#coworker from my new job: *is actually super chill about it*

[citnamora]

Coming out to your coworker as aro and having them accept you and your aromanticism rather than immediately dismissing the possibility is healing, actually

[eats-the-stars]

recently at work my coworkers have been complaining about one of our supervisors and I simply can't relate. sorry but i used to work in a family restaurant. this man is like a big puppy-dog to me. i've had supervisors that would eat him up, spit his bones on the floor, and then make me clean them up while apologizing profusely to any nearby customers for the bones being there.

[jaeeyaaasworld]

Trophy girlfriend - CL16

Featuring: Charles Leclerc x Dancer!Fem!Reader

Warnings: Y/n is a trophy girlfriend and is proud about it, fluff, super sweet Charles

Requested: Yes/No

Charles had a new girlfriend and he was proud of who he pulled.

"I'm telling you. I have more rizz than you think, Pierre"

Pierre scoffed, leaning onto the passenger seat of his friend's Ferrari.

"is that why you made all of us come to this specific club tonight? what is it? she's hanging out with her girlfriends here?"

the driver asked in his cocky tone, turning his gaze to Charles that was driving silently while staring at the street, a small smile making it's way to his lips.

"nah. she works here man"

he replied calmly, not even sparing a glance to Pierre. the french man turned towards his best friend, a shocked expression taking over his face.

"is she a stripper?"

Pierre whisper-shouted, making his best friend's eyes widen at the sudden assumption.

"what the fuck, mate? you think I would let her still do that job after getting with me? and even more let all of you see her get naked?"

Charles said, gesturing with his hands all over the place, to make his point even clearer.

"she dances on one of those cubes that you find into these clubs. she's completely covered"

he added, making Pierre nod and turn back towards the road.

"what are you guys talking about? I was talking with mi mama"

Carlos asked from the back of the car, clueless as always.

"nothing, Charles new girlfriend"

Pierre replied, looking towards the backseat, where the Spaniard was seated.

"oh- I'm actually so excited to meet her"

Carlos added, adjusting the collar of his dress shirt while looking through the rearview mirror.

"right, in my opinion he's just tricking us into thinking he pulled her and in reality he didn't"

Pierre teased his friend, earning a small chuckle and an eye-roll from Charles. just in that moment, Lewis' car, with Daniel, Lando, Max and George inside, passed them, music blasting through the windows and them singing their hearts out.

"why are we not doing that?"

Carlos asked innocently, making the other two laugh and turning up the volume of the music currently playing and stepping on the pedal to catch up with the other drivers.

meanwhile: Y/n and her coworkers

Y/n was putting on make-up in the back of the disco she works into, chatting and laughing with the other three girls that were supposed to do cubes tonight. Y/n and Andrea were getting ready, while Monica and Vanessa were just chilling on the couch, waiting some time to get ready since they had the second turn.

"Y/n, did you say that you had a boyfriend like the other day? is it still going well or is it like the last one?"

Vanessa asked, raising her eyes from the screen of her phone on the girl that was putting on her eye-shadow.

"why? what happened to the last one? he was a fun guy, he looked like he was pretty chill"

Andrea asked back, not even knowing that Y/n and Nathan broke up a month after she introduced him to them.

"a little too chill. where were you when we talked about how he cheated on her with Katie?"

Monica told Andrea, making her gasp and stop whatever she was doing to turn towards the girl on the couch.

"they didn't. that bitch- I never liked her, I told y'all so many times and you were still like: nah, she looks so cute, how could she be so mean"

the girl said, referring to the new girl that was accepted in the disco as a waitress.

"it's going well, he's coming here tonight. I don't think I will introduce him to you tho, I know for sure that he is going to introduce me to his friends, he told me he was taking them since they had to celebrate anyway"

Y/n said, stopping her actions for a second and gesturing with her hands all around, just to get back to what she was doing, ignoring all the shocked stares that she was getting from her friends.

"is he using you as a trophy girlfriend or am I tripping? girl, how old is he again?"

Monica asked, finally shutting her phone and sitting properly on the couch, almost worried for her friend's safety.

"oh- come on. he's 25, hot as fuck and a millionaire, plus... I love being a trophy girlfriend if this is how he treats me"

the girl added, rolling her eyes at her friends thinking that he got with an old man or something like that. in reality, Charles was only 4 years older than her, so their age gap was completely normal for a couple. she was 21 and he was 25, nothing too bad.

"ooh, treat you how?"

Vanessa asked for details, since they didn't even ever seen this man nor how he treated her or how he looked at her.

"like: he hit me up on tuesday, asked me what I was doing during the day and if I wanted to go shopping. I was busy that day, since I was at my parents, so he just went like: damn, I just landed in your city. anyway, it's okay, hope you have a good day. I'll pick you up by eight fifteen tonight"

Y/n started telling her friends all the detail of her conversation with Charles, eventually stopping to finish her eyeliner, leaving her friends longing for more of the story.

"okayy, and than what?"

Andrea asked, curious just like the other two.

"I told him: you treat me so well. so he said: cashapp or zelle? matter fact, scratch that, I will send you a stack just because you're fine as hell"

the girl earned some loud gasps from her three friends, as she continued telling them what happened some days ago with Charles.

"I told him: well, thank you, baby. and he goes like: anything for my favorite lady. oh- I gotta go and just let me know, that I could pick up my Ferrari"

some squeals left the girls' mouths, as Y/n zipped her beauty case closed and turned on her little stool towards her friends with a proud smile on her face.

"so you basically have unlimited money, and you're still working here? girl- if I were you, I would be depending on his ass so fucking hard"

Monica said, gesturing with her hands and getting up from her place on the couch, just to sit on the stool that was taken by Y/n just a few seconds ago to start doing her make-up.

"yeah girl. quit this shitty ass job, what you waiting?"

Vanessa asked, only getting a sigh in return from the girl.

"I would love to do that, but i don't want to depend on him that much, what if we break up one day? I will be coming to work here just for a bit more, so that I can get a stable amount of money to do fine on my own and then I'm gonna travel back and forth with him"

Y/n said, smiling widely at the thought of supporting her boyfriend in every race he has by being there with him every minute.

"travel back and forth? what the hell does he do?"

Vanessa asked again, getting up from the couch as well, waiting for Andrea to finish closing her beauty case and get up to take the stool and start getting ready.

"I'm just telling you this: his name is Charles Leclerc, look him up if you don't know who he is"

Y/n finished, smiling widely and walking out of the changing room to walk into the disco, still empty. she could hear the gasps coming from the three girls in the changing room for how loud they were, making the girl chuckle as she sat on the edge of the cube, waiting for the disco to open up.

"and he'll be here tonight? with his friends?"

Andrea yelled, as she sat on the cube that was on the other side of the disco, waiting for the disco to open up too.

"yeah"

Y/n yelled back.

"I want to see him later"

Andrea replied, as they both got off the cube to wait on the side as people started entering. the girl on the other side of the disco only got a wink in return.

Charles finally got at the club

"Charles, you really pulled that girl, are you sure?"

Max asked Charles for the tenth time as they walked out of the cars and started walking towards the entrance of the club.

"oh mon dieu (oh my god). why don't you guys believe me?"

Charles asked, a loud laugh coming out of his lips. the bodyguard looked them in the eyes and opened the gate for them to enter, getting a little pat on the back from Charles and returning the gesture with a smile.

the club was rather empty, there weren't a lot of people, maybe also because Charles rented the place for the night and instructed your boss to only let a few people enter, not too many.

he quickly spotted you waiting beside one of the cubes, making his way towards you and ignoring everyone in between. he was dragging the other drivers along with him, as he approched you. his arms circled your waist from behind and his hands gripped your body without any shame.

"hello, mon chéri"

he whispered in your ear, not even thinking about the few guys that were staring at the two of them in shock. you turned around and wrapped your arms around his neck, pecking his lips gently.

"hi, handsome"

you replied softly, smiling to him lovingly.

"you really have to work tonight, right?"

Charles asked the girl, hoping that the answer wouldn't be affermative.

"I mean- yeah, I could exchange with Katie and go to the bar if it makes you more comfortable tho"

Y/n said, knowing that Katie would agree with everything you ask her because of the whole lot of guilt that she was feeling.

"would you do that?"

the man asked back, eyes shining in the lights at her words.

"yes, of course. you just got here, is only right that I let you decide what makes you comfortable. and I think I'm gonna quit this job in a few days too so... wait- let me go ask Katie, I'll be back"

you get out of your boyfriend embrace and make your way towards the counter to ask your coworker to swap turns.

Charles turned to his friends, them all staring at him with the same shocked face.

"what? you believe me now?"

the man asked, while laughing soundly at his friend's faces, juat as he turned around to meet his girlfriend's gaze, her hand waving around in the air, gesturing for them to come over to the counter.

"can't believe this shit"

Lando said, a sigh leaving his lips as he followed all the drivers towards the counter, Charles in front of them all.

Y/n walking behind the counter, wrapping the apron around her waist as she leaned eith her hands on the counter.

"hello everyone, I'm Y/n, Charles girlfriend. I'll be here to serve you tonight, ask me anything and I'll get it for you. even my friend's number if you want"

you said with a big smile splitting your face in half. the first driver to come up to the counter was Lewis, extending his hand to shake yours.

"Lewis, can I ask you if you do some type of fancy cocktail?"

the brit asked politely, getting a smile in return as you shrugged.

"I told you, whatever you want"

you said, hands meeting each other in front of your stomach.

"I'll get a Versus (a fancy cocktail made with vodka, strawberry vodka and watermelon) then"

Lewis confidently said, making you frown while staring at the man.

"mmh, are you sure about the Versus?"

the man frowned back at you, a big questioning smile resting on his face.

"why? what's up with that?"

a little chuckle left Y/n's lips, making Lewis chuckle as well.

"I mean- it's so sweet, it's something that I would see Lando drink. I see you more for a Desert storm (a fancy cocktail made with bacardi, vanilla cream, china martini and a lemon peel)"

Lewis was shocked from the girls aknowledge in alcohol, as Lando barged in the conversation since he heard the girl mention his name.

"me? you know who I am? hell, I need that thing now"

Lando said, making Y/n nod her head as she let out a chuckle and turned to the other drivers that were listening carefully to the conversation.

"alright so, a Desert storm for Lewis, a Versus for Lando and a champagne glass for the little prince over there. For you guys?"

everyone told Y/n their orders, chuckling softly at her calling Charles 'little prince' and knowing perfectly his order even before he could say anything.

Y/n placed all the cocktails on the counter, as everyone took theirs, the girl waited patiently for the two drivers to give her a response on the fancy cocktail that she gave them.

Lewis was the first to take a sip from his drink, licking his lips right after they left the glass. his eyes widened, looking into the girl's eyes as he drank another sip from the drink.

"dear god, you were right. it is better"

Y/n shrugged, a knowing smile appearing softly on her face as she turned towards Lando, that was waiting for his turn to try his drink. he stopped for a second, eyes a little bit wider than before as they met the girls one.

"how did you know?"

he asked, not even telling her his opinion on the drink, making a little chuckle come out of the girl's lips.

"you know, someone's personality can say a lot about their cocktail choice"

she simply said, leaving the two brits to go towards her boyfriend, that was sitting on a stool at the counter, taking a sip from his champagne from time to time. Y/n leaned on the counter, getting closer to her boyfriend's face, as he was looking her in the eyes, a devilish smile on the girl's face.

Y/n closed the gap between them, placing her lips on her Charles' gently, pulling back in no time, making a sigh escape the monegasque's lips.

"were you saying earlier? that you were going to quit?"

he asked softly, eyes glancing to the small glass of champagne in his hand as he made the liquid twirl around it slowly.

"I think this is my last friday here"

the girl replied, her smile getting wider with time passing.

"have you considered traveling with me full-time like you promised me?"

Charles added, eyes finally meeting Y/n's as he raised his head from the glass, hope still scattered across his emerald eyes.

"not really, darling"

she said sadly, making the man in front of her glance back down at the champagne in is hand.

"you have your flight to Monaco tuesday, right?"

the girl asked, her boyfriend looked up at her, thinking about it for a second and nodding hid head, remaining silent as to express his confused state.

"do you have the seat assignment in your app? could you check it real quick?"

Charles furrowed his eyebrows, getting his phone out of his pocket and placing the glass in his hand on the counter to grip the phone with both his hands. he typed something in his phone as the app finally opened, showing all of the seat placements on the flight.

something catched his eyes quickly, the seat next to his was usually occupied by Carlos or was even empty sometimes, but this time there was a different name over the little seat icon.

"Y/n Y/l"

he read out loud, looking up at his girlfriend with wide eyes, shocked by the sudden news.

"but you said you didn't even consider it"

Charles said, his hands leaving the phone on the counter and a big smile spreading across his face, making you smile just as wide.

"surprise"

[delphi-shield]

pity party // claire redfield

Claire x Reader Smut wc: 2180 mdni - 18+ i got a new job!! anyway. claire. rewrote this twice bc i couldn't decide where i wanted them to fuck tbh. in my heart this is older!claire, but you can read it literally however you want. not proofread.

summary: Being Claire's plus one to her work party only dredges up old insecurities.

content: afab reader, fem reader, fingering, squirting, jealousy & insecurity re: cheating, public sex, alcohol ment. & use, claire's unnamed ex

This party fucking sucks.

You’re overdressed, embarrassed, still fighting off the chill from an unexpected motorcycle ride. Claire had told you she would pick you up. She just forgot to mention it would be on her bike. She had also forgotten to mention that this work party was super casual.

Claire had laughed when you opened the door to greet her, quickly assuring you that you looked great before you had the chance to crawl into your skin and die -- it just wasn't that sort of party. You must have looked like some sort of kicked puppy, because she’d laid the compliments on thick. Deflated, you'd offered to change, but there just wasn't enough time, and it would look bad if she was late – a whole slew of excuses. Heels and all, you had clambered onto Claire's bike.

You’d felt like an idiot, click-clacking after her in your heels and your pretty dress, being introduced to Claire’s friends and coworkers rapid-fire. You can't keep names and faces straight, but they look right past you and focus on Claire. Can't say you blame them for that.

 It's a casual party, all right. Way, way casual. You look at odds holding your red solo cup in your pretty dress and your once shiny (now scuffed) heels, like a period actor with a cell phone. You don't know any of these people, and they're all clamoring for Claire's attention. You’d figured out pretty quickly that it was going to be difficult to pull her away from the center of things and resign yourself to the drink table. If she was your ride, you were at least going to take the chance to get hammered and forget that you looked like a dolled up tart.

Despite all the rancid ‘don’t talk to me, I’m drowning my sorrows and this is not a group activity’ vibes you keep putting off, a mousy woman who seems equally intent on getting plastered has taken up the spot next to you, going two drinks to your one. You miss her name in the deluge of information that she rattles off, but catch her job description. Office manager - seems about right. It doesn't take long for her to drift into gossip.

Most of it is banal. Your eyes search for Claire in the crowd and find her leaned against a bar top, talking to an unfamiliar face. They're all unfamiliar, sure, but Claire hadn't introduced you to this one. They lay a hand on Claire's arm, let it slide down slow - hold her for a moment. Your eyes narrow.

"What's up with that?" You gesture towards your girlfriend with your beer, bitterness soaking your words. Either your companion is too steeped in alcohol to pick it up, or she's savoring this drama herself.

"Oh - yeah, they used to have a thing. Like, way before they started working together, so it's all like, ethically above board, and --"

The woman keeps talking even though you're not hearing a goddamn word anymore. You nod along politely, tight smile pulling your face taut. Your eyes never leave Claire and who you now know to be her ex. Ex what, you don’t know. Maybe it was serious, maybe it wasn't. Doesn’t matter. They're an ex something. Currently, though, very close. Too close. Brushing Claire’s hair from her face - yeah, actually, you know what, fuck this.

Fuck this so hard. You’d walk home.

You chunk your drink into the trash and teeter away unsteadily for the bathroom. You’re too wrapped up in your own misery to have seen Claire push her ex’s hand away, or to see her look your way - you hear her raise her voice, but shut it out quickly behind the flimsy bathroom door before you can parse her words.

Stupid fucking party. Stupid fucking girlfriend and her magnetic presence, and her pretty smile that draws everyone in. You splash cold water in your face, trying to come to your senses. Barely two beers in and you’re acting like an idiot.

You don’t hear her slip in the door. She doesn’t knock - why would she. Claire drapes herself over your back, her arms slipping around your waist loosely. You jump, knock your head against her chin and leave her swearing, muttering jesus, hun, it’s just me, before she melts into a chuckle. Her hand rubs at your head, soothes you instead of herself.

“You okay?” She asks, as if she doesn’t already know the answer.

“Yeah.”

Claire’s generous. She gives you a whole, agonizingly slow five seconds to retract that before she calls you on it.

“Okay. Because you kinda stormed off.”

She’s not just generous, you realize, she’s cautious. Like she knows you’re spring-loaded and ready to snap. That only makes you grit your teeth.

“Yeah, well, I’m just kind of over this.”

“The party? We just got here–”

“And you’re already getting real comfortable,” you snap, spinning in her arms to face her. It’s hard to miss the accusation, even if it’s not outright. Claire’s mouth thins into a hard line.

You can see her working through it all. The uncharitable part of you thinks she’s coming up with some excuse, some way to worm her way out of this. She takes a slow, deep breath.

“Okay,” she says. “Okay, look, if this is about her– we work together, hun. I can’t just avoid her.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to get close.”

“I’m not, babe, I’m –”

Claire stops herself. A hand leaves your waist to pinch at the bridge of her nose. Another deep, steadying breath. You turn away from her again, back to face the sink. The silence chokes you, makes angry tears spring to your eyes. 

Her hand slides up your thigh, following the curve of your body up towards the apex of your thigh. You push at her wrist. She’s trying to switch tactics, and you’re having none of it.

“Claire–”

“Let me apologize. Okay? I’m sorry for dragging you to this party. I’m sorry I sprung all this on you. And I’m very sorry for not warning you about my ex.”

Your jaw clenches. You shouldn't let her do this. Being with her is like training a dog - consistency is key. She’ll take the inch and the mile then come back asking for more. You’ve already embarrassed yourself at this party. If you get caught like this, your life is so over.

But Claire litters kisses against your skin, whispers please so sweetly in your ear. Her fingers slip beneath your top, graze against your belly in a way that makes your stomach flip and your nipples tighten.

“I want a proper apology and a proper talk,” you say. Your hands grip the counter tightly. You watch her in the mirror, see her face fall and her eyes darken. She sighs against your neck, her shoulders sagging against you. “After you're done.”

It’s like you flipped a lightswitch. Claire’s smile brightens immediately, ignites a hungry spark in her eyes. She drops a kiss against your shoulder, drags her nose along the curve of your neck. Her hair falls against your neck. The bright, summery scent of her perfume envelops you and coaxes you back against her, her hands roving leisurely against your side, your stomach, your hips. She never needed much of an invitation to explore you.

Your eyes are locked on the mirror, watching the door for any sign of movement. The pleasure building in the pit of your stomach barely outweighs the prickle of anxiety that blankets your skin.

Her lips press against your neck. She's well-behaved until your head lolls to the side, your anxiety smoothed into a pleasant tingle by her kisses

“Relax,” Claire whispers, voice cloying. On her best behavior.

Your brow furrows. You have half a mind to pull away, tell her this is a stupid idea, that she’ll get in so much trouble if someone walks in. Her thumb brushes over your clit through your panties. You whine In the back of your throat, a pathetic, needy sound that makes Claire press a laugh into your hair. She shushes you, almost sounds gleeful about it - bet she’s real proud of herself for that one.

Fuck. Now you're mad at yourself.

“Hurry up,” you mumble. She’d make this last the rest of the party if you let her. Keep you trapped away in this bathroom til you’re sore and chafed.

Claire laughs. Low and soft, right next to your ear. Her thumb rolls over your clit again and again. It's hard to tell which is making you drip more. Her hand finally slips beneath the fabric to touch you for real, long fingers parting your lips.She stays just shy of where you want her, fingers spreading to rub the sides of your clit at the last possible moment, taunting you with the promise of direct contact, of the pad of her finger rolling against you again and again.

“I could do this for hours.” She purrs. Her teeth nip at your neck. She sucks a mark onto your skin, her tongue laving over the spot again and again to seal it in, make sure it takes. She finally gives you what you want. Your hips jut against her hand, chasing more touch, more feeling.

“They’re gonna see,” you whine, wiggling in her grip. You just know she’s get the blood flush to the top, a mark that will take a week to fade.

“Good.”

Heat soaks through you. She presses a finger into your needy hole, crowding you over the sink and bending you to the angle she needs, the angle she knows is best for ripping orgasm after orgasm out of you. You keen, poor little thing, and she joins another finger to your core, grinding the meat of her palm against your clit, and drumming a harsh pace. It’s so easy to move you where she wants you. You’re so malleable beneath her hands, the deceptive strength that guides you where you need to be, where she wants you. Rocking against her rhythm is pointless. You fall out of step quickly, unable to do more than try to keep your knees from buckling while her fingers drill into your cunt.

Her other hand slides up your body, squeezing handfuls of your tummy along the way. It's far from worshipful. The way she grips you, tugs you back into her with each pull - it's obsessive.

Her palm flattens to slip into the valley between your breasts. She spreads her fingers tantalizingly slow. She paws at your breast, feather-light and teasing for all of five seconds before she gives in and squeezes. Patience has never been her virtue.

“Did you get jealous, baby?” she coos, taunting. Her fingers hit against you just right, no gentle massaging, no torturous pull of pleasure - just the electric feeling lighting through your veins and the sloppy noise you can hardly believe is coming from your own body.

“Mmhmm,” you whine, your eyes squeezing shut tightly. Claire squeezes your other tit, rougher than the first and Jesus Christ, when you manage to open your eyes for two seconds and catch your reflection in the mirror you realize you’re drooling, a quickly cooling trail down your chin.

“I'm three knuckles deep in your pussy and you’re still thinking about my ex?” Her fingers curl the moment you open your mouth, massaging that spot that sets a bomb off in your core, floods your limbs with mind-numbing sensation. You rock back into her, toes curling, thighs caving inwards and trapping her arm in a plush prison. 

You snap in her hands, hot, wet rush soaking Claire’s fingers and the rug tangled up between your feet. Claire slips her tongue into your mouth and drinks down every noise you make, her kiss bruising and her fingers still drilling into your cunt, her eyes locked onto the mirror, savoring every reaction she rips from you.

You have to push at her wrist again to get her to withdraw. She’d keep doing this if you let her, you know she would. It’s her turn to whine and pout. She winds her hand up over your shoulder just to suck her fingers clean.

“Unbelievable,” you breathe out. The noises she’s making are obscene, slurping your taste off of her digits in a way that makes your stomach flip all over again, clit throbbing for more attention.

“Right?” she agrees, cheeky little grin making her look younger. “That was like record speed for me. I could have taken way longer. Really drawn it out.”

You snort. The look you level her with must be pretty damn serious, because she doesn’t keep rambling. 

You can’t stop staring at the dark, wet patch you’ve left on the bathmat. Your brow furrows. Claire follows your eyes, trying to see what the matter is. She points to herself. You shake your head. She looks behind her, shrugs, can’t quite figure out what the matter is.

“Made a mess,” you mumble, embarrassment lacing your tone. You nudge at the edge of the mat with your toe. “They’re gonna know.”

Claire rolls her eyes. She flips the sink on, cups water in her hands, and slings it onto the same bathmat you had just squirted all over.

“There,” she says, more exasperated than accomplished. “See? Totally normal. It’s a bathroom. Things get wet in bathrooms. Like you.”

But it’s hard to be enamored with the way she looks on her knees for you when you can’t stop staring at the dark, wet patch you’ve left on the bathmat. Your brow furrows. Claire follows your eyes, trying to see what the matter is. She points to herself. You shake your head. She looks behind her, shrugs, can’t quite figure out what the matter is.

She sets her hands on your hips, turning you to face her. Claire guides your panties up your legs, sets them back in place for you. You smile, affection blooming in your chest. Such a lady, after everything.

Or maybe you’ve spoken too soon, because she makes a point to kiss your clit through your panties before she pulls your dress back down.

[musclemanveryregular]

[ID: Margaret the (not actually a) robin from regular show is on the lwft side of the image at her old job as a waitress. Cloudy Jay, the cloud lady from regular show, is on the right side of the image sitting on the floor in her apartment, leaning against a couch, watching TV. /end ID]

Original poll with info for Margaret

Original poll with info for Cloudy Jay

Master post link

A few things I forgot to mention plus scenarios below:

Margaret:

-Again, transgender and hot.

-likes long walks on the beach, and fine dining.

-reporter so she can take care of you if need be.

Here's what I think would have happened last week if you want to read that:

No romo, no lesbo, no hetero, no bi(mo?) version: You've been working for the Park in the background for a while. You used to hang out there all the time so you knew a few of the people, but then they got back from space and a job opening ad appeared, which you applied for, which you got accepted for, and you are now fairly acquainted with the guys there. And one person you met at one point was Margaret. You exchanged numbers at the wedding of your coworker, Rigby. She seemed like a fun time to hang out with.

And now here it is on the weekend and you have absolutely nothing to do.

So you call up Margaret and you offer to bring the weed, although if you die from weed you probably don't have weed, and she says she prefers edibles and that she has plenty.

Getting to her place you find that theyre 5 mg a piece. (Now I dont know your tolerance level, if you've only ever smoked and never really done much in terms of eating then it may not take much to get you far. As an ediblehead they're so nice because you get this 2 hour delay that is like a super punch. So essentially of you have things you need to take care of you get a time limit on when you need to get things done before they kick in. So I personally take a medically prescribed Adderall (if it isn't Saturday, and it is instead Sunday I dont take the Adderall) play neopets to complete my dailies and the ongoing plot and then do as much cleaning as I can(though again only on Saturdays because I dont take the Adderall on Sundays) before they hit me like a truck and I start doing weird things like writing fanfiction about cartoon characters on polls about those characters.)

So you eat what you think is about right for you and you end up eating just a tad too much maybe? Or maybe this stuffs just more potent than what you're used to of edibles and you get really really high.

But it's incredibly chill theres lots of pillows and blankets and the lights are on super low and there's candles lit everywhere, and the room smells so so so so good. So you just hang out and vibe and sleep over in a little blanket fort in separate sleeping bags in semi separated rooms in the fort with a dulled light and blown out candles.

Possibly romo, possibly lesbo, possibly hetero, possibly bi(bo?): everything above but you both are kissing each other so much throughout the night. And fall asleep together in one big sleeping bag.

Cloudy Jay:

-uh hold on, I need a moment actually.

-tbh, im not sorry, but she's trans too

--c'mon. Mordecai is a chaser.

-shes also hot.

-not as financially stable but hey, who is these days?

-a little clingy in the romo area

Here's what I think would have happened last week if you want to read that:

No romo, no lesbo, no hetero, no bi(ero?): So it's been a month since you hung out with margaret and you've been hanging around this (new, to you) cafe with Mordecai and Rigby lately. You've been working with them for a moment now and you're getting to know their usual hang out spots. Apparently this cafe is where one of their old co workers, High 5 Ghoul (you think?), met his wife. The guys go sit down while you wait in line for everyone, they've been working outdoors while benson put you on babysitting his daughter while he's out of town with his old band having finally mended their path and now spends the occasional weekends playing at all the big venues. She's really well adjusted for her age and isn't much trouble at all so it's no where near as tough as yard work.

There you notice a girl in front of you in line made of clouds who has a t shirt that has a reference to [insert hyperfixation and/or favorite topic here]. So you get to talking about your hyyperfixation and/or favorite topic and you have an absolutely wonderful time. She heads out back to her work but not before giving you her number so you can hang out and watch something pertaining to that interest this weekend.

You get there and she has two pre rolled blunts that are pretty well packed she got from her dealer, who always insists on selling her the fair price of a gram and then rolling her joints FOR her? Like, what's that all about huh??? She knows how to roll them but like, why would she pass up on this??

You and her smoke and enjoy the show the rest of the night with some video games then fall asleep on different bunk beds.

Could be romo, maybe lesbo, maybe hetero, maybe bi(lo?): second verse same as the first except there's lots and lots of kissing and you fall asleep together in the same bed.

Aside: if you take the possible romo (etc) option you will end up having this girl wanting to date you. You don't know this in story and must decide if you'd end up making the same mistakes as mordecai or not fumbling this babe.

[charmedreincarnation]

hii maya!!! i have a success story and im so excited bc this is my first manifestation success story.

for context for everyone else, i was getting bullied at my workplace. my boss hated me and would mock me in front of people and my coworkers disliked me and disincluded me from things and talked behind my back. It was so bad and i was searching for another job instead even though this was so close to my house, the pay was good, the actual work was easy. etc. I told maya abt this and she was such an angel and would let me vent to her and gave me a lot of advice about manifesting.

I wish I could say that I took her advice and changed my life but I honestly struggled a lot. I rmbr crying every single night before going to work and constantly just dreading being there or the thought of having to be there.

But everytime I vented, maya would always tell me to just affirm while listening to theta waves as I was going to sleep so I tried to atleast do that. In hindsight this was a really big thing. I was recently looking into SATS and reading posts about how important what you do before sleeping is because you are super suggestible. I think crying every night made me keep manifesting that my job sucked and stuff whereas affirming that it was great helped to start changing that.

I also tried to ignore the bullying and just act like I was being treated correctly. Like one time my boss said that she wished she had hired someone else and before I would have said nothing and just gone home and cried but instead I just laughed, taking it as a joke, and said that I'll make sure to work hard so that she can be proud of hiring me.

Slowly over the course of 2 weeks things started to change. We got 2 new people added into the team and one of them sits next to me and is my friend and I talk to him a lot. My boss and coworkers are okay with me now, like we have nice small talks and I haven't been undermined in a while. I made an error and before it would have become a big issue and while I did get scolded slightly, it was more of a "be more careful when doing this" versus what I usually got which was "you are so stupid, why are you like this." I also made a lot of other friends at work and work is pretty fun! I look forward to going to work sometimes (not all the time bc I'd rather just be at home in bed) but yeah it has changed so much and I'm much happier.

i just want to thank you so much maya. you are such an angel and i genuinely appreciate you so much. i can't wait to come back to you with a void success story!!

I am beyond proud of you! Your Success is proof that you overcame everything and persevered. But I actually want to point out your reaction to your boss, and encourage everyone to follow suit. You quite literally laughed at the 3D which is what I would do metaphorically but I mean physically probably works better lol.

Regardless I’m happy for everything you’ve accepted as yours. I’m also glad this is only encouraging you to want to go farther and achieve your entire dream life, not just a good one you can tolerate. When I reached this stage I remember I had a thought like “well maybe I should just accept this” “or it’s not that bad now I guess so do I really need to continue or can I chill” and if you have to ask yourself that the answer is no and you know you deserve it all at the highest degree.

[thebirdsareafterme]

Lestappen, carcar(carlos/oscar), charles/oscar, dando

I have many thoughts and I hope I don’t get persecuted for this.

Lestappen: makes sense, does not compel me

Personally, I can see why people flock to Lestappen, as it is considerably the most popular ship at the moment. It has all of the components of being a good ship, with the childhood rivals to lovers, red and blue dynamics, etc. but it lacks one thing, which is a real connection to build the ship off of. Now, I know that fans of this ship are super passionate about how much Max and Charles love each other and are super gay for each other. When you look at their relationship at face value, there isn’t much there that isn’t just the coworker experience. They interact in the paddock, but outside of that, they rarely spend time together and if they do, it is almost always court-mandated (scheduled events by their management). They have a lot of respect for each other as competitors and have a base level friendship from proximity, but I just can’t seem to feel that sense of compulsion from their relationship that is heavily based on how they interact at their jobs. There are more compelling ships for both of them (I would argue Maxiel and Piarles) that, when compared, show the disparity between how they interact with each other versus how they interact with their friends.

Another reason that I can’t seem to see the Lestappen vision are the fans themselves, who like to insert their RPF narrative into every context for absolutely no reason. I think of that video that RBR released before the Hungarian GP this year where Max was listing his top three friends in the paddock. The comments were just Lestappies screaming “Where’s Charles??” or “Max only put Checo because he’s sitting there with him!! He would have said Charles if Checo wasn’t there!!” and most bizarrely, “ Max didn’t say Charles because they’re not friends…they’re lovers 😌”….genuinely, why are you pushing this narrative so hard. This is the REAL person stating the facts about HIS OWN relationships with people that he ACTUALLY knows, and you have a bunch of teenage girls telling him that he’s lying. Anyways, there’s a lot about parasocialism and all that, but that’s my hot take on Lestappen. Please don’t shoot me, I just have many thoughts.

CarCar: does not make sense, compels me

I actually was super invested in CarCar for a while, as Carlos is one of my main guys, so I was there at its conception. However, I completely thought this was a crack ship for a while and was unaware that people were serious about it until a few months ago when I saw how much stuff they have on AO3. Incredible! Considering how new it is, it has a lot of content and fans and I love how it’s based on a rivalry that just doesn’t exist and maybe 6 race interactions. We’ve definitely had more CarCar interactions this year, so I’m excited to see how they develop as more lore drops. They have lots of potential to become a great ship, perhaps becoming Webbonso reincarnated? Also, their ship name still cracks me up…cuz u know…they’re both race car drivers…yeah CarCar is chill and funny af. It doesn’t make sense and that’s why it works.

Charles/Oscar: does not make sense, does not compel me

This one, on the other hand, confuses me a bit. I always see them more as a father-son duo (see pre-Monaco tweets) so I feel kinda conflicted shipping them??? I think they have similar senses of humour, which is good ship potential, but I will admit I haven’t really paid attention to their interactions this year, so if anyone has a primer I would love to learn about them.

Dando: makes sense, compels me

I’m not usually a multishipper or a Lando fan (in the way where I like him in relation to other drivers but not as an individual), but something about them just makes sense to me. They have a lot of lore and a ton of fun interactions in and out of the paddock, and they also happen to genuinely like each other. It’s the whole “you’re the only good thing to come out of this bad thing” situation that they had going on all throughout the Horrors Part 1 (2021-2022) that makes them so compelling to me. They’ve got a lot going on in there, like the whole photography thing, the spontaneous Australia visit over winter break, and the overall chemistry they have. At first, I wasn’t the biggest fan of them because I was a Carlando child of divorce first and foremost, and also because they didn’t seem to like each other in the beginning as well, but they’ve definitely grown on me over the years.

Anyways, thank you for the ask! Had a lot of fun articulating my thoughts about these little guys.

[sailorchiron]

Life Update:

I decided the only way to get out of the hole I was in emotionally was to get the fuck out of California because I couldn’t afford rent anymore.  I have always wanted to live in Santa Fe, so I picked up my life and moved here in July.  I’m pretty broke, still behind on bills, but my job is A LOT less stressful and I have time to get enough sleep now and still have a life.  I’m starting to feel creative again.  I wanted to learn how to make custom content for The Sims 4, and I just posted a bunch of custom paintings.  I (finally) organized all of my fabric and craft supplies so I can start sewing again, and hopefully reopen my Etsy store (I make bjd clothes).  I’m not going to be getting any new dolls this year, I’m just too strapped for cash, but that’s actually okay.  Until I have more money, I can’t upgrade my doll storage and I don’t have room for a single other doll right now.  Tomorrow I want to completely clean out all of my doll stuff and organize it.  I still eventually want to be a clinical supervisor for a speech-language pathology master’s program, I REALLY want it to be at University of New Mexico which is a doable commute from here if I only work part time down there.  My birthday is next Friday (the 13th) and I’ll be 46.  I’d like to be a clinical supervisor by the time I’m 50.  This year I’m working from home in a district in California, but because I’m a contractor and paid only for hours worked, I don’t get paid for school holidays at all, and it’s just not sustainable.  I love working from home, I love that if I’m super tired I can lay down when I have a break, and I love my coworkers, but I plan to try to get a position in Santa Fe public schools next year.  My credit is trash, but I’ve made peace with it because I needed this year to just relax and not be miserable.  I’ve been miserable for so long and just needed a fucking break.  Even though I don’t actually know anyone here, I’m so relaxed and happy.  I feel like I fit here, and these are my people.  I’m hoping to get involved in the community next year when I’m more settled in.  I’m really passionate about Native American culture and want to support any way I can.  I’m experiencing a horrible flare of guttate psoriasis and cannot get a dermatologist to answer the freakin’ phone to get meds.  I’m dying, I look horrible, my entire body hurts and itches.  But I’m still so much better than I was when I was living in San Diego.  This place moves at a slower pace, there are no freeways, everything is less than 20 minutes away, and people don’t show up at Target in $300 of Lululemon to shop while carrying a Michael Kors purse.  Not everyone is thin and I’ve only seen 1 gym anywhere near my house.  The vibe here is so chill.  I love it.

TL;DR I might have the ability to write again.  

[jungwnies]

*peeks shyly from the door*

hi

hey baby girl, how are you?

sorry for being a lil mia, I gotta admit october wasn’t the best month for me and november isn’t looking that great either (not worse but not better just a little meh), some stuff happened personally and let’s just say I’ve been in the need of a break

good/bad news is that im officially starting therapy once again tomorrow! yup, last month really set the line for it hehe

it’s a little bittersweet you know, thinking you’re getting better but then not idk just really blue u.u

but okay! i didn’t come here to make you gloomy, i mean yeah last month sucked but at least taylor dropped a new album ^^

also ive been talking and getting closer with my dad a lot these past few weeks so that’s nice, actually the whole reason why im back in therapy is cause he cares and got really worried about my state so gotta thank dad!<33

i also loved seulgi’s solo debut (slaaay) and last time i popped in here i started rewatching glee and guess who already finished it? me :D

i also rewatched shadowhunters and now im starting ted lasso! (I’ve heard is a great show and so far so good!)

kinda shocked tho it’s already November and omg the end of the years is in a couple of weeks omG STOP

n e ways, what have you been up to? my guess is school but tell me how do you feel about it? or if you don’t want to talk about school that’s okay just tell me how you’ve been and how you’ve enjoyed your days? ^^

sending lots of love to you darling

i don’t know when I’ll pop back in here so as usual: eat your meals, drink your water, listen to your favorite artists, read/write when you want to and don’t overwork yourself <33

you can do it! 파이팅 ^^

-🧸anon

omg hi :) i'm so sorry to hear the past two months have been SUCKY, but i'm glad you've gotten a break because everyone needs one at some point !!! therapy is never something bad, the reason for going might not be the best reason but the outcome will be better than nothing, right? <3 omg... also i love taylor's album, some of my fav songs on there are maroon, snow on the beach, and lavender haze 🫶 it's always nice to be recognized by a parent and receive their love and care, so i'm glad you've got comfort, love, and support from your dad. 28 reason by seulgi is actually heaven sent, it's sooooo good omg ?!?!?! there's only a few weeks left in the year, i feel like this year passed by sooo quickly it's bittersweet LOL

lately i've been super busy, i got a job recently (i love it so much, it's so easy but all my coworkers are so fun and sweet) and school has been pretty chill, exams started though so i'm studying like there's no tomorrow LMFAO

i also got post nasal drip so i'm like suffering from a dry cough, it hurts so much LMFAO... i just got medicine for it today so hopefully it goes away soon 👍

i started love in contract, i also finished it and it was one of the best kdramas i've watched 10/10 recommend

make sure you eat your meals, drink your water, listen to your favorite artists as well <3

[sweetandmeat]

whole little story i wrote in my friend’s dms between bob and miles while half asleep vv 

how bob and miles meet: bob sees miles as the next victim of his general escapades of being a cannibal, but when infodumping to miles he corrects him actually, and bob gets curious about what he knows so what Was a near deadly scenario turns into a surprisingly pleasant conversation, bob reclining onto a wall while miles recomposes himself while listing off anatomy facts to a very fascinated bob.

they part ways, and only find eachother again at random intervals around the town later on. the town isnt too big, so it's not to hard to crash into someone you may know, even if its a serial killer outside of his usual attire, recognized by voice alone.

they get to talking, get to know eachother, and bob invites miles to the decrepit isolated SHITTY apartments he lives in and miles is like dude. Nah. NAH. rents getting harsh for me do you maybe? want to move in? the company would be nice. plus you get anatomy facts all day everyday. HOWEVER, chill out a little with the killing. i see a new vody in the newspapers almost every fuckin day dude!

so they now live together and dont Actually talk that much. bob does his own thing whereas being an intern in a hospital is Long hours. he comes home more and more worn out constantly. one week it is SO BAD he gets maybe 10 whole hours of sleep in three days and is having THE WORST constant mental breakdown in his life.

bob, NOT one to usually ask about the mental state of others is even pretty worried. dude barely talks anymore just sleeps and goes to work so hes like awh shit ok. Whats going on. and miles is at his wits end and EXPLODES in all his pent up fear and anger. job is considering kicking him out since he cant keep up with the same resilience as the other interns and residency is almost at his doorstep but hes Struggling to assist and nearly fucked up in the OR and hes SOOOO tired. he can't solve an issue to a patient they've opened up with a pulmonary issue that everyone is stumped with and he's got the feeling that if he gets taken off the care list for this patient he's going to be out of a job soon or WORSE. he's paranoid about being blacklisting from the medical field (but that's pure paranoia talking)

bob just kinda is at a loss. he doesnt really kniw how to soothe these things super well other than like a hug or cuddling but when it comes to Words or other actions he falls short. so he asks what he could possibly do. and miles is like "UGH i dunno man  i just fucking WISH i could just stare at some fuckin lungs to try and figure iut what i can do for this patient. cause if not im a goner, and you wouldve wasted your time Not eating me four months ago." and bobs like oh. I Can Do That

next day miles comes home to a whole pair of lungs on the dinner table NOT PRESERVED AT ALL stinking up the place. he hates it but its not Much worse than the usual smell of an OR so after the initial "WHAT THE FUCK" moment he looks over to an eager (but also oddly nervous) looking bob and gets to work dissecting the lungs to figure his predicament out.

it helps! A LOT! he actually thinks he has a solid course of action and fir the first time in about a month he gets a SOMEWHAT ok amt of sleep in preparation to pitch his idea to his residents

it goes well, and now he's feeling a little better. but now hes got his next case, and bobs on it again to retrieve another organ. rinse and repeat! suddenly miles is no longer struggling to keep up with his other interns and hes doing Good (to the surpriseof all of his coworkers and Annoyance of a few shitheads). it raises a few eyebrows but they ultimately just see it as a "fuck. now this guys a contender for residency Too. ugh w/e."

AND THEN. bob gets arrested. he isnt seen for a few years, and miles is So worried for a good year before his saddness kinda fades into the background.  he knows what happened but hes just, Sad. and he kinda saw it coming. but no tracks led back to him, which was surprising since bob seemed very Ride Or Die about everything.

SO. miles continues on. life as usual, he's finally a resident he's doing well he's got a house for himself now though it's still just him in it. and them the events of tender treats happens. and theres a Corpse knocking on his front door. a LITERAL corpse. bullet wounds, tire tracks, severe burns and all and miles is like WHAT THE FUCK!!!

bob just kinda hobbles in, and lays down on the couch. miles FRANTICALLY fishing out his firstaid kit and it stiching uo everything and putting ointment pretty much Everywhere he can and wrapping wounds the WHOLE nine yards. hes freaking out about the bullet wounds and while fishing it out bob is just like Hissing in rage about how his night went. tensions are high and miles keeps SCOLDING the guy until he snaps and they start arguing BUT not for long

its out of worry. and miles bites back i "THATS IT! i know all aggression comes from fear so WHAT ARE YOU SCARED OF?!" and bob shouts back that hes TERRIFIED of being forgotten. he doesnt care HOW he's remembered he was just horrified and scared of being forgotten by the town. and ESPECIALLY scared of being forgotten by miles. everything falls silent, and after miles double and triple checks bobs wounds they fall asleep together on that couch

next day they catch up! bob doesnt have much to say, he just spent all his time in solitary confinement, what he Does say is what he was up to when they lived together that first time. he got tangled in the cults shenanigans, and was offered the amulet. he was essentially being used as a distractor for the cult, all eyes would be on the cannibal killer running amok so no one would pay attention to the far more calculated and discreet actions of the cult. he got to do what he wabted, they got to do what they wanted. the amulet just insured that hed be able to do it for Far longer, not having to worry abour death as much. he became NEAR impossible. which also meant he didnt actually follow miles' rule of "dont start shit as often." he earned a smack on the head when recounting that one

the amulet, THOUGH it got damaged, insured he stayed alive even after that second encounter with the police in tender treats, but its healing properties were gone, so he tanked all the attacks and Felt it all. hence the corpse at miles' doorstep.

miles forces him to lay low at his place and NO MORE KILLING. (bob doesnt listen to that last one really, but his attacks are incredibly sparse now) and they have hot gay sex now yippee end of story (for now)

[beaversatemygrandma]

Oh my god. Work is a shitshow. I’m safe. For now. But wow. I came back from my weekend to the tensed damn environment and I had to do a whole damn puzzle to figure out why.

So. I come in as per usual. Things are normal. I guess the work friend who I’ve had the weird ass crush on is late. Normal.

Peaceful manager is Big Frustrated. That’s weird. I hear him arguing with another manager about the boss’s firing spree. I’m piecing together hints of overhearing with my terrible hearing and how things have been relabeled around the place.

Once an hour is up, I definitely know that person isn’t coming in today. Like. Okay, maybe schedules got shifted due to the new guy.

No.

He has their schedule.

They were fired.

THIS is why the chill manager was mad.

And honestly, I’m mad too. In the nature of what we do, sure they would make occasional mistakes bc what they did was a high risk and high stress part of it. Lives were in their hands at times. I just work the money here. Little mistakes add up a bit, but it was just one huge one that was understandable bc of this “life in their hands” situation. Like when you have to escort somebody who you initially thought was just having a mild panic attack is actually having a minor stroke and your coworker only orders the mistake you made to be fixed over radio (ensuring the boss hears) instead of fixing it and then saying “hey, I did this” instead of announcing it to the whole damn block and getting them in trouble when clearly this was a more than one person job….

I don’t know the whole story. They say he wasn’t being a petty snitch. I say he was being a petty snitch. Either way, with how it was left for a half hour due to the situation, it turned into a fireable offense bc of liability. Which could’ve been avoided. But no.

Either way, I didn’t even get the hint they were fired until I noticed there wasn’t a radio with their name on it anymore. I’d use it when they weren’t there bc yeah, and also bc it was the best working one. Those guys have butter fingers and they tend to fall from the course a lot. Now even though everybody would blame them for things not working, theirs was in the best condition and now the new guy has it. So. Fun.

And the shift in expression as I casually mention them to a manager during conversation. She looked like she dreaded breaking the news to me of what happened yesterday. And fair enough. Yeah. They were visibly the closest person to me there.

Ugh. Either way, I still had a slim hope through the day and ended up calling them when I got home. Only to have them go “oh shit. I forgot to tell you” as it turns out bc they went off and had a good day and got stoned at a skate park and hung out with people they haven’t seen in a while. Like living the best life in the last two days. I was expecting a call to a dark place but no, I got happy, rambly, and stoned. Even news of a cool new job opportunity.

It’s probably super selfish the way I’m thinking right now, but you asshole, the entire environment of that place is going to change now bc there aren’t any other people that fill the hole that you did.

And tbh notably the only person who picked up that I am not neurotypical in any reasonable way and offered me solace in their solitude area they found which is not available to me without them. So fuck.

And no longer have somebody who I can just fuck around with during the day bc I’m bored.

I left the phone call kinda open. Like I offered further contact and spending time together which I fully intend to actually do, so maybe it’s better that we aren’t forced to be together, but can choose it. Maybe I can see true colors better or something and not feel the weird coworker barrier or something. Bc straight up my reaction to the news was like a fucking pet dying. The same feeling in my chest. I got way too attached to this person really fast. I’m at least aware of it. But god. I didn’t want to come back from my weekend for such a shift there.

I honestly wonder if they even actually saw me as a friend or just as a coworker who attached to them in a friendly way or something. Then again, you don’t go through the whole event of getting excited that your coworker wants to break past a fear and offer to be absurdly physically close to them as they do so. Or the various warnings that they do tend to get physically close with friends then proceeding to do so. Like during that tree situation, I felt their dick on my thigh. That’s a bit too close and personal for just coworkers. Given fully accidental obviously but still. Too close for that.

But even with all that shit and more, I still feel as if it doesn’t go both ways. I’ll figure it out over time but still. It feels strange and I don’t want them to leave my life bc of this.

Starting to think that the warnings I started getting at work about them were more of a “don’t get too attached yet” thing and less of a worried about me way. Bc of this.

Agh. Everything is going to feel very wrong at work now. And I’m probably going to occasionally call them when I’m free. If I did it when I think about them, it’d be every goddamn day. Because fuck catching feelings for people. I still can’t even tell if it was platonic and sexual or just flat out feelings. It’s just THERE.

I’ll be fine. But fuck this job and it’s weird high turnover rate for the safety operators. I’m worried about the other one I’ve befriended now too. Like fuck.

Continuation edit now that I've calmed down:

The turnover rate is honestly the biggest concern workwise. Like I haven't heard of a safety operator who has this job for longer than 6 months. (this one was 4, maybe 5) Except one, the manager for that section who has been there for 11 years, practically as soon as it opened. (minus a couple years.) This was the manager who was ultimately pissed earlier today. Which is super out of character for him. It was planned to fire the one incompetent office employee. She was young, it was her first job. She just had too many fuck ups for this place. They need to up their requirements tbh. She wasn't a bad person, just very young and Very Stupid. Somehow, after getting fired, she managed to get placed in the maintenance department of the zoo. Which is honestly great for her. Though, this one was the planned and everybody was like "when WILL SHE GO?" Well. We got an answer and a replacement. We had a small opening in the area of the safety operators. Something part time. Something to where we wouldn't have two days with only two of those guys. (Wednesdays were a goddamn mess.) And here comes a new guy. Fantastic, right? Something part-time and we train him to fill these holes where it's a concerning lack of attention paid to the safety for a couple days? Right? Nope. Full-time hire. Weird. We don't need four a day.

I guess their firing was planned too. They just needed somebody for it. Can't really cut hours for this shift and make it obvious. But then what about those two days?? These guys can't get lunch breaks half the damn time. I've seen them take lunch at like 2:30, a half hour before we start closing entry for the day. And that was if they were lucky. And today, i guess bc somebody (i think i know who) complained about the lack of lunch breaks (probably as a fuck you to the boss for being a bad boss before leaving... and somehow left with a recommendation letter. Idk how they do this shit.) well today we had to take mandatory 45 minute ones instead of 30? Everybody was also being strangely by the book. This is a workplace with a professional mask on it 99% of the time. When the property owner shows up, it's 100%. When that guy is there. Again. MASK. We're immature and fuck with each other. Friendly dragging per se. There was a morning with nothing said other than sexual innuendos bc somebody flubbed what they were saying massively and then we all just rolled with it. If you aren't made fun of at least once a week, it's known that you're hated. Like this morning I asked one of the operators a favor (I'm short. I take advantage of having tall guys around.) and he asked me to submit a work order that would take 5 months to get back. And without waiting for anything further went and did what i asked. And that's just a basic one. That's the petty snitchy guy. His are basically saying no and then doing things. (He's a funky dork who adds some comedic relief to rough days, but i highly highly doubt he can even take the place of the "emotional support coworker" who they fired to make weeks bearable. ugh. mostly due to previous incidents. Again. Snitch.) Anyways, this is generally the test to pass in order to thrive in this environment. You gotta put up with the bullshittery. This new guy has yet to put up with it. He's a quiet and keep his head low kind of person. I've already gone out of the way to show him a few things and he does occasionally greet me already but he talks So Damn Quiet and i'm practically deaf. But, he was hired because he is friends with the snitchy and weird guy. Who is loud. And strange. The new one may actually be a fit. I just wish he were a little louder.

Sidenote: awkward thing with him. The gossipy replacement and ex-worker who came in to cover sometimes and is now replacing the redundant office worker got me going into something about taste in guys and I have said things. This guy is pretty damn hot imo. Long ass hair and a skater punk vibe. Kinda pretty. Woops. He's only 18. At least an adult but ouch. I thought he wouldn't get hired.

Good vibe at least though. Hope that isn't just from my initial impression of him.

I just wonder how long everybody is going to last. I've gotten the feeling that I'm secure. That's at least good, but i really don't like that everybody I could get close to could really get cut at any point.

I'm secure though. I've got this job down.

But then currently my only work friends left are an ex-con that i give rides to and a part time college kid who i only work two days a week with. I'm honestly closer to the con. Because he's open, wants friends, and i have witnessed and hung out with outside of work as well. He's just an old school stoner. Some guy really. Thing is, he's 12 years older than me, buff as shit (intimidating... but holy shit can he crack my fucking back), and would be a bad influence if he weren't a girl dad with a soft spot the same emotional size as his huge ass biceps. He's not bad and the age difference is so much bigger than me and my other coworkers (now with the lack of the one closest, 18-21) but I'm probably about to get a lot closer to him without the one person i generally talk to around. Current worry about next cut is him. This would fuck him over BAD. Because on paper he's a problem. In person, he looks like a wild man who came out of the woods with a prison bod. I really hope not because as far as the safety operators come, he's the only one who looks like he'd be insane enough to do half the shit they do on a zipline and the one that all the customers flock to bc "wild tree man" vibes. This man has named good reviews on the yelp. Yes, he can't keep things on the course for the life of him and leaves vapes around on the counters and drops literally everything and does about damn near everything the one just fired does, but i think due to sheer vibes, he's a bit safer. (Even though he actually isn't even the stronger of the two. It's surprising actually, kinda the superhero now vs past muscle concept.) They have about the same problems, just one has been an adult for far longer and knows how to get away with things. Somewhat well. Somewhat.

Either way. I'm honestly just hoping that work can still be pleasant and that I can actually get through all the days without getting too annoyed by things. Because literally. The one person that makes my week easier just by existing there is no longer there. And further from now, to figure out how exactly I even stand with them because sometimes i feel like basic coworker and sometimes it's as if we've got way more going on. (the fucking tension. Istg.)

Ugh.

[ibis-gt]

*slides you 37 pennies* how would luther handle trying to go on a public date with cam (movie, restaurant, etc.) with the whole… affection turns height to no.

had two requests for this one so here u go! luther does his best to keep it together for date night. 2750 words, warning for brief mention of violence in a movie and some hanky panky between consenting adults. not explicit, just a little spicy.

~~~

Four months into their relationship, and Luther has more of a handle on things now.

He’s got the size thing totally under control. He hardly ever shrinks just because Cam looked at him anymore. He can take a compliment like a champion. Those soft, sweet, gentle smiles that spread across Cam’s face like molasses? Barely make him lose an inch. Physical contact? He’s… still working on that one.

But at the very least they can have date nights in public now, as long as Cam behaves himself, and Cam is quite willing to behave himself. Most of the time.

It’s a snowy Saturday night in December, and they’ve got a date planned. Cam will pick Luther up at eight, they’ll go have dinner at a local sushi place, watch a late night special feature from the 80s, and then come back home for some wine and light snuggling before bed. An absolutely perfect night, if Luther can make it through enough of it full-size.

He’s still debating his outfit when a gentle knock at his front door heralds his beloved’s arrival. Five minutes early as usual.

“It’s open!” Luther calls. “C’mon in and help me choose, will you?” He’s standing in his bedroom in a pair of black slacks with the horrid green jumpsuit undone and tied around his waist, staring critically at his two choices of top. A lovely turquoise turtleneck, or a stylish electric blue button-up. The floor creaks behind him as Cam ambles in. “Which one do you think is better? I guess it depends on what you’re wear - eep!”

Luther squeaks and jumps as Cam presses his lips to Luther’s neck, big warm hands sliding up his arms to rest on his bare shoulders, sending an involuntary shiver down his spine.

“Both look nice,” Cam murmurs in his ear. “But I think I like the blue one better.”

“C-cam,” Luther whines, his face going pink. “If you keep this up we’re not even going to get out the door.” The hands remove themselves, and Cam pulls back, chuckling.

“Sorry. Couldn’t help myself. All that exposed real estate, you know.” He lets out a perfect wolf whistle. God damn him. Luther glares over his shoulder and folds his arms, letting annoyance take over.

“We’ve been planning this for weeks, and you’re going to ruin it,” he pouts. “Go on, out. Wait in the living room if you’re going to be like this.” Cam puts his hands up in a placating gesture and retreats, but that damn smile doesn’t leave his face. Luther tosses his hair and huffs, secretly proud of himself. He didn’t even lose a half inch. He turns back to consider his options.

Well, if Cam is so focused on his neck tonight, that sweater might be the better option to afford him some protection. But he said he liked the button-up better… It’s lighter than the sweater so it won’t keep him as warm, but that means he can steal Cam’s big coat later on. The turtleneck would completely cover the green jumpsuit, but the blue of the button-up actually compliments it nicely. Luther nods decisively. The button-up will be perfect.

He dresses quickly, gives himself a final once-over in the mirror, unbuttons his top button, and heads out to see Cam. His boyfriend - his boyfriend! The thought still sends a thrill through him - has picked up the cat, Scrunge, and is stroking her head, making little baby noises at her. She purrs in her usual way, fast and loud, like a revving motorcycle. Cam sets her down when he sees Luther and sighs happily.

“You look fantastic,” he says.

“You clean up pretty nice yourself.” Luther crosses the room and fondly brushes a loose strand of hair behind Cam’s ear. Cam’s in a dark grey v-neck shirt and black suit jacket, slightly tarnished silver cufflinks adorning the sleeves. He’s got his big heavy winter coat draped over one arm so he doesn’t overheat in the relative warmth of the apartment. Luther sneaks a covetous little glance at it before grabbing his own shabby coat off a hook near the door.

He bends down to give Scrunge a goodbye scritch behind the ears. “Behave yourself while I’m out,” he tells her. “No tearing around the place and knocking things over.” She meows plaintively. Luther retrieves her bag of treats and gives her two as a bribe, which she accepts happily.

“Okay,” Luther says, straightening and shrugging on his coat. “Ready?”

“Ready,” Cam says, and takes his hand.

They walk to the restaurant. No point in searching for parking, it’d take longer than just hoofing it anyway. It’s been snowing on and off throughout the week and piles of dirty slush cover the sidewalk. It’s cold, but Luther’s coat is keeping him warm enough for now. He and Cam hold hands as they walk to the restaurant, and Luther doesn’t even shrink a little bit. His chest swells with so much pride he thinks his feet might leave the ground.

The place is only a little busy, so they have a short wait before they’re shown to their table. They get their usual orders. Luther prefers simple rolls and nigiri so the taste of the fish is front and center, while Cam likes to get the complicated, loaded rolls for the variety of texture and flavor. While they wait for their food to arrive, Luther fills Cam in on Scrunge’s latest reign of terror in his apartment, and how much it’ll cost to fix the cracked frame of the painting she’d somehow managed to knock off the wall in her frenzy to catch the fabled red laser dot.

The food arrives. Cam offers Luther a taste of his rolls - he’s gotten something deep fried with cream cheese, cucumber, and crab, and another loaded high with four kinds of fish, topped with roe. Luther tries the one with all the fish, but passes on the deep fried one. He trades Cam a piece of mackerel nigiri. Then he continues on talking, telling Cam about his week, how work’s been, the new guy they hired, and the annoying new habit his coworker’s formed of singing along with the music on the jukebox, regardless of whether she knows the lyrics or not.

Luther suddenly catches the look in Cam’s eyes. There’s something… hungry in them. It’s the only way he can describe it. It’s not regular hungry, because he’s practically ignoring his food in favor of listening intently to Luther’s rambling story. He’s leaning forward, arms folded on the table in front of him, drinking in every word Luther has to say. He’s hungry for him. The realization hits Luther like a truck and he stops mid-sentence, jaw dropping, a blush starting to spread across his face.

“What’s wrong?” Cam asks, innocent as ever. How could he even know the effect he has on Luther? How could Luther ever explain?

“N-nothing, um, I… I’ve been talking a lot, why don’t you take over for a bit? What’s keeping you busy at work?” It was delightful to listen to Cam ramble on about his job. Luther barely understood a word of it, but his enthusiasm was adorable and, importantly, not about Luther. He could keep it together and breathe a bit, work on calming down the scramble of emotion in his gut.

Sure enough, he wins himself a good fifteen minutes of calm while Cam talks on about carburetors and mufflers and manifolds. He could be making it up for all Luther knows. It’s not until Cam realizes his deep fried roll has gone cold that he breaks off to eat. They finish their food, decide to pass on dessert, pay, and head for the theater.

It’s only a few blocks away, a fifteen minute walk at most. The night has gotten a little colder and darker, and now stray snowflakes drift and spin through the air, catching the streetlights and twinkling like stars. Cam has a lot of fun pretending he’s a dragon, his warm breath turning to steaming clouds in the freezing air. Luther’s shivering now, his old secondhand coat doing little to protect him from the chill. Cam notices, of course, and whips his own coat off in an instant.

“Oh, please,” Luther demurs, “You’re so chivalrous, but really, I’m fine.”

“You’re shaking like a weathervane in a hurricane, sweetheart. I’ll be fine, I’m my own space heater.” Cam arranges the coat over Luther’s shoulders neatly and slips his arm around Luther’s waist, pulling him in close. It’s so warm and so nice, and so very, very close. Luther’s shivers slacken and cease, and then one more shakes him, different from the rest.

“Oh no,” Luther whispers, “I was doing so well, please…”

Luckily, he only loses about three inches. His clothes are a little looser, and he’s engulfed a little more by Cam’s huge coat, but he’s still a perfectly normal height. He sighs in relief.

“So what’s this movie we’re seeing?” Luther asks, trying to take his mind off of things.

“Oh, so it’s this old sci fi cult classic based on a book no one’s ever read. I saw it the first time when I was like… eight? And it scarred me for life, really, and now I’m obsessed with this shit. The special effects are super gnarly, and they hold up okay, even though you can totally see the tube for the fake blood in the decapitation scene. Don’t worry too much about following the plot, it’s not really the point of the movie, but what you should know ahead of time is…”

Cam rambles on like that, filling the night with fog. Luther snuggles in closer and listens happily, totally at ease. He made it through the most important part of the night, and once they get in the theater, he can relax. It doesn’t matter if he shrinks in the theater - from what Cam’s said, the only people watching this late-night special feature will be die-hard fans who’ll be glued to the screen, and in the darkness they won’t have to worry about anyone catching sight of them.

That also means, of course, that Cam might get a little handsy once the lights dim. If he’s being honest, Luther would be disappointed if he didn’t.

They get a seat in the back row. As the previews start up, Cam reaches over and takes Luther’s chin in his hand, turning it gently so they face each other. For a moment, he just holds them there, staring into Luther’s eyes with an adoring softness that makes Luther’s heart sing. Then he leans in and kisses him, just once, softly on the mouth. Luther shivers and loses another few inches. Cam lets him go, but Luther’s not satisfied. He grabs Cam’s collar and pulls him down for another kiss, this one deeper and hungrier. Cam chuckles against his mouth and nips at his bottom lip, catching it between his teeth for just a moment. Luther sits back heavily in his seat, breath coming in shallow gasps. He grips his armrests tight, trying to pay attention to the trailer for the newest slasher flick as it blares out through the theater. No dice. He’s losing height fast now, shrinking down to four feet tall, his normal clothes hanging off his frame.

They stay apart for all of a minute before Cam’s hand sneaks across the seat and slides into place on Luther’s thigh. He strokes his thumb back and forth in a slow rhythm, humming happily. Luther gasps and shrinks more, staring wide-eyed as Cam’s hand covers more and more of him, soon easily encompassing his entire thigh.

He’s maybe two feet tall now and he can’t see the screen over the seat in front of him. Cam glances down, catching the pouting, grumpy look on Luther’s face, and presses a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter.

“Here, sweetheart,” Cam murmurs, and picks Luther up with one hand. With the other, he frees him from his clothing so that he’s only clad in the jumpsuit. Cam settles Luther gently on his lap. This has fixed the problem of not being able to see the screen, but only momentarily. Luther goes bright red and dwindles down even further. By the time the previews have finished, he’s only eight inches tall.

As the opening theme blares with discordant trumpets, Cam pinches the back of Luther’s jumpsuit between thumb and forefinger and lifts him up. He dangles Luther in front of his face for a moment, expression torn between adoring and apologetic, then brings him in close for a gentle kiss. He sets Luther on his shoulder and hands him a piece of popcorn.

Luther hides his burning face behind the buttery morsel. He’d been expecting a little hanky panky, but nothing so direct. Stolen kisses, maybe a fake yawn that disguised Cam putting his arm around Luther, a little playing with his hair. Going for the thigh like that… that was entirely unexpected. He’s beginning to suspect Cam was trying to get him tiny.

The movie is just as gory and weird as promised. Luther isn’t super squeamish, but more than once he turns and ducks his face into Cam’s neck, squealing in disgust, his voice quiet enough at this size that he doesn’t have to worry about disturbing anyone else. Every time, he feels Cam shake under him with silent laughter, enjoying Luther’s reactions.

The movie ends before too long, and the other theatergoers file out, chatting animatedly with one another about the flick. Cam holds his hand up to his chest, and Luther pushes himself off Cam’s shoulder, landing gracefully in his palm. Cam sets him down on the armrest while he folds up Luther’s discarded clothing and tucks it in an inner pocket of his big coat. He looks down at Luther and tilts his head to one side, lips pursed in a calculating expression.

“You’re just a little too big to hide comfortably… here, let’s fix that.” Cam puts his elbows on either side of Luther on the armrest and looms over him, completely blocking the dim theater lights overhead. Luther takes a few involuntary steps back and bumps up against Cam’s hands, linked together behind him to form a ring penning him in. “You’re all mine now,” Cam breathes, quiet as a whisper. “So tiny and cute. I’m going to put you in my pocket and carry you home, and then… well, then we’ll see what I’ll do with you, hm?” A crooked, meaningful grin spreads across Cam’s face, and that hungry look comes back into his eyes.

It works like a charm. Luther’s legs shake, his heart pounds, and he shivers. He dwindles down to half his height, a mere four inches.

“There we go,” Cam croons, and scoops him up in one hand. Cam stows him safely in his coat pocket, held in a loose fist to keep him safe from jostling and the cold. He exits the theater and moves through the crowds easily. People tend to make way when they see a man his size coming towards them.

Luther curls up against Cam’s fingers and sighs happily. Cam’s hand is warm, calloused in places but soft in others, and the pocket sways gently with his gait. It’s so safe and cozy, combined with the late hour and the exhaustion of the day, it’s the perfect recipe to knock him out. He fights the heaviness of his eyelids as long as he can, but only makes it a few blocks before he’s fast asleep.

~~~

“Whew, cold one out tonight,” Cam says as he unlocks the door to Luther’s apartment. He can already hear Scrunge wailing on the other side. “I hope you weren’t too frozen in there.” He pushes the door open and addresses the cat. “Yes, we’re home, hello darling, we missed you too.” She winds around his legs and purr-meows at top volume. “Okay, okay, other people are trying to sleep,” Cam hisses. “You’re gonna wake up the whole floor, shitty kitty.” She mrrps in disapproval.

He pulls Luther out of his pocket. “So, babe, do you wanna - oh.” The little dear is asleep, snoring softly. Cam smiles and presses a kiss to his chest. He takes a seat on the couch, sighing as he plops himself down. Scrunge leaps up into his lap immediately and puts her front legs up on his chest, sniffing at Luther in his hand.

“Poor dear’s all tuckered out,” Cam murmurs, giving her a scritch. “Let’s let him rest.”

[honklore]

invisible string | dreamwastaken

(requested plot by red string of fate soulmate au, dream is still a streamer, reader has commitment issues, dream just wants someone to love, chat is the best wingman, sapnap and george try but they suck, reader is timid but dream makes them feel brave, taylor swift references, this is not very deep or poetic at all, i don’t like typing y/n so after this i’m going to move to ___)

listen to: invisible string by taylor swift

In kindergarten, red strings were simply a crafting tool, and teachers never mentioned how much pain they would eventually bring.

Because when they appear, from a child’s eighteenth birthday and beyond, they tighten like a godforsaken high school ring that came in one size too small. Like the universe is a child tugging their mother towards the ice cream truck, you’re pulled around central Florida, passes faces you can’t memorize and voices too garbled to hear.

The string knows where you need to go, and when.

And you’re at the park, feeding ducks and trying to ignore that incessant pull that tugs at your pinky, when you hear it.

It’s a voice you know only because it’s a voice that’s been in your house before. At least, through your brother’s tablet screen. Some gamer online — a streamer, with a distinct wheezing laugh that you’d recognize anywhere.

And you do. Behind you.

You risk a small peak, and your heart drops into your chest. He’s tall. Too tall to not intimidate you. And his sandy hair is wavy, curling at the collar of his sweatshirt, falling perfectly into place when he runs his hands through it. When he does, you see it, the red string.

Which means he could see it too. All he’d have to do is turn around.

But you’re not ready. You haven’t been, not since you watched your cousin get rejected on her eighteenth birthday. Since you watched a string of fate get clipped in front of you, like the three fates had finally had enough of your cousin’s happiness.

It was enough to make you curl into yourself, and reject the natural pull set before you. So you run, and you try not to think of what would’ve happened if he saw you before you saw him. You try not to feel the clippers, but the blade feels tangible against your skin.

You don’t stop running until you arrive home.

“Hey chat, just wanted to do a few practice runs and catch up with you guys,” Dream mumbles into the mic, already restarting his game after deciding he didn’t like his seed. The donos begin rolling in, even before Sapnap and George have unmuted, so Dream flits his eyes to the display screen, subconsciously reading along with the text-to-speech voice, “Dream, what if we shared a string of fate? Ahaha, just kidding... unless... love you bestie.”

Dream chuckles, “Actually chat, I felt a tug today! Isn’t that weird? I was actually reading up on what that could mean, and it seems like either my soulmate is in a lot of distress, or they were in my vicinity. I’m hoping, for their sake, it’s the second one. How would you even comfort a soulmate if all you can do is tug on a stupid string?”

“Simp!” George finally unmutes just to be annoying, and Dream knows soulmates are a touchy spot for him, considering he wasn’t given a string on his eighteenth. Which is strange, but not impossible. Of course, chat doesn’t know this, because it would give them more hope of becoming George’s metaphorical soulmate, but it certainly makes for awkward conversations once Dream and Sapnap get into their own soulmate bonds.

“I’m not simping, George!” Dream feels a bit defensive, because he’s genuinely just curious. He has no interest in meeting his soulmate right now. At least, that’s what he tells himself. He has his streams, and his friends, and chat. He’s fine.

[abbywastaken donated $10: dream why don’t you go back to where you felt the pull and see if you feel it again? that’s how i found my soulmate. okay luv u bye.]

“Thanks, Abby. Love you, too. Um, honestly I was in a pretty public place, so I don’t know if they would even come back anytime soon. Also, this is Orlando, right? Tourists are everywhere.”

Sapnap snorts, and Dream thinks it’s funny, since he’s in the other room. “Just say you’re a coward and go.”

“I’m not!” Dream says. “It was just a small pull, okay? It wasn’t even a big deal.”

He feels another lurch when he says that, but this one is in his chest. It taps against his heart, a quick reminder that it beats for someone else, and he needs to watch his words. “Okay, it was a big deal. Sort of. I’ll go tomorrow, okay chat?”

Chat is spamming all types of messages, from encouragement to jealousy. Dream manages to read off a few donos and create his first nether portal of the stream. He answers as they appear, eyes scanning for a fortress. “No, I didn’t see them… I’m not telling you guys where I was, that’s weird… I’m wearing a sweatshirt and jeans… Hi, Sarah and Patrick…”

He trails off as the donos do, and works at getting blaze rods. George is talking about a riddle he just learned, and he’s trying to trick Sapnap into saying something stupid.

Lost in his own thoughts, he finally closes the stream after a hasty goodbye. “What if I missed my chance?” He asks the two boys on the other line.

“It’s a string of fate, Dream,” George says. “You didn’t miss your chance.”

“Maybe they saw how ugly you are and ran away,” Sapnap says, completely joking, but the thought lingers in Dream’s head.

Did they feel the tug, and run away?

You pour cereal for yourself, and when your brother shuffles into the kitchen, you make him a bowl as well.

He’s eleven, and as little brothers go, he’s pretty chill. Aside from the inappropriate jokes and hogging the bathroom when you have to get ready for work, you like hanging around with him.

You pass him his bowl, and he grins. “I’m gonna watch Dream’s new video on the TV, since mom’s not home.”

You furrow your brows. Dream must be one of the dozens of streamers he likes. Maybe one of his friends will be in chat with him, and you will be able to connect a voice to a face. “Can I sit with you?”

He gives you an odd look, and it’s true, you don’t ask to watch videos with him often. “I guess.”

You eat a spoonful of cereal and settle into the couch while he gets everything ready. He clicks on a lime green icon of a little white blob man, and when the first video appears, you’re taken aback by the voice.

That’s the voice you heard. It’s this one, out of all the random men yelling about a block game. It’s Dream.

“Why doesn’t he show his face?” You manage, wanting information about the person that shares your string.

“What?”

“Like, he’s handsome, right? Why doesn’t he have a facecam?”

Your brother snorts. “Handsome? He’s never shown his face, Y/n. Don’t you know who Dream is? He’s like, super famous.”

“Oh.” You think of his golden hair, as sunny and soft as the glow around his entire being. His voice right now, joyous as he gets chased by his friends. “I mean, I don’t keep up with streamers.”

He begins to explain Dream and his friends, along with lore in their role play server, and it’s all interesting enough that you sit and listen, holding on to the little bits of information you can collect about your soulmate.

You file these facts in a secluded corner of your brain and try to make a whole person, along with the hair and the laugh and the intense music he plays as he gets hunted by his friends.

By nightfall, you’re following all of his socials and binge-watching his old streams, holding on to the way he speaks to his friends, and the fond way he replies to donos.

[dreamwastaken is live!]

You click on it, bundled underneath your covers as if someone might see you and find out your secret.

“Hi, chat! I know I was just live yesterday, but I cut it too short and wanted to come talk to you guys.”

He uses his avatar to wave at the screen, and it’s kind of an adorable sight.

[gogysimp donated $25: did you go see your soulmate?]

Your heart stops. Does he know? Did he see you? Or even worse, has he already found someone else, and he just hasn’t severed the tie?

“No!” Dream’s laugh pulls you out of your worries. “I was busy with meetings today, actually. And I was too nervous. Sapnap also refused to come with me, so I’m just going to go another day.”

So he didn’t see you. He just knows you were there.

You click the donate tab before you can stop yourself.

[y/n donated $1: would you reject your soulmate if you didn’t like them?]

Dream mumbles the question, and you try to ignore the way your heart deflates when he skips saying your name. “I don’t think so,” he states plainly. “I mean, logically, a soulmate would be your other half, so I wouldn’t not like them. But I know some people just don’t click, or there are other issues. So, I don’t know. I guess the only thing I can say is that I don’t want to reject them. And I hope they don’t reject me. I mean, imagine finding out your soulmate is a Minecraft Youtuber. That would be pretty weird…”

You giggle to yourself as he trails off and answers another donation. So he’s against rejection. Okay. Maybe you have a chance.

[kyra donated $60: i’m your soulmate.]

“Meet me where you felt the tug, then,” Dream says sassily. “Chat, don’t be weird, okay? I can’t control who my soulmate is, and I don’t want you guys to exclude them if they become a pat of my life.”

Oh, you think. So his chat is vocal about their opinions, and apparently they mean a lot to him. You shiver despite your warm position and imagine how annoying you might seem to his loyal viewers: someone who only knew about him because of their brother.

Insecurity pushes against your chest, so you close the stream and push your phone away, hoping to forget this ever happened, that maybe you won’t have to deal with the inevitable if you don’t think about it.

Yogurt Barn isn’t the first place on your list of dream jobs, but it has decent pay and helps you pay off student loans, so you appreciate it nonetheless. The teal sweatshirt they gave you as a uniform keeps you warm as you scoop the frozen treats.

Your coworker, a girl named Madison, is busy manning the counter, so you check each flavor and refill the ones running empty.

“Can I ask you a question?” Madison met her soulmate, Anna, only days after she got her string. It was a textbook romance, two people meant for each other, no doubt in anyone’s mind. She might be able to help you now. That is, if you can even admit to who your soulmate is.

“What’s up?”

“I felt the tug,” you say, avoiding her eyes in favor of restacking the medium cups.

“No way!” Madison is perky in a way that makes you want to be included. You like this about her. “Did you see them? Did you talk to them?”

“He—” You want to say that the part of him you saw was perfect, enough to keep you up when you should be dreaming. But reality is nothing if not disappointing. “I ran.”

“Y/n…” Madison gives you a stern look — like a mother finding out their child didn’t defrost the chicken in time. “Why would you run?”

“I don’t want to be rejected.” The magenta swirls painted onto the walls are a stark change to the clay sidewalks of the strip mall. “And before you say he wouldn’t… It’s happened to my cousin. It’s possible.”

Madison frowns. “But that can’t be the only reason, right? I mean, we all know someone who has been rejected. It’s usually not the end of the world for them.”

“He’s a famous streamer,” you blurt, and you’re thankful the shop is as empty as it is. Just the words themselves sound fake.

Madison snorts. “Like, gaming? That’s what’s holding you back? He’s a gamer?”

“I don’t care that he’s a gamer!” You hiss. “I care that he has a loyal fanbase who more than likely all want to be his soulmate!”

“You can’t say that for certain,” Madison says. “I mean, everyone knows about the soulmate system. If you watch someone and don’t feel the pull, you know they aren’t your soulmate, right? So why wouldn’t they accept you?”

“I don’t know,” you say. “I’m just scared. I mean, he’s got this huge following and everything and I’m just me. I work in a yogurt shop for goodness’ sake.”

You head into the back to grab more cups, and the bell rings, signaling a new customer.

“Welcome to Yogurt Barn, what can I get for you?” Madison’s customer service voice pricks your ears.

You sift through the boxes to find the smaller cups and listen to the customer’s order. “Can I have a strawberry cone?”

Your string pulls, that same familiar voice filling your head, not on the screen but once again just a few feet away. He’s infiltrating your life, so close you could reach out and touch him, but it’s such a terrifying thought that you set down the cups.

You tear off your apron, and run into the break room to grab a water and calm yourself down.

It’s ten minutes before Madison comes back to find you. “Hey, are you okay? You disappeared.”

You take a deep breath and stare at the poster on the wall. It’s brightly colored, with a walking yogurt cup waving and reminding employees to wash their hands before scooping. “That was him. The guy— the pull— Dream— I can’t— Does he know? Is he following me?”

“It’s okay,” Madison runs her hand down your back. “It’s okay. He isn’t following you. When the pull starts it tends to draw the couple together until they meet. He probably doesn’t know it’s you.”

You nod and take your breaths in gulps. “Okay. Yeah, you’re right. You’re right.”

“Why don’t you go home early, okay?”

Dream is live again.

Fresh out of the shower, you pull a t-shirt over your body and burrow into your blankets. Earbuds in, you try to focus on the sound of his voice, ignoring every ounce of anxiety that’s been riddling your mind.

“Hi, chat. I’m gonna practice speed runs again. I think George is joining soon.”

You open the chat and scroll through the emotes, clicking the ones you like and sending them, just to calm yourself down.

[kylo donated $5: did you find your soulmate?]

Dream laughs. The sound makes your chest tighten with longing. Your fingers ache. “Actually, I went to the place I felt the pull again. I dunno what I was expecting, but they didn’t show up. But after that, I was running some errands and I felt it, chat! I felt the pull again.”

He trails off while his character starts to look for a lava pool. “I feel discouraged but I don’t want to like, chase them, you know? I don’t want to scare them off.”

You click the donation tab again.

[y/n donated $1: maybe your soulmate heard your voice and got scared of you because they watch your videos.]

It’s not the total truth, but it might help him sleep better. You don’t want him to feel discouraged, but you can’t bring yourself to follow the pull.

“That could be a possibility…” Dream crafts a portal and sends his character through. “But I wish I could talk to them. I wish I could tell them that it’s okay. Like, we don’t have to rush into anything.”

[y/n donated $1: They probably wish they could talk to you too]

“Thanks, Y/n.” He sucks in a breath as soon as he says your name. The Minecraft pause screen appears and the sound of a discord call can be heard.

Your heart pounds in your chest. Something about him saying your name just solidified everything. Your arms feel hot and cold all at once, like you’ve just been thrown in a frozen lake. He has to be feeling it too.

“Chat, I gotta go, okay? I’ll try to stream again soon.”

“Hello?” A sleepy voice comes in through Dream’s earbuds.

“George! Their name is Y/n!” Dream is so excited, his voice raising a few octaves as he talks. “Someone donated with that name and I felt like, super weird. I didn’t feel it until I said the name out loud.”

“That’s crazy,” George says, monotone but supportive. “Do you think the dono is actually them?”

“I don’t know,” Dream scrolls through their past donos and quickly screenshots each one. “I mean, they definitely could be.”

He shares the pictures in their group chat.

George hums. “It sounds like they’re trying to tell you how they feel without admitting that it’s them. Where did you say you felt a pull?”

“At the park, and at the yogurt shop down the road.”

“So go there again. Maybe all they need is a little courage. If you feel the pull this time, you should follow it.”

Dream thinks about it for a moment before finally agreeing. He changes the subject to their next jackbox stream, and George is now happily talking about how they’re going to team up against Sapnap.

He goes into Sapnap’s room that night. He sits on his desk chair while Sapnap sits cross legged on his bed, scrolling through his phone. “Do you wanna get frozen yogurt tomorrow? My treat.”

“Hell yeah!”

The new strawberry-lemonade custard is a hit. Not only are the colors aesthetically pleasing for the teenagers who want a nice snapchat story, but there was a promotional coupon in the mail that has people lining up to the door.

“It’s not even that good,” you tell Madison while the two of you are on break. You’re both using a sample spoon to try out the new summer flavors, and in your opinion, strawberry-lemonade isn’t even the best one. “Blood orange is better.”

Madison wrinkles her nose. “No, blue raspberry is best.”

“It’s sour, though,” you say.

“Guys! Break’s over and you’ve got a line!” Your manager stares disapprovingly at the cups of custard the both of you are indulging in.

“We’re coming.” You toss the cup into the trash and walk out, scratching at the sudden itch on your pinky finger.

Pulling on your gloves, you grab a scoop and address the first customer, “Welcome to Yogurt Barn.”

“Hi!”

You still like you’ve been caught stealing on camera. You look up, hand clutching the scoop so tightly you can feel the cold steel through your gloves.

It’s Dream.

It’s him. He’s tall, and his hair is a sunshine blond, dark at the roots and curling beneath his ears. And his freckles… little spots all across his cheeks so endearing that you get a little distracted staring at them.

Then he’s talking, and you have to focus on his jade-green eyes, not his lips, which are a warm pink. “It’s you.”

You blink. Fear strikes your spine and you drop the scoop. “I gotta go.”

“Wait!” Dream calls, just as Madison shouts your name.

You exit out the back door again. Your heart is pounding against your chest, ribs expanding, and all you can hear is the sound of your name coming out of his lips, just last night through a screen.

“Y/n?” Only it’s in front of you, a few feet away, and he’s searching your eyes for any reassurance that you won’t run away again. That you won’t reject him. “That’s your name right?” He keeps talking, a nervous smile flitting across his face. “The donos? That was you?”

You can see the string now, red and blaring, tightening with each step Dream takes. It’s signing off your fate, for better or for worse, and you can’t fathom why he’s trying so hard, why he cares so much.

It’s hot in Florida but you feel cold, chilled to the bone. You straighten up. You figure you owe it to him to look up in the eye.

He leaves you breathless, eyes shining in the sun. “It was me,” you say. “You’re Dream.”

“Clay, actually,” he says. His smile widens, and it’s magnificently bold. He’s triumphant, just from your reply, and that alone gives you the slightest bit of hope.

“Clay,” you say. “I’m— I’m not— I don’t know if I’m ready.”

“You don’t have to be.” Clay is quick to reply, hands open and palms up. It’s a complete surrender — putting it all in your hands. “We don’t have to announce it. We don’t have to be anything at all, if you need time. But I would like to be your friend. If— If that’s okay.”

But you want to be close to him. The draw of your strings pulling each other closer and closer makes you want to wrap your arms around him. If he hasn’t rejected you, maybe you can do this. “I– I want to be more than friends, but I’m terrified of you rejecting me. I’m afraid of the string getting cut.”

Clay set his brows, “I won’t let that happen. We’re connected. Fate, ya know?”

“Yeah,” you breathe, and it’s a sigh of relief. “Okay. Maybe I’ll give you my number?”

“I’ll give you mine!” Clay is animated, holding out his hand for your phone. “That way you can text me when you’re ready.”

The red string shines like gold in the Florida sun, and when your fingertips brush, it burns with a satisfying warmth.

[jeonjeonggukenergy]

May 31

summary ~ on the last day of your senior year living together, you're still fighting your feelings for your roommate jungkook. before you can fully move out and move on, he makes a pretty significant scheduling error. #and there was only one bed

genre ~ fluff, smut / roommate!au, college!au, bit of crack/fake texts

wordcount ~ 5k

warnings ~ smut (18+), blowjob (oral: m receiving), nipple play, marking, penetrative sex, cumplay (sort of oral: f receiving), jungkook just goes hard as expected BUT IT'S SOFT? this is just super cheesy and cute with some hopefully hot smut

a/n ~ surprise oneshot! and they were roommates? and there was only one bed? this is all my fave tropes wrapped into one, i had a ton of fun writing it and i hope yall enjoy :')

~ read on ao3 ~

You walked up to your apartment door just as a boy from the class below you walked out—with a wave, a "see ya, Jungkook!" and what appeared to be the last piece of your roommate's bedframe.

"You...sold...your bed?"

"Well, sort of. I borrowed it from that guy for the year while he was studying abroad. So now I'm giving it back to him. Since I'm staying in the city for my new job, though, I wish I could have just kept it. Now I have to actually buy one," Jungkook lamented.

"I mean, okay, but why didn't you just wait to give it back tomorrow when we move out?"

"What do you mean? Today's move-out day. I was just waiting for my brother to get off work to help get all my stuff out of here. I was kind of wondering why you hadn't packed up more, but you've always waited til the last minute to pack for things." Jungkook grinned, recalling your friend group’s spring break trip.

Momentarily distracted by his dig, you defended yourself quickly before returning to the subject. "Hey! At least I always get it done in the end. Better than packing too soon and accidentally giving away your bed a day early. Your new lease doesn't let you move in til the first day of June, right? It's May 31st."

Jungkook's pretty doe eyes went comically wide. "31st? There is no May 31st. It's June 1st. Because yesterday was May 30th. Right?"

"Oh my gosh. You're joking. You have to be joking," you tried not to laugh as you pulled up your Google calendar. "Here, look," you turned the phone around to him. "May 31st."

"Shit," he breathed, pushing the soft shock of hair back from his frozen face. "What did I do?"

You took your phone back, already distracted by your texts as you reassured him. "Don't worry, it’s funny but it's no big deal, I'm just messing with you. You can sleep on the couch for tonight, you'll be fine."

Jungkook grabbed your wrist, making you look up from your screen in surprise. In sitcom-esque slow motion, he swiveled his head sideways and you followed his gaze to the living room, realizing—

"The couch was his too. I gave it back."

"Oh my gosh," you muttered, shaking your head down with a smile. Feeling a little braver on your last full day as roommates, you finally gave Jungkook the warning that had almost slipped out plenty of times over the year. "Jungkookie...you're really lucky you're so cute. Otherwise you wouldn't get away with nearly as much as you do in life.”

"I..." Jungkook dropped your hand, grinning at the usual nickname but unsure how to take the half-compliment. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe I forgot about a whole day, I usually double-check my calendar. I can just take the floor for tonight, I guess? I'll go unpack my blanket again. Sorry, I don't want to be an inconvenience."

"No, no," you cut him off—against your better judgment, but determined to ignore your superficial attraction to him to be a good friend and roommate. "Don't be ridiculous, just sleep in my bed. I mean, if that's okay with you of course. It'll definitely be more comfortable than the floor." He nodded rapidly, eyes still wide but mouth perfectly flatlined like an emoji. "Okay then. No worries. Let's eat, I got us takeout for our last night but it's getting cold."

At the mention of food, Jungkook made a beeline for the plastic bags hanging on your arm, and soon you were back to normal—well, sort of. Eating slightly reheated noodles on the living room floor instead of the couch, you giggled over one last Friday night K-drama episode together and reminisced over all the best memories from your year as roommates. You missed the coziness of your couch more than you thought you might, or maybe you just missed the snuggles you'd shared in its corner on countless nights like this one.

Jungkook had always been cutely touchy with his close friends, but it had taken a while for you two to get comfortable. You had to admit you'd gotten spooked when you first met him, disappearing behind your door after a quick "hi, nice to meet you!" and furiously texting your friend and former roommate Jin in distress. He hadn't warned you the new guy he'd found for your apartment was, in your own words, "stupid hot." Jin had laughed you off, saying it hadn't even occurred to him because he just saw his former soccer teammate "JK" as a kid. To be fair, it probably truly had slipped Jin's notice—he barely believed anyone who told him how objectively attractive he was. But Jin was a good enough friend to both you and Jungkook that he took charge of dissolving the initial tension, immediately bringing y'all over for a "double housewarming" dinner party at the cute new place he now shared with his fiancée. (Thank goodness he'd finally listened when you'd told him she found him attractive. Even if it cost you a roommate of two years, you'd happily take credit for that relationship.) That first invitation had felt suspiciously like a double date, but Jin's cooking and hosting skills broke the ice nicely enough. After that, it only took a few more dinners and video game nights to initiate you into their casual rhythm of hair ruffles and backhugs.

Currently, Jungkook had his arm around you to offer a neck rub while you rested your head on his shoulder, hoping he couldn't feel your pulse beneath his fingers. "Ah, you're going so hard," you half-protested.

"I always go this hard! You never complain," he shot back with a teasing grin.

"Nah, come on, you're gonna leave a mark or something. At least check," you lifted your head, sweeping your hair aside. "Is it all red like Jin always gets?" you joked.

Facing away, you had no way of seeing it, but Jungkook's face had gone red too. "Uh...no, it's fine, it's fine." He glanced back to the TV and turned it off, noticing the episode had ended. "Sorry though, I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm gonna go shower and get ready for bed."

"Hey, no, it's okay!" You tugged on his shirt as he got up, wanting to reverse whatever you’d done to make him seem so uneasy. "I'm not actually hurt or mad at you or anything, I was just messing with you. Again." You smiled lightheartedly, and his face broke into a soft nose-scrunch at the reassurance.

"Okay, good. I was gonna shower anyway though—so uh, see you in bed I guess?"

"Yeah same, see you in bed," you laughed, trying to maintain the ease in your facial expression until the moment he left the room, upon which your internal monologue immediately turned into "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa."

You couldn't help thinking about Jungkook in the shower. And not even in the usual way that you couldn't help thinking about Jungkook, in the shower. As much as you hated to admit it, Jin was probably right about your feelings for your sweet, dorky roommate going beyond just physical attraction, or friendship. Jungkook was kind, respectful, smart, athletic, artistic, funny, really hot, and you already got along well enough to live together: he really was the ultimate boyfriend material. You were both pleasantly moderate introverts. He shared your same favorite dramas and brand of instant ramen. Even your parents loved him—wait, did they want you to date him too? A strict follower of every social rule that dictated not dating roommates, coworkers, best friends' exes, exes' best friends, etc., you had simply never allowed yourself to consider the possibility until now. You played back your conversations with Jin over the year and considered the sheer amount of the funny stories you told him, or situations where you asked for his advice, or surprises he'd helped you plan, or simply glowing, grinning descriptions of something new you'd noticed, that all ended up being about Jungkook. He'd never even had to bring him up. Damn Jin for being such a good listener.

~

Almost an hour later, when you were already in bed, Jungkook politely knocked on your door. He always took long showers, and tonight you couldn't decide whether you were thankful for the extra time to prepare yourself or even more stressed from the extra time to overthink.

"Come in," you called quietly. Jungkook shuffled into your room, toe-socked feet making their way to the side of the bed you'd rolled over to clear for him. Cautious, he climbed in, and you stayed safely facing away from each other for a while, winding down for the night on your phones like you both normally did in your separate rooms. So spaced out that you couldn't even detect Jungkook's additional body heat, you felt the chill of the air conditioning instead and kept adjusting the blankets to try and achieve maximum insulation.

Jungkook eventually spoke his first words since he'd entered. "Am I hogging the covers? I'm sorry."

"Oh no, you're totally fine, if anything I'm taking up more than you. I'm just always cold, so I usually sleep in, like, a three-layered burrito. But it's fine! Really, no worries."

To your surprise, Jungkook rolled over, propping his head up on an elbow to look at you. "Well...I...we could..." he started, swallowing when you turned to face him. "I mean, you could wear socks! Like I do!" He pulled a foot out from under the sheets and presented it to your face, cackling.

"I think the fuck not," you snorted, shoving the foot away and falling slightly on top of him as you both lost your balance in giggles. "You couldn't catch me dead in your weird-ass socks."

"That's the secret, though!" he insisted. "That's how I stay warm."

"You are warm," you realized. One of your hands had ended up on his chest, the other arm tucked in the side of his torso, and both were burning up. You supposed you'd settled into similar positions on the couch before but you'd never noticed just how much of a human furnace he was. Maybe it was because he hadn't been wearing his toe socks.

Neither of you said anything for a second. You could feel his heart beating at a slightly elevated but respectable rate, and while you wanted to pull away, if only to spare your own nerves, you also...didn't. You were too scared to stay like this, but too scared to move too. Jungkook seemed similarly stuck, blinking down at your hand on his chest, but eventually he unfroze to reach over it and drag you fully onto him by your shoulder. You simply let him handle you, not making any additional moves but silently enjoying the heat he seemed happy to provide. His hand spread over your back to press your torso to his, radiating heat through your thin t-shirt, and you suddenly grew self-conscious that you were braless. But of course you were, who wears a bra to bed? You were fine. This was fine.

"Are you okay? Is this warmer?" Jungkook asked, as gentle as his touch.

"Yeah! Yeah, this is fine," you responded, the answer muffled by your mouth's placement all too near to his neck. You could sense the heat coming off his skin from there too, but it contrasted with the mild coolness of his still-damp hair. It smelled faintly of floral shampoo, and the scent suddenly amplified all your nerves as the implications of how close he was hit you from head to toe. Even the soft fuzz of his socks brushed your bare legs, now intertwined with his. You weren't exactly small, but the warm solidity of Jungkook’s body under you made you feel fully enveloped by him. Though he'd shared a fair amount of skin with you through the course of your friendship, the intimacy of sharing your bed took every touch to another level, and being pressed so flush against him felt unbearable. You couldn't possibly process a whole year of pure pent-up physical attraction right now, much less any other feelings that may or may not have grown with it, especially when you knew he had no reason to feel anything back. And you were roommates. You just needed to sleep it off and then you could both move, and move on, in peace. Hopefully the odds of ever being stuck in a bed with Jungkook again would go way down after tonight.

Not bothering to get up and turn off the weak string of lights above your headboard, you just slowed your breathing and attempted to drift off to sleep. Pretending the deeper breaths weren't so you could get a better whiff of his soft, flowery hair, you laid still for several minutes, successfully ignoring your body's instinctual response.

Eventually, though, it became impossible to ignore his.

~

Jungkook wasn't that hard, okay. He wasn't a teenager; he thought he could control himself around you enough by now that he could just enjoy this last night without giving anything away. He almost felt bad when you invited him into your bed, sensing your reluctance and knowing it was his own fault that you'd had to offer in the first place. But he knew you wouldn't have asked if you weren't truly okay with it, and that confidence gave him the tiniest swell of hope that maybe you were a little bit more than okay. While Jin refused to give away any real insight into what you thought of him, he'd been teasing Jungkook for six months about his crush on you, eventually convincing him to try making your friendship into more once you both graduated and moved on to different roommates. He had just been planning to bring it up in a much better way than the semi that you could definitely feel against your thigh. You had both been silent about it for over five minutes, though, long enough that he could cross his fingers that you were already asleep. He probably didn't have to worry about a thing.

~

"Jungkook?"

You had finally worked up the courage to stop pretending you’d fallen asleep. You felt him freeze up under you—the defined abs that covered his tiny waist tightening, solid chest muscles contracting, and his thighs tensing to trap yours between them, all at once. You froze too, attempting to speak again but no sound coming out.

"_____, guess what!" he blurted to cut you off. Which was good, because you had absolutely zero plans for what to say after that.

"What?"

"It's after midnight," he said, jolting up to point to the digital clock on your side table. "It really is the first day of June now. So, according to the lease, we're officially no longer roommates. Crazy!"

"I mean...yeah," you affirmed, confused. "But also, we're literally sharing a bed right now. In the same room. So until that changes, I would probably still call us roommates." A little too amused by your own clapback, you raised your head to peek into his wide eyes and smiled, a big one that scrunched up your whole face.

And his dick twitched. Yeah, there was no way you could not notice that.

Before you could even finish your gasp, Jungkook spoke again. "I like you. I'm sorry. I like you. I didn't want to say anything while we were roommates because I didn't want to make you uncomfortable, and I definitely didn't mean for this to happen, I'm sorry. You can totally not like me back and it's fine. I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to tell you like this, I just...I like you. A lot."

Shocked into silence for a second, but galvanized by his unnecessary apology, you responded without thinking for once. "Don't say sorry. You don't need to apologize, it's okay. Oh my gosh, I had no idea. I really had no idea. I, uh, I think I like you too? Shit, okay, I thought you were really hot from, like, the day you moved in, and eventually it became more than that but I didn't want to make anything weird because, yeah, we’re roommates, so I pretty much tried to ignore it all year. But then Jin made me realize that you're basically all I think about—or talk to him about, shit, I must have been so annoying—"

"Jin? JIN?" Jungkook grabbed his phone from the side table and wasted no time in blasting off the last meme in his camera roll. You propped yourself up in his arms, both giggling at Jin's quick shot back.

Looking at him now, a big cheesy smile on his face even as he stirred under you, still a little hard, you nodded as if fully understanding for the first time. "Yeah. I like you too."

As he set down his phone and brought his hand around your back again, his smile faded into a smirk. "Wow."

"Yeah...wow," you echoed, nervous and awkward again. You felt your face grow warmer as he looked slowly to your lips, then back up to meet your eyes.

"Can I kiss you?"

Blinking, you shifted your weight back down onto him, bringing your face close enough to hear his intake of breath as your hips brushed his dick. "Can you do more than that?"

"Fuck," he whispered. "Yes."

Jungkook snaked one arm down to your ass and one arm up your back to the nape of your neck, holding you close as he kissed you for the first time, fiercely. He didn't waste another minute hesitating now that he knew you had both wanted this for a year. Passionate but not aggressive, he teased the seam of your mouth with the tip of his tongue and you instantly opened for him, gliding your tongue over his smooth bottom lip as his flicked up to the sensitive roof of your mouth. Squeezing your ass to guide your hips down in small circles against him, he tensed his other hand slightly into your hair and you moaned at the competing sensations. Jungkook broke away to absorb every beautiful noise you made as he discovered you, heavy eyes finding yours before he rolled over to pin you to the bed and bury his face in your neck. He smiled into your skin when you moaned again from the satisfying pressure of his full body over you, and carefully rolled his hips into yours as he covered your jawline in tender kisses. One of your hands carved through his thick hair. As you dug the fingertips of your other hand into his prominent back muscles, you suddenly realized you were both still fully clothed and you really, really did not want him to be. Tugging his t-shirt over his head and throwing it aside, you paused before letting him do the same.

"Wait. Take off your socks. I can't believe I didn't make you do that before any of this. I really just almost had sex with someone wearing toe socks. Kill me," you whined over-dramatically.

"Come on, that would have been hilarious. What a first-time story!" Jungkook said earnestly. "Sure you don't want me to leave them on?"

"Please take them off. Please," you only half-jokingly begged.

"You wanna take 'em off for me?" he teased, wiggling a foot in front of you.

"Fine, whatever it takes!" You flung his sock across the room, reaching for his other foot below the covers to get rid of the other one.

He fell on top of you, giggling again, but as soon as you shut him up with your lips he snapped out of it, eagerly deepening the kiss while his warm hands traveled up under your shirt. Smoothing over the curves of your torso and reaching up to firmly grasp your breasts, he moaned into you and you whined back as his thumbs brushed your hardening nipples. He was incredibly physically precise, each movement graceful yet sharp and intentional. You felt deeply lucky to experience this dimension of him, the most perfect and natural expression of his contradictory nature. Equally loving, giving, overachieving, and sensual—with a side of weird socks and Gen Z meme literacy—that was your Jungkook.

"I can't believe this is happening," Jungkook murmured as he pulled your shirt over your head. "I can't believe I get to see you like this. You're so—ohhh." He trailed off, taking in the fully naked glory of your top half for the first time. His head immediately ducked to your chest, sucking dark bruises into the low-lit hollow of your breasts. You squirmed under his hold on the dip of your waist, whimpering, but the grip of your hands in his shiny black locks let him know you didn't really want him to stop. Grinding against his now rock-hard dick, you eventually couldn't take the friction anymore and reached down to try and pull off both of your pajama pants at the same time. Jungkook just laughed.

He paused to help you out, rolling off of you to take care of his own sweatpants, and you kicked off your pajama pants and underwear as Jungkook slowly let his erection spring free above his waistband. You'd never thought a dick could be pretty before, but it honestly made sense that his would be as perfect as the rest of his body. "Fuck," you swore softly, mouth watering. Jungkook raised an eyebrow at you, and you scrambled to lick the tip as if on instinct, eliciting a much more emphatic "Fuuuuuck!" from him. He spread his legs to let you crawl between them, holding tenuous eye contact as you smirked at his sensitivity. Teasing a single finger up his shaft, you followed its path with your tongue and he let out a deliciously high, shaky moan.

"Please," Jungkook choked out when you approached him, lips pursed. He praised you breathlessly as you tightened a hand around his length and began to sink down. "You feel so good already. Fuck." Closing your eyes, you hollowed your cheeks to accommodate his generous size and dipped your head, sucking him in as far as you could go. He was so responsive, you learned what he liked quickly, and savored each whimper as you stroked his balls gently or swirled your tongue over his slit. You licked all the way from his head to the base and he cried out. Bringing a hand to the back of your head, he didn't quite hold you down, leaving enough slack for you to move if you wanted to, but you submitted to his touch and stayed a second with nearly his whole length in your mouth. And then you swallowed.

"Stop! Stop, please, or I'll cum." He pulled you off by your hair, bringing your forehead to his as you realigned your bodies. "You're so good for me," he professed warmly. "I wanna be good for you."

"Then fuck me," you surprised him by answering bluntly. "Please, I want you so bad."

Jungkook groaned, arching his hips up against you and coating his dick in your wetness. Bringing himself back under control, he pinned you under his thighs and reached down to open you up with a finger. You felt so much more relaxed with him than you had with any previous boyfriend or hookup, and he slid into your entrance fairly easily. You moaned right away when he brushed his thumb over your clit, and he responded with a muttered "Fuck it, you’re so wet already," pulling his finger out and stroking it up your folds as he lined up.

"You're on the pill, right? For your periods," he confirmed.

"Yeah, of course. You really think I'd let you hit it raw otherwise?" you shot back teasingly, trying to hide how touched you were that he remembered from a few months ago, when he'd driven you to pick up your prescription since your car was in the shop. That was your Jungkook.

"No," he said sheepishly. "You're smart."

You smiled up at him fondly, ruffling his hair. "You're smart too. And sweet. And hot. And your dick is enormous. It's kind of unfair."

"Unfair!" he protested. "How can I be unfair when you're perfect?"

"Perfect? Shut up," you dismissed him. "Now I know you're lying. You cheeseball."

"I'm not lying! You're perfect for me."

"Oh, so you're just a hopeless romantic. Where did that come from? What am I getting into?" you fussed playfully.

"Okay, we can make fun of each other later, like always, but right now can I just get into you?" Jungkook pleaded, directing you back to the task at hand.

"Oh my gosh. I can't believe this, you're worse than Jin. That was actually pretty impressive—" Surprised, you half-laughed, half-admired his wordplay, but were silenced by both his lips and his first few inches gliding into you.

Not yet breaking your kiss, just absorbing your moans into his mouth as he stretched you out, Jungkook eased himself all the way in. He drank in every detail of your body's response to keep careful track of your comfort. You tilted your ass up against him, absorbing the fullness of his big dick immersed in your walls, and he froze. "Pretty impressive?" he whispered.

"Jungkook," you breathed back in pure pleasure, too overwhelmed to sass back.

"Can I move?" he asked sweetly.

"Fuck. Yes."

Jungkook's brows narrowed as his eyes turned darker, and he snapped his hips up into yours once, twice, before setting a fierce pace that had you crying out with each stroke. He hadn't lost touch on your clit the whole time, and he began to circle his fingers to pleasure you there too, building up an almost unbearable tension throughout your whole body.

"Fuck...fuck! Jungkook!" you chanted. His eyes overcame their fluttering to meet yours. Jungkook stilled, then ground down on you in one big, slow, circle, drinking in your blissed-out expression.

"Harder?" he whispered. Jungkook loved a challenge.

"Sure, harder. Why the fuck not," you keened, high-pitched and desperate. He could split you in half at this point, leave you unable to walk for days, and you'd love it.

Jungkook made a small, delighted noise at your eagerness, kissing you quickly before flipping you over and positioning you on all fours, sheathing himself in you again. He ran his hands along your torso to clutch your breasts from underneath, holding himself up against you with solely the strength of his thighs and his core. Pulsing his hips into you carefully, slowly, to let you get used to the deeper angle, his fingertips skimmed your nipples tantalizingly, warming you further. He dropped one hand to prop himself up and slowly traveled the other down to your center. The lustful, elated exhale you let out when he rubbed your clit made him snap his hips forward, tilting you into the bed before you could engage your thighs to push back against his. Your continuous moans encouraged him that you were enjoying this just as much as him, loving how he remained fully attentive to your pleasure while pounding into you to pursue his own high. He fucked you like a high-intensity workout, pushing his unreasonably built body to its limits of speed and strength. You couldn't help wishing you'd taken him up on more of his offers to hit the gym together, but he seemed to get off on your breathlessness, wanting to give you his all and push you past your limits too. His fingers working as quickly as his hips, heat swelled up inside you, and when you felt sure that the tension in your core was about to break, you turned your head to cry out to him.

"Jungkookie, Jungkook—nhngh, I'm gonna cum."

"Ahhhh," he moaned. "Me too, _____. You feel so amazing, ahh—you're so perfect for me." The praise warmed your heart and your core, and soon you came around him with a long, drawn-out whine. He fucked you deep through each spasm, sending you into hot, heady overstimulation as he shuddered and emptied himself into you. When you finally collapsed under him, legs sore and shaking, he pulled out of you gently and lowered his lips to your lower lips with great care. Jungkook meticulously kissed from your swollen clit to your entrance, soft as a whisper, and you breathed out in overwhelmed bliss as his tongue emerged to tenderly nudge every drop of his cum into your opening. The gesture of aftercare, just as soothing as it was inexplicably hot, bloomed an affection within you that almost made your heart hurt. You rolled over, stretching your legs out, and he looked up at you from between them. His hair was a beautifully sweaty mess, and he smiled in sweet satisfaction with your wetness adorning his chin. That was your Jungkook.

"Don't go anywhere," he said softly, kneading your thighs with his hands.

"Well, I have to do the whole pee-after-sex thing. But after that, where would I go? There's only one bed in this apartment now," you couldn't help teasing.

"Hey! If I hadn't given away my bed, none of this would have happened," he complained cutely, pulling himself up to big-spoon you. “Just stay with me.”

"I will. I know," you murmured back. "And I'm so happy you did." You shifted back, closer against him, and he buried his face in your neck.

"You know, I was gonna miss being roommates so much," he said thoughtfully. "But I'm so okay with not being your roommate now if I get to be your...your..." He grinned into your shoulder, suddenly too shy to say it.

You turned to face him, holding his pink cheeks in both of your hands and kissing his nose. Knowing this would be just the first intimate moment of many made you both flush with an easy, sweet joy.

"My Jungkook. You're my Jungkook."

[dannobfg]

So I had Covid over the Christmas holidays. I was stuck in quarantine for 11 days till my tests were finally negative. Now, just over a week later, my flatmate has tested positive too. He got it from people at his work. He's in his room, quarantining.

I already lost a week of work, and unfortunately, of pay, given my particular situation of employment. I'm currently waiting for my boss to message me back to tell me if I'm allowed to go into work next week. I think it's likely they'll make me do a test daily, and as long as I test negative each time, then everything should continue normally. This is one more thing that adds to everything going on lately. Feels like this new year has come full of bad luck.

This week my shower broke. Our downstairs neighbor came up saying his ceiling was leaking water. It took 4 days to get it fixed. So at least that's out of the way. At least for now. But like, it was just another thing.

This weekend I was supposed to be meeting my sister and brother for lunch and to chill and catch up, since I didn't see them for Christmas. But obviously, due to fucking covid, I'm not able to go. My sister is only here for a few hours as she is going to the airport to catch a flight. It's too risky to meet up really anyway...but, I'm frustrated at the whole situation. I have fucking had it with this pandemic. Idk if pandemic burnout is a thing, but I for sure have it...

Work is also super intense lately, and next week it's getting even busier. I work about 11 hours a day, Monday through Friday. I hardly have time for lunch or to myself. My social life is nonexistent, and even when I have a little more time on Saturday or Sunday, I'm so exhausted that it's hard to make plans. It's also hard to coordinate plans and schedules in adult life. Everyone has their own job and obligations to take care of. Everything takes a lot of effort and planning. It's exhausting. I miss the spontaneous nature of my life back down south.

I moved to Madrid in the last week of August. It's January now. A friend asked me on videocall recently if I'd made any new friends. I said not really. I haven't had that much free time. And when I have had it, I tried to meet the friends I already knew here. All 2 of them...My coworkers are just that, coworkers. We're not friends, but we're not not friends. I don't actually see them that much either since we're all doing individual sessions in individual rooms.

Am I lonely? Sometimes. When I have some time to myself and my brain starts to actually think instead of just do do do, go go go.

I've started this year off more depressed than I have ever been. It feels like I have so many different things happening all at once and I'm simply overwhelmed.

About a year ago almost now, I finally started to come out to people about being gay. My story is a long and difficult one, growing up in a homophobic environment. I recognize still so many homophobic attitudes and ideas in myself. My deconstruction is being hard. But in this aspect, I am happier than I have been.

Back in February 2021, I had my first boyfriend of sorts. It was a lot more in my own head than it was a reality. I caught feelings and I got myself quite hurt. It took me a long time to get over it. And I thought I had. But for at least two months now, there is not a night that goes by where my mind is not back there with him, going over every little detail of what we lived. Recently I've been remembering things that happened with him that I had forgotten. I think it's so present right now because it's coming up to the "anniversary". Almost a year ago now.

I haven't helped myself by seeking out new experiences with new people. For me it's not easy to feel sexual attraction if I don't have feelings already. I've been familiarizing myself with the concept of asexuality, demisexuality and just grey ace I guess. I still don't feel comfortable anywhere tbh.

See, the whole thing is I don't know who I am or what I want. For the longest time I lived a life where every step was planned out. Not every detail, but yes a general direction. Last year I finally decided I had had enough and stepped out of that life. But I haven't quite found my feet yet in this new one.

I've lost so many people. Family too. It's tough. Some people I haven't told, but they'll find out eventually. The truth always finds a way of coming to the surface.

The transition from student life to work life has also been quite hard. Made worse by this whole pandemic which doesn't seem to want to end quite just yet. Idk, there's just a lot of things happening right now.

I was looking for a relationship for a while. I was stuck in the mindset that another person is what I needed to be happy, or at the very least, happier. But no. The whole culture surrounding gay relationships is fucked up. And in general, it's out of fashion to be monogamous and tied down when you're my age.

I went on so many dates the last few months. It was exhausting. Too many talking phases that ended up nowhere. And if they ended up somewhere, it was the friendzone. I guess in a way, it's partly my own fault. I was putting too much pressure on them. And people are generally scared of commitment and being vulnerable with someone else. I understand that it's not easy, but I do still believe that it's worth it and that it's the only way that I know of, of actually getting to know and love someone.

I've always cared too much about other people. In two ways; about what they think of me, and about them / for them. To me, people have intrinsic worth simply because they are. I think because of the way I was brought up, it feels disrespectful to sexualise someone and nothing else. I think that's why I haven't been able to just hook up with people.

So, I deactivated my profiles on dating apps and have decided to stop seeking out a relationship for now. I'm in no position to actually be able to love someone the way they deserve because my head is too far up my own ass, deep in my own miseries...

I've wanted to start therapy for a long time. But it hasn't worked out yet. It's expensive, and I need it to be in person which involves getting from A to B. I don't have time during the week because of work and many shrinks don't work weekends here. Plus, the online option isn't really available to me since I don't feel comfortable in my own home right now either, and the walls are paper thin.

My living situation is that I'm sharing a flat with two other, older guys. I didn't know them before I moved in. They're nice enough, but they are very heterosexual. The type of guy I do not know how to relate well to and don't have much in common with. Plus, the age difference doesn't help much in that sense.

I originally signed a 6 month contract. That ends in February. I could technically ask for it to be extended, and I may yet have to. I'm not sure that they're that happy with me as a flatmate either, so there's a chance that even if I wanted to stay, they wouldn't allow it. But it's really got me quite stressed out right now. Because rent is super expensive here and the area where I live isn't really one where there is much option available to rent with flatmates...I found this place by pure luck, the good kind. And I would need a whole lot more good luck to find somewhere new.

It currently takes me about 30 mins on the metro to get to work and about 30 mins to get to the centre of Madrid, also by metro. This area is kind of ideal between work and social life. Logistically, moving would also be quite complicated. Honestly idk what I'm gonna do in the end...

Anyway, needless to say, I've got a lot on my plate right now and I'm managing it all poorly. Being a young adult is not easy, and honestly, idk how long I can keep this rhythm up for. My next break of 4 days won't be till April...

I constantly have this feeling inside of wanting to stop and breakdown. But I can't. Literally no more tears left to cry. Plus there's nowhere to go. Like, I feel trapped. I have responsibility in my work. Towards people. I work to help people that need it. My absence would create a void not easily replaced. Not to sell myself high, but my particular CV is not common. In fact, they've been looking for someone for this position for ages, and they're still looking if they were to find someone else to add to the team.

Idk...

I've also been thinking a lot about late-blooming lately. Like, I recently got a second ear piercing and though subtle, it feels like the equivalent of a gay person going through the phase of dying their hair different colours. Like, being a bit rebelious and pushing boundaries and exploring self-expression. I feel like I'm finally in a place where I want to be that way but find myself having to conform to social norms and practises of the profesional work environment. Plus I've always been the good kid, so it doesn't come easy.

I think I'm going to quit my job come summer. And if fucking covid allows, travel and work teaching English again for a bit, until I figure life out a bit more. You know? But that's also kinda crazy.

Like, I've come to realise that most people don't have it together. Most people are just going through life as lost as me. We grow up looking up to older people thinking they have it all figured out. But the truth is, rarely is anyone truly at peace. Maybe that's a little too harsh. But my point is, there's no single point one reaches where life magically is fine. No specific age.

Anyway, I feel like I got a lot off my chest with these words. Excuse my ramblings. I'm not looking for answers. I'm just venting my brain to the internet because I literally have no one else to go to right now.

I feel like such a waste. Like, I've always had so much potential to be great. Yet here I am, depressed as fuck, rambling to the internet...what a mess of a human that I am...

[stitch1830]

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION: KANTO

So this is a character description for the character Kanto that @precious-metal-girl and I created for AUs where he is in a loving and committed relationship with Toph Beifong. Part of this is to help me keep track of all of his features and personality traits, and if others are looking to write about Kanto but aren't sure about how to describe him, feel free to pick and choose characteristics that meet your AU needs! This will (hopefully) be a living document where characteristics are added and changed over time. If you are curious about our AUs or want to know about a particular trait/personality, feel free to ask us questions!

......

Born: ~88/89 AG (summer)

Residence: Republic City

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Green

Element: Earthbending/Metalbending

Occupation: Deputy for the Republic City Police Department, Metalbender Division

Nicknames: Hotshot, Dep (short for Deputy), Slick, Botany Boy, Pretty Boy, Metalbrain, Metalhead, Rockhead, K, My Rock

Relationship: Toph Beifong

Background:

Kanto grew up near one of the Fire Nation colonies close to what is Republic City today (part of the reason why his name has FN influence). His father took many different jobs and tried to avoid fighting in the war as long as possible so he could stay with his family, while his mother was a seamstress for the town. Often, he would help his mother sew clothes, and because of that he was pretty crafty and good with his hands. He lost his parents at age 7; old enough to remember them and his childhood, but all the memories are pretty blurry.

What he does remember is that his family was pretty poor, but they always had something to laugh about.

He loved learning new skills with his dad, and had his mom read the same two books they had every single night. And one thing he always remembers is eating together as a family.

His parents died either in an accident for rebelling against a FN rule (maybe the FN wanted to take Kanto away for being an earthbender), or from protecting Kanto in general.

Kanto was always pretty feisty as a boy, pushing people’s buttons and egging people on. It only got worse when his parents died because he pushed buttons out of anger now.

He also had a lot of friends, but after, he didn’t talk to anyone for a while because he ran away. Most of his fighting skills were learned while on the run, he never got any formal training until he went to the metalbending academy (maybe 17 or 18? Toph managed a different part of the academy so she didn’t know him. That or he went to a different academy branch entirely).

One thing he remembers is that he was happiest with his family, so he cherishes the idea of a happy family unit, and he constantly searched for something that made him feel close to that happiness.

Personality:

The first impression people get of Kanto is that he is a no-good, arrogant, bad boy. He acts as if he’s the coolest person in town and always has something sassy to say in response. More than half of the words that come out of Kanto’s mouth are flirtatious and sarcastic, a combination that initially drives Toph Beifong crazy.

But in reality, Kanto is an extremely loyal man who’s rather selfless, putting himself in harm’s way so no one else has to. His initial personality is a front to protect himself so that he doesn’t befriend anyone too much, because he knows what it’s like to love people and lose them. He hated how he felt when he was orphaned and never wanted to feel that way again.

When his facade finally cracks with Toph and she sees the real him, he’s actually… a dork.

He’s got a very goofy personality, he gets excited about little things, and his passions do not necessarily align with his looks and his first impression. When he loves people, he does so with his full heart, but again, he’s hesitant to do so with many… His family are essentially the only ones that see him this way.

Looks:

Kanto is most certainly a hunk. He’s got a similar skin complexion to Toph, thick and wavy (borderline curly) black hair (Toph loves playing with it), broad chest and shoulders (a fit and toned body overall), a mischievous, slightly crooked grin (left corner turns up higher than the right) that makes all the women of RC swoon, a crooked nose from being punched in the face one too many times, and classic earthbender green eyes. He’s also pretty tall, that’s where Lin gets her height from, well over a head taller than Toph And despite being an earthbender, his hands and fingers are actually rather long and nimble. Some popular fanart interpretations of Kanto can be found here and here and here and here and here.

Interests:

Kanto likes flowers, he often brings new ones home (especially when he’s with Toph) so he can teach her about its qualities and so they have a nice and natural floral scent in their home. He’s obsessed with pro bending like Toph, and often will attend matches with her. Astronomy and biology are also interests of his. Toph and Kanto also have a cool rock collection, both are trying to best each other to find the coolest one. Kanto reads science fiction novels to Toph in their downtime and he’ll play the guitar or pipa.

Fears:

Kanto is afraid of bugs, he doesn’t care for large fires that can get out of control, and big animals make him nervous at first contact. When Lin’s in the picture, he freaks out when there are too many sharp corners in one place. He’s always afraid she’s gonna fall and hit her head. Kanto also doesn’t like those rip tides or currents in oceans/large bodies of water.

Some of his deeper level fears include losing his family. He cannot stand the idea of losing Lin or Toph, especially if the reason they are missing or gone is because of him. He’s lost his family before, and he’ll be damned if he loses them again.

Flaws:

A lot of his flaws stem from his stubbornness and confidence. He’s arrogant, overconfident, prideful, and impatient. He knows he’s good at his job and he’s not afraid to talk about his skills and talents, and unless he’s working specifically with Toph, he assumes he’s the best for the job.

He’s flirty, sarcastic, reckless, and a bit of a slob (just his home, he keeps a clean appearance). Kanto’s constantly ragging on coworkers, has comments for days, and it’s rare for him to speak in a serious tone while on the job. Just doesn’t happen.

He’s protective, reckless, a troublemaker, skeptical, and vengeful. When he actually finds love and has a family, he is extremely protective, to the point where if criminals threaten his family, he’s not afraid to take the law into his own hands to eradicate the problem. One of these would be his fatal flaw, maybe vengeful? His vengeful tendency could be from a need to retaliate to protect his family from a threat, and that ultimately may take him down.

His flaws mainly seem to come from his overconfident front that he gives to the world. He doesn’t let too many in, or, he lets people in, but they don’t see the real him. Kanto doesn’t trust people right away, but it’s easy to get along with everyone if you just have this confident and charismatic face on. But his ‘face’ seeped into his actual personality, so there are times when he shouldn’t blurt out the first stupid comment in his head, but he does.

Gaang First Impressions:

Aang: He’s always extremely happy and excited to meet new partners, so he was thrilled to meet Kanto. They definitely don’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, but Aang is great at being friends with everyone despite the differences, so there’s no animosity.

Katara: She’s skeptical at first, because Kanto acts like a douche and has a bad boy persona. Katara just doesn’t want to see Toph get hurt, so she interrogates the man a bit (a lot), but even though the things he says concern her, he’s a gentleman to Toph, very attentive to her needs. So, maybe he’s not so bad… Later on, she knows the bad boy look was all a facade and that Kanto is a sweetheart, and she grows to really like Kanto.

Zuko: He gives Kanto a very cold shoulder at first. He’s very protective of Toph because he thinks of her as a little sister. So, he crosses his arms, glares a bit, and Kanto glares back because that’s what he does at first. But then, they start going on double dates, and Zuko and Kanto turn out to have a lot more in common than they realize. They’re buddies now!

Sokka: Sokka’s attitude really depends on ship preference with him, but in most HC’s, he’s Toph’s best friend, so he would also be distant with Kanto. He wouldn’t like how cocky he is, or that he’s super tall and talented at many things… he’s not a fan. However, Toph is always super happy around Kanto, he makes her laugh, and no one is allowed to insult Toph without an ass whooping from both Kanto and Toph, so, he warms up to the guy. He’s been seen buying Kanto a beer after a long day of work as a truce, and he often goes to Kanto if he needs police paper signed and expedited (Kanto does the same with Sokka, it evens out).

Suki: Suki is pretty chill about it all. She’s pretty perceptive about personalities and whatnot, and she can detect a bit of a bad boy mask. So, she treats the introduction casually and is super cordial with Kanto. They never become best friends or anything, but she was one of his first “allies” in the Gaang, and for that he is forever grateful.

Other Facts:

His mannerisms are that he walks with a slow swagger. Often the slowest of the group, he takes his time whenever he walks places. But don’t let that fool you—he can sprint really fast. He leans back in almost all of his chairs, sometimes he leans too far back. Kanto was a notorious manspreader when he would sit down, but since being with Toph, she put a stop to that instantly. When he’s restless, he bounces his leg a lot, and usually only stops if Toph reminds him (usually a hand to his leg to calm him down). Kanto also runs his hand through his hair a ton to either push it off his face, or just on instinct. He fidgets with his hands, too, Toph does as well. Usually, the two will hold hands or play with each other’s fingers to ‘remedy’ their nervous tick. In extremely stressful situations (like an AU where Lin is kidnapped), Kanto usually throws up and doesn’t sleep at all.

Kanto’s voice is a mix of a rural and city accent, once Republic City becomes prominent. He uses slang in his speech often and mainly uses city words (he picked up a lot of city lingo when interacting with criminals and undercover work back in the day). There are a few words and phrases from his childhood that he uses that scream ‘rural kid’ and that is mainly when the distinction in his accent and speech is picked up. His voice is smooth and deep when he casually talks. When he yells, it becomes a bit gravelly and husky sounding. Oddly enough, when he whispers, the same thing happens.

Kanto smells like the earth or something with a forestry scent (cedar comes to mind). He wears cologne, and the scents he usually goes for are ones that smell like earth, wood, or resin. Kanto likes wearing cologne, but he can’t put too much on, otherwise it bothers Toph’s nose, and he typically checks to see which ones Toph likes, and he’ll purchase that cologne again because he knows she likes the smell. He naturally smells a bit like metal and dirt and a bit of smoke (he was a casual smoker before he had Lin). All these scents are not prominent, but by the end of the day, these are the scents that can usually be detected.

Some of his pet peeves include fake apologies, when people kick or shake the chair he is sitting in, any slightly insulting remark toward Toph, close talkers, people that interrupt frequently, and those that correct his grammar.

Kanto canonically only has one daughter, Lin. In this AU, he’s a loving and committed father who emphasizes putting his family first and protecting them. He doted and hovered over Toph while she was pregnant, cried tears of joy when Lin was born, and is very attentive and caring toward Lin. He’s the one that soothes her when she cries out at night, he’ll get up in the morning with her so Toph can sleep in, and when he comes home from work, he smothers her in kisses and gives her raspberries on the belly (affectionate). Even as a baby, Lin was a Daddy’s girl and Kanto spoiled her as much as possible.

In the relatively canon compliant AU, Kanto dies when Lin is about 6 months old. He left for work, had a run-in with a bloodbender (or an accident on the job), and never returned home. On the day of his death, Kanto planned on proposing to Toph, but never got the chance.

Lin knew about her father growing up, but he wasn’t talked about often because it is a touchy subject for Toph (and for most that knew him well). On her 13th birthday, Lin receives the engagement ring on a necklace, along with a handwritten letter from Kanto.

There are many AUs and headcanons related to where he lives, but those are very fluid and change all the time!