#and thats just getting through midterms

[sugarverse]

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞, 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.

thirdyear!izuku x bitchy!black reader

synopsis: Izuku and you are forced to work together for a midterm project, and you're bent on not helping the nerd finish it.

word count: 3.8k

warnings: words like slut, cumdump are used to be degrading but nothing too far out oc, a petty slap on the cheek and thats about it? could possibly also tag as dubcon just in case, enjoy!

Izuku has known you since a little before joining uni. He was invited to move in early under the honors program along with Katsuki. Other groups who were also invited to join early were fall athletes, greek sororities and fraternities, and people in majors that take longer than 8 years to finish. As if an academic rival, hotheaded, bully from younger years wasn't enough.. you came along.

You had always had a class or two with him. Whether it be preliminary classes or your third year science credit. He doesn’t know why you don't like him, always calling him names just loud enough for him to hear or purposely shutting the door on him in pouring rain.. but the day he saw you at the buffet talking and laughing with Katsuki? His life was over. You made it hell. He thought you were so pretty when he first saw you.. but you were just such. a bitch.

Katsuki didn't have the same timed honors classes but slept in the same building. If he really wanted to avoid him, he could go to the library or study in one of the cafes. Then again there was the rec center.. or he could stay with a friend, even. But you. He couldn’t avoid you. No matter how hard he tried. 

He'd catch himself staring at the door until you came in, seeing your hair done in different styles and colors but still be so gorgeous. you could pull everything off. there was also this shiny pink lip gloss you started wearing.. It frustrated him how much he thought about how soft they’d feel against his skin, He's never pined after a girl this long. Sure he's had girlfriends over the years, but you lingered in the back of his mind. And you thought of him like dirt under your BAPEs.

You were hardly ever late, walking in a few minutes before class starts to set up your computer, drink if you decided you wanted one that morning, and switch your music playlist over. The class itself was pretty easy, not too many essays or homework assignments. It was more projects and group discussions than anything, which was probably the only real frustrating thing about this class. As the last few people struggled through the door, the professor started writing on the board.

MIDTERMS.

fuck.

“This is the last project before midterms. you will be graded on..” You drowned him out, rubbing your temples as the mention of midterms came up. Another fucking project? Are you serious? Honors kids never really learned to.. well. play, very well with others. Mostly stuck up kids were pretty disconnected from real life because their mommies and daddies paid to get them into the dorms and therefore, classes, with average Bs and Cs. The other half of the class had their heads so far up their asses there wasn’t ever a moment they weren’t passive aggressive or came off in an ‘i’m right you’re wrong’ tone. The class let out a groan everytime he announced some dumbass idea like this but he still continues. what the fuck is my life??

You sigh to yourself, rubbing your lips together as you begin to pick at the little jewels on your nails. Was it worth it to just do the entire thing by yourself so you aren't depending on anyone? No reason to get docked another few times because someone can't finish their half. This shit was pointless. The frequent ice breakers were pointless. You knew most of these people already and-

“Mr. Midoriya and Miss L/n, Miss Teller and Miss Barnes, Mr. Andrews and..” Once again you drowned out your professor's words, eyes darting over to Izuku who was staring at your teacher gobsmacked. He could feel his face burn, jaw slightly slack before shutting it nervously. He glanced over at you to see if you had been paying attention, smiling at you and giving a small pathetic wave. 

You squinted daggers at him, biting the corner of your mouth before giving a sympathy smile and turning to the assignment on the laptop. I guess it wasn't too horrible.. realistically I can make him do the work and spend the time doing more important work like studying for my major.. 

the mumbling, the stuttering, always staring, always being the first to leave for a quiz. it wasn't until you saw his name over and over again that it was a real problem. try hards are annoying. lucky for you, this one's a pussy. 

As class ended, you packed your things and headed towards the door to leave. Izuku quickly caught up with you, snaking his way through the crowd of people leaving the lecture hall. “Where'd you want to um.. to meet up? Or when-”

you cut him off before he could go spouting at the mouth. “Not worth the effort, I have more important shit to do over the next few weeks than work on some lame project. Do it for the both of us, We both know you have nothing better to do.” You continue walking away from him and onto your next class.

He stands for a moment, sighing and flatting his lips together. It shouldn't be too hard to do..right?

He debated. this. repeatedly. He really didn't want to bother, but he needed your help. He had shit to do this week! Laundry was piling up, he hasn't been going to the gym as frequent, other classes and midterms on top of the project. But every time he tried to confront you about your attitude, you have some comeback or degrading thing to say.. You bat your dumb long lashes and smack your lip gloss against your lips. He hated how fast he gave up arguing back.. it made his pants a little too tight and his eye twitch from hell. However, he was not doing this by himself. He had a rough week as it was and he's tired of letting you push him around.

He knocked on your door the Sunday before it was due, listening to you shuffle around your room before opening the door in some short shorts and one of those girly tank tops with a small bow in the middle. He couldn’t help but stare at your bare collarbone, used to seeing your name littered across it with gold jewelry before his verdant eyes quickly averted themselves back to your sharp gaze. Before he could stutter out his reasoning for being there first, or even say hello, you spoke.

“What is it?” You scratched the top of your bonnet, yawning quietly. You slip a hand under your shirt to scratch at your stomach, watching the flustered man in front of you watch your every move just to dart his attention somewhere deeper into your apartment. “If it’s about that stupid project, i’d rather rot in hell than work with you.” 

“It’s due tomorrow y/n, can’t we just get it done? I’ve done more than.. I wanna say seventy percent of it? But I have a life too you know-” He’s cut off by your laughter, watching you turn and head back to your couch. You left the door open for him to come in if he was really serious. which was a pretty low chance that he was. you guys have played this game before.

“That’s a really funny joke, izuku. ‘I have a life’, ha!” you tease, plopping onto your cushions and grabbing the remote.

“I know you have nothing better to do than school work, if you’re so close to done, finish it. I already made my own, virgin.” you fibbed, you started your own, but of course this was the one project you needed to genuinely depend on someone else. you unpaused your show, waiting to hear him shut the door in defeat.

Izuku stood in the doorway for a beat, pinching the bridge of his nose before walking in. He respectfully took his shoes off at the before shutting the door roughly behind him. 

“Can you please.” He heard his voice begin to rattle with anger, taking a deep breath in and sighing before speaking once more. 

“Can we just get this project done? Please.” The straps of his bag burned into his hand as he gripped it with vigor. He tried his best to control himself, watching you flinch at the shut of the door but at least he had your legitimate attention. 

“Please stop making this harder than it has to be.” He stared down at you, his tone slowly fixing itself. He didn't want to be an asshole.

But he was serious. You weren't scared, but you did kinda feel bad. Normally picking and poking didn't make him too upset. He was pretty used to it by now. He sounded actually upset for the first time in a long time. You felt something in your brain tell you to finish this stupid thing, motioning to set up at the dining room table. you watched him set his bag down, listening to his anything but quiet muttering. “Thank you for not being a stubborn bitch, y/n..”

oh??

oh???

“What did you say?” you turned your television off, tossing the remote on the couch before storming over to him. 

“Speak up. You got somethin to say in my fucking apartment then say it to my face, Loser ass bitch.” He was sitting down with almost everything out on the table, looking down into his bag to grab a few more things out from the bottom. You slammed your hand on the table as you spoke, the other hand resting on your hip as you tilted your head to the side. You wanted to see who the fuck he was talking to.

 “I said,” He turned his body to face yours, face burning red from irritation with a prominent look of annoyance on his face. “Thank you for not being a stubborn. Bitch. All you have done the past few weeks is make it incredibly difficult to get something done that I know we can do in two days. Stop making this harder than it has to be. I’ve seen you on about every story any. time. Theres some fucking party. You have nothing better to be doing than sitting down and working.” 

“What a fucking weirdo, you stalkin’ me now, Izuku? Nothin better to do than look for me on niggas snapchat?” You swipe the papers he set up off of your dining room table like a cat, not caring how close to being set up he was.

Come to think of it. The only parties you really went to were the ones Katsuki and his friends threw, the last two had been a tailgating party and someone's birthday but.. 

You smile, lowering yourself to be eye to eye with him. Your words came out dripping with honey but still so sour. “Is this because I hang out with ‘suki? You jealous I got my mind on someone other than you and making your life miserable, wimp?”

Your voice died out in your throat as he stood up, snatching your jaw hard enough to establish he meant business. You felt yourself trip forward slightly from a little tug, his blush pink lips twitching as if they wanted to smirk instead of looking so mean. 

“Mention him or say one more thing about how im a ‘loser’ or a ‘virgin’ again, and i'll make you forget how to walk. Keep it up, y/n. I am not in the fuckin’ mood for your bitter. shit.” He watched your facial expression change, praying his hard on wouldn't poke your thigh as you two stood incredibly close to each other.

He was far from wimpy looking.. six foot four, athletic build, and freckles covered his face. He was attractive, smart, just never hung out with the people you hung out with. You knew that. But it didn't stop the names, or the picking. He never really tried to stop you, maybe when you'd take it too far but more often than not he'd just sit and look at you and.. well, listen.

You bit your bottom lip softly, blinking a few times before staring up at him with half lidded eyes. “Take the bitter taste from my mouth then.. Talkin’ a lot of game for someone who looks like he’s gotten pussy maybe, twice in his life?” The confidence in your voice had definitely faltered, It’s not like you haven't imagined riding this dummy until the sun came up. Hes just so fucking annoying. it would be incredibly satisfying to watch his damn near virgin ass cream under you. you just weren't expecting him to be so..

Shoving his lips against yours and mumbling your train of thought, Izuku pulled you close before snaking a hand down to grope your ass. You yelp in response, tangling your hand into his messy green curls. He walked you backwards until your legs nudged against the couch, hands roaming to touch what they could of your skin. He's wanted to for so long. 

You slide next to the arm of the couch, whining softly when he pulls his lips from yours. He motioned down to the floor, watching you grab a pillow from the couch and set it under your knees. Finally speaking again, He starts untying his drawstrings. “I don't wanna hear anything out of you, we clear?” 

“crystal, in fact, anything for-” 

smack!

“What part of  ‘I don’t want to hear anything out of you’ don’t you get? Is it too hard for you to comprehend?”  He mocked your pout, continuing to speak as he tugged his joggers and boxers down to his knees. “Fleshlights don’t talk. Especially after how you treated me for so long.” He mumbled the last part, tugging his clothing down to his mid thigh.

Your eyes teared up from shock, not pain. He didn't hit hard, but it did leave a small sting on your cheek. You felt your back straighten, looking up at him with pleading eyes before muttering out a small apology. 

is that how quick you'd give yourself up? He thought to himself, pink tip now sitting in front of your lips as it glistened with pre-cum. is this how easy it was all along? “Stick your tongue out. Too late to be sorry.” 

You slide your tongue out slowly, staring up at him as you blinked the tears out of your eyes. he almost felt.. bad. was he being too mean? he tapped his tip against your tongue a few times, watching you move forward on your own to take him in your mouth. 

...maybe not mean enough.

He positioned his hands behind your head, making a makeshift ponytail before pulling you closer to his groin. He stared down at you, letting out a small groan before sighing in relief. He began to guide you along his cock dreadfully slow, watching your eyes fill with tears. He let out a soft chuckle. 

“Ah.. for as much as I hear you run your mouth, your pretty good at shutting the fuck up too. Use that tongue too, slut.” He let out a few moans under shaky breath, smirking and leaning his head back. You let your jaw go slack so he could use your throat how he wanted, trying to focus on the most important thing. breathing. Tears stream down your cheeks, trying your hardest not to gag against his cock.

“Gonna cum on your face..so y-..you’ll remember this and how fucking disgusting you really are.” He rutted into your throat sloppily, pulling away after you tapped his thigh a few times. He watched spit drip down your chin, hand going to rub his thumb over his tip.

You gasp to catch your breath, putting a hand on the ground and the other on your chest. Saliva had dripped down to your shirt, letting out a few coughs. You rub your tears away, wiping your chin. "Who knew someone like y..you could be so big n mean.." You look up at him, feeling the release of your hair. 

“Suck my dick like I showed you and I won’t have to be mean.” His face was red and sweaty, cock twitching in his hand from the coolness of your apartment. You nod, moving your hand to help you keep up with such a messy pace he had. 

You whimpered, hearing him degrade you even further. He called you a free use whore, a cumdump.. noticing the way your thighs clenched together before hovering a hand behind your head. He watched you quicken your pace, a whiny moan leaving his mouth when your tongue swirled over the nerves in his tip. 

He shivered, breath getting shaky before pulling away from you to finish over your lips and watching the mess cover your face. His hard-on twitched as he let out a sighing in somewhat relief. there's no way that he was still going, right?

“Get on the couch,” He said in a calmly, panting and wiping the sweat from his forehead. He watched you scramble to get up, sitting on the couch and attempting to clean your own face before feeling him snatch your jaw up into his hand.

“Ready to finally do our fucking work? or does your slutty cunt want attention now?” He laughed at how disheveled you looked, feeling the wetness under your chin leak onto his hand.

you blink the tears from your eyes, trying to stutter out your response before he spoke for you. “Dumb Whore. Bet you do. You get to cum on my fingers first,” 

You let out a whine whether volintarty or not, seeing his lip twitch into a small smirk. “What? My fingers aren't enough?” He moved ro rub at your clit, classused fingers pressing against you in slow circles.

“Whine all you want, You don't deserve anything more than my fingers.” He growled out, standing between your legs and opening them wider with his own. How embarrassing, to be folded up on the couch by someone you ‘hated’ so bad.

“Be lucky if I let you cum at all.” He tugs your panties to the side, dipping two fingers into you and curling them a few times. “Holy shit.. You’re soaked.” He spoke half in genuine shock and astonishment, half to degrade you. He lifted your leg to rest on his hip, pulling your panties down just enough to where he could rub your clit with his thumb and slid his fingers back in. 

You squeak, knee nudging into his side as you twitch and squirm against his fingers in pleasure. They were thick, curling and poking at that spot deeper than you thought they'd go. He still looked irritated as ever, but there was definitely also a look of admiration in his eyes. He seemed to be focusing, moving his fingers faster before making a scissoring motion with his fingers.

It was a lot, cocoa-colored eyes trying to blink the tears away that wouldn't stop forming in your eyes. “iii...izu!!” you plead, back pressing even harder into your couch as he basically climbed on top of you to finger fuck you. “It’s too muuuch- sensitive!” you tried pushing his hand from your clit only to be met with his other hand pinning it next to you.

“I bet kacchan doesn't do this to you.. Make you feel this good..” And there was that constant muttering under his breath. It wasn't hard to understand it when he was in such close proximity to you, but maybe he assumed you couldn't hear him. was he really boasting to you or himself..?

no. he was jealous. you concluded, deciding to run your mouth a little, a small smirk forming onto your plump lips. you haven't done anything with katsuki and it wasn’t really on your list to fuck community dick. but if that's what izuku thought, so be it.

“M.. makes me feel be..better!” you struggle to say, feeling him pull his fingers from your sopping cunt. you feel the knot that had been building up so quickly start to dissipate, an annoyed huff leaving your lips in response. His smirk turned into a disappointed frown, gritting his teeth before letting your wrist go and pinning your knees to your shoulders with, frankly, big hands.

“I’m gonna hit your cervix till you’re shaking,” He stated, lining his tip up before sliding into you with one big thrust. you felt your thighs ache, the warmth of his cock making you shiver. you felt full, closing your eyes tight and pushing at the arm that pinned your legs down. you wanted to hold onto him, bite, do anything to calm down how good it felt. It was overwhelming in the best way.

He slammed into you, pulling back slowly just to slam even harder into you. His lips curled back into a smirk, watching your body jolt and moving his arms to rest on either side of you. He felt you embrace him, legs trying to wrap themselves around him. He smiled into your shoulder, thrusting faster into you.

“iiizuuu.. nnghh.. h-hah please..” you pleaded, clenching around him. “ ‘m s.. ngh sorry. ‘M sorrryyyy, izu.. I am!! “ your nails raked down his shirt, gripping onto the fabric as your eyes began to roll back in pleasure.

“Now you’re sorry?” He asks into your shoulder, pulling back to move your heels onto his shoulders. He gave slow thrusts, staring down at you and your attempts to catch your breath. you nod as if your life depended on it, feeling your orgasm get closer and closer.

He moves a hand to rub over your clit quickly, watching you writhe in pleasure before continuing to thrust into you. You were seeing stars.. so much so you ended up squirting on his t-shirt. He laughs a bit, breaking into a moan as he pulls out of you. He jerked the tip of his cock for a few seconds, cumming and ruining your shirt in return.

Letting out a worn out but soft sigh, Izuku sat next to you tiredly. you try to blink yourself back into reality, feeling gross with all of the different.. hormones.  That happened to land on you and your clothing. “If you ruined my c..couch you get me a new one, nerd..” you huff out, sitting up and leaning onto his shoulder.

He leaned his head into your touch, hand wrapping around your waist. “Do you want my help to the bathroom so you can clean off?” He also needed to, but knew no way around your apartment and wasn't exactly gonna just leave you like this to search for one.

you nod, leaning into his bicep as he helped you towards your bathroom to strip you both of your soiled clothes. The project could wait another hour or so, right?

©if you like what you see please reblog! It means a lot and helps me out. Want more? Heres my m.list! I write for x black reader so throw me some requests :P my other account are icons and x black reader moodboards if you’re interested!

have a good day/night/whatever!

[bowxs]

thinking about studying w stanford!sam but getting to distracted (who wouldnt)

divider from @uzmacchiato !!

you were trying to study- you really were! thats at least what you told yourself as you climbed onto sams lap, mumbling something about needing a break as you straddled one of his thighs

it couldve passed as you annoying sam with how focused he was on the stupid book rather than you, but it took everything in him to stay focused and not give into his steadily growing need

you could feel him tensing his thigh everytime you shifted or sighed against him, the small movements and noises would drive any man mad, never mind your boyfriend whos obsessed with you

“sammy? y’almost done?” you lifted your head from his chest, leaning so your in his line of view, effectively blocking the book. even if he said no, you would make sure he at least took a break

you can predict his answer already when he sighs, looking up at you with those apologetic eyes “i got a midterm tomorrow, baby- m’never gonna be done” he says, almost sheepishly, knowing you didnt want that answer

you just hum in response, rolling your hips against his thick thigh, already come up with the perfect plan to get him to focus on you, just for a bit “take a break? please”

you could hear him groan before he shut his book, tossing it god-knows-where before his hands are on your hips. score.

your hips never stopped grinding against his thigh, he just started helping, lifting his leg to give you more friction as he guided your movements like you weighed nothing

his lips were on yours like no tomorrow, biting and licking into your mouth as if you tasted like his favourite candy- you probably did.

“too goddamn desperate for me” he grunts out, pulling you harder down against him, his big hands practically covering your hips “couldnt even wait an hour- too horny to wait” he scoffs at you. how rude.

“sammy- god- dont be mean” you pant out into his mouth, the torturous grind of your hips slowly building your orgasm, but its far too dull for your liking

“not being mean, baby. you asked for this” he kisses you properly again, effectively quieting you of any further protest you could possibly come up with right now

the friction of his jeans through your panties and your leggings was somehow too much and too little at the same time, the feeling both under and overwhelming

“sammy please- i said m’sorry-” you complained, your hands tugging at the worn flannel he was wearing, trying to give him your best pleading look

“your gonna cum on my thigh like a slut since you wanna act like one.”

maybe not waiting was bad idea.

[lze325]

Thats One Way To Confess

changbin x fem! reader

genre: non-idol/college au, friends to lovers

warnings: mdni, language, talk/joking about sex, kinda explicit texts messages, jokes about death, reader and changbin are stupid (let me know if i need any more)

summary: what happens when you accidentally send the messages meant for your friend to the person they were about?

basic info: you live with hyunjin, seungmin, and felix. changbin lives with han and chan. you all decided to get drunk to celebrate the end of midterms but while drunk you tried texting hyunjin about how good changbin looks but clicked on the wrong contact.

a/n: im bad at summaries, also first post! not proofread please let me know if there are mistakes

————————————————————————————

“what have i done?” i repeat over and over to myself as i stare at the messages i sent last night. i practically throw my blankets off myself grabbing the first pieces of clothing i find before making my way to the living room.

“HYUNJIN” i yell as soon as i see him sitting on the couch. he jumps at the sound of my voice opening his mouth to respond but before he can i grab him and pull him back to my room.

“what’s this about?” he asks his voice laced with curiosity. “did i do something?”

“no i did” i pause trying to find words “i- its better if i show you,” i grab my phone pulling up the messages i sent last night.

“i decided to text you last night about changbin because you remember how good he looked at dinner and i think the liquor loosened my lips a little too much.”

he gives me a look of pure confusion “i didn’t get those messages?”

“yeah no shit, i clicked the wrong contact.”

he does a double take glancing back at the contact, “YOU SENT CHANGBIN THE PORNO TEXTS?”

“shut up,” i slap his arm hoping seungmin and felix didn’t hear that.

“sorry sorry, but like what are you gonna do about this?” hyunjin questions rubbing the part of his arm i slapped.

“die probably, i mean its not like i can just talk to him about it he’s my best friend and i probably just ruined everything.”

“you definitely didn’t ruin everything,” hyunjin reaches out as if to comfort me but decides against it last minute because it probably won’t help much.

“he’s gonna think i’m weird and gross and never want to talk to me again” i say while pacing around the room, “i’m just going to curl up and die.”

my phone pings with a text as i glance down at the illuminated screen.

“fuck me,” i say throwing my phone on my bed before falling on it. “my life is over.”

hyunjin grabs my arm pulling me up so i’m sitting on the edge of the bed as he tries to stop me from spiraling “just talk to him and explain the situation i’m sure he’ll understand.”

“you’re too hopeful,” i add before laying back down covering my face with my hands.

“are you gonna text him back?”

“i don’t think i can handle that rejection right now so no i’m not.”

————————————————————————————

“have either of you seen my phone?” changbin asks sitting down at the table and pulling out his laptop.

han looks over at him, “yeah i grabbed it, you left it in my car last night,” he says tossing changbin’s phone over to him.

“thanks-“ he starts but as he flips his phone over to look at the screen he notices the messages from last night.

chan notices the look on changbin’s face as his brows furrow. “what is it?”

“y/n texted me last night.” he responds the confusion present on his face.

“she texts you all the time, what’s new?” han rolls his eyes “you can barely sit through a class without texting each other, it’s honestly sickening.” he fake gags as if to express his words even more.

“knock it off hannie, she admitted she has feelings for me… over text… while drunk” changbin breathes out still in disbelief.

“you didn’t know?” chan’s glance shoots up from his laptop.

changbin whips his head around very close to giving himself whiplash, “what are you talking about?”

“YOU ACTUALLY DIDNT KNOW?” this time it’s han questioning. “have you not seen the way she looks at you, how she constantly wants to be close to you, the fact that she hates physical touch but she constantly initiates it with you. she’s down bad.”

“you think she meant it?” changbin asks, the project they were working on long forgotten.

han sighs pushing his notebook away as he leans onto the table in front of him, “a wise person once said drunk words are sober thoughts and she was drunk out her mind. i mean you saw her last night she literally fell asleep at the table and made jeongin carry her to the car.”

chan try’s to ease changbin’s mind slightly, “she did think she was texting hyunjin and acted like they talk about it all the time. why would she do that if she didn’t actually feel that way.” he adds trying to ease my mind.

“i don’t even know what to say.” changbin looks back at the messages trying to decide what to do.

————————————————————————————

a few hours later

i ignore his messages because i don’t want to make more of a fool of myself. i lay in my bed wondering if i should just transfer to a different school to avoid the embarrassment.

hyunjin left a while ago to go to class he tried to take me with but i refused since i knew changbin would be there.

i knew i would have to eventually face him but for the time being sulking and feeling bad for myself felt like the best idea.

that was until there was a knock on the door.

“who is it?” i yell over not really wanting to get up.

“y/n open the door.”

no that voice, i could recognize that voice anywhere, “please go away changbin, i don’t want to do this right now.”

“y/nnie please open the door,” his voice sounds almost upset.

reluctantly i stand up from the bed and move to unlock my bedroom door, “i know you’re here to make fun of me or tell me i’m weird or disgusting or both. i’m sorry i sent those messages they weren’t meant for you and i shouldn’t have been saying things like that no matter what. i didn’t want to mess up our friendship but i can understand if you don’t want anything to do with me anymore.” i ramble a light red hue paints my cheeks from embarrassment as i refuse to look him in the eye.

“what are you talking about? you think i’m going to stop talking to you because you admitted you have feelings for me?” he asks appalled that i would even think that.

“well i mean i know you don’t have feelings for me so i understand if you find it weird.”

“don’t tell me how i feel,” my eyes finally meet his as he says this my brows furrowing slightly.

“how do you feel?”

“i’ve been in love with you since that day you sat down in chemisty 101. the day you forgot to bring a notebook because it was your first class. you were too scared to ask anyone for something to write on so you sat and just listened to professor kim instead. when i finally noticed you weren’t writing anything i offered you my notes so you wouldn’t fall behind.” he pauses taking a breath as he glances over my face landing on my lips a second too long.

he continues, “i’ve been waiting for you to say you felt the same way because i was too nervous to tell you how i felt.”

a moment passes and i don’t respond, “please say something.”

instead of using words i grab his shirt pulling him closer to me as i kiss him. hoping to express my feelings that way. since i don’t think words are enough to explain the way i feel for him.

after a moment i pull away breathless, “you actually meant it? you feel the same way?”

“of course i do, and i’ll keep telling you until you believe it.” changbin shakes his head smiling over at me.

he laughs slightly before saying, “now about that chokehold.”

“oh god,” i cover his mouth with my hand.

this is gonna be a long night.

————————————————————————————

a/n: sorry for the rushed ending. but omg i finally finished this, if you’re still here thank you for reading it means a lot. love you all -lane

please do not copy, translate, modify, use, or repost this work elsewhere without my permission

[m4iya]

⋆⭒˚.⋆𝜗𝜚 Order up! Strawberry green tea, 100% sugar, 50% ice and rainbow jelly for anon!

Cat Therapy Kuroo Tetsuro (fluff, high school, childhood friends)

"So? How was it?"

"...Failed."

Your slumped head, exaggerated sigh and inability to form a comprehensive sentence already told him all he needed to know.

"Come on, it couldn't have been that hard." Grabbing the chair from the table in front of yours, he sat down.

"Tetsuro, I barely finished the first page. It was only two pages."

He drew a sharp breath, seemingly coming to terms with your performance on the exam. Sure, it marked the end of midterms, but you couldn't ignore way your marks were beginning to weigh down on you.

"Hey, there's still final exams." He chuckled lightly, trying to ease some of your stress. "But for now, your brain could use some rest."

He'd always been that way; asking about how you were feeling all the time. When it came to studies, the two of you almost always worked together, spending full days at the library or over at each others houses, rarely leaving one another's sides.

As the bell signalling the end of the day sounded throughout the school, you stood up from your table, yawning. Slinging your bag over your shoulder, you wondered what you'd do once you got home other than lamenting on your marks.

Grabbing his own bag, he turned back to you.

"Got any plans?"

"Not really."

"Alright..." He paused, tapping his chin in thought. "Let's do something then."

The two of you exited the class together, pushing through the bustling crowds in the hallways. It seemed most of the students were feeling excited for the break; it made you wonder how they were able to let loose so fast.

You'd always been somewhat of a stress bucket; getting teased by Kuroo for worrying so much about things that didn't need more than a simple decision. When he'd injure himself as a kid, you always made sure to stay beside him, worrying that he'd do something rash. Or when he was down, it'd make you overthink on what had happened instead of just being outright and asking him.

As you both reached the school gates, the noise died down and your conversation continued.

"So? Have anywhere in mind?" You questioned.

"Yep, finally thought of a place." He replied, taking out his phone. "Just gotta navigate to it - bear with me.."

You couldn't help but giggle as he fiddled with the maps application on his phone. Once he finally figured it out, the both of you took off walking. On the way there, you passed by various shops selling trinkets and accessories. He suggested that you come back together afterwards, or on another day - you had the whole break ahead of you after all.

After around 10 minutes of walking, you found yourself standing in front of a place you'd never seen before.

"Have you ever been to a Cat Cafe?"

"Never even heard of a place like that." You replied, intrigued. "Also not a somewhere I'd imagine you'd go to."

"I'll have you know that I'm quite fond of cats!"

After you jokingly quizzed him on different cat breeds, you both decided it was time to actually go inside the place. He took the door for you, allowing you to enter before him. It was cozy on the inside, natural light seeping in through the parted sepia curtains, and faux vines lining the edges of the ceiling. In the distance, occasional meowing could be heard.

Kuroo made his way to the counter at the front and spoke to the woman there. In a few minutes, she led you both past a small gate into the cafe seating area where different types of cats were roaming around, doing various things. Some slept while others poked their heads into different people seated on couches and tables.

Taking a seat on one of the couches alongside Kuroo, it wasn't long before a cat jumped onto the arm of the couch, simply staring at you both. He held out his hand to the cat, and it followed, bunting it’s head into his palm.

"Aww, thats so cute..!" You commented, watching as the cat made it’s way onto his lap and simply sat there as he traced his hand over it’s back.

"Wow, it's fur is really soft." He chuckled. You hadn't known he was seriously into things like this. You felt a subtle excitement radiate from him, and you couldn't help but smile as you watched him pet the cat with such care.

You held out your hand and pet the cat on its head. It leaned into your touch, and you could practically feel your heart melting.

Soon after, a large cat made its way towards you, standing at your feet. "Oh wow.." You giggled, looking over at Kuroo. "Do you think thats all fat or fluff?"

"Why don't you find out?" He laughed.

Picking up the cat and plopping it onto your lap, you discovered that it was simply very, very fluffy. It faced you with its head, and you couldn't help scratch it’s chin.

With the ambience of the cafe alongside with the cozy atmosphere, and not to mention - the various cats - you slowly began to feel the things that weighed down on you earlier suddenly disappear.

Soon enough, the cat had curled up on your lap, looking as though it was preparing for a nap. You continued to gently caress its back, feeling absorbed in the softness of its coat.

"How're you feeling?" He asked, having noticed your relaxation.

"A lot better." You smiled softly, fingers lost in the cat's fur. "But how did you know I was down?"

"How wouldn't I know?" He scoffed jokingly. "I've practically lost count of how many years we've known each other.. but I just know." The cat on his lap perked its head up, jumping off to the ground, and the fluffy cat that was half asleep moments ago followed soon after.

"You didn't need to do this though.. how much did you pay?"

"Not telling! Instead, I want to see you relaxing more, okay?" He smiled, brushing some fur off his pants.

The two of you had been hanging out together for so many years. You knew so much about him and it seemed he knew tons about you as well. What makes you happy, sad, angry, annoyed; over the years, he'd learnt all these different things about you, coming up with his own ways to combat them.

He was always worrying more than you knew - he'd scold you for stressing even though he was practically the same when it came to you.

But despite you being such a handful, he never once left you to struggle alone.

extra:

before entering the cafe...

"Okay, what does a Siamese cat look like?" You questioned.

"It's, well, it's sort of toasty looking." He responded in a slightly hurried manner.

"Hm, alright. Lets up the ante then." Taking out your phone, you began to search for something.

"Hey, you can't do that!"

"I'm the one asking questions here!" Once you came across something difficult, you chuckled, meeting his gaze with squinted eyes.

"Name 5 breeds that start with the letter T."

"Cut it out, this isn't a game show!"

from my 100 followers event

[septembermonologues]

i am so fucking terrified, i don't know how to get through this waiting

I guess I'm asking if there's any hope left to be had

the wait is so brutal but yes, i firmly believe that there is always hope!! some things i'm trying to keep in mind are:

- the red haze-- early results seem widely red because in-person votes lean republican. those votes are also counted first and faster because they're smaller counties compared to denser ones that lean democrat. make sure you're looking at the % of ballots counted because projected results aren't true results. the race won't start to actually solidify until tomorrow morning.

- keep an eye on your state and local reps! the nitty gritty stuff can be more positive than the national (i live in a pretty rural area but i just happily voted for rep underwood--a younger progressive black woman--a second time).

- just because results come short of what we hoped doesn't mean they represent popular opinion. in florida, marijuana and abortion rights have fallen short even with a 50%+ majority because they require a 60% majority to pass. i know it's incredibly disheartening to not see popular opinions supported by law but i also believe that you have to remember that people, especially people in historically red states, don't necessary tow the stereotypical line. there is room for movement and change.

- there are ballots that currently aren't being counted because they have errors that are CURABLE and CAN be counted if corrected. i already reblogged something about it but if you voted (esp if by mail) please answer unnamed calls because it could be about your ballot. if you go here at vote.com you can also track your ballot.

- there are always, always things for us to do between elections. encourage your friends and family to look forward at the 2026 midterms (they can have huge effects on congress) and start planning, see if there are any campaigns that could use your help moving forward, look into working polling stations in the future (i did it in 2018 and it was a long but fulfilling day), get the fuck outside and moving around. find out where you can volunteer around you- homeless shelters, food banks/kitchens, community events. read some history and some theory-- we aren't actually in completely unprecedented times and it's important to remember where we've progressed from.

- honestly? stop giving batshit crazy people the attention they want. no rage engagement. its what they want. focus on raising awareness without directly interacting with them.

- it fucking sucks ass that its this close and that extremists win. i will never ever say that it doesn't. but it will not be the end. it will be hard but thats when we have to lean on each other. we can't be afraid to ask each other for help and we have to find things to be excited and hopeful for. there is some truth to "other people have it worse so i have to keep going". who are we to give up on the whole?

maybe im just tipsy but i just find so much hope and inspiration in the work so many people put into civil service. people want better than what we have and are fighting for us. i can't let myself get too negative because it doesn't do any good to wallow. just in general i love humanity too much to let the bad win.

[ahgasegotarmy116]

The Art of Etiquette Part 2 | Jeon Jungkook

Summary: You try to back out on being a debutant so you can stop taking lessons with Mr. Jeon but your mother is going to do everything she can to make you follow through Paring: f!reader x Etiquette instructor Jungkook Word Count: 2k~ Warnings: Like one cuss word but thats about it lol a/n: Let me know how you guys are liking this! I was planning on posting this later but I wanted to see if posting around this time would be better :) p.s. roughly edited lol

"Mom! Mom! Where are you?" I yell as soon as I get home.

"I'm right here so please stop yelling, you know that there is no yelling in this household" she scolds. "Okay, then why did you yell at me when I got a bad grade on my midterm paper?" I throw in her face.

"Watch your tone y/n I am still your mother" she retorts. "Now what is it?" she says quickly turning the conversation back to it's intended course. 

"I can't do this" I say and start making my way to the living room with her soon trailing behind.

"Do what?" she sighs once we've both sat down. "This whole debutante thing, it's not for me" I say hoping it would pacify her but knowing for a fact that would never happen.

"You're doing it!" she says, wanting to end the conversation already. 

"No I'm not!" I argue back "I'm not cut out for this thing. This life of high society and playing nice with strangers, acting like you actually care about what they're saying. I just can't pretend to be someone I'm not" I explain but unfortunately she'll have none of it.

"Did something happen at your lessons today?" she asks, hoping to find the cause of my anxieties.

"Nothing happened" I huff, standing up and making my way to my room.

"Obviously something happened since you always seem to have something to say about everything even at the most inopportune times" she says, obviously exacerbated by the memories.

"Are you talking about the time I added 'Staying Alive' to the set list at grandpa's funeral?" I question chuckling at the memory. 

"See this is exactly why you need those lessons. It's time to grow up, and if you're not ready to do that yet then I'll just have you get a job and start paying your own tuition so you can learn on your own what it means to be an adult" she threatens.

"James said that he would pay for my tuition if I decided I wanted to go back to college. You can't take that away from me!" I argue and stop in my tracks, surprised and upset that she would even stoop that low. 

"Since you still feel the need to whine over small sacrifices such as these then it looks like we should probably start giving you some more responsibilities so you will grow up. Just take the damn lessons y/n, it would really make your father and I happy if we could introduce you to everyone properly" she explains softening her tone towards the end.

"But he-" I start, wanting to tell her what my instructor made me do but we're cut off by the sound of James getting home.

"How are my two lovely ladies doing?" he asks while giving my mother a kiss on her temple.

"Oh we're fine, y/n was just telling me how much she enjoyed her first lesson right?" she says giving me a stern face while James isn't looking, daring me to say otherwise.

"Oh yeah they were great Mr. Jeon seems like a very nice man" I say giving him a half smile, forcing the answer out of myself.

I hate lying to him, especially since he's been nothing but nice to me so far. A lot nicer than my mother that's for sure, so I would hate to mess things up with him. 

"Well that's great news! Especially since he called me just now and asked if you would like to take more lessons with him. It seems like he's taken a special interest in you and wants to really make sure you're set up for success. Would that be something that you would be interested in?" he asks, thankfully leaving the decision up to me but with the glare my mother sends me it seems like from her point of view there's only one obvious answer to this question.

"Whatever you both think would be best is fine by me" I say, doing my very best to sound as genuine as possible even though I'm dying inside. 

"Wonderful! He's asked if we could do three days of etiquette and two days of dancing lessons during the week and on days closer to events we should do dance lessons on the weekend before the event as well. That schedule work out alright for you?" he asks while taking out his phone to no doubt text Matthew to contact Mr. Jeon tomorrow morning so he's prepared for my newly scheduled lessons as well.

"Yes that's fine but where will I be taking my dance lessons?" I question now confused as to why Mr. Jeon would speak to James about them as well. "Oh I didn't tell you? He's your dance instructor as well" James says and leaves to his office to take a phone call. 

"No fucking way am I dancing with that man" I say turning back to my mother once he's out of earshot.

"Did he do something that made you feel uncomfortable?" she asks, just now deciding to finally ask why I didn't want to take the lessons.

"No he's just a dick" I huff, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Really, that's the reason? What did you expect? He's meant to teach you to act like a lady and let's be honest, a nice and sweet approach isn't going to work on you" she says and makes her way to who knows where, to do who knows what.

With how big this house is it could honestly be anything. 

~~~~~~~~

"So is he hot?" Jesse asks, clearly interested in how things went yesterday.

"I mean I guess? He's too rude for me to even begin to pay attention to that" I huff, frustrated at the thought of him alone. "What's his name?" he asks, taking out his phone to look him up.

"I don't remember but his last name is Jeon" I say taking a bite out of my sandwich.

"J-o-h-n?" he questions, confused at the unusual surname. "No J-e-o-n. I'm pretty sure he's Korean" I say and slide over to his side to see what he can dig up on him.

"Jeon Private Etiquette Tutor" he types in and hits enter. "Woah" both of us say, seeing how many articles and pictures of him with actors, CEOs and public figures there are.

"This guy must be loaded" Jesse says, clearly stunned at who he's worked with. "And he's hot! Damn girl you really won if this Jungkook guy wants to see you five times a week" he says and keeps on clicking through everything he can get his hands on.

"And seven days a week when there's some stupid event I have to go to" I groan just thinking about how many hours of my life I'm going to waste with him. 

"He's only 27. I wonder if he's single" Jesse says winking at me. "For me or for you because you can have him" I scoff making him laugh.

"No take backs! Well, unless he's straight. Then you can have him back. No matter how heartbreaking that might be" he says, wiping away fake tears.

"Sorry to break it to you babe but he probably wouldn't go for either of us" I say placing a hand on his shoulder and getting up to leave.

"Hey! Where are you going? We don't start class for another half an hour" he yells after me.

"I gotta go change since he wants me to be 'dressed like a lady' when I come and I won't have time after class" I yell turning to face him as I walk backward for a second.

"Alright, have fun Barbie" he yells as I get further away to which I respond with a shake of my head as I make my way over to my car. 

~~~~

"Acceptable" Jungkook says taking in my form.

"Although the hem is far too short" he says looking down at my legs again before looking back up and making eye contact with me.

"It was all I could find on such short notice" I explain but unfortunately he isn't satisfied with my answer. 

"Excuses will get you no where. You either do it or you don't. I'm sure you could have put a little more effort into finding something more suitable if you had tried. Let's remedy the situation by the next class, shall we?" he finishes off sarcastically before turning his back to me and walking over to the sound system in the corner of the room and I take the chance to stick my tongue out at him in retaliation. 

"You do you realize there are mirrors in this room correct?" he asks, clearly not amused with what he had seen me doing.

"My apologies Mr. Jeon" I settle on, not bothering to give an excuse this time.

"But are you really?" he asks, walking back towards me slowly, his voice an octave lower, catching me off guard. "N-no" I answer truthfully, nervous with the way he stalks towards me with clear displeasure enveloping his entire existence. 

He leans towards me talking directly into my ear, clearly using tactics to show his dominance over the situation.

"Let us be honest with each other then. It would be a waste of both of our time if we were to do otherwise" he say sending shivers down my spine and I hate that it's something I couldn't have controlled even if I wanted to.

"Is that clear?" he asks, his warm breath hitting my neck making my mind feel clouded, leaving me confused on how to respond to him leaving me only being able to nod in response.

"Good" he says leaning back, giving what I had hoped for was a little more room to breathe. "Next time use your words" he says tilting my chin up just as he had done at my last lesson.

"Yes Mr. Jeon" I say quietly, leaving him satisfied with my cooperation and straightening back up to go back to what he had been working on.

'What the fuck was that? What the fuck was that? What THE FUCK was that?' I ask myself over and over and over again. I'm startled out of my circular train of thought when I'm met with what I can assume is some sort of waltz music running through the twin speakers on either side of the wall that the sound system is placed against. 

"I can't dance" I voice out, sticking to my word and answering the question before he bothered to ask.

"I thought as much. Ballroom dancing is a lost art amongst the youth of your generation" he says adjusting a few more things before coming back over to me. 

"You speak of my generation as if it was much younger in comparison to yours" I respond crossing my arms over my chest in defiance.

"Were you perhaps curious enough to inquire about me?" he asks finally turning around to face me, making his way back over as he had done before, having caught me red handed leaving me changing my position, holding my hands together and having them rest against my thighs.

"I had just assumed based off of how youthful you look" I respond, giving him a forced compliment, not wanting to admit to what I had done. Well, really what Jesse had done but again he would see right through me.

"Haven't we agreed to be honest with each other?" he questions reaching his hand out and easily pulling my hands apart. Placing one of mine on his shoulder and the other held in his hand, leaving his free one to rest on my waist. 

"Do as I say and hopefully we'll come out of this without any injuries" he says practically daring me to make a mistake. "But of course" I say and straighten my posture to match, following his lead as best as I can. 

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[crguang]

participating in fandom is mentally draining, esp with the negativity towards hsr lately. well, not exactly participating since i'm 95% spectator, but man. icl, i started the game for kafka all the way back in 1.0 and i do feel some exhaustion considering her lack of presence (although 3.0 revitalized it somewhat with her message).

hru feeling lately (in gen/or in regards to the game, whatever you feel like answering haha).

ohh!! and just a day and a half before jelena!! mother <3

dont let me start on how tiring it is to be in a fandom… i stopped participating in fandoms for years and recently got back into it with ptn but im learning it just might not be for me😭 i feel like such a hater sometimes with my opinions and im generally very strict with my favorite characters so even the slightest mischaracterization gets my blood rushing so i cant do it lmfao. i miss kafka a lot, i wasnt planning on starting amphoreus of she wasnt gonna be in it because im getting a bit tired but thankfully the planet spoke to me so its not much of a chore to get through the story/lore. i need the actual kafka back immediately i miss my wife so much

sorry im answering this late so jelena’s already here but i hope you got her if u planned to pull for her! mother is right, she’s the mother of all mothers and my mommy issues are acting up bad

im doing okay, i guess. my midterms went terribly and ive just been feeling awful over it for a while, thats why i havent been on here as much. school’s been draining me for lots of different reasons and i feel like anything i write is bad ugh idk things arent the best recently but hopefully they turn around. hope youre doing better than me <3

[hoziersrealhusband]

january 29th, 2025

yoo hey... oopsies!

as we all know what the first week of classes is infamously called silly week. IT WASNT SILLY. I WASNT LAUGHING. lets start this post with a recap of all of my classes.

be 305:

this is an insanely easy class. we have daily reading paired usually with videos but they are easy reads. instead of having any midterms or exams we have daily quizzes kind of as a "test" of our knowledge along the course of the class, and its quite literally just reading comprehension. this quizzes are 70% of my grade though but so insanely easy. also the other 30% is literally just attendance, we have games and surveys that we do through a program that is called moblab that we will get an A on literally as long as we show up

entr 410:

it was a running bit ive heard that business students have coloring sheets due at 11:59pm but didnt think it was true until i had to draw something for this class. this class will def not be as easy as my other business minor class but this professor is amazing. she has a really great rate my professor score for classes she taught on entrepreneurship, the only bad scores being from bus 150 which is basically just people saying she made them watch too many videos. she has a really good way for doing the entr class though and i think ill be able to get a lot out of this class

engl 306:

the professor that was in indonesia is back! that is absolutely going to be my hardest class, which is really just because of the amount of reading that we have to do for it, which i knew was going to be apart of the class (thanks previous prof for the warning). WHICH ISNT A BAD THING! ive heard so many really great things about him, hes been at my school for such a long time now and has great things online about him all of the way back to 2015.

engl 351:

didnt post his canvas page for a week. its ok its sounds confusing af tbh and i would probably get so frustrated. but ANYWAYS! it seems like a really fun class. i love fiction writing so i think it will be a good creative outlet.

art 132:

as we can see im kind of getting tired and dont want to write this anymore because its almost midnight. BUTT. this was like my one fun class i wanted to take this semester and of course i cant do anything normally and i want to minor in it. metal smithing is just SO different from everything that i do for my major, minor and certificate and of course if i do this as a minor as well it would become apart of my regular course load. ANYWAYS. the professor is amazing. you truly are able to go into this class with no knowledge of metals at all and learn so much just within the first few classes. i havent really done anything related to science at all in a few years, and theres not a whole TON of science involved, but we get to work with a few different type of chemicals involved in giving the metals different colors, cleaning metals, etc etc.. its just really exciting to get a completely new and challenging concept introduced to me and im really excited to go further into this course and will absolutely be taking a metal smithing course next semester

OK! lets talk about other things relating to this week.

i think something im learning every single day is how to deal with bad work days. something that i really wont disclose too much on here about in the next four years (TAKE THAT AS A HINT TO WHO IM TALKING ABOUT). in the past few days this job has become kind of stressful, but for once in my entire working career, i have a really positive and supporting working environment, something i never had while working at grocery stores. taking things one day at a time there is truly all i can do right now, because i know that as soon as things die down for now with that man i told yall about earlier in this part, or if certain things he has done are put back into law, that things will be better there. the amazing group of coworkers that i have there along with my amazing bosses are absolutely people.

thats probably all for this just because i lowkey wanna get on the sims 4 rn. its 12:02am. GOODNIGHT! maybe ill do songs for each post too, let me go find one.

im really excited for her to release new music

also here is what im currently reading

the handmaids tale by margaret atwood

providence by craig willse

a small place by jamaica kincaid

it would be fun to post reading recaps/reviews on those books whenever i do finish them. i just finished reading strange pictures by uketsu a few days ago as well which was an insane and absolutely amazing book. i will try to get a book review out for that soon actually!

[joannasteez]

crying, laughing, loving, lying - being comfortable is no good

pairing: roman reigns x angel (black oc) warning: this little chapter is all angst and unfortunately barely features angel. but i'm giving backstory!! no other warning besides swearing and talks of divorce. authors note: i love imperfect characters. so yummy. first chapter found here. word count: 1700

roman loves his job. he loves the campus. and he loves his office —which to him, despite seth's modernistic sneering, is wholly traditional—outfitted tirelessly to suit a timeless sense of taste. dark wood furnishings and overly warm lamp lights. deep shelf walls and old brass ceiling fans. the neat clutter of sports paraphernalia surrounding unread midterm papers —which detailed in their own ways and intellectual fashions, the steady rise of sociopolitical tensions of pre-world war-two society through a 1936 olympic games lens — and once looked over defensive plays meant for forthcoming football games. and this here was his little heaven, his peace, but said peace was being tainted. squandered and spat on. because of all the days he'd chosen to settle in at the office on campus versus doing work from home, she, had stopped by to see him this day. to parade around that pitiful frowning in her lips and the beautiful, un-useable ring she'd never bothered to just get rid of.

and he was very specific about not getting it back. about not wanting it back. about her even selling it, if thats what she wanted. since she'd always done what she wanted anyways. what difference would it make if she sold the eighteen karat in exchange for whatever dress or lamp or table caught her eye? roman really couldn't give less than a shit what she exchanged it for, just as long as he'd never have to see it again. because all the memory is stored there, in the all those beautiful cuts of diamond. but then again, as he said to himself, 'amina does what she wants', including showing face when showing face was exactly what he didn't need. 

he seems to be the only tired one in all this. the only struggling survivor, hell the only survivor really. amina's face feening to look written in a perpetual state of guilt which was complete, utter bullshit. but then again disingenuous was her forte. and roman was sure that the divorce lawyer was the happiest they'd ever been. maybe even eating off the money they'd made at the expense of his failed marriage. but who knew. at this point, who fucking knew. 

his glasses give the ring clarity. a shine. making his jaw twitch and his foot shift till his knee jumps. all of which are involuntary. and this burns his core, the very base of his belly, because why does the discomfort take him so wholly?   unsullied and lacking compassion as it travels his skin. 

he can feel her eyes fixing into him. screwing hot over every line and detail of his freckled face as she waits. and oh does roman make her wait. letting the silence drown the room till theres nothing but the whipping spin of the ceiling fan and the warm lamps singing with a buzz.

"are you gonna say something?"

and all he can remember is his bed. the distress of the sheets and the boiling heat in his body. her moaning and then the absolute fright. the guilt as she forced her body away into the wall, the sheets surrounding her, drowning her up to her neck. his fingers cold from the breeze. 

the ring still on her finger. why even keep it on?

something in roman's skin flares. a burning irritation. an anger bought on by the existence of anger itself. because why should he be reduced to something this wild and ill-controlled? why should he be the one suffering, feeining stability. why should a simple ring bother him so much. he was, is, better than this, better than the pity written in her eyes. he hated this. why didn't she just fucking sell the damn ring. 

"hows terry doing?", that name like poison on his tongue. the whole memory of it coming up to dry his throat till he's tasting bits of bile. his fingers flexing as he takes to fingering over the stacks of papers at his desk. "still enjoying my headboard?" 

"don't do that...", amina's eyes averting. guilt, guilt and more guilt. "...don't, don't bring him up like it's on him". 

"oh?". a scoff but a laugh too. disgust and amazement. but he's irritated too. surprised. "is this accountability? are we in the end times finally?" 

she sighs exhausted. "roman". 

"amina", exhausted too but wryly so. to dig into her skin in any way he could. 

and when she takes her beat, which he finds annoyingly dramatic, staring into his eyes with all the sincerity drawn up from her gut to say "i'm sorry", he still can't find the will to care. 

and he tells her as much.

"i. don't. care", pushing the ring with his finger over toward the edge of his desk. the fast motion threatening to knock it off the surface if not for amina snatching it mid drop. "take the ring back. pawn it. sell it. shove it in an envelop and burn it", rising from his seat to take a stack of book at the side of his desk to the deep shelf wall. his body tall and wide and rife with anger. "i don't give a shit. i don't want it". 

he can hear her shifting to get up too. her heels clicking small. cautioned steps. not so far but not too close. and now he's sees that's just been the regular state of affairs for everything concerning them. an arms distance of romance. 

"it belongs to you". 

one of the books tighten in his hand. a hard cover stress ball. "the simple fact, that i keep saying i don't wan't it, and you keep shovin' it in my face, really just lets me know you’re here to twist the knife". he shelves the books impatiently, the slotting of them ending, each, with a thud into the wood. "just give me this one thing. listen to me this one time". 

amina takes her turn to bristle. to advance at him and laugh. mirthless and mocking. 

"you wanted the wedding in the summer, so we planned it for july. you wanted to move back home, so i followed you", each click of her heel harsh against his office floors. straining to creak till it's edging into his skin. "you wanted the bigger house and you didn't want me to work and you didn't want me to hang around certain men. i always listened to you". 

'no', roman thinks. whipping away from the shelf. his ears scorching. "wrong", his pointing finger toughing into his chest. "i didn't want you around terry because he was a dog in fucking heat every time you were near him. and everything was always negotiable. i never forced anything". his blood pumping sharp and wild. "you liked me making decisions. you liked being taken care of. i made shit a playground for you, and you ran it to hell till you got caught". 

"negotiable? really?", amina's voice shrill and wavering. "like its a fucking business deal? well so much for a fucking merger of equals”. the ring clutched in her fist, her balled fingers pushing into his chest as she clicks up to him. no longer an arms length away. "you just knew that you knew what was best all the time". 

and when he refuses to accept her forcibly pushing against his chest, the ring falls. 

"and the one thing i didn't know?", his face a breath away from hers. the warmth of vanilla filling his nose. making his screen cringe and his jaw tighten. "that my wife was getting fucked cervix deep in my bed by terry, every other weekend since the night of our wedding". 

"it wasn't every other weekend". 

he laughs. from his belly and with a soft trembling in his nerves. his body uncomfortable still. bothered by the shake of his own anger. "but it was in my bed, in the sheets i bought".

she sneers. her eyes rolling harsh.

"everything with you is always, i and me". 

"yes amina", his tone patronizing. "because you cheated on me. you never even tried", his head shaking. "im not the villain in this". 

her eyes glisten. welling to threaten the breaking out of tears. 

"i had no voice. no say. no room to make mistakes with you. everything was always handled. i couldn't breathe". 

"why not say something?"

"you wouldn't have listened". 

he scoffs. "you don't know that", walking briskly to his desk. collecting the stacked papers to shuffle them inside the thick leather of a messenger bag. he needs desperately to leave. to come from under the thick air of the room. "because you never considered trying. and thats the one thing you can never say i didn't do. i always tried to make you happy. making things comfortable". 

"being comfortable isn't this good thing you keep making it out to be". 

he was over it. over the heat boiling his skin. over the aching in his chest. the lumping in his throat. the sharp pricks in his eyes. the mindless way his jaw twitched to tighten. and he was over seeing amina. he needed something liquid, strong and relieving. and he had papers to grade, he didn't need this. not now. not ever again. 

"if no one has ever told you before, i need you to know that you are filled with a concerning amount of bullshit". 

amina snatches up the things she came to his office with. being sure to leave the ring. "well look at us being two peas in a pod". 

her heels click out of his office. the silence enveloping him again. his shoulders heavy and his eyes tired, from the lateness of the day and the threat of tears. 

and the ring is still there. still and unmoving. his fingers curling to fist but lacking the heart to pluck it from the floor. 

his phone buzzes. angel's name popping up against the screen. a warmth fighting greatly to overtake him as he opens up an image she's sent, but it fails to do anything worthwhile. the chill in his bones icing over so easily that his nerves feel beholden to deaden with a cooling. 

text message | angel : ready when you are

and the heart to reply is void in him. more piqued that amina had destroyed his mood so much that it'd left him hollow enough to leave you unanswered. and God was the urge there, just not great enough to overcome the anger pushing deep in his skin. 

[donkeys-waffles]

Okay, listen I'm not all that convinced AFO is completely gone. And let's put DFO aside for a moment. His and Yoichi's story feels uncomplete, there are certain elements that were given the time to be graced on but never really elaborated on. Like for example, that possibility that certain elements of AFO's backstory were fabricated to accomplish a certain message.

It's very easy to read over his backstory and gather the idea that he was born evil. But after a deeper look, it's very clear that was the purpose. We are meant to believe AFO is evil because that's what he wants us to believe, that's what he sees in himself. I feel bittersweet towards his supposed 'end'. Because I hate how Bakugou delivered that end, for one. But on one hand I enjoy how he mentioned needing Yoichi, it starts with denial and ends with recognition. And even if this a hot take, I think it's a beautiful, emotional end to such a messed-up individual.

However, I have a weird feeling about two things. First, I'd like to say, one thing I've noticed in writing is if something is brought up randomly, it'll generally come back to bite you later. Nothing is left unsaid, otherwise you have plot holes.

I found it interesting how it's mentioned AFO wasn't able to use his last trick up his sleeve, without any elaboration as to what that would have been. And I would say this was done on purpose, maybe just used as another example of every dream he wasn't able to accomplish before he died. But bringing light to this does nothing to strengthen the impact of his death on the narrative. Another interesting detail was Yoichi's wish. His dream of AFO being the kindest quirk in the world, which I can see being used to cause a reaction in the reader, as if trying to make them feel some heartache for such a bastard. But even with that reasoning, that sentence in the end feels so empty. unfulfilling, and almost lack-luster. It seems odd to be brought up and this could be bias, but I feel like that sentence had more importance than just literary cannon fodder.

We know AFO's main goal, make everyone love him like Yoichi, and his midterm goal was to steal his brother back through OFA. Makes sense.

But I still have questions. I understand why he took Tomura, to get a strong enough host to steal OFA, makes sense. But how does leaving Gigantomachia in the mountains have anything to do with such a goal? For what? Retirement? What did that achieve, wouldn't it better if he kept him around? If he was planning on moving his consciousness to Tomua later, then keeping him around would be better, right? Afterall, he'd be able to meet the child and possibly have a better understanding of the situation. Gigantomachia is an incredibly strong asset (look how he took down SO many heroes in the first war); he could have possibly even used him as backup during his fight with All Might.

And why keep OFA at a distance when his entire goal is to steal said quirk? I'm referring to that one panel in Vigilantes. Thats the entire opposite of his entire 200-year-old goal.

And that whole thing with his copy of rewind... This man is 200 years old, with an extremely strong villain empire, who has earned the respect of a genius scientist... You don't achieve any of those things by being stupid. And now I'm not normally one for completely trusting the MHA Wiki, but I can't blame them for giving him a 6/5 intelligence. He's a genius, and is spectacular with quirk analysis, it's his thing ya feel me. But it does show his lack of self-preservation, which is against what he's supposed to be angry at All Might for.

All Might took his health and his empire; we know he didn't really care about his empire as much from Spinner. (I mean lack of self-preservation because he's using a quirk that will eventually rewind him out of existence, whether he transfers his quirk to Tomura entirely or not. There's a possibility that it won't work, he failed to take complete control the first time remember. Is that what this supposed 'trick up his sleeve' was supposed to remedy? This is the same man that gave himself immortality, the same man that ran away from All Might for years, the same man that has shown to rely on the strength of others instead of dealing wounds himself. And might I add the same man that is supposed to be angry about his health being diminished. Afterall if not his health or his empire what could he possibly be angry at All Might for that's so special, so unique compared to his predecessors?)

This brings me to my last point. Since when the hell did this bitch care about THE CHILDREN! This man literally stole quirks from children, killed thousands, and turned a crap tone into braindead nomu. And he's angry on behalf of the children. Are we ever going to get an explanation for that?

Like I would understand if he killed the children that he apparently gave heroic ideals to. Like Ha! You will pay for passing on your ideals to children by watching me steal their quirks and kill them. But that's not what he means, or he would've stolen Tokoyami's quirk, killed Jiro instead of leaving her with a broken eardrum, and blasted Izuku away with deadly force instead of holding back in the first war. We have no answers for such behavior from a man known for exhibiting zero humanity (and making that behavior his ENTIRE personality.) Need I remind you this man stole Tomura (possibly gave him the quirk that killed his entire family,) and groomed him just to possess him later alright. He also turned Tsubasa into a nomu for shits and giggles, which we have never talked about once! Tsubasa, need I remind, was a small child and was the Doctor's grandson (which you'd think give him immunity to this kind of sick shit but apparently not.)

There are so many questions left unanswered, many of which Yoichi himself can't even answer. Like with all their human experimentation they do on a daily basis, the clone theory wouldn't really surprise me. It would make a lot of sense for his character as well. And even if that theory doesn't pan out, the vestige behind the locked door (which is entirely separate rant honestly,) or even Tomura's AFO vestige maybe. Though I feel if Izuku really saves Tomura in this war, then we might never hear much of anything from that vestige. Especially since their first priority would be to cancel it out as soon as possible. A lot of people bring up how the story is almost over, and they are probably right. But the end date was supposed to be 2022 originally, right? Then it was moved to 2023, now it's 2024-2025. Like yeah it is almost over, but there's still story that needs wrapping up clearly because that deadline has been pushed back multiple times. Too many times to make it a valid counterclaim anymore. Either way, I don't think we are in the clear of the Demon King's superiority complex anytime soon.

[syn4k]

u know when ur doing a boss fight in a video game and u hit ur special ability that saps ur energy and stamina but boosts ur strength and hp beforehand just to survive. thats me intentionally engaging in my hyperfixation right before midterms week so that the power of autism can get me through it

[meatsex]

Sorry if this is a bit much, but I hope l you're doing OK and that things improve on your end, considering what's been happening lately. Shit's been hitting the fan for a lot of us, but I'm confident that we'll get through it just like before

dont worry, its not a bother

thank you, ive been recovering, ive been laughing with my friends, i slept 5 hours last night, im able to work a bit more

if i have to be honest, im still really scared, i know its not wrong if i do badly on midterms, its unrealistic of me to expect perfection until im done with my career, but i cant accept that for myself, i cant accept failure not even once, im mostly scared of what i could do to myself if i fail, im not forgiving towards myself

it hurts me to see my brothers and sisters have to struggle through the shit that is what it came to, im not there so its not my place to say, but any day that passes is another day of success, of not giving up, if living day to day is what can keep you alive, i think thats enough, i hope its enough

thank you for your kind message

[aviangrian]

ahhh i just wanted to say i love starboy SOOO much!!!! i did not/still dont know anything about f1 but the way you write it is so easy to follow along with and read!!! i love how you write the characters, especially scar/grian/joel/lizzie, you write them so so sooo flawlessly... i love how it seems like were there with scar in the moment of everything going on and how you describe everything from his perspective. i also LOVE how you write scar and grian especially because they both seem just so *real* and *raw* and i usually never see that from fics. the way you write is just so in detail that it really allows the reader to imagine everything thats happening and i LOVEEE that!!! i also love how you write grian and mumbos friendship, like they obviously care about each other so muchhh and i love how the readers able to see that even through scars perspective!!!!! esp the scene after grian fell asleep watching topgun and mumbo helping him lay down into a more comfortable position,,, and how they hugged when grian finally got p1 😭😭❤️ NOT TO MENTION THE LATEST CHAPTERRRR AND SCAR AND GRIANS FIRST KISS????? THAT WHOLE CHAPTER WAS GOLDDDD i loved that chapter so much,,, so much happened between grian and scar???? that scene of them in the club??? scar (and us) finally getting some insight to what happened in grians past from grian himself??? grian being comfortable enough with scar to actually open up to him??? AND THEM CONFESSINGGG??? ☹️☹️☹️❤️❤️❤️ might be my fav chapter if im being honest

i also just wanted to ask a few questions while i was here though;

first, do you have a set upload schedule? or is it like a whenever you have time to work on it thing?

second, do you think youll be posting more content abt this au after starboy is finished? like a grians pov or something? ive become so interested in this au because i can tell so much work has been put into it and id love to see more it!!

lastly, is this going to be an eventual mumscarian fic??? i think its obvious Somethings going on/has happened between grian and mumbo but i just dont know What... like that one scene with them all at the dinner??? or the car scene with grian standing up through the sunroof???

i cant wait to read more chapters!!! but im also scared As Hell because SO much has happened already and its only been 6 chapters. we still have 5 more longgg chapters left and im so scared but also excited for how things are going to go... i hope youre having a good day, i cant wait to see what you have in store for this story!!! 🫶🫶 sawrry that this was a lot of rambling though,,, 😭😭❤️

anon i’m crying?? 😭 thank you so much.

the goal of the fic is real and raw! it’s an unusual setting (maybe not for me considering this is my second racing centric fic) but everything that happens is a product of the environment! the wins from his own team left scar feeling bitter at times, but watching grian win had him so proud he knew he’d get in trouble w his own team if he showed it lol. it’s all about where they are and it makes me sooo happy (like you would not believe) when people who aren’t f1/sports fan still enjoy the fic!

last ch was a lot and contained a lot of really vital stuff that i couldn’t wait to see the reactions of. grian finally opening up is so important to me and scar letting it happen in its own time is a huge part of why grian begins letting him in, which is evidently not something he’s used to at all. mans has been through it in this universe

as for the questions: i don’t have an upload schedule but i try to churn out the chs when i have time. it fits that valentine’s was right before midterms season for me so i got to get something out before i get swamped by all that 🥲 i don’t like to let a full month go by without posting but we’ll see how my semester keeps going lol

and i’ve been thinking of content once i’ve finished starboy. i’ve had ideas of grian’s pov hitting all the major plot points or even a jimmy spin-off one shot but nothing is planned for now. definitely floating around in my mind

mumscarian is not the endgame but the mystery behind grian and mumbo will be revealed! grian is mysterious and mumbo being mumbo goes along w it, but it does come full circle eventually!

i didn’t even realize there’s already only 5 chs left! that’s crazy, considering how much of the story i have left!

thank you again anon, this is all very much appreciated. i love your rambling because it allowed me to ramble too haha

[bipolar-hello-me]

boring

so i dont really got much to tell yall about, my day was just pretty much focused on going to classes, although first i forgot one of my classes was gonna be in zoom and one i skipped cuz i was hungry and had a doctors appointment so yeah. my doctors appointment went well, my psychiatrist just basically up my dosage from 60 to 80 (what i was originally taking) so yes yes good news, bro tell me why i only payed like 20 bucks or less for seeing the doctor and a months worth of medicine like wtf, the health system really is fucked up in america cuz unless you have medical or pay a really good insurance this could NEVER be the case. From that i mean me and my friend were talking and the topic of being a mother came up and so it was nice to talk to someone who is also mentally ill and has certain fears connected to it about becoming a mother- it really did made me think quite a lot actually, im just scared yk because to me my children already mean then world to me and im terrified of being a bad mom, like already no one gives you instructions or a manual as to how to be a mom but now add bipolar to the mix and is like wtf yk? idk i have lots of hope tho because i do plan on keep going to therapy and taking my medicine everyday and like i could even make a safety plan in case of anything, i think the fact that i already care so much about working to be better and taking precautions says a lot about the kind of parent i aspire to be- i pray everyday to God that he guides me once i get the opportunity. OMG wait i almost forgot i have a crush on this guy from my church and he hadnt text me so i was a bit sad but then yesterday when i got home he texted!! it wasnt like that interesting we were just talking about midterms and plans for holidays and stuff but at the end i did said like i really hope i can see you soon and he said maybe we can get lunch or dinner sometime soon and so i agreed, idk we shall see if he goes through with it. ah and also yesterday after the cafe i went home did laundry, showered, did a face mask and put fake nails on, so i felt a little extra good today! OHHHH ALSO i think i found someone that can do some of my little adventures during the holidays so im super happy to have some company. okay okay i think thats it for today im tired to write more lol, see yall tomorrow :)

[addictedtostorytelling]

Hello! I was re-reading this post (https://www.tumblr.com/addictedtostorytelling/750514450149294080/hi-aj-ive-always-wondered-after-the-s3-fiasco) for timeline purposes and i was wondering if an in universe explanation for the wonky time-jump and cath’s comment on gil’s hearing could be one of these;

gil recovered everything except a certain register and thought that was as good as he would get, but it did eventually recover and he got a new and proper all clear near the s4 premier which is what cath comments on.

OR the initial surgery didnt work as well and they decided to do a second one a month or two after (giving gil some good recovery time after the first one, and then he requires another 4 weeks after his second one)

Either one could be deemed silly; maybe with the first one thats not how hearing loss/recovery works! Or with the second, maybe doctors wouldnt consent to a second surgery if the first one failed (maybe the bones are too small to drill a second hole through?).

Im not a doctor haha, but if they’re fudging, maybe so can we?

hi, anon!

sorry for my late reply! i've been swamped with midterm grading lately. i apologize!

re: your question: my doctorate degree isn't in medicine, so take this information with a grain of salt (or three or four), but:

according to what i've been able to research, if a stapedotomy is successful, then hearing typically improves anywhere from immediately to within four weeks, though it may also continue to improve incrementally for up to three months.

though the surgery itself is performed as an outpatient procedure, meaning the patient has little to no hospital stay following the surgery, full recovery from the surgery typically takes three weeks, with sutures coming out circa week 2 and the packing in the ear canal coming out circa week 2 or 3.

it is typically recommended during that 2-3 week recovery period, the patient should not perform any strenuous physical activity or heavy lifting—which, in grissom's case, would probably preclude him from going to work.

if after three months or so, hearing has not improved and/or has gotten worse, it is possible for a patient to undergo a revision surgery.

however, in the early 00s, the success rate on revision stapedotomy surgeries was typically lower than the success rates for the original surgeries themselves, so, just from what i can find anecdotally, some surgeons at this time were reluctant to perform "clean up" procedures, for fear of making things worse.

in cases where the hearing simply had not improved as much as hoped for (but had improved at least somewhat or in some registers), they would therefore usually count those surgeries as "successful" and not pursue further surgical intervention.

they also would not pursue revision surgery in cases where the original surgery had resulted in profound additional hearing loss or even caused deafness (i.e., in cases of extreme complication).

so only in cases where the original hearing loss had not improved at all or had become mildly but not profoundly worse might they choose to pursue a revision surgery.

with all of this information in mind, let's take your hypothetical scenarios for explaining catherine's (weird) comments about grissom's hearing improvement one at a time.

more discussion after the "keep reading," if you're interested.

__

is it possible catherine comments on grissom's improved hearing as if it is a new thing during the events of episode 04x01 "assume nothing" (which take place in late september) because grissom's hearing recovery following his initial surgery (which happens in mid-may) is a gradual process which only culminates circa that later date?

i would say it's possible, though we'd have to maybe do some fudging in terms of the dates and grissom and catherine's proximity to each other during his healing process to make this hypothetical work.

since hearing recovery following a successful stapedotomy typically takes no longer than three months in total, since grissom has his original surgery circa 05.15.03 (the approximate date for the events of episode 03x23 "inside the box"), then, if the surgery is totally successful (which we are led to believe that it is, given he has no further hearing problems at any point going forward in the series), he should already be hearing on all registers by mid-august 2003.

that so, his improved hearing should not still be news to catherine by late september 2003.

therefore, most likely, a graduated healing process does not by itself account for her comments in episode 04x01 "assume nothing."

that said, we could still perhaps ascribe her comments to a graduated healing process if we assume some extenuating circumstances.

for example, let's say grissom's hearing does gradually recover following his surgery all the way up until mid-august, and, during this graduated recovery process, catherine is, throughout the summer, aware there are some things he can hear better now but still some things he can't.

then let's say for some reason or another grissom and catherine don't end up working together much between midsummer and late september, either just due to a quirk of the scheduling and/or because catherine goes on vacation with lindsey and/or because grissom attends a conference or something.

so then the next time they work with each other is during the events of episode 04x01 "assume nothing."

in that case, maybe catherine might still have reason to take note of his fully restored hearing as if it were something new during the events of that episode—because from her perspective, the full measure of his improvement would be a novel development; something she hadn't encountered from him to this degree before (even though, for his perspective, he'd been fully recovered since august).

it would be the kind of deal where his full recovery wasn't a new development altogether, but it was new to her specifically.

so, if we fudge with the dates and grissom and catherine's levels of contact with each other throughout the summer/early fall, then, yes, this hypothetical explanation could work.

however, without the fudging, probably not.

as for possibility #2—

is it possible catherine comments on grissom's improved hearing as if it is a new development during the events of episode 04x01 "assume nothing" (which take place in late september) because after his initial surgery (in mid-may) is unsuccessful, he undergoes a second surgery and is only beginning to see results from it circa that later date?

again, i would say, "it's possible, though only if we make some (unprovable) assumptions."

following his original surgery, barring complications, grissom likely returns to work by no later than the second week of june 2003. at that time, it is likely his hearing has already improved significantly, as initial stapedotomies in general, even in the early 00s, have/had a fairly high success rate.

even so, if he hasn't already made a total recovery, then he may still be recovering hearing (particularly at the lowest registers of his hearing, which, in his case, seemed to be the range of his hearing most severely impacted by his otosclerosis) until mid-august 2003 or thereabouts.

however, if by mid-august, his hearing has not improved to a degree his surgeon would consider "successful" (but is also not significantly worse than it had been pre-surgery), then it is possible his surgeon might, at his behest, schedule a revision surgery.

if we presume they could schedule said surgery to take place fairly immediately in mid- to late august, then grissom might be back to work by early to mid-september 2003. his hearing, following the revision surgery, might then take up to another three months to recover, meaning it might not be altogether better until late november 2003. however, it also might recover more quickly, and indeed might even be totally recovered by the time the events of episode 04x01 "assume nothing" are taking place.

in such a case, it might therefore be possible catherine is only noticing the improvements to his hearing for the first time circa the events of episode 04x01 "assume nothing," which takes place in-universe circa 09.23.03-09.28.03.

that said, in order to make this hypothetical work, we have to make a lot of assumptions.

for one thing, we have to not only assume his first surgery is unsuccessful but unsuccessful in a very specific "goldilocks" way—bad enough to require correction but not too bad so as to scare the surgeon off from attempting a revision procedure.

we would also have to assume grissom would be a good candidate for a revision surgery just generally and also it would be something his surgeon would be willing to attempt (even though, in the early 00s, surgeons were somewhat more cautious of performing these kinds of follow-up procedures than they are nowadays).

for another thing, we have to assume he undergoes this revision procedure at a very specific time. said surgery would pretty much have to take place in mid- to late august—no earlier and no later—both in order to fit the timeline for his recovery from his initial surgery and to give him time to recover and return to work following his second AND to account for catherine's comments to him re: his hearing being newly improved in late september.

we would likewise have to assume his hearing immediately and totally improves following his revision surgery, within the course of 4-6 weeks or so.

finally, on a different, more doylist note, we would have to assume this revision surgery happens without us (as the viewing audience) ever hearing tell of it.

of course, with csi, there are often character developments the writers only let us in on ex post facto (see, for example, grissom and sara getting together off-screen circa late s5/early s6 or warrick being in a custody battle with tina for eli prior to his death in s9). however, in this scenario, it wouldn't just be a "they tell us about it late" deal but rather a "they never tell us about it (explicitly) at all" one. and with television, if they never tell us about an event on screen, then, by and large, it doesn't count.

so all of the above said, i think, if you want to go with either one of these explanations to account for the timeline weirdness of catherine's comments to grissom in episode 04x01 "assume nothing," you absolutely can.

it is entirely possible grissom's hearing improves gradually, and for whatever reason catherine is "late to the party" when it comes to observing his full recovery.

alternatively, it is also entirely possible grissom's first surgery is not entirely successful so he undergoes a revision procedure which is then never explicitly mentioned on-screen.

that said, i think, given that we have no direct textual evidence to support either one of these potential explanations, we also can't claim them as definitive, and particularly not as to make either one of them "work," we have to do some fudging and/or make some fairly sweeping assumptions.

certainly, there are other potential explanations for catherine's discrepant comments—all of them as equally likely and unlikely as the two scenarios we've proposed here.

for example, maybe catherine simply hasn't had any previous occasion to comment on grissom's hearing until the events of episode 04x01 "assume nothing" because they both went out of town back to back over the summer, and they're only just having the chance to work together again come september.

or maybe grissom had unknown complications from his initial surgery that necessitated a longer recovery for him than the typical 2-3 weeks and he is just getting back to work come september.

any of these scenarios could be the case, though there's also nothing to say one of them actually is.

it's all just a matter of headcanon, really.

anyway, i'm rambling now.

thanks for the question! please feel welcome to send another any time.

[vzyee]

hitting experiential critical mass. so depressed at the thought of not being able to go to campus and talk to people today that i almost had to nuke my anxiety with atarax at 9am. managed to salvage a hangout w a sort-of friend, first time we've hung out outside of class, and im running around panicking trying to find her cause we never set a meeting place & when i do shes with two other friends i dont know. trying to find the vibe w them when the campus goes into lockdown for unknown reasons and theres suddenly fucking SWAT a block away from us but we're sitting out in the sun and theres dudes playing hacky sack so we're like ... and shes hoping her class gets cancelled so that they have to reschedule her midterm and like an hour of this outdoor "shelter in place" passes with fucking sirens blasting and the cops moving from building to building but finally they lift the lockdown and im able to get to my bus stop to go home. I immediately see this little green coin purse and im like fuck.. no ID but there are receipts saying this is a SNAP recipient and im like i cant keep this even if its just $20. my bus shows up while im taping a notecard to the pole saying GREEN WALLET TURNED IN AT [location] so i run to this woman and im like hi i need to get out of the city can u pls run this in to the front desk and shes like Ummm i dont feel like it so i run to the front desk. turn in the wallet. get on the next bus three minutes later since the schedule's accelerated after the emergency and then theres fucking SWAT shutting down my bus' next stop & a cop sprinting thru the street to get on our bus & turn us around & now im detouring half an hour back through the city & people are saying theres a fucking guy with an AK on the run from the cops and he was probably on the bus that i would have taken if not for the indifference of that lady. Girl. Thats why u always return the coin purse