#Thats such a good summary for this fic and yk what??

[rodeorun]

"For so long, he's wanted to do that—kiss your sweet, supple lips that ramble nonsense and shut you up—bridge the gap between your broken friendship to ask for more—make all your fire, resistance, and anger melt away...so you could come back to him." THAT'S DEVOTION BRO YOOOO

God is Fair

Devotional Love with Suguru x Reader|Two-Shot

the deets: since you were young, you knew you were meant for each other. he comes into your life like a storm and grows closer no matter how distant you seem. he swells and captures your heart every time he's near. so why do you keep fighting him? w.c: 11k (holy f*ck) out of idk yet for part-two (god bless) tags: fem!reader, mostly angsty….pretty much 90% angst for part 1, repressed feelings, jealousy, lingering lips and fingers, a little bit of self-depreciation at the end but pick that crown up love, reader gets a little violent at the end 😳|if i missed anything, pls comment or DM ☺️ angel’s note: this story started as one thing and ended up as another—so goes the way of life. PSA: most of the good, filthy, mack-nasty shyt is in part 2, but you’ve gotta wade through the fire first to get it. It’s always worth it|thanks for reading 🖤 earworm 🐛: Chihiro|Billie Eilish

Over time, you had become perfectly molded to him.

As did his lips to your tender bud that sank under his sinful tongue.

Slender, gripping fingers drown under his raven locks, barely saving you from the shallow breaths you must take to stay alive.

You’re just above water, and he steals your air, spelling poetry with his tongue over your folding petals. Broken coos spill from your puffy lips—his favorite melody to ever grace his ears.

Whether it was today, tomorrow, yesterday, or forever—you fall—in and in and even deeper into his grasp. Under the waves and trapped in his ocean—he gently pulls you under—your lungs yearning for air, but you never want out.

And the way he dives in, drowning to taste every drop, every sweet, delectable sip of your nectar like he could live the rest of his life without oxygen—tells you that he doesn’t either. 

You learned to love each other’s oceans and came to mix seas. Both threaded rough waters but learned to float with calm bodies.

Now you lie hand in hand, limbs weaved like vines through each other’s arms, as you cuddle. Completely spent from another night in each other’s depths. Grateful. Grateful for his love—his patience.

And wondering how on Earth you thought it’d be possible to exist without someone you swore you despised.

Suguru had always been the best—the best at being good, the best at being kind, the best at being quiet—the best at being better than you. 

When you were eight years old, he made his quiet introduction into your quaint little neighborhood, riding in a flashy Mercedes-Benz followed by two moving trucks that pulled right into the driveway directly across the street from your humble home. Heels painted with red bottoms adorned stocking-covered legs and were the first things you saw as you watched from your bedroom window. 

The sound of movers drew your attention. No one ever came to your city, let alone your cul-de-sac. You felt a shift. A change was coming.

A tall woman, her long, sleek ponytail blowing in the wind, stepped out of the driver’s seat wearing large couture shades that took up most of her face. The overhanging forecast made everything bleak and gray, but the sunglasses stayed. A man exited the passenger seat and came to the woman’s side. He gingerly took her hand and looked around with a small smile, gently rubbing her arm. She slightly grimaced and handed him what looked like one of those small, overpriced designer bags.

They looked so…out of place.

They had to smell like money.

What the heck were they doing here? 

In a city like yours, one of those places where everyone knows everyone and everybody's business, you instantly knew that this couple would be the talk of the town. At least with the adults.  

You blew air into your bangs. You weren’t expecting new neighbors, but they could have at least come with a kid—someone who might actually want you around. 

“Hey, Bug,” your dad called from the garden. He always left the back door open so he could hear you in case you needed him. He must have heard the rumbling of their heavy trucks now being unloaded with elegant furniture. Would all of that even fit in there? Their house was bigger than yours but not by much. “Sounds like we’ve got new neighbors. Might go by later and say hi if you want to come.”

“No thanks.” You turned back to the window, resting your head on your arms. Meeting Mr. and Mrs. Richy Rich did not sound very appealing to you and might only make you feel worse on this already gloomy Spring day. For once, you just wanted to be pleasantly surprised and not just surprised—something you wouldn’t expect, like hitting the jackpot or whatever.

And then you saw him, inky black hair drawn into a short ponytail, emerging from the back seat of the fancy car and clutching a book thicker than his torso. His starched white-collar shirt and beige shorts reminded you of school. He kept his chin tucked and looked like the wind just might knock him over if the book wasn’t keeping him upright. 

He and the woman were near twins. Definitely mother and son. She smoothed her hands down her skirt and put on a genuine smile for him. The man draped his arm around the boy’s shoulders as he took in the neighborhood. Slow and sheepish. You thought his eyes caught yours when he looked behind him.

You ducked under the window sill. 

Sh—

“You can’t stay cooped up in here all the time, Bug,” your dad called again. It sounded like he might be wrapping up. “You don’t know what you’re missing out on.”

You inched back up to the window and peered over the edge. The boy looked like he was just as lost as to why he was there. Anxious. Reserved. Kind of boring. 

Not your speed.

You blew a raspberry and turned away. So much for that. You wouldn’t be missing much.

In your neighborhood, all the kids walked freely to each other’s houses to see if anyone was home. This was before everyone had cell phones to save time and figure it out for them. 

You watched it happen with the other kids all the time. They’d visit each other and either stay inside (super rare) or call up the rest of the neighborhood to play in the cul-de-sac or park. 

But you were never quite given a direct invitation.

The few friends you were close with moved away about a year ago, and the thought of making new ones who would eventually do the same kept you emotionally at arm's length. To make it worse, you swore the group you were left with undoubtedly hated you.

Why?

Because you had a history of sucking. 

Everyone else in the neighborhood was naturally good at something. Anything. Everything.

But you?

You had to try.

Mess up. And try again. At almost anything you could name.

Basketball? Trash. 

Tag? You were slow.

Football? Pssssh. As if—like you’d let yourself get hurt? You sat out every time.

So, the kids stopped inviting you or always picked you last. Both were grimy slaps in the face. Because you always knew you could be better. Delulu was the solulu if they’d only give you a chance. Or two. Or a few. Like damn, you were trying. 

At least you weren’t the only one being left out. 

It’d been weeks since you saw the new kid on the block—not like you thought about him much after you dismissed him. But slowly, as the sounds of Spring beckoned him outside, he reminded you that the new “rich” neighbors did indeed have a kid. It started with the curtains in his living room window gently ruffling before he’d peek out, then eventually upgraded to gracing the neighborhood with his presence to sit outside. For hours, he watched from his front porch as the neighborhood kids dashed past your houses to play in the cul-de-sac. 

It kind of made you jealous—the amount of space and freedom on their porch that his parents clearly weren’t taking advantage of. Only two plastic chairs and a small table occupied the space, and they weren’t nearly as lovely as the things you saw go into the home on move-in day. You’d string up one of those hammocks big enough for two like you’d seen on TV and just float in the breeze under the overhang. It had been a frequent daydream of yours long before they moved in. 

Instead, a gawking boy with too much time on his hands made it his home. Watching. Fiddling with his fingers and leaning on the rail. Watching. Always seeming too afraid to approach. He had what you thought was the best house in the neighborhood (and probably the most money), and still, he looked so sad. 

With the background he seemed to come from, you thought he’d be more ballsy. 

One day, you were, and you walked right up there, took the hand of the wide-eyed kid, and led him to the rest of the kids down at the park. His dad watched the whole thing go down from the kitchen window as he did the dishes, silently laughing as the boy stumbled behind you but didn’t say a word. 

This was your chance. You were so tired of the other kids being better than you. With him being the new kid, you thought he’d at least be somewhat on your level or maybe even a bit worse. Anything was better than being the odd one out. 

You and the boy just a few inches shorter than you crashed the party right before the next game started. You beamed at the group like you had caught a prized fish. 

“Guys, this is um…um…” Then you realize you hadn’t asked his name. And he was still holding your hand. 

You dropped it and nudged him. “Suguru,” he said softly, seeming to avoid eye contact.

Suguru hadn’t seen that many kids in a group like this outside of school. He didn’t mean to look so anxious, but he wasn’t used to being in a neighborhood full of kids his age. He instantly felt like an outsider seeing how comfortable everyone was with each other, apart from you by his side. While soft smiles offered him a glimmer of acceptance, the stares made him self-conscious. He wondered if he could ever fit in.

You repeated his name in case no one heard him. Suguru. It naturally rolled off your tongue. Soft and sweet. Like the boy. He fidgeted with his fingers, but hearing his name felt reassuring. You looked at him and grinned. It was time to see what he’s got.

Tee-ball was the game. One you hated the most. Running was not your sport, and you certainly didn’t have an arm, so it never hurt your feelings too much when you weren’t picked for teams. But you made sure Suguru was. You wanted to see him in action. 

Last summer, you guys found an old traffic cone to use as the tee and placed sticks around the field for bases. 

You didn’t expect much from Suguru when it was time to bat because…look at him. He was so small and timid. The bat borrowed from someone’s dad was almost the same size as him, and you swore you saw his feet lift a few times during his practice swings. Too much of that and he’d be airborne. You prepared to give him a “job well done” pat on the back once he hit the ball a few feet. Suguru squared up at the tee—on his way to join you at the bottom of the barrel.

And wouldn’t you know it? 

He knocked the ball clear out of the park and didn’t even skim the cone. 

Your mouth fell open before you remembered you were the designated retriever since you weren’t playing the game. You grumbled the whole walk and search for it. 

And then he did it again. And again. And again. 

And surprise, surprise, he excelled at every game he played after. Everyone wanted Suguru on their team. 

You gaped at the feats—so much power, strength, and coordination in such an unassuming body.

And instantly hated him.

Not because he was the best or braggy about it. 

It was the complete opposite. 

He barely seemed to acknowledge it—not in an arrogant, dismissive way, but more like he was just happy to be involved and doing something. He was sheepish with compliments and even seemed nervous to receive them. He’d rub his head and give a little close-eyed smile before returning to the game.

And would peer over to you on the sidelines for approval. 

Every swing, every hit, and every game after, his purple eyes would find yours whenever he thought he’d done something worthwhile.

You tried to hide the jealous scowl, returning his shy smile with a nod and telling him to keep his head in the game. 

But he noticed.

He saw it. He knew you were unhappy, and he wanted nothing more than to help. 

So after that, you kind of mirrored each other. 

The kids always saw you as a try-hard—constantly on repeat, trying to make yourself valid and stand out. You’d grab failure by the throat, determined to make it forget your name. You weren’t attention-seeking; only wanted to be counted in. And so the student became the teacher. Suguru began to slip you little nods as if saying he saw you—just like you saw him all those times on his front porch. It’d annoy you at first, what you thought could’ve been pity, but it felt nice to finally be acknowledged by someone. 

And so gradually, you looked to him as a spectator, earning silent yeses and nos until you finally worked up the courage to do what you were afraid of most. Ask him to be a friend. 

To help you perfect your skills, of course. 

But the friendship blossomed like the Spring, and you and Suguru actually grew really close—instantly drawn to each other. Pop-ups to his house were the norm as you had the most advantage out of everyone in the neighborhood by living right across from him. And you both were always brought up by one another’s parents.

Turns out Suguru’s dad was a lot like yours and they got on really well. They’re both funny, kind. But your dad’s just a little bit different. He’s got rebellion in his bones, as he often talked about when he told you stories about his youth and take-no-shit hippie days. 

“I’m serious, Bug. So, there we were, strapped to the tree. Shackled, really.” 

He mimicked the story with his arms in between laughs. 

“So, so we’re all chained up, right? And this bulldozer is coming right at our heads, ya? I look over to Stanley,” your even crazier God-father who showered you with gifts every time he visited, “I say, ‘Stanley, tough up. You look like you’re about to piss yourself.’ And he goes, ‘I’m not scared. I forgot to go before we locked ourselves in.’” 

Your dad roared with laughter, wiping the tears from his eyes like he hadn’t told that story a million times. Like he was going around trying to collect little activists. But Suguru almost fell over, leaning into his every word. He was such a shy laugher, always creasing his eyes and dimpling his cheeks when he did. It made your dad feel like the funniest guy alive when Suguru entertained his jokes.

“You were so brave,” and Suguru called your dad by his nickname just like your dad told him to. “I want to be that brave when I’m older.”

Your dad winked at you—you stuck out your tongue. Suguru was a good kid, he thought and reminded him a bit of himself.

Those days, your dad was mostly still the same. He didn’t need much and chose to live life quaint and peaceful. He’d talk your ear off about activism, travel, and stories about your mom, who passed when you were born. You never got to “meet” her, but you always felt like you knew exactly who she was. And she was totally different from Suguru’s mom, who you learned was a hard-working corporate baddie. Red bottom heels. Makes sense.

By the end of that first summer, your families were practically joined at the hip. You and Suguru even more so. Outside of house calls and playing games with the rest of the neighborhood, the two of you also made frequent trips to the makeshift pier. Almost everything in your neighborhood and the surrounding area was walkable, including a small, wobbly, probably dangerous dock that sat over the small lake in town. You’d play a little alphabet game you made up on the walk down and constantly challenge him. Only for him to literally beat you at your own game nine times out of ten. 

“Angels shop at—” You skipped down the dirt path.

“Blessed boutiques,” Suguru finished, “Beautiful coats—”

“Can clothe their wings. Dashing dolls—”

“Eat every sweet. Forks will find—”

“Giant…giant,” you thought and thought and thought, “Giant—”

“Geese!”’ Suguru tagged you and ran down the dock, deeming you the loser of that round. You strolled down to meet him near the water reflecting the sunset. A pout took up your face. He patted the deck, motioning for you to sit. “You’re gonna miss the fireflies.”

Watching them pop up one by one and glow on the water as the sun went down became a ritual. And one of your favorite memories of summer.

The following school year, you were even more inseparable. And when the end of fifth grade rolled around the year after, you knew it was fate when you found out you’d be attending the same middle school. 

You were overjoyed. So was Suguru, but for different reasons. To you, now it was on. 

Academics was an area where you had a fair shot at flourishing. You were studious, attentive, and almost the perfect student. And while you didn’t have bad grades, you always felt like you could be better. And you know why. Because everything came naturally to Suguru, of course. 

Thank goodness for extracurriculars, though. The two of you didn’t need to do everything together, and you both benefited from the time and separation to do your own thing and discover your own interests. The Newspaper club caught your eye and was more interesting than you thought it would be—the first hobby to make you fall in love with words. 

Suguru took an interest in robotics and, surprisingly, Yearbook. He was pretty crafty with a camera and made sure to snap the best photos of you during your events. 

But the two of you rarely spoke of school or after-school activities. You never wanted him to know if you were struggling or needed help with anything. You tried not to rely on him so much those days, so everything with you was always good. It had to be. He was still the competition, after all. And you had to appear just as flawless. 

Instead, you enjoyed late-night phone calls that went way past both of your bedtimes as you grew into middle schoolers. Pretending to be asleep and slipping the phone under your pillow without moving a muscle when your parents checked in was a sport. It couldn’t be helped. The books you were reading, shows you were watching, and thoughts on what high school would be like were too good not to talk about into the late-night hours—even when your eyelids got too tired to stay open. Falling asleep with your cellphones in hand or occupying a space on your pillows was the norm. 

“What’d ya think about the movie?” 

“I mean, the book is always better, right? But like,” you sighed happily into the phone, “they made their lives look so…amazing.”

You watched The Great Gatsby 1979 version on DVD at Suguru’s house right after school that day before you had to scurry off to help your dad in the garden. Suguru finished the book a few days ago, and after catching him with it during lunch and poking him enough to get him to spill some of the details, you were sold. A glamorous story about a life of luxury and passion? Say less. And because you couldn’t resist, you told him you’d finish it in less time than he did.

Suguru thought the movie was pretty true to the book, but man, what a sad story. You, however, were in love with the lifestyle.

“What about Daisy?”

You pondered Daisy’s decision for half a second before deciding she was a one-off. All her if she had been spoiled, something you were a total stranger to but didn’t make a point to say—only dismissed her frivolous ways and called her a coward. “Just the money and parties would be enough for me,” you said in a daydream. “It’d be too happy to be that shallow.” 

Suguru laughed and said that wasn’t the point of the book. “Money can't always buy happiness. She could’ve had love. It was right there.” He sounded so sophisticated when he said it, much too wise and sappy for a 13-year-old. 

You suck your teeth. “That’s easy for you to say.” And you reminded him that he has a nicer house, clothes, car. “And when are y’all getting the Benz back?” Lately, you and Suguru had been getting picked up by his dad in a major downgrade of a car. It’d been at least two months, and you were missing the feel of luxury against your skin.

The phone went quiet for a second, and Suguru scratched his head. “Uh, we actually don’t have it anymore.”

Your eyes widened as if he had just told you someone died. Borderline devastation set in like it was your family losing one of its greatest displays of wealth. But Suguru didn’t sound the least bit sad when he told you that his dad referred to the “new car” as a “cash car” because they needed something quick.

And then it clicked, and you realized why you’d been noticing that furniture and things had also been disappearing in his house when you came over. And why he had to switch to the free lunch program you were also on at school. And why his dad mentioned looking for a second job the other day. Suguru’s family had been hit by the recession. And that’s how he became your neighbor.

Most of everything Suguru grew up with in his previous family home was placed in storage when they first moved into your neighborhood. His mom thought their stay would be temporary; she had been demoted at work but didn’t think it was a big deal, and things would quickly be back to normal—maybe even come with a promotion if she worked hard enough. But it wasn’t her skills that was the problem. The economy was in shambles, and her company was running out of money. After two years of hoping for a miracle, she and over 40% of her company were laid off.

They kept all of this from Suguru until only a few weeks ago. He was much too young to understand what it all meant when it first happened—he was just a kid. But now, he was older, smarter, way less naïve. They couldn’t keep lying to him about why the car was away at the shop or why the family heirloom dining table went missing, among other things. 

When they told him that he’d have to slow down on his growing book collection and get only one gift this year for his birthday, that’s when he started asking questions—not that neither of those things meant much to him. He was more than happy to frequent the school library, and you noticed that he’d been spending a lot more time there than usual during breaks. What bothered Suguru the most was the looks his parents gave him when they told him everything. Like they were delivering the worst news in the world. Like they were so worried that they’d be disappointing him. Like they should be ashamed. 

It hurt him more to know that they felt like they had failed him. 

“My dad just looks so tired all of the time now.” Mr. Geto, who had been a stay-at-home work-from-home employee since before Suguru was born, had to get a part-time job working overnight to help bridge the widening gap between their old and new lifestyle. Now, Suguru doesn’t get to see him as much except to make breakfast and kiss Suguru goodbye with a sluggish smile on his face before school. He really missed his dad. And it made you feel like shit for momentarily being a Daisy.

For the rest of the night, you just listened to Suguru tell stories about back home—what his parents were like, the things they used to do, the trips they would take, and the time they spent together. Little memories from a place you’ve never been but could clearly see as he talked through the night. Never once did Suguru mention missing the things he used to have or wanted now. The people in his life are what he cared about most. 

“My dad got a new antenna for the TV to surprise my mom with so she can still watch her favorite channels from back home,” he laughed. “It’s so big. I hadn’t seen one before, so it was kinda funny to look at, but I’m glad it’ll make her happy.”

You solemnly smiled and propped up on your arm. “Do you ever miss home? Like being back there?”

He mentioned that he thought about it sometimes: the plush green grass in his front and backyard that he’d lay in for hours, the much sunnier skies compared to the frequently gray and cloudy ones, and humid air here in your rainy city, the few friends and family members he had to leave behind. But he liked it here better and surprised the hell out of you by saying so. 

Anywhere was better than being here. 

Even though his family was going through a hard time, they still managed to get the nicest house in the neighborhood. You could only imagine what his childhood home looked like compared to the one bedroom and living room your dad made into his own space. You asked why. What could possibly make this place any better than where he came from?

You could hear him shrug through the phone as he lay on his back and stared at the ceiling decorated with glow-in-the-dark stars. “I don’t know,” he said. “It’s just something about this place.”

You still think about that conversation sometimes.

The end of middle school came in a blaze, and so did puberty. 

Suddenly, you became aware that it was time to start caring about what you looked like. Some nights, you would call it early with Suguru in favor of spending hours on YouTube watching videos and learning how to wear makeup. You put more thought into how you dressed and tried your best to style the little clothes you had into mostly decent outfits. You’d beam every morning when you entered the kitchen to grab breakfast and say goodbye to your dad. He’d try his best not to cry, watching his little Bug grow up before his eyes. 

Suguru did some growing, too. The summer of 7th grade, he got a little taller, and when your final year started, you guys were finally neck and neck. He was beginning to be able to see the top of your head when he lifted his chin, and he would make little jokes about it in his prepubescent boy's voice, which was starting to crack. You’d push the too-big glasses that he got at the start of middle school up the bridge of his nose and tell him not to get too cocky. This was the tallest he would get, you’d tease. He may have been good at everything, but he’d always be a pip-squeak. 

When you weren’t going back and forth with Suguru, you were hanging out with the new gal pals you made at school. Your little trio started spending more time together, window shopping at the mall, attending football games after school, and talking each other’s ears off about anything in between throughout your last year. You couldn’t tell Suguru everything, of course—there are some things that guys will simply never be able to relate to or understand. 

And one day, while the three of you sat at lunch together while Suguru was off with his robotics team, one of your gals leaned over the cafeteria table to poke you with a devious smile and ask the age-old question: who do you like in school?

Your brain had the audacity to picture Suguru first. 

Your friends squealed watching your face blush beet red, but you turned away and never answered the question—only said that you were more focused on school and extracurriculars to help you in college than anything else. 

Where the hell did that come from? 

Suguru was, debatably, your best friend, but that was it. Not that you needed to convince anyone else of that. Just…yourself? Before that day, you never really thought of Suguru in that light. He was this quiet, nerdy, prodigy of a boy who was great at everything and gave you another reason to want to be just as good. You secretly looked up to him, if you wanted to call it that, but you certainly didn’t like him. 

He was just the boy next door. 

The boy next door who was challenging you once again: to push the little hints of affection that had been blossoming aside and dismiss them. Bury them down, keep your eyes on the prize, and finally be rewarded for your efforts. To keep up with him, not fall in love with him. 

On a rare sunny Saturday, a month and a half before school let out for the summer, the two of you sat on his beloved front porch with the future on your minds.  

Suguru picked at the grass growing between the wooden boards. “Thinking about trying something new next year?”

You popped another sugary blackberry from your backyard into your mouth while stretched out on Suguru’s favorite quilt. He couldn’t help but notice how relaxed you looked, drinking up the warm sunbeams on your skin.

“I don’t know,” your arms folded behind your head as you stared at the ceiling, “I love Newspaper, but…I don’t know. I think I wanna branch out.” You just weren’t sure how yet. You had done some research on the high school you’d both be attending next year and ran down the list looking for something to jump out at you. Something you could really put yourself into. You still loved writing and expressing yourself, but there was nothing else besides repeating Newspaper or trying Yearbook (Sugu’s territory). The rest of your options weren’t ideal, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. 

“How about volleyball?”

“Nah.”

“Art club?”

“Mmm-mm.”

He leaned against the wooden railing. “Hmmm, choir?”

You laughed and didn’t even bother to respond to what was clearly a joke. 

He sighed and pensively licked the sugar from his fingers before asking if maybe you’d want to do something together. 

You looked over at him and squinted. “What?” he shrugged.

“You know what.” And he shook his head all innocent-like. Always innocent that Suguru. Effortlessly wrapping everyone around his finger. Your dad, his teachers. Even your trio mentioned him from time to time about how helpful he was. With all the times he went out of his way to make sure you were okay, even you were starting to let your guard down. Watching him now as his ponytail blew softly in the wind, looking so naïve as to what you meant but still wanting to understand, made you blush sick.

Not having much of a reason to actually be so guarded, you made one up. “You tryna go toe to toe with me, Geto?.” Your brow cocked, and you used his last name because you knew it’d get to him. He was fully aware that you only say it when you’re serious, and it’s mostly blurted when you guys go at it on Mario Kart. 

“Just because I said we should do something together?” 

“Yeah, so you can one-up me.” If there was a hobby or favorite pastime that you really enjoyed and might actually be better than good at, you knew it was best to keep it out of Suguru’s reach. Academic and recreational competition needed to remain separate if you wanted to keep your sanity.

Suguru took a breath. If there was one thing he didn’t bother competing with you at, it was arguing. He knew you wouldn't back down if he just sat here and tried to convince you; you’d poke a hole in every counter until he simply gave up. So, instead, he pandered to your inflated ego and told the truth. He chewed his lip. “C’mon, Twin. I promise I won’t. Do it for me.”

His soft purple gaze landed on you, and you got a funny feeling in your stomach that you hadn’t felt before. 

He was serious. 

He really wanted to be at your side trying something new, exploring together—helping each other find yourselves. The shy teen who was as quiet as a mouse and yet a beast of a kid wanted to be right there with you. And he wasn’t afraid to say it.

You cleared your throat and averted his gaze. “Fine,” you agreed, but on one condition, “It stays a hobby, no competing.” And it sounded like you were talking to yourself more than him. “But valedictorian? That’s mine.” And you toss another blackberry into the air and catch it perfectly in your mouth, making Suguru raise his eyebrows.

“That’s a bet,” he said, reaching over to wipe a bit of sugar from the corner of your lips. You swat away his hand and punch his shoulder, but damn him if the gesture didn’t make you feel all weird inside. He faked an “Ow” and rubbed his arm before joining you on the quilt to soak in the sun. You closed your eyes and pretended to float in the breeze whistling through the railing. Even without the hammock, it kind of felt like you were 

“Sooo, what do you wanna do this summer?”

Who knew this core memory of each other’s youth, the moment you finally let his fingers inch across the blanket and softly brush yours without pulling back, would be one of your last? 

Two weeks before break started, after all of your plans for the summer and the following school year had been planned out, it happened. 

To this day, you question the timing of your worst nightmare—just when you thought you were living the dream—coming true.

The Geto’s were moving on up. 

For years, Suguru watched his mom grind in corporate America. It wasn’t new to him; she had one of the hardest work ethics he’d ever seen, but it was on a different level after his family moved to your city. Something in her had changed—the thought of instability. She knew Suguru was used to not seeing her due to long hours at work, but when it started to affect her husband, when it began to shift the family’s dynamic, she knew she had to figure something out, and fast. She could sacrifice her time for the family. She couldn’t sacrifice Suguru’s time with his dad. 

All these years, Suguru’s family pulled themselves up by their bootstraps while Suguru was lost in the bliss of friendship. Mrs. Geto’s hard work paid off, and she got a promotion—on the opposite end of the country. 

The day was bright and sunny when he left, the exact opposite of how you felt watching the beat-up car that had grown on you drive out of the neighborhood. You looked on from your window because you didn’t want him to see you crying, watching, or caring. 

You had been right from the first time you saw him. 

And was back to square one.

You guys tried to stay in touch, you really did, but being in totally different time zones made keeping up with each other a little harder. New apps for your phones, like Snapchat and Instagram, helped a little, but they didn't compare to the late-night phone calls you missed so much. 

At first, Suguru would Snap you about how he was getting on in his new city, neighborhood, and places his family would explore over the summer. The thought of him being someone’s new boy-next-door made your stomach twist. When school rolled around, he’d send Snaps and joke about his preppy new uniform that came with a vibrant red tie and over-starched navy pants. His mom got him into a fancy private school because, of course she would, but they were really strict with phones, so you wouldn’t be able to talk to him until he got home. By the time he did, the sun had already gone down for you, and you’d be too tired from your own after-school activities to keep your eyes open.

You missed Suguru—even your dad missed him and his family terribly. 

You missed him so much that you began to resent him—his new life, fancy school, and new “friends”. Jealousy reared its ugly head, forcing you to put your walls up again. 

Another friend, gone, moved on to bigger and better things. Leaving you behind once again. You had finally found a friend, a real friend, who never made you feel bad—someone you could tell almost all of your secrets to. Who got whisked away. Who you’d give anything to see again and go back to the way things were. 

Though it’d only been five years, you felt like you’d known him your entire life.

It wasn’t fair.

Sometimes I fall But still, I rise To the skies high above  In the clouds my ego Will go where no one knows

Why I am here

And why I try

To defy what I believe What it means to succeed To be won

To be one

To be “the one”

A smoking gun.

“Thank you.”

The cafe filled with snapping fingers as you walked off the stage, heart pounding and a smile plastered on your ducking head. 

Look at you now. Performing in cafes, libraries, open-mics, wherever you could be that called for an audience. Still a little shy, but letting it motivate you and pour out on the floor to be soaked up by the listeners. It was an adrenaline rush, finally finding something you knew belonged to you and being damned good at it. 

No one was better than you at telling the world how you felt while simultaneously mesmerizing an audience with your soliloquy and speech. Words still had a hold on you; you just figured it was better to say them out loud than keep them written down.

“Good job, Bug.” Your dad handed you a hot cup of tea fresh from the counter with your nickname scribbled in big cursive letters across the cup. 

“Dad, please stop calling me that.”

He frowned. “But you’re my little bug.” He threw an arm around you, almost making you spill the hot liquid. 

You groaned and protested. “I’m not a kid anymore.” And took a sip too soon, burning the tip of your tongue. You held it in and swallowed, looking around to see if anyone else saw the scorned look on your face. 

You thought of 15 as one of your prime years and kept yourself busy to prove it. Just a sophomore in high school, Baby had a new hobby: dominating slam poetry. You had taken over the scene in your city with expansion heavy on your mind. Though it was hard for your dad to hear, you were right; you weren’t a kid anymore. But you knew he was just proud of you. More than you could ever know. It made him happy to see you had something no one could take from you. 

With a tsk, you leaned into his hug. You should be thanking him more. When the idea of doing slam poetry first crossed your mind, you were a hot mess (surprise, surprise) at being confident (BIG surprise)—your stage presence was lacking, to be specific. 

On the page, your poems were like water in a desert, but opening your mouth and performing it with your whole chest was…different. 

Fixating on your lines and your rhythm made you want to pull your hair out. It was hard making sure your words sounded like you and would be understood. You needed to be understood. 

You’d practice your performances in front of your dad until you were blue in the face. A show was put on for anyone who would listen. And secretly, you missed Suguru’s presence because he’d be perfect for it.

But you didn’t need him. You were on your way to competing in your first official local competition. All your practice around the city and long hours at home agonizing over your talent for slam poetry built up to that moment—the time to show the world what you had to offer. 

Nothing felt better than holding the gold 1st place medallion between your fingers afterward. Regionals came next, and nothing could have validated your talent more than the medals you took home on top of the prize money your dad stashed away for college. 

It was time to travel, and Nationals was your next target.

You couldn’t describe the feeling of finally being outside your city. The thought of being beyond the walls of home once felt like a hopeless dream. New cities, new friends, new organizations, and new styles of poetry were within your reach. The exhilarating travel that worried your dad put a thrill in your heart. You wanted to see everything—be heard everywhere. Life was full of opportunity and everything it had to offer. 

“So you’re gonna do the group piece and then an individual one, maybe?” 

You leaned against the cool bus window as you and your teammates winded down the road to your next hotel. Over the summer, you traveled with your state’s top slam poetry organization to compete in regional cities around the coast. All of this was practice for the Nationals coming up that August before school started. The day was coming faster than you could imagine. 

“I don’t know about a solo.”

You looked out the window and chewed your bottom lip. Your team lead had been pushing you to do a stand-alone piece for the Nationals for weeks, but you felt far from ready. You were strong in a group, but on your own, looking out into a crowd of people while demanding their attention on an empty stage, the thought made you queasy.

This wasn’t your local library or a small regional contest. Nationals is where you tell the country who you are and why you matter. 

“Hey,” a hand rested on your shoulder, calling you back. “You’ve got this. You deserve this.” 

And you did deserve it. You’d worked too hard and advanced so far in such a short amount of time. You didn’t think you’d get here so fast, but here you were, on a double-decker bus full of others who were just as talented as you, in a place where you belonged. In a place where you didn’t have to try so hard or look for that slight nod of approval to let you know you were seen. 

August was in a hurry to put you on the stage because, before you knew it, it was time to head to California for the Nationals. What better place to begin to live your dreams than in the place where they all come true? Sunny skies, sandy beaches, and the aura of art and performance lingered in the air. It was the complete opposite of where you came from. It felt like home. You could see how Suguru could get easily lost in all. 

You always wanted to visit the West Coast and see how he was living.

It’d be so funny to randomly Snap him after all this time and tell him you were so close, but you decided against it.

Cali was HUGE; there’s no way the competition would just happen to be in his city for you to casually bump into him.

Plus, imagine that awkward reunion after a few years of radio silence.

You two could be completely different people now.

He probably wouldn’t even want to see you.

Maybe you didn’t want to see him.

So many great things happened since his family packed up and left. In fact, without Suguru around, you found yourself excelling more naturally at anything and everything than ever before. Comparisons were a thing of the past, and you knew you had something no one else could take away from you.

Except maybe the competitor going on before you at the Nationals. 

The audience was loud and clearly approving of his killer performance as they ate him up with whistles and snapping fingers. Who needed a mic when you had a voice like that? Easily projecting across the entire venue with every rhythmic pop, beat, and enunciation of his words. You might have met your match or worse. For the first time in your poetic career, you thought you just might lose your winning streak. 

Anxiety convinced you to head back to the holding area. You just needed to run through the lines of your solo only a few more times. You’ve got this. He was nothing. This was nothing. You were taking home first place—absolutely positive that success was literally on the tip of your tongue. Until you saw him. 

The boy with the raven hair. 

Unmistakable and stopping you dead in your tracks as you saw him in the flesh for the first time in 2 years, standing long and tall in the venue. Not in the audience, Not as a stagehand, But in another team’s holding room. As a competitor. 

Your heart plummets into your ass.

What in the fuck was he doing here???

You swiftly ducked behind the wall leading to your team’s holding area, hand flying to your chest to still the thunderous beating. 

Deep breaths, deep breaths. DEEP B R E A T H S. 

Your mouth suddenly became desert dry. The entire summer, you prepared yourself to keep from slipping up—you would suppress the urge to call him, think about him, or wonder where he would be when you were here. You covered all of the bases. But here he was in a place you least expected. In a place you now knew you’d dread seeing him the most. The boy you had become a ghost to was haunting you, but somehow, you knew this would happen.

You only got a quick glance at him before you vanished, but it was enough of a glimpse to notice the chances. And God, were there changes. As teenagers did, both of you had grown out of your prepubescent bodies and into your young adult ones. And while you thought you looked relatively the same with a few upgrades here and there, Suguru had gone through a full-blown glow-up that set yours on fire. 

“Almost ready?” 

You nearly jumped out of your skin. Your teammate followed your line of sight and smirked.  “Know him?”

You shrugged a bit too nonchalantly and said you thought he looked familiar but didn’t. “Shame,” she rested her shoulder on the wall with a dreamy gaze. “He looks like a dream.” 

You turned away before you threw up and realized that you were about to be called up next. The frazzled look on your team lead’s face let you know she’d been looking for you, and you took a synced deep breath when she spotted you. Her hands fell on your shoulders before you went up the stairs to the stage. “You’ve got this.”

I’ve got this. . . You don’t got this. 

Your legs felt like Jell-O walking up the short set of stairs to the black platform in the middle of the stage. You hadn’t been on one this big, in a venue so large, with an audience so vast and eyes in the hundreds. The row of judges sat below you, yet looked so intimidating. Heat engulfed you from the lights above—a literal deer playing the lion in the headlights. Sight zeroed in on the judges, you avoided the audience. Hoping that he isn’t still there because you knew seeing him WOULD freak you out. 

In the silence Between the shattered and oppressed dreams I found, I tore The roar Of my own voice Reclaiming the night

Your lines flowed out of you more naturally than water, eyes closed, unfocused, or hazy as you transformed your surroundings into the scene of your story—the journey from struggle to empowerment—the story of why you deserved to be here. In that moment, there was no one else—not even the judges—just you, the stage, and the song that belonged to you, even if it mattered to no one else.

But it mattered to him. And you didn’t see him until near the end of your set. The familiarity of your voice called him to confirm it for himself. To make sure it was you. He couldn’t believe it. You looked so…powerful. Fully fledged in your adulthood, kicking ass and taking names. Fierce and poetic. The same attitude as the girl he grew up with but in its full realization. 

Your voice cracked a little when you spotted him, completely awe-struck by you, but you played it off like it was part of your set. Damn the boy who had the same gawking eyes that used to watch the neighborhood kids—quiet and longing. You hoped it wasn’t obvious, but Suguru noticed. He knew. He still had some kind of effect on you. He could tell by how quickly you looked away. You still felt a way about him. He wasn’t just a nobody to you. But given the circumstances, he didn’t know whether to love or hate it by the time he took the stage. 

The mic fit snuggly between his fingers. It was rare that someone fully approached it without starting their piece first. You wondered where he was going with this, why he looked a bit tense, why he kept his gaze low—if it could be because of you. You held your breath and crossed your fingers. Once again, it was time to see him in action under the sweltering stage lights. And in seconds, you see your gold medal fleeting. You expected nothing less. 

His voice was lined with melody—a sweet, ethereal flow and a melodious string of vocabulary that wrapped you in an envelope and swaddled you like a baby. He sounded so mature. He sounded so much better…than you. 

The nerdy boy with too-big glasses and cracking voice had been replaced by a young man who towarded over the audience with a long side-bang and gauges in his ears. The red tie around his neck did look absolutely ridiculous like he said, but the rest of his navy blue uniform was tailored to perfection and fit like a glove.

He looked and sounded like where he came from. Money. But he was more than that. You found yourself hanging onto his every word as you watched from out of sight. He couldn’t see that he made your heart thump, but it was begging to fall out of your chest by the second.

This wasn’t about slam poetry anymore. Suguru had entered your arena. Shy, reserved, and knocking the ball out of the park. 

You came in 6th out of over 200 solo acts. Suguru came in 5th. 

You couldn’t even feel good about it because you knew what this meant.

Regionals took over the remainder of your sophomore academic year, but when summer rolled back around, it was time to look Suguru in the face again at almost every out-of-state competition. The West Coast was once a dream—now you dreaded touring the area because you knew he would be there. Performing. Waiting to chew you up and spit you out. 

Over the final two years of high school, you both spent most of your free time hopping around the nation and directly squaring off with each other.

Growing more apart as you did.

Silent hatred brewed and led the way every time you saw him—unmistakably written on your face. 

He chalked it up to the fact that the two of you had changed over the years, and maybe you’d simply outgrown him. But he never thought someone he used to call his best friend could give him a look so cold. With no other choice but to follow your lead, he kept his distance and pretended you weren’t there.

But the way he racked up medal after medal, winning over judges and audiences alike, was loud and clear. With him, you could only hope for second best. Though out-of-state competitions were just practice, losing to him in any capacity was a constant reminder that what was yours, wasn’t anymore. If it ever was. This time, anxiety burned through you instead of helping you. 

During junior year, one of the most pivotal moments of your poetic careers, you met face-to-face again at the Nationals. Both of your organizations fought their way to the semifinals, but as you held your breath waiting for the judges to call his team’s name, silence swept both of you when you realized that neither of you made it to the finals.

Again.

By that summer, you were tired, good and tired of inching closer and closer to third place, then second, but never first in out-of-state competitions where Suguru was in the mix. He was sucking the life out of you, but you couldn’t show it, especially when on stage where you knew he’d have his eyes glued to you.

Then, in August of your senior year, it finally happened; you returned to the Nationals, your final opportunity to win and go international. This time, it was close to your territory, in Georgia. All bets were off. The winner was a toss-up. And what a slap in the face to finally win….and tie with Suguru. 

You sulked on the inside the whole ride home while your teammates cheered and celebrated around you. To them, you’d just made history with your organization being the first in your state to go to the continental competition and have a shot at the World Poetry Slam Championship. 

To you, your freedom of expression kept escaping you. You felt yourself starting to mold into something outside of yourself. Some nights, you lay in bed, unable to sleep hearing Suguru’s rhythmic beats. Analyzing them. Judging them. Mimicking them. Wanting to be like the best. Your foundation was shaking.

At least you didn’t have to worry about the continental competition. Winning wasn’t the point; only earning one of the top 10 high scores to be automatically qualified for the WPSC. 

It was a dream come true.

 But how come it tasted so sour when you stood on that stage, your teammates going absolutely insane in the crowd at the news of you advancing to the international championship, but once again with a score just shy of Suguru’s? 

The two of you were declared the best in your country…and you were sulking. 

It shouldn’t matter; you're one of the top 40 poets in the WORLD, babe! And, for Godsake, a free plane ticket and trip to leave the country was waiting for you with your name on it! Belgian waffles and fountains of chocolate are more than enough reasons to get over yourself and this one-sided beef. 

But your dad still got an earful about it. Weekly chats with him almost always centered around poetry and Suguru ever since you first saw him sophomore year. The closer the world championship came, the sadder you sounded.

“What if I-”

Your dad stopped you. “Don’t even finish that sentence. What have I always said?”

You hugged the phone to your ear, rolling your suitcase back and forth between your legs in the airport terminal. “Bug,” your dad said after a moment’s silence.

You groaned. “We don’t say ‘what-ifs’. We say ‘what is’.”

“And what’s going to happen.”

You looked over to your team lead, soundly napping in the corner. It was the butt crack of dawn, and both of you had gotten to the airport way too early for your liking to make sure you didn’t miss your flight. Your first international flight. You actually had a passport, like??? 

So much had gone into getting you here. Energy. Time. Effort. Trust. Encouragement. People were rooting for you. They wanted to see you win. You wanted to see you win. 

“I’m gonna do my best.”

“Then you’re already a winner, Bug.”

God, your dad was gushy. And God, you loved him for it.

You didn’t feel so bad by the time you watched the sunrise in full bloom through your airplane window.

Pink, orange, and yellow washed over your face, making you feel so small. It wasn’t your first time in the sky, but definitely the most nervous you’d been.

Local papers, blogs, and newsletters featured your name—people knew you now; they had expectations.

A reputation had been made, and now you were in the fight of your life to keep it.

You sighed into your palm with your dad’s words in mind. David was determined to take Goliath down.

Belgium.was.cold.

Like you hadn’t packed nearly thick enough coats, cold. You felt like an idiot. 

You were a lyrical genius but couldn’t even put ‘Belgium in December’ and ‘it might be freezing’ together. But the lobby of your quaint little hotel with hot chocolate on tap was warm and inviting.

Your team lead handed you a cup, and you found yourself missing your teammates. They would have loved this and cheering you on at the top of their lungs.

The feeling was lonely—nerve-wracking. You were in the beautiful country of Germany for a competition, not leisure, so you couldn’t even relish in the fact that you were overseas. At least the food was good. Nervous eating made you binge until you felt sick the night before the competition, but a quick stroll in the brisk morning air made you feel better.

The bus ride to the venue felt like you were about to hop in a boxing ring. And the gloves were off.

Crossing the threshold into a space full of chosen people was like marveling at the diamonds of top-society. And you were one of them. Your team lead walked by and closed your gaping mouth with a smile. “Chin up, dear.” And disappeared into the crowd.

You had never met a foreigner before, and now you were being thrust into a venue full of different skin tones, accents, languages, and ages. It would’ve been even more overwhelming had it not been for the smell of coffee wafting through the air and reminding you of your last safe space for poetry before you went pro. With half an hour left until the competition, you thought exploring a little wouldn’t be a bad idea.  

The venue was dark and moody, perfect for setting the atmosphere and circulating the rising tension in your body. The main stage basked against the background of darkness under a single warm light that cast a circular glow. Your final destination. His burial sight. 

Suguru was nowhere to be found, but by the looks of the thick crowd shuffling in to fill their seats, it was easy to get lost. You met back with your team lead to run your rhythms a few more times. 

“Please don’t say it.” And she laughs, giving you a small nod and shoulder squeeze.

You still hear it in your head. You’ve got this.

But man, were these poets giving you a run for your money.

It was exhilarating and terrifying—a glaring reminder of why you were here among the best.

Translations were available on the screens behind the performers as you ping-ponged between their words and their expressions. Both demanded your attention and the crowd’s.

But so did you and Suguru when you both breezed through the semifinals.

For a second, you thought he hadn’t made it to the venue at all when you looked for him during your performance. But he let you and everyone else know he was in the building when he graced that stage. A hush fell over the space, and even you felt your face go soft while watching him.

He more than deserved that advance, but you weren’t done just yet.

After a brief intermission—the DJ wasn’t playing any games—you turned the corner to line up for the final round when you collided at 100mph with Suguru. 

“Fu— oh.” You held your arm as you looked at him—really taking him in. When he was on stage, you noticed he wasn’t in his usual uniform, but up close, the alternative was definitely a choice. The loose black tee ruffled as he smoothed his bang. 

“Sorry.” 

He rubbed his shoulder and kept his eyes low. His hands stuffed into his black cargos as he looked away, not wanting to upset you. Or see the look of resentment on your face. You could tell he knew he made you uncomfortable, but you didn’t know how different he wished things could have been. Hurt was written all over the face of your childhood best friend, and you never knew Suguru to be upset about anything. 

You cleared your throat. “Good luck.”

His head drew back like he’d seen a ghost. His lips parted. Then he kind of smiled, leaning against the wall—looking at you for a moment. You were so grown up and had accomplished so much. Suguru was fully aware that you hated his guts and was so proud of you—even if you didn’t need him anymore. 

He reached out to shake your hand. “Good luck, Twin.” 

Your heart thumped—no one had called you that in 4 years—sweet and low from honeyed lips. Suguru’s hand lingered in your air for a second before you gingerly took it. Soft and warm. Just like you remembered but stronger—firmer. The gloves were off for him, too.

Things were done a bit differently for the final rounds. Instead of holding deliberations for the end of the rounds after everyone had gone, everyone got their votes front and center from five random audience members. Paddles would fly in the air, displaying the scores to be tallied up and held until the end. Thank God you could do quick math. Numbers were racking up—bone-chilling talent was on full display.

You were amazed, laughing, shocked. Every set was different from the last. The crowd fell into a hush when one guy came on stage and laid straight down. Bareback to ground. Then started firing off rhythmic jokes that made you laugh at some and ponder the seriousness of others. Dark humor often has truth in it. 

Most sets were in a completely different language yet spoken so beautifully that you dug your nails into your palms to keep from crying. Emotion was universal. And you were feeling a lot of them.

Suguru walking onto the stage snapped you out of it as you watched from the other side of it. 

Though you’d just seen him a few minutes ago, this was a completely different light. Something had shifted.

Nice to meet you My name is Suguru Oh really? So is mine! It’s nice to meet you too.

Tell me what you’re like, what do you like to do? Lately, I’m not sure Was hoping for a breakthrough

In a world where masks are sticky and glue I’m lost in a maze with no clear view Doubt will cling like morning dew Caught in the storm of shifting hues

If you didn’t know better, you would’ve thought Suguru was having a mental breakdown.

Your jaw tightened.

It was the most unexpected thing you could’ve imagined that made you fidget with your clothes. And this was just the beginning of the journey through his paradoxical mind. His ship was sinking.

And he was taking you all down with him.

…I wear many faces each one feels new, But none will fit like I want it to Left with a voice that is small and untrue Burying deep I don't know what to do

In this mirror, I’m searching for clues, But this reflection is oddly askew. You scream through the glass, “Stay real and stay true!” But if you’re me, then…who are you?

You could hear a pin drop.

Suguru himself stopped breathing.

He couldn’t believe that he actually did it. He had never been so vulnerable.

If you thought you knew him and what he was going through before, you were left stunned and corrected. You saw a few of his scores float into the air throughout the audience, and though you couldn’t see them all, the few you did were perfect 10s. It would’ve been hell to go directly after that—thankfully, you had a few more people before you. 

Time crept closer and closer to your set—nervous sweats and fidgeting fingers kept you company. So much for keeping a hobby a hobby, you thought, pacing backstage. This wasn’t fun for you anymore; it was always supposed to be fun, easy, natural. But this was no longer just about you. It never was. It was about proving anyone who ever doubted wrong.  

When the host called your name, you made those 3 minutes on stage feel like your last.

Rain, rain don’t go away, You’re the only one who stays, Cross my heart and hope to die I promise that I will not cry

Build and build and There it goes! All for naught and just for show Hypnotize your guards to grave Leave the trust to fade away

This was your final plea to be heard by the world if you had ever made one. A letter to those who ever dismissed, ignored, or left you. Fire and brimstone poured from the pit of your soul—served up on a plate with the audience in mind but Suguru as the guest of honor. 

You thought he’d be away in the dressing room or at least within earshot, but no. He stood tall and bright, leaning against the door frame that led out of the hall, backlit by the warm lights that framed his figure, watching.

Listening.

Knowing the poem was partially about him.

You hoped it hurt him as much to hear it as it did for you to write it.

Deep breaths kept your voice steady—he wouldn’t hear it crack this time as you powered through your trembles. Bold and brash. Unleashing your truth. He saw it in your eyes and unconsciously did the only thing he knew to support you—the small nod of approval. 

Years had passed. Envy had pushed you to avoid him. He accepted that you no longer saw him as a friend, yet he still wanted to show his support. 

And it pissed you off.

…Lo and behold the savior's light Here to take another flight Take me by my desperate hand Lead how you only can Fragile like a gentle rose I will follow where you go.

Shadows whisper of the known What it feels to be alone.

You walked off stage before you could see your final scores. Whatever would be was now out of your hands—the relief felt agonizingly sweet.

Your team lead wrapped you in her arms as you silently cried. You didn’t know how long the tears had been building up, but the release was like a dam burst. Crying on your first international trip to Belgium. Nice. 

A final intermission was left, and the scores were tallied. You guzzled down some water and took a few breaths before meeting the rest of the contestants. Finally, finally, you and Suguru stood side by side again on stage. Your entire history had built up to this moment—ready to declare a winner. His pinky brushed yours, sending sparks to your belly like that day on his porch. Head down, you waited for a name to be called. Any name, every name, would be better than—

“Suguru Geto.”

And it rolled off their tongue naturally.

Suguru stiffened beside you like he couldn’t believe it himself as they motioned for him to come forward. In your mind, everything went quiet. You couldn’t feel anything but emptiness in the pit of your stomach. Not even anger.

It wasn’t.fucking.fair.

Before he moved a muscle to claim the spotlight, he turned to you, daring to offer his hand again. But it felt less like a “Job well done!” and more like a pitiful “I’m sorry.” And you had had enough of condolences. 

You turned away and left the stage in the midst of the raging applause for Suguru. No one else may have caught the cold shoulder, but to Suguru, it felt like he was trapped in ice. He could leave your life forever now for all you cared—this was your one, final chance to make things even between you two. But reality was a bitch. You couldn’t get away from him quick enough.

Yes, you’ve gotten to travel the country. Yes, you got the opportunity of a lifetime to go overseas just off your hard work alone, but all of that meant nothing if you were only second best. 

It was redundant. 

What was the point in even trying? You would never be good enough to stand on your own. Always under his shadow, drowning in his wake.

You brushed past your team lead, contestants—anyone trying to tell you how amazing you did. You couldn’t stand being bathed in lies and beelined out the back of the venue. 

“Fuck this.” Your breath escaped you as you pushed the door open.

The contrast of sharp, cold air whipped your face, making you realize you didn’t grab your jacket, but it was just what you needed to set the gravity of your situation. 

You were nothing. 

You bawled your fists.

And foolish for trying. 

Hyperventilating.

Look at what you came from. Look at what you get for trying to change that.

Hot, fat tears spilled down your face as you huddled in a corner of the building. You wrapped your arms around your knees, trying to shield the icy winds, but you already felt dead inside. Pathetic and worthless. It was out of your hands to change that.

A voice called after you, belonging to the last person you wanted to see right now. That soft, angelic voice that swooned the world and made your insides boil. Why couldn’t he just get it?? Why couldn’t he stay the fuck away??

You thought you had hidden yourself well by putting a bit of distance between the exit and the corner you tucked into, but he found you in seconds, tears dried on your face, crouching into your knees. He stood there gaping, completely overwhelmed by the state of you. For once, he was out of words.

“Well??” It was hoarse and cracking. 

“I-I’m—”

“Oh my God, pLEASE fucking save it!” You shook, burying your head into your arms.

It was enough that he got to bask in your pathetic breakdown with front-row seats to how bothered you were. He didn’t need to pretend he didn’t enjoy it, you thought.

But Suguru was fed up with your bullshit and came looking to tell you about it. The final straw was leaving his extension of sympathy high and dry as you walked off stage. Giving him the ultimate “fuck you” in his moment of congratulations. 

He never understood why you hated him—the resentment, what happened, what he’d done. But he was about to make you explain yourself. 

“Get up.” Gentleness left his voice. He came closer and towered over your petite frame, cornering you so you couldn’t run away. “You think I don’t know how much this meant to you?”

When you didn’t answer, he crouched down to your level. 

“Hey.” 

You buried yourself deeper. 

“Hey.”

“Don’t touch me.” You brushed him away, pressing your back into the wall as you stood up, shivering in the wind.

After a moment of looking your bitterness in the face, it finally clicked for Suguru. “You’re jealous.”

And that set you off. “HA!” It almost hurt to laugh. “Jealous?!” People could probably hear you inside the venue. But Suguru knew just what to say to get you to talk. 

“This whole time, I thought you were upset because I left, but…you’re just jealous.”

You snorted. “You’ve never worked hard a day in your life.”

“What? You don’t think I earned this?”

“Who knows? Mommy buys you everything.”

“Woah,” he held up a hand and laughed, “Is that what this is about?” 

Your cheeks burned hot, but you had egg on your face and had just spilled the beans. 

Fire raged in your chest. “You could have had anything else. Anything! Anything in the world, but you just had to take this from me.”

“How was I supposed to know??” he cut you off, “You stopped talking to me.” 

You felt a pang and fell silent—flurries of unread texts, unopened Snaps, and missed calls played in both of your minds. 

“How was I supposed to know anything? How was I supposed to have anything without making you feel bad?” 

“Me?” You scoffed. “Without me, you’d probably still be sitting on that dusty porch (you loved that porch), watching everyone go and live their lives.”

“I was like 7.”

“9.” You rubbed the goosebumps on your arms.

“Whatever, you think I owe you or something? You want a ‘thank you’?”

His tone made you shift, but you puffed up your chest. “No, I don’t need a thank you,” and your eyes narrowed, “I’m just not that impressed.”

He smirked, swinging his arms and looking away. “You’re full of it.”

“You’re not that talented.”

He cocked his head, raising a brow. You questioned his talent—clearly emotional and spewing lies— but it was a shot at his credibility nonetheless. 

His smirk faltered as he clasped his hands. “You wanna go?” And then he got closer. Your breath caught as he studied your face, his left arm shooting out to frame you, pinning you into the corner.

The heat radiating off his body should have been a comfort in the frosty air. But it made you feel other things, too. 

He leaned over you. “How would you like to eat your words? Fried? Or sautéed?”

His eyes bore into yours, daring you to buck up or back down. 

“Bite me, Get—”

Instead, he kissed, his lips capturing yours in a way that shot electricity down your spine. It was the first time he stole the breath right out of your body, and you swore you felt your pupils turn into hearts. For so long, he's wanted to do that—kiss your sweet, supple lips that ramble nonsense and shut you up—bridge the gap between your broken friendship to ask for more—make all your fire, resistance, and anger melt away...so you could come back to him. You swooned and nearly staggered—knees weak and relying on the walls to keep you up when his hand cradled your hip to hold you. Your heart burst. You pulled away, leaving space between to see your heated breaths in the chilly air as he rested his forehead on yours—then slapped him.

“How’s that for poetry?” And left. 

note: this story took a TOTALLY different turn from what i originally planned (thanks Mac Miller) but omg it's sO much better and kinda fits into all of the sugu angst i have planned (oh how i love to hurt myself so). this story in particular was supposed to be like all smut and no exposition but um…things happen 😅 sO, all of the low-angst, ‘enemies’ to lovers lives in part 1, with a focus on the resolution in part 2: lovers who give in and chose each other arc while remaining focused on my original goal of making a smut that spotlights and actualizes realistic sex. learning each other, listening, patiently growing, and choosing.

[whatdoeseverybodywant]

SERIES:

You're the Only Girl for Me- [ONGOING]

All I Want Is You - [COMPLETED 8/29/2023]

LOVE - SEQUEL TO ALL I WANT IS YOU. - After getting back together, Janelle finds out thats she's pregnant. Follow along with Josh and Janelle as they deal with the highs and lows of her pregnancy. [ONGOING]

ALL FALLS DOWN- Kiyana Fatu's world is now in shambles after her husband comes home and tells her he has been having an affair. [COMPLETED 03/25/2024]

REBUILD & RESTORE - SEQUEL TO ALL FALLS DOWN [ ONGOING]

THE BOY IS MINE - COLLAB WITH @paigereeder ~ Josh was at the tail-end of his marriage and has told himself he doesn’t want anything serious. He just isn’t a casual type of guy, and all his actions have consequences. [ ONGOING ]

DRABBLES/ONE SHOTS:

You're the Only Girl for Me ; May 200 Word Challenge - A part of my You're the Only Girl for Me series. Set in the future

YTOGFM - May 200 Word Challenge (2)- A part of my You're the Only Girl for Me series. Set in the future

What We Used To Be - Six months of silence and heartbreak leads to this... (ONE SHOT)

REQUEST:

Miss Independent - Can you do a story where jey starts dating this girl and she is veryyyyy independent and like to do everything her self but jey has to always tell her to sit down and let him do basically Ms.I can do it myself meets mr.sit tf down imma do it plz 🤭

4 a.m Cravings - a part of my LOVE series but also requested. Request: heyyyyy can we get a short lil page or story of Janelle’s pregnancy cravings pls🤍🤍🤍

Jey Rizzo - Okay so yk how the raw before war games when they were mentioning how they needed a 5th member? Well, this universe, it’s a mixed war games so Rhea is in. Cody makes his “call” Randy and a former NXT, newly signed Keiarie or Kabana Love for her ring debut with them. Mr. Main Event takes a notice to her and tries to yk, get his game on the whole night with her

SERIES:

Sorry [ONGOING] - I SUCK AT SUMMARIES... 😬

Pieces of Her [ONGOING] - Five months away from her dream wedding, Kenya’s world is turned upside down and her heart is shattered leaving her heartbroken and confused.

DRABBLES/ONE SHOTS:

May 200 Word Challenge - An excerpt from a One-Shot that I have been working on for a while

Untitled - Jimmy Uso x OC (Alani) * (SMUT)

REQUEST:

The Bridesmaid- I hope you’re having a good day! I wanted to request a fic with Jimmy (or jey, I love them both) where the mc is a bridesmaid at their sister’s wedding and she meets one of the groomsmen (Jimmy) and they start to really like each other. The sister warns mc that Jimmy is a playboy but things start to heat up quick between the two anyway! You can add or take away any aspects, have fun with it. Thanks, I love your writing!

ONE-SHOTS

Til Further Notice - (based on Travis Scott's song) - He's been gone for 4 months. 118 days without a phone call or a text. What happens when he finally shows back up to work? Will he give Kaela the answers she's looking for?

Til Further Notice - The Reactions: How did the WWE universe react to the first time Roman was seen in 4 months...

ONE-SHOTS

Tongue-Tied -

[tiredofthehumanlife]

Past the green

Barbie dolls: Dave Lizewski x gn! Reader

Word count: 6.3k

Summary : you guys are just geeky together you help him when he's bleeding you kiss him you guys almost bang woohoo 🎉🎉🙌🙌

Warnings: you write comics now, you're friends with Katie, mentions of Dave staring at the teachers tits twice oops, blood and cuts mentioned(Dave gets his ass beat), you're kinda a dick but like in a loving manner yk, a good portion of sex jokes and I blue ball you at the end, theres like description of handies but it's like hard to explain, you quote Shakespeare, Dave's kinda an idiot, it's fairly clear that r thinks of him in a wimpy sub type of manner but who knows, insinuated that it's r and Dave's first time together like within in their relationship but I don't say if either of you are virgins, you drive and listen to Sir-Mix-A-Lot, you guys are just geeky and nerdy together yk, insinuated that you're better in English class than Dave but he could be really bad in there you don't know, a small pretentious vibe from you about your comics but it's just confidence shut it, Dave tries to kiss you and you're not feeling it, also you call Dave David a good three times, I insinuated ACAB ideas so idk suck my dick if you don't agree no Dave fic for you ig, small mention of throwing up,mentions of porn and I made a James Potter reference kinda, comic you is called Cardamon but it's supposed to be like a fake identity so sorry if thats your name

You really only dabble in comics. Your friend Katie also dabbled but she read more than you did. She just recently started a new series and wanted the third and fourth volumes. So with a fair amount of convincing, Katie and you were walking towards the only comic book store in town. You held the door open for her before stepping through the door yourself. Katie glanced back at you, smiling at you.

“We’ll be in and out in no time.” She reassured, heading straight for the genre of her comics. You shook your head, following after her.

“Take your time, I can be patient.” Katie smiled at you, reaching for the stacks of comics. You leaned against the table the box she was looking through was sitting on. You glanced around the bookstore. You normally just borrowed some of Katie’s comics, so you’ve only been inside the bookstore once or twice. You turned your head, looking at the back of the store. You froze when you saw Dave Lizewski.

Back against the windows he was sitting in the booth with his two friends. Unfortunately for you, he was facing your direction. He stared down at the milkshake in his hands, stirring the straw around his cup. Dave must’ve noticed you staring at him because his eyes moved up from his cup. You turned your head back towards Katie as fast as you could, hoping not to arise too much suspicion.

Dave was in your biology class and English class. You worked together in English, he wasn’t the best at English. You sat next to each other and you often helped him revise his answers. In biology though, you weren’t entirely sure he even knew you were in there. You weren’t sure he even knew where anything in that class was, well aside from the teacher's tits. You hadn’t told anyone, anyone being Katie, but you were pretty sure you had a hard-core crush on him.

Katie looked up from her books, looking around the store to find what could’ve possibly made you move so fast. She saw Dave staring at the back of your head. Katie looked at you confused. Connecting two and two in her head, Katie gasped. You faced her, silently telling her to be quiet with your face. She leaned towards you, holding up a comic book to hide your faces.

“You totally like him.” She whispered. You shook your head.

“Nope. No. I don’t even know who that is.” You whispered back, throwing in a one-shouldered shrug to sell the act. Katie glared at you. She gently put the book back. She latched onto your wrist, dragging you away from the table and towards Dave. You pulled back trying to stop her but unfortunately for you, Katie was crazy strong. Dave seemed to notice you two on the way, setting his milkshake down and readjusting his jacket. He leaned towards his friends, whispering something you couldn’t hear before dropping back into his seat to play nonchalant. Katie stopped by the side of Dave’s table, keeping her hold on your wrist.

"Hey guys, what’s new?” She asked glancing around at all the faces at the table. Marty set down his open comic and stared up at Katie. Tod stared too but he had a lost puppy look most days so you weren’t surprised.

“Not much, so are you guys into reading comics?” Dave asked, reaching for his milkshake again. Katie nodded. You tried to slink behind her and hide from the awkwardness. Katie jerked on your hand, forcing you to stand next to her again. You glared at her out of the corner of your eye.

“I enjoy reading them, I haven’t read a whole lot. They don’t read them though.” Katie said jutting her thumb over her shoulder at you. Marty glared at you.

“Then why are you in a comic book store?” Marty asked. You thought about insulting him. Getting down in his face and calling him a shit-bag. You settled for giving him a sarcastic smile, looking back at Dave. Dave raised an eyebrow at you before flickering his eyes back at Katie.

"They prefer to make comics than read them,” Katie said. You turned your head towards her.

“Why would you share that?” You whispered. Katie hummed.

“Trust me.”

“You never told me you did that?” Dave said. You shrugged.

“Never asked.” Dave scoffed at you.

“I asked about your hobbies though, you never said you did that,” Dave said, pointing out a hole in your story.

“I like keeping it under wraps, Katie is the only one who has read them.” You said, glancing out the window to avoid eye contact.

“They’re shy with their work, the stories they come up with are so good,” Katie said, making you wish you were sucked up by a black hole. Dave hummed. He leaned forward. He pulled one of his arms up onto the table, holding his head up by his palm.

“So what kind of comics do you write?” Dave asked. You glanced at Katie, please help. Katie pulled her hand away from your wrist.

“You guys talk about that while I go find my books, you sit next to Dave and I’ll be back in a few,” Katie said before pulling away from you entirely. As she passed you while heading for the comics she was looking at before, you whispered to her.

“Katie, Katie, please. Katie, I’m fragile. Don’t leave-“Katie motioned to her ear before shrugging and walking away from you. You turned back to Dave. You gave him an akward smile. He scooted closer to the wall to give you room. You settled into the booth next to him.

“So do you illustrate your books too?” Marty asked. You nodded. You glanced back at Dave.

“What do you write about?” Dave asked. You shrugged.

“Nothing really all that crazy but the last one I was working on was about a ship of aliens landing on Earth and then they tried to blend in with other humans.” You said. You looked at Marty to see him nodding.

“Kinda like Superman?” Todd asked. You tilted your head from side to side.

“Sort of but all the aliens like super built a town and started selling most of the houses to real humans. They would pretend to move in, this is after they have human costumes. Sometime later, a teenager spotted two aliens shed their human skin and he started to get really paranoid so he went on a killing spree and killed everyone in town before walking multiple miles down the road to get to the next town over. So actually not really like Superman.” You said, explaining the plot as fast as you could. Marty stared at you for a long moment. Todd’s jaw had gone slack. Dave let out a snort.

“You only let Katie read these?” Dave asked, tilting his head to the side. You wondered if he knew how much of his movements made you want to rip his clothes off with your teeth.

“Yeah.” Dave gave you an overdramatic frown. He leaned his head against his hand.

“You won’t let me read them?” Dave asked, staring at your wide eyes from behind his glasses. It was incredibly hard to say no to his face. So you turned your head to face Marty.

“No.” Dave groaned and pouted, taking another sip of his milkshake. He patted your arm, setting his drink down.

“While we have you here, Do you think you could weigh in on a debate we’re having right now?” Dave asked, letting his hand drop from your arm. You shrugged.

“So, why do you think no one has tried to be a superhero before?” Dave asked, making Marty and Todd groan.

“Not this again, Dave,” Marty muttered. You considered Dave’s question. Human beings are astronomically stupid, so why hasn’t one slapped on a mask yet?

“I don’t know. Someone probably was stupid enough to do it somewhere. I doubt they made it past ten minutes though.” You said. Marty nodded.

“Someone would have to be crazy stupid to it” Marty argued, looking over at Dave. Todd hummed.

“Not to mention it wouldn’t even be a superhero, just a straight regular hero,” Todd added, making you agree. You forgot about that aspect. Dave shrugged.

“Well, maybe you guys aren’t the creative visionary I am,” Dave muttered. You rolled your eyes.

“Yeah whatever, Dave. Why don’t you call me when you get yourself a supersuit, hm? Use your dumbass as inspo for my next couple of books.” You said, snorting at your own joke. You looked away from the table to see Katie at the register. You stood from the table, knocking on the top.

“Gotta dash, losers. Dave, I’ll see you in English. Marty I'm going to see you when I curse your bloodline tonight. Todd, good seeing you. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, dickheads.” You said, before jogging over toward Katie. You both left the bookstore. Katie asked for all the little details of your conversation.

It was months later when Dave seemed to take you literally. You were scribbling away at your desk, trying to come up with a new idea. You dropped your pencil, almost knocking your head into your lamp. You spun your chair around, hoping maybe dizziness would spark your imagination. Your phone started ringing on your desk. You dropped your feet onto your floor stopping your chair from spinning more. You glanced at the contact name. The fuck does Dave want with you at 2 am?

“Hello?” You asked, your confusion laced deeply into your words. You heard Dave let out a groan that sounded way too close to moan for you. “Oh my god dude what are you doing?” You asked, sitting up in your chair.

“I’m like bleeding out, I think,” Dave said, you heard a car speed by on the other side of the line.

“What?!?”

“Listen, I’m hurt right now. I can’t call anybody else. I just- I need you to come pick me up. Just- please.” Dave let out a huff, you could hear him struggling over the phone. You stood from your chair, finding your closet pair of shoes.

“Yeah. Sure, baby, where are you?” You said, walking out of your room towards the front door. You pulled your keys out of the bowl sitting on top of the table shoved next to the door. You heard Dave huff.

“Next to that weird buffet that shut down two years ago because they found a rat in mac and cheese. I’m in a ditch as of right now.” You snorted. You pulled open your car door, settling into the driver’s seat.

“Okay, I’ll be there in a couple minutes. Sit tight and don’t do anything stupid.” You started the car, grimacing at the blaring radio. Your hand shot for the knob, silencing the radio. Dave hissed on his side.

“I think I might be past stupid. I’m sitting in a ditch, bloodied and torn.” You hummed.

“Right well, just hang in there.” You hung up the phone and headed towards where Dave told you. You felt like it was a little too insensitive to play music on your ride to get your bloodied friend out of a ditch. However, you did seem to forget how boring driving without music was. You were there in a few minutes just like you said. You parked your car in what used to be the parking lot for the buffet. You pulled out your flashlight and got out of your car.

“Dave?” You called. You started wandering the sides of the road, looking into the ditches.

“Oh Davey Boy? Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy-“ Dave’s hand cut off your rambling, shooting up over the edge of the ditch.

“Over here,” Dave called, his voice strained. You looked down both ways of the street before running across it. You shined your flashlight down the ditch. Your jaw dropped at the sight of Dave. His face was covered by a green mask, though it was darkened with blood in some spots. You could see his lip was hurt and his left eye would probably be bruised for weeks to come. His body was covered in what you thought used to be green material. Dave was pressing his hand to his side. He turned his head to the side, groaning at the flashlight.

“ay, ay, a scratch, a scratch.” You muttered. Dave groaned loudly, pulling his head up to glance at his wound. He dropped his head back into the dirt.

“Please stop with the Shakespere. It’s making me wish I called someone else.” Dave muttered. You jumped down into the ditch next to him. You slid your hands under his arms, attempting to pull him up. With a lot of struggles and groans, you were able to get Dave onto his feet. He was leaning most of his weight on you, his arm over your shoulder.

”I will bite thee by the ear for that jest.” You whispered. Dave groaned loudly, dropping his head back. You laughed, making him grin. You started walking, it was hard to get onto the edge of the ditch. Once you reached the top getting across the road was easy.

“Yay, baby’s first steps.” You said, glad you finally reached the side of your car. Dave snorted next to you. You pulled open the door to your backseat. Dave slumped in the backseat. He kept his hand against his side, dropping his head back against the seat. You closed the door and ran around the car to the driver's side. You started the car the second you got in.

“Right, so hospital, or are we diy-ing this?” You asked, glancing back at Dave in the back seat. He was sitting still, staring at the car ceiling. You waited a moment for him to move. You reached your arm back and smacked Dave’s knee. He jolted up, staring at you.

“Do. Not. Die in my car.” You said, placing your hand back on the wheel. Dave sighed, readjusting and lying down across the backseat.

“Not the hospital, I'm taking a nap.” You hummed. You started the car, pulling out of the old buffet parking lot. You started your way back home, planning in your head how you were going to patch up poor Dave. As you turned past the Italian restaurant that you and Dave saw someone throw up into a fake plant, you spoke up.

“Are we going to address why you’re dressed like Kick-ass?” You asked, glancing back at him for a split second, he had already pulled off his mask. His eye was definitely going to be bruised.

“I’m Kick-ass.” He said. You snorted.

“Right, Dave. You’re Kick-ass.” You repeated sarcastically. Dave sighed.

“I am.” You stayed silent. There was a slight wimpy vibe about Kick-Ass that you found attractive. Dave was always showing up to school with new bruises and bandages. He was the one who posed the 'why has no one become a superhero yet' question.

“Oh. My. God. You’re Kick-Ass. Hol-ee shit.” You said, smacking the steering wheel and laughing in disbelief. Dave hummed in the backseat.

“Tried to tell you.” He muttered, turning his head, so he was facing the back of the seat. You scoffed.

“Dude you’re like..” You laughed again when you remembered you had Kick-Ass sitting in your backseat. “a total moron.” Dave flung his hand over his eyes.

“You could be a little nicer you know,” Dave said. You shook your head, keeping your eyes on the road.

“Somebody has to reality-check you. You’re getting your ass beat in a scuba outfit. You’re sitting in the back of an unpublished comic writer’s car. You’re about to have to listen to my CD of my upbeat music because I left my sad one at home. I’m taking you home so I can slap some mermaid bandaids on you and then in a day's time you’re going to be sitting in biology class staring at the teacher’s tits. I mean no offense Dave, but does that sound like something a person making smart decisions would do?” You looked back at Dave through the review mirror. Dave shook his head, staring down at your messy floorboards.

“It was partially hot though, you get two points back for that. Now you’re going to shut up and listen to Sir-Mix-a-lot, and you’re going to like it.” You turned the volume up, hoping to drown out all the bad decisions Dave made tonight. You started singing along, ignoring the scratching worry in your head that Dave would die in your backseat. You pulled into your driveway, parking your car where you always did. You shoved your keys into your pocket before opening the backdoor. Dave tried his best to help you help him out of the car.

You pulled his arm over your shoulder, snatching his mask off your floorboard. You kicked the car door shut before hobbling with Dave to the front door. You opened it, letting it swing inside. You dropped your keys into the bowl. You held onto Dave the best you could as you shut the door. You walked him to your room, letting him flop onto your bed. At this point, you weren’t all that hung up on getting his blood onto things. You could see it coating your hands and spots of it on your forearms. You just didn’t care anymore.

You helped him pull the top of his suit down so you could reach his cut. Did you think about having Dave shirtless on your bed before? Yes, but not like this. You cleaned his skin with a wet paper towel before taking the first aid kit from the bathroom. Once it was clean, it didn’t look too bad. You definitely weren’t experienced in the whole medical field. You found some Closex thing that had a cool picture on the front so you decided to use it. After that, you used a cotton pad and held it in place as you wrapped up his side with some ace bandages.

“That looks something like what I’ve seen on TV.” You said. Dave sat up, groaning in the process. He stood and looked at himself in the mirror. He hummed, rubbing his hand against the bandage. He turned back to you, staring at the blood on your arms.

“Sorry, for being stupid. I shouldn’t be pretending to be a hero, I’m just some stupid incompetent dickhead in a suit. I never should’ve even talked about a real superhero.” Dave muttered. You sighed, slapping your hands together.

“Yeah well, I guess we all say some dumb shit. You actually don’t have to listen to everything I say. I say stupid things like constantly.” You said, leaning back on your hands. Dave moved back to you, sitting next to you. Still shirtless, and still bloodied. Stay focused.

“Yeah, but I like you...r approval. I want you to like think I’m cool and stuff.” Dave said, reaching out to you. You stayed in your position, keeping a frozen smile on your face. Dave moved closer to you, leaning over your legs in an attempt for you to see the seriousness in his eyes. You weren’t entirely sure what to say. You could avoid the conversation entirely and change the subject. You could say you like his “approval” too. You squinted at him.

“Dave, I already think you’re cool just by existing. And I know you did not do all this stupid shit in an attempt to impress me. You knew I was quoting Romeo and Juliet three times today! I'm already impressed.” Dave laughed lightly, leaning even closer. He met your eyes before looking down at your lips. He knocked his nose against yours, his breath warming your face. You caught a hint of copper and wished you had a toothbrush in your pocket. It’s not that you didn’t want to kiss him. It didn’t feel like the right time.

“Whatcha doing David?” You whispered. Dave pulled back. He sniffed.

“Just checking to make sure you didn’t drive drunk, is all,” Dave muttered, slowly inching away from you. You hummed sarcastically. You stood from your bed.

“Right well, I don’t let pigs into my home so if you’re done playing pretend cop...” You trailed off giving Dave the time to respond. He nodded.

“I’m done.” You gave him a small smile.

“Right, you find your glasses. I’m going to go get you a wet washcloth, and a change of clothes. Then we can make you a pallet on the floor because I can’t let you out of my sight.” Dave nodded. You left the room, wandering around the house to collect the list you gave Dave, along with a few other items you thought might help. You headed back to your room with your arms full. You dropped your armload onto your bed. You looked up at Dave to see him with his glasses on.

“Oh, there you, pretty boy. Missed those spectacles.” You turned back to the pile. You pulled out the sweatpants and oversized t-shirt. You stuck them both out to Dave. He thanked you, holding them to his chest. You stepped out of the room while he changed. Eventually, he opened the door again. His face no longer had blood and he was holding his bloody suit. You took the suit from his hands, dropping it into your dirty laundry basket.

“I will wash it and patch it up, your crime-fighting will be set on hold for the next couple of days, okay?” Dave nodded at you. You got busy making the pallet on the floor next to your bed. Dave sat on the edge of your bed, snacking on the ice cream you brought him as a reward for the struggles he went through today.

After a while, you were both snuggled in your own beds, or pallet in Dave’s case. You couldn’t sleep. You knew Dave wasn’t either because he kept shuffling around. Maybe you should’ve kissed Dave. You really rejected him because it wasn’t the right time? But then again, if you didn’t like it in the moment then you had the right to reject him. You flipped over onto your side, staring down at Dave.

“David.” Dave hummed. The blob shape of his head turned towards you. You couldn’t see what his expression looked like in the dark but it was Dave so he probably looked handsome sobbing his eyes out. You dropped your hand over the edge of the bed, reaching out for him. His blankets rustled as he moved his hand to yours. He gently took your hand in his.

“Were you trying to kiss me earlier?” Dave froze, his hold on your hand tightening.

“No.” His voice cracked through his words. You hummed.

“Why?” You asked, glad you were having this conversation in the dark so you didn’t have to face the consequences of talking. Dave’s blankets rustled again, you assumed he shrugged.

“I’ve liked you for a while now, I just thought I was getting that vibe from you. I’m sorry for getting all up in your space like that, I must’ve read you wrong.” Dave said, rubbing his thumb over the back of your hand.

“I like you. I just didn’t want to kiss you then. I just want it to be like when you’re not in pain, sitting in my messy bedroom with an open first aid kit sitting next to you.” Dave hummed. His blankets rustled again. You felt his lips brush against the back of your hand.

“Then I can kiss you when the moment is right?” Dave asked. You hummed, pulling your blankets up further.

In the morning, you drove Dave home. He kissed your hand again, before opening the door to his house. He pulled you inside, muttering something about needing your support. His father was in the kitchen, making a disgruntled sound at Dave’s battered face.

“So what’s this then?” Mr. Lizewski asked, pausing to make his breakfast. You glanced at Dave.

“Right yeah, we were riding bikes and I totally ate it,” Dave said, actually selling the act. You hummed, nodding along.

“Oh yeah, you should’ve seen it. We were heading down to the bookstore and he just flipped I swear. It was awful. He got blood all over his clothes so he’s borrowing some of mine as of right now.” You added, hoping Dave didn’t mind your addition to the explanation. His father shook his head.

“Yeah well, I’m worried about you Dave.” You really felt like you impeding now. Dave shrugged.

“I’m fine, just klutzy,” Dave said, taking a step backward. His father glanced back over at you.

“Yeah. Whatever, Davey. You’re my boy, you know that. I love you and want you safe.” His dad stepped forward and cupped his face. He pressed a light kiss to Dave’s forehead before moving back to his pan on the stove.

“Love you too, Dad,” Dave muttered. You awkwardly said your goodbyes. Dave walked you to the door and you kissed the back of his hand goodbye. You drove home and were very happy to find that you were highly inspired by last night’s events.

A short month later, Dave was leaning over towards your ear in English class. You were working on the newest passage your teacher gave you, it was something about a lamb leg.

“What if we do the spiderman thing?” Dave whispered, even though it was group work so he had no reason to whisper. The volume of conversation was loud enough that another conversation would pass under the radar with no problem. You looked away from your paper, facing Dave.

“The what?” You asked. Dave gave you a small smile. He shrugged like he felt he was put on the spot. You raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to explain.

”You know in Spiderman, he and Mary Jane kiss while Spiderman was hanging upside down. It’s been a good couple of weeks and we still haven’t reached the moment. I mean I’m not rushing you or anything. But I thought maybe if we tried the Spiderman thing, we’d get the feeling.” Dave said, apparently stopping the whispering act. You felt a smile grow. Your lovely comic nerd boy-friend was trying to fix your weird ‘it needs to be the right moment’ problem with a comic. You shrugged.

“Yeah, worth a shot.” You said, looking back at the paper in front of you. Dave let out a quiet cheer.

“Plus,” Dave lowered his tone making sure only you could hear him. “You get to kiss the alluring Kick-Ass.” He wiggled his eyebrows at you, making you snort. You tilted your head towards him.

“Oh, well why didn’t you say so? Now I want to do it right now, let’s go right now.” Dave snorted at you, finding your hand on the desk. He intertwined your fingers, smiling at you again. You looked back at your paper.

A day or two later, you and Dave were standing in an alley. Dave was trying his best to pull down the fire escape ladder. You stared at him as he continued to struggle.

“It’ll work just give me- give me a second,” Dave said before groaning again as he pulled on the ladder. You hummed, letting him struggle.

“Take your time, your ass looks great in that.” Dave glanced back at you. He rolled his eyes before yanking on the ladder again. Finally, after Dave had tried over a million times, the ladder screeched down. Dave stepped back as the ladder hit the ground. He looked back at you to make sure you saw his good job. You held up a thumbs up. Dave pulled himself up the ladder, climbing a good couple number of rungs up. He pulled his legs through the space between two of the rungs, effectively sitting. Dave slowly leaned backward, his back pressed against the ladder. He motioned for you to come over with both his hands. You walked towards him, glad to see he estimated the height right, you being face to face.

“Okay okay, how are you feeling?” Dave asked, looking up at you through his mask. You shrugged. You took a moment to pay attention to your surroundings. It smelled faintly of piss. It was cold and the night air was making you shiver. You had been standing outside for so long you were starting to miss your bed. With all the negative feelings stirring in your mind, staring down at Dave made them disperse. Dave was hanging upside down for the chance to kiss you. You smiled, gently resting your hands on his cheeks.

“Yeah, Yeah. I think we got it.” Dave’s cheeks split into a smile.

“Yeah?” He asked. You nodded, an excited laugh slipping out.

“Yeah.” Dave giggled, pulling his arms up from the sides of the ladder. He gripped onto the rung his legs were thrown over, making sure he wasn’t going to fall off. Your hands gently inched towards the edge of his mask. You gently dug your fingers under the hem of his mask, pulling it down towards his nose. You pulled the edge of the mask just barely over the tip of his nose. Dave smiled brightly.

You leaned forward, feeling his breath on your face. Dave leaned forward, pulling his back just barely off the ladder. You pressed your lips against his, slotting his bottom lip between yours. You felt your shoulders relaxed, the weight of the first kiss of your relationship leaving your mind entirely. You let your lips linger on him, dragging out the kiss just a second more than you should. You pulled back and gently stroked his cheek. Dave grinned.

“I’m going to get down and then can we have our second kiss right side up?” Dave asked. You nodded, smiling at him. You did laugh at Dave when he stumbled off the ladder. As much as you wanted the first to be perfect, the second kiss was possibly even more exciting. You moved Dave’s hands to your sides instead of hovering next to you. You didn’t even worry about someone seeing Kick-Ass kiss someone in the alley. You were too focused on the feeling of his lips against yours.

“We’re dating now, right?” Dave muttered against your lips. You nodded. You dug your hands into the front of his green suit, pulling him closer. You could feel the stitching on the side of his suit from weeks ago when you had to drag him out of the ditch.

With Dave and you now officially dating, Kick-Ass seemed to enjoy climbing through your window. You were already 10 or so volumes into your new comic book series. Was it based on your boyfriend and fully titled Kick-Ass: Past the Green? Yes, it was. Were you planning on capitalizing on the popularity of lovely Kick-Ass, taking your finished series to the publishers, (with Kick-Ass’ approval of course)? Yes, but first you had to finish it. You were currently working on the volume you were positive would stay exclusively on your bookshelf.

A knock on the glass of your window made you jump, looking over at the open curtains. You smiled when you saw the green of Kick-Ass’ suit. You dropped your pencil, standing from your desk. You slid the window up, taking a step back to let Dave slip through. He stepped around you as you shut the window. You pulled the curtains closed so someone couldn’t sneak a picture of Dave in the suit without his mask on while you two weren’t paying attention.

You turned around to watch Dave pull his mask off and shake out his hair. He swung his backpack around his shoulder, reaching into the side pocket to pull his glasses out. Dave pushed them up his nose and looked over at you, grinning at you. He dropped his backpack next to the edge of your bed. Dave moved across your room, cupping the sides of your face and kissing you gently.

“Missed you,” Dave pulled away from you, wandering around your room.”You know someone threw nachos at me today. I didn’t even-“ Dave stopped when he reached your desk.

“You’re working on a comic?” Dave asked, glancing back at you. You jump-started, remembering what page you were working on.

“No, no, no, no, don’t look at that!” You said, rushing over to your desk. Dave moved faster than you, pulling the page off your desk. He held it up towards the light. You smacked his arm. “Dave. Please, just give it back.” Dave gasped, turning his head towards you.

“You drew porn of us,” Dave whispered, staring at you. You snatched the page out of his hands, hiding it in the folder you kept all your current projects in. You avoided his eyes, feeling like you were going to throw up from embarrassment. It was supposed to stay a secret project that you hid under your bed and pretended it never happened.

“Just shut up, Dave.” You muttered, pretending to organize the papers on your desk so you didn’t have to face Dave.

“Can I see it again?” Dave’s voice was quiet like he was scared of your reaction. You shook your head, trying to ignore your face burning.

“No. You’re just going to get all grossed out and like make fun of me.” You started ‘organizing’ your pens instead. Dave stepped closer to you, gently turning your head to face him. He bumped his nose with yours.

“I’m not going to make fun of you for drawing us having sex. If you seriously think I haven’t watched porn and imagined it as us instead, you’ve lost your mind.” You stared at his eyes. You thought about him sitting at his desk with his pants around his ankles. Then compared that to you sitting at your desk making sure you got every curl on Dave’s head right so you could draw a version of yourself pushing Dave down into your bed. It appears you two are more similar than you first thought.

“Please?” Dave asked, tilting his head down and giving you his best puppy eyes. You groaned, throwing your head back and turning towards your folder. You glanced over at him out of the corner of your eye.

“Do you want all of this issue or just the interesting part?” You asked, staring down at your papers. Dave hummed.

“All of it.” You handed him all of what you had of this volume, in order so he wouldn’t get lost. Dave settled onto the edge of your bed, gently holding onto the papers. He slowly started reading through the pages. You mentally thought through the story, trying to guess where he was at.

James Parker (the knockoff version of Dave to keep his identity safe) and his lovely partner Cardamon (knockoff you) had gone on a date to the movies. Unfortunately neither one of them knew that included in the movie was a rather raunchy scene with characters that they were able to pretend it was James and Cardamon. James and Cardamon had sat in the back of the theater, with nobody around. Unfortunately for James, Cardamon had a wandering hand that slid between James’ thighs. For the last 15 minutes of the movie, Cardamon’s hand was shoved down James’ pants, refusing to let him cum yet still dragging their hand up and down his length. By the time the credits rolled, James was shooing Cardamon out of the theater. Then after a few pages, Cardamon was pushing James down onto the mattress and swinging their leg over his lap.

Dave readjusted his hips. You stared at him as he set the pages back in their rightful order. He stuck them out to you. You gently took the pages from him, setting them back on your desk.

“So how freaked out are you on a scale of one to ten?” You asked quietly. You stared at the carpet, twisting your chair back and forth. Dave sighed, bucking his hips up again to readjust his sitting position.

“15/10 horny as of right now. Like a -4/10 freaked out.” Dave said. You glanced down at his lap, feeling a small sense of pride at the bulge peaking through the green of his suit. You shrugged.

“I wasn’t planning on publishing that one, I was just going to keep that on my bookshelf.” You said, flinging your pencil at your desk. Dave sighed.

“You know, like we could-“ Dave started.

“Oh my god please, can we?” You asked, turning in your chair to fully face him. Dave looked up from his hands in his lap. His cheeks were flushed and the tips of his ears were red. He nodded.

“You know, actually my math teacher sent me to the counselor’s office because I keep showing up to school battered and while I was down there I snagged some condoms from the bowl while they weren’t looking,” Dave said, digging into his bag. He pulled his hand out of his bag, flashing the shiny and square package at you. You grinned, leaping up from your desk chair to climb over Dave’s lap. You pressed your lips against his, partially aggressively. Once again poor Dave’s hands were just hovering next to you. You reached behind your back, grabbed onto Dave’s hands, and pressed them against your ass. You moved your hands back to Dave’s face. Dave squeezed your ass, groaning into your lips.

You were terribly glad no one was home to walk in on you and dear old Kick-Ass in precarious positions. As it turns out all it takes to get Dave Lizewski into your bed was him getting bloodied and left in a ditch and a comic about himself.

[sleepy3012]

A Welcome To Raven Brooks Fan Fic: A Creepy Encounter with Otto Kinander

Summary: Nicky has been taken and the boys need to get him back.

For: @limoks-blogs

Nicky and the boys, Delroy, Ivan, and Enzo walk towards the forest.

"Y..y..you think this is a good idea? Enzo asked in fear

"Yeah why are we here anyways?" Asks Delroy

"We are he because Trinity is busy and needs our help." Nicky sighs

"Well we couldv'e just went to my place and yk....play around?" Said Ivan

"I agree with him." Delroy says

"Hey were here!" Nicky states

They made it in the middle of the forest..but there are no traps, no cults, No NOTHING?

"Its quiet ..." Enzo whispers

"TO Quiet" Delroy speaks louder

"Come on guys theres no danger" says

Nicky runs forward not knowing thst there is danger up ahead.

"NICKY WAIT!" Enzo screams

But it was to late, the trap setted on and it took Nicky with it on the tree. The boys run over to Nicky trying to untie the ropes.

"GUYS GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Nicky screams

"WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE WERE DOING?! Delroy screamed back

Just then they heard a gun shot, at first they stop and then go back to tring to un free Nicky then they heard it again

BANG BANG

Those were gun shots, From Mr. Otto, and he was running towards the kids! As he got closer they all scaterd into the bushes.

Except for one person, Nicky.

"Well Well, what a catch I have?"Otto chuckled

"Let me go!" Nicky screamed

"Now now, no need to yell how about we have a nice talk?" Otto said

"NO YOU, JUST LET ME GO!"

The boys watched in fear, as Otto untied Nicky and tied him again, as he dragged him into his house.

The kids just kneled there in disbelief, what were they going to do now?

"So What now?" Enzo asked

"Lets go home"

Delroy said as he walked away, but was stoped by Ivan.

"We can't just leave Nicky with that freak!" Ivan said

"I don't give a shit, that man took my dogs body and painted it in color as a memory am not finna go in there just to sae Nicky." Delroy barked back. (Not literly😭)

Ivan gave Delroy puppy eyes and begged on his knee's to save his friend. Delroy rolled his eyes.

"Fine whatever" Delroy said anoyed

"Guys I don't want to go in" Enzo said terified

"Come on Enzo...you wouldn't let Trinity down would you? She'd be sooo sad" Ivan said back

Enzo stood there thinking, if he went inside he and his friends probubly would not make it out alive, or he could finaly get a chance with Trinity.

"I'M IN!" Enzo said excidedntly

"Okay u two nerds lets go" Delroy said

Meanwhile inside Otto's house....

"LET ME GO YOU BASTERD!" Nicky screamed

"Oh shut it you, you and your little friends should have never wandered in those woods." Otoo said taking a sip of his tea

"Can at least have some of that tea?" Asked Nicky

"Sure kiddo" Otto replied

With that Otto went to the kitchen to get some tea until he looked out his window to see the kids trying to climb a tree into his house.

"What In Hell's tarnation our those kids doin?!" Otto said

Otto steped outside to take a good look at the kids and screamed out to them

"Get your little tails away from my house!"

Otto's scream made the kids fall off the tree, and then he went back inside to give Nicky his tea

"Thanks" Nicky said

"No pb, now do you want to know a secret?" Otto asked

"S..s..sure?" Nicky replied

"Well, you know about the " Geust" in other words what You may call it crow face right?"

Nicky just noded

"My boss was thinking of putting you and your friends in our cult." Otto said

"What thats stupid, also we wouldn't join you creeps." Nicky said

"I don't think you and your friends are going to have a choice about that on-"

before Otto could finish He felt something hit his head and he passed out. The boys had made it in.

"Guys your here!" Nicky said

"Yeah and you own me a bag of chips dude" Delroy said

"Yeah yeah now lets get out of here" Ivan replied

They ran and ra untio they got to Nicky's house, Nicky's parents wern't home yet so it was perfect timing.

They all layed on Nicky's room floor, all of them trying to catch their breaths.

"Lets not ever listen to Trinity or ever get close to Mr. Otto, EVER." Nicky said still catching his breath

Everyone just nodded in responce, but what came up to Nicky's head was what Otto said

Would they ever end up joining to cult?

Or was Crow Face just messing with their heads?

[sazed-s-faith-crisis]

Okay guys I am spreading myself too thin. What fic should I work of (spoiler alert all of them are some degree of Marzed)

Okay below the poll are summaries and pros and cons

Name: ?

Summary: Basically yeah its Marsh and Sazed with kids. Sazed's literally TWO shards, he can make/spawn/create some kids that are biologically his and his husband's. (also adoption)

features:

a very cute tiny steelrunner who likes to abuse her powers

Kelsier being the irresponsible fun uncle

TenSoon giving rides to toddlers

Marsh and Sazed being sleep deprived

Sazed discovering the wonders of caffeine for the first time and slowly forming a dependency

2) Name: Gold Doesnt Heal All

Basically an au where Harmonium doesnt make Atium. Instead one last small piece of atium found extends Marsh's life until mid era 3. When Marsh dies Sazed loses his shit and becomes Discord. A mix of scenes involving not just Sazed losing his shit, but also Marsh and Mare being friends in the beyond

features:

Lawful evil discord!Sazed that I have legitimentally had a lesbian friend jerk off too???

help I dont know if thats good or bad

Kelsier getting bitch slapped

Great fic to just sob too

fluff in the beyond (meeting past dead characters!!)

(lerati)

3) Name: ?

As canon compliant as I could get fic about Marsh and Marasi going to this interplanetary coffee shop and its short 250-750 word chapters of Marsh and Marasi talking and Marsh dropping random parts about his past (Marasi is very concerned) Also End of chapter bloopers with Wax and Steris and Marasi

features:

Marsh adopting Marasi. Very cute

BISEXUAL MARASI!!!

A kandra named TaLeen who has chronic ADHD, swears a lot, has a crippling caffeine addiction, and is in general really sweet, but sucks at her job of being a barista

Marsh being Marasi's gay uncle (Marsh and Saze are married <3)

Marsh teaching Marasi how to scam people with cards

Did I mention TaLeen?

4) name: ?

smut

Yeah its just my 4 various ficlets of just Marsh and Sazed fucking because of trauma recovery therapy yk?

features:

smut

[tickling-giggles]

Can you do a lee!Mr compress with a ler!toga and twice?

Good vibes only

Summary: toga and twice invite Compress to play super smash bros with them, but everyone in the LOV knows that you should and will be in a good mood around toga. One way or another it’s good vibes only around toga, plus twice also wants his friends to be happy (I adore twice he so sweet 🤭)

A/N: YOU GUYS IM FINALLY OUT OF SCHOOLLLLLLL until August 10🥲…. BUT I HAVE SOOOOOI MUCH FREE TIME ON MY HANDS UNTIL THEN SO YK WHAT THAT MEANSSSSSSS MORE FICS/HCS WILL GET PUBLISHEDDDDD

Also the bold bits in twices line are you know his “other half” speaking.

Lee: Compress

Ler: Toga and Twice

———————————————————————-

Compress had uh…well… not so good day. Actually it maybe one of the shittiest days of his life. He’s had numerous unlucky bad days but none of the compare to today. It just started awful from when he burnt it breakfast and everything after that was just terrible. All he wanted to do now was just relax to take his mind off of all of the horrible stuff that occurred.

“Aww thats so rude I was just about to be 1st, I’m the winner” Twice whined. “That’s the same person who hit me with a squid” Toga agreed complaining aswell.

“Oh hey press what’s wrong? Did something happen? Let me beat them to a pulp”Twice greeted him questioning him as he cracked his knuckles. “Yeah press what’s wrong?” Toga turned around seeing how upset he looked.

“It was not a…good day is all” compress sighed trying not to think of it. “Do you wanna play Mario kart with us?” Toga asked as she picked up an extra controller handing it to him. “You’ll probably feel better, I’m getting 1st place again” Twice chimed in. “Y-yeah thanks you two” Compress half-heartily smiled grabbing the controller.

“I call dibs on princess peach” Toga smiled claiming her character. “I call dibs on Waluigi” Twice followed up also claiming his character. “Hmmmmmm I’ll take Kamek” He also claimed his character. “Which one should we play on?” Toga asked. “How about 150cc” compress suggested, plus that was his go to anyways. “Sure you guys are gonna lose anyways, I’ll kick both of your asses blindfolded” twice teased.

“Didn’t you lose last time according to my memory?” Toga smirked. “Um NO I was in 1st place and you know it!” twice folded his arms, looking away from her. Compress couldn’t help but chuckle at there antics.

Just as the race started, compress was in 1st with toga in 3rd and twice in 9th. “Woah press didn’t know you were good at Mario Kart”

“Well I have been playing with shiggy”compress half heartedly giggled. “What shiggy plays games other than animal crossing?!” Toga laughed. “Yeah I know I was surprised when we asked me to play Mario kart” Compress scoffed.

“I WAS SOOO close” twice whined. “ 2nd is the best aka me how’d you get in 8th place ” toga giggled. “You really are good press” toga smiled before she quickly stopped interrogating him “compress? is that a frown?”

“No nope it’s and upside down smile” he lied badly. But was toga or twice gonna point it out? Nope she has an plan in mind. “D-do you wanna play another round we can play 200cc this time” compress stuttered as he insisted another round not wanting toga nor twice to be upset.

“Hmm fine 1 more round” she squinted her eyes at him. When compress looked away sighing in relief he hadn’t payed attention to the code she’d given twice. (Yes they got this little code thing that only the two of them can understand😭😭).

Once again compress taking the lead in first place with Toga in 2nd and Twice in 3rd they were all neck and neck before he felt a jab to the side.

“Hn!!” Compress yelped, jerking away from the ticklish touch. He looked a twice to see him with both of his hands occupied by his controller. He just ignored it and glued his eyes back into the screen.

I got a banana pEEL” Compress squeaked, clenching his controller he looked over at toga who totally didn’t pinch his hip. Once again compress suspected nothing yet before looking right back at the screen.

This trend kept on happening. Were twice and toga take turns poking compress in the side, swiping a finger across his foot, or a light scratch on the back of his neck. All until “guhuys knock it ohoff this is chehEating” He giggled.

“What are you talking about and why are you so giggly” toga smirked full aware of the situation. “I wonder what’s so funny, He’s giggling his life away” Twice added on.

Both Twice and Toga looked at eachother as they clawed Compress sides. Compress immediately clamped his arms down to his side trying to escape the tickly grip “guhuhuys nohohot funnehehehe”. “Nobody’s laughing but you press— Duhhhh” Twice teased.

“Stohohohohop ihihihit”

“Stop what” toga asked.

“Tihihickling mhehehehe”Compress answered not realizing that he just fell into a trap by saying that. Twice then pins his arms above his head “You got it dude!! tickles coming your way”Twice teased as he used one hand to hold his wrists in place, while he raked his fingers down his armpits.

“Nononohoho thahahat’s not whahahat I meAAAHAHANT AHAHA” Press shrieked as he squirmed around trying to escape.

“Stop squirming Press im trying to make sure you have all of you’re ribs” Toga rolled her eyes. “Now I have to start over 1….2….3…” each rib she counted, she used her nail to lightly scratch between it.

“TOHOHOOHGAHAHAHA IT TICKLEHEHEHEHEES”

“I mean I hope it does after all you did ask for tickles” she reminded. “Press you made me lose track again hmmmm let’s see how many did I count” she acted clueless as she rapidly pinched his sides and hips.

“THAHAHAHTS SO BAHAHAHAD HAAHAHAHAHA” he thrashed around.

“Oh it is what about here?” Twice smirked, as he was near his feet. Compress hadn’t noticed that twice had use his quirk one was keeping him pin down while he was near his feet.

“Waitwaitwahahahait twice twice buddy cohome on let’s tahahalk about thihis” press lifted up his head as much as he could so he could look at twice and try to reason with him.

“Sorry man you broke toga’s rule” twice shrugged his shoulders. “Whahahat rule?” “Her ‘good vibes only’ rule— you’re obviously sad we’re not blind” he explained.

“Ihi’m nohot sad though” press giggled, becoming more and more giggly as he started to anticipate the tickles, since he could barely lift up his head.

“Too late dude—much love” Twice smiled as he scribbled up and down the soles of his feet.

“TWIHIHICE NAHAHAHAHA”

“Hey I’m here too y’know” she playfully pouted as she squeezed his thighs rapidly.

“NOHOHO TOGAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA”

“Will you stop being sad and tell us what’s wrong?” Toga asked.

“OHOHOHOHKAHAAHAY OHOHOKAHAHAY I WON’T BE SAD ANEHEHEHEHEMORE AAHHAHA IHIHLL TELL YOUAHAHAHAHA”

“You promise?” They both asked.

“YES YEHEHEHEES I PROMISE AHAHHAHAA”

“Good” Toga sighed in relief.

“Well what happened why’d you come in looking so gloomy?” Twice asked. “Ihi just had a shitty dahay from start to finishehe from when I burnt my breakfast, all the way to when I came back here, it just messed with my emotions and of course got to me. I was just ready to come back and relax but after that torture you two goofs out me through I feel a lot better” he smiled.

“We didn’t take it too far did we?” Twice asked also. “Of course not it’s was just playful banter” press giggled.

“I’m glad you told us, also we don’t ever want to cross and boundaries we just really care about you and don’t like seeing you so sad and gloomy” Toga spoke her mind and twice of course.

“If anything ever makes you sad again promise to tell us” Twice looked at him in his eyes. “Ihi promise” press couldn’t help but giggle. “You guys are so sappy” Dabi rolled his eyes as he sat on the couch.

“Looks like some one else need to be tickle tooooo” twice sang as he wiggled his fingers at Dabi. “I swear on Endeavor if you tickle me you’ll have a 6th degree burn” Dabi playfully threatened. “6th degree? That’s not even a thing!!” Toga looked at him lost.

“Exactly that’s how severe it is” Dabi smirked.

———————————————————————-

AAAAAAAH I hope you all like it it wasn’t intended to get all mushy like that at the end but idk what came over me but yeah 😭😭

[the-s1lly-corner]

Starlight, Starshine; an impenetrable disguise

its finally happening! i came up with a name for this little fanfic/one shot series/whatever this is going to be! obligatory title is ripped from a steam powered giraffe song (go listen to starlight starshine, its literally sun+moon x reader core im begging you) anyways! Starlight, Starshine is going to be a collection of self indulgent writings between our favorite animatronic and reader! from multiple different aus, though it will mostly center around 2! one au thats "everything is fine nothing bad happens please i just want them ALL to be happy" and the other is a silly dumb idea of "what if reader who used to work at the pizzaplex takes eclipse home and repairs them and ect ect happens"! todays little fic is based off of that! im so sorry about the long authors note, i really need to make it a habit to shorten these but yk obligatory admin is not used to writing fics and theyre still trying to find their style in terms of writing so ! most of these one shots also arent going to be in order, due to the nature of this being a collection of writings for at least 2 aus so for the most part theres no need to read them all to understand a greater story!

Summary: Months after the reader brings Eclipse to their home and repairs them, sun and moon must get accustomed to their new environment. however sun has some plans...

Extra notes: this one is primarily sun centered, reader has a dog, author is attempting at comedy, not proof read we die like men so expect a few grammar mistakes and spelling errors, a lot of this one shot also contains more context and exposition (???) to the "Taken Home" au referenced above, author is not confident in their writing skills and hasnt written a full fledged fic in a year or two, author also isnt used to writing proper dialogue so take that as you will, reader is GN/typically wont be given pronouns due to authors general writing style/POV, he/they pronouns for sun and moon they /them for eclipse, really this is just an experimental piece with a vague idea i had last night, nothing too special more so an exercise to get me back into writing, author is still trying to figure out how to write personalities so these are very likely to be OOC

The first word that came to your mind when describing Sun was "odd". He looked odd, he acted odd, he had odd rituals that he carried out in your home. However it wasn't a bad kind of odd.

It'd been a few months since you took the former daycare attendant to your home, and repaired them. You had already grown close to the pair long before the closure of the pizzaplex, being an extra set of hands in the daycare. You didnt even know they were still active within the building when you decided to explore the remains; already taken on the form of Eclipse, who at the time of your discovery was trying in vain to clean the wreckage. Of course repairing them wasn't easy given you had limited experience in... basically rebuilding an animatronic; but against all odds you made it work! You let them take the guest bedroom, not that either of them used it; they would much rather spend their time hovering around you.

It took a lot of getting used to, for everyone involved, but you were all adjusting quite nicely!

Mostly...

You see, Sun didnt like being cooped up.. your home being considerably smaller than the daycare he was so used to. Leading to todays horrible plan.

"Sunflower," You said through lightly clenched teeth as you watched the sun themed animatronic tug on an oversized hat. He really couldn't be doing this... this wasnt going to work, no one is this dumb to fall for this plan!

The plan in question? Well, Sun thinks it would be a good idea to wander about outside in a "disguise" of sorts; said disguise consisting of the aforementioned hat, sunglasses, a face mask, and a entirely new outfit. Obviously, it looked at convincing as it sounded.

Sun hummed and spun on his feel to look at you, already putting your dog on a leash. "Yeeees starshine?" He asked as he scratched your dog between the ears. "This isnt a good idea," You mumbled as you watched him make his way to the door. "Nonsense! There's hardly anyone out, it'll only be a quick walk around the park!" Sun cheered.

The second word that comes to your mind when you think to describe Sun, is "stubborn", as when he made his mind up on something you can almost guarantee that he would follow through with the plan. So now, you were following behind him, keeping your eyes peeled for anyone who could see him. If he weren't so tall, or if he could tuck his rays in, or didn't emit a mechanical creak with every step he made then perhaps, the plan may have just worked... perhaps.. maybe..

No, it wouldn't, you can see his metal neck from where you were standing.

"Remember, only one lap," You reminded him as you succumbed to his will, much to his delight as his pace picked up just ever so slightly.

To his credit, he was right about not many people being out and about, mostly in part due to the fact it was still early in the morning. Just light enough to keep Sun in control, but just early enough for most to still be sleeping or still getting ready for work. However, the park wasn't empty, mostly it was early morning joggers; who thankfully didn't pay much mind to the two of you outside of giving a half wave as they passed.

There were even a few parents around with their small children walking with them; be it they were walking them to school or simply taking them to take in the early morning air... Sun's body seemed to perk up at the sight of the children, loudly greeting them with a good morning; leaving both them and the parents slightly bewildered at his high energy.

There were others, who had decided to also take their dog out for an early walk. The people once again weren't an issue, as they seemed to miraculously fall for Sun's disguise from a distance.

Their dogs weren't fooled, though. Multiple dogs began to bark and growl as they passed by. "Oh I'm so sorry, I don't know what's gotten into him!" was said a few times throughout the walk. Again, the owners somehow didnt seem to notice the fact Sun was an animatronic, mostly due to having to restrain their dog from lunging forward at him.

The closest call, however, came from Sun excitedly taking up an offer for someone to pet their dog. For you see, Sun didnt think far enough ahead to cover his hands, thus leaving his hands in clear sight. Add in the fact that the dog bit Sun as he leaned forward to pet them.

Of course, the man noticed, and before he could say a word or question, you blurted out that it was a prosthetic hand. Though, you're not sure that the man bought it, as he was now craning his neck up to look up at Sun's round, flat face.

He slinked off. Whether it be he didn't have the energy to deal with it, or he simply just didnt care, or somehow believed you, he left.

Thankfully, that last interaction happened as you and Sun were beginning to loop back to where you started. Before Sun could begin to beg for a second round around the park, you started to walk him home; hand in hand.

"Oh that was so so fun! Starshine we gotta do this more often, everyone was so nice, " Sun chirped as you approached your front door. In his excitement he had begun to skip in long strides, forcing you to speed up your walk to a light jog.

"Yeah, again... maybe we can go earlier in the morning? You know we cant risk anything, I mean, if I get caught with you I could probably get sent to," You trailed off as Sun suddenly shoved something into your hands.

A handful of flowers that he had pulled up from the ground, he must have grabbed them while on the walk. How did you not notice? Were you that nervous of being found out by others?

A third word to describe Sun would be sweet. Even through his oddity and stubbornness, he still thought of you. Always so considerate.

Now that you think about it, you realize this may be the first time Sun has touched a real living flower.

You frowned, slightly. It made sense, he wasnt permitted to step foot outside of the pizzaplex, and its not like many people were giving him bouquets of fresh flowers. Usually if they did it'd be the obviously fake plastic ones. Sure, sometimes the kids would give him paper flowers.

"Can we go again tomorrow?" Sun asked as he watched you fumble around with the cluster of flowers... some were weeds, but.. its the thought that counts.

"Of course, Sunflower," You said before you could let yourself think logically.

Well, there was no taking it back, now. How could you, when Sun quickly stamped his heels in excitement as he dashed inside your home.

Perhaps you'll pick some flowers for him tomorrow, too.

yeah idk about this one yall LMAO, i genuinely didnt know where i was going with this one nor did i know how to end it, if that wasnt obvious SOBS im so not used to writing actual stories, im so used to short scenarios and headcannons... gotta fix that anyways i still have a few more ideas i want to write, but! thats it for the first one shot for Starlight, Starshine !

[helloescapist]

Hi ! Sorry if this request is a little ehh yk since i aint so good at this but your writing absolutely amazes me so .

would you consider a request kinda suggestion thing thats like . A shinobu x gn reader that where friends (mostly around their training for the final selection) but just after that they just dissapeared completely , but like after 4 years they accidentaly reunite when the reader is sent to the butterfly state for medical attention . kinda hurt comfort yk ? If you dont like it feel free to ignore it !

hello, hello!

Can we talk about how cute moments in the training years with Shinobu would be? When she wasn't tied to the duties of the Insect Hashira, and just allouwed to be fiesty? She would be a total terror on the Butterfly Estate!

Anyways, thank you for your sweet words. <3 I did my best with this one, and I hope it meets your expectations. (I admittedly, may play with fluff prompts of all of the hashiras in their training days because.. it just sounds adorable). I'm sorry it took so long to respond, I wanted ot be sure my research for the weapon and techniques would be useful and insync with one another.

What Remains | Shinobu Kocho

Word Count: 2508?

Setting: Shinobu Kocho x gn!reader [friend fic, but if you squint underlining pining]

Content Warning(s): gore/blood, mentions of death, and depression, minor spoilers if you are not familiar with Shinobus past

Summary: caught in a battle with a worhty advisory and the tilt of fate no longer in your favor, you reflect upon the friend you have left behind in your youth and fears. Regrets that threaten to follow you to the grave. You would do anything to piece back together what remains of the friendship you fled so many hears ago.

A/N: the reader’s staff is inspired by a silambam staff originating from Southern India. I highly recommend looking up the history if you have the time. The inspiration for the original breathing is from the, if you can believe it, mother of pearl (Nacre), the inner lining of shells used by some species of molluscs.

Blood spattered the side of your brow, dripped down the lining of your draw. The tinge of metallic searing your nose, blinding your senses. It had been years since someone had successfully penetrated your barrier.

The weight of your faithful staff balanced between your dominate arm, curled around your forearm and the end pressed against your back. Knees bent beneath you as the force of air shattered your lungs.  Heaved in the sharp breath of oxygen, struggled against cracked ribs, the burden of your weapon beginning to wear upon your body over the extended period of use. The battle had waged far longer than you had anticipated, nor had you expected your opponent to be such a troublesome demon. It had been years since you questioned the reliability of your weapon, and felt the strain upon your muscles. Ligaments strained under the weight. Trembled your grasp, revealing the exhaustion tumbled over your form. When was the last time you doubted your abilities in combat? Pondered the resolve of your might in battle. Your breathing technique had become renowned for its capabilities. Had received praise for being a fortress, impenetrable. Though you certainly knew the limitations of its uses—this had not been the first time you had found an enemy in close range despite the protective field of your breathing. The curl of a growl shattered across your back, the metallic swing, the draw of your staff curled around your sides. The tilt of your hips into the sway, catching the draw of claws that threatened to pierce your skin once more. The iridescent of your breathing technique catching the dying stars of night. The wet grass beneath your feet stumbling your normally tight form, the slick beneath your sandals offered little traction. Ah, no, this had not been the first time someone had penetrated your defenses, distant memories of your younger years toyed in your mind as your body ran on instinct.

She had been small, adorably so. Standing significantly shorter than your peers for her age, her weight provided little substance to her bones. As though a butterfly that had been carried upon Himejima-sensei’s shoulders. Regardless of the way she furrowed. Her scowl noticeable despite her older sister’s insistence to cool her temper, her tongue remarkably sharp despite her age. At a glance, one would assume that the smaller girl had been younger than expected. Teased by the other students for her less than remarkable stature, humorous in comparison to the gentle giant who instructed your techniques. Over saw your manners, and guided you through training under the Demon Crops care. Though, you knew better than anyone as having been a longtime student, Himejima-sensei neither cared if any of you went on to be slayers. Rather, the distant burdens of a forgotten past had strengthened his mentor resolve. Insured that the children under his care would not leave his protection until they were capable of fending for themselves, the tears he shed at those who had departed upon new lives, and the comfort for those who remained—yet, for all of his kindness, this little brat spat out words wielded by drunken adults. The vein upon her brow throbbing as she spat out curse after curse, Shinobu’s temper triggered by the littles of infringements. This time having resulted from another student commenting on her stature, a noted sore spot evident in how she had pursued the source. Slammed him to the ground, crawled on top of him, and flinging her fists in all the might she could muster, only swayed from her assault by her older sister’s obvious disappointment and soothing words. You had begun to wonder if the younger Kocho had a sense of restraint, often pondered how it was two beings so unlike one another could in fact be blood relatives.

                That day had been the final straw for you. Drawn from the disrespect the younger Kocho had once again inflicted upon your instructor, you had challenged her to a match. Her over confidence having met you head on, so sure of herself despite the fact that a rationed bag of rice in the store house weighed more than she had—you knew this, had born witness to Shinobu’s attempts to heave it into the storage before being crushed beneath its weight. Yet, despite the fact that she was nearly a foot shorter than yourself, and severely under her weight class, the dagger wielder had met you head on. Resilient despite the ways you popped her repeatedly. Speed, in practice you had noticed how fast the younger girl had been on her feet. Honestly, it was likely the only reason she had ever gotten the jump on any of the other students, but not this time. The practice stick pressed between your hands, swirled in each movement, any attempts to out maneuver you quickly thwarted with a pop of bamboo upon her cranium. The loss of the match staining her pride, and driving her forward. Training had become a pass time less spent crucifying her peers, but truly immersed in instruction. Her temper only making her slopping and agitated, yet she persisted. Swat after pop, after jab, time after time. Regardless of the way you swept the feet beneath her frame, plopped disgracefully upon her bottom. The sparing matches would wage over weeks. Each encounter drawing your chuckles, for all of her wit and her rage, the younger trainee was playful. Determined, a trait you rarely saw in your peers, and before you had known it, you had welcomed these sparing matches. At times, she would catch you by surprise, and others, you were able predict. Drawing forth snacks to place upon the veranda before meeting her practice blade. The distinct smack of your staff across her cheek resulting in the cool of a pack pressed against flesh. The mumbling of frustration between small pursed lips, and amethyst eyes that glanced at you in her pout, the smile you provided soothing as you offered her a treat.  In time and under instruction, Shinobu would learn to utilize her strengths in battle, and when she had done so, she had become a worthy rival. One quick to seize opportunities, to slip between the cracks your swings. Tumble her small frame against your height, the close encounters drawing the swept of your brow. The triumph of her laugh, upon the smack of your bottom across the ground. The first time she had ever bested you, drawing the joy of hard work, and a ridiculous dance. Her small hips wiggled beneath her hakama. Trembled as she shook her hands together before stretching them to the sky. Proud. She had been so proud, and you found yourself laughing aloud when she offered her hand to your own.

Days of sneaking upon the butterfly estate echoed through your mind. Mischievous kids that evaded duty and medicinal instruction offered by the older Kocho, Shinobu flying over the small ownings, while you lifted yourself through the air with the plant of your staff to the ground. Laughter upon the obvious scolding of kakushi insisting you to return your duties, abandoned to the wind in favor of dango stalls. To hear the Wind Hashira openly scold you, for dodging the Flower Hashira’s care. The whelp upon your heads that had grown in place of his righteous smack, the blush that painted his cheeks when Kanae attempted to sooth his ire. Not that he nor her had ever admitted to such affections, and it never lasted long. The slip of Shinobu’s tongue only eliciting another outburst from the swordsman. Pressed fingers of the older girl keeping him in place, as you dashed down hallways. Weaved past kakushi and slayers alike, snuck castella cakes from the kitchens, and played in the trees of the gardens. Partners in crime joined at the hips through your training years, unafraid to wreak havoc across the Butterfly Estate. The pride Kanae had expressed upon your passing of the final selection. Touched clothes to your cheek, evaluated the strain upon your wounds. Both of your bodies tumbled through thickets of wisteria, rattled against rivals. Pride beaming form your features, equipped to take on the world despite the sting of antiseptic pressed against your cheeks. Prayed for the moment to never end. TO disappear in to the folds of time, to remain upon such happy memories… Her smile. Y-you could remember how Kanae had beamed at you. Accepting, and warm, the night the smile had slipped from her lips. Blood that painted the night air, the chuckle and nauseauty joy of rainbow eyes that elicited humor at your suffering. The loosening of her haori drawn in battle, discarded as a means of escape for you. She knew. Damn it, she had known, the blood drawn, the soothing sound of her voice as though she were comforting a child. Y-you hadn’t been a child! You had a duty! To the Corps, to the Flower Hashira who had requested you for this vary mission. To Shinobu who awaited your arrival at home. Little of your protest mattered. The slam across your head, the fading of the sky before you, and the haori that fluttered over your shoulders before you collapsed to the ground.

                You never got to apologize. How could you? When you had awoken, you had seen the shatter of her tears. The kakushi had founded your body practically discarded in the woods, the haori painted over your shoulders. Unable to fend off the chill of your body. Evidence of the battle, blood marred across the mountain terrain. Shattered over trees, yet, no remains to be found other than your own. Overheard horrors of the night like a ghost upon your flesh. Sickened and nauseated. Pressed between vomit that threatened to spill as your heart plummeted to the grave. The slip of the burdened haori revealing your sins as it sunk to the ground. Your feet eliciting a response before thought. Run. Run. RUN. Tripped over boulders, stumbled over branches, and fallen trees, the distant shouts of kakushi falling upon ears of the dead alone. Heedless of the blood that caught against branches, nor the tarnished of your uniform across your form, revealing peeks of skin as you fled into the day. Fled from your duties. From your home. From your friend.

The staff drawn between practiced hands. Fingers that ached and had become slashed open by opportunistic claws. The growl in your ear, and the fatigue that drew upon your brow. I’m going to die, whispered upon your thoughts. Numb realization as the iridescent gleam that captivated your staff shattered over nails. Colors that faded across the spectrum of a rainbow, glistened in their resolve. Just a little more, you told yourself. The meadow drawn upon little shade, the distant shatter of night in the distance of the east. Colors that shooed away the late hours, and the tremble of large eyes against your opponent, desperate to get away. The shake of your smile as you seized your staff upon their back, entrapping them against your chest. “Fourth Form, Inner Shell,” hissed against your teeth. The revolt of bones, the demon becoming increasingly fringed upon the break of day. Desperate to escape the light, the encompassing of your breath. Draws of color that folded over the two of you. Shattered your bones together in a sickening crunch. Illuminating the last touches of the night sky as blood drew from the force of two bodies forced together as bones snapped. Your fortress utilized as a steel trap. For the both of you.

                Shinobu, I wish… I’m- I’m so sorry.

Voices echoed through the passage of time. Demanded tools, whispered needs of bandages. Imparted details you could not quite grasp, nor completely understand. Details across a series of confusion that blurred your conscious. Ached your headache, and shunned your thoughts.  It, it really didn’t matter anymore. Told yourself it would only be a matter of time before death greeted you, escorted you into the afterlife. No, no perhaps not the afterlife. Unfinished business, your desires to see an old friend once more would likely bind you to the world. Conscious that faded in and out, drifted upon the passing of words. Some soothing and sweet, praising progress though the world seemed dark, and one such voice threatening. Scolding really, dared to reveal any and all obscure details of childhood. Peculiar, and childish. To threaten your youthful fears, regardless of how silly they had been… who would dare? Temper seethed, and… shook your shoulders? Who would treat a corpse in such manner.

Sunlight flittered over the drawings of curtains;  the nauseating smell of antiseptic greeted the flutter of your eyelashes. Your sight hazy as it swept over your environment. Having expected the embrace of death, the warm linens pressed into your surprise. Flowers tucked into cared for vases, bare antique furniture. The numb movements, testing whether or not you had in fact returned to the living, or rather trapped between the state of life and death. The tremble of your toes, testing out their existence. The draw of a white kimono pressed into your chest, the signs of the battle you had endured written across your flesh. Bandages wound tightly over weary muscles. Wrappings drawn across your ribs, snug and difficult to breathe as you attempted to fidget your fingers. Unable to properly navigate their being. Rather, unable to feel them at all. The room… the room far too familiar for your liking, though the thought was difficult to grasp. Distant memories, of laughter, and poorly bound wounds… you had never been adapt at medical care. Glimpses of a past you had left behind wrinkled into your bedding. The press of lavender hair curled upon the white bedding. Touched upon your lap. The telling curl of butterfly ribbon that threatened to shatter your heart caught upon the slightly unraveled curl of dark hair. Released from a bun that had begun to tumble in her sleep. The press of her long eyelashes into the bedding, purple hues that bordered her eyes, the small draw of her breath against your leg. Exhaustion, hours of late work having drawn upon her form. Collapsed at your side, the water basin had grown worm, as the cloth pressed between her strained fist, caught amongst the fingertips of her other hand. Your own hand, having grown numb under her strain. The Insect Hashiras fist trembled beneath her fist as her resolve to cling to your side snagged at the bandages of your fingers. Her pale complexion, illuminating of the moonlight, and the draw of her purple strands the envy of any wisteria branch. The trouble of your smile, tumbled over trembling lips. The met of your brow. To see her once more like this. To have her at your side as though no time had pass. Distant recollections of her poor bedside manners drawing an unsure smile—she had always struggled in that department. The curl of her fingers, calloused and practiced as her resolve. The worry evident in the way she curled into you, refused to release you from her hold. Nor could you bring yourself to part from her grasp.

                Words to spill. Apologies, and confessions. Heart ache, and betrayal, to bridge time lapses, and share had the years had treated you. To apologize—there were so many things you heart longed to express to her.  The soft sigh of slumber, hours of dedication in her collapse. Tears that trembled, ghosts of memories. Her laughter, her smile. Her temper. All of it within reach, and how your heart begged to see all sides of your estranged friend once more. Left with little ability to seize the closeness of yearning, the shiver of your other hand, dared to fumble through her hair. As you had so many years ago, her pride never had allowed her to confess how the Insect Hashira enjoyed having her hair soothed back. Too childish, you had understood, but in quite moments when the hours of study had drawn from your day, and sleep met her upon the veranda, you would comfort her in such ways. Smiled upon the resolve of a woman who was bound by her resolve. The quiver of your eyelashes, and the weight of tears that succumbed to gravity as you fought back the sob in the back of your throat. The curl of her bangs pressed between your fingers, as you tenderly swept her bangs from her brow. Studied the softness of her face, noted how age had captivated some of her features. Whispered prayers of gratitude to the gods who had given you one last chance. The bonds of time wearing upon your heart. You had been given, one more chance, and though you were unsure of how the passage of time, loss, and circumstances had marred your friendship, you could not help but feel relief at the sight of her so close. Within grasp, a friend your heart had desperately longed for all of these years, eternally grateful that she still remained upon this world. The care etched into your bandages, and faded memories offered the opportunity for new life. The opportunity to piece back together what remains of your friendship, or to endure her wrath… Tears that rolled upon your cheeks as you bent down, pressed your forehead to her own. Y-You would plead forgiveness, but for now.. you just..

   I missed you.

[up-in-space-reading]

Average Weekly Screentime - Chap 10: So Who Won?

pairing: Jake Peralta x Amy Santiago

word count: 3141

warnings/tags: college au, texting, drunk texting, text fic (mostly, there's prose a few chaps in), bets, bisexual!jake peralta, jake peralta has adhd, parties, drinking and alcohol, sexual references, implied sexual content (nothing explicit, just suggested its going to happen/has happened), friends to lovers, swearing, mentions of cannibalism, lighthearted threats of violence (typical rosa stuff yk), fluff

read on ao3

Average Weekly Screentime masterlist

Story Summary: texting fic college AU with the squad! It's the beginning of the school year and while everyone else thinks it'll be the same as the previous year, Gina has a feeling things are going to be different and wagers a bet with Rosa and Charles. Told through all the various group chats everyone is in.

Chap 1 | Chap 2 | Chap 3 | Chap 4 | Chap 5 | Chap 6 | Chap 7 | Chap 8 | Chap 9 | Chap 10

authors note: The last chapter to this monster of a fic! Hope you enjoy <3

Jimmy Jabbers

[09:24am, Friday]

Four Eyes: Jake has once again fallen asleep in class Four Eyes: Bets anyone?

RoRo: he’s gonna wake up in 12 minutes

Mr Grapes: 10 minutes

Queen G: 20 minutes

Four Eyes: Will keep you updated

-

[09:36am, Friday]

Four Eyes: Rosa I don’t know how you do it

RoRo: idk RoRo: you guys just gotta get good i guess

Queen G: this sucks

-

Dance Squad

[11:36am, Friday]

G-Hive: rosa ur bet date was two days ago G-Hive: i just remembered

Scary: gina you just might win this

G-Hive: omg omg this is so exciting

Charlese: Remember when you tried to get them together on new years?

G-Hive: i had a momentary lapse of judgement G-Hive: BUT now im back in betting mode G-Hive: need to keep them apart for another few weeks

Scary: that’s meddling once again

Charlese: Technically Rosa has some buffer time before her bet is completely void

Scary: neck and neck gina Scary: watch your back

G-Hive: anyone else getting super scary vibes rn???

-

Skipping School Is(n’t) Cool

[10:05am, Saturday]

Ferris: good morning beautiful

Cameron: Good morning!

Ferris: whats the plan for today??

Cameron: I actually have to do some work, you’ve been distracting me the last few days

Ferris: sorry i cant help that i wanna spend time with my giirllfrieennddd

Cameron: I wasn’t complaining at all Cameron: I’m just warning that if you come over I will be doing work

Ferris: im literally on my way

-

Unnamed Chat

[10:45am, Saturday]

Jake: hey ter!

Terry: Hey Jake, how’s it going?

Jake: absolutely wonderful amazing excellent

Terry: Haha let me guess – things went well with Amy

Jake: ur the first person im telling bc u helped me so much omg im so excited

Terry: Well congrats to both of you Terry: I hear Taylor has a lot of love songs

Jake: im never living it down Jake: and IM TOO HAPPY TO CARE

Terry: Hahaha

-

Jimmy Jabbers

[02:04pm, Saturday]

Four Eyes: do u think that guys named cal their name is short for calendar

Pineapples: yes ames i think thats true

Queen G: how do i tell amy u have her phone

Pineapples: she is aware Pineapples: but i dont think she realised what i was gonna do with it mwahaha

RoRo: you should probably give it back

Four Eyes: He has returned it now Four Eyes: He’s cowering in the corner because he knows I’m going to take his

Pineapples: someone help me

Mr Grapes: Just go fetal position Jake, that’s what I do

Pineapples: Too late

Queen G: RIP soldier

RoRo: i think it’ll be funny if amy killed him

-

Dance Squad

[02:10pm, Saturday]

G-Hive: so that was weird right??

Scary: super weird

Charlese: Definitely weird

G-Hive: okay cool

-

Jimmy Jabbers

[04:28pm, Saturday]

Mr Grapes: Anyone wanna do dinner tonight?

RoRo: can’t, busy

Mr Grapes: What are you up to?

RoRo: wouldn’t you like to know, soup boy

Queen G: fine ill do dinner

-

[04:53pm, Saturday]

Mr Grapes: @Four Eyes @Pineapples are either of you interested in getting dinner? Mr Grapes: Haven’t heard from you yet

Pineapples: sorry charles, im busy

Four Eyes: I’ve already got plans, sorry

Mr Grapes: That’s alright!

-

Dance Squad

[04:57pm, Saturday]

Charlese: That’s weird right?

G-Hive: definitely

Scary: you two have fun

G-Hive: @Charlese ill meet u at sals in 30?

Charlese: Yep!

-

“We have got to find a new dinner spot” Amy whispers to Jake across the table who’s giggling.

“Aw but I like Sal’s” He whispers back, their chins nearly touching the table as they duck from view.

“Probably on us that we assumed Gina and Charles wouldn’t come here” Jake continued with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Yeah, that’s definitely on us. What do we do?” Amy asked anxiously.

“What do you mean?”

“They’re here, we’re here, they don’t know about us. What do we do?”

“Sneak out the side door and pretend we were never here?” Jake suggested with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

“Sure, let’s do it” Amy agreed, a small smile returning to her face.

The two of them got up quickly, Jake grabbing Amy’s hand and dragging her out of the diner quickly behind him. She had her bag slung over her shoulder and was carrying her scarf, not having had a moment to put it on yet.

Once they were out the door and walking down the street the two of them laughed as Amy finally wrapped her scarf around her neck. Jake took Amy’s arm and linked it with his, holding her close as they walked down the snow lined streets.

“We’ve gotta find somewhere else to get dinner now” Jake brought up after they’d been walking for a few minutes with no real destination in mind.

“How would you feel about pizza?” Amy asked with a smile, knowing exactly how Jake would feel about pizza.

“Dumb question Ames, I know just the place”

He redirected them, crossing the street and turning a corner while Amy simply followed his lead. Once there they ordered and got their pizza, they laughed about their escape from Sal’s again and Jake filled Amy in on the ongoing Sasha drama after she overheard Gina mention it.

They finished their pizza and hung around in the shop for a little while longer, ignoring their phones and everything outside the door. As far as Jake was concerned, right now the world existed in the pizza shop, sitting across the table from him.

It was only when the owner of the shop politely told them he was going to be closing soon did they leave – leaving behind a nice tip for having stayed so long – walking arm in arm slowly back towards campus under the light of the street lamps. Amy could tell Jake was trying to delay saying goodbye to her, and if Amy was honest with herself she didn’t want to say goodbye either.

They stopped at the usual split in their path, this section of the sidewalk held so many memories and emotions that Amy couldn’t believe it had all happened in less than a year. The two of them hugged for probably too long, they were clingy for a few day-old relationship but Amy never wanted it to stop.

“Come back to my dorm with me?” Jake asked her quietly, breath brushing against Amy’s ear in a way that made her skin tingle, “If you want” he added, giving her an out.

“I want to”

It was an easy decision, and one she didn’t regret at all.

-

DDC

[10:28am, Sunday]

G: messaging to check on u bc i havent heard from u in nearly 24 hours

Jacob: im fine g

G: alright G: how r u feeling?

Jacob: great!

G: cool

-

Dance Squad

[10:32am, Sunday]

G-Hive: something happened

Scary: context?

G-Hive: somethings happened with jake

Charlese: Proof?

G-Hive: 1 image attachment G-Hive: says hes great before noon on a sunday G-Hive: i think tf not

Scary: weak

Charlese: Yeah it’s not a super strong argument

G-Hive: ugh honestly you two

Charlese: I’m starting to give up on them honestly Charlese: If it hasn’t happened by now it won’t ever happen

G-Hive: r u serious charles!!! G-Hive: ur not serious

Charlese: Okay I’m not 100% giving up

Scary: i have

Charlese: What??

Scary: my betting day has passed and i either get it exact or i lose Scary: i’m not winning on a technicality

G-Hive: what about the prize money???

Scary: we just don’t pay out?

Charlese: Damn, this is a sad way to end it

G-Hive: HEY! my bet is still ongoing

Scary: you’re seriously gonna hold out hope??

G-Hive: unlike SOME people i dont back down from a bet

Scary: ugh fine i’m still in

G-Hive: YES

Charlese: Okay I’m still in!! you just caught me in a moment of weakness

G-Hive: lovely lovely G-Hive: time to go get proof

-

DDC

[10:51am, Sunday]

G: where r u???

Jacob: my dorm why???

G: i feel like ur lying

Jacob: im not lying gina Jacob: why would i lie about that

G: idk but ill find out

Jacob: u do that

G: ill ask amy where u r

Jacob: amy will just tell u to ask me

G: we will see

-

Girls Girls Girls

[10:55am, Sunday]

Gina: @Amy do u know where jake is??

Amy: I don’t know, probably in his dorm? Amy: He’s probably still sleeping

Gina: hmm okay

-

DDC

[10:57am, Sunday]

G: i still dont believe you

Jacob: 1 image attachment Jacob: what about now??

G: u couldve taken that pic anytime

Jacob: i just took it now

G: ugh fine

-

Girls Girls Girls

[11:03am, Sunday]

Gina: @Amy can u send me a pic of the cover of that book u recommended the other day

Amy: You have never asked for a book recommendation and I don’t believe you that you’re starting now

Gina: u and jake talking about me???

Amy: WHY would Jake and I be talking about you??

Gina: u tell me????

Amy: You are in a mood this morning

Rosa: tell me about it

-

Jimmy Jabbers

[11:07am, Sunday]

Queen G: i have had ENOUGH Queen G: @Four Eyes @Pineapples explain urselves

Four Eyes: What do I have to explain???

Pineapples: i am also confused as to what i need to explain

Queen G: one or both of u are lying to me Queen G: dodging questions and such

Four Eyes: Good god you need to go outside or something

Queen G: i will NOT be made out to be crazy

Pineapples: then stop acting like it girl

Queen G: where r u both right NOW???

Pineapples: in my dorm Pineapples: in bed if u want specifics

Four Eyes: I’m in my dorm, at my desk to be specific

Queen G: take a pic of ur desk rn

Four Eyes: I’m not entertaining this

Queen G: AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH Queen G: im gonna figure it out

RoRo: maybe let it go gina

Mr Grapes: Gotta agree with Rosa

Queen G: ugh fine

-

Dance Squad

[02:35pm, Monday]

G-Hive: im following jake and amy this afternoon G-Hive: who wants to join

Charlese: I’ve got nothing better to do

Scary: this is the last time i’ll entertain you

G-Hive: it wont even be long G-Hive: ill be able to tell if theyre together or not immediately G-Hive: meet me in the courtyard

Charlese: On my way!

Scary: coming

-

Skipping School Is(n’t) Cool

[02:48pm, Monday]

Ferris: heads up rosa gina and charles are following me to the library Ferris: theyre doing a bad job

Cameron: Hahaha okay

Ferris: should we have some fun with them?

Cameron: We absolutely should

-

Jake made his way to the library happily, lighter than air and excited to see Amy again. When he walked into the library she hadn’t noticed him yet but as soon as Jake saw her he couldn’t stop the smile spreading from ear to ear.

Amy finally noticed him as he approached the table, a matching smile gracing her face, and it took everything in Jake to hold back kissing her as soon as he was sat down next to her. They kept their conversation casual and work focused, it felt like before they were together when the two of them were dancing around whatever was happening between them.

After some subtle searching of the library by taking looks around at random intervals he was able to spot Gina, Rosa, and Charles at a table nearby. They were pretending to be engrossed in one book between the three of them and doing a bad job, Rosa was clearly uninterested but there anyway.

-

Skipping School Is(n’t) Cool

[03:21pm, Monday]

Ferris: three musketeers sitting at a table near the computers Ferris: doing a terrible job at hiding

Cameron: I’m not even surprised Cameron: What did Gina expect to discover?

Ferris: probs us together

Cameron: Nosiest friends ever

Ferris: haha tell me about it

-

“This is boring, they’re clearly not together” Rosa was annoyed.

“But what if they are and they’re just playing it down?” Gina argued back.

“If they were together we’d know by now” Charles now joined in.

“God this is ridiculous” Gina threw her arms up in frustration, “I just need them to kiss or something”

“Go ask them” Rosa suggested slightly sarcastically.

Gina fixed Rosa with a look that made Charles want to shrink in on himself, feeling grateful he hadn’t crossed either of them.

“We could just wait for them to tell us?” He suggested in hopes of stopping Gina and Rosa’s staring match.

“Fine” Gina agreed begrudgingly.

Gina was the one to get up first, followed by Rosa and then once they started walking away Charles quickly followed, not wanting to be left behind.

-

Jake saw movement out of the corner of his eye, catching his attention he looked up to see Rosa, Gina and Charles all making a hasty exit from the library and he smiled knowing he and Amy had been able to bore them into leaving.

Once their friends had left the library he leaned over and gave Amy a quick peck on the cheek, startling her out of her concentration where she looked at Jake with surprised.

“What abo-“ She began before Jake cut her off.

“They just left”

Amy let out a laugh before placing a hand on the side of Jake’s face, he leaned into it with a content sigh. Jake then reached up to lightly grab Amy’s wrist, keeping her hand in place as he twisted his head to plant another kiss on her palm.

“You can’t distract me like that” Amy said quietly, trying to be teasing but sounding more breathless.

“Sorry” Jake had apologized but didn’t sound one bit sorry, returning to his work with a satisfied smirk.

-

Jimmy Jabbers

[06:25pm, Wednesday]

Queen G: sasha is having a party on sat so im absolutely going Queen G: anyone else in??

Mr Grapes: Oh definitely! Mr Grapes: Do you know if she invited Sam or Matt?

Queen G: she invited both of them and its most of the reason i wanna go

Mr Grapes: It’s self sabotage at this point

RoRo: ill go if it means watching sashas life implode lol

Pineapples: ill be there

Four Eyes: Yeah I’ll go too

Queen G: im so proud of all of u Queen G: so like are you guys team sam, team matt, or team sasha

Charles: I’m team Anne! She’s been messed around

Queen G: so true charles

-

It was the first time they’d hung out as a whole group since Jake and Amy had gotten together and hiding their relationship was more difficult than Jake had anticipated. He wanted to hold her hand in the back of the uber and put his arm around her shoulders as they walked into the party but couldn’t do any of it.

That was until they split up after playing some small drinking games together, Jake immediately asked Amy if she wanted to dance and she couldn’t have said yes quick enough. He assumed his friends were off finding the drama, Gina and Rosa probably on the hunt for people to flirt with while Charles waited for Genevieve to arrive soon.

Once he and Amy had reached the dance floor her pulled her close, bodies pressed up against one another – he wasn’t wasting a single moment keeping her at a distance. They danced together in the way Jake wished they could’ve on New Years, and it was the most fun he’d had at a party in a while.

So much fun that he leaned down to kiss Amy hard, brain slightly foggy after the alcohol they’d had so far, but pleased when Amy leaned into it. The kiss became intense as they abandoned any illusion that they were dancing.

Finally Jake pulled away with heavy breaths, leaning down to whisper into Amy’s ear.

“Bathroom”

She nodded furiously and followed closely behind when Jake grabbed her hand and dragged her away from the dance floor.

-

Queen Gina Linetti @g-hive01

i love being right #calledit #sashasparty

[11:08pm, Saturday]

-

Jimmy Jabbers

[10:47am, Sunday]

Queen G: i think its time we talk about the elephant in the room

Pineapples: what?

Queen G: this has gone on long enough

RoRo: gina what are you doing

Mr Grapes: Don’t do something you’ll regret

Queen G: i have no regrets in life Queen G: including this Queen G: @Four Eyes @Pineapples you two like each other and you need to work it out before I start prematurely aging

RoRo: gina!!

Mr Grapes: We agreed we weren’t gonna meddle and this is beyond that!

Queen G: deafening silence from the culprits themselves

Pineapples: way to make things awkward g…

Four Eyes: Wait, you guys ‘agreed to not meddle’? What does that mean?

Queen G: dw about that Queen G: do u have anything to say for urselves??

Pineapples: gina what did u see???

Queen G: u know exactly what i saw at exactly 11 last night

Four Eyes: Shit

Pineapples: my b ames

Four Eyes: Takes two

Pineapples: if its any comfort gina that bathroom wasnt as romantic as u would imagine

Queen G: i didnt think it would be

Four Eyes: Aw don’t say that babe, I thought it was perfectly respectable

Pineapples: dont lie to me

Four Eyes: Sorry haha

Mr Grapes: Wait wait wait wait Mr Grapes: You just called him babe

Four Eyes: Oops

Pineapples: gina caught us so theres no point keeping secret

Four Eyes: Yes Jake and I are together

Mr Grapes: Greatest day of my life not joking

RoRo: good for u

Queen G: u guys will NEVER make me seem crazy ever again so help me god Queen G: i was fucking RIGHT

RoRo: for reasons you don’t need to know RoRo: when did this start?

Pineapples: last wednesday Pineapples: why?

RoRo: i’m $100 richer

Mr Grapes: Damn

Queen G: ah shit…

Four Eyes: Can’t believe you guys bet on us!

Pineapples: i can

-

Skipping School Is(n’t) Cool

[11:40am, Sunday]

Ferris changed Cameron’s nickname to Ames Ferris changed their name to Dread Pirate Jake Dread Pirate Jake changed the group chat name to As You Wish

Ames: Aw I’ll miss the Ferris Bueller theme

Dread Pirate Jake: that was for when we were friends Dread Pirate Jake: needed to change now that youre my giirrllfriend

Ames: Haha fair enough Ames: Meet outside to go get lunch together?

Dread Pirate Jake: as u wish my lady <3

-

Dance Squad

[11:40am, Sunday]

Scary: I’ll take my $100 in cash

Charlese: I don’t even care about losing money I’m so happy for them

G-Hive: you will never make a fool out of me again

Scary: sure sure Scary: now pay up

Chap 1 | Chap 2 | Chap 3 | Chap 4 | Chap 5 | Chap 6 | Chap 7 | Chap 8 | Chap 9 | Chap 10

authors note: Oh my god, I can't believe its all done and over.

This is the longest piece of writing I've done so far, what started out as a silly little text fic idea that I wanted to do just to 'not waste a concept' turned into something that I've loved writing and am beyond proud of. I'm sorry there was a bit of a wait between chapters in the middle there but I hope the speedy release of the ending made up for it! Thank you so so much to everyone who commented and left kudos, you guys kept me motivated and excited to write this fic. Shout out to my friends both irl and online (none of whom will see this lol), you guys consistently provide me wonderful content to use in my writing lol (for this chapter it was: "wouldn't you like to know, soup boy")

Thanks again for reading my lil fanfic, I hope you enjoyed it <3

[craw-dacious]

Review of the making of the map by fox_pitch

I'm new to marauders, this is the second fic I've read.

Summary: I liked this fic, a lot. It was a fun read and I really liked the progression of both Wolfstar and James/Lili (is it Jilly? I can’t remember). A bit less angsty than what I usually read and some parts felt underbaked, but the author kept my attention INCREDIBLY. I stayed up about four hours later than I usually do binge reading this. Very good.

SPOILERS BELOW BEWARE BEWARE

Since chapters are shorter ill do bigger recaps infrequently throughout, but still little chapter notes

Chapter one

YES THEY’RE NOT GAY YET

Cannot wait to see this unfold <3333

Aw they’re so cute, definitely a wolf star focus

I hope this goes through seventh year so I can see James and lily play out

Chapter two

Why did I not process its the first day of term thats wild and crazy

Ok so lily still is buddies with Snape which tracks timeline wise I guess

Do they pants him at the end of the fifth or sixth year I can’t remember

I am confused on the lily dynamic tbh what does she think of the group

Chapter three

This one kinda ate, im liking the short chapters I get more invested in each part of the story

Obviously I know they’re not just gonna kill off Peter, but him dying in the shack did cross my mind

I wonder when lupin gets the potion stuff

Chapter four

MURDER MYSTORY??? HOW FUN

I hope remus gets over himself soon how was Sirius supposed to know how intense the situation was bruh

Blanket statement that I apologize for all shitty teenage boy behavior they need to chill

Chapter five

Calling him inbred is hilarious Im liking remus’s pov

Hes gay James stop

Literally he’s gonna go be ur wingman be happy

Good chapter very chill

RECAP FIRST FIVE CHAPTERS

I like the silliness thats been in this so far. I am NOT liking that remus and Sirius aren’t talking to each other. Is it a narrative device? Absolutely. But I despise it so much.

I think Sirius’ characterization is very good so far, I’m surprised they haven’t fleshed out the Regulus stuff more yet. Hopefully will get his pov soon

God I hope this is a save reggie fic cmon

I really hope this passage is the one to honey dukes.

Im sure the plots about to pick up more since they’re actually making the map

Chapter six

If I was lily I would’ve folded so fucking fast bruh

Like I know he’s annoying but like he’s cute, and likes her so much, and is clearly like progressive what is the problem

Anyway, sirius needs to chill if he wants to be gay

Chapter seven

Closet time closet time its time to be emotional in the closetttt

Calling him a cat is funny

Sirius is my fave because he’s also like a fixer upper with issues but he’s not EVILL he just has trauma

And he actually wants to be the best version of himself yk (unlike some dumb ass fucking bitches I know)

Chapter eight

SHE DID NOT JUST CRUCIO HIM

Cradling his head

Sirius licking him

God can marlene just fucking kill herself please

Chapter nine

Honestly there is no world in which I wouldnt feel awkward with my friends jokingly offering to kiss me as a form of like emotional comfort like thats not normal

Like my best friend gave me a big hug after I broke up with my ex she’s not gonna go “oh haha idk what else to do other than make out with you lol lol.” Sirius what the fuck

Anyway I love to see the lily and James bonding but I can tell it makes remus feel lonelier

Wonder if we’re gonna get Peter development at all

Chapter ten

I dont even want to write uodates anymore because im liking the fic too much

Hes so stressed abt being gay I thought he already knew he was gay bruh Sirius is clueless obvi

Chapter 11

JUMPSCARE FANART BAD BAD FANART ITS TERRIBLE

Love how the maps coming together

This is not going over well with Sirius im sure

12

Ok so bed making out

Im so fucking horny I need to make out with someone STAT

Preferably someone with a penis bc it confirms they like me but tbh I don’t give a shit

Its 1:12 am

So it did go over well with Sirius. I expected some internalized homophobia or something but he’s actually being chill for once

OKAYYYYYYY RECAP TO CHAPTER TWENTY ONE 💋💋💋

so i got so engrossed in the story that i forgot to write my chapter notes

but so far i feel fantastic about it

LOVE LILY AND JAMES' DYNAMIC ITS SO GOOD

the regulus thing is making me want to kms. i have like no hope for reg redemption bc the fic isn't long enough, and i feel like all that happens will be the murder mystery and MAYBE gay shit

sirius was SO STUPID with marlene like clearly remus has some issues with being open and you need to like discuss,, not make out with some other bitch

also them both being bi is not what i expected? feel like remus should be gay

peters character is... interesting. why are they friends with him. also he has bo gryffy qualities wtf.

Recap AGAIN but not done yet

Ok, the wormhole shit is interesting. Poor elves.

I wonder what happened to them, is this the in between place or whatever?

They’re being too romantic on the battlefield you gotta lock in guys

Also I thought an avada grazing you killed you no matter what

Also Sirius fully used crucio and nobody like cared other than remus. Like no commentary

WHERE’S JAMES BRUH

Hilarious. Peak comedy. Coming back to life and IMMEDIATELY kissing Lily. Her being grossed out. Literally perfect.

Ok the introduction of the OOTP, seems good.

Honestly really like what I’ve seen in the fic, but it’s a bit TOO silly for my tastes. I need more angst.

Like obviously I want Remus and Sirius to be openly gay and in love but it was too easy in this fic, like with Destiel its always SUCH an issue lmao.

TOTAL RECAP:

I liked this fic, a lot. It was a fun read and I really liked the progression of both Wolfstar and James/Lili (is it Jilly? I can’t remember)

I do feel like it was a little too light at times, there wasn’t a whole lot of grey area morally, and a lot of big issues weren’t fully fleshed out. I wish they’d dived into Regulus more, and Snape. I wish they’d addressed Sirius’ use of the Cruiciatus curse, and I wish they’d address Dumbledores failings more directly

Werewolf shit was fantastic to read, the angst, the fear, the violence, the drama. I thought the transformations were excellently done and I really enjoyed the progression of them figuring out the roaming/playing

Hogsmeade passage shut off? Strange.

I did not enjoy that I cannot be sure they are safe. That’s a benefit of post-hog warts fic, if its truly marauders James and Lily often don’t die.

Overall very happy fic. I did love the aggressive use of drunkness as a plot device, I liked Lily’s characterization for the most part, and it was pretty addicting in the middle.

I thought Characterization was good, not fantastic but definitely good. Peter threw me, not very likable. It’s hard to do him correctly and have him add worth to the story, but I just did not like him the whole time, and I felt like Remus and Sirius both didn’t care for him and found him annoying.

7.5/10 <3

My rankings are not supposed to be biased. Horrible shitty fic would get like a one, something readable but bad would get a fourish. Most fics that I read will be around 7-9 simply because I sort by Kudos and get recs from misuss so they’re better quality to begin with.

Great light silly read, with just enough depth to keep it interesting. I could see myself re-reading this fic once I get to know the marauders better.

Also, I do not like the fanart in this fic but I'm sure that's not universal. The artist is credited within the fic but I'd like to tag them here just to acknoledge the hard work that went into it. I checked them out and ADORE some of their other work, this one was just not to my liking. They have some percy jackson shit up that EATS.

@komodokai on instagram

[flowersintheimpala69]

Unfortunately, i don't rlly read smut fics for the sake of smut (like i usually do it for an added angst element) so these may not be as pwp as you wanted. these recs may be boring and unfulfilling but i still wanted to offer up my meager scraps!! hope these recs don't all suck<3

summary:

Dean bites his lip, hesitating for a moment before continuing. Sam was open with him, so now it’s his turn. “Besides, I like taking care of you. Wish you’d let me do it more often, if I’m being honest.”

He walks over to where Sam is sitting on the bed, still gripping the little stuffed animal tightly. Dean reaches over and smoothes down the front of Sam’s hair gently. For a minute, he worries if he’s gone too far, said too much.

this fic is literally my all-time fav. i reread it every week. there's a (smut-less) part one that you technically can skip over but it's also rlly good ngl. anyways! this one does sort of have a plot-filled beginning but i swear to god the smut is so good. ageplay but in a way I've never really seen represented and i ate it up. emotional overtones so they're not just fucking nasty so if u want just a pwp probs skip this but i stg this fic is so so good.

summary:

Sam never should have questioned Dean's masculinity, but how was he to know it would end with him in a pair of panties?

yea. this is the good stuff. panty kink sam is as good as crack in my book. basically sam loses a wager to dean and has to wear panties and he likes it a little too much. a smidge of size kink.

summary:

Turns out the only thing more uncomfortable than sitting through class with a half-woody and a pair of panties wedged up your ass is doing it while your panties are soaking wet from your brother's mouth.

(Sam is 14).

another panty wearing sam what can i say I'm a simple woman. i enjoy reading abt that large-ass man with little lacy cotton stretched over his huge cock. anyways. weecest fuck nasty. it's riveting.

summary:

“You get to have this, Dean.” The brush of Sam’s mouth against his own is the sweetest ache. Lips catch and drag and Sam whispers into his mouth, “You get to have this. If you want this, I’m giving it to you. Let me give this to you.” Dean wants to say yes. He wants to say please and I love you and thank you. For the trust, the devotion, the care. It’s not something that has ever needed to be verbalised but god, in this moment Dean wants nothing more than to tell this boy just how much he loves him. “Yeah. Yeah, Sam — I want this.” The words taste like the sweetest freedom and a thousand more years of damnation but Sam’s tongue soothes the burn of them. Long fingers cradle the back of his head tenderly, so tenderly, like he’s something precious to be taken care of, and Dean’s chest feels fit to bursting with how much he loves this kid.

this is my fav daddy kink samdean + praise kink, the smut itself is amazing but the emotional build up is also very very well written just very yummy yummy

summary: A study on normality or lackthereof in the relationship between Sam and Dean Winchester.

wasn't sure if i should put this one here cuz it's def fucked up and def smutty but idk if it's in the way you meant? it's def really really good and one of the best explorations of weecest I've ever read but also really heavy. tw for like rlly rlly underage and child on child sexual abuse. sorry if this is out of left field!

thats all i rlly got sorry!! i should honestly read and bookmark more nasty pwp, yk, expand my horizons. anyways hope at least one of these piques ur interest!

in the mood for some fucked up, smutty samdean. any recs out there?

[phytocondria]

Secret Note #7

Quick thanks to my friend @coolcoolglasses for the texting idea and help with Maru's nicknames. I really liked all the dialog in my last fics chapter so consider this a preview/extra for my next chapter on Ao3 whenever I get around to it. (Lil-nightmare is my farmer oc for context) p.s. the spelling mistakes are totally on purpose and not just me not knowing how to spell. (Maybe that too ^-^')

Word Count: 889 Summary: There's a mysterious note on the General Store's bulletin board.

Chicken_lord: dude wtf

StarR00-bot: Wait, what is hat?

*that

Lil-nightmare: Looks like it’s torn out of something

Chicken_lord: idk it was hangin on pierre’s

Lil-nightmare: What’s it say anyways?it doesn’t look like pierre’s normal stationary though

(maybe from a notebook)

StarR00-bot: Or a diary, I can’t make out who's handwriting it is though.

You need a new phone, the camera on yours is a potato dude

Chicken_lord: phones fine brains.

i’ll text what it says in a min

morris has been on our ass lately

Lil-nightmare: Sounds like an hr violation ;P

StarR00-bot: 😱

Gross

Chicken_lord: psssh, he wishes

StarR00-bot: fair, even you have standards

Lil-nightmare: Why do you still work there? You knowthe farms big enough I could hire you on permanently ?

Chicken_lord: and give you a excuse to boss me around

Lil-nightmare: Hey, I'm a cool boss.

I only require your eternal fidelity, and you can keep your first born

Chicken_lord is typing….

StarR00-bot: lol

We both know it’s because Charlie would be mad he’s cheating on her

Lil-nightmare: True, true.

Charlie would be heartbroken knowing you’re meeting with other chicks

StarR00-bot: With a hole other hen house? :0

*whole

How could you?!

Lil-nightmare: Probably smell of void essence on your clothes

StarR00-bot: Catching tbe feathers in your hair

*the

Chicken_lord: there are only a few older bachelors in town none of them are perfect harvey is really anxious and weak but he’d make a loyal and devoted husband he likes coffee and pickles

elliott is a bit foppish and melodramatic but he has anice chin he likes crab cakes and pomegranates

shane is messy and anti-social but I think his gruff exterior is a defense mechanism insulating his softness from the world he likes peer pizza and pepper poppers

Lil-nightmare: DA FRICK!?!?!?!?

StarR00-bot: sdhzxvbkj...

I’m wheezing

wtf?

Chicken_lord: thats what i said

like f***

imagine walking past and seeing this on your way towork

Lil-nightmare: HOLY FATHER OF YOBA. WHO WROTE THAT?!!?

StarR00-bot: And it was on pierre’s?

Chicken_lord: yup

Lil-nightmare: WHY THOUGH?

StarR00-bot: I feel like my brother has something to do with this -.-’

Chicken_lord: your bothers got the hots for older dudes?

Lil-nightmare: dskjcjvh, stop!

StarR00-bot: I mean he’s got the dady issues for that, but no

*daddy issues

Lil-nightmare: scxzfvuk

Chicken_lord: fuk...

good one roostar

Lil-nightmare: I hate all of this

Shane I’m blaming you

StarR00-bot: I meant him or Abi probably put it up

Sounds like something they do, yk

Chicken_lord: whatd i do

im the one with some weird secret admirer

StarR00-bot: And Harvey and Elliott

Lil-nightmare: … Harvey’s not weak though

Chicken_lord: nope

stopping you there

StarR00-bot: same

Don’t need to know that bout my boss

Lil-nightmare: ???

Wait

F*** you guys

I meant figuratively

But also, he’s been helping around the farm more :/

Chicken_lord: don’t need to here you simping over the doc either

Lil-nightmare: SEE THIS IS WHY I CAN ONLY BE NICE TO MARU

StarR00-bot: xD

Chicken_lord: yeah yeah im a a**hat

StarR00-bot: Lol, I’m just the favorite

Chicken_lord: do you mind getting back to whoever wants to workshopme and the doc

StarR00-bot: *sent is a gif of courage the cowardly dog villain saying “you’re not perfect”*

I think someone trying to neg you in their diary

*is

Lil-nightmare: Yeah

I mean messy?

Like they know your room is messy or just your whole deal?

Cause I mean…

Chicken_lord: *gif of someone slowly raising a middle finger in frame*

Lil-nightmare: I mean old you

(mostly)

Cause they also sad beer and not sparkling water

StarR00-bot: Oh yeah, plus you and Harv have been dating for how long already?

Chicken_lord: a decade

Lil-nightmare: *sends the same middle finger gif*

But yeah, it has to be kinda old at least

Chicken_lord: or someones a homewrecker

StarR00-bot: I doubt it

Lil-nightmare: …. 🔪

StarR00-bot: …

Lil-nightmare: So at least they’re on point with Elliot, I guess

And foppish is a weird word choice ya know

Chicken_lord: alex and sam are out don’t have the braincells for vocab

Lil-nightmare: Like aside from elliott, who would actually use the word “foppish”

StarR00-bot: I wanna say rude but I might actually keel over in laughter if I heard either one use the word

But yeah, probably not them or anyone in the note

Lil-nightmare: Or us and PROBABLY not any of the married folk unless… 👀

StarR00-bot: unless…. 👀

Chicken_lord: wat

Lil-nightmare: I mean…. Kent was gone for awhile….

StarR00-bot: nah, she might act mad thirsty, but she’s all talk according to mom

Lil-nightmare: Fair, plus turns out caroline maybe

Actually nvm, i don’t actually know know, yk?

StarR00-bot: NO WAY DOSH

*dish

preedy, pweese 🥺👉👈

Chicken_lord: ugh, your promised no more uwu talk brains

StarR00-bot: Lol

Lil-nightmare: I’ll tell you next time, but lips sealed Roo

StarR00-bot: 🙊

Promise

Chicken_lord: you guys can gossip without me

just wanted to show the weird note but my shifts starting

StarR00-bot: Ok bye, have fun feeding the capitalist machine :D

Chicken_lord: *middle finger gif again*

Lil-nightmare: Hey brng the note over later

(Maybe I’ll recognize the handwriting)

StarR00-bot: Ooooh you guys on the case of who done it?

Chicken_lord: eh not that committed nancy drew

Lil-nightmare: Come on, I got some peppers that nee testing

Plus MochI misses you (and Jas, bring Jas. I haven't seen in her in too long T.T)

Chicken_lord: maybe

[elle-smells]

allow me to take a second to talk (bcs I've been holding this in for a year) about the best, and my favourite, fanfiction I have ever read, seven minutes in heaven by bluesxrgent (AO3)

Quick summary: "Thirty years after their notorious split, the members of the 80′s rock legend that was the band Seven Minutes in Heaven open up about the events that shot them to stardom, the ones that broke them apart at the height of their fame, and everything in between"

or skam france characters but in a rock band au

Its just so...dkjfdsf I made a list so I wouldnt just go on a happy rant about it lmao:

- The format is so different from any fanfiic I've read. Its in an interview style format, so its like an audio transcript and the story is told by the characters almost documentary style if that makes sense. I was skeptical on if I was gonna like it but it works so freaking well!!

- Its👏so👏well👏written. OMG I could go on and on- again, bcs of the format the writing style is a little different but holy shit if it isnt engaging as fuck. It relies solely on the character's memories and re tellings of the story and yet its so easy to picture everything in your head and get lost in it. (it does deal with heavier themes so if you're gonna read pls review the trigger warnings at the top of the chapters)

- Adding on to that last one, the characters are so well written and developed its insane. They all have their skam france personalities as the base but the rest is all new and so interesting i- Like, it came to a point in which I saw them as completely different characters bcs they have so mch new depth and backstories and dynamics that work so well within the story's universe. You see them as individuals but also how their dynamics change once the come together as a group its just uugh so good. Speaking of Dynamics....

- The main pairing is Lucas & Eliott but like the story doesnt just revolve around them ( like, sometimes I would forget this is also them telling their love story fdskjfhsd) There are a bunch of new (amazing) romantic and platonic pairings that are skam fandom headcanon compliant dskfhdffs. Again, the characters are written in a way that works trust me.

- Its about a band so naturally...there are palylists that go along with the chapters dskjfsdf like most of the songs the band writes and contribute the development in the story are already existing songs so making the author made the albums and its fun to listen to them on spotify with the context of the story.

Finally, its just an ✨experience✨ skhkdfs. honestly its so good and it is one of if not the best piece of fandom writing I've seen (not that others arent good, bcs all of you are so talented omg, but yk what I mean). Take it from someone that at the time of reading was kinda iffy about most of the characters in skamfr djkshad but the fic kinda cleaned the slate and re wrote them in a way thats so engaging- ok Im done now this is too long

[toshisae]

call me baby

summary: in which chenle gives you the entire world in exchange for some love

genre: crack, fluff and another pinch of angst 

theme: ceo!chenle (sugardaddy au but without the sexy shit its just he buys you things in exchange for you loving him ok? ok) 

word count: 2.8k

author’s note: HIIIII ITS BEEN A LONG ASS TIME SINCE I WROTE SOMETHING SO HERES THIS also theres no sexy time unless the sexy time u want is going on an endless shopping spree then this fic is for u!! its just another crack idea i had lol and this is just to get rid of writers block or smth despite having this in my drafts for the longest time

–

you know how people say not to chat with random strangers from the internet?

because it’s terrifying and shit??

well you never listened 

here you are on a friday night on your phone

looking for some 40 year olds to troll

on this sugar daddy app you randomly found one day

not like you needed money or whatever

you lived with your brother jaemin who’s a doctor

so i guess you could say u’re: $$$$

and it’s just that you have nothing to do

what’t the worst that could happen right?

ding!

your phone vibrates in your hand

it looks like you’ve matched with your designated sugar daddy

“congratulations! you’ve matched with 6chittaphon9”

you looked at his profile and saw that he’s a 23 year old dancer

not up for it, you swiped left

“give me the good shit bro” - you tell the phone

you clicked the globe icon on the bottom of the screen

it switched you to a radar where it scans for possible sugardaddies who use the app

a little later your phone dings again

“congratulations! you’ve matched with zhong$”

and when you clicked on his profile,,

you let out a big big gasp 

he’s a 18 year old ..

looking for.. sugar babies??

if you were drinking something then you would’ve spat out that liquid real quick

you swiped to the right and sent this dude a message

“hi”

ok so chenle right

chenle is the youngest billionaire in the world

bye kylie jenner oof

after his father’s passing, his company, zhongs inc. was in his hands

his father’s last wish was to have chenle get married at a young age

but chenle obviously didn’t like that idea

he wanted to experience a normal teenage life where he parties, drinks, date some random girls or whatever a pesky teenager does

so he found himself downloading a sugarbaby app

also just for the lolz like c’mon this is chenle the king of clownery

the c in chenle means clownery wbk

he had the money, the looks, almost anything you need for a man

so he quickly made his account

and not a minute later he already matched with someone named ‘<y/n3’

he sees that this y/n person already sent him a message

so obviously he replies

“hello”

you: asl?

chenle: 17 / m / seoul; u?

you: same except im a female

chenle: well ain’t that obvious

on the outside you bursted out laughing

you: ok capt. crunch so would you like telling me your name or is it confidential

chenle: i mean, i guess its kinda confidential but the company wont know anyway but im zhong chenle 

you: ????? are u important or sumn

chenle couldn’t believe his eyes

chenle: um.. im ZHONG chenle

you: whats so special with your name

chenle was actually quite glad you dont know about his name or his background

chenle: nothing so wyd

it didn’t take awhile for you two to get along 

since you two had the same type of humor and age

you: why are you on this app tho if you are “young and rich”

chenle: i could ask you the same question

you: its friday my dude and im bored 

chenle: well,,,,,,,,,,, idk my friend recommended it to me

you: you’re friends with a bunch of old people?

chenle: nO I MEAN YES?? I MEAN NO 

you: ... are u fucking with me

chenle: no i’m not fucking with you, im talking to u :D 

in the end chenle asks you if it was okay that he’ll send you some money for fun

chenle: yk this app is about sugardaddies looking for sugarbabies right so lets make the most of it and give me your paypal or venmo and ill send you some cash for talking to me <3 

you: wtf chenle no its fine!!! i had lots of fun talking to you and this app is just a whole ass joke but im glad i met a new friend here but its okay dont send me some money !!!!!

chenle: nooo think of it like i’m treating you out for some dinner so please allow me 

you: still ! i wont let you,, till i get to see you so i know youre not some 40 year old i still think you are

chenle: how many times do i have to tell you im really 18 years old ffs but sure, when are you free?

on the inside youre just like: ASJDHJHDUIADHASJKDAHAHD WHAT THE FUCK

you: uhh i have school so i’m always busy hehehe

chenle: then i’ll see you in your school, what school do you go to?

this kid doesnt know when to give up

you: hhhhhhh i guess then i’m free tomorrow 

chenle: GREAT! I’LL SEE YOU ON HONGDAE here’s my number boo

and there you have it

your first unofficial meet up with zhong chenle himself

you were too much in thought about meeting him you didnt even notice jaemin standing there with pizza in his hands

“what are you staring at sis?” - jaems

“uh nothing” you snatched the pizza from his hands

fast forward to tomorrow

you were getting nervous to meet chenle

“hey where are you going?” jaemin takes a peek of you in your room

can he stop scaring you like that

“going out” - u 

“going where?” - jaems

“hongdae”

“cuteee do you have a date today?” he wiggles his eyebrows at you

“no-”

“are you going out with that pizza delivery boy?!” jaemin suddenly gushes

“jeno?” you ask him

“yeah that one” - jaemin

“no, i’m just gonna go shopping” you brush him off

jaemin shrugs and gives you some pocket money to spend

“be safe and have fun” he closes the door of your room

after safely arriving in hongdae, you sat somewhere thats not that crowded

who knows if this chenle person is famous right

so there you were waiting for him to text you or something

and just like that, your phone rings

it was an unknown number

but you answer anyway

“hello this is chenle, may i ask if you are in gongcha right now?” 

you looked around the people who’s passing by hoping to see someone fancy looking holding their phones

suddenly someone stops right in front of you

“found you” 

with that, chenle hangs up and sits across the table from you

“hi, i’m chenle” he gives his hand out for you to shake

and man, you were shookt

he looks like an ordinary teenager 

or a hypebeast for this occasion 

“o-oh .. h-hello” you bow

chenle suddenly laughs at your reaction 

his laugh is beautiful 

“don’t be nervous baby, i mean no harm” he smiles

his smile that totally made your heart melt

“how could i not? you’re the youngest billionaire out here” you gushed

chenle shushes you after the billionaire part

“sorry about that, it’s just i don’t like it when people tell me that” he tells you casually

ok humble king

“have you ordered yet? if not let’s order right now, on me” he grabs his wallet from his pocket and heads inside gongcha

after taking your orders, you two sat outside again with your drinks

“so y/n.. tell me about yourself” chenle takes a sip of his drink

“well, like i told you last night, i’m a student in college and i live with my brother who’s a doctor and that’s about it.. what about you, mr. zhong” you giggled

“first of all, don’t call me mr. zhong. you can call me lele instead and i love music and i like to play the piano and sometimes i sing” he shares, showing off his pearly whites

and after some many more conversations with him, he finally asks you an important question

“ok last question” he laughs, “i know it’s kinda weird but i really like your company and i know we met through a sugar daddy/sugar baby app but would you like.. stay with me..?” he asks cautiously

you stared at him with wide eyes

“i’ll pay for everything you want.. just,, stay or keep me company..?”

you kept quiet, just in shock on what just happened

“it’s okay if you don’t want to, just forget that i asked” he laughs awkwardly

“no it’s okay, i’ll keep you company but please please don’t pay for everything. i can pay for myself” you tell him

“why not? i got money, i can spoil you with gifts” he looks at you confused

“if you can’t remember, i’ve got a brother who’s a doctor and i guess we’re loaded too you know” you roll your eyes at him

“pfft okay then so.. where were we” 

and with that you guys carry on your conversation 

months has passed and you’ve been with chenle through everything

every time something happened in his company, you were there comforting him or just keeping him sane through out everything

and within those months, you’ve seen different sides of him as well

like the serious side of him– when he’s in business meeting and you’re his plus one 

aside from his secretary of course

the funny side of him– when he’s cracking jokes to literally everyone

sometimes he takes days off in the midst of his own company just to pull pranks on his secretary, renjun

and of course, his vulnerable side– when he feels he can’t do what his father left him, the family legacy

there were night where you had to stay over at his place just to make him calm down or just to make sure he’s sleeping or eating well 

and tonight was those vulnerable nights of chenle

here you were in his room, on the floor holding his hand as he rants about how his day turned to shit 

“it’s just so.. hard you know?” he opens up, “when everyone expects you to follow a certain life but i’m not all about that business shit life! i want to sing or fucking play the piano or do some teenager shit not this paper work life!” his voice cracks at the end of his sentence

“ah shit i’m crying in front of you again” he laughs, wiping the tears 

you don’t say anything but held his hand tighter

“thanks y/n.. you’re the best” he smiles down at you

“anything for you, chenle. that’s why i’m here for you right? to keep you company” you smile back

“can you.. come up here with me” chenle motions for you to sit beside him on the bed

you agree and climbed up

chenle sits up awkwardly, staring at you.

“woah this is the first time i had a girl on my bed” he giggles

“then i’m honoured” you laugh

suddenly your phone vibrates multiple times

you take a look and its your brother looking for you

“who is it?” chenle asks

“it’s my brother, he said i should go home” you slowly push yourself from his comfy bed

“no, it’s late. i’ll take you home first thing in the morning” 

“i don’t want to be a burden to you lele” you say shyly

“you’re never a burden to me y/n” chenle smiles again

that night, you slept in his very arms for the first time

you wake up earlier that him and decided to prepare breakfast for him

you set the eggs and bacon on the table with orange juice

you smiled at your efforts, hoping he’d like it

chenle woke up in distraught since you were no where in sight

he was in his pajama pants and he rushed downstairs to check if you were still there

and thankfully, you were

you were on the dining table, waiting for him with breakfast ready

“good morning” he grins, face looking brighter than ever

you smile back at him, “good morning to you too, sleepyhead. help yourself with some breakfast”

chenle takes a seat and sips on the orange juice next to him, “did you make this?” he asks

you nod, “for you” 

you could’ve swore you saw him blush for a moment there 

and with that, you two ate in peace, just enjoying each other’s company

a few days later

you couldn’t make it to chenle’s office since you had classes and it was exam week 

chenle was obviously very lonely that week

even his own secretary checked up on him cause he was awfully quiet ever since you came into his life

“so how are you and y/n huh” renjun casually asks chenle who was busy reading papers on the table

“we’re doing great” chenle replies nonchalantly 

“are you two going steady now?”

that question made chenle halt to a stop on what he was doing

renjun notices that chenle turned quiet

“i never asked her to be official” chenle gasps, scaring renjun in the process

“wha-”

“renjun hyung can you get me the biggest bouquet bundle you can find” chenle rushes

renjun nods and grabs his ipad, looking for what chenle requested

“fuck.. what did y/n wanted again” chenle asks himself, trying to remember the bag or things you told him about

“call jisung and tell him we’re going to the mall” chenle tells renjun yet again, rushing to the elevator so he could go to the mall with his best buddy

“so what are we buying your special someone again?” jisung asks chenle who was busy pacing around the mall

“y/n said she wanted a bag but i cant remember what was it” chenle tells jisung who just looks as lost as he was

chenle ended up going to every luxury store they had in the mall

like louis vitton, gucci, prada, balenciaga, fendi

you name it he went there and bought one bag each

he even went to some make up stores thanks to jisung’s suggestion

surprisingly he had a girlfriend who was a makeup artist and puts make up on jisung’s face when they have nothing to do

and of course, chenle followed what his best friend suggested

now they were on their way back to your place cause you just texted chenle that you were almost done with your exam

chenle and jisung unload his car and went straight up to your apartment that you shared with your brother

and your brother answers the door

“uh chenle? what are you doing here?” jaemin answers the door

chenle stood there in shock once again, “jaemin hyung? you’re y/n’s brother?” he stares at jaemin confused.

jaemin nods slowly before realization hits him, “you’re the person y/n is seeing?!” 

chenle nods uncertainly, slightly offended you never told jaemin about him but quickly shrugs it off. 

“well surprise! now can you help us with this? i’m asking y/n to be my girlfriend when she arrives home” 

jaemin immediately steps in and helps the two boys

after an hour or so, everything is now set into place

now they were just waiting for you to arrive

chenle stood there with his usual work attire which was a formal suit, holding a big ass bouquet and the paper bags right behind him

“jisung how do i look?!” chenle looks at jisung who was showing him two thumbs up

“dashing bro, she’ll say yes in no time”

and as if on cue, you walked in

and to say you were shocked to see chenle standing there 

“lele! what are you doing here?” you covered your mouth in shock as you saw the never ending line of paper bags right behind him and the bouquet he was holding

“i’m here to ask you to be mine” he replies, staring at you once again

“does my brother know you’re here?” you look around your living room and you spot jaemin in the kitchen, watching the entire thing go down

“yeah. why didn’t you tell me he was your brother” chenle pouts, but shakes his head as he hands you the bouquet

chenle clears his throat once again, “na y/n.. would you be my first and last girlfriend?” he closes his eyes tight, waiting for your response

“i would be honoured” you take the bouquet off his hands and jumped into his arms

“about time you asked her” jisung comments in the background

“baby look, i got you some gifts!” chenle puts you down and shows you the abundant amount of things he got you

you smacked him in the chest, “what did i say about you giving me expensive gifts!” 

“let me spoil you, please? you showed me how loving someone wholeheartedly is priceless, and i want to return the favor in my own way” chenle shows you his infamous puppy eyes.

“lele you’re making me cry!” you tear up, hidng your face in his neck

“also because i can’t remember the thing you told me you wanted a few days ago so i had to compromise” chenle giggles

you were happy

and he was happy

who knew an app could bring you two together and end up like this

the end!

[up-in-space-reading]

Average Weekly Screentime - Chap 3: Walks in the Cold

pairing: Jake Peralta x Amy Santiago

word count: 3648

warnings/tags: college au, texting, drunk texting, text fic (mostly, there's prose a few chaps in), bets, bisexual!jake peralta, jake peralta has adhd, parties, drinking and alcohol, sexual references, implied sexual content (nothing explicit, just suggested its going to happen/has happened), friends to lovers, swearing, mentions of cannibalism, lighthearted threats of violence (typical rosa stuff yk), fluff

read on ao3

Average Weekly Screentime masterlist

Story Summary: texting fic college AU with the squad! It's the beginning of the school year and while everyone else thinks it'll be the same as the previous year, Gina has a feeling things are going to be different and wagers a bet with Rosa and Charles. Told through all the various group chats everyone is in.

Chap 1 | Chap 2 | Chap 3 | Chap 4 | Chap 5 | Chap 6 | Chap 7 | Chap 8 | Chap 9 | Chap 10

authors note: I'm sorry this chapter is entirely based around a party but SPOILER there's non-text writing!!! so get excited babes, its heating up now.

Jimmy Jabbers

[02:29pm, Tuesday]

Pineapples: how do they dig graves?? Pineapples: at this point in time they cant use shovels anymore thats insane Pineapples: but a whole excavator in a graveyard seems risky bc what if they hit a headstone

RoRo: they get like 10 dogs in

Queen G: what if they still use shovels tho?

Four Eyes: They do get excavators in; it does look a little bit weird but there’s not really any other efficient way to dig a grave Four Eyes: 1 image attachment

Pineapples: if anyone sees me laughing at the grave digger machine no u don’t

-

Skipping School Is(n’t) Cool

[11:32pm, Wednesday]

Ferris: amy r u awake?

Cameron: Yeah, why?

Ferris: idk im just worried

Cameron: About what?

Ferris: what if i dont finish all the assignments in time for break Ferris: i dont wanna be kicked out

Cameron: Firstly, they don’t kick you out. You just don’t pass those classes and have to retake them (or drop out, of your own free will) Cameron: Secondly, we’re going to get them finished. You’ve been working hard and I am sure they’ll all be done in time for winter break

Ferris: but what if they arent???

Cameron: What if we put some stakes on it?

Ferris: theres already stakes

Cameron: Stakes that you’ll enjoy a lot more than an existential crisis

Ferris: im listening

Cameron: If you finish all of the assignments in time for winter break I will go to Terry’s annual New Years party AND match you drink for drink. If you don’t finish them, you have to jump in the fountain in the courtyard

Ferris: ur literally a genius Ferris: i do not want to jump in that fountain and i absolutely want you to go to that party

Cameron: I’ve not been to his New Years parties and for good reason

Ferris: you better start dress shopping then ames because this is ur year

Cameron: Part of me hopes so

Ferris: ill let u sleep now Ferris: gn

Cameron: Goodnight, Jake

-

Jimmy Jabbers

[4:30pm, Thursday]

Pineapples: amy and i are in the library if anyone wants to join

RoRo: what are u doing in the library?

Pineapples: studying duh

Mr Grapes: on my way now!

Pineapples: see u!

Queen G: our school has a library??

RoRo: why wouldn’t it??

Queen G: because theyre boring

Four Eyes: I take offense to that

Queen G: of course u do

-

Dance Squad

[4:40pm, Thursday]

Scary: so charles, now that you’re in the presence of them Scary: how close are you to winning this bet because by my calculations you’ve got about three days

G-Hive: oh damn! rosa coming in hot with the trash talk

Charlese: I will not give up hope yet, three more days is enough

Scary: with the way they are now three days is nowhere near enough Scary: gina how are you feeling?

G-Hive: as confident as ever <3

Scary: i admire that

-

[11:59pm, Sunday]

G-Hive: and its a tough loss for charles on this fine evening

Scary: knew it

Charlese: alright alright I get it Charlese: severe underestimation but in my defence they should’ve gotten together over a year ago

G-Hive: no they shouldnt have

Scary: so g, its just you and me left

G-Hive: if we’re being fair then charles does have a grace period before its closer to your guess than his but my calculations dont swing in charles favour

Scary: tough break charles Scary: maybe next time

Charlese: crying my self to sleep tonight Charlese: gonna start bugging Jake about his feelings for Amy

G-Hive: violation of the rules!!! G-Hive: no meddling G-Hive: ur such a meddler

Scary: no interference or else

Charlese: got it got it, no interference

-

Sexy Bitches

[10:34am, Tuesday]

Ter Bear: Hey Gina, just giving you a heads up that Liam is having a thing for his birthday at his place this Saturday

Sexy: seriously?! Sexy: thank u for the heads up

Ter Bear: And don’t tell them I told you but if you cozy up enough to him, he might let you DJ Ter Bear: He’s seen the playlist and didn’t mind it

Sexy: I LOVE U TERRY Sexy: i owe you big time

Ter Bear: You always owe me, I’m good to you guys

Sexy: you really are

-

Jimmy Jabbers

[10:39am, Tuesday]

Queen G: i have just received some amazing news!

Pineapples: can i guess! terry is having a party

Queen G: yes!

Pineapples: well technically its his friend liam Pineapples: its his bday Pineapples: terry text me too lol

Queen G: but i bet he didnt mention that im gonna DJ!!

Pineapples: NO HE DIDN’T

Four Eyes: That’s great news, Gina, congrats. I’ll be there to listen to your amazing playlist

RoRo: me too

Mr Grapes: finally someone who will listen to my requests!

Queen G: if ur request is not from a musical and from the last 2 years then i might consider it

Mr Grapes: best party ever already

-

Skipping School Is(n’t) Cool

[10:45am, Tuesday]

Ferris: u gonna be alright with a party?

Cameron: Yeah of course, as long as I get at least three drinks in me haha

Ferris: thats the spirit ames!

-

Sleuth Sisters

[10:47am, Tuesday]

Amy: Does Jake have a nickname for you?

Rosa: no

-

Girls, Girls, Girls

[02:16pm, Saturday]

Gina: when r u guys gonna be at mine?

Rosa: closer to when we have to leave

Amy: I’ve got some work I need to finish up, lets say around 7-7:30?

Gina: it doesnt even surprise me that u guys dont take more than 2 hours to get ready Gina: we’re leaving at 9 and u guys are getting here at 5 at the LATEST

Rosa: only if I can pregame

Gina: of course u can

Amy: Yeah sure, I’ll be there at 5

-

Skipping School Is(n’t) Cool

[02:19pm, Saturday]

Cameron: Has Gina always taken multiple hours to get ready to go out or is it just a development in college?

Ferris: hahahaha oh no Ferris: shes always been like that Ferris: ever since she discovered makeup and curling irons

Cameron: That makes sense haha Cameron: She’s making Rosa and I be at hers at 5pm at the latest to start getting ready for tonight

Ferris: arent we leaving at 9??

Cameron: Yep!

Ferris: oh amy… Ferris: hahaha Ferris: itll be fun tho

Cameron: Yeah it will be

-

[07:18pm, Saturday]

Cameron: She has a curling iron so close to my scalp right now, help me

Ferris: hahahaha sorry ames ur on ur own

Cameron: You’re the worst!

Ferris: if i had to get my hair braided when i was 11 then u have to get ur hair curled now

Cameron: That is an amazing piece of information that you have willingly given up, thank you so much

Ferris: amy no Ferris: what r u doing Ferris: ur not telling rosa right?? Ferris: amy please Ferris: i thought we were friends

-

Bi Besties

[07:23pm, Saturday]

Dagger: HAHAHAHAHAHA

El Baboso: shut up

Dagger: I bet you looked so cute with your braids too

El Baboso: of course i did!

Dagger: HAHAHAHAHAAKAJDJKSD

-

Skipping School Is(n’t) Cool

[07:24pm, Saturday]

Ferris: youll pay for this

Cameron: Uh huh, sure I will haha

-

[09:12pm, Saturday]

Cameron: Gina is finally ready, how are you and Charles going?

Ferris: charles and i are on our way to the party already.. Ferris: sorry

Cameron: That’s okay! We’ll meet you there

Ferris: see you there!!!!

-

The walk to Terry’s was cold but the bottle of gin that the three of them were passing between each other helped warm Amy’s insides. She was feeling angry that Gina had talked her into wearing a dress and envious of Rosa’s warm and comfortable looking leather pants.

“Longest 10-minute walk of my life” Rosa said grumpily, arms crossed in front of her.

“Two more minutes and we’re there” Amy reassured Rosa (and herself).

“Its cold but its also party time! Let’s get excited ladies, we look hot and I’m DJ-ing, the night is young and I have a good feeling” Gina proclaimed into the night, making Amy laugh.

“You’re right, its gonna be a good night” Amy agreed, and she even saw Rosa crack a smile out of the corner of her eye.

Finally, they arrived at Terry’s and the place was already pumping, the music loud and coloured lights glowing in the windows. The first thing Amy registered upon entering the house was the amount of people moving around; walking from somewhere to get somewhere else, dancing to the music, or talking loudly to each other. If it weren’t for the gin on the journey over she’d be overwhelmed immediately, but her senses were dulled and the warmth promised by the alcohol was finally blossoming in her stomach.

She was feeling good as the three of them made their way through the house to the kitchen where they found Jake and Charles laughing about something. Charles lit up upon seeing them and it made Jake turn around, he looked happy to see them before his eyes landed on Amy. He froze, quickly looking her up and down before continuing with a loud greeting and offer of drinks.

Gina took a few swigs of the remaining gin and said she was going to find the speaker system and get the music really going.

“There’s four of us left!” Jake yelled over the music, Amy gave him a confused stare in response, “Its time for beer pong!”

Amy was immediately on board, as was Rosa. Charles needed some convincing, and after a hype speech from Jake and gathering all the cups they could find they were setting up beer pong on the dining table. A small crowd had begun to gather as they were setting up, raising the pressure to a level Amy thrived on.

The four of them gathered next to the table to discuss the terms; losing team gives $40 to the winning team.

“Looking forward to my $20, lunch is on me next Tuesday” Amy teased Jake as he always asked to get lunch during their study sessions.

“It will be on you, because you’ll be giving me $20” He responded smugly.

“In your dreams” Amy scoffed before they made their way to their assigned sides of the table.

Amy and Rosa were given first throw, a decision Jake and Charles would quickly grow to regret. The game was full of trash talking and celebration dances. Charles gagged on the cup Rosa secretly filled with vodka which made even Jake laugh despite the loss of a cup.

After intense back and forth, and the crowd growing increasingly invested in the outcome of the game, both teams were down to one cup each. But after the number of drinks, it was difficult for both teams to aim properly.

It was Charles and Jake’s turn, Amy was nervous and watching Jake intently, hoping to psych him out. Just as he was leaning his arm back to throw, Amy tossed some of her hair over her shoulder. The small action was enough to make Jake falter for a moment and his throw was off, Amy and Rosa (and the half of the crowd rooting for them) cheered.

Finally, it was their turn again, Amy volunteered to go first. She took a deep breath as she bent her arm back and lined up her throw, everyone waited with bated breath to see if this was the one. The pressure and tension gave her an odd sense of calm, she threw the ball as calm as ever and it landed right in the cup. The crowd erupted into cheers as Amy and Rosa celebrated with cheers of their own as well as high fives and fist bumps.

Jake and Charles hung their heads, Jake volunteered to take the last cup for Charles who looked grateful. After their celebrations had finished Amy revelled in Jake chugging the last cup and trudging over her to give her the money owed. She heard Charles say something about paying Rosa tomorrow and Rosa threatening that she’ll remember.

“Here you go, Ames, a well deserved twenty bucks” He handed a $20 note over to her.

Amy took it happily and tucked it into her bra, Jakes eyes followed her hands the whole time.

“Thank you very much”

Jake nodded to signify a ‘you’re welcome’ before Amy continued.

“I’m gonna ask Gina to put on a victory song!” She laughed, and Jake laughed with her.

“I’ll come with!” He yelled over the music which suddenly got louder.

They both journeyed through the house to find where the music system was. Gina was standing behind a table with who Amy assumed was an actual DJ, they were both bopping their heads along to the music and pointing to something on Gina’s phone.

Amy pushed her way through the crowd with Jake in tow in the direction of the table. Once there Jake gestured for Gina to lean in close, and so she moved so that she was leaning across the table with her face close to Amy and Jake’s.

“Rosa and I won beer pong, we need a victory song!” Amy yelled, hoping Gina could hear her.

Based on the satisfied smile that graced Gina’s face she did hear.

“I told you tonight was gonna be good!” She stood back up properly and began looking through her phone once again with the DJ.

Amy couldn’t help but smile because Gina was right. Jake then jerked his head towards the makeshift dance floor and Amy nodded in response. The two of them moved away from the table a little bit and began moving to the music.

The song changed to what Amy assumed was the victory song and it got her blood pumping, she wasn’t thinking about how she was dancing she was just moving the way she felt like it. Jake seemed to be doing the same thing, taking the loss incredibly well.

The lights got dimmer, the various colours now being the primary light source in the room. Someone bumped into Amy, she stumbled into Jake who caught her and held onto her arms. He gave her a look that asked if she was okay and she nodded in response before continuing to dance, now closer to Jake.

He kept one hand on her arm before sliding it down to hold her hand, he lifted their arms up in the air for her to spin under. Amy spun around while giggling, once she was done he let go and a part of her was disappointed.

They continued to dance for so long Amy lost track of time and how many songs they had danced to, Jake knowing every word to all of them and her knowing some. The dance floor had become more crowded as the night went on, her and Jake had been slowly bumped closer to one another, now standing just inches apart.

Amy’s brain was foggy but she managed to hold onto various thoughts of how nice Jake’s arms looked in his shirt, and how thirsty she was getting after all the singing and dancing. She leaned close to Jake’s ear.

“I’m gonna get a drink!” She told him.

He nodded in confirmation and mouthed what Amy assumed was ‘I’ll come too’. Amy turned around and started shoving through the crowd, wondering if it was Jake who had his hand on the small of her back or some creep. A quick look behind her showed that her intuition was correct, Jake following closely behind with a hand on her back sending a tingling feeling up and down her spine.

These were all feelings Amy decided to unpack tomorrow, or the day after, or never.

Once they were in the kitchen Amy raided the fridge and found some bottles of water, handing one to Jake. He opened his and chugged half of it in one go while she wrestled with the lid of hers still.

“Can you open it for me, please?” She held out her bottle of water, looking slightly defeated.

“Sure” He smiled and grabbed the bottle off her.

He opened it with ease and Amy’s eyes widened slightly, she hoped Jake didn’t notice as she quickly took the bottle back from him and took a few mouthfuls. It cooled her down and she was finally able to think properly, asking Jake what the time was.

At almost 1 in the morning, she was debating on going home or staying for a bit longer, voicing this debate to Jake standing across from her, leaning against the kitchen counter.

“You can’t walk home by yourself Ames” He countered.

“I can’t force Gina and Rosa to leave, I actually think Gina is gonna be here forever” She joked, Jake laughed with her.

“How about, three more songs and then I’ll walk you home” He offered, and Amy had to admit it wasn’t a bad deal. She was concerned about walking home alone.

“You’re sure you want to leave?” She asked, not wanting to inconvenience him.

“Yeah. Charles is off with a girl – texted me like 20 minutes ago – and like you said, Rosa and Gina are gonna be here forever. I’m almost ready for bed” He reasoned, and Amy couldn’t say no.

“Alright then, three more songs” She agreed with a smile, having another mouthful of water and turning to make her way back to the dance floor.

Jake once again followed close behind, not touching her this time Amy noted. They found a small empty spot on the dance floor and resumed their dancing as if the small break hadn’t happened. The two of them were once again just inches apart and Amy took note of it immediately this time.

She felt heat in her cheeks at this note and thought about it the whole time they danced to the first song, then the second song came on and Amy couldn’t ignore an ABBA remix. Both her and Jake sang every word loudly with wide smiles on their faces, gesturing and throwing their hands in the air when they felt appropriate.

If someone were to ask Amy she’d say it was the most fun she’s had at a party in a long time.

Finally, as the third song faded out and a new one began, Jake gestured his head towards the front door and Amy nodded in agreement. She quickly got her small bag from where she’d safely stashed it near Gina and followed Jake out of the house.

-

Jimmy Jabbers

[01:07am, Sunday]

Pineapples: amy and i leaving Pineapples: have fun party animals

-

The cool air and quietness of being out of the house was almost jarring to Amy’s senses. They walked for a few minutes in comfortable silence, but it wasn’t long until the cold got to Amy and she began shivering, arms wrapped around herself.

“You look cold, here” Jake stopped to take his leather jacket off.

“You don’t have to-“ Amy began before being cut off by him.

“I do, what are friends for”

She let out a small laugh and looked at the ground for a moment, trying to hide the heat spreading in her cheeks despite the cold. He held the jacket out for her and she accepted it happily, putting it on and crossing her arms in front of her to keep the front closed.

“Thanks” She said quietly.

“That’s okay”

They continued the walk this time talking about the party, specifically the beer pong match, recounting the highlights and lowlights of the game with a lot of laughter in between. Amy found herself not wanting the walk to end, despite how cold, tired and tipsy she was.

Finally, they reached a divergence in the path and Amy expected Jake to go the opposite direction to her towards his dorm but he continued walking by her side.

“Isn’t your dorm that way?” She interrupted his sentence and pointed to the left.

“I said I’d walk you home, I’m a man of my word Ames”

“Oh.. okay then” She accepted without argument and continued walking to her dorm with Jake by her side.

It was only when they were right outside the building doors did Jake feel comfortable leaving her, confident she could get to her dorm by herself, a comment he said which made her laugh. They said a quick goodbye and Amy watched Jake walk away for a moment before turning and entering the doors of the building.

She took the elevator up to her floor, only realising when the doors closed and she saw a blur of her reflection that she was still wearing Jake’s jacket. It was too late to go after him now, she’ll probably see him tomorrow and if not tomorrow then Monday at the latest to give it back to him.

Once in her dorm she sighed heavily, ready to take her makeup off and put on comfy pyjamas as the exhaustion began to weigh down on her. She got unready as quick as she could, hanging Jake’s jacket over the back of her desk chair, and climbed into bed.

When she was comfy she got her phone off the bedside table to check her messages one last time before what she predicted would be at least a 10 hour sleep.

-

Jimmy Jabbers

[01:28am, Sunday]

Queen G: ugh some guys started to yell at each other Queen G: rosa and i made a quick getaway

-

Skipping School Is(n’t) Cool

[01:32am, Sunday]

Cameron: I assume you made it back to your dorm alright?

Ferris: i was brutally murdered as soon as u went into ur building actually

Cameron: Damn… Cameron: Now who will I annihilate at beer pong..

Ferris: IM DEAD AND UR WORRIED ABOUT THAT???

Cameron: Hahahaha Cameron: Goodnight, jake

Ferris: gn ames

Chap 1 | Chap 2 | Chap 3 | Chap 4 | Chap 5 | Chap 6 | Chap 7 | Chap 8 | Chap 9 | Chap 10

authors note: EEEK!! I am excited on their behalf because w h a t will amy be thinking tomorrow???? i sure hope these dummies start to figure it out soon mwahaha

Thanks as always for reading, next chap will be out whenever I can get it out <3