#i just finished this like an hour or two ago pls enjoy my new review style
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Mini DID book review: One Of Us Knows: a thriller
Author: Alyssa Cole
Publication date: 2024
Diagnosis of DID? Yes, the system has known for a while
Fiction of nonfiction: fiction
Is the person with DID portrayed as evil? Complicated but ultimately no; its one of the major plot points
Major trigger warnings:
death (fighting, blood, some gore but its not described much)
implied sexual assault (nothing described)
Self harm
Misogyny(major plot point)
Abelism
Racism (major plot point also)
Stalking
Kidnapping/mishandled foster care
Dormancy of parts (major plot point)
Parts being kidnapped/speculated to be killed off (major plot point)
Rituals taking place (not religious but has to do with everything on this list)
Covid being a thing(major plot point in the first part, lots of anxiety about covid)
Ratings to how I feel personally
Triggering(0 is nothing at all, 10 is could not handle reading this): 4-5 (not a gentle book but not gratuitous
System dynamics(0 is this is bizarrely off, 10 is holy shit this is a book about me): 7-8 (the conflict between parts is very well written, and so is the understanding of how deep the relationships go)
Switching(0 is doesnt work like this, 10 is this is a book about me): 4? (Nearly all of the switches are blackouts)
System communication(0 is never experienced this, 10 is this is a book about me): 8-9 (we talk to eachother like this a lot)
Inner world dynamics(0 is never experienced this, 10 is this is a book about me): 7 (theres a lot of the inner world, like half the chapters happen inside! However the physics of it were a little too realistic at times to what could happen with me, like i dont have to walk or run to get places personally)
Comorbidity with other disorders(mental or physical)(0 is there are none, 10 is i experience all of this): 5 (there is no physical ailments that come with having DID in this book, which isnt a necessity but many people who do have it also have disabilities so it feels bizzare when there are none. Theres anxiety, depression and faint mentions of disordered eating in this book)
Brief thoughts on this book:
The BadDay system(first book ive read where the system has a system name) has been well-established for many years by now, knowing about their DID, communicating with their others for some time.
The host turned persecutor has been dormant for 6 years now, missing out on covid, while the rest of the system had been active online and functioning in lockdown. Now Ken(the persecutor) is back, with the mysterious disapearence of the previous host and caretaker, Della. All eyes are on Ken wondering what the fuck happened and nobody knows how they landed a job as a caretaker of a mysterious castle on an island, that just happens to be the exact same castle from their inner world.
Mystery and thrilling things ensue as Ken goes through the motions of coming out of dormancy and no parts wanting them there, a blossoming romance with an outsider and a complicated romance on the inside too, all tied together neatly with the strange happenings on the island and the trust that owns it.
I don’t really know how to review for a thriller book, because I don’t tend to read thrillers. But the mysteries were mysterious to even me, who can see where plots are going with DID books typically. And the thrills were thrilling. I couldn’t put the book down, I kept wanting to sink in more and more
I was exceptionally pleased that the author didn’t play safe with the DID as some authors tend to when they’re writing something with modern understanding. There wasnt so much shameful secrecy around the disorder, and the questions and impacts were hard-hitting as she delved into things that I’d be worried about posting about myself. Like the dormancies impacting other parts, parts not wanting the host around. Romance and sexuality between parts. The unsavory and the honest, but also the depth of how much each of them mattered in the system and how much they cared for eachother. It was really satisfying to read! The inclusion of how social media effects people with DID nowadays was really nice to include too, and again, I haven’t yet seen any other media to employ the use of system names like how many do in social media now.
I also really really love that the story was just as much the inner world as it was the outer, as most books have the happenings between parts more hidden.. Having the two stories run side by side makes it feel like this characters life is their DID, as it often is for many of us. Idk I’m jazzed about this, this is what I wanted with DID in media. The DID actually mattering as more than a plot device
The only thing I can really fault it on is the constant blackout with switches. But to be fair, this is implied not to be their normal, and ethe events of this book are extremely high-stress situations, so I appreciate that the weight of that is stressed rather than it being another case of an author just not having personal experience enough to know. (She doesnt have the experience to know, but this was a neat way to bridge the gap)
Overall a great book. Not a fluffy one, and since the main plot revolves around the potential of the main character being the DID Killer, inside and out. So please tread carefully if the questioning of such things is hard for you. And also a thriller, so there are thriller things like violence and tension and things outside of a normal slice of life
Would I recommend someone with DID read this? YES! I do feel like this was written with a lot of care for people with DID
#bunnidid reviews#one of us knows#alyssa cole#dissociative identity disorder#did in media#actuallydid#complex dissociative disorder#otherwise specified dissociative disorder#cdd system#did system#cdd media#did media#i just finished this like an hour or two ago pls enjoy my new review style#do u like my new reviewing style? writing out the entirity of the media is what puts me off reviewing#it just snowballed so i could explain myself more and more#and also i hope the relatability scores are okay#obvs theres more aspects to DID than that but those are just what i could come up with on a whime
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omg professor... what are you doing?!?!?! [pjm]
⮕ summary: park jimin is the hottest, most popular guy at school. the only catch? he also just so happens to be your teacher.
⮕ pairing: park jimin x reader, mentions of jaebum x reader
⮕ genre: smut, university!au, pwp
⮕ word count: 12.8k
⮕ rating: 18+, nsfw
⮕ warnings: hard dom!jimin x bratty-ish sub!y/n, professor!jimin x university student! y/n (he’s 27-28 ish and she’s 21-22), fuckboy!jaebum, pussy eating, fingering, thigh riding, vaginal sex, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it), dirty talk (carries the whole fic tbh), degradation, edging, dumbification, impact play (pussy + ass spanking), manhandling, humiliation, exhibitionism, creampie, teasing, praise, orgasm denial, begging, overstimulation, crying, kissing/making out, jimin’s a meanie but y/n likes it (aka i go ham on the degradation and edging you have been warned), aftercare (like 500 words of it :P)
⮕ a/n: this took too long to come out and has literally been sitting in my drafts since august but here it is! writing this was definitely a rollercoaster because this was my first smut and honestly i felt like it was really bad at times but other times i was like wtf this is so hot,, ANYWAYS, i’m glad that i’m posting it and getting over that fear of imperfection. i hope that you guys enjoy this piece :). i would also like to add that please don’t hook up with your teachers… if you do, that’s on you i take no responsibility for that whatsoever lol. excuse the title i literally have no idea what to change it to but i like it the way it is tbh LMFAOOO OK I’LL STOP RAMBLING NOW BYEEE ILY ALL
University has never been when you’ve expected. When you first graduated high school and came here, you expected your late teenage years to be filled with just as much studying as high school combined with only a few parties here and there. You didn’t expect to make as many friends as you did and certainly did not expect to be known as the girl with the high grades and even higher alcohol tolerance. No longer are you the shy Y/N L/N that walked through the entrance gates on the first day of school; you’ve changed a lot.
It was a surprise to you. With academics taking precedence much of your life, the freedom university provided you with was welcomed - perhaps a little too much. You quickly learned that polar bear shots were great to keep you in a good mood at parties and that eating mangoes before smoking gave you a better high. And, you also learned about sex.
Admittedly, the first time you had a hookup, it was awkward and messy (at least for you… it was a guy, what else were you expecting?) but with more practice, you were able to get the hang of it. You’ve found your tastes and now willingly talk about who catches your eye to your best friends, something you never thought you’d do last year.
Speaking of who catches your eye, as of now it’s Park Jimin. A really hot guy, according to your friends, and according to you, an even better voice. When you first walked into your Applications of Economics class, you nearly spit out your Starbucks drink after you saw the astonishingly handsome man with silky black hair in a dress shirt and tie. Surprisingly formal for a university student, you thought, but you weren’t one to talk, considering your current outfit of business casual.
Only, he wasn’t a student. He was your teacher. You should’ve put the pieces together earlier but you didn’t. Let's just say a Coconut Lime Refresher is good for hangovers, and you needed one desperately (basically, you were drunk as hell the night before and were still in the process of recovering). It certainly didn’t take long before all of campus was talking about the new economics professor who was hotter than hell. Girls (and some guys) immediately tried transferring into his class, one of them being your best friend Lisa, just to get a glimpse of how attractive he was. You remember a couple of girls offering you literal cash to transfer out, but you didn’t.
A good call, thinking about it now. You’ve gotten closer with Mr. Park, although it’s nothing too special yet, the two of you are on good terms and have even hugged before (you still get giddy thinking about it). Y/N from 2 years ago would be screaming her head off at how bold you’ve gotten, but now, you can’t bring yourself to care. Park Jimin is a hot guy, and you’re pretty hot too (if you must admit), so it would only be logical if the two of you could hook up. Unsurprisingly, you’ve lost your shame, nothing but thoughts of your teacher filling your mind in your spare time.
So here you are, another day of university, as monotonous as ever. The only highlight of your day will be the morning, where you have a class with Mr. Park. You've started changing your style a bit recently, opting for more, let’s just leave it at provocative outfits. Walking into the room, you take your usual seat in the front, closest to Mr. Park’s desk.
The class progresses like it normally does, starting with a review of the work from the last class and a discussion about the new material. "I’m going to give you guys this last half hour of class to review the material individually if you want or you can leave early, I don’t mind. I know it's a Friday so there’s gonna be some parties around campus, if you want to prepare yourselves for that then go ahead." Your professor glances around the room, smirking at you when mentioning the parties. You flush and look away, biting your lower lip.
You make the decision to stay in the classroom while the majority of the other students file out of the room. "I'll be available for any questions," Jimin calls out, returning to his desk across from you.
Sticking to your reputation, you get a head start on the assignment and easily work through the homework. Surprisingly, you forget about Jimin for the time being, focused on finishing your assignment so that you have as little work as possible to do after classes. You don’t notice your teacher looking at you, admiring the way you put so much effort into the things you’re passionate about. Hearing a student call his name, he gets up to help him.
Surprisingly, Mr. Park has assigned a disturbingly low amount of homework, probably because of the upcoming weekend and maybe a pop quiz later next week (ugh). You’ve finished your work in a mere twenty minutes and are surprised to find that Jimin is not at his desk when you look up from your laptop. You turn around, looking for him, and see that he’s helping another student. Whipping out your phone, you text your best friend Lisa (who just so conveniently, also thirsts over Jimin the same way you do).
to lisa: hey i finished classwork for mr park and have like 10 minutes of free time now lol
Instantly, she responds as if she wasn’t in class. Then again, she has never been one to pay too much attention to her professors.
from lisa: ayo talk to him
from lisa: also save me from bio i literally cannot
Smiling slightly, you respond to her.
to lisa: i WOULD but he’s helping other students
from lisa: then be like "m- mister park, i- need help please" and use puppy eyes
to lisa: LMFAOO PLEASE he’d be like whats wrong with you since when did you struggle in this class
to lisa: but i mean, anything to hear him talk i guess
from lisa: god i'm so jealous you have him early so you can hear his morning voice it must be hot asf
to lisa: it is omg
from lisa: god what if he moans like that it'd be such a turn on
to lisa: dUDE STOP NO the way this is literally true like if he has a good sip of coffee or a pastry he likes hes gonna go all "mmmm I wish you could try this" pls its so fking hot
to lisa: like SIR I WANNA TRY YOU or you to try me no complaints
from lisa: wtf he finishes his breakfast before my class so i can't even hear it tf I hate it here
to lisa: u have him right after my block bro at leAST you have him
to lisa: what ab the people who don't even have him
from lisa: idk what i'd do honestly. imagine not having a literal sex god teaching you every day i pity those who dont
You’re about to type out a response when a smooth voice sounds out from behind you, "alright guys, you’re good to go. Have a good weekend!" You jump in your seat, not realizing that your teacher was helping the student right behind you for the past five minutes.
As the rest of the class begins to pack up, you pray that he hasn’t seen you talking about your sexual fantasies less than five feet away from him. Mr. Park doesn’t say anything, so you must be in the clear, right? You’re hoping and praying that he didn’t find out, but your heart rate is already rising and you’re getting a sick feeling in your stomach. Your gut must be trying to tell you something.
Well, your gut’s telling you that the universe must not be on your side because as soon as you stand up, he says, "Ms. L/N, can you stay a bit after class? I have a few things I want to discuss with you." Cheeks flushing hot, you squeak out a "yes, sir."
When everyone has left and it’s just the two of you left in the room, Jimin pulls up a seat next to his desk. "Sit," he commands, leaning on his desk. You scramble to your feet and walk over, mind buzzing with thoughts. Oh god, what if he tells the administration department? Then you’d definitely be punished and maybe even kicked out of the school. Maybe you could make up a story? Oh, it’s ANOTHER Park Jimin, haha. Definitely NOT my teacher. Even if you did, they could go the rest of the texts between you and Lisa and you’d be screwed. And not to be petty or anything, but being kicked out would mean that you wouldn’t be able to be in Jimin’s class anymore and wouldn’t be able to see him. Oh, and the bigger problem would be that you’d also be unable to get your degree.
You start internally panicking, heart rate picking up even when your teacher rolls up his sleeves and leans down in front of you. Stop thinking about dirty things FOR ONCE, Y/N, half of you screams, while the other half of you has already started fantasizing about things which shouldn’t be thought about, especially with one of the people in the fantasies less than a couple of feet in front of you. With his hands on his thighs, the ones you’ve thought about riding far too often, he smirks.
"So, I heard you wanna try me?"
You gulp, absolutely mortified that Jimin caught you. Yes, he was attractive, and you would do practically anything to fuck him, but you didn’t expect to be humiliated into admitting it. "Um, no sir! I mean, maybe, but not in the way you think!" you ramble. Shut up, Y/N, part of you screams. You’re only digging yourself into a deeper hole.
"Yeah, sure. Because I definitely didn’t see what you were talking about with your friend. Be honest, Y/N," he says, smirking down at you. "You think about me, don't you? I'm not new to this. I see the way girls like you look at me. I know the way they talk about me when they think I can't hear. I know the way you think. Who would've thought? Little Miss L/N, all prim and proper on the outside, would be so filthy deep down?"
"Sir, I- uh. I-" you stutter out, cheeks burning furiously hot.
"You what? You're not going to try to prove your innocence now, are you? Not when you've gotten this far, hm? Getting to do what you’ve wanted after all this time?" he asks, standing up from his desk, and walking over to you, kneeling in front of you so that you were forced to hold eye contact.
"You know, nobody else has been as daring as you, my dear," he hums softly. "Sending promiscuous texts about their teacher in the very class they're in. Rubbing their thighs together every time their teacher catches their eye." You shift in your seat, Jimin's words sparking the slightest of fires in your core. "Gazing ever so obviously at said teacher’s dick, too. Y/N, you amaze me. So, so brilliant. yet so, so naughty. You thought that nobody else would catch onto you? Unfortunately, you thought wrong."
"I'm s- sorry sir," you whisper out.
"You're just sorry that you got caught, Y/N. You'll keep doing this even after today," Jimin chuckles lowly. "Possibly even more after today," he adds on, taking note of how his words have affected you. Your pupils are dilated and your cheeks are starting to get flushed. "Such a dirty girl. I'm here trying to scold you, and here you are, getting turned on by my words. Is this why you ask so many questions, doll? To hear my voice?"
You bite your lip in a mixture of embarrassment and nervousness, nodding imperceptibly. The logical, studious side of you is thinking, oh my god, is this really happening? Am I going to fuck my teacher? I really shouldn’t be doing this. The relaxed, easygoing side of you (pretty much your horny side) is thinking, finally, it’s happening. I’m going to FINALLY be fucking Park Jimin.
"What else have you imagined about my voice, hm? How I'd whisper into your ear while pounding into you? Hear me moan as your tight cunt clenches around my dick? Tell you how good you're making me feel? Reminding you how much of a slut you are to fuck your teacher in the middle of his classroom, where anyone could walk in?" he continues, seeing you shift in your seat more. "Would you like that?" he asks.
"Y- yes Mr. Park. I- I would," you whisper. You have to consciously clench your thighs together to keep them from spreading at his words.
"Hm, I don't believe you. Try again another time, darling," he sighs, leaning back on his knees, getting ready to stand up. You don't want this, whatever it is, to be over that quickly so you make up your mind. Swallowing your pride and succumbing to the dull throb in your panties, you pout.
"But professor, I really do want you. I want you to make me feel good and I wanna make you feel good. Please," you whine out. "I wanna be thinking about you all the time because you fucked me so well in class. And when my friends talk about wanting to get in your pants, I want to be the only one who already has. Please, Mr. Park. I need you." you breathe out. At this point, the pressure in your core is rising steadily, and only intensifies when you see the way your teacher's eyes are glazed over in lust and eyebrows are furrowed. Your eyes travel down the expanse of his face to his lips, plump and pink. Oh, the number of times you've wished to kiss them, imagined them suckling on your clit. And now that Jimin knows, perhaps it's finally coming true.
"You'd like that, hm? God, you're so dirty," Jimin mutters, inching closer to you, cautiously placing a hand on your knee. Your legs instantly part to make room for him in between and he inches forward. "Does dirty talk really turn you on that much, Y/N? I can smell you through your panties," he remarks.
"Mr. Park, please do something," you whimper. And with that, Jimin pulls you over to his desk and sits you on the edge. You spread your legs and he stands in between them. He leans his head closer to you until he's next to your ear.
"Want me to get you off with my words? You seem to like that already and I haven't even tried, doll. Or perhaps," he pauses, bunching up your skirt so that it pools at your waist. "You want me to touch you?"
You nod eagerly, chest heaving in anticipation. "I want both Mr. Park. I want you," you purr salaciously. And with that, your teacher lets out a low growl and presses his lips onto yours harshly. It’s already bruising, but you just can’t get enough of the way he tastes of caramel and coffee and how ridiculously soft his lips are, so you wrap your arms around his neck and pull him in even closer. He seems a little put off by how eager you are, but once he hears you sigh in enjoyment, he melts into your eager grasp.
His hands start sliding down your waist so that they are resting on your upper thighs, and he rubs comforting circles into them, trailing them closer and closer to your panties. He breaks off from the kiss to look down and smirks back at you before joining his lips to yours with even more fervor and you praise yourself for deciding to wear your lace thong today. You feel his tongue slide against your lips, asking for permission to enter and your mouth immediately complies.
The feeling of his hot breath on your lips and thumbs rubbing against the juncture of your thighs has you feeling needy for more. Jimin swirls the tip of his tongue against yours, the filthy action turning you on even more. You moan into his mouth and thread your fingers through his hair, causing him to let out a low groan.
Finally, after what seems like an eternity, the two of you break apart. Chest heaving up and down, you take note of your teacher's face. His lips are redder and plumper than ever before. His cheeks have the faintest blush on them. His eyes, the ones that crinkle into a happy smile whenever you answer a question correctly in class, are now clouded over with deep lust.
"Get onto all fours. On the desk," Jimin commands, and you immediately comply. Now your ass is facing Jimin and you're very nearly completely exposed to him, save the thong you're wearing.
"God, you're such a slut," Jimin moans out at the sight. "Do you get dressed up like this just so you can get fucked in class? Such a short fucking skirt that I can see whatever you're wearing underneath whenever you bend over, hm? You wanted me to give in to you, doll?" When you nod weakly, he chuckles, "I don't think so."
Arching your back so your ass sticks out even more, you whine, "professor, please fuck me. I'm so fucking horny, please." Jimin cups your pussy from outside your panties and leans over you, "I don't think so, kitten. I'm the one calling the shots here." Your pussy flutters in response and Jimin slaps it lightly, chuckling. The brief stimulation has your cunt clenching around nothing.
He spreads your knees slightly and begins trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses up your thighs to the arch of your back. Feeling his breath so close to your core has you getting wetter by the minute in anticipation. He finally hovers over your back, placing a soft kiss on your shoulder, muttering, "I'm going to wreck you, Y/N", and you feel yourself clench in excitement.
"Then do it," you whisper, and Jimin hooks his fingers around the waistband of your thong and pulls it down, so slow that it's almost painful, exposing your heat to the cool air of the classroom and causing you to shiver in response.
You don't see it, but his eyes widen seeing the strings of your slick connecting your pussy to your panties. He takes a look at your core and his mouth starts watering. You're soaking and clenching around nothing, thighs shaking ever so slightly in anticipation.
He flattens his tongue and licks a flat stripe up your pussy, from your clit to your entrance. He pauses to suck some of your juices from it, but your cunt just keeps leaking them out. He runs his tongues through your folds over and over again until you let out a wanton moan.
Encouraged by your reaction, he hooks his arms around the side of your hips, nuzzling closer into your pussy. He laps at your cunt and purposely avoids your clit, only heightening the pressure in your core.
"Mr. Park," you whine out, pushing your hips back. "Please. More," you pant out. Suddenly, Jimin spanks your right ass cheek, rubbing his hand over the fleshy globe soothingly afterward. You let out a little yelp and turn around to catch his eyes.
"More what?" he spits out, smiling at you evilly. "My little slut's gotta tell me what she wants. How else would I give it to her?" your mind is foggy, pleasure causing you to lose track of everything other than the man behind you. "W- want you," you garble out, "t- to play with my clit too."
"What's the magic word, doll?" Jimin teases, breath fanning over your slit, causing your walls to clench erratically. "Please, Mr. Park," you whine, pushing your cunt closer to his face. He smirks at you, avoiding your advances.
"Good girl," he praises before finally positioning himself just barely in front of your clit. You feel him blow cool air onto your slit, but the temperature of it is magnified even more due to how wet you are. You whine out, expressing your displeasure, and Jimin finally indulges you by taking your throbbing button between his plush lips.
"F- fuck, sir, yes! Right there, please," you squeal, back arching even more. Jimin hums, the vibrations sending waves of pleasure through your body. You can feel yourself growing wetter, your entrance squeezing out more and more of your arousal down to where Jimin's lips are sucking. He momentarily pauses to flatten his tongue out, letting your juices drip onto them and slurping them up eagerly. The obscene noises behind you combined with the low thrum of student life just outside the classroom door mesh together to have you realize where exactly the two of you are doing this.
You glance at the clock, and your eyes widen. "Prof- oh my god, Pr- Professor Park," you moan out, trying to keep your focus. Jimin again hums, making you jolt in pleasure. "I- uh, there’s only ten minutes until the next block of classes start. I need t- to leave in around five." When Jimin releases from you with a pop, you can feel your slick running down your thighs and some dripping onto his desk. You feel a rush of excitement at the thought of everyone walking in during class to see the mess Jimin made of you on his desk and again squeeze around nothing.
"Well then," Jimin hums lazily, "guess you better cum within five minutes if you want to cum at all." He dives back into your heat, tongue skillfully running through your folds. He cycles between kitten licking and delivering harsh sucks to your clit and dipping his tongue into your entrance. You grind against his face in desperation to reach your release, and just when you finally feel it hurtling towards you at an alarming rate, suddenly, Jimin gets up.
He leans over you, trailing a hand up your slick-ridden thigh to cup your bare heat and mutters lowly in your ear, "time’s up." Your heart drops in frustration, and you whine out. Grinding into his palm, you beg for him to touch you once again, knowing nothing but how good he was making you feel just seconds ago. "Mr. P- Park, please. Make me cum," you cry out.
Jimin spanks your pussy, a wet echo sounding through the room. You jolt forward and your cunt leaks out even more of your arousal in response to the combination of pain and pleasure. "I said no," he hisses, "you couldn't cum in time, you don't deserve to cum."
"God, look at you, you're a mess. Bent over and spread out so desperately for me. You taste so sweet, doll. So responsive, too," Jimin murmurs, lazily rubbing your slit. He's, once again, avoiding your clit and driving you insane. Your sensitive nub is now swollen and throbbing with need, slick with your arousal.
"Has anyone touched you as well as I do, Y/N?" he asks. When you shake your head, he slaps your cunt again, another wet sound echoing through the room. "Words, baby girl," he goads, fingers dancing through your folds.
"N- no, sir. they can’t make me feel half as good as you did. I’ve al- I’ve always been thinking about having you touch m- my cunt and making me cum really hard. and I- shit I’m so needy sir, I wanna cum," you garble out, tears pricking the corner of your eyes. You feel Jimin’s hand leave your pussy, exposing your soaked heat to the cool air of the room. Slowly, he pulls your thong up your thighs and the light touches make you clench in desperation and whine out.
He marvels at the sight of you so fucked out in front of him. The way his top student was falling apart at the slightest touches he gave you. And the words you said. God, to have you say such filthy things in comparison to your gentle demeanor, all because of him, it really did something to him.
Jimin finishes clothing you and presses a kiss to the top of your ass and walks across the room to get some tissues to clean up the mess you made. Still perched on the desk, you watch him needily, thighs rubbing together to relieve some of the pressure from being denied your orgasm. "So I really don’t get to cum?" You ask meekly, holding back a sob. "I need to cum, Mr. Park."
He chuckles, "there’s a difference between need and want, doll. You want to cum, you don't need to cum. But what you do need," he returns to you, leaning down so that his face is right in front of yours, "is to get to your next class." Your face, once eagerly lit up in anticipation, has now fallen in disappointment.
Rolling your eyes, you huff out a "fine" and get off his desk, feeling your arousal make your thighs stick together. Your panties are uncomfortably damp and you’re so wet you can even smell yourself. "Can you make me cum later?" you question Jimin, sliding closer to him and playing with his tie, praying that he’ll be the one to make you release instead of having to do it yourself when you get home.
"If you play nice I might. If not, then… we’ll see," he hums, handing you a tissue to clean yourself up while heading to wipe down his desk. "I have a lunch meeting in the second half of the lunch block, so if you really need me, I’ll be here before then."
You grin and nod in excitement. "Cool! so I’ll-" you begin before the first students from the next class start filing in, making you jump. "The door wasn’t locked?" you whisper frantically to him. "We could have been caught, Jimin! Are you crazy?!"
He smirks at you, "didn’t you say you wanted it that way? Where anyone could walk in? I only did what you asked, doll." You’re left speechless as he continues. "Anyways, you should be in your next class pretty soon. I’ll write a note to your professor just in case you’re late. But get going, yeah? I’ll see you in time for our meeting." He hands you a slip of paper and straightens up, tossing the dirty tissues into the trash can in the corner of the room.
"Okay class, we’re going to get started soon. I presume you all did the reading, so just prepare for the discussion we’re going to be having about it when the bell rings," he calls out to the class. Turning to face you, he questions quietly with genuine concern, "you okay? Did I push you too much for our first time?"
Your mind swirls with thoughts. Our first time. The words fill you with giddy excitement. It’s just the two of you that know about this, the dirty things you were doing just minutes ago, very nearly getting caught. Knowing that this won’t be the only moment you guys are doing this, fills you with excitement.
"On the contrary, actually," you tease your teacher with a smile. "It was really nice honestly, but perhaps, you didn’t do enough." You bite your lip at the way Jimin's eyes darken and he looks away. "Get to class, Ms. L/N. The bell will ring any minute," he says lowly, jaw slightly clenched. Your core throbs at the sight and you head towards the door.
"Goodbye, Mr. Park. Thank you!" you call out, catching sight of Lisa, who raises her eyebrows at you teasingly and mouths text me. Blushing, you nod at her before leaving the room to go to your next class.
Being "one of the smartest students on campus" comes with its perks. Like right now, for example. You always (somehow) come to class overprepared, so when your next teacher gives you a day to work on your project (which you've already finished), you head to the back of the room to text Lisa in private.
from lisa: dude wtf was that you were literally talking to Mr. Park outside of ur class time with him
from lisa: omg wait don't tell me you fucked him
from lisa: did you
to lisa: NO I DID NOT OMG I wish tho lmao
to lisa: I was asking him for help on the paper he's assigning us and to proofread it and stuff before I submit it
from lisa: omg I forgot he assigned us that shit
to lisa: dude lmao its due in a week or so you have plenty of time
from lisa: ugh literally he's such a hottie why does he have to be so into teaching
to lisa: sis commitment to something is hot
from lisa: omg ur right wait a sec tho
from lisa: dude
from lisa: omg
from lisa: he definitely has a boner
Knowing that you were likely the cause of it, you shift in your seat cockily, smiling slyly to yourself while looking down.
to lisa: whAT
to lisa: wait how big is it
from lisa: ok I dont think he’s fully hard yet he's like semi hard but barely
from lisa: LMFAO Y/N don't worry I think he’s packing seems kinda thick too
Taking in a deep breath, you look up at the ceiling. You imagine him slowly sinking into you and making you whimper at his size. Him seeing your face and growling, "if you’re really a good girl, you should be able to take it." You cross your legs tightly and rock up and down in a lame attempt to diminish the rising pressure between your thighs and look back down at your phone.
to lisa: pls thats so hot
from lisa: IKR I want him to r a i l me
to lisa: or eat me out… have you sEEN those lips of his wtf
from lisa: on god do not get me started
to lisa: pls i bet he’d be the type to tease you
Oh Lisa, if only you knew the truth behind those words.
from lisa: YES hes lowkey cocky bc he knows like the entire fucking population simps for him
from lisa: he’s def gonna make you beg to cum
to lisa: pls thats hot do not get me riled up in class istg
from lisa: too late i've already started babe ;)
You continue texting Lisa throughout the entirety of your class. Finally, you look at the clock and seeing that there are only a few more minutes till the class ends, you wrap up your conversation with her.
to lisa: hey btw i’m gonna be coming to lunch late… save me a seat at our regular spot?
from lisa: when ur best friend is a teachers pet :(( fiNE I guess I will
to lisa: love u!! xx
from lisa: love you too nerd xoxo
The bell finally rings, signaling the start of the lunch break and you immediately stand up and walk out the door, bidding your teacher goodbye and thanks.
Running into the bathroom, you do a quick check of your appearance. You tug up your skirt a bit higher and tuck in your shirt so that your outfit accentuates your curves. You glance at your face and notice how abnormally large your pupils are in comparison to most days. Jimin has completely ruined you today, just like he said he would. I'm going to wreck you, Y/N. His words echo in your ears as you make your way out to his classroom. Trying to ignore how uncomfortably wet your panties are, you knock on the door to his room.
You hear a smooth voice answer with a, "come in," and take a deep breath before opening the door to see Jimin sitting behind his desk, leaning back in his chair with his arms behind his head. He scans you up and down, eyes taking in every inch of your figure. "Nice outfit alterations," he notes, patting his laps as a hint for you to sit on it. You quickly lock the door and make your way to him, placing one leg on each side of him so that you’re now straddling his thighs. "Is this all for me?" he asks and you tuck your head down, suddenly shy now that all his attention is on you again.
"Mhm, depends on whether you like it or not" you smile timidly, hands reaching out to play with his tie again. He laughs. "Princess, I’m conflicted. You do look very nice, all dolled up for me like this. It’d be a shame if I were to ruin your efforts. But on the other hand," he remarks, "you’ve very nearly crossed the line for indecent exposure. What if another teacher caught you like this? you would get in trouble, hm? And what if it were a student to see you like this? What would they think of you then?" He questions, causing your cheeks to burn at his words.
"They would think I- that I’m a whore. I- and that I dress up like this just so I can pass my classes," you whisper out, biting your lips in a combination of excitement and humiliation. You can feel yourself start to throb again and you start to rut against Jimin’s thighs. He shifts you over so that you are sitting on only one and slightly bounces his leg. The stimulation to your neglected cunt sends a shock running through your body and you squeeze your thighs around his.
"Look at you, so fucking desperate to cum. You think that you aren’t a little whore already, so needy for me this quickly, hm? Do you really think you deserve to cum?" He hums, admiring the way you’re worked up. He pushes up your skirt and slaps your thigh just underneath your ass. You shift away as a reaction, causing your clit to get the stimulation it finally deserved. The way your underwear rubs against your neglected bundle of nerves causes you to let out a groan and drop your head to Jimin's shoulder. He spanks you this time, making you yelp. "I asked you a question, doll."
"Mmhm, yeah," you whine out, "I deserve t- to cum, sir." At this point, your hips are moving on their own accord, shifting back and forth desperately against Jimin's thigh. He grabs your waist tightly, holding you still. "Look at me," he commands, bouncing his thigh. You mewl into his shoulder, the change in motion making you lose focus. He spanks you again, the sound echoing around the room. "Listen to directions, sweetheart. Or else you’ll get punished," he warns.
You lift your head to look at Jimin, faces just inches apart. His eyes scan over your face, lingering on your lips. Slowly, you lean towards him, closing the distance between you two. He gives into your eager kiss and you glide your hands up his firm chest to run your fingers through his hair. He starts bouncing you on his thigh and you groan into his mouth. Breaking apart panting, you place your forehead against Jimin’s, moving your hips back and forth harder to increase the pressure going to your clit.
"God, Y/N, you’re so wet," Jimin pants while looking down at the way your clothed pussy drags over his thigh. "I can feel you soaking through my slacks," he says, shifting you over. just like he said, there is now a wet spot on his thigh from where you just were. Thankfully, it’s barely noticeable, but if you focus enough, you can see it.
"What are you going to do about it, hm? I have classes to teach, meetings to attend. Do you want people to see the mess you made all over me?" He hisses, spanking you to elicit an answer. "N- no, sir. I’m s- sorry," you whisper out, eyes clenched, still rutting against him. You feel your orgasm bubbling up as every second passes.
"I don't think you're sorry, doll. Look at you making a mess all over me through your panties. You're absolutely soaked, so fucking desperate to cum," he tuts, clenching his thigh muscles purposely. You gasp and shove your head into the crook of Jimin's neck, letting out a low groan.
"Mr. Park, I'm so wet because of you. I- god, I wanna cum. please. I'm so close," you mewl into him, legs starting to tighten around his thigh.
You shut your eyes, feeling your impending orgasm build up. Right when you're about to let go, Jimin holds your hips in place tightly, preventing you from moving. Squeaking out, you make an attempt to shift your pussy over his thighs. It's no use because you can feel it start to drift away slowly and you look at him in need. Tears stinging the corners of your eyes, you plead, "S- sir I need you to touch me again. Please."
"Well, since you asked so nicely," Jimin smiles cockily, lifting you onto his desk and spreading your legs after stripping you of your panties. You lean back so that you face the ceiling. Your eyes roll back once you feel him take your clit into his mouth. You moan and arch your back off of the desk, thighs involuntarily clenching around his head.
"God, Mr. Park, yes! O- oh, fuck, please," you blabber out incoherently, your mind hazy and overwhelmed with pleasure. "More," you whimper out without thinking.
Jimin disconnects from your heat to look up at you, murmuring, "Greedy little slut wants it all, huh? Won't even ask nicely for it. Tell me what you want, Y/N. Beg for it, and I might just give it to you."
"God, I- I want it all, professor," you call out, wiggling your hips in search of stimulation that never comes. "Want you to stuff me with your f- fingers and lick my p- pussy and make me cum. Want you to fuck me r- raw with your fat cock from behind and sp- and spank me. Want you to ma- make me cry from cumming so hard just as much as you have from not letting me cum. A- and I want you to leave hi- hickies on my thighs so that if I bend over, p- people are gonna know how much of a cockslut I am, just for you."
"Yeah? Well, I can tell you this," Jimin says, fingers dancing up your thigh closer to your sick-ridden core. "You are a cockslut. So fucking dirty. Most people come to class to learn but it seems that you come here to get off." He inserts a finger into you and your walls immediately clamp down on it. He moves the digit in and out of you smoothly, your arousal allowing the smoothest of motions. "You like that, baby? Finally having something in that tight cunt of yours?" You nod at his question, adding on "want more, sir."
"Not enough? Greedy little bitch. look at you, so needy. What are you gonna do when I have my cock out, hm?" He shoves a second finger into you and starts curling them into your heat. You arch your back to the ceiling and he hovers over you. For a moment, there’s nothing but the squelch of his fingers in your wet pussy and your panting as he stares into your eyes. Jimin's eyebrows are furrowed and he’s biting his lip - he’s focusing on something.
That "something" becomes apparent when, all of a sudden, you nearly sit upright and let out a loud moan of pleasure, "Fuck, Mr. Park! right there." His fingers continue rubbing that special spot inside you repeatedly and your legs start shaking ever so slightly. You look back at him to see a smug smile on his face. "I found it," he chuckles as you writhe underneath him. He leans down to kiss you, lips melding together.
He keeps fingering you, bringing his thumb up to ghost over your clit ever so slightly to provide enough pleasure to bring you close to your orgasm but just not enough to make you cum. You whine against his lips and he breaks the kiss, asking "you want to cum, doll?" to which you weakly nod. "Then fuck yourself on my fingers. Show me how much of a little slut you are for me. How you’re a cocksleeve for me, so wet and needy as soon as I touch you, so ready for me to fuck you." He stills his digits inside of you and you buck your hips on them, rolling your pelvis repeatedly in an attempt to get to your orgasm. You reach down to provide some stimulation to your clit, but he smacks it away.
"Jim- professor, it’s not enough. I- I need more, please." Tears start welling up in your eyes at the thought of not cumming for the third time. Jimin kisses your temple, the gentle action reminding you that he’s not going to do something you can’t handle. "Please, Mr. Park. I wanna cum," you whine out, hips jerking back and forth in a pathetic attempt to chase after your high.
"Show me then, Y/N. how much you want it. A good girl can show me that she wants it bad enough and will make herself come on my fingers alone. She’s not greedy. She doesn’t need to touch herself too. She just needs my fingers to cum. I know you can be a good girl, Y/N," he goads. "Can you show me what the pretty little face of yours looks like when you cum? I bet you’ll look so beautiful, even more than you are right now, all fucked out for me."
"Hhngh, sir I- I’m trying," you pant out. "It’s just not enough. I promise I'm a good girl, I swear. Please let me cum. Oh god, I wanna cum." At this point, you’re nearly crying. You haven't ever been edged like this and are desperate for release.
Jimin sees this and purposefully retracts his hand from your cunt covered in your honeyed juices, glistening in the lights of his classroom. "Professor Park, please," you choke out weakly, chest constricting in disappointment. With a soft smile, he brings his fingers up to his mouth and cleans them off, savoring the flavor of you.
"Be a good girl for the rest of the day and then I’ll let you cum, baby," he hums. "You promise?" you plead, holding onto his arm desperately.
"I promise, Y/N," he kisses you gently and you taste the remnants of yourself on his tongue, the filthy action causing your clit to throb even more. Combined with the way your cunt is still clenched tight in preparation for an orgasm that won’t come soon, you can definitely say that you can't wait for the school day to come to an end.
"Go to lunch, doll. I have a meeting soon. Don’t think of me too much, hm? Gotta keep those straight A’s the way they are," Jimin teases, pulling down your skirt slowly, fingers just grazing your thighs. He grabs your panties. "Oh, and I think I'll keep these for now," he says cheekily, putting them in his pocket. "They didn’t seem to be doing their job when you were riding my thigh."
You watch him in shock, cheeks flushing red hot. "I- okay. uh, I’m going to lunch now, Jimin. Have a good lunch and meeting, I guess?" you say awkwardly, shuffling to the door with him, tugging your skirt down.
"Jimin? We’re on a first-name basis already, Y/N? Don’t let anybody hear you call me that in class, baby," he winks, holding the door open and you nod, preoccupied with the little "situation" your skirt just barely hides. You can feel yourself still leaking down your inner thighs, and pray that nobody’s going to notice when you walk into the dining hall.
"Ugh! Bitch, what took you so long?" Lisa exclaims when you sit down next to her with your lunch. You pout. "I wasn't even gone for that long."
"Ha! That long, my ass. You were gone for more than half of the break! I had to tell Jaebum and his cronies to fuck off on my own! I’m not as intimidating when you’re not around, though, so I don’t think it worked. They’ll probably come over again soon." Lisa rolls her eyes. You snort, "One of them probably likes you, that’s why they keep bothering you."
"They just like any female and will take what they can get," Lisa mutters, "but anyway! How was your meeting with Mr. Park? Did you solve his boner problem?" she wiggles her eyebrows.
You clear your throat. "No, Lisa I did not. I'm obviously above that," you say in a sarcastic tone. "I simply offered to," you tease. Lisa squeals and slaps your arm in response. "But for real though," she says. "Anyone that gets to hook up with mister Park Jimin automatically wins at life," and you hum in agreement.
You scan at the dining hall around you and catch the eye of Jaebum sitting with his friend group. He winks at you and you roll your eyes and stand up, "come on Lisa, let’s go. Those assholes are going to come over any second if we stay here any longer." You drag her to your guys’ next class.
The bell rings and the two of you burst out of the classroom. Thank god that’s over. Only one more class left, you think to yourself, gripping your books tighter to your chest in excitement.
"Jesus fuck, since when were you this eager to get to the last class of the day, Y/N? I thought you loved staying in school for as long as possible," Lisa huffs out. You steer her into the direction of your locker, right across from Jimin’s classroom.
"I'm picking up my books, you dummy. Be grateful I paid for this locker because otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to put your books here." You put in the code and exchange your books while Lisa checks herself in the magnetic mirror attached to the door. you have to be careful when bending over because otherwise you’ll flash the entire school, so you do a weird sit-squat thing. "Geeking out over lockers? You act as if you’re still in high school, Y/N," Lisa teases. "Only during the school day," you wink up at her.
Lisa spots someone through the reflection of the mirror and groans out. "Incoming," she warns, rolling her eyes and turning around. "Wha-" you begin when you get cut off by a smooth voice behind you.
"Damn, L/N. didn’t know you wore skirts this short on campus. Looks good on you," the guy winks. "But it would look even better on my bedroom floor." You hold back a gag and turn to Lisa, raising your eyebrows in exasperation.
"Wow, I see the originality," Lisa says in the most sickeningly sweet voice. "What do you want, Jaebum?" He chuckles and places an arm over your head, leaning over you. "Well, I’m having a party tonight, and it would be amazing if you two little ladies could attend. Be mine and Jackson’s plus one?" he says. You’re about to say no when he leans in closer to you, inches away from your face, "plus you can get the high-quality drinks for free, not the cheap booze we leave out for the randos who show up."
"You’re probably gonna drug them or something. No thanks, dickwad." you huff out after a second’s hesitation, pushing him away, ready to go to your next class. "Nah, baby. I may be a fuckboy but at least I've got morals. Whaddya say? You get me off, I get you off? Maybe make you cum so many times it starts hurting? You look like you haven’t been able to get an orgasm in a while, you’re so uptight, L/N," Jaebum smirks.
"You fuckin-" you start to hiss out but you’re shut off again. This time it’s by someone different. Jimin. "Mr. Lim, I don’t think it’s necessarily appropriate to discuss your sexual endeavors while in an academic setting. I’ll be letting you off with a warning for now." He turns to you, eyes flitting across your DIY skimpy outfit. You feel your cunt leak more of your honeyed juices under his piercing gaze and clamp your thighs together to keep them from dripping down your thighs. "And Ms. L/N, I expected better from you. You’re not typically one to do these things in a school environment. Get to class, the two of you," he says, turning back to his classroom.
"Oh," he adds, "and Y/N. fix your outfit. I would hate to see you get dress coded by a teacher who isn’t as lenient." You, Lisa, and Jaebum stare at his back in shock as he heads inside his classroom.
"Well, uh, that just happened," Lisa states, turning to you. "Ready to go?" you nod numbly, mind swirling with embarrassment and excitement as you tug down your skirt. The two of you walk to the last class of the day while Jaebum calls out, "my place after 11, L/N! I’ll be waiting!", making you wince. Great, now a bunch of people are gonna think you’re hooking up with him.
The last bell of the day finally rings, and you head to your locker after bidding Lisa goodbye. You put your books in your locker and head to the bathroom to fix your clothes. You decide to tease Jimin even more by adjusting your skirt so that it ends just at the bottom of your ass. It’s a terribly risky decision; if you walk too fast, you risk flashing everyone. You’ve tried to wipe the slick off the juncture of your thighs, but it keeps getting replaced with more of your arousal.
You speed walk down the halls and fling open the door to see that Jimin isn’t in his classroom - or so you think. Once you take a few steps into the room, you hear the door shut behind you and lock. Jimin looks at you up and down. "You didn’t fix your outfit, Ms. L/N. Looks like I’ll have to dress code you for indecent exposure then," he hums, heading to his desk to take out a slip of paper.
"Wait Jimin, what? I thought we were- um. You know, going to-" you splutter out, realizing he was actually serious. You can’t have this on your academic record! What would your parents think?
"Going to what? Fuck? Seems like you already have someone else for that, Y/N," he shakes his head, grabbing a pen. You reach forward quickly to stop him, hand, gripping his forearm in desperation.
"No Mr. Park, I- I never told Jaebum yes. I just-" you try to explain, but Jimin cuts you off. "You what?" he asks bitingly, taking you by surprise. "Did you think that you could just come back and hop on my dick after nearly making out with another guy? God, you really are a slut, aren’t you?"
You rub your thighs together, trying to relieve some of the steadily mounting pressure in your core at Jimin’s words. "Look at you, I told you to fix your outfit and you fucking pulled up your skirt. You pulled it up. You don’t listen to me, talk to your friends about how much you want me to rail you, and yet let other guys make plans to hook up with you. And you expect me to let you cum after all of that?" he continues, noticing the effect he has on you. "You really think I should let you cum, Y/N? I'll tell you what I think. I think I should leave you like this, dripping and needy for me. So ready to get fucked by me but not being able to."
Your eyes widen, "no, please professor, no!"
"Should I jack off in front of you and not let you touch me? Maybe then would you learn your lesson? Or maybe I should spank your ass till it’s blue you’re unable to sit. Would that work, hm? What if I just send you back to the dorms? You could ask Jaebum to touch you, even if he can’t make you half the mess I can," he continues, pushing you onto his desk. He grabs your jaw and tilts your head up, forcing you to look at him, humiliated, with tears in your eyes.
"Aw," he pouts sarcastically, "is the baby crying? Because I didn’t let her cum? Well, princess, you knew what you were getting yourself into. Little cocksluts like you don’t deserve to cum so easily."
"P- professor, please. You can punish me. Teach me a lesson. B- but just please let me cum." You whimper out, attempting to cross your legs together to assuage your aching clit, but Jimin stops you by holding your knee with his other hand.
He slowly trails his hands up your bare thigh, admiring the way your soft skin seems to get chills at his touch. He pushes you back onto the desk and you prop yourself up your elbows to look at him. "Are you a cockslut, Y/N?" he asks, unbuckling his belt and unzipping his trousers.
"Y- yes Mr. Park. I- I’m nothing but a hole for you to fuck," you whimper meekly as he pushes up your skirt. He pushes apart your thighs and tugs you to the edge of the desk. "Damn right you are. Nothing but a little whore that I can use to get off. I’m going to fuck you here in school like you’ve never been fucked before. And this dick you’ve been thinking about all this time, it’s going to finally be in you, and I better not hear any complaints," Jimin growls, pumping his length in his hand. "No sir," you whimper out.
"You on the pill?" he asks, to which you reply with a yes. He teases your slit with the pink head of his cock and your entrance flutters at the touch. "But on another note, tell me if you want to stop. I don’t want to push you too much."
You smile, "Jimin, you’re being too kind. I promise I'll tell you. But I did say before perhaps you weren’t doing enough. Mr. Park, I want you to ruin me," you bite your lips, mimicking his words from earlier in the day. He cocks his head in amusement.
"Don’t worry princess, that’s exactly what I’ll be doing." Without warning, he thrusts forward into your heart, barely giving you time to adjust to his size. The girth of his cock stretches open your cunt with painful pleasure. Once he’s sheathed inside you, you can feel him very near your cervix.
You let out a shaky breath but it’s cut off as he continues thrusting in and out of you, wet slaps echoing through the room. "M- Mr. Park-" you moan incoherently.
"Fucking take it, Y/N. You wanted me to ruin you? Well here I am doing it; be fucking grateful." he rolls his hips into yours, hands gripping your sides harshly.
"Th- thank you Mr. Park, s- so much," you nearly sob out, almost crying at the relief of being fucked. You’re so turned on that your walls are clenching around Jimin’s dick so hard that he grips your jaw harshly. Gritting his teeth, he spits, "loosen up, babe. You’re so fuckin’ tight." You whine and try to relax but the stimulation Jimin’s providing has your eyes rolling back instead.
He snakes a hand down to your stomach and under your skirt, circling your throbbing clit. Your pussy flutters at the stimulation and you bite your lip harshly. He changes his angle slightly, causing your thighs to start shaking. His precum and your honeyed juices drip out your sopping cunt, the sound of wet slaps echoing around the room.
"Mmmmh," you moan out softly, back arching slightly. You can feel Jimin hitting your g-spot with impeccable accuracy each time. Doubled with the way his thumb is rubbing circles on your sensitive clit, you feel yourself reaching your orgasm. You try to suppress the giveaway signs of your impending release, knowing that Jimin, in order to "teach you a lesson" of sorts, is likely to take it away from you, so you attempt to just breathe out, "Jimin, fuck, it feels so good."
"Yeah, you like that, baby?" he thrusts into you deeper and harder and you bite your upper lip to stop your moans from slipping out. "Come on Y/N, let me hear those pretty little moans. Let everyone else know how well I'm fucking you, how good I make you feel," Jimin urges.
As soon as he utters those words, you give in, letting high pitched whimpers spill from your lips. Your pussy lets out filthy squelching noises at each of his thrusts, your wetness dripping down your ass and onto the desk. You feel your walls tightening around his cock and try to fight it off, but Jimin can already tell of your impending orgasm. He pulls out of you, leaving your warm and soaked cunt open to the air.
"Fuck," you exclaim in frustration, bringing your hands up to cover your face so Jimin doesn’t see your face, tears starting to spill down your face. It’s frustrating you so much that he won’t let you cum. That he enjoys seeing you whimpering and teary-eyed for him. Your thighs haven’t stopped shaking and Jimin parts them after you close them. He pulls down your arms and smiles evilly.
"Well, what do we have here," he exclaims, "looks like the baby finally did start crying. Come on, Y/N, I thought you had it in you. But look at how you’re spread out on this desk for me, such a fucking mess. I bet you like it, huh? Dirtying up my desk with that cunt of yours."
"I need to cum, Mr. Park," you choke out, trying to gather your thoughts. "I need to cum now." your teacher’s eyes narrow and he grips your thighs harshly. "What did you say to me?" he asks, a tone laced with dangerous amusement.
"You heard me. I-," you hesitate for a moment, but decide you’ve already put yourself through enough teasing today. You muster up your courage before saying, "I want you to make me cum now."
There’s a moment’s silence before you add on shamelessly, "o- or if it’s too much to ask of you, I- I’ll just find someone else to help me do it. Maybe Jaebum? He promised a good time a- and said he would let me cum as many times as I want."
Jimin grabs you by the chin and pulls you up. "You’re such a fucking brat, Y/N." Shifting his hand so it’s gripping your throat, he mutters, "you don’t fucking learn, do you? I thought you were smart, hm? But has the need for sex made you lose your sense? Made you turn into a dumb little bitch, ready to bend over for anyone because you’re so horny? And here I was thinking you were better than that. That you had standards. Perhaps I was wrong, hm? Would you like to tell me?"
You try to look down, away from his piercing glare, but he turns your chin to look back at him. Humiliation courses through your veins as Jimin’s gaze wanders down your body scathingly. "Look at you," he coos sarcastically. "Y/N, baby, you’re such a fucking mess. Pathetic." Suddenly, he lifts you off the desk and bends you over it, cheek pressing the top and ass exposed over the edge to him. You whimper at the feeling of your shirt being stickied from your arousal left on the table from just a few minutes ago. You try moving away from it, but Jimin holds you in place.
"Are you afraid that everyone else is going to see the mess on your shirt, Y/N? Is that why you’re trying to move?" he hovers over you from behind. "Or perhaps," he continues, hot breath tickling over the shell of your ear, "you want to continue being a brat. Make me punish you until you’re begging for me to make it stop."
He spanks you, the sound echoing across the room before you register the sting of his action. You clench involuntarily and let out the slightest of whimpers. "Fucking hell, are you this turned on? Making noises even if I don’t touch your filthy little pussy?" he asks, smacking your behind again. You bite down on your lip to avoid giving him the answer he already knows.
"Count for me. Be good and maybe I’ll finally let you cum." he commands, spanking your right ass cheek again. "O- one!" you groan. He spanks your left side, the stinging sensation causing you to leak more arousal. "Louder, Y/N. Let me hear you," he hisses, hand in your hair, and pulls you up slightly. "T- two," you stammer. another slap echoes across the room. "Three! God Mr. Park, please." At this point, you’re not even sure what you’re begging for; your mind is numb with lust.
"T- twenty! Agh, fuck, please," you squirm under Jimins grasp. The throbbing of your clit has increased tenfold, and you can practically feel the shaking of your thighs through the desk.
Jimin slips his hand between your legs, feeling the soft flesh of your inner thighs slicked with your juices. "You’re fucking dripping, Y/N. Look at you. Did getting punished turn you on this much, doll?" He swipes up your slit, teasing your fluttering hole. You scrunch your eyes in displeasure and try to back up into him, only to be stopped by a harsh smack onto your already throbbing cunt. You yelp and flop back on the desk, cheek pressing the surface.
You feel him rubbing his dick against your folds and sigh in relief. Suddenly, Jimin slams into you from behind with no warning causing you to let out a harsh groan. "Ah, professor!" you exclaim, balling your fists in pleasure at finally being stimulated. His cock seems even bigger from this angle, and your entrance stings delectably at the way he splits you open.
"You feel how tight your pussy is, princess? How tight it is for me? Nobody else makes you feel this needy. Nobody," Jimin mutters in your ear after pulling you up. He pulls your head back by your hair, exposing your neck, which he plants wet kisses on. He reaches down in front of you, tracing an achingly slow path from your stomach to your slit with his fingers. You’re reaching your orgasm at an embarrassingly fast rate due to all of the edging you’re been through, so when Jimin finally brushes over your clit, it’s no surprise that your walls tighten even more instantaneously.
"Ji- ‘m gonna cum," you moan wantonly. "Yeah? Is my little slut finally going to cum?" He hisses out at the way you tighten around him. You nod desperately, gripping his arm rubbing figure eights over your sensitive bud.
"Oh god, Jimin, I feel it coming. Please please please let me cum. I'm being good for you, Mr. Park, please let me cum," you sob out incoherently as Jimin continues railing you from behind. You feel the ridges of his cock brushing your walls and shudder at his ministrations.
"Let go, princess, I got you. Cum for me. Tell me how good I’m making you feel," Jimin snarls, snapping his hips into yours, eager to get you to finally melt in his arms. You feel your orgasm crashing over you and you clamp down on his dick, legs shaking in relief. Jimin's grip on your hair tightens as he feels you pulsing around him, getting impossibly tight. Nevertheless, he continues thrusting into you.
You mewl, trying to shift away from Jimin's hold as his fingers return to your clit, rubbing figure eights into them, "J- too m- much," you whimper out, straining against his arms.
"Yeah?" his smooth voice asks, "but I thought you wanted to cum, princess? Didn't you? I need to cum, Mr. Park. I need to cum now." He mocks you. “Well, that's what I'm doing doll. I'm. Making. You. Cum," he emphasizes each word with a harsh thrust, jolting you forward.
You're being reduced to a mess, tears streaming down your face and slick dripping down your thighs. You can feel your gummy walls tightening more and more on their own accord, without even trying. Without even realizing it, you've changed from trying to move away from Jimin's fingers to grinding down on his dick.
Jimin, however, notices this. "God, you're such a slut, Y/N. Weren't you just asking me to stop?" He raises your left leg onto the desk, allowing him to have more access to your folds. He slaps your clit when you don’t give a response and you yelp, clenching down on his dick. He slaps you a couple more times, and your cunt drips even more, making your thighs sticky with your honeyed juices. You can feel yourself nearing your orgasm once again from his motions.
Suddenly, Jimin pushes you back on his desk and begins hammering into you from behind. "You're going to cum again, aren't you? Filthy little girl, didn't you just cum? Are you really that needy for some dick?" You try to hold back a whimper from his words but it slips from your lips. "You're really a whore, aren't you, baby?"
In response, Jimin spanks you, and you yelp. "Keep doing that," he hisses when you clench down on his dick. "You like being punished, don't you?" You nod meekly in response. He smacks your already reddened ass again and you hiss at the stinging sensation. Paired with the pleasure his cock is giving you, thrusting so deep into you, you can feel yourself practically getting high off the feeling.
Jimin feels you cumming before you realize it yourself. His hips nearly stutter at the way your walls have clenched around his dick. He opts to rut his hips into yours, no longer being able to thrust in and out due to how tight you are. He reaches under your body to rub tight circles on your throbbing clit and you start cumming again, clenching erratically around his dick. "You cumming, Y/N? Be a good girl and let go for me. Get this fat cock all wet," he commands. You ball up your fists and dig your nails into your palms, pleasure coursing through your veins. Riding the course of your high, you wish for nothing more but to be in the moment.
When you come down from your orgasm, Jimin finally pulls his hard dick out of you. You feel his precum and your cum drip down your thighs. Whining, you rub them together to get rid of the feeling but it only serves to make you stickier. Jimin parts your thighs and runs a hand up them to cup your pussy, pausing to feel your cunt still clenching from the aftershocks of your orgasm. He smacks your abused heat, jolting you forwards and causing you to grit your teeth in overstimulation.
He flips you over, spreading your legs open. He leans over you, rubbing the tip of his dick over your swollen and throbbing clit, making you shiver. "Prof- professor, I can’t-" you begin but are interrupted my Jimin quickly shoving into you. Gasping, you clench down onto his dick, eyes rolling back into your head.
"You can, Y/N, and you fucking will," he grunts harshly, snapping his hips into yours. You grasp at his arm after feeling him in you deeper than before. The head of his cock nearly kisses your cervix and his impossibly hard dick stretches your tight cunt open even more, making you wince at the pleasurable pain.
"I- oh god, I really can’t. It feels-" you choke out through your tears. "It feels too- oh!" your head rolls back as Jimin hooks your legs over his shoulders, creating a new angle of penetration. He rubs your clit ever so slightly, the abused bundle of nerves pulsing under his touch. "It feels too what?" he hisses, rolling his hips upward so that his tip just barely grazes your g-spot. Too good, you want to say, but pleasure is clouding your mind and you can’t get the words out.
"That’s it, baby," he hums, "taking my fat cock so well even though you’re so- shit, you’re so fucking tight. Are you gonna cum again, hm? Cream all over my dick and make another mess?" you’re being reduced to a blathering mess, Jimin’s name rolling off the tip of your tongue. "Yeah? Can’t even hold it back a little? Even though I let you cum so many times, you still want more? Greedy little bitch," he spits at you.
When you clench down at his words, he starts pistoning his hips into yours, the sound of his balls slapping against your ass echoing around the room. His cock seems to be splitting you open even more, and you can feel every pulse of his dick on your walls. "Fuck, Y/N. I’m going to cum," he groans.
"I- I’m close too, Mr. Park. It- fuck, it feels really good," you breathe out as Jimin leans down over you. He slows his hips down, opting to roll his hips smoothly and brushing over your g-spot with painful accuracy. Hovering over you, his stare bores into yours, eyes flitting down to your lips, reddened and swollen from you biting them. You whimper and tilt your chin up towards him and he leans his head down to yours.
He lets his lips ghost over yours, warm breath brushing over your lips as his hips grind into yours. "P- please," you beg, and Jimin finally relents and melds his lips to yours, bringing the two of you into a searing kiss, groaning as you near each of your highs. You break the kiss to gasp out, "I’m c- cumming again Mr. Park."
"Yeah?" he breathes surprisedly, "your little pussy’s that sensitive that you’re gonna- fuck, you’re cumming already? So quickly?" he leans down as your orgasm washes over you, this one hitting you slowly and harshly. You arch your back into Jimin’s chest, hands gripping at the collar of his shirt. His thumb continues to gently rub over your clit, causing you to roll your eyes back into your head at the overstimulation. You start shaking underneath him, squirming to get away from the overload of senses, but he holds you in place as you ride your high for what seems to be like an eternity.
"That's a good girl," he soothes as you continue to writhe underneath him. "Look at you, stuffed so full of my cock it’s making you cry. Does that feel good, darling?" you nod, sobbing. When your orgasm starts to fade away, spots of white dotting your vision, he still doesn’t stop thrusting into you.
You bite your lip, and seeing that he’s close, you whisper, "M- Mr. Park, I want you t- to cum too. I- in me." His hips stutter at your words. "Shit, yeah? You’d let me do that?"
You nod, "want you to fill me up w- with your cum and s- stuff me so full of it that it’s gonna be in me for days. And I wanna fe- fuck, I wanna feel you in me even when I’m alone, professor." At your words, Jimin lets out a slightly animalistic growl and leans in. "You’d like that, huh?" he asks. "Me fucking you so well till you can’t think straight? Putting my cum in you so that when you walk out of here, it’s dripping down your pretty little thighs, making you look like the filthy little slut you really are? You think you deserve that?"
"Please, sir, I really want it," you beg, "please." With that, Jimin attaches his lips onto yours again, grinding his hips into yours even deeper as he finally orgasms. He doesn’t stutter his hips as he continues his ministrations, even though he can feel your walls desperately squeezing around him, milking his cock of its seed. You feel the thick ropes of his warm cum painting your inner walls every second. Each time he pulls out slightly, a bit of it leaks out of your cunt, dripping down your ass onto his desk. He continues fucking his cum into you until he’s satisfied with the way you’re shivering under him.
For a moment, all is still, nothing but the sound of the two of your breathing filling the air as you stare into each other’s eyes. "Um-," you begin, and Jimin quickly looks away, brushing his thumb over his plump lips. So that just happened. I fucked my teacher. I fucked Park Jimin.
"Wait here," he mutters, making your heart drop in disappointment. You nod, offering him a weak smile. Seeing this, Jimin reassures you, "don’t worry, I’m not leaving you. I’ll be right back," and cautiously steps out of the room after clothing himself.
You take this moment to recollect what exactly happened. Okay, so you just fucked your teacher. It still hasn’t sunk in yet, and probably won’t till you leave to clean yourself and look at the marks he’s made on your thighs and ass. You can’t help the giddiness you feel, like a kid who got the best candy bar in the world. After all, you got to hook up with your crush - in fact, the entire campus’s crush. The door creaks open and Jimin returns with some paper towels and wipes.
"H- hey," he smiles nervously. For the first time, he’s the one that’s stuttering. "Let me clean you up. It’s the least I could do after putting you through so much today." He spreads your legs gently, cheeks flushed, and begins wiping off the slick and cum between your thighs.
"Jimin, you didn’t do anything bad, calm down. Well, I mean you fucked your student? But other than that you’re fine. I really liked it," you try to explain, stumbling over your words. He looks at you incredulously, but shakes his head, smiling. "I don't want to tell anyone about this," you continue, "and I highly doubt you will, so this can stay as our little secret."
"Well looks like someone got fucked a little too happy. How come you never smile this much when I’m teaching, hm?" Jimin jokes after he finishes cleaning you up, kissing your knee gently. He hands you your thong that he’s kept for half the day and tells you to put it on.
"You’re still going to the party, right? Jaebum’s?" he asks and you shrug. "You should go. Have a fun time there, drinking and all that stuff." He leans into you, whispering into your ear, "and if that rascal wants to get into your pants, he’s going to see your soaked panties covering up that precious little cunt of yours stuffed with all that cum of mine. Maybe then he’ll finally back off," he smirks.
You blush, "maybe, Mr. Park. You know, you’re pettier than I thought you’d be." Standing up, to face him, he pulls you in by the waist till your chests are touching. You wrap your arms around his neck and he leans in, whispering, "well, Y/N, I don’t think you knew too much about me in the first place." Closing the gap between the two of you, you give him a peck on the lips, which quickly turns into a more heated kiss, lips melding together and tongues colliding. When you break apart, a faint blush on the two of your cheeks, Jimin smiles fondly at you and you look away.
"Well," you hum contentedly, "if I don’t know much about you now, I’d at least like to get to know you better in the future."
"One day," he breathes out. "One day."
Your grin, disentangling yourself from his arms. "One day soon, I hope. I’ve got to go now, but I’ll see you next class. Goodbye prof- Jimin. Have a great weekend."
He smiles softly, walking you to the door. "You too, Y/N. If you do end up going to that party, have fun. Stay safe."
#bangtanarmynet#kpopscape#bts smut#bts fanfic#bts fluff#bts#jimin#park jimin#park jimin x reader#jimin smut#bts fic recs#bts angst#bangtan#namjoon#jin#yoongi#hoseok#taehyung#jungkook#bts college au#bts pwp#pwp#smut#krabjoons#i hope this does well aaaaaa
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did you ever hear about the girl who got frozen? (a.i.)
right where you left me: prologue
pairing: ashton irwin x olivia jones (oc)
warnings: uhh a kinda grieving theme i guess? but no deaths. it has a sad tone overall, but nothing major (in this chapter hehe). foul language because i can't help myself. the tiniest mention of alcohol, but as a memory. think i should probably warn you that this contains a very sad ash. also not much dialogues. this is mainly for explanation and introduction, but very important for the story. if you find anything else that might be triggering, please let me know so i can add it here !!
author's note: oof okay. so. this is the prologue of a series very very dear to my heart that i've been working on for what it feels like my whole life but really it's been just a few months. but i'm in love with the story (which rarely happens with my own writing) so i hope you can enjoy it too !! this is also my very first time posting a fic since 2013 so pls keep that in mind <3 no i am not shaking as type this ofc not also: although i have the full story ready in my head, this is the only chapter that's written. i wanted to wait until i had at least a few ready before posting this but i'm too anxious for that lmao just saying this bc it will take a good while until i have any more chapters, so <3 (p.s.: i went over this thing a million times since may so if you find any errors pls look away, i'm not fixing this thing anymore. thanks <3)
another note: anna from the future here to say that i completely forgot about the playlist i made for the story lmao here it is in case you're interested k thanks bye <3
credits: title is from taylor swift's song right where you left me. model in the picture: paola locatelli. banner by me.
i also wanted to take a minute to thank some really nice friends that i've made here over these past few months & that i'm extremely grateful for @wastelandcth @suchalonelysunflower @littledrummerangie i cannot thank you babes enough for inspiring me the way that you do & for letting me yell about this to you && for encouraging me so much 🥺 i'll never be able to explain just how much this means to me, so i'll have to settle for saying thank you at any change that i can get <3 i love you all 💜 also gem my baby, thank you for the inspo with the banner 💚
@bluesdelis look babe i did it 😌 you know how grateful i am for you & for you letting me have a breakdown every week about my writing for the past 8 years so let's not dive into that or else i will write something bigger than this prologue jsjsjdjd love you 🖤
i hope you all have a good reading and a nice day ♡
let me know what are your thoughts about the fic ! ♡
word count: 4.1k
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Cold. That was the first thing that Olivia’s brain processed.
Still with her eyes closed, she buried herself more into the duvet, while her arm blindly reached for the furnace in human form that she calls boyfriend. However, as soon as her arm was only met with cold sheets, her eyes shot open.
Blinking the sleep away, she sat up on the bed, searching for the infamous red clock resting on Ashton’s bedside table that was supposed to look like a vintage alarm clock. Olivia had ordered it online at an auction website a couple of years back, as a gift for his 23rd birthday, since it was something he had mentioned multiple times prior that he was looking for, but still hadn't found. But when it finally came in (two weeks after the due date), it looked nothing like the picture she saw on the website. Feeling beyond frustrated, she wanted to send it back immediately and ask for a refund and maybe leave a not so polite review on the seller's page. But Ashton stopped her right away, laughing like the situation was absolutely hilarious to him, while saying, 'I like it, it’s quirky'. So, the clock stayed and found a home right next to him in their room.
Some days, however, she would wake up at some ungodly hour because of the blaring noise of the only ringtone the clock had. But whatever annoyance she could feel towards the object, it always vanished as soon as she felt Ashton's lips gently touching her face in a good morning kiss before he would get up to start his day, leaving her to catch some more hours of well deserved sleep.
As the furthest from a morning person as a touring musician could possibly be, Olivia had always feared that living under the same roof as Ashton would turn her into an early bird like him, but she's thankful that it never happened (not that he needs to know about that).
When she sees the red clock, she smiles at the sudden but welcome memories of them flooding her foggy brain, but frowns slightly when she realizes it reads 12:13 pm. Ashton rarely lets her sleep past 10 am.
Gathering all her strength and will, she rises up from the bed, smoothly picking up a grey wool sweatshirt from the chair (way too baggy on her slim body, but it smells like him), pulling it over her head and relishing on the soft material warming up her body. Making her way to the door and calmly going down the stairs, she can’t help but stop for a minute to admire the picture frames on their walls, one in particular catches her attention – probably one of the most prized pictures and memories they had. It felt older than it actually is, but it was around 4 years ago, she's sure – a little while after the two of them met. The picture was of their group of friends that still remains the same: Ashton and his best friend, Luke; Olivia, her best friend, Calum and their old hometown friend, turned into Calum’s new friend at college, turned into everyone’s friend, Michael; and her then newly band members, Suki, Eli and Ravi. Together, their group was the life of the party through all their college years, and it showed by the big smiles and drinks in hands they all had in the picture. It was a very special night, the first time Olivia’s little band played for the public – for a small audience sure, but it was a wonderful night nonetheless. What a long road it had been since that night.
Her nostalgic thoughts were interrupted by a shiver that went through her whole body, and it made her realize how oddly cold the whole house was, not only their bedroom. Which, granted, it was November in New York and the weather was just getting colder, but that’s exactly why Ashton always made sure to keep the house warm enough. As much as she loved the chilly season, the warm weather always reminded him of his hometown, and who was she to deny him that?
The smell of fresh made coffee could be sensed even before she reached the kitchen. Arriving there, the curly haired woman still found no signs of her boyfriend, so she went straight after the coffee maker pot sitting on the far left corner of the cream marble counter. Smiling softly at the tons of memories of Ashton's sleepy figure making their favorite beverage, she reached for a coffee mug on the cupboard on top of the counter and poured the remainder of the hot liquid on it (it's her favorite mug, if she must choose – it was a gift from a fan, and it had printed on it a collage of the pictures of her and Ashton that were posted on social media through their first year of relationship).
Moving to the glass doors that lead to the mini garden they cultivate, she didn't have to open them to spot the 6-feet-tall man sitting on a bench outside, looking oddly small in his oversized clothes, coffee mug tightly held between strong hands. Something about his figure made Olivia frown, however: he was staring with an unwavering look at her small but eye-catching pot of yellow daffodils that were almost as much of a pet to them as Stitch at this point. Sensing that there’s something definitely off about his semblance, she made a mental note to talk to him and find out what’s wrong later. So she goes back to the kitchen, knowing that he might need this quiet and private moment for himself.
She lost count of the minutes that went by (couldn't have been more than five) before she hears the garden's door opening and closing, and then his bare feet are dragging his brawny body to her. Except, he goes over to the sink, walking right through her, not showing any sign that he even saw her hunched figure over the counter table in the middle of the room.
Alright, someone's in a mood.
Olivia tries to swallow the annoyance already bubbling inside her – he knows how much she hates to be ignored, no matter how mad he might be – by trying to think of what she can say that won't piss him off. This is always a hard feat to accomplish when Ashton gets in these moods, but there’s a reason for them to work so well together.
“I missed my favorite body heater when I woke up,” she says in her best sweet voice, knowing how quickly his resolve crumbles when he hears that voice.
Still, no reaction.
That settles a worry at the pit of her stomach, because Ashton is never like this. Even when he's not in the mood to talk, he always gives some kind of reaction to her words; it doesn't matter how small, just enough to make her feel acknowledged.
When he's finished washing his mug and the few scattered dishes across the sink – she noticed that he already had lunch, if the lone plate in the drying rack is anything to go by –, he dries his hand in a towel, turns around and throws it on top of the same counter Olivia was leaning up against. Once again, he walks away not even sparing her a look.
Indignant, she leaves the now empty coffee mug on top of the table and follows him as he walks up the stairs, any determination to not aggravate his mood now well gone.
“Hey! In case you didn't notice, I'm right here. Whatever got you in this sour mood, I'm certainly not to blame, so can you stop being a child now and talk to me?!”
Ashton just keeps walking – more like sluggishly dragging his body – until he reaches their bedroom and suddenly stops just merely two feet inside the room, looking around with vacant eyes; like he was expecting to see something that wasn't there.
“Okay, that's really mature of you. Are you planning on ignoring me all day then?” Olivia questions exasperated, staring angrily at the back of his neck, where the condor tattoo lives – her favorite of his, but that sight doesn't bring her any peace today like it usually does.
Her glare only breaks when she hears the familiar sound of dog tags swaying on her right side. Shifting her gaze to the direction of the sound, Olivia notices Stitch, their small, black & white French bulldog – who she thought was outside in the garden – slowly trudging his way from around the bed until he stops at Ashton's feet, looking up at one of his humans with sad eyes. That realization only makes the worry in her stomach grow uncomfortably.
“Hi buddy,” Ashton's voice cracks a bit from the lack of use, but he smiles softly at the sweet dog, and crouches down to pet him.
Olivia can't help but gasp as she notices three things all at once that leave her overwhelmed: first, how she didn't even notice Stitch was in the room when she woke up – which never ever happens, in fact, most days he wakes her up whenever he deems her bedtime as finished and can't ever contain his excitement when she finally gets up; second, how the windows blinds are closed, which, again, rarely occurs under their roof, not if Ashton can help it. And third, how sad and melancholic the whole scene in front of her is – how sad and melancholic Ashton is. Pointless to say by now – that's also a very rare occasion.
A chill creeps up Olivia's spine, putting her body into high alert and also serving as a reminder of how everything looks out of place today. Trying to keep her head from spiraling down way too soon, she wraps her arms around herself and crouches down beside her two favorite boys, trying once more.
“Ash? Can you hear me?” even with her throat closing, she softly asks, purposefully putting her face in Ashton's point of view. Her only answer is the low whispers he's letting out to Stitch, while cradling the tiny dog in his arms, spreading gentle kisses on his head.
“I know, bud, I know. I miss her too,” is the only whisper she could understand and immediately wishes she hadn't. The weak wail that comes from Stitch's throat seems to fit perfectly with how the three of them feel.
Ashton then looks up and for a couple of seconds, and Olivia can swear he’s staring right into her eyes. But when he shows no reaction, she knows he’s just staring ahead and not at her, with that look that says there’s too much going on inside his head. She feels the urge to embrace him and get him to talk about whatever is on his mind, so they can share that weight like they always do, but when Ashton gets up from the ground and settles on the bed with Stitch, Olivia can physically feel the crack in her heart caused by the feeling she’s left with.
While Ashton is pulling the duvet over him and the dog, with clearly no intentions of getting up anytime soon, Olivia stands up on her feet with a new-found determination – she needs to figure out what the hell is going on.
This nightmare had to be just that, right? Nothing but a very vivid dream – she's had those before. Scary sure, but they always go away, and soon enough she's back into Ashton's arms, with Stitch jumping on the bed ready to lick their faces off. She just needs to wake herself up from whatever fucked up dream this is – right?
She's running down the stairs this time, frantically in search of something, of what exactly, she doesn’t know – but she knows she needs an answer. The more she looks for something, the more desperate she gets, not knowing what to look for. Then suddenly, something catches her eyes.
The white and blue calendar that's held up by magnets on the side of the fridge. She knows their calendar is red and yellow. They got it from their favorite flower market. Slowly, as if scared of what it might be there – “It's just a calendar, for fucks sake” – she approaches the damn thing. Upon inspection, she deems it as a normal calendar – she really doesn't know what she was expecting – until.
She knows what's wrong with it now.
It's November. She knows it, because the Asian and last leg of her first world tour is about to begin November 21st, eleven days from today. Right after Mike's birthday, she knows this.
Then why does the calendar say today is January 14th?
☆ ☆ ☆
Ashton woke up with a jolt. He quickly sat up, frightening the little Frenchie that was asleep right next to him on the bed. Trying to make sense of his surroundings, he roughly rubbed his face to get some sleep off of it and soon reached for the dog that was staring at him with sleepy but sad eyes. Ashton is sure Stitch understands far more than a dog is supposed to understand about their current situation.
The room is covered in shadows, almost pitch black, but he can see the sunlight even through the thick dark grey blinds covering up the windows. Ashton knows he won't be able to sleep again at that moment, so he gets up from the bed – much slower than he used to. His heartbeat is still out of control because of the nightmare that woke him up, but he can't bother to pay attention to it when Stitch is softly wailing beside him. Ashton lets out a ghost of a smile when the dog rests his head on his right upper thigh, looking up at him with an expression Ashton knows all too well.
“C'mon you little ravenous creature, let's feed you,” the bulldog excitedly jumps to the ground, already running his way down the stairs, not even waiting for Ashton to get up.
That gets a real smile out of him, but it vanishes as soon as he glances at the alarm clock on his bedside table. It reads 5:13 am, nothing out of the ordinary for him. But that small and inoffensive clock, with its red paint peeling off, holds a lot of memories for him. Memories that two months ago would bring joy to his heart, but now he almost wants to throw the object across the room.
It was a stupid thing, really. He had been wanting a vintage alarm clock and Olivia got one for his birthday. But the product they received was definitely not the one she bought, and if he's being honest, he didn't like it as much as he made out to. But seeing her so excited in the weeks before it arrived, and how disappointed she was when it did, he couldn't help but try his best to make her smile that luminous smile again. It's part of his nature by now.
That's also the reason why he lets her think that he doesn't notice when she wakes up at some ungodly hour (her words, not his) along with him, because of the annoying and only sound the alarm clock is able to produce. He always leaves soft kisses in every inch of bare skin he can find on her sleeping figure, so she goes back to the dream land and doesn't wake up before 10 am. No one wants to deal with that kind of bad humor, not even him.
As much as he likes being a morning person and absolutely enjoys her company in the mornings, he knows she'll take any and every extra hour of sleep she can get before starting the day. And that's why he loves that she's so stubborn that his early bird tendencies never got to her – he knows she feared that this would happen when they moved in together, but he met her like this, fell for her like this. He wouldn't change a single thing about her.
Ashton drags himself out of the bed, wincing slightly at how cold the wooden floors are under his bare feet. He doesn't bother putting some socks on, or a sweater – the cold weather in the house is uncharacteristically comforting to him. Nothing feels warm without her anyway.
While descending the stairs, he mentally curses himself for not being strong enough to look past the picture frames on the wall. One in particular catches his eyes – a picture from the night of Olivia's first concert with her band. The memories of that night are still painfully vivid in his mind: the laughter among their group that eventually infected everyone at the pub, Suki and Luke's first kiss and the silly smile that didn't leave his best friend's face all night, the standing ovation Olivia got after her three-songs set, and her captivating and breathtaking smile that made him realize right then and there, while watching her sway to the music, that he was definitely falling in love with her and there was nothing he could do to stop it – not that he wanted to.
So many memories held up on that wall, in the relatively short time since they met, that he can't help but wonder if that's all they'll get in this lifetime.
Ashton is abruptly taken out of his thoughts by Stitch's barks coming from the bottom of the stairs. He quickly jogs down the few steps left and goes straight after the dog's food in the kitchen's cabinet. After Stitch starts to happily devour his breakfast, Ashton goes to make his coffee, doing enough for two people like he always does, since Calum drops by most days for a chat or to drop Duke before going to work. Although all three of them know he just can't bother to make food for himself in the morning, while Ashton is the group's elected chef. Ashton always says he just needs a boyfriend – Olivia says Calum already has one who makes him breakfast every day.
He grabs an apple from the fridge and makes his way outside to their garden. Even though a lot of their memories took place there, the garden is the only space in the house where he doesn't feel like suffocating all the time. At least here, he can breathe some fresh air and look at the sky when he's feeling overwhelmed – which is basically all he's been doing for about a month now.
Yet, a lot of the garden has Olivia's name written all over.
He remembers vividly the day she came home after spending two weeks in LA doing some pocket shows, with a pack of daffodil seeds and the largest smile. She excitedly told him that a friend gifted it to her when she mentioned the little garden they were planning to build together at their new house. The friend told Olivia that daffodils symbolize rebirth and new beginnings, so as the good lover of symbolism that she is, Olivia loved the idea of having those flowers to symbolize their new beginning.
Ashton, on the other hand, wasn't a fan of the flowers at first – he just didn't see the appeal to them. But nonetheless, he indulged her, letting Olivia plant the seeds near the bench they used to sit during the quiet and unrushed afternoons, so they could admire the sunset, and she could happily look at the daffodils.
Pointless to say – the damn flowers grew on him.
Now, however, looking at them without Olivia and her contagious joy next to him, they were back to be as dull as they were before, if not more so.
Still lost inside his head without any sense of how much time went by since he sat down, Ashton doesn't hear the front door closing, and doesn't notice that he's no longer the only person inside the house until someone sits next to him on the bench. Yet, he doesn't show any sign of acknowledgement to them.
A few minutes go by before either of them speaks up.
“Luke said you didn't go to see her yesterday,” Calum starts softly, not wanting to disturb the calmness of the morning.
Ashton takes a few seconds to respond, “No point in doing that.” The black haired man licks his lips while thinking carefully about his next words.
“You know staying inside this house all day by yourself won't help either,” Calum turns his head to his left and takes a good look at Ashton's uncharacteristically hunched over figure, and immediately thinks that anyone can tell this man is not himself anymore. His second thought is that Olivia would hate seeing him like this.
“And what exactly do you expect me to do? Move on with my life like nothing happened? Like I'm not slowly and painfully losing the love of my life? Just because it’s easy for you doesn't mean it's easy for me.”
Calum closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He knows Ashton doesn't mean it, it's the anger and frustration talking. He knows it. Doesn't make it sting any less.
“I'm not telling you to move on with your life, because that's far from what I'm doing, and I certainly don't expect you to do it. I'm just saying you need to occupy your mind or else–”
“I'll go insane? Think it's a bit too late for that,” Ashton interrupts with a bitter tone that doesn't belong to his usual chirpy voice.
“You know it's not,” Calum sighs and drinks the rest of his coffee, moving his body slightly, so he's facing the blonde man, “I got a job interview for you at that school you talked about so much last summer, the principal said you can go any day this week. I went ahead and sent her your resume as well as explained everything that she needs to know about Olivia, so you don't have to. You just gotta put on some decent clothes and show up.” he sees Ashton's face softening a little and takes it as a victory. A few beats go by and then, “Maybe take a shower too. That's gonna make you feel better.” Calum leans in closer to his friend's personal space and takes a sniff, causing Ashton to deflect from him slightly, but not to push him away – another small win.
“Definitely take a shower, you stink. When was the last time your hair saw shampoo?”
“Fuck off,” is Ashton's only reply to the younger man's inquest. But Calum can see a smile creeping up on the blonde's face, which brings out a smile of his own.
“I'll send you all the details later today,” he checks the hour on the watch on his wrist and gets up, “Just please, Ash, go. I can't lose you too.”
Calum gently lays a hand on Ashton's shoulder and squeezes a little. The man doesn't look up, but gives a curt nod to his friend, who's satisfied enough. Calum stops on the threshold of the garden glass doors to give some kisses to Stitch – who came to make Ashton company as soon as he finished his food –, and then he puts the coffee mug on the dishwater. And soon enough, he's on his way out of the door. But not before snatching a tangerine from the fridge.
Ashton is left by himself once again. As he hears the sound of the front door closing, he thinks that this might be his life from now on. Just him and Stitch, trying their hardest to make it through another miserable day without the love of their lives. While everyone else comes by just to make sure he's still breathing. Breathing, maybe, but alive?
Swallowing the tears, he looks up at the sky. It's a deep, beautiful mix of orange, pink and blue, but he knows that it won't last long and soon the rain will be pouring down. He thinks about how much Olivia loves the rain.
God, he needs to pull himself together. She would hate to see him like this. Maybe he should take Calum's offer after all, he really needs to occupy his mind.
Making a mental note to thank Calum later, and also to apologize for how rude he was to him this morning, Ashton slowly gets up from the bench to put his mug on the sink and makes his way to the living room, with the small dog loyally following his every step. He puts on some cartoon that for once doesn't remind him of her (she always lovingly made fun of him for still watching those) and cuddles with Stitch on the couch. He can take a shower later.
Not half an hour goes by, he falls asleep and has a good dream for a change. He dreams of the days he spent with Olivia in the Philippines last February, right before her first world tour started. Some of the most magical days of their lives – surrounded by delicious food, a whole new culture to learn about and the warmth of the sun. Infinite counted days full of love and passion, where they were the only people in the world.
Even his subconscious knows to hold on to that brief moment of happiness, because he might never live that again.
#anna writes#perhaps she does write after all#alright i'm gonna go hide somewhere now bye#ashton irwin fanfiction#ashton irwin fic#ashton 5sos#ashton irwin x oc#5sos fanfic#5sos fic#ashton irwin imagine#5 seconds of summer#5sos imagine#anna writes: rwylm
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If you have time/energy, 41 for the bughead prompts pls! It’s the “overhears they have feelings for you.”
Now that i finally have the time, here’s some fluff to counter the angst!
-
Betty paused at the door to the Blue and Gold office when she heard voices. This late in the day, it was usually only her and Jughead still working on the college newspaper. Or, rather, while she continued working diligently on page layouts while he worked on homework on the couch.
“It’s not that big of a deal,” Jughead said. “Right? So I should just say it.”
She peeked in through the crack in the door and saw him pacing back and forth, his hands waving wildly in the air.
“If it’s not that big of a deal, why haven’t you said it?” came a reply from Toni.
Strange; Toni was always the most punctual person on their team. Her photos had been ready to print for over a week, and she rarely spent her free time in the office.. Unless Jughead had dragged her into his usual shenanigans regarding things that went bump in the night?
“Because –“
Jughead stopped and made a pained noise. Unsympathetic, Toni snickered, and even Betty had to cover her mouth from laughing. As much as she enjoyed his company, even Betty had to admit it was amusing to see him get so wrapped up in himself.
“It’s just three words,” Toni pointed out. “And it’s not like it will kill you to say it.”
“She might.”
“Betty is not going to murder you –“
“Not her, Cheryl.”
This time, Toni burst out in peals of laughter that covered up Jughead’s response. Curious to hear her cousin’s name, Betty leaned closer to the open door. The fiery tempered red-head was as much of a fan of Jughead’s as he was of hers, and that wasn’t saying much of anything.
“Cheryl is why you’re afraid to say ‘I love you‘?”
Jughead grumbled something inaudible, and Betty glanced up and down the halls to make sure she was alone. This close to information so pertinent to her life – Jughead was in love???? When did that happen??? Why??? - the last thing she needed was someone as boisterous as Kevin or Veronica yelling her name down the hall. Pressing herself against the door frame, Betty bit her lip and tried to calm her pounding heart.
“The last time someone even mentioned asking Betty out –“
Betty had to bite her tongue to keep from starting. A pen fell from her pocket and echoed in the empty halls. There was a silence, and she waited to be found out.
“That was because it was Reggie Mantle doing the asking,” Toni pointed out, completely ignorant of being eavesdropped on. She continued in a less than sure voice. “Besides, Cheryl … doesn’t dislike you. She’d probably even be happy with you if you got Betty out of the apartment for something that wasn’t school or work. You know, like a date? The thing people ask about when they like someone?”
Now too nervous to stay still, Betty rushed from the door, clutching her bag to her chest, and fled to the bathroom. As soon as the door closed behind her, she couldn’t help but clasp her hands together in glee. She and Jughead had danced around each other for over a year now and the closest they could get to anything called ‘dating’ had been a late-night stake out to see if the Dean of the Journalism school really was moonlighting as a click bait writer for BuzzFeed.
She breathed deeply to calm her nerves. Try as she might, she couldn’t contain the thrill of hearing that Jughead Jones, the guy she’d been crushing on since freshman orientation, liked her. Not just liked. He loved her. Betty couldn’t help but hug herself.
Straightening her shirt and steeling herself to be as forward as she imagined Cheryl would be, Betty stepped out of the bathroom and made her way, once more, to the Blue and Gold office. As she neared the office, Toni emerged and sent her a wink.
“Good luck in there, boss,” Toni said with a salute.
Betty bit down a response and opened the door. Jughead jumped up as if electrocuted, his face white at the sight of her. Any other time, Betty would have rushed towards him, asking him twenty different questions to try and figure out why he looked so ill. Now, though, it was all she could do to keep from smiling.
“Good evening, Jughead,” she chirped.
He stammered a reply and she set her backpack on her desk.
“You know what I really love?” she asked, unable to help herself, especially when a faint blush rose to his cheeks. “Those wontons you got last week. Where was that from again?”
“Klump’s Kafeteria,” Jughead said. “Did you get my article?”
Betty nodded, disappointed he’d jumped so quickly to business. “I did. I really love,” she paused, sitting down on her desk and pulling her laptop out, “the way you captured the emotions in your review. Especially whereyou talk about the mise-en-scene and how well it pulled everything together. It made the recommendation that more meaningful.”
“Honestly? I couldn’t stand the movie,” Jughead said. He rolled his eyes and sat on the corner of her desk.
And suddenly, the spell was broken, and her regular, normal Jughead was back in front of her. She watched his face as he complained about plot pacing and script-incongruities. Only half paying attention, Betty wondered if he’d finally make a move. It would be even better, though, if he’d finally notice that she’d been flirting this whole time.
“Regardless, it was a very well written piece,” Betty said when he’d finished. “You know what I also love?”
Jughead raised an eyebrow at her, finally beginning to notice a trend. “Those weird blue macaroons that taste like Peto-Bismol from Chez Bonuit?”
She flicked her pen at him and scowled. “You just have a warped sense of taste after eating all that grease and sugar at Pop’s.”
“And yet who’s the one also asking me to bring them a strawberry milkshake whenever they find out I’m eating all that grease and sugar?”
“It’s one of the little things I love you for,” Betty said, slipping it in as casually as she could. “That and the lattes you bring me after a late night editing.”
Jughead’s eyes flew open and heat bubbled up in her cheeks. Pressing on, Betty opened up a browser on her computer and turned it to him.
“I also love, and I hope you will too, that R.R.J. Swift is putting out a new Play of Chairs book next month.”
His face light up and he crowded in next to her, their faces a few inches from the screen. “How did I miss this? There’s no way they could get that to print so quickly.”
“Everyone in printing was told it was a new Donna Sweet novel,” Betty said, clicking a few times until a different website came up, “so it’s been hush-hush until he broke the news an hour ago.”*
“Finally, we can see what happens to Trienne of Barth.”
She elbowed him lightly. “I can’t believe you still like her after she betrayed Don Ice.”
“I can’t help it. I love her storyline,” he shot back, his eyes searching hers.
Undeterred, Betty thrust out her chin. “And I love –“
“Yes, yes, we get it,” Toni said. “You two are trapped in a bubble of love.”
They both turned, blushing, to the door.
“Sorry to interrupt the futile flirting, but I forgot my notes,” Toni said, walking towards the couch. She held up a notebook and shook it at them. “Just kiss her already Jones, or I will. And since the last time that happened I ended up going to prom with your girlfriend...”
“She’s right, you know” Betty said when Toni left.
Jughead cleared his throat. “About which part?”
“You should kiss me.”
“I –“
Whatever his protestations might have been, Jughead smartly decided to ignore them. Instead, he leaned towards Betty, who happily met him more than half-way.
A few months later, when Jughead claimed their first date was at a Play of Chairs release party, Betty couldn’t help but cover a laugh. She loved that he was technically correct, even if it was only a party of two.
*(No, I do not know how printing works, nor do I care enough to Google this or other characters from the series. Apologies if I’m wrong. If I am, just pretend they’re talking about Minecraft.)
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Magi19 is Online...
Mystic Messenger Fanfic. Yoosung x Reader (OC)
Note: So i totally did this when this game first came out, and its been collecting dust for a long time lol. I know its a bit lat and irrelevant now, but I enjoyed writing it so here it goes. I may not continue it unless I feel it needs more, so this is just what I wrote.
•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:• Yoosung unlocked his door and sighed. His Professor had caught him texting during class again and really let him have it after the session ended. He went into his room, dropped his bag, and jumped onto his bed. “He just had to give me extra homework, today of all days! What luck…” Today was a special event on his favorite MMORPG, LOLOL. If he wasn’t there today, it would be gone tomorrow. Yoosung sat up and looked at his bag, then at his computer. After what seemed like forever, which was really five seconds, Yoosung chose LOLOL. He just couldn’t wait. And the homework was due on friday, anyway. He pushed the power button on the side of his computer and smiled.
“Armor is 60% off today! As well as certain boosts, too! No way can I miss this event!” The desktop on his screen lit up to show the background picture of him when he was younger, holding a light brown puppy with brown eyes. Rika’s puppy. He smiled at the memory and quickly opened up LOLOL, put on his headphones, and logged in. As soon as he was about to review his character, Yoosung’s phone beeped. A new chat room had opened up on the messenger app. He picked up his phone and sighed. It was Seven again, most likely signing on to poke a little fun at everyone. He turned on the app and entered the chatroom.
707: Yoosung!!!!
Yoosung: Seven… why are you here? Didn’t you say you had work?
Mina (MC):He does… but he’s putting it off until the last minute. Hello Yoosung! How was school?
Yoosung: Fine I guess, but my prof. yelled at me for being on my phone… I was just about to get on LOLOL.
707: Yoosung.
Yoosung: What?
707:… Get a girlfriend.
Those words made Yoosung sigh. Ever since Seven and Mina had gotten together, Seven tried to set Yoosung up on dates with girls he barely knew. He just wanted to find a girl naturally and connect with her through a mutual friendship, though he knew it wouldn’t happen overnight. Even though he wished it would.
Yoosung: Seven… Pls.
Mina: Seven! That was rude! Let Yoosung find love by his own terms! Sorry Yoosung. You know Seven is just playing.
Yoosung: Thanks, Mina. I’ll find someone someday!!!
{Jaehee Kang Has Entered the Chatroom}
Jaehee: How soon is someday exactly? Because from what I see, you barely put yourself out there.
Yoosung: Jaehee! You’re so mean!!!!
Jaehee: Just speaking the truth. Hello Seven, Mina. Finally got a break from Mr. Han!!!
Mina: Glad you made it out alive! How is Jumin? He hasn’t been in the chatroom lately.
Jaehee: He’s been on a lot of business trips lately. Just this morning, he took off for America for a transaction. And this time, he took the furball with him!
707: Wow. You must be really happy. Elizabeth Third! Come baaack!
Jaehee: Don’t jinx this. Please.
Yoosung: Lol. Jaehee. Do you really not like Elizabeth the Third? She’s cute!
Jaehee: No… She’s the devil with shedding hair. Zen’s new role in ‘Love Under the Cherry Blossom’ is cute! ////
Yoosung: Whatever. LOLOL calls for me. Later, everyone!
Mina: Bye, Yoosung!!
Yoosung put down his phone and started to play LOLOL. He smiled at the prices on new armor and buffs for his character. It was like being a kid in a candy store! He bought up a few things and started to play. He found a dungeon to go into and saw another player standing outside of it. The character wore a white cape with gold decorating the edges, while the armor she had on was very amazon-like. The character’s hair was black with white tips, and she had a sword on her side. Almost as if on cue, the messenger block popped up with blinking dots. The player was contacting him.
Magi19: Hello! Are you here for the event, too?
Yoosung: Yeah! I mean, who could miss it? I would hate myself if this passed and I wasn’t here to participate. What did you get?
Magi19: Right!? I just got a few buffs to help me cast spells quicker. I also got some new armor! You?
Yoosung: A few armor suits and some buffs. Hey, do you want to be friends? We could conquer the dungeon together!
There was a small pause after Yoosung’s question, and he started to feel awkward. Was he too straightforward? After all, He only met Magi19 a few seconds ago. The worst thing that got to him was that he was thinking so hard about this as if he was asking out a girl… He was about to dismiss his question when a beep came from his computer.
Magi19: Yeah, sure!! I haven’t went inside yet! Let me send you my info really quickly…
Yoosung received Magi19’s profile info and looked through it. Everything seemed normal, from her gender all the way to her stats.
Yoosung: Wow! You’re really experienced! Level 60? You could clear this level by yourself if you wanted!
Magi19: I’m not that experienced. I just fight monsters here and there for the items. You have a really high level, too. Lol!!!
Yoosung: I’m sure you’re great! Let’s go!
Magi19: Wait! Shouldn’t we hook up our mics so we can talk instead of type? I don’t know about you, but I’m a bit of a slow typer…
Yoosung: Oh yeah, sure! Here’s my sky-pic number.
Magi19: Thanks! Hold on…
Magi19 stopped typing and then called Yoosung on Skypic. He answered and was met with a smiling face. “Hi! You’re Yoosung, right?” The girl had brown hair with light purple tips, brown eyes, and a really bright smile.
“Yeah… Hi. I’m Yoosung! Nice to meet you…” Yoosung trailed off, not knowing her real name and smiled. “Sorry! My name is Yoona. Nice to meet you, Yoosung!” Yoosung smiled and laughed with the girl as they entered the dungeon together. Jokes were exchanged between the two as they slayed monsters and talked about daily life “You go to Sky University, too?” Yoosung looked at the girl on his screen as she nodded and smiled. “Yeah! I actually got there a few months ago! You see, I had to transfer from my other college for a few reasons…” Yoona trailed off and slayed a beast in front of her. “But I like Sky. It’s the best school I’ve ever been to!” Yoosung smiled and laughed a little.
Where was this girl all his life? She liked video games, she was super comfortable around people, she has a great personality, and to top it all off, she was comfortable in her own skin. She didn’t need to be told she was pretty, because she didn’t care. Yoosung liked that. “So Yoosung, what are you planning on making your occupation later in life?” Yoona looked at Yoosung and picked up some items from the dungeon. “I’m going into medicine to become a veterinarian. What about you?” Yoona stopped moving her character and looked into the lens. Yoosung knew that she wasn’t there with him and couldn’t really stare through a camera, but still felt as though her eyes were going to pierce his soul. “I wanted to go into medicine to be a veterinarian freelancer, but instead, I want to become a patissiere! I have already went to culinary school in France and got my degree, so now, all I have to do is get this degree, and I’ll be able to open up my own shop! It doesn’t sound stupid, does it?” Yoosung smiled and shook his head. “No! I think that it’s amazing you can study so hard and still have time for LOLOL. How do you do it?”
Yoona thought for a moment and sighed. “To be honest, I don’t really know. Once I got everything down on a schedule, it all fit together. How about you? I only just got here, and I already know that the Uni’s homework is a bit… piled.” Yoosung sighed deeply at the question and instantly got depressed. “To be honest with you, I don’t do a lot of my work. You see… I’m addicted to LOLOL. As we speak, I have homework I still haven’t gotten to. How about you?” Yoona smiled. “I already finished! You know, if you want, I could help you with your homework!” Hearing Yoona say she would help made Yoosung tear up. He didn’t know many people from the campus, but loved to meet new people along the way to graduation.
“You’d really do that for me? Thank you so much!” Yoosung wiped away a fake tear and laughed. “Anything for a fellow LOLOL player and teammate! Here’s my number…” Yoona gave Yoosung her number and smiled. “I hate to do this now, but it’s getting really late. I have to go now.” Yoosung groaned and gave her puppy eyes. “You can’t stay a bit longer?” Yoona smiled and sighed. “Sorry! But hey! We go to the same school! Let’s just meet up tomorrow, kay’?” Yoosung nodded and exited out of the game. They said their goodbyes and signed off, anticipating if they would really see each other tomorrow. Yoosung was excited to make a new friend like Yoona. She seemed really cool, and definitely had a certain enthusiasm about her. He couldn’t wait to see her again. Even though they had literally just met a few hours earlier. He logged onto the messenger and saw no one was online. He took the opportunity to open a chat room. He smiled as he typed in the news.
Yoosung: Everyone, I met someone today. She’s a really nice girl, and she also likes LOLOL…
Yoosung: She’s really pretty, her name is Yoona.
Yoosung: Turns out, we go to the same school… and have probably been passing each other everyday.
Yoosung:…
Yoosung: What should I do!?!?
Yoosung: I’m meeting her tomorrow! Should I buy her something? Should I?
Yoosung: … Is it weird that I’m talking like this even though I met her a few hours ago?
Yoosung: Gahhh!!!
{YOOSUNG HAS LEFT CHAT ROOM}
•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:• There are 3 other chapters I made, so this is just the first one. ugh its so cringey lmaooo -
#mystic messenger#mysmess yoosung#yoosung x reader#mystic messenger yoosung#mystic messenger fanfiction#fanfiction#mystic messenger scenarios#yoosung scenarios
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The Pressure Rises (Sequel to ‘French Vanilla’) Chapter 2: ’Fog’ Words: 7471 Available on AO3 Here
Summary: Following the defeat of Chat Blanc, they believed they finally shown Hawkmoth a defeat to make him stop. They believed that they’d be able to enjoy their newfound knowledge of each other’s identity in peace. They were wrong. Hawkmoth is still working to obtain their Miraculous, and the pressure is only going to rise as he hones his skills with villains, and begins to decode the Grimoire.
[S]he was going to the peaceful haven of the library, where…
Where…
Where Kim and Alix were screaming review questions at each other.
Marinette shuffled her way into the room, past Nathaniel who was shaking his head as he walked out with a book entitled ‘Paris: The Grandest Sights.’ She slipped into a seat across from Alya, next to Nino. Both of them seemed enraptured by what appeared to be some kind of academic sparring match.
“Should I be concerned?” she whispered.
“So,” she’d whispered when they’d seen each other just before school started, “I asked about that question you wanted answered.”
“Oh?” He’d said.
“It’s… I’ll explain later,” she’d said.
He’d waited.
…
At lunch, Ivan and Mylene hadn’t been able to find a seat, not even mentioning that Alya and Nino were of course sticking around. Between the four of them, Marinette hadn’t even been able to raise the topic.
…
True, they had done an experiment in science (Much quieter than the last one- Make that louder? Less action-packed), but they’d been in different groups; he’d actually been teamed up with Alya, which was interesting, since Marinette, no, make that ‘Ladybug’ had given him the go ahead to… Oh how did it go? Tell her that he knew who she really was. He was of the opinion that Ms. Mendeleev had split him and Marinette apart because she thought they distracted each other. She wasn’t exactly wrong, but he and Alya hadn’t exactly gotten much done that day either.
…
So now, hours later, when Marinette had finally gotten twenty seconds alone with him, he was almost surprised when she said, “Like I was saying, I asked about...” and she looked around, conspiratorially. He almost wanted to roll his eyes at the gesture, even if the secrecy she treated the topic with was one of the most adorable things he’d ever seen. They were practically alone, and even if they hadn’t been, a display like that would only draw more attention. “...your question,” she finished. “According to… Our friend in the business, it’s way harder than it should be to find out that particular secret, and it’s even harder if you… If you’re not keeping the same secret.”
He nudged her, gently. “C’mon Marinette, you’re making it sound like something illegal. It’s more suspicious than just saying it normally.”
She shook her head. “It’s just… It’s just… I’m, really happy that you know, but I’m still supposed to keep it a secret.”
“Of course,” he said, “I understand completely. You don’t want people knowing our secrets. But it wouldn’t help anybody for you to get accused of selling drugs, or something.”
She blushed. “Well, when you put it like that…”
“So…” he said, “let me make sure I’ve got this right. Master Fu told you that it’s just hard to find out someone’s a superhero, and it’s even harder if you aren’t one.”
“Yeah.”
“Did he say why?”
She shook her head. “I would assume it’s some kind of Kwami thing.”
Adrien shrugged. “Sounds about right.” He paused. “Huh.”
“What?”
“Now that you say that, I could probably have just asked Plagg.” They kept walking a bit longer, and then, suddenly, he shook his head. “I still could!” he looked down. “Hey Plagg?” he asked, “did you already know all that?”
He could feel the shift under the fabric of his shirt as Plagg slipped to the edge of it, still just out of sight. “Well, yeah,” came the grating voice, somewhat muffled. “I mean, if I were you, I’d have been surprised that nobody figured it out yet.”
“Real nice, Plagg.”
“Hey! I’m just being honest. You’re pretty bad at keeping secrets.”
“Leave him alone!” came another voice from Marinette’s direction. “It’s not like you’re any better at spotting secrets.”
“Spotting secrets? Really?”
“That wasn’t a pun,” said Tikki, seemingly the slightest bit annoyed. “and besides, you’re one to talk. You only figured out who Ladybug really was when she changed back right in front of you.”
Plagg went silent at that, and after a second, Adrien felt him slip back into the inside pocket of the shirt. He felt, more than heard, the faint grumbling.
“Wow,” he said, “I’ve never seen him just stop talking like that before.”
“We’ve known each other a long time,” said Tikki, as if that was a proper explanation.
“Yeah, and I was just getting used to having her not do that every time I talk.”
“I wouldn’t do it if you didn’t keep needlessly insulting people.”
Their purposeful snail’s pace of a walk had finally lead them to their destination.
The library. Finally, weeks after her… Ill-fated confession? Well-fated confession?
Fated confession.
Anyway, she was back, and with a problem to solve simultaneously far less urgent than a crush, and yet somehow still just as tricky.
It was the end of a semester, which meant semester exams. More to the point, it meant dealing with the frankly ridiculous matter of science. Theoretically, it was supposed to be an ordinary, high-school level class, but Ms. Mendeleev had a reputation. Namely, a reputation for giving out 7-page study guides where all of the listed material was on the test. Tiny font, preparing for a test where worse than having to remember all the concepts was trying to write them all in before you ran out of time.
It was, in short, an infamous challenge, to the point that Marinette was almost worried someone would get Evilized just trying to study for it. She should probably do something to keep people’s spirits up once the test ended. But for now, she had to make sure that she survived.
To that end, she was going to the peaceful haven of the library, where…
Where…
Where Kim and Alix were screaming review questions at each other.
Marinette shuffled her way into the room, past Nathaniel who was shaking his head as he walked out with a book entitled ‘Paris: The Grandest Sights.’ She slipped into a seat across from Alya, next to Nino. Both of them seemed enraptured by what appeared to be some kind of academic sparring match.
“Should I be concerned?” she whispered.
Alya looked up, surprised, “What!? Oh, hey Marinette. There was an incident with a textbook. They both wanted the last copy, and somehow they’ve just ended up…” She gestured at the two of them, just as Alix shouted, “Sigma bonds! Who figured out the periodic table!?”
“Well, like that.”
“Mendeleev! Why is water called the universal solvent!?”
“Oh. How long have they been doing this?”
Alya shrugged. “A while.”
“Gotta be like 2 minutes by now,” said Nino, “pretty impressive, honestly.”
“Yeah,” said Alya, “I’m pretty sure they’re remembering things purely out of spite at this point.” After a second’s intent watching, she added, “I’d break it up, but honestly, I think this is probably better studying than I’d be doing anyway. Plus, it’s more fun to watch.”
“Yup,” said Nino, nodding.
Marinette looked back up at Adrien, who still hadn’t sat down. He seemed half-confused, half-pleased.
Nino followed her gaze, and chuckled. “Guess you probably never saw them do this before,” he said. When Adrien looked down at him, he continued, “They’ve been stuck in the same class for years now, and I’ve lost track of all the stuff that’s happened.” He looked back at the pair, and shrugged, “Not including the stuff I wasn’t there for.”
“It’s always a competition,” said Alya, “You remember how Kim kept making dares earlier in the year?”
Adrien nodded, eyes once more fixed on pair.
“Well, he’s been doing basically that for years, and nobody’s had to deal with more of it than Alix.”
“It doesn’t help that Alix gets really into it,” added Nino.
“Because the carbon atoms form a network!” shouted Alix.
“Seriously,” said Nino, as Alix cut back with her next question “I’m pretty sure they didn’t know any of this stuff five minutes ago.” He laughed. “I wonder what happens if you ask them something weird.”
“Did you have something in mind?” asked Alya.
Nino didn’t hesitate. “You could try asking who Ladybug really is.”
Alya snorted. “Oh no, you’ve made it relevant to my interests, how can I resist,” she said.
“You can’t,” responded Nino.
“Because parts of it are polar, while other parts are nonpolar!” shouted back Kim.
In the bare pause of him trying to find a new question, Alya called out “What’s Ladybug’s real identity!?”
Alix swung around, and, not even seeming to see Alya, stared directly into Marinette’s eyes. Marinette couldn’t keep the eye contact, gaze flicking around the room. Nobody else seemed to be looking at her, but it was still uniquely terrifying. “Secretly, Ladybug is-” her voice cut off, even though she seemed to be trying to say something. “...is-” She shuddered as if about to throw up. Then, she blinked a few times in rapid succession, and looked up at Alya.
“Nobody knows who Ladybug really is,” she said, shaking her head as if trying to rid her head of the thought, “that’s the whole point of a secret identity.”
“I win!”
“Oh, come on!” shouted Alix, “that’s not how-
“You said first person to get a question wrong or not know the answer!”
“Science questions, Kim! That’s not a science question, and you didn’t ask it anyway!”
“Yeah, well… Do you smell that?”
“I swear, you’re like some kind of dog; in the middle of talking and then suddenly, ‘Did you smell…’ Actually, yeah, what is that?”
Kim sniffed. “Smells like alcohol.”
A beep, and then, “Ethanol, to be precise.” That was Markov’s voice. “Which is to say, drinking alcohol.”
They looked over. “Max outfitted me with certain sensors.”
For a second every stood still, hesitantly smelling the air. “You’re not supposed to drink in school,” said Nino.
“The quantities suggest a much larger source than would be plausibly carried by one person,” said Markov, “considering the concentration and spread. However, it seems likely that this is not coming from a drink, but from some new villain, considering the oncoming wave of fog outside.”
The looked out the window, and stopped dead.
“Looks like studying’s gonna have to wait,” muttered Adrien.
“As usual,” said Alya.
--
Okay. So. Clearly, she had to get out of here. Rena Rouge hadn’t been around for the last villain, but she was going to be there this time.
She had to get out of the room, obviously, but how was she supposed to justify it? Maybe she could just sort of… Sort of… Edge herself back from the group, who were, to… Well, okay, Adrien seemed to be following her lead, which made sense. Marinette seemed resolutely fixated on the cloud.
“So,” Marinette said quietly to Nino, “looks like a bad day to go driving, I guess.”
Nino laughed, the soft laugh of someone trying to ignore a bad situation. “Yeah, guess so.”
Just a little more, and… Out.
She closed the door, taking care to avoid it making a sound.
For a second, she was going to say something about covering him while he went and transformed elsewhere, and then she remembered earlier today. Well. That would make things simpler.
“Alright,” she said, to Adrien, “time to transform?”
He glanced around. “Looks clear enough.”
“You ready, Trixx?”
Trixx flitted out, with a wide grin. “I’ve been ready for weeks!”
“Of course you have,” came a grating voice from Adrien’s direction, just as Adrien himself said, “Plagg, claws out!”
“Let’s pounce!”
…
“Time to get moving,” said Chat Noir.
“We should really figure out a synchronized transformation,” said Rena Rouge, as they jumped an inhuman distance, making for the exit.
“We’ll have to talk about that some other time,” said Chat Noir, “for now, we’ve got a villain to catch.”
--
Marinette was still making the resolute face of someone pretending not to hear something. She’d been mid-conversation with Nino, and she could absolutely hear them talking through the door. Nino didn’t seem to have heard them though, so she supposed the door worked well enough.
The worst part was that that was actually one of the more secure transformations she’d been around for, too, so she didn’t even want to think about all the times she’d transformed with only the hope that people weren’t looking at her. In the park, behind a bench, for example. Of course, it helped that even if they saw her, they wouldn’t know they needed to pay attention to her until she was already transformed, but still…
On the upside, though, now that they’d left, she had the perfect reason to leave.
“Hey,” she said, “Did Adrien tell you where he was going?”
“Nah,” said Nino.
“I’d better go find him, then,” she said.
He nodded. “Cool.”
She walked out the door, and, head full of her own misgivings about obvious places to transform, left to find somewhere better to do it.
--
Kinda weird that all three of his best friends had pretty much immediately left. Well, he supposed Marinette had just been following the other two, but still.
Chat Noir and Rena Rouge suddenly flew into sight, leaping across the rooftops towards the fog, which was now quite close to the school. Then, with almost no warning, they hit the impossibly thick surface, and vanished into it without a trace.
Nino had the distinct impression Ladybug would be after them in just a moment. He blinked.
…
Well… Presumably Marinette would find Alya and Adrien soon enough. Hopefully they’d be back to the library soon. In the meantime, though, it wasn’t like he’d be able to fight a villain, and he wasn’t going to do much by watching a massive cloud of fog.
He shrugged and pulled out his textbook.
He was probably going to be stuck here until the fog dispersed, so he might as well fight his way through the increasing smell of alcohol and get studying.
--
The fog was even more unnatural than she’d thought; it seemed to be shoving its way through the cracks in the door, thick billows of the stuff quickly obscuring the entry to the school. Even as she hesitantly stepped up to open the door, she was quickly engulfed in it. She turned to look back, but even as she looked, the view grew hazier.
She took a deep breath, trying not to choke on the now pervasive taste in the air, and opened the door.
The fog, which seemed to have been pressing at the door, rushed in all at once, and she stepped through quickly and closed the door behind her. It made no sense to let it spread that easily, whatever it did.
Was the school engulfed yet? She didn’t know. She couldn’t see all of it. She could barely see to the rooftop.
Now, where were her friends?
--
Chat Noir was quietly regretting not waiting up for Ladybug. It would have been easy; just get to a nearby rooftop to talk strategy, and make sure Rena Rouge was faced away from the school. Ladybug would show up, and they’d be able to take on the villain together.
This? This was a bad idea.
He kept almost losing track of the one hero who had come with him, and if he lost her for longer, there wouldn’t be much he could do to find her.
Right now, though, they were back to back, simply staring out into the void. There had been nothing to suggest the villain; no appearance, no telltale marks to suggest a source. The fog simply was.
He supposed the villain could be the fog? Maybe they were standing inside of it.
That was an unpleasant thought, and besides, Hawkmoth wouldn’t make a villain who couldn’t…
He swatted away the… Strange. He could’ve sworn he’d felt something tugging on his ring, but when he’d looked down, nothing.
“Hey,” he said.
“Yeah?”
“Stay sharp. Something weird’s going on.”
“Yeah, no kidding.” “I mean something tried to steal my ring.”
He felt her head jerk as she looked over at him. “What?”
“I don’t know.”
--
She was about to ask him what he meant, when something was there in the corner of her eye, long, almost snakelike. Without thinking, she reached out and snagged it in her left hand.
It was… A hand? A hand of mist, with a foggy arm stretching away behind it, but perfectly solid. Even as she processed that she could touch it, it crushed in her hand, turning into nothing but a loose cloud. The arm, too, dispersed into the mist.
Eerie.
“What?” Right. He must have felt her do something, side-effects of being back to back…
Back to back. If someone had told her a year ago that in a year she’d be back to back with a superhero named Chat Noir, as another superhero, and that Chat Noir would be the famous model Adrien Agreste, who would also be her classmate, and practically her high-school brother-in-law... Well, she wouldn’t have believed them. She would have thought they were crazy.
But he’d asked a question. “There are hands in the fog.”
“What!?”
“One hand, anyway.”
“Just floating?”
“There was an arm.”
“No body?”
“Not in sight. It was a long arm.”
Her eyes twitched side to side, trying to catch the next one before it caught her.
“When you say long arm, you mean, what, tube of fog?”
“Yeah?”
“Figured,” she felt him move, as if he’d just caught one of his own. “Turns to mist if you grab it?”
“Yup.”
“Yeah… How much would you bet that if we follow the arms we find the villain?”
She felt a faint pressure on the back of her neck, and the soft shift of the pendant in her necklace. She spun and caught the hand that had managed to sneak itself into the gap between her head and Chat Noir’s.
Sure enough, as her eyes followed the disintegration, she saw that the arm snaked off in the same general direction as the first one.
“Alright,” she said, “be ready, then.”
“Ready for…?”
“Hand!” she called, and started after the arm.
--
“Wait, you can’t-“ he began, but she was already too far away to hear.
He brought down a hand and chopped the arm out of existence. Great. Now, none of them were in the same place. Rena Rouge, running off by herself, and he couldn’t follow, because… What? He was waiting for Ladybug, but what made it so certain that she’d come here?
He needed to… Oh. He rubbed his eyes. He would’ve sworn he wasn’t tired, but his eyes were burning in this miasma, and the smell wasn’t helping either. Still, if nothing else, he could at least arrange some kind of meeting.
He pulled out his baton and flicked it open.
For a long second, she didn’t respond, and then, her face appeared, surrounded by fog.
“Hey, we need to meet up,” he said, looking up at the street signs, “I’m at the corner of-
“I think we’ve got that just about covered,” she said, and he heard the same voice coming from behind him.
He spun around. She was already there.
He blinked at her.
She smirked at him, and turned the compact around. “Tracking, remember?” she said.
He stared blankly for an instant, and then said, “Of course! Of course, I just thought… It would be more fun to try meeting up with conventional directions. Call me a traditionalist, I guess.”
“You’re a terrible liar, Kitty,” she said, and then blinked. “Where’s Rena?”
“You tell me,” he said, nodding at her hand.
“You got split up?”
“She ran off.”
“Why?” “Chasing an arm,” he said, and then, at her confused look, “I should probably just take it from the top.”
--
Man, Marinette really was taking a long time to come back with Alya and Adrien.
Of course, the villain could have kidnapped them or something, but he was forcing himself not to dwell on that option. Maybe they’d just gotten turned around in the mist that had finally filled up the school. However much he wanted to go looking for them, what would he be able to do that they hadn’t? It was just like the time with Banshee; all he could do was hold out and try to stay out of trouble.
Except, muttered a bit of his mind, with Banshee, Alya had stayed behind, and saved Marinette and Adrien, and he’d run.
And what would have changed if he’d stayed behind? It had been his idea to take everyone to the library, and they’d listened. If he’d stayed, would they have stayed safe?
He blinked away the tears that were only mostly from the burn in the air. And what was he supposed to do now? His friends were out there, potentially in danger, and he was stuck in here, unable to move, and useless even if he could.
He put down the pencil he’d had out and sat up. There was no use dwelling on it. Never was.
He looked around the room. Alix and Kim, (he assumed they were, by their silhouettes) for all they’d been yelling at each other earlier, had sat down at the same table. Neither was talking, and both seemed unnerved.
Well. If he couldn’t go looking for his other friends, he could at least look out for the ones here.
He picked up his textbook and walked over to the table.
They looked up as he approached.
He gave them his best reassuring smile and sat down.
“There’s still enough light to study by,” he said.
Alix gave him a funny look. “You really want to study now?”
He shrugged. “What else are we supposed to do? It’s not like we can go fight whatever villain’s out there… Besides, Miss Mendeleev’s never gonna move the test back for a villain.”
Kim snorted. “Yeah.”
“Hey, Max, Markov,” he called, “you want in on this?”
--
Halfway sharing the senses of a villain as strange and nebulous as this one was a new experience for him. He could see practically the whole city, and, at first, he’d thought that would mean he’d be guaranteed to see Ladybug and Chat Noir transform, uncovering their secret identities once and for all, but no such luck. He’d only managed to spot them after they’d already been up and away over the rooftops. Still, they’d have quite a time fighting when they could barely see, and, judging by the stench of the fog, were slowly growing intoxicated.
Better still, their newest member, Rena Rouge, had split off by herself, heading straight for the most dangerous place in Paris. Right into the waiting arms of Fog. With any luck, the Fox Miraculous at least would be his, crippling his enemies.
Hmm. He might actually know just the person to wield it. But first…
--
She’d realized after Chat Noir was far behind her that he wasn’t following her. She wanted to stop then and there, but the way the arm had curled and twisted across the rooftops, she didn’t think she’d be able to trace her path back. So the only paths available were to stay where she was, and keep pushing on. Well. Foxes were supposed to be hunters, right, and she was going to follow this rabbit of a villain back to its burrow.
Not, she continued as she kept following, that this was as harmless as a rabbit. Plus, the metaphors, inside her own head, seemed a little over the top. Call that an aesthetic failure, but it didn’t change the fact that she wasn’t about to sit around and wait for it to eventually succeed at its persistent attempts at theft.
And so, she went on, barely able to keep up with the hand that seemed always one rooftop further, until finally, the winding path led her to… An alley? Well, she’d come this far. It was just one, two, three jumps to the bottom.
She straightened up, and immediately knew that she was in the right place. The air was thick, even choking, and the cloud was so thick here that she could see 20 feet, maybe. No villain in sight, but she knew it had to be here somewhere. She carefully looked around. It could be outside the alley, somewhere, or it could be tiny. Camouflaged? Probably not invisible, or else why go to the trouble of covering things in fog.
Something in her head clicked. A flicker in the fog. Not a shape; a wisp of the same, but even thicker, almost solid.
She stepped lightly towards the source, and finally came close enough that she could make out a shape on the ground, small enough to hold in a hand. It was a metallic grey, with an opening on one end, that was billowing, surprise, more fog.
This had to be the thing they had to destroy, right?
Oh, who was she kidding? This was obviously the source of the whole cloud, for all it was tiny. Well, for all it was a poor choice to run off alone, if she could get this back to Ladybug, it would be game over, no problem.
She reached down and… Hesitated. It was strange that no villain had shown up, yet. Would something happen if she touched this? Maybe she should wait for Ladybug and Chat Noir to… But then, how would they find her with no directions?
Maybe, though, she could set up a meeting. That would be perfect.
She pulled her flute out.
She knew that Ladybug and Chat Noir could both communicate through their respective weapons, but it took her a second to figure out how hers did it.
Eventually, she hesitantly blew a note, and saw a flicker in the air. A few notes more, and then a few more, and one decisive tweet, and an image of the same phone her phone used to say ‘call this number?’ was floating in the air, buzzing slightly. Holographic screen? Well, probably, it was more of a mirage, technically, but she had to admit, she’d found something she had up on the two of them, albeit with a terrible interface.
After a second, an oddly three-dimensional image of the two appeared in the air, on eye-level with her, and yet looking down, as if at the screen. It was disconcerting, but she rallied quickly and said, “Where are you two?”
“We’re on our way,” said Ladybug.
She wanted to ask how, but the important point to make was, “I’m not seeing a villain, but I’ve got the Akumatized item.”
“What?” said Chat Noir.
“How?” asked Ladybug.
Rena grins. “It’s right here,” she said, unthinkingly stepping towards it, “just lying on the ground!” Her hand wrapped around it, and-
--
-there was a loud hiss, and her image went white, and then cut out entirely.
They looked at each other, back at the screen, and then back in the direction they’d been heading. Then, without a word, they began sprinting forward, Ladybug trying to switch back to the tracker as she ran.
The same fog they’d been cutting through easily before suddenly seemed much more difficult to navigate as they tried to hurry their progress to the small blip on Ladybug’s compact that was supposed to represent their friend. Rooftops loomed out of nowhere, and more than once they stumbled as one suddenly rose up beneath them at an unexpected angle.
But they were close, close enough that by the time she had the map back up, they’d almost passed their stop.
“Here!” she called, and Chat Noir almost fell again as he tried to negate his momentum.
As he brought himself back up, he looked back up at her. She nodded at the gap between the two buildings.
She brought up a hand. 3 fingers. 2. 1.
They jumped down.
--
“I guess you’re right,” he said, trying to get the cord of the necklace out from under her hair, “but you’d have to take it up with… With. What was his name, again?”
He didn’t have a chance to complete the thought, as his body exploded, with a sudden impact of something in his back.
He clenched his hand around the flask, and he was back, again, on the ground. He looked up, and saw two figures standing over the other one; one red, one black.
‘Like checkers’ he thought vaguely, before recalling what the purple guy had said. These were the two he had to beat, right? Didn’t sound like fun. The red one was kneeling down over her friend, and the black one was charging him.
“CATACLYSM!”
He forced himself to focus. He pushed up to his knees as fast as he could, but by then the… Chat Noir. That was the name of the one who said ‘Cataclysm’ and then destroyed things. Chat Noir was already almost on him, reaching for the flask. He couldn’t let him take it. He knew that much.
A snap-toss between his legs, and his last image was Chat Noir’s confused expression, and then he was gone.
And back, hand clenched on the metal surface of the flask. Chat Noir was behind him, and probably was going to-
--
They spun at the same moment, and Chat Noir had the barest instant to see the open end of what he had to assume was a can of some kind pointed at him before his vision went white, and everything burned. He slammed his eyes shut and covered his mouth, trying not to breathe.
Then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone, and he forced his eyes open in time to see that same indistinct, grey figure rushing for him. He put up an arm and blocked its clumsy strike, but still staggered.
It didn’t hurt, but it pushed, as if his own blocks weren’t as effective.
Well, it could push, so could he.
His vision was beginning to blur, now, as if his eyes had forgotten how to focus. He made a weak grab for the thing it was holding and earned a punch to the gut for his trouble. He grinned despite himself, even as he took a knee to the gut and fell back.
“I don’t need to win,” he slurred, “I just need to buy her time.”
And then the blinding white returned, and he realized an instant before he passed out that he’d forgotten to close his mouth.
--
As the energy jolted into her abdomen, Rena Rouge sat bolt upright, eyes wide.
“I didn’t know you could do that!” she said, quickly pulling her necklace back down where it belonged.
“Well, the time’s up,” came the faint voice from behind Ladybug, and chuckled. It didn’t even sound evil, just a bit amused.
She spun around. “Oh not again,” she muttered, a hard edge in her voice. Rena leaned to the side. The Fog-man had managed to bring down Chat Noir, and more to the point, had taken hold of his hand and was, using the hand that wasn’t holding the item, twisting at the ring.
The yo-yo had to be second nature by now, and this strike was particularly savage, causing Fog to jolt upright, even as it passed through him. He spun, hand still working at the ring, and she thought the twists in the mutable face look almost scared.
“Now’d be a good time for a Lucky Charm,” said Rena.
“I think I just used up all of my power,” she said, shaking her head and sending another strike out, this one aimed at the villain’s hand.
“Don’t let him level the flask at you!” Rena called at her retreating back.
“Got it!” she called, and then, “Cover me!”
Well, with her mind recovered from what she could only assume was a forcible intoxication, she might just be able to make a proper illusion.
But what kind? This was a halfway intelligent enemy, which limited her scope. No grand illusions for this. Surely there was something, though.
--
She was faster than him, and probably stronger, too, but her real advantage was knowing to never let it level that flask at her. She’d bet, easily, that that was what had done in Chat Noir. Well, he wasn’t going to get her.
One, two, knock the hand, a clip of the ankle with her foot, just enough to throw him off balance, and he was in perfect position for her to-
A twitch, and she was back ten feet, her mouth in her elbow, carefully exhaling through her nose, eyes squinted to avoid the burn.
As the choking stream finally died, she forced her eyes open again, and pushed forward again, trying not to wonder why Rena hadn’t used her Mirage yet.
There was a timing on that attack, or else he’d always be using it. That meant she’d have to move fast or she’d get pushed back again. Which meant…
She pushed onwards. A feint towards his face, a slide in, hip check, hand darting out toward the flask, but he pulled back, his whole body turning away. An awkward kick, slipping past his ghostly body, and knocking it into the air.
She leaped for the flask, only barely noticing Fog’s body disintegrate. What she did notice was when his body formed, hand first, around the flask, back to her.
Her jump was abruptly halted by the surprisingly solid form of the villain going downwards. She managed to extricate herself from underneath him, and barely managed to cover her face as another choking blast whited out her vision.
No, it was worse. Her vision was unnaturally blurred, and she felt only somewhat steadier on her feet than Marinette, not that she wasn’t always Marinette, but right now, she was supposed to- she shook off the tangent, just in time to hear a familiar melody. She grinned. Rena had figured out what she was doing.
--
Once or twice, before he’d been a villain, (which, he supposed, he was, now) he’d experienced the tricky sensation of seeing double, but he’d never seen triple? Quadruple? The point was he was suddenly dealing with a lot more Ladybug than usual, and he wasn’t sure why.
“Rena Rouge has used her Mirage,” came an echo from the fog. It was the same voice he’d heard when he’d first transformed. ‘If you can incapacitate her again, the fakes will vanish.’
“Well, that’s cool, man, but I don’t know exactly-“ he quickly formed again, and barely managed to slide the flask away across the pavement, “how you expect me-“ he reformed again, and began running, “to do anything with that when I’d have to get past an invisible girl with a vendetta first.”
“Invisible,” repeated the voice, clearly not understanding him.
“Y’know,” he said, his torso bursting into mist as the yo-yo around it suddenly tightened into nothing, “I can’t tell which one she is, so… invisible.”
“Then take the ring, if nothing else!”
He rolled the eyes he didn’t really have, due to being made of fog, and turned.
“Alright, man, you’re the boss,” he said, and flicked the flask underhand under what he had to assume was the real Ladybug diving at him.
He never found out if she was real, as he was already running back towards Chat Noir.
“Oh yeah ‘Take the ring,’ like that’s so easy,” he muttered. “Almost enough to make me feel an emotion.” He knelt down by Chat Noir, right hand poised like before, carefully avoiding touching the palm where the Cataclysm was still crackling. The ring was past the first knuckle now, but the leather of- leather? Material, let’s say, of the suit, gripped unnaturally hard. One good wrench, though, would probably-
He just barely had time to register the pressure of the yo-yo’s cord at his left shoulder, and even less to register the contact it made with the hand holding the flask.
--
At this distance, she could just make out the flask bounce, and only knew that she’d managed to hit Chat Noir’s still burning hand when, in midair, the flask crumbled to dust
“Sick shot,” came the trailing voice of Fog, as his body disintegrated.
And then, didn’t disintegrate, reforming, stronger, stronger, a vicious wind whipping as the fog twisted back to him.
She could see the Akuma at this distance, struggling against the current.
A flip of the compact, and- a miss.
Another flip.
And another.
It was on the fourth try she finally caught it.
“Not too bad, all things considered,” she muttered. Considering the size of the target, the wind, the intoxication, and the fact that she was trying to do something precise immediately after a literal fight.
This wind would probably keep going and start a tornado or something similarly destructive if she didn’t do something. Thankfully, she could…
Well, she didn’t have a lucky charm, but hopefully, she’d still be able to…
“Miraculous Ladybug!” she called out, and felt the power surge out, blinding.
When it was gone, everything was quiet again. The day was warm and sunny, and above all, felt impossibly real. Maybe it was the contrast with the fog, maybe it was the fact that she wasn’t half-drunk anymore. Did it even count as being drunk if she hadn’t drunk anything?
Her earrings beeped, and she remembered what she was doing.
She reached down a hand, and pulled up Chat Noir, who seemed to be shaking off the intoxication, but not immediately.
He pushed up to his feet and nodded silently at her.
Now, she was low on time, and she couldn’t let Rena Rouge see her entering the school without raising too many questions
--
“Did you know she has healing powers?” was his first reminder that Rena existed.
“I,” he said, blinking at the suddenness. He looked up at her. “No, I didn’t. Shouldn’t be surprised, though, creation’s her whole thing.”
“Well, yeah, but I never realized you had more than one power!”
“Well, I suppose the upside to rushing off like that is that you find out.”
She cringed back, slightly. “Yeah, guess I did a bit, didn’t I.”
He shrugged. “You’re still pretty new to this.” He looked away, “Not to mention that I’ve gotten taken down more times than I want to remember because I did something stupid. Anyway, I need to get back to school, and you’re low on time too. Make sure he’s okay, and then keep following, alright?”
“Make sure…” she began, and then seemed to register the civilian who’d been left behind. “Yeah,” she said, and he set off, back towards the school.
--
Rena Rouge, left on civilian maintenance. She wondered if it was because everyone else was out of time, or because she was the newest, or because... Well, if nothing else, she had experience talking to people she didn’t know, being halfway a reporter already.
“Hey,” she said, kneeling down beside the stubbled, blinking man.
“Hey,” he said, looking around.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I just… It was a hell of a night. Said a few things… A lot of things I’m gonna regret.” He paused, and sighed deeply. “That I do regret. I’ve got a lot of people to apologize to.” He looked down at the flask in his hand, and shook his head. “And this, I think,” he said, standing up, “is going in the garbage.”
He started walking away, seeming almost steady on his feet now. “Don’t worry,” he said, “I’ll be fine, just got some stuff to do.”
And that was it. That was making sure the civilian was alright.
Well, good that it was done, because by now, she really was running low on time, and she was a significant distance from the school.
Time to get gone.
--
“No, it’s all about ratios,” said Kim, “you don’t even have to calculate the whole thing, if you just compare the percentages of what changed, and you divide the one by the other, and boom, you’re done!”
“You realize that was entirely incomprehensible, right?” said Alix
“Assuming I understand him, though, he is entirely correct,” said Max.
Nino leaned back in his chair, a gentle smile on his face. All things considered, that had been the most productive villain attack he’d ever had, and, if he had to guess, his other friends would probably be returning sooner rather-
“Oh, hey Marinette!” he called, as she awkwardly shuffled through the door, “did you manage to find Adrien and Alya?”
“Ah, no,” she called back, “I just, um, got caught up in the fog, and figured I’d be better off getting out of the halls. Never know if a villain’s going to come to the school.”
“Y’know, normally, I’d call you paranoid,” said Alix, “but there have been a lot of villains that targeted the school.”
“Correct,” said Max. “I had Markov check the numbers. By area, this school has the highest density of Akuma attacks, just barely outpacing the Agreste Manor. Le Grand Paris, in terms of horizontal area, is a close contender, simply because it’s so much taller than it is wide, but it falls flat when you consider how many floors it has.”
“You seriously go around calculating this stuff?”
He shrugged. “It’s proven to be relaxing.”
“It doesn’t worry you that you’re constantly in the Akuma hotbed?”
“At least I know about it.”
“Adrien!” called Nino, “You had us worried there, man! Now we’re just waiting on Alya.”
“I think she’s on her way,” he said, with a friendly wave as he walked over.
“Sweet. Too bad you guys missed the study session.”
“Missed it?”
“Yeah, we did it while you guys were out.”
“During the attack?”
“I mean… Yeah, what else were we supposed to do?”
Adrien stopped. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I just hope you can split me off some of that hard-earned study knowledge.”
Nino grinned. “Can do.”
And there, finally, was Alya, rushing in, almost out of breath.
“Easy, babe, we’re all fine!”
She looked up, hair a gorgeous mess, and smiled. He never got tired of that smile.
“Good to hear,” she said.
“Alright,” he said to the three he’d been sitting with. “Attack’s over, everyone’s accounted for, great work team, right?”
“Right!” said Kim.
“Now,” he continued, “I’ve just got to teach these three academic layabouts some science.”
Alya had her lips pursed as she looked at him, trying her best to look annoyed, but he could still see the smile peeking through.
--
They sat in their rooms.
This certainly qualified as a ‘Kwami Thing,’ which he could probably ask Plagg about.
“I have some questions,” he said, pulling out a wedge of cheese.
“I’m listening.”
“How did I do that,” she asked. “I know that when Switch attacked, we were in the wrong bodies, with the wrong tools, so having our powers changed made sense, but this was just, me, normal me- not normal, I mean, but normal Ladybug.”
Tikki laughed. “Marinette, you’ve only just begun to find out what you’re capable of! Your Lucky Charm is powerful, but it’s not even the most common ability I’ve seen people learn! There are so many others!”
“But you’re the one who told me how to use Cataclysm!” he said, “did Cataclysm do something different when other Chat Noir’s used it? Like it did when Silencer attacked?”
“What? No, that’d be stupid,” said Plagg, through a mouthful of cheese. “It’s just a feeling you get. Cataclysm’s easy enough for someone as young as you are, if you’re careful with it. You didn’t seem like you were going to go around blowing stuff up for no reason. Now, if I’d thought you were too unstable for it, I might have told you about Frenzy, or something a bit less lethal.”
“Renewal? Is that what it’s called?”
“Of course! I’d have told you sooner, but it can be very difficult for the wielder of a Miraculous to keep more than one ability in their mind at once, so I wanted to wait until you’d discovered it by yourself.”
“Does Master Fu know about these?”
“Eh, probably. He knows about a lot of stuff, but I think he likes leaving this side of things up to us. Honestly, that’s good, since he’s only ever used the Turtle Miraculous. Not easy to train someone with a Miraculous you haven’t used, believe me. Whole different feeling, and I’ve seen people forget about that way too often.”
“Then, it’s not just me. Chat Noir has them too, and Rena Rouge?”
“There are variations on every Miraculous, but some are more versatile than others. The Ladybug and Cat Miraculous’ are among the most versatile. Rena Rouge has a few options, but nothing quite like the two of you.”
“Marinette? Are you talking to someone up there?”
“Just myself!” she called back, lying almost more smoothly than she felt comfortable with.
“Alright, honey. Dinner’s almost ready, okay?”
“And what do you want to bet Gabey isn’t going to be there tonight.”
“He might be,” Adrien responded, giving Plagg a sidelong look for the vitriol with which he’d said the nickname.
“Alright, Mister Optimism,” cut back Plagg, and sighed. “One of these days, you’re going to figure out how he operates.”
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So we (=my sister plays, I watch her and do other stuff besides) have finally marathoned through Tales of Berseria (only the post-game sidequests left). So here’s excerpts of my final verdict (mostly in contrast to Zesty because sorry but I can’t help it. Plus, it’s the prequel for Maotelus’ sake). Cut for massive length and very heavy spoilers, obviously! No reviews, though, just incoherent ramblings. Many, many incoherent ramblings.
-The plot is indeed kinda more exciting than Zestiria. Which isn’t particularly hard. I mean there are many reasons why I love Zestiria, but the plot (and the villains) sure aren’t one of them. The plot was kinda just… there and didn’t do any harm, but honestly I could just have watched a 200 episode show of plotless party banter and would have enjoyed it just the same. The plot in neither game makes particularly much sense, tho.
-I have a billion questions and somehow most of them concern Zaveid’s gun in both games. Like, how does it actually work? It separates fusings, but it’s the basis for the invention of the armatus? Apparently it also boosts magic? Idk. And where does it come from? Let me guess, there was that super advanced sci-fi-civilization that lived on the planet like 20 000 years ago and is now forgotten *insert dramatic music here*
-How on earth did Velvet get out of that volcano…? But as long as Morgrim is safe, I’m good.
-On that note, Velvet literally screaming WAKE UUUUUUUUUUUUUP!!!!!!!!! at the volcano made me kinda happy
-whenever she has facepalm/I’m so done/I’m surrounded by idiots moments, I feel her very much
-Despite the headscratchers, I’m totally digging the Berseria/Zestiria worldbuilding, like hell
-Sue me but I still like the Zestiria characters lightyears better than the Berseria characters. Mostly because they’re funnier, more relatable, and also because I honestly don’t like the Darker and Edgier trope. But also because the costume designs are goddamn awful, Magilou is an obnoxious pest, and it takes Eleanor far too many hours of game play to get that other people than abbey members have human rights (I ended up liking her in the end but honestly getting there was a pain). BTW yes, Velvet, Phi and Eleanor probs have more dramatic changes in personality over the course of the game than the Zesty squad combined, but can anybody explain to me what kind of character development Eizen, Rokurou and Magilou display? …Thought so. Also, no, dramatic 180° turn character development is NOT a prerequisite for good character writing in my opinion, thank you very much. I also think that mental breakdowns aren’t a prerequisite, just in case you were wondering. I’m honestly not a big fan of the Heroic B.S.O.D. trope, although there might be some exceptions where I thought it was well done. I still prefer to do without.
-At least I can tolerate Magilou and Eleanor now that the former got a backstory and the latter finally learned how not to be a dick
-Phi’s constant complaints that he doesn’t want to be treated like a child (I’ve got bad news for you sweetie, you’re TEN) do horrible things to my headcanon that he simply stays physically 10 for eternity, but don’t think I’d give up too soon
-however, I guess we can establish that he plays splatter games with a burning passion
-I am very glad that the monster doggies and the monster bird are safe and sound in the epilogue
-WHERE IS FIRE MUM
-How on earth do people defend the opinion that Berseria was less of a button smasher game than Zestiria?? Because honestly in Zestiria I never managed to win battles by doing nothing but frantically smashing X/Square/Triangle/Circle without any plan or order.
-THE BATTLE CAMERA IS SO MUCH BETTER THO I can control it freely! Oh bless the new camera. I want that so hard in Zestiria. It would help a bunch.
-the equipment upgrade and drop system is also a billion times more effective in the sense that you don’t have to carefully plan your fusings (guess who’s always too lazy to do that) and fruitlessly try to farm the drops for that for hours (guess who’s too lazy for that as well, and also helplessly underlevelled because she’s so lazy and ends up with bosses one or two hitting an armatus even on normal mode *coughs*). Bless.
-I mean the new equipment system in Berseria is basically Final Fantasy IX but for lazy noobs. There’s ups and downs to that, I guess?
-Meirchio is so goddamn pretty, I didn’t even realise that in ToZX. Guess I was distracted by how bad the trainwreck is. Anyway I love everything about this town
-Aball and its surroundings incl. Taliesin also deserve awards
-the dungeons and field areas weren’t anymore interesting than Zestiria, tho
-btw Aball=Avalon? Magical apple island and stuff? Just asking because honestly some of the Arthurian references are pretty obscurely named (it took me quite a while to get the Lastonbell=Glastonbury reference, too, trollolol. Anyone else reminded of Good old Ah! My Goddess translation sins? I mean, come on… Verdandi to Belldandy? Apparently, correctly transcribing Roman letters into Japanese script is even more difficult than Ancient Avarost)
-Morgrim, let me love you, please take all my blessings, you are purrfectly pleasantly plump and I want to cuddle you and give you kisses
-why exactly was Shigure one of the bad guys?? It still escaped me after we cut him in half, sacrificed his soul to some ancient deity, and killed his deceased, reincarnated, dragonised mum
-speaking of which, is it really clever to use the souls of your mortal enemies to revive gods that you want to be on your side!?
-anyway, screw you, Melchior, in particular
-Bienfu is a strong contender for most annoying mascot ever and I still wanted to throw him into the ocean hours into the game. I swear if I have to hear him yell BIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN just once more in my life I’m gonna punch the screen.
-I’m with Jude on the pengyons. I mean I guess killing and eating them is preferable to killing them but not eating them, but still. Everyone speaks about representation, where’s my representation? Is there a single JRPG in which at least one of the playable characters is a vegetarian?
-I was surprised how much I enjoyed the Jude and Milla cameo, cracktastic as it was. Milla was actually my favourite in Xillia, although I had and still have severe problems with her character. But here I only saw of her what I love about her, and it made me happy. You go, Milla
-The skit writing with the constant “all males are perverts”, “all women are deceitful whores” and “men and women are fundamentally different and will never understand each other or be friends unless they’re incestuous siblings” is goddamn awful, period.
-apparently if your vessel becomes malevolent even the tiniest bit (no need to go full tainted), that physically hurts your malak/seraph. I’m glad that doesn’t happen in Zesty.
-Zaveid. Buddy. I feel sorry for you. But it also kinda shocks me how fast you get over your girlfriend’s death. I also have bad news: Eizen’s little sister will still look like a 12-year-old in a 1000 years from now. I actually hope you’re NOT into that.
-btw Zaveid and Eizen jump from mortal enemies to true name basis pretty fast holy shit
-I wouldn’t have minded more Aifread’s Pirates shenigans and nobody is surprised
-I want the cracktastic enemy book back
-I want my elemental powers back. Fuck this don’t ya try to talk down my beloved Magical Dragqueen mode IT’S THE POWER OF LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE y’ignorants
-dear malak NPCs, thank you for establishing that the abbey version armatus is a sucky beta version which will be replaced with the awesome real thing in a couple of centuries, and will eventually symbolise harmony between humans and malakhim. Bonus points for carrying along the motherfucking Galahad ruins bow to drive home the point
-I’m a little too amused by the fact that the ending credit cards are a “everyone’s happy, nobody ever died, and everybody’s friends with each other” AU
-uhm, guys? Did they give Artorius’ sword to Sorey’s gay pride armatus in the anime? I didn’t like it even back then but now I hate it even more, pls no
-I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want
-I know there will never be a Zestiria sequel because it didn’t sell well enough for that, but just in case: the only premise I’ll accept is “Phi, Sorey and Mikleo free Velvet from her prison and finally tear Innominat apart for good”. I don’t know how that would work without killing Velvet and Phi, but hey, I’m sure we’re gonna find a solution because it’s as JRPG and all we need is the POWER OF LOVE *dundundundun*
Everyone is happy. Also what is this “reborn Malakhim aren’t the same people they died as anymore” crap, don’t give me this heartbreak material you assholes
-is it wrong if I wanna play Zestiria after finishing Berseria? Actually, we would have gotten there far sooner if I hadn’t insisted taking breaks so I could play a few hours of Zestiria in between. Whoops.
-my sister was worried that Phi would miss his auntie Velvet very much and suggested Sorey and Mikleo should adopt him once the sweet baby slumber party is over. At this point I’m wondering whether I should give her fanfic recs to brighten her days, or whether that will cause her to forever ban me from her Playstation and refuse to cook for me ever again
-after watching the Zesty DLC, she also told me: “I don’t know what was the point of it, but Rose and Alisha were very cute.” She’s on the path to righteousness.
#Tales of Berseria spoilers#Tales of Zestiria spoilers#like massive endgame spoilers you have been warned
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Video Games Are Better When We Don’t Get Prescriptivist About Storytelling
Oftentimes, when I read an essay by Ian Bogost, I start wondering which of the following is Ian Bogost’s deal:
A. Ian Bogost argues a position because he believes it. B. Ian Bogost argues a position because he thinks it’s interesting and he thinks he can argue it, without much interest in whether or not he believes it. C. Ian Bogost is the kind of Philosophy major who sees no difference between A and B.
I wondered this when his ostensible review of Flappy Bird argued that games are inherently ugly, and I wondered it recently in his new piece, ostensibly a review of What Remains of Edith Finch, which argues games are inherently bad at storytelling.
As a person who grew up on adventure games and last year spent forty hecking minutes talking about what games get right about storytelling that no other media do, you can imagine: I am so, so, so bored of this take.
I mean, hey, I appreciate that the next time some YouTube commenter says that my defenses of interactive narrative are arguing against a straw man, I have an article literally titled Video Games Are Better Without Stories to link them to. (Just kidding, I don’t read the comments.) But, honestly, someone writes this take every six months or so. This time it’s Ian Bogost, next time it will be Raph Koster or Frank Lantz. In game critics circles, we never really got past Ludology vs. Narratology, the debate where Ludologists insist that systems interaction and raw game design are what make games games, and Game Narratologists are fictional gremlins who live under the beds of Ludologists. Bogost's arguments aren’t particularly new.
Much of the substance of the article have already been pored over: Patrick Klepek pointed out that, whether or not you think games should tell stories, people are going to tell stories with games, so this argument is pointless. (Patrick’s piece also links to Danielle Riendeau’s Twitter dissection of Bogost’s piece, which goes through several of its major points.) Austin Walker followed up by pointing out that even a bad story can make a game better than it would be with no story at all. If you care about the history of these arguments, Errant Signal summed up why Ludologists keep tilting at windmills over two years ago, and Emily Short wrote some thoughts in 2011 when it was Jon Blow’s turn to make this argument. (Jon shows up in the comments and they have an... interesting back and forth.) And, for broader context, Elizabeth Sampat brought up how, if Ian Bogost were a woman, male gamers would certainly accuse him of trying to ban narrative games, but, since he’s a man, his arguments will probably be used by male gamers to dismiss narrative indie games.
Before I get to the thoughts I want to add to this discussion, I’ll focus on one of the better exchanges I saw on Twitter: Scott Benson brought up what we could call The Myth of the Medium Store: the Medium Store is the place where, once you’ve thought of a killer story you want to tell, you pick out the best medium for telling it. The Games Are Bad At Stories take typically stems from the idea that most game narratives would be better served had they picked a different medium from the Medium Store.
Scott points out that, in the real world, Medium Stores don’t exist. Giant Sparrow didn’t make What Remains of Edith Finch because they thought it would work better as a game than as a film; they made it as a game because they’re game designers. I run into this framing in my own work and it causes me all kinds of anxiety - why do I make video essays? Do I adequately justify the use of video in my work? Couldn’t I just write articles like a normal person? And I can come up with all kinds of answers to this question: video allows me to illustrate points in a matter of seconds that would take paragraphs to render in text; I think text is just as much a medium as video, and I don’t think most print articles have to justify their use of text; these days video reaches a wider audience than text does on the internet, which makes it a more viable medium for me. But these are all ways of answer a question that I no longer believe is worth asking. I make video essays because I’m a video essayist. In some fantasy world where anyone can become good at any medium, maybe I would choose print over video. But, in this world, with this brain I was stuck with, I am better at video essays than I am at writing articles. I enjoy it more. My writing works best when it’s meant to be read aloud. Video works for me. That’s reason enough.
And my favorite response to Scott’s tweets (included in the link above) was Carolyn Petit’s: “A movie with the same plot as Gone Home would be fundamentally [about] different things, or [about] the same things in fundamentally different ways.“
Carolyn says, in far fewer words that me, what I was trying to get at in the ending of Story Beats: it doesn’t matter whether you think the plot element of “main character makes friends with an inanimate object” works “better” in Castaway or Portal, because the two are accessing completely different sets of emotions in the audience. Watching Tom Hanks say goodbye to Wilson and throwing the Companion Cube in an incinerator yourself are not the same experience. Comparing them is like comparing a chicken egg to a Faberge egg; which is better? The question is meaningless. You can’t cook with a Faberge egg and you don’t leave a chicken egg on your mantle. They are superficially similar but they serve very different purposes.
(And after watching the Super Bunnyhop video about What Remains of Edith Finch’s Cannery level, I don’t understand how Bogost can argue that this scene would work better as a non-interactive film.)
So, most of the valid talking points having been picked over, what’s left for me to say?
I think what’s most frustrating to me about Bogost’s take, and takes of this kind, is that it’s easy. I should throw Bogost a bone and mention that he has authored some very, very good games writing in his time (and so have Koster, Lantz, and Blow). I don’t mean to sell him short. But writing off interactive narrative is and always has been intellectually lazy.
It’s not difficult to look at a medium and see what it has difficulty doing that another medium does well. Video games have trouble with pacing, with players who fuck with the system instead of roleplaying, and with branching narratives quickly becoming too unwieldy to author content for. Movies have none of these problems, so it’s very easy to point at these issues and say Edith Finch would be better as a movie.
What is much harder, and, to me, a lot more interesting, is articulating what a storytelling medium does well.
Yes, movies fair better than games in these areas: they have tight pacing, the protagonists stay in character, and their narratives are linear. But those qualities are not what makes movie stories good. We don’t walk out of a movie raving about how the story didn’t branch and the main character didn’t jump up and down on their sidekick’s head. What really makes a movie work at storytelling is often more intangible, and harder to fit into a pithy list of reasons why movies are better than video games at telling stories.
It would be just as easy, and just as intellectually lazy, to mount a defense of telling stories in novels and not in films. After all, films have a famously hard time adapting themselves from novels without drastic changes. Movies tend to be very external, where novels can easily give us a character’s thoughts, and the only (inelegant) solution most movies offer for this is voiceover. Movies tend to be capped at 2 hours, 3 tops unless you’re on the arthouse circuit, and that streamlining tends to be far, far less nuanced than a novel that may take the better part of a month to work through. But, again, no one says what makes novels great is that they are long and very internal - by that definition, Hemingway was a terrible writer.
What makes a medium good at storytelling is a set of mostly aesthetic reactions. What makes movies good at stories is their essence: moving pictures can do things that text can’t. Watching a semi-truck flip over in The Dark Knight works in a way it never would on the page, in the same way the narrative payoff at the end of Braid works in a way that it never would on the silver screen.
When we start talking about a medium’s essence, it’s tempting to get, well, essentialist: that if that hard-to-quantify something about games is interactivity, than games should focus on that interactivity to the exclusion of as much else as possible. Games are systems, so they should focus on systems, and systems work better when they aren’t hampered by stories. But, again, this is like saying a movie shouldn’t involve sound because sound is a radio thing, and shouldn’t involve words because that’s a book thing, and shouldn’t have actors because that’s a theater thing - motion pictures are at their best when they are just pictures and motion. This is, obviously, ludicrous. Games can be just as additive as any other medium. Games are moving pictures, and text, and music, and actors, and interactivity. Even a tiny amount of interactivity added to an otherwise mostly filmic experience can make all the difference - this is what makes The Walking Dead work.
We are acclimated to the ways that telling stories in any medium other than games is weird. Films never mounted a defense against “why isn’t this a novel?” We just raised a few generations of people with narrative films until they forgot to ask the question, until no one would think to ask such a dipshit question. Novels, movies, plays, radio dramas, operas, they all have their weirdnesses as storytelling media, we are just so acclimated to those weirdnesses that we don’t see them. We see past them to what makes them valuable.
I’ve spent the last couple months while I was finishing up school keeping myself level by playing a lot of adventure games. I love adventure games. If someone is giving me a lens through which something I love is worse, I will accept that lens if it reveals discrimination, racism, homophobia; “this thing you love is bigoted” is a worthwhile perspective. “This thing you love is, by the criteria I’ve just outlined, inauthentic” is not a worthwhile perspective. “What Remains of Edith Finch would work better as a film” is not dissimilar from “What Remains of Edith Finch is not a real game.” It’s a way of saying that an experience you may have found worthwhile wasn’t actually worthwhile, and I don’t see how this enriches anything. This won’t make better games. This won’t make better stories. This just tells designers (not directly but implicitly) not to make games they want to make and players not to enjoy games that they enjoy.
Ian Bogost isn’t saying anything that Jon Blow wasn’t saying in 2008. Every time a piece like this gets written, all the people who enjoy stories in games come out and write their rebuttals, and however many months later another article comes out that ignores every bit of it. This conversation doesn’t advance because the people arguing against story in games consider the conversation over. They repeat themselves as though they’re waiting for everyone to get the message. Meanwhile, people like Aaron Reid and Porpentine and Anna Anthropy and Brendon Chung keep doing unprecedented things with stories in games and they keep finding their audience. Only one side of the game narrative conversation is advancing, and that’s the side that interests me.
It’s not a real discussion. This is little more than a way of “heating up the takes.” An article about Flappy Bird that says it’s kind of janky in a way that’s interesting is a valid but rather uninteresting article; an article about how Flappy Bird proves that all games are grotesque? That’s a hot take. Ditto how an article about how What Remains of Edith Finch is interesting but might have worked better as a film contorts itself into an article about how the entire medium of games has failed at storytelling. And, I’m sorry all, but I’m over it. I hear new arguments defending stories against Ludologists every few months, and I haven’t heard a new argument against game narrative in nine years. These opinions are not just bad, they’re boring.
So can we be done with this now?
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