#but I flew thru those pages like I was getting paid for it

[seokwoosmole]

I finished reading Yakuza Fiancé way too fast for someone who’s falling behind in classes😩🤚🏼

[tinyshinysylveon]

i suddenly got this idea where izuku is an anonymous famous editor for youtubers who hire him to edit their videos because he’s a professional at doing it, and katsuki is an upcoming youtube vlogger who travels around the world and yet doesn’t know how to edit his own videos to save his life, so no matter what he does, he always seem to mess up even the basics of editing (part 1/??)

“i think you need professional help” kirishima says as he watches katsuki trying to drag an edited cut on to his video for the umpteenth time that day “shut up, shitty hair just give me a minute-” an error popup. “did you just.. deleted the video?” “....”

katsuki keeps trying, he even watched tutorials on youtube (while skipping important segments ofc because he can totally do that all on his own!) but his patience is wearing thin until kirishima recommended him to someone who’s known in the youtube community for their famous editing skills 

“..deku?” katsuki stares at his screen showing a youtube profile with the name deku as their username and an icon of all might with edited-in sunglasses “okay look, he may seem suspicious to you, but i gotta tell you bakugou, he’s legit, i’ve seen his videos and they look awesome!” well katsuki will be the judge of that despite this deku having 5 mil+ subscribers than him!

the blonde spent the whole day watching deku’s videos which mostly consists of amvs (anime music videos) and games, especially the ones that required a lot of effort to make, plus he even made tutorials! so he gotta give him credit for that, but alas, katsuki is still somehow having trouble following directions and gave up on the latest tutorial video on how to add an easy transition 

when kirishima came to check in with katsuki, all he heard were multiple clicks and grumbled noises, he let out an exasperated sigh “i can’t believe you’re still trying..” “what the fuck do you want me to do kirishima?” katsuki was trying not to flip his table at this point. “hire him obviously!” the red head yells out as if that’s the answer to their problems “..and how do you suppose i do that?” 

it actually took a lot of convincing in kirishima’s part, but katsuki finally threw away his pride and decided to send a message to deku’s business email that was left under his about page on youtube 

“..i want you to become my editor and help me in becoming the #1 youtube travel vlogger in the community” kirishima reads the message out loud that’s displayed on the screen, “you sure you want to send it like this?” “i don’t see anything wrong with it?” “but don’t you think it’s too.. blunt? no formalities or anything like, hello i’ve seen your videos and i would be honored to have you as my editor, you know?” katsuki just shrugged, “it’s too late, i already sent it to him”

about half a day later, deku replied back, “Good afternoon Mr.Explosionmurder, I appreciate that you requested me to become your editor and would like to discuss further details about our agreement via discord. You can contact me by adding my username, deku#2463. I look forward to hearing from you.” to this day, kirishima still can’t believe his eyes when he read the message

“oi shitty hair, what’s a discord?” 

it wasn’t katsuki’s fault that the majority of time he spent in high school was doing his best to stay on top of assignments and projects, plus being in the A honor roll, he didn’t really get to decide on his career until after he graduated, thanks to the courtesy of his parents owning their own modeling industry, he put the money he saved up to good use in traveling around the world and vlogging it for people to see with kirishima as his traveling partner

he explained all of this and his reasonings to deku on discord once he reached out to him and figured out how to use the platform, but katsuki was still suspicious regarding his video editing skills and wanted to see it firsthand on how his videos would look like as a finished product

deku: fair enough, send me your videos and i’ll see what i can do, until then, if you deem it satisfactory, which i’m confident that you will, i request a 50/50 payment on your revenue. take it or leave it. 

for some reason, katsuki agreed to it without a second thought due to the challenging tone from the message; “i can’t believe you! i told you to trust him! why do you have to doubt him?! haven’t you already seen his videos?!” kirishima was full on panicking at this point, how were they going to make money?! “shut up, i know what i’m doing! i know what’s best for my videos!” it was a good chance too since they’re currently in hong kong and planning to shoot the top 10 tourist spots to visit as claimed by an article he found online

a few days later, katsuki finally got all the videos piled up in one folder and sent them all in a google drive to share with deku just as he requested, he even mentioned to him thru discord message to follow the cues he was giving him on his videos such as when he and kirishima took a stroll and tried foods in the temple street night market; “hey deku, i want you to do a close up of kirishima eating the curry fish ball with erotic music playing in the background” he smirks while focusing the camera on the red head eating without a care in the world and not noticing katsuki making the comment, “mmm dude, mmm you gotta try this, it’s so freakin’ good- wait bro, how long have you been pointing the camera at me?” 

in less than a week, deku sent a reply back with the link to the fully edited video; deku: hmm, not gonna lie, but your cues were actually helpful and dare I say, creative? katsuki took it as a compliment and opened the link to the video file, it was about a few GB so it shouldn’t take a long time to upload on youtube, but.. was it ready? he called in kirishima to watch it with him and was actually prepared for it to look horrible despite deku’s obvious talent except.. it was actually pretty good?? better even?! “what did i tell ya katsuki? i told you he was legit,” his partner boasted, just earlier he was embarrassed when the part about him eating the curry fish ball with the “let’s get it on” music in the background showed up while the blonde just rolled his eyes. 

explosionmurder: thanks, and i just saw it, consider yourself hired deku: happy to be of service! i’m looking forward to working with you, mr.explosionmurder! it would be helpful again if you provided the cues during your journey! :)  explosionmurder: don’t mention it and also don’t call me that, call me katsuki  deku: okay, mr.katsuki! [all might emoji]

kastuki found it odd that he became really eager during the exchange but thought nothing of it

a couple of months flew by and katsuki with kirishima in tow have already travelled in 4 other different countries, he even received about 500k+ subscribers, he’s almost to 1 million! as per agreement, he gives half of his revenue to deku which was okay with him since he still has a lot of saved up money in the bank including kirishima’s since they’re sharing it anyway, most of the time, his communication with deku have been entirely professional with a few emojis in between (usually deku’s part), until today that is 

deku: it must be nice to travel 0:  explosionmurder: pfft, what are you talking about? you now have over 7 mil+ subscribers in your channel since i met you, you can go traveling whenever or wherever you want  deku: i can’t  explosionmurder: what do you mean you can’t?

no reply

since then, katsuki didn’t want to think too much on what deku said and focused mostly on traveling, those videos won’t work themselves! after he finished, he sent over the videos of his recent trip from india over to deku and as usual, deku delivered it back beautifully edited along with a message 

deku: that’s so cool! you guys went to india? *o* [link to video edit] explosionmurder: yeah, you should’ve seen shitty hair when he tried that really spicy curry, which reminds me, you did what i asked right? deku: of course mr. katsuki! as always, i’ve paid attention to every cue you asked for! [saluting pepe emoji] explosionmurder: good good, i didn’t just hire you to sit on your ass all day  deku: haha you’re not my only contractor you know ^^”  explosionmurder: is that what you meant when you said you couldn’t travel because you’ve been busy? way to be blunt katsuki, he mentally berated himself, but at least deku answered this time, although reluctantly deku: ...let’s just say im stuck at home  in that very moment, is when everything changed between them explosionmurder: alright nerd, you sound depressed as hell so i’m going to give you the decision to decide on where we’re going to travel to next, think of it as a reward for all you’ve done for us  deku: asdkjflas that’s too much! T_T are you sure mr. katsuki??? explosionmurder: i’m waiting, you got 3 seconds starting now, 3  deku: america! i’ve been wanting to go to america...

katsuki told kirishima his plans, then the spiky red head gave him a pat on the back and a thumbs up, “so you do have a sentimental bone in your body!” kirishima was almost close to being dead that very same day 

when they arrived to america, he asked deku the list of things he wanted to see and most of them were, “all might amusement park, all might cafe, all might- is there anything else the nerd likes besides all might and superheroes?” katsuki says while viewing the list in the hotel they’re staying at. “give him a break, you said so yourself that he couldn’t leave his house, so this is the least we can do for him and for all the hard work he put in our videos,” kirishima reasoned with him

on the last day of their trip, katsuki did his routine in piling the videos together and sending them to deku with the attached message, “i actually bought you a souvenir if you want it, looked like the type of shit you would like, you’ll see what it is in the videos i’ve sent you” they’ve known each other long enough so he thought why the hell not, it’s just a matter of getting his PO address, and the response to this was immediate, “AAA I SAW IT! THANK YOU THANK YOU!” <3<3 <(^w^<)

it was an all might limited edition figurine only available in the US 

for the first time, deku took two days longer to finish than katsuki expected him to since they’ve started because he always goes through them pretty quickly, maybe he’s too busy making them look up-to-par? whatever the case was, when katsuki received the video, it already had a title for it, “MY AWESOME TRIP TO AMERICA PLUS ULTRA!” kirishima just laughed and told him to keep it in honor of deku so he left it like that, “this better give me some views,” he grumbled and uploaded it the night before they went to bed, he wasn’t really worried in checking it out either because he has faith in deku’s abilities  

the morning after was hectic, katsuki has been receiving notifications upon notifications on the “travel bros” (courtesy of kirishima) twitter since last night, one in particular caught his eye, “i can’t believe deku and katsuki are dating! who would’ve thought!” what?

a short video appeared underneath that came from the video he uploaded, and regretfully never took a look at, showing katsuki saying to the camera as he held the AM figurine, “deku, you should’ve been here, look at what i got you, nerd,” at first glance, it was supposed to look normal (from the original video!) except hearts and sparkles began appearing around katsuki as he smirks up at the camera, what the fuck? besides, deku was suppose to edit that all out! for every cue in every part where he says deku’s name, he was expected to delete them like he usually does! even though it was no secret that deku was his video editor, he distinctly remembers mentioning about him in a video they took way back when they first started out their contract agreement

meanwhile, kirishima was having a field day, he finally saw their video while katsuki kept on seeing other short videos of him on twitter from different segments of the trip in which he either had sparkles or hearts around him, especially when he mentions deku’s name; “bro you won’t believe this, our subscribers grew up to over 1 million last night!” kirishima yells enthusiastically, but when he noticed katsuki not paying attention to him, he looked over his shoulder to check what he was looking at. “oh that, you know those aren’t fanmade videos, right?” katsuki unblinkingly turned to look at him, “you mean..?” kirishima gave him a toothy grin, “yep!” 

a video call from discord, “dekuuuu, what is the meaning of this?” a squeaky voice, “i-I’m so sorry i got carried away and i couldn’t help it! all might was too beautiful including you and-!” “..what did you just say?”

TBC maybe?

[sweetnestor]

You Look Happier | Chapter 8

university au, teamiplier + jack

platonic/romance/angst/(smut at one point but it’ll only be on ao3)

previous chapter

“I have a question,” Ethan prompted one night when I had picked him up from campus.

Four words that immediately made me want to shit myself. But it’s Ethan, so I tried to silence the string of worrisome thoughts in my head.

“Okay.”

“How come you never let me drive?” he asked.

It was bound to happen. I had rehearsed telling him before, but I couldn’t do it. I mean I could, I just sounded irrational and dumb.

“Um…” Good start, Bella. “It’s a thing…” Even better. “And anxiety thing. I just get really, really on edge when other people drive. I don’t know why.” That’s a fucking lie, I know damn well what causes that specific anxiety, but it was for another conversation. “I just, I have to always be driving.”

He didn’t say anything at first. My stomach began flipping over. Now I’ve done it. I was too insane for him. This is where it ends.

“I’m sorry,” he spoke at last. “Could you repeat that?”

Oh.

“I get nervous when other people drive,” I said. Short and sweet.

“Can I ask why?”

“Anxiety’s a bitch. But being the driver keeps me calm, so…”

Ethan hummed. “So… I could never drive you to, like, a surprise date or anything?”

My heart ached a little bit. I shrugged in response. “I don’t know.”

“Hm. Well, that’s okay. Whatever makes you comfortable.” He paused. “Can I ask another question?”

I chuckled out of nerves. “Okay.”

“Do you care… or, does it matter to you…” He paused again. “Uh… words, I know those. Um, does it matter that we, uh, only go on dates when we’re in the car? Or, wait no - does it bother you that we don’t go on, um, fancy dates?”

“Well,” I started, “I think any amount of time we spend alone together counts as a date. And no, I’m not really bothered by what we do or where we go as long as we’re together.”

“Aww…” he sounded reassured, but then he was quiet again. “It’s just that… when I was at PAX, and I told my friends about us, they - well, we always make fun of each other ‘cause we’re all idiots - but uh… what was I saying? Fuck!”

“You told your friends about us,” I reminded him.

“Oh yeah! Oh…” Ethan perked up for a second but then was timid again. “They just said some stuff about not knowing how to show a girl a good time, and… Well, it doesn’t matter what we do, I like spending time with you. I just wanted to, uh, know if we’re, uh… on the same page.”

Again, my heart was doing crazy things. For some reason, I didn’t think he cared about my thoughts on our time together. I was happy to do whatever he wanted, honestly.

“We are,” I reassured. “Like I said, I don’t care what we do as long as we’re together.”

“What about your anxiety?”

I hesitated. “Okay, there’s some things we can’t do, or…” Now I was struggling with my words. I was now debating whether or not I could try things with him that normally scared me, like going to a restaurant, the movies, or even sex. Oh god, is there the possibility of us having sex? “But, um, I’m fine with us having car dates. I just wanna spend time with you.” Nice save.

Ethan reached over and squeezed my shoulder. The touch was random, but I liked it.

“Did your friends say anything about us?” I asked, because it was going to bug me along with the other intimacy crap circulating my mind.

“Oh, they’re glad I finally hired someone to be my girlfriend,” he casually said. “Which reminds me, I need to talk to you about your paycheck.”

“Oh yeah, if I’m putting in all these night shifts, I expect to be paid extra,” I told him.

He giggled and played with a strand of my hair. “I picked the right girl.”

I blushed as I pulled into a drive-thru. “Yes, I like having you as my fake boyfriend who pays me to hang out with him.”

We got food and I parked in a more secluded area of the lot. It was a quarter to nine, so there was still some commotion around the place. I preferred the small space of my car to a crowded restaurant anyway.

“What does Sean think of us?” Ethan asked after a while.

“He was happy when I told him,” I replied. “But I think he wants to give you like a ‘dad talk’ or something.” The thought made me chuckle.

“What did he say?” He sounded amused.

“Something about me being his ‘blossoming flower’ and that you better be good to me ‘or else.’ Dad stuff. Just wait til he sees you on campus or something.” I shrugged it off as I giggled.

“That’ll be fun.”

We went silent as we ate, letting the night sink in. I wasn’t thinking too hard about anything I had said to Ethan all night. It felt easy for the most part. Things felt calmer with him, that was the difference between this relationship and my past ones.

“So,” Ethan spoke up again, “is Jack like… your dad…? Or, a brother?”

I took a sip of my drink and thought about it. “I don’t know, actually. He’s family to me. Most times he’s my brother. Sometimes, he’s the dad… other times he’s the cool aunt, or a distant cousin. I don’t know. He’s my best friend.”

He hummed in response. “That’s nice.”

I wanted to say that Jack was probably my strongest reason to stay alive in the last few months, but it was probably too soon for all that dark stuff to arise. Well, despite the fact that Ethan had already seen me in one of my lowest points, which made me think even more. Were we going to pretend like my intervention never happened?

A pang of anxiety went through my chest. I took a deep breath, actually trying to remember what I learned in therapy. New relationship. We weren’t going to talk about everything within the first couple of weeks. These things take time.

“Do you have a best friend?” I asked him.

He sat up, a bit more excited now. “Yeah! She’s back home in Maine, so I haven’t seen her in a while. Oh! But she’s the best, I’ve known her since…”

I listened as he gushed about this girl. I wondered if that was how I looked and sounded when I spoke of Jack. Still, I listened, glad to be knowing about my boyfriend’s other friends. But in the back of my head, I still had a feeling of impending doom over the possibility of meeting all the people that were important to him. It was bound to happen.

Naturally, after who-knows-how-long of sharing friend stories, we stopped talking. We were looking at each other the way they do in those gross romantic movies. I had gotten pepped up and excited over his gushing so I was in a good mood now.

“You’re so pretty,” Ethan mumbled. He was twiddling a long strand of my hair between his fingers. He was doing that more and more often these days.

“No, you,” I said back, booping his nose.

He hummed and brushed the end of my hair against my cheek. I couldn’t help but grin like a doofus. Then, he started to lean in, making butterflies explode in my stomach. Ethan’s hand then suddenly moved to the base of my neck as he pulled me in for a kiss.

My hand flew to his arms, mildly startled by the gesture. But I didn’t want to stop. I tried to move closer, but the space between our seats was making things difficult. I pulled back, and the air was suddenly heightened. How far was this going to go? We were in the car, in a public place.

“You wanna go to the back?” Ethan softly asked.

Jesus Christ, how could I say no to that voice?

I nodded and went first. As I climbed to the backseat, I felt that bundle of anxiety develop in my chest again. Oh god, not now. I could push through it.

Ethan quickly joined me, pausing for a moment when he was sat next to me. The longer we sat in silence, the more the feelings in my chest and throat intensified. I quickly leaned in and kissed him again, trying not to throw myself all over him. No need to rush things.

It was comfortable. I liked the feeling of him kissing me and biting my lip. Getting kissed by Ethan was something I didn’t know I needed. I shyly placed my hand on the side of his neck, scooting just a little closer to him. His hand moved from my waist to the inner part of my thigh.

That’s when I couldn’t ignore the anxiety anymore.

When I pulled back, I gasped for air. I didn’t remove myself from Ethan completely though, but my sudden move did startle him. My heart was pounding, but I couldn’t tell if it was good or bad. My breathing was short, but I wasn’t sure if it was from making out with him, or because I was about to spiral.

“Hey,” Ethan said, lifting my chin. He stroked my cheek with his thumb. “Everything okay?”

“It’s…” I breathed out, “it’s been a while. I’m… I’m just nervous.”

“It’s okay, me too. Look.” Ethan leaned back and held his hand up; It was trembling. “You’re not alone here.”

That was soothing. I sighed, somewhat relieved.

“I wasn’t really expecting to go… all the way, anyway,” he continued as he sat back. “I’m sorry if I rushed anything.”

I shook my head, trying to keep my thoughts in order. “No, no, you didn’t do anything. My… my brain wants to fuck me over sometimes. It’s not you at all. I liked it, I liked y-you… touching my thigh… I’m just, my brain… my brain…”

Ethan took my shaky hand in his. “It’s okay. I understand. We can go slower if you want.”

It was reassuring. He was doing everything right. Still, I couldn’t help the guilt and embarrassment.

“You shouldn’t have to deal with this,” I told him, leaning back against the window.

“What do you mean?”

“My anxiety.”

“I’ve known about it from the start. I knew that things like this were going to happen.”

“But it’s worse than just this,” I said. “I have full blown panic attacks where I literally think I’m dying. I could probably never go to a movie theatre, or any place that’s crowded because it triggers the attacks. I could never let you drive. Sometimes I’ll even throw up because the anxiety is so intense.”

“So how do I help you?” he asked. “What helps you when you’re having a panic attack?”

I looked at him, mildly surprised. “I… Talk to me about literally anything, it’s distracting and it helps. I usually need water… and remind me to breathe every so often. Don’t count how long I breathe, it makes me feel weird. My hand tingles too, um, holding it and squeezing actually helps.”

He did it right as I said it. The feeling was strangely calming.

“That’s the only touch I can handle when I’m in the middle of it,” I continued. “So, no hugs or back rubbing. Um… that’s most of it, I think. B-But, don’t feel obligated to help me at all, I can usually power through it on my own, you really don’t have to-”

“Babe.” Ethan hesitated. “If I can call you that… I’m here for you. I will help you in whatever way I can. Okay?”

I looked down at our intertwined fingers. “You can call me whatever you want.”

“Alright then, shithead. I’m here for you, okay?”

I lied my head on his shoulder to hide the tiny grin. “Whatever you say, fuckface.”

~

My semester at YTU wasn’t as busy as I had anticipated. Only three days into it, I couldn’t help but feel like I should have been doing something more. Jack was busy with classes from eight to two, and then recording until the late evening. Ethan’s class schedule was a bit more scattered, so in between lectures he was at Mark’s office, and then recording for his own channel.

All I could do was wait. I had an hour or two to kill between my second and third class. I got a text from Sophie, inviting me over to her dorm. Knee jerk reaction: Ignore the text. Slightly rationalized reaction: make up an excuse. Even more rationalized: do it because you have nothing better to do!

I did go, after arguing with myself for a good ten minutes in my car. I had only been to the girls’ dorms a couple of times, and it was in fact Sophie’s room I had been to. Luckily, she never changed rooms in the time she’s been on campus, so I would be going to a familiar setting.

Aria was there too. Better her than a complete stranger. The air wasn’t as tense as I had feared it would be. I hadn’t spoken to either of them since that day in my apartment.

“So how’ve you been?” asked Aria who was plopped down on Sophie’s perfectly made bed.

“She means generally,” added the blonde, who was working at her desk. Then, she almost dramatically turned in her chair to face me. “Unless you wanna talk about anything?”

I refrained from rolling my eyes. She was trying, I suppose.

“I’m fine, really,” I told both girls. Kinda wanted to tell them I had a boyfriend now, but I didn’t really trust either of them. “Things are fine. What about you guys?”

Aria rolled over and began rambling. “Okay, so we’re working on another show for the team, ad we need more sponsors and new routines. And we also need a wider music variety because we used a lot of the same artist last show. Oh! And we’re opening up auditions again soon - do you wanna try out for the team?”

“Uh, I don’t dance,” I replied simply.

“That’s true,” Sophie piped up. Thanks. “She’s a singer.”

“Oh, you should totally sing with us at the Friday show!” Aria exclaimed.

“I-I’ve done that before,” I told her. “I’m… trying not to take on too much at once.”

“Yeah, we sang together like… what was it? A year, or two ago?” Sophie added.

That was true. During my second semester, I sang a Taylor Swift cover at one of the infamous Friday talent shows. Apart from the video that was taken that night, I didn’t remember any of it. Whether it was the intense nerves or the alcohol, it was a blank in my head.

I stuck around with the two girls until I had to leave for my next class. After that, I sat in a semi-crowded classroom for two hours without crying. Then I went to Jack’s dorm and waited for him to finish recording. By the time we were leaving for dinner, I got a text from Mark who wanted to meet at the end of the week.

Right. Things were better between us. I had mentioned the small interaction I had with Amy on Moving Day, and he liked the idea of us meeting up on our own. That day was still yet to come, but it was sitting in the back of my head like a bomb waiting to go off.

_______

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