#I'm totally not procrastinating on course work

[mistakes-to-be-made]

Not exactly what I meant by fan art but this works too

[inthestarsme]

Solar return Observations pt. 2

‼️Don't repost my Observations without consent and mentioning my page‼️

Hello girliieees how are you? I thought i'd give you a new post, as i am very much procrastinating. Honestly, i dont really have much to say soo... lets just get started!

Befor i start: these are just some random things i observe from people with these placements. They might fit you but they dont have to. I wsnt to emphasize this as i tend to also talk about darker stuff, and i dont want people to get scared. Everything i'm writing could totally not apply to you, so please take everything woth a grain of salt!

Now lets go!

Venus conjunct 10th house: For some reason, people in general perceive you to be more attractive and desireable. If you also have some good placements in your sr 5th or 7th house or the ruler of your sr 7th house is taurus or libra, you might even attract more love interests than usual.

Uranus in the 7th house: I know i've talked about my Uranus conjunct Jupiter in the 7th house in relation to sudden, unexpected things happening in your love life, which it definately means, but it can also make your love life more unconventional, in whatever way this applies to your life. For me, it was finding out i'm bi and dating the same gender for the first time in my life. Of course it isn't weird or anything like that, but me finding this out was completely unexpected, because i was always someone who was very keen on saying "i'm straight, but i'm a big ally", so completely going the opposite way was unconventional for me, although it felt exactly the same as dating the opposite gender. In the end it didn't work out, but i found out something major about myself, and am still figuring shit out (i'm honestly not 100 percent sure abouz my sexuality, but its a step in the right direction letting this part of myself free).

12th house stellium: No matter why or how (you can see this through other placements in your chart), but definately a year where you might struggle with your mental health (please get yourself professional help if needed), BUT at the same time it could be a year, where you might go on a transcontinental trip, as the 12th house also relates to international travel.

Saturn in the 6th house: For some reason, your everyday work and routine might feel very harsh and restricting and you might really struggle because of it. Please, even though sometimes its just life, always try to still respect your mental health and dont drive yourself into a burnout. But generally, when you're going through this, taking into account your mental health can be a good way to balance this out.

Pluto in the 3rd house: I can only talk about my own experience, but this solar return year i've had this placement and i've definately had my struggle with friends and have already lost an entire friend group. But as Pluto also relates to tramsformation through heavier experiences, i am really hoping i lost these friends to make space for new and better friends and for myself to be a better friend through learning from those experiences. I've also been sensing that the people i am surrounded with might not necessarily be the kind of people i would want as my friends, not because they are bad people but because characterwise we are very different. So maybe it could also just change the way you see your friendships.

North node in the 6th house: If you have this in your sr, a very important thing for you this year is to get into physical fitness, whatever this means to you, and generally taking more care of your body/physical health. So if you havent started yet, i would recommend trying it! Or just more generally, getring healthier routines.

Mercury conjunct Mars in the 10th house: You might be known for speaking more harshly to others this year.

Neptune in Pisces: I know i've talked about this placement before because i dont like this placement, and i need to emphasize this. No matter where you have it, it can mean you experience some kind of hurt due to some these factors

- some kind of illusion making you to not be able to see the reality

- you or other people having mental health stuggles

- you could go into a mental health spiral because of what you experience, where you might not be able to see everything as it is

- you might even be the one putting illusions on others

In the best case it can mean having a very spiritual experience. But i truly advice you, if you are struggeling mentally in some way, please get yourself professional help. Its hard but you can get through it!

Okay soo, i think this is it for now. Thank you so much for reading and see you next time. Lots of love and byeee <3

[animeomegas]

The Quest for a Second Life - Part 6 - 50 Shades of Audacity (2)

KAKASHI x ALPHA!READER

Summary: An office scandal, the start of your gold digging arc, and a mysterious house in the countryside... It still annoyed you that you had to have a job, but honestly, it could have been worse. This was kind of exciting! GN!Dom!Alpha!Reader x Multiple

Word count: 8.7k

Warnings: N-sfw content, workplace violations, vague discussion of canon specific suicide, playful smacking, playful physical restraint. All alphas have dicks, fyi.

A/N: Hey! We're rapidly reaching the end of this story now! Only one more chapter before the epilogue, crazy! Time has flown. Happy holidays to everyone, especially @omeganronpa who is working so hard, hopefully a break is coming soon 😖 Not much porn in this one, as I'm saving it for the finale. Enjoy~

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Epilogue

Going for a Sunday drive was always a nice way to spend a morning. Well, it wasn’t Sunday and technically you weren’t driving, but the point still stood.

You had your nose basically glued to the window as the unfamiliar city sights bled into an equally unfamiliar, but timeless countryside. Fields, animals, trees, they all rushed past, familiar and new in the same breath. You were pleasantly surprised that this erotica world city didn’t have suburbs; who knew you just had to die to benefit from good city planning?

Kakashi’s fancy car was growing on you too, with its heated seats and spacious leg room, and you couldn’t deny that it was also having an impact on how much you were enjoying this drive. It even had six cupholders. Six. Kakashi didn’t even have that many friends in total, but even having the choice to have six beverages felt like a luxury experience.

Kakashi was also in his fancy car, of course, but he was considerably less interested in the view, and more interested in the paperwork he’d brought along. What a boring place to put one’s attention; you needed to rectify that immediately.

“If you could pick one of your dogs to magically learn English, who would you pick?” His pen not even slowing for a moment, Kakashi answered with no hesitation.

“Anyone but Pakkun.”

Hmm, maybe a harder question would work?

“What’s 472 + 9012?”

“9484.”

Something shocking perhaps?

“Does your pubic hair also defy gravity?”

“No comment.”

Oh, something weird would surely get his attention!

“If I were a worm, would you still love me?”

“No.”

You huffed, sinking down into your heated seat. He hadn’t even paused in the paperwork, so your plan had thoroughly failed. You wondered why Kakashi, a man you’d seen climb out of a window to avoid a work meeting once, was now diligently completing paperwork when he had a good excuse not to. Whatever, he’d probably already procrastinated on it enough that Iruka had threatened him into finishing it. No one ignored direct instructions from Iruka, even though he wasn’t technically high up enough to give instructions at all.

You sighed, turning back to the window to keep yourself amused, acknowledging that you’d lost the battle for Kakashi’s attention to his paperwork. Maybe it was the effect of the car journey, or maybe you were just sappy, but you quickly found yourself reminiscing.

Two weeks ago, you never would have imagined being here with him like this. It was almost difficult to wrap your head around how much your relationship had changed in such a short amount of time, how comfortable you’d both become with each other. Kakashi still took his role as ‘professional nuisance’ seriously of course, revelling in winding you up as what seemed like his main past time and hobby.

He was also still late to meetings, refused to do work, skipped lunch if you didn’t bring it to him… Okay, so maybe not that much had changed. But hey, you kissed frequently now, that was new! And your name was also currently the hottest topic in every break room at work.

That very first day after the tryst in Kakashi’s office had to have been your favourite in terms of gossip shockwaves. It had turned out that Kakashi did have another spare shirt for you to wear home after both your shirt and his first spare had been ruined, and the next morning, groggy and tired, you grabbed it to wear to work without thinking about what you were doing.

You had known that there was gossip about you and Kakashi leaving work together, but apparently the security guard’s version of events, that you had both come back to work together after hours, you without a shirt, and then locked yourself in his office, was in hot debate. Many refused to believe that terminal bachelor Kakashi Hatake would ever sleep with his secretary. ‘Something out of a bad porn book’, you had heard multiple times. How ironic.

So, when you walked in late, wearing Kakashi’s shirt, you corroborated the security guard’s story and confirmed the rumours all at once.

The break room fell silent the second you walked in, even though it had been filled with loud debate moments before. Everyone turned to look at you. Have you ever lifted a rock and had all the bugs underneath it suddenly freeze? It felt like that.

“Good morning,” you said, shooting everyone a hesitant smile. “Sorry I’m a bit late today.”

You watched as everyone’s eyes flickered from your face, down to your shirt, and then up to your face again. The room was uncomfortably silent.

Suddenly Asuma cheered, and chaos descended on the room. Not everyone seemed as thrilled as Asuma though. Kurenai only sighed and passed Asuma a handful of cash. Anko did the same, but with significantly more swearing and threats towards his delicate parts.

(You would find out later that Asuma had seen the security footage of your interview and had proceeded to make many, many bets that you and Kakashi would be fucking within a week. Because of Kakashi’s ‘no dating’ reputation, you were sure he had raked in a significant amount.)

Iruka’s face went bright red, and he sputtered for a moment before turning around and pretending to organise the mug cupboard. He did not succeed in hiding the small bit of blood now dripping from his nose.

In contrast to Iruka’s not so subtle hiding, Gai came right up to you and thumped you on the back, shouting about youth.

Yamato only stared at you, his already large eyes wider than normal. You weren’t sure what emotion he was embodying, but it was certainly creepy.

Maybe it was best if you just went to your desk?

Just as you turned to leave, Gai had one more final thing to say.

“I hope your love blossoms with intensity!” he said, giving you a thumbs up.

Why did that feel like he was giving you permission to fuck Kakashi?

People did slowly get used to the idea that you and Kakashi were something more than coworkers. It helped that you had lunch together most days, which gave people a chance to get used to seeing you together.

On days where your schedules didn’t align for lunch though, you made a point to grab dinner together. Your favourite by far had been dinner at his penthouse flat. Not only was that the night where you’d first called Kakashi your boyfriend, but it was also the first time you were introduced to his dogs.

It felt strange to be walking through a block of flats that was so fancy. The lobby had looked like something from a 5-star hotel, and you had had to show your ID before the front desk would let you upstairs, even though Kakashi had informed them that you’d be coming. Security reasons, they had said. You wondered what other high-profile people lived here.

Kakashi had the penthouse flat, so his was the only one on the top floor. You exited the lift and were immediately confronted with his front door. It wasn’t quite as big as the door in the library you had chosen his story from, but it was still an impressive size.

If you were being honest, it was a little intimidating.

The intimidation factor was shattered as soon as you knocked on the door however, because the second your fist made contact with the wood, a cacophony of barking sounded from the other side.

“Yes, yes, I’m going, you can stop barking.” You could faintly hear Kakashi’s voice through the door. “Bisuke! Get off there!”

The barking still continued.

“Sit, sit. All of you sit! I mean it, or you won’t be getting any treats today.”

Slowly, the barking and the sound of claws clacking ceased, and suddenly the door was pulled open. Standing there, in all his homey glory, was Kakashi.

You were used to seeing him exclusively dressed in suits, but he was wearing lounge clothes. Lounge clothes! Uptight, always ready for a fancy restaurant Kakashi, was wearing a grey tracksuit, with a long-sleeved top in dark blue, and fluffy slippers.

A smile grew on your face; perhaps you were biased, but these suited him a lot more. They still looked expensive, but they were just so much cosier than his normal get up. It made you want to hug him. You resisted for a moment before remembering what world you were in and what the point of this whole second life thing was, and then your resistance crumbled into nothing.

You threw yourself at him for a hug.

“Oof.” Kakashi floundered in surprise for a moment, but when you didn’t let go, he tentatively patted you on the back. You giggled and squeezed him harder, burying your face into his neck.

There were no scent patches! He wasn’t wearing scent patches! Giddy, you took a deep breath of his scent, letting it fill and sit in your lungs. Yes, he smelt utterly delicious.

Kakashi put his hands on your upper arms and gently tugged you away from him. His face was bright red. You could almost see steam coming out of his ears. You laughed at him but decided to show mercy and not tease him over his obvious bashfulness. You instead turned your attention to his dogs.

They were all sitting together to your right, tails wagging furiously. You could tell that if they had been any less well trained, they’d have been jumping all over you.

You opened your bag and pulled out a little something that you’d brought to make sure they liked you. When the dogs caught sight of the McDonald’s bag, their excitement obviously got too much to contain, because they all ran over to your feet, a couple jumping up at you, a couple barking, all looking eager to get their hands on the carroty goodness.

Kakashi, although you could tell he was amused, stepped in to corral his little gremlins. God, he was such a dog dad.

You had received copious wet kisses that day, mostly from the dogs, but also from a sappy Kakashi who had seemed utterly thrilled that you and his dogs got along.

You had had to make and study flash cards to remember all his dogs’ names, but Kakashi’s genuine smile as he watched you interact with them made it all worth it.

You had also met Charlie, Kakashi’s personal chef that evening.

The presence of his personal chef didn’t surprise you. What surprised you was when said chef made dinner for the dogs and then immediately left, leaving Kakashi to cook for you and him. It was exactly that abrupt, and you had laughed until you cried. Of course, he hired a personal chef just for his dogs. He spoilt them rotten.

You were sceptical as to how much skill he would have in the kitchen, but he produced a delicious meal with little trouble. It made you warm that Kakashi was so enthusiastic about cooking dinner you.

Cooking wasn’t the only way he was spoiling you though; he seemed incredibly willing to flash his cash for you, much to your delight.

“Have you considered a top hat?” you asked, picking up the worst top hat you’d ever seen and holding it up as a suggestion. Kakashi gave you a flat look. “What? If this Autumn Company Party thing is so important, you need to make an impression, and this hat would certainly make an impression!”

“I don’t want to make the kind of impression that has my board of directors attempting to oust me from the company.” He took the hat and placed it back on the rack.

“Fine.” You rolled your eyes. “If you didn’t want my fashion advice, why did you even bring me along to pick your outfit? I could have just waited in the car.”

The attendant that was serving you walked back into the room with a selection of ties based on Kakashi’s preferences. He laid them out on the stool for him to peruse. He had already witnessed a great deal of your banter, but if he was surprised by it, then he was too professional to let that show.

“You’re my personal assistant.”

You flicked the tie he was currently wearing up into his face. “That doesn’t mean I need to watch you pick out ties, asshole.”

Kakashi flicked you on the forehead in turn, rolling his eyes as he always did. “No, I mean that you’ll have to attend the party with me, and I figured you would need a new outfit. As you said, it’s important to make an impression, especially as this will be your debut of sorts.”

You snorted, pulling at one of the price tags of a nearby shirt. “Not in here, thanks. Just reading these numbers is making my bank account cry, I can’t imagine what buying them would do to it.”

Kakashi watched you for a moment, before he stuck his hand into his pocket. Out came his wallet.

‘James? Is what I think is happening, actually happening?’

‘I believe you are about to reach a major milestone in your goal to become a ‘gold digger’, human. My soul is warmed by your success, may it be prosperous and eternal.’

‘Thanks, James, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.’

Just as you predicted, Kakashi slipped his card out from his wallet and handed it to you. “Buy whatever you need, I can’t have my assistant looking shabby now, can I?”

You could imagine this scene in other stories, stories where you weren’t the lead. The MC would decline, either out of bashfulness or a sense of pride. Kakashi would probably then insist, and maybe MC would feel obliged to agree, but they would slip outside and purchase the outfit from a cheaper shop down the road to make a point. And then Kakashi would swoon because MC is ‘not like other alphas’.

You were the lead in this story though, so you took the card immediately, grinning from ear to ear.

“Fuck yes,” you said under your breath. Kakashi snorted, but he looked amused, not offended, by the way you were treating his money. “I’m going to dress up like royalty.”

You scurried off into your preferred section of the shop, Kakashi’s card clutched tightly in your grasp. You eagerly rifled through the racks. At several moments, you got the feeling that you were being watched, but whenever you looked back, Kakashi was fully focused on shopping. Maybe you were imagining it?

The Autumn Company Party had been coming up a lot. It was clearly the climax of the plot, but unlike Itachi’s story, you weren’t really sure what the plot was. James had no idea what would be happening at the party either, just that something would happen, and whatever that something was, it was heavily influenced by your actions. You had originally been apprehensive, but you figured that for a porn story, it couldn’t be anything too bad, so you focused on your excitement about attending such a fancy work party. You’d bet the hors d’oeuvres were going to change your life.

(You were confident because you had been the one in charge of choosing the catering company and the menu. Your job was pretty fun at times, even if your true career calling was independently wealthy.)

In between the planning for the party, your physical relationship with Kakashi had also developed over the last fortnight.

“You’re needy tonight,” you teased, curling your fingers just right. Kakashi shivered.

“On the contrary, you need to shut up.”

You tutted, “That wasn’t your best work.”

“Forgive me; I’m a little preoccupied.” You took that as an invitation to press at his prostate as hard as you could. Kakashi face screwed up in pleasure, and he made no more comments.

“Wow, who knew that you had an off switch this whole time? If I’d had known this little bundle of nerves had such an effect, my interview would have gone very differently.”

“The more time I spend with you, the less I’m surprised that you were single when we met.”

“Asshole.”

That had been during his first visit to your flat. You had the strange impression that he felt more comfortable in your home than his own, for some reason. Regardless, that night was the first time you’d gone all the way.

“Are you ready?” you asked, kissing on his collar bones to distract yourself from his tight warmth, and how much you really wanted to move.

“I was ready ten minutes ago. I’m not going to break the second you put any pressure on me, or in me, as it were.” Kakashi purposely clenched around you causing you to hiss. “Get on with it.”

You pulled away and narrowed your eyes at him. He only raised an eyebrow in response. Fine, if he wanted it rough, you’d give it to him rough.

…

“Fuck, I’m tired,” you said, flopping back onto the bed, exhausted. Kakashi looked much the same, panting hard from exertion.  

“You took the words right out of my mouth,” he replied.

“…”

“…”

“Second round in the shower?”

“Obviously.”

Now that had been a fun night. Your activities didn’t stay exclusively in the bedroom though. You had quickly found that not only did Kakashi like it when you took control in social situations, like ordering for him at restaurants, he also liked it when you lightly teased him in public.

Nothing too extreme, of course, as there was a chance that such a thing would literally end up in the news if you were caught, but you had both made a game of seeing how many dirty messages you could hide in the other’s paperwork. You were winning, although the scores were close.

You were so glad that Kakashi’s morning meeting was being held in one of the rooms made entirely of glass. It meant that, although you weren’t in the meeting, you still had a prime view to Kakashi’s reaction when he inevitably found the note you had hidden in his folder.

You watched as Kakashi continued his speech to the board of directors, reaching for his folder to check something.

Oh, there, he was opening his folder!

The cover flipped open and Kakashi froze for only a moment, before he continued like nothing had happened.

You were impressed by his ability to keep his cool, you had to admit, but you still noticed the way his hand shook ever so slightly, as he snuck the note out of the folder and into his pocket without anyone noticing.

When the meeting finished, Kakashi walked straight back over to you, dropping the note in question on your desk.

“You’re incorrigible.” There was the slightest pink to his cheeks.

“So, you don’t want a rimjob?”

Kakashi gave you one of his signature flat looks, although the pink tinge ruined it somewhat, and wordlessly walked into his office, leaving you fruitlessly supressing your cackles.

To sum it up, you really liked him, and it was clear that he really liked you. You had seen his home, met his dogs, eaten his food, and seen flashes of the complexity bubbling just below Kakashi’s purposefully distant exterior.

In a moment of surprising seriousness, Gai had vigorously shaken your hand yesterday and told you that he’d never seen Kakashi as light and happy as he’d been these last few weeks. It was nice to hear.

You still didn’t like the fact that you had to work, but again, the job could have been a lot worse, and you were playing the long game. Technically, you were working right now, but Kakashi had asked you to accompany him on a mini road trip into the surrounding countryside. The days where Kakashi took you with him out of the office were your favourite, but today something was off. You had tired to write off Kakashi’s out of character behaviour as him just having an off day, but there was something about it that was really putting you on edge.

It was like he was trying to distract himself with the paperwork. You wondered if this meant his backstory reveal was coming up. Itachi had started behaving strangely when his worries about you rejecting him for his past were about to make themselves known. Maybe Kakashi’s backstory had something to do with where you were going.

Apparently, you were going to visit a house. Kakashi had mentioned that one of his properties (one of them, pfft, rich kid) required some maintenance. According to him, the roof had been damaged in a storm a few weeks earlier, and he needed to prepare the house for the builders to carry out repairs. Kakashi had described your tasks as mainly including clearing space for scaffolding, cleaning and packing away the breakables in the main rooms, and plugging in the fridge so the builders could store their lunches and have milk for beverages.

They didn’t seem like the kind of tasks that would cause a significant amount of stress. If he was doing things like packing away valuables and plugging in the fridge, it was probably a place he lived, rather than a rental or something. Maybe it was a summer home? You supposed that Kakashi was a very private person, so maybe he was on edge at the thought of having a load of strangers in his house without supervision.

Hmm, that sounded too simple for this universe though. You were due a backstory exposition scene, and maybe you spent too much time reading erotica, but this felt like it had ‘tragic backstory incoming’ written all over it.

“So, this place we’re going… is it a summer home? Oh! Or a summer estate? Is it a mansion? Does it have a pool, and can I use it?”

Kakashi didn’t take the obvious banter bait, he just kept his head down and continued signing documents, providing a short, factual answer.

“It’s none of those things, nor does it have a pool.”

“Aww.” You tried to play up your sadness with a pout. “I was excited.”

“Doesn’t your complex have a swimming pool?”

“I mean, yeah, technically, but this would be a private swimming pool, that’s way better.”

Kakashi chuckled, but his heart didn’t seem in it. You put a hand on his knee and squeezed. He looked surprised for a moment, before his face melted into something softer. He took the hand in his and gave it a squeeze in return.

“If it makes you feel better, the property does have a habitat for racing pigeons.”

“Wha—Really?!”

“No.”

“…”

“…”

“I hate you so much.”

…

As the car turned off the main road, you pressed your face back against the window to ooh and ahh at the sights. The road was less maintained and significantly bumpier, but you didn’t let the risk of a concussion stop you from your sightseeing.

There were bushes and flowers and pretty trees lining each edge of the road, and one more turn had you going down what looked like a private road, or dare you say it, a driveway. At this point, you were kind of expecting a mansion, no matter what Kakashi said. What other homes had long private roads? Unless it was some kind of farmhouse? You couldn’t imagine Kakashi owning a farm, but his name did mean scarecrow, so perhaps he’d purchased it as a joke? Did rich people buy property for jokes?

As the car slowly turned one last time, the house in question crept into view. It was neither a farmhouse nor a summer estate. No, it was a traditional, single story, Japanese minka house, set amongst a beautiful and equally traditional garden, framed by beautiful trees, all of which were orange and red and practically screamed Autumn.

The house was large, but not excessively so. At a glance, you would assume it had three to four bedrooms. The roof was sloped and covered in worn shingles, stretching out to shelter the sprawling engawa. Wood and stone materials were used heavily in the walls and decorations, and lamps hung from both sides of the front door. It was beautiful.

You were out of the car the second it stopped.

Now that you were walking up to it, you could see the stone pathways, the koi pond, the sliding glass door at the side, and the shutters on the windows. It was a minka house, but it had clearly been modernised.

You heard the sound of two car doors opening and closing and figured that Kakashi and his chauffeur had joined you in front of the house.

“This is completely gorgeous! I’ve never seen a modernised minka house before. If it’s not a summer home, what is it for?” There was no response, so you turned, breaking eye contact with the beautiful house to search for him. “Kakashi?”

He was standing a few paces behind you, just staring at the house in silence.

“Kakashi—”

“Let’s get everything out of the car,” he mumbled, cutting you off and turning away from the house.

“Kakashi—”

“There isn’t that much; we could probably carry it all in in one trip.”

His tone made it clear that he wasn’t interested in answering your question. You trusted that the narrative would push you into finding out what was wrong when the time was right, so for now, you broke the trance the house had on you, and helped to unpack the boot.

The supplies in the boot took the form of cleaning products, empty boxes, and a few bags of groceries and kitchen supplies. Between the three of you, it was light work, and soon everything was resting on the engawa, ready to be moved inside.

Having other duties to attend to, the chauffeur took his leave once everything was out of the car, leaving you and Kakashi standing in front of the house, side by side. You awkwardly waited for him to unlock the door, but he didn’t seem interested in moving.

You cleared your throat, “Um, should we go in?”

Kakashi jolted like a doll suddenly coming to life and fished the key out of his pocket. He unlocked it, and the door swung open, creaking all the while.

“WD-40 who? This house doesn’t know her.”

He sighed, “Just go inside.”

“Alright, spoil sport.”

Kakashi held open the door and you went inside, slipping off your shoes in the entrance.

Inside, the house was… confusing.

Your eyes darted left and right, trying to understand what you were looking at. It was traditional but modernised with new appliances, not strange considering the outside of the house, but it looked distinctly like it had been modernised at least two decades ago. It was immaculately tidy, not single object out of place, and yet the entire thing was covered in a thick layer of dust. To make things more confusing, it looked lived it, personal, with clutter and photos, but it had an overwhelming air of abandonment.

As you said, it was confusing. Vibe check thoroughly failed.

“It’s… nice?” you said, hoping you could force your voice into something sincere. “Traditional modern vintage? Troderage? Vinadern? Whatever it is, it’s interesting, and I—”

Kakashi cut you off by placing a finger on your lips. He looked amused and exasperated all at the same time. You went cross eyed trying to look at the offending finger, which only seemed to amuse him more.

“You don’t have to find something nice to say, I’m aware that it’s seen better days.”

You went to bite his finger, so he tugged it away, leaving you to snap unsatisfyingly at empty air “Hey, I’m not lying! I like it, it has potential! And potential is the more important thing for a property in my opinion. Like, sure, you could buy one of those awful modern renovated homes with no personality, but if I wanted to live in a white monastery, I’d just—”

Kakashi took one of the masks he’d brought and pressed it over your mouth and then stretched the elastic over your ears to keep it in place, effectively cutting you off once again.

“You know I can still talk through these, right?” you asked, voice slightly muffled, but still clearly understandable. He passed you a dusting cloth and a bottle of unidentified cleaning spray.

“Just… clean. I’ll carry the boxes through and start packing, okay?”

“You’re not the boss of— Oh.” That’s right, he was literally our boss. Good job this was a porn world, because you had a feeling that real world HR wouldn’t approve.

You were rewarded with another one of his eyes smiles as he snapped his own mask into place. “Chop chop, dear assistant of mine.”

Ugh, fine, whatever. Kakashi went back out to the engawa, and you decided to start by dusting the mantel place. If you dusted the photos and ornaments first, which practically covered the mantel place, Kakashi could get started with packing them up.

You started at the left end and grabbed the first picture. Confusingly, it had been laying face down. You hesitated, wondering if it was something Kakashi explicitly didn’t want you to see. You felt drawn to it though. Was that just you being nosy, or was this some kind of hint from your porn logic overlords? Was it moral for you to look when—Too late you already grabbed it and flipped it over.

Philosophising took too long.

It was a photo of two people, obviously a father and son, sitting in the garden you’d just walked through. The sun was shining, and both people were covered in mud, clearly having just finished some gardening. It was a sweet picture, but more importantly you recognised the two people from your google searches.

It was a photo of a young Kakashi and his father. This was his—

A hand tugged the photo out of your hand. Kakashi.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t even think—”

“It’s fine.” His voice was short, but at least he didn’t sound angry.

“This was your family home, wasn’t it?” you asked softly.

Kakashi sighed, turning away from you to put the photo in one of the boxes. “In a way. Although I haven’t lived here since I was four.”

You put a comforting hand on his shoulder, wondering if this was where you were going to find out about Kakashi’s angst. The death of his father had definitely made an impact on him, but you had a suspicion that there was something more to his angst than that.

Kakashi looked as tightly coiled as a spring, though. You decided to wait until he was more relaxed before you tried coaxing his backstory out of him. Some cleaning would get his mind off things.

“Let’s start with the dusting!” you said, artificially injecting some chipperness into the conversation. You saw Kakashi’s shoulders lift as you stopped prying into his backstory. “You should be careful though.” Hook.

Kakashi looked confused. “What? Why?” Line.

“Because we won’t be able to tell if it gets in your hair, old man.” And Sinker.

Kakashi scowled and threw a dusting cloth at your face.

…

Kakashi warmed up again as you worked. It seemed to help him, having a job to focus on, and of course, you were doing your best to keep his spirits high as well.

And honestly, all the cleaning and mood management was well worth it to see his baby pictures! He didn’t have parents to show you, so you were taking it into your own hands. You avoided bringing attention to any that also contained his father, but there was still plenty to work with.

You squealed, pulling a photo of a tiny, grumpy Kakashi holding a freshly caught fish off the wall to dust. “Look how cute you were! You know how to fish? I’ll be honest, I didn’t imagine that as one of your skills.”

“Will you stop—” Kakashi said, plucking the picture from your hands and hanging back on the wall. “Do you have to put effort into being so nosy, or is it a natural born talent?”

“Completely natural.” You grinned and grabbed the photo back, giving it a quick dust and then putting it in the box of valuables, cooing all the while.

Kakashi rolled his eyes, but you could see the pink dusting his ears.

“Hey, here’s a question.”

“Can’t you just dust?”

“Why was the outside of the house so immaculate, when the inside looks like it hasn’t been touched in a decade?” you asked, taping up one box and grabbing another empty one.

“I hire a groundskeeper for the outside, but I personally clean the inside.”

Your face spoke for itself as you looked around the room, still half-covered in dust. Kakashi sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “I haven’t done it for a couple of years, I admit.”

You laughed, grabbing the next photo to dust. It was another one of just Kakashi, although this time he was sitting behind a dog-shaped birthday cake, scowling at the camera.

“Did you ever smile?” you asked, holding up the photo. “Even now you don’t seem much better at it, always stone faced or rolling your eyes, do I have to teach you?”

You slid the photo under your arm so that your hands were free to push up Kakashi’s cheeks into a faux smile. You managed to hold his cheeks in a forced smile for a second, before Kakashi smacked your hands away, scowling. You sent him a cheeky grin, but he only yanked the photo out from under your arm and bent down to pack it away in a box.

What you did next, could hardly be held against you. You mean, it was right there, in all its glory: Kakashi’s toned but ample butt.

You pinched it.

Kakashi jumped before immediately standing and whirling around to face you. Your grin froze on your face as you noticed something intense flashing in his eyes, the kind of intense that promised revenge.

Oh, fuck.

You broke into a desperate run away from Kakashi, but he immediately gave chase. You ran around the coffee table and into the kitchen, thunderous footsteps sounding behind you. Your heart pounded and some hysterical giggles escaped as you ran through the second door in the kitchen, grateful that it wasn’t a dead end.

“Stop running and accept your fate!” Kakashi called from somewhere behind you.

“You’ll never take me alive!”

You ended up back in the living room, but you managed to catch Kakashi in a stalemate, with you standing behind the couch, and him standing in front of it. Every time he darted around one way, you went the other. You both stared at each other, watching for even the slightest hint of movement.

“If you give up now, I promise the punishment won’t be so bad,” Kakashi said with an unfairly attractive lilt.

“If you think I’m going to give in, then you’re as senile as the grey hair suggests, old man.” To further make your point, you gave him the middle finger. You weren’t really sure how this was going to end, because he would inevitably catch you, even if only because you arrived in his car, but you weren’t a quitter and you certainly didn’t surrender!

Kakashi chuckled, and then in a second, his whole body shot forward and the man leapt over the sofa towards you. You shrieked and continued running. Adrenaline pumping, you automatically ran towards the front door.

Unfortunately, all it took was one moment of weakness. There, in the doorway, you suddenly realised that you weren’t wearing shoes. You hesitated for only a moment, but that was all it took for Kakashi to catch up with you.

“Hidden technique: One Thousand Years of Death!”

There, in the doorway of Kakashi’s childhood home, you let out an ungodly screech as Kakashi’s fingers jabbed you in a place that you really didn’t want to be jabbed.

Your back arched and your butt cheeks clenched.

“You bastard!” you screamed, turning around to smack Kakashi’s chest. He was dying laughing, happily taking your smacks. “That wasn’t funny!”

“It was very funny,” Kakashi disagreed, moving backwards to dodge your smacks. “Although maybe not for the local wildlife; I think they might be traumatised after that screech.”

You huffed, gingerly rubbing your backside as you followed him back into the living room. “You know, you are completely and utterly— Woah!”

Midsentence, because this world was ridiculous, you slipped on a section of wet floor that you were 100% sure you had already dried. There was a split second of relief where Kakashi managed to catch you, before he also slipped on the floor, and both of you went crashing to the ground.

Kakashi hit the ground first, laying on his back, and you quickly followed, landing on top of him. Kakashi let out an oof noise as you knocked the air from his lungs.

It was the exact same thing as had happened with Itachi, except you were the one on top this time. Porn logic was just running out of ideas you thought, bitter at having been tripped on a wet floor that you had already dried.

‘Careful human,’ James interjected. ‘You do not wish you issue a challenge to porn logic, because in my experience, it does not take kindly to such things.’

‘Wait, really? What happens if I issue porn logic a challenge?’

‘The last alpha who did that… well, let’s just say that I doubt their penis was ever the same again.’

You loved porn logic. Porn logic had zero faults and you wanted to kiss it on the mouth, marry it even. It was just perfect in every way.

‘Good save, human.’

‘Thanks, James.’

“Are you going to get off me or are you just going to continue staring into space?” Kakashi’s voice jolted you from your conversation with James and you bashfully cleared your throat.

“Right, yes, of course, but I am going to use your tits as leverage to stand, just saying.”

Kakashi rolled his eyes, which seemed to be his go to response when he was in your presence but didn’t protest your grabbing at his chest.

You put your hands down and gave his chest a little squeeze, ooh, nice and squishy. You were about to push off him and into a standing position, when you felt something that wasn’t so nice and squishy.

In the inside pocket of his jacket was something hard, almost like a small book. Honestly, it wouldn’t have been notable at all if Kakashi hadn’t reacted. You would have assumed it to be some kind of paperwork or light reading, but Kakashi froze, and you’d seen more innocent expressions on kids caught with their hands in cookie jars.

“What’s that?”

“Paperwork.” Kakashi answered far too quickly for you to believe him for even a second.

“Well, if it’s only paperwork, then you won’t mind me having a look.” You grabbed the book out of his pocket, dodging his attempts to stop you. Your weight on top of him was keeping him pinned nicely, and moments later you had the book held triumphantly above your head.

“Now, let’s see,” you hummed, giving the book a look. It was a small yellow book, with large writing ‘Icha Icha’ over the top. The 18+ logo on the front was a damning piece of evidence. This was a porn book. How hilariously ironic.

“I can explain—”

“Kakashi!” you said, in a faux scandalised voice.

“I read it for the story!”

You hummed, considering his story, like a judge. Kakashi stared up at you, trying his best to be the picture of pure innocence, pleading with you to end the interrogation.

Obviously, you had no choice but to push things further.

“Well, I can understand that!” you said, chipper as ever.

Kakashi blinked, “You can? I mean, you can. Great, so if you could just give it back—"

“If the story is as good as you say it is, then I would love to give it a look!” Any hope that had started to bloom on Kakashi’s face died as soon as he registered your words. He tried to sit up, presumably to wrestle the book from you, but you used a knee to hold his chest to the ground. “Now, now, you wouldn’t be so cruel as to deprive me from such a great story, would you? If it’s good enough for you to be carrying around at work, it must be something special.”

Kakashi made another swipe for the book, but you simply held it above his reach. “I hate you. I hate you so much.”

“No, you don’t! Now, let’s see…” You flicked to a random page. “This page looks like a good place to start.” You cleared your throat. When it became obvious that you were about to do a dramatic reading, Kakashi groaned.

“You’re ridiculous, completely ridiculous. I should sue you for assault and theft.”

You ignored him, scanning the page. A feral grin blossomed on your face; it was perfect.

“Elisabeth grinned down at Makoto, hunger and lust warring for dominance in her eyes, reflecting the real life battle that Makoto had just lost. Makoto wondered what it would be like to have her mouth on his—” you gasped, clutching imaginary pearls. “Oh my, Kakashi, what are you reading?”

“I’m reporting you to HR.”

“Oh? And this” -you shifted your hips against his, watching as Kakashi hissed at the pressure on his rapidly rising cock- “is going to end up in the report too, I presume?”

Kakashi had no comment to make, but his rosy cheeks spoke loud and clear. You took that as an invitation to carry on reading. You skipped a few paragraphs to get to the really juicy bits.

“Elisabeth wrapped her hands around Makoto’s neck in a gentle mockery of a collar. Makoto bit his lip, overwhelmed by the imagery. He wanted her to own him, mind, body, and soul. But first, he needed his punishment. A punishment? How exciting! Do you remember what punishment Elisabeth is going to give to Makoto, Kakashi?” You rolled your hips again, delighting in the pleasured grunt you forced from him. Kakashi shook his head as a negative to your question, something you didn’t believe for one moment; the book was clearly well loved and had been read many times before.

You leant down over his pink face and gave him a chaste kiss. You saw his arms move and for a moment you assumed that he was going for the book, but he merely settled his arms on your hips before pushing his crotch up into yours. You hummed and kissed him again. He was such a brat.

“Makoto was forced to kneel at her feet. It was with eagerness that he anticipated the crack of her whips against his skin. He had been bad, he knew that, so he accepted his punishment with grace and also a raging boner. Ah, I see what you’re into. And just when I didn’t think you could be more cliché, the CEO is into BDSM.”

“And how many porn books are you reading to know that it’s cliché?”

“Change the subject all you want; you were the one caught with your proverbial trousers down.” Kakashi rolled his eyes. He seemed to have recovered from the minor embarrassment, because the light dusting of pink didn’t get any worse. You guessed it took more than that to embarrass someone who apparently caried porn around in their pocket of their work clothes. “Okay, okay, one more and then we can keep cleaning.”

You flipped through the book, trying for find the right scene to end it on. Hmm… Maybe you should let porn logic choose? It would probably know exactly what page to pick. You closed your eyes.

‘Porn logic, choose the page that will get the best reaction from Kakashi please!’

You flicked through the pages until you felt the overwhelming urge to stop, at which point you clamped your thumb down. You had landed on page 154.

To your immediate confusion, it didn’t look like it had any porn on it at all. It looked like it was just a sappy conversation between Elizabeth and Makoto. You debated picking another one, but after James’ warning about pissing off the porn logic, you decided to just trust it.

“Elisabeth, there’s something I’ve been wanting to say to you for a while, something important,” you read out loud. Kakashi let out a strangled noise as he realised what page you were on. His lightly pink face quickly deepened into an impressive red. Oh. So that’s how this was going to go.

“Fine, you win, can I have my book back now because—”

“What is it, Makoto? What could be so important that you called me here at this time?”

Kakashi whined, pressing his hands to his face. You had never seen him act like this before. You watched, fascinated, as you continued to read.

“Elisabeth… With all my heart, deeply and truly, I love you.”

Those final words were enough for Kakashi, because he easily broke out of your hold, knocking you off of him and onto the living room floor. Now free, he turned over onto his front and buried his face into his arms. You could almost see the steam coming out of his ears.

It was as unexpected as it was adorable. You hoped this wonderful omega never stopped surprising you in the best way.

“Aww, Kakashi, I’m sorry,” you cooed, rubbing his back. “It’s okay to be a sap at heart, I won’t tell anyone! I want to keep this cute side of you to myself.”

Kakashi took a shaky breath before pushing himself into a sitting position. He was still bright red. “You are…”

“Are…?”

Kakashi gave you one of his eye smiles, reached out with a hand, and firmly flicked you on the forehead. “Annoying.”

It was such a weak attempt to restart the banter on a equal standing that you couldn’t hold your laughter in.

“You’re so pathetic,” you laughed, clutching at your stomach. “I love it.”

“So are you,” Kakashi said, pouting.

“I know, that’s why we’re perfect together!”

Slowly, Kakashi started to laugh too, joining your hysteria on the living room floor of his childhood home. You were leaning on each other, just completely lost in a weird joke that only you two could understand.

What a team you made. You really liked Kakashi. Honestly, you could say that you loved him at this point. He was just so fun to be around, fun to tease, fun to bite, everything. Being around him made you feel alive, and having money for everything you could ever need was only adding to how relaxed you had been feeling the whole time in this dimension.

You could see a very happy life here. You didn’t know if it was fortunate or unfortunate that you saw an equally happy life with Itachi. Your laughter petered out as you considered the impossible choice you were going to have to make.

The knowledge that no other person would ever enter this universe if you didn’t stay only made you feel guiltier. Was it worse to leave Kakashi alone forever, but with his money and friends, or leave Itachi with the possibility of another great love, but an equal possibility of being forced to settle with some awful person who just happened to die early and choose him?

You sighed, trying to put such heavy thoughts out of your mind for now.

Kakashi was watching you, a soft look on his face. His mask had slipped off at some point during the chase, so you could see his face unhindered. He was just watching you in silence.

You reached out a hand to cup his face. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I am,” he said, still staring at you like you were the centre of his world. “It’s just… it’s been a long time since there was laughter in this house.”

“I bet.” You smiled sadly and pressed a kiss to his forehead. His backstory was so sad that whenever you thought about it for too long, it hurt your heart. It had been easier to read at first, when he had just been some nebulous, kind of dickish, person on a Wikipedia page, but now he was Kakashi, your Kakashi… It hurt to imagine him suffering.

His father had committed suicide when he was only four, and then Kakashi had been raised by custodians, forced into business from a ridiculously early age, and then been betrayed by those who were supposed to look after him as soon as he came of age.

“Kakashi? Can I ask you a question?”

“You? Of course. Always.”

“Do you…” You struggled for a moment, thinking about how best to phrase the question. “Do you enjoy your work? Do you like business? Because from what I understand, you didn’t really get much of a choice.”

Kakashi seemed baffled that you would ask such a question. His mouth opened, but no sound came out.

“I… like my job,” he said, entirely unconvincingly.

“What do you like about it?”

He didn’t answer. That didn’t surprise you.

“Did you ever get a chance to follow your own dreams?”

Kakashi blinked at you, looking lost. He swallowed heavily. You rubbed your thumb on his cheek to try and comfort him. You understood that for someone who had never been given a choice, your question might have been quite jarring.

“What are your dreams, Kakashi?”

He stared at you and shook his head, still silent.

“You don’t know?” You pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. “It’s never too late to make dreams, Kakashi, remember that.”

“If you say so,” he said, trying and failing to keep a light-hearted tone. “We need to keep cleaning, you know, we’re burning daylight.”

You allowed the heavy-handed topic change to slid by without acknowledgment. “You’re right, come on, let’s get up. You’re buying me dinner tonight, by the way, as thanks for all this cleaning.”

He rolled his eyes, standing. “Fine, but I’m picking the restaurant, and I want it delivered.”

“Sounds good to me!”

…

You yawned, gratefully climbing into bed. This MC had invested in expensive sheets, and honestly you loved them for it. There was no better way to end a tiring workday than climbing into bed.

You couldn’t wait to either reject society and run off into the woods with Itachi or have a full-time profession as Kakashi’s eccentric trophy spouse. Work sucked.

You closed your eyes, and just as you were starting to drift off, your phone started to ring. Ugh.

You forced yourself awake. Your fake family and friends hadn’t even been invented yet, and you were already being bothered. You squinted at the caller ID. Oh, it was Kakashi. That was weird; he wasn’t a phone call person.

You answered the phone. “Hello? Kakashi? Is everything okay?”

“Yes, I’m sorry for calling you.” His voice sounded strange. It was softer than usual, like his head was off in the clouds.

“That’s okay.” You waited for an explanation of his call, but none came. “Did you need something?”

“Yes, I… I was thinking about the Autumn Company Party and I…”

“Yes?”

“Do you think…” He stopped talking again. Something was off.

“Kakashi, you’re freaking me out. Please tell me what’s wrong?”

There was a pause. “Nothing, I’m sorry, I’m fine. Goodnight.”

“Kakashi—” You couldn’t get any more words out before he hung up the phone.

You sat there in bed, staring down at your call log, confused.

What on Earth had that been about?

Next chapter

[idyllic-affections]

general friendship headcanons (liyue).

summary. what is it like being friends with some of liyue's citizens?

trigger & content warnings. no applicable warnings.

tropes, pairings, fic length, & other notes. fluff. baizhu & reader, beidou & reader, qiqi & reader, xiao & reader, zhongli & reader. 0.7k words. no pronouns for reader.

author's thoughts. second part of the series!!!! i'm doing inazuma later because i don't know inazuma characters as well as i know liyue + mondstadt characters... basically i'm procrastinating LMAO i do write for ningguang and childe but i skipped out on them because (1) im burnt out but also want to post something (2) bc im not completely confident in my ability to write them yet rip

baizhu is the kind of friend who's always on top of your health—mental, physical, or otherwise. he'll always remind you to take breaks if you've been working on something for a long time. he'll remind you to eat if you're the kind of person who forgets to. he'll remind you to take any meds if you have them, and if you run out? don't worry, he'll refill your prescription for you (only after very thoroughly assesing you to make sure the medications you take are right for your body's needs, of course). he's honestly quite doting! very attentive to your needs overall. i also like to think he's keen on listening to you talk about your interests or hobbies. he listens and remembers.

beidou is the fun friend who'll take you on all her fun adventures, and if you can't accompany her for any reason, she's happy to relay her tales to you! she's got storytelling skills comparable to only the most famous, admired bards and poets from all across teyvat, even if she herself isn't really aware of it. she's the kind of friend who can take you on all kinds of fun adventures—whether those adventures be out on the wild sea or on sturdy land, she's your lady if you're looking for a bit of a thrill. she'll definitely keep you very safe, too. she's strong enough to protect both herself and you, so don't worry about running into trouble (which is definitely a bit inevitable if you accompany her around). she'll take care of it!

qiqi is the kind of friend who's like your clingy little sister. see, once she actually manages to remember your face and name, she will virtually never forget it. she has a little page dedicated to you and everything about you in her journal. qiqi never wants to forget you, so she does her best to remember! she'll follow you around like a lost duckling, cling to your sleeve, or lay her head comfortably on your shoulder if you're both willing and able to carry her. she also reminds you to take care of yourself... she has, without a doubt, picked up this habit from baizhu, but it's nonetheless very touching. she'll make little handmade gifts for you, maybe she'll pick flowers and give them to you. everything she does for you is soft and endearing. qiqi is very much like an attached baby sister, indeed.

xiao is the kind of friend who's always there for you... at least, physically, anyway. he doesn't have the words to comfort you very well and he can be a bit standoffish and quiet, but he will be there if you need him. getting close to xiao is no easy task, so if you manage to, he'll definitely hold you very dear to his heart and would never forgive himself if he were to let something happen to you. he'll always be there to fend off any danger that threatens your safety; all you have to do is call out for him. he'll be there. he swears it. he's the one you can sit in calm, safe silence with. there's no pressure to fill the quiet with small talk. xiao is someone who could simply enjoy your presence without needing all the conversation to go with it (but i totally think he'd listen if you talked).

zhongli is the kind of friend who's so willing and delighted to share his knowledge with you. if you want him to talk, he can, and can do so for as long as you're willing to listen, even if that is for hours. he could even talk you to sleep if you so desired (who wouldn't fall asleep listening to the soothing tones of his voice, really?). he's the one you could take with you to museums or libraries or ancient ruins if you're into that kind of thing—if he happens to recognize something while you're out and exploring some ruins, he'll offer to tell you about them! he's so poor at hiding the fact that he was morax, so honestly... yeah, he might never tell you directly, but surely you could figure it out on your own? regardless of if he tells you, if he doesn't... i doubt it would change anything.

[drvmekoo]

regroup | jeon jungkook [part two]

summary: drifting away from your best friend is never an easy thing to deal with. its a good thing a very important project is forcing you both to regroup

➳ pairing: jungkook x reader (f)

➳ genre: college au, fluff, angst, smut (eventually)

➳ rating: 18+

➳ warnings: none! just a lot of fluff

➳ wc: 1.4k+

➳ author's notes: i hope you all enjoy part two! i'm sorry it took so long to get here. school and work have been kicking my ASS. but anyways! let me know what you think!

PROLOGUE | PART ONE | PART TWO

“Now who’s the late one, huh?” Jungkook raised his eyebrows as you plopped your bag down on the seat next to him. You rolled your eyes as he teased you, raising his eyebrows at your irritated expression. 

“Don’t start Jeon.” You opened up your laptop in a hurry, cringing as you read the time. You were only ten minutes late but in your eyes, it was wasted time. You two still had nothing to show for since you got paired together and the due date was creeping closer and closer. 

“I totally forgot that my building was doing a maintenance check today and so I had to stay there for hours while they checked doors and toilets and ugh…anyways.”

For a moment, it went quiet between you both. You looked up at the man sitting across from you as he scanned your face, brow furrowed. 

Your own eyebrows knitted together “What? Do I have something on my face?” You pulled your phone out to check your reflection. Nothing seemed out of place.

“No no, I’m just….did you get to eat?” he said lowly. 

You thought back to the manic morning, trying to wonder if you did eat that banana that was left on your side. Your tummy rumbled at the thought.

 I guess that was your answer.

“Uh no, not yet but, I’ll just get something later.” You opened up your notes “We need to get a move on.”

Jungkook shook his head “No, absolutely not. You need to eat. It’s already 3:15. You must be starving.” The scrape of his chair echoed across the library. “Give me 2 seconds.”

Before you could protest, Jungkook sprinted towards the cafeteria. ‘What a procrastinator.’ You thought to yourself, sighing as you were left sitting at the empty table. After you quickly skimmed through your unfinished plan, outlining the key ideas of your project, you felt your mind drift to yesterday's weird fiasco in your room. 

Jungkook seemed to change in your presence. Acted like nothing ever happened between you two. Acted like he never abandoned being your best friend. 

But why?

Before you could think any deeper, the man himself had arrived back. He placed a muffin and a coffee cup in front of you. 

“Oh, Jungkook thank you…but you know I don’t drink coffee so-” You began to say, inching the cup back towards him. He shushed you.

“Of course I know that dummy! Open the lid and smell it!” He took the liberty for you as he once again sent it back to you and opened the lid of your cup. Instantly the aroma of chai hit your senses. 

The smell of cinnamon and creamy milk right away puts you at ease. This was your favourite drink and you’d pick it every time without fail. 

And Jungkook had remembered. Not only that you didn’t drink coffee. But also that you’d only drink one other thing. 

Your heart squeezed at the thought. “Thank you, Kook.” you beamed lightly. 

He nodded, sweetly smirking. “No big deal. Now eat before you fade away!”

After taking a few bites of your muffin and drinking some more tea, you finally decided to get to it. Time is of the essence after all. 

A couple of hours went by. Finally, both of you had achieved a hard outline of what your assessment was focusing on. The stress that was once looming over you was somewhat gone as you scrolled through both your (and now Jungkook’s) notes

“This is great! With this, it’ll make our lives so much easier when writing up the paper!” 

The excited tone in your voice now echoed across the library. The time was 7 pm. Only a few students still worked silently at their desks, but it was nowhere near the mayhem it was earlier on.

You also hadn’t realised in the depths of your study that the sky outside had also gone dark. You sighed “Okay well, this seems like a good place to stop.”

“Oh thank god!” Jungkook groaned. You rolled your eyes as you packed up your stuff.

“Hey, don’t act like you weren’t enjoying it! You were really getting into it at the end.”

Jungkook laughed as he slid his jacket on “No, I was honestly just enjoying how focused your face gets.”

“What do you mean?”

He pointed to the gap between his eyebrows “Your eyebrows scrunch together right here, it's really cute.”

Your breath hitched again at the sudden compliment as you both walked out into the evening air. 

“Haha very funny.” you stopped, waiting to say goodbye before you can make your way home. “Well, I better get going-”

“Woah woah, what are you doing?” 

You paused “I’m…going home?”

Jungkook chuckled “You really think I’m gonna let you walk home by yourself? What kind of man do you think I am Y/n?”

“O-Oh Kook…I’m fine it’s just down the street-”

He shushed you once again, gently taking your hand and guiding you towards your dorm. The sudden touch of his skin against yours made your face heat up.

“You know, you shush me a lot.” You huffed as you walked alongside him, taking your hand out of his gentle grasp.

“Well, you talk a lot.” 

“Did that hurt?” you broke the silence as you both quietly walked along the street

“Did what hurt?”

You pointed to his big sleeve tattoo. While you were working earlier, you found yourself entranced and constantly looking at art that covered his entire arm. He himself caught you a few times, smirking and telling you to “take a picture, it should last longer..!”

“Ah, I was wondering when you were finally gonna bring this up.” He smirked now once again. 

You tutted “You know what? I’m sorry I asked, just forget about it.” You went to walk ahead in a strop, but he grabbed your arm and pulled you back 

“Hey no, I’m kidding.” he chuckled “It hurt a little, but the more times I went to get it finished, the more it was bearable you know?”

“You had to go back more than once?”

He nodded “Of course? You think this took only one sitting? I’d be there for hours!”

“I don’t know! I’m not a tattoo expert!” you shrugged “What did your mom think of it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well the last time I saw her, she was ADAMANT that tattoos were a no-go.” You laughed lightly at the memory 

Jungkook laughed alongside you, hands in his pockets. “Ah that. Well, let’s just say she wasn't happy! And by ‘wasn’t happy’ I mean on the brink of fainting.”

You laughed harder “Oh my god! For real?”

“No joke, my dad was ready to catch her.” 

You both burst into another fit of laughter as Jungkook kept adding more to the story. 

“Wow, I miss your mom.” you sighed as you wiped a stray tear from your eye. “She’s great.”

“Yeah.” He chuckled “She misses you too.”

A wake of awkwardness swept over the two of you once again. You thanked the universe above that you were now coming up to your dorm. 

“Well.” You started, stopping at the entrance “Next time you speak to her, tell her I miss her cooking.”

He looked down at his feet “Will do. And hey, next time you speak to your mom tell her I miss her baking.”

“Whenever you need her cookies, be sure to get in touch.” You partly joked. He nodded lightly, leaving the two of you to glance at just each other for a split second

Before the silence could make its way into the conversation again you quickly broke out pf your trance “Thank you for walking me home.” 

He shrugged lightly “Ah no big deal, It’s the least I could do for standing you up yesterday.”

“Apology accepted.” You smiled

Jungkook lingered for a split second. “So…meet at the same time tomorrow?”

While your brain (and a little bit of your heart) was screaming at you to say yes, you had other priorities you had to attend to. 

“Oh, I can’t tomorrow. I have Joon’s birthday dinner tomorrow. He couldn't celebrate it on his actual birthday because of exams so he’s throwing it now.”

At the sudden mention of Namjoon, Jungkook’s jaw ticked “Ah, gotcha.” he mumbled dryly. 

Your brows furrowed “What’s up with you?”

“Uh, nothing. Thanks for today. Text me when you’re next free okay? At another dry response, he turned on his heels and walked away towards his own dorms, leaving you standing at your doorstep by yourself.

What just happened?

taglist:

@thvkives @sugaminh @kooromiwrld @no-regrets-just-confusion @leethvjkk @petalsofink @secretlypg95 @bangtans-momma @ane102 @v-taeunofficial @kc204 @jjeonjjk7 @toraluvs @hyuneyeon @busanbby-jjk @heyitsmehaneul @carrotuwusworld @pasteljoonie @appleh4ad @butterymin @kalea10 @ash07128 @sulkingheichou012 @ggukcanim @euphorora @nini777blog @bellagrayson-wayne @bangtangalicious @softforpj @jkkkkkay @hoseoksluv89 @marvelous-llama @seoksbtch @knowexoknowlife @yoongleskitten @uarmyhore @junecat18

please let me know what you think! if you want to be added to the taglist, feel free to let me know too!

[ramblingsfromthytruly]

day 33+34+35+36/50 productivity challenge - 2 days of failure + 2 day of success(?) combined with an all-nighter

had my on english exam on friday: i think i did okay. i mean i'm sure i could get above 60 (exam total is 80 marks) without studying. so that's all i wanna say. i MAY get above 65 or even above 70 but i don't wanna keep that expectation and later disappoint myself. also i remember venting so bad in one question. i wrote 2.5 pages for a 5 mark speech writing question 💀 i really need to get back into journalling

ngl i have to admit i've been extremely unproductive throughout the entire weekend. usually when i'm in a depressive phase i manage something but for this time i just don't even have energy to do anything apart from feel like shit and then feel like shit using that as an excuse to not do anything. well towards sunday night i regained some(?) positive energy and managed to study something in between bouts of crying and extreme thoughts and 1 almost-mental-breakdown for my physics exam by pulling an all-nighter.

so this is the stuff i did through the day while procrastinating & all through the night & the monday morning:

morning skincare

worked on my blog's organization

redid my blog's intro post

received some mental clarity and started recording a vlog

headbath

had lovely convos with other users omg ppl r so nice

night skincare

studied physics ch: motion in a straight line

noted down all formulae

studied physics ch: motion in a plane

slept 6-7 a.m.

morning skincare

studied physics ch: laws of motion

how my physics exam went: so grateful for my friend who basically gave me a crash course of the fourth chapter within 10 mins. prolly got at least 5 marks cuz of her. exam was still shit however. i thought it went better that chemistry. it would have been but then after i was discussing the answers with my friend i realized i didn't see the last page of the question paper and missed an entire main. 3 5 markers!! 15 marks just gone like that. istg i'm genuinely never this careless. idk how i could have done this. i had the time too to write those answers. those questions were easy.

after school shenanigans:

slept 1-4 p.m.

made card for dad's bday tmr

showered

duolingo

practiced playing keyboard

folded laundry

studied + made notes biology ch: biological classification

journalled (desperately needed this)

night skincare

[studentbyday]

oops! i did it again. lessons from this school year...

Hey, you remember that post I made about my winter term priorities? HAHAHAHAHahaha ha ha. That plan totally went to shit, but it's all part of the journey, right? 😅 (Tbh, it's quite difficult to make a conscious effort to change yourself when the default response to being and feeling busy is to go on autopilot -> all the unconscious habits, even if unhealthy, take control, and bc it's unconscious, you don't realize it until it gets quite bad! anyway! no more! my future plans make it so this will be impossible to do while still retaining some sense of sanity. so to prep, we're gonna slowly implement little changes so hopefully it's not so overwhelming that i give up)

🧘🏻‍♀️ comparing mindsets in fall and winter term

Fall term was not that bad bc I had 2 STEM subjects I really really loved and was interested in (biochem and mol bio 💕), and despite their difficulty, that love and interest and the feeling that "I am in the right field for me" kept me positive. There were times I thought I would feel burnout symptoms if I wasn't careful, but I really think that positivity protected me from the worst of it.

Winter term, however...I had one favorite subject: moral philosophy, which led to me wistfully dreaming about an AU in which I double majored in philosophy and piano performance, lol. After the highs of biochem and mol bio and the natural ease with which the bits of info flowed together in those subjects, I did not enjoy pharmacology or the 2nd half of psyc as much -> loss of interest -> negativity and feeling like I'm in the wrong field bc how dare I not like pharmacology (or psychology) as much as the other life science-y subjects when it's really so important for us to survive and thrive! 😅 I mean, there were times I could get that spark from pharmacology or psyc, but it wasn't often enough or intense enough to keep me consistently inspired throughout the semester. The feeling of "maybe I don't have what it takes and I'm in the wrong field" was compounded by the re-realization that there's sm to know of bioinformatics and I struggle to know any of it! Persevering is important, but it's harder to persevere with a negative mindset.

😤 what went wrong this school year and what i learned from it

I still struggle with perfectionism (and bc of it, procrastination). While it might not be as bad as it was in high school, I still spent too long on assignments that weren't worth much and during finals season, was so scared of getting less than 90% just to keep up my A+ streak. Like, I'm pretty sure no one who cares to know your GPA cares about whether you have an A+ streak or not. I have too high a threshold for what is a "disappointing" grade. I also struggle with deep regret about how I haven't mastered everything they throw at us in each course... definitely an unrealistic expectation, especially as the proportion of new info to absorb increases with each course. I did what I could using what I knew to do, so it is what it is. I may find ways to make improvements and learn more, but I won't beat myself up for not having known to do those things in the past.

Did not use effective study methods. Since first year, my problem has been keeping up with the readings and my solution has been to just use typed outline notes. It worked for the first few years when it was mostly review from previous courses with a few new concepts in between. But as I progress through my degree, the proportion of completely new info is increasing. This notetaking method won't work anymore bc it just causes cognitive overload, especially during exam season (when I've mostly forgotten the details of everything that isn't smth I've already known for years). E.g. for pharmacology, I got so bogged down by the details of all the drug classes that I didn't see the big picture and so didn't organize the info according to it. This made it hard to see patterns and better chunk the info. I was so stressed during finals season bc of this (and the sheer amount of notes that I had to read for psyc 😭). What makes it feel like even more of a problem is that the cognitive overload problem from my notetaking method has been a thing for all other uni courses thus far, it's just that pharmacology was the first time I needed to create a stronger connecting thread between the otherwise disparate pieces of info (drug classes). In all other courses, that thread was part of the nature of the topic being studied so I eventually understood it as I kept going and mentally re-organized it in my brain...but even then it was hodge-podge and so my depth of mastery was and is so flimsy, and every semester I leave feeling drained and like I wasted the opportunity to maximize my learning. (How dramatic I get about this is also probably tied to my perfectionism, but I still think it would greatly benefit future me to change my notetaking style.)

🎓 advice for future me

Look at the academic calendar, specifically the faculty course descriptions. Look at how many hours they say you should expect to spend on each activity in the course. Try to use those learning hours as a guide for your schedule so that you don't spend too long on an item that isn't worth much. If there isn't such a breakdown, assume one based on whatever they give you or other courses and adjust from there.

Be a more efficient reader by skimming the text first so you can map the flow of info in a way that best creates ease of understanding/synthesis/memory (e.g. via an outline, tree diagram, flowchart, mind map, or simple drawings - and noticing when a list/outline will NOT be helpful bc it'll just be too overwhelming and not easy to compare/contrast info and see patterns). I knowww you've survived thus far without doing it this way and done well, BUT with this many courses, the increasing complexity of each subject, and the overload of info in each, you WILL need to do this to make quicker work of the readings, save you sooo much stress during exam seasons, and improve how much you learn while in school which is the real goal you've wanted to achieve all this time. Don't repeat the mistake you made in pharmacology. And it really doesn't have to be aesthetic and you definitely should NOT get caught up with it if you really wanna learn. You could just use one color for everything and a highlighter and just basic shapes/lines - that alone can be way more effective than boring paragraphs/lists or a colorful, overly complex diagram that'll just distract you from the main point.

Create a realistic daily routine (wake-up and sleep times, start and end times for schoolwork) and be strict about following it. Set your non-negotiables for personal goals to keep up with alongside your schoolwork bc academics aren't everything. Remember how you regretted not devoting more time to extra-curriculars and other skills in high school which would've rounded you out as a person. You can try theming the parts of the day so that you don't have to think about what task you should do first after study breaks and keep up the momentum (e.g. mornings for readings and notes, afternoons for active recall/homework). Then you can live the rest of the day after school as structured or unstructured as you wish. If this strategy doesn't work for you, you don't have to use it.

Take advantage of interleaving so you don't get bored. Whether by following the theming strategy or just switching subjects every hour, idc if you aren't done yet, you better switch bc the second consecutive hour of the same thing is never as effective as the first.

[quotidian-oblivion]

got any fic recs for a poor starving victorian girl?

Hi ghosty!! 'Course I do!

So i created a fic rec list over here before, but I'm happy to give more fic recs! I'll combine the ones I've posted individually and new ones under the cut

So obviously there's envysparkler's works. She is iconic. Every one of her fics are iconic.

And obvi @sardonic-sprite as well.

But there is one fic I will forever rec and it's Rebel Without a Claus by DangerBeckett. Really. It is in every one of my fic recs. It has me writing comments longer than a page long. It's still in progress and it's currently 10 chapters though. And updates are slow, but the highlight of my day when I get the email that it's been updated.

Now next we have...

One totally normal, completely inconspicuous Fererro Rocher Crack! It's by @foursixtwonineoh-pieces-of-lego and I love it, one of my comfort fics to read at 2am.

And another one by Evie is the ongoing Did you ever love somebody with a death wish? We all love evil Tim Drake AUs >:)

The Dragon's Keep(ing Us Sane) - Itslivybear Crack! And emotional fluff! It's about Tim, Bart, Cassie and Kon starting a band and no one recognizes them. There is also a BANGER song in this.

two against the world - carolinaa Hurt/comfort! Angst with a happy ending! TIM GETS A DOG IN THIS ONE!!! AND THEN THE TWO RUN AWAY FROM DRAKE MANOR!! THEN THEY GET ADOPTED BY THE BATS!!!

head in the clouds - Alienu Humor! Crack! *falls to the floor* It's so funny and so batfamily, I can't.

Little bird - Ididloveyou_once Hurt/Comfort! Whump! Seriously, the whump is so good in this Titans Tower AU

The Product of Procrastination - egg_thief Humor! Crack! I read it whenever I go through tough times and feel so weighed down, and it still makes me laugh. Tim's procrastination leads him to ask for help from his two older brothers on his English assignment.

A Touch of Midas - Ellegrine Humor! Fluff! Seriously- such good fluff. When I read that dragon metaphor, I nearly sobbed. But yeah, Tim messing with his brothers is peak.

Sprinkles - SunnyBlue Whump! Angst! Fluff! AND FOREHEAD TOUCHES! GHEFOUJDS Tim's almost dying and Damian does not intend to keep it that way.

The Thing™ - InkpotSprite Crack! Humor! AND ME SCREECHING OUT LOUD AND LITERALLY CACKLING OUT LOUD WITH LAUGHTER. OH GOSH, IT'S ANOTHER TITANS TOWER AU BUT IT'S SO HILARIOUS.

Okay, let's do some multichap fics

Green rings and red things - siren_of_the_ocean In this one, Tim becomes a Green Lantern and the storyline is so good, it had me entertained as I was reading it while I was sick.

Let's be Brothers - Honeybuttons Funny, twists, adorable friendships, adorable plots, I LOVE IT!! Tim is intent on getting Jason to be his brother and so he creates a whole plan to get him and Jason close enough to be friends then eventually brothers. Roy makes an amazing appearance and ooh... what's going on with Damian over there... hmm...

cards on the table - wesslan This... oh boy, this. *takes deep breath* I LOVE THE TROPES AND THE CHARACTERIZATION AND ITS SUCH AN ADVENTURE!! PERFECT BALANCE OF FLUFF (not fluff per se, but cute moments) AND ANGST!! Tim is a fortune teller who scams Gotham's elite society to make a living. But then the fortunes turn and he finds himself facing the whole family of Bats the Waynes who keep roping him into bonding sessions.

And those are the fics for today!! Thanks so much for the ask, Ghosty, I had fun reminiscing on the lovely lovely fics the lovely lovely writers have written.

[superfallingstars]

Superfallingstars, will you be mad if I interrupt Snapetober with more Marauders questions? These are halloween themed. If yes, give me some time and I’ll come back to you with Snape and Lily questions. But for now, I’ll stick to what I know!

- Which marauder would be the best at telling ghost stories? And who’s the most scared of them?

- Which marauder is most likely to enjoy horror movies? (Context of your choice - AU or if they ever came across muggle cinema. Horror was popping in the 70s and personally, if someone has never came across movies before, I think they’d be blown away by the magic of editing, music, and lighting!)

- Slasher horror! How would each of them die?

- Halloween party in the Gryffindor room! What are they dressing up as?

- Costumes trick the spirits into thinking you’re something you’re not. Who’s the best at impersonations?

- Who borrows their friend’s clothes the most?

- Who lets their friend borrow their stuff the most?

- We know Remus’s boggart. How does fear materialises itself for James, Peter, and Sirius?

- Which marauder was the most likely to befriend the Moaning Myrtle?

- Who had the most symbiotic relationship with Peeves?

Spooky stuff. Love to hear what you think!

Hiii I’m happy to answer Marauders questions and I would love Snape and Lily questions! This gives me a great excuse to keep procrastinating on Snapetober (not that I want to but omg I'm burnt out... I keep drawing things that I just fucking hate lol). October has been a ridiculously busy month in my personal/work life and it is totally cramping my style. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, where is my daily 12 hours of thinking about Snape time? Ugh. Anyways I’ll stop yapping now and get to the asks (where I will do more yapping but this time it’ll be relevant)

Which marauder would be the best at telling ghost stories? And who’s the most scared of them?

I love the idea of Sirius telling ghost stories to an absolutely terrified Peter. Sirius certainly has a bit of a mean streak, and I think he would derive great joy from making Peter quake in his boots. And this gives James the perfect opportunity to quietly slip away from the group so he can sneak behind Peter and make him scream lmfao. Also I think Remus would be the least frightened because he basically lives the plot of a horror movie every month. Speaking of...

Which marauder is most likely to enjoy horror movies? (Context of your choice - AU or if they ever came across muggle cinema. Horror was popping in the 70s and personally, if someone has never came across movies before, I think they’d be blown away by the magic of editing, music, and lighting!)

My only reference point for horror movies are shitty monster B-movies from the 50s and earlier so I feel rather unprepared for this question lol. Though I think maybe the answer is just Remus because again, he feels seen and affirmed by them. I could totally see Remus and Peter wanting to go to the movies and talking it up, fully invested in the magic of cinema, meanwhile Sirius and James are like wow people are actually scared of this shit? But at least they would all enjoy the popcorn (and probably figure out a way to steal some to take for later)

Slasher horror! How would each of them die?

Well James has to die first of course. He’s the one who checks out the mysterious noise in the closet at the end of the dark hallway and gets got. Or maybe James and Peter are cornered by the killer and Peter has the chance to save him and instead he pushes him into the arms of the killer and runs away crying lmao. Also Peter needs to lose a finger in the skirmish. Remus either dies a pretty nondescript death or there's a grand twist where it is revealed that he was actually the killer the whole time and didn't know it (how brutal). But if Remus dies then Sirius gets to be the final girl, laughing maniacally as he tries to cope with all of the horrors he just witnessed <3

Halloween party in the Gryffindor room! What are they dressing up as?

Ohhhh good question… I would love James to dress up as someone culturally relevant (like, some hot famous person) but I don’t know enough about the wizarding world in the 70s to pick someone. I think Sirius would either dress up the same as James, or do a couples costume with James, or he wouldn’t dress up at all (he's too good for that)… but he could be convinced to smear some fake blood on his face at the last minute. Or wait maybe he does something really insensitive and dresses up as a werewolf djfhksjdkhfdhk. I mean, it would be cute for them to dress up like their animagi, though I doubt Remus would want to participate… but I’m extremely enjoying the idea of James dressed up as a cute little deer. Also one year they should be the Beatles (Peter is Ringo, Remus is George, but I’m torn between who should be Paul and John… James is a loverboy like Paul but he kinda dies like John lmfao so idk. But Sirius and James are sooo Paul and John coded, I'll stand by that hfsjhfjks).

Costumes trick the spirits into thinking you’re something you’re not. Who’s the best at impersonations?

I think it would be fun to give this trait to James. I’ll admit I’m only choosing him because I don’t think the rest of them would be very good at this, but I think it would fit his mischievous yet charming vibe.

 Who borrows their friend’s clothes the most?

Sirius/James for sure. Meaning Sirius borrows James’s clothes (he never asks permission but he knows it's fine) and James borrows Sirius’s leather jacket when he knows he’s going to see Lily that day.

Who lets their friend borrow their stuff the most?

Naturally James… I actually quite like the idea of James being very selfless and giving towards his friends, but it’s totally a trait born of blind privilege. Like yeah sure you can have whatever, I’ll just ask my parents for another one LOL

We know Remus’s boggart. How does fear materialises itself for James, Peter, and Sirius?

Ooooooh, this is difficult... I'm really unsure of what their actual boggarts would be (as in, the physical object that symbolizes their greatest fears), but I can at least discuss what I think they're afraid of... I think for James his biggest fear might be exactly how he died lol (aka his friends turning on him). I think of James as someone who is extremely insecure and is always compensating for that trait through big flashy displays of friendship (or hatred, if Snape is around). But overall I think he’s quite desperate to be liked, at least in his teenage years. For Peter, idk probably just death or something... being completely defenseless, with no one to turn to for protection? And Sirius… man idk. I said in the last batch of asks that Sirius is the character I struggle the most with and yeah that’s really showing itself now. The thing is, Sirius basically lives through his greatest fears! What could be worse than going to Azkaban after being convicted for the murder of your BEST FRIEND and then having to essentially be imprisoned (AGAIN) in your childhood home that you hated? Like, James dying probably was his worst fear, and lo and behold…!

Which marauder was the most likely to befriend the Moaning Myrtle?

Gotta go with Remus if only because he canonically 1. befriends underdogs and 2. is a pushover. Also shoutout to this fic that changed my life which has a really great Remus/Myrtle friendship arc

Who had the most symbiotic relationship with Peeves?

Ooooh this is tough. I would say James, but I also think James would get jealous of Peeves trying to be the center of attention…

Wow these were surprisingly challenging, but they were fun! I appreciate the commitment to the holiday theme. Thanks for the ask!

[chiefbeifongcanrailme]

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hi Mochi! I'm so sorry I'm taking forever to get to this ask- but it's totally your fault- you know I'm indecisive- I'm a Libra and I couldn't choose which fic to go with🫠

So after much procrastination, I have picked: Somebody Come Geeeeeeeed Her She's Dancin' Like A…

This is my stripper!Lin fic.

Spoilers below. Be warned.

I had a lot of plans of continuing this- prequel, sequel, multi-chap the whole shindig but alas, the world is cruel. Although, just answering the ask is giving me a fantastic idea.

Anyway, coming down to the fic- a 20-something year old Tenzin is reluctantly taken to a strip club by Bumi where he is completely smitten by one of the strippers. Convinced that the woman wearing close to nothing on stage is Lin, Tenzin abandons his brother to go find her and see if it really is Lin. But whether or not this woman is his good friend, Captain Lin Beifong, Tenzin is experiencing love at first sight.

I'm laughing as I'm typing this, but we all know Lin's hot as balls and to have her be a stripper would be everything. As I was first writing this fic, I kinda decided that the stripper would actually be Lin's doppelganger from the bronx south side (known to be a shady area of Republic City) and Tenzin would feel like he's being gaslit. Jade's boyfriend would be Lightning Bolt Zolt while Tenzin's friendship with Lin keeps getting tested over this. But then I changed my mind, and decided to go with undercover Lin who's working with one of the up and coming triads based in the south side- of course, this has to be secret and nobody other than Saikhan knows about this. He often covers for her and ever since Tenzin discovers Jade, Saikhan has been working overtime lol.

But coming to the fic itself, where I got to include none of this, I wanted to establish just how attracted Tenzin is to Lin. He supposedly falls for Jade and that's only because as Jade, she gives him the time of day while Lin doesn't. Lin enjoys being Jade because that's the only time Tenzin will properly shoot his shot- with Lin, he's too tightly wound. And well, while Jade may a boyfriend (Lightning Bolt Zolt), for convenience (and so that she can be trusted by the triads), Lin secretly is in love with Tenzin.

And it's funny cuz Tenzin loves Jade, Jade "loves" Zolt, Zolt- who sees Lin at the RCPD once is obsessed with this more high strung, difficult, stick-in-the-ass version of his girlfriend- and therefore into Lin, who in turn, is into Tenzin who just won't make a move!

RIP to all my good ideas. Unfortunately for its audience, this director only publishes the very pretty, pointy tip of her icebergs.

[darling-phoebe]

scary dog privilege ! judah zelinsky ❥ gn! singer! reader, part 1

gender neutral reader, mention of makeup use but makeup is for anyone idc. no use of y/n but i had to stretch to make that happen lowkey. nothing else really i'm just feral for this man and would let him do things to me that are concerning to feminism. thank u <3

��� [ . : ｡✿ ]

"so, tell me... your new album is a smash hit all across the globe. your song, 'bruised affections' is trending everywhere on social media. two months ago, you were living a normal life, and now you're a superstar. how does that feel?"

you were sat on a couch of your favorite late night talk show, late night confessions with stella goth. your hair styled perfectly, your makeup flawless. you were wearing a baggy white sweater with a big knit strawberry on the front, funky red bell bottoms, and black dress shoes, giving you the vibe that the world had fallen for; eclectic and down to earth.

"it's honestly really crazy," you admitted. "it's like you said, two months ago i was procrastinating my final essay for college, started goofing around and singing this song i was working on. my friend started recording me, and next thing i know i'm going viral?" you shook your head, smiling softly. "and of course it was a day i looked like a total bum. i think i had dorito crumbs in my hair still." you laughed, and stella laughed with you.

"any regrets? other than the dorito hair?"

you cracked a grin. "no, no regrets. i've always known music was one my true love. and getting to share it with you guys has been such a joy."

"it's been as much a joy for us, i promise," she replied, before standing. "ladies and gentlemen, our new favorite superstar!" as she said your stage name, you stood beaming, washed away in a sea of applause and cheers.

you stepped off the stage, and before you saw anyone else─ any family, any managers or pr crew─ you were greeted by your bodyguard. he towered above you, holding a bottle of water and one of your favorite sandwiches.

"you did great," he said, voice stoic and soft all at once. "now drink some water."

you smiled fondly. "aw thanks, you big softie," you said, before taking a sip. "we headed to the after party?"

he shook his head, much to your surprise. "back to the hotel. easton─" your manager, "─wants you up early tomorrow for dance rehearsals, so you are on strict orders to go to sleep."

"party pooper," you teased, before shrugging. "i won't complain though, i'm exhausted. this week's kicked my ass."

"worth it?" he asked, his eyes seeming to scan yours in a way you couldn't quite explain.

"worth it."

the two of you walked back to judah's car─ he always insisted on driving, didn't trust anyone else to get you there safe. you admired how seriously he took his job. he thought of everything. you'd never met someone so dedicated, but you supposed that was a good thing in his field. you just wished he'd loosen up a bit, let himself have fun. he never wanted to take a day off, insisted that he had to focus on your safety.

ah, well, maybe you'd convince him to look beyond his job someday.

when you arrived at the hotel, you were of course greeted by what felt like an ocean of reporters and paparazzi. everyone wanted to know what you were wearing, if you were going on tour soon, anything and everything.

you, being the sweet and still somewhat naïve person you were, tried to answer as many as you could.

"tour dates will be released soon," you promised. "people way smarter than me are planning all that out right now."

"and do you have a partner?"

"as in an opener for the tour?" you quirked your head. "not sure yet, but─"

"no, a relationship partner. boyfriends, girlfriends?"

"give us all the juicy details!"

"well, i─" you started, but your voice must've sounded strained, because judah quickly stepped in.

"we're focusing on music right now," he answered. "and we won't be taking any more ridiculous questions at this time, thank you." then judah placed his arm around your shoulders, and guided you into the hotel and up to your room.

"thank you for handling that back there," you said, as you stepped into the elevator.

"of course." his words were typically few and far between, his tone always so formal and serious. but there was a layer of fondness somewhere in there, something soft and affectionate. you were growing on him, you were sure. the thought made you smile.

if only you knew that your smile was one he'd kill for. one he had already killed for.

the elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. before you knew it, you were in your suite. "you sleeping on the couch again tonight?"

"mhm."

"y'know the record label pays for your own private room," you pointed out, not for the first time.

"if something happens, i need to be within reach," judah maintained. he stepped closer, looking down at you with a strange look in his pretty green eyes. "i can't let anything happen to you."

you shook your head, and took his hands in yours. it was an attempt to comfort his apparent anxiety─ you didn't know it only made his heart pound harder in his chest. like the most euphoric kind of heart attack. "nothing's gonna happen," you promised. "we're both safe. i promise."

god, you were so sweet. so perfect and kind. and so impossibly naïve.

"get some sleep," he mumbled. it wasn't what he wanted to say. he had a million other things on his mind. but he was worried it would shatter everything. what if, when he kissed you, you left? what if you wouldn't let him protect you anymore?

he didn't want to have to force you.

"you should too," you said. "i know you're putting on a brave face, but it's obvious how tired you are. you can't keep staying up just 'cause something might happen."

"okay," he said simply. "goodnight."

you beamed up at him. "goodnight."

as you got ready for bed, judah settled himself on the couch. he wrapped himself in the snoopy blanket you'd gifted him. it still smelled like you. before he knew it, before you even returned from the bathroom, he'd drifted off into sleep.

─ [ . : ｡✿ ]

in the darkness, there was a small jingling sound. then a clatter, a little louder. judah tossed and turned sleepily. a door creaked open. footsteps, quick and clumsy. loud enough for judah's eyes to snap open.

he jumped up, grabbed the intruder by the throat, and held them up in the air as the man struggled and choked.

"i'm going to ask you once," judah muttered darkly. "what are you doing here?"

"i─i just wanted─ a picture, th─that's all!"

he raised a brow. "a picture? of them sleeping? over my dead body." and just like that, he snapped his puny neck between his hands like it was nothing. he let the man fall to the floor, and stood over his dead body with an empty look in his eyes. "or your dead body, i guess."

faintly, he heard the sounds of stirring from across the room. a sleepy hum, the shifting of the hotel bed.

he walked over, calm as a light breeze on a summer's day. he stood at your bedside, then knelt down beside it. your eyes blinked open slowly, but you could hardly keep them open. "heard... noise? everything─ hmm, everything okay?"

"everything's fine," he promised, stroking your hair with all the care and tenderness in the world. "just dropped something. nothing to worry about, i'll get it cleaned up." you were moments away from drifting back into a deep sleep already, so he took a chance. "you're safe, my love. now go back to sleep." and he pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead.

"i'll take care of everything."

─ [ . : ｡✿ ]

❛ i wish i was the pedal brake that you depended on ❜

part 2 coming soon

[koreanbibliophilegirl]

Do you perhaps want to info dump about your DSMP superpower AU?

Totally not asking to procrastinate on literally writing my own. Nah. I don’t even know what procrastination is.

SKLFDJSJHDJFLH INFODUMPING ABOUT MY AU? ALWAYS. I'M SO GLAD YOU ASKED.

Okay so! Where should I start? *rubs hands like that one evil toddler cousin on Christmas*

The background setting!

So the fic already has a name, but I'm keeping it AND the MC secret as a lil surprise for when the fic is eventually published. All I will say about it is, it's not Tommy. *gasp*

Tommy does appear though, so I'll start there to avoid detection I think.

He works at the bakery(yes, it's owned by Niki Nihachu), which is right around the corner from the hero headquarters. So heroes are always stopping by for baked goods, especially since Niki's girlfriend, Puffy, has a son who's one of the top heroes, and he told all his friends about how good the bakery is.

And, of course, true to all the clichés, Tommy and his two roommates work as vigilantes. They don't work only at night, though. They work at lunchtime as well, since they all get an hour of lunch break & a lot of villains are out and about around that time. Counterintuitive, but then again, there are a lot of people in the streets to nab as hostages, and some villains actively seek out heroes to fight anyway. Like Redrum, known as the sharp-clawed, since he's apparently a catshifter (or general shapeshifter, who knows) who goes around stabbing heroes.

Tubbo works at the mechanics, his boss is retired hero/hero trainer Sam Dude(known as Warden during his time)! Sam retired among controversy though, because of issues surrounding the Hero HQ's former resident healer/ex-licensed hero, Lemon Balm. Tubbo couldn't care less though, Sam's nice and lets him take spare parts home for inventing(read: making vigilante gadgets).

Ranboo helps out at the local library, with Technoblade(last name unknown) as his boss! They're also the first out of the vigilante team Bench Trio to find out that Techno is the Blood God, one of the most popular vigilantes currently active, and one half of the elusive Emerald Duo.

Phil runs a bird shelter, and when he's out as the Angel of Death, he sometimes lets the crows from the shelter follow him around!

Kristin is a hero-turned-vigilante, formerly Miss Trixtin, currently the Goddess of Death. She's a bit busy with her day job atm though so she's taking a bit of a break from her vigilante job.

Wilbur is their son who left home after an argument about vigilantism not helping reform the corrupt hero system. He's a villain called Silver Tongue now. He keeps stealing important stuff from the Hero HQ with Fundy. He gets pretty close with Tommy after regularly visiting his (adoptive) son's workplace :D

Bench Trio's vigilante names are Aerie(Tommy- telekinesis + singing to plants to make them grow), Bee Bomb(Tubbo- honey colored explosive energy balls & metal manipulation), and Endgame(Ranboo- teleportation & compression, plus they can bite through anything)!

(Double powers are uncommon but not too rare, triple powers are EXTREMELY rare.)

Tommy's bakery coworkers are Fundy Soot(villain- helps his adoptive father, Wilbur, on his little outings. Ability to go unnoticed by everyone and anyone. It works on technology as well. He's also a general shapeshifter in theory, but he can't transform into animals bigger than a fox.), Badboy Halo(civillian- he can make red vines grow out of the ground! This saved Skeppy's butt once, cuz they used to live in the same neighborhood & went to the same schools, and one time Skeppy fell off the flagpole of the middle school. Bad's vines caught him midair.), and later on Ant Frost(🤫).

Niki herself is actually a former hero who resigned, she got too much hate about her power(copying others' powers for a short while). Puffy, who was her partner, retired a few years later, since she'd decided to adopt the orphan boy who had applied for the hero training program, and she'd need more money than she was making as a hero who had lost most of her popularity. She became a therapist, and fully supported her new son Foolish throughout his hero training!

Puffy and Niki never really talked about their relationship, but since Puffy's power is reading minds & emotions, and Niki can copy her power, they didn't have to. One day they just started telling people they were taken, and that was that.

Foolish is a popular hero who can call up storms & has the additional power of building anything in the blink of an eye! His partner(both work AND romantic) is Eret, who can control people's actions if they catch sight of her glowing white eyes. Their hero names are the Golden Shark and Monarch respectively.

Tina is also a hero, she graduated the hero training program with Foolish, but her powers(always landing on her feet when she falls, enhanced senses including night vision, and stealth) coincide too much with the top hero, Dream(can't get hurt from falling, slowing down time to give himself time to think, some enhanced agility), and she didn't get very popular. This will soon change though, Tina is the GOAT and everyone will know it.

Speaking of Tina, Hannah Rose the retired hero! She runs a flower shop! She retired after one of her wings was ripped during a fight, the physical therapy took a while and her popularity dropped like a stone. She realized how unfair the hero system was to unpopular heroes and decided to retire. Her wings still haven't recovered, her flight balance is too off for her to even consider flying more than a few feet off the ground, and more than a few seconds.

Las Nevadas! Quackity! He's one of the rare triple powered people! Golden duck wings, can manipulate card-shaped objects(a form of telekinesis), and has the ability to control odds(only if he's aware of all the variables though. It won't work very well if there are unknown factors).

Charlie! May be an elder god, may be the devil, who knows! He can turn into green slime, create green slime(with various properties), and additionally, knows everything about everyone. Nobody actually knows if this is a power or not, but it's certainly terrifying paired with his cheerful, optimistic personality.

Purpled! His skin is basically invincible, fireproof, acidproof, poisonproof, you name it. He also has perfect aim, which is very handy since he's an assassin. His sibling Punz is also an assassin, but they has flight trajectory manipulation and his eyes can zoom in on anything.

Skeppy. He's not part of the mafia, but he might as well be becuase he's literally always there. Nobody knows how he does it. But. He. Is. Always. There. He can summon diamonds though so nobody's complaining😊 lol

(But seriously, he's also fun to hang out with and plan pranks with. The mafia world is full of people who want something from you/have ulterior motives, and it's nice to hang out with someone who doesn't want anything from you other than keeping him company and talking with him.)

Sam, Foolish and Punz are friends! Sam suspects Punz is mafia but keeps quiet about it(he isn't about to make the same mistake as last time), Foolish is oblivious. Punz loves his homies, but is stressed bc Foolish has a v strict moral code and would not be happy if he finds out Punz is mafia.

Uhhh who have I not talked about, KARLNAP. Sapnap was a vigilante(he failed the training program interview) who quickly got recruited by the heroes, Karl was the same but a while later! Sapnap got patrols with Dream and GeorgeNotFound(all three go by their actual names as heroes, though Sapnap's vigilante name was Flame) and immediately gained a huge following(besides his fans from his vigilante days), but Karl(a.k.a. Timekeeper) wasn't that well-known even as a vigilante. He didn't give up though, and trained extremely hard every day. Then one day Sapnap saw him in the training area and got an instant crush. They talked, Sapnap began asking to be paired with Karl for duo patrols, they started dating, and now they're both famous & known as the ultimate power couple :3

Hmm, it feels kinda anticlimactic to end like this, so have a codename compilation!

Tommy- Aerie(place to rest suspended in the air. Tommy can float things in the air so I thought the name fit.)

Tubbo- Bee Bomb(Bee Bombs are wildflower seed balls that you leave out in the garden/in pots to grow wildflowers. I thought Tubbo would like the name, since his energy balls are supposed to smell sweet like wildflower honey.)

Ranboo- Endgame(They're so overpowered with their teleportation and compression that Tommy and Tubbo insisted his appearance alone would signal the beginning of the endgame. Nicknamed Ender.)

Technoblade- the Blood God(obviously.)

Philza- the Angel of Death(also obviously.)

Wilbur- Silver Tongue(for his silver tongue.)

Fundy- either Nonexistent or Ghost, haven't really decided yet

Kristin- (formerly) Miss Trixtin, (currently) the Goddess of Death

Foolish- the Golden Shark

Tina- Carrot Cat

Eret- Monarch

Niki- (formerly) Copycat

Puffy- (formerly) Captain Puffy

Karl- Timekeeper

(Mafia Codename explanation here)

Quackity- Rey Club, King of Clubs

Purpled- Tyrian Spade

Punz- Lapis Lazuli Spade, Ace of Spades

Hannah- (formerly) Faerie, (currently) Bitterbriar Diamond

Skeppy- Adamant Heart(since he's always there anyway, they just gave him a codename.)

Charlie- Dresden Diamond, Jack of Diamonds

Ponk- Lemon Balm/Sorrento Heart(they still go by Lemon Balm as a vigilante)

Ant- Redrum

Eryn- Demon

Aimsey- Daisy(star and Eryn are villains who want to reform society as a whole by blowing up buildings. Only when they're empty tho cuz Aimsey doesn't want to kill ppl)

Velvet: Red Flag

Welp, that's all for now! If there's anything else you'd like to know, please feel free to ask further! I really enjoyed answering this, thank you so much for the ask! 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

-Lilly xx

(P. S. Almost forgot; HBomb is the owner & sole employee of a cat café with a maid event on Saturdays.)

[devils-servent]

I just read your rules so I'm reasking. Can you write Sam from seduce me comforting a reader who is recovering from anorexia? I don't have a POV preference, just X reader.

Hello Anon your initial ask was totally fine FYI. But, Sorry this took so long. I am a procrastinator and I’ve been super busy. I was super careful to not make this too triggering and to not romanticise anything. So I hope you enjoy it. I hope you are doing well! Remember that recovery is not a linear process! You are strong and any progress is still good progress!

approx 1k words

TW: Mentions of Eating disorders (Anorexia) and restriction. Unhealthy thought patterns mentioned. concept of good and bad foods mentioned.

Tags: Sam X reader, 2nd person, Damien mentioned. Cuddles, fluff, tears. 

It was hard for you to have such a busy household. It wasn’t like you disliked having the boys around to keep you company all the time. It was truly lovely to have a wonderful family. However, their constant presence made it a lot harder to keep to certain behaviours you had in the past and to keep them unnoticed ‘And that is a good thing’ you try to tell yourself. You were right of course, not that the unkind voice in the back of your head wanted you to acknowledge that. You want to recover, to commit. But it's hard alone. Having five nosey, caring incubi in your house meant that you had to eat three meals a day at least. Full meals. One of them was always cooking for you, convincing you to try something new, or to have a cheeky desert. And you both loved and hated it. They encouraged you to eat foods you would never even consider eating before. You can’t help but wonder if they knew what you were going through, do Demons even experience things such as this? Or is this a purely human phenomenon?

There was unfortunately no way Damien didn’t know what you were going through. First thing you thought about when you had pulled up to the house the day grandfather had died was that you didn’t have to recover anymore, as there was nobody to make you. Living alone was the prime opportunity for you to have what you wanted, and that was all you thought about. Thoughts of frustration plagued you when Damien had told you his brothers had cooked for you when you had first met, that is when he revealed he could read your mind. He had promised to keep your secret, but that didn’t stop the others noticing some weird habits you had compared to the other humans they had observed. 

Over the last few months you had gotten pretty close to Sam, his brash humour distracted you from the voice in the back of your mind. Not to mention he was very attractive to you. He taught you a lot; about him, his culture and why he left the demon world. His dietary habits had begun to rub off on you too. Considering he worked out very often he ate lots and lots. He would always encourage you to eat what he was making, even if it was only a few bites. 

“Oh come on doofus! Please just try it? I'm sure you will love it!” he teased. Waving a fork full of chicken alfredo in your face. You had sat with him as he made it, it smelled amazing filling the room and your lungs with its aroma. Sam explained that you should have some protein with every meal and lightly chastised you on how poor your daily protein intake is. You resisted at first, unwilling to eat yet. You were worried he wouldn’t ever like you if you didn’t look how you wanted for him. But… Sam’s persistence wore you down. 

“Okay, okay, just as long as we eat together.”

Sam smirked and served you a portion. It was larger than what you would usually eat - ‘I’m supposed to be recovering, it does not matter’ 

“Come on” he beckoned you, “let's eat upstairs in my room”. You nodded, following him as he carried both bowls and sat down on his bed. His room was pretty, filled with workout equipment, trinkets, his game console and the books he was learning to read. You played with your food for a while, talking Sam’s ear off as a way to distract him. It worked until he finished his food. You should have known better that he always wolves down his meals. He looked at you with a concerned look, he placed his hand on your knee. 

"Do you think I’m stupid doofus?”

You looked at him confused, planning to feign innocence. You opened your mouth to speak but he continued. 

“I don’t remember what humans call it, but I know what you are going through. I can tell, and have been able to for weeks. I understand that it's hard, but I want to support you (Y/N) In anyway I can. And I will, because I love you” You looked at him surprised as he cupped your face and kissed your cheek. “I’ll still love you no matter what you look like, because I love you not your body.” He smiled and rubbed your cheek. “I'll support you even if you don’t feel the same. My love is not conditional” 

You sat smiling like a wordless idiot, grinning at him red in the face. He twirled the pasta on to the fork and held it up to you. “Now come on, just a few more bites,” he smiled. “Everytime I eat from now on you should too! you should try everything, even if it's just a few bites.” you grimaced and looked away. 

“But what if I-” you held your tongue. What if you become undesirable, what if he doesn’t like you anymore, what if he's lying to you….but what if he isn’t. You looked up at him, he seemed so genuine. 

“Come on! I'm a good cook!” he exclaimed. Besides it will be good for us” he paused,”good for you”.

“You promise? You won’t get tired of it, will you?” 

He nodded, beaming up at you. “I swear on my name” he moved his other hand from your knee to his heart. “Now come on, let me feed you. I’ll feed you forever if you need me too”

Blushed and let him feed you. Maybe you aren't alone this time and maybe, just maybe, you won't be again. 

[callsign-rogueone]

Hey beautiful! How are you? ♡

I loved Liam and Spark chapter 2 so much, it was really good.

Liam is such a caring guy. He knows something is wrong with Spark instantly. Understanding her fear for water and helping her. And when she gives the bottle back and he says he's proud of her 😢🥺 I teared up cuz I related to her reaction ❤️‍🩹

She builds this wall up for everyone to show that she is strong which she is, but afraid? To show emotion. To me it's such a relatable character in certain aspects. I love their story, out of my head I think liam and spark are in my top 3 from the girlfriendverse so far ♡

I'm wondering what else you have in store for us/what else you're working on ❤️

I don't know if you remember the the request I send from bren about the nightmare? ( plus my entire rant of my other issues. Sorry for that ❤️‍🩹)

Would you mind (if you have anything for it so far, don't feel pressured please) sharing a sneak peak of that or maybe the razor thing from the misc from bren and duchess? Don't feel pressured you don't have to

Also bodhi alphabet ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 he's such a softie compared to Xaden. Underrated as hell but such a softie I could totally see bodhi in every letter. It's just so him. You have an amazing talent of describing them in a way that's so them and realistic.

I hope you're doing well. I'm proud of you. Keep going with the amazing ideas. Stay hydrated + healthy ♡ Love ya ❤️💖🥰

hi lovie!! I’m doing well. another day off today 🤩

I’m glad you liked it 🥺 Liam is so observant, especially with his favorite girl! he knows her very well (or he did, pre-Basgiath), so he is very good at identifying when something is wrong. and of course our sweet boy has to fix it immediately 🥹❤️‍🩹

I’m currently working on:

another Garrick and Angel chapter (~4k of just smut, but so tender and loving…)

and some of the couples I’ve been neglecting… Ridoc and Sweetheart still need to go on that date!

and Aaric and Sunny haven’t even met yet… I’m not good at writing the beginnings of stories, especially people meeting, because I don’t like to just throw information at the reader… so I have 6k of them becoming friends and then not being friends anymore (interpret that how you will) ready to go, but I’m procrastinating them meeting / conscription day / all that. 

and also these, for you 🧡⬇️

the nightmares 🥺

“M’okay,” you rasp, reaching out for something to steady yourself — you sat up too quickly, and now the whole room is spinning.

He gathers you into his arms, sitting you in his lap and holding you close. “Deep breaths, sweetheart. You’re safe with me, okay?”

the razor 🤭

“Now, are you sure you have absolutely no idea where it is?” he asks again, in that soft, stern voice, raising an eyebrow, and you fold immediately.

“Under the sink, behind the bath salts,” you admit in a whisper, cheeks burning under his gentle touch. “But please don’t use it.”

doing the alphabets is so fun for me hehe. I’m gonna need to do some re-reading for the next few, to figure these boys out...

ily 🥰💗💐 I hope your week is going well!

[inkofamethyst]

June 13, 2024

I.. don't think I'm as well-adjusted to grad school as I'd hoped. I feel behind but I'm not even sure how to "catch up" or what specifically I am not doing. I just want to do more but I feel intimidated by what "more" might be. My days are mostly empty outside of a single lab-based task that might take one to three hours. Admittedly, I did procrastinate myself out of that bioinformatics "course". I do intend to start that back up again. I do want to learn (I was intimidated by the homework (only recently did I realize that I literally do not actually have to do the homework if I don't want to lol, this is all asynchronous and semi-recreational for my own benefit)). I think that's a major part of why I feel like I could be doing more. My postdoc is working like 12 hour days or something while I come in and lounge for four hours or so (I've recently been making an effort to do six hours though, even if it's just me sitting and reading (fiction >.<) for most of the time (I'll start an anthropology book after this series I promise)).

I have started learning music theory though. Only barely, it feels like, but it's more than any true theory I'd absorbed through the years of band classes and orchestra rehearsals (I know what a "diminished sixth" means now (kinda) and can point it out in sheet music (most of the time)! I can differentiate between three different minor scales (most of the time)!). I plan to leisurely make my way through a semester's worth of lectures on it. I want a good understanding of why music works so I can hopefully get good at improvisation (also I need to relinquish the idea that I'm going to be some improv master at first try--because that's not going to happen. it'll likely take weeks of trials and lots of errors before I get any sort of feel for what sounds "decent").

I've been reading Jade City by Fonda Lee and woah. I think this would make an excellent television show. It's soooo good. Fantasy action, my genre beloved (and politics?? bro im in LOVE), but inspired by a totally different culture than what I typically read. The naming switcharoo took a bit of getting used to sure but it's far more immersive that way. I would love to see this in live action and thirst after Hilo bc you know the casting director would do him right. I'm glad I decided to stick with her on a whim.

I wish the pollen wasn't still so bad (I have to keep my windows open all the time bc no ac, and pollen flies in 24/7 and coats absolutely everything which is the worsttttt. thankfully my bed doesn't get too much of it but UGH), I'd love to spend more time outside. The flowers are lovely but I'm ready for the trees to pack it upppp.

My mom thinks I'm being too social for me to handle. I haven't had a full weekend to just isolate and chill in a month. There's just so much to do, though! I want to do it all now that the weather is warm. This area has lots of events all the time. I have to remember that I have five more years, I guess.

Today I'm thankful that at least I'm not being pushed too hard.

Brought to you from inside the lab (my postdoc has stepped out hehe) where I am desperately trying to find things to do. I think I'm going to register for some trainings or something.

[the-ravening]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you @zsparz and @six-demon-bag for tagging me! ❤️

1. How many works do you have on ao3? Only 12, because I am a baby writer.

2. What's your total ao3 word count? 86k

3. What fandoms do you write for? Winterbaron, or more accurately, Zemo/everyone

4. Top five fics by kudos: Let's do a top 3, since top 5 would just be like half my fics.

Something Sweet to Eat (142 kudos) Extremely underage Halloween fic, bunny boy Zemo shows up trick or treating at Bucky's house Adopt, Don’t Shop (123 kudos) Omegaverse, bratty teen Zemo is for sale at an Omega kennel and Alpha Bucky goes shopping Gift-Wrapped (113 kudos) This was the first fic I ever posted (just a few years ago) and I'm still pretty proud of it. Just a silly Winterbaron rimming PWP, but it's hot

5. Do you respond to comments? I try to, I always mean to, but I think I'm a bit behind right now. I know there are some amazing comments on Home to Me from last year that I still haven't replied to and I feel bad about it all the time.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Probably Under Lock and Key (what a mess we’ve made), the Heinrich/Helmut Zemo dadcest fic I wrote for @ex0rin where I followed her hurt/no comfort philosophy of leaving him on the floor crying.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I don't know if I really do happy endings? I have PWPs where the happy ending is they both come, if that counts. 😅 Let's say... Ink Kissed (with violent precision) where tattoo artist Bucky gives his client Zemo a dick tattoo, and Zemo ends up quite happy with the tattoo as well as the rest of the service.

8. Do you get hate on fics? I've only gotten one or two of the world's mildest hate comments. I guess my ships are sufficiently niche that no one cares about them.

9. Do you write smut? Yeah! Do I write anything other than smut? No.

10. Craziest crossover: I've only written one crossover, A Suitable Course of Treatment, Bucky Barnes/Laszlo Kreizler from The Alienist, which isn't crazy at all because as we all know, Laszlo has Zemo's face. (If it counts, I once started a Dir en grey x Sailormoon fic where the band members magically turned into Sailor Scouts, but I did not ever get far on it.)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes, the aforementioned Adopt, Don’t Shop was co-written with @violenciorp and @tales-from-a-maphia-don, because Vio lovingly bullied us into it, despite me and Mel ostensibly not being into Omegaverse.

14. All time favorite ship? I've jumped ship a lot over the years, but it's gotta be Winterbaron, since this is the ship that finally got me writing and posting and getting really involved in a fandom.

15. What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? The first serious attempt I made at writing in this fandom was this teen Zemo necrophilia thing, and I wrote the necro part but none of the plotty stuff leading up to it. I still dream of finishing it, in an abstract way where I have no motivation to ever work on it.

16. What are your writing strengths? I think I'm pretty good at rhythm and flow and making my prose sound musical? That's something I focus a lot on and I tend to read aloud while editing to make sure it sounds good to my ear.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Probably plot and dialogue, and figuring out how to include technical details of things I know nothing about. But most of all procrastination, my arch-nemesis.

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language? I personally avoid it, because I find it annoying to have to look up the translations in the middle of reading. I prefer to just say they're speaking in whatever language but write the dialogue in English.

19. First fandom you wrote in? J-rock RPF in the early 2000s, but I mostly just did a bit of RP and never got far with any fics I started.

20. Favorite fic you've written? Sometimes it feels like every new thing I post is my new favourite, haha. But I thiiiink my fave has been Something Sweet to Eat since I wrote it (the Halloween fic mentioned earlier), because it's probably the most self-indulgent thing I've written to date. I am truly the main audience for that fic and I'm very happy with it.

No pressure tagging: @violenciorp, @tales-from-a-maphia-don, @thepiper0fhameln, @ex0rin, @unlikelymilliner, @evenmyhivemindisempty, and anyone else who sees this and wants to join in!