#i'm the girl by courtney summers

[thegoldenlily]

"It's their world. And there's nothing we can do."

She's quiet.

And then:

"One day it's gonna stop turning for them."

-I'm the Girl by Courtney Summers

[sassyalone]

I stare out at the road, watching as That Part of it draws nearer. Ashley's splintered cross is gone now, and I wonder if that's only because I ruined it. I shouldn't have. It made no difference. There's no escaping it. Some part of me will always be finding her here. Some part of her will always be here, waiting to be found.

I’m The Girl, Courtney Summers

[seospicybin]

TOO HOT TO HANDLE.

PART I

I.N x reader. (s)

Too Hot To Handle Masterlist

Synopsis: You and Jeongin become contestants in a reality dating show, Too Hot To Handle. (12,9k words)

Author's note: Hope you like this one too. Don't forget to leave a feedback x

JEONGIN: I consider myself to be a pretty shy person. People tell me it's an extra charm I have and I learned how to use that to my advantage. My main charm? It's my smile, they work to reel the girls in [smiles] but don't worry, I have better things to show [winks]

-

Jeongin isn't sure that he'll do well as a contestant on a dating show.

It's definitely not about the dating part, it's the 'show' part that he's having a problem with. He doesn't consider himself as somewhat entertaining which is what someone who goes on a TV show should be.

Jeongin knows that he's reserved and quiet, unless he has something important to say, and he gets shy at times. But when it comes to his physical attributes, he doesn't have any problems with it.

He puts on his best foot forward once the staff gives the cue for him to start walking down the pier that leads to a docked boat.

It's the first time he gets to board a big, luxurious boat like this but he keeps his awe to himself knowing that a group of people have been waiting for his arrival.

Jeongin is the last contestant to get on the boat therefore he's aware of the anticipation and the expectations that he has to fill.

Even so, he's not here for that, he's here to have fun and enjoy himself.

"Oh, there he is!" Says the girl who first notices his arrival.

And also, to mingle with these attractive people he's looking at.

"Hello, what's your name?" A girl asks as she gives him a hug with a quick cheek-to-cheek.

"It's Jeongin," he answers.

"I'm Justine," she says.

Justine has blonde hair that flows down her back like a waterfall and a pair of full lips that curve into a flirty smile when he looks at her. One look and he knows that she is the type who knows how to have fun and doesn't mind getting into trouble. Not sure if Jeongin is ready to make mischief with her but he won't rule her out yet.

He quickly shifts his attention to the next girl taking her turn to hug him, she goes for both cheeks and then hands him a glass of bubbly wine.

"You're tall," she beams with a smile.

Jeongin never takes pride in his height but he can't deny that he likes being called tall.

"Thank you," he mutters.

"I'm Linda," she says.

On the contrary, Linda offers a different charm. She is a brunette with a cute smile and a thick British accent, she's looking at him with these big round, eyes and a smile that doesn't wear off her face.

However, the twin mounds on her chest catch his attention and well, he's a man after all so he glances at it just to satisfy his need.

"You have really beautiful eyes," Jeongin compliments her eyes even though he has just looked at her breasts.

"Oh, thank you," Linda says.

Jeongin continues by introducing himself to more girls. There's Francoise, another blondie with gorgeous light blue eyes, Bianca with her long legs and glowing golden skin, and then there's Courtney, who looks like she just stepped out of a swimsuit photo shoot.

"I like your smile and the dimples," Courtney says, her teeth fainty biting her lower lip as she stares at him.

It's only been a few minutes but Jeongin thanks his old self for agreeing to join this show. Never in a million years, did he imagine himself going on a yacht trip with a group of attractive people for the summer.

-

JEONGIN: I'm loving it here. I'm ready to rock the boat! [Grins]

-

Instead of being jealous, Jeongin admires his fellow male contestants for having greater bodies than him.

Especially Keith, he's big and tall, his muscles are toned and his tan skin makes his abs more defined. He must've spent countless hours in the gym to get that body and Jeongin admires him more for that.

"You're ripped," Jeongin mutters in awe at him.

Keith lets out a chuckle and brushes his wavy, brown hair to the back, "Thanks, man."

It's almost empty anyway so Jeongin decides to drain the wine straight from the bottle and he notices that everyone's head is turned. He follows to where everyone is looking then he sees a man standing on the upper deck of the boat who he assumes is the host of the show.

"Ahoy!" He greets.

Everyone is replying with various answers but Jeongin can't respond verbally when his mouth is full of wine, so he claps his hands instead.

"Welcome to my dating show, Love Overboard and I'll be your captain," He introduces himself.

Everyone is cheering and Jeongin hurriedly swallows his drink so he can also show his excitement.

"You're all about to head out on the vacation of a lifetime, and hopefully find love along the way," the captain continues.

Not sure about love but everyone is eager and frisky for this, and Jeongin is no exception. He wonders how the show is going to be because he's already having so much fun and it's only the beginning.

The captain continues with his announcement, "Tonight will be your first beach party of many, and at each party, we'll be picking up a new, sexy single."

There'll be more people joining on board? Jeongin isn't sure about finding love but hearing that, he instantly changes his mind. Maybe it is possible to find love along the way.

"However, there's a catch. There are only five double beds on board so if you don't want to sleep alone, you better pick your shipmate," the captain finishes his speech with a tricky task.

And just like that, the boat starts to sail the sea and everyone is having a round of toast to mark this moment.

"We're going to have so much fun!" Bianca says as she clinks her glass with Jeongin's empty wine bottle.

"Unless I get seasick then yeah, we're going to have fun," He jokingly says.

"I hope not," she says with a crisp laugh.

-

JEONGIN: There are already so many hot people on board. I don't think I can take anymore [laughs]

-

The males somehow gathered at the top deck, having another bottle of champagne pop open and a toast. Then the talk begins, well, you guessed it, it's about the girls.

Or in Kurt's words, the birds.

"Tell me about the birds!" He says, asking everyone for, what Jeongin assumes, girls they fancy.

Keith leans back on the sofa and brushes his brown locks, being the first to share his choice, "It's Francoise for me, she's on the top of the list," he says.

"She's fit, yeah," Mick comments, then sips his wine.

With the strong winds, Kurt decides to tie his dirty blonde hair into a low man bun, "I'm going to put myself on a race with you then," he says to Keith with a mischievous smile on his face.

"I always go for blondes so it's also Francoise for me," he remarks.

Jeongin smells competition between the two and he can't decide who to root for, they're both well-built and good-looking.

"How about you, Damon?" Kurt asks.

"I want to have some fun so for now, I want to keep my options open," Damon coyly answers, his braided curls also swinging with every gust of wind.

Jeongin sips his wine as he intently listens to the conversation going on and he almost chokes on it when Kurt slaps his knee with his big hand.

"Jeongin, my man, how about you?" He asks.

He allows himself to swallow his drink first and decides to give everyone the safe answer, "Uhm... same with Damon."

Not going to lie, Jeongin gets a little tipsy from chugging the champagne bottle earlier so it's wise that he stops drinking. He puts his drink away and focuses on giving everyone a proper answer.

"They're all beautiful but I don't want to be haste and put all the eggs in one basket," he honestly answers.

Kurt and Mick are nodding to his answer while the rest are not saying anything but seem to agree with him as well.

Jeongin glances down at the lower deck to where the girls are gathered and indeed, they're all beautiful. The girls are all beautiful in their own way and have their own distinct charms so he can't tell who he fancies the most only from their looks.

-

JEONGIN: It's hard having to try and choose between five girls right now so I'm not going on a chase yet, I'd rather see who approaches me.

-

The sea is so blue, so vast that it goes as far as his eyes can see.

Jeongin enjoys the view from the front of the boat with the wind blowing his shirt away and sending his dark hair flying, making it a mess that he has to brush it to the back.

He's not aware that someone is there until he's standing next to him.

"Hi," the girl says.

With the surface of the water reflecting the sunlight at him, he has to squint his eyes to see who it is. It's the brunette girl with hazel eyes, Linda.

"Oh, hi," he greets back.

"How are you?" She asks while holding all of her hair on one shoulder.

"Good. How are you?" Jeongin asks back, liking the shape of her body which is lean yet toned in the right places.

"Better now," she answers with a bright smile.

Linda then looks out at the view and inhales the salty air, then lets out a delightful sigh.

"Beautiful isn't it?" She says.

"Yeah," Jeongin also sighs as he takes in the picturesque view.

Then Linda turns her body to the side facing him with a smile that slightly turns into a flirty one, "Then how about me?"

It takes no genius that she's fishing a compliment out of him so he gives it to her, "I think you're beautiful."

Linda's smile grows wider on her small face, she brings her hand close to her mouth and tugs a finger between her teeth, looking at him with wild glints in her eyes.

After a moment, she speaks again, "I feel like we've got a vibe going on, yeah?"

It's only been a moment so Jeongin can't decide if he should agree with what she said but to be polite, he lightly nods at that.

"What is your type?" She asks.

Whenever someone asks him that, he gets confused. He does have a few things he's looking for in someone but it's always changing from time to time.

"I don't have too much of a type," Jeongin answers.

"Okay, so anything that breathes, huh?" Linda jokingly says with a low laugh.

"In that case, I ticked it off the box," she jokes again.

Jeongin laughs along with her. He has to admit that she does have a sense of humor, not too much, just perfect.

She leans in closer and lowers his voice, "I've got a secret," she mutters.

That gets him intrigued and somehow, he follows suit and lowers his voice as he asks, "Yeah? What's that?"

"You're probably my number one to share a bed with tonight," she says, putting shyness into her flirty smile and it somehow works on her.

She bites on her finger again and sheepishly asks, "What do you think?"

"Sharing a bed with you would be nice," he sweetly says.

"You want to share a bed with me?" Linda asks with her eyes wide and hopeful, telling him to say yes.

It was only a moment ago that Jeongin decided not to choose anyone yet but Linda makes him falter a little that he has to remind himself about his initial plan.

"Let's see," Jeongin settles on a vague answer.

Not hard to tell that Linda doesn't like the answer Jeongin gave from the way her eyes dim even though her smile remains wide and bright.

The sound of the water splashing shatters the silence and Jeongin looks to the side of the boat to see that Kurt has just jumped into the sea for a swim.

"I think I'll join them," Linda says while fixing the straps of her bikini.

She walks away to go to the back of the boat and stops after a few steps to look over her shoulder to ask Jeongin, "Are you coming?"

"I'll catch up later," he says.

-

JEONGIN: Linda is flirty and sweet. We had a good chat, there's a potential there but I want to see how this unfolds.

-

Instead of swimming in the sea, Jeongin goes to the upper deck and gets into the jacuzzi that has been set to keep the water warm at all times.

The rose petals are bubbling along with the water as he leans back and enjoys the pleasant afternoon. It hasn't sunk in yet that he'll probably be having these kinds of days for the next three weeks.

"Do you mind if I join you?" Someone asks.

Jeongin snaps his head in the direction of the voice and finds Justine there. Girls are coming to him one by one, he should consider this his lucky day.

"Not at all," he responds.

Justine ties her long blonde hair into a messy ponytail before slowly getting herself into the tub and sitting next to him, sending the water level rising but not enough to slosh out of the tub.

She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and smiles at him, "You know as soon as I saw you coming, I just know that you're the one I'd go for," she says.

Justine doesn't even bother to small talk first and Jeongin likes the directness in that since he's a very straightforward person.

"I get that feeling that we're going to match well," she adds.

Jeongin doesn't know how to answer that. A part of him wants to entertain that idea but another part of him doesn't want to give her false hope so he ends up responding with a smile.

"I like that you're a bit shy," she says with a giggle.

And that sends Jeongin's hand touching his ear, a habit he does whenever he gets shy.

Justine plays with the petals by scooping them in her hand, "Do you like blondes?"

"Not really, actually," Jeongin says, again, he's a very straightforward person.

Thankfully, Justine takes it well and uses it to her advantage, "Well, you're to love blondes after this."

Justine knows how attractive she is and how to use it as a weapon, every little thing she does is indeed attractive.

But Jeongin firmly stands his ground, "You're going to have to persuade me," he says with a half smirk.

Justine licks her lips and brightly smiles, "It's not much persuading, really."

Her boldness amuses him so much that Jeongin cracks a sonorous laugh.

-

JEONGIN: Justine is oozing with confidence and I dig that.

-

The ripples on the water tell Jeongin that Justine may have subtly moved closer and he's right, he finds her sitting close next to him in the tub.

Once the laughs die down, Justine tilts her head to the side and seductively asks, "Okay, maybe I can persuade you a little bit," she mutters.

He knows what would happen if he turns his head to the side but something in him tells him to do it and his intrusive thought always wins.

The moment he turns his head, Justine grabs his chin to hold him still so she can pleasantly leans in for a kiss. Once she captures his lips, she moves her hand to the nape of his neck as she keeps kissing him.

Jeongin needs a second to calibrate himself into the kiss as Justine keeps his tongue busy by twirling it with hers. He places his hand on her neck and that way, he can angle her head as he pleases and deepen the kiss.

There's nothing but the smooching sound and the sound of the water bubbling in the tub. For a moment, Jeongin lets himself immersed in the kiss then slowly pulls away after sensing that Justine is running out of breath.

As expected, Justine gasps for air the moment he lets go. She's letting out a chuckle and he guesses it's out of triumph.

"Was it a good persuading?" She asks

"Not bad, yeah," Jeongin plays it cool when it's in fact, a really good kiss and he has to look away to resist the urge to go for another.

Justine wades the water around her with her hand, "So what's the bed situation for tonight?"

It seems like he comes close to a decision but he wants to keep it for later because who knows? Maybe someone else will come his way and change his mind.

"Tonight, you'll know," he tells her.

"I think I know the answer already," she says with a triumphant smile.

-

JEONGIN: Somehow I pulled off getting two out of five girls to want to sleep on my bed and deciding on one is hard [chuckles] but there's no harm in that, right? [Raises eyebrow]

-

It's going to be the first party tonight.

If there's one thing that Jeongin takes seriously, it's his fashion. He doesn't just put on something together, he's dressed to impress.

It's not even about the fact that there'll be a new single tonight but that's just how he is. He likes building an outfit and puts so much effort into doing it.

He chooses dark jeans and a printed shirt as the top, he has his hair pushed to the back and leaves a few strands falling over his forehead. Not forgetting to decorate his hands with metal rings that flatter his skin tone and highlight his long fingers.

And now, he's ready to step into the night.

The captain leads the group down a path right after the boat docked not far away, carrying a torch as a source of light. He takes us to a backyard of what looks like a villa but it's too dark to know for sure.

"I promised you the holiday of a lifetime so welcome to your first beach party!" The captain says as he takes the steps as his center stage.

Everyone is looking their best and excitedly cheering in response to him.

"Let's get it started!" The captain shouts, pointing to the beach where the fireworks go off and light up the sky.

The next thing he knows, everyone is partying. The music is blasting, there are fire dancers, and drinks are being passed around and constantly refilled.

Everyone is having fun and getting frisky while at it, especially for Damon and Bianca who share a passionate kiss in between dances.

The captain takes center stage once again and he guesses it's time for the new single revelation.

"Great party, right?" He asks with a wide grin on his bearded face.

Everyone is replying with various answers but they all agree that it is a great party and it's just one of many.

"What do you say we make it even better?" The captain asks.

"Yes!" Courtney enthusiastically shouts from next to him.

"This is going to blow your mind. It's time to introduce you to a new, hot sexy single!"

The captain slowly retreats from where he stands as the place goes dark and Jeongin only notices it now that the dancers are already leaving.

It suddenly turns dark and a spotlight appears on a curtain, heightening everyone's anticipation to see the new single entering the show.

When the curtain finally drops, there's no one there but a cone on top of a small table.

"No!!!" Courtney aggressively shouts out of spite.

"No! I came here for dick!" Bianca screams, almost hysterical with both hands holding the sides of her head.

The party turns into a frenzy while Jeongin is scratching his head, and doesn't understand why everyone starts breaking down over what looks like an air freshener to him.

-

JEONGIN: The new, sexy hot single is a cone. A cone?!

-

"Hello, everyone."

It's when the cone starts talking that Jeongin knows it's not an air freshener but he's still confused why everyone is groaning in complaint.

"I am Lana. Love Overboard has hit the rocks and you're now washed up on Too Hot To Handle."

Jeongin is still oblivious to the fact that the show has changed to what he believes is still a dating show only that it has changed its name.

"I didn't sign up for this," Kurt cries, fisting his hair in distress.

Then Jeongin sees that Damon has dropped to his knees, crying. He taps on his shoulder to check, "Are you crying?"

But Damon is too bust pulling at his hair to even answer his question.

"You all have been selected because meaningless flings mean more to you than genuine relationships," the cone continues talking.

"The fuck?" Mick curses, offended.

Francoise clicks her tongue and coyly shrugs, "Who cares about emotional relationships?"

"Since your arrival, I have been gathering data on your behavior."

Justine snorts and flips her hair, "I hope you like what you saw, Lana!"

Jeongin hopes everyone else quiets down so he can hear the rest of what the cone has to say so he knows how to properly react to it.

"But from now on, you must adhere to my retreat rules."

So it's not a dating show? It's a retreat? And there are rules? Jeongin doesn't remember them saying something about it when he signed the contract.

"No kissing."

"What's going on?" Bianca meekly says, rubbing her temple erratically.

"No self-gratification."

"What's that?" Jeongin asks with a perplexed look on his face.

Keith who happens to standing nearby answers the question for him "No rubbing one out, mate," he says along with a hand gesture for a visual aid.

"That's lowkey sick," Jeongin blurts out.

Not allowed to touch his own body part? What kind of rules is that?

"That's not even funny," Kurt comments with an exasperated sigh.

But everyone hasn't heard the worst of it all.

"And no sex of any kind," Lana delivers the last rule they have to follow in the retreat.

"Is that even healthy?" Kurt comments again, completely flabbergasted.

-

JEONGIN: Can we... unplug her or something?

-

Jeongin gets it now why everyone is simultaneously going on a mental breakdown.

This summer isn't what he expected it to be, one where he imagined he would meet and mingle with attractive people and you know, get lucky.

Then the cone comes and shatters his dreams with those rules. Now he's going into a meltdown on his own.

"As a reward for the progress you make, I have allocated a prize of $200,000," Lana announces.

Everyone else is happily exclaiming at the announcement of the sum of money they would win out of this show.

"Two hundred racks, bro!" Damon grins and his tears seem to have magically dried at the mention of money.

"That's a lot of money," Kurt comments, also reacting differently once he hears of the prize money.

On the other hand, the information isn't enough to console him. He is still reeling from the harsh reality that this is not the summer that he dreamed of.

"Welcome to my retreat and Welcome to your long, hard, sexless summer!" Lana finishes.

-

JEONGIN: The money is tempting but breaking rules is so fun, you know [smirks]

-

As everyone is doing a tour around the villa, Jeongin couldn’t help but think that it’s unfair for Lana to gather a group of hot singles, and make everyone live together in a gorgeous villa only to be told that they can’t do sexual things.

The swimming pool, the hot tub, the firepit… All these cool places and he is not allowed to kiss anyone anywhere. This is so fucking unfair. He should have followed the captain and boarded the boat to get him home.

However, the captain is right about one thing though. There are only five beds in the bedroom and there are ten people, so everyone needs to find a bedmate.

Jeongin randomly chooses a bed and dives right onto it, feeling how bouncy and comfortable it is as he lies on it. These fucking beds and no one is allowed to fuck on it, so fucking- Fuck!

He completely forgot about the bed situation and that he has not yet decided on who he wants to share the bed with which explains why Linda keeps glancing his way from the bed across his. He then slowly turns his head to find the blonde-haired girl and as expected, Justine is uneasily looking his way too.

Jeongin puts his hands behind his head and starts thinking. He can usually solve it by keeping both girls happy but he can’t do that here, right? He has to decide on one.

-

JEONGIN: I have to pick one out of two great girls. What am I going to do?

-

 Justine and Linda, they’re both physically appealing to him so it has to come down to who will get along well with him.

Jeongin is touching his ear as he recalls the interactions he had with those two girls to help him decide. Linda has a good chat and a sense of humor, she’s someone he can have night talks with. On the other hand, Justine is fun and confident, she’s someone who won’t mind doing mischief with him or worse, leads him to temptations.

In conclusion, Linda is the safest choice for him, not that he doesn’t want to rule break with her but she’s the type that avoids rule-breaking instead of encouraging it.

But does Jeongin want to play safe? Like… what’s the fun in that? Jeongin thinks that he has come to a verdict.

“Hey, Justine,” he calls for her.

Justine seems to have expected him to call her name and looks over her shoulder to look at him, “Yes?”

“What are you doing there?” he asks her.

He then pats the space next to him on the bed and says, “Your bed is here.”

“Okay,” Justine triumphantly smiles, not wasting time to get on his bed, and crawls over to sit next to him.

Jeongin secretly peers over to Linda who’s looking rather disappointed that he didn’t choose her. In all honesty, he has his reasons for choosing Justine but he believes Linda wouldn’t want to hear it.

“I think she’s upset,” Jeongin lowly mutters at Justine.

Justine looks around the room to see who he talked about, “Who?”

He covers his mouth so no one can read his lips as he says, “Linda.”

Justine doesn’t look right away but when she finally does, she nods in agreement.

In another part of the room, the battle for Francoise has been won by Kurt as she chose him as her bedmate and Keith has to share the bed with Linda. Everyone might as well call it the bed of the defeated.

-

JEONGIN: I mean, I don’t mind taking Linda in my bed too if she is keen to join us [Chuckles]

-

Jeongin is still forcing his eyes to open when the cone lights up and chimes in the middle of the room.

"Good morning, everyone."

"Morning, Lana," Justine croaks from next to him, clutching the duvet to her chest.

Everyone else is still as sleepy with their bare faces and eyes heavy with sleep. Definitely, not in the mood to hear Lana as as the first thing to hear after they wake up.

"The goal of my retreat is to teach you how to form deep and meaningful relationships. To do that, you have to be able to put the needs of others before your own. Especially when you are horny."

Okay, Jeongin gets it. Breaking the rules means that not only does he lose money but also means, he chooses to act selfishly on the group.

"Good luck," Lana concludes her morning greeting.

Well, last night was overwhelming and Jeongin was too tired to even do anything. He fell asleep almost immediately as Justine snuggled up to him.

"Respectfully, I hate that fucking cone, bro," Kurt states from the bed at the other end of the room.

Mick drinks from his water tumbler, then observes everyone with his piercing, brown eyes.

"Got a question though," he says, putting away his tumbler on the bedside table, "Did anyone break a rule?"

It seems like Mick has just voluntarily become the chief and making sure everyone is adhering to the retreat rules.

He takes a look around the room and sees everyone's faces one by one. He puts more suspicion on couples who are a little more established.

"Kurt?" Mick asks.

Kurt shrugs his question away and Francoise confirms it with a verbal answer, "Nah."

Mick shifts his suspicion onto the next person, "Jeongin?

Jeongin calmly brushes his hair to the back, "I literally fell asleep when Justine and I were still talking," he shares.

Justine is nodding next to him because she knows that it's true, "Last night with Lana... that was intense," she adds.

Mick moves to the next on his suspicion list, eyeing the bed across from him which is Damon and Bianca's bed.

"Damon?"

"Nothing," Bianca speaks for both of them.

Jeongin wouldn't believe these people right away and he knows a lying face when he sees one. One or two of these people are lying to the group but he won't play the saint as well.

It's still early to tell that he won't stumble and break any rules.

-

JEONGIN: I share a bed with Justine and there’s a sexual tension there but honestly, it’s just too early to be hated by a group of people [chuckles]

-

The boys are already cooling down when Jeongin gets to the beach to work out.

Kurt is lying down with his beads of sweat glistening under the pale morning sun while Keith is still doing some lifting and then there's Mick who sits on the mat, brushing his damp hair to the back.

"You guys are already done?" Jeongin asks as he starts stretching his body.

"Uh-huh," Kurt answers while panting.

Mick wipes his sweaty face and turns to sit facing everyone, "I really want us to listen to what Lana is saying. Does anybody else agree? Or am I alone on this?" He suddenly asks a critical question.

Without looking at him, Kurt talks with his eyes closed and hands folded on his abdomen, "I just don’t see how you can make a connection without physical touches. That’s impossible."

"You can cuddle," Keith says in between his grunts of labor.

"Oh yeah, but sometimes that’s not enough," Kurt hits back then peers over at Keith.

Jeongin thinks that Keith is secretly not wanting anything to happen between Kurt and Francoise but Kurt is quick enough to see his intention.

"What’s the longest you went without having sex or you know, getting off?" Mick casually asks like he didn't just ask when is the last time anyone rubs one out.

Kurt purses his lips as he thinks, "Uhm... Like a week?"

Mick surely doesn't expect to hear that answer and Jeongin personally could do a month without a release, especially with money at stake.

But there are hot girls in the equation here and that's what makes it hard to solve.

"If you think about it, you can connect with someone without sex," Mick says.

Instead of giving Mick's wisdom words seep in, Kurt immediately shoots it down with his pessimism.

"I don’t know, man."

Keith puts down his dumbbells and wipes the sweat on his forehead with his t-shirt, "It’s a great idea but uh…" he seems to doubt Mick's words as well.

Jeongin steps in to be the one accepting Mick's words even though he also doubts that's how it works.

"We’ll see where this goes," he says with a pat on Mick's shoulder.

-

JEONGIN: Justine and I have got a bit of a naughty vibe going on. I'm afraid it's just a matter of time before we break the rules.

-

Justine notices that Jeongin has just showered when he enters the dressing room.

She's done doing her makeup and offers to dry his hair for him. Jeongin doesn't see any harm in that so he sits on her chair and lets her do it.

"I'm a makeup artist, I'm good at this," she convinces for the last time, then turns on the hair dryer.

The constant humming of the hairdryer fills the space and while Justine is doing what she does best, Jeongin observes the makeup tools scattered on the vanity right in front of him.

He picks them up one by one and guesses what their use is, when in doubt, he shows it to Justine and asks, "It's an eyelash curler, isn't it?"

Justine looks at him through the rectangular mirror, "Yes."

He continues his exploration through Justine's makeup pouch and takes out the one that interests him. He opens a tube but instead of a cap, he finds a wand with a spoolie at the end of it.

"Is it for eyelashes? Mascara, isn't it?"

Justine turns off the hairdryer and uses a hairbrush next, "No, that's for the eyebrows."

He notices the difference between the two, the one for the eyebrows has a smaller spoolie.

Done brushing his hair, Justine gives the back of his head a quick ruffle to add volume. She then takes a moment to appreciate her work.

"You have soft, fine hair," she compliments.

When she looks at him, she notices that Jeongin is very much intrigued by her makeup. She lightly chuckles and takes it from him.

"This is how you use it," she says, demonstrating how to use it.

To get a closer look, Justine slightly bends down as she applies something to his eyebrows while Jeongin can only watch through the mirror.

"It needs a trim," she mutters as she moves to the other eyebrow.

Justine then jams the wand back into the tube and looks at him to check on his work. She wipes the excess with his thumb.

"Hey, hey, hey!

Mick's jarring voice startles Justine so that she accidentally pokes Jeongin's under eyes with her long nails.

"What are you guys doing?"

Justine sucks air through her teeth and spins around on her feet, "We're doing nothing," she innocently answers.

Mick stands at the end of the long vanity table and props his hands on it, "This is my money you're playing with," he says, already taking ownership of the prize money.

"I promise you, we were just talking," Jeongin assures him while checking himself in the mirror for what Justine did to his eyebrows and he likes it.

Mick purses his lips in doubt and drops his head to the side, "I want to know if I can trust you," he says.

Justine grabs his hand and takes it for a handshake, "You can trust us," she says.

"Okay," Mick says as he shakes her hand, signifying that he chooses to trust her.

That seems to work to convince him but not enough to keep his laser eyes away from both of you.

"I'm watching y'all," he says as he walks backward to the doorway.

After Mick left, Justine plops onto the chair next to his and picks up a hairbrush to comb her hair with.

"We shook on it but I was like... fuck it," she says with a giggle.

She is what he expects her to be, a girl who thinks that the rules are meant to be broken and it's low-key hot, but also a bit threatening. Jeongin is not ready for the repercussions.

"If we break the rules, we would have the whole team against us," he says, reminding Justine that everyone is going to be pissed about it.

She abruptly stops combining her hair as if she just came to her senses. She then looks at him and cracks a smile, "You’re the good one out of the two of us," she says.

And Jeongin e can't tell if she means it in a good way or a bad way.

 -

JEONGIN: If it were up to Justine, we would break rules already but I don’t want to be the first.

-

Before the dressing room gets crowded with everyone getting ready for the night, Jeongin hurriedly goes to the bedroom once he's done dressing up.

Damon is also there, lying on his bed and drinking wine. To pass the time, Jeongin casually chats with him, and in the midst of it, the cone chimes.

Jeongin's head snaps toward the source of the sound, "Damon and Jeongin," Lana calls their names.

Jeongin presses his lips together into a thin line and exchanges a panic glance with Damon.

"Yes, Lana?" Damon asks with his wine glass hanging mid-air.

"Can you please gather everyone in the cabana?" Lana requests.

Jeongin gets up from his bed without saying anything and goes straight to the dressing room to tell everyone. From the sheer shock on their faces, he senses that someone has messed up.

"Anyone have any ideas why we’re here?" Mick says, putting on his detective hat the first thing everyone settles on their seats.

"Could be Lana going to throw another party for us?" Linda wildly guesses with an innocent look on her face.

Mick doesn't take that answer and squints his small eyes as he asks the important question, "Did someone break the rules?"

The silence that passes answers his question and he sighs, disappointed that the group chooses to hide their lies instead of owning up to it immediately.

"Let’s just hear what Lana says," Keith says.

Keith's words summon her, the cone chimes not long after, and instead of her usual greeting, she goes straight into the business.

"This morning I asked you all to start putting the needs of the group ahead of your own. It seems that my request fell on deaf ears."

Even though she talks in the same robotic voice, everyone knows that she's upset that someone is indeed fucked up.

"Oh, shit! She’s pissed," Kurt says, making it clear to everyone.

Mick gets serious this time, clasping his hands together and dropping them between his legs, he asks again, "Did anyone break the rules?"

The silence answers his question again and he lets out a heavy sigh, not accepting the fact that they choose to remain silent when Lana clearly said that someone has broken the rules.

-

JEONGIN: Everyone is just lying at each other’s faces [shakes head]

-

"Jeongn and Justine?" Mick glares at him.

Jeongin can calmly deny his allegation and say, "No."

"You sure? A hundred percent?" Mick asks again.

Justine nods at him and answers it for him, "You can move on and ask someone else."

Mick goes to the next person who sits on the smaller sofa on the side of the room, "Francoise and Kurt?"

They remain quiet and then Francoise starts to scratch her neck, silently gulping air and constantly avoiding everyone's eyes. Everything she does gives away the answer.

"This is the time to fess up," Mick says, either trying to press on them or encourage them.

"We uh... we..." Kurt is blabbering, he's looking anywhere but not the people he's talking to.

"I'm going to be honest, we did a little kiss," Francoise calmly says.

Both Mick and Keith drop their heads onto their hands but it's for two different reasons. Mick is obviously devastated about the money while Keith is well, he just lost another battle against Kurt.

"I needed a goodnight kiss then we fell asleep after so..." she explains.

"Yeah, right," Keith lowly mutters out of spite.

"And I'm going to have to be honest again," Francoise is not finished with her confession yet.

"Oh... fuck!" Linda breathlessly gasps with her hand rubbing her temple.

"We also had another kiss down the beach," Francoise admits another sin.

Everyone is exclaiming, not expecting that this posh girl who always looks calm and collected is breaking rules left and right.

"You had two kisses and it's only day one?" Justine says but instead of sounding like she's scolding her, Jeongin catches a hint of jealousy in her voice.

Mick is left speechless that he can only turn his head side to side like he's watching a tennis match but in this case, Francoise and Kurt are playing with his money instead of a tennis ball.

"Francoise and Kurt, under normal circumstances, each kiss would cost $3,000. Unfortunately, these are not normal circumstances," Lana announces another bad news.

Mick's eyes widen in horror at the mention of how much money they could have lost and it's going to cost a lot more worse than that.

"Earlier today when I asked you all to put the needs of the group before your own, I implemented a covert test."

Linda dramatically gasps, then immediately shut her mouth with her hands.

"Unfortunately, you have failed this test. Furthermore, all fines have been doubled."

"Unbelievable..." Mick sighs into his hands.

It's bad news after bad news and Jeongin should be relieved that he's not a part of the cause but it doesn't make him feel better either.

"Any rules that have been broken since arriving at my retreat will now cost the group twice as much," Lana furtherly informs.

"Wow!" Jeongin's eyes widen in surprise.

"That’s a big chunk of money," Linda innocently comments.

"Francoise and Kurt, your two rule breaks have cost the group $12,000."

Lana drops another bad news right away, not giving everyone a moment to recover from the previous ones.

-

JEONGIN: It's just... brutal [sighs]

-

"Regrettably, the other couple has been more selfish," Lana spoils that there's another rule breaks no one knows of.

This has been overwhelming for everyone and Linda may have run out of patience with anyone who keeps quiet about their rule breaks.

"If you have any respect, you'll be honest with us," she says, a little upset that she gets to suffer from someone else's actions.

"Can anyone please tell the truth!" Mick desperately begs, having no other way how to get anyone to admit to their wrongdoings.

"It's us," Damon finally comes forward, "we kissed in the firepit earlier."

Mick has nothing else to say but to hear how much money has been lost to another reckless behavior.

"Your rule break has cost the group a further $6,000," Lana informs.

Jeongin calculates it roughly in his head and if everyone keeps this reckless behavior for the next three weeks, nothing will be left in the pot.

"We’re going to be broke," he mutters to Keith who sits next to him.

"The prize fund now stands at $182,000," Lana updates.

-

JEONGIN: Now, I'm so glad that I wasn't the first to break the rules.

-

Mick can't hide his disappointment even when it's bedtime. He gets on the bed and tucks himself in, he keeps his head turned away from everyone.

"Oh, I’m so mad," he says, not holding back in letting everyone know that.

Justine cringes in horror at Jeongin while everyone else stays quiet the whole night, unlike the previous night when everyone loudly chatted to each other until the lights turned out.

It's like the temperature in the room drops a few degrees after that reveal in the cabana and drops a few more when the lights are off.

But that is when Jeongin feels most alarmed because things could happen in the dark.

Justine's hand slides across his chest and then she rests it on his shoulder where he can feel the tip of her sharp nails on his skin.

"Your skin is so soft," she compliments with a smile that could be heard as she rests her head close to his.

"So is yours," he compliments back.

Based on profession, there's no doubt Justine knows how to take care of her body well. Her skin is smooth, her hair is soft and she always smells good. There's no denying that she is beautiful and she could easily tempt him when she wants to.

As his thoughts are busy wandering, Justine places her hand on his jaw and starts caressing his cheek. It's the way that her fingers inching closer to his lips that makes his heart rate elevates.

"Don't you think that we'll eventually rule break?" She asks out of the blue.

Jeongin has the same thought as well but after what happened tonight and how everyone reacted to rule breaks, he has second thoughts about committing one.

"Yeah, but I think now is not the right time," he simply refuses.

"Fair enough," she says.

A moment later, Justine's face is hovering inches away above him. She stares right into his eyes long enough that Jeongin can see the naughty intent behind her eyes.

She then leans in and Jeongin has his hands ready to push her away when he needs to. But Justine goes for his cheek and places a soft kiss on it.

"Goodnight," she mutters once she pulls away then lays back on her side of the bed.

-

JEONGIN: Why am I here? How the fuck I ended up in Too Hot To Handle? [clicks tongue]

-

A couple of days have passed uneventfully.

Everyone is still reeling from the fines that have been doubled thus making them more cautious around each other.

Jeongin thinks that it's only a matter of time before someone breaks the rules again.

You can take the player out of a game but you can't take the game out of a player, that's just how it is.

For Jeongin personally, he doesn't have any problems following the rules, except when Justine starts doing something. However, she has been behaving well and maybe she's doing her own thing but he doesn't want to look too much into it.

There's someone else that has been giving him the eyes lately. After Jeongin chose Justine over her, he thought that Linda had already gotten over him but apparently, she's not.

He reckons it's probably because he hasn't broken the rules with Justine yet and that makes Linda think she still has another chance with him.

That's not entirely wrong though, Jeongin isn't going to close on a chance of getting to know someone else.

"Hi. You okay?" Linda asks, appearing from inside the villa and joining him on the terrace.

"I'm okay," he answers, brushing his damp hair from showering, "you?"

Linda sits on the wooden chair next to his and puts her legs up with her body facing him, "I think I'm good."

Jeongin smiles hearing her cute giggle at the end of her answer, she offers different charms than the other girls here.

"I like your dimples," she says, tugging her finger between her teeth again.

"Thank you," Jeongin mutters his gratitude with a smile.

Linda holds his gaze and says, "It's one of the many things I like about you."

Jeongin's hand flies to his ear, touching it as he leans back on his chair and tries not to look into Linda's eyes because they're rather dangerous.

"What was it?" She asks, dangling her legs on the armrest of the chair.

"What did you say the uhm... your favorite feature on me?"

Jeongin has to rake his brain to remember that day, he remembers looking at Linda's breasts when he said a totally different thing.

"Your eyes," he finally answers with a sheer doubt.

"People normally say it's my boobs," Linda says with a crisp laugh.

Now that she said it, Jeongin's eyes automatically flick down at her cleavage and quickly look away.

"They're alright," he coyly says, trying to remain calm even though he knows Linda caught him looking at it.

"You haven't looked, have you?" She jokingly says, putting all of her hair to the back.

"Nah, it's the first time I looked," he jokes back.

Without looking, Jeongin knows that he's profusely blushing and his ears are reddening, his hand comes to the rescue, rubbing it to give him a sense of ease

On the other hand, Linda is enjoying every second of it.

"About you and Justine," she carefully says.

"Are you guys like in a thing or...?"

Linda's eyes are small and warm brown, however, the way she looks at him is piercing like daggers. Jeongin knows that the conversation will eventually get to this.

"We're still getting to know each other but we're also doing our own thing... I'm not stopping her from getting to know anyone," Jeongin answers.

"But do you think it has the potential to be a relationship or more like... friendship-ish type of thing to you?" She asks, biting her finger again.

"Well, uhm..." Jeongin has no answer to that yet, he's been grasping things around Justine and is not sure what he wants to do with it yet.

"I don't know, honestly. I just don't want to rule out any possibilities yet," he adds.

Linda nods and bites her lower lip, "Have you ever thought that you have more potential with someone else?"

"Could be," he coyly says.

She props a hand under her chin and looks at him with a soft gaze, "How about with me?"

Jeongin cracks a smile, not expecting Linda will be this bold. Somehow, he likes this use of subtle aggressiveness.

"We'll see..." Jeongin keeps his cool and stares back into her eyes as he says it.

"Well, you'll see," Linda says.

-

JEONGIN: Linda, Linda, Linda... she's being all cute and flirty, trying to make my head turn.

-

Linda's game doesn't just end there.

In the dressing room while everyone is getting ready for the night, she puts on a dress and checks herself in the mirror, then all of a sudden turns to him and asks.

"How do I look?"

Jeongin has to check for the people around him, thinking that she is talking to someone else.

"Uh... good," he shortly answers.

"Just good?" Linda asks again.

She's so bold for doing it in front of everyone. Worse is Justine is in the room too and Jeongin keeps actively telling his brain not to look her way.

Linda takes a step closer toward him and spins around on her feet, "Do you like the dress or should I put on a different one?"

The whole room suddenly turns quiet when it is full of chatter a while ago and he feels pressured with all the attention he's getting.

"No, I like this one. It looks good on you," Jeongin says, wanting to end this exchange.

"I trust you," Linda says, walking back to the mirror to fix her hair.

Jeongin continues buttoning his shirt facing his closet to avoid everyone's eyes.

That little stunt Linda pulled in the dressing room seems to make Justine need to mark her territory. She brings him a drink and corners him on the sofa in the cabana.

"I like this shirt on you," she says, softening him with a compliment.

"Thanks," Jeongin sheepishly says, sensing that she's going to ask about him and Linda.

"How are you feeling tonight?" She asks, then sips her drink.

"I'm feeling good," he answers but that would imply that he talked about the thing that happened with Linda.

"I guess," he quickly adds, then gulps his wine.

He swallows it quickly, not wanting to give Justine a chance to talk about it, "You?"

Justine smiles and taps her glass of wine with her long nails, "I feel good. I feel like kissing someone tonight," she says with a sonorous laugh.

Oh, fuck.

Remember when he said it's only about time that he and Justine break a rule? Well, this is it.

She inches closer to him and puts her leg over his lap, "I know we both want to explore things here..."

She props her hand against the sofa and tilts her head to the side as she looks at him, letting a moment pass in silence to build tension.

"But if there's one person I want to break rules with..."

Justine drags her nails down his arm, sending a shudder down his spine then leans in to whisper, "It's with you,"

Deep down, he knows the bad in him wants to come out and play.

"What do you think?" Her voice drops lower than before.

All sorts of thoughts fill his head and most of them are going against him. It costs $6,000. Lana will be pissed. The group is going to kill him for it. What if he craves it more?

He keeps considering Justine's offer until he runs out of excuses to not kiss her and his thoughts favor his desire.

"I guess a kiss won't hurt," he mutters to her.

"Promise, it won't hurt," Justine says, before crashing her lips against him.

It's the second time they kiss but it feels different now that there are rules that forbid it which makes it oddly satisfying. There's just something about breaking the rules that makes him feel so damn alive.

Justine gets it and that's why she's smiling when she lets go of the kiss, leaving Jeongin's lips tainted with her lipstick which she hurriedly wipes with her hand.

"See? It doesn't hurt," she says.

-

JEONGIN: I know everyone is going to be mad about it but I-I don't regret it. Not for a bit, to be honest [laughs]

-

Jeongin and Justine know how to keep their poker face on the whole night.

Damon almost caught them earlier but thankfully, they manage to make him not suspect anything and so does everyone even until it's bedtime.

"Guys, we've been good these past few days," Mick says to everyone in the room.

"So we're allowed to kiss now?" Damon jokes.

"Man..." Mick sighs, patting his pillow before resting on it, "I'm saying that you guys should keep it that way,"

With the lack of answers, Jeongin can tell that not everyone agrees with the idea, especially him. He exchanges a knowing glance with Justine.

"Better not be any rule breaks tonight, got it?" Mick warns with a glare.

If there's anything Mick shouldn't say to a bunch of rulebreakers, that is exactly it. Tell them to not do it only makes them want to do it more.

That notion seems to be right with, again, no obvious answers but low, weak mutters just to get the conversation over with.

The bedroom turns dark not long after and Justine scoots closer to him until her head rests next to his.

"It's best that we don't tell them," she whispers.

Jeongin agrees. He sees no benefit of being honest to them other than potentially getting crucified by them so it's a hard pass for him.

"I think so too," he says to her.

Justine lowly chuckles, "We shouldn't say anything until the last minute," she suggests.

He nods at that, "No one says anything."

Justine takes his hand and has him link his pinky finger around her for a pinky promise.

"That's a promise," she says and to his surprise, kisses interlinked fingers.

Somehow that night, Jeongin falls asleep at ease.

-

JEONGIN: I feel guilty about last night. I know everyone is going to hate us but Justine and I decided to not say anything about our rule break.

-

In the morning, no one still suspected anything.

Maybe the only one that does is Mick, his hawk eyes are scanning everyone's faces even though he's barely awake yet.

"I have a boner for like... 80% of the day," Damon suddenly shares a fact no one even asks.

Bianca chuckles at that while untangling her braided dark hair.

"When you get a boner, your blood rushes to your dick and if it goes for too long, it takes away the blood from your brain," Damon explains.

Everyone doubts that's how it works but they're laughing at his unconfirmed theory, including Jeongin with Justine clinging to his arm and her head resting against it.

Jeongin's eyes somehow wander to bed opposite him, seeing Linda looking not pleased seeing him with Justine which makes him abruptly stop opening his mouth completely.

The day continues and he knows he's only counting down to the time until Lana finally calls everyone to the cabana.

When the call comes, he isn't ready and he believes, so is everyone.

"This is not good," Keith mutters as he adjusts the waistband of his swimming trunks.

"It's too early for this shit," Damon grumbles behind him.

Everyone is taking heavy steps to the cabana, knowing that good things never happened there and today is one of those, that Jeongin knows for sure.

"What do you think Lana wants?" Kurt asks.

Courtney throws all of her hair to the side, "I have a feeling she's not going to be nice to us today," she says.

Jeongin nervously gulps air because Courtney is right.

-

JEONGIN: This is not good [scratches head] I'm absolutely shitting myself.

-

To avoid suspicion, he chooses to sit separately from Justine and when the chime comes, he immediately puts his poker face on.

"Despite doubling the fines, I regret to inform you there have been further breaches," Lana announces right away.

It's always a bad sign when Lana skips the formality and goes straight to the rule-breaking announcement.

"Oh, my days!" Keith shortly responds.

Jeongin pretends to act surprised, parting his mouth open in perfect O shape then rubs his chin in wonder. His eyes wander to where Justine sits and he sees the opposite reaction on her, she looks slightly excited for it.

"Breaches?" Francoise points out that this means that there's more than one rule break.

"Y'all need a stricter regime," Mick says with an angry sigh.

However, that doesn't make Jeongin feel relieved, he's still fear of what's going down in a few minutes.

"Does anybody want to get anything off their chest?" Keith asks.

-

JEONGIN: It's definitely not the time I want to tell everyone that I fucked up.

-

Despite his calm expression, Jeongin's heart is racing inside his chest. Is it too much of him to ask everyone for a little bit of understanding that for there to be a connection, there has to be a little physical thing?

"Who broke the rule?" Mick asks again.

It's at the tip of his tongue, he wants to get them out as soon as possible but something keeps holding him back. He takes a deep breathe to muster up the courage to say—

"Bianca, what's with your face?" Courtney and her observant eyes.

Biance starts turning her head side to side, propping a hand under her chin then looks at Damon.

"I have to be honest," she says.

"Oh!" Mick shouts in disappointment, holding his head in distress.

"It was last night. It was romantic. It just happened... we kissed," Bianca admits, then turns to Damon, asking him to add something to it.

"I think that was one of the most valuable rule breaks," Damon says.

Surprisingly, everyone takes that well. There's no shouting, no silently cursing and there's not even a glare aimed toward them.

"I think that you guys are building a connection. I think you guys deserve it," Francoise says.

"Your kiss costs the group $6,000," Lana informs.

-

JEONGIN: Wait... what is going on? This is not the reaction that I thought they were going to get.

-

Jeongin doesn't expect that to happen so maybe if he admits his rule break like Bianca and Damon did, everyone is going to take it well too, right?

Right???

"So who else broke the rule?" Mick asks again.

This is the time, if he waits until Mick asks again, that'll only earn him the opposite reaction from what he wants.

"Justine and I kissed last night," he says in one breath.

And guess what? Everyone is groaning at that. He looks at Justine to seek some help here through his eyes.

"It just happens, you know," Justine says, not really a strong defense.

"How much money have we lost? Does anybody know?" Mick starts to lose his shit again.

Jeongin's hand flew to cover his eyes, not wanting to see this and also disappointed that everyone reacted differently to him when it was only his first rule break.

"A kiss is harmless," Justine casually says which only angers everyone more with her blatant ignorance of the rules.

"Oh, my God!" Mick shouts in disbelief.

"Why did we get a different reaction from them?" Justine asks the important question here.

"Because we know what Damon and Bianca got going on is solid," Mick explains.

Everyone seems to agree with his answer but Jeongin still can't accept the unfair treatment.

"Thanks, guys," Bianca thanked everyone with a smile.

"Jeongin and Justine, your rule break has cost the group a further $6,000," Lana informs again.

There comes the groans again but despite that, he's not going to waste his energy by holding a grudge over it.

"The prize fund now stands at $176,000."

In the end, everyone is as disappointed to hear how much money they have lost.

"Thanks, Lana," Courtney mutters.

Everyone is getting up from their seats thinking that Lana has done talking when she chimes again and everyone stops moving.

"I haven't finished."

-

JEONGIN: Oh, what now? [Groans] Seriously?

-

Everyone is getting nervous once again as they wait for what Lana is going to say and they believe it's yet another bad news.

"It's time to establish how committed to each other you really are by sending some of you on dates..." Lana announces.

"Who's going on a date?" Bianca asks with a blushed cheek, secretly wishing that it's her and Damon.

Jeongin can't say if he and Justine are categorized as a couple yet but he'd love to get on a date, the others start to think that maybe it's good news this time.

"...with new arrivals."

Everyone is exclaiming all at once and this time, Jeongin doesn't even have to pretend to be surprised, he is genuinely surprised to hear that there'll be new guests in the villa.

"Our new arrivals are already aware they're on Too Hot To Handle."

Jeongin notices that not everyone is pleased by this, Bianca and Francoise are not accepting it well from their lack of enthusiasm.

"I have given the new arrival a choice of dating one of the boys currently in couples," Lana further announces.

"It's a curveball y'all," Kurt excitedly says while rubbing his hands together.

Jeongin could feel Justine's eyes boring a hole in between his eyes at the newly shared announcement and the possibility that he could get chosen for this.

"She has selected..."

Despite Justine's reaction, is it wrong of Jeongin to want to be picked for the date? He suddenly feels like meeting new people since he plans to keep exploring his choices.

"Jeongin."

He manifests it so hard that it becomes true but he reminds himself to keep calm about it even though he feels excited to meet the new girl before anyone else.

-

JEONGIN: I mean... the timing is impeccable [Grins]

-

"The other new arrival also has been given a choice of dating one of the girls currently in couples," Lana continues.

It's the girls' turn to get excited and Jeongin has no problem if Justine gets picked, that way he wouldn't feel bad about going on a date with the new girl.

"He has selected..."

Justine taps Courtney's knee, hinting that it's probably her chance even though she won't be selected because she's not in a couple.

It's either her, Justine, or Bianca.

"Bianca."

"Thank fuck for that," Kurt lowly mutters, grateful that the new guy doesn't choose Francoise.

"This really is about testing the waters, huh?" Linda says, being the only one enjoying this.

Well, Jeongin feels a sense of relief that he's not as established as Damon and Bianca because, for them, it could be a test to see how genuine their connection is.

"Jeongin and Bianca, please go and get ready for your dates," Lana orders.

Jeongin lets Bianca lead the way to the villa and goes straight to the dressing room to get ready.

Bianca plops down on her usual spot on the vanity table and reclines on her chair, "This is crazy..." she sighs.

He goes to his closet to pick something to wear, this is a date so he's definitely putting an extra effort to build his outfit.

"I'm having a date and it's not with Damon," Bianca sighs again.

Jeongin starts by picking a shirt from the ones he brought, pondering whether he's going for a plain shirt or with prints.

Bianca turns her head to look at Jeongin, then asks, "Do you think your head will be turned?"

That stops him from whatever he's doing, he turns to look back at her and answers, "I don't think I'll be tempted..."

Then he settles on a decision to wear a plain white ribbed shirt and takes it out of the hanger, "Unless she's a gorgeous girl with beautiful eyes," he suddenly adds.

Bianca laughs because she thinks Jeongin is confident about staying loyal to Justine until she hears the rest of his sentence.

"Eyes are your weaknesses, huh?" She asks.

"Yes."

"Well, we'll see," Bianca says, starting to do her make-up as she speaks.

And Jeongin can't wait to find out what you look like.

-

LANA: I have given our new arrivals one free kiss to use on their dates. They think I'm just being generous, but in reality, I want to see how Jeongin and Bianca, who are both in relationships, react if offered a fine-free kiss.

-

The date takes place somewhere quite far from the villa.

Jeongin part ways with Bianca when they get to the beach as she goes in the opposite direction and he has to walk the rest of the distance by himself. The staff has prepared a picnic with its classic checkered picnic mat and a basket of what he can safely assume is filled with food.

Being the first one to get there, he sits down and leisurely waits for the new girl by looking at the view from this part of the island he has never been to.

Jeongin gets more nervous the longer he waits for the new girl to come. When you do finally come, he's getting even more nervous that he can hear his heart beating loudly in his ears.

You gracefully wave your hand at him to announce your arrival, looking an absolute lush in a white bikini and a see-through skirt that does nothing to cover your body but floats around your hips as the wind blows your way.

Jeongin gets up and prepares himself to welcome you, putting on a smile that is way too easy to conjure. You are only a few steps away but he already likes what he's seeing.

"Hello," you softly say, introducing your name as you exchange a quick cheek-to-cheek.

"Jeongin," he introduces himself back with a smile that matches the excitement bubbling inside him.

With the afternoon sun hits you right in the eyes, they appear wide and bright, and Jeongin believes those eyes are going to get him in danger.

-

JEONGIN: Lana brought out my dream girl to test me. Fuck!

-

"This place is amazing," you delightfully say as you stare out at the sea with the sun slowly sinking into the horizon.

Jeongin is busy filling the glasses with a cocktail mix and tries not to spill a drop. But he knows exactly what you're talking about, he's been living here for a few days and never gets tired of the view.

"Oh, it's paradise," he adds.

He hands one of the drinks to you and without anyone initiating it, you both clink your glasses together for a toast.

"Cheers!" You both mutter in unison.

It's when he has swallowed his drink, he finds your eyes on him again and since you already caught him staring, he may as well use the opportunity to admire your face. There's no denying that you're beautiful but the eyes... he can't stop staring into them.

"You have beautiful eyes," you say, as if you heard his thought and say it out loud for him.

He sheepishly smiles and brushes his hair to the back, "So do you. You're uh... really pretty," he shyly compliments back.

You tuck your hair behind your ear and smack your lips together before talking, "As soon as I flicked past your photo, I was like, yeah, that one," you share with a mix of shy and seductive smiles.

Jeongin's hand flies to his ear and he hopes that they're not turning red from these compliments. He looks away to calm himself down but continues talking, "Really? What is your type?"

"Like you," you answer without a beat.

When Jeongin looks at you again, your eyes automatically lock in a gaze, "I like pretty, bad boys like you."

This time, Jeongin is sure that his ears are reddening and his cheeks are also heating.

"What's your type?" You ask back, sipping your cocktail after.

"I don't have a type," he starts to find it hard to think, "Even if there is, it's always changing."

"Then how about now? What's your type?" You ask, playing with the mini umbrella in your drink and eyes that are doing things to his heart.

Are you really asking? Or do you want him to tell you that he has found his type just now?

"Beautiful eyes, uh... great smiles, good chat," he stutters his words, knowing that he has just described you. He then quickly sips his drink to help clear his throat.

You lightly chuckle then make this gesture with your index finger, drawing a ticking mark in the air as you say, "Tick, tick, tick."

-

JEONGIN: I'm really enjoying getting to know her even though she's so tempting.

-

The way you sit on your side with a hand propped against the mat, Jeongin can see every curve of your body, the ascents and descents, and gosh, he likes what he sees.

"You've got a great body," he blurts out and at this point, he just can't control his brain from saying things without filtering it first.

Surprisingly, you take it well and with a smile, "Thanks."

You sit straighter to show him your form and put all of your hair to the back, "I worked hard on it."

"Yeah?" Jeongin asks in wonder.

But you seem to take it as a doubtful response from him and you get up, kneeling on the mat to remove the thin skirt wrapped around your hips.

"It's all natural," you confirm, running your hands down the side of your body.

If he were in some cartoons, Jeongin's eyes would be popped out of their sockets at the sight of your body. It evokes something in him that makes his throat suddenly dry.

You sit back down on the mat and pick up your drink, "Let's make it fair," you say.

Jeongin gulps air to be able to speak, "huh?"

"I'd like to see you with your shirt off," you say, a naughty smile dancing on your pretty face.

He has no problems showing you his body, he worked hard on it too but he doesn't want to spoil it to you right away.

"You'll see it off," he teases, surprised that he's still got game in him despite his brain barely functioning.

"Okay," you simply say, then bring your glass close to your lips but not drinking it.

Just so you know, Jeongin also has a thirst for something else.

-

JEONGIN: She has all of my attention. I'm just not thinking about anything else.

-

Jeongin takes the food out of the picnic basket and lays it out on the side of the mat, a bowl of sliced fruits while the other bowl is filled with melted chocolate.

"Why are you sitting so far away from me?" You ask, pointing out the big space between the two of you.

Even in this distance, he can feel the heat and the tension between the two of you. He doesn't want to know what would it feel like to be in such proximity with you.

"Come closer! I don’t bite," you cutely whine, putting a cushion to where you want him to be.

"Okay, maybe, just a little?" You add a joke and a giggle.

Jeongin relents, he scoots closer to you yet maintains a safe space in between. He watches as you open the bowl of sliced fruits and take out a piece, dipping it in the chocolate before feeding it to him.

He hurriedly leans closer and opens his mouth for you, he manages to eat it alright but the chocolate drips onto the corner of his mouth.

"You like to get messy, do you?" He jokingly says, cluelessly wiping around the mouth.

"Yes, I do," you confidently answer.

You're quick to offer your help to clean it for him, wipe it with your thumb, and not hesitate to lick it clean after.

He then takes his turn to pick up a slice of fruit and dips it into the chocolate, he carefully brings it close to your mouth. You hold his wrist to keep his hand steady as you take it into your mouth and keep holding his hand to clean the chocolate coating his finger.

It does something to him seeing you taking his finger into your mouth and also feels how hot and wet the inside of your mouth is.

"Mmh... yum," you delightfully hum as you pull his finger out of you.

-

JEONGIN: The longer this date goes on, the more I can't resist her.

-

There's so much sexual chemistry here and it's getting heavy that Jeongin doesn't know how long he can go on, you are literally too hot to handle.

Your hand reaches for his face, using only your fingertips to trail his jawline, and then rest your hand on his thigh. The two of you are staring into each other’s eyes but he can tell that your minds are thinking the same things.

"Kiss me," you say out of the blue.

As if making his head feel like a scrambled egg isn't enough for you. He can't remember if Lana has briefed you on what kind of show you're in and that you ask him to do something he's not allowed to do.

"You do know it's Too Hot To Handle, right?" He asks with his brows furrowed, feeling bad if the answer is no but he's more afraid to know the answer is yes.

"I do know," you tell him, your hand inching closer to the hem of his swimming trunk.

The tension is getting unbearable and Jeongin feels like it's weighing down his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.

"Lana told me that I get a free kiss without getting fined," you explain, tipping your head to the side while your fingers are lightly caressing his inner thigh.

His brain is close to short-circuit yet he tries so hard to think straight and what would happen if he does certain things with you.

"I do want to," he says.

A smile rises on your face and your eyes light up the second you hear his answer.

Jeongin doesn't want to see those glints in your eyes disappear when he tells you about Justine but he doesn't want to hide it from you either.

"It's just like... there's a girl inside there," he says, not giving you the detailed information.

That doesn't seem to stop you as your eyes remain wide and bright as you tip your head to the other side and hold his gaze, "Is she special to you?"

Special? Jeongin isn't sure about that so he settles on a safe answer, "It's only been a few days so I can't really tell."

You smack your lips together again, tantalizing him with how plump and soft they look to him.

"I don't see the damage in it. If anything, we'll know if there's sparks between us," you give such a strong argument to him.

It takes every bone in his body not to try and kiss you right this very second. He may have said Justine is not that special but kissing another girl behind her back... that's not how he wants it to go.

"Come on," you tease, leaning closer to his face.

His heart leaps when you place a soft kiss on his cheek and rub the lipstick mark after.

"I know you want it," you lowly mutter, teasing him more with your sultry voice.

He doesn't know if you notice but his body is slightly shaking from constantly resisting the urge to fill his desire to kiss you and his hands are gripping the picnic mat to not get them anywhere close to you.

"I do want to kiss you," he breathlessly says as if it takes all of him to admit that.

You smile in satisfaction, leaning in to land another soft kiss on his jaw to give him a taste of your lips. Your lips linger close to his ear to sweetly whisper, "Come on, Jeongin."

-

JEONGIN: I am so tempted. I don't know what to do [Exhales]

-

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[rockethorse]

Stocking Stuffer 1/5: A Bajillion Random Painting Recolours

Happy Holidays to all! While I'm proud that last year I finally managed to achieve a longtime goal of sharing a full TS2 Advent Calendar, I'm simply not gonna be able to pull it off this year. Nonetheless, the holidlay spirit has encouraged me to finish up and share a couple of things before the end of the year! I'll be sharing five little gifts over the next few arbitrary days. First up: A BUNCH of Maxis painting recolours.

One recolour each of A/B/C Stroke (yes, I still enjoy playing with these as three separate paintings) using vintage matchbook covers designed by Saul Bass for The Ohio Match Company.

Two recolours +frames for Abstrutionism; "Poppy Cake" by Adolf Fényes (1910), and then this edit of Christina's World by Andrew Wyeth (1948) to include Bella Goth (the original Tumblr poster has deactivated).

A recolour of Anonymous Masterpiece with these two digital paintings by user chestnutroan featuring their farmer Sim and his two alien daughters.

One recolour of the Arghist Soldier with "Friday Nights" by Deborah DeWit (2006), perfect for your novel-enthusiast Sims' reading nook.

One recolour of City Skyline with a fruit & veg painting by Twitter user snail_soup (you can buy a real print of this too if you like it!)

One recolour of the Fourth Element wall scroll with "From Stardust to Stardust - Raccoon" by user ArtOfMienda.

Four Vegetables recoloured with four deliciously juicy tomato paintings by artist Leah Gardner.

Geometry 101 recoloured with a beautiful palette knife painting by Lynn Boggess.

Two recolours of Grilled Cheese (you all know what Grilled Cheese looks like, c'mon); one vintage ad for Hollywood Diet bread which I cleaned/redrew to remove text/graphics, and then "Cloud Rows" by Ivan Eyre (2004).

In The Beginning (+frame) recoloured with "Little Thief" by Courtney / Trash Kitty Art (also available as an affordable IRL print).

Kitten vs. Yarn (+frame) recoloured with this goache painting by user ieafy.

"Until Tonight" by Mark Grantham (2019) slapped on Lady On Red.

Two recolours of Living Room; "Midwestern Summer Fun" by user ink-the-artist (you may wanna zoom in for a surprise), then "Girl On A Swing" (2000) by Andrew Macara.

One recolour of Marketing Print with the Beatles as drawn by other Beatles. I don't remember who drew who because I'm actually not much of a Beatles fan but I thought these sketches were really darling.

In Memory of Johnny Gnome (+frame) recoloured with a piece by Emma Roulette.

A recolour of My First Holiday with art from Twitter user heikala_art.

On Pointed Toes (+frame) recoloured with this digital painting by Twitter user catwheezie.

I fell in love with this Guinness ad so I tweaked it from the photo to fit on the Route 66 poster, then made an accompanying Simlish option.

A single Scruffles recolour (+frame) with this adorable cow illustration by Twitter user poodlewool.

Four recolours of the Sim Noir pop art print; three pieces by Al Parker I found through this Tweet (with some English removed) and then an edit of the original painting to look passingly familiar...

Two recolours (+frames) of Snoozing Enemies; "The Cat on the Pillow" by Adolf von Becker, and "Sleeping Sasha" by Lena Rivo.

Stiller Life (+frame) recoloured with this oil painting of McDonalds by artist Noah Verrier.

Two recolours (+frames) of Stumped Hound; "Shadow" by Tianyi Zhou and "cat falling off table" by user anasauruss.

The Muse recoloured with this Juxtapoz magazine cover by artist Josh Courlas.

And lastly, three recolours of Untitled (the Bella Goth pop art painting) with works by Hiroshi Nagai.

Download All Paintings @ SFS

[whiskeythefishski]

what are some of your favorite smosh fics? i need something to read while waiting for your next update <3

OOOOOOH YAY OKAY!!! Here are a few I really enjoy!! :D

Rated General Audiences:

"the comfort of knowing you" by unknownteapot (@unknownteapot) - Fluffy Amangela kidfic in which Amanda falls for her babysitter - oops! Complete, 1 Chapter, 16k words.

"Come home to my heart" by Spencer_Grey (@thedazedyouth) - Spommy slow burn superheo AU. Complete, 1 Chapter, 16k words.

Rated Teen and Up:

"'till apathy do us part" by Anonymous - Anthony's funeral-inspired AU with Ian as a necromancer. Complete, 9 Chapters, 57k words.

"cool about it." by miss_soupy (@soupy-girl) - Angsty Courtney/Kimmy high school AU. Complete, 1 Chapter, 11k words.

"Summer Sun for You Forever" by lilacfoxes (@lilac-hecox) - Damien/Jackie friend to lovers/unplanned pregnancy fic. Complete, 1 Chapter, 15.5k words.

"Everywhere I Go (Leads Me to You)" by lilacfoxes (@lilac-hecox) - Spommy slow burn soulmate AU. Complete, 1 Chapter, 15.7k words.

Rated Mature:

"if we keep score" by jovenshires (@jovenshires) - Spommy high school soccer/rivals to lovers AU. Complete, 1 Chapter, 52k words.

"Vibe with me, Trip with me" by LoverTheClown (@wishywashysmoshy) - Spommy oneshot where they meet at a party and shotgun weed. Complete, 1 Chapter, 4.2k words

Rated Explicit:

"i'm coming for you again" by KALLIOPH - Mafia AU featuring Kingpin Ian and Creekside Killer Anthony, plus crime family Smosh. Ongoing, 14 Chapters, 70k words.

"trust fall" by halfwheeze (@tommybowefuneralattendee) - Spommy smut in which Tommy helps Spencer out of a tough situation, "or maybe helps a tough situation out of Spencer." Complete, 1 Chapter, 8k words.

"personal leisure" by unknownteapot (@unknownteapot) - Amangela smut in which Angela tries to order room service and calls a phone sex hotline by mistake. Complete, 1 Chapter, 4k words.

There are SO many incredible fics out there, but these are some of the ones I've been extra into lately. I hope you enjoy as much as I did!! :D Also most of these authors have lots of awesome stuff up, not just the fics I listed.

Thank you for your ask, and for reading my work!!

[treasure-mimic]

Sad Girl Summer

Tired of being hot? Wanna just be kinda sad?

For summer vibes and negative moods. Fun, frustration, desperation, regret, jealousy, anger, revenge, and out the other side. Pop, rock, punk, and emo.

Yeah I'mma keep it real with y'all, most of this was put together back in February, but you can't post a summer playlist in winter. I'm scheduling this like 4 months ahead of time, it's gonna drop probably without me even realizing. Might also be kinda out of date sonicly when summer rolls back around again. But whatever.

Hunger - Florence + The Machine

All I Do - Bully

Doing Time - Lana Del Rey

bad idea, right? - Olivia Rodrigo

lonely bitch - Bea Miller

Decode - Paramore

Savior - Juliana Madrid

Pedestrian at Best - Courtney Barnett

Ur Mum - Wet Leg

the perfect pair - beabadoobee

Dramamine - Middle Kids

Lovefool - The Cardigans

Shatter - Maggie Rogers

Blame Brett - The Beaches

Wild Roses - Of Monsters and Men

Splinter - spill tab

Speeding 72 - Momma

Cardinal - Kasey Musgraves

don't know - DAMOYEE

Devotion - Arlo Parks

Cruel Summer - Taylor Swift

Dancing On My Own - The Regrettes (Feel free to replace with Robyn's original at your own leisure)

Escapism - Raye & 070 Shake

Sad Girl Summer - Cassyette

Seratonin - girl in red

Portions for Foxes - Rilo Kiley

Call Me When You're Sober - Evanescence

Push It - Garbage

Black Sheep - Metric (Brie Larson vers.) (Emily Haines vers. is also good)

Sinner - The Last Dinner Party

how does your girlfriend feel about it - Chloe Lilac

Library of Broken Bindings - Sincere Engineer

Simmer - Hayley Williams

What Was I Made For? - Billie Eilish

I Hope You're Sleeping Well - Javailin

[anja-delrey]

Day 1: I'm currently 159cm and 41kg so BMI 16.2

Day 2: Pickles, cucumbers, salmon, black coffee and green tea because I'm scared of carbs, saturated fats and high cal foods

Day 3: I hate seeing people eat, it's not even envy I just find it so disgusting how they shovel food in their mouth. Especially my brothers, one of them ate a thick pancakes the size of two plates covered in syrup and told me he's STILL hungry and I thought I was gonna puke

Day 4: 35kg because I'll be BMI 13 and I want to look sickly thin and be very bruised and bony

Day 5: I adore wintergirls and skins because they're actually good and not cringe imo

Day 6: not all of these are bcuz of my ED but Lux Lisbon from the virgin suicides because she was literally me when I was 14, Daisy Randone from girl, interrupted because of how she hates eating in front of others and her anger then not a character but I am the reincarnation of Courtney Love

Day 7: my mom would always make these comments. I grew up in a very almond family so my mom would get angry if I ate a bar of chocolate and always told me I should exercise more and that kind of thing. Then I gained to 52kg—which made me BMI 21.5—one summer and I started restricting

Day 8: probably just that I didn't recover, I just ate healthy for a bit before relapsing

Day 9: I'm not because I'm not sick enough to be in recovery.

Day 10: it was never dieting for me. It started out with mia that turned into ana.

Day 11: probably mysli, I love that shit

Day 12: idk I wear the same clothes I would when I'm BMI 14

Day 13: I don't know!! I don't get triggered by thinspo because sometimes I see ppl bigger than me in it

Day 14: I first drink water, then I look at proana tiktoks, then I play music that reminds me of ana and if that doesn't work I go honk shoo mimimimi

Day 15: realistically, no. But my god do I hope.

Day 16: when you encourage others to be anorexic

Day 17: Nintendo 64 by Alex g, family tree by Ethel cain, Carmen by Lana Del Rey, miss world by hole and fast as you can by Fiona apple

Day 18: probably fried rice, it's been like a year since I last had it

Day 19: I told my friend and she's worried about me but idgaf

Day 20: it's always been toxic, I started out with bulimia in 2022 so it's not ever been healthy and I'm somewhat ok with that

Day 21: I like my eyes, ribs and hair

Day 22: my stepdad told me once when I ate dinner late that I didn't deserve it. I think of that every time I eat.

Day 23: no and no.

Day 24: metab days, not cheat days, but I do binge sometimes but it's not planned

Day 25: thighs, honestly, from 55cm to 44cm

[tdjustess]

Rating all Trent ships I've ever came across

Trent×Gwen - The only canon ship and for what it was, I liked it. It always felt like just a summer fling and them being each others manic pixie dream girl/boy is a detail I highly appreciate. It was the most artsy teen romance of all TD ships and should stay as only that 7.5/10 cause it does make me cringe nowadays

Trent×Justin - I don't know who was the first person to come up with this ship but holy shit their brain. And even if you're too good to fall for the trope of "two guys amicably standing next to each other", these two would be the Larry of the TDverse, which you have to at least admit it's funny as shit 10/10

Trent×Duncan - Listen. I've also been a 15 year old girl, I get it, but this is shit. They either forget about each others existence or actively hate each other. Even the fanfics I used to read back then had to jump through hoops or make them ooc to even get them to stay amicably in the same room 0/10

Trent×Geoff - The better version of Duntrent. They still ignore/hate eachother but there's literally no reason for it which is so funny. They're both pieces of shit and the only time it was justified was when Geoff was trying to protect Gwen over the breakup. Read the TDA bios, they're still trying to poke at some rivalry we never see on screen. AU writers I beg of you, write a enemys-to-enemys fic of their fighting backstage 3/10

Trent×Cody - Oh boy. Oooooh boy. I hate to play this card but they're brothers. Maybe if it's one sided like Cody having a crush for 2 weeks tops but yeah. Brothers energy 0/10

Trent×Courtney - Listen. Don't look at me like that and listen. It's two possibly unmedicated mentaly ill upper middle kids with dreams of success in performing arts that go about it in two extremely different ways. Like. I want to keep this short but they'd be so bad for each other while being the only ones who can understand the others devotion, they'd destroy each other. I'm tearing a phonebook in half with my teeth, shout out to the Ballet AU i'll never write 6/10 realistically but 9.9999998/10 in my heart

Trent×Leshawna - I was really surprised when I first saw this ship cause I'd only ever seen them as sort of "friends-in-law"? But now that I sit down and think of it, it could work?? Leshawna is assertive but also laid back, kind and has a lot of goofy moments. And Trent is a certified wife guy™. I'd never thought of this ship myself but it could work 9.4/10

Trent×Noah - Once again, would have never thought of this if I hadn't read one of the best ship-centered fanfics this fandom has to offer. But I think it works better in that specific fanfic than realistically speaking. Trent isn't the exact type of pathetic (positive) Noah hangs out with and in the long run they'd both be too messy. If Gwent is the cuter side of teen romance, Trent×Noah would be the depressing side. I never watched the show, but from what I remember from "2015 grunge tumblr", it's giving Skins vibes 4.8/10

Trent×Anne Maria - I appreciate the mediterranean representation but no 1/10

Trent×Scott - How. Why. Walk me through this one without making them ooc 0/10

Trent×Zoey - Only in a Doey AU where Duncan keeps throwing dogeballs at Trent in PE everytime he tries to talk with Zoey about british pop 2/10

[preciselypetra]

>.<

hii!! welcome to my blog!!

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꒰ nicknames !! ꒱ petra, petrini, riri

꒰ pronouns !! ꒱ she/her/hers

꒰ ˙ . ꒷ 🍰 🥄. ˙ ꒱ may 17th ⇢ taurus

꒰ ⌕ nationality ꒱ hungarian & bulgarian

꒰ languages ꒱ english, hungarian, & romanian

꒰ socials !! ꒱ @preciselypetra ⇢ ig, pinterest, yt, bereal, & tmblr

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📎・．desc:

hiii! I'm into lots of things, some of the main being music, playing guitar, art, fashion sub cultures, crochet/knitting, literature, and video games. [+ either brainrotting into space or intensly focusing on some hyprefixiation / assignment in school.]

I'm not a regular poster type of person but I'll try to keep mine interesting. my (super awesome cool amazing) moots post cooler shit!! <3 luv u all. mwaa !

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꒰ fandoms i'm in!! ꒱

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꒰ video/games: ꒱ fnaf, class of 09, mouthwashing, doki doki literature club, dti, silent hill, silence of the lambs, phasmaphobia, fatal frame, animal jam, minecraft, dead plate, cult of the lamb, silent hill, zelda, ears to fathom, bendy the ink machine, baldi's basics, coffee tie, DND, gacha, mortuary assistant, amanda the adventurer, granny, piggy, doors, buckshot roulette, pressure, backrooms, poppy playtime, hello neighbor, 60 seconds, that's not my neighbor, identity fraud, mm2, bad parenting, genshin impact, honkai star rail, & wuthering waves.

꒰ animes/mangas: ꒱ higurashi, tbhk, frieren spyxfamily, komi can't communicate, violet evergarden, panty & stocking, madoka magica, glitter force, onegai my melody, boogie pop, K'on, angel beats, kakeguri, toradora, tanya the evil, sleepy princess in the demon's castle, morestu irates, just because, SNAFU, horimiya, demon slayer, made in abyss, hyouka, rezero, (and so many more I'll update the list later...)

꒰ books/webtoons: ꒱ girl interrupted, silence of the lambs, tromeo & juilet, the tempest, macbeth, a mid summer night's dream, no longer human, the dead poet's society, hamlet, school bus graveyard, dear nemisis, heartstopper, unOrdinary, suıcıde boy, soulwinder, that awkward magic, star catcher, cherry crush, shelter, ramshackle, stagtown, lore olympus, homeick, funtime phobia, down to earth, the dummy's dummy, our secret alliance, your letter, crystal city killers, the d!ckheads, the half of it, 1hp club, after shcool lessons for unripe apples, warrior cats, sherlock holmes, pride & prejudice, the series of unfortunate events, the hunger games, & lord of the rings.

꒰ bands/artists: ꒱ nirvana, kirt cobain, radiohead, thom york, weezer, cranberries, hole, courtney love, smiths, sting, the police, darylh hall & john oats, the cardigans, coldplay, alice in chains, heavenly, oingo boingo, L7, alice in chains, pink floyd (ish), garbage, manic street preechers, misfits, smashing pumpkins, the alan parsons project, abba, cocteau twins, laufey, inabakumori, pinkpatheress, cavetown, the living tombstone beebadoobee, mistki, mother mother, dazey and the scouts, kikuo,

꒰ movies/series: ꒱ x files, hannibal, silence of the lambs, mission impossible, star trek, star wars, mandalorian, my little pony, shopkins, heartstopper, indiana jones, dr house, ally mcbeal, gilmore girls, the adams family, fnaf movie, hazbin hotel, helluva boss, die hard, digital circus, ailens, predators, only murders in the building, stranger things, outer banks, anne with an e, dead poets society, girl interrupted, jennifers body, trolls, gladiator, ramshackle, mean girls, clueless, all ghibli movies,

꒰ content creators: ꒱ caseoh, jynxzi (ish), game theory, koihaou, crackhead chronicles, mahum, markiplier, bendy the bundy, brandon rogers, bunnlops, dantes, cudlil, eshuga, kwite, naphia, zaypixel, polarcub, temprist, kaden fumblebottom, flamingo, nirami, aizen, koihau, minori, k.art, chewzy, jeremy fragrance, lespuls, aphmau, natalietran, katie whitney, powenvy, nodiddydog, yapdollar, epic gamer grandma, lilrebeany, 0grimlin0, smol.kio, lovesikart, ryan trout, kiidktaze, & https.lisaqqq.

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that's all!! I may update this from time to time. have a nice rest of your day/night/afternoon. take care of yourself!! ♡ ︎>ᴗ<

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[averyqueerhalloween]

Horror & Thriller Books with Queer characters: 🏳️‍🌈🎃

The Girls Are Never Gone by Sarah Glenn Marsh

Ace Of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado

Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice

The Coldest Touch by Isabel Sterling

Murder Takes The High Road by Josh Lanyon

A Dowry Of Blood by S.T Gibson

The Taking Of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo

Catherine House by Elizabeth Thomas

Manhunt by Gretchen Felcker-Martin

The Honeys by Ryan La Sala

A Lesson In Vengeance by Victoria Lee

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Her Body And Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

The Route Of Ice And Salt by José Luis Zárate

The Dead And The Dark by Courtney Gould

The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros

The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu

Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt

Queen Of Teeth by Hailey Piper

Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

What Moves The Dead by T. Kingfisher

The Cabin At The End Of The World by Paul Tremblay

It Came From The Closet by Various Authors

House Of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

What Moves The Dead by Ursula Vernon

These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall

Night Of The Living Queers by Various Authors

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey

They Drown Our Daughters by Katrina Monroe

Graveyard Of Lost Children by Katrina Monroe

The River Has Teeth by Erica Waters

Hell Followed With Us by Andrew White

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew White

Dead Flip by Sara Farizan

The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester by Maya Macgregor

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca

Everything The Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca

Into The Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht

White Is For Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

The Promise of Lost Things by Helena Dunbar

Prelude For Lost Things by Helena Dunbar

My Dear Henry by Kalynn Bayron

All The White Spaces by Ally Wilkes

As I Descended by Robin Talley

This Is Where We Talk Things Out by Caitlin Marceau

[rocks-in-space]

THE WIZARD SKY

1. “Night Vision,” Lucille Clifton // 2. “A Hymn to Childhood,” Li-Young Lee // 3. "The Beyond,” Georgia O’Keeffe // 4. "The Weight of the Empire", Josie Stewart // 5. "Fire,” Barns Courtney // 6. The Wizard, the Witch, and the Wild One, episode 17, Aabria Iyengar // 7. “Birds of a Feather,” Tamiko Beyer // 8. Detail of "Summer Days," Georgia O'Keefe// 9. "I Put the Coffin Out to Sea,” Lisa Marie Basile // 10. The Plague, Albert Camus // 11. "Long Life," Mary Oliver // 12. The Wizard, the Witch, and the Wild One, episode 23, Aabria Iyengar //13. "Half-light," Frank Bidart.

The Wizard, the Witch, and the Wild One web weaves:

Eursulon Suvi Ame True Friends

[Image IDs:

Image 1: Text reading, "the girl fits her body in/ to the space between the bed/ and the wall. she is a stalk,/ exhausted. she will do some/ thing with this. she will/ surround these bones with flesh,/ she will cultivate night vision./ she will train her tongue/ to lie still in her mouth and listen./ the girl slips into sleep./ her dream is red and raging./ she will remember/ to build something human with it."

Image 2: Text reading, "Childhood? Which childhood?/ The one that didn't last?/ The one in which you learned to be afraid ...?"

Image 3: A semi-abstract paining of a horizon line. The bottom half is black, and the top half has stripes of various thicknesses and shades of blue.

Image 4: Text reading, "The Weight of the Empire/ A glass is broken across our backs./ The shards take hold and we wince./ We hoist the world upon our shoulders./ It drives the shards in deep, like tacks."

Image 5: Text reading, "Sold my soul to the calling/ Sold my soul to a sweet melody/ Now I'm gone, now I'm gone, now I'm gone/ Oh gimme that fire."

Image 6: Text reading, "The version of the sky that Suvi will claim for her own is a sky that she saw when she was six years old. The dead of night, stars visible, snow gently falling as her world got blown apart. And she remembers the explosions of magic. She’s never seen anything that big, and she thought it would destroy everything. Not just her, but the world itself. And yet the sky looked down and held it all and watched it all and persisted. That is the sky that she claims, and without any hesitation, clear of purpose… I am the Wizard Sky."

Image 7: Text reading, "All day, I watched the flowers turn their new faces to the old sun. That’s devotion. Or maybe instinct. Have we learned the difference?"

Image 8: A painting of blue sky with puffy white clouds over orange sand dunes.

Image 9: Text reading, "I am blood and blood and replay. I am please don’t go./ I am toss the windows open, but I am windows closed./ Nothing comes in, no one gets out. Arrange the flowers./ Arrange the guests. Stand up and watch them stoop."

Image 10: Text reading, "I was with them and yet I was alone."

Image 11: Text reading, "...how I still, sometimes, crave understanding."

Image 12: Text reading, "This is a wizard of the Citadel, and she is coming, with all the strength of her home behind her, and she looks out and forward, and any bit of snow that touches her clothing, or her face, or her hair melts away immediately. I will not be touched by this world, or any other, without my permission again."

Image 13: Text reading, “1. Man is a MORAL animal./ 2. You can get human beings to do anything — IF you convince them it is moral./ 3. You can convince human beings anything is moral.”

end ID.]

[sage-lights]

smoshblr tag game 💗💫🫂

tagged by: @babychosen

rules: copy and paste the questions below into a text post and write in your answers, then tag as many people as you want!

1. how long have you been watching smosh? about 9 years, but i did take a 2 year break from 2021 to 2023 where i didn't watch smosh at all (just wasn't interested in that era)

2. favourite smosh cast member(s)? i have what i call my "core six," which is amanda, angela, shayne, courtney, chanse, and arasha 🫶

3. favourite pairing? amanda + angela (*gasp!*) (what a shocker!)

4. favourite recurring character? ooooo, i've got a couple! aunt carolyn and the chosen are so damn good. but my all time fav will always be my boyfriend, dominic!

5. favourite smosh video? right now, it's got to be the last video in the baf legacy series with criss darren, brenda "final girl" poppy, mr grub, the chosen, and regina o'brien 🤗

6. first video that got you into smosh? don't remember which one really got me hooked, but i know the first one i ever watched was the boogie-boarding video from the first ever smosh summer games

7. favourite picture of the cast? forever in love with this shoot. have i mentioned that i wrote an entire paper on the costuming alone? (yes, and i won't shut up about it)

8. favourite picture of your fav? her face card is lethal 😭 and this photoshoot is so elite, she looks INCREDIBLE here!!! (i've posted these pics here sooooo many times i'm obsessed with them)

9. what smosh series do you want to see more of? praying for the return of "let's do this" fr 😔

10. dream guest on smosh mouth? oh my god, i don't know! i mean, angela. that was already a dream and that happened A LOT and now i don't want her on. now it's too much. (jk my real answer is matpat. they HAVE TO make it happen!)

i'm tagging: @unknownteapot, @mynephewmarriedajaguar, @smoshimonsters, @vangoghschair, and @poppyfamily 💌

[queen-of-writing-bad-things]

Henry Danger Reader Insert | Captain Man x Reader: SEASON 1

Episode 26: Jasper's Real Girlfriend

~Swellview Junior High~

It was another typical day at Henry's school. Sydney Birnbaum, Oliver Pook, Jasper and two other of the school's...more unusual boys were complaining about their girlfriends. Sydney was moaning and groaning about his was always annoyed at how he responded to texts late, which seemed petty, but everything was petty in high school. The other boys agreed, thinking that their girlfriends did nothing but give them a hard time, apart from Jasper who for once, was in a relationship. Not that anyone believed him.

"Well, my girlfriend is awesome." He told his friends, who just stared at him, believing that he was just trying to make himself look cool. 

"What?" he asked after they fell silent.

"You ain't got no woman," Oliver said, making the other boys laugh at Jasper. Henry and Jasper watched the sad scene, feeling sorry for their friend. It wasn't his fault that he so rarely had a girlfriend that when he did have someone special, it seemed hilariously untrue. 

"I do too, she just lives outta town." He told them, but they just scoffed.

"Psh. Yeah, right." Sydney laughed, and the other boys followed suit. 

"Oh, sure, just exit laughing!" He called after them, as they moved on to their next class. Jerks. 

"Hey."

"How you doing, Jasp?" Henry and Charlotte walked up to the downcast boy, hoping they could raise his spirits.

"I'm doing mad. Can you believe those guys think I'm lying about having a girlfriend?" He asked his friends, but honestly, they thought he was fibbing too.

"Yeahhhh." They answered together, trying not to upset him further.

"Wh--You guys don't believe me either?" He asked them with a betrayed look on his face.

"Well, we believe..." Henry started, not knowing how to phrase it.

"...That you're lying." Charlotte finished for him, preferring to just say what they meant without pussyfooting around.

"Yeah." Henry agreed, much to Jasper's annoyance.

"But I've been telling you guys about Courtney ever since I got back from summer camp." He told them and they sighed at how worked up he was getting.

"Jasper, you don't have to make things up to impress us." Charlotte comforted him, but Jasper felt like he didn't need to be comforted. He was telling the complete and honest truth!

"I'd never make up a lie just to impress you guys." He said, hating how they saw him as a pathetic, lying loser.

"Really? Third grade. You. pulled a bag of dirt out of your pocket and told me it came from Jupiter." Henry recalled his younger self who thought that the dirt was some mystical space dust.

"I thought it did. Back then I didn't know you can't trust guys in vans who sell space dirt." Jasper stressed. He was too little at the time to realise that dirt can't come from a planet that's made from gas and nothing else.

"Dude, you'll get a girlfriend someday," Henry told his best friend, whose head rolled in frustration.

"But if not, you can get a pet." Charlotte smiled, trying to encourage Jasper that in theory, he'd never be lonely, just a bit weird.

"You can get a rabbit for, like, 20 bucks," Henry informed them, to which Charlotte nodded enthusiastically. 

"I don't need a rabbit! I got a girl and her name is Courtney, whether you believe it or not." Jasper emphasised his words, but his message still didn't get through.

"And what's Courtney's last name?" Henry asked, thinking that Jasper would look all shifty and nervous as he came up with an answer.

"Sham." The curly-haired boy replied, making his friends giggle. It was an unfortunate coincidence for him that his girlfriend's last name suggested that she was fake.

"And what city is she from?" Charlotte asked too.

"Fibberton." He answered, making Henry and Charlotte sigh and roll their eyes. With a name like that and being from a place called 'Fibberton', it's no wonder they wouldn't believe him.

"All right, why don't you invite Courtney Sham from Fibberton here to Swellview so we can all meet her," Henry suggested, thinking that you can't meet someone if they don't exist.

"Yeah. Tell her she can stay at my house." Charlotte told him, not realising that she'd be rueing her words in a couple of days.

"Maybe I will." Jasper snapped, wanting to prove them wrong.

"Bye!" He said to them, leaving them to think about how angry he was. Could he be telling the truth?

~The Man Cave, later that day~

It had been slightly tense in the Man Cave for the past couple of weeks. The whole Ray lying about Henry turning evil hadn't gone down well with (y/n) and she had felt a little awkward around him since it seemed like he didn't trust her. Still, they were working through their grievances and like always, any tear in their complex relationship had slowly healed up.

Everything was back to normal, well, whatever normal was in the Man Cave. Currently, Henry and Ray were trying to outmatch each other in a ping-pong tournament. (y/n) watched from the steps behind them, intrigued at how Ray's shirt allowed her to see every movement of muscles beneath the material, but she couldn't give a fig about the dumb competition.

"Here it comes!" Henry told his boss as they beat the small, white ball back and forth across the table.

"Bring it, son. Ha, you got nothing." Ray taunted him, trying to show off in front of his best friend so he could hear her adoring praises. After feeling like he was treading on eggshells around her for the past two weeks, he was eager to be in her good books again.

"What do you call this?" Henry asked as he swung his paddle with all his strength.

"Lame!" Ray jumped up to return the ball with equal force, not hearing the small gasp fall from (y/n)'s lips as she saw a small portion of his back be exposed as he lept in the air.

"Hey, guys, Harrison Ford just crash-landed his aeroplane in the Jandy River!" Schwoz yelled as he held his hand over the phone's speaker. 

"Again?" Henry frowned, too invested in his ping gong game to care if the celeb had ditched his place in the river.

"Isn't this, like, his third plane crash?" Ray added, focusing on the game too. All (y/n) could focus on was the way his biceps looked like tree trunks from how he'd been working out recently.

Ray saw an opening and exploited it, beating Henry as the ball went out of bounds. The boy groaned, frustrated that he had been beaten after putting so much effort in.

"21 to 19! I win again!" Ray smiled and threw down his paddle in celebration as (y/n) squealed and ran over to him, planting a kiss on his cheek to congratulate him.

"Dang it, dang it! Frigid diphthong kumquat dang, dang it!" Henry yelled as Ray embrace his best friend, ignoring how his ears were burning from her lips on his skin.

"Good game." The boy calmly shook hands with his opponent after the man had released (y/n) from his arms.

"Thanks." Ray accepted the praise, feeling pretty special at how everyone was complimenting him.

"Now...let's blow a bubble and get Harrison Ford out of trouble." He instructed the boy, not wanting to leave the man in the freezing waters. Schwoz looked at them as he stayed on the phone, waiting to see if there'd be any updates.

"Can't we just send Chewbacca to fish him out?" (y/n) joked, not wanting him to go even though she'd never keep him from his job. 

"No, silly girl!" Ray laughed, giving her one last hug before he went. For once, he didn't want to go either, but he had no choice, Swellview needed him and he had to go. He'd returned to her, always.

"Let's go." He said to Henry, having missed the knowing look the kid had shared with Schwoz.

They ran over to the tubes and slapped their belts so they would come down. Only, as Henry's came down in was covered in some kind of gross, gooey gunge stuff.

"What the..." (y/n) breathed out as she gagged at how filthy the tube was. She had several questions, namely who had done and why hadn't they cleaned it up.

"What is all over your tube?" Ray looked at the filth, feeling a bit squeamish at the sight of it. They raised their tubes as (y/n) walked over to them, demanding an answer. She was scary when it came to someone leaving a big mess in the Man Cave, particularly when they didn't clean up after themselves.

"Okay." Henry sighed when she looked at the boy with raised eyebrows. She couldn't think of when Ray could have done it since they had been together since the last time that tube had been used, leaving only Henry and Schwoz as possible suspects. The little man was on the phone looked extremely panicked as Henry started his confession, hinting that he'd had something to do with it.

"Yesterday, Schwoz told me to go up the tube with a hot nacho platter and the suckage made the cheese and refried beans go everywhere," Henry explained guilty, his strong moral conscience not allowing him to lie to his friends. 

"Schwoz?" Ray scolded his employee when (y/n) looked at him to tell the little man off since he was his boss.

"My sister is in town and she wanted a taste of Mexico." He whined, but (y/n) wasn't happy, not in the slightest.

"Well, both of you are gonna clean that damn tube." She told the with a stern voice. She wanted to get it done herself, but she wasn't going to fall into the habit of cleaning up all the messes they couldn't be bothered to do themselves.

"Oh, come on." Schwoz frowned like a child.

"The tube is, like 100 feet tall," Henry added, looking to Ray for help but he wouldn't find any. The man didn't want her cleaning the nacho goop either, she was his helper, she helped him, not them.

"Well, you should've thought of that before you tried to fly up it with a hot sloppy snack," Ray told them firmly, but Schwoz received more info from the person on the phone, so his attention was quickly taken away.

"Wait, wait, what? Okay, Harrison Ford's aeroplane just sank." He told the superheroes who sighed. More work.

"You guys should go save him." (y/n) told them, but they looked a bit hesitant.

"We will...after one more quick game?" Henry looked at his boss as the young woman blanched at his words.

"We can't ju--my serve." Ray threw his sense of duty out of the window as he and Henry ran to pick up their paddles again. The same tapping of the ball against the table filled the room again as they resumed play, Schwoz and (y/n) gobsmacked at them.

"Oi, assholes. Harrison Ford, danger, go!" (y/n) pointed to the tubes. They could take one tube or if necessary, they could use the elevator and sneak out of the store. Either way, they had to go help the city.

"Yeah, yeah, in a bit, sweetheart," Ray mumbled back, his mind too focused on the game to realise what he had called her so casually or how she stopped breathing as she practically had an out-of-body experience. Sweetheart? Yes, please. 

~Swellview Junior High, the next day~

Henry stood by his locker as Charlotte wandered through the halls, looking for her friend.

"Hey. How can come Jasper wasn't in class last period?" She asked the blond boy, curious as to why her other friend had been absent.

"I don't know. He asked Miss Shapen if he could skip class, and she said, "Yeah, sure, just leave me like every man does."" Henry quoted, but his attention was redirected as Jasper and a very pretty girl with a suitcase came through the school's entrance.

"Wow. Cool school." The girl said as Jasper showed her around.

"Thanks. Oh, Charlotte, Henry. I didn't expect to see you two here." The curly-haired boy gloated at his friends, ready to rub the fact he wasn't lying in their faces.

"Why? We go to school here every day." Charlotte frowned at him.

"And this is where our lockers are," Henry added, but Jasper swiftly moved on.

"Ha, ha, too true. Too true." Jasper stretched his arm around the girl next to him, making his friends frown at the gesture.

"So, I'd like you to meet my girl, Courtney." He introduced his girlfriend, who smiled brightly.

"Hi. It's so great to meet you guys. Jasper's told me so much about you." She greeted them politely, giggling at how their mouths dropped.

"Oka, did he find you at a bus stop?" Charlotte asked, feeling flabbergasted.

"And did he pay you 50 cents to come here and pretend to be his girlfriend?" Henry added, offending his best friend with the low price.

"50 cents? Look at her." Jasper gestured to Courtney, who just grinned and blushed.

"He's your boyfriend?" Charlotte asked her, still in disbelief.

"Well, I sure hope so. I just rode a bus 300 miles from Fibberton to see him." The pretty girl sighed dreamily, as Jasper smirked with pride.

"I paid 20% of her bus ticket." He bragged.

"How come this is the first time she's been to Swellview?" Henry asked the boy.

"'Cause, I don't have a guest room in my house. So when Charlotte said she could stay at her place, I invited her to come here." Jasper revealed as Charlotte's eyes bugged out at his words. Yep, she regretted saying that.

"But, I didn't know she was real." She stammered.

"Well, she is. Wanna feel her face?" The boy asked, putting his hands on his girlfriend's elbows and pushing her towards Charlotte a bit, but neither girl wanted to do the suggestion.

"I guess I'll call my mom and let her know you're coming over." Charlotte smiled at the other girl, who was about to be her roommate for the night couple of nights.

"Great."

"Super." The couple giggled together as Charlotte went to call her mom.

"Hey, wait here. I'mma go get the guys and bring them here to show them that you really exist!" Jasper squealed excitedly, running off early so he could prove Oliver and Sydney wrong.

"Wow, you seem awesome. Jasper's a lucky guy." Henry smiled at Courtney, trying to break the ice.

"Thanks. He says really nice things about you and Charlotte." The girl smiled back.

"Well, Jasper's been my best friend for a long time and he loves Charlotte." He told her, but his words seemed to upset Courtney.

"Yeah, what do you mean?" She asked with a scowl now etched onto her pretty features.

"Huh?" Henry couldn't think of what he had said wrong.

"You said Jasper loves Charlotte." She reiterated, a sting of raging jealously going through her heart.

"Yeah, you know, they like...oh, no, no, no, wait, wait. I didn't mean like he loves her." Henry panicked as Courtney went into a meltdown.

"Are there any other girls around here that Jasper is in love with?" she screeched, freaking out at the thought of Jasper with another girl.

"No, no, no. Just Charlotte." Henry tried to correct himself, but it just made things worse.

"Oh great, so he is in love with her." Courtney growled, a deep hatred for Charlotte taking root in her mind.

" No, they just, they're just really close and it's like--" The boy stuttered, but the teen girl was too lost in her jealousy.

" Oh my god! " She shouted as Charlotte returned, not knowing about the shit show she just walked 

"Hi. So, I talked to my mom and she said it's no problem." She smiled, but it quickly fell when all Courtney did was scowl at her. The dark-haired girl looked at Henry for help, but he just held his hands to his face, thinking about how he'd really screwed everything. Well, tonight was going to be a blast.

~The next day, at Junk-N-Stuff~

Ray and Henry were continuing their ping pong tournament and it was just as heated as it had been before.

"You're going down! " Henry growled as an enthralled (y/n) watched their every movement. Ray was wearing another tight T-shirt and she couldn't take her eyes off of him.

"I'm coming up."Ray quipped, as he tried to keep his focus on the game and not on his beautiful cheerleader.

"Here it comes !" Henry yelled as he basked the ball with his ping pong paddle.

"It's coming back! " Ray was desperate to win, after all, he had someone to impress.

"I'm the king of Ping. "Henry commented, as their banter went back and forth with the ball.

"I'm the master of pong! " Ray replied as the elevator doors opened and Schwoz came out with a trumpet. He blew it loudly, resulting in Henry and (y/n) jumping out of their skins. Ray, on the other hand, had planned the attack so he could scare Henry into losing. He laughed and smirked in victory when the ball hit the floor as his friends, clutched their hearts in fear.

"And I win again!" He bragged to her, who frowned at how his boss had cheated.

"No!" Henry cried, annoyed at how he'd lost to that sucker again.

"Yes!" Ray smiled, but it fell when (y|n) punched him on the arm.

"Asshole! You scared me half to death!" She glared at both him and Schwoz. He gave her an apologetic look, not wanting to ruin his victory by losing his girl's support.

"And that means I win the ping pong championship belt." Ray gloated and held up what looked like a WWE belt, only it had a load of ping pong balls stuck to it. Henry whimpered as (y/n) begrudgingly helped him put in on.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo! " Ray chanted as he paraded around the Man cave, but Henry wasn't going to let the hollow victory slide. 

"Schwoz distracted me... And scared (y/n)!" The boy pointed out, making Ray turn around and look at the kid and his best friend.

"Hey. (Y/n)'s fine. And ping pong's about three things, paddles, staying focused, and small plastic balls." Ray told his sidekick.

"Oh yeah, mid-afternoon cardio is my favourite thing." The young woman looked at her best friend sarcastically, so he put an arm around her shoulder and showed her his new belt.

"Why'd you walk in here and blow that thing?" Henry asked Schwoz, who tried to look innocent.

"I found it in a dumpster." He told the kid, causing his friends to grimace as a tube came down, and much to (y/n) 's annoyance, it was still covered in nacho cheese.

"Why haven't you two cleaned that damn tube yet?!" She yelled, looking at the pipe in disgust. Poor Charlotte had to travel through the gunk which had now started to crust over and smelt really, really bad.

"Hello." "Hey, Char." Henry and Schwoz greeted the miserable girl. She'd had a terrible night with Courtney and she was certain that the girl was trying to kill her. The others looked at her in confusion as she moodily plodded past them.

"Charlotte, sweetie, are you all right?" (y/n) asked the teen carefully when she noticed how out of it she was.

"No, thanks. I just ate a taco," she replied, not even listening to what she had been asked. She wandered over to the supercomputer and sat down, completely ignoring her friend's concern.

"What's up with her?" Henry said to the adults, but they couldn't give an answer. This was completely unlike the girl's normal behaviour.

"Worry about her later. Right now, you and Schwoz are gonna clean that tube." Ray scolded Henry and Schwoz, sharing his best friend's anger at how his equipment was still disgustingly dirty.

"Or...I challenge you."Henry suggested, making (y/n) groan in frustration. At this rate, she'd be the one cleaning it just so she didn't go insane.

"To what? "Ray asked, always up for some competition to prove he was the best.

"To another game of Ping pong." The boy answered, piquing Ray's interest. (Y/n) sorely didn't want them to battle it out just to decide who would clean the stupid tube.

"If l lose, me and Schwoz clean the tube. If you lose, you and (y/n) have to clean it." The boy set down the rules. 

"While wearing ducky pyjamas." Ray upped the ante, confident that he and the young woman next to him would be fine.

"Why am I getting dragged into this? This is your testosterone freak fest." she groaned, not wanting to bet on something so stupid.

'It's a bet." Henry shook Ray's hand in agreement, sealing the deal. Schwoz and (y/n) groaned as they were sworn in too, despite their protests.

Charlotte was too busy scrolling through Courtney's Twitflash to realise that any bet had been made. She wanted to find out more about this girl since she had done nothing but try to assassinate her during the night by using her ceiling fan as a weapon.

"Hey, Char." Henry approached her, wondering what she was doing that was so important it meant that she hadn't spoken one word to him since she'd arrived.

"Charlotte." He reiterated when she failed to answer. He tapped her on the shoulder gently, causing her to turn around angrily.

"WHAT?! What's what, what?!" She snapped, scaring Henry a little.

"Why are you looking at pics of Jasper's girlfriend?" He asked, recognising the girl on the monitor.

"Because she's trying to kill me." She revealed, sounding insane to Henry.

"What?"

"Last night. I think she loosened some bolts in my ceiling fan. Because it fell and almost took my head off." She told her friend her theory, but Henry just looked at her like she'd gone crazy. 

"Why would Courtney want to hurt you?" The boy sighed.

"I don't know. But she's acting all jealous, why would she be jealous of me? " Charlotte mentioned, making everything fall into place for him. Oh, shit.

"Uh..." Henry struggled to say anything, which made the other teen highly suspicious.

"What do you mean...uh?" She asked.

"Y'see, at school, I might have kind of made Courtney think that Jasper kind of...loves you." He told her, freaking the girl out.

"Well, why would you say that?" Charlotte snapped at him, thinking about how he'd really screwed her over.

"Because he does love you. As a friend. But she didn't get that." He sighed. What a mess.

"Yeah, all she got was a reason to kill me." The girl stressed.

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Henry asked, ready to sort out the mess he had made.

"Help me tell Jasper that his girlfriend is a crazy, jealous lunatic." Charlotte proposed, but the boy wasn't sure.

"He'll never believe us." He replied so the two teens thought about their predicament for a moment.

"Okay, then we're gonna tell him, and we're gonna show him." She smirked, her devious plan forming in her head.

"How?"

"You and Jasper are going to hide in my room tonight, and he'll see for himself now coo-coo his girlfriend is." The dark-haired girl explained.

"Ah, I don't know." Henry hesitated. Did he really want to take away the first girlfriend Jasper had had in ages?

"Please?" Charlotte begged him, knowing she'd need his help to pull this off.

"Do you still keep that dish of gummy bears by your closet door?" Henry wanted there to be something in it for him.

"Yeah," she groaned; she'd have to buy another packet after Henry had visited.

"Okay, I'll do it "Henry agreed, the temptation of gummy bears being too much for him to resist. Their plotting was halted as (y/n) came down the stairs from the sprocket. She had grown tired of watching Ray stroke and coo at his belt, so she had strolled from his bedroom to the living area.

"Hey, guys." She smiled at the kids, wondering what they were talking about in the middle of the room.

"Hey, Ray starting to annoy ya?" Henry asked, knowing now Ray was loving flaunting his ping pong belt.

"Oh my god, yes. He keeps kissing the damn thing." She groaned, making the kids laugh.

"What? You want him to kiss you instead?" Charlotte smirked and the woman blushed, frantically looking to see if Ray had followed and heard them. God, she'd be mortified.

"Hey! I don't want to kiss him!" (y/n) screeched quickly, but the kids knew her far too well to believe her.

"Yeah, sure!" Henry giggled at her red face, knowing that some of the things she had thought about Ray were downright sinful.

"What were you guys even talking about?" the young woman asked, trying to steer the conversation away from her yearning.

"Me and Henry are gonna show Jasper how much of a psycho his girlfriend is. Charlotte explained and the older girl raised an eyebrow at her words.

"The bucket kid has a girlfriend?" She asked in an amused voice.

"Yeah, and she's totally insane, she tried to kill me last night 'cause she thinks Jasper's in love with me," Charlotte told her, shocking (y/n) to her core. Kids weren't this crazy when she was younger.

"Jesus. She does sound crazy. Are you sure you'll be okay?" She looked at the teens. If anything happened to them because some silly teenage girl got too jealous for her own good, she'd be heartbroken.

"Actually, we could use an adult on our side to back us up," Henry mentioned, knowing he'd feel a lot safer if he had a calm, rational adult, like (y/n), with them.

"Yeah, could you come to my house tonight and hide with Jasper and Henry?" Charlotte asked her, but the woman wasn't sure. She didn't make a habit of staking out children's bedrooms.

"You won't have to listen to Ray and watch his belt-kissing." Henry pointed out.

"Done." She agreed. At least it would get her out of the Man Cave for the night, after all, adventure is good for the soul.

~ Later that night, Charlotte's house~

Charlotte and Courtney had gone to bed like everything was normal, only it wasn't since she was sleeping with a baseball bat and Henry and (y/n) were hiding in her closet. Pecking out from behind the door, the two could see Charlotte pretending to be asleep as Jasper opened the trunk at the bottom of her bed and looked around. They all gave each other a thumbs up signalling that they were all in position for whatever Courtney would do.

Henry went to flick the light on, but the psycho teen moved and mumbled in her sleep, causing him to back off. The girl got out of bed, which made Charlotte shoot up too.

"Hi, how are you? Why did you get out of bed?" She asked quickly, thinking that Courtney was about to murder her or something.

"Oh, I just need to use the bathroom." She said, getting up and walking over to the ensuite.

"Wait." Charlotte stopped her and got out of bed too.

"Yeah?" the other girl smiled.

"Listen. I know Henry told you that Jasper loves me." Charlotte started as (y/n) carefully opened the closet door so she and Henry could listen.

"Oh, well, yeah. He did." Courtney said carefully. Seeing his chance, Henry started shoving as many gummy bears in his mouth as possible.

"Right. But I want you to understand he meant just as friends." Charlotte told her, running over to her gummy bear bowl so Henry would stop eating them.

"I promise I'm not trying to take Jasper away from you or anything like that," she added, jumping on her trunk so Jasper would stop opening it.

"Oh. Well, thanks. I really appreciate you telling me." Courtney smiled, but it had a sinister element to it. The girl opened the bathroom door and walked inside, but the weird thing was that she took her suitcase with her.

Finally, alone, the guys in the trunk and closet came out of their hiding places.

"See? She's not insane. You both owe me an apology." Jasper told his friends sternly as Henry and (y/n) ate some gummy bears.

"No, she may be acting nice now, but I'm telling you she needs help. That's why (y/n) is here." Charlotte insisted. 

"I think she seems pretty nice," Henry said, his voice garbled from all the gummy bears he had eaten.

"Yeah, I've met a lot of bitches in my life and she's not one of them." (y/n) added, popping another piece of squishy candy into her mouth.

"Then explain the ceiling fan almost falling on here," Charlotte said, pointing to where the fan had previously hung.

"Aah!!!" No one had any time to respond as Courtney burst out of the bathroom, wearing a Vikings helmet and carrying a chainsaw crusher thing.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY MAN!!!" She screamed, firing up her weapon as (y/n) pushed Henry further into the closet. They all cried in pure terror as Courtney tried to attack them.

"Holy shit! She is crazy!" The woman screamed as Henry and she ran out of the closet. They didn't want to trap themselves in there if crazy Courtney forced her way in.

Tackling her to the ground, Henry gave (y/n) the chance to keep Charlotte and Jasper away from the psychopath. The dark-haired girl grabbed her baseball bat as Courtney got back of her feet and tried to turn him into mincemeat. They ran over Charlotte's bed and dodged her lethal machine. They threw pillows, lotions, deodorants, anything that would keep her back, but it seemed like her rage was endless.

"Get the silver pillow cushion seat thing!" (y/n) instructed Henry. This wasn't now she had expected the night to go. She could've been at home with pay right now, but, noo000. She had volunteered to go up against Fibberton's biggest nutter.

Following the woman's instructions, Henry picked up the shiny cushion and when Courtney charged at him, he used it to push her back, forcing her through the window.

"I'll get you for that! I'll get you!" She screamed from outside, demonstrating that she really was insane.

"Okay, maybe she needs help," Jasper admitted as the only adult in the room called the cops. Henry and Charlotte rolled their eyes and blew out their cheeks. That was a massive understatement; Courtney needed serious, psychiatric care, stat.

~The next day, in the Man Cave~

Another stupid ping pong competition. Henry needed a stress reliever after the whole Courtney-near-death experience. He really didn't want to clean that damn tube and finally beating Ray sounded pretty good in his mind. The smug man was even wearing the ping pong belt to assert his previous victory.

The males were pulling out every trick they had, from spins to under the leg shots, they were sparing no expense. (y/n) was watching like always, her support going to Ray since if he lost it meant she was cleaning the foul-smelling tube and she loved watching him move. She felt like a teenager again; obsessing over a football player on the field, silently giving him her love. 

Eventually, they hit it so hard that the ball became a white blur in the air, not even touching the table. They shouted from the effort it took it to keep the ball in the air, but Ray was ultimately victorious, using his superior strength to hit the ball into Henry's eye.

"Whoo!" Ray smirked, tossing his paddle in his hand as (y/n) ran over to him and jumped on him in elation. He laughed with her as they span around, ecstatic to have won the bet. He buried his nose into her hair as her smile warmed his heart. He had won for her.

"Ha, ha, yeah. That's 17 to 20. One more point and I win." Ray said, his hand resting on (y/n)'s hip, which at this point, was where it belonged.

"I know how ping pong scoring works." Henry hissed, not happy at how badly he was losing.

"Your serve," Ray told him, letting the kid go first.

"Wait, wait, wait." (y/n) interrupted an idea coming into her mind.

"What?" Henry and Ray asked, confused as to why she was stopping the play.

"Can I play this round? I mean, we are a team, right?" She asked Ray, who looked at her in disbelief. She wanted to play?

"What? But you never play ping pong, even with me." He said to her as Henry shrugged. He didn't care who he played, to be honest.

"Yeah, and now I want to play since I'm cleaning the tube too. So give me the paddle." She gave him a pointed look and he regretfully gave her the ping pong bat. Looks like he'd be the one watching from the sidelines. Slipping off her zip-up hoodie, (y/n) stretched her arms and hips a little bit, Ray blushing as her black tank top stretched over her...features. Now, he'd be in her position, dreaming sinfully about the way her flesh jiggled and bounced as she dived for the ball.

"Your serve, Henry." She reiterated what Ray had said to the boy, getting her gaming head on. All her skill from her years of playing ping pong in college was ready and waiting to be used. However, Henry just stood there and bounced the ball in a bored manner. What was his plan?

"Are you stalling?" Ray asked the boy who just looked around the Man Cave, ignoring how (y/n) was studied his every move. Her muscles were poised and tensed for action and she was expecting a surprise move any minute now.

"No. It's just Schwoz is supposed to be here and he's late, so..." Henry excused, trying to prolong the wait.

"Kid, it's game point. Just serve." (y/n) told him, eager to get cracking.

"Lose, and get to scrubbing the filthy tube," Ray added, also desperate for the match to start so he could see his girl kick his ass. But, they were interrupted by Schwoz as he came into the room with a large, weird-looking man.

"Hey guys, Ray, this is Larry." He introduced the guy, as Ray stood up angrily. 

"What are you crazy?" He looked at the genius with wide eyes.

"You can't just bring people down to the Man Cave." (y/n) said too, thinking that Schwoz should've known the rules by now since he had worked with Ray for longer than she had.

"Larry is family, you said I could bring anyone in my family down here except for my sister." Schwoz reminded him.

"Who looks like a horse," (y/n) giggled, making the little man roll his eyes. 

"Oh, all right. But (y/n)'s just about to beat Henry at ping pong so if you guys—" The superhero was cut off as Henry smiled at Larry.

"Just a sec. Larry, right there." Henry instructed the man, who walked over to the tube and took his shirt off, which he then threw to Schwoz.

"Uh, I'm flattered but he's not my type?" (y/n) joked, wondering what the hell they were doing. Larry definitely wasn't her type, namely because he wasn't a brown-haired, ripped superhero with a goofy personality.

"You said that ping pong is all about staying focused," Henry said to Ray, who recalled what he had said the day before.

"Yeah, but what's the—" Ray didn't have the chance to finished his sentence as Henry used his remote control to play some music. Larry started dancing and it was pretty funny, to say the least. 'So that's their play, huh.' (y/n) thought to herself, knowing that it would take more than a boogieing weirdo to break her focus.

"Just hit the damn ball." She said to Henry, who at last served the ball. She returned it easily, and they fell into a tense battle. Larry danced his heart out, but it distracted Ray more than it distracted her. She really should've told him to be quiet, because his cute laughter caused her to miss the ball. Twice. 

"Raymond, will you stop laughing?" She hissed at him as he giggled at the man's dancing. Henry and Schwoz knew that Ray wouldn't have been able to ignore a fat guy dancing and they knew that (y/n) wouldn't have been blue to ignore him being adorable. It was a very sneaky plan. 

"Aha! 19-20!" Henry and Schwoz celebrated, as (y/n) gulped. It was all to play, for now, no room for error. Larry grabbed a lime-green bikini top to up the ante, making Ray chuckle again. He even had a skipping rope to add to the laugh factor, which took (y/n)'s anxiety to the next level. Things were getting tense, Henry only needed a couple more points to win.

"Seriously, please stop laughing or I will kill you." She made Ray look her in the eye, her glowing skin stealing his breath away. He nodded dumbly, her radiant beauty making his tongue useless. 

"Okay, let's do this thing." She nodded at Henry, desperate to win the competition, not because she'd have to scrub the tube if she didn't, (she didn't care about that), she just wanted to make him proud.

After another intense round, with Henry scoring yet another two points, making to score 21- 20, everyone was on edge. Larry had a siren on his head and a space hopper in an attempt to make Ray laugh, but the man was biting down on his thumb to keep in his giggles. He chose to focus on her hips instead, loving the way her feminine curves moved and bounced as she dived for the ball.

"Henry, one more point and we won't have to wear the pyjamas," Schwoz told the boy excitedly. Larry decided to move on to the next stage of his plan, so he brought out a King Charles cavalier spaniel and started to eat spaghetti and meatballs with it, like in Lady and the Tramp. Okay, this was getting ridiculous.

"Okay, okay, that's it, I'll clean the damn tube. Stop feeding the dog." She snapped, slamming her paddle on the table. It was just easier for her to get on with it, rather than carry on this bloody charade.

"You forfeit?" Henry gasped at her, not believing that she'd give up so easily. Didn't she want to flaunt her assets at Ray anymore?

"(y/n/n), we're so close," Ray whined, as she walked past him so she could change into the stupid duck pyjamas.

"I know, but I can smell that thing from here and this is just...dumb! I'll clean it, you play the game. Loser cleans with me." She sighed, failure stung like a bitch.

She left them to finish the game, quickly returning when she had put on her PJ's. In all honesty, she often cleaned in pyjamas since she always got in a cleaning groove late at night when Captain Man was out fighting criminals. And they were pretty cute in her opinion, so she didn't mind too much. 

She walked down from the sprocket only to see Henry dancing around the room with Ray's belt. Oh shit, they won. Ray looked dumbfounded that he'd lost to a kid. Now he had to spend his night chiselling cheese off the tube.

"Let me guess? The dog got to you?" She gave Ray a sympathetic smile and he groaned in sadness. He hated losing, but at least he wouldn't have to scrub the tube alone. She patted his arm and he shuffled off to put his red duck pyjamas on. Schwoz, Larry and Henry laughed at his disappointed face, but little did they know that their victory came with a bonus for Ray...

~15 minutes later~ 

"You're doing great. Keep scrubbing that tube, guys!" Henry called to the friends who were now both in the tube. Whilst the three winners got to munch on Chinese takeout, Ray and (y/n) had to chip the hardened cheese off of the strong glass. It sounded like a pretty crappy job, but it did come with a small perk.

The confined space in the pipe meant they were pressed up against each other, and boy, were they secretly loving it. He felt like a giant behind her, his muscly arms wrapping around her so he could wipe the wall. Not to mention the fact that the thin pyjamas meant that every contour of his body was pressing into her from head to toe, and I mean, every contour. She blushed as she cleaned, trying to ignore his breath on her neck, his muscles rippling against her skin, his lower half pressing into her from behind. It was an overload of sensations for her, but she didn't want it to stop.

Ray was the same. His head was spinning from how small she felt next to him. He was her protector, so why did she feel like prey? He wanted to claim her, to mark her in a way that would tell other men she was his and only his, but he daren't, even when the curve of her neck was exposed to his lips. He just basked in her presence, glad that he could just take a moment to appreciate the way she pressed into him in a sinfully delicious way. God, this was torturous, but he liked it.

"Keep it up, guys!" Schwoz yelled as they kept scrubbing, his noodles and spring rolls distracting him and the others from the steamy moment in the tube. They weren't in a hurry. They had all the time in the world to savour their love, which was growing stronger by the day, giving them the strength to keep going like always. Ray Manchester and (y/n) (y/l/n) against the world.

[warwickroyals]

warwick women + taylor swift songs 🕰️

princess anne of westminster - love story

We were both young when I first saw you I close my eyes and the flashback starts I'm standin' there On a balcony in summer air See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns See you make your way through the crowd

Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes"

ruby dewitt claypool - hoax

You know I left a part of me back in New York You knew the hero died, so what's the movie for? You knew it still hurts underneath my scars From when they pulled me apart

My only one My kingdom come undone My broken drum You have beaten my heart

lady katherine rothman - lavender haze

All they keep askin' me (all they keep askin' me) Is if I'm gonna be your bride The only kind of girl they see (only kind of girl they see) Is a one-night or a wife

I find it dizzying (yeah, oh, yeah) They're bringin' up my history (yeah, oh, yeah) But you aren't even listening (yeah, oh, yeah) (Ooh-whoa)

I feel the lavender haze creepin' up on me Surreal, I'm damned if I do give a damn what people say No deal, the 1950s shit they want from me I just wanna stay in that lavender haze

lady irene wynn - the archer

Combat, I'm ready for combat I say I don't want that, but what if I do? 'Cause cruelty wins in the movies I've got a hundred thrown-out speeches I almost said to you

Dark side, I search for your dark side But what if I'm alright, right, right, right here? And I cut off my nose just to spite my face Then I hate my reflection for years and years

princess jacqueline - blank space

So it's gonna be forever Or it's gonna go down in flames You can tell me when it's over, mm If the high was worth the pain Got a long list of ex-lovers They'll tell you I'm insane 'Cause you know I love the players And you love the game

lady tatiana fransworth - dress

All of this silence and patience, pining in anticipation My hands are shaking from holding back from you (ah, ah, ah) All of this silence and patience, pining and desperately waiting My hands are shaking from all this (ah, ha, ha, ha)

Say my name and everything just stops I don't want you like a best friend Only bought this dress so you could take it off Take it off Carve your name into my bedpost 'Cause I don't want you like a best friend Only bought this dress so you could take it off Take it off

courtney burroughs-parker - back to december

These days, I haven't been sleepin' Stayin' up playin' back myself leavin' When your birthday passed and I didn't call Then I think about summer, all the beautiful times I watched you laughin' from the passenger's side And realized I loved you in the fall

And then the cold came, the dark days When fear crept into my mind You gave me all your love and all I gave you was goodbye

jean park - the lucky one

It was a few years later, I showed up here And they still tell the legend of how you disappeared How you took the money and your dignity and got the hell out They say you bought a bunch of land somewhere Chose the Rose Garden over Madison Square And it took some time, but I understand it now

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

Queer Books July 2023

🦇 Good morning, my beloved bookish bats. I'm sorry this post is coming to you so late in the month; I planned more content than I realized! Let's rewind and look back on all the queer books released this past month. Though I'm sure a number of these covers look familiar, there are also as few that haven't received the attention they deserve!

What books are you adding to your summer reading list at the last minute?

🌈 Role Playing by Cathy Yardley 🌈 A Place for Us by Brandon J Wolf 🌈 A Thorn Among Roses by Hayley Anderton and G. L Preston 🌈 Of Love & Libraries by Brenna Bailey 🌈 A Crime of Secrets by Ann Aptaker 🌈 The Beasts of Paris by Stef Penney 🌈 Wanderlust by Elle Everhart 🌈 The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson 🌈 Go the Way Your Blood Beats by Emmett de Monterey 🌈 The Lighthouse Keeper by Liv Rancourt 🌈 Overemotional by David Fenne 🌈 Lioness by Emily Perkins 🌈 All About Romance by Daniel Tawse

🌈 Moonlight and the Monarch by Evelyn Carver 🌈 The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera 🌈 A Song of Salvation by Alechia Dow 🌈 All-Night Pharmacy by Ruth Madievsky 🌈 A Warning About Swans by R.M. Romero 🌈 Digging for Heaven by Jenna Jarvis 🌈 Marigold by Melissa Brayden 🌈 All the Yellow Suns by Malavika Kannan 🌈 On an Ebbing Seafoam Tide by Alannah Radburn 🌈 The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa 🌈 The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqqi 🌈 Play to Win by Jodie Slaughter

🌈 A Rulebook for Restless Rogues by Jess Everlee 🌈 Do Tell by Lindsay Lynch 🌈 The Sea Elephants by Shastri Akella 🌈 More to Love by Georgina Kiersten 🌈 Defiant Bodies: Making Queer Community in the Anglophone Caribbean by Nikoli A. Attai 🌈 The Ink Drinkers by Dror Bloodwood 🌈 Counting Lost Stars by Kim van Alkemade 🌈 Women of the Post by Joshunda Sanders 🌈 Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle 🌈 Sammy Espinoza’s Last Review by Tehlor Kay Mejia 🌈 The King is Dead by Benjamin Dean 🌈 Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

🌈 Buzzing by Samuel Sattin & Rye Hickman 🌈 The Third Daughter by Adrienne Tooley 🌈 Firebird by Sunmi 🌈 A Guide to the Dark by Meriam Metoui 🌈 What a Desi Girl Wants by Sabina Khan 🌈 The Pomegranate Gate by Ariel Kaplan 🌈 The Stablemaster’s Heart by Sarah Honey 🌈 The Sun and the Void by Gabriela Romero LaCruz 🌈 The Valkyrie's Shadow (The Helheim Prophecy #2) by Tiana Warner 🌈 In the Case of Heartbreak (Fern Falls #2) by Courtney Kae 🌈 The Hunt by Kelly J. Ford 🌈 Rana Joon and the One and Only Now by Shideh Etaat

[magnoliovs]

... 𝖕 𝖗 𝖔 𝖉 𝖎 𝖌 𝖆 𝖑 —

did  you  hear  ?  OLIVER MARTINEZ  is  stuck  in  stonehaven  for  the  for  the  foreseeable  future  …  they've  lived  here  for  TWELVE YEARS  and  are  known  around  town  as  THE  CHAMPION,  though  back  in  high  school  they  were  better  known  for  being  voted  MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED. 

if  i'm  not  mistaken,  they’re  a  TWENTY-THREE  year  old  senior  studying  ECONOMICS  (  i  really  hope  that  translates  well  into  their  role  as  a SCOUT  in  the  ‘new  world'  ).  according  to  my  records  they  were  originally  on  the  trip  because  his family are religious so it was business as usual for him to volunteer at weekends.  —  which  checks  out,  given  they’re  SERENDIPITOUS,  DUTIFUL  and  IRRESOLUTE. 

if  you’re  ever  trying  to  find  them,  your  best  bet  is  to  start  at  westwood sports complex  and  listen  for  someone  humming  like a prayer  by  madonna.  oh,  and  don’t  forget  to  try  calling  out  ollie  or  picturing  a portable tape player with fuzzy orange headphones, a dappling of bronze freckles, grass and blood staining white knee socks, not a hair out of place, a gold chain against sweat slicked collarbones for  extra  help.  let's  hope  the  chaos  doesn't  get  to  them  …

BIRTHDAY: 31st December SEXUALITY: Bisexual OCCUPATION: Bookkeeper @ Student Union / Bartender / Volunteer Skating Instructor HOMETOWN: Mt Pleasant, Utah HEIGHT: 6"0 FATHER: Jacob Martinez MOTHER:  Hannah Martinez SIBLINGS: Luke Martinez †, Nicole Martinez, Courtney Martinez, Austin Martinez, Zachary Martinez.

pinterest

swapping sets of clothes from your backpack in the bathroom, dappled sunlight through summer leaves, biting your tongue so hard it bleeds, top button of your shirt weighing on your windpipe, the slam of your teammates piling into you to celebrate, pressure so heavy you start to see the hairline cracks, catching glimpses of an endless kaleidoscope reflection of yourself in a mirrored elevator, someone always helping you back on your feet to keep going, insurmountable expectation the same old knife in the gut, praying to no-one because you lost your faith twelve years and two lives ago.

PARALLELS: Connor Waldron (Normal People), Jackson Marchetti (Sex Education), Neil Perry (Dead Poet's Society), Lane Kim (Gilmore Girls), Luisa Madrigal (Encanto), Fiona/Lip Gallagher (Shameless), Grizz Visser (The Society)

EASY-GOING, LAID BACK, CHILL, TALENTED, LUCKY, MAGNANIMOUS, GENTLEMANLY, COMPETITIVE, INNOVATIVE, LOQUACIOUS, CHARMING, CONSCIENTIOUS, JOCULAR, RESOURCEFUL, DISCIPLINED, BRIGHT, DEFLECTIVE, PALATABLE, SELF-CONSCIOUS, SECRETIVE, ADAPTABLE, GUARDED, RESPONSIBLE, ANXIOUS, CONFLICTED, CONTROLLING, INDEPENDENT, REPRESSED, PROTECTIVE.

[ SIBLING DEATH MENTION ]

Oliver was born the product of his father's illegitimacy not far from Salt Lake City, dumped in the side garage with the faulty lock on New Year's Day. A devastating atom bomb to the most nuclear of all families. Golden Labrador, white picket fence and one child into their 'maybe this year' run for a dozen included. Two weeks, a cryptic pregnancy tale and some hard suspicion later, Hannah 'had' Ollie and unbeknownst to him he's been paying for it ever since.

Luke was eight years older than Ollie, who the church now hailed a miracle child after so long without blessings. He was a good big brother, Oliver remembers that well, who never copied the critical manner the adults around them had toward him. A few months after graduating high school and his sister's second birthday, they got the phone call that he was gone.

Life as he knew it caved in around them, their mom didn't get out of bed for a year and a half. They moved twice before leaving Utah entirely. Ollie shouldered the burden. He showered his younger siblings every morning, made them breakfast, got them to doctor's appointments, and ran the house though they hated him for acting like a parent when he wasn’t. 

He had to learn fast that the Latter Day Saints manner freaked most people out even more so the further away from Salt Lake they drove. The Stepford Wife, Brady Bunch, Donna Reed Uncanny Valley too perfect of it all needed to be dialed way down if they were going to survive.

Nicole, Courtney, Austin and Zach were raised almost entirely by Ollie though they couldn't escape being homeschooled. Nicole is fifteen at the oldest, currently. The Martinez house is about forty minutes outside of Stonehaven in the woods.

Oliver knew that this was his one and only chance as the mythical new kid to reinvent his image. To craft exactly what he wanted to be; not the family punching bag or the let-down but some impossible golden boy with no cares or scratches or dents. He observed, learning quickly how to become a reflective surface and give everyone back exactly what they wanted to see, never quite letting anyone close enough to break the facade. People know his family is religious, not that they're Mormon.

Always in a ridiculous amount of extracurriculars, on multiple sports teams never quite a super-star but consistently good with a few random spells of luck that gave him gold or memorable moments. Joined voluntary committees a lot. Basically all his family ever did at home was family night: board games, musical performances, talent shows, little plays, and sports in the yard. You can never win against Oliver in card games.

Oliver's image is painstakingly squeaky clean, though he comes off as fairly effortless it's held together by pure stress and winging it. His family expect a saint, they compare him to the Church and to the perfect ghost of his older brother so he'll never win.

He's always been lucky, with people, how seemingly just talking could get his foot into doors and un-crease furrowed brows. A neatly paved path of opportunities in his favour giving him the foundation for success. Half of him feels powerful, achievement tangible and the other half is sick at how unhappy he is.

His parents need to divorce but they were 'married before the eyes of God for all eternity' so Ollie knows he couldn't bring that up.

Best sport is ice hockey, played soccer, ran track, on the swim and baseball teams. Boy Scouts of America love this man.

Hardly dated anyone for the first eighteen years of his life. He was squeaky clean, when he didn't go on his mission as soon as he graduated and didn't go to a Utah or Mormon-approved college he figured if he was going to hell he might as well do it thoroughly. Whenever he reached the bar they just moved it anyway.

Ollie is the friend in high school whose house you'd never been to. Rides a bicycle wherever he needs to go, in all weathers.

Got shunned and thrown out of his house a ton, couch-surfed and has had various shared situations since. It's very complicated. The Church ward they're part of published in the newsletter most of Ollie's business, he knows their community are punishing the rest of his family for his transgressions and 'fall from grace'.

Most people locally don't know that Ollie ever had an older brother. He bats hard for the rest of the siblings.

WANTED CONNECTIONS

TBA my brain is soup