#basically I have two potential roommates down and one just messaged saying they got a messenge from someone else

[brutal-out-here]

Having an extremely awkward situation is painfully awful

[violetmuses]

Intertwined - Zemo (Chapter 2)

TITLE: “Intertwined” - Helmut Zemo (Detective AU)

FANDOM: Marvel (Modern AU)

CHARACTER: Helmut Zemo 

MAIN PAIRING: Helmut Zemo + Female Reader 

MAIN STORYLINE: When Zemo unexpectedly finds himself working in a new department, you change his world forever. 

Author’s Note: Hey! Chapter 2 is here. Please let me know what you think and feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for reading my work as always. - V.  💜

Intertwined - Masterlist 🔍

Main Masterlist 💜

Tags: @norabrice1701 @tavners 🏷

___________

After nearly racing back to the precinct, you mull over important details. 

That victim lost their life, loved ones were informed, Zemo suggested that an expert marksman could be responsible, and this tragedy occurred in an apartment building, too. 

Yet, potential suspects hadn’t been confirmed as of late, not even neighbors or the summer party guests. 

“Could we trace something towards the victim’s background? Perhaps there were enemies.” Zemo sat beside you as a department tech clicked through another database. 

“Enemies? A college student was killed, Zemo. Not some global diplomat.” You immediately pull defenses and attempt to humanize this situation. Someone is dead, of course. 

“Consider every possibility. As I’ve said, no average civilian would pull their trigger this way to kill someone here.” Zemo continues. 

“What else do you suggest?” You cross both arms, wanting to leave. 

“If the killer’s bullet planned to send a message, then we should start again.” Zemo kept these riddles going and you nearly cast your eyes towards the ceiling. 

“Are you saying that we should interrogate the victim's family again?” Soon after, your heart drops. 

“No.” Zemo clarifies his response once the database tech leaves and you’re alone with him near this shut down computer. “Moving away from the inner circle could answer more questions. We have only learned some basics from paperwork.” 

Branch out. You think to yourself. 

****

“When are you coming home?” Heike asks the question through another call with Zemo. 

“Later than expected unfortunately. We haven’t even solved this case yet.” Zemo affirms, sighing for a moment as he paces. 

“Just come home…Please?” Heike settles down personal frustration and sends best wishes to her husband. There’s no other choice. 

“I will. I love you.” Zemo ends this call, sitting in silence. 

_________

The victim’s final roommates, two ironic Criminal Justice majors, meet you and Zemo in a private area. For the sake of this investigation, you cannot risk speaking in public. Of course, it’s known that anyone could be listening, even the perpetrator. 

“Nothing unusual happened. We all looked forward to graduation and said goodbye to each other after the ceremony on campus.” One roommate spoke up, shaking their head for a moment after recounting this version of their last few memories. 

“Was the victim social?” Zemo clears his throat, offering his own question rather than being cut off by other people. 

“As social as we could be during those years. Even I worked through our school's pre-law track.” The first roommate goes on. Meanwhile, their nearby classmate nods in silence, waiting for the chance to be addressed. 

All work, no play. More textbooks than tequila. Zemo glances towards you, silently agreeing. 

“Any issues?” You question them, trying to see if the classmates had significant problems. 

“No. All three of us got along.” The second roommate chimes in and softly grins this time around. 

Good on the surface. Now what? You’re standing at a proverbial crossroads right now. Any upcoming questions may very well shift everything. 

Before long, you turn to Zemo, who quickly catches your extra round of silence without saying much in return. He needs to help you out. 

In that moment, he knows so much better than to slide pictures from the crime scene. Recent television broadcasts show enough chaos. 

“How close was your relationship with the victim?” He questions both roommates and those wheels start turning in your head once more. Still, you stay mute, listening instead. 

“Not close like family, but we cared about each other. This whole situation is terrible.” That Pre-Law roommate holds their heart while looking at Zemo and furrows brows. 

“Thank you.” Zemo rises from a chair and gathers his favorite coat, ending this chat. You have no other choice but to follow him. 

“Did we answer your questions, Detective?” That Pre-Law roommate asks, still sitting down. 

“You both assisted.” Zemo glances over his shoulder, leaving through the exit with you almost trailing behind every footstep. 

****

“Flaky?” You question Zemo in this car, heading back to the precinct. 

“Everyone grieves differently of course, but something did not feel right.” Zemo sighs without facing you and concentrates on driving. His amber eyes lock towards the road. 

“Which roommate?” You squint again. 

“The Pre-Law student.” Zemo rasps through his accented English once more, trying not to lose composure. 

Shit. You think. 

***

Bingo. 

You found information on that “potentially suspicious”  pre-law student. After zipping right back to the precinct, more department techs clicked through open databases again. 

“All right. Let’s see: transfer student, full-ride scholarship to the university, affluent relatives.” You mark the so-called bulletpoints after printing off details. 

“Affluent relatives? How do that student’s parents earn income?” At this moment, Zemo nearly freezes, but immediately looks at you. 

“The guy’s father is a defense attorney and Mom owns this beach resort.” You clarify, holding up one part of the stapled part document. 

“Two different industries.” Zemo wipes down his exhausted face, plopping down in another chair and sitting across from you. 

“We should head to Dad first.” You suggest. “The defense attorney concept looks promising.” 

“Fair.” Zemo cuts. 

“Can’t hang?” You joke without giving much humor. On the other hand, Zemo cringes as he drinks chilled styrofoam tea. 

“I’m fine.” Zemo fibs, remembering that Heike would rather see him at home, not traveling everywhere in this country. 

“We’ll go tomorrow. Night.” You catch that lie from Zemo, but still don’t embarrass him. 

Both of you work to reorganize paperwork and lock down the filing cabinets, gathering belongings to leave. 

__________

Zemo can’t sleep that night. He’s pacing back and forth in the small hotel room, not enjoying luxury here. A glass of ice water, not whisky, rests in his leftward palm.  

One large view of blinding streetlights and downtown traffic casts beyond rear windows. No breathtaking architecture loomed in front of him. 

Come home. Heike’s gentle voice sends a reminder to Zemo’s thoughts. 

Seconds later, your face reaches his memory as well. 

[jaembby]

Lesson learned

pairing: nct dream x f reader

genre: fluff, angst (kinda but not really- its basically y/n having a breakdown that’s it), somewhat a roommates au

word count: 1.8k

requested: yes! request:  scenario where they try to prank you ignoring you like they're upset, but you had a really bad day and just breaks down in front of them (nct dream)

warnings: there’s really none unless you count possible grammar mistakes and shitty writing. also I only got to proof reading the first part so the second half probably has some mistakes but let’s just ignore them for now :)

a/n: thank you again for the request @nctvroomts! if anyone wants to request anything, send it in!

also, I hit 60 followers while writing this!! (i’m at 63 now) Thank you all so much!! I can’t believe there are actually over 60 people who read my writing y’all i- <3 <3 <3

preview:

You couldn’t take it anymore and let a small salty tear slide down your cheek as you turned and ran to your room.

Sneaky smiles quickly turned to looks of instant regret as the boys realized; they’d messed up.

-----

The second you entered into your shared flat, you knew something wasn’t right.

There are four of you who live in the flat but it feels more like eight. Jaemin, Jeno and Renjun lived with you but their friend group - who you had now become a part of - called “the dreamies” were always over. Your home was like a second home to Mark, Haechan, Chenle and Jisung aka the other half of the dreamies.

Every single day, without fail, you would come home to the group of overly affectionate boys bombarding you with hugs and questions about your day and stories about theirs. Today, however, was different.

You walked into the door only to be greeted with silence. Most of the boys were sitting and playing video games on the couches of your shared living room while Jaemin and Jeno were taking fresh muffins out of the oven for everyone. Not a single head had turned your way upon your arrival. Not a single greeting of “hi” or “how was your day?”. Not one person moved from where they were stationed nor paid any attention to you whatsoever. Did you do something? Do they suddenly not like you?

“Hello? Are any of you alive?” you called out but didn’t get a response.

You weren’t in the mood for this shit today. You’d had an argument with a co-worker which ended up with nearly everyone in the workplace turning against you for absolutely no reason then received hateful messages because of false rumours spread about you. Because of this, your boss had even threatened that “you’ll be fired if this rubbish continues” and “we can’t have someone like you causing trouble among our staff and bringing the company’s reputation down”! It wasn’t even your fault! But of course, no one listened to you.

“Did I do something? Am I a ghost?” you asked the boys but, once again, received no response. You looked over to where the dreamies sat on the couches eating their muffins which just so happened to be your favourite flavour. It also just so happened that there were none made for you.

“Hello? Please don’t ignore me, guys,” you said as you set your things down on a table, trying not to let them get the better of you.

You looked forward to coming home to the dreamies because they’re your best friends! They always managed to make you feel better and today, you really needed it.

“Did you guys hear anything?” Haechan asked the rest of the group. They all responded with a chorus of no’s and nope’s and that’s when you let go.

Well done. Whatever you boys hoped to achieve, I hope you’re happy, you thought as you felt isolated and alone. The day that you thought couldn’t have gotten any worse just did and it was too much for you.

You couldn’t take it anymore and let a small salty tear slide down your cheek as you turned and ran to your room.

Sneaky smiles quickly turned to looks of instant regret as the boys realized; they’d messed up.

You didn’t spare a glance back at the group of 7 boys downstairs as you slammed the door and flopped onto your bed before letting the tears fall. All of the pent-up anger, frustration and sadness from today’s events came crashing down like a tidal wave as you struggled to control your breathing.

Downstairs, the guys had started to panic.

“Haechan, this is all your fault for suggesting to prank y/n!” Renjun shouted.

“Me? You all agreed to it!” Haechan replied.

Soon enough, almost all of the dreamies were arguing over whose fault it was, a series of “you did this” and “you said that” was all that could be heard with each boy trying to get his say.

“Shut up! All of you!” Mark yelled, bringing an abrupt halt to the arguments.

“Thank you. Now, stop blaming each other. We all agreed to prank y/n and all came up with the plan together. Obviously, we’ve upset her because we’re all stupid and selfish so now we’ve got to work out how to fix this mess.”

“This is why Mark is our unofficial leader,” Haechan stated as Mark blushed. “now does anyone have any ideas on how to fix this mess that we all made?” He continued.

“Jeno and I made extra muffins that we were going to give to y/n after,” Jaemin said in a small voice.

“I feel so bad,” Jisung said as he suddenly found the ground very interesting.

“Me too”

“Me three”

“Same”

“I think we all do”

“Yeah”

“Yep”

“Alright, here’s the plan...” Mark said as he revealed what the group of boys were to do in order to apologize and fix their mistakes.

7 out of the 8 dreamies (you being the odd one out) were sitting in a circle and thinking of ways to make you feel better.

“I can go talk to her... see how she is?” Jisung suggested.

“That’s probably a good idea, ‘sungie, seeing as she doesn’t often get mad at you. While Jisung’s up there, Jaemin and Jeno, I want you guys to get the rest of the muffins out and put them on a plate and 9 glasses and a bottle of y/n’s favourite juice. Renjun and Haechan, help me set up a pillow fort and Chenle, pick out a few movies that y/n might like. Is everyone okay with that?” Mark said, his authoritative side showing once again. When everyone nodded in response, it was time to start.

Jisung walked quietly up the stairs towards your room but stopped a few feet away when he heard your uneven breathing and quiet sniffles being muffled by pillows. He quickly made a detour to the bathroom where he got a glass of water for you and a box of tissues and set out for your room once more.

“y/n?” Jisung asked hesitantly.

“what do you want?” You questioned, angry that the dreamies were ignoring you up until now.

“It’s Jisung, can I come in?”

“Oh, come in ‘sung.”

Jisung made his way into your room and sat down at the edge of your bed before pulling you into a gentle hug. For a while, it was just the two of you in comfortable silence. No words needing to be shared as Jisung let you cry onto his shoulder as he gently stroked your hair. When your breathing had returned to a somewhat normal pace with only small hiccups here and there, Jisung passed you a tissue.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, the gentle sound muffled by his face in your hair.

“Not only me... the rest of us. Y/n, we’re really sorry,” He said as he tightened his grip on you before pulling away to help you wipe some of the tears from your cheeks.

“I’m sorry too. I guess I overreacted. It’s not all your fault... I’ve just had a pretty rough day with work and coming home to my best friends acting like I wasn’t there was not the best end to it” you smiled slightly as you reached a hand up to play with Jisung’s hair. He always managed to calm you down. No matter what happened between you and the others, Jisung was always the one to not get involved.

“Y/n I’m so sorry, we didn’t know. It was just meant to be a prank but we took it too far.”

“It’s okay, ‘sungie. I’m fine now.” You gave him a reassuring smile as you pulled your hands away from his hair which was now slightly messier than it had been before.

“Do you wanna go downstairs? Let’s get you cleaned up a bit and head down because the others want to apologise, too.” Jisung said as he led you to your ensuite bathroom and gently took your hair out of it’s ponytail as you washed off your (now messed up) makeup. Soon enough, you had washed off the makeup, the red stains in your eyes from crying had reduced and you’d changed into comfier clothes as you headed downstairs with Jisung to meet the remaining 6 boys.

As soon as you’d got downstairs, Mark smothered you in a too-tight hug.

“Jisung probably already told you this but we’re so sorry. We really are, y/n. It was meant to be a stupid prank but we never intended to hurt your feelings. We’re really sorry.” He said as he pulled back and grabbed your hand, leading you towards the mess of pillows and blankets that the boys had turned into a fort big enough to comfortably fit all 8 of you.

You’d just sat down on one of the pillows when suddenly a tray of muffins was placed in front of you by a pouty Jaemin and Jeno.

“Sorry.” they both said as they took turns in giving you hugs.

Renjun, Haechan and Chenle followed after Jaemin and Jeno, apologizing and giving you tight comforting hugs.

After hugs and muffins being shared amongst you all, everyone had gotten into more comfortable positions in the pillow fort, ready to watch movies.

“Y/n, pick a movie,” Chenle said as he passed the remote in your direction from where he was seated next to Jisung. Haechan, who was to the left of you, grabbed it and gave it to you before resting his head gently on your shoulder and snuggling closer to you.

“Hyuck, stop moving. You nearly kicked over our cups.” Mark said as he reached down to move the half-empty cups away from the potentially dangerous area.

“Noo- the cups will be fine, Mark.” Haechan retorted tiredly and you laughed quietly at their banter.

The movie began and Jaemin, who was to your right, looped his arm with yours as he rested his head on your free shoulder.

Renjun leaned on Jeno, who leaned on Jaemin, who cuddled your right side while Mark was resting the weight of his head on Haechan’s lap and Chenle and Jisung were sat in front of the rest of you, side by side, leaning on each other and occasionally commenting on the movie to one another which would earn a playful slap from the other.

Things were peaceful (well, as peaceful as you can get with the dreamies) and all was well. You’d forgiven the boys and they’d learned not to pull dumb pranks in the future. Now here you all sat, the eight of you content and comfortable.

It was quiet apart from the movie playing in the background...too quiet.

Suddenly, the blanket that acted as the roof of the den fell down, along with two of the chairs holding them up, causing you all to laugh as Jaemin and Jisung screamed quietly, having been woken from their half-asleep state.

“Maybe someone else can be in charge of building the den next time,” Jisung mumbled grumpily as he lay on Chenle in an attempt to get comfortable once again.

“Hey!” Chenle said in an offended tone (though you all knew he was faking) and lightly hit Jisung in the arm which caused the rest of you to go into another laughing fit.

The group of overly affectionate boys had once again managed to make you smile and laugh again, despite everything that happened today.

Lesson learned: don’t prank y/n like that! 

-----

a/n: thank you for reading! I know this was very basic and boring with the shittiest plot but writer’s block doesn’t help when you’re trying to write a request nshdkj anyways not @ me trying to subtly put chenji markhyuck and norenmin in there i’m sorry if there’s mistakes I literally wrote majority of this at like 2am on multiple days so yeah. anyways i’m going to shut up now- thanks for reading and please continue sending in requests!! i’m so sorry @nctvrooms that this took so long to write I kinda forgot about it for like two weeks oops.

[what-the--curtains]

In a Week

Part 1/4 - A storm blows into town

(Frankie “catfish” Morales x f!reader)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Summary: a drive down to a friends wedding gets complicated when you fail to head a warning.

Authors notes: Hello! Another fic cause it keeps snowing here and I’m SICK OF IT but wouldn’t mind it if I was stuck with Frankie💕. Anyways hope you enjoy as always comments are welcome but be nice!

TW: mentions of dead sibling (war related), swearing, mentions of a toxic relationship (based off of personal experience)

Tagged list: @agingerindenial

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~There was nothing worse than a February wedding, well at least one that took place in the frigid northern temperatures you were currently residing in. So you were eternally grateful that your best friend Stella had chosen to have hers down in sunny south Carolina where she had just accepted her first permanent hospital position. She was marrying her first love, a fact you’d usually cringe at but, they were extremely cute together. Stella had met Genevieve through her brothers Will and Benny, well more specifically Will, who had drunkenly run his head through a window one night. This incident resulted in two things, first a nickname that would stick with Will for the rest of his life and a late night call to Stella asking her to come down to the hospital to pick him up. The boys had put Stella down as their emergency contact in an effort to keep their antics hidden from their parents who they knew would only worry. The nurse patching up her idiot brother was none other than Genevieve who was working through her university's clinical course, and the rest? Well, the rest was history

You’d met Genevieve, as well as Will and Benny, sporadically throughout the 8 years you had roomed with Stella, first during your undergraduate degree at Boston University and then again at Stanford while attending medical school. You’d choses Stella as a roommate without much thought, but after just a few weeks together you were inseparable up until the day that you were assigned to your residency. You were slightly jealous when you found out that she would be spending the next four years in the warm embrace of Carolina (and Gen) while you would be living alone throughout the freezing Chicago winters. The pagne of jealousy didn’t last long though, Chicago med was your first choice after all. So here you were, in the last year of residency and in the middle of a brutal -20 degree winter, preparing to drive the 13 hours down to watch Stella get married. You’d considered flying but you knew how fickle airplanes could be in the winter and the last thing you wanted was a delayed flight because a door had frozen shut. Your friends had tried to convince you that driving down alone was far too dangerous a venture and none were more concerned than Santiago Garcia.

You’d known Santiago your whole life. Him being your brother's best friend resulted in him spending a lot of, some may argue too much, time at your house throughout both your childhoods. Your brother, Parker, was 8 years your senior, an age gap that often resulted in an argument over which one of you was the accident. An argument which usually ended with an agreement that in all likelihood you both were. Every summer from before you were born to the time they left for the military the two boys were a constant presence in your life. Hell, even after he left you’d watched him grow as he passed through your household over Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. One thing was for sure, if Parker was there Satiago Garcia wasn't far behind. He was also there the day you received the news that your brother had gone MIA and he was by your side at the funeral, as you watched the commanding officer hand your mother the flag your brother had died for. After the funeral, life continued to move on around you as did everyone else. You always found it funny how quickly you were supposed to recover from loss, apparently a week was long enough to get over it. At least according to the university and your employers who had started calling with empty condolences that quickly led to the real reason they were calling. Always wanting to know when you’d be coming back. After your brother's passing, Santiago took over his role of big brother to you. He read over your med school applications, scared off potential boyfriends and got all the embarrassing video footage of you at your graduations. He was a permanent fixture in your life, one you hoped you’d never lose. Even now as he continued to blow up your phone in an attempt to sway you from driving up alone, you were thankful for him. Over the past 5 days he sent you lengthy lectures in the form of voice messages and a slew of articles detailing the statistics of winter related accidents. His name pops up on your screen as does a picture you’d taken one night after he'd passed out drunk and you’d stuffed cheetos up his nostrils, an act he has yet to forgive you for. You contemplate ignoring the call, but knowing you were about to go radio silent for the next 8 hours you decide to pick it up.

"Hey Santi what’s up?" you ask, as you half heartedly spread cream cheese onto a poorly toasted bagel.

"Have I ever told you how much I value your friendship?” Even over the phone you could hear the layers of charm he was currently plastering on.

"What do you want?" you say, tossing the knife into the sink.

"Hey! Who says..." he starts, but you don't let him finish.

"Santi I've known you long enough to know your ‘please I need something’ tone by heart" you laugh.

"Okay well I still value you, but ya I absolutely need a favour" Santiago admits.

"Shoot." you say taking a bite of the bagel.

"I need you to pick up a friend of mine, his flight got cancelled. He's in Chicago at the moment, can you drive him down to the wedding?"

"Ughhh are you kidding me Santi? I’m just about to leave" you say through a half chewed mouthful.

"Please! He’s a great guy, Gen wants him at the wedding, he was in basic with us, so a frequent visitor to the hospital. He's usually pretty quiet so you won’t have to spend that much time making small talk, which I know you hate." He pleaded. For anyone else a last minute change like this would have gotten a laugh, and nothing more, but this was Garcia, and you knew he’d do anything for you, so you’d do this for him.

“Fine” you begrudgingly agree “text me his number, I'm heading out in 40 minutes so he'll have to wait at the airport for a bit" you say, finishing your breakfast.

"You’re a godsend! Seriously, what would I do without you?" He chuckles.

"Nothing good i'm sure, besides I figure I probably owe you like, 1000 favours after you

know....'' the phone goes quiet. Five years later and it still stung like it was yesterday, for you both. He was your family, but he was Santiago’s best friend, you knew the loss was equally as devastating for him. You also knew he'd been having a particularly hard time recently, after what he termed a mission gone wrong a few years back. Every time you'd ask about it he’d shut you down harshly refusing to share any details with you.

"You don’t owe me anything. We're family. Thank you for driving him. I owe you a drink at the wedding!" He responds, back to his chipper self. If it wasn’t for the silence he may just have convinced you that he really was doing fine. You toss the phone on the counter and rub your temples mentally rearranging your entire itinerary for the day. You'd already rifled through the gym bag that was constraining way more clothes than you’d need for the week. Everything you needed was there from bathing suits to your wedding outfit to the special lingerie you’d packed in case you ran into an old flame. If by in case you meant, for when you ran into him. You don’t know how but he’d gotten invited to the wedding reception. Stella hated the guy, so it must have been through Genevieve who likely would have felt bad excluding him, even if he was only a friend of a friend.

You’d met Jonathan in your undergrad and you had been together throughout various points in your life, though never in any official sense. He’d made that evidently clear to you at any opportunity he got. He kept you on a short leash, a retainer if you will. Only coming to you between relationships with women that he deemed worthy enough to be his girlfriends. You knew it was toxic, and your friends constant reminders of how unhealthy it was didn’t fall on deaf ears. The way he would use you and lose you always ended with you being an unstable and emotional wreck, only solidifying his claims of you being crazy. You hated it, the way he made you feel so small, but he held this strange power over you. A power not even you could explain. His redeeming qualities could only be found in the bedroom, he was the best you’d ever had, so you forgave his shitty personality. Always gravitating back towards him, restarting the cycle. You knew what it meant to do the same activity over and over expecting different results, but this was different. At least that's what you told yourself, as you’d traced your hands over the lingeries lace that morning, knowing it was bought for a man who would never appreciate it.

Brushing all thought of him aside for the time being you grab the duffle off the floor and sling it over your shoulder. Walking out into the cold February air you watch as your breath transforms into a small cloud in front. Your chest hurts and nose hairs freeze as you inhale, tossing your bag into the back seat before leaning into the car and starting it up. The engine sputters for a moment before breaking out into a loud rumble, maybe it was a good thing someone else would be in the car with you after all. You jog back inside to your townhouse and grab the cooler where you’d stored the snacks and sandwiches you’d prepared for the road, now realizing it likely wouldn’t be enough to feed two people. Tossing on your winter jacket you lock the door behind you and slide your sunglasses down over your eyes shielding them from the afternoon sun as you make your way into your car.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You pull up to the departure gate still cursing at the idiot who had almost smashed into you while they were going the wrong way down a one way street. You hated driving in the city and you couldn’t wait to get out on the open road, even if it was going to be with a total stranger. You find yourself second guessing your decision to drive down state with someone you’d never met. In all reality, even if Santi was vouching for him, he could be a serial killer, plenty of people had nice things to say about Ted Bundy before he got caught.

You shake off the nervous feeling taking over your body, deciding to put your faith in your friends judgment, at least for now. Worse comes to worse you had a pocket knife stowed within reach. As long as he didn’t complain about any playlists or podcasts and understood your need for complete silence from time to time, you’d get on just fine. Besides it was only a 13 hour drive, and you could put up with anything for 13 hours.

You open up your phone and pull up the conversation you and Santiago had been having, scrolling up until you see the contact he’d sent you which read “ Catfish”. You click on it hoping to get the guys real name as a result but no luck, you should have asked Garcia for more information about this “Catfish” guy. You click on the number opting to call, not wanting to waste time wondering if he’d gotten the text you’d sent. The phone rings a few times before you hear someone pick up.

"Catfish?" you say, less confident in yourself than you had been dialing.

"In the flesh, who's this?" the deep voice responds.

"Your ride, Santiago’s friend" you offer, hoping that this wasn't some elaborate prank.

"Oh shit ya, Pope told me you’d be later than you said. I'm still downstairs" he says.

"Of course he did the little shit" you mutter, causing Catfish to laugh "Im outside now, departures second floor"

“I'll be out in a second" he says, hanging up the phone before you can say anything else.

You plug your phone back into the aux setting it back to the playlist you’d made last night during another bout of insomnia. You're checking your email to see if anything came up from the hospital when a tap at the window causes you to jump. As you look over you see the man who must be “Catfish” gently tapping on the glass. You unlock the door, popping the trunk as you slide out the driver's seat.

“You can put your bags back here. Fuck!" you exclaim when you trunk won’t open, likely having frozen shut again.

"Here" he says dropping his bag on the salted pavement and heaving up on the trunk freeing it from its icy constraints with a relative ease causing him to smile down at you.

"I loosened it" you say defensively, as he tosses his bag in the back still grinning when he

slams the trunk shut.

"Fransico Morales, though most people just call me Frankie" he says as you sit back down in the driver seat rubbing your hands together to warm them and applying some chapstick.

"Y/N, nice to meet you Frankie, seat warmers are here, use as your leisure. There are snacks in the back, but no touching the phone.” you rattle off.

“Aye aye captain” he responds, saluting you.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Santiago was right, Frankie was quiet. He offered you little in conversation or any noise at all really. You’d only heard him laugh maybe twice, once while listening to a podcast episode and then again when Britney Spears made her appearance on your soundtrack. "What? She’s America's sweetheart" you say trying to sound offended, but smiling when you notice his lopsided grin. You’d attempted to open up a dialogue with him a few times, but his one worded responses told you all you needed to know, so you stopped forcing it. It wasn’t a hostile environment, it was more of a comfortable silence one that you usually only found in people you had known for years. The silence gave you an opportunity to study the man’s features, glancing away from the road every now and then to slowly piece together his profile. You had pegged him as attractive the second his face had appeared in your passenger window, but it wasn't until now that the details that made him so could be seen; relatively tall, tanned skin, soft curls, deep brown eyes. Glancing over again you notice a concerned look spread across his face.

"What?" you ask, nervous that you’d creeped him out with your excessive, and not so subtle staring.

"Storms coming our way" he says, nodding up at the darkening sky.

"We’re not supposed to get snow for another week, I checked” you reassure.

"Things change" he says

" Sky’s clear, so we don’t stop for another 3 hours" you say, definitively.

" Your funeral, well mine as well I guess" he chuckles, earning him an icy glare from you.

“It's nothing, trust me” you affirm, confident in your ability to read a weather app.

" No one likes a know-it-all" he mutters still grinning.

"Could you help me with something" you ask smiling sweetly

"Sure" he responds, eager to help.

"Pull up the map and show me when I asked for your opinion"

"Eyes on the road” he says, causing your grip to tighten around the wheel.

Well crow wasn’t your favourite food to eat, but here you were eating it. Turns out Frankie was right. A storm was heading your way and it hit hard and fast. You’d managed to make it to a hotel off the freeway just as it came into full effect. What had started as a very pleasant road trip had quickly soured when you refused to apologize for not heading his warning. This paired with the 6 hours you had already driven had left you both irritable so much so that Frankie was now refusing to be any use in respect to figuring out what your next move was going to be.

"Hi" you say to the equally tired looking receptionist. Apparently, every other person travelling through Illinois had also missed the memo about the storm and were now all stuck at the same hotel.

"Hi, so sorry for the wait" she says, forcing a smile in a way that you recognized from your retail days.

"No need to apologize! What are the odds you have any rooms available?" you ask rubbing your eyes in an attempt to keep them open.

"Let me check, we have one... suite left on the... fourth floor” she says after a few moments of typing away into the computer.

"Perfect we’ll take it." you say, tapping your credit card to the machine. You walk back over to Frankie who was sitting with the bags and hand him a room key. He exhales deeply, not looking up from his phone as he takes it from you.

"There was only one room left so we’ll have to share" you say.

"Fine," he says, standing up, grabbing his bag and heading over to the elevator not bothering to wait for you. You watch as the elevator doors open and close behind him. Sure maybe it was your fault that you were stuck in this situation, but that was pretty rude. You push your way into the room after struggling with the key for a moment. Frankie must have been eager to get to sleep, or at least eager to not converse with you as he’d wasted no time in unpacking his bag and getting ready for bed. Your eyes move from the clothes on the floor, to the suit hung up in the closet, to the closed bathroom door. You hear the toilet flush and watch the door open as you drop your bag down onto the living room floor, grabbing the toiletries out of your bag's side pocket. You were far too tired to wrestle down to your pyjamas so you opted to stay in the leggings and sports bra you’d been wearing all day. Yes it was gross, but you couldn't be bothered to change at this point. Your eyes follow Frankie as he exits the bathroom in a green cotton t-shirt and a pair of plaid boxer shorts. You continue to watch as he plugs his phone in and shifts beneath the covers. Guess you were on the floor then. The couch was far too small, and you really weren't trying to break your neck sleeping on its arm rest.

"Pass me a pillow" you huff, as you grab a glass from the nightstand, turning back around to fill it up with water from the sink.

Why?" he asks, watching you take a sip from the overfilled cup.

"So I can sleep on the floor." you state, as if it was obvious.

“No, I’ll do that, you can have the bed" he says shifting up and pushing the blankets off himself. He hadn’t realized you were so averse to sharing a bed with him, but you had just met so he guessed it was fair enough.

"I’m not the one with the bad back old man" you state, the words sounding a lot harsher than you’d intended, but you were younger and thus more likely to recover.

"Fair point, but you’re not sleeping on the floor. Santi wouldn’t allow it. We can put up a pillow barrier between us if that would make you feel more comfortable" he offers, any hostility you had felt from him earlier now turned to tenderness. In all honesty, you hadn’t realized that sharing the bed was an option.

"I need two to sleep with so no point in making a barrier" you say, begrudgingly placing the glass back down on the nightstand "Shift" you say, fanning your hand.

"No" he says looking you dead in the eye "I got here first" he’s grinning slightly, further indicating he’d gotten over his anger from earlier. You could have just walked around to the other side, but for some unknown reason you don’t. Instead, you swing your leg over him pushing yourself up onto the bed, straddling him for the briefest moment before rolling over to the other side.

"Couldn’t have just walked around?" he chuckles

"Couldn’t have just shifted over?" you parrot back, moving onto your back, closing your eyes and dozing off.

[catgrump]

about the writing request thing... would you write komahinanami (as a throuple, not as a hajime has two hands thing)? idk what sort of thing,,, maybe fluff??? like a sickfic or something

We love a good Poly Pod in this house!!

College AU with a dash of And They Were Roommates as a treat

Also this is my first time writing anything with Nagito in it so the stakes are high

🌻🌻🌻

Hajime spat out the swig of mouthwash he gargled and looked at himself in the mirror

He wasn’t completely satisfied, so he took his comb from the sink vanity and brushed some hair to the side, then shifted it practically back into its original place with his fingers

He smiled at his reflection, ready to go.

He turned off the bathroom lights and entered his adjoined bedroom, grabbed his backpack that he packed the night before, his coat and scarf, and headed to the living room so he could put on the shoes he wore yesterday that are sitting in his apartment’s entryway

What he wasn’t expecting, though, were his two roommates lounging on the couch, wrapped in blankets, holding game controllers, looking miserable.

The door to their balcony was unobstructed by the blinds, displaying last night’s snow continuing to fall. If it weren’t for the obvious discomfort on their faces, the scene would be quite cozy.

“Nagito? Chiaki? Don’t you guys have an 8AM? I thought you’d be out of here by now.”

Chiaki, barely looking up from the TV, replied “I feel like garbage and he’s running a fever, I think.”

Nagito looked up at Hajime, cocked his head, and remarked with a slight smile, “Quite unfortunate, isn’t it?”

“You think he has a fever?” Hajime asked, “Do we not own a thermometer?”

“Chiaki ordered one on Postmates,” Nagito replied, still smiling

“Along with more anti-bacterial wipes and mac-and-cheese,” Chiaki added, “I didn’t want a Small Cart Fee.”

Hajime put his bag down and approached them, placing the backs of his hands on their foreheads. “Well, if the Mom Fever Check Method has any validity, you both seem to have come down with something.”

“How do you feel, Hajime?” Chiaki asked, pausing their game

“Yeah, what’s weird is that I feel totally fine,” Hajime sat on the wooden coffee table to face them

“We were all together last night,” Nagito couldn’t resist leaning in toward the two of them, “Pretty, um, close, if I recall correctly.”

Hajime sheepishly laughed as Chiaki smiled and rolled her eyes, “If one of us was sick last night without knowing, and got another person sick,” Chiaki continued, “Then shouldn’t all three of us be sick?”

“Looks like Hajime is the lucky one this time,” Nagito teased

“Well, I live with the two people who are most important to me,” Hajime replied, feeling his face begin to flush, “I’d say that’s pretty lucky.”

Chiaki smiled as she pretended to gag, “Eugh, Nagito is usually the mushy one; maybe you are sick.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry for trying to help my partners feel better!” Hajime said sarcastically

Chiaki stuck her foot out and nudged Hajime, and he pretended to keel over in defeat

“Hajime,” Nagito cooed his name in a way he knows makes hearts flutter, “Skip class and stay home with us? Please? Chiaki and I agreed we’d miss you too much.”

Chiaki chimed in, “You’re on campus basically all day on Wednesdays.”

“Yeah, cuz I have two labs; you guys know this. Besides, it’s so close to the end of the semester—“

“— and you haven’t skipped any class. Not even once,” Nagito retorted, “I admire your dedication and perseverance, but...”

“But?” Hajime pried

Nagito relunctantly admitted, “We really want you here with us.”

Hajime sighed, and considered the potential outcomes. One absence in three of his classes won’t kill him, right? And Chiaki keeps gummy vitamins on hand, so he can boost his immunity a bit. Maybe taking ibuprofen in advance can prevent fevers? He decides he should look that up first before trying it.

“Fine. You win. I love you both very much but if you actually get me sick right before finals week, I will be so pissed.”

“We’ll be extra careful,” Chiaki said with glee, then suddenly shot a stern glare in Nagito’s direction, “Right, Nagito?”

“It’s not my fault you two are so irresistible that I have trouble keeping away,” Nagito said as he shrugged

“You both are lucky you’re cute,” Hajime said, pulling his phone out of his pocket, “Let me just email my professors and then I’ll pick up my controller for next round.”

As Hajime opened the mail app on his phone, he deleted some store promos before seeing a Campus Alert Message from their university. Intrigued, he opened and read it.

When he realized what the Alert said, he tossed his phone on the couch, slightly irritated. “It’s going to keep snowing until late this afternoon. They closed down campus.”

“Well it looks like this is Hajime’s lucky day after all,” Nagito replied, handing Hajime his phone

Hajime groaned, grinning. He shifted to reseat himself in the gap in the couch between Nagito and Chiaki, giving each of them a kiss on the forehead. “Let me know when Postmates gets here.”

Requests still open!

Tip jar available on Ko-fi 💛

[leechonspeeddial]

Midnight Shift: Singer's Blood

Summary: Something wicked might have come to the Burger King. Either that, or someone really needs deodorant

wc: 1.7k

Read on ao3

"And just like that? I'm in your game?"

"Eh, 'just like that' is like not it, Gucci, but basically. Yeah, dude," I watched as sprite mini-me walked all over the map — a pixelated version of East Laddle's last remaining Burger King, complete with a rat king decomposing in the parking lot and Not Kevin's monster of a car covering an old blood stain.

"Call me Gucci again and I'll burn down your secret edibles stash"

"Nah, dude. The invitation for your family's gala was written in gold, and the card was imported from France. I think I'm entitled, yeah?" I rolled my eyes and cursed as the date to Alice's stupid party drew to a close. Two more days before the humans unknowingly walked into a vampire lair.  

It was cliché to say that I just wanted to be a normal kid, and there was a part of me that would be happy to explain everything I felt with the cliché. But I knew that wasn't it — spending a decade in high school made you realize how stifling normal could be. What I truly wanted was to be left alone; I was fed up of Alice treating my like one of her dolls and everyone enabling her. I was tired of having no thought that was truly for myself and Edward violating my privacy on a whim. It hurt to see Rosalie go from a doting mother to a distant figure when I no longer looked like a child, much like it hurt to see Bella see me as an extension of her beloved husband. 

Being able to hear all of them have sex only made everything much worse.

"Whatever. Just show me my final boss form. You said your roommate was hardcore into Junji Ito"

"Alright, but we only have the concept art for it, though. Abby got super pissed at us for smoking her artisanal weed, so she's not like making the sprite until we get her more, 'kay?" Straight Kevin minimized the game and navigated through his discord server. I left him to his search so I could refill my mello yello; it was always a good shift when Gay Kevin and Not Kevin were away from the store. They were objectively entertaining men, but they also got a little too intense about work here. Neither would let us blow off work in favour of our personal projects. 

Not since Wrestlemania Condimentalooza.

I slurped at my drink and absentmindedly wiped at the counter. Straight Kevin had his phone hooked to our sound system and he was blasting his playlist. His taste in music was…was one would call eclectic if one was feeling charitable – and boy, did I feel like I was making a million dollar donation. In the past hour alone, we had listened to swedish rap, some Nancy Sinatra, Blackpink, Tibetan throat singing, quebecois death metal, and Maroon 5. 

Fucking Maroon 5. 

But none of that compared to the song that was currently playing. It was less of an auditory experience, less of a musical treat, and more like being forcefully turned into a robot that was in the middle of short circuiting. Not only could you feel the beat, but you could see it too. It looked like flashing lights, and I was certain in that moment, that if it continued I would soon be able to taste sound.

And it was during that assault of my senses that I smelled it. Something unlike anything I had ever smelled before and an immeasurable sense of dread washed over me. The pit in my stomach felt like a black hole as I stood ramrod straight and saw a man I had never seen before enter the building alongside Jeremiah.

Nothing about him particularly stood out. He looked like any other white guy that just got out of the office. He was tall though, taller than anyone else here. Not unnaturally tall, mind you, but...something about his aura felt dangerous. I was on edge and no longer breathing, was this how it felt to be near il tuo cantante?

I made eye contact with the man and tried to place the smell, the flavour of it. It didn't taste enticing, if anything the rat king out back called to me more than the man did. But if this was what Bella smelled like when she was human, I had many questions for Edward.

"How's it hanging, Carrot top? Still working on that game, I see Shaggy," Jerimiah appeared oblivious of my behavior. Then again, glaring to our customers wasn't uncommon for me.

I looked away from the man and I saw Jerimiah set up a chess game on his table. Oh no.

"My man C.J. here is buying me lunch, so you can tell your anxious manager not to have a panic attack over more 'non-paying customers'"

"Nah, it's all cool, dude. Kev and Not Kev are on a supply run. Another of our suppliers dropped us like a hot potato"

"Cello beach, that's what they say, no?" Jeremiah shrugged and the man tilted his head.

"C'est la vie?" He questioned using a register of voice I had not expected. I hated it.

"Languages were never my thing. Math, now that's my jam," he dropped onto his chair and I decided I needed to clear my airways. I needed to get out of here. 

Now.

"Kev, take their order. I'm going to deal with the raccoons"

I didn't even wait for a response before I hauled ass out of there. Luckily, I had enough self control to not vampire yeet myself. 

Once outside I took a deep breath.

It was a deeply offensive smell, but at least it was a familiar one. Trash, raccoons, and decay, baby. 

Though, on second breath. Way less raccoons than last week. Significantly less. Maybe Gay Kevin had finally bested them, which shame if true. 

I leaned on the dumpster and tried to focus. It was important for me to figure out what the hell was going on, because damn if some paper pusher was the reason we left East Laddle. The Cullens would jump at the opportunity to decrease my autonomy if I ate some guy. 

Which, yeah. Murder shouldn't be taken lightly, but I'd never be able to have as much freedom as I did now.

God, it'd be fucked. They'd make me go back to school and somehow rationalize that decision as a good one. Somehow surrounding me with hundreds of humans after murdering one would make sense because they'd be there to keep an eye on me...

I was getting sidetracked again, back to the matter at hand. 

About three things I was absolutely positive. First, that man stank. Second, there was a part of me – and I didn’t know how potent that part might be – that wanted to murder him in cold blood. And third, I was deeply and irrationally terrified of him.

A trash can fell over with a loud clang and a empty jug of bleach rolled pass my feet. My eyes widened in realization – Jake had once told me that to him, the smell of vampires made his nose burn. It was an unpleasant odor that clung to everything a vampire touched. Similarly, Alice had gone on at length at how much she didn't like how the shifters smelled like.

The man didn't smell like a shifter, which only served to make me more uneasy. He clearly wasn't a vampire, his eyes were bright blue and I heard his heart beat, but my nose felt like burning back there. 

The more I stood in our nearly empty garbage zone, the more questions I had. The last time I felt this level of terror, the freaking Volturi had crossed the Atlantic to personally execute me. It was horrifying.

And exciting. This was something new and unheard of, a break from the monotony of the past 15 years. I needed to solve this mystery and I needed to do it stat. Not only because this was potentially life threatening – and I didn't mean just the vampires, whatever that man was could be a danger to the whole town – but also because the moment the Cullens found out about it, we'd be out the Minnesota, nay, the States, before I could even think to protest. 

I was so not letting the Cullens ruin this for me. This could be my Riverdale moment; Betty who? Resentment Cannibal was on the case. 

...

Ok. That was a bit cringe, but fuck it. I walked back in to the building with a mission in mind. I also washed by hands with our heavy duty soap for at least 20 seconds.

"–that incident he got kicked from kitchen duties. Which sucked, cuz CJ has some wicked knife skills," Jeremiah's voice carried to the back of the kitchen and I mentally prepared myself to go back to ground zero. 

"How didn't you notice the taste? Catfish smell so bad when you rupture their guts"

I walked to our registers just in time to see the man shrug. The chess game was still on going and they had pushed another table besides Jeremiah's to make space for the food. There was only one meal on the tray.

"You should have seen Tammy's face. She wanted to blow up so bad, but she couldn't because Susan was there," Jeremiah pitched his voice up and put on the worst British accent I had heard in my life, "'Oh, it's fine Mr. Singer. No big deal. Not a problem. Honest mistake. Happens to everyone!'" 

He took a bite from his burger before continuing. "That woman is so gone on CJ it makes her look stupid."

The man made a face while Straight Kevin laughed.

"She isn't 'gone' on me"

"'Oh Mr. Singer, is that a new coat? Did you do something new with you hair, it looks spiffing! What a nice strong man you are,'" Straight Kevin dissolved into giggles while Jeremiah kept up his imitation. "You have to tell her your taken, man. For all of our sakes"

I stepped forward to join the conversation, when my phone blew up, vibrating as if its life depended on it. I would have ignore it, but the notifications just kept coming. The three men looked back at me.

Fuck.

I fumbled as I took the phone out from my pocket and I checked the messages, all of the Cullens had send me a text and they all said the same thing.

Family emergency. Alice had a vision. Come home.

Double fuck.

[mercury-retrograde-concept]

hey, if you feel like it could you please check if jeno and renjun from nct dream have been in a fight 2019-2020? that mark and haechan reading was truly enlightening, i dont think i will be able to look at them the same after knowing they got on each other's nerves 😂😂

Hey there! I’m glad you found it enlightening! I tend to assume there’s conflict in most kpop groups, if I’m being honest. I don’t necessarily mean truly awful fights, or anything. It’s just that they’re coworkers who are also often roommates; both are situations that allow for a number of things to bicker and clash over. Likewise some of these groups - like NCT - have a lot of people. And the more people you have, the more vectors there are for arguments to break out.

This is probably dreadfully obvious, but I’m rambling about it anyway. I think conflict readings are some of the most interesting to do, because conflicts are fairly inevitable in life ... but there are a myriad reasons for them to happen. 

Okay, on to your question!

Disclaimer: This tarot reading is for entertainment purposes only. All speculation comes from my interpretation only.

The ‘yes, no, maybe?’ portion:

Renjun signifier: Two of Wands Jeno signifier: Seven of Cups Conflict in 2019?: Queen of Pentacles - Yes Conflict in 2020?: Justice (Reversed) - .., it’s complicated?

So, this was fun. It’s been a while since I’ve done a ‘yes or no’ reading. I tend to avoid those for readings about potential futures in general, due to the free will aspect. However, since this was about the past, that means things are a bit more set in stone. Therefore, I decided to be brave, for once, and ask a yes or no question for once. I ended up asking whether there was significant conflict for those two twice over; once for 2019 and once for 2020. This is because two years is a long time in the grand scheme of things. And 2020 was very different from 2019 due to COVID. As a result, I pulled cards that indicated there was some significant conflict in 2019 (note, I’m using that word instead of “fight” so that I can account for a wide variety of situations. This ended up being prescient.) Whatever was happening seems to have petered off in 2020, but less out of a conscious choice by either party. Instead, things just kind of died down but were never really resolved. 

I also pulled some signifiers for both Renjun and Jeno. Renjun’s signifier indicates that, during the past two years, he’s been very focused on his goals and planning for the future. Jeno, meanwhile, has been finding himself overwhelmed by possibilities, and possibly overthinking about what might be the right choice. This ended up setting the tone for the rest of the reading. 

Some further details:

How Renjun saw the situation: Two of Cups, Page of Cups How Jeno saw the situation: Ace of Cups, Two of Swords

What Renjun didn't understand about Jeno: Queen of Cups, The Chariot What Jeno didn't understand about Renjun: The Hermit, Eight of Swords

If I had pulled cards indicating ‘no’ for both years, I probably would have stopped there. Because I get a yes, however (and because I’m nosy) I decided to look at the crux of the potential conflict. 

First of all, there are so many Cups cards. So, so many. This indicates that this issue was very much based in emotion, personal relationships, affection, etc. While all conflicts are driven by emotion, when I see a lot of cups this involves intense emotions that are driven more by the heart than the head. 

The Cups suit is also associated with water, so whenever I get a lot of them in a spread I pay attention to where the energy is flowing for lack of a better term. And it feels as though a lot of the energy is moving towards Renjun’s side of the spread (I really need to take pictures of my spread... basically these cards were laid out so the left side is about Renjun and the right side is about Jeno and when you read cards sometimes the imagery seems to be going in a specific direction ...)

Basically, Renjun was really going through it in 2019. His cards speak to a lot of personal ambition along with a desire to work together with his group and company to further his goals. He also wants to be in control of destiny and be seen as in control of his destiny. However, in 2019 he was going through some doubts about whether he’d made the right choice in life. The shine of being an idol had worn off and he was left wondering if this was as good as it was going to get (I feel like I see this sentiment a lot with idols who are several years into their career.)

2019 was also the infamous “Renjun was left out in the rain????” incident happened, and that rankled him. I’m getting the sense that he was annoyed that this is one of the moments he was most ‘visible’ in the public eye... and it wasn’t for anything creative he did. Instead it was because people thought he was being mistreated.  It feels as though he’d much rather be known for trying and failing at a creative endeavor, rather than having people talk about him because they thought his company failed him. 

Jeno was very aware of all this and really wanted to help. I pulled a couple cards for him that spoke to Jeno being someone who wants to foster happiness and peace in the people around him, and Renjun wasn’t any exception. However, they had some communication struggles, here. Like I’ve said before, Renjun seems to value control and being seen as someone who is in control. Jeno is aware of this, and doesn’t want it to seem as though he pities Renjun. However, in 2019 he was torn on how to reach out to Renjun. Renjun really wasn’t asking for help - even though Jeno would have given it - and Jeno didn’t want to overstep. 

So I’d say there weren’t any out and out verbal brawls or anything. It feels more like there was tension and palpable awkwardness. Probably a lot of avoidance and mixed messages in general. It’s possible Renjun thought Jeno was being a bit reticent out of a lack of caring, for example. Meanwhile, Jeno sometimes got kind of sick of caring and was a little resentful that Renjun could affect his mood so much. 

It does appear as though this situation eventually passed, but not with any real effort on their part. Instead, new conflicts came up (hello, COVID) and all this just kind of ... dissipated as they focused on new worries. 

[kurowrites]

💔 - Part II

Back by popular demand: A second part for the texting AU.

---

In the end, he never gave the stranger his real name. He felt nervous about giving his real name to someone he only knew through text, so he resolved to ask the stranger for his name first. The answer had been a barrage of sad emojis and a (probably joking) accusation that Lan Zhan only wanted his name to report him to the authorities for spam or something like that.

[Unknown]: I will save you in my phone as “Handsome Young Man” then, gege. you can save me as “Sweetheart” 😘

[Lan Zhan]: No. How would you know I’m handsome?

[Unknown]: 😢

[Unknown]: I just know. just my luck to start talking to an exceedingly handsome young man that has absolutely no interest in me.

[Unknown]: there is that guy… no, nevermind.

[Lan Zhan]: Obviously you want to talk about this person, or you wouldn’t have sent that message.

[Unknown]: NO!!! 😡 I am flirting with you now, don’t distract me!!

[Unknown]: so yeah, I’m sure you’re handsome, you’re witty, and you’re sassy. you’re already checking all my requirements.

[Lan Zhan]: Is being handsome a requirement?

[Unknown]: not really? but it certainly helps 💋

[Unknown]: like, don’t get me wrong, I don’t go around judging people by their looks, but it certainly helps when you feel a potential romantic partner is attractive. so I’m sure you’re handsome, because everything else seems to fit the bill, too.

[Unknown]: not that I’m trying to make you uncomfortable here

[Unknown]: sorry 🙏

[Lan Zhan]: It is fine. I am not uncomfortable. You are not wrong. Even in an arranged marriage, if you feel that your partner is repulsive, it will not work out well. That said, I guess I have never been called ugly. But I have likewise never cared about romance, so there is little meaning in discussing whether I am handsome or not.

[Unknown]: I WAS RIGHT, YOU ARE HANDSOME. ONLY HANDSOME PEOPLE SAY THINGS LIKE THAT.

[Unknown]: but sad!! you never met a girl you were like 😏😏😏 with?

[Lan Zhan]: I have no interest in women.

[Unknown]: 😱😱😱

[Unknown]: another sudden curveball by gege!! 😱😱😱

[Unknown]: be still, my beating heart. are you saying you’re interested in men???

[Lan Zhan]: That seems to be the case.

[Unknown]: oh god. I was joking before but I would totally date you!!

[Lan Zhan]: You still don’t know who I am or where I am.

[Unknown]: DOESN’T MATTER

[Unknown]: well… maybe you could at least tell me your approximate location, so that I know if I can even hope for a meeting someday. If you’re located somewhere at the far end of Xinjiang Province, then I’m shit out of luck.

[Lan Zhan]: I live in Jiangsu Province, close to Shanghai.

[Unknown]: OMG REALLY?? ME TOO!!!

[Unknown]: at least as long as I’m still in university

[Unknown]: 🥳🥳🥳

[Unknown]: that’s the best news of the week. please meet me sometime!!!

[Lan Zhan]: I will think about it. I have class now, so I will stop replying.

[Unknown]: have fun!! don’t do anything I wouldn’t do! 😘😘😘

[Lan Zhan]: …that would only shorten the list of possibilities by a very few items.

[Unknown]: RUDE.

[Unknown]: but also justified. love your sass 😘

[Lan Zhan]: Have a good day.

[Unknown]: 🥰

---

“A-Zhan,” Lan Huan said, a smile already lifting the corners of his mouth. “Is there something you neglected to tell me? Who is this ‘Sweetheart’ on your phone?”

Lan Zhan blushed violently and snatched the phone out of Lan Huan’s hand.

“It was just a joke,” he mumbled, and retreated to read the new message without his brother’s snooping.

[Sweetheart]: I AM SO BORED.

[Sweetheart]: seriously I wish you were here right now, I am bored out of my mind and there’s no relief.

[Sweetheart]: tell me that you love me. I want to hear it just one time before I perish. I’m pretty sure my brain is already dribbling out of my ears. the end is near.

[Lan Zhan]: I love you.

[Sweetheart]: omg

[Sweetheart]: OMG!!!

[Sweetheart]: 😱😱😱

[Sweetheart]: HOW COULD I POSSIBLY DIE NOW THAT YOU TOLD ME YOU LOVE ME

[Sweetheart]: ah my heart might not be able to take this. I might die anyway.

[Sweetheart]: goodbye cruel world. it was nice knowing you 💀

[Lan Zhan]: Remember, you wanted to meet me first.

[Sweetheart]: right!!! please meet with me, handsome stranger, and tell me such things in person!!

[Lan Zhan]: My next few weekends are busy, but after that. I need to stop now, my brother is trying to sneak a look at my messages.

He hastily stowed his mobile phone away and gave Lan Huan a stern look.

“I do not read your messages, either,” Lan Zhan reminded him.

“Yes, but my brother has finally taken an interest in someone!” Lan Huan enthused himself. “How can I not wish for my brother’s happiness.”

Lan Zhan huffed. “Do it quietly, and without snooping.”

Lan Huan only laughed and hugged him tightly.

It was… acceptable, Lan Zhan decided. He knew that his brother had been worried about him, and had hoped that he would finally make friends at university. And he had made a friend, now. Only he didn’t even know the friend’s name.

---

Lan Wangji was tired when he went to the dining hall after another busy day, so he didn’t even react when someone bumped into him just as he set down his tray on an empty table.

“Lan Zhan!” came Wei Ying’s enthusiastic voice, but the usual bright smile he was greeted with dimmed almost immediately after Wei Ying had seen Lan Zhan’s face.

“You look a little tired,” Wei Ying said, and sounded almost worried.

“Hn,” Lan Zhan agreed, and sat down. When Wei Ying hovered for a moment longer, not sitting down immediately, he looked up. “Are you going to sit?”

Wei Ying’s face brightened again, and he took the free seat opposite of Lan Zhan with relish, digging into his food.

“So, tell me,” he said after a few bites. “What are you so busy with? It’s not even exam period.”

“My uncle organizes a charity concert every year,” Lan Zhan explained. “His school offers a certain number of open spots for disadvantaged children. One of the sources of the funds for the project is the concert. Many former students who have become professional musicians will perform at the concert. It is a rare chance to see all these musicians in one single concert, so every year, a great number of people attend. I will also perform, at the request of my uncle.”

“Is this your humble way of saying you’re basically a professional musician?”

“I… don’t give concerts, usually,” Lan Zhan said, feeling his ears heat up a little bit.

Wei Ying’s smile grew larger. “It is! Any chance I get to hear you play sometime? Unfortunately, I don’t think I have the funds for a charity concert, as much as I’d love to support the education of disadvantaged children. I barely have the funds to support my own education.”

Lan Zhan considered the request for a moment.

“You can watch me practice,” he eventually offered. “It is no concert, but…”

“That’d be awesome!” Wei Ying exclaimed enthusiastically. “I’m sure it will be awesome either way! Tell me where I need to be, and I’ll be there.”

“I will practice after dinner. If you are free.”

“Even if I wasn’t, I’d clear my schedule for a chance to get to listen to you,” Wei Ying laughed.

Lan Zhan felt his ears heat up, but he silently accepted the compliment and didn’t reply.

After they had eaten, Wei Ying followed Lan Zhan out of the dining hall towards the building that housed the music rooms where Lan Zhan usually practiced. He pulled his phone out as he did, telling Lan Zhan with a wink that he needed to tell his roommate where he was, in case he got murdered.

Lan Zhan shook his head in exasperation. It was the same terrible humour that reminded him of ‘Sweetheart,’ though Lan Zhan had become rather used to it now.  

A moment later, his own mobile phone vibrated. He took it out of his pocket to look at the new message.

[Sweetheart]: you won’t believe what just happened! Mr. Extremely-Handsome-but-very-Aloof just invited me along to his concert practice! he’s willing to spend time with me! you’re still my number one though, don’t worry! my relationship with him shall stay pure 😘😘😘

Lan Zhan stared at the message he had just received, and then turned to stare at Wei Ying next to him, his own phone still in hand. It couldn’t be. It would be too much of a coincidence. It was impossible.

It was– he was pretty sure he had just caught a glimpse of the same message on Wei Ying’s phone. Three kisses at the end.

His entire body turned hot with anxiety and excitement at the thought that these two people were one and the same; the stranger that flirted with him incessantly and Wei Ying who–

Wei Ying who was handsome and lively and everything he had hoped the mysterious stranger would be.

With his heart in his throat, he opened the keyboard on his phone.

[Lan Zhan]: Wei Ying?

The notification for a new message flashed on the display of Wei Ying’s phone. Wei Ying looked at it for one moment, an expression of utter disbelief on his face, before he carefully turned to Lan Zhan. When he met Lan Zhan’s expectant eyes, he blushed intensely and slapped is hands in front of his face, nearly hitting himself with his phone.

“Oh no,” he said. “Oh no no no, this isn’t happening. I just made an ass of myself. Please end me now.”

Lan Zhan felt as if he was in a dream. This was too good to be true. He felt as if he was floating. With slightly shaking hands, he typed out another message on his phone.

[Lan Zhan]: I do hope the relationship will not stay pure.

[Lan Zhan]: 😘

Apparently, Wei Ying’s curiosity was stronger than his urge to die. He peeked out between his fingers as soon as he noticed the notification for a new message, and he blinked at it for several moments with the most adorable expression of confusion that Lan Zhan had ever seen in his life.

The next moment, his arms were full of Wei Ying, brabbling a lot of nonsense, which Lan Zhan found entirely him and extremely cute.

“You!” Wei Ying repeated several times, but he didn’t get any further than that.

“I,” Lan Zhan agreed, and he hugged Wei Ying back.

 [Sweetheart]: you’ve made a mistake. now I will expect kisses from you all the time. I will require you to use lots of emoji on me!!! your old man soul will suffer! 👴

[Lan Zhan]: 😘😘😘

[Sweetheart]: AAAAAAAAH 💀

[wongiemei]

Roommate!Jeno

a/n: maybe i should just turn this blog into an nct dream one

okay

letsgetit!

first of all,

story time!

your uni is fucking expensive and it’s more expensive if you live in the grounds

so you being the wise human,

you went to get an apartment near the campus

it was great and all since roommate!jaemin was paying for his stuff

you were both living respectively until he had to leave

the dumbass didnt even bother to tell you

one morning you just woke up and found his note

‘hey bitch! figured you were too much of a rock to wake up but i moved out! the family wants me to go back home and tend the restaurant’

the whole day yesterday, you were working

bc,,, yknow

broke college life

and you just walked in half asleep towards your room and fell asleep

so you didnt really see or notice

but were you freaking out bc your roommate suddenly moved out?

ofc you were freaking out

not only was your roommate gone,

how were you going to find a new one?!

jaemin expected your phone call that afternoon and he endured through all your screaming

‘babe, i’m just going to be gone for a year-or two’

‘oR tWO?!’

‘hun, my dad’s injured and his back can only let him do so much. ma’s working too much and i dont have any siblings to help. i figured i could just hold off college until my parents are ready’

ugh, jaemin is such a family boy

‘but jaems! you couldnt have at least told me that yOu wERe mOvING OuT?! and! rent is due soon! i can’t pay for that myself!’

jaemin couldve easily told you to warn yoy

but he didn’t want to tell you bc he couldnt handle you sad and didnt want to upset you

however, now jaemin really understands how shitty that move was

‘tell you what. i’ll pay for this month and make a few phone calls and i’ll get you set up with a new roommate, deal?’

knowing how much of a social butterfly he was, you agreed

ofc you trusted jaemin but part of you feared that he might pair you up with a freak

but he’s not that mean, is he?

you can definitely see renjun doing that but not jaemin

so there you are,,

sitting on your couch alone

without jaemin, your apartment felt really empty

its been a few days since he moved and you were miserable

jaemin hasn’t even texted you about that potential roommate

just as you were about to call him,,

your doorbell rang

you froze and you looked at the time

it was nearing 11 at night and you don’t remember ordering delivery

see,,

if jaemin was here,

he would answer it for you since you would be too scared to do it

but you mustered up your courage and peeped through the peep hole

the man was dressed in all black with a black mask and a black cap with his hood over it with a black hoodie and black pants

ngl, you were terrified and trembling

he rang it again and you jumped

typing out a quick text to jaemin saying ‘hey bub, if i don’t text you in an hour, that means ive been kidnapped so call the police’

you grabbed a pan from the cupboard and gulped before you opened the door

thinking he would just walk forward and grab you, you closed your eyes and raised your pan over your head and swung

a shriek from in front of you made your eyes snap open and found the guy on the floor with a fetal position

you both just froze for like a phat minute

snapping back to reality, you held the pan in front of you

‘if youre going to kidnap me, i got a pan and im not afraid to hit you with it!’

you tried to sound intimidating but your voice was shaking so much

the guy stood up and he took off his hat and the mask to reveal a blonde haired kid

okay, so you were sHOokETh

damn! this boy is fine!

he gave you a shaky smile and held out his hand

‘hi! i’m lee jeno! you must be y/n? jaemin told me you had an opening for a roommate?’

now you noticed the two duffle bags at the side

the embaressment and the shame settled in slowly and you found yourself burning up

nodding, you motioned him to come in

jeno awkwardly walked in and was amazed at how big the layout was with the low rent

‘yea, its kinda hard to believe that we only pay that much. at first i thought there was a ghost in here and that’s why its so cheap’

you tried to make small conversation but laughed weirdly at jeno’s slightly terrified face

‘no! there really is not ghost here! ive lived here for a year and there hasnt been anything so please dont understand! please be my roommate!’

you begged and jeno thought you were weird

but jaemin was right, you were weirdly adorable in a way

so that’s how you and jeno became apartment buddies!

now onto the good stuff!

so, jeno is a vv clean guy

like he’s the type to just pick up a wrapper in the street and throw it in the garbage

so naturally, he likes to keep the apartment as tidy and neat as possible

but you being a mess you are,

you usually leave a lot of things everywhere

lets just say you have a short memory

‘oh? how did that get there?’

eventually, jeno gets sick of it and he confronts you with it

ofc you understand and you actually try to be better

since jeno is literally the most perfect roommate

maybe even better than jaemin

(but don’t tell him that)

jeno is the type to re-stock the pantry with snacks and the fridge with ice cream

since youre both college students, ramen is practically always available in the house 24/7

he also makes the coffee every morning since he works early and wakes up first

even though he doesn’t like the drink and prefers milk, he still notices how you survive off of coffee

babie likes to pick you up some iced americano while he gets a frappe

you on the other hand,,

you’re very surprised

when you got to bed after showing jeno around,

you messaged jaemin

ofc he was worried af and was blowing up your phone

‘WHAT?!’

‘bitch answer the damn phone!’

‘whatthe fuck is happening?!’

‘i need to know if you’re still alive!’

‘oh fuck i shouldnt have moved out’

smiling softly at how worried he was, you responded to him

‘you hoe, it hasnt been an hour yet so chillax. i’m alive, unfortunately, and i just met my new roommate. again, thanks for the heads-up. youre so bad at those. i literally thought he was a burgular or a kidnapper. but he seems chill and emo. just my type.’

but jeno is F A R from C H I L L

oh my goodness,,

hes a crackhead

theres this sound he makes when he’s confused and you couldnt figure out if its cute or weird or if he’s doing this on purpose or thats just how he is

you and him basically communicate with memes

sometimes, at the weird hours at night, he sends you a dumbass meme

you cant help but snort 

also, you promised to take jaemin out to dinner to repay him for the great roommate

‘hes literally one of the best people youll ever meet. it just so happen he needed a place to sleep. now you owe me’

hes a science major while you were a computer major

he basically brings home weird stuff to analyze and it just hella stinks

but hes considerate enough to actually put it outside

whenever he’s focused, he talks to himself or the thing he’s analyzing

‘okay mr. fishy. your scales are really big and its bigger than average’

its so cute

oof also!

jeno doesnt have a job yet he always makes rent on time with extra money to spare

he even sometimes buys you stuff saying, ‘they reminded me of you’

for your birthday, he bought you a pearl necklace that mustve costed thousands

at first, you thought he was a chaebol or smth

which you wouldve been vv jealous of bc youre a struggling college student who works at the coffee shop

but, you were answered when you caught him walking in half-dazed and half-asleep with cuts all over his face

it was like 2 in the morning and you were pulling an all-nighter for some project and wanted to get a glass of water

but here he is, hood up, lip busted, black eye, cheek cut

you shrieked and ushered him to sit on the dining chair

thinking he got mugged or something, you start drilling him questions

‘hun, if you were beat up, we need to call the police! this is illegal!’

but jeno chuckles and brushes the stray hairs out of your face as you tend to his lip

‘pls dont. if you do, ill be broke and i wont have money to pay rent then i cant be your roommate anymore’

cue confused y/n

‘wUT?’

‘if i dont make money, youll kick me out and youll have to find another roommate. i dont want you to go through that hassle again’

ofc you were flattered that even during this situation, hes still thinking about you

‘how is this making money?!’

‘i cant believe youre oblivious to so many things. i thought for sure youve caught on.’

more confusion

‘eXCUse mE, lEE JEno? since when have you started coming home with all these things in your face?’

you were worried that this wasnt the first time this happened

but if you think hard about it, thats why he always wears his mouth masks and he always has his blonde fringe down and sometimes wears sunglasses even though its cloudy outside

‘ohmygod lee jeno are you in a gang?!’

jeno was shocked that you came to that conclusion but laughed at how adorable you were rn

with your wide eyes and mouth open

‘nah, bro. i box. its the only way i can make easy money.’

‘but,,, why did you hide this from me? if you needed money i couldve helped you’

he looked at you skeptically

‘sis, you could barely afford that muffin the other day’

lee jeno now looked different from the jeno you met the first day

What you thought to be an innocent little squish was a fighter at night

‘yah, can-um-you need to take this off’

you mumbled while tugging on his sweatshirt

he nodded and slipped it off

he explained why he came late when he first moved

‘i had a late night match and yknow,, school and all, i barely had enough time to come'

as you dab the wound, you try to make small talk to distract yourself

 ‘so,, youve been boxing this whole time?’

you asked, trying not to get distracted to the way his tight shirt clung to him, showing his defined body

there were bruises up and down his arms and his knuckles were busted

‘yea. i have been since senior high. gotta make money, yknow?’

‘but jen, you can work in coffee shops or at local bookstores. its not worth seeing you busted up like this’

your lips trembled at the thought of him being beaten up too hard to the point he gets into a coma

jenos eyes widened at your wobbling lips and he softly cupped your face

‘hey, im okay and ill be fine. you dont have to worry about me. i usually win, anyways’

his confidence made you chuckle

‘i trust you, lee jeno. just make sure to make it home to me every night.’

‘i know you do and i will. always.”

ever since then,

youve become his little caretaker

youve informed jaemin of what hes been doing and he knew but didnt want you to judge him immediately

smh, jaemin really sucks at informing people

but jeno tries to help you keep up

he even sends you texts that hes fighting that night and your little ‘fighting!’ always makes him smile

his manager and friend, chenle, noticed that hes starting to smile more

chenle likes boxing and wants to be a part of it but doesnt want to be hurt

so,, what better to be the manager of his friend

‘yah, hyung. what’s got you giggly today?’

jeno pointed to the screen and giggled at the little good luck gif you sent

his eyes turned to crescents and chenle smirked

‘wah, you like her, don’t you?’

at the mention of ‘like’, his smile dropped and he shook his head

‘no. of course not. shes just a friend.’

chenle being chenle,,

he continues to prod

‘okay. so every night, you make it your priority to make sure you’re home by 2 in the morning for your friend’

smh, chenle youre so annoying

but hes so right

ever since you caught him,

hes been making sure he gets home at the same time 

he sends you a text that hes on his way and you set your ringtone at a very high volume so you wake up and take care of him

during fights, he makes it his sole mission to make out of this alive and a winner for you

but that never crossed his mind as his feelings for you

he just thought of it as making you not worry for him

but then, he starts to think about your stupid little habits

the way you make this face whenever you dont understand

or when you still leave little post-it notes everywhere with ideas you come up with

he noticed it all and he loves them

‘hOLy ShIT!’

that night was when he realized his feelings for you and he was so dedicated on finishing it that he quickly won and he dashed home with his money

bursting through the door, you looked at him with wide and startled eyes

‘what’s wrong?’

you came running but he scooped you up to a hug

ok you were confused but relieved that he was home and alright

jeno looked at your face and wanted to confess but chickened out at the sight of you

you were so good to him and honestly, he doesnt deserve you

(his thoughts, not mine)

‘i-i’

he stuttered and you motioned him to continue

‘i won!’

he shouted and you congratulated him, even though he literally won all the time

guiding him to the chair, you began to dab his cuts

(dab that bitch)

‘im starting to think that your opponents either really suck or youre like the god of boxing’

he didnt know how to take that but blushed red at the mention of him being a ‘god of boxing’

‘nah, im just good’

you eyed him and smiled

he continued to watch you heal him and inspected your face

heavy eyebags and sunken cheeks, it mustve been a long night

he felt a pang in his chest thinking that you push your stuff away just to help him

‘you dont have to keep doing this for me, yknow’

you halt and look at him seriously

‘i know i dont. but i cant sleep at night thinking youre in pain and alone when i can be there for you’

even though he just realized it, jeno was pretty sure he fell in love with you a long time ago

but if it was possible, he fell in love with you even more

‘thank you’

his soft voice filled the silence and you vowed that you will always be there for him whenever he needs help

a few days later, jeno hasnt been to a fight

sure you were worried at what was going on in his head but partly relieved that you dont have to see him so battered anymore

but this was so un-jeno

just as you were about to talk to him about it, he announces he got a job at the bookstore down the street

‘huh? i thought you didnt want to work’

you question while he looked sheepish

‘i realized that i was starting to become a burden since you take care of me every time. so i thought i should quit and get a regular job. besides, it doesnt hurt as much’

he laughed but you didnt react

‘lee jeno, you gave up boxing and the money,,, for me?’

he nervously looked up at you and you noticed the redness of his cheeks

‘i-well-if you put it that way’

‘listen to me, im flattered and i truly love that you dont want to get beaten up anymore. but i dont want you to quit something you like because of me'

‘but you always take care of me and push your priorities away to clean me up. i dont do anything in return and i dont think its fair!’

he argued and a soft smile crept up your face

‘yah, lee jeno'

your voice became a whisper

‘it doesnt matter to me if you dont do anything in return bc i dont see this as a favor. you are mine to take care of and i will do anything for you, you understand that?’

he looked at you in shock after hearing your response

he also turned red at the mention of him being yours

‘so-but-i dont think-'

he stutters but you place your hands on his arms making him stop

‘all i ask is you to come back home, to come back to me'

by now, yall were blushing

even though it might not sound like it,

but yall just indirectly confessed to each other

yall stared at the ground and jeno looks up, biting his lip

‘hey, y/n, can i make it up to you with some coffee?’

your head darted up and looked at him with wide eyes

‘like-like a date?’

it came out suddenly and you stepped back in surprise, cursing yourself

but jeno chuckled, eyes scrunching cutely

‘it'll be one of many'

lmao i didnt really like this but i made it at 2 in the morning and i kinda like boxer!jeno

[hystericalweenie]

Just Another Day at the Office - New Experiences

George MacKay x Reader Series

Part Four: Get to Know You

Masterlist

Summary: Y/f/n Y/l/n had found herself stuck in a scenario she’d never thought she’d ever have to face: she’d been catching feelings for a coworker. While she attempted to adapt to her new job and work load, she also had to get used to these new feelings and figure out what the fuck to do with them. George made her want to take risks, she didn’t care about the potentiality of a broken heart with him, because falling in love with him made it seem worth it. Is George falling for Y/n too? Will he be able to reciprocate her feelings?

a/n: I have absolutely no personal experience in magazine/journalism career, so the information in this fic will be provided with the knowledge I have conducted from research. With that being said, please don’t be mad if this is not accurate!!! Since you guys seemed to like the text messages between Y/n and George, I decided to include a chunk of them, since there weren’t any in the last part.

Warnings: This is a slow burn fic, their relationship won’t happen in one night, so if you’re not into that, check out some of the beautifully written imagines that you can most likely find under the george mackayxreader tag. I might eventually write some of my own too :P At least one person’s saying “fuck” and there’s some making out, thigh riding and dry humping. Yes, y’all read that correctly. 

George hadn’t spoken to me since the incident in his office. I figured it was because he’d been occupied with his friend, but when Saturday rolled around, he’d make up for all of the missed time between us.

Bree had informed me that she was going out with a group of our friends from college, which she’d invited me to, but I assured her that I was feeling ill and didn’t feel like leaving the house. I felt bad for lying, but I needed to see George. I missed him awfully; I missed the way his bare skin felt flush against mine, I missed seeing his smile and hearing his laughter, like music to my ears. I missed the feeling of his locks in my fingers, feeling his breath tickle my neck.

I couldn’t take it anymore; I messaged him immediately.

9:13 pm, Me: Apartment to myself... You busy?

Buzz.

9:14 pm, George: Nope. On my way.

I smirked to myself, hugging my phone to my chest before ripping my clothes off of me and replacing my casual undergarments with my best lace panties and matching black balconette bra. The thin lace and underwear revealed my nipples sexily enough through the unpadded, thin fabric of the bra. I grinned proudly at the lingerie before slipping into jeans that made my bum look extra good and a sexy tank top with lace trimming. Was it too much? Maybe. Did I care at this point? Nope.

I didn’t care to put shoes on, plopping on my stomach onto my bed, waiting for him to message me that he’d arrived. I was shocked when I heard a knock on my door, causing me to get up and open it with furrowed eyebrows. It swung open, revealing my favorite man standing with his hands in his pockets. I tilted my head.

“You remembered where my apartment was?” I asked him, putting my hands on his hips.

He nodded, leaning down to peck my forehead before entering. I blushed at his simple act of affection, shutting the door behind us and following him inside. I clapped my hands together, rocking back and forth on the balls of my feet.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” I suggested.

He shrugged. “Sure.”

I led him to the sofa, sitting myself down as he took a seat next to me. I grabbed the remote controller, opening Netflix and scrolling through the movies. I laughed out loud as a movie I’d watched the previous night with Bree popped up.

“What?” he asked, his lips curling in a smile at my sudden laughter.

“Bree and I watched this movie last night, and it’s really funny,” I explained to him, trying to fight back the giggles that threatened to escape as my brain replayed the funny scenes in my head.

“Well, put it on,” he ordered, gesturing his hand to the television. “Let’s see if it’s as funny as you claim.” He winked.

I pressed on the movie, slouching back into the sofa as it started. I wondered if I should’ve cuddled up next to him, or if that’d be too much. I kept my posture, keeping to myself as the opening credits rolled onto the screen. 

As the movie began, I found my mind wandering immediately. My fingers began drumming onto the fabric of the couch, as I found myself staring at the screen, but my mind remained occupied with other thoughts. I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth as I began to ponder George and I’s relationship again. I had just found out his birthday, and it made me uncomfortable that he’d explored so much of my body, yet I felt like I barely knew him. 

“You alright?”

I turned my head to him. He looked concerned, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes fixated on me.

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I pulled my legs up, crossing them as I slouched, trying to make myself more comfortable.

I returned my eyes back to the television, trying to concentrate on the film until my eyes scanned the room in thought, as my lip was pulled in between my teeth again.

I wondered what his favorite movie was, what kind of movies he’d liked. I didn’t like that I didn’t have the answers to these basic personality questions. I pondered what his childhood was like, if he’d met Dean in the United Kingdom before prior to moving to America. 

“You’re doing it again.”

I whipped my head toward him and cocked an eyebrow.

“What?”

“You chew on your lip and stare off with your eyebrows furrowed,” he observed, moving closer to me. His blue eyes bore into mine as I guiltily stared back at him. He tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear, his eyes not leaving mine. “What’s wrong, love?”

I sighed, removing my eyes from our eye contact as my head lowered in thought. His fingers went to my chin, gently lifting it to meet his eyes again.

“I want you to be able to be honest with me, Y/n,” he admitted, his thumb running over my chin. 

“I want to know more about you,” I confessed, my eyes worriedly staring back at his. “I feel like I barely know you.”

He smiled softly, bringing his hand up to my cheek, caressing my face. His hand trailed down my arm, down to my hand before bringing it up to his lips. He kissed the back of my hand softly before holding it in his own, lacing our fingers together. 

“I was born in London,” he began, his eyes never leaving mine. “March thirteenth, nineteen ninety-two. As I’ve mentioned before, my father’s Australian and my mum’s British, but they chose to raise me in the UK, obviously. I have a sister named Daisy, who lives in London with my parents. I try to visit them during the holidays, but it’s not as easy with work. Sometimes, Dean and I will fly down together to visit both of our families.

“I moved to the states after graduating from Uni when I was about twenty-four years old; my parents weren’t super keen on me leaving to a whole new country by myself, but they wanted me to be happy. Dean and I didn’t meet until my first job after moving to New York. We hit it off so well, that we ended up moving in together, and not long after that, we met Andrew at the same job and invited him to move into our flat. About a year or so after, Dean and I decided to apply to Essence, because we felt that we needed a career change. 

“Andrew ended up being promoted at our old job, so he wanted to stay there, plus, he’s happy working there whereas we weren't, really. Once we started working there, I decided to get my own flat; the pay at Essence was much better, I was almost entirely done paying off my student loans, and I felt that I was in need of a different atmosphere. Hearing your roommates play video games constantly, and being the only one who could cook in the house was not something I particularly looked forward to,” he laughed as he recollected the memories from the past. 

“But, long story short, one day I’d been looking for Dean and I saw that there was a new girl, sitting across from his desk in a chair that I’d never seen occupied before. The way you talked to me, you were so nervous and innocent; After seeing you on multiple accounts, in the cafeteria, at your desk whenever I’d come to talk to Dean, I started thinking about you a lot more,” he admitted, his thumb tracing along my knuckles. 

I noticed his cheeks tint scarlet and he wet his lips with his tongue, still maintaining eye contact with me. 

“Like, I would go to the cafeteria and hope that I'd see you? I hope that doesn’t sound creepy,” he laughed a little. “And, when you told me how you felt at the bar, I was baffled.”

My eyes widened, as I tried to recollect the nonexistent memories of being at the bar that night. My eyebrows furrowed and I could feel my cheeks heat, wondering what the absolute fuck I said to him.

“What did I say to you at the bar?” I queried, chewing on the insides of my cheek anxiously. 

He bit his lip, staring back at me for a moment, as if he was pondering how to tell me. He finally parted his lips, as he recalled our conversation at the bar that night.

Dean got up from his seat, leaving George and I to ourselves. I grabbed my glass and downed the rest of the vodka soda in the glass, slamming the empty glass down on the bar and turning my body to face him.

“Hi George,” I smiled, resting my chin on the palm of my hand, my elbow resting on the table.

He turned to me, his lips curling into a smile.

“Hi, Y/n.”

I giggled, smiling blissfully at the beautiful man next to me.

“George,” I began, batting my eyelashes as I looked up at him. “You’re so great.”

His eyebrows knitted together, an entertained smile evident on his lips as he looked down at me.

“And why is that?” He took a swig from his beer bottle as I began my slurring.

“Becaaauuuse, you’re a fucking art director, which is, like, crazy,” my bloodshot eyes bore into his bright, piercing blue ones. “And you’re, like, crazy handsome.”

He cocked an eyebrow at me, smirking as my eyelids hung heavy, my eyes barely visible as I smiled. My face was red, as my cheeks had always heated up when I was drunk.

“You think so, love?”

I nodded, attempting to take a swig out of my glass as the empty cup poured nothingness into my mouth, reminding me that I’d finished off the drink minutes ago.

“You’re obliterated,” he observed.

“Want to know a secret?” I asked him in a sing-song voice. “I smoked weed before I got here, because my roommate told me it’d make me less anxious,” I whispered, giggling between words.

He raised his eyebrows, his jaw dropping before he started laughing.

“Jesus, Y/n, I didn’t know you were so reckless,” he gasped.

“Well, I didn’t waaannnnt to do it, but if I hadn’t done it, I’d probably be standing in the corner, too nervous to talk to you,” I admitted.

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Why would you be nervous to talk to me?”

I gave out a big sigh.

“You’re sooooo hot,” I moaned. “I kind of want to fuck you, but I don’t want to lose my job,” I admitted, licking my vodka-tasting lips before continuing. “And also, I got, like, cheated on big time in my last relationship and it left me with some crazy trust issues and self esteem issues. And, I haven’t had sex since then! It’s been two years, George, can you believe that?!”

My eyes blinked a few times as I stared at him, completely and utterly dumbfounded. My eyebrows were raised and my jaw struggled to keep closed. 

“W-was this before or after I threw up?” I asked, trying to compose myself as I felt my face heating up.

“Literally right before you threw up,” he answered with a small laugh. 

I withdrew my hand from his, using my index finger and thumb to pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration. 

“I can’t believe I said that shit,” I groaned, leaning back into the couch. “I can’t believe you didn’t just laugh in my face, God, that’s so embarrassing!”

He watched me with amusement, an entertained smirk making its way onto his lips. I rolled my eyes at him, shaking my head in disappointment. 

“Well,” he began, playful eyes staring at me. “If you think about it this way, love, if you’d never said anything, then we’d both probably still be too nervous to talk to each other.”

I furrowed my eyebrows at him.

“Do you think we’d still end up, you know...” I trailed off, referring to whatever label we shared.

He paused for a moment, he eyes drifting in thought before nodding. 

“I think that you were made for me, love,” he admitted, his voice softer than before. He moved his hand onto my thigh, rubbing it gently. “I’ve never been so easily infatuated and comfortable with someone before you, Y/n.”

I wanted to cry, his words painted my heart with the love and desire I had failed to receive in my previous relationship. I blushed, blushing at not only his words, but his touch. The feeling of his hand on my thigh was anything but a soothing rub to me at that point, and my brain had addressed his touch far more quickly than it should have. My eyes dropped down to his hand, watching as it caressed me, just far enough from my heat. The contact sent me into overdrive, as my eyes moved back up to his face, scanning his plump lips.

I moved myself over to him, slowly leaning in until our lips brushed softly. My hands went to his shoulders, gently massaging them as I kissed him softly. His hand moved from my thigh and to my back, his other hand joining as he pulled me closer to him, our lips beginning to move at a steady rhythm. I moved on top of him, knees on each side of his legs as I settled into his lap, our lips still connected. He brought his hands down to my ass, squeezing my bum. I moaned, and he used my parted lips as access for his tongue. Our tongues danced together as his hands snaked back up to my back. 

As I straddled him, I slowly rolled my hips against his lap, needing the friction against my heat. I could feel the tent in his pants against my core, making me moan against his lips. His hands moved back down to my hips, guiding my movements as I rolled my hips against him again. He groaned, lifting his hips for more friction. My lips parted from his as I moaned again, tugging my shirt off of my body, revealing my bra to him. His eyes widened at my exposed nipples through the thin lace fabric, his hands subconsciously raising to cup my breasts. The pads of his thumbs ran over the raised buds, making me let out a blissful sigh at the intimate contact. His fingers ran around my torso, to unclip the bra. He gave me a look, wanting permission first. I nodded, looking down at his dark, blue eyes before his fingers effortlessly worked their way with the clasp, removing the bra from my body. 

He immediately attached his lips to one of my nipples, lapping at the bud and gently nibbling on it, as I tilted my head back in euphoria. 

“Can we, fuck, take this to my bedroom?” I breathed, looking down at him.

His mouth released from my nipple with a pop, as he picked me up and walked me to my bedroom. He settled me down onto my bed, not bothering to close the door as he settled himself in between my legs. The tent in his jeans rubbed against my core as he ground his hips into mine, his lips returning to my own. 

We were lost in each other, voicing soft moans into each other’s mouths while our hips moved together, too lost that we didn’t hear the front door open. 

“Y/n! I have some soup for y–HOLY SHIT!”

George peeled off of me, my hands immediately coming to cover my exposed breasts. 

I heard the sounds of her shoes against the floor as she scurried away, shutting my bedroom door. 

“I’m sorry!” she called from the living room, as George looked at me with an amused smirk.

I threw one of my throw pillows at him with a roll of my eyes.

“Shut the fuck up,” I groaned, biting back a smile of my own.

He tossed the pillow onto the floor, moving himself back on top of me.

“Make me,” he whispered, attaching his lips onto mine. 

I let our lips move together in a steady rhythm, before I pulled away, concluding our kiss with a peck on his lips.

“My bra and top are just sitting on the floor where my roommate’s probably trying to eat right now,” I groaned, embarrassed. 

As if on cue, the door opened as we heard the sound of something dropping at the entrance of my room, before the door closed again. I sat up, noticing that she had returned my missing pieces of clothing to me as they sat neatly in front of the door. I got up, arm slung over my breasts before pulling the shirt onto my torso, not bothering wearing the bra. I tossed the bra into my underwear drawer, before returning back to the bed. I watched as the man on my bed hungrily looked at my chest, not caring whether I noticed or not.

“You’re teasing me,” he moaned, his voice husky with lust. He sat with his legs criss-cross, watching me as I mimicked his seated position.

I could feel my hardened nipples against the fabric, teasing him with my now-covered breasts. 

I got on my knees and hands, prowling towards him. Smirking, I nudged my nose against his own, watching as his eyes watched me in awe.

“What are you going to do about it?” I chided with a whisper.

Without a warning, he captured my lips with his own, hands going to the back of my head to pull me closer to him. Our tongues danced together as we feverishly kissed, wanting needing the contact with each other. His lips moved to kiss the corner of my mouth, before moving down my jaw. 

“What do you want to do, love?” he asked between kisses as his lips began sucking on a spot on my neck. 

My eyes rolled back at the sensation, as I tried to control myself to answer his question. 

“I-I don’t want to, fuck, George, d-don’t want to have sex yet,” I admitted between moans as his teeth nipped at the spot, igniting more and more pleasure. 

His mouth left my neck for a moment before finding another spot on my neck, sucking sweetly at the skin just like before. 

“You want to ride my thigh, angel? Want to get yourself off on me while I watch?” he growled against my neck.

My cheeks flushed at his dirty words, but I could feel the pool of wetness growing in my panties. 

“Yes, George,” I pleaded. He pulled his lips away from me as I peeled my shirt off and went to unbutton my pants. 

He replaced his fingers with my own, fumbling with the button and zipper much more slowly, thickening the tension and teasing me. I helped him peel the fabric off of my skin, standing up from the bed and tossing them without thinking. I was left in my lacy black panties, stalking over to him nervously whilst he sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for me. I met my lips with his in attempt to calm my nerves, my fingers tugging at the hem of his shirt. He pulled away to quickly peel his shirt off of him, making his locks look more disheveled in the sexiest way possible. 

He propped my legs up so that my knees were on either side of his left thigh, our chests flush against each other. His hands went to my hips as I lowered myself onto his thigh carefully, before slowly rolling myself against him. I sighed at the contact of my clothed clit against him, feeling him flex underneath my core. One of his hands went to my knee, pushing it closer to the tent in his pants. As I rolled myself against him again, I made sure to rub friction from my knee against his boner. His lips captured mine in a sloppy kiss, as I started to gradually pick up my pace. His hands went back to my hips, guiding my movements as I humped his leg. 

I felt the pleasure building inside of me, as I quickened my pace, desperate for my release. Our lips pulled away from each other, as I leant my forehead against his own, not able to concentrate on kissing anymore. My breath quickened and I moved my fingers to his hair, chasing my release. 

“Cum for me, angel,” he ordered, his voice soft, but raspy with lust.

I couldn’t help the moan that escaped my mouth, due to his dirty words and the way this new nickname, angel, rolled off of his tongue. I hit my climax, as I continued to rub my pussy against his leg, riding out my high. As my breathing slowed, I attached my lips back to his, pushing him back onto the bed. He scooted himself up, allowing us to lay whilst our lips danced together. He rolled himself on top of me, as my legs immediately found their way around his waist. My fingers wandered down to his jeans, unbuttoning them and fumbling with the zipper while my feet helped me peel the fabric off of his legs.

I wasn’t sure where this was going, but I could feel another ache between my legs and I was desperate for another relief. He kicked off his shoes, leaving him in his boxers as the tent between his legs became much more present. He attached his lips back to mine before surprising me, grounding his hips into mine as I felt his clothed cock against my clothed core. My jaw went slack as another moan left my lips, my sensitive heat dripping from the sensation. He rolled his hips against mine again, pressing as much into me as he could. My legs pulled him into me, needing as much friction as possible.

He began picking up the pace, his face digging into the crook of my neck as his clothed dick humped my pussy. I felt his hot breath against my neck, motivating me to move my hips against him.

“Fuck, Y/n,” he moaned into my hair. “You gonna make me cum in my briefs, angel?”

With that, I released for my second time, my body stilling underneath him as the pleasure waved over me. I could feel him twitch against my heat, feeling small spurts make wet spots through his underwear. I rode my high against him, as my breathing slowly returned to its normal pace. He rolled onto his back, lying beside me as his chest rose up and down. I turned my head to face him, as I watched him do the same. He leant his head up, looking down at the wet spot displayed through his underwear. He chuckled softly.

“You made my cum in my bloody underwear, Y/n.”

[whatwouldyourbiasdo]

Finding Cinderella | Series | Chapter Two

Title: Finding Cinderella

Pairings: Donghae x reader,(Primary) Heechul x reader (Secondary), Kyuhyun x reader (Secondary)

Author’s Note: I have been planning this story for a while but have been battling many writers’ blocks in doing so. This story will mainly focus on Donghae and the reader but will have branching stories between Heechul, Kyuhyun and two secondary OC characters.

Sidenote: Yes, this series will include Kangin and Sungmin. This was originally started back when the two of them were still active members and in my heart they will always be members so I will include them wherever I see fit.

SM Entertainment plans to host the event of the century and you are invited!

The news headline offered as click bait got a lot of people talking. It wasn’t a complete lie as SM Entertainment was gearing up to host what they believed to be the event of the century and even a handful of lucky fans were going to be granted access to this exclusive party. But there was a catch.

Only a few lucky fans were going to receive a V.I.P. invitation to the party, a chance to meet all their favorite artists and celebrities as well as experience the best food and music they had ever come across.

In order to be considered for an invitation, fans had to record a video message stating why they loved SM Entertainment, what they felt like the company’s artists changed their lives and why they should be one of the honorable guests for the party. SM Entertainment artists would judge the videos and each group would collectively vote on one fan to personally invite to the party.

Some netizens criticized the requirements, stating that they were basically begging for people to praise them on video so they could use that to their advantage later as part of a sneaky promotional stunt, while other netizens praised the company for including fans who helped the company gain so much success over the past year.

Videos came flocking in as soon as the signup had opened, people had to create a personal account on the official SM Entertainment event page, fill out their profile and personal information and upload the video. On the first night, the event page managed to crash due to the traffic from all over the world though many netizens claimed the company would end up picking fans within Korea as they always seemed favorable to their country.

Not all the applications were valid to the competition, however. Some people thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get their own rise to fame and uploaded a video of them dancing, singing or acting in a desperate attempt to get discovered. Paying tribute to their favorite artists they sang their hearts out and tried to mimic the complicated choreography for as much as possible to showcase their own talents and abilities. Unfortunately for them, SM Entertainment wasn’t looking for new trainees and took no heed of these desperate audition attempts. And then there were the desperate fans who were just grasping the chance of conveying their messages to their favorite idols, hoping that their love confession would set off a series of events only seen in dramas.

Some, however, took it to the extreme. This platform was also the perfect opportunity for the so-called “sasaengs” to come forth with extreme and desperate messages stating that their “oppa” needed to love them and whoever would love them instead would face serious consequences. Most of them would receive a message that their account had been disabled for not following the rules and the company even issued a warning that those would continue sending disturbing messages would face legal repercussions.

   Lee Chanhee had hesitated several times about signing up and giving it a shot. She had been a big SM Entertainment fan for years, their artists and music ignited a light within her which sparked her passion for singing. There had even been people who told her she had actual star potential, the only thing that held her back was her fear. A fear to audition and get rejected. A fear of people who were supposed to be experts, rejecting her and crushing her dreams, killing the fire that fueled her passion. And the idea of the stress and demanding schedules she had heard about, it definitely made the idea of signing as an artist less favorable. Having all eyes on her, judging her every action and movement, commenting on anything she did or said or didn’t do or say, the pressure of being perfect… That was something she rather lived without. Instead, she decided to keep it low and sing for fun. Releasing online songs under a pseudonym to keep the mystery going, she gathered quite a fanbase of followers and viewers. And that was enough, for the time being.

But a chance to be invited inside SM Entertainment, to meet, greet and party with her favorite artists and get an idea of how the people she admired were in real life, without the cameras and the pressure to keep up their good image, that intrigued her. And so her mouse hovered over the signup button on the event page. But she didn’t click.

“Signing up means I have to record a video...” She let out a soft sigh as she considered her options. “Which means people will see my face… And they’ll judge my story...” They made it quite clear in the promotions that the artists were actually going to be reviewing the applications themselves and personally pick out a fan to invite. Which would mean she could have the chance to personally convey her feelings and experiences with her favorite artist, but that could also mean making a great fool out of herself. She could just imagine the groups watching her video, laughing at how ridiculously cringeworthy she looked.

But what exactly did she have to lose? None of them knew her and if her video was laughable at best, they wouldn’t invite her over which means that they would just as easily forget about her embarrassment. And if she did get invited then maybe, just maybe her video wasn’t as cringeworthy as she imagined it in her head.

“Yah! Chanhee-ah!” A voice called from the hallway as she heard the front door slam shut. Footsteps approached her bedroom door and a second later the door flung open revealing the dark haired girl that had burst into her apartment. Sometimes she regretted giving her the password. “Aish, there you are!”

“Oh, Miya-ah!” The curly haired girl nodded as she finally moved from her spot behind her computer and greeted her friend. Miya was a student at the Korean National University of Arts, majoring in vocal and dance courses whom Chanhee had met online right after she released her first ever song online under the pseudonym 월광 신데렐라 (moonlight cinderella). Miya was her first subscriber and commenter and had proceeded to comment, like and even promote every song she released after that. When Miya sent her a message asking if she was a student at her university and that she could introduce Chanhee to one of the music producer majors, she took the plunge and met up with Miya. And they have been friends ever since.

“Sorry, I’m late since the semester is ending they are killing us with exams and preparations,” The slightly shorter girl huffed as she dragged her bag over the floor.

“No problem!” Chanhee smiled as she inched closer to the girl with a curious gaze down on the bag she was dragging along. “So… You got the goods?”

“Ah?” Miya exclaimed, looking up at the taller curly haired girl with a somewhat confused gaze before realizing what she meant. “Oh! Yes! Miya's goody supplying service has done it again!” She grinned proudly as she crouched down and rummaged her bag until she pulled out the small USB stick. “Tadaa! I swear, Yunghwa was going to have a mental breakdown since his program kept crashing and it deleted his final project, you should have seen his face!” She mused, showing no signs of consideration towards her music producer friend she put in charge of helping produce and mix Chanhee’s releases.

“Aigoo, please thank him for me!” Chanhee humbled as she held her hands out for the USB stick, impatiently waiting to hear the final product. She had worked hard on this release, usually, she only produced covers of popular and lesser known songs, but this was the first re-write of a song she composed and she was eager to hear how it turned out before releasing it online.

She did feel sorry for putting so much pressure on Miya’s friend who she could imagine was under a lot of stress as was with finals creeping up. And to top it off, Yunghwa wasn’t even getting paid for the producing he did. Chanhee did offer, but Miya somehow found a way to have him do it without any reward. Chanhee decided not to ask questions.

“Psh, all he needs is a couple of cups of coffee and he’ll be good to go!” Miya smirked as she placed the USB in her hands. “So what were you up to?”

“I was wondering if I should sign up for the SM Entertainment event...” She muttered as she made her way back to her computer, playing with the USB in her hands.

“Oh, right… The fan event where they’re asking you to stick some feathers up their butts to make them feel good,” Miya hummed thoughtfully. She had heard about the event, not surprising since it was advertised everywhere and several of her fellow students had signed up. Not to mention her former roommate had been talking about all the things she had to arrange for it seeing as she found a full-time job at the company after dropping out of university.

Personally, she didn’t feel the appeal of the event, she highly doubted those lucky fans would even catch a glimpse of their idols and would most likely be stuffed in one corner of the venue. She could imagine most of the people that signed up merely did so to get to meet their wannabe husband or wife.

“It would be a chance of a lifetime to attend… Even if it’s just for the food.” Chanhee explained. “But I’m not sure if I’m so comfortable with recording a video message. Especially since the artists will hand pick the winners themselves.“

“Huh, you would think they’d have better things to do than to go through millions of fan videos.” Miya clicked her tongue as she brushed her fingers through her already messy hair. The thing about college students was that after a certain amount of time you stopped giving a crap about your appearance, the dress code was pajamas and dark eye circles most of the time anyway. “But these idols don’t know you, right? So what’s the worse that could happen? You’ll be one of a million rejected and they’ll probably not even remember your face or voice or anything.”

“See, that is what I was telling myself but still...” She bit the inside of her lip as she stared back at the signup screen.

“C’mon! Just do it, you know you want to or you wouldn’t be hesitating so much!” The smaller girl pressed her finger onto the curly haired girls to make her point. “Don’t think too much and just do it. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!”

“Yes! Yes, you’re right! Let’s do it!” Chanhee encouraged herself as she finally clicked the sign-up button and filled out the information they requested. It also asked for a preferred group, seeing as they were going to divide the applications between all the groups to limit the amount of time their artist had to spent on watching and judging the videos. After thinking about it, she decided to sign up for Super Junior, reasoning that the group barely seemed to take themselves too seriously so if she ended up making a fool out of herself they would most like just brush it off as adorable at least. Or that’s what she kept telling herself as encouragement.

“Lemme know how the track sounds before releasing it and if you need anything changed hit me up and I will pester Yunghwa into fixing it!” Miya mentioned as she hoisted her bag over her shoulder again. She didn’t have enough time to stick around unfortunately, a student’s duty called and she had to get back to campus for a couple more classes.

“Thanks a lot, Miya!” Chanhee beamed as she turned to look at her friend. “I owe you a lot!”

“Aye, what kind of fan would I be if I didn’t go to the extreme for my precious unnie!” She flashed her a cheeky smile and winked as she finished her words before heading out. “Good luck!”

Chanhee waited for her friend to leave and the sound of the door falling back into its automated lock before opening her recording program and turning on her camera. She stared at her own reflection in the screen, huffing as she brushed her fingers through her soft curls trying to get them to twirl a way that would look decent on camera. Patting her cheeks she wondered if she needed to add some more makeup or if it were best to just go with the natural look to give them the right idea of the girl proclaiming her love to the company.

“Ok Chanhee,” She took a deep breath, her finger hovering over the record button. “It’s now or never, I can do this!” She cleared her throat and hit the red button.

“Annyeonghaseyo, Lee Chanhee imnida. Twenty-five years old, veterinary assistant... “ the curly haired girl introduced herself with a shy smile and soft voice. She was fidgeting with her curls as she seemed to try and think of the right words to say.

“I guess I should be answering some of these questions…” Her eyes darted off to the words on the screen for a moment as she mouthed the question first before turning back to the camera with a thoughtful look on her face.

“Um… How has SM Entertainment influenced my life? I guess I would say it has turned my world upside down...” A soft chuckle escaped her lips as she finished her words. “Ah, but not in a bad way! Not at all… It has shown me that music is so much more than a simple melody and some words. It’s about the feeling and message that it’s trying to convey. Connecting people with a mutual feeling, regardless of boundaries set by society… I think that’s what makes it beautiful.”

She seemed to really be contemplating her words as she no longer focused on the camera and as her mind wandered off to the message she was trying to convey, she seemed less nervous. “The first song from SM Entertainment that I had ever heard was sung by Super Junior, and it seemed to speak to me in a way I never expected music to do… In particular when Kyuhyun’s part came up. His voice managed to capture the words and the message, touching every heartstring by singing. It felt like he was conveying the message straight to my heart without ever having met. That’s the power of real talent, it says a lot about the artist's abilities.”

A soft hum escaped her lips as she let her own words sink in for a moment, hesitating whether or not she should keep speaking. It was clear that there was more to say, but she wasn’t sure if she could. “Music has saved my life in more ways than one. And to show gratitude I have always supported all the artists. If I ever had the chance to meet them, I would like to thank them for all the strength their music has given me…”

Her eyes moved up to the question on the screen again as she read the final question. “Ah… In all honesty, I’m not sure if I can answer the last question. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who would deserve being invited more than me. So I’m not going to answer why I think I’m more deserving or special than all the other fans, everyone has their own reasons for being and their own story to tell. So if I get chosen I will feel blessed and thankful, but if not then I will still be right here, supporting the artists to the best of my abilities, that’s the least I could do.”

As she spoke her final words the screen turned to black as the video had finished. The boys stared at the screen for a moment as they let the message sink in before speaking.

“Wow, that has to be the most genuine message we have seen so far...” Sungmin finally spoke up, breaking the silence filling the Super Junior office.

So far they had seen fans declaring their undying love to the company and them as artists draped in every single Super Junior merchandise they could find. Swinging lightsticks, screaming out their names, high on energy drinks and showing the posters that covered their bedroom walls.

But this girl seemed to really take the requirements seriously. She recorded a video and answered the questions diligently and genuinely. Judging by appearance compared with some of the other videos, you could hardly tell she was a fan. But listening to her words, it was clear she thought long and hard about what she wanted to say and she actually knew what she was talking about.

“Tch, unbelievable she chose Kyu’s voice over mine!” Heechul smirked as he nudged the younger male playfully. He had seemed flustered when the girl started speaking about his ability to convey a message. Sure, he had been praised for his voice and talent before but for some reason the way she praised him felt different.

“She knows her stuff, that’s for sure!” Ryeowook nodded in agreement, it wasn’t surprising that someone praised Kyuhyun’s voice. He was one of the main vocalists after all.

“Let’s just pick hers since I doubt there will be any other actual entries on this list!” Kangin stated as he pulled out his phone. They had been watching videos for several hours now, some more cringeworthy and loud than others. He could understand that people were excited to have a chance to meeting them, but after several hours of sitting in one spot and watching these videos, he was in dire need of some change of scenery.

“That wouldn’t be fair towards the other fans,” Leeteuk felt somewhat guilty about the idea of skipping the rest of the entries right away. “I’m sure all of them put a lot of thought and dedication into it.”

“Well, can we at least call in for some food and drinks then?” Shindong suggested, maybe if they had food to keep them busy, enduring these videos would seem a lot less tiring. It was nice to hear all the praise their fans had given them, it definitely made all of them feel grateful for having such a dedicated fanbase.

“Pizza?” Yesung suggested, feeling peckish himself.

“No, chicken!” Eunhyuk protested as he was craving the taste of juicy fried chicken a lot more at the moment, already licking his lips at the thought of it.

“Why not both?” Donghae shrugged, it wouldn’t be the first time they mix and matched their food preferences because honestly, trying to decide on what to eat with ten - thirteen different cravings wasn’t exactly the easiest task in the word.

“Pizza and chicken sound good to me!” Kyuhyun nodded, finally joining in on the conversation. His mind had been replaying the words of praise Chanhee had spoken before, wondering why those specific words seemed to get to him so much.

“I’ll be right back, you guys keep watching!” their manager nodded as he left the room and headed down the hallway. “Ah! Park-ssi!”

The girl stopped in her tracks as she heard her name being called, turning in the direction of the voice as her crimson locks danced around her face. She bowed in greeting as the manager approached her.

“Yes? How can I help you?”

“I need you to order a couple of pizzas and boxes of fried chicken,” the manager told her as he nudged his head back to the office behind him. “The boys are going through the applications and they’re starting to get restless so they need some food to tie them over.”

“The boys?” She arched a brow curiously as she glanced over at the door leading to the office, hearing muffled voices from the other side. “Ah, Super Junior right? Pizza and chicken? Sure, of course, I can arrange that for you.”

“Thank you, I knew I could count on you!” he smiled thankfully as he bowed his head in gratitude. “Don’t take too long, though. They still have a lot of applicants to review.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll have them deliver in fifteen minutes,” Eunmi grinned as she nodded in understanding. “You know how persuasive I can be after all.”

[olivcrfm]

hello! this is my stupid naive child with a heart of gold oliver !  i’m very excited to about him, so pls give me all of your affection & plots 🥺  i wrote like a whole novel under the cut because i had this man for like a year now, so please bare with me

chicago’s very own oliver park-davies has been spotted on madison avenue driving a maroon jeep wrangler , welcome ! your resemblance to charles melton is unreal . according to tmz , you just had your twenty fourth birthday bash . your chance of surviving new york is uncertain because you’re withdrawn, but being empathetic might help you . i think being a cancer explains that . 3 things that would paint a better picture of you would be lazy mornings in bed, getting the job done at the last minute, & a soft voice  . ( i stole the test answers for my college finals to impress my parents ) & ( cis male & he/him) + ( hailey , 19 , she/her, cst)

— “ basics ! ’ 〉

full name. oliver park-davies.

nicknames. oli, ollie, park, davies obviously lmao.

age. twenty-four.

date of birth. june 26.

occupation. singer/songwriter.

sexual orientation. bisexual.

birthplace. new york.

zodiac. cancer.

spoken languages. fluent in too many languages thank you.

— “ backstory! ’ 〉

oliver park-davies was born in chicago to two extremely loving parents, and his seven other siblings of which he was the oldest, they were this gigantic loving family, and everybody wanted to be like them

okay well when i say loving i mean that’s how they appeared on the outside, his family was very broken, his parents constantly on the edge of divorce, him and his siblings didn’t get along at all, and in the park-davies house there was always something to argue about

the park-davies were billionaires, this was due to their extremely successful business endeavors, and knew when and where to invest their money they had enough money to buy whatever they wanted whenever they wanted, they never looked at the price tag, to quote ariana grande, “they want it, they got it.” their business headquarters is in texas! and oliver’s parents constantly just left him n his siblings in chicago while they went to texas

but he spent his summers their and it’s basically home away from home

his parents often tried to basically bribe their kids to love them because they were honestly the worst, they often emotionally abused their children, and neglected them, and the only time that their parents did want anything to do with them is when they needed to make a public appearance

was very much the rich kid that raised by nannies and butlers rather than his actual parents, and in a weird way he sorta became this surrogate parent for his siblings, he was the one they looked up to and came to for advice that sorta thing

oliver,,,just needed something anything to take his mind of it, so immediately he threw himself into studying and books, and to quote matilda, “the books gave him a comforting message...you are not alone.”

his parents ended up figuring out that their son was smart, like hella smart, by 10 he’d mastered latin, and by 11 he was already reading at college level

bUT despite being able to graduate college by 12 at the rate he was going he wanted as normal of a childhood as possible, and so he continued with his regular grade level, and tried his best to be ‘normal’

honestly his love of books got to the point that his room essentially turned into a small library of it’s own, it got to the point where his parents reluctantly gave him his own room to house all of his books

books weren’t the only thing that oliver found his passion for, when he enrolled in his school’s choir, he realized his love for singing

he wanted to share his music with people without having the recognition, so he uploaded a lot of his music to soundcloud under an alias ( vc: conan gray / cavetown i can’t decide yet lmao rip )

he gained a massive following, that not even he expected, which would seem like a great thing if he wasn’t expected by his parents to take on the family business

one day his parents sat him down and he saw it a good a time as ever to tell his parents about the success he hoped to gain from singing, his parents cut him off immediately and told him that his father was suffering from cancer

due to his revelation his parents ostracized him more than they did before, and slowly but surely he began to be iced out, no longer showing up in appearances, and just avoiding any press altogether

as his father got increasingly more sick, oliver began to realize the mistake that he made, and on his death bed oliver promised his father that he would do as both of his parents wished and take over the family business

oliver had the scores to get to any school that he wanted and decided on business school at columbia, where his father was an alumni, the agreement that he had with his mother was that once he graduated he’d begin shadowing his mother to learn to run the company

the school and the city itself was immediately overwhelming to my boy who came from not so humble beginnings in his small town, and he was unsure of where he belonged in this huge school

until!!!!! he found friends!!!! and they made him feel accepted!!! and it was great!!!!

once his friends heard his voice and of his dreams they encouraged him to join the university’s men’s choir, and was prompted by the director to join the university’s theatre department, where he appeared in a overwhelming majority of the school’s plays and musicals

he was discovered one night at this open mic thing he went to and it was great! he was signed to a record deal with a label! and my bby’s dreams were finally coming true!!!

lmao but the one condition that he did have for his label was that he had to graduate school first, and it was accepted

he graduated early! because of course he did only because he stole the test answers because his grades were sorta declining and finals were coming up sooo

his mom was expecting him to come back to texas and maintain the family business, but he pulled a whole uno reverse card, and ended up disappearing from whatever world it is that him mom lived in

he became pretty successful in the music industry, coming from this cool indie artist that only about a few hundred people knew about to this seemingly overnight sensation

my bb is still v e r y unused to the attention, mostly because his parents never gave it to him and he was like, adoration???? attention??? care??? what’s that

has recently started a band! consisting of people he met a columbia, so him, a guy friend, and olivia dkfsjdkj guy friend remains unnamed because it’s a wc

— “ personality / headcanons ! ’ 〉

is a huge dork that just loves to make people smile and when he sees people genuinely happy his heart melts a little bit inside

is very much the shoulder to cry on for people, and even if he doesn’t know you he’ll sit and listen to your whole life story and just try to cheer you up because that’s just in his nature?

has started his acting career! first it was just cute small little cameos in movies and tv shows, but now it’s turned into him getting his own show!!! he couldn’t be more excited tbh

remember how i said that he’d sit and listen to a stranger cry? if he shows even the slightest bit of emotion that isn’t happiness he starts malfunctioning and just trying to make the people around him happy

he’s honestly probably said, “alright i have to go back to being funny again.” to himself so many times before??? he’s so broken on the inside but has just put up so many barriers

despite the many walls he has to protect himself from other people, he’s just the nicest purest soul, he treats everyone like his family, and just has the insatiable need to be liked dkkfkdkd, pls be fragile with my boy thanks

ollie is left-handed

loves singing show tunes and has gone to too many shows on broadway????

has a special room for playbills because he likes getting them signed and they’re very important to him

hates talking about his family and will probably cry if you make him bring them up lmao

he’s such a himbo ... just kind , beefy , and stupid

he often just dumbs himself down, not because he thinks he’s better than other or something weird like that, buuuut he feels like people will judge him and make fun of him like others did when he was younger

— “ wanted plots ! ’ 〉

some potential wc i’m terrible at thinking of these so please don’t feel limited by this list!

best friends!!!!

roommates!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! think this, this, this, this

guys he can hang out with sdksdflfkj idk a close knit group i’m thinking of ross, chandler, and joey or smth he’d be joey obvi

romantic plots can fuck me up any day of the week

i’m a slut for a good exes plot

unrequited crush, it can be that he has feelings for someone way out of his league, or someone has a crush on him and he’s just oblivious 

someone who broke his heart n inspired his music

band members!!!! would’ve had to attended columbia 

someone who he’s a good influence on

bad influence, he’s too good corrupt him do it cowards

former / current hookups 

ex friends 

straight up enemies

smth like one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen

[camryndaytona]

Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare is one of the most popular and successful young adult authors of today, however, a huge percentage of her fans have no idea of her past where she was know more for her bullying than her writing. I started this as a post on my “You Should Know” instagram, but eventually it got way too big and I had to create a post for it as well.

Terms to Know

Big Name Fan

Or “BNF” is an old term mostly used during the early 2000s, before ff.net or AO3.

They were the biggest names in fandom, producing the most popular art or fanfics.

Getting on the wrong side of a BNF could lock you out from the entire fandom, as you would be blocked from any forum they (or they friends) moderated.

The Inner Circle

In the early 2000s the Harry Potter fandom was essentially ruled by the Inner Circle. 

Although most of the Inner Circle changed constantly due to fandom drama and scandals, one member stayed for almost it’s entire duration: Cassie Claire

ff.net

Fanfiction.net

One of the early and most popular sites for hosting fanfiction.

The Draco Trilogy

Draco Dormiens

Author’s Summary: When an accident in Potions class turns Harry into Draco and Draco into Harry, each is trapped playing the part of the other. Romance, mistaken identities, Really Cunning Plans, evil bake sales, a love triangle, and snogs galore.

Draco Sinister

Author’s Summary: When Hermione is kidnapped, Harry and Draco must team up to rescue her from a thousand-year-old evil that threatens the entire wizarding world. Cursed demon swords, love potions, time travel, dementors, flying dragons, Draco wears leather, and everybody dies at least once. Except when they don’t.

It is notable for being the source of the Draco in Leather Pants trope as well as the catalyst for the Cassandra Claire plagiarism wank.

Draco Veritas

Author’s Summary: The sequel to Draco Sinister, featuring winter at Hogwarts, snogging, Quidditch, mysterious things and Rhysenn Malfoy.

Why was the Trilogy so popular?

As most people in fandom probably know, there’s usually two subsets of shippers: gay and straight (please note that, back in the early 2000s, there was still a lot of homophobia, and the heterosexual ships were undeniably more popular for that reason).

Since The Draco Trilogy had both Draco/Hermione and a lot of Harry/Draco subtext, fans of both ships flocked to the fic.

The Plagiarism 

Although she’d done it all along, it wasn’t until the second fanfic, Draco Sinister, that fans began to catch on. What was “it?”

Cassie including a lot of quotations from other work. And I mean a LOT. She lifted entire conversations and paragraphs from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Black Adder, Red Dwarf, and Terry Pratchett. At first she didn’t even mention this “inspiration,” so everyone assumed that this wit was all hers.

Once she was called out, she put a standard disclaimer at the top of her work, which was worded to imply that she might have borrowed a few, small quotes here and there, not that she was taking paragraphs and scenes. When she was called out for her continued plagiarism she switched to claiming that she “forgot” what her sources were.

Finally a former fan called Avocado got tired of it and reported her to ff.net. Within a day her works were taken down.

Predictably the fandom melted down over this and accusations began to fly. Cassie used her status as a BNF to ban anyone mildly critical of her from any message board or mailing list. A friend of Cassie’s claimed to be a real life lawyer and harrassed young fans with seemingly legal threats. There are even threats of people calling the police in an early form of “swatting.” Cassie tried to get a “hater” kicked out of university for “hacking” her and a REAL lawyer had to be involved before Cassie admitting to making it all up.

After all that began to die down, as she was working on the third installment of the trilogy, Cassie began accusing her friend and fellow BNF, Aja, of plagiarizing her. When that failed to incite the anger she wanted against Aja, Cassie began to claim that Aja was posting leaked spoilers for the Draco Trilogy. This infighting between the two lead to the collapse of The Inner Circle.

Laptop Gate

Although the third part of the Trilogy wasn’t as popular as the first two, due to the plagiarism scandal, it still racked up a ton of views when she began posting it. So when there was a potential threat to the continuation of the saga, readers were horrified.

This potential threat was a break in and the loss of Cassie’s computer.

Almost immediately after the robbery was announced Cassie’s lawyer friend (who was also her roommate) popped up again. This time, they were raising money to replace the laptops of Cassie and her roommates that had been stolen in the break in. Any extra money from the fundraiser would go to some vaguely mentioned charity.

Divisive comments poured in.

Some people expressed frustration that more “meaningful” fundraisers (like someone who had lost everything in a fire) didn’t get anywhere near as much attention and support.

Fans were even less happy when no proof was provided of either the break in or the charitable donation of excess funds (which was reported to be over $10,000).

When called out they changed the subject and posted links to another fan that was also fundraising (although they never posted any charity before or after, even when asked to do so the lawyer friend claimed to be “too busy” to share a link).

Published Works

After enjoying her celebrity as the Queen of Fanfiction, it’s no surprise that Cassie decided to venture into actual, original published works.

Except they weren’t that original, because it’s Cassie and she really, really seems to like “borrowing” from herself and others.

Let’s start with some name changes

Cassie

Cassandra Claire (with an i) is her fanfiction name

Cassandra Clare (without an i) is her published name

You may be surprised by how well this name change suited her. For a long time, before exposes began to be posted, you could google her published name without finding out about her history in fandom. Additionally, some of her victims from her fanfic days read her published books without realizing who the author actually was (until they started to recognize the quotes and paragraphs that she’d lifted straight from her fanfiction)

Her Writing

“Mortal Instruments” is Cassie’s Ginny/Ron incest romance fanfiction.

“The Mortal Instruments” is Cassie’s published work, about two fake siblings who fall in love with each other.

Similarities to Harry Potter

Now I haven’t read Mortal Instruments or The Mortal Instruments so I’ll let someone who has read them both do some explaining:

When I opened the book, I knew that Clary was Ginny. Alec was Harry. Isabelle was Clare’s version of Blaise (who back then was not officially male or female, and could therefore be interpreted by fandom either way). Valentine was a strange mixture of Lucius and Voldemort. And Jace, of course, was undeniably Draco.

Jace is so Draco, in fact, that it’s impossible to see him as his own character. The way Clare characterizes Jace is the exact same way she characterized her Draco. They share lines (the ones she didn’t steal from Buffy, of course), they share nervous tics, they share appearances, and they even share memories. The second I read the scene in which Jace tells Clary the story about the boy and the falcon, I felt an unpleasant jolt of recognition: that story is one Draco tells in one of the Draco Trilogy installments. I couldn’t remember which one. I couldn’t even remember who Draco told it to (Harry? Ginny? Hermione?). But I knew it was if not word for word taken from her fanfiction, it was very, very close.

Yikes. That’s a lot of similarities.

The same person I quoted about went on to say that the fanfiction was still much better than her published work, and that she’d rather re-read the fanfic than the non-fanfic.

Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dark Hunters

Almost immediately after The Mortal Instruments (the non-fanfic one) became popular, Sherrilyn Kenyon slapped it with a lawsuit for copying her urban fantasy series, Dark Hunters.

Kenyon fans attacked Claire fans, Cassie’s history was brought to light, and Cassie got to pull out her favorite argument “you hate me because I’m Jewish.” Which is interesting, because I’ve been working on this for two weeks, and I only just learned that she’s Jewish when I read about her accusing others of anti-Semitism.

Now as Cassie apologists will tell you, Kenyon did ultimately lose that suit, but it’s really, really starting to get repetitive over here.

I’ll borrow a quote from Ryan Givens, “If you meet an asshole in the morning, you met an asshole. If you meet assholes all day, you’re the asshole.” Or in this case, maybe you’re the plagiarist.

Common Questions

Has Cassie apologized for this?

She did occasionally

Has Cassie changed?

My opinion is no. She’s not.

Let’s see, as the “Queen of YA Literature” she has:

used Copy Right strikes to prevent people from calling out problematic passages in her books

sent her fans after critics

posted a hilariously ironic blog about cyber bullying

attacked her OWN FANS because they didn’t like the ending of a book

currently complains about people posting her real name (which is Judith Rumelt, in case you wanted to know) despite her own history of publishing people’s actual phone numbers online

Calls critics anti-Semetic while having this quote in her book

Claims that she was threatened when someone called her friend an “ignorant duck” 

Loves Token Minorities

Wrote a questionable almost rape

My Thoughts

I don’t like Cassie.

I really don’t.

And look, I’m not saying that Cassie is a narcissist, but here’s a fun little saying called The Narcissist’s Prayer:

That didn’t happen. And if it did, it wasn’t that bad. And if it was, that’s not a big deal. And if it is, that’s not my fault. And if it was, I didn’t mean it. And if I did… You deserved it.

Does any of that sound familiar, because it should. It’s basically Cassie’s text book responce of “avoid admitting fault until there’s too much proof, say I didn’t do it on purpose, blame someone else, claim to be the victim, find another person to accuse of drama.”

Now I’m going to again quote from ProblematicYA because I absolutely love their writing. In this quote, they’re talking about how all of Cassie’s books, even those set in different times or cities, follow the same pattern. Non-Shadowhunter meets Shadowhunter (who is basically Draco).

So what’s really my problem? My problem is the fact that Cassandra Clare is a marginally talented writer who has one story and one cast of characters up her sleeve, and yet somehow she’s sold millions and millions of books based on this. My problem is the fact that Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series was partially copied from her fanfiction trilogy, which copied a plethora of other authors, not even including J.K. Rowling, who provided her with the characters, premise, and setting for her beloved trilogy. My problem is the fact that Cassandra Clare is in the authorly equivalent of a time loop, and has come full circle. My problem is the fact that Cassandra Clare is, in essence, writing fanfiction of her own work, and it is getting published and she is getting paid bank for it, when other far more original and talented authors are getting absolutely nothing for their hard work. I may despise Stephenie Meyer and the world she’s created, but at least Twilight and its accompanying works are her own original product; at least she deserves to reap the benefits of the crazy fandom she’s inspired.

Look. I don’t believe in dredging up ancient history just to hurt people. Shit we did when we were teens shouldn’t be held against us as adults. People grow and change a lot from what they were as teens.

But bitch, you actually have to GROW AND CHANGE. And Cassie hasn’t.

Also, try actually apologizing for what you’ve done instead of silencing critics.

Sources and More Information

As always, I love, love, love fanlore and I linked to many of their articles throughout this post.

A user on the HobbyDrama subreddit made a great write up called The Cassandra Cla(i)re Saga.

ProblematicYA wrote several amazing articles on the subject:

Why I Have A Problem With Cassandra Clare and Why You Should Too

anti-bullying ya queen cassandra clare is a massive bully. water also wet.

They also have an entire tag dedicated to Cassie

Alli6 wrote Things you should Know

Cassandra Clare, Rape Culture, and the Oft-Forgotten Metaphor by The Book Lantern.

SnarkTheater also has pages of things tagged as Cassie Claire, including chapter by chapter break downs of the books.

source http://camryndaytona.com/2020/06/cassandra-clare?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cassandra-clare

[tsukishima44]

My Little Partner

Warnings : Child Neglect

Otoya blinked again and again. His eyes roamed back from top to bottom and repeat it again to break his dumbfounded state and register the sentences to his mind. His right hand fumbled with the scroll on the mouse, up and down, up and down. As his eyes read it again, his mind had underlined several words. Age regrsssion, child, stress. His eyes stranded after reading for the fifth time to the figure beside him. His roommate was sitting in the corner on his bed. His body was curled with his knees raised and arms thrown on them. His face was also hiding behind his folded arms and for the first time after living with Tokiya, he saw how small he was.

At age 12, Tokiya knew something was wrong with his mind. Everytime he reached a certain stress level, he started to feel like throwing a tantrum and crying it all out loud. He wanted his burden, his responsibility off his shoulders for once and just showered with praise and soft things, like the blue flannel blanket his late grandfather gave him when he was 8. It has a blue bird embroidery with his name on one of its corner.

Tokiya was reluctant when his grandfather gave something as childish as a blanket to him, he felt he aged enough not to be pampered anymore, not that his parents care for him much, but his grandfather has stretched out the soft material with his equally soft smile. Tokiya took it into his hand, muttered a 'thank you', his first real gratitude, to his grandfather who patted his head. After said event, Tokiya slowly opened himself to his grandfather, never to his busy parents, and his grandfather in return gave the warmth he unconsciously has been longing all along. His grandfather breathe his final breathe when Tokiya was 10 years old, holding his prunny hands and feeling for the lost thudding of his artery in his wrist. He cried hard for the first time in his whole life. Then, there was nobody else to hold him when he was sad, nobody to teach him how to make a whistle from leaf, nobody to sneak in some snacks before sleep, nobody to read him story when he felt like he can't sleep, and most importantly, he felt alone.

A year after, Tokiya searched frantically after accidentally talking with a lisp to one of his home caretaker. He entered everything he felt, from wanting to get mad at everything to being pampered into google's search bar. His answer came in less than 5 minutes. Tokiya felt his shoulder slumped in distress. He is a Little.

-chapter break-

Age regression is when somebody reverts to a child-like state of mind, often as a coping mechanism for things like PTSD, depression, anxiety and other mental health issues. Basically age regressors are more at-peace and worry-free whilst in 'little space' (a term for when one is in said mindset). These people simply need breaks from the stress of being old and often have a childish personality even outside of regression.

Otoya blinked again and again. His eyes roamed back from top to bottom and repeat it again to break his dumbfounded state and register the sentences to his mind. His right hand fumbled with the scroll on the mouse, up and down, up and down. As his eyes read it again, his mind had underlined several words. Age regrsssion, child, stress. His eyes stranded after reading for the fifth time to the figure beside him. His roommate was sitting in the corner on his bed. His body was curled with his knees raised and arms thrown on them. His face was also hiding behind his folded arms and for the first time after living with Tokiya, he saw how small he was.

Otoya had sighed as he remembered about yesterday's accident.

-chapter break-

"To~ki~ya~"

Otoya was running through the halls of bedrooms into his and Tokiya's shared room. The red head felt great today! He got a full score on one of his test, scored several goals at soccer, and finally bought the legendary bread in the canteen. The last thing be needed today is to tell everything to someone and that someone happened to reside in his bedroom.

He had been told repeatedly by his blue haired roommate to at least knock if he wanted to enter a room, even if it it was his own bedroom because he shared it. But Tokiya's advice just flew  away in his happy state. Otoya turned the knob and opened the door happily.

"Tokiyaaaa~ today I-"

Otoya immediately heard a loud gasp from inside. His eyes opened to see what was wrong and it just stared at Tokiya.

On his tidy neat bed sat Tokiya in a hoodie Otoya had bought for his birthday but apparently two sizes to big, a blue blanket, and tw-three bird dolls. The person in the middle of everything, he deemed as the owner, was ashen and pale with rosy cheeks. Tokiya's deep blue orbs were staring at him but Otoya saw something else in there. Like the pupil was a bit clouded and each eyes are larger than its normal size.

"I--uh--I will come back later!!!"

Otoya ran out of his room, never forgot to close it again, and just wander around aimlessly and trying to will his mind to snap back. What had he seen?

"Yo, Tokki!"

His head immediately snapped up to meet his friend. Ren Jinguuji was stood in front of him smiling, but different from the smile he thrown to his fans, with his orange hair in a ponytail. Masato, his roommate, childhood friend, and potential lover had told him to put it up rather than letting it free. To look tidier at least, Masato had said. Ren had argued that his lovely ladies prefer to see his hair free of tie yet he always tie it whenever they are in dorms.

"What's wrong, Tokki? Are you okay? Come to think of it, where is Icchi? Have you seen him?"

At the mention of his name, Otoya immediately answered as fluent as possible.

"Oh oh I'm fine!! Just thinking about today's dinner~ W-why are you searching for Tokiya?"

Ren's brow raised in confusion and Otoya had to gulp a lump in his throat. Who would he kidding? There is just no way Ren would buy a lame excuse as that. When Ren sighed, he wondered if his acting had taken up into a new level or it was just Ren trying to be nice.

"I heard he has a hard time recently so I was about to see how he was doing"

"Oh, I see! No wonder Tokiya is sleeping early~"

Otoya would praise his mouth for thinking of such a wonderful excuse. But still that didn't cover or gave him a hint on what he saw in his bedroom.

"Oh? That is a surprise~ Why don't we prank him with another marker again? I am running of blackmail phot-"

"Ah! I forgot to buy tonight's ingredient! How about Ren accompany me?"

Ren's brow creased deeper.

But Otoya didn't cower down and used his puppy face, something he knew no one had ever able to say no to.

"O...kay..."

"Great!"

Then Otoya practically drag the taller boy down to the minimarket while messaging Tokiya when would it be alright to come back to his room.

-chapter break-

At 8 p.m Tokiya had replied his message. I'm sorry and I'm fine. But when the clock hit 9 o'clock that was when Otoya finally strolled back to his room from Syo's and Natsuki's bedroom.

The hallway was quiet at night, devoid from any voice except for some cicadas and frogs singing with the moon shining upon them. Just like a spotlight specially made for them. Also the sound of his sandal hitting the wooden floor beneath him was his only companion. As he gotten neared his door, Otoya noticed that there was no light coming from inside. He frowned. Tokiya always slept at least at 10 o'clock or sometimes after midnight and wake up before him. Was he really that tired as Ren had said or probably because Otoya saw the inside of Pandora box?

The red haired man shook his head and opened the door slowly. As he had predicted before, the light was out. His roommate's body was lying on his bed but there was no soft snore or sign of him sleeping.

Otoya took several feet to his partner's bed.

"Toki-"

"Otoya"

Otoya's breathing hitch

"I will explain tomorrow. Please"

His heart cracked when he heard Tokiya's pleading tone. He remembered Tokiya's exasperated noise often, his laugh several times, his awed voice everytime Nanami finished a song, and Tokiya's soft snore when he was deep asleep. But never did he heard something akind to this.

With heavy heart, Otoya turned on his heel and readied himself to bed. He prepared for a night with no sleeping. But today's event proved him wrong as he was taken into a blissful sleep in less than an hour, leaving his partner awake on the bed opposite his.

In the morning, Otoya had prepared for the awkwardness to settle in. Otoya was awoke naturally, not because of Tokiya mother-hen mode for once, and seen his partner's bed empty. Otoya readied himself and went to the hallway where his missing partner was with Masato, Syo, and Camus. As soon as their eyes met, the bluenette stopped and strode to Otoya. His head bowed down, then as they passed, Otoya felt a paper was given.

"Finish your breakfast first" Tokiya muttered beside him

Then as soon as they met, Tokiya was gone.

"What happen just now?"

Syo asked making Otoya startled. The paper given was quickly shove into his pocket.

"A-ahhh, Tokiya said that he wanna practice something again. I-I'm hungry~ Masaaa where is the food??"

Masato huffed and handed him his share of sanma. The other might realize something was going on, but never did they speak about it ever again.

Then here they were, in their shared room. Otoya looking over his friend who was still curled against the wall on his bed.

'Age regression' Otoya thought 'Tokiya was stressed enough'

Otoya slowly walked into where his partner was and climbed the short bed. Tokiya's figure flinched as soon as the bed cover pulled against Otoya's weight. Otoya placed his hand on top of Tokiya's left arm.

"Toki...."

Tokiya's gripped on his own arm tightened

"Toki...I don't mind, you know?"

Tokiya looked up from his hiding place. Otoya heart broken in pieces when he saw red puffy eyes and tear marks in his cheeks. And....yeah. Otoya didn't mistaken the size of Tokiya's widening pupil. If Tokiya ever smile it would be very pretty, not that usual Tokiya's smile not pretty or anything. But Otoya could picture Tokiya in a child-mindset smiling up at him.

"Can I be your caretaker?"

Otoya blinked. Tokiya too blinked. Was that his voice just now?

"U-um.. I mean... it is stated that a Little has to have someone to take care of them when they are in their child mindset. So, I'm thinking if you need one I can help"

He scratch the side of his temple, one of his nervous quirk. Not that the others realized about his habit.

"Y-you want to? Am I not weird?"

"No! Not at all! Everyone has their own coping mechanism and if Tokiya's is being a little than it is fine"

Tokiya blinked unsure at him

"I mean it, ya know? If you think that I am not competent enough, should I call Ms. Yukine from Sunshine Orphanage to tell you my babysitting record?"

Now he was snickering. Tokiya sure did know that Otoya was raised in Sunshine orphanage by Ms. Yukine after his parents got into an accident on a young age. Tokiya also had listened to Otoya's rambling about Chii-chan and Juno-kun adventure time, Shunichi's bug collection, Totoko's singing and dancing talent, and other kids he had growned up with. There was no doubt that Otoya was experienced enough with kids.

"Tokiya?"

Otoya called when the bluenette in front of him didn't do anything.

"Okay"

"Okay?"

"Be my caretaker.....please"

Otoya smiles his thousand dollar watt and glomped his usually cold friend and partner. Tokiya gave a stifled yelp and followed Otoya's giggled.

"Thank you, Otoya" Tokiya said from Otoya's chest.

"You are welcome, Tokiya~"

-chapter break-

The day after their battle with QUARTET NIGHT, STARISH was given a week off. They were physically and mentally exhausted after preparing for their concert. Now that everything settled, each of them sighed heavily full of relieve. They didn't bother to eat dinner or anything, it was 9 p.m, and strode to their room with a simple 'night' to each other they met.

Ren raised his brow when he saw a red head figure playing with his cellphone in their living room.

"Otoyan? You are not sleeping?"

The red head snapped their head to Ren and waved his hand.

"I will be in 10 minutes~ Just need to boil some milk for a goodnight sleep"

Ren chuckled at the A class student's antic and childish personality

"Right then. I will be going first, ciao"

Then Ren left him, not knowing the existence of a baby bottle in Otoya's hand.

Otoya slipped back into his room with a warm bottle of milk in his hand. After entering his room, his hand locked their room in habit.

"Tokiyaaa, I'm here"

Otoya giggled when he saw a blanket covered lump shaking from laughing. The blanket was soft blue color, the one Little Tokiya had described as his back snuggled against the smaller one's chest. Although the clothe wasn't big enough now, Tokiya still tried to cover his body with it which made him just adorable.

Right now, Little Tokiya was covering his body with it, but his legs were jutting out. Otoya walked to where they were and tickled Tokiya's feet. The reaction was a high pitch laugh and the boy's body curled inward to protect his ticklish part.

"Ahahahahaha, 'toyaaaa, sto-ahahahaha, nyohohaha pl-please ahahahaha"

After 30 seconds, Otoya stopped his ministration and uncovered Little Tokiya. His face was glistening with sweat and rosy cheeks.

"Come on, Toki~ It's time for your warm milk and bed time story"

"It's night already?"

"Yup! And it's time to sleep~"

The man scrambled to sit near the headrest but leaving enough space for his caregiver sitting behind him, a position Tokiya loved so much. When Otoya discovered it, he almost hug Tokiya from behind even when he was Big. Sometimes he wanted Tokiya to sit on his lap.

The excited 5 year old, Tokiya also told him it was the time he realized his parents didn't dote him like a normal parent should and time when he acted like Hayato, patted Otoya's space, telling him to hurry up.

Otoya clambered to his place and boxed Tokiya's body with his legs and arms. Tokiya placed his head on the juncture of Otoya's right shoulder and neck while Otoya himself located his head on Tokiya's left, easily placing little smooches there.

His hand took the bottle he had put on Tokiya's bedside table and gave it to the five year old. Tokiya happily drinked his warm milk while Otoya busy hugging his cute partner.

After finishing his nightly beverage, Tokiya placed his bottle back, Otoya figures that Tokiya was a very polite child from the start, and slumped back against Otoya, head nuzzling against Otoya's neck.

"Still hungry, Toki?"

His Toki shook his head

"Oookay~ Have any story you would like to hear?"

"Ummm....astronomy?"

Another fact was Tokiya very very extremely fond with anything about astronomy and myths. Otoya felt challenged each time.

"Hum... ah! I know! Have you heard the gossip about the moon and the sun?"

"No"

"Righty, you see Toki, the sun and the moon were once best friend. The sun is attracted at moon because it has such a unique shape while the moon is attracted to sun's shine and brightness. But then-"

Otoya continued his story for around 5 minutes before he heard a soft snore against his neck. He stopped his story and pecked Tokiya's head. He carefully repositioned their body so they could snuggle comfortably. When he was finally positioned lying on his side with his front against Tokiya's backside, he tightened his arms on Tokiya's waist to bring them closer. Tokiya unconsciously leaned back to Otoya's warmer body.

Smiling again, Otoya spoke softly

"Goodnight, baby"

[the-martian-chronicles]

I've been meaning to write an update for a long time, but shit has been so chaotic and busy that I haven't gotten to it.

Right now I'm back in Indiana. I booked my flight out here to surprise my grandma for her birthday on the 6th, then got a text less than 12 hours later saying that she fell again at home and had to go to the hospital. She was examined and they ran some imaging, all of which came back clear. She's now back in the rehab facility she was at last month after she broke her hip and I'm not sure how long she will be there to recover. Right before all of that happened, we had an issue with my grandpa's credit cards being stolen in memory care (he's still there), and we're in talks with some people about selling the business.

Two days later, I was on my way to work and was inundated with messages that my dog was suddenly gravely ill and had to go to the vet (vomiting, diarrhea, difficulty breathing, no appetite, etc). They examined him and found that his chest cavity was 2/3 filled with fluid, some of which contained abnormal cells. He went back home that night while they ran tests on the fluid sample, but then ended up at the emergency vet the next morning because my regular vet wanted him to have access to care in case something happened while he (the vet) was out of town for Labor Day. I was basically on the phone off and on all day Tuesday - Thursday with both clinics, and had to reschedule my flight because his prognosis was so grim. On top of that, I had to work both jobs this past week 😟.

So, I flew out early yesterday and was able to bring him home, thankfully. Being so far away, I didn't know what to expect when I saw him, but I don't think anything could've prepared me for how weak and thin he has become. He wouldn't eat or drink for anyone and was so depressed for days before I got here. He has definitely perked up for me and is eating /drinking /taking his meds, but I can tell he doesn't feel well and it breaks my heart.

I'm not sure what's going to happen during my stay. I've seen a big improvement in him just since yesterday, but I can't tell if he's going to be with us for much longer, or if he's rallying for me. I've been so nervous to leave his side that I haven't gone anywhere or done anything without him (he literally went grocery shopping with me today). But I do need to see my grandparents and try to get the house prepped for a potential buyer on Wednesday. Oh, and work because I still have that going on, obviously.

My life has basically been a goddamn dumpster fire since last April and it has really worn me down. Between all of these health problems with my grandparents, Sam being sick, trying to handle the family business closure, working two jobs, going through a divorce, moving across the country, and not having any contact with my kids, this has easily been one of the most challenging years of my life. It's exhausting even talking about it here, so I have no idea how I'm living it.

But with all of that said, I'm also incredibly grateful for so many things in my life that keep me going. I enjoy both of my jobs and feel like I'm growing both professionally and personally, my roommate and I were approved for a beautiful apartment that we will be moving into next week, my grandparents are in good hands and safe at the moment, and I've been given more time with my pup thanks to someone noticing he was sick and taking the initiative to get him looked at. So while there's a crushing amount of stress, there are also bright spots that I would be foolish to ignore.

The biggest lessons I'm learning are to take it one step at a time and to be present while I'm doing it. Hopefully that helps me through all of this difficulty and I can thrive on the other side of it all.

[finn-nelson-for-the-win]

The Good Life: Chapter 13

Hello, my lovelies! Is it just me or does it seem like forever since I’ve posted a new chapter? In any case, this is yet another filler chapter to set up some events that are to come in the next chapters, but I promise that there will be some fun stuff/drama/shenanigans in the upcoming chapters that will make the last couple boring chapters worthwhile.

Need to get caught up? The Good Life: Ch1, Ch2, Ch3, Ch4 , Ch5, Ch6, Ch7, Ch8 , Ch9 , Ch10, Ch 11, Ch 12

If you want to be added (or  removed) from the tags list for this story, just feel free to let me know!

@pink-royaute @believethaticanandiwill @milllott @likeashootingstarfades @i-dream-of-emus @eveerez @saintsisterwriter

The Good Life: Chapter 13

A few seconds after Rocky—who was asleep at Rae’s feet while she lounged on the couch— lifted his head and began to look around there was a gentle knock on the front door.

“Good morning!” Rae called as she opened the door with Rocky trailing close behind.

“Hello, Rae,” Anna said as she pulled Rae into a hug and stepped inside the apartment when Rae opened the door fully to invite her in.

“How is your sister doing?” Rae asked when the pair both took a seat on the couch and Rocky jumped on the couch to sprawl out in the space between them.

“The doctor said that there were some potential causes for concern, so she was under observation for a few days, but the baby was born without any complications and both she and her baby boy are healthy, happy, and back at home as of Friday.”

“That’s great! I’m glad everything worked out,” Rae replied with a smile, “and congratulations on becoming an aunt!”

“I know! I can’t wait to spoil the kid whenever I see him!” Anna chuckled, “I hope Rocky hasn’t been too much of a burden on you. I know I didn’t give you much time to prepare for him to be here, but I appreciate that you were able to take care of him.

“It’s no problem, really,” Rae assured her as she brought her hand near Rocky’s face for him to lick and gently nibble on, “Rocky seems to have really taken a liking to both my roommate and I over the last couple weeks!”

“I’m so glad to hear that! Is you roommate here? I’ve heard so many good things and I’d love to formally meet them.”

“I’m actually supposed to meet my roommate at the cafe down the street from work for lunch in a little while,”

“Oh! Perfect, my house is on the way there anyways, so Rocky and I can keep you company and just walk home from there.”

“Alright! That sounds good, I’ll just need a few minutes to grab my shoes and gather up some of Rocky’s stuff that you gave me.”

When Rae returned from her bedroom with a tote bag full of toys, treats, and other items Anna had given her while she was watching Rocky the pair fastened the walking harness on Rocky and attached his leash before they all headed downstairs.

The weather was incredibly mild for November, so they decided to walk to the cafe and talk along the way.

“So...I seem to recall the two of us coming to a bit of an agreement a few months back,” Anna began with a cheeky grin.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, we agreed that first you needed to get your apartment and roommate situation sorted out and once you did that, you would allow me to set you up on a date and try to find you love.”

“Oh god, not that again, Anna! What is it with you and all my friends trying to get me to date or at least get laid?”

“Because we care about you, duh!”

“In either case, things are a bit...complicated...right now.”

“‘Complicated’ how, Rae?”

“Alright, so you’ve heard me talk a lot about my mates that I knew growing up and in college, right?”

“Yeah! Chloe, Izzy, Archie, Chop, and my personal favorite Finn! Right?”

“Exactly! Well they’re all basically my best friends, but a few days ago I think I did something that could mess up one of those friendships.”

“Did you make out with one of their boyfriends?” Anna asked with a gasp as the two stopped to let a car drive past before crossing the street.

“What? No! I kissed Finn.”

“You did?”

“Yeah...we were both drunk and we sort of made out a bit. I wanted to talk it over with him and figure out what he thought about it, but he’s been avoiding the subject and I haven’t found the right way to bring it up.”

“How do you feel about the kiss?”

“I mean, I used to have a massive crush on him but we’re really good mates now. I liked the kiss, I suppose, but I don’t want it to ruin our friendship or anything like that, ya know?”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

“Hopefully I’ll be able to talk to him about it today when I see him.”

“So...is that a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ to me setting you up with a friend of mine sometime soon?”

“It’s a firm maybe,” Rae replied with a sigh.

“That’s good enough for me! I’ll reach out to him and see when he’d be free to meet up. Now Rae, was that really so hard?”

“If it’ll get you off my back and make you happy to see me getting out and being social, then I’ll do just about anything to shut you up.” Rae quipped and stuck her tongue out at Anna in reply.

“Which reminds me, what’s the plan for your birthday, that’s coming up soon, right?”

“It’s in a bit over a week, yeah, but I don’t have any plans. I don’t really wanna do anything too crazy though. Just something small, maybe, with the gang.”

The pair continued talking about Rae’s plans for her birthday as they were nearing the small cafe Rae was going to lunch at when Anna stopped walking.

“Hey, so, am I going crazy or is that your mate Finn sitting outside the cafe right there?”

“Of course that’s him. I told you I was meeting him here for lunch!” Rae replied with a small chuckle as she kept walking.

“Wait! So you mean to tell me that Finn is your mate and your roommate?”

“Yeah, I thought you knew that!”

“No! I did not fucking know that! Oh my god…”

“What?”

“You made out with your roommate!”

“I’m aware,”

“Oh my god,”

“It’s not that big of a deal,”

“Oh my god,”

“Seriously, Anna. Relax”

“Oh my god, he’s waving at us!”

“Yeah, he’s a nice guy,”

“Oh my god, he’s hot!”

“Yeah, I know. Now, do you want to meet him and say ‘hi’ or not?”

“Of course I do!”

“Cool, now try not to gawk at him like you are now and I can introduce the two of you,” Rae chuckled as she walked ahead to the hostess desk at the entrance of the cafe and pointed towards the table on the patio where Finn was seated and waved Anna and Rocky to follow her inside.

Rae, Anna, and Rocky followed the hostess around the patio to the table where Finn was seated and Finn stood from his seat to give Rae a tight hug.

“Hiya, Rae! I just got you water for now because I wasn’t sure what you wanted to drink, but I haven’t ordered anything else yet,” Finn knelt down to pet Rocky but continued speaking, “I don’t think I’ve ever formally met you, but you must be Rocky’s owner.”

“Uh, yes?” Anna mumbled.

“Sorry, she’s a bit shy this morning,” Rae joked, “Finn, this is my friend from work that I told you about and we’ve been watching her puppy for the last week. Anna, this is my best mate and roommate.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Anna,” Finn said with a smile as both he and Rae sat down at the table, “you and Rocky are welcome to join Rae and I for lunch if you’d like to.”

“Oh, sorry, but we should get going. I live in this direction, so I wanted to walk with Rae on my way home after coming to pick up Rocky. It was great to finally meet you though, I’ve heard a lot about you...like a lot,” Anna laughed lightly.

“Alright, well if you ever need anyone to take Rocky off your hands for a little while, Rae and I would be happy to do it!” Finn added as Anna gave Rae a hug.

“I’ll remember that, thank you,” Anna replied politely before turning towards Rae and lowering her voice a bit, “I’ll text you a bit later today, alright? We still have a lot to talk about!”

Rae huffed and rolled her eyes but smiled as she waved goodbye to Anna and Rocky as they made their way to the exit of the patio area.

“I’m not sure that your friend Anna liked me very much,” Finn stated as he looked over the menu.

“Ah, don’t pay her too much mind. She’s lovely, just a bit...odd,” Rae chuckled before picking up her menu as well, “anyways, what are you thinking of ordering? I feel like there’s just way too many options to choose from!”

Finn laughed and agreed and the two continued looking over the menu and making small talk as they enjoyed their lunch together.

A/N: I have no excuses as to why this chapter took so long to come together, but I am sorry that I’ve been MIA lately. Things in my life are still very crazy and turbulent and I feel like every second of spare time that I have is spent doing everything but writing, unfortunately. I do really appreciate the support and messages of encouragement that I got on my previous post and on every chapter before that. I know that everyone says that they’re grateful for their readers, but I’m completely genuine and can never fully express how much it means to me when y’all read/reblog/like/reply to my posts. I don’t really have much else to say right now, but I’m hoping to get better about posting weekly as things start to settle down a bit more for me closer to the end of June, so please stick it out with me.

Also: HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!! ^_^

Until next time: Stay awesome, my friends! :)