#if i actually did something wrong it's whatever

[chaotic-adhd-gremlin]

Before I realized I was aro I would watch TV and just copy what I saw others doing when they had a crush on someone. Because I never felt that way about anyone growing up so I just thought I was doing something wrong BUT if I did what I saw others do maybe it would fix whatever was wrong with me.

So I wrote names in my notebook with hearts, decked out my room with posters or random celebrities to stare at until I felt a "spark" or whatever the fuck was supposed to happen, and when I still felt nothing I just moved onto another person and tried a different tactic I saw from whatever show I was watching. I even picked who I would "crush" on based on the opinions of the kids around me instead of, you know, actually developing feelings for the person.

I knew the scent thing was supposed to be a comforting thing for couples and I tried doing that when I eventually got into a long term relationship but I ended up hating their body spray so I just washed their clothes so it smelled like me instead lol

this is really weird but part of my aroace experience is viewing allo people like a scientist would view a living specimen in an experiment

its like. they do something and i observe and note their behavior. i know this sounds super fucked up but here is something that happened today:

my sister was showing me her texts from her boyfriend and he was saying stuff like "if u want i can spray a shirt with my cologne to give to u" or "i'll give u my hoodie to wear"

and i just looked at her and said "people exchange clothes because they like each others scent? fascinating." and i felt like a freaking scientist observing a new species' behavior. i promise its not as weird as it sounds. im not uncomfortable with romance/sex (for other people), i just have no idea how it works.

im curious do any other aspecs have experiences like this? or is it just me?

[theocddiaries]

Sonic: We’re lost. Stone: No, we're not… We’re just a little off course, but nothing a map can’t fix. Doctor, could you hand me the map, please? Robotnik: …Why me? Stone: Because you brought it. Robotnik: No, I didn't. Shadow: Didn’t we agree you’d grab it? Robotnik: Yes, and I did grab it while waiting for you back at home. Nobody said anything about bringing it. Sonic: How can someone be smart and stupid at the same time? Robotnik: I hate to agree with this guy, Stone, but forgetting the map is something else. Stone: …Okay. It’s fine, no problem. We still have the compass. Everyone: … … … Stone: Ivo. Please. Tell me you didn’t forget the compass too. Robotnik: I didn’t forget the compass. Stone [sighs with a smile]: Oh, thank goodness. Where is it? Robotnik: I think I saw it on the coffee table before we left. Sonic [to Stone]: Regretting your day in the nature with no electronics yet? Stone: Ivo, you just said you didn't forget the compass. Robotnik: Well, you told me to tell you I didn’t forget it! Shadow: For the love of… Robotnik: Jeez, either I suddenly don’t understand English, or your IQ is dropping by the second. Shadow: What’s dropping is our body temperature. The sun’s going down, and we’re going to freeze thanks to you. Stone [takes in a deep breath]: Okay, okay, everyone calm down… Look, we’ll build a fire, it's okay. [starts gathering supplies]: Kids, watch closely. This is an ancient technique, you’re about to see a man create fire with his own two hands! [Half an hour later, Stone is still trying to start a fire with a stick. Shadow and Sonic are wrapped in a shared blanket, while Robotnik sits with a blanket draped over his shoulders, leaning against a tree.] Sonic: I can see my breath. Stone: Kid, this is hard, okay? Wanna try it yourself?! Sonic: I actually do! Stone: Well, too bad, I want to do it! Robotnik: Stop giving Stone a hard time. At least he has ideas and is trying. Stone: Thank you, Iv--What the hell is that…? Robotnik [lighting a cigarette with a lighter]: Yes, I know I promised I’d quit smoking, but when you told me we were spending the day in the wilderness with your little freak and the blue thing, I figured I’d better bring this. Just in case. Got a chill just thinking about it, you know? Sonic: A chill??? The only chill here is the one we’re feeling because of you! Shadow: Why didn’t you say you had a lighter?! Sonic: And how are you more of a nuisance now that you’re reformed than when you were a self-proclaimed villain?! Robotnik: Stone, the kids are disrespecting me in front of the wildlife. Shadow: Yes, in front of Yogi Bear... Stone: Ivo… [about to snap]: You’ve been watching me shred my hands for half an hour, and it didn’t occur to you to mention you had a lighter!? Robotnik: What would I know, Stone. You just seemed so excited doing your little ancestral thing or whatever the hell that was-- Stone [snatches the lighter angrily] Robotnik: Everything I do is wrong in your eyes, isn’t it? Sometimes I think you getting mad at me is your new hobby.

[mylovesstuffs]

OT13 reactions to your "let's break up" text prank

Request: Hello! I've been reading your stuff, and it's so good. I was wondering if I could request something? A while back, there was a prank on TikTok with girlfriends texting their boyfriends asking/telling them they wanted to break up. I was wondering if you could do Seventeen OT13 reactions to the same scenario? Let me know if this is okay! Thank you! :)

A/N: Ah, this took me longer to complete than I expected. Anyway, this is their reaction to the general, "Let's break up," text tiktok trend. I know it's a really common prompt, but I still wanted to try it out. The videos the anon later sent me of the trend for the request (because I hadn’t seen before) actually had a twist, like, "What do we do when we break up," or, "When we break up, ___." These felt a bit different from the straightforward, "Let's break up," so I’ll be writing that version as well. I really want these to meet your expectations, anon, as well as for everyone else reading. So, if this isn’t quite what you were hoping for, please stay tuned for my next reaction post—it’ll be up soon. Until then, I hope you enjoy this one!

For the sake of the reaction, OT13 are not physically with their s/o at the moment.

Content: A bit suggestive in some members MDNI!, angst if you squint, other than these I think it's cute heheh

This is my personal opinion and perspective. It may not accurately reflect their real-life personalities or behaviors.

Seungcheol: At first, he thinks you're joking, but the tone of your message makes him pause. He’s a natural leader who reads between the lines, so your message would raise a red flag. He’d immediately call you instead of texting back.

"What’s going on? Is this a joke, or are you serious?", "If something’s wrong, we need to talk about it, not text about it." If you stay silent to keep the prank going, he’d start to worry. “Listen, if you’re upset or unsure about us, we should talk in person. Breaking up over text isn’t like you.”

When you finally admit it’s a prank, you’d hear a heavy sigh of relief on the other end of the line. “You had me thinking about where I went wrong. Don’t mess with me like that, okay?” He’d pout and demand extra cuddles, peppered with kisses as apology payments, but it’s not long before he uses this prank against you, teasing about how you can’t live without him.

Jeonghan: He sees right through it. Jeonghan is the master of mind games, he knows exactly how to flip the script. When he reads your breakup text, he’d smirk to himself and reply with something like,

"Oh no, how will I ever survive without you? 🙄"

Or,

“Shit, what did I do? Let me grab my tissues and cry in public.”

If you double down, insisting it's serious, he might add a touch of fake sincerity just to keep you on edge,

“Alright, if this is real, I need to hear it from you in person. But if you’re joking, just admit it already so that you don't have to embarrass yourself before I start planning my heartbreak playlist.”

When you finally confess, he’d grin slyly and shake his head.

“You thought you could out-prank me? Cute. Now you owe me a nice date to make up for trying to stress me out.” (but was he even stressed in the first place?)

He wouldn’t even pretend to be mad, but his devilish smirk would remind you just how much you underestimated him. It was a nice try but you need to work harder to fool him.

Joshua: Joshua’s initial response is shock. He would be one of the most heartbroken, mainly because he wouldn’t immediately assume it’s a prank. His first response would be thoughtful and kind, showing how much he values your relationship He types and deletes messages a few times before sending:

“Is this really how you feel? Did I do something to make you feel this way? I’d really like to talk about it instead of texting.”

If you don’t reply quickly, he’d follow up with another message,

“Please don’t make a decision like this without us talking. I want to fix whatever’s wrong.”

When you finally admit it’s a joke, his relief would be palpable, and he’d laugh nervously. “I can’t believe you’d scare me like that!” He really thought he lost you for a second. You’re lucky he can’t stay mad at you. But just like Seungcheol he'll pout and will have to make up with him for some more~ (You better make this up to me. Tonight.) I'll keep it open to interpretation.

Jun: Jun would be confused and a bit hurt but wouldn’t jump to conclusions. He’d reread the text multiple times, trying to understand where it was coming from.

"I don't understand...."

"Did I do something wrong? I thought we were happy."

"Can we talk about this in person?"

If you keep the prank going, he’d start to blame himself so,

“I didn’t realize I was making you feel this way. I’m sorry.”

“Can we meet and talk about this?”

He was about to bring over your favorite snacks and talk it out and fix things!Then when you admit it’s a prank, he’d groan and playfully pout. His pout would be so adorable that you’d smother him with kisses in apology, and he’d happily take them all.

Hoshi: Hoshi's immediate reaction would be pure panic. He’d spam you with messages, each one more frantic than the last:

"WHAT?!"

"What do you mean break up?"

"Why??"

"Did I do something wrong?"

"I’ll fix it, I promise!"

"Don’t leave me!!!"

When you don’t reply fast enough, he’d call you, his voice would be shaky, “Please, let’s talk it out! I can’t lose you!” so when you finally tell him it’s a prank, he’d let out the most dramatic sigh of relief and switch to playful scolding in an instant saying things like, “You almost gave me a heart attack!” His whole world actually flashed before his eyes. But he wouldn’t let it slide easily, so you better give him cuddles for a week to make up for this!

Wonwoo: Wonwoo would approach it maturely but with a heavy heart.

"Is this really what you want?"

“If this is what you really want, I won’t stand in your way. But I’d like to know why, so I can understand.”

"I just want you to be happy, even if it’s not with me."

If you push the prank further, he’d try to give you space while quietly reflecting on what he might have done wrong.

“I hope you’re okay. Just let me know when you’re ready to talk.”

After this text from him, you'll have to immediately stop the prank because he's actually taking this into consideration for your sake. When you confess that it was all a prank, he’d take a moment before chuckling softly and saying, “You really scared me there. I was already preparing to give you the space you needed. Don’t joke about something like this, okay?” You really scared this man.

Woozi: He would be stunned and would stare at the message for a long time, unsure how to react. He finally texts back:

“Is this real? Did something happen?”

If you keep insisting it’s serious, he’d start overthinking.

“I didn’t realize I was making you feel this way. I’m sorry. Let’s meet and talk, please.”

When you reveal it’s a prank, he’d let out a heavy sigh and come all the way home to roll his eyes at you lmao. He can’t believe you just did that. Do you think he's laughing? No, he's not. But he'll forgive you this time. He’d try to act annoyed, but the small smile on his face would give him away.

Dokyeom: This poor man's heart would break immediately, and he’d call you with his voice trembling, his speech coming in quick succession, "What happened? Why do you want to break up? I don’t understand. Whatever it is, I’m sorry! Please!"

When you finally admit it’s a prank, he’d laugh out of sheer relief, but you’d sense his lingering panic. "You’re so mean! My heart is still racing!" (It is). So please do us a favour, don't do this type of prank with our cutie patootie and save him from a potential heartbreak.

Mingyu: Mingyu would be devastated but would try to keep it together.

"What? Why?"

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Can we talk about this face-to-face?."

When you finally tell him it’s a prank, he’d groan and collapse onto the couch, his hands covering his face. “You scared me so much! I was about to drop everything and come see you. You’re going to pay for this with a date night—and maybe a private encore performance after.” Again I'll leave this up to your interpretation of what happens after he comes back home.

Minghao: Minghao would handle it coolly but with a hint of worry.

"If that’s what you really want, I won’t stop you."

"But I’d like to know why."

When you admit it’s a prank, he’d shake his head and smirk. "Don’t test me like that again." Again, I'm leaving this up to your interpretation of what happens next when he's back home. (He’d pull you close, his lips ghosting over yours as he adds, "Next time you want my attention, just say so. No need for dramatics." — snippet)

Seungkwan: Seungkwan would immediately start spiraling the moment he reads your text. His fingers would move at lightning speed, sending a flurry of messages that progressively show his panic:

"Why??"

"????"

"What happened?"

"Is it something I did?"

"Please tell me we can fix this."

When you tell him it’s a prank, he’d yell. "YOU DID NOT JUST DO THAT TO ME!" He’d immediately start pacing in circles, waving his hands around like he’s rehearsing for a drama, "I was about to cry! How could you do this to me?" while being in call with you. But then he’d laugh, give you a side eye and forgive you.

Vernon: Vernon would be too stunned to react at first. After what feels like an eternity (but is really just two minutes), he’d reply:

"Uh... what? Can we talk about this?"

He's genuinely surprised so when you tell him it’s a joke, he’d sigh and laugh awkwardly cause then it makes sense for you to do a tiktok prank on him. "You’re wild for that. My brain didn’t know how to process it." I mean who can break up with a breathtakingly gorgeous man like him?. Also, you might catch him giving you side glances for the rest of the day, as if he’s still recovering from the fake heartbreak.

Dino: Dino would be heartbroken and immediately reply.

"What? Why?"

"I thought we were happy together."

When you reveal it’s a prank, his gasp would be loud enough to echo. "No way you just did that to me! I was about to cry!" He’d pout and demand endless apologies. His grin would leave no doubt about his plans to make you make up for it. He might be the youngest but again...I'm leaving this up to your interpretation.

[heejamas]

nicest guy: 7. the aftermath

word count: ~2.6k words

warnings: profanity, sexual jokes, weed consumption, alcohol consumption, jake and hoon hate each other, puking, hangover, crowded party

Every time you had to go to a party, you hated the feeling of it. It wasn’t really because you didn’t like the people – even though you're an introvert, you're the type of person who can hold a casual banter. It wasn’t even because you hated the loud music or the drinking. You love good music and a night of heavy liquor. You just preferred doing all those things (hanging out with your friends, drinking, and listening to music) from the comfort of your own home.

But this time, things seemed different. Sure, the party was super crowded, drunk people everywhere, people bumping into you, people judging your looks. But you were actually having a good time with your friends. That is, until Woonhak sent you that message.

“He did what?!” Sunoo gasped, eyes wide.

“Apparently, he tried to sneak in... and now he’s stuck,” you said, setting your phone down and taking a final sip of your drink before storming out.

“In the bushes?” Giselle asked, raising an eyebrow. “What the hell is wrong with this kid? Jesus…”

“Do you need help?” Sunoo asked, gripping your shoulders before you left.

“Nah, I’m good,” you replied with a small smile, then burst out laughing. “God, why is he like this...”

What you didn’t know was that Sunghoon had been eyeing you all night. He wasn’t sure how to make it sound casual, but he really wanted to get closer to you. His friendship with Jungwon meant a lot to him, so naturally, he wanted to be tight with his twin sister too, just like Jay was. But there was something about you that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. He thought you were funny—everyone thought that. But this was the first time he’d seen you up close for more than a few minutes, like those brief encounters in the college hallways when you bumped into Jungwon. Tonight, though, you were way closer. Still, you hadn’t said a word to each other besides "hey” or "how are you” or “this drink is pretty strong”.

So, after downing about 8 or 9 beers and a couple of vodka shots, he figured it was definitely a good idea to talk to you. And then you stormed out. But even then, he still thought it was a great idea to try and help you with whatever was going on.

Only did he know that your cousin - your underage cousin - was trying to sneak into an already crowded party and got trapped in the bushes outside the house.

Sunghoon rushed toward you as you made your way outside. He bumped into you, causing his beer to splash all over the floor—and a little bit on your shoes. “Sorry, sorry! I’m so sorry, Y/n,” he mumbled, clearly tipsy.

“That’s alright,” you laughed at him. “Why aren’t you with Jungwon?” you asked, since you had just seen him a minute ago chatting with Jay and your brother.

“I—I saw you storming out, and I thought you might need help with something.” He looked down at the alcohol stains on his shirt, trying to clean them off with no luck.

“And your drunk ass is going to help me, huh?” You chuckled. “Alright, let’s go outside.”

Sunghoon followed you, even though he had no idea what was going on. And honestly, neither did you. You weren’t sure why you accepted his help. Your friends had offered to come along, but you turned them down. Still, there was something about Sunghoon that made him fun to be around—even if he was drunk as hell. And, yeah… you thought he was kind of cute. Dangerously cute, considering he was one of your twin brother’s best friends.

The moment you stepped outside the house, Sunghoon leaned against a column on the balcony, eyes closed.

“Are you okay?” you asked, stepping closer and gently placing your hand on his shoulder. “I can grab you some water.”

“No, no need,” he muttered, his eyes still shut. He took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and suddenly found himself staring at you. You were standing there, looking up at him with your hand on his shoulder, offering help in the sweetest way possible. You looked cute as hell.

His best friend's twin sister looking cute as hell.

Sunghoon quickly got to his feet, stepping back from you like he just realized he was getting too close to danger. “Thanks, though. So, where are we going?”

You thought it was weird how he moved away so suddenly, but then again—he was wasted.

“So… do you know Woonhak?” you asked, to which he nodded.

“Well, he tried to sneak into the party, and now he’s stuck in the bushes. So we’re going to help him out.”

He blinked at you, clearly trying to process your words, but his drunk brain was too busy thinking about how cute you looked to focus on anything else.

Sunghoon followed you as you walked around the side of the house, looking for any sign of your cousin hiding in the bushes. Yeonjun’s frat house was massive—basically a mansion. People were still pouring in, and the party was getting way more packed than it had any right to be.

You pulled out your phone to text Woonhak and ask where the hell he was. That’s when Sunghoon placed a hand on your shoulder. He mumbled something you couldn’t quite catch, so you turned to face him.

“What was that?”

“I’m gonna…”

And then it happened.

He threw up right beside you. Your shoes were instantly soaked in vomit.

You were in shock. You had no idea what to do. Sunghoon was mumbling at you, but your brain was way too foggy from the unpleasant surprise.

“Fuck, Y/n. I-I’m so…” And then he threw up again. This time, right on a bush.

“Oh. My. God.” You heard a familiar voice from the bushes. “Is that puke? What the fuck! Oh my God, I’m gonna barf.”

“Woonhak?!” you yelled, still in disbelief. “Is that you?”

“Y/n?!” your cousin shouted back. “What the hell, dude?!”

“I’m with Sunghoon, he came to help. But, uh… he’s feeling sick.” You watched Sunghoon flop onto the grass next to you, yanking off his jacket. “What are you doing?!”

“I’m gonna clean your shoes.” Sunghoon mumbled, placing his jacket on your shoes and attempting to wipe them off, with zero luck.

“No, Sunghoon, you don’t have to—“ You stood there, frozen, watching the mess unfold. You leaned into him, grabbed his arms, and awkwardly pulled him up. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”

He draped his arms over your shoulder, but he was way heavier than you expected. By now, you had already abandoned your shoes, and you yelled back at your cousin, still stuck in the bushes.

“Woonhak, I’ll get someone else to pull you outta there! Hold on!”

Woonhak yelled back, clearly pissed off by your response. But you were way too focused on not gagging from the smell of vomit to even care about what your cousin was saying.

You stumbled into the house with Sunghoon slumped against your shoulder, and, by some miracle, you found a bathroom that wasn’t already occupied. The house was packed, and it was starting to feel a little claustrophobic. As you made your way to the bathroom, you had to elbow your way through the crowd—people giving you weird looks as the smell of vomit followed you and Sunghoon like a shadow.

And of course, one of those people was Jake. The college quarterback, who had a major crush on you and hated Sunghoon with a burning passion.

But Jake didn’t even notice you were the one carrying Sunghoon. He was way too focused on finding yourself in the crowd. When you bumped into him, he didn’t even register it was you—he was too busy trying to spot you through the sea of drunk college students. Not that he wasn’t tipsy himself, but he wasn’t Sunghoon-level wasted yet. He was just tipsy enough to be a mess.

“Still haven’t found her?” Niki asked, handing Jake another round of beer in a red solo cup.

“Nope,” Jake muttered, taking a sip and continuing his search.

“What are you gonna do if you actually find her, though?” Heeseung chimed in. “I mean, you see her around all the time, and yeah, she texted you out of nowhere, but you still don’t have the guts to actually talk to her.”

Jake shot Heeseung a look. “You’re saying way too much for someone who can’t even text in English.”

Heeseung rolled his eyes. “Whatever, dude. You’re gonna be drooling over her for the rest of your life if you don’t do something.”

Jake knew Heeseung was right. He’d had a crush on you for way longer than he could remember, but he never actually talked to you. At this point, he was pretty sure you didn’t even know what he looked like. And that was kind of shocking, because Jake was the starting quarterback. Everyone knew Jake. Hell, even your cousin Woonhak was practically fangirling over him. So the fact that you didn’t give a shit about him had Jake way more intrigued than he probably should’ve been. And, just to make things worse, you looked hot as hell.

“Alright, I’m gonna wash my face for a bit,” Jake muttered, turning away from his friends and heading for the nearest bathroom—the one you and Sunghoon had just entered.

The door wasn’t locked, so Jake swung it open without a second thought—only to freeze when he saw what was happening. There you were, standing at the sink, trying (and failing) to clean Sunghoon’s shirt while he sat on the toilet, bare-chested and totally wasted.

Jake was stunned. He couldn’t even process what he was seeing. You—his ultimate crush—with his nemesis, sitting half-naked and drunk as hell, right beside you.

“Can I help you?” you asked, clearly a little annoyed, as Jake stood there, completely frozen, staring at you.

“Sorry, I just…” Jake mumbled, his words stumbling over each other. “Sorry, I’ll leave.” Then he slammed the door shut, still in shock.

He leaned against the bathroom door, trying to process what he’d just seen. You were just cleaning his shirt, he thought. There was the overwhelming smell of vomit in the air, so Jake had connected the dots. Still, he felt this annoying twinge of jealousy. Not because Sunghoon was puking and you were helping him out, no. It was because Sunghoon was close to you. And Jake hated that.

“You look like you just saw a ghost,” Beomgyu said when Jake finally rejoined his friends.

“I did. I saw Sunghoon,” Jake muttered, taking a long gulp of his beer.

“So what? You see him at practice all the time.”

“I saw him with Y/n. In the bathroom. Just now,” Jake practically whispered, like he was sharing a dark secret.

“Oh.” Beomgyu and Heeseung’s eyes went wide. “In the bathroom? Doing what?”

“She was cleaning his shirt, I guess. He was sitting naked on the toilet,” Jake sighed.

“Naked?!” All his friends gasped in unison. Jake was already drowning in stress and embarrassment.

“Half-naked. I think he got sick or something. It smelled awful in there. She was probably just helping him out.” He snorted. “I swear to God, we have practice on Monday. Is he seriously going to show up hungover like that?”

Jake didn’t stop to think about the fact that he himself had been drinking. But right now, all he could focus on was how pissed he was that you—his ultimate crush—were stuck with his nemesis. He needed to blame someone, and Sunghoon was as good a target as any.

Meanwhile, you had already called Jungwon to help you out. He said he’d get Woonhak out of the bushes and suggested you and Sunghoon head out of the house since it was getting way too crowded.

So, you agreed. Now, you were sitting on the balcony with Sunghoon beside you—completely wasted, his shirt half-dry, half-wet, while you were barefoot and trying not to look like a mess. And, in the midst of all this chaos, there was just one thought running through your mind: I should’ve stayed home.

“I’m so… so sorry, Y/n,” Sunghoon mumbled, barely getting the words out as he leaned heavily against the wall. His face was pale as he’d just emptied his entire stomach.

“It’s fine. These things happen,” you replied, trying to steady your breathing and avoid focusing too much on the situation.

“No, really.” His gaze met yours, his eyes soft and unfocused, and despite everything, you found yourself noticing how round and gentle they looked. “You never come to these parties… I feel like I ruined it for you.”

“You didn’t,” you reassured him. “You were just trying to help.” You weren’t sure if Sunghoon was the type to cry when he drank too much, but you figured it was better not to find out.

“I just wanted to get closer to you,” he admitted quietly, the words broken up by a hiccup.

You handed him the cup of water you’d brought over, watching as he accepted it like it was some grand gesture. The vulnerability in his eyes didn’t go unnoticed.

“Why?” you asked softly.

“Because Jay’s close to you, and he’s not your brother's BFF. I am.” His expression twisted into a slight pout, and you couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh.

“Right,” you said, giving his knee a gentle pat. “But I think you’re more like Jungwon’s best friend, Sunghoon.”

His eyes widened in surprise. “Really?”

You smiled, knowing he probably wouldn’t remember any of this tomorrow—and honestly, you hoped he wouldn’t. You just wanted to him not feel so bad aboud the fact that he just threw up at your shoes.

At this point, Jake had fully committed to getting obliterated tonight. So, he and Heeseung knocked back a couple of vodka shots and decided to light up a joint on the balcony. As they stepped outside, Jake was on a mission to find a quiet corner, but then he saw you again. With Sunghoon. This time, he wasn’t half-naked, but that didn’t stop Jake from being pissed.

Without thinking, Jake stormed off, leaving Heeseung standing there, completely baffled by what was going on with his best friend.

“Is he bothering you?” Jake snapped, glaring down at you and Sunghoon. His eyes flicked to your bare feet. “You need shoes? I can get Yeonjun to grab you some.”

“No, he’s not bothering me. And no, thanks,” you shot back, annoyed.

Jake realized then that he had definitely had more to drink than he could handle. And seeing you with Sunghoon like that? Not helping.

“Well, because he’s always bothering. He’s gonna show up at practice on Monday hungover, and gonna mess everything up,” Jake mumbled, drunk as a skunk.

“What?!” You stared at him, incredulous. “You’re gonna be just as hungover on Monday! Why are you beefing on him like that?”

“Is he your friend?” Jake asked, slurring the words a little too much.

“Well, no—�� You started to answer, but then someone screamed from the front of the house.

“The cops are coming!”

Panic spread like wildfire. Everyone started running around like chickens, and when you tried to help Sunghoon stand, you got hit with another surprise.

Jake. Threw. Up.

This time, not on you.

But on Sunghoon’s feet.

You froze. Is this real life? You thought. Are the introvert Gods punishing me for turning down a quiet Mario Kart night and takeout?

Your brain kicked into survival mode. You grabbed Sunghoon and Jake, half-dragging them toward a room. As you tried to remember where the hell Woonhak was, you spotted a basement door. Without missing a beat, you ran toward it.

You flung open the door, dragged the two of them inside, and Sunghoon collapsed on the bed and passed out immediately.

The room was clearly a student’s lair—posters of bands you’d never heard of and manly stuff you couldn’t care less about, but whatever. You had bigger problems.

Jake, meanwhile, had found a trash can and was busy making sure it was filled to the brim with his own vomit. You stood there, completely stunned, trying to process the insanity. Your brother’s best friend was face down on a random bed, unconscious. The college quarterback who hated Sunghoon’s guts was puking into someone else’s trash can. You were barefoot, in a party you never wanted to be at, with cops outside because the place was literally bursting at the seams.

And oh yeah, your cousin was still stuck in the bushes.

Was he? Did Jungwon help him out?

And now, you were trapped in that basement. And you didn't know what to do.

prev | masterlist | next

author's note: HEY GUYS this is the first pov i write, sorry this is longer than usual 😭 btw this is pure chaos and it happened something really similar to a friend of mine, believe it or not. anyways!! hope you guys enjoy it 🤍

taglist: @jayparked @jungwonsstrawberriesnchocolate @kixri @soobnuuy @dreamiestay @somuchdard @nyyoryyu @atinyrosedoor @enhaverse713586 @miszes @wildtigerlili @hoonkishoe @wilonevys @m1dn1ghtv1olet

[melanielocke]

Tbh whatever Viktor is talking about doesn't even have anything to do with evolution. It's not even that he misunderstands evolution, he made up his own thing which is more related to transhumanism and calls that evolution.

Not only does evolution not have a destination, evolution also does not change living organisms, it's much slower than that. So when Viktor is healing people or changing into robots, that has literally nothing to do with evolution. Evolution would be if humans over a long time and many generations turned into his weird robot things because that's the best suited life form for the circumstances (nature's greatest force, forever in flux as Singed says, though I also find his statement a bit weird). Instead, Viktor decided that for humans not to suffer, they must be changed, and calls that glorious evolution, I think largely because that's his game catchphrase. Perhaps because it sounds cooler than glorious transhumanism? Glorious body modifications? Idk.

Perhaps he just calls it glorious evolution because he thought it sounded cool. It might also even be that he wasn't familiar with evolution theory at all (idk about the religious background but he is also making some more religious statements on how he believes in fate, and later he believes the glorious evolution is destined), and only singed knows about normal evolution since it's closer to his field. And then Viktor would use evolution as a much looser term for change, since linguistically evolution can be used in different contexts?

I'm not sure if he truly doesn't understand how evolution theory works (and considering Singed brings it up first, I do presume evolution theory exists in this world), or if he thinks, well, my way is better, but he really needs someone to talk sense into him because his ideas get progressively weirder over the season and letting him have such insane power with only people who worship him and a hexcore to talk to who validates all his weirdest ideas was a bad idea. Some humanities classes would also have helped, because while he understands what human suffering is like largely because of his own experiences, he doesn't understand people at all, and probably assumes what he wanted is what everyone else wants and also what they (and he) need (wrong on both counts).

Interestingly, when Viktor first brings up glorious evolution, he is still unwilling to go through with it (assuming it refers to using Vander to evolve himself, though I do think he also considered the healing he did for his followers glorious evolution), so I think he already had some of these ideas before he even died. Something that had absolutely nothing to do with evolution, but more with his own internalized ableism and believing he needed to fix himself to end his suffering/be worthy of love. He did want it at that point, he just wasn't willing to sacrifice someone else for it. He also only gave up on his hexcore research because it killed Sky. He cared it killed someone. He didn't care it turned his leg weird and purple and was willing to turn his entire body into that if it meant he was cured. (and I believe when he did sacrifice Vander, there was also no possibility of saving him anymore)

Anyway this got long but the conclusion is Viktor has no clue what he's talking about, I don't think he even knows what evolution is, and his entire ideology is shaped from his own internalized ableism and lack of understanding of humanity, and he slapped a cool catchphrase on top without knowing it actually means something else.

nothing viktor did was more peak engineer behavior than when he so confidently explained evolution wrong except for him confidently explaining evolution wrong while disagreeing with the guy who explained it correctly

[flamingpudding]

Little Snippets #6

(A/N: Vote winner so I did my best to finish this)

"Screw it, i am done..." Danny grumbled as he stepped onto the watchtower through a portal, ignoring the startled heroes around him, or his own rather disheveled state. His green glowing eyes surveyed the room he was in for a brief moment before his eyes zeroed in on the one hero that caused to much work for him.

"YOU!" He pointed an accusing finger at the red clad hero before floating over and grabbing the hero by the front of his hero suit. "Do you have any idea how much work you cause me!"

Danny got one confused blink before he launched into a rather thorough explanation of what he just went through fixing 20 different timelines that got created because of one flashpoint while shaking the Flash like he was a ragdoll, ignoring the other heroes around him.

Clark, who arrived a little late to the meeting, looked around the meeting room confused. He glanced to the side to one of his hero colleagues. "Is there....?"

"A white haired floating teen boy giving Barry the lecture of a lifetime?" Oliver cut in arms crossed as he watched on. "Yes, there is."

Clark blinked, looking back at the scene and then back at Oliver. "And..."

"And Bruce is actually taking notes and enjoying Barry getting lectured to an inch of his speedster life while also getting information on time itself? Yes he is." Oliver added an, his tone slightly frustrated but also happy that he wasn't at the receiving end of the teen boy's rant. The kid had been going on about different time lines and the multiverse theory as well as how Barry apparently created several different timelines any time a new flashpoint happened or the past gets seemingly changed. Oliver wasn't even sure the kid was breathing with the way he had been talking non stop.

"And for the record! Changing the past does not automatically fix your present! You just created an entirely new timeline! Do you know how many times I had to fix these? You left so many unattended timelines! I would be rich now if I had gotten a dollar for every time I or my siblings had to fix the stuff you did! Did you ever hear about the multiverse theory?! Hell you are heroes! Didn't you deal with other universes already!?"

The kid rambled on and Clark was pretty sure he wasn't hearing the kid breath in once, which was worrying in so many different levels. But a little traitor part of his mind was actually finding the situation quiet funny.

"Oh and don't get me started on your spawns!" Clark winced a little as he heard the floating boy breath in for the first time in his entire rant before launching into another rant about how it wasn't just Barry but his entire family. Next to him Oliver chucked finding the moment simply funny end enjoying the show of Barry, aka the Flash getting lectured by a floating teen boy.

Though they partially wondered why Bruce wasn't stepping in but then again, the kids rant was... rather informative if he wasn't cursing at Barry's entire family.

A little earlier that day...

Danny groaned as a green note fluttered onto his desk in the middle of his English exam. His head hit the desk and he was sure he was creating some sort of misunderstanding and appearing like he didn't study enough for this exam. Which for once he did, he actually had managed to get time to study for this exam for once. And that despite all the work that had been piling up lately.

The fun fact was that work didn't pile up because of some ghost king title or something, or his rogues dogpiling on him. No it piled up because of a hero organisation outside of Amity. Now don't get him wrong, he admires these heroes. The ones from outer space are his favorites even. But unknown to them they caused im a lot of work ever since clockwork started to mentor him.

Danny glanced at his English exam and then at the note before his head hit the desk again.

Just one day... was one day to much to ask?

He blames whatever hero was at fault this time as he couldn't concentrate on is exam anymore. He barely remembers finishing it as he hurried out of the classroom, forgetting to give Sam and Tucker an explanation as he went ghost and hurried of to the ghost zone. Danny's eye twitch a little when he noticed Clockworks amused expression.

"What is it this time?" Danny groaned already knowing he wouldn't like what he was going to hear.

"Another flashpoint was created. You know what this means." Clockwork chucked handing him a time medallion and Danny groaned even more.

"Can't Dan or Dani..." He started but Clockwork cut him off with an amused headshake. "No, they are currently busy with another job I gave them."

Reluctantly Danny nodded and stepped through the time portal. While he knew, he would actually only be gone for a minute at most in the present, it still annoyed him that he had to constantly fix time. And most of the time it was because of one specific hero at that. He was not looking forward on how many different timelines he had to fix right now now. this was going to take a while too. Even if only maybe a minute will pass in his timeline.

He still had bruises from the last 20 timelines he fixed. And in all honesty he was getting tired of this kid of work, he was partially sure Clockwork was him now, so he wouldn't have to do this himself. Or the ancient of time was getting a kick out of watching Danny fumble while fixing other timelines.

He yelped as he dodged velocraptors right after coming out of the time portal. "SERIOUSLY?! THE MESOZOIC ERA THIS TIME TOO?! WHAT AM I EVEN SUPOSED TO FIX HERE?!" He yelled at nothing in particular. That was it, this time, this time he decided he would finally go and pay these heroes a visit and make them aware how much work they had been causing him...

[elysiae]

has anybody else ever thought of how royally fucked up the operator's muscles must be? like yeah yeah cryostasis sleep whatever mightve not affected their muscles... much, but after they were awoken? afterwards when theyre just stuck sitting in the chair for god knows how long? like listen, as somebody who didn't leave his house for 7 years and never had to walk so i just never did (slightly exaggerated for the record), i can 100% confidently say my legs are shot, like i dont think ill ever be able to run. (to be fair tho there might be something else wrong there but lets not get into that) and like listen, idk how much they *canonically* leave their warframe to get up and walk around but like??? how often do we actually see the operator themselves in action. NOT VERY OFTEN RIGHT? and i dont remember much of the quests, but most of their mobility is usually swinging around with that void teleportation sling thing, no??? and usually getting their ass kicked when theyre not zipping around with their cracked void powers

and listen this might be self projecting but (taking what i said about myself) dont you think itd be Worse for them???? like im not medically trained in any way shape or form, my area of semi-partial-barely expertise is psychology, but like... that CANNOT be healthy? their muscles must be FUCKED right? like come ON???

that said it would be really funny if the lotus and/or ordis is always going after them for this exact reason. teshin 100% would i think. always being like "kid if your void magic wasn't as volatile and dangerous as it is you would be so screwed if you had to hold your own without a warframe"

[thekoalapastriesbakery]

drivers with a partner whos feeling rlly bad impostor syndrome?

(omg im self inserting again wowwow whos shocked)

-bear 😔❤️

i got ya bear <3 (you're a great writer and your fics always always always make me smile)

arthur leclerc:

will immediately attempt to do whatever you're having imposter syndrome over

it's not a very well thought out idea bc if he is better than you then he's only making it worse

but luckily for you your boyfriend has one talent and it is Car

he fails spectacularly

claims it was all part of the plan to make you see how good you are

he's lying

he did not mean to fail that badly

only reinforces his point

kimi antonelli:

he'll be telling you how wrong you in two languages

maybe three

he's the child of the brocedes divorce he's definitely picked up a few german words from nico

"that's so stupid" mainly

anyway

if talking doesn't work he'll make you pasta

he's definitely gonna kiss your face until you laugh and agree with him

lando norris:

his kneejerk reaction is to just agree with you

he can't help it it's his humour

but then he'll actually process what you said and he'll get SO offended

acts like you're a hater on twitter

"who the fuck are you to talk about my boyfriend like that??? 🤨"

would probably start a stream for the sole purpose of asking the chat if you're bad at whatever it is

will verbally fight anyone who says you aren't because they're wrong

his pr team hate it but lando is very much of the opinion that people can hate him all they want but they CANNOT hate you

which includes yourself

(you always scold him when he says people should hate him, because he's wrong)

logan sargeant:

confused puppy

genuinely does not understand why you think you're bad

you could do literally anything and logan will still think you're the coolest person on the planet

will get genuinely upset if you talk badly about yourself

he hates it

eventually he'll just be pouting so much you stop bc you don't like making logan sad

he'll make you say at least 5 nice things about yourself before he stops pouting

ollie bearman:

will find a *LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER* to beep at you

will use it every single time you try to say something negative about yourself or your work

uses laughing at you for thinking you're bad as a strategy to switch what you think is embarrassing

i can't say if it works or not

but eventually you'll actually second guess your doubts because it feels sillier to think that than to think that you did a good job

oscar piastri:

he'll bring up something you did (drawing, piece of writing, whatever) from a while ago that he knows you've forgotten about and show it to you

when you say it's good (bc of course it is) he'll get the smuggest grin on his face

"exactly. it's yours. you're wrong. you're good."

will also go over several of your latest attempts at whatever it is you're feeling imposter syndrome over and ask you to point out what you think is bad

oscar will then explain how you're wrong and it's good

end of story

in a stubbornness contest i can guarantee that he will win

yuki tsunoda:

"that's stupid."

genuinely thinks you're dumber for thinking you're bad

would probably check for signs of a concussion or something just to make sure that's not why you're clearly not in reality

would probably leave it for a while after that

just long enough for you to think he's forgotten about it

then he'll start pretending to get imposter syndrome over his driving

you'll say everything you need to hear until you realise yuki's not actually upset

and he's just tricked you into comforting yourself

you grumble about making him sleep on the couch

but you both know you're bluffing

[i-hate-viktor]

This is probably gonna be a lot of yap

Before anyone replies or whatever I'm legit just stating my opinion it ain't that deep im not trying to argue or get mad at anyone, i respect op's opinions and everyone else's opinions and whatnot.

I was diagnosed with conduct disorder when I was younger blah blah all that shit I find it really annoying whenever these 13 year olds claim to have aspd

9 times out of 10 you need a conduct disorder diagnosis to be diagnosed with aspd, and even then, you can't be diagnosed til you're 18 + sometimes people grow out of it with age and maturity. I really can't tell if I'll grow out of it before I turn 18, but it just pmo when someone says they have a certain disorder

Aspd is very complex and it often just get waters down to "heh I commit crimes and be mean and manipulative to people". Which is all wrong. In fact, usually, people with aspd would *hide* those parts of them

Yes, aspd is common. For adults. Not edgy 13 year olds that think they gonna be the next columbine.

For did, I think these people are either:

A) faking lol

B) genuinely thinking they have did but it's probably something else like psychosis.

Another common pattern I see is the lanzastans always having schizophrenia or something.

"heh.... the government is after me...:) the FBI is going to kill me...:)))" lil bro nobody want you not even the FBI LMFAO

BPD Im really unsure about tbf

On one hand, it can just be hormones that these people are mistaking for bpd, or just that it's more common than youd think it is (correct me if I'm wrong, I haven't done my bpd research in like a year)

Another thing, its not ***just*** the TCC that has this issue. Ive been in other communities that also have this issue, im pretty sure this would exist in just about every community. Whether its with the same disorders, or different ones. People are mentally ill and people just wanna be mentally ill

Anyways, in conclusion, people are just edgy, but, sometimes, people actually have those issues and because they are mentally ill they will sympathize with other mentally ill people (whether it be with people inside of this community or the criminals themselves). Mental illness is different for everyone and people will experience different things and will make mistakes, it's a human thing.

Though if they're purposely trying to pretend to be mentally ill for attention or something then they're just lame lol plain and simple

I also believe that you shouldn't straight up claim you have a mental illness if you have no diagnosis or whatnot; it's alright to think about it, but self diagnosing is not the best idea; you can become biased to yourself which blurs the lines of "do I or dont i have this mental illness"

If im wrong with any of this im sorry please correct me im vad at expressing my thoughts haha

Thank you for listening to my podcast I'll see you guys next episode

Noticed that Alot of the people in the tcc have ASPD , DID and sometimes BPD .

[in-a-bucket]

p:eg ch 1 spoilers

you know i was really happy that didn't have the murder be "wolfgang was killed in self-defense" or something like that because i honestly would have been annoyed if the writers had gone for the whole "omg wolf in sheep's clothing, he was secretly evil/manipulative and praying on the groups' downfall the entire time hahaha" like that isn't the most obvious, surface level direction his character could have gone. but then at the very end of the chapter, wenona made the off-hand comment about how "maybe he didn't bring the knife for protection" so now i'm worried that for whatever reason this whole case will come back up in later chapters and they're gonna be like "omg he actually brought the knife cause he was gonna kill whoever sent him the letter this whole time! see guys he really was a wolf in sheep's clothing this whole time and you thought wrong hahaha" i just ugh idk i'd really hate that. like idk maybe i'm biased but all wolfgang really did was make his disdain/wariness of damon and eva blatantly known to the entire group, which was obviously stupid and wrong and his treatment of the two of them was unfair but he never forced the rest of the group to think like he did, like when diana was like "it's fine if they come with us to explore" he didn't instantly shoot he down or tell her off for suggesting it, once he saw that most of the group was fine with it he didn't do anything to stop them from joining or majorly protest against it. idk i just think it'd be more interesting if he had genuinely good intentions with everything he said and did but didn't go about it in a great way and was also stupidly naive which led to his death, and not be a secretly horrible person who was just nice to people to get them to lower their guard and was looking for the first chance to kill.

obviously later chapters are many years away and we have no idea what's going to happen next but idk i just had some thoughts.

[whichwaytothebeachseabass]

Things We Carry

Summary: Two broken souls find each other.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Black Widow Soldier! Reader.

Contents: very short (about 1K words), description of being a Hydra assassin, description of violence (nothing too graphic), some sadness, some fluff, use of Y/N.

A/N: this is the VERY FIRST fanfic i'm publicly uploading on here! i've had this one in my drafts for a while (among several others lol), and now i've finally decided to upload this one. another note: English is not my first language so there might be some slight mistakes, but i think i got them all out.

enjoy! :)

Lying on an operation table, strapped down, unable to move. The faces of men in white coats and masks occasionally visible as they bend over to take a closer look at the functionality of the human brain. The taste of cold metal on tongues and the whiring of the mechanic chair were the last things to be noticed before everything was replaced by pain. Electric shocks surging through the human body, not enough to kill, though just enough to drive someone mad.

Punches thrown, guns firedguns fired, bodies collapsed on the cold floor, blood everywhere. Their rules where quite simple; don’t stop untill the mission is completed. Failure will not be tollerated. Although, there was no mission yet, this was just a training, a sparring session with fellow soldiers. They should have known better though, with Hydra, it was never just a sparring session. One could say that there was indeed a mission during these training sessions; that mission simply being surviving, taking out every last opponent untill you were the last one standing, and most importantly showing no remorse, no mercy, not a single emotion, as the trigger is pulled.

The missions in itself knew a few more specific ground rules; such as get to location unnoticed, retrieve whatever it it that Hydra wants, leave no traces and most importantly, leave no witnesses. Exterminate every last soul that gets in the way of the mission.

Sometimes, the missions weren’t really missions at all. Some higher-up person with status and a shitload of money would come to Hydra to have someone ‘taken care of’. A merciless killing, so the speak. Those merciless killings, however, were in fact the easy ones. To the average person, taking someones life isn’t something they would even dare to imagine. However for Hydra soldiers it has become second nature. They were being trained to kill. Brainwashed to become machines.

Tests, trainings, briefings, killings… This is what live was; day in, day out, for decades on end. In the beginning, there was resistence, oh yes. Unwillingness to co-operate. This is never what they wanted, never what should have become of their lives. But the pain became unbarable. Shocked within an inch of insanity, enough to break the soul. To become a merciless killing machine.

x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x /x / x / x / x / x / x /x / x / x /

This is what live was for Bucky and Y/N. Raised to be trained killers from a fairly young age. Being fully conscious, yet not knowing which part of you is actually you. Deep down, they might have know that what they were doing was wrong, what was being asked of them was wrong. But when their brains tell them to pull the trigger, that is what they did. That is all they’ve ever know.

Untill they were pulled out of it.

Years of living as an assassin and suddenly you’re expected to live life like everyone else. Mandatory therapy sessions with so-called ‘speciallists’ who didn’t in the slightest understand what they had to go through, what their everyday live was like. Both Y/N and Bucky might not have fully realised what they were doing in the years they worked for Hydra, but they sure remember all of it. Maybe being held captive is a better way of describing their years at Hydra, in stead of ‘work’. That’s what Y/N liked to call it anyway.

What also didn’t particularly help is that both Bucky and Y/N were somewhat in the public eye. Of course, citizens were not supposed to know of Hydra’s assassins. However; Bucky being Steve Rogers’ best friend and Y/N having worked together with Natasha Romanoff’s younger sister Yelena in the Red Room, who were ultimately the ones that got them out of Hydra’s grasp, gave them ties to The Avengers. Because of this, everybody knew what they had done, what they were. Trained killers. Assassins.

Monsters.

Oftentimes, Y/N wasn’t sure if live like this was supposed to be better. The menories of all the lives she took, together with the judgemental stares and scared faces of everyone around her weighing heavy on her shoulders. Bucky felt the same way. The both of them desperately wish they could just do something, anything to lighten that weight that they carry around everywhere they go.

And so, ultimately, they found each other.

Through The Avengers, or at least what was left of them, the two were introduced. Y/N had heard of him, of course she had, Dreykov didn’t call his little mind control games The Winter Soldier Project for nothing. He was the one she was supposed to look up to… what a sick and twisted world they lived in.

It may have taken a while, but the two ex-assassins warmed up to each other. Bucky found her presence refreshing; she provided him with a sense of normalcy as opposed to the constant looks of fear and sorrow of everyone around him. She knew, she’d seen it up close and lived it. Although she wasn’t a supersoldier, and he, being the literal blueprint of Hydra’s brainwashing system, had a lot more years on her as a Hydra captive, they understood each other. Sure, at first Bucky had Steve and Y/N had Yelena, two people that served as rocks for the both of them, as best friends. But Steve ultimately choose to stay in the past with the love of his live, and Yelena ran back into the field to look for any other Black Widow Soldiers that were still under Dreykov’s control. Neither of them blamed their friend for one second, claiming they wanted what was best for them. Still, it came paired with quite some loneliness.

Now, Y/N was laying on the couch with her head on Bucky’s chest, his arm slung around her body. A TV-show neither one of them were really paying attention to playing in the background while they enjoyed each others company in silence, softly breathing each other in. She loved moments like this; alone with him, nobody else around, no obligations at all. Just the two of them in their little bubble of calm and Y/N couln’t help but notice that the weight that they both have been carrying around for so many years, has finally begun to lift. She knew Bucky felt it too. He carressed her hair and placed a soft kiss on her forehead as he continued to look ahead at the TV screen.

In this moment, the both of them knew they were gonna be allright.

[elisedonut]

i know I've talked about this before but i love the concept of Percy and who he's with getting the same kind of treatment from the family (read mostly Molly)

and Percy handling it in a complexly different way to how Bill did

I always think of him getting into a serious relationship a few years down the line so he's healed a bit and offended as hell over his mom still not trusting his own decisions and trying to set him up with random women(because it would be girls sorry Molly is homophobic but just doesn't realize it) when his SO is literally right next to him

I know that she doesn't actually ever mention the Bluer age gap so really she likely wasn't bothered by that part but I think that would be different if Percy was with a boy tbh

like I think she would complain about the age difference between Perclin

also i think the idea of her inviting like Luna (or like Romilda Vane if you want to play into how she sees love potions as whatever plus shes even younger) is neat because of how messed up that would be and having her be like 'it's different' no no it's not

She honestly thinks shes helping like thats really important when it comes to Molly imo

that she honestly thinks shes doing something good and that Percy would be happier with someone else

shes just you know wrong and hasn't figured that out

So she just doesn't understand why he's fighting this so much when she knows best she knows her little boy far better then anyone else she knows he needs someone better someone worthy of him so she just doesn't get why Percy getting so mad about it

on the bright side

because Percy left once before shes more willing to listen to reason whenever he doesn't talk to her for like a week or storms out of a dinner because she said something and he was at his limit

He'll get her to understand eventually

[k3nz1ekorn]

Jayvik actor au- "This isn't my bedroom?"

Shooting continues at the lot, production is finally ramping up and our beloved actors Vlad and Joel get to talk a bit more. Part 2 chronologically in the au.

Character cheat sheet: Vi-Viola, Cait-Cathrin, Mel-Miah, Savannah- Sevika, Sky- Skyler, Powder/Jinx-Piper, Ekko-Elijah

Disclaimer: I know nothing about professional acting or studios, lot setup, etc. I will not be looking things up while writing this so if you notice something is blatantly wrong leave a comment about it! This is purely self indulgent and fics will probably be posted out of chronological order in the timeline. (If I write enough I’ll make a timeline list of them tho)

It was obvious to anyone with eyes that Vlad had a busy schedule. Between shooting for arcane and his other projects he was on the production lot practically 24/7 this week. It was mostly other roles he’d booked that he was shooting this week since basically all of his scenes in Arcane involved Joel, who was turning out to be quite the busy man. They’d barely spoken since their first official meeting and none of it had even been to run lines! He was a bit worried about that specifically. They were both good actors, but that on screen chemistry didn’t always come naturally. It was always good to practice, he thought as he absently massaged a knot in his thigh. It was only in these early hours that he really had time to himself, time to just exist as he is, to not think about his lines or how to say them, and especially not to think about any of his co-stars. It wasn’t that he hated them, quite the opposite actually. The ones he’d met so far he gets along with very well, even joining them for lunch when his schedule allows it. They’re people he could actually see himself enjoying the company of outside of work. He makes a mental note to invite them all out for drinks this weekend, the ones that were going to be in town for it that is. The problem with his co-stars was actually a singular person, one with striking golden eyes and a face Vlad is sure was sculpted by the gods themselves with the explicit intent to taunt him. 

The brunette squeezed his eyes shut and brought his mug up off the table to take a long sip of his coffee, to distract his wandering mind. He wasn’t going to think about Joel right now. This was his me time, not fantasizing about his coworker time. He had found it too much of a hassle to make the drive back to his apartment the previous night and had opted to instead sleep in his trailer, meaning his clothing for the day were whatever he had supplied for himself when he packed the dressers before it was brought to the lot. A pair of black jeans  and a thick dark grey sweater seemed to be his best options that day, it didn’t matter too much anyways, he would be in and out of costume all day anyways, this outfit was just for his meal breaks. 

He was already showered and ready for the day, which he knew was going to be starting soon, it was already- Jesus 8AM? He had to get moving. He stood up as he chugged the rest of his half finished barely lukewarm coffee, rinsing the mug in the sink and moving to the table on the opposite side of his trailer to grab his script and water bottle before descending the steep ass ramp out of his trailer. Skyler should be here soon, he thought absently, should she not? It wasn’t like her to be late and call time was slowly approaching. He pulled his phone from his pocket as he let the door shut behind him, did she maybe text him and he just hadn’t seen it? 

Ah. He had a few missed texts it seemed.

Displayed brightly on his screen were three texts, the first from his aforementioned assistant, saying the line at their usual coffee shop had been longer than usual and she was running a bit late, delivered maybe 15 minutes ago. Second was from Viola, a picture he’d have to actually open the message to see and the words ‘did you get it yet?????????’ received about 3 minutes ago. He didn’t need to guess what she meant as yes, he had in fact gotten it. The third text is no doubt what she was referring to, and the one that had initially caught his attention. It was from an unknown number, a simple ‘this is joel we should meet to run lines over lunch,’ and he definitely wasn’t mentally scolding his clothing choice for the day. He didn’t have time to dwell on it though as he felt a hand on his shoulder and saw two coffees on a holder come into his line of vision.

“SO sorry for running late Vlad, the line was crazy, even mobile ordering ahead of time they were just slammed.” She sounded out of breath as she spoke to him, her other hand holding the coffee lowering a bit as the hand that had been on his shoulder moved to cover her chest. She looked as professional as ever in her black pantsuit and deep red button up. Her hair was up in a high puff today, a few pieces coming out to frame her face. She moved her free hand to grab her phone from her pocket to go over the itinerary she no doubt had open. “You have a few new faces for your scenes today, some old ones too I noticed! So we should probably get you there just a pinch ahead of time. Wanna head to the set now?” She finally looked up at him as she caught her breath. Vlad was already looking at her when he opened his mouth to speak. He hadn’t thought about a response yet. She’d given him plenty of time to refocus himself and yet here he was, still reeling over a text like some teenager. He raised his phone just a bit.

“Joel texted me.” The silence was deafening. Skylar blinked once. Then twice, before finally letting a smirk overtake her face.

“Oh did he? And why are you telling me this?” Truth be told he didn’t know. Most likely because he hadn’t had a coherent thought since she got there and he’d like to believe they are at least on friendly terms by now. 

“I should respond to it before we head over. It would be rude not to, no?” He turned back to his phone and unlocked it before clicking on the new number to respond, Skyler let out an amused laugh from beside him. He had to send something before he could overthink this, and fast. ‘Yes please omg’ seemed like too much, and a simple ‘Sure.’ was definitely too cold, he needed to be professional but enthusiastic about it. He settled on, ‘I’d actually been meaning to ask you the same, we will discuss further when I get to the set, yes?’ He quickly clicked out of their texts to stop himself from rereading it and opened the text from Viola instead. Texting back a quick ‘I did :3’ he looked over the photo she sent. The picture was quite cute to say the least. The camera was at a high angle, only showing her forehead and eyes at the bottom of the screen, the main focus of the photo being Cathrin and Joel a few feet away holding out their phones in front of one another. Was that a blush he saw? He quickly blinked the thought away and pocketed his phone before turning back to Skyler to let her know he was ready to go.

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Vlad had finished his second cup of coffee before they even stepped foot onto the set they’d be at for their first scene. He had to, after nearly spilling coffee on his Academy uniform earlier in the week he’d had to cut back on his on set coffee breaks. That’s actually why he was now drinking more water,.much to Skyler’s delight he may add. His cane gave gentle clicks as he moved into view of the set, a dark hallway and a door loomed in front of him, this was their scene breaking into the lab if he was not mistaken. The schedule had said all of their group scenes would be before lunch, which meant this one, the trial with the council, and the scene where they get to be hooked up to a bunch of wires. That one made him a bit uneasy if he was telling the truth, he never liked heights much, and having no experience with being hooked up like that he was unsure of how his leg would handle it. They had a fantastic team helping to make accommodations for him, but he’d had his fair share of bad experiences so it was natural to be cautious.

He was broken from his thoughts as he recognized a familiar face out of the corner of his eye. He adjusted himself to face the newcomer and gave a warm smile, “Miah! I was hoping we’d get a chance to chat before we were called to places. You look wonderful! That makeup was a great choice I must say.” His old friend only laughs in response, head tilting back in amusement before coming to embrace him in a small side hug. There was no lie, she was a vision really, in a beautiful all white dress with gold accents that perfectly matched the jewelry in her hair and makeup painting her face.

“Hey Vlad, can’t say I’ve seen the costume or makeup department make anyone look bad so far, yourself included. Did they make your moles bigger? And that vest, oh my god!” She circled him once, as if he didn’t already know how good he looked right now. “The lace up sides are a very nice touch, on both you and Mr. Torres over there.” She gestures somewhere behind him and he has to grip his cane a bit tighter to keep himself from shooting around to gawk at the new topic of their conversation. Instead he just gives a light chuckle and takes a breath to respond- “He’s on his way over.” She says glancing between him and who he can only imagine is the very man that had been capturing every other thought he’d had for the past week. His eyes crease at the corners every so slightly as he turns to look over a shoulder to greet the new addition to their conversation with a polite smile. 

“Joel, how good to see you again, have you met Miah yet? She’ll be playing Mel.” It would be rude to not introduce them, he thought, especially since they’d all be filming the next few scenes together. Joel gives him a glance and turns his attention towards Miah to extend a hand.

“Pleasure to meet you, you are Vladimir's friend?” A shiver definitely does not try to make its way down his spine upon hearing his full name, and gods does he hope he’s not blushing again. The handshake, he notes, is much slower and longer than the one he had received…he tries not to read into that. He looks up at the woman beside them as their hands part, she clasps hers together in front of herself and gives a polite nod.

“The pleasure’s all mine! I was very excited to hear I’d finally be getting a chance to work with you! And to work with Vlad again too, on the same project no less. We’ve been friends since filming that weird pumpkin themed horror movie a few years back. Have you two worked together before? Vlad didn’t mention it when we went over the cast list together.” She raised her eyebrow as she spoke, her eyes pointedly moving between the two of them, as if trying to hint at something almost. It was at that moment he realized Joel had stopped nearly directly behind him, just barely off to the side enough for them to see each other's faces actually. The cough that escapes him is definitely not nervous, just a tickle is what he tells himself as he brings his hand back down to readjust his cane. He reminds himself to ask Skyler where she’d had them put his chair.

“We haven’t. I met him filming a scene earlier in the week,” the taller man’s eyes move to Vlad again, “I’d like to have a word before we’re called to places. I’ll be in my chair.” He started to turn to leave, eyes moving back to Miah, “I look forward to working with you.” And with that he was walking away. He really didn’t like letting people respond did he? Two of their interactions now he’d ended by just walking away. With a small shake of the head he turns back to his friend, who is now trying to hide some very obvious amusement. She says her next words in a hushed tone, her wrist partially covering her mouth.

“Oh my god he’s so into you.” 

“He’s what now?”

Vlad’s jaw drops open and he gives the most incredulous look at the woman across from him. He turns away from her, only to look back at her completely aghast, “He barely looked at me when he was actively speaking to me just now. What about that indicates he’s into me? If anything I’d say he was checking you out!” He emphasizes his words with a flick of the wrist in her direction and tries to keep his voice hushed so nobody overhears their conversation. It is quite embarrassing to be having this conversation while at work actually, something he’d rather keep private.

“Are you kidding me? First of all,” she raises a finger up beside her head. Oh great, she’s making a list, “you didn’t see what his eyes were doing when your back was turned. Second,” another finger and a pointed tilt of the head, “he was staring me down. NOT the same as checking me out. Third,” hopefully the final finger in this conversation raises, “even if he had been we both know he’s nowhere near my type in men. Much too…stoic.” She finishes with a slight downward curl on her lips and a shake of the head before finally putting her hand down to cross her arms over each other. She glanced over his shoulder once more and her eyes just barely widened before she smirks, letting her eyes fall back to his once more. “You better get a move on with your conversation, your man keeps looking at us.” As she looks back again her eyes shift to a new area behind him and stop, her mouth forms a soft ‘o’ and a new look overtakes her and she seems to spot something else, something not Joel he decides. A hand is placed on his shoulder as she very quickly steps around him. Her next words come out quiet as he walks away. “Speaking of my type…I’ll see you on set.” He turns to watch her go with a mild curiosity, eyes following her direction of travel to the prosthetics tent where he could see a very muscular woman with a short ponytail getting pieces attached to her already augmented arm. He gives an impressed hum to himself and nods, he’d definitely have to invite them all out for drinks if for no other reason than to hear about how that develops.

He turns a bit more to face Joel’s direction and notices the other man’s eyes just barely darting down to the script he held in his hand. Vlad begins to make his way over when a very very small chuckle breaks through his lips, any previous tension about how the other perceived him already forgotten. Either he was trying to look nonchalant and failing miserably, or he could read upside down, seeing as that’s the way the script was being held. With a final few steps they’re next to each other and Vlad decides at the last minute he won’t mention the little continuity error in the other's facade.

“Eager to steal my attention eh? I already agreed to have lunch with you.” There’s a chuckle in the way he says it, something light. Joel lifts his eyes from the pages he’d definitely been pretending to read and gives a small hum. His unoccupied hand came up to smooth over his jaw and chin before he spoke, turning his head in his direction but still not fully looking at the man he’s addressing.

“We have a lot of scenes together. It seems our characters become…very good friends, by the end of the season. Over half of the dialogue I’ve read so far is either directed at or talking about your character in some way. We should discuss their dynamic.” With that he turns his head to rest it on his hand, and finally makes eye contact with the other. There’s no real identifiable emotion on his face aside from what seems to be sheer boredom. “I was told by my manager the production team wants them,” he raises his head to make air quotes with the hand he had been leaning on as he continues,”‘strictly platonic with no room for romantic interpretation,’ I assume you were told the same?” Vlad closes his eyes and he lets a little giggle slip at that, bringing the back of his hand up to cover it. He misses the way the other’s light up just a bit more at it.

“I was, yes, I assume you think we should take more creative liberties with it? You wouldn’t be talking to me about it otherwise, correct?” His hand comes back down to rest in his pocket, his posture relaxed, and he gives an inquisitive look. He really hopes he’s about to suggest what he thinks he is.

“Yes. Whether my character knows it or not, he will be in love with yours by the end of the season, and whether yours reciprocates or not is up to you.” He speaks with an air of certainty that leaves no room for discussion, luckily Vlad is already in agreement with him.

“He will. I’m very glad we had this chat actually, I had been planning on adding a level of…longing? I’m aware your character is romantically involved with Miah’s by the second half of the season, however I do love some good old fashioned, one sided, seemingly unrequited tension.” He lets his lip curl up into a mischievous grin as he looks down at the other. “It won’t be too obvious of course, just an underlying something or other to give a bit more depth to their relationship…though it does seem quite deep even without it. They become quite close, no? We should find some time outside of filming to talk, get into character a little as they say.” He’d already said he wanted to find ways to get to know him more, and he fully meant that shit. Whether the reasoning he was giving was the only reason was not important. Joel gives a hum of agreement and looks back down at his script, he’s silent for a second before- oh he’s blushing. He must have finally noticed his script was upside-down.

Credit where it’s due, Joel has a very good poker face aside from the light blush dusted across his cheeks. Vlad keeps his eyes on him as the other clears his throat and closes his script, looking back up as if nothing had even happened. The bell to signal a start rings and places are called, cutting the rest of their conversation short.

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“So far, so good.” He whispers, the glowstick just barely illuminating the lock enough for him to see it. Suddenly a bright light flows over them both, slightly startled he looks directly into it before bringing his hand up to try and deflect some of it. Blinking a few times to correct his eyes he hears a familiar voice in front of him.

“Hmm. Willing to risk exile for your endeavour. That’s quite the conviction.” It’s said with a hint of amusement. They’d filmed this scene a few times already and he felt his lack of lines right here kept making the whole exchange rather awkward. Time for a new strategy I guess.

“Councilor!” He hears from behind him. Quirking a brow up he barely listens to the continued flustered rambling, he feigns confusion and turns back to the keys still in the lock by his face.

“Wait a minute this isn’t my bedroom?” He mutters with mock embarrassment, “How could I have…” Their voices overlap for a second before silence engulfs them. He looks back up at the ‘Councilor’ and sees her fighting for her damn life to keep in the laugh that’s threatening to spill out. She’s come to expect this of him, he supposes, makes it easier to keep her composure. Joel seems as composed as ever, easily continuing on with his lines and it’s only a little disappointing he didn’t laugh. It’s almost too easy the way the rest of the scene flows from there, almost too easy the way Joel looks at Miah with such curiosity and wonder as she walks away with the security guard. Almost too easy how he doesn’t have to fake the way his lips pull up to his nose in distaste, or even the slightly annoyed huff he gives before turning back to the door, bending down to finish unlocking it as the director yells cut. They didn’t have to redo the scene again at least.

Authors note: This shit is 3.5k words and I edited without coffee. Thanks for the love so far! Glad to know yall are liking it. I'll definitely be branching out at some point to do more with Caitvi and Melvika. I'm not sorry about it.

[etherealily]

​🇱​​🇮​​🇹​​🇹​​🇱​​🇪​ ​🇸​​🇮​​🇸​​🇹​​🇪​​🇷​, ​🇩​​🇴​​🇳​❜​🇹​ ​🇾​​🇴​​🇺​ ​🇩​​🇴​ ​🇼​​🇭​​🇦​​🇹​ ​🇾​​🇴​​🇺​​🇷​ ​🇧​​🇮​​🇬​ ​🇸​​🇮​​🇸​​🇹​​🇪​​🇷​ ​🇩​​🇴​​🇪​​🇸​

Based on this request <3

Nate Jacobs + Fem!reader. Warnings : Dark. NSFW. Drugs.

I made this slightly dark because you know me.

A.N: No way I managed to write something with a happy, non-cliffhanger ending. Are you guys proud of me?

P.S : My love for Elvis makes a cameo AGAIN.

You do NOT have permission to repost and/or translate any of my fics.

Desc.: "Hello, You."

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Joe Goldberg had it all wrong.

Sure, stalking people when you know nothing about them is rewarding, yes, but hard, and time-consuming. Good on you, Joe.

But Nate didn't have time. He wanted quick and easy.

And let me tell you something, nothing is easier than stalking a house you already know inside and out.

Nothing is easier than stalking an Instagram profile that you already follow.

Nothing is easier than stalking a girl you already know.

He hadn't exactly prayed for this, okay? But when it did happen, it hit him all at once, like a freight train. Obsession - love - is tricky like that.

What started as a way to check on Maddy after being blocked ended up with scrolling past pictures of her on others' profiles and zooming into yours. Hands in his pants.

It's not even like you reminded him of her, so it was genuinely starting to disgust him, as well, to give him the creeps. You were a junior, it was weird, but it's not like love cares. Heart wants what it wants and all that.

The last name you shared with his ex was the only thing that haunted him. Like actually, haunted him. Like, he'd have dreams about trying to erase your last name and put his instead but it stayed on, like a stain, like a reminder.

Not to mention, he was exactly the opposite of your type.

He'd liked to have tried to say he didn't fit that bill, that he was quote-unquote, not like the other guys, but he genuinely couldn't say that. He was a dick. And he knew it. Badge of honour, baby.

Fucking yay.

The badge didn't really do that great in landing him a date, though.

Yeah, a date, not even a hookup. That's what he'd been reduced to. A simp.

You weren't even all that great, either, and he was genuinely wondering if he was secretly being roofied, the way all great Kings are before attempted regicide. Sure you were hot and not a cunt, but like, that was it. Was Nate attracted to the bare fucking minimum? Is that what your sister had done to him?

No, but then you weren't just not-a-cunt. You were also genuinely kind. Charitable. Genuine.

Fuck. Fucking Perezes giving him migraines and whiplash.

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He was about ninety percent sure you'd be there. You were always there, he'd noticed, at about four thirty sharp, at the bus stop. Your stupid fucking wired earphones on.

Get airpods, you fucking nerd.

Knowing you, you probably didn't want to, lest someone think you were ignoring them when they were talking to you, but you actually had earphones on. Ugh.

The sheets of rain barely let him see you, let alone allow you to hear him, as he leaned with an umbrella on the side of the bus stand, his elbow almost recoiling thanks to the sharp cold. "Yo, Little Perez!"

What the fuck did he just call you? Okay, whatever. He slipped up. Happens to the best of us. Luckily, you didn't hear.

"HEY!"

You frowned, taking out one earbud and trying to look around for the source of the sound. The source waved at you with just his fingers. 'Cause he was cool like that.

"Hey!" Jesus, even with the thunder and the incessant shattering rain, he could swear your voice just changed his brain chemistry.

"You're wet as fuck!"

"That's not how you catcall someone! You fucked up the line!" Ha. Fucking amazing. THIS kinda humour, he could get by.

"Are you womansplaining how to catcall to a guy?!"

You rolled your eyes, chuckling. "What do you want, Jacobs?!"

"Having a little moment?!", he asked, nodding at your phone. "Or do you need a ride?!"

"Bus!", you called back.

"Which one?", he asked, before looking at the sign on the side of the bus stand. "Wait, 4A through Kemper?! It's cancelled 'cause of the rain!"

"What?!"

"Yeah, check it out!", he said, whipping out his phone as you moved closer, tilting it so you could see the bus schedule update. That he totally did not find from months ago and edit to pass off as today's.

Your eyes widened and your fists clenched. "Motherf--!", you cut yourself off, kicking the bench slightly. "Still offering that ride?"

"Sure, I'm going through Kemper, anyway."

"Why are you going through Kemper?"

"My Dad owns the apartment complexes past there, so I'm just doing the routine drop-ins and shit. Keep 'em scared of the boss or whatever."

You were being uncommonly attentive to his reasoning. He had not expected that. Good thing he didn't slack off on alibi prep.

"So. Whaddaya say? Need a ride?"

You nodded. "Of course I need a ride. This fuckin' town, man. Stupid bus schedules.", you muttered, following him - and his umbrella - to his car.

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"You sure it's okay?", you asked for the second time since you entered his car and graced it with your scent. "Like, it's all muddy."

He sighed, looking down under your feet. No, it irked him and if it were anyone else, he'd have tweaked out. Not you, though.

'And besides', he realised, grumbling as he looked down at his own feet, "I'm makin' it muddy, too.", he assured, completing his thought by saying it.

"Just this right.", you instructed, and he turned right. Where the fuck were you going?

"Where are you takin' me? Got a ransom or something?"

You smiled, rolling your eyes. "Left, then second right."

Okay, you wouldn't answer that, apparently. Fine. Elephant needs to be addressed, then.

"Aren't you supposed to hate me?"

You frowned, scoffing softly as you turned to him. "What?"

"I dated your big sister. All the shit that happened with us. No way she didn't tell you."

"Yeah, she did."

He waited for elaboration, but found none.

"So? You don't care?"

"Look, Nate, I think you're an asshole for what you did to my sister."

Yeah, you'd be weird as fuck to think otherwise.

"But I know my sister. She's not... she's not a complete saint, either."

Obviously, you're referring to the multiple times she's cheated on him. You're being deliberately vague because you think he doesn't know and it's that kind of concern for others' wellbeing that makes him want to tell you to do whatever the hell you want to him right now.

"So I'm just not getting into it, okay?"

Okay. "Okay."

"Yeah, right here. Right here's good.", you said, and he came to a stop, watching you gather your stuff and practically fly out.

"Rue Bennett?", you asked the - could he say receptionist? Or was this guy just out there with a ledger? - receptionist, breathlessly.

"She just signed in. Sponsor?'

"Escort."

Huh. Huh. WOW. You were charitable enough to fuck around with RUE BENNETT? Jesus, who were you, Mother Teresa?

"Hey, is this an AA meeting or something?", he called, elbow leaning out the window.

"Yeah, my friend doesn't have a good track record of attending, I gotta make sure she's there! But thanks, Nate, I owe you one big time, man!", you called back, scrawling your name onto the ledger before running into the building.

He watched you disappear until the ledger guy cleared his throat. "You an addict, too?"

Nate snorted softly, scoffing and shaking his head as ledger-dude started laughing. "Fuck off, man.", he replied, key in the ignition again.

"Don't blame you, kid!", he called, and Nate wanted to punch him. No way was he watching you go in, too. That shit was creepier than Nate wanting you. "Have a good one!"

Oh, he would.

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"Yo, hey. Little Perez." Fuck, why did he keep calling you that? It was fucking retarded.

"Hey, Nate."

"I think you owe me something."

"You know that's just a thing people say?"

"Mm, yeah, but...", he muttered, shrugging. "I'm a man of my word, so I think everyone else should be too. Unless you think not keeping up your promises is good?"

You rolled your eyes. "You don't need to guilt me into it. Just ask."

"There's a party. You're coming to it."

"Nah, no parties."

"What are you, gonna give me some bullshit 'I-don't do-parties-I'm-not-like-other-girls' excuse? Or the 'they're-so-overwhelming' excuse?"

"Next week's finals week."

Oh. Okay, well, now he just feels like a dick.

"Oh, shit, my bad. Forgot you little juniors have it a month earlier than we do.", he muttered, watching you for a moment before he decided enough was enough. He'd just ask.

"What are you even doing?", he asked, watching you take the last sealed box from your friend and place it in front of the notice board at the school entrance.

You looked back up at him, before unrolling the chart you'd been working on during study hall yesterday. "Hm? Oh, fundraiser."

"For this hellhole of a school?"

"Uh, no.", you replied, shaking your head. "For the soup kitchen, through the school."

He snorted. "Right. Who's even gonna sign up?"

"Hey, they signed up for the ASPCA thing last fall. Must be the community waking up.'

Or guys wanting to dick you down.

"Yeah, but that's 'cause it's you who asked them to."

"Hey, you wanna sign up?"

He scoff-laughed, raising a brow. "Me? For the soup kitchen?"

You knelt down, ironing out the poster with your palms, looking up at him expectantly.

No way you weren't doing that shit on purpose. No way. Wait... you- you weren't. That was a genuine fucking question and you didn't understand that there's no way he could say no to you when you look at him like that? Jesus.

He sighed, magnanimously. "What do you need me to do?"

"Well, you're tall. So just help us hang this thing up. Ladder's not tall enough."

Humming, he took the poster from you, giving it a once over. Jesus. "You made this?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah.", you nodded, hands on your hips. "Cool?"

"Couldn't make this shit if I tried."

"That a compliment?"

"Supposed to be. But you're right, it's a toss-up. I'd never try in the first place.", he mumbled, nodding subtly at you before he climbed up a couple rungs. "Here?"

"Mhm. Maybe like a tiny bit higher?"

He'd climb Everest for you. He just wished you'd know that.

"Here?"

"Yeah, perfect. You need tape, or do you think you can hold it up long enough to use a couple push pins on each corner?"

"I think I can handle it.", he replied, unamused, but he hid a grin at your laughter. Not to call the Lord's name in vain, but Jesus, were you fucking with him.

He leaned down to get the clear plastic box of colourful pins from you, placing it on the top rung of the ladder for a moment and taking a couple out. "So like, two on each corner?"

No response.

"Yo, Little Perez?"

"Uh... maybe three?"

That wasn't you. Who the fuck was this dweeb?

"Who the fuck are you?"

"I'm Cole.", the kid said, still holding the ladder down securely, as if that was his life duty.

"Did I ask your fucking name?"

He's a dick, but this was too much, even for him. But you'd just gone AWOL, so yeah, he was kinda pissed.

"No, I...", the kid muttered, kinda pathetically.

He huffed. "Where is Y/N?"

"She's over there.", he mumbled, and Nate's gaze followed his scrawny little hand to see you talking to Maddy. Huh.

Yeah, Nate was the problem. Maybe he always was.

Why, in his stupid little mind, you guys were totally different universes, he didn't know.

Why his stupid little mind didn't expect for those universes to clash, he had no clue.

You were sisters! Stayed in the same fucking house, maybe even sometimes the same fucking room! What sort of idiot would hope for the opposite? Him, apparently. He needed you as far away from her as possible.

Hard task, but if Joe Goldberg could do that to a girl and her best friend, he could do it to a girl and her sister.

════════════════════ 🔭 ═════════════════════

"You're tweaking out, man, what is up with you recently?"

He rubbed his hands across his face. "The little sister asked me, okay, I didn't want beef with both Perezes, yeah? So just shut the fuck up and come."

"At least can we bring booze?"

"No, they're including East Highland Middle School, too."

Yeah, convincing an entire football team (plus Chris McKay, in hopes that he'd bring his college football gang) to take part in some soup kitchen fundraiser wasn't exactly simple.

Definitely not as simple as, say, mapping out your room in his head so that when the time came to inevitably kiss you against the door, he wasn't losing face looking for the bed or bumping into your snazzy little swivel chair.

Which he, of course, did a shitty job of. He refused, for his pride, to become one of those binoculars-using creeps. He considered himself more subtle than that. And sophisticated.

But anything was better than the mess he was making of this.

"What is this, like, a bowling thing? A raffle?"

"Car wash."

"With the cheerleaders in it?"

Maybe he should've led with that.

"I mean, maybe? I'm sure Y/N could convince them..."

"Shit, I'm down. It's one of those wet, soapy ass ones you gotta get into bathing suits for, right?"

Yeah, definitely should've led with that. He nodded.

He fist-bumped, dapped-up, and took as many shoulder pats as were thrown at him, before he raised a brow. McKay was still in there, his arms crossed.

"Was this what your whole question was about?"

"Huh?"

"You texted me last night."

Oh, yeah. Drunk.

"Shit, yeah. Just ignore that."

"Yo, McKay. Ever fallen for an ex's sister? How 2 deal with it? Lmk.", he read out, sarcastically trying to imitate Nate's voice.

"I was shitfaced, man."

"Right."

Nodding, Nate shoved his hands into his pocket. "You'll show up? To the fundraiser thing. I really am tryna be a good person, 'kay? Don't want to disappoint Perez Number Two."

"See, Nate, what's throwin' me off is that you're not saying you wanna fuck this sister, you're saying you're falling in love with her."

"Uh-uh, no, no, I said falling for her."

"Same thing, man."

"No, it's not."

McKay chuckled, and Nate couldn't help but reciprocate. "Seriously, Nate, I don't know if it's a good idea."

"She's completely fucking different, man, I'm telling you, she and her sister are, like... fucking worlds apart." Who the fuck was he trying to convince?

"That's dangerous, Nate, there's so much could go wrong--"

"Man, I just need some advice. I don't know how to do the boyfriend thing, clearly. I actually like this girl." Ew, what the fuck had you done to him?

"What are you, sweet on Lexi Howard, now?", he scoffed, clenching his jaw. "As if you haven't fucked up the Howards' life enough."

It's good that McKay thinks the ex he's talking about is Cassie. Actually kind of dumb.

He'd just tried to convince footballers to join a fundraiser for you, and he thinks it's Lexi Howard he wants.

Maybe this dumbassery is why he lost Cassie.

"Hey, Lexi did that on her own with that stupid fucking play of hers."

"Yeah? And it was the play that fucked Cassie for months?"

He fell silent. Yeah, McKay and him had never actually spoken about the whole fucking-his-ex-girlfriend thing, but he figured they weren't technically still together.

"Man, look, I'm not with her anymore. I- we're done. Yeah?"

"Yeah, I know.", he spat.

"She's all yours, man.", he muttered, before McKay scoffed.

"Like I want your sloppy seconds. And who the fuck are you, giving me permission?"

"If you think I still want Cassie, you're a fucking retard, McKay."

He scoffed, shaking his head. "Chill, man, okay, I'm not gonna--", he cut himself off, rubbing his hands over his face. "We're cool, I just wish you'd have told me, and I didn't have to find out about it fucking... months later."

Huh. Wow. McKay was a better man than Nate was, for sure. If McKay had been fucking Maddy, he'd have committed double homicide.

"Alright, look, my advice is just don't put up a front. If you're a dick- which you fucking are - just own it, and make it cute."

"Cute?"

"Self-awareness. Girls love it. Pearl of wisdom, brother, you owe me with your life."

"Wait, so I'm just gonna have to continue being a dick?", he called, as McKay shouldered past him.

"Yeah, but consciously make an effort not to be. It's a delicate balance. But you'll find it!"

Either McKay had just ruined his life or given him the best advice in the world.

════════════════════ 🔭 ═════════════════════

"Jesus Fucking Christ."

Yeah, he was going to hell.

But what the fuck else could he say?

Who the hell would have thought the turnout for a fucking soup kitchen car wash would be this huge? Who even were half these kids?

Of course, nothing would beat the ASPCA thingie you'd organised in the fall, even Nate came to that. But that was just 'cause Maddy liked cats. Or whatever.

The fucking vibe of the place - you wouldn't think this was a school, no, it was some sort of car-washing-frat-party-cult. And you, absolutely fucking oblivious to this miracle you somehow conjured up, stood in the middle, with a clipboard and a very stressed out look on your face.

"Yo, Little Perez, you seeing this shit?", he mumbled, unable to force the awe out of his tone as he nudged you.

"Yeah, your little football friends are literally supposed to be vollunteers. Instead, they're paying more that actual customers."

"Money's money, hon."

"I suppose that's true. Horny teenagers are the best market."

There we go, you were a quick study, he'd give you that.

"Why do you look like you got a stick up your ass? Relax, maybe bring your car to be washed? It's a success!"

Normally, he'd have asked you to go topless and get to work. But something told him that kind of joke wouldn't fly with you. And besides, why the fuck would he wanna see middle aged men in cars grinning at you cleaning?

"People leave without paying sometimes."

"It's for charity, no one's gonna cheap out."

You snorted, loudly at that. "You'd be fucking surprised, man."

"Still, no need to be this stressed. You're fine. See? All that? You made it happen. Little Orphan Annies throughout the state owe their lives to you, or whatever.'

"It's not just for orphans, for like, anyone who's hungry and needs some food, so, like the--"

"Okay, so homeless people. The less fortunate. My bad." Dick, but consciously trying not to be.

You smiled softly, nodding. "Yeah. Precisely. And I just hope this is enough, y'know?"

He rolled his eyes, watching the footballers wolf whistle at the cheerleaders turning on the hose. "Money-making-machine right there."

"You know what would get more female customers?"

"I don't know, Brad Pitt? Penn Badgley?"

"The 6'5 star QB giving 'em a show."

He chuckled incredulously, raising a brow at you, arms folded. "Nope. No fucking way. You want me to strip? I already brought in so many people!"

"You're right, you're right. You've done enough. I was just kidding."

He grunted softly, though it was more out of amusement than frustration. "I do this, you'll come to the party?"

"Finals week. And I was kidding, man."

"If I host a party after finals week. Will. You. Come." , he asked, battling a grin. Yeah, he sounded annoyed but that's the last thing he could be when you stood there in flip flops with a pen tapping anxiously on a clipboard you've scribbled on.

"Sure."

"No bullshit?"

"No bullshit."

"And you'll drink and actually fucking participate? You won't try to turn the whole thing into an AA meeting?"

"Jesus, no!"

His hands moved to opposite ends of the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his body. "You are a fucking genius. Getting me to do all this.", he whispered, shaking his head before flipping you off as he jogged over to the next car in the lineup.

"You volunteered!", you called back, and he could hear the laughter in your voice. Fuck, RIP his brain chemistry.

════════════════════ 🔭 ═════════════════════

"What? No! You don't get it. None of my guy friends get it."

He's gonna pretend that didn't sting. 'Guy friends'. May very well be 'gay best friend'. Being reduced to a non-dateable-option wasn't the best feeling, but part of you was better than none of you.

And he couldn't blame you, even if it was you putting your guard up.

Everyone who asks you out is turned the fuck down. And they are all a very specific genre of human - sorry, subhuman. Jocks. No, sorry, that would make him fall into that bracket.

Idiot jocks. Who couldn't think about anything but fucking and fighting.

But luckily for you, he had the looks, the physique, and the smarts and sophistication that came with being a Jacobs.

Whole package.

However, the way this shit was going, he'd have to watch as some hippie tweaker who 'believes that animals are people, too, dude, go vegan or go home!' got to date you.

It's weird, right? How someone can change you so quick.

He just wanted you. Like, he wanted you.

He wanted to know your darkest secrets and never use them.

He wanted to know how tall your walls were and break through them.

He wanted to know why you were so fucking nice to people like Rue motherfucking Bennett, and he wanted to exploit it.

But most of all, he wanted to know what made you tick. What turned you off a dude. What could possibly make you blow a gasket.

What made you... You.

"I just think that you guys don't get how much like, potential Loki has. As a boyfriend."

"Yeah, but Thor's jacked, he's not fucking evil, and he's, like, a superhero!"

"Loki isn't evil, he's just--"

"If you say misunderstood, I'm going to crash out.", he muttered, pushing some hair behind your ear. With his luck, you'd ignore it, because of course friends help you when hair's getting into your eyes!

"But he is misunderstood, okay? Like, he was constantly made to feel inferior in every way!" See? Ignored.

He watched you take a bite of your pasta before taking a bite of his burger. "I swear, girls always do this, they go for the worst possible option and then justify it instead of going to the best option and enjoying it."

Shut up. Yeah, the irony wasn't lost on him. Hardy har har.

"Loki changed at the end. Okay? He'd just assumed that Odin's mistreatment was something Thor believed in himself, even though Thor thought of him as a brother!"

He groaned, a slightly pained laugh escaping him. "Next you're gonna say you're Team Cap."

"What? No! No, Tony was right."

He tilted his head. Huh. Brains. "Yeah. Good. 'Least you got something right, but now you got me thinking you have an aversion to blondes."

You chuckled and he swears he's going to lose it from your smile alone.

"How's finals going?"

"Good. Kinda scared for results, though.", you mumbled, shaking your head. "I'm so scared that every second I don't spend studying is another mark lost, and I'm losing it."

"Jesus, there's the fucking stick again. I swear, you should just--"

But it's like the universe was not okay with him winning, because in came your gang of nerds - sorry, your fellow student council members - to whisk you away.

"I'll see you later, Jacobs, okay?"

"Nate!", he called back, almost warning, before he was affronted with the sight of Maddy rolling her eyes at him. "Did you just call out your own name?"

"Shut up, Maddy. I was talking to someone."

"That's literally fucking pathetic."

Look who's talking.

════════════════════ 🔭 ═════════════════════

You didn't seem to actually do much to give him enough insight into your life, seriously.

You came to school, talking with your sister on the way.

You spent your school day doing nothing but going to classes and occassionally talking with Nate (fucking yay), and then you spent an extra hour and a half at school for some after school bullshit you did, he didn't care enough. And then you came home and studied.

Like, what a fucking nerd. What a sexy fucking nerd.

But finals week was over, and he'd even given you another week to wait for results, and now he was hosting a party.

Well, McKay was.

And you weren't coming.

One thing he couldn't stand for was you lying to him. Which was exactly what you did.

You had a date, you said, and that would have resulted in him getting into a car accident - that wasn't really an accident - on the highway if he believed you.

But he knew you weren't going on a date. You were going back to the fucking AA meeting for fucking Rue Bennett. There should be some limit to your charity.

But like the calm, level-headed individual he was, he didn't crash out, he simply schooled his face, took deep breaths - and maybe a can of beer - and parked his car gracefully.

His hand stilled on his seatbelt, and he looked down at the buckle for a moment, lost in thought.

No, no, fuck it. No second thoughts. He undid the buckle, getting out before locking the car with a beep.

The trees shrouding his sight slowly gave way as he walked, and right there, to his left, on the stairs, was you.

Ledger-guy wasn't there, and so you were aimlessly playing with the pen that hung from the spring tether attached to his table.

You watched it bobble around each time you pushed it away and then watched it swing right back to you, regardless of how hard you'd pushed it, albeit unknowingly.

There was a metaphor there. He was sure of it.

"Hey.", he said softly, carefully. "Thought I'd find you here."

You looked up at him, but didn't even seem to have the energy to act guilty. "Hey."

He sat down with a low exhale, his knees bending uncomfortably as he nudged your shoulder with his own. "Yo."

You turned to him, nodding.

"What's going on? How come you're out here? She could've snuck out by now."

"She won't. She's doing really well. She's been sober for almost two months now."

He let out a soft whistle, nodding, before looking back at you, frowning slightly. "So why do you look depressed?"

"Her withdrawals, y'know, um. They're gone, but like... this two month mark is usually where it goes downhill, so I'm, like... worried, or whatever."

"It's gonna stick this time."

"Told myself that last year."

"Look, we've all grown up together. Small town. I- I'm not, like, fucking 'BFFs'... ", he muttered, using air quotes, "...with Rue, but she's strong.", he continued.

You shrugged lightly. "I guess."

"Hey, look. She's been through a lot. Her Dad kicked the bucket a while ago, her little sister found her ODd, rehab, lack thereof, relapse, all that shit. She'll get through it. And she's doing well enough right now. I saw her at school yesterday, she looks good. Like, healthy."

He was seriously wondering if he'd been hexed, because here he was, admitting he'd noticed Rue Bennett's sobriety, and spoken in favour of her, all for you. To alleviate your worries. To get that sadness off your face.

You nodded. "But I'm just... I hate that I can't be there with her through every bad moment."

Like he wanted to be with you.

"Hey.", he sighed, shuffling closer, brushing hair from your eyes and moving your head to his shoulder both in one swift motion. "She's here, isn't she? In there? Talking about her sobriety? She's going to school, too. You got her there."

Scoffing, you shook your head. Your humility would be the death of you, he's sure of it. "No, her family did. Mr. Ali did."

"You escorted her to every single meeting, without fail. You don't miss a single week."

Please don't ask how he knows, please don't ask how he knows-

"I guess."

Phew.

"Right. Trust me, one step at a time. Okay? She'll be fine."

You hummed and he looked at his reflection in his phone screen so he could analyze what a fucking simp he'd become.

"Thanks."

"Oh, shut up.", he scoffed. "'Thanks' like hundreds of people - and animals - don't owe you one already."

"Why do you do that?"

"What?"

"Put me up on a pedestal?"

"You'd rather I treat you like everyone else?"

"How do you treat everyone else?"

"How you'd expect me to."

You bit the inside of your cheek. "Why did you strangle my sister?"

If he had a beer in his mouth, he'd spit it out. "Anger issues."

"Did you get help for them?"

Who the fuck were you? He tells you he strangled your sister 'cause he was pissed, you want to know if he went to a shrink to get that shit out of him. He shook his head.

"Why not?"

"It's just about the only defence mechanism I have."

He didn't like how your stupid questioning made him feel as if he really was talking to a fucking shrink. He'd never admitted that before.

"Oh."

He took a long, deep breath, before patting on the tops of his thighs, standing. "C'mon."

"What? Where? Rue's still in there.", you asked, looking up at him as he stood over you.

"We'll be back before it's over."

════════════════════ 🔭 ═════════════════════

The waves threatened to devour your feet, but didn't seem to have the power to actually make good on their threats.

"I'm driving Rue back."

"It's PBR. It's impossible to get drunk off it, trust."

You shrugged, taking the can and popping it open.

He watched your lips wrap around the edge of the can, and your throat as it cascaded down it. Holy. Shit.

Taking a sip himself, he shifted so that his elbow was resting loosely on his knee. "Never have I ever...", he mused, grinning as he watched your eyes roll.

"Oh, sweet Jesus.", you scoffed.

"You skipped out on the party. I refuse to let you spend tonight without a little bit of fun."

"And 'never have I ever' is the way to do that?"

He shrugged. "Never have I ever.... kissed a girl.", he finished, taking a sip.

He was pleasantly surprised to see you take one, too.

"Oh, this I gotta hear."

"Keep your panties on, it was my best friend, and we just wanted to practice kissing, get my first kiss over with."

What a liar.

"Your best friend?", he scoffed, raising a brow.

"...'s sister.", you admitted, biting your lip.

"There we go. Cassie Howard isn't a bad choice for a first kiss."

You shook your head. "Yeah, I know. Just felt weird. Like I was betraying Lexi or something. You never go for the sisters, y'know?"

Oof. Right in the heart. It was like it was directed at him.

"Yeah, but you weren't dating her."

"Well, yeah, but it's the principle."

He exhaled, before taking another sip. "Tell ya what. I'll drive Rue and you home. Get the stick outta your ass.", he muttered, pulling out a packet of pre-rolleds.

"Wh- no, what? You want me stoned in a car with a recovering addict?"

Okay. Fine. Fair.

"Fine, then here.", he replied, handing you his pocket flask. "It's whiskey, not poison."

You looked at it, contemplating for a while before sighing. "You know where she lives, right?"

"Uh huh."

"And where I- well, yeah, 'course you know where I live.", you mumbled, still gazing at the bottle.

"Don't you trust me?", he asked, softly, tilting his head.

════════════════════ 🔭 ═════════════════════

The door swung open and he stood face-to-face with Maddy, the ex he hadn't seen for almost the entire school year. Well, that she knew of.

"Hey."

"Jesus.", she muttered, gently grabbing you from his arms. You were - surprisingly- still coherent, but you couldn't really be trusted to stand on your own. "The fuck did you drink?"

"Whiskey.", he piped up, handing you over carefully.

"And you just happened to be walking by?"

"No, we were waiting for Rue's drug meeting thing to get over, and we just went a couple blocks away to the beach."

Maddy scoffed, still stroking your hair as she glared at him. "Where you gave her whiskey."

"Well, yeah, she's been stressed the whole week, which you'd know if you cared."

"Oh, please, like you care more about my sister than I do." she spat.

He shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'll see you around, Maddy. Bye, Y/N.", he mumbled, turning around.

See, this was why he had to get you the fuck away from your sister. She'd never trusted anybody in her life, but you were different, you had a heart.

"What did you say to her?", she called as his key turned in his car lock.

To Rue? He'd said that you'd told him to tell you that you had an urgent emergency at the soup kitchen, and to walk herself the fuck home.

"What?"

"She'd never drink while waiting on Rue."

Huh. Okay, fine, so she knew some things about you. But she was your sister, so it was less impressive than how much he knew. So there.

Not that it was a competition.

"I didn't say anything. Told her to get the stick outta her ass."

"Did you like... how did you convince her?"

I asked whether she trusted me and gave her the most solemn look ever.

He shrugged. "Dunno. Guess she needed a break that bad and I'm the only one willing to give her one.", he responded, getting into his car.

That was so badass. Write that down.

════════════════════ 🔭 ═════════════════════

"What now? Does UNICEF need your help?", he groaned, barely holding himself back from yelling.

"I got grounded for being drunk. Maddy tried to sneak me up, but my mom caught me."

He doubted that. Maddy probably took you upstairs slowly on purpose so that you wouldn't be able to come to this party, either.

"Just sneak out. Come on. You've already skipped out on, like, two parties."

"Hey! The first one doesn't count, I wasn't coming to that, anyway, it was finals week!"

Rolling his eyes, he wrapped his arm around your shoulder. "If you come I'll donate to charity.", he whispered in your ear, breathing in the smell of your hair.

You laughed at that, exactly like he wanted. "Is that all you think my life is?"

"Come on. Do it for the kids."

"I've never snuck out before."

"Maddy'll teach you, I'm sure.", he scoffed, shooing you off to your next class. "She's coming anyway."

"You're an ass."

"Badge of honour, baby!", he called, waving. Okay. This was good. Finally.

---

Watching McKay do a keg stand wasn't exactly on his bucket list for the night, but hey, he had to do something until you arrived.

He looked down at his watch. When he'd passed by your house, he'd watched you getting dressed through your window. Maddy was doing her makeup in the room next to yours.

That was a half hour ago. The drive from your place to McKay's wasn't even fifteen minutes. So where the hell were you? He was looking around - had been since he'd arrived - for your blue dr-- oh.

What an idiot. It's possible you'd changed after he had left. Right. So blue dress not counted. Now he was left just looking for you.

Logical deduction suggested you'd already showed up, but then again, you could be in a bathroom, seeing as you seemed so nervous about sneaking out perfectly that you hadn't really had the time to put on makeup yet.

Not that you needed it. But still. Would look nice.

And he was right.

You were right there, cutting uncomfortably through the crowds, beelining to the bathroom. He called your name, but the music drowned him out. Fine. Whatever.

He stopped the bathroom door from closing behind you. "There you are."

You watched him through the mirror, before turning around. "Have you seen Rue?!", you called, your phone to your ear.

Unacceptable. Un-fucking-acceptable. You cannot be this selfless. It's actually unhealthy.

"No, why?" He fought a frustrated eye roll. Let her OD, at least the rest of the town could have some semblance of peace once she's dead!

"She's here, that I know, but she isn't responding to any of my texts! Or calls.", you added, gesturing at the phone by your ear. "Straight to voicemail."

"She's probably just having fun, like you should probably be doing.", he reasoned, gently taking the phone from you and ending the call, shoving the thing into his back pocket.

"I told her not to come."

"Then she should have fucking listened. Hey- hey, it's not your fault that she doesn't take care of herself.", he whispered, his thumbs rubbing arcs on your cheeks. "Why are you so... just relax.", he murmured, kissing your forehead.

"No, Nate, you don't get it, she came because she thinks she's ready, and that she knows if anything goes wrong, I'm right here."

"Look, you can't let people depend on you so much, you're going to lose your shit. Trust me, I know. My mother doesn't have anything but me and my brother, and it's hell. She doesn't take care of herself, she lets our Dad walk all over her-", he muttered, still wondering how you're, yet again, effortlessly making him say shit he's never told another soul.

"But what if something goes wrong?"

"Nothing's going to go wrong."

"Hey, last time she was at a party, she met this weird kid Elliot, who got her hooked again."

"She won't relapse. It won't happen. You're right here."

"I'm not with her, though."

"You don't need to be. She's a big girl, she'll take care of herself. And besides, you won't be there with her her whole life, will you? Making sure she's sober. She'll graduate this year and go to college. She isn't going to depend on a high schooler to keep her safe all the way in college, is she?"

He can tell that you fully understand what he's saying, and that you even agreed, to an extent, but he certainly didn't blame you for not accepting it. You were just unnecessarily caring, almost to a fault.

This was all you knew.

"You need someone to take care of you, too, sometimes.", he said, bending his head so he was now looking up at you, from where he had you perched on the countertop. "Yeah?"

"What? What are you even- look, you're wasting time, Nate, I don't want her relapsing, I cant- I know it's selfish, but I can't go through all that with her again, Nate--"

Selfish? You were the antonym of that word, and it was disgusting that you couldn't even see it.

"I get it. Sometimes you need a break, too. Need someone to love on you. Need to know that what you're doing isn't thankless."

You looked down at him, a soft frown on your face that he wanted to hug off you.

"I can see it. You're not denying it.", he teased sing-songily, tapping your nose.

You grinned softly, trying your damndest to hide it. "Shut up."

"You're a good person, whether you're on Rue-watch 24/7, or looking out for your sister so that she doesn't get abducted by the guys she fucks, or being the most charitable bitch this side of... well... Earth.", he chuckled.

"Do you have a point? Or are you just doing the pedestal thing again?"

"My point is this."

Kissing you was exactly how he'd imagined it would be. Smooth, slow and correct. Not correct as in he was doing it correctly - god, he fucking hoped he was - no, correct as in this was probably the only purpose he'd had for his life.

He could feel you shifting away, and he shook his head. "No. No, no, no. Don't. The sister card's not gonna work."

"But it's valid.", you murmured, trying to pull away as he pulled you closer.

"No, the fuck it isn't.", he replied against your lips, pulling you toward the edge of the counter. "Shut up."

"That's mean."

"Yeah? Well, so are you. How's that for a pedestal?", he asked, his lips on your shoulder. "Look.", he sighed, finally, finally able to bring himself to look at your face. "Just say yes."

"To what?"

He scoffed. "World peace. What do you think? Me."

"You?"

He nodded, attempting to fix your hair as best he could. "I care, see?"

"Oh, sorry, yes, messing up my hair is, like, peak boyfriend."

"Fixing it is. I don't do that for anyone.", he retorted, kissing your forehead again. "One date."

"'One date' is wild. Because that'll totally convince me.", you laughed, and he tsked, shaking his head.

"You're not funny. Seriously. Like, one date. And it's gonna be completely secret. No Maddy messing with us. No Rue messing with us. No Cassie. No... no one else."

It had just occurred to him how many people really had messed with his life so far. No longer.

"One date?"

Huh, wow. You were considering it. That's more than he'd expected from you.

"One.", he assured.

"One."

════════════════════ 🔭 ═════════════════════

"I am?"

"Yeah, like, way different than what I thought you'd be like. Your whole thing was like, asshole."

One date had turned to a second, a third, and now, here he was, on the same beach with you again, watching you smoke the pre-rolled cig you'd declined a couple months ago.

"Can't say you're that different than I thought, though. You're exactly who you seem to be."

"Is that good or bad?"

"I don't know, you tell me.", he grinned, taking the blunt back from you.

"Aren't you the expert on all this personality stuff?"

He chuckled. "There's only one thing I am - and want to be - the expert on."

"What's that?"

"You."

He was, and, if his plans went well, he would continue to be. He could one-up your sister, he could one-up Rue Bennett, he could one-up every single loser in town.

Because he'd know everything about you.

He'd know you.

[invinciblerodent]

This is apparently my fight-starting post now, but on the same note, I'm also bold italicized begging people to realize that most of the increased attachment they feel for the previous companions when compared to the new ones very likely comes down to us almost all having had a decade to think about the others.

Like. I'm not going to say that being super attached to your blorbo from ten years ago would be wrong. It's excellent, even. I pretty much imprinted onto Dorian when I was like, barely not a teenager anymore, and I, a whole-ass thirty-year-old, was clapping and hooting like a seal when he showed up for all of the five minutes he had in-game.

But let's be so very fucking real for a second, and ask ourselves: are the new companions genuinenely less detailed/quirky/loveable, or did you finish the game a month ago?

Are you "less attached" to the cast because they'd genuinely be simpler/less appealing/less interesting/whatever to you, or did you meet them this past november, when you were also a decade older than you were when you met the previous batch of idiots, whom you've been thinking about for years?

Seriously, before posting, maybe just.... take a moment, and devote it to thinking about whether something is actually worse, or if it's just new, and you're allergic to change.

There is something unsurprising but nevertheless deeply disheartening in how I purposefully seek out content about Davrin (even though I'm kinda not fully here and just poking around on my phone, I'm sometimes still prowling the tags, searching his name, posting about him whenever I can, I'm even in a community that's ABOUT him), and yet it feels like I see magnitudes more fanart and headcanons about Viago de Riva of all than him.

Like. I knew shit was bad, but when it feels like I organically encounter far more stuff about a fairly minor side-npc (who is just one of the leaders of one of the factions, with ties to one of six potential player backgrounds) than one of the major companion characters with a fully fledged romance arc whose stuff I'm actively looking for, that's... that sure is something.

[funishment-time]

sorry i was gone for like 2 hours or something

evidently they CAN keep a bad bitch down