#dont match length pt. 2

[overwhlcmed]

status : closed / ( @cherryflcvoured ) location : beach bash tings !

☁️ ⠀  ⠀ ⠀  ⠀ ────────────          surprising   as   it   may   be,   nova   wouldn't   be   found   on   a   beach   chair   or   towel;   she'd   been   spending   most   of   her   time   in   the   water.   some   of   her   most   fondest   memories   came   from   beach   days   with   her   family;   packing   two   to   three   coolers   full   of   snacks   and   drinks,   stopping   by   the   dollar   store   to   stock   up   on   floaties,   sandcastle   molds,   beach   balls   and   goggles,   and   running   in   and   out   of   the   water   until   the   sun   went   down   and   her   body   was   drained   from   the   fun.   it   was   the   exact   mental   reset   she   needed   from   the   heavy   weight   of   believing   the   closer   she   let   andre   get   the   faster   he'd   want   to   leave.   she'd   forgiven   him   (   of   course   she   did   ).   his   notebook   was   taken   with   her   wherever   she   went,   she   just   liked   having   it   close.   the   plan   had   originally   been   to   wait   until   after   he   arrived   to   get   into   the   water   (   so   he   could   appreciate   her   beach   fit   in   all   its   glory   ),   but   one   invitation   for   marco   polo   led   to   a   few   games   of   chicken,   which   led   to   wave   jumping   and   splashing;   at   some   point   water   guns   got   involved   and   that's   when   she   decided   to   take   her   leave.   she   felt   like   herself   again,   the   joy   radiating   from   her   in   a   glow   that   was   more   than   just   a   kiss   from   the   sun.   ❝   there   you   are   !   ❞   she   exclaimed   as   she   approached   him;   a   hand   moving   wet   hair   from   her   face   as   she   forfeited   grabbing   a   towel   in   exchange   for   greeting   him.   ❝   i   would   say   i   was   looking   all   over   but   i   got   a   bit   distracted.   ❞   there's   a   small   laugh   that   slips   from   her   lips   as   she   looks   back   to   the   water   before   turning   back   to   him;   a   hand   coming   out   to   rest   on   his   arm   as   she   took   a   step   closer.   ❝   how   long   have   you   been   here   ?   did   you   put   on   any   sunscreen   yet   ?   ❞   another   hand   coming   up   to   rest   on   his   exposed   chest,   drawing   light   circles   on   the   area.   ❝   if   not   i'd   be   more   than   happy   to   help   out.   ❞

[double-features]

≽^• ˕ • ྀི≼ --- “i need an easy friend ”

------------- >> SAV'S MASTERLIST!!

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pt. 1 . . . FANFICS :

-------- actual full length fics, not one shots!!

tate langdon : cobain ---- link

≽^• ˕ • ྀི≼ ------- synopsis: uhh just look at the fics description on wattpad, it basically explains it all!!

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pt. 2 . . . ONE SHOTS :

cooper day : three cheers for sweet revenge ---- link

≽^• ˕ • ྀི≼ ------- synopsis: moody boyfriend x sunshine partner on halloween real not clickbait!! reader convinces cooper to match halloween costumes with her, and landed on a specific mcr related couples costume!

peter maximoff : breakfast club ---- link

≽^• ˕ • ྀི≼ ------- synopsis: reader is considered a bit of a basket case amongst her classmates, an enigma to most. during detention one day, the annoying kleptomaniac decides to bother reader! the two totally dont hit it off at first, but eventually learn to appreciate one another

max cooperman : cinema nerd ---- link

≽^• ˕ • ྀི≼ ------- synopsis: when a film nerd and wannabe director gets invited to the movies by their cutie patootie best friend, sparks fly. reader geeks out over the cinematography and max just falls more in love with them

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pt. 3 . . . BOTS :

todd haynes : you like comics? ---- link

≽^• ˕ • ྀི≼ ------- synopsis: todd has the FATTEST crush on user, its really not as subtle as he thinks. so, when user is spotted at atomic comics, with a little push from his pals, todd finally makes a move on user! well, sort of

tate langdon : about a girl ---- w.i.p

≽^• ˕ • ྀི≼ ------- synopsis: based on my fic cobain. go read it!! its so much better than the bot. anyways. user is a musician who shares a couple classes with tate, and one lovely day whilst he was at a music store, user performs nirvana's about a girl. obviously tate fell in love right then and there

james patrick march : name of love ---- link

≽^• ˕ • ྀི≼ ------- synopsis: james finally found his new obsession. after decades of not getting over the countess, a specific guest has his smitten. so he did what any normal person would do and killed them to be with him forever! how sweet!

[bookaddict05]

Mystery man - pt 2

"I... cant... breath..." I say coming to a holt in the middle of the gym after running 20 laps.

Collapsing to the floor Barnes chuckles to himself. "It wasn't that hard" he says continuing to chuckle.

"Yeah thats easy enough for you to say you have the super soldier serum running through your veins" I retorted back.

"..."

Silence hums through the air between the both of us.

"Well we are done for the day, you can go and do whatever u have planned to do" he walks away from me leaving me sitting in the middle of this gigantic room all alone. Its actually quite peaceful.

~2 hours later~

As im getting out of the shower i hear something get slid under my door. I walk over to see an envelope with my name on. The letter was sealed shut with a wax stamp, so fancy. I throw on a jumper and joggers and run through the bathroon knocking on tessa's ajoining door.

"COME IN" I hear them shout. Walking in tessa is holding the same letter as i am. Shrugging our shoulders we both open the letters simultaneously, like we are sharing the same brain cell.

"Omg tony stark has invited us to a party tonight!" I exclaim in excitment.

"Thats so fricken cool" tessa shouts.

"I have nothing to wear" i pace back through to my room with tessa right on my heals. "I didnt think to pack any formal clothing, i never thought in my wildest dreams id be invited to one of these"

"Hey dont panic we have time it says it doesnt start till 8 anyways, its 4 now we can quickly pop out and find something and it doesnt matter if we are late to the party we will arrive fashionably late" says tessa.

"Omg tessa you are a star i dont know what i would have done without u, probably have a melt down then decide not to go and just read for the night instead" i say while chuckling.

"Yeah yeah im amazing i know, now lets get going"

~1 hour later~

We arrive back with our outfits for the night

I picked up a beautiful floor length red dress that flows so effortlessly while i walked. With a heart-shaped neckline my neck looked bare so i also picked up a necklace my mother had given to me before she died, a small golden love heart which completed the outfit in every way.

Tessa on the other hand picked out a black suit to match their goth lifestyle.

We took our time doing our make up and making ourselfs look stunning as ever.

9pm rolled around and we are already an hour late. A rush of anxiety coursed through me as we walked towards the door of the party. Taking deep breaths in to calm down. Music playing so loudly. We open the doors and the music perfectly timed it self with us playing the chorus of 'jealous' by nick jonas.

It was like something just out of a movie, just so dramatic. Walking through the doors I could feel eyes burning on us I turned to look at Tessa beside me to see that they had disappeared and saw them talking to 2 other agents. I continue to walk through the party taking in all the planning that must have went into this in such short time.

I walk over to the bar where I see Natasha serving Bruce. And sit down. "You look stunning y/n" Natasha says automatically.

"Thanks Nat, you look stunning as well" I stay with them for a while, Nat handing me a drink over, a vodka and coke. While chatting I felt as if there was a set of eyes on me from behind.

I turn around to see the metal man himself standing with Steve and Sam in a conversation, he's standing facing me eyes piercing straight into mine, I smile at him and he smiles back. Strange interaction with the metal man. I turn back around feeling my heart racing, why is he having this affect on me? no one has ever made me feel like this, not since the accident that ended my mothers life.

I got lost in a trance of thinking of my past but I was brought out of it after hearing a deep toned voice come and approach me, I turn to see a dark haired man. Muscles bulging through his black dress shirt, arm sleeves rolled up exposing his tanned muscular arms. He looks at me with deep chocolate brown eyes.

"Hey" the dark haired man said with a smile

I smile back and say hey back

He introduced himself as Eddie

He is perfect in everyway, too perfect.

"Your Y/N right ?" he asked

"Yeah, how did you know that?"

"I'm a new recruit and I've been placed into your group for practice missions"

"Wait? Edmundo?"

"Yeah"

"great to meet you, I've heard brilliant things from the S.H.I.E.L.D Academy, I hope you can live up to these expectations. If you can excuse me I need to head to the toilet and find my friend, I hope you have a great rest of your night" I say while smiling.

I excuse myself from the bar and head towards the toilets. I look at myself in the mirror, not looking physically flustered but I could feel it internally. I shove the feelings back down to where they belong and pull myself together.

I plastered a big smile across my face and went back out amongst the crowd. I walk across the room and grab Tessa. "WE ARE GOING TO DANCE" I shout over the music. I drag them to the dance floor and we cause chaos. Jumping and singing to the top of our lungs like no one was watching.

That's when we heard the initial sound, glass smashing and everything fell silent. The windows to the function room that overlooked the whole of New York fell into the room an object landing in the middle of the room. A bomb.

"RUN OR GET DOWN" I scream, everyone ran to cover but when the bomb exploded I wasn't far enough, the force from the explosion sent me flying into the wall. My head colliding with the wall first causing me to black out.

[moonlitfighterrika]

“Okay... weird, but this can’t be all that different from hunting Digimon back home.” Rika mutters once she completely takes in the contents of the voicemail she received.

“Yes, except we must take precaution not to delete these other selves of ours.” Renamon states in response as xir tamer gathers her things and then follows her out the door, once she’s ready to go. They leave their living space together and Renamon tries to sense for the presence of their doubles. It was only logical that at least the other Renamon could be detected since xe still must be a Digimon in some essence, right?

Rika’s brain goes to that same logic as she looks at the screen of her digivice, hoping that it would be able to detect the digital being. There isn’t anything yet so Rika just nods to her partner to proceed forward with her to search the old fashioned way.

It was a good idea too since as she walks through Fibonacci, she witnesses a surreal sight. She spots herself, running away towards the boundaries of the ward as if in a hurry to get to the neighboring Cotes ward. But, in her rush, she isn’t paying attention to passerby and bumps into a blonde boy in a coat, a collision enough to cause the girl to fall to the ground. “Get out of my way! I need to go! I need to make sure xe’s okay and you’re in my way!“ She rudely says to him as she picks herself up, not even bothering to check on the other person before she runs off and thus, doesn’t notice that she drops a cube and a card from her pocket.

Rika grimaces while watching herself get further away and internally berates herself for not taking her bike so that it would be a more fair chase. But, she should probably be more courteous to the person that had to witness such rash behavior and so, she casually walks up to him and the closer she gets, she realizes that its a familiar person. “Huh, seems we keep running into each other.“ She says to him and then glances at the two objects on the ground. “What’s that? Did you drop more toys that go with your silly arm toy thing?”

@numbershunting​ liked for an event starter

[passionate-hedgehog]

Impasse pt 2

Impasse is a 3-part series revolving around Reader entering society in Regency-Era London. Completely inspired by me binging the entirety of Bridgerton in less than 24 hours, Impasse will end with either Duke Damien Haas x Reader, or Courtney Miller x Reader.

Pt 2.

Pairings: Eventual Damien Haas x Reader, Eventual Courtney Miller x Reader

Warnings: None

Word: 2187

A/N: I know that my masterlist links arent working. If you try to use it, and things dont go where you want them to take you...well...I warned you. I’m turning this into a 4 part fic. There’s no way I can comfortably fit what I want into 3 separate sections. Part 3 will be out when this hits 15 notes! Thank you to everyone that liked and interacted with the first part. And thank you to the fans of my toher works. I love all of you omg. Enjoy ♥

Chapter Summary: The social Season has officially begun. Deals are being made amongst friends and old flames are fanning. Will there be any sparks igniting as well?

“What do you suspect he wants to talk about?” After the morning activities with Lord Haas in the drawing-room, Y/n and her handmaid found themselves busy with average daily activities.  

Caroline’s expression was nonplussed as she stared at the back of Y/n’s head. The women were preparing Y/n for bed. The latter was in her chair as the housemaid brushed through her hair.

“Why must you give me that look every time I open my mouth?”

“Why must such ridiculous things come out of your mouth every time you open it?”

They discovered Shayne in his favorite study, books littering the desk he occupied. Y/n would always ask him when he planned on attending university but the young man tended to reply with something akin to “that’s not for me”. The young woman didn’t understand. She knew how smart her twin was, how clever he could be given the situation. Mayhaps one day he’d see the things he could accomplish.

“To what do I owe this visit?” The fair-haired man asked as his sister sat at the opposite side of his desk. A rather thick tome set open before him while his right hand held a fountain pen to sheets of parchment.

Y/n perched her arms along the length of the armrests and sat comfortably. “I thought I might see what you’re up to. But I find that you’re doing nothing different than normal. When are you going to talk to Father about university?”

Shayne restraint from rolling his eyes visible as he went back to his books, and scratching at the parchment. “When are you going to talk to me about Courtney?”

“What? That has nothing to do with...Shayne. My favorite twin, you could be doing so many more things if you were off to study. Collegiately.”

This caused the young man to sigh. “Y/n-,”

“I’m being serious here, Shayne. You’re in here, every day, reading and writing. It’s almost a different book a week. Sometimes, your nose is in a book about far-off adventures in distant lands and sometimes it’s about the history and tragedies of the lands around us. Look that book right there.” She motioned to the collection of parchment before Shayne. “I gather that one is not Shakespeare. What is it? The history of France?”  

Shayne lowered his head back to the pages before putting his pen back on the parchment, not meeting his sister’s eyes. “Spain, as a matter of fact.”

Y/n held a blank countenance. 

“I’m trying my hand at the Spanish language. Does that quell your curiosity?”

Y/n smirked. “You’re just proving my point.”

“I’ll make you a deal,” The young man laid his fountain pen on the parchment and clasped his hands together before leaning forward. “I’ll talk to Father about university if you read and respond to Courtney’s letter..”

The young woman grumbled and stood up from her chair. “Suddenly, I have a desire for some poetry. Caroline, I’ll be in the library. I’ll call for you if I need you.”

The handmaid nodded from where she stood by the fireplace, her hands clasped in front of her as Y/n walked to the door. “Of course.”

Y/n turned one last glance to her twin before exiting the room and found Caroline in the chair Y/n’s ownself just left. The handmaid was smiling at Shayne as he talked. The rosy tint to Caroline’s cheeks as the man laughed sparked Y/n’s curiosity yet still managed to make her smile. It was cute if she had to be honest. The handmaid had the tendency, lately, to be quieter than usual. While yes, Caroline was well-mannered and modest, it was different when Shayne was around. Had it just been the two women, Caroline could be witty. Y/n enjoyed that in the handmaid. It was refreshing and reminded her of a long-lost friend.

“For Heaven’s sake, Courtney. You’re not even here but you’re still here.” The young woman fiddled with a woven bracelet made from brightly colored twine.

“Y/n?” A voice called from next to her as her hand was on the doorknob to the library.

“Oh, Lord Haas! I did not realize you were here.” Y/n peered behind her companion and to her own left and right, in case she missed any other person.

“It’s just me. And please, call me Damien. We’ve known each other since we were young, back when we had all of our friends amongst us.” The duke gave a gentle pleading look. 

“I was a tad cheeky back then. I wasn’t going to call you by any title.”

Damien cocked an eyebrow and smirked. “You’re still a tad cheeky to this day. Am I wrong?”

Y/n’s matched his smirk before opening the door to the library and making her way inside. A witty remark was caught in her throat when her eyes caught someone standing next to the nearest shelving of books.

“Court-Courtney?” Her hand slipped off of the knob of the door. “What are you doing here?”

The light-haired woman bit her lip. “I wanted to visit. You never responded to any of my letters. I thought...I thought maybe something had happened.”

“You...I can’t...Excuse me.” The young woman turned around in haste and scurried away. She found herself in the empty kitchen trying to breathe through what just happened.

Good going. You’re such a coward.

“I’m such a coward.”

“No, you’re not.” Damien had followed her into the cooking area. He led her to a chair and guided her to sit. “Some refreshment might make it better?”

Y/n watched her old friend as he went about collecting items. She noticed how at ease he seemed going through her icebox and cupboards. How expertly he sliced up fruit. She couldn’t help but notice how handsome he looked in his livery, as well, but there was enough going on inside of her head. Damien approached the table with a modest platter and placed it in the center of the table before he sat himself in a chair across from her.

“I figure that some soft cheese might do some good as well as figs and berries. I hope they comfort you the way they do me.” He had gestured towards the food.

Y/n gave a thankful nod before reaching for a bite. “Thank you, Damien. This means very much to me.”

The man grabbed fig and brie, biting into them. “If you need to talk, I’m all ears. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, of course. But I’m here.”

Y/n fidgeted with a slice of fig fruit. She mentally weighed her options before speaking again. “I haven’t seen Courtney in over a year. We got into an argument...about the things she wanted to do and where she wanted to be in life. I regret it. I regret it every day. I let our relationship ...decay...because I didn’t approve of what she wanted to do.”

“She wanted to work with horses, right? And entertain? That’s where she’s been this whole time?” Damien bit into some brie.

“I was treating her like she was someone like me. Someone that already had their life plans laid out for them. She was able to choose what she wanted in life.”

The young man studied Y/n’s face. “Y/n, were you...jealous that she had such an opportunity to live a dream that you tried burning bridges with her? She was your best friend. That had to be a hard decision to make.”

“It’s about more than that. I’m happy she was able to live how she wanted to...thrilled that she got to work with her passions. But..I wasn’t there with her. She wasn’t with me. It didn’t matter what she was doing...I just wanted it to be with..with me. 

“I had this asinine vision that society would be in a different place by now. That two close friends could...be closer. And that I wouldn’t have to feel like I was left alone for the rest of my life. I see so many friendships for what they could be. The feelings that I’ve had over someone that will never be attainable I see in others. All of the time. Especially while I promenade! And it makes me sad for those yearning and it reminds me of what I can never have.”

There was a moment of silence before Y/n’s eyes widened in the realization of what she had just let out. “Oh my. I-You didn’t hear any of what I just said. Promise me!”

Damien laid a soft hand on Y/n’s arm. “I promise. I had no idea that you had harbored such...persuasions. Not that it’s anything you need to feel sorry about. You can’t help it. Your reactions, for sure, but...not for what you feel.”

“You, Lord Haas, will make someone a fine husband someday. Maybe even sometime soon? It is our season, finally, after all.” Y/n tried to hide her watery eyes behind a coy smirk. “Someone is bound to catch your eye.”

Damien breathed out before responding. “Someone already has, if I’m being honest. But maybe I’m far-reaching more than I originally thought.”

His words seemed to spark a sense of excitement through Y/n. She sat up straight and gripped the edges of the table.

“Who is she? Will you point her out to me while we promenade? No. I have an even better idea; can you introduce her to me at one of the balls?” Y/n was nearly on the edge of her seat. “Damien! This is exciting!”

“It’s not quite that intriguing, I promise you. Especially since nothing can come of it.” The man picked at the fruit on the platter. “But I digress. It seems that you’ve got your own sorting out to do. What are you going to do about callers if Courtney plans on joining in on the festivities this season? She may not come from one of the families but she has enough friends.”

“Then I hope she enjoys herself. For all I know, everything I felt could have been my very own thoughts and not hers. If she’s here to find a match, then let her. If she’s here to have fun, then by all means...I hope she has it. I just hope I can keep my heart to myself this time. I don’t want to get hurt again.”

“Y/n,” The man licked his lips before continuing. “Might I suggest trying to find out what exactly it is that your heart wants before you do anything else with it?”

The young woman topped her fig slice with some brie. “I’m going to pretend that you did not just offer such advice. Who would even think about courting a woman trying to figure out whether or not she wants her story to end with another woman? You slay me, Lord Haas.”

“I’m being entirely serious. Y/n, you could…” Damien seemed to pause before paying very close attention to fiddling with a berry. “We could stop your callers from coming around and maybe I could use a distraction. We could work together.”

“What? Like...you and I? Together together?”

The german-born duke hesitated before taking one of Y/n’s hands into both of his. “We could go to promenade as a match. And then to the balls, And the parties. No one would be the wiser. You could use this time to figure out what it is you truly want. And then who.”

The young woman looked down at their hands, hers fitting inside his the way she suspects other women her age dream of, yet, she wasn’t sure what it did to her. What he offered could very much help her, but what if Courtney got the wrong idea? What if everyone got the wrong idea?

“But what if it went right?”

“Hmm?” Damien asked in confusion.

“Nevermind.” Y/n shook the thoughts from her head. “Damien, I think...you may be on to something. You’re right. I...I don’t know how to be a...a wife to anyone. Let alone a man. And I won’t know until I figure myself out a little bit more. And then if this girl is running through your mind and you firmly believe that you can never court her…”

“Trust in me with this. I always thought she was someone I could never hope to marry, far too good for me in so many ways. But...maybe this will help me to see who else is out there. Maybe I’ll find my perfect match. And if we come out as a couple, it’ll provide good reason for the other men to leave you alone.”

“Too bad they just don’t leave me alone as is.”

“I believe Olivia said the same thing after she met Sam.”

“Heavens, that was a riot.” Y/n lifted her pinky to solidify the agreement with her friend. “Lord Damien Haas, I believe we might have ourselves a deal.”

[istheresomebodywhocanimagine]

New York Minute PT. 2

anonymous said: I saw you say your requests are open (but your bio doesn’t say they are so I totally understand if I misunderstood and I apologize). I was wondering if you could do a ben hardy imagine where the reader and he aren’t together but he gets jealous about one of the other boys (and realizes his feelings) and the rest is up to you ;) thank you! and anonymous said: Ooh could you do an age gap thing with either roger or ben of like roger being in the early 1980s and reader/oc being in their early 20s and Ben being the age he is now with someone in their early 20s??

(a/n: she is here, and she is BIG!!! LORGE!!!1 she’s 13k+ im so sorry anyways theres some more pining in here, boundaries questioned, and mcdonalds. dont say i didnt warn you. also funny joe moments because we love neighbor joe)

"I mean, it's not the first thing I'd want to sit and watch with you guys. It's kinda sad, isn't it?" You were fiddling with the buckle on some strappy high heels as you sat in a chair adjacent to where they were lounging on two folding chairs. They were dressed down, ready for an impromptu night of binge-watching Chernobyl that they'd just planned maybe a couple hours ago, accompanied by a homemade recipe you'd been wanting to try out for a while. You, on the other hand, had planned a Tinder date tonight, but you agreed to help cook and stick around for a while until you went to grab drinks with Jameson, who was lanky, had a small man-bun, and apparently quite an interest in American Pale Ales. You knew that Joe (and probably Ben, once Joe told him) would clown you off the face of God's Green Earth for your choices - but, Jameson was cute, and drinks on him, so why not? You'd asked Joe that exact question as you prepared the food. "What a catch," Joe had teased as you'd worked around him in the kitchen, having directed him to start making the cream sauce for the chicken you were currently baking. 

"Don't act like you aren't any less of a white boy than him, Joe," you snarked right back, sending him a quick scowl before checking on the chicken, frowning when it didn't appear to be cooking very fast. "Did you turn the oven down?" "No- Oh shit, I must have bumped it," he mumbled, turning the oven back up to cooking temp and grinning sheepishly. "My bad." Sitting his spoon to the side, he went to the fridge and grabbed two beers while you started chopping mushrooms, mumbling to yourself about terrible sous chefs. "Dummy. When's Ben going to be here?" you asked offhandedly, remembering that he'd mentioned a specific time in the group chat you were all in. Joe had started it to send a shitty meme to the both of you, after which he'd been properly roasted, and the three of you hadn't shut up since. Neither you nor Ben had taken it to the next step - texting one on one. There was still an unspoken barrier there, and neither of you were brave enough to cross it.  "Dunno. Why? Is he secretly your Tinder date?" Joe teased, popping the top off of the bottle before holding it out to you with a devilish grin. It was eye-roll inducing, and you took the bottle with a small thanks before leaning back against the counter, taking a sip.   "I told you I saw him on Bumble, not Tinder. And I haven't been on there since." "Did you swipe right?" Joe pried, popping the top off of his bottle as well before tossing the two lids in his trash. As he came back to lean his butt against the counter across from you, he wiggled his eyebrows. "He's single, you know. And he doesn't obsess over local brews." "Joe, shut up, Jameson's nice! And no," you admitted, hiding behind the bottle a bit as you took another sip. "I kind of.... exited the app and haven't been back on it since. It spooked me. Don't want to get caught up in that." "Why?" he laughed, a bit of beer trickling over the lip of the bottle before running down to rest between the crook of his thumb and index finger. "What would you have done if you swiped right and you matched? Is he not attractive to you? Is he really that bad?" "No, no, shut up," you groaned, letting your head fall back for a moment before laughing and shaking your head. "It's not that, it's just.... awkward after hearing about all those stories about London and the pubs. I don't want to mess around with someone like that, I'm fragile. And he's your friend!" Translation: Your hot womanizer friend could ruin my life in about two texts and I'd probably still thank him. "Our friend," Joe corrected, taking another sip of his beer and raising an eyebrow.  "Do you really think it's been long enough for us to be considered friends like that?" you wondered aloud, frowning a bit as you pondered the idea. "I mean, I don't want to overstep boundaries, but I guess we do have each other added on Facebook now. And we did have a good talk while you slept on my reclining chair - again." "Boom. Friends," Joe simply replied, gesturing vaguely with his hand to imitate an explosion. "And what about the London stories are so bad that you just cannot consider him at all? I think you guys would be good for each other." "Joe, have you been paying attention to my dating life the last few years?" Raising an eyebrow, you watched as he nodded, still seeming like he didn't see what made Ben the same as the rest of them. "You told me stories about a young, smooth-talking guy who was gifted at the pump and dump and not gifted at the 'get their name and call them the next day to go out for dinner' part. That sounds like.... literally over 80% of the guys who have destroyed my life recently." "Ew... don't call it the pump and dump." He wrinkled his nose in disgusted, then grinned a little bit and shook his head. "To be fair to the man, he had just gotten out of a pretty serious relationship. They were just rebounds." "You're destroying your argument even more. Who's to say I wouldn't be a rebound too if I matched him?" You had him there. Pursing his lips, he looked quizzical, as if he was questioning his own argument, and it took him a few seconds to gather his thoughts before he shrugged reluctantly. He had many things he could say to you, but he was running out of ways to say them. "Exactly. I cannot be another rebound. And imagine how awkward that would make things between all of us if I was!" "It would only be awkward if you let it be awkward." When you rolled your eyes, Joe frowned, clearly frustrated with how you weren't budging an inch - he really thought you two would be a fun match, and he didn't understand why you were failing to see that. Sighing, he took another drink of his beer before sitting it on the counter and crossing his arms. "What do you think of him? Honest opinion, no bias from what I've said before. Just your impression of him these last few weeks." "Honestly?" you echoed, taking another drink of your beer as you thought back to all the exchanges you'd had with him since he'd moved here. "I thought he wasn't really like the guy you told me about at all." Joe's frown slowly morphed into a smug grin, and you gave him a warning look as you tried to shut it down quickly. "That doesn't mean anything! Guys like Ben are really good at seeming harmless! I'm not convinced-" "I can already hear the wedding bells." When you sent him an unconvinced look, he just laughed and reached out to gently push your shoulder. "I'm just joshing ya! He's really not that bad. Like I said, all those stories I told you about going out with them in London are only partially fact. I was pretty drunk." "He seemed nice the other night, so I really don't want to know which parts are true. I'd like to keep a somewhat pristine, at-arm-length image of the dude," you dismissed, grimacing a bit. "He is cute, though, I will give you that. All of you damn actors are lookers and it pisses me off." "Was that a compliment?" Joe asked after a brief silence, raising an eyebrow. "You sounded so mad, I couldn't tell." When you rolled your eyes in response, he just rolled his eyes too before crossing his arms again. "If Ben's cute, why didn't you swipe right? You don't have to keep him at distance, what's the harm in being closer than that?" "Dude, you don't understand!" Huffing softly, you looked up at the ceiling for a moment and attempted to collect your thoughts - and more importantly, your half-assed excuses. Closing your eyes, you tried to be as level as you could, speaking almost in monotone. "I know that Ben is out of my league, and he probably just sees me as your weird neighbor girl. He's like, a solid 9.9 and on a good day I'm pushing 7. I also know that he's got too much game and he'd easily ruin my life. And he probably swiped left!" Opening an eye, you peeked over at Joe, who was watching in amusement, and pointed your finger. "Don't make a joke about Jameson." "I didn't say anything!" he laughed, holding up his hands in surrender, and you sighed before opening both eyes and turning to burying your face in your hands as you propped your elbows on the counter. "Oh, come on, stop being such a drama queen. It's not that deep. You're both young - well, you're a little younger-" "Wow, no shit, Sherlock," you grumbled, not even moving an inch. "As I was saying," he snipped, narrowing his eyes a bit at the rude interruption before continuing. "You're both young, single-" The sound of the door opening stopped him in his tracks, and you shot up from where you'd been wallowing in your own self pity, turning to the stove quickly to see the cream sauce turning an odd consistency. "Joe, seriously, who taught you to cook?" you lamented quietly, grabbing the pan and making a frustrated noise before pouring out the sauce that he'd managed to scald already.  "I let down my guard for two seconds and you do this? Now we gotta start over, dummy!" "No one! No one taught me to cook!" Joe answered in mock frustration as he gave you a knowing look, snickering a bit when he shuffled past you to get to the fridge again, his hand just ghosting over the small of your back to scoot you out of the way. You reacted like it was instinct, moving over and letting him into the cramped area as you turned the other way, headed to rinse out the sauce pan in the sink when you suddenly saw Ben in the doorway, looking a bit sheepish that he'd walked in on such an oddly domestic scene. Offering him a rushed smile, you turned on the warm water before turning to give Joe a gentle but firm kick in the butt, making him cry out in confusion and whirl around to give you a really pissed-off look. But the look only lasted for a moment as he pretended to just notice Ben, and a delighted smile quickly replaced the insulted scowl as he sat the cream down on the counter, shutting the fridge behind him. "Hey, bud, you hungry?" he asked, once again skirting around you to greet his friend with a quick handshake and a one-armed hug. Turning to face them, you placed a hand on your apron-clad hip and smiled a bit at the bromance. The apron on you read 'EAT MY MEAT' in bold white lettering atop the black fabric, and Ben couldn't help but chuckle at the juxtaposition between the aggressive statement and the homely kitchen it currently resided in.  "We're making enough for four," you chimed in, giving Ben a pointed look and smiling pleasantly. "One for me, one for you, and two for Mr. Black Hole over here." "Oh my God, I can't help that I'm hungry sometimes! Why do you always have to roast me for everything?" "Yes, yes, yes!" you cheered excitedly, clapping and jumping a few times as Joe returned to making the cream sauce. "You said roast!" Joe's face scrunched up for a moment, then he huffed softly and shook his head, bowing it a bit. "I fuckin' did, didn't I? I hate that. We're not allowed to hang out any more." Snickering at his upset tone, you greeted Ben with a quick hug before grabbing the other apron on the counter and holding it up, raising an eyebrow in silent question. Ben looked down at himself, gesturing at the stained gym clothes, and you shrugged as Joe started talking again, unawares of the silent conversation. "So I was thinking we can eat and watch Chernobyl, maybe get a little crazy on some American Pale Ales before Y/N leaves," he hummed, laughing when you sent him a withering look and smacked him with the apron. "I'm not letting it go, dude! You were the one who fucked up and told me about the pale ales!" "Joe, I'm literally trying so hard just to find someone decent, so what if he's a white boy that's snobby about beers? I'm running out of options," you lamented, sitting the apron down on the counter and pouting a bit as you went to check the chicken again, huffing when the inside temp only read around 140 degrees. "So close." "Tinder date tonight, huh?" Ben asked, taking over on the mushrooms that you'd neglected as he looked over at you. There was a somewhat hesitant look in his eyes, and you nearly choked on air when he took a deep breath and added, "Or is it Bumble?" An awkward silence quickly fell over the three of you - both you and Ben had talked to Joe about it, but neither of you had any idea about the other reaching out. So many words left unsaid hung in the air as you straightened up again, shutting the oven and forcing on a smile despite your embarrassment. What a fucking cheeky bastard, just blatantly throwing that out there like that. Maybe he was more alike to London Ben than you'd thought. "Um, no. Tinder, actually." And that was that, Ben looking back down to the mushrooms with a mildly amused expression as he finished slicing them, the three of you lapsing into another momentary silence. "Well," Joe finally sighed, giving the both of you an awkward smile as he turned back to the cream sauce, putting the seasonings in again. "I'm really banking on the slim chance that I have some Lactaid in the medicine cabinet." To punctuate his sentence, he dipped his finger into the cream sauce to taste test, humming in appreciation as you looked on in mild disgust, however thankful you were for his diversion. "Are you for real? I'm not taking care of you if you don't have any," you chastised gently, Joe pouting a bit at your harshness and crossing his arms. "I'll take care of you, mate," Ben offered up, holding out the bowl of sliced mushrooms for Joe and grinning when Joe gave him exaggerated eyes, taking the bowl and blowing a kiss at him before starting to saute the mushrooms in the extra skillet you'd been heating on the back-burner. "I'll go check and see if you've got a few left." With that, he was wiping his hands on his shirt, nodding at you before leaving you both alone. As soon as you heard his footsteps retreat down the hallway, you turned to Joe and let your jaw drop, Joe doing all he could to not burst out in laughter as his knees buckled a bit, a hand flying out to steady himself on the counter. Throwing his head back, he let out a quiet gurgling noise akin to an animal dying as a smile practically cracked his face in half, his amusement with this whole situation having grown tenfold in the last minute or so. "That was so...." you trailed off, genuinely shocked that Ben had felt cheeky enough to hint at something so personal for the both of you, and you furrowed your eyebrows at Joe's continued silent laughter, crossing your arms. "Why are you laughing? Did he talk to you about it too?!" "It might have come up," Joe admitted between inhuman noises, his face red from the effort of silencing his peals of laughter. He conveniently left out the part where Ben had been pestering Joe about what you'd said about him all week - Ben had swiped right, after all, and the longer he didn't know if the feeling was mutual, the more antsy he'd gotten. "Joe! Are you fucking serious?!" you whined, trying to keep your voice down as you peeked down the hallway quickly before throwing your hands up in a questioning manner. "What did he say?" "I will not disclose any discussions between me and my client-" "Oh shut up shut up shut up!" you whisper yelled, quickly trying to rush Joe and smack at him but getting caught at arms-length when he reached out and pressed a hand against your forehead, effectively stopping you in your tracks. "Joe, this is so unfair," you almost whimpered, dropping your hands to your side as you leaned into his hand, huffing. "That was so awkward! Did you hear how smooth that was? I'm going to be so mad when I get on Bumble and find out he swiped left." "I think you're underestimating yourself waayyyyy too much," Joe laughed, resting both of his hands on your shoulders like an encouraging coach as he grinned down at you. "And what about the arm's-length thing? I'm not going to tell you what Ben said about the Bumble thing. Whatever it is, it's between you two. You're both adults." "Joe, please," you whined, pouting so exaggeratedly you probably looked like a five year old asking for one more Girl Scout Cookie as you gazed up at him sadly, trying to guilt it out of him. "I need validation." "Stick that lip out any further and birds will shit on it, kid," he teased, snickering when you just gave him a wilting look and stopped pouting, instead crossing your arms. "Aw, come on. Cheer up, stupid. He told me he liked your bio on Bumble! Is that enough?" After considering it for a moment, you shrugged and tried not to look as grumpy. "I guess." Pursing his lips, Joe deadpan stared at you for a moment before smiling cheerily and reaching up to pat your cheek in a friendly manner. "It's not a no!" At that moment, Ben popped back around the corner, holding a slightly used box of Lactaid and raising an eyebrow when he saw Joe's hand quickly retracting from your face, dropping to his side, but not before his fingers brushed against your cheek. It was glaringly intimate from an outsider's perspective, but all you felt was Joe's grimy hand leaving shit behind on your face. As much as you wanted to continue throwing a fit, especially with the added awkwardness from what Ben had just 'witnessed,' you stepped away from Joe and picked up the spoon next to the stove, forcing anything but a pout onto your lips as you wiped your cheek off on your forearm. "Looks like your boyfriend's got your anti-diarrhea pills." "Stop calling them that!" Joe sighed, exasperated as he turned back to the mushrooms. "I can't help it that my taste buds love dairy just as much as my body hates it." Ben sat the box down on the counter, watching as you gave the cream sauce a quick, indifferent stir. You were really just trying to find something to do to avoid facing the blonde anyways, but he didn't seem to mind as he leaned against the counter across from the two of you, crossing his arms.  "Anything I can do to help, MasterChef and MasterChef Junior?" You smiled at the names, Joe furrowing his eyebrows for a moment before looking over his shoulder at Ben. "I'm not Junior, right?" Ben shrugged, feigning apathy, and Joe made an appalled noise before huffing a bit, turning back to focus on the mushrooms. Giggling quietly, you looked over your shoulder and nodded to the fridge. "There's bacon in there. Do you want to slice it up into little pieces so Joe can add it to the mushrooms in a bit?" Uncrossing his arms, Ben pushed himself up off the counter and nodded with a smile, which you reciprocated before turning back to the cream sauce and chewing on your lower lip. You could hear the sound of him shuffling past, his proximity so dangerously close that you could have sworn you felt the heat radiating off of him even when he retrieved the bacon from the fridge, tossing it on the counter where he'd been chopping mushrooms. You heard the sound of him cutting into the package of bacon with the knife. What you didn't expect was a clearly disgusted noise from him, followed by a slightly rancid smell that immediately made you wrinkle your nose and look at Joe, who was making the same face. "I think the bacon's expired," Ben finally said, and you both turned to find him standing there with a pallid, overly-greasy piece of bacon pinched between his fingers, dangling down in front of Ben's mildly horrified face. "Jesus, Joe, I thought you said you had bacon," you groaned playfully, wiping your hands off on your apron before peeking around Ben to see the whole package was expired. "That smells awful!" Joe was silent for a moment, mouth open as if he was trying to find the words to say before he began to stutter. "Well - I did, it just looks kind of....." "Disgusting," Ben finished for him, dropping the piece of bacon back in the package. "Do you have more anywhere?" When Joe shook his head, you grumbled and sat the spoon down, heading for your apartment. "I think I still have some. Ben, can you keep an eye on the sauce so Joe doesn't cause any other disasters?" "Yes, ma'am," he replied cheerily, Joe whining in indignation as you grinned, grabbing your phone and heading back over to your place for a second. As you walked across the balcony, you unlocked your phone to check a message from your friend when the app icon caught your eye. The yellow square, with a white, honeycomb-ish icon in the middle, taunted you as you slowed to a stop, your free hand resting on the door handle. Glancing back over to Joe's side of the balcony, you made sure they weren't on your tail before looking back to your phone and biting your lip. Should you do it? Maybe Joe was right. "No, no, no, don't be stupid," you muttered. Pulling open your door, you retrieved the bacon without so much as looking at the Bumble app again. And you managed to avoid it for the next hour while you helped Ben get rid of the spoiled bacon, eventually getting the creamy bacon mushroom thyme chicken finished and in your stomachs, after which you started to get ready for your date while they took a quick break on the folding chairs just outside Joe's balcony door. Whatever they were expecting, it clearly wasn't what they saw as you slid open your balcony door, stepping out in a little black dress-type number that definitely cut the conversation off immediately. They both stared shamelessly, making you suddenly regret getting all dolled up when you still had an hour to go before Jameson even planned on dropping by to pick you up. In fact, it made you regret getting dolled up at all as you tugged at your hoop earring, smiling sheepishly.  "That bad?" you joked, but from the look in your eye, Joe could tell you weren't exactly completely cocksure at this exact moment, so he flashed you an encouraging grin and shook his head. You read like a book, and no one was more in tune with you than Joe. "Far from it. You'll knock him dead, kid." Taking another sip of his beer, you spotted the mischievous glint in his eye too late, his mouth already dropping open to continue before you could redirect the conversation. "Don't you agree, Ben?" "Huh? Oh yeah, mate, for sure," Ben stammered, feeling like a deer in the headlights as he nervously kept his eyes above your neckline. "You'll be the prettiest bird in the place. Jaden will have to keep an eye on you." "Jameson," you corrected, grinning a bit at the compliment and trying not to laugh at his failed attempt of remembering your date's name. Chalking it up to forgetfulness, you fell down in the chair on your side of the tape line, leaning down to adjust the buckle on your heel. "But thank you. Both of you." "Ready to watch Chernobyl?" Joe asked, kicking a cigarette butt that Ben had just stomped out and watching as it tumbled over the edge of the concrete, falling to the sidewalk below. "I mean, it's not the first thing I'd want to sit and watch with you guys. It's kinda sad, isn't it?" Frowning, you finished adjusting the buckle and bent down to check the other one, Ben checking you out for just a second before turning to Joe to send him a distressed look. Joe only pressed his lips together, fighting back a snicker and stifling his words completely with another drink of his beer. "Let's watch something else. Let's watch BoRhap." Groaning, Joe dropped the hand that held his beer to the armrest on his chair again, letting his head fall back in annoyance. "Not again!" "Why do you want to watch that?" Ben asked curiously, crossing his fingers that you wouldn't say it was your favorite movie, but you only shrugged and grinned before sitting up again, running a hand back over your hair. Joe answered for you. "She likes watching so she can.... roast me. Started as payback when I printed out a bunch of pictures of her in middle school and posted them all over the building. Which was payback for God knows what. Which was probably also payback." "Oh," Ben said quietly, a slow grin appearing on his face as he looked between the two of you. "I'm all for it, then." "That's the spirit!" you cheered, standing up and holding out your hands for the both of them. Joe grumbled as he took your hand, pulling himself to his feet and shooting both of you dirty looks before stomping inside. Ben took your hand next, and you helped him to his feet with an excited grin before pulling him inside, dropping his hand just past the door under the watchful eyes of your neighbor, who couldn't suppress a knowing smile before he grabbed the remote, flopping down on the couch. You had an interesting concept of what arm's-length meant. And so you sandwiched yourself between the two of them on the couch while the movie started, Joe's arms propped up on one arm of the couch while Ben spread his arms out over the back of the couch. You were hugging your waist, legs tucked to the side and your knee just barely brushing up against Ben's thigh whenever he'd shift to get more comfortable. He was manspreading, which came as no surprise to you - every Ben Type you'd known before was especially gifted at taking up an abnormal amount of space. But Joe was curled up and slightly turned away from you, his arms crossed as if an instinctive need to defend himself was setting in. Soon, Ben knew why. "That perm..... iconic," you laughed, Ben snickering along with you as Joe pressed his face into his hands, groaning quietly. "Somehow, the wig manages to add a staggering half a foot to your height and you're still almost the shortest one in the group." "Why is no one making fun of Ben's wig? Why am I being targeted here?" he asked exasperatedly, Ben gasping in mock hurt that Joe would try to redirect. "Ben was probably wearing heels anyways!" "Wow, mate, way to try and change the subject. Why do you want me to be bullied too?" "Why do you want me to be bullied too?" Joe repeated mockingly, shooting a withering look at the both of you as you giggled incessantly, reaching over to elbow Joe teasingly. "70's suburban mom wig. It's a 70's suburban mom look! You look like you nail rail cocaine on the reg but also think rock and roll is the devil's music." Raising an eyebrow at Joe, Ben stared with narrowed eyes for a moment before tilting his head indicatively at the screen, where Joe was in his full glory with his perm. "Joe, is that your hair, or did someone throw a toaster oven to you while you were in the bath?" Your eyes widening, you laughed once and pressed a hand to your mouth, impressed with Ben's saltiness. "Who am I kidding, why would you be in a bath?" "Cleaning you out of the drain," Joe fired back almost immediately, casually turning his attention back to the screen despite his bitter smile. "Bold of you to assume I don’t bathe anyways, you still currently smell like the Bay of Pigs with that rotten bacon shit." "Joe, holy shit!" you yelled, looking at Joe in shock before bursting out laughing and turning to Ben. He was almost shocked, jaw slightly slack as he stared over at Joe in what seemed to be a mix of surprise and mild offense. "Ben, you're done for! Joe literally just insulted the way you smell and also called you one of the biggest failures of the last century. Roasted!" "It was a military failure.... fuck you both," Ben weakly shot back, running out of ammo as you and Joe both turned on him. "Why do you always say roasted? You Gen Z shit." "Wow! Okay?! I was born like maybe 6 years after you. You're like... not even a decade older. And I'm not Gen Z. Stop acting like I was in the womb while you fought in the Bay of Pigs. Even if you do smell like it." Joe burst into a fit of giggles, burying his face in the armrest next to him as he kicked his feet a bit, beyond amused at how quickly this had turned on Ben, who was now staring at you in shock. After  another few seconds of silence, he shut his mouth and pushed himself up from the couch, smoothing a hand over his hair and letting out an exaggerated sigh. "I'm sensing hostility and I think this is my opportunity to leave for a smoke break so I can cry about how all of my friends like bullying me." "No, no, we're just joking!" you laughed, leaning over on Joe and covering your mouth to stifle the giggles as Joe nodded weakly, trying to contain his as well. "Yeah, come on, Ben, we're just fucking with you!" "Why should I sit back down if I smell like the Bay of Pigs?" Ben pointed out, and you rolled your eyes playfully before reaching out and wrapping your hands around his wrist, tugging him back towards the couch. "We like you even though you're stinky. Come back and finish the movie with us!" Even though it passed over your head like a bad joke, your pull on Ben was magnetic. Joe watched, amazed as the usually hard-headed blond just rolled his eyes and sat back down next to you without another protest. Joe couldn't have pulled him from a smoke break even if he'd gotten on his knees and begged, but one teasing, pleading moment from you and Ben was seated right back next to you, his arm around the back of the couch and resting near your shoulder as you made a content noise and settled back into the couch again, redirecting your attention to the TV. That's when Joe caught Ben's eye, trying to send him a subtle 'You're fucking whipped and she's not even at full power' look, but the blond just furrowed his eyebrows, failing to decipher Joe's cryptic gaze. "Aw, shit," you mumbled, distracting the both of them just as Joe was about to make a kissy face. Both men shifted their attention down to your phone, where a text chat was pulled up with none other than Jameson. "I gotta bounce, I'll see you guys later." Rising from your seat, you smoothed down your dress over your curves before heading for the door, the heels clicking against Joe's wooden floorboards. "Pray for me, 'kay?" "Pre-marital sex is a sin!" Joe called after you, grinning as he heard your laugh resounding down the hallway just before the door was opened. And then, you were gone, leaving the both of them to spread out a bit on the couch in silence before Joe finally broke it again. "I'm turning this off." "Yeah, might as well," Ben cringed, settling into the couch more and watching as Joe switched his Roku back to the main menu. "Might actually have that smoke break now." "Oh no, Ben, don't leave. We want you here even though you smell like rotten bacon," Joe schmoozed, fluttering his eyelashes for dramatic effect as Ben laughed, flipping him off and sitting up a bit. "Man, the power of the p-" "Stop, I was just being nice! It has nothing to do with... what she has downstairs." Grimacing, he afforded Joe one quick look before he was focusing on the screen again, nervous for whatever reason about the conversation at hand. Huffing softly, he decided to turn it on Joe before he got the upper hand. "Besides, you're the one that let her convince you to turn on this movie and get roasted for a full hour! And you guys looked pretty cozy when I came back with your anti-diarrhea pills." "Lactaid. Just.... call it Lactaid," Joe grumbled, pulling up Netflix and scrolling through the choices slowly. "And we were not cozy. I was just comforting her, is all." "About what?" Ben pried, raising an eyebrow and looking dreadfully curious about it all, a sly grin just showing on his lips. "Looks like you two were just about to snog to me." There's certain types of people who like to be blatant matchmakers. Mrs. Bennett from Pride and Prejudice comes to mind - a person who very clearly is sizing up every eligible bachelor just to place them with a daughter, or a friend, etc. They take pride in very obviously urging a pair of people together, and then like to take credit for it afterwards. Joe was not one of those people. As much as he wanted to match-make with you two, he was not the type who was going to lay it all out on the table for either of you. It wasn't his place, and it certainly wasn't his battle, so he told a little white lie, one that piqued interest but also completely concealed what was really happening.  "Dude, she's a little bit too young for me, don't you think? And she was nervous about the date tonight. Doesn't want it to go wrong. Completely innocent." "Sure." Ben remained unconvinced but painfully curious, quiet as Joe finally settled on That 70's Show, snuggling back into the couch and wrapping his arms around a pillow that laid in between him and Ben. "Does she go on a lot of bad dates, then?"  "Oh, tons," Joe replied, fighting back a smug smile as Ben went down the exact path Joe had so graciously opened for him. "She's really good at picking the douchebags, you know? A talent that a multitude of women seem to possess for God knows what reason. The one tonight is a real doozy - hear me out." Turning so he was facing Ben, he lifted his hands and formed a picture frame in the air for a second, then grinned. "Jameson. 33 years old. Scrawny looking guy. Man bun! And here's the best part - he's passionate about American Pale Ales." "Oh, Christ," Ben laughed, rolling his head back to let it rest on the couch while he shook his head. "I feel bad for her!" "I don't!" Joe countered, waving the thought of dismissively with a flick of his hand as he went back to watching the show. "She's capable of making her own shitty decisions. We just get to hear about it afterwards." "I still feel bad, though," Ben hummed, raising his head again to stare at the TV for a few moments before clearing his throat, glancing at Joe quickly. "Did she say anything about Bumble, by chance?" Joe smirked. Not a good sign, Ben thought, but he tried not to panic as he watched his friend take another drink of his beer, keeping his eyes glue to the TV and nonchalantly tapping his fingers on the armrest. "Not really. She's only been on this Jameson guy for the last few days and I think he was Tinder." "Oh." Silence followed, then Ben shifted his legs and scratched at his knee nervously, wetting his lips before continuing. "Probably hasn't been on Bumble lately, then, yeah?" "Probably not." Nodding to himself, Ben decided that would have to satiate him for now, and he relaxed back into the couch as much as he could while the sound of Hyde roasting someone went in one ear and out the other. "Jameson going to last long?" "With the way she acts?" Joe tore his eyes away from the screen slowly, meeting his friend's gaze. "No way." Hope flooded Ben's heart once again, and he tried not to smile too wide as he nodded again, trying to play off his excitement with an offhand joke. "If she's so mean to us, imagine how she is to rubbish dates." The two of them considered the thought, then burst into laughter and looked back up to the screen, slowly quieting down and just watching the show with almost imperceptible grins on their faces. --- you: guys you: i'm swearing off of men forever joe-brainer: Finally! joe-brainer: How was Jameson? you: I'M STILL HERE you: i've heard about the difference between hops and malt THREE TIMES you: and he's really serial killer material he's creeping me out you: and he's got an accent?? big ben: Ouch, that's rough. Why are you texting in the middle of a date? you: why are you texting in the middle of ur date you: with joe joe-brainer: Yeah Ben wtf. I thought we had something. big ben: I want to see other people. big ben: Back me up please Y/N You giggled, quickly quieting yourself as Jameson returned with your drinks again. It was about your fourth or fifth round, and you were starting to get a buzz that made this date slightly less miserable than it had already been. But that wasn't saying much at all - as you looked across the table at your date, you almost had to fight back the urge to cry at how lost you felt. How in the hell were you going to talk your way out of this one? "Thank you." Smiling softly, you took a sip of the new lager that he'd brought over, fighting back a disgusted expression as the acrid aftertaste rocked you to the core. Jameson just nodded, offering a small smile before taking a disgustingly large drink of his own, apparently unfazed by the bitter taste. Must have been an acquired one. As you pretended to listen, he launched right back into his tangent about English beers - you'd found out he was from Northern England when you'd asked about his accent, and somehow he'd managed to come back around to that fact every 10 minutes or so. His voice was like a drone as you stole glances around the pub, feeling the spinning feeling in your head grow subtly with each word he uttered. God, why were you here? Yet another disastrous date with a egocentric male who found personality traits in mugs of shitty beer made by shitty local breweries with shitty hops. Or malt. Who fucking knows?  "My ex and I actually went to this one village, just outside of my hometown-" Oh Jesus, now he was bringing up his ex. Rubbing your fingers up and down your thigh, you continued to feign interest with a strained smile, but every muscle in your body itched to bolt out of this booth and out onto the street before you were too drunk to walk in heels. God, why did he have to be good looking? That 'no sleep/scrawny/scruffy guy' look always did you in. Ben's name flashed across your screen, followed by Joe, and you sighed softly as you locked the phone again, wishing you could reply. Instead, you flipped the phone over and propped your chin up on your hand, staring blearily at the slight, long-haired man who was genuinely convinced you gave a shit about the 500-year old liquor he got to try with his ex that was probably skinnier and prettier than you - and he'd probably bring that up by the end of the night too.  As your stomach rumbled, you slid your free hand to rest on it, regretting that you'd ate so early with Joe and Ben. The chicken had done nothing to tide you over, and the beer was making you crave disgusting things. Images of greasy fries and shitty frozen-patty burgers tantalized you from the back of your mind, and it was all you could do not to sprint down the block to the McDonald's you'd seen on your walk there with Jameson. "I'm going to head to the loo really quick, do you mind? It's all that beer, I swear," he asked, already sliding out of booth by the time you shook your head, sending him off with a warm smile that lasted just a second longer than it took for him to turn around and make his way to the back of the pub. Unlocking your phone, you leaned down to hit your head against the table a few times before pulling up the group chat again, catching up on what you'd missed. The screen was beginning to get a bit blurry, your fingers fumbling as you finally jumped back in. big ben: I don't appreciate being hung out to dry like this Y/N joe-brainer: Ben, come back inside. We can talk through this you: you are both MORONS you: god i fuckin love you guys joe-brainer: Do I spy drunk Y/N? That text was too nice you: idk what's in these beers but it tastes bad and also has fuggggged me up big ben: Uhhhh that's not reassuring. You're buying the drinks for yourself, right? you: asbolutely not you: asbolutey** you: ABSOLUTELY you: not. Joe sent a gif of Jim Lahey from Trailer Park Boys stumbling down the trailer steps, and you replied with a few laughing emojis before locking your phone, putting your head down on the table while a few patrons of the pub looked on in pity. They'd seen your horrid date play out for the last few hours, yet no one seemed to want to step in for the drunk girl who was minutes away from kicking off her heels and taking the subway barefoot if it meant getting away from this self-obsessed, stuffy Brit. Jameson had been throwing you off all night. When you'd found out he was from Northern England, you were excited because you'd picked up a few things about Ben's home country from him over the weeks. But Jameson was different. He wasn't as friendly, for starters. Also, his accent was more aggressive, harsher on the vowels and generally less friendly on the ears than Ben's was. Ben. You missed him. Your mind was all over the place, but those green eyes taunted you from the recesses of your brain, warm and inviting and so clearly not here right now that you felt like crying. Ben would be so nice to see right now - memories of his lush accent lured you even further away from the date at hand, and you couldn't even see a single reason to stay here and be miserable any longer when you had an even better Englishman at your disposal.  So much for arm's-length. "I can't do this anymore," you finally groaned, pulling up the group chat again and hurriedly clicking Joe's name, texting him 'SOS send help' in a sloppy manner before locking the phone again, climbing up out of the booth and throwing a twenty on the table. Maybe you'd text Jameson later, apologize for ghosting, but you doubted you would as you stumbled out of the bar, texting your location with another quick 'S O S send englishman i need back up' as you slumped down on a bench around the corner, unbuckling your heels with trembling hands. If this date were any different from the last few that you'd had, you might have been upset. But the alcohol in your system coupled with the constant disappointment of this city's dating scene numbed you to the horrifying disaster that you'd just went through for the last few hours. Your phone buzzed, but you were so worried that it was Jameson that you silenced the ringer, instead heading  for (see: drunkenly stumbling towards) the McDonald's sign that blazed just down the block. Meanwhile, Ben was in a panic. He'd been in the bathroom when he received two texts from you that he assumed were meant for Joe, a drunken mistake out of context that set off a very loud, persistent alarm in the blond's head. Though, it had to be noted, he did get a chuckle out of 'send englishman.' At least you were talking to Joe about him. "Fuck, pick up, Y/N!" he muttered quietly, calling you again to no avail. He'd been trying to contact you since you'd sent your location - however, you had all but dropped off the face of the Earth, currently enjoying a Big Mac and a large fry in the window seats of the dingy McDonald's somewhere in Manhattan. "God damn it," Ben muttered, your phone going to voicemail once again as a million possibilities whirled through the blond's head. You could be drugged out, kidnapped, killed, anything terrible - all kinds of scenarios spooked the hell out of him as he exited the bathroom, Joe still lounging on the couch. "Has Y/N texted you?" Ben asked, Joe laughing at something Hyde said on the TV before glancing at Ben, raising an eyebrow. From the current look on his face, Ben suspected that he hadn't a single clue, nor was he really worried about whether you were alive or dead right now. "In the group chat, yeah," he replied noncommittally, taking another drink of his beer as he looked back to the TV. "She's probably just listening to him drone on about local beers still. Wonder if he's trying to explain how American Pale Ales are superior." "Uh-huh," Ben replied vaguely, staring off at the opposite wall as he tried to figure out what in the hell his game plan was here. If you hadn't texted Joe, would it have been for a reason? Did he really need to bring Joe into his panic too, or should he handle this by himself? "I'm gonna head out, I think. It's getting late. Let me know if Y/N texts you." "Okay, Mr. Worrywart," Joe teased, giving a smug grin to the TV that only made Ben roll his eyes before he grabbed his keys, heading for the door. "Bye! Don't forget, same time next week! You better not come back a changed man from Fashion Week!" "See ya," Ben replied, but his head was already out the door and in game mode as he let the door swing shut behind him, heading for his car in the parking garage. As he walked there, he called you again, but no dice. Sighing, he resigned to texting you. big ben: Are you okay? I'm on my way The Big Mac was delicious. You smiled happily as you munched away, completely forgetting you'd just spent the last few hours wanting to gouge your eyes or eardrums out, either or. In fact, you forgot so much that you flipped your phone back over, your fear of confrontation with Jameson filtered out of your mind for the time being. Instead, a few missed calls and a text from Ben greeted you. Furrowing your eyebrows, you put down the Big Mac to reply, fingers still typing clumsily with the weight of the alcohol in your system, grease from the burger smearing on the screen a bit. you: why are you on yourway you: oh fuck HAHAHA i meant to text joe. im sorry you: welp awkward but this works anyways you: but what if i cant finish my bif mac in time you: then what :( At your response, a huge weight lifted off Ben's shoulders as he sighed in relief. You were alive, and getting some food in your system, which was already a good sign. Your spelling and execution? Still a bit concerning, so he climbed into his car and requested your location again, which you obliged to almost immediately. In the traffic on the way, he got anxious. What if you were still with the guy? What if he had to step in? Worse, what if things escalated? He didn't want to have to fight someone tonight, especially someone half his size horizontally, but probably double his size vertically. big ben: Where is Jameson? Is he with you? you: nope you: no idea you: are you on your way im tryinf to eat fast big ben: Don't hurt yourself, traffic is crazy lol. Slow down big ben: For fucks sake, please don't scare me like this again either big ben: When you text SOS from a date, I assume you’re getting kidnapped or drugged or something big ben: Since Joe says you really know how to pick em you: ew wtf you: stop acting like my dad you: do you ever text like a reg person?? you: send a gif once in a while its goodfor ur soul Scoffing, Ben just locked his phone and shoved it in the center console, only digging it out again when he'd reached the location you'd provided. Texting you he'd made it, he watched as you nearly fell off your stool trying to dismount. A worried sigh escaped his lips as he glanced behind him to make sure he was clear before getting out of his car, rushing to meet you as you exited the sketchy McDonald's and cheered, reaching out for him and almost falling in the process. He met you just outside the doorway, your arms flinging around his neck in a messy hug, which he gently reciprocated while mouthing 'sorry' to an annoyed passerby who'd nearly met the wrath of your flailing arms. "Oh, Ben, I'm so glad you're here! I finished my Big Mac!" you informed him, smiling widely and pulling back to watch him with hazy eyes. Trying to ignore how painfully close you were to brushing noses with him, he chuckled to himself nervously and pulled out of the hug, carefully wrapping an arm around your waist to help you to the car. "This is the most excited I think anyone's ever been to see me," Ben joked lamely, but you laughed anyways and sent a light tinge of pink seeping onto his cheeks while he smiled.  As you began to walk, you leaned against his side more, rubbing your stomach. "Tummy hurts a little bit from eating so fast." You were almost dead weight against his side, his broad hand gripping your waist tightly and digging into the black fabric that clung to all of your curves. If you weren't deliriously drunk at the moment, he figured he might have enjoyed that brief contact more - but right now, he was just focused on getting you home. Opening the passenger door, he looked on cautiously as you slid your way into the car clumsily, hitting your head in the process and making him flinch. "You okay?" he asked as he walked around the door to reach out for your head, but you just slid down in the seat, giggling and closing your eyes. "How much have you drank? He's got you silly, love." "Ohhhhh, that's a cute nickname. I love that. Love love," you laughed, letting your head loll to the side before opening your eyes again slowly, smiling widely up at him. "Can you call me that more often?" "What, you mean love?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow as you raised your hand to your head to rub the sore spot where you'd just smashed it against the car. When you nodded and giggled once more, nursing your head, it was all Ben could do not to grin ear to ear. Instead, he forced himself to give you a small smile, then he nodded once. "Of course. D'you mean, like, all the time?" "Yes, yes, all the time," you confirmed happily, letting your eyes close again as the sound of the hazard lights steadily distracted you, the rhythmic clicking drawing your attention away from Ben for a moment. But you couldn't push the sound of him saying 'love' out of your mind, a deep, velvety baritone in that posh accent that made your skin tingle. Although you couldn't tell whether it was the alcohol making you so susceptible or just the fact that he was so damn good all-around, you had your suspicions that it was the latter sneaking up on you. "God, I'm so fucked. Say it again?" Taking a deep breath, Ben tried not to sound too eager as he crouched down on the sidewalk next to you, steadying himself on the car door and clearing his throat. "I hope you aren't gonna make me carry you all the way home, love." Laughing at his mild teasing, you opened your eyes again and had to look around for a moment to find his eyes, your gaze going from the traffic lights down the street, to some strangers passing by, to the McDonald's sign. Finally, you turned your head to meet his gaze, making Ben's heart skip a beat as that same look you'd given him a while ago made a reappearance. It was tender, a soft look in your eyes almost making it look like you were about to cry.  Oh. You were crying. "Oh fucking hell, what's wrong?" Ben cursed, fumbling for some napkins in his glovebox as a tear ran down your face despite the peaceful smile that still barely graced your lips. Finally locating the napkins, he began to wipe at your under-eyes, his free hand coming up to cradle the back of your head gently, offering him better leverage. It pained him to see you so upset, and he wondered why in the hell you were crying so hard until you leaned into his hand and gave a little laugh, then spoke. "I forgot to get a McChicken for Joe. He gets so mad when I go to McDonald's without him! Do you think he'll yell at me?" The smile slowly disappeared, replaced by a worried look that coupled well with more tears. Ben's eyes widened as he tried to keep up with the waterworks, but his attempts at dabbing away your tears were pointless as they kept coming, overwhelming him. "Joe's going to hate me, Ben! What if he takes my reclining chair?" "No, shhh, he's not going to hate you. Hey, hey, I'll go in and get one for him. How does that sound?" You sniffled at his words, nodding slowly as you gazed at him, teary-eyed and messy from the sudden crying. He used his thumb to brush some stray hairs out of your face, then offered you the napkins. "You stay here and listen to whatever station you want and I'll go get the McChicken, okay?" "Okay," you mumbled, your voice pathetically plaintive as you took the napkins from him, trying and failing to wipe at your tears as well. "You're so nice, Ben. You're seriously the best, I owe you. Joe was wrong." "Stay here, okay, love?" Ben repeated, trying not to think about your words too much, and he shut the door with a small wave goodbye, locking the doors on you for extra measure. As he bought a McChicken for Joe, he stole regular glances back towards his car on the side of the road where it was clearly not supposed to be, considering he hadn't paid for the meter, but he managed to get the sandwich and go before the meter maid caught him. As he climbed back in, you greeted him cheerily, a slap in the face after the gloomy mood he'd just left you in. "Ben, you're back! Look!" Showing her phone to you, he was greeted with Joe's smug grin, a smile that told Ben he was caught in the lie - well, not really the lie, but the absence of information. "Hey, bud. Did you get my McChicken?" Pressing his lips into a thin line, Ben held the sandwich up to the camera and Joe made a satisfied noise before shifting a little bit, getting comfortable on his couch. "Perfect. I told Y/N I'd hate her forever if she forgot." "Jesus!" Ben cursed, a bit horrified that Joe would be so mean to you when you were this drunk, but you didn't seem to register that you were being played as you looked between the two men, a dopey grin on your face. It was placating enough for the moment, and Ben gave the phone a clear look of dismay before turning his car on, shutting the hazards off. "Joe, we'll be back in 20. Y/N, you can hang up." "Okay," you replied happily, hanging up the phone as you both heard Joe yell something unintelligible about his sandwich. Looking over at you, you grinned despite having bloodshot eyes from the crying, and Ben gave you a reassuring smile as he stole glances at you, trying desperately to watch the road but not doing very well. "I'm assuming your date went swimmingly?" he asked, one hand resting on the steering wheel while the other laid on the center console. Driving in America was odd, so he found it weird to be looking to his right to see you instead of his left, but you were none the wiser as you giggled at his words, shaking your head. "You would not fucking believe," you started, your head lolling to the left a bit as you closed your eyes for a moment, trying to focus enough to get your story out. "I walk in and I'm like 'Jameson's so cute, but can I call you Jamie?' and this is what he did!" Turning to face Ben, you tried to make your face as neutral as you can before you deadpanned a quick "No." "What a lovely personality," Ben observed, laughing a bit as you pressed a hand to your forehead, amazed at how heated your skin was. "And then I tried to order a drink of my own but he was paying, so he made me get some drink that seriously tasted like straight ass! And then he wouldn't even let me get anything else but beer, and I don't even like beer! And then he talked about his ex!" "Ouch." Ben grimaced a bit at that, sympathizing with you while you rambled on and on about how awful the date was, ending with some complaint about how the beer wasn't even that cold. "Well, at least it's over now, right?"  Nodding, you slumped down in your seat, not really caring that your dress was ridden halfway up your thigh at this point. Out of respect, Ben glued his eyes to the road, but there was a creeping redness to his face that was pretty much indiscernible to your drunk goggles. Higher powers seemed to be testing him the more and more he hung out with you. Why hadn't you matched him on Bumble? What did you mean 'Joe was wrong'? The worries plagued him, making his finger tap nervously on the center console as he drove. "God, men are just garbage sometimes," you sighed out of nowhere, Ben lifting an eyebrow at your sudden woes before turning on his blinker, staring ahead at the red light. "Surely you don't mean that. Joe and I are men." "Joe is hardly a man! He screen peeks during Mario Kart." Snickering, Ben couldn't help but smile at that, fascinated by your measurement of Manliness. "I don't know if you screen peek, though. Do you screen peek? I'll never forgive you if you do." "Thank God I don't screen peek, then," Ben reassured you, chuckling once more as you sighed in relief and turned to look at him fully. This would certainly not be the first or last time, but you once again found yourself drowning in his good looks, the world around him spinning but everything about him clear as day. The way the NYC traffic lights reflected in his eyes, his messy hair that had been shaved at the sides - how hadn't you noticed that earlier, before the alcohol? It made him look broader, more statuesque than he already was, which seemed impossible. But most of all, the amused smile playing at the corner of his plump lips, lips that made you chew on the inside of your cheek as you fought back the desperate need to lean across the center console and- "I like your haircut," you blurted out, distracting yourself from your own thoughts, and Ben smiled even wider, looking in the rear-view mirror before looking over at you. The skin at the corner of his eyes crinkled adorably as he watched you for a brief moment, his smile toothy and endearing and making him look even more attractive than before. Well, that didn't help. "Thank you. I'm still not sure if I like it, but I wanted to get it cut before Paris Fashion Week, since I fly out the day after tomorrow." "Oh," you replied quietly, images of skinny models and beautiful outfits blurring through your mind. Again, a blatant reminder that Ben was on a completely different level than you - while you had to sit and listen to scrawny men lament about getting paid more than you, Ben could easily take a model back to his hotel room in Paris of all places. A pained look crossed your face, and Ben furrowed his eyebrows in question before looking back to the road, chewing on the inside of his cheek in thought. "That's dope." God, why were you being so lame? "Yeah," he replied just as quietly, baffled as to why you'd clammed up all of a sudden. A minute ago, you were a chaotic ball of energy, crying and cheering and laughing all over the place, and now here you were sinking back into the leather of Ben's passenger seat, tugging at the bottom of your dress self-consciously and forcing yourself to stare straight ahead. You looked hurt, and he wondered if he'd said something wrong again. A minute or two passed in painful silence before Ben cleared his throat, deciding to end the awkward moment and offering you a smile as he spoke eagerly. "I like your dress. It's a shame you had to waste it on such a dickhead. Where was he from, anyways?" "Sheffield. Or some place nearby, I don't know," you sighed noncommittally, resting your head back against the seat and closing your eyes as his attempts to banter with you went unnoticed. The world was beginning to tilt a bit, and being upset about someone who wasn't even in the same ballfield as you was not helping to fix it. "Northern England, for sure." "Oh, fuck those Northern bastards," Ben groaned playfully, smiling wider when he saw the faintest of grins playing at your lips. "I swear we're not all self-important pricks. Don't let him paint a bad image of all of us." "I could never," you murmured, reaching up to rub the side of your face as Ben strained to hear your mumblings over the sound of the radio. Before he had a chance to react, you moved on, desperate to keep the conversation going before you felt like curling up into a self-loathing ball of shame. "Going to Fashion Week to see anyone?" "Nah. Just got invited, is all," Ben replied slowly, still clueless to the jealous heat that was rising from the tips of your toes to the top of your head, making your whole body feel like it was alight. Flames licked at your heart, vaguely stinging, and you tried to push away the pain as you focused on his words, trying to choose your own carefully. "Fun, fun," you mused, opening your eyes slowly and glancing over to see he was casting curious looks at you when he was stopped at another red light, about halfway to Joe's at this point. Suddenly, you remembered that you'd forgotten your shoes at the McDonald's, and you burst into laughter as you pressed your hand to your forehead, a couple more tears springing to your eyes. "I'm such a fucking dumbass! Oh, God, why do you and Joe even hang around me?" "Because it's hard to ignore someone who shares a balcony?" Ben answered tentatively, realizing you were crying again a moment too late and cursing before fumbling for the glove box again, trying to get you more napkins. "Fuck, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that! It was just a joke, love, I didn't mean to make you cry. I swear, I'm not as mean as Joe-" "Ben, shut up!" you laughed, snatching another napkin from the glove box before turning towards your door and dabbing at the tears, in between laughing and bawling at your current situation. "God, you're too nice, stop it! You're supposed to be that Ben that Joe told me about, not apologizing every time I go baby!" Pulling down the overhead mirror, you tried in vain to fix your makeup, sniffling between your slurring words. "I forgot my shoes back there." "Oh. What did Joe tell you about me?" Ben asked curiously, pulling up at yet another red light that was just a few blocks from your apartment building. This one seemed to take forever, though, realization weighing on your shoulders as you wished desperately that alcohol didn't make you vocalize every single thought you had. "I hope it was all good?" "I shouldn't have said that," you hiccuped, reaching up to smack your forehead a few times before laughing and burying your face in your hands, your seat belt struggling to hold you back as you leaned forward and went a bit limp, angry with yourself and upset with Ben for being so curious. "Of course it was all good. God, I'm too drunk for this. Drop me off at the curb and I'll make it back upstairs." It was a green light again. Ben pressed on the gas, side-eyeing you a bit and staying quiet for another block before he took a deep breath, shaking his head. "You said it yourself, you're drunk, so there's no way you are going back up there alone. Friends don't let drunk friends go home alone." Your phone began buzzing, sidetracking any response you could have had to Ben officially calling you his 'friend,' and you lifted it to find that Joe was Facetiming once again. Swiping right, you answered, and Joe's face lit up the screen, prompting a genuine smile from you that didn't go unnoticed by Ben, who was now pulling in to the parking garage he'd just left less than an hour ago. "Hi, Joey!" you answered softly, the sentimental look back in your eyes as you rested your head on Ben's window, watching your phone screen blearily. Ben glanced over at you, trying to keep a neutral expression despite the fact that he was once again convinced that you and Joe were even closer than you appeared. These dates - what did they mean? Were they distractions? As much as he wanted to convince himself that it was just that you guys had been living in blindingly close proximity for over two years, he just couldn't shake the feeling that the touchy-feely nature of your relationship was something beyond that. "Ugh, I told you not to call me that! But hi. Are you guys about here? I snuck over to your place and got your hangover cure ready." Joe's phone shifted, then turned to reveal he was in your kitchen next to two glasses of water and four ibuprofen. "Oh my god," you whined softly, slumping in your seat a bit and fighting back more tears as you smiled at the phone, pressing your hand to your forehead again. "You're too nice to me. I could cry right now." "Please don't," Ben begged, making you laugh a bit in embarrassment and close your eyes, hitting your head against the window a few times. "We're in the garage right now. We'll be there in 5 minutes." "Joe, can you pleaseeeee please please go to my closet and get out my fuzzy white bathrobe?" you pleaded, giving your best puppy dog eyes/pout combo that you could in your hazy state. "I'll do anything." Ben finally found a parking spot, and your eyes lit up when you realized you could climb out, completely forgetting all about your shoes that you'd left behind as you managed to unbuckle yourself and stumble out of the car before Ben could make his way over to help you. Cursing under his breath, he locked the door and shoved his keys into his sweatpants as he hurried over to your side, where you were leaned against the back passenger door of the car and rambling on to Joe about how you really needed your bathrobe to be put in the dryer so it was 'like a warm hug' when you got back. "Why can't Ben or I just give you a hug?" Joe groaned, shuffling through your closet before locating the big white piece of fabric and heading for your dryer. Ben reached around you to shut your door for you, putting the McChicken in his other pocket before raising an eyebrow at you and silently questioning whether you were ready to walk alone again. Confidently, you began your trek back to the elevator, but a few steps and you were already swaying again, steadying yourself on the trunk of his car. Damn, this thing looks expensive. These fucking actors. Sighing, Ben quickly caught up and wrapped an arm around your waist, his keys digging into your side as he supported your dead weight once again and led you towards the elevator. "Because I'm upset with the male species right now," you replied, your actions completely betraying your words as you draped an arm across Ben's shoulder and leaned your head on it, sighing melodramatically. "He wouldn't even let me call him Jamie." Ben could see the amusement even in Joe's horribly pixelated face, the WiFi connection understandably horrid out in the garage, but he chalked the amusement up to Joe thoroughly enjoying drunk you. His free hand went out to press the elevator button as a night security guard eyed you both warily from afar, Ben nodding curtly, and you pressed the button again for what you thought was good measure before closing your eyes, humming tiredly. Ben was warm, and the body heat radiating off of him was dangerously comfortable. "That sounds awful," Joe replied faux-sympathetically, though he seemed more like he was having the time of his life witnessing your dependency on Ben despite the fact that you were basically saying all men were trash. Ben's lips pressed into a thin line, silencing any nagging thoughts as he listened to you continue. "I know! And he made me drink beer all night, and kept talking about his ex, and then he made a fat joke!" You continued rambling about everything that had gone wrong that night, disparaging men in your drunken state while simultaneously leaning against Ben's side, your arm draped around his shoulder and fingertips occasionally brushing against his chest. The elevator rose to your floor steadily, a happy noise escaping the back of your throat when the doors finally opened, and you gripped Ben's shoulder tightly to steady yourself as he led you into the hallway, ignoring the sharp dig of your fingernails in his skin. Right now, he just wanted to get you back home before his arm fell off, his hand almost asleep from how hard he had to grip your waist to keep you steady.  When your door opened and Joe appeared, you couldn't contain your excitement, nor could Ben's grip contain you as you propelled forward into Joe's arms, wrapping him up in the tightest hug you'd ever given him. Laughing, he returned the hug as he slid his foot out to hold the door open for Ben, who made his way in with a mildly exhausted look on his face that Joe just barely witnessed. A knowing smile snuck its way onto his lips, and he shut the door as you let go of him, stumbling down the hallway after Ben and making your way to the kitchen.  "Joe, you're seriously the best," you practically moaned from the kitchen as you took the ibuprofen and chugged one of the glasses of water, Ben raising an eyebrow as he turned to look at Joe, who shrugged and grinned. "It's like I'm chopped liver or something," Ben remarked, just loud enough for Joe to hear but quiet enough for it to pass under your radar as you started on the second glass of water, drinking it down like a ravenous beast. Reaching into his pocket, Ben pulled out the sandwich and tossed it to Joe, who cheered in excitement and unwrapped it quickly, biting into the partially-cold chicken and not caring one bit. As he tossed his keys on the counter, Ben took a look around your place, realizing he'd never been there before. It was just a flipped carbon copy of Joe's, all the cozy dimensions the same. The two men made their way into the living room where you were fully out of earshot, and both settled into the couch as they listened to you rummaging around the kitchen. "Well, you kind of still smell like it," Joe offered, talking through his sandwich and not bothering to chew at all before he spoke. "I swear to God, if either of you makes another joke about me smelling bad, I'm going mental," Ben hissed, running his hands back through his hair and wincing at the sharpness of the freshly shaved hairs on the side that pricked at his fingertips. "I'm not your girlfriend's Uber, you know? Why would she text me to come pick her up?" Joe grinned and shrugged, very clearly enjoying how irritated Ben was becoming as he took another bite of the McChicken, vaguely gesturing with the hand it was in as he spoke again. "Not my girlfriend, but whatever. Two, ask her. I'm not your couples therapist, Mr. Fashion Week. I can't ask your girlfriend for you. God, the power of the pussy." "She's- you're one to talk!" Ben sputtered out, reaching over to give Joe's shoulder a mild-mannered smack. "Let yourself in to a bird's apartment and get her hangover cure - which you know by heart - ready, and throw her clothes in the laundry for her, and you want to talk to me about the power? Get out. Just stop dicking around already, mate, it's clear you two have a thing and you're just fucking with me at this point." "Ummmm, I believe I'm just a friendly neighbor. You're the one that risked losing a parking spot in the middle of the city just so you could go pick up a drunk girl  and carry her home."   Ben was gearing up to fire back that he'd never seen two neighbors so close, but at that moment he heard you walking out into the living room, and both of them turned to see you snuggled up in the bathrobe you'd retrieved from the dryer, your dress laying in a heap by the washing machine. "Mmmm, perfect," you hummed to yourself, your eyes just barely visible over the oversized bathrobe that disguised most of your figure. Padding over to the chair adjacent from them, you flopped down it in rather ungracefully and curled up against the armrest, staring at the both of them with a silly grin. "Whatcha talkin' about out here?" "Nothing," Joe calmly lied, taking another bite of his sandwich as he sat back, offering an unassuming smile. "You missed That 70's Show." "I should have stayed and skipped my date," you huffed quietly, pouting as your eyelids fluttered closed and you nuzzled the pillow you currently had tucked underneath you. You were getting sleepy, and Ben could tell that you weren't going to last much longer at this rate. "Jameson was a big, stupid bitch. Why do guys suck?" "Damn, Benny-boy over here drives to pick you up and I get your stuff ready for bed and all guys suck?" Joe questioned, raising an eyebrow and watching as you whined and furrowed your own eyebrows, peeking open your eyes. There it was, the tender look that managed to send Ben's mind into a frenzy once again - he wasn't sure now if it was because he knew crying might come with it, or if you just had that much of an affect on him.  "That's not what I meant, Joe, I'm sorry!" Your eyes were starting to look watery, and Ben sent Joe a panicked look that just prompted a heavy sigh from his friend. Taking the last bite of his sandwich, Joe rose to his feet and brushed the crumbs off of his shorts before ambling over to the chair. His hand wrapped around your wrist and he carefully pulled you to stand as you sniffled and whined quietly, tears  threatening to spill over - Ben observed stiffly as you fully wrapped your arms around Joe's torso, leaning into his grasp as he started to lead you to your bedroom. "Okay, crybaby, you've trashed males enough and made Ben lose his parking spot, I think it's bedtime, yeah?" Joe asked, wrapping an arm lazily around you and maneuvering you around the maze of your living room before glancing over his shoulder to nod at Ben. "I can take it from here. Night, dude. Have fun in Paris!" "Ben, I'm sorry I made you lose your parking spot! I'm such a bitch," you wailed as Joe made futile attempts to shush you, his hand only partially muffling your cries as he led you down the hallway just like a doting boyfriend caring for his drunk girlfriend. "Bye, guys." Raising his hand, Ben waved once, but neither of you saw it as you whined into Joe's hand, gripping onto his shirt tightly while Joe tried to distract you to no avail. Ben was already no longer in the picture, reduced to a background character while Joe took center stage once again. When you disappeared out of sight, Ben took a long, deep breath before rising to his feet as well, stretching and slowly making his way to where he'd sat his keys before exiting. The sound of you wailing from your bedroom accompanied his exit, and he could faintly hear you in the hallway as he pressed the elevator button, shuffling into the cramped space when the doors slid open with a dinging sound.  As the doors closed behind him, Ben turned and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes as exhaustion slowly set in. "Fucking hell," he muttered, his voice the only sound in his ears besides the creaking of the elevator shaft, an odd shift from having someone around him almost constantly all night. Though he hated to say it, he almost would have rather been trying to stop you from crying right now - he missed your voice, and Joe's too. The virtual silence was deafening, and a dull ringing sound started to assault his eardrums. The elevator doors slid open, and Ben reemerged to find that the same night security guard from before was watching him curiously, the window to his little shack slid open partially. "She get home okay? Seems like she was quite a handful," the guard remarked, the wrinkles around his face deepening as he punctuated his sentence with a little chuckle. Ben laughed once, nodding as he sifted through his key ring and strolled past the guard's stand, shaking his head. "She's alright. Just had a few too many and needed a babysitter for a little bit." The guard's eyes never left the blond as he passed, his arms folding in front of him as he watched Ben fiddle with his key ring, failing to find the remote to unlock his car. "Must have been hell getting her to settle in. She's lucky she's cute, huh?" That slowed Ben's pace down considerably, and not just because the night guard was out of pocket. He paused in picking his car key out of the key ring, looking up for a moment before nodding and heading to get in his car, his smile faltering just a bit - again, he was reminded that it was Joe up there with you right now, not him.  "Yeah. Very lucky." --- sorry i was such a mess last night, i'm 100% paying for it now! thanks for coming to get me even though i'm a straight up moron. and i didn't forget, i definitely owe you... joe says have fun in paris :) Ben reread the text one more time, unable to smile despite the cutesy emoticon at the end. Even though you'd taken the time to message him personally and thank him with an open-ended IOU, there was Joe's name, popping up at the end like an annoying little fly that just kept reappearing despite his best efforts to swat it away.  "It's not his fault," he mumbled, locking his phone as he went on to his 16th hour of ignoring your text. What would he say anyways? Hey, no sweat, I basically would drop everything to come pick you up from a shitty date. Actually, why don't I just take you on a shitty date and we can skip- "Blanket?" The flight attendant's voice jolted him out of his wallowing, and he gave the clean-cut man an embarrassed smile before nodding his head, accepting the packaged blanket gratefully. Dealing with his problems was going to be a lot easier when he could sleep them away for the next 7 hours, and then promptly drown them in fancy outfits, rich foods, and outlandish cocktails. "Thanks, mate. Definitely going to need it."

---

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[jjbakaloskaiagathos]

Henloo are your matchups still open? If yes can i have a part 5 matchup? Im 5'3 with black neck length hair. Tan skin. I wear glasses and i have braces. I have dark brown eyes. I may look like a nerd but im not lol i have 2 helix piercing on my right ear. Im bit boyish i love to wear hoodies jeans or shorts and sneakers. Im usually quiet but im really friendly when u get to know me. I just dont talk unless im ask to or im with someone im completely comfy with. Pt. 1

Some say im dense af lol. I think i just dont pay attention to some things too much. I like to read a lot and when i read i space out. I also like listening to music. I have a wide range of music from kpop jpop to metal and punk. I am quite adventurous i love to hike and go on beach. I love long car drives but i always fell asleep tho regardless of how long the drive is. In terms of health i often have a cold and i always carry tissues with me because i always sneeze lol. Pt 2

I'm not picky with friends honestly i just like to be someone who genuinely likes me and is comfy with hanging out with me. When im in the mood i may be very mischievous. I often pull pranks on my cousins and i can be talkative sometimes. I am a very chill person and i dont usually open up to anyone. But i really love listening to what people has to say. Pt 3 end :)

Hello @hoetaro-kujo! Thank you for your request and full description! Your character qualities say that the perfect match is... Fugo! 🍓

- Love, K&S ❤️

You reassure and inspire Fugo. He likes your quiet vibe and your listener’s skills: Fugo loves to tell you about the latest mission and the latest Narancia’s trick. If you laugh, he realizes that it was not so bad.

When Fugo had been growing up, he listened only one music genre (it is classic). Now you open to him many new groups, bands and singers. Both of you make playlists together and explore the creative ways of your favorite musicians.

Fugo knows how to drive and you love traveling by car, so at least once a week you go on a new road trip. Even if you fall asleep during the tour, Fugo only smiles and gently looks at you.

Fugo always takes care of your health! He reminds you to dress warmer and makes the best tea with strawberry jam, if you accidently get sick.

[hollandsmushroom]

Confident pt 2

Confident

Hi guys, I don’t know if I’m back but someone commented for a part 2 so I wrote it and it made me happy but who knows. I hope you enjoy it like I enjoyed writing it. @generationsparkles

The two of you had finished having fun on the beach and had gotten back into the car, your legs all sandy and your hair curly from the salt water. It was a quiet drive, the radio was almost turned all the way down, the windows open letting the breeze run across your skin as Cal drove along the coast, the sun setting behind the horizon, it was like nothing you could remember, you had a feeling in your stomach that was so happy you wanted to cry. Just at that moment Cal decided that he wanted to make this moment even better for you, he took one hand off of the steering wheel and reached over, laying his hand on your plushy exposed thigh. His thumb ran over the skin, brushing off the small particles of sand that had stuck, it was gentle but his hand was moving closer and closer to the place where your thighs squish together, burrowing his finger in between the he spread the apart, trying to push them oven.

“Open your legs, baby,” he commanded softly, and you did, spreading your legs so that your thighs no longer pressed together, is calloused finger tips drifted slowly across the lightly chaffed flesh of your inner thigh, his touch was soft and sent shivers down your spine even thought the weather was warm. A soft whimper escaped your lips causing Cal to peel his eyes from the road to look at you, and you looked like the most beautiful person he had ever seen, your hair was messy and your cheeks slightly reddened from the sun, your boob spilling from your bikini, and the smile on your face as you looked right back at him, it was perfect. 

His eyes returned to the road but his hand remained on your thigh, moving closer and closer to your heat with every small sigh that you let out. Finally he pushed your swim suit aside and ran his fingers between your folds, collecting your wetness on his fingers before teasingly entering them into you. His thumb rubbed in gentles upwards motions against your clit, your thighs began to shake at the motion of his finger within you, it reached the spot that no one but him could. 

“You like that?” he hummed.

“Yea,” you sighed the glow that was building inside you matched the sun against the water. 

He kept moving until he felt you clench around his fingers, his pace picked up when he felt that, bringing you to your orgasm as he did his best to maintain focus on the road and not sit in awe of how beautiful you were when you came, that was that hardest part for him, well aside from his cock. 

As you came down from your high, you peeled your eyes open to look at the man that you loved so much, we was smiling as he drove, but there was a slight grimace to it, your brows furrowing in confusion but the bulge in his swim trunks caught your eye and it all made sense.

After a little while of driving in a peaceful silence you arrived at your shared home. Your bare feet met the concrete of your drive way as you got out, running inside and up to your bedroom, leaving a very confused Cal behind you. Cal followed quickly behind you up to your bedroom. He found you sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for him. 

“Hey babe?” he said it like it was a question. You didn’t respond, just stood up and walked towards him, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the bathroom where you had already run a bath. 

“Whats this, love?” you smiled at him. 

“I saw that you were having a *hard* time in the car and i thought we could get clean and dirty at the same time,” 

“You have me, Im in,” he slipped his trunks down his legs and stepped into the bathtub. You removed your bathing suit and as soon as you were about to step in the bathtub, Cal pulled you down and onto his lap so that you were facing him. 

“I love you,” he whispered as he slowly slid you down onto his length.

“I love you too,” you barely got out as he met your lips with his. You moaned into the kiss, you both knew that neither of you weren’t going to last long, and you were right. Minutes of kissing and riding later, you were both try not to cum to make the moment last longer but you were sensitive from earlier and you couldn’t hold on anymore. You moaned into his mouth as you clenched around his cock, signaling him that he could let go, and he did, you rode out your orgasms together, the warm bath water splashing against the both of you. 

After you came down from your highs you sat in the bath for a minute after, catching your breath and washing off a little. Cal got out of the bath tub before you, opening the bathroom cabinet and getting two fluffy towels, before going over to you and offering you a hand.

“Come on, babe, lets go to bed,” he offered, you nodded as you took his hand and stepped out of the tub, he quickly wrapped you in a towel as you both got ready for bed, he left briefly and came back with one of his shirts for you to sleep in, quickly you pulled it over your head and went to lay in your bed. Cal joined you and pulled you into him. You snuggled your head into his bare chest, he kissed your forehead and you both drifted off to sleep. 

@mylilbreadstick - @cthoodsthetic - @isabella100 - @dont-drop-that-lunchable- @moancurly - @numberonepoetryexpert - @buggy-blogs - @neonsgravestone- @calumsbitch4ever - @lukethecalumstan - @caswinchester2000 - @damselindistressanu - @dickmedownashton  - @myloverboyash -@soyuuuh - @blahehblah - @aulxna - @allamerican-betch - @ghostofcth - @boyfriend-cal - @rainingcalum - @thecurlsofgod - @5sosaccent - @pinkbubbles-and-bigtroubles

[ot74evr]

BTS Game

Tagged by: @mintjoonlep thanks for thinking of me!

Tagging: if you want to do the thing, do the thing

First BTS song? DNA. I had bought Just Dance as a way to trick myself into cardio, but I grew tired of it after a while. My kid LOVED all the foreign music, especially the K-Pop. So I asked my friend who had been listening to the genre for a long time what she would reccomend and within minutes I had like 14 youtube videos send to me xD. The kid hit on DNA like nothing else and then Idol shortly after and we’ve been hooked ever since.

First bias? Yoongi. I was doing those youtube “pick a thing and we’ll match you with an idol” type videos to learn faces and names and one of them I had done I got 18/20 Suga or something equally crazy. And then I noticed my eyes kept finding him the next time kiddo went on a binge of MVs, lol

Current bias? ah shit. Honsetly this can change by the day. So I guess today is Joon. Tomorrow might be Hoseok or Jin lol

Put the members in order on your bias list. I am ot7. I truly love all of these bois. But if I’m really honest with myself it is Hyungline then Makenaeline with surprising upsets that change day to day lmao

Favorite BTS song? oh god. uuuuhhhhhh. I have a soft spot for Waste It On Me but you could tell me that’s a Steve Aoki song and I’d be like “Fair”. I Need You (Urban Remix) is that same kind of love for me. I just can’t skip it no matter what mood I’m in

Favorite underrated BTS song? Let Go. Begin. I don’t know if these qualify but I do love them so

Favorite song on Wings? First Love. It was the first song I absolutely HAD to look up the lyrics to. It was late at night and some shitty fan cam, but I loved it immediately, and probably boosted my early Yoongi bais.

Favorite song on LY: Her, Tear, and Answer? Her - Dimple. just super cute and fun. 

Tear - Airplane pt. 2. I lobe it all. And watching the guys dance in the rain is always a plus imo

Answer - Mic Drop (Steve Aoki Remix) [Full Length]. Sexiest thing they have ever done on stage. Dont @ me

Favorite MV? Danger? Grape Jin in eyeliner is too powerful to resist. And the shoulder/bicep section????? I also like the general aesthetic of War on Hormone because I am a degenerate 90s baby lmao. Airplane pt 2 again is very nice >.>

Favorite dancer? Yoongi or Tae. It’s easy to say Hobi or Jimin because they are very good at what they do and if they weren’t in this group I am very sure they would be talked about for their styles. Seeing either one or both of them on World of Dance would be a dream come true. But I like the “chip in the polish” that Yoongi and Tae have.They like to dance and are very good at it but it’s the lack of refinement that Hobi and Jimin have in spades that really draw me in to Y and T.

Favorite vocalist? Rap line. I’m not even kidding. Rapline singing is my BIGGEST weakness in this group.I know Joon fucks around and does silly shit with his voice but when he’s serious or his voice lends support on a track? yespleasethanksomg. And the other two have such natural abilty as well. Out of Vocalline though it’s Jin. He has such a unique tone to him that I really like. And that range?? gdlk

Favorite rapper? I dont know if I can pick.They’re each so unique and talented. I’d probably have to say Yoongi tho. His voice just gives me chills no matter what.

Favorite hair color on each member? Any shade of purple/blue really. That anime boi shit is my jam. MintYoongi will forever live in my heart with curly haired Tae tho. I know it’s not a color but I am SOFT for it okay?? Favorite choreography? Black Swan. The shoulder section of Danger. Idol is impressive everytime. I can’t wait to see what choreos they have planned for when they tour again. 

Favorite ship? Joon/books Yoongi/naps Jin/fishing Hobi/sound effects Tae/art Jimin/laying in laps JK/ARMYs

[yiulee999]

Hey! What do you think of OPM season 2? I still love it & am looking forward to next weeks new episode but i just wish Saitama had more screen time ;-(

hey nonny~! 

apologies for the late reply, its a combo of not getting notifications (tumblr u useless trashbucket) and being on surgery rotation (i miss sleeping so much) 

firstly, i am truly glad you still love it and look forward to the new episodes!!! 💖💖💖please dont let anything i say from this point on dissuade you from that enjoyment 

THAT BEING SAID 

///cut for length 

ive only watched up to the second episode, and i am having Such Difficulties convincing myself to keep watching. i know my rxns to ep 1 were overall pretty positive and I stand by it but the more i watch the more the Cringe/Hypercritique starts take over. 

Turns out, the art style had a bigger impact than i thought on the length of which i enjoy shows. personally, i just really like when anime/shows have a happy marriage between writing and artwork. and when show directors know how to interpret writing, how to set up a scene (the angle, the music, the pacing), and then communicate with artists who have the skills to bring that idea to life using the medium they’re given -- that’s when writing becomes storytelling. OPM’s writing is still fantastic since they’re going off ONE (whereas GoT has the opposite problem where the production value is 4K and the writing is early 2000s livejournal/fanfiction lol god why is everyone dropping the ball in 2019??)

As for the art, since opm switched to jc staff and shingo natsume & co. left for other projects ( ;;_____;; im emo ), its inevitable we would see a drop in animation quality and i find myself constantly getting distracted by things i never used to get concerned about in the first season (bc of the high bar of expectations set by s1 artists/directors, like theres just no way jc staff would match up it to all of that and i feel bad for them, they’re trying their best but that doesn’t mean theyre immune to critique on the artistic liberties that they’ve taken that i feel as a viewer, may not have been the best choice?) 

the shading: no, just, unnecessary and distracting and why is it the center of saitamas face, im by far no expert in lighting but a bish can tell something doesnt look right??? 

the shading pt II: color choices. just gonna say i was not expecting sai’s ‘hair shirt’ in ep 1 to be bright-ass neon green, it was a little jarring at first and i miss him in red ;-; i get hes supposed to have poor fashion choices but i dont see him as the type to pick something that stands out so much in the crowd, like he likes to be left alone. NEON doesnt really relay ‘hi dont mind me im just barely existing here lol’ 

the shading pt III: genos arms/neck. okaY so the bby looks good in screenshots. like he’s shiny and nice to look at when nothings moving. bUT this is animation?? movement of objections is different from still life manga so making every single scene almost 99% like murata’s panels translates a little awkwardly to the screen (like staff is lucky bc murata’s a force of nature with his panels playing out like a movie for ref). but when genos moves, the arms are just distracting bc everything around him is drawn simply without shadows so they stand out by themselves and i (visually) forget about the rest of him haha. 

the pacing: it feels scripted, person A says this so we’ll show person A in the shot, then person B is saying something so we have to cut to person B, etc etc like keeping pretty steady to manga lines to the point where i was starting to get bored bc i knew what was coming. it was really intervaled? like someone had to be saying something at a certain effect and i think s1 had more dramatic pauses (lol) but thats how you can place emphasis on scenes to have an emotional impact if the character doesnt say anything and just let the soundtrack do some talking and the cadence of the script will change too (im 10000% talking about the sunset scene in s1 god bless. like it was slow, there was MOOD there wasn’t any rush and really gave the viewer time to think about the relationship between the two characters and what that moment meant to each of them) i feel like there were several scenes that could have been more like in the scene where sai protected fubuki, could have been a little more dramatically emphasized (aka just a pause) so the viewer could get a chance to understand that he purprosefully shielded her or when genos says that strong heroes are drawn to saitama--bUT nope its the same pace, like c l o c k w o r k just like my t eARS--

the fight scenes: how do i even start. the one scene that got me INTO opm (like watching the anime, reading the manga, drawing fanart, writing fanfic, reading fanfics etc) was kickstarted by the fight scene between genos and saitama in s1 that was circulating on tumblr a while back. i thought the characters were interesting and the fight was badass and it just looked SO COOL. (also the forehead flick at the end just kinda sealed my fate). going from that to s2 fight scenes where its mostly cut scenes and freeze scenes?? where theres a cut out behind the characters back?? during a fight scene????? this isn’t a calling card or an anime opening??? i dont understand. when they dont do cut scenes, its interesting but my initial impression is just underwhelmed. i can find good parts but it feels like i have to replay the scene to notice it? theres also an overwhelming amount of graphics/cgi manipulation that overpowers the actual art sometimes. its lacking some of the fluidity that comes from hand drawn fight scenes from first season. OTL

the sound directing: so i thought that the mood just felt off for certain scenes and the sound didn’t seem to support the scene as well (unless it was like the character’s theme or smtg) and i looked it up and the sound director was also replaced (Yoshikazu Iwanami replacing Shoji Hata). i have no idea if the sound director is also in charge of character lines but there were parts were fubuki was monologuing and i had no idea she was inner monologuing, i thought she was talking out loud and that just took extra effort on my part to re-orient myself (im nitpitcking i know but its just how i watch shows lol) 

there are still some parts i like about the animation:

fubuki looks bangin and i love her👌👗

all of this just made me realize how insanely lucky we were to have an amazing s1 and just have it exist and how i really could not care less if they had just waited forever to make s2 as long as we had the same crew come back. but anime is still a business and the quicker they dish out merch/seasons, the more money they can bring in. which they do in the short run but they would bring in more if they spent a little more on quality in the long run and it becomes one of those classics that ppl will rewatch and keep recommending to ppl who want to get into anime and oh my god we’re never gonna have that now, are we. if im gonna rec it to a friend its gonna be ‘read the manga!’ or ‘just watch s1!’ uGH. its just an unfortunate situation, its not one person’s fault either, so many factors go into what made opm s1 so spectacular and seeing s2 just made me appreciate s1 more. i guess im happy to have a s2 regardless? 

i’ll still watch to support (and bc i like suiryuu and wanna see sai in a karate gi and wig lol). maybe i just have to get used to the new style. 

so in summary,

[sweetpea-skarsgard-blog]

You’ve Just Crossed The Line pt. 3 // Sweet Pea Imagine

(Request:  @southsideslutt oh yes so an imagine where y/n gets held for ransom by the ghoulies and sweet pea is freaking out bc that’s his girl and the serpents help calm him down by going on a rescue mission for her and there’s a whole lotta angst and fluff at the end :’’))

(( as promised here is the fluff! I hope that it was seceptible to give you all toothaches. Just dont send me your dentist bills. <3 Request more imagines if you’d like! i do a bunch of different fandoms, and characters ))

Warnings: none really.. mention of violence, mention of bugs.

Part 1 // Part 2

Feeling Sweet Pea’s arms wrapped around you on that warm night,  as the rain pattered over the tarp keeping the two of you sheltered; Well, it was one of the most comforting feelings in the world. Sure, since the attack, your overprotective boyfriend hadn’t exactly let you go back to your house without a posse of at least five people accompanying you- but that was a precaution that you would have to deal with, given the fact that he was even letting you step back onto that side of town at all. It was clear that your kidnapping had a profound effect on the both of you, making sweet Pea only want to hold you tighter and never let go.. While you couldn't help but be fearful anytime you were left alone for too long.

It was normal wasn’t it? To experience such an anxiety after a trauma like the one you had faced. You were sure that some fancy Northside doctor would have diagnosed you with PTSD, and tried to shove pills down your throat to make the pain and fear go away.. But then again, being from the Southside- it wasn't like you could go to that length- having only a few dollars in your pockets at any given moments.. And absolutely no savings whatsoever in the event of a true emergency.

No… Sweet Pea was the only treament for your nerves that you needed at the moment, his strong arms and the calming and musky scent of his cologne filling your nostrils as he embraced you. The man was content as well, just leaning his face down to press soft kisses over your forehead and the top of your hair, making you feel loved. It seemed to be a rare moment to anyone that caught a glimpse of the aggressive Serpent in such a docile state, cuddling and loving on someone that could actually make him soft. But that was just the affect that you had on the male.

After what had happened, seeing the pure rage and anger on his face while he pummeled those Ghoulies- you knew that it all came from a place of worry. Sure the man was not opposed to cracking a few skulls every now and then, but the way he effortlessly fought off four guys at once- that was a product of love. You knew from experience that Sweet Pea was loyal to a fault, but even as he was faced with uncertainty and many more foes than he could normally handle.. He had done it all to protect you, and pushed himself past his limits.

“You’re as Sweet as they come, aren’t you, Pea?” you asked quietly, tracing your fingertips over the dogtags that were hanging from his neck. Something that you found yourself doing often in such tender moments. Sweet Pea on the other hand inwardly cringed at your little play on words, rolling his eyes, though he did let out a breath that seemed to resemble the ghost of a laugh.

“Yeah, and you’re a fucking dork, Y/N. If we are stating the obvious.. Besides.. You know that I’m pretty much only sweet on you. Ask Toni, Fangs, or Jones.. I’m pretty sure that they would all agree that I am consistently an asshole at any given time, to everyone except you.” he grunted, watching your fingertips as they moved across the somewhat tarnished silver metal. You were so mesmerised by the little things that he kept as a constant in his life, the dogtags, his rings, jacket.. And that hairdo that you swore took more pomade than you figured he or Fangs could ever afford. It was an enigma to you, but at the same time, you would never change a thing about him. One other constant in his life that he was growing to need more and more on a daily basis- was you.

“I am a fucking dork, but you love me anyways.. I mean why else would you have come to my rescue- like some knight in shining… leather jacket?” you teased, looking over to his Serpent skin that was hanging from one of the folding chairs in the corner of his tent. Luckily the canvas fabric had not sprung any leaks lately.. So the two of you were dry as bones.. Though it definitely didn't help the cold situation. It was almost always cold at night in Riverdale, even in the summers.

That was one of the reasons that Sweet Pea was thankful for your presence, he never got too cold when he had you around, able to wrap you in his arms and savor your warmth in his oversized sleeping bag, as you did the same with him. Before, in his trailer, Sweet Pea never seemed to wear more than a pair of sweatpants to bed… but now seeing him curled up in a long sleeved shirt, all cozied up- you were thankful for it, even at the loss of skin on skin contact.

Sweet Pea then moved his hands from your waist, one trailing down to your ass and kneading at the skin gently, before the other moved up towards your hair. He loved the feel of it, so silky beneath his fingertips.. However, the  thought that he might have lost you forever was still lingering on the back of his mind, torturing him

Feeling his body tense up, you ripped your eyes away from the cool metal, looking up at him, and pressing a palm against his cheek as he seemed troubled by something. You’d had an idea of what this could all be about. But knowing Sweet Pea, it was going to be a little bit of a battle to get the truth to come out of him. “Baby.. what are you thinking about?” you asked, biting at your lip gently, as his dark brown eyes trailed over your features. The hand that was playing with your hair, moved down to your cheek, tracing the place where that bruise from the bitch Bonnibel seemed to have faded away over time. You closed your eyes at the contact, and nuzzled your face into his hand.

Sweet Pea’s breath hitched, as he felt that he was making his thoughts too obvious, clearing his throat and looking away for a minute. “Nothin.. I mean.. I’m just glad you’re fine.” he nodded, seeming to take a step back from the situation so as not to relive everything that had happened. Of course he was glad that it was over- but at the same time.. He was angry at himself that they hadn't made that Ghoulie bitch pay for what she had done to you. Sure, they had ruined an entire shipment of Jingle Jangle with their little rouse- but that wasn't enough to warrant this war being over- nor the pain that you had gone through. Sweet Pea’s eyes flickered over to your Serpent skin, littered with hoes from various darks and even knives having been flung at the leather while it hung on the wall of the Wyrm.

What if that had been you that they had taken their target practice on- what if you were hurt merely for being a Serpent.. A part of a family yes- but at the same time, something that he could never fully protect you from. Of course Sweet Pea knew that you were capable of holding your own- when it wasn’t and uneven match like it was that night.. But as your boyfriend, he couldn't help but feel like it was his duty to make sure you were safe.

As he had his train of thought, you sighed and caressed over his cheek, seeming to be able to read his mind as he looked at your jacket, damaged and in need of serious repairs. But Brydie was a little out of it these days, and as the Serpent’s resident seamstress, it fell to Toni and Cheryl who were also being driven crazy with keeping up the living standards for the gang. But you knew you needed to comfort Sweet Pea.. reassure him... just the way that he had been doing for you for the past week.

“Sweets I am fine.. I am going to be fine. Sure things were shady for a while- but now that I am here with you, the Serpents.. I’m gonna be okay. That bitch Bonnibel is going to get what is coming to her .. I promise. But that is for me and the girls to do- girl on girl crim is something that needs to be solved by girls.” you laughed, knowing that were Sweet Pea not the slightest bit gentlemanly, he would have socked the girl in the face. But Toni had a plan- and while it was a little devious, you were all for it.

“Tomorrow Cheryl, Toni, and I are going to sneak over to Sunnyside and leave her a little present.. Some pregnant hissing cockroaches should do.” you smirked, crossing your arms, as Sweet Pea looked down at you with an eyebrow arched.

“That’s your idea of payback? Man I can't believe that I’m so crazy for a softy.” he chuckled, though he knew that it would be your decision ultimately how you wanted to take your revenge.. “You should add a rotten fish to her air conditioner for good measure.” he smirked, pulling you over top of him so that you were now straddling his lap, and looking down at him. Your hair fell down the sides of your face, making him reach up and brush parts of it behind your ears- just so he could get a better view of that pretty face. “That should be enough to make the bitch suffer.. “ his low voice gently met your ears, sending a shiver down your spine, as you pressed your palms flat against his chest.

With a swift move, Sweet Pea pulled you back down, so that his fingertips were interlaced in your hair, as his lips moved against your own, memorizing every shape your mouth made against his own as he passionately kissed you. He had never been in love before he met you.. But feeling you now, hand against his heart, while his fingertips massaged at your scalp as you moaned at his touch- he knew.. Anyone who ever crossed that line again and tried to take you away from him- well they were gonna get a hell of a rude awakening.

“I love you so much, sweetheart.” Sweet Pea murmured, his lips moving against your own as he only pulled away enough to get the words out. You giggled a bit into the kiss before you spoke back. “I know you do.. You’re pretty damn smitten.” you smirked. 

“You ass.” 

[mumpkins]

Private OC Rating

Done by @cho-rates​, I just decided to have the balls to make it public and answer questions! (as well as fix some things)

cho’s comments and questions will be in BOLD. 

My answers and fixed places will be in ITALIC!

Name: Shotaro Kaneda

Hero/Villain Name (if applicable): N/A

Age: 24 ( An aged up verse, he’s a couple years older than 1-A. Though sometimes I will portray his teen years as well, I have more information on his adult verse. I do want to flesh out teen years at some point though lol )

Birthday: September 5 (a virgo eww)

Gender: Male

Orientation: Bi-sexual

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 133 lbs

Hair: ear-length, fixed but slightly unruly, black

Appearance: Athletic agile build, Asian descent, brown eyes, red tinted hands and feet, small red horns on his forehead, long spiked / devilish red tail

Body: Athletic agile build

Quirk: Steam – Kaneda can build up and blow a hot steam that can potentially burn (or even melt depending on the force) his opponents. (Ahaha, the quirk fits the body appearance. I bet this one is going to be a hot head or really sweet)

Weakness: Building up and releasing too much steam at once can cause overexertion to the point where he can and will collapse and not be able to move for a while. Also his fucking ego. (LMFAO, I guess we’re dealing with the former and not the latter!)

Personality: Kaneda becomes the main symbol of defiance, expressing anarchy behavior towards authority and absolutely does not accept blatant disrespect. Kaneda values loyalty and becomes vengeful when trust is broken. He is impulsive, hot-headed, egotistical, and maintains a tough exterior; however, he is brave, independent, and highly empathetic. As a leader, Kaneda will look out for the safety and well-being of his allies, and will throw himself in front of a bullet for them if need be. (This!! I like that you didn’t make him a straight jerk and that you gave him good traits as well!)

Do they work well with others?: You are either with him or against him. By default he will work well if not negotiate unless you have a badge stating your authority.

Family: Parents deceased; family is his gang of brothers, all misfits and loyal to the bone

Friends (other oc’s or in BNHA universe): OC’s; his bike gang

Enemies(other oc’s or in BNHA universe): literally by default does not trust the cops or heroes (LOL)

Romantic Interests: by happenstance, Izuku Midoriya (LOL pt.2)

What do they think about heroes?: Oh shit oh fuck uhhhh

A couple of things about heroes. He sees the rise of fame being motivation for pro-heroes lately. They seem real fake to him, and it runs along the lines of Stain’s idea of “false heroes”. But he also sees them as a bunch of buzz kills when he’s trying to ride out and do his own thing that happens to be illegal. (LOL this guy is so problematic in a very headass type of way and it’s really entertaining. He’s a really fun character to read about.)

What do they think about villains?: They’re somewhat easier to work with, but he does not associate himself with hardcore villains either. As much as he himself could easily be considered one, he considers himself more in a grey area. He won’t kill a hero – actually he hesitates to kill anyone – but he won’t turn on a villain either if only because any of them could either arrest him or kill him. (Ah, he’s smarter than he lets on. I wonder how much of this is empathy and how much of this is him saving his own ass,,)

In terms of villains, he’s very much along the lines of “snitches get stitches”. At this point it doesn’t matter what his views are with a villain or a rival gang, he’s not gonna call the cops or any heroes as that is a lower blow than trying to either run or solve the issue on his own. He would rather risk his dignity than call the authorities. 

Is their first reaction to danger: flight or fright?

Depends on the danger. If he knows it’s an even match, he’ll throw fists. If he knows he has no chance, he’ll turn tail (heh) and run. (i’m actually laughing omg stop)

If they had to be stuck on an island with one BNHA character, who would it be and why?

don’t don’t ever give him the option (brO TELL ME)

Favorite holiday and why?

Halloween. As a child he always loved to dress up as his favorite hero. As an adult, he’s more attuned to the day before Halloween as “Mischief Day” and takes “tricks” to the extremes.

Do they have a certain way of dressing/ style?

His wardrobe is casual and lazy punk clothes. He does occasionally sport a bright red jacket with his gang’s logo on the back.

Pet peeves: Assuming his character for his looks (I mean you right but he hates it) (LMFAO I’m trying to give a serious review here and you hitting me with all this lolol)

Favorite food: shrimp tempura and rice

Favorite drink: Pepsi (ayyeee, pepsi > coke)

What is their favorite season/weather?: Summer

What is their sleep schedule like?: Whenever (mood)

Introvert, Extrovert or Ambivert?: Extrovert

Quickest way to upset them?: Pull his tail (I….I’m so tempted)

What type of student were they/are they?: Given that he only went to school so he didn’t have to do community service… he did the bare minimum, still got held back once (got mightily pissed off about it), and left as soon as he turned 18. Will also add that the school he went to was one step closer to juvie.

Superlative that fits them best (class clown, teachers pet, etc): Most Likely Will Be His Own Boss

A song you associate with them: Survival of the Fittest - Robert DeLong

What’s their diet like?: He will inhale anything in front of him, but he has a real fast metabolism

What’s the last thing they ate?: McDonald’s burger combo

Hobbies: riding his motorcycle and sometimes play video games

Guilty Pleasures: I mean. If you got the dokis for a hero and you’re a real anarchist……..

When and what was the last thing that made them cry?: laid in bed one night. like you do. thought about where his life was. wondered where it was going. you know just one of those fun nights. (this got too real too fast and i feel mildly attacked)

General Extras: In general, he is a real neutral guy that doesn’t play sides unless you’re on his specifically. He doesn’t take being talked down to and will even argue his side to keep himself above it all. Even raise fists. But he is impulsive as shit and does not always think his decision through. Definitely not book smart, but strongly street smart and highly confident in his actions. (I get that vibe from everything you’ve said, you summarized it really well and took the words out of my mouth!)

Do you plan on filling out a roleplay form(No pressure if you don’t want to do it, this is more for me so I can keep your forms together if you send in both): nah I’m just curious about this one

Creator Name (that’s you!): Mumzy

Blog name where I can contact you: mumpkins

Did you have fun doing this?! (pls just say yes so my feelings don’t get hurt): I REALLY DID and eventually there came a point where I was literally like “well shit he’s kind of a dumb bastard what else is there”

PLEASE JUST SEND THE ANSWERS DIRECTLY TO ME I DON’T NEED THIS POSTED 8’D

I’ll post it private and send you the link!

*deep inhales* BOI. Shotaro is such an unintentional meme?? Like big crackhead vibes from him like…he’s really just a lil misfit goin around and doing as he pleases,, so much angst in this one like??? (i hope you dont take any offence to this,, i just really like his character lol) he seems pretty factious to me LOL. I like his quirk, simple and easy and his weakness is plausible, no OP oc’s here! His personality really shined through and you portrayed him well. That little paragraph you wrote summarizing him was a really solid description and would be perfect for a character sheet. The only inconsistencies were, at the top you put his age as 17 but in the “what type of student were they” you mentioned him turning 18 but otherwise he is a really solid character! I’m 20 something so I can’t crush on anyone younger than 20 but he’s really… *deep breath* …moving on. I love his personality and the fact that he’s this punk but in reality he’s an impartial dude who is chill unless something offends him or opposes him but he is also very loyal and empathetic, two qualities that I love!

Idk if you wanted questions since this is a private rating but i’ll put some either way and u can choose to fill em out or nah,, i mainly do it to help develop character and its just fun to talk abt oc’s sooo,,

What job do you see him having in the future? He’s not really here no there so i’m interested!

After he drops out of high school, he flat out does not know what to do. As he is familiar with criminal work, he stays to what he knows with his bike gang... and incidentally gets picked up by mob members. He begins as an errand boy for one organized group, but never is he ever initiated as a member. After having been exposed by a variety of assignments from various villains, by the age of 20 he’s doing all kinds of illegal work. He becomes a man for hire in the undergrounds, helping with drug trafficking, enforcement, body guarding, petty thieving, etc. You name it, he’s probably done it.

But that’s only in the dark. To keep himself balanced, he’s also a bar back for a local bar in the sketchy side of town. An honest job when he meets people and can tell them what he does for work without putting off any red flags.

A couple of reasons why he does shady work is not due to enjoyment. Actually, he wishes he never got involved as everyday feels like he’s at risk of getting killed for angering the wrong person. He doesn’t plan ahead of his life only because he could step outside one morning and breathe his last breath. For one thing, his best friend who grew up with him and is part of his gang is in rehab at this point and Kaneda is the only person who he can turn to for help -- by this, Kaneda opts to pay those hospital bills with the quick and astounding amount of money he receives from criminal work. Another reason is plain and simple: once he has done work for one organized criminal group, once his name is spread around the underground as a reliable hire, there’s no way of suddenly dropping that life without risking it all.

Is there anything in particular he does to relax?? Tv, music, hobbies, etc,

The best way he can relax is riding his motorcycle in the late hours of the night. He loves the city, and will speed through until he finds open road where he will just continue to ride until he feels calm again.

If he’s especially frustrated and the steam has built up in his lungs, he will hold it in until he finds a safe spot (preferably home) to release it all and collapse for a while. Yes, his apartment would be a sauna if he doesn’t open his windows.

Sex also helps.

Is he a pessimist or optimist? He’s very unbiased it seems so I wonder what his personal mindset is,,

More of an optimist, but in a way where he prefers to mask sorrow and tension with humor and a lighter perspective. He can’t afford to not be confident, and he tries his damndest to pass that on given the circumstances. “This will work” he would say to an idea he briefly thought of, mostly trusting his gut and hoping that if he passes on the mindset and convinces others of his confidence, then yes in some way things will work out.

But I also say that he’s not very optimistic of his own future (sorry to bring this back). He lives for the moment, but given the life he lives, he does not trust it will be a long one. 

So it’s hard to explain, but he’d more say, “nothing matters in the end; do whatever the hell you want now”.

[jising-jisang-jisung]

Pink Paper Notes | Lee Felix | pt. 1

A/n: so I meant to post this on Valentine's day but I didnt finish and cant really write at the moment cuz I got hurt :( so I'm breaking it into parts so I can at least get some content out there

Genre: floof

Word count: 1,217

You can't recall when you first started receiving the notes. One day, they just started appearing around you, in your locker, at your desk, and even one on your car. Every single note had been written on pink paper in purple pen and had surprisingly good handwriting but you had no clue who was leaving these notes of confession for you. But today, when you opened your locker, the note was just on lined paper written sloppily in pencil:

Y/n, I have been debating whether or not I should give you this note and so I apologize for its lack of intricacy big words. But I really want you to know who I am. Or maybe I don't. I don't know. If you are interested in meeting me, I'll be at the Valentine's dance waiting for you. ♡

Wow. Did you read that correctly? The mysterious classmate sending you "love" letters wants to reveal himself. Sis you gotta go to that dance now, you don't have a choice. Although you aren't sure who is even sending these notes of adoration, you would like to thank them and maybe, who knows, you'll fall in love with your prince charming.

You only had 2 weeks until the dance that you had previously planned to not attend. You needed to find a cute dress to meet this admirer in. Your friend, let's call her Ryn because why not, took you shopping for a dress. She handed you a whole stack and sent you into the fitting rooms. Boy were you in trouble with this one. I'm so sorry katheryn I lub you but I h8 shopping,, anywho. While you were putting on a mid-thigh length, golden yellow, short sleeved dress aka my dream dress one of the workers came to assist Ryn.

His name was Felix and he didn't know much about dresses but his job required him to offer his help and Ryn wasn't planning on accepting because she didnt need help when it comes to shopping until you came out of the room and his face lit tf up. He just looked at you in awe, with flushed cheeks, and his mouth agape.

"I like this one! It's such a pretty color" you say in a child like tone.

"Uh I think it looks very nice too" a familiar voice spoke quietly. You looked up to see Felix a boy from your school. You knew him and you two were nice but not really friends yknow¿? But you gotta give credit where credit is due, Felix is absolutely so very hecking cute with his lil freckles. You were so caught up in a trance just kinda looking at each other until Ryn spoke: "I knew you'd like it! How much is that one" she obviously picked up on the staring thing judging by the look she threw you.

"This one is $30" I dont know how much dresses cost so sorry if that is not a good price uh "but I dont have any shoes that match :/" That's when your good friend turned to the worker. "Do you think you could help us find some shoes?" she said sweetly knowing full well that he could not do that.

As he walked the two of you to the shoes section, Ryn kept eyeing you both. "Y/n, why did you change your mind about going to the dance?" I mean, I suppose you could have told her about the notes, but why would you do that when you could,, not? "Uh because i want to fully experience the rest of my high school life?" you say in an unconvincing tone. Before she could further inquire, you were by the shoes.

"Do you have an idea of what you want?" Felix asked with a nervous smile. "Tbh, i was just gonna wear crocs" you whispered to avoid the wrath of your good friend. "NO YOU WERE NOT! YOU ARE GONNA WEAR NICE SHOES THAT ARE MOST DEFINITELY NOT CROCS!!" she most have still heard your confession.

~you buy shoes~

"So, Felix, huh?!" Ryn spews the moment you get into her room. "What do you mean?" And honestly, you are genuinely curious as to what she is implying. "He definitely has a crush on you... and you-" "I barely even know him! I don't have a crush on him. He barely knows me so obviously he doesn't like me either" you could hear yourself being too defensive and a bit rude but you couldnt prevent the words from coming out. "Chill, hoe, I was just saying what I saw. And what I saw was him looking at you like this (｡◕‿◕｡)" "shut up, Ryn, he was not"

However, the more you thought about it, the more plausible it is that he is your secret admirer or whatever. You got a note on your desk in calculus, which you two have together. His locker is also just a few down from yours so he would know which one to put the notes in. Certainly, he is a fair candidate but there are plenty of other boys who fit the role too. Subconsciously, you hoped it was the freckly boy, but you could never admit that to anyone, not even yourself.

The next day you walked into your math class and weren't surprised to see a small folded piece of pink paper.

Y/n, dont feel like you have to come to the dance just because of me. I still hope you do tho because you will look so pretty.. NOT THAT YOU DONT LOOK PRETTY EVERY OTHER DAY TOO!!

You cringed slightly at the fact that the mysterious someone was able to be so awkward even through a written note but you liked it nonetheless. But you weren't secretive enough!! That lil bitch, Ryn, snuck up behind you and read the whole freaking thing over your shoulder. Now she knows why you were so quick to change your mind.

"Y/n! Why didnt you tell me someone was giving you notes, hoe? I could've helped you figure out who it is? Omg what if it's that boy from the store?!"

"Shhhh... be quiet Felix sits right over there" sure enough a few columns from you sat the freckle faced boy. The longer you looked the more you took in. He was really handsome, to put it blatantly. But his face seemed redder than normal. And it was getting redder the more you looked.

"If you keep staring, he'll figure out that you're mentally making out with him" Ryn teased to which you responded by pinching her arm and sticking your tongue out.

"I was not" you huff. "My bad. You were booping/kissing (◕‿◕✿) each and every delicately placed freckle (◕‿◕✿) on his face" she said ever so dramatically. It was like she could read your thoughts because, well, that was what you were doing, but you weren't about to confirm that. "Ouch quit pinching me!" You hated to think about it, but you really wanted Felix to be the person who was leaving you notes.

As you were lost in thoughts of who this note leaver is, Ryn was devising a plan. She was going to find out who it is and set you tf up sister!! But, of course, you didnt know any of that.

Part 2 coming soon

Masterlist

[vannderlinde]

Restless Wanderers: Van Der Linde gang members x Lord Huron

I’m sorry fellers, this is an absolute unit of a post. This was a product of some intense hyperfixation y’all...

Arthur || Time To Run and The Balancer’s Eye

It's time to run, they'll string me up for all that I've done! I did it all for you, well I hope you know the lengths I've gone to It's time to run, well I hope you understand what I've done

Heaven never ever heard a word I said, I’ve cried enough to raise the dead. Life is equal to dust in the Balancer’s eye. Will I ever be forgiven for the crime of my life? Will it haunt me ’til I die?

Dutch || Vide Noir

Tears of sorrow or tears of joy, Drops in my cup as my mind is destroyed... Many evils have I enjoyed, Prowling the night raising hell with the boys. 

Hosea || The Yawning Grave

I tried to warn you when you were a child. I told you not to get lost in the wild. I sent omens and all kinds of signs; I taught you melodies, poems, and rhymes. Oh, you fool, there are rules, I am coming for you. Darkness brings evil things, oh, the reckoning begins .

John || Hurricane (Johnnie’s Theme) 

I get a laugh outta starin' at darkness. And wondering why people live in the light. I drive fast, and I rumble the hardest. I don't feel alive if I ain't in the fight.

Micah || The World Ender

The fair and the brave and the good must die. I seen the other side of living, I know heaven's a lie. I’ll tear through the night, and I'll raise some hell. 'Cause I'm the World Ender, baby and I'm back from the dead.

Sean || Fool For Love

I know I should have never looked back; But you ain’t gonna win a woman’s heart like that. I never should have called his bluff; I was born to lose cause I’m a fool for love.

Javier || Ancient Names (pt 2)

Gone are the days of laughter and love; Gone, baby, gone, we've all had enough! I scream and shout like this, Just to prove to the world that I still exist. I don't believe in life, And I won't believe in death 'til I die...

Molly || La Belle Fleur Sauvage

Once he's gazed upon her, a man is forever changed. The bravest men return with darkened hearts and phantom pain. Ages come and go but her life goes on the same. Her colors change to mark the passing of the days. No Earthly sight can match the beauty she displays.

Karen || Cursed

Oh, I wanna know what I did, I wanna know her game! I wanna learn her wits and how she plays her tricks... Lots of booze and her kiss, These are drugs that do not mix. I was under her spell, And today I feel like hell.

Mary-Beth || Moonbeam

And you pulled me from a nightmare, With your eyes and your silver touch. Shone a little bit of light there, Now the darkness don’t scare me much.

Trelawny || When the Night is Over

When the ocean drinks the sky; And the city winks its eye. When the night is done, you’ll vanish in the sun. Will I hold you when the night is over?

Kieran || Secret of Life

To die for good, it must be earned. The ways of death can never be learned. And the life I’ve lived is only dust. The darkness comes for all of us.

Abigail || Wait by the River

If I can't change the weather, Maybe I can change your mind? If we can't be together, What's the point of life? Baby, I didn't mean the things I said. I don't honestly wish you were dead. I'm a fool; I'm just a man. If I only could hold you again.

Charles || Frozen Pines

And I look up to the sky, And I know you're still alive. But I wonder where you are, I call your name into the dark. I am ready to follow you even though I don't know where... Oh, I don't wanna be the only one living if all of my friends are gone.

Sadie || Love is Like Ghosts

Yes, I know that love is like ghosts. Oh, few have seen it, but everybody talks. Spirits follow everywhere I go. Oh, they sing all day and they haunt me in the night.

Tilly || Lullaby

You arrive along with the sun. Where have you been darlin'? What have you done? You were out finding trouble again? There's a fire in your eyes and there's blood on your hands.

Bill || Until the Night Turns

I had a vision tonight that the world was ending Yeah the sky was falling and time was bending We spent our last night in the moonlight Baby it's so bright we'll be up all night I got a helluva view for the end of the world I've got a bottle of booze and a beautiful girl If I'm a'­goin to die I'm gonna go in style

Lenny || I will be Back One Day

I wanna be with the ones I left. But I'm way out west. And the years keep on slipping away. I been running a long, long time. Trying to flee that life. But I can't seem to leave it behind .

Jack || The Birds are Singing at Night

When we're dead and gone, Will the mountains remember? Or just carry on, Moving as slow as the forest grows? And turn our bones into dust, An untold legend is lighting up. 

Swanson || Dead Man’s Hand

Was he unforgiven or just tired of living a life That never felt like his? I know how to live, I don't know how to die; And there ain't no thrills in the afterlife.

Mary Linton || Emerald Star

You never loved me; I came all the way through time and space... Oh, what a jewel are you, And, oh, what a fool am I for squandering my love.

Annabelle || In the Wind

Death is a wall but it can't be the end, You are my protector and my best friend, Well they say that you're gone, and that I should move on. I wonder: how do they know, baby? How do they know? Well, they don't.

Bonus: The WHOLE Gang || Brother

You say we're not like the others, Still we must die, all things must end.

I know we can't stop what's coming, But I will try, oh how I'll try! Will you fight with me, brother? One last time, one last fight?

Don't turn away, don't tell me that we're not the same. We face the fire together, brothers 'til the end. Don't run away, our time will come but not today. I stand beside you, brother, with you 'til the end.

[xiaojusaur]

Beta Affair Pt. 4

I felt like updating today! So here’s part 4! I hope you guys like it!! 

1 2 3 4

Today was the day of the convention. You were kinda jumpy because you were excited, but you were trying to conceal it since it was your nature to not show your feelings. 

Nikky said “Why are you so hyper? Calm down please.”

Emmy laughed at you and said “Aww! Leave her alone, she’s seeing her Taehyung today.” She made emphasis on his name.

You scuffed “Girls! Stop! I’m just going to a convention with him. Nothing extraordinary, just two random people going to a videogames convention. We might even fight and all.”

“Yeah, a kiss fight maybe,” said Aria.

You rolled your eyes and went to get dressed. Your choice of clothes for today were comfy but pretty. Some high-waisted jeans and a turtle neck, along with some Converse. To try to look decent, you decided to apply some makeup on.

When you went out of your room, your friends were all waiting for you. They all had smirks on their faces, you knew already what they were thinking. “I don’t wanna hear it!” You heard them giggle behind your back.

Amy said “Hey, you look pretty! Are we ready to go?”

“I think so, yeah,” you said kinda nervous. “Let me text him to check if he arrived.”

 You: Hey, are you there already?

He replied almost instantly, as if he was waiting for your text.

Tae: Yeah, I’m waiting for you.

You: Then I’m on my way to kick your ass.

Tae: We’ll see about that.

 “He’s there, let’s go!” You said all excited, grabbing Emmy by her wrist.

Nikky said “Someone’s excited. I swear if you don’t at least kiss today I’m gonna make it happen.”

You started thinking about that. What if you guys had to kiss? What if he wanted to kiss you? It’s not like you don’t wanted it to happen, but just the mere thought of his lips getting closer and touching yours was giving you chills. What if everything went wrong and you mess up the kiss?

When you came back to reality you saw Aria waving a hand in front of you “Hello? Earth to Y/N? Are we going or not?”

You shook your head “Y-yeah! What are we waiting for?!” You all walked outside to wait for the bus.

 You guys were at the entrance of the place. The moment of truth hit you and suddenly you started panicking. “I don’t think this was a good idea… Let’s go back!”

“What are you saying?! We traveled thirty minutes for you to say you don’t want to enter?! You better get your ass in there or else I’m going to kick you!” said Caroline.

“Ugh fine!”

When you were about to enter you texted him again

You: Im here

Tae: Where? I’m gonna look for you

You: Catch me if you can!

Tae: Don’t play this game with me. Come to me if you see me first.

Why were you nervous? It was just a normal date with Taehyung. You needed to calm down, but the fact that you were going to see him any time now was making you anxious. Your eyes were everywhere when you entered, trying to spot him but there was a lot of people! Most of them were playing in some big TV’s while they had and audience screaming for their favorite.

You heard your friends giggling behind your back and when you were about to turn around, someone covered your eyes with their hands. By the length of the hands you already knew who it was.

“Taehyung I know it’s you,” you said with a fake annoyed voice.

He uncovered your eyes and you turned around to be greeted by his beautiful boxy smile. He hugged you tightly and this time, you hugged him back. He smelled really nice and you took your time to enjoy the scent.

“I found you quickly, you see?” He said with his beautiful deep voice.

“I see. Did they kick your ass already?” you asked trying to conceal your nerves.

“Not yet, I was waiting for you to do the honors.”

Aria suddenly reminded you they were there by saying “We’re gonna walk around, text if you need us.” And with that, they were gone, leaving you alone again.

 Taehyung was looking at you when you looked at him. “Why are you staring? That’s rude.”

“I’m not staring, I’m just admiring your beauty.” Here we go again! He starts flirting with you and you start blushing while trying to deny that you like him too.

“Let’s see if we can find any free spot to play, so you could ‘kick my ass’ like you said,” he said, making the quotations with his fingers.

“I will kick your ass, don’t underestimate me, sir.”

“We’ll see about that.” He smirked!

 You guys found a free console with Smash Bros in it. He sat on one of the chairs, inviting you to the other. “Do you know how to play this or is this where I kick your ass?”

You scuffed “Of course I know how to play this, who doesn’t know?” The truth is you did know how to play, you just weren’t a master in it so the chances of getting your ass kicked were high. Still, you decided to give it a try. He passed you the controller, you picked your character and quickly the game started. As expected, he was a master in it and he beat you. He started laughing and you laughed with him but also rolled his eyes.

“You were saying?” He said looking at you with a smirk.

“Oh shut up!” You pushed him playfully. “Look for something I play and see me kick your ass.”

You started walking around, looking for a free spot and also watching other people play. It was a fun day already.

Taehyung walked you where his friends were. You were shocked to see they were all attractive! You couldn’t stop looking at them. Taehyung noticed and said jokingly “Stop looking at them like that, I might get jealous.”

He introduced you to them “Hey guys! This is the girl I talked to you about, Y/N.” They all put their eyes on you and smiled. The one that was playing said without taking his eyes off the game “Hey! You’re the ass kicker? Nice to meet you! I want to play a match with you so stay around please.”

You looked at Taehyung and he smiled to you, leaving you breathless. You guys waited for Jungkook to finish and then he lend you his remote. You sat by his side and with an evil smirk you said “Im gonna kick your ass!”

“Suuure!” he said sarcastically.

You guys started the match and after a few minutes, you won. You screamed “HAH! I TOLD YOU!!” He started laughing, making you swoon on the inside, the sound of his laugh was the best.

Jungkook then asked to play a match with you and you kindly accepted. This time, you lost but it was okay, he was a master in this. 

Taehyung placed his hand gently on your shoulder and said “Should we walk around again?”

“Sure! Let’s go.” Then you look at the other guys and said “It was nice meeting you!”

You and Tae were walking around, seeing the different booths and stuff when suddenly you felt his hand touching yours. The butterflies in your stomach started dancing instantly. He slid his hand in yours slowly, like asking silently to interwine his fingers with yours. Of course, you let him and suddenly you were holding hands. Your hand was small inside of his, but he held it cautiously, almost shyly. His hand was warm and soft, making you want to hold it forever. 

You started blushing furiously and he noticed it because he smirked. You tried to hold your laugh but he also noticed it and said “I can let go if you want,” trying to unhand you but you almost ripped his wrist, holding his hand tightly. He hummed and said “I see. Can we talk about this?” 

You tried to play the fool and asked “”About what?” He just answered raising your holding hands. You rolled your eyes and started laughing. 

“Im being serious, Y/N. We need to talk about our feelings.”

“Just let me think about what I feel okay? I’m not sure of what Im feeling.”

“How arent you sure? Youre holding my hand. If you didnt want me, you wouldve let go a while ago.”

“I just like the feeling of your hand, okay? It’s nice.” You said holding a laugh and he laughed with you. 

You were walking near a hidden hallway, guessing there were the bathrooms of the place, when out of nowhere Tae pulled you to it, making your back crash on the wall. He was now pinning you against the wall, each of his arms on each side of your head. You were sure you were hyperventilating now. 

“Stop playing tough, I know what you’re doing.” he said, the breeze that emits his words hitting your face. His breath smelled like mint, making you want to kiss him. 

“Oh yeah? And what is it that I’m doing?” You played the fool. 

“Y/N, I know this may be the first you feel something like this but please, you need to be as clear as water with me. Do you like me?” His eyes were fixed on yours, expecting your answer.

“Taehyung I- I- I dont know.” you stuttered. You blushed because he was so close and he was making this questions, expecting you to answer right away. What if this was just something platonic? You were really sure that you liked him, hell! He made you feel things you havent felt before but what if after your dreams came true, he just disappears? Or what if you didnt feel the same spark again?

He didn’t let you think though, he started getting closer and closer to your mouth. You couldn’t think fast so you just let it happen. His perfect lips touched yours in a gentle kiss. You were in shock, you couldn’t move. Meanwhile he was pressing his lips on yours like if he had been waiting his whole life for this, with his eyes closed. You couldn’t close yours because of the shock, but you finally relaxed and eased into it, placing your arms around his neck, pulling him closer. His hands held you by the waist, pushing you to the wall bur his body was all over yours. If you got any closer, you’ll have to merge into one. His lips were soft and warm and it seemed like if he stopped breathing just to savour the moment. 

After a little while, he pulled away, looking deep into your eyes. “What do you feel now?” He said with a breathy tone, giving you goosebumps, not letting you process what just had happened. 

“Taehyung, I like you. Heck I do! But I dont know if this would work. I mean, you’re from the other side of the world, we basically just met. I feel so much for you, like... I get a kaleidoscope of butterflies in my stomach everytime I see you, you held my hand and I just wanted you to hold me forever, and now you just kissed me and wow! I-” he interrupted you again, with another kiss. He pecked your lips sofly. 

“That’s a nice way of telling me to shut up,” you smiled. 

“Just let me love you, Y/N. Enjoy the moment while it last, we’ll make it work someway.” He said while hugging tightly. His arms were the safest place to be. “Now stop playing hard to get and kiss me.” He was holding you close and was about to kiss you again but you started laughing.

“Are we gonna spend the rest of the day here? In a sketchy hallway, kissing each other?” you asked jokingly. “If that’s what you want, why not? I could kiss you for hours and not get tired of your lips.” His confession made you blush. You just couldn’t believe yet that this was happening. 

“Im joking. Let’s go around.” He took your hand in his, like if this was normal already and you started walking around. 

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★ ・・・・・・ ★・・・・ ★ 

At the end of the day you were with Taehyung and his friends. Your friends were gone to go eat and, as always, left you alone. Jungkook was the winner of the Overwatch tournament and you guys went to a restaurant to celebrate. There you hung out with the guys and got to meet them a little. Some of them were drunk already and were making jokes while laughing hard. Taehyung didnt drink, so he was okay, he was all into you. 

You guys couldnt stop looking at each other and he won’t let go of your hands. Drunk Jimin started making fun of you two, “Look at them. They look like lovebirds.” He was giggling cutely.

 Jungkook took the chance too, “They won’t even get their hands off each other. I don’t want to imagine what would happen if we leave them alone.” 

“Nothing! Taehyung is a chicken!” said Yoongi laughing while looking at Tae.  

“Come on guys! Leave them alone! They are in love, that’s normal,” said Namjoon, acting like the father of the group. “Yah! Taehyungie! Safety always you know. If you need anything let me know,” said Jin while holding a laugh. 

Suddenly your phone started ringing. It was Nikky: “Yo’ bitch! Where the fuck are you? We want to go already, we’re tired. Unless you’re getting the D.”

 You started laughing. “No, Im not! We were eating, I’ll be on my way.”

After you hung up you told Tae “I need to go, my friends are tired.”

“It’s okay! I’ll take you to them,” he said while caressing your hair.

After saying your goodbyes to the drunken friends, you both headed out for where your friends were. They weren’t far from where you guys were, so you went walking, hand in hand of course. 

“So did you have fun?” he asked, trying to make conversation. “Yeah, it was an interesting day,” you said and loo up at him. He smiled and you smiled back. “So? When are we going to see each other again?” “Whenever you want... you still have time here, dont you?” “Yeah, I’ll visit you. Or if you want, you can come to my hotel room.” “I’ll try to visit you.” You held his hand tightly. You could already see your friends’ faces while watching you being hand in hand with Tae. You were trying not to laugh.

You said hello as if nothing was happening, they were just in shock. 

“Sooo... we leaving? Im sleepy,” said Nikky.

“Sure, let’s go.” 

They also didnt expect what happened next: You hugged Taehyung tightly and without thinking, you crashed your lips with his. He placed his hands on your hips and pulled you to him.The kiss turned a little passionate. 

While you guys were kissing, your friends were looking at each other confused, shocked but nevertheless, proud of you.

A little later, you guys pulled away, both with rossy cheeks. “Goodnight, see ya later.” He said while cupping your face and planting a kiss on your forehead. When you turned to your friends, they were all smirking. “What?” you said holding a laugh. 

“I see you’re improving...” said Aria.     

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★ ・・・・・・ ★・・・・ ★

You were about to go to sleep when your phone rang, it was Taehyung 

Tae: Thanks for spending time with me today, it was fun <3 I still cant get off my mind your lips ;) Sleep well princess, see you soon. 

[tofusoups]

ur so right ! vernon IS an egghead & a whole ass clown & can be so weird sometimes,, like the things this man does baffle me gdkgjk but i love his weirdness and how he's so comfortable being his authentic self and doesnt care abt what other ppl may think of him,,, i rlly admire that quality sm ! fashion-wise he's different for sure, but i love how he coordinates colors ! he likes playing with complementary colors (mostly w/ his beanies) & tying his whole look together with color (pt. 1) - 🌻

like sometimes his outfits are so out of this world (team rocket) but he manages to somehow make them work with the smallest details like matching the colors of his socks to his shirt or beanie,, truly a fashion icon! THE B/W PHOTO its one of my fave vernon looks omg he just looks like such a dude™ and i love his hair wavy!! :/ yea im pretty sure jeonghan doesnt like long hair bc some ppl (even interviewers) were like “oh there’s a GIRL in this group” (pt. 2) - 🌻

i work at a local cafe ! it’s mostly a good time bc i’m a barista there so i get to make drinks which is rlly fun!! ooh what ice cream flavor is ur favorite? i like cookie dough! ooh i’ll be sure to check out some of those tracks, thank u ! 🥰(also u use apple music,, we love an intellectual) i dont listen to too many bands, but i like the glass animals & the 1975! but i love mitski!! ‘be the cowboy’ was so good 🥺and i also love lorde! (pt. 3? idk anymore) - 🌻

ooh my summer aes is basically ymmday’s follow version lol i love those pink tinted images of the boys just lying in fields of flowers since i too would love to be in a flowy pink dress sprawled out in a bed of flowers in the countryside,, i like dusty pinks & blues and i love lavender/lilac ! i also love the cottagecore aes if u kno what i mean !! hope this helps ! sorry for so many asks ahhh but im off to work soon, luv u & have a nice day ! 💘(pt. 4 i think?) - 🌻

ok first of i LOVE how u sent me so many asks n forgot how many u sent ur so funny i love u hgiufdhgiufdhg ur so sweet u sound so kindhearted too i 🥺

but YES vernon is just an intellectual who has taste only the most fashionable can understand hehe, and YES ugh my fave hair colors are brown/blonde streaked and black hair…. genuinely my faves ever but omg when his hair was like blue? that was so cute i loved that so much 🥺

and yeah omg its like long hair=girl so they just made it so weird for jh i HATE it! bc i genuinely loved it and liked how they had a guy w long hair in the group it made it fun and not boring yk… like not all the members had the same hair length!

a local cafe?? thats so cute that just sounds so ideal! local shops always seem fun to work at and feels very comforting:o is it like that?

my fave ice cream flavor would be … I HAVE A LOT i think its bc i work at an ice cream place so i try so many but i like oreo ice cream… and cherry ice cream like cherry garcia from ben and jerrys? so good.. so good…hehe

also ODHSOFDHDS!!!! omfg i LOVE mitski i love her so much :D:D n i listen all the artists before/frequently!

and thank u for giving me mb ideas!! ill make sure to make that soon!! have a good day and have a good time at work!! hope u make lots of tips or money in general hehehe 🥰