please don't be mad." He gives your thigh gentle squeeze. "I just got a little into my head tonight." You sighed, gently removing his hand from your thigh.

"Taehyung, I'm your fiancé, I'm doing this with you and only you. Do you even understand how worried I was? You just walked off, without your phone. Without saying anything to me. Just cause you got in your head for no reason."

"I'm sorry." He repeats at a whisper. You don't say anything else for the rest of the drive home. You silently park the car and head to the apartment, Taehyung sluggishly following behind you. He knows you're bothered, knowing it's closing to 3:30AM and you had an early morning. Honestly, he didn't realize how drunk he was until he had gotten himself into that argument with Jimin then got lost, especially without his phone. The fact that he had made you worry and stress like that made him feel terrible, especially after these past few days. You could have easily left, but you didn't leave without him even if it was this late. He instantly just wanted to cuddle you and tell you how sorry he was.

You quietly get ready for bed and line your things up by the door, just so it would be an easy quick and grab as you head out in the morning. You slip yourself into the sheets, Taehyung following shortly after he gets himself ready for bed. He shuts off all the lights and grabs himself a water bottle to sit by his nightstand before slipping in next to you.

"I love you." He whispers against your ear, wrapping his arms around you. But you don't respond. He peeks over to see your eyes shut, silently sighing to himself as he nuzzled his head against the nape of your neck. He knows you aren't fast asleep yet, and it hurts him that you hadn't said it back. You both just knew exactly how to love each other well, but also push each other's buttons. But, maybe, it was true - he was just fucking up left and right lately. Enough for you to go to bed without saying 'I love you' back.

'cause baby if i find a way, i'm sure of it, this love won't stray; just give me a chance to say i love you, and i need you. now are you here to stay, or fade away like every other day? you're the reason that i lie awake

track two: 3AM - finding hope