#if my roommate thinks i'm being odd right now. let her think i'm being odd

[katierosefun]

is there really a better combination than bread and butter. i love you bread i love you butter i love you carbs and fat

[beenbaanbuun]

Late Night, Come Home - Kim Seokjin

It's been a while... sorry about that. I went through a period of writers block that turned into a year of writers block. Mix that with the fact that I travelled to the other side of the world for three months this summer. I've been a little busy lmaoooooo. Buy, hey, I'm back. No idea how often I'll be writing or posting and I wont promise anything, but this is a start, right?

Words: 3.2k

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: Language, Making out, Jin being the nicest man alive

You stood there, dripping rainwater onto the door mat outside of your neighbour's apartment. It was a long shot given the fact that it was almost 3 AM, but you had no choice. You couldn’t get into your own apartment and you desperately needed somewhere to stay for the night. You knocked again, the guilt of potentially waking him up already gnawing at you. 

“I’m coming,” a voice said from the other side of the door. The jingle of keys soon followed and before you knew it, the door swung open to reveal Kim Seokjin. Your neighbour. 

He stood there, looking down at you with barely open eyes. Pyjama bottoms hung loose around his hips as if they’d just been thrown on before he came to open the door, but he hadn’t had the courtesy to throw on a top. The knowledge that your neighbour slept naked sunk in slowly, a pink blush steadily rising through your body. 

“Hi, Mr Kim,” you greeted, voice sheepish. 

“Don’t call me that,” he grumbled, “makes me feel old.”

It was awkward. You didn’t know what to say. After all, you couldn’t exactly just barge into his house, nor could you really ask him if he’d let you sleep there. Your mother had always taught you that it was good manners to wait to be invited in. The last thing you wanted was to add to that by making him think you were rude. 

“Sorry,” you spluttered. You couldn’t look at him, scared that your eyes would linger for too long on his toned abs or his plush lips that you hadn’t really paid much attention to until now. Instead, you looked at your feet and the wet patch that surrounded them. You were lucky the hallway was sheltered, although you doubted your clothes could soak up any more water if they tried. 

“No problem,” he was avoiding looking at you too. You’d clearly gone out for the night and the tight white dress that had gone see through in the rain left nothing to the imagination. As much as he wanted to take a good long stare, he was a gentleman. “I assume it’s an emergency.” 

Was it? It felt stupid to say that it was, especially when the whole situation was avoidable. But as you stood there, terrified of the thought of having to sleep in the hallway all night, you decided that yes, it was an emergency. With your phone, keys and money all in your roommate’s bag, there really was no other word for it. Of course, you couldn’t help but remind yourself that if you’d taken your own bag, you wouldn’t be standing on your neighbour’s doorstep wondering if he’d give you a bed for the night. Hindsight was a wonderful thing. 

“I’m locked out,” you muttered, embarrassed about your predicament, “Kate has all my stuff and she’s off with her man doing… something.”

At the mention of your roommate, he rolled his eyes into the back of his head. It seemed odd that he had an issue with her given that the two rarely spoke. They’d say ‘hi’ to each other in the hall on occasion, but that was the extent of their contact with one another. 

“You’d best come in then,” the door was opened wider and Seokjin stepped back so that you could enter his home. You gladly obliged, limping slightly as you stepped over the threshold. You hadn’t noticed how bad your shoes had rubbed on the way back. You guessed you were too busy trying not to catch hypothermia. The pain was immeasurable though, and you yelped out as you took the step. 

Seokjin just shot you an unreadable look and gestured for you to stay there. It was his home, so you listened to him. It would be impolite not to. He scurried further into his apartment, disappearing for a moment or two. You didn’t mind though; it gave you plenty of time to inspect your surroundings. 

His apartment was much nicer than your own. Cleaner too. The wooden floors didn’t have so many chips, and the sage green paint wasn’t peeling away from the walls. The mirror that hung above his hardwood dresser was polished and lacked all the makeup splatters and finger marks that gave your own hallway mirror character. Even the plants he kept in there were so much nicer. Each of them was thriving, a plethora of healthy leaves coming from the stems, whereas yours were all brown and decaying. 

You grinned to yourself, the thought of Seokjin waking up every morning and watering his plants filling up your brain. You wondered if he wore the same checkered pyjama bottoms as he shuffled around with a watering can in one hand and a coffee in the other. It was almost sweet, the way that you pictured him in your brain. 

“You’re looking mighty happy for someone who resembles a drowned rat,” the grumpy voice of your neighbour brought you back down to earth though, wiping the smile off your face entirely. “Here.”

You focussed on him, noticing that he now had a lilac hoodie on. It was hard to hide your disappointment in the fact that you could no longer sneak tiny glances at his tanned stomach, but at least now you could look at him without feeling like a dirty voyeur. 

In one hand was a fluffy towel, lilac to match his jumper. In the other was a set of clothes with a pair of fluffy socks placed gently on top. Given your height differences, you were almost positive that his clothes would be way too big on you, but you were still thankful for the kind gesture. Honestly, you’d wear anything if it meant that you no longer had to feel the cheap material of your dress clinging to you like plastic wrap. 

“Oh, thank you,” you kept your responses to him formal, despite the fact that he didn’t have the courtesy to do the same. He did live here, you supposed, and it was 3 AM. He was probably too tired to act polite to the girl who had shown up on his doorstep. You were honestly thankful enough that he let you in in the first place. “Is there a bathroom I can change in?”

He nodded. 

“Down the hall to the left,” he said, “take your shoes off first, though. I’ve done well to avoid any chips.” 

Once again, you felt a twinge of embarrassment. You couldn’t believe you were just about to stroll across his pristine floor in the very shoes that were responsible for half of the dints in your own. How very inconsiderate of you, you scolded yourself as you slipped them off. 

“Thank you,” you said again. 

“Meet me in the kitchen when you’re changed, okay?” You nodded before shuffling your way to his bathroom. 

You were right, the clothes were huge on you. Not in a bad way, though. They were warm and cozy and the sleeves fell over your hands so you could make sweater paws with them. The material felt like clouds as it brushed against your damp, icy skin, and you were dreading when the time came for you to take them off and change back into your own clothes. How could you when you’d now felt the luxury of Seokjin’s?

The towel he’d given you was wrapped around your hair, slowly taking in all the water that had weighed it down. It felt good to no longer have long, wet strands sticking to your face and neck, and you were sure that with the quality of the towel, it’d be dry in no time. 

You gave yourself one last look in the mirror, a shy smile rising to your face as you realised just what was happening. It was like something out of a romance novel, except for the fact you were pretty sure your neighbour was only doing this because he was a good person, not because he was secretly in love with you. You took a deep breath and controlled your expression before you opened the bathroom door and followed the sound of a microwave spinning to the kitchen. 

As you stepped into the room, Seokjin was busy taking whatever it was out of the microwave. It smelled of stew, and the thought of a nice warm meal made your stomach rumble. The sudden sound caught his attention, and once again, you felt a familiar heat in your cheeks. 

“Come sit,” he pointed at a chair as he finished preparing the food, “It’s leftovers from today, but it should still be fresh.”

Honestly, you didn’t care about the freshness. You were just flattered that he’d gone out of his way to get you some food, even if all he did was microwave it. 

“Thank you.”

“Is ‘thank you’ the only thing you’re capable of saying?” His question caught you off guard a little. What else did he want you to say? You sent him a questioning look in return. “Well, you show up at my doorstep at stupid O’clock and all you say is you can’t get into your own apartment? I want a little more information than that, don’t you think?” 

You guessed he was right. You’d given him as little information as humanly possible and yet he still had the kindness to let you into his home, lend you his clothes and feed you. 

“What do you want to know?” You asked. 

“Everything, really,” he replied, “from the beginning.”

As you started to explain how on earth you got stranded, Seokjin moved to sit down across from you with a plate full of warm stew in his hand. He pushed it across to you, briefly interrupting your story to tell you to eat. You simply smiled, thanking him once again, and took the fork from his hand. Every so often, he’d take a break from listening to you and gesture to the food to remind you to take a bite. It seemed you were so wrapped up in the events of the night that you couldn’t even focus on anything other than recounting them. 

You didn’t know why, though. It’s not like you felt angry or betrayed by your friend, even though you probably should have. In your mind, you couldn’t help but try and justify her actions. She was sad about losing her job, and how was she to know that Lewis would be there to seduce her? She probably thought that staying with Lewis for the night would help get rid of some of her frustrations. 

“I don’t know,” you sighed. Explaining the whole situation just made you feel worse about the whole thing. Still, you couldn’t bring yourself to blame her. She was your best friend after all. “She’s just forgetful.”

“Why are you defending her?” Seokjin grumbled. 

“She’s my friend. 

“And she treats you like shit,” his voice was loud, but he wasn't angry. Frustrated was a better word to describe it. Annoyed, possibly, at your ignorance of your friend’s actions. You couldn't help but feel ashamed of your instinct to forgive her no matter what. “She’s lucky you made it here safe, you know. Anything could’ve happened.”

You felt like a child being scolded, and yet you knew you needed to hear it. It was the same things you’d been telling yourself for a while now, but ignoring your thoughts seemed like the best course of action. Having someone else lay them out in front of you made you realise just how stupid you’d been to value your friendship over your feelings.

There was a familiar ache in your head and your eyes welled up with glistening tears. Everything had just piled up and you couldn’t hold it in anymore. It’s just a shame you were sat with a man you barely knew instead of alone in your bedroom with a bottle of wine by your side to comfort you. 

And you half expected the atmosphere to get even more awkward. What, with you hunched over and sobbing into a half-eaten bowl of stew that was quickly going cold? It wouldn’t have been a surprise to you if Seokjin sat there in silence, unsure of what to do to help the woman he’d invited into his home. 

But then you heard his chair legs scrape along the floor, and the pitter patter of bare feet on the tile floor. And before you knew it, he’d squatted down next to you and placed a warm hand on your back. Soft, calming hushes left his mouth as soothing shapes were drawn onto your spine. 

“Get it all out, Y/N,” he whispered, “bottling it up never does any good.”

So you did. It was about 5 minutes before your tears ran out and all that was left were pathetic little sniffles every now and then. Seokjin remained silent, the only semblance of proof that he was still there being the hand that remained firmly on your spine. You were grateful; you didn’t need him to say anything else at that moment. You knew all you had to know. 

“Thank you, Seokjin,” you quietly snivelled out. He let out a snort of laughter. 

“I thought I told you to stop saying thank you,” you nodded, even though you knew you wouldn’t stop. You needed him to know you were grateful for everything he’d done. He didn’t have to let you into his home, just like he didn’t have to lend you clothes or feed you. He didn’t even have to sit and comfort you as you cried, and yet he did. As silly as you sounded saying it, you felt indebted to him. “And call me Jin. I think we’re past formalities.”

“Are we?” 

“I think so,” his voice remained soft as he talked to you as if he was still trying to help you through your mini-breakdown. “Practically best friends, by my standards.”

That fetched a laugh out of you. You’d barely spoken to the man before tonight, and yet he seemed intent on making you feel comfortable with him. And in a strange way, you did. He’d shown a lot more care towards you than he would if he classed you as a stranger, even though that’s pretty much what you were. You seemed to trust him more than a stranger too. Perhaps it was a mutual desire for something more to come out of this. A friendship, perhaps, although you wouldn’t mind if it led to even more than that. Seokjin was among some of the best-looking men you’d ever seen…

“Sure we are,” you gave him a sad smile, “Jin.”

He smiled in return. 

“That’s more like it,” the grin on his face was obvious when he spoke. “Now, how about you finish your stew and we can go get you settled into the spare room.”

You let out a chuckle as he grabbed the spoon and held it up to your lips. He made a show of blowing on the food to cool it down, and you couldn’t help but shudder at the proximity of his face to yours. As the spoon made contact with your ever-so-slightly parted lips, you couldn’t take your eyes off of him. 

And it seemed as though he couldn’t either. As the spoon breached your lips he let out a heavy breath through his own. You didn’t know where the sudden tension came from, but it wasn’t unwelcome. Your only hope was that he felt it too. That he wanted to put his lips on yours just as badly as you wanted him to. 

And God, did you want him to. 

You didn’t even know where the urge had come from. The man had never piqued your interest before tonight, but perhaps seeing him in such a… domestic setting was what was getting you going. The pyjama pants that mismatched his hoodie in such a perfect way, or perhaps the bed head that he hadn’t even bothered to sort out since you’d stepped through his front door. Everything about him was just so familiar, and you didn’t even know the man. 

He did the same thing, grabbing a spoonful of stew before lifting it up to your face and blowing. Whether intentional or not, his breath tickled your face and you couldn’t help but scrunch up your nose. 

“You’re kind of cute, you know,” Jin whispered, once more pushing the food into your awaiting mouth. “I never noticed until now, but Jesus Christ, I could just…”

He trailed off, but you wanted nothing more than to hear what he had to say. You swallowed. 

“Just what?” 

There was a thud as the spoon hit the table and the hand that held it made it’s way up to your cheek. It rested there, thumb brushing your soft skin. 

“Just want to kiss you, baby,” he chuckled, leaning in a little closer until his face was just an inch from yours. “Are you okay with that?” 

Of course, you nodded. Enthusiastically, actually, which brought a bright smile to Jin’s face, but he made no move. 

“Words, baby.” 

“Yes, Jin,” your voice was quiet, “please kiss me.”

And with that, his lips were on yours. It was slow at first, as if the two of you were finding your feet. The way his plush lips gently caressed yours as the pad of his thumb matched the rhythm of the kiss on your cheek. 

It wasn’t long until you got a little braver, though, raising your own hands so you could grip onto his messy locks and pull him closer to you. He smiled against your mouth, nipping at your bottom lip with his exposed teeth. There was a sharp intake of breath from you before you dive back in for more, this time with a little more urgency. 

Lips crashed against lips feverishly and you couldn’t help but let out a little squeak as his tongue brushed against your lower lip. You let him in, of course, wanting nothing more than to feel Jin close. He seemed to realise that quickly, tugging your body to the edge of the seat and shuffling himself so that he was kneeling between your legs. You spread them wide so he could slot inside, as though the two of you were pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. 

It was a little strange, actually, how well the two of you seemed to fit together. His hair in your fingers felt normal, as did the way his large hands felt on your sides, and even though you’d perhaps spoken 10 words to one another since moving in next door, the feeling of him between your legs felt… perfect. 

Like he belonged there.

Eventually, the two of you pulled away for air and soft, breathy laughs filled the air. 

“Fuck, Y/N,” he laughed, leaning his forehead against yours, “I didn’t think I’d be making out with my neighbour at 4 in the morning, and yet…”

“Here we are.” 

“Here we are,” he grinned, “you must be tired.”

You nodded, although you wouldn't have minded staying up later with Jin.

But the man in question stood up, holding a hand out to you, and you couldn't help but let him pull you to your feet.

“Let's get you to bed.”

[mustfindcreativeusername]

Granada Holmes season 1 thoughts

I (finally) started watching this with my grandma and my roommate, who decided to join us. Unfortunately grandma wasn't impressed (pacing) so she dropped it after ep 4. But me and my roommate are enjoying it! So now we're watching it together, 1 ep/day.

Anyway here are my very unfiltered thoughts. Straight from the notes app

--

1- SCAN (30 iul)

Yessss. I liked it. A lot. Loved the disguises, i didn't even recognise him in the first disguise.

..why did they change it to "Irena" tho?? At least that's how they pronounced it. Weird.

At least they didn't butcher her personality

2. DANC (31 iul)

I liked this but it seemed slower. And after they get the bad news i feel like it should've been a bit.. worse? At least make the wounds more horrible. And why is Elsie still in the house? They had time to get her to a hospital.

3. NAVA (1 aug)

I hadn't read this one so i didn't know what to expect. I liked it. We made a lot of fun of Percy. I thought at one point that he had hidden them and was playing it up but no, he really was that dramatic.

Poor Holmes hurt his hand :(

Also very funny, i actually hurt my hand like 10 minutes after the episode ended.

Like during the episode I was all "awww do you want one of my pink peppa pig bandaids :(" and guess what. Guess fucking what.

4. SOLI (2 aug)

Well well well

I enjoyed this

I especially enjoyed Holmes beating up that creep

I have not read this story either but i listened to the Sherlock and Co episode. So i kinda knew the basics but not too much, yk.

My roommate appreciated how polite Holmes was with miss Smith. And i was reminded of that one part in the books where Holmes said that he thought of one of his clients like his own daughter. (Don't know what story it's from tho, i only saw it in screenshots on here)

I think it had a good ratio of intense (the obvious) and funny (holmes being kinda mean to watson, the ending :) )

Also the whole wedding in the woods bit was insane. Who would really think that that's enforceable. Jeez.

5. CROO (4 aug)

I mean it was alright. The "david" thing was a bit weird? Especially because she muttered it in her sleep? Like i guess it's something like calling someone a karen but still. The fact that she still said "david" in her sleep was odd.

Also what... How could someone do that? Indirectly (try to) kill a person who trusts you bc you like their girlfriend. That's insane.

He had it coming. Too bad it took 30 years🤷

Also Holmes being mean to that guy in the beginning was hilarious.

Oh oh and Watson's deduction at the end? "Elementary, my dear Holmes" :)))) that was good. We cheered for him

6. SPEC (5 aug)

AAAHH YEAASSSS YESS FINALLY this is my favourite story from the books, it's one of the ones i read when i was around 10 and it was my favourite then and yeah. Love it.

But yeah loved to finally see it on screen. I imagined the snake bigger and spotty-er but yeah. Oh and i loved the interactions between Holmes and Watson. And between them and Miss Stoner. (I told my roommate if i see one more person describe him as cold and emotionless, I'm throwing hands)

I liked that Holmes kinda felt bad for bringing Watson along because it was so dangerous, only for Watson to immediately go anything for you Beyonce :))

And then in the room, his hand shaking? Quality content. Bc yeah. It's a wild animal, it's unpredictable. (Super stressed at the end when he picked it up?? In his hands?? Like yea the leash was there but bruh-)

Also poor Watson being woken up twice :)) (does Holmes know how to wake someone Watson up like a normal person? Unclear)

Also also- "my intimate friend"

Yes

7. BLUE (6 aug)

Right so i do know the original story but i read it a while ago. I still think it's nice that they let the guy go but i remembered him more sympathetic in the books. Idk. Also, did Holmes keep the stone? I thought it was a bit of an odd choice. And how were they able to free the plumber guy without the culprit or the stone? Ehh yeaah, odd.

Also is everyone forgetting that Holmes and Watson aren't the only ones who know that the carbuncle is with them??

Anyway

God he looked so different at the beginning of the episode, before he did his hair. Also my roommate made a comment about having cigarettes for breakfast and. Yeah, petition to have this guy eat a normal meal?? *Sigh*

Also why did we see Watson with a bunch of presents and then never saw any one of them opened? Chehov's Christmas presents. I wanted to see what he got for Holmes

(At least we have the Sherlock and co episode...)

[maryonmega]

Twin Stars - Chapter 4

As you remenber (but really not?)

If the party had plans to split to look for itens, they were shattered the moment you joined. It's overwhelming, but you'll be blinded if you complain. 

 

At the same time you're grateful the whole "woe is us, wish craft amnesia!" thing allows you to get away with generic or vague responses and internally panicking over being very much aware of how little to nothing you know about being a sibling, let alone a similar-aged one. You hope that those things can be brushed off by, well, everything. Stars, you were a mess long before looping trauma. At least on that, you and Stardust can agree.

 

"I don't really have a place to settle, I've been on the road for a good time." Truth.

 

"I was out of Vaugard for some, so I didn't find out about the King business untill a couple weeks ago." Truth.

 

"It feels so surreal I'm kind of mad, not gonna lie. Feel sidetracked." Half truth.

 

"Stardust is because he came after me." Half truth. If you patted a bug off one of shoulders that's another thing. 

 

Good thing the Kid is as loose lips as their age can excuse. They're so clearly impatiente to get home. 

 

You think about an angry voice yelling about their home being frozen. You were stupid and ripped it away from them. This Kid forgave the Traveler, but would yours forgive you?

 

You had to go back to the place you had left the rest of your attire, thankful for the warmt your cloak gave you and that you still don't have a lot on you (careful with the alcohol bottles, they're unlikely to break but not impossible). Maybe a matching set serves as extra evidence? You're siblings, yes, even have the same "made with love" type of clothing. 

 

You don't feel... "things" thinking about this as much as you likely would before, but it's still there. How twisted is that? Grief pilled on top of grief?

 

You pull your hat down over your face untill the shopping is done and the group heads for an inn. At least you can do that again. 

 

In some odd luck strike, your the group managed to get rooms on the same floor. As you and the Researcher make yourselves comfortable, you could hear the Traveler and the Fighter if you payed attention, tho not what they say. Maybe it's better this way. 

 

You need to be careful. She might have accepted you, but that doesn't mean she trusts you. Stars, she might have offered to be your roommate because she doesn't trust you. 

 

"So, a third person from the country that got erased."

 

"Ah, third?" Well you be blinded, she's not sparing you here, is she? Good thing you're not biting your tongue in such a cliche way.

 

"Yes. It's a curious thing, considering how long ago it seens to have been."

 

She's trying to bait you. 

 

Don't let her.

 

"The other person didn't look like us, did them? I can't imagine the migrane if we turn out to be triplets."

 

The Reasercher shakes her head. It could be impression or wishful hopeful thinking, but you think she face could have softened.

 

Real or not, so did yours. You already knew she wasn't exacly like your Researcher, but this kind of reminder is just as painful. Better to take solace in her denial, now that would be messy.

 

"This is not about how your family tree branches, it's about a noted pattern. Sisyphus, do you percieve memory problems?"

 

Talk about not beating about the bush, eh? You should ask Stardust how the communication is going, when you get another alone time. Right now, tho, you have a bomb to difuse near your face.

 

You smile and clasp your hands.

 

"My, oh my, missy. Is that the impression you have of us? That we have terrible memory? I mean, I do have bad memory and used the royal we, but that's aside."

 

She showed with just her eyes that she listened, face hard to read. This still sens to be same. Fuck.

 

"Don't take it personally, Sisyphus. It wasn't intended as an insult to you or your ethnicity."

 

Right now, will extra details come across as a cover up? But silence wouldn't help with tension at all, it doesn't help that you can't foresee if she's going to slip into coldness or allow a bit of warmt out. 

 

No, silly, she won't be warm. Even if you have a human face again, to her, you're still a stranger.

 

You grab your pants under your cloak.

 

"Miss, please, I'm trying to wiggle back into a family I don't even know if I can still call mine. Can I have more than a few hours to breath?"

 

Truth. Maybe that's why she decided to surrender.

 

"Of course. But don't try to run, young one. This involves me now."

 

"I know."

 

Truth.

 

The bottle calls you like a siren song. You take it and offer to the Researcher, who looks at it but rejects, before taking a swing.

 

You think about sharing a wine bottle, but that tought gets fuzzy with the burning sensation running down your throat. Maybe the "no" was for the best. 

 

You only take off your cloak to prepare for bed, the heat in your gut more than welcome when it left your skin. 

 

Even under the fog, before your eyes drift close, you can't help but wonder if she waited so you wouldn't be cornered. 

 

The thought lingers as you allow nothingness to embrance you. 

 

~★~

 

Loop is sharing a room with Odile. In party it was because you couldn't muster up the courage to insist, but there was the part that chose not to for selfish reasons. You know madame wouldn't offer just like that for no reason and don't think you could face her glare if you did, sure, but wanting to share with Isa was another. Your only defense is that you've had a boyfriend for longer than a sibling, even if the extra time was less than a week. 

 

First hand experience is something new and your plays seen to have been packed with a good amount of lies, don't be too hard on yourself. 

 

Stars, you think about how Loop would know things inside the House and wonder how much they could know now, even if their body changed. 

 

Do they know about the daily breadowns in the time you were in bedrest?

 

You don't think so, but you didn't think they would help save you, either. 

 

"Sif? Siffrin?"

 

Isa's voice snaps you out of your thoughts. Even if it hasn't been that long, it's not hard to tell the new "we need to talk" tone. Sometimes you can't help but wonder if it's porpuseful. You turn away from your bag and towards him. 

 

"Yes?"

 

Isa has his arms over his chest, expression serious but not dark. Good sign?

 

"I was thinking, the sibling is yours, the trauma, too, we can't dictate how you deal with associating both."

 

You feel goosebumps in your arms. You didn't think about that. 

 

"But, that involves us, too, specially now. I really think it's important... No, it is really important for us to know how much you want Sisyphus to know. Or not know. I don't want to backslide your talking progress" even tho it's tiny and partly coughed out under mental duress "but I don't want to trample a boundary either. We can figure things out, I'm sure! But that depends on what you want."

 

You're already half panicked just with Loop being Odile's roommate. The thought of pretending like they know nothing is terrifying to the point you think you'll faint here and now if you say you don't want to tell. 

 

Well, you be blinded, you'll have to act like you're giving a newcomer special treatment. 

 

"I'll tell them about the loops. When we have an alone time."

 

"You will?"

 

"Yes. Ah, don't get it wrong! It's not because I trusted you less! I just don't want to stun even more, specially when it's already so hard."

 

"Sif." His gaze siftned "It's fine. I'm glad you will."

 

"I really think I should tell one on one, though."

 

"And I can leave the room so you can have privacy when you talk."

 

What did you do to deserve this man?

 

You don't see Loop when you leave the room for dinner. "Out like a light", is how Odile described. You can sympathize. You were tired, you can't imagine how they were. 

 

Besides, the little time it buys is welcome. 

(Mother of inner monologues? Actual stuff will happen soon enough, I swear!

Loop: I don't want to ruin my new skin *proceeds to attack their liver*)

[alternativememories]

both sides...

i have a friend who has sucked for a while now. i've been thinking about writing about it for a minute but i've been putting it off like everything with our friendship lately...but part of who i want to be is someone that shows up, even when things fucking suck, and i can't waste any more time. i know what i've got to do and it's time to rip the band-aid off. our friendship is over and i've gotta be real about it.

i'm fucking sad, man. i see him as a younger brother. so much of how we see things and approach things is similar to one another. the ways that he has sucked for some time are really similar to how i struggled when i was younger. he had a breakup recently, which in the big picture i thought would actually end up being good for him. i think both he and his ex have stuff that they need to work on individually and that this would be a good opportunity for him to get himself squared away.

but the spiral continues. the last time i saw him we talked about where he was with things and where he's headed and it was mostly half-assed excuses. it's apparent that he's not showing up for himself, let alone anyone else for that matter. he smokes, which has kept him comfortable in the cycle of not showing up in any meaningful way, and he lacks accountability. he's living with his parents right now and it seems like they're enabling his behavior.

it's shitty. we lived together up until the end of october and to be honest it was toxic as fuck. it came down to money and cleaning. in moving in, we agreed to not have his now-ex on the lease to keep things simple in case they ended up not working out as a couple. however, when she ended up staying at the apartment more than A and i and we wanted her to pay toward the bills, it was an issue *eye roll*. initially, the conversation about contributing was shut down bc homie talked to other roommate and he supposedly said that he didn't care if she paid and that was the end of it...(we'll revisit this)

at one point during this conflict, there was a text about wanting to be friends after the lease would end...i've thought a lot about that since. it took me some time to figure out why i couldn't help but fixate on it, but with where we are now i think i know the answer. the statement operates through an inherent assumption that how things were handled was damaging to our friendship. to be honest, it was. the bills conflict was infuriating bc the argument against contributing was school loan payments being high; meanwhile in watching behavior they ate out all the time. and you know, everyone has bills. but not everyone takes advantage of their friends to pay theirs.

with the cleaning thing, it became clear that he was frustrated by the cleanliness of the apartment but never communicated what those expectations even were. eventually we landed on a chore-board. but this wasn't without its problems bc it just led to them not being accountable for their share of the chores; beyond that, there was noticeable passive-aggressiveness toward the other roommate who tbh idk if he ever even agreed to in the first place. weird to someone to a standard they never agreed to but maybe that's just me...

when he and his ex broke up he told me a very specific story of what led to the fracture. i want to say that i found the specificity odd but dismissed it bc i was excited to have my friend back. when they were dating he was very reclusive and we were barely friends anymore. truthfully, we moved here in a pandemic and while i have loads of coworkers, he's really been my only friend here...but a few weeks ago i found out that it looks like he's lied about those specifics of the story that he told me, knowing that it fundamentally changes the reaction. it's manipulative.

in thinking about it, i've really tried to explain away or excuse the poor behavior...but to be honest, it's inexcusable and with what he's lied about, there's no recourse here...there's no way to police the behavior, and with him lying about it, no way to trust anything he says that it's even stopped. now i'm wondering what else he's lied about to get what he wants. the first thing that comes to mind is the bills conversation. it's a fundamental breach of trust and i don't think our friendship can be repaired. it fucking sucks and this fucking sucks but it is what it is...because he sucks.

[fezwearingjellybananas]

for the ask game!

6, 9, 13, 20, 26, 30, and 45

6. Have you ever started to write a relationship and had it develop differently than you expected? How so?

Actually the fic I'm writing right now, Gone in a Flash, was based on a Barriscowest idea but right now other than some brief references to crushes at the start it's turning out pretty gen so whether it turns out platonic or romantic has yet to be seen.

The Milk and Sugar 'verse had a similar thing too, although Barry always started with a crush on Eddie in the very first plan it was actually Cisco and Barry who were going to end up together, but then I started writing more with Cisco and Hartley and they went from roommates to a relationship and that changed a few things

9. When you write, do you plan out the stages of a relationship, or just let it flow? Do you have any works where the characters seem to "write themselves"?

Mostly I let it flow, I do sometimes have a bullet point list of plot points for longer fics but they often change and they're very brief bus stops on the way to the end rather than anything with any detail

13. Are there any consistent trends when you write a budding relationship, or does it vary by character? If there are trends, what are they?

I guess no one being willing to admit feelings because they're worried about the afterwards crops up a few times? And I sometimes find friends to lovers easier to write, I'm aro so it's kind of the version I find easiest to visualise I guess?

20. Has a character ever felt pulled in two directions as you wrote them? How did you resolve this?

That was the plan for Iris in The Questing Flower, on the one hand she's sworn to do her best to achieve this Quest and on the other, she's just found out her best friend is missing, but she makes lots of new friends to help her out

26. Do you have any characters that are arospec or otherwise wouldn't enter a romantic relationship? How do they interact with the story?

I have written Barry Allen as demiromantic quite a few times now (it's my go-to headcanon) so, while he does end up in relationships, it does affect the beginning of the story.

My novel I keep putting off because of nerves is kind of fairy-tale inspired except the princess is aro and the whole plot revolves around her figuring that out and accepting herself, and the antagonist is, rather than a bad person in himself, basically amanormativity personified, so the aro-ness is central to the story. Or it will be when I actually get up the courage to write more than the odd paragraph here and there.

30. What's the most interesting familial relationship that you've written? Found family counts.

There's a few I love writing, but actually, although Francine's not in the fic, there's a few bits in Gone in a Flash of Iris thinking about her mother and that's been interesting to figure out because it's a very complicated relationship

45. What type of relationship do you struggle most to write? Why is it difficult for you?

Romance is the one I'm least confident about sometimes, it's not like there's a shortage of romance in media and tropes to pull from, but I still sometimes wonder how actually convincing it is considering I have no experience and probably don't want any.

Thank you so much!

[Relationship Asks]

[semper-legens]

181. Shadow Wave, by Robert Muchamore

Owned: No, library Page count: 343 My summary: James' final mission is set to be a normal CHERUB mission - babysit the kids of some bigwig for a bit. Mundane, but at seventeen James isn't the prime CHERUB agent anymore. But when his old roommate Kyle comes in with a lot of information about his client's past, James and Kyle start hatching a new plan of their own. Protesting is far easier when you know your target's every move… My rating: 3/5 My commentary:

The final CHERUB book! Or, at least, the final book that I'm going to be covering here, as this is the last of James Adams' CHERUB career. He's seventeen now, so close to ageing out of the CHERUB programme, and needs to start thinking about his future and his career. This is the book that wraps it all up, and once again the narrative makes some weird decisions with regards to its focus and exactly what it puts emphasis on. But anyway. I've not got much today for preamble, so let's get into it!

Again, we have this very strange decision where the book isn't actually about the kids we've been following this whole time. About a quarter of the book is taken up with some flashbacks including Kyle helping out with basic training when he meets Aizat, a local Malaysian kid whose village is being destroyed and bought out by an oligarch named Tan Abdullah. That's the man whose kids are being protected by CHERUB in the present day. And a large part of those flashbacks involves a reporter who Kyle has contacted investigating Abdullah's exploitation in the area, once again following a character we've never met before rather than our main character in the final book of the series. I'd have thought that this book would pick up on the Brigands thread from the last book - something that doesn't rely on exposition, so we can use the time to explore our established characters a bit better. But no, the Brigands mission is wrapped up in a pretty anticlimactic way in the early parts of this book, and the main mission that this book focuses on is the babysitting mission with Abdullah's kids that James turns down. It's just a weird choice.

Anyway, James turns down the mission, but decides to help Kyle protest Abdullah on the sly. It's not a CHERUB operation or a sting operation in general, so the outcome we're working towards seems a bit fuzzy, which makes the way that the book wraps up seems odd. After being protested all day, and after reporters were digging into his career, Abdullah decides to flee with his family and ends up shooting himself. It just seems all too neat a conclusion, for a mission like this. Adullah takes himself out of the picture, so everything is fine. We don't get much on what happens to Aizat or his community or other communities like it, but that's not really what this book was going to be about? I'm also side-eyeing the character decisions made. James has never shown much of a conscience before, so him taking a stand is admirable, even if it does ring a bit hollow in the fact that he's soon to be leaving CHERUB, and cancelling on the mission has no real negative impact on him. Lauren's reasons for staying on the mission, meanwhile, are sound - she's earlier in her career than James, and if she turns down something easy like this she won't get juicier missions. But then all of that is undercut with another character saying she just wants to go shopping with the rich kids, which strikes me as a strange beat largely because Lauren is the one with the conscience - she's the principled veggie after the animal rights mission, after all. Odd characterisation.

So, what do I make of CHERUB as a whole? It's been largely a disappointing return for me, sadly. The series has some strange ideas of morality, and overall paints things as being a bit too black and white for my liking with casting antagonists as out-and-out villains or protagonists as uncomplicatedly good despite the ethics of each situation being far more complex. James as a character really suffers from what I can only assume was an effort to make him more appealing to the typical teenage boy, meaning that he's wildly homophobic and misogynistic in a way that isn't challenged by the narrative in a satisfactory manner. The choice to have most of the non-mission story be taken up with relationship drama is largely uninteresting, mostly because that kind of teen-soap-opera nonsense is at odds with the spy thriller genre of the books. While CHERUB as an organisation could be an interesting idea for a narrative, the fact that its ethics aren't satisfactorily examined in the story lead it to feel more like copaganda than anything else. That's not to say there's nothing to enjoy here - I did enjoy the books, and I carried on with the series to completion - but overall I don't remember it as well as I did, and that makes me a little sad, not gonna lie.

Next, time for some Doctor Who, and adventures with the Ninth Doctor.

[nientedal]

for the fic writers ask meme, i’m rather curious about 9 & 10; which of your fics did you find the easiest and hardest to write?

From this ask meme!

Which fic has been the hardest to write?

Each fic has its own challenges, but right now, it's probably a tie between Swansong and the Cold Fusion series. And for similar reasons! Both have complex plots - Swansong's is primarily emotional, with Megamind processing complex grief and a broken (and then new) mental link, and Roxanne processing having a roommate going through emotional turmoil, plus some mental stuff of her own...and then Metro Man's whole thing, and holy shit maybe there's still a chance, and mixing hope into the grief mix is just a fucking nightmare for everyone involved, and djf;aldjfa;ldjadflj;afjdj it's a mess. And because it's written in third person limited, rather than omniscient, there's only so much that I can tell readers directly. Which, in a story with so much happening internally, was...extremely frustrating, at times!

Cold Fusion's complexity is more events-based, but in that one I am having to balance the fact that there ARE external plotlines happening against the fact that...the primary focus of those fics is on the characters and their development. Also, for a LONG LONG TIME, I did not actually KNOW what the plot was, I was just sort of winging it, and now I DO know, and it's a lot bigger than I expected it to be? Which I think some people may not like. And on one hand, fuck 'em, I'm writing for me, but on the other hand, I do write fanfiction with my end goal being to share it with people, so my readers' enjoyment is absolutely a thing I have in mind, I'm not JUST writing for me. So, aaaaaaaaaaaa.

I am now also having to grapple with the fact that when I started writing Cold Fusion, many of my headcanons were different from what they are now. I was originally very set on it being canon-compliant, on ONLY working with things we knew from the source material and not doing my own worldbuilding more than was absolutely necessary. And then I fell into a depression hole for like 3 or 4 years and could barely force myself to write at all, and when I finally came blasting out of that hole on the Wellbutrin-fueled jet pack I titled Dive, the amount I cared about "canon compliant" had plummeted to pretty much zero. Writing Swansong helped with that, I think -- I had basically been writing nothing but Cold Fusion for AGES, and then Ramendobe slapped me in the face with that prompt, and I discovered that writing universe alterations was a lot of fun! And then Dive punted my desire to stay canon-compliant into the sun. So now, rewriting Cold Fusion as I post it to AO3, I am working with characters who are different from the way I now write them in other fics. I'm bringing some of my newer headcanons into that universe for shits and giggles, but still. It's an odd feeling.

Which fic has been the easiest to write?

Another tie! Because I cannot make decision.

By Chance, which I wrote because my buddy ElfKid dropped a prompt into my askbox when I was like, "holy shit the ADHD is BAD tonight and I wanna see if I can write a one-shot in one evening," I think...? aahahaha actually no I just went and looked it up, and I had tagged my 'weh ADHD sucks' post with #hey if anyone is reading this send me a writing prompt and let's see wtf happens when i can't motherfuckin think lmaoooo and...I basically sat down, put the best of black sabbath on loop, and waited to see what fell out of my hands. And it was that. (Here's the original tumblr edition.)

and everything emptying into white was originally just some tags I had put on an ask from another friend of mine about Megamind purring, and I couldn't stop thinking about them and that day at work just SUCKED ASS and so I copied and pasted them into an AO3 draft on my phone at work and churned that out over the course of my lunch break. And then added a bunch to it during the next couple days.

(and I gotta give an honorable mention to Dive. I basically churned that thing out in less than a week of HOLY SHIT I HAVEN'T WRITTEN ANYTHING IN YEARS AND MY BRAIN JUST WOKE UP AND REMEMBERED HOW TO ENJOY THINGS adrenaline, it was great. It wasn't as easy to write as the other two, simply because it wasn't as short & sweet, but it was easy and I owe that fic a lot. So.)

[builder051]

🪨 And 🎭

🪨Black soot

Confession— why would Santa put you on the naughty list? (And have you set it right?)

You all know I have autism and ADHD, as well as BiPolar type II. I have a-- the best way I can put it is as a social learning deficit--Like I've always been book-smart at/above my educational level, but meeting friends and having conversations... I'm a solid 5 to 10 years behind what would be expected for street smarts and cordiality expected for my age. I'd never use my mental health or learning delays to excuse behavior that's universally unkind or problematic. However, my combination of issues creates a fair number of misunderstandings--usually when someone is doing something that I find odd, my brain fills in with the most likely reasoning, and then my internal judgement assigns a probable reason for the action as either good or bad. In a perfect world, I'd love for people to give me a brief warning or explanation--like, "I'm opening the very loud door to let the dog in." Instead of just suddenly opening and slamming the very loud door, and when I look up at the person, they have a displeased expression, and I automatically want to know what is going on, if I have contributed to anything the person is upset about, and, if true, what I can do to not make them unhappy again. I know that's putting a lot of work on the rest of the household to accommodate me, and I absolutely shouldn't expect it. I carry a lot of stress inside, and I frequently touch base with DD (who is in better communication with the rest of the household adults than I am) just to gauge how everyone may be feeling and to respect their mindset rather than jumping to the conclusion that a slammed door doesn't automatically mean it is a rude behavior that is done because the person is in a bad or angry mood.

The worst "behavior incident" of 2022 was when I got really angry at the roommate with whom I share a bathroom. She's a CNA and works in a hospital/rehab center, so she has to shower and disinfect daily, which leads to her being in that bathroom more often than I am. (Due to my port and tubes, I can only do a thorough shower 2x a week, and rely on bath wipes, etc. for the days in between. Several annoying events happened subsequently (towels on the floor, not changing the empty toilet paper roll, leaving the shower curtain completely out of the shower, and, the final straw, leaving the toilet unflushed when... it really needed to be flushed.)

I let DD and the other roommate know, but they kind of blew it off, and I wanted to get the CNA roommate to get the message that I was quite aware of her slobbery and that, as a fellow bathroom user, I was quite happy to continue, or even step up, my share of the bathroom cleaning, but it was kind of necessary that she put in some effort as well. So I put a note in the bathroom advising some rules, like flushing the toilet, changing the empty toilet paper roll, etc.

I didn't think I was being incredibly out of line (-like-We put sticky notes on people's food in the fridge), but apparently I was way wrong really bad and had upset the roommate and disappointed DD in my behavior. I felt horrible, and I do not want to be seen as a mean roommate. I wrote an apology note (which none of them agree is written as an apology, but I specifically addressed and atoned for my actions--rudeness of leaving the note and overreacting to what amounts to normal bathroom use and mistakes that just happen, not because they're done to purposely be bad--this specifically referring to the unflushed toilet. I don't really know any other way to apologize in an honest and kind way. I can dismiss the stimulus that set off my actions, own that my actions were wrong and went too far, then express how we can keep working together for shared-space upkeep). And I bought her a bag of cat treats (Even with drama, she has the most adorable cat.

Now it's been, like, two months? No more toilet unflushed problems. But also no more action to work together to keep the shared space cleaner. I know now that I'm not permitted to give a name to the blame. I can just do my part, let the household know if anything dangerous happens or if anything breaks, and try to keep a less-judgemental open mind.

🎭Burgundy stage curtain

Who is “in the wings,” helping you and supporting you through the stress of the season? (Basically a thank you shout-out.)

@mohini-musing, My lovely DD, has always provided with me so much love and support. We were able to have some conversations to try to get to the bottom of what's screwing with my productivity lately, and we're going to start a fresh program soon. My ADHD meds are not working so well, we think, and I need, in addition to moving on to something else RX, to be held to a student-style daily structure so I can't run off chasing butterflies when I'm supposed to be painting or something.

I'm so grateful for my baby boy (he's almost 5, but he still fits in my lap. His age, looks wise, is kind of like a chunky 3-year old.) To paraphrase an absolutely horrid doctor's appointment, to which I chapparoned bby as note-taker and bby cuddler, somebody who somehow managed to achieve an MD told us something to the effect of 'everything with a brain can have a seizure, and given what we're working with...' Maybe I should find that doc again and make an appointment for me and baby boy, just to prove how wrong he is. Bby can sit up and briefly stand up in my lap (so he can kick the doc quite easily). He babbles around 10 individual words and phrases, including "I love you" and "Good morning." He knows several signs in ASL and connects them to either their correct meaning or a code word that stands for something bigger. (His stroller has a blue canopy, so he signs blue for the stroller.). Bby came to us blind, with "no functional vision." After working with him to get to know that he can see light and dark, bby has been able to recognize at least 5 colors, and he has a favorite color (green) and least favorite color (pink). We got one more major report of good news for baby boy this week--his doctor is evaluating him for a gait trainer (basically the forefather of a walker). Because bby is interested in putting his feet on the ground and stomping, he's passed the magical test to start working on putting weight on his feet and legs. I love all my kiddos, and everyone in the household, but this year, even after he's had a few health scares, I'm so happy to see my baby thriving. He brings much happiness, even when I'm feeling down.

[unsuredreamer]

I’m honestly not that bad when I’m drunk I just become more chatty. I’m also far more coordinated when drunk so I don’t know how that works but whatever I’ll take it. I think her boyfriend said it was Skyy but I’m pretty sure it was mixed with Tito (he mixes his vodkas and makes the nastiest of flavors) all I know is when we got to fight of our lives that and the ginger shots were a no go anymore. I ended up just drinking water and lemonade the rest of the movie. Plus we just finished since one of my friends decided they wanted to get food. They all asked if this was a two part movie or if there was like a snyders cut because it was short and good but short.

As for what kind of vodka I like it usually depends on the day (I’m a seven shots in one cup kind of girl). If I’m in a drinking just because kind of mood I’ll mix some cheap vodka, usually burnetts, with a Red Bull, sprite, or a flavor mix pod. If I’m drinking because it’s been a day and I don’t like the day anymore I’ll try to find stolichnaya or Tito’s. Otherwise I’m not a fan of alcohol beyond maybe some wines.

As for friends and how we even got to watching Disney movies together is sort of a fun story. We all either live with each other or in the same apartment complex and we all apparently went to the same university or were from the same general area. Well because we were looking for roommates we found each other and then it turned out that my roommates were friends with two of my coworkers and so we started hanging out (fun fact I’m the loner of the group or the odd ball if you will). But at our university there was a Disney club and a couple of them were in the club and so at one of our very very long gatherings they brought up that they were in this club and what movie had just come out and then we all got to talking about our love of Disney movies (now mind you I hate talking and I hate being social I’m far too introverted but when it comes to Disney, marvel, and a few others baby I’m a social butterfly).

Let me tell you I’m the least productive especially on days off. I’ll do my laundry and some cleaning or I just take the day a watch some shows or movies. My roommates have dubbed me the “perfect girlfriend” for those who just want cuddles or like being in control (I’m just chill? Maybe? Idk but yeah like just tell me what you want to do and I’ll make sure we do it and that it’s a fun day😌).

How was work? What do you do (if you don’t mind me asking)?

What’s your favorite flavor vodka?

And are you a red or white wine kind of person?

Also what are your pronouns I feel awkward just calling someone babe or babygirl or anything gendered when I don’t know someone (I swear I can’t help but ask, consent and knowing what people are okay with is a must for me 🫠 it’s not to be awkward I promise).

Anyways I hope you ate today and stayed hydrated 😉

-🤺

Well, good for you, because my balance is completely off. And I feel like we all become a bit more chatty, for me, it gets me a little more confidence than usual (Which not always is a good thing)

Ugh, there's this part of fight of our lives that's hitting my brain in just the right ways.

Tbh Im not a big fan of alcohol too, sometimes when i do want to get drunk I just buy the cheapest wine there is, like 2 bottles and drink my ass off. When I'm in a mood when i just want to drink a little and maybe have some fun I usually drink beer.

From your little story I wonder how old are you? if you don't mind me asking of course.

And i sooo get you in being the introvert, but it's kind of weird on my side here. Because I'm introverted as shit at the same time being a people pleaser. Like if I do have to interact with strangers, I'll do the most maybe even too much. When i do become closer with someone I tend to be quieter, but it's a matter of time i get more comfortable, then, depending on days i can be either this or that (so confusing im sorry😭)

To be honest, I would love to do all kinds of things (like going kayaking or to the amusement park, just going to the gallery and walking around laughing, gokarting or just simply laying in bed, rotting and watching movies wigh snacks would be the most fun to me) I could do these alone but it's no fun 🥲 And I do have a lover but she is not really willing to do the things i would love to do, rather just lay in bed all the time. I mean, I like to be in bed cuddling and such, but all the time? Have some fun! Take me out, I'll take you out, just excite me.

Work was great actually, the time went quite fast even though we had some things to do. I work at a bakery! Where do you work love?

I'm not really a vodka lover, so I have not tried many, but one time, i was at a party. This girl made vodka shots with grapefruit juice and I drank like shot after shot. It was heavenly 🙌🏻

To be honest just give me wine and I'll be content x. What are your preferences?

Mine pronouns are she/her, what are yours love? I appreciate you asking. Consent is a must, I agree. (You certainly are not awkward, actually i feel like ur the nicest person. Made me smile so much in those two days of your reqs 😄)

I did and I hope you did too . Hope you have a wonderful day!

[gnattyplayssims]

1943 Pt1 - The Orphanage

It was late summer and the kids from Canal Creek Orphanage were finishing up an afternoon of odd jobs. "Hey we're close to Pigulock Manor. You should come meet my new friend."

"Not today, I'm too tired!"

"I'll take you home Sof. Go ahead, Kyler, I'll catch up."

Kyler ran ahead and soon he and Stefan were having a good time on the monkey bars. "Look I can climb under here like a spider. Ahh!"

Stefan laughed as Kyler lost his grip, "I've never heard a spider make that noise before."

"Awe man I was trying to be cool!"

"Maybe next time"

As Kyler tried to get ahold of the bars neither of them noticed Nikolas come up. "Showing off again I see. Careful you don't fall on your head."

Kyler laughed nervously, "Stefan this is my friend Nikolas from the orphanage."

Stefan was quick to invite "Want to climb with us?"

Nikolas made a show of thinking about it before he shrugged, "Yeah that sounds fun."

"Sof get home okay?"

"Yeah she's been watching Mrs. Miller's brats the last week. Those kids are terrors so I can understand her being tired."

"I can't believe you guys actually have to work!"

Later that night Sofia snuck into Nik and Kyler's room. "How's the new roommate, Sof."

Nikolas nudged him knowing what Kyler really wanted to know.

"Oh Kyler she's awful. An actual witch." She laughed. "I think she might actually be able to shoot fire from her eyes!"

"Ah but I'd die a happy man."

Nikolas couldn't help himself anymore. "Don't fool yourself, you'd be miserable. She's pretty, but we all know she's not your dream girl"

"Nope I got my dream girl right here, huh Sof?"

Sofia giggled, "My hero of the monkey bars."

"You told her!?"

Unfortunately Danika was very talented and ladylike. The kind of young girl that families adopted. Like Sofia's childhood bestfriend, Ann, who was beautiful with a voice like an angel. People didn't adopt dreamers.

"Lost in fairy tales again I see."

"Leave me alone Mathias."

Tears welled up in Sofia's eyes and she couldn't hold them back. Mathias came to sit next to her. "Hey don't cry. I was just teasing. You'll get adopted I'm sure of it"

"When? I'm already 8 years old. I'm working as hard as I can but no one seems to want a girl who can read"

"Hey," Mathias grabbed her wrist pulling her hand away from her face as she wiped her nose. "I want you. I can be your prince. Just like in one of those novels"

"That's not what I-"

Suddenly he was leaning in, his lips pressing against hers. She jerked away. "I...I don't..."

Sofia didn't know how to feel. She'd kind of liked it but it was her first kiss and it wasn't how she had always pictured it, especially with Mathias.

"Everything okay over here?"

Mathias jumped at the sound of Nikolas' voice. "Yeah yeah everything's fine!"

"Sofia is he bothering you?"

"I'm okay."

"I'll have you know me and Sofia just kissed. We're basically a thing now."

Nik's eyes narrowed. "You did what?" "Hey don't look at me like that. She started it...with the tears and everything."

"Scram Mathias before I get real angry"

Mathias scrambled off somewhere like the coward he was and Nikolas let out a breath scratching his head nervously "Seriously you okay?"

Sofia just stood there in shock. "That...that was my first kiss"

"Ah, yeah" He scuffed the ground with his shoe. "It wasn't a good one though"

He didn't know what else to do so he wrapped her in a hug. "It doesn't mean anything if you don't want it to."

"No one's coming for me are they? I'm really trapped in this tower and always will be. There are no princes...only dragons."

She held onto him and let the tears flow.

Downstairs the orphanages resident tattletale was seeking her daily audience with Maci "First, Danika wouldn't let me in the bathroom, then I caught Kyler stealing sandwiches from the fride, and THEN I saw Mathias and Sofia KISSING!"

"Thank you Audrina, I'll take care of it"

But that answer didn't satisfy Audrina. "What are you doing in here?"

"Getting a snack."

"You know we're not supposed to play in the kitchen"

"Don't be such a hypocrite I know Kyler steals those sandwiches to share in your little club"

"It's not a club, we take those to work"

"Oh so you think you're better than us? You think watching a couple kids makes you worthy of more food?"

"What are you even talkin about Audrina?"

"Kelsi and I work too you know."

"Yes, everyone knows you're Maci's favorite and that's why you get to clean her office."

"Exactly and that's how I KNOW I'm better than you. I've seen it."

"What are you talking about."

"There's not even a father listed on your birth certificate did you know that? And you know what else. You're a twin just like me but your mom kept him and left you here."

Sofia didn't know what to say but suddenly her attention was drawn to the smoke billowing behind Audrina. "Did you turn on the oven?

"Yeah what's it to you. You gonna try to tattle on me and get revenge. Good luck with that."

"No! Audrina fire! There's a fire"

The two girls ran from the kitchen as the oven burst into flames and smoke started to fill the room. "I hope you're proud of yourself. That was a real stupid move."

"Whatever! You made your point just run!"

Maci sighed in relief as they burst from the house. "Thank the Watcher"

They waited for the firefighters but unfortunately they weren't fast enough. Maci stood in the shambles of the kitchen. There was barely enough money to feed the children let alone replace the appliances. She was left no choice.

The Canal Creek Orphanage would have to close.

1943 Pt2 - Finding Sofia

[intrepidradish]

Media: Dragon Ball Z

Year/my age: 2002/12

What drew me to the media:

I came home from highschool everyday and had a small tv with a built in vhs in my closet. It was 4:30pm and toonami was on Cartoon Network. I watched the entire Cell Saga and Majin Boo like a fiend. It was a shitton of episodes! Ugh. It's almost impossible to watch all the way through now, but maybe because as an adult I want like...more plot motivated writing. One of the best fanfic foder aspects of DBZ is that so much is left open to interpretation. I didn't question the filler episodes as a kid. I just liked all the muscles and screaming. The animation/manga style remains super duper fun. But mostly I found DBZ memorable because of Vegeta. I got truly invested in him as a character, because for most of DBZ, he really lets you down. I think TV shows love to harp on tropes for children, ie the bad man becomes a good man and all his values change to match the good characters *sparkles*, because they think morally those are the stories that should be told to children. Which is sad, honestly. Vegeta doesn't fall into that arc. He remains...kind of a bitch... and his character arch is fantastic and long and hard and he fucks up a lot and he doesn't really apologize for any of it. This was amazing to see as a preteen. Teaching failure to a child is really hard, and I think that America's school system is really bad at even attempting to. But failure is super important. Because all of life that child cum adult is going to fail, and its going to suck.

What made me a fan:

In college, I did another pass of DBZ, and whoa, developing adult horny brain really went into spiral knots wondering...so what the fuck... Bulma and Vegeta... had sex? They made a child. They made Trunks. So they had sex, right? I think this is pretty common a reaction. And as soon as you think that, well... the next step is... 'wait wait wait, how did they have sex? why did they have sex? what did that even look like?' And that's what sends you scouring the internet at 1am in your underwear (covertly, because you're in a dormitory with three other roommates).

I wish I could put to language what is it about romance that sends people into fandom holes. Romance is really important to fandom. I think it has something to do with how regimented relationships are in mass media. They aren't diverse. Most main stream romance is very streamlined and never gets into the messy odd bits without being labeled as some kind of edgy cusp drama. I don't know. But relationships seem to be the spring board for fandom hijinks. I'm all about it. I'd rather have fake blorbo relationships in my brain to obsess over than the real world. That shit gets you into trouble.

Oh god, and what an indicator of future dispositions. If you get into the Vegebul fandom, a lot of them are rape stories (because god forbid, a woman could want a shitty asshole alien man to bone at night. Bulma has her own set of problems, specifically with vanity being high up there). But yeah they were hot and I was pretty ashamed about the whole thing.

I was such a baby then.

Have I written fanfiction for it?

YES. One winter vacation, I wrote a 40 page fanfiction. This was probably in 2010? It was UNFINISHED, but I was incredibly sweaty the entire time, trying to build up to a spanking scene. (Yes, 40 pages of build up for spanking. I'm embarrassed for myself.) My computer crashed and the entire document was corrupted. My first fanfic was lost. RIP

Opinion on the fandom:

Pretty chill. I didn't interact with it much besides reading secretly. Originally, I was reading on fanfiction.net. When I came back to it years later (once again after college, I got my husband into it) I was reading fanfic for it on Ao3. I run into other Vegebul's periodically. They are all in their late twenties, early-late thirties. I follow someone here on tumblr that wrote this fantastic long series (100+ chapters) called Pillow Talk which is on Ao3. It's fucking incredible about showing the ups and downs, ins and outs of their relationship, because they do wind up together in canon (which is wild).

The most recent interaction I had was in the kink community, which was like *sigh* 'god, we are so fucking predictable, aren't we?' We had a good laugh! But he was trans masc too, chilling in a femme body, so we clicked right away about it.

I also remember I had an annoying conversation with my stepbrother once about tattoos. I don't have any, so they were asking why I don't. I said "If I started to get tattoos it would be a slipper slop before I start making bad decisions like getting a full Vegeta arm sleeve." Their mouths twisted in that judging you face and said "yeah don't do that." Like...ahem. My point exactly.

I think people get pretty judgy in general about Vegebuls because its a 90s kid's show, and its not a very good one. But being a Vegebul is kind of like... realizing your parents have sex. It's part of 'coming of age'.

Would I participate again:

Hell yeah, I would. Once a Vegebul always a Vegebul. The biggest hurdle for me would be catching up on all the new material. I watched Dragon Ball Super and found it lackluster. GT was so bad, I cannot. Something that's commonly an issue for me is the amount of subject material required to understand a story in fanfiction. I'll get into it later with other fandoms, but if the lore gets too big, I suddenly don't know how to participate.

Master post

[sexywritergirl]

Don't Study Here

She sat at the end of the bar. You couldn't call it the quiet corner but it was a corner. She hoped that by being so far out of site that nobody would notice her sitting by herself.

Her backpack sat at her feet. The contents scattered before her on the counter. She had a glass of water which the bartender kept well and full. Long legs swung back and forth tanned and bare. Her short shorts left them to everyone's perusal. A short white tank top showed off her belly and breast. Large and firm men noticed the creamy white mounds instantly. Her short wavy brown hair was held back from her face by a headband.

She would rather be back in her dorm room but Eva decided that being fucked by the baseball team seemed like a good idea. Trying to squeeze past all those naked bodies with there phallus out, hard, ready and strong, was a feat . She refused to be touched or drawn into that gangbang. Her pussy clenched and throbbed with the images that went through her mind.

" More water there, Ann? You look kind of parched. Besides your starting to make some of the others nervous the way you keep running your tongue over your lips. The regulars aren't sure whether you're going into heat or getting ready to eat someone."

" I might need something more than water this time, Dye. Eva wasn't waiting for me to get my stuff and leave. Them images won't leave my head. She is such a bitch. I just want to have a room to myself. No noise. No guys. No mind numbing sex. I miss the mind numbing all night long fucked until I can't stand up sex. Whiskey neat please."

Her brother walks away shaking his head. Comes back with her whiskey. Ann swirls the amber liquid in the glass. Tilts the moisture and her head back and swallowed it all. She felt that ever present burn that whiskey has and smiles. She pushes the shot glass back towards Dye and told him thanks man.

Six rowdy males walked in. Ann surmised that they were there to watch the game on the big screen. Her finger's crossed that they wouldn't sit near her. Damn. No such luck. Well at least one wasn't to bad to look at.

He was the one to walk up and place the first round of beer. As Dye got the pitchers ready, he glanced towards Ann.

" You know there are quieter places to study?"

"Really now. And where would those places be at this time of night?"

" The library. Your dorm room. The commons. "

" The library closes at 5. My roommate is having a gangbang in there so they do not enough room for me. The commons. Really. Your talking about everyone who doesn't want to do their homework in the commons. Noisest damn place ever."

" Nice sarcasm. If you decide you want to be friendly, I'm over there. Just wave otherwise they will hit on you. Good luck with your classes. I will take my beers and leave. "

" Took you long enough, Doc. Find someone as boring as yourself?"

Doc just glared at his friend. He was here with them. Why did they seem to think he was being poor company? He let his hair down all the time. Why else would he be here hanging with his buds on a school night? He just didn't need a girlfriend right now. They required work and time that he just didn't have at the moment. When he graduated he would be doing his residency. After that he would start dating but not before.

His friends were still joking about him and the girl at the bar studying. He stood up , told them to grow up, and went to the bar.

" This seat taken. My friends are being jerks."

Ann turned towards the table. The five guys left stared right back at her. She stood. Her brother came over to watch in case she needed back up.

" Are you going to stop her? They will have a field day with her. It's five against one."

" Look, Bud...."

" Kevin. My friends call me Doc."

He held his hand out to be shaken. Dye took his hand.

" Name's Dylan. Ann can take care of herself but if you don't like the odds you might want to go help your friends. Otherwise sit down and see why she will be the best damn lawyer ever. I'm just making sure they don't need back up."

So that is what he did. Doc sat down on the barstool and watched this small girl chat politely with his friends. Her back was to him but her body language never changed. His friends looked impressed when she came back to her seat. He followed her walk back to the bar. He could care less about what his friends thought right now.

" You're right. They are a bunch of jerks. Why are you friends with them? Yes you can have the seat."

Doc sat down and explained his friends to her. They talked about their career choices and why they made them. When he heard the halftime buzzer sound, he stood up.

" I have a apartment if you would like a quieter place to study. I am the only one living there so you would only have to fend me off."

" Can we stop by the dorms and see if that tramp is finished yet? "

He agreed to that. His friends waved at them, made cat calls, and we're just plain outright asses. Neither one of them acknowledged their existence. Dylan made sure that Ann was aware of the danger and made Doc give him his address just in case.

Doc found a parking spot close to her dorm. He asked her if she wanted him to go with her just in case. Ann shook her head. She was hoping that Eva was done with the guys or them with her. But there had been a lot of guys in there. She wasn't even sure how they all managed to fit in that tiny ass room to begin with. The commons was still full of fans. The game still on. She asked about the score and if anyone had seen Eva yet. They told her halftime wasn't over and no she was still in the room. Someone thought she was still working over the baseball team. They heard moans when they passed the door.

Great Eva was still having her brains fucked out. Ann still went up the stairs. Her hand still clutched at the knob. Her hand shook as it stretched towards the door. Then Ann heard what she prayed she wouldn't. Moans came from the other side of the door. She threw it open. Not many guys left but they were still naked and hard.

"Want some too honey? "

" No thanks. I'm just checking on my roommate. She seems quite content to me. Let her know I will see her in the morning. I'm going to spend the night with a friend."

He just shrugged his shoulders. Ann breathed a sigh of relief. Turning to leave, her eyes land on the fattest, longest cock she had ever laid eyes on. Her hormones went through the roof taking out her wiring on the way.

" Does it ever go down? How many times did you cum? Did it ever need assistance getting hard again? Can I taste it?"

" Yes. 4. No. Let's see if you are better than your friend."

Ann nearly choked as he rammed that rod all the way in. His hips bucking and fucking driving her insane. That cock was fantastic. It wasn't long before Ann took all that beautiful cum down her throat.

" Got to go. Bye bye"

She ran all the way back to Doc's car. Boldly told him that she was all his. He could take her to his apartment now. Doc's cock jerk hard at her naughty words and the picture it painted. The drive there was silent but filled with tension.

They stayed in the car for a bit longer than necessary. Neither wanted to state the obvious, which was that they were alone.

" Have you had anything to eat? I'm a little hungry so I was going to go do some grocery shopping. If you want something to eat, I will bring back enough for both of us."

Ann's stomach choose that moment to growl out it's approval of food.

" Guess I am. "

Doc got out and unlocked the door. Together they walked into the living room. He showed her around his apartment. Told her to make herself at home. Then left to grab food knowing full well he wasn't the best of cooks. He called his mom.

" I have a girl over to study with. She hasn't eaten for a while and you know I can't cook mom. What am I going to do?"

" You have a girl over to your apartment!!!!!!!! Right now!"

Doc had to move the phone away from his ear because of his mother's ear piercing squeal. This might have been a very big mistake.

" First off don't buy those frozen pizzas. No girl in her right mind wants to eat those things. Second throw away the take out cartons. It makes you look like a great cook and a good catch."

He was standing in the frozen pizza aisle. Pizza rolls were staring him in the face. A snack tray sounds perfect. Doc grabbed two bags and thanked his mother for her advice. He raced down the aisles to finish his shopping and get home.

It was so quiet at the apartment that Ann jumped when Doc walked in with two bags and a case of soda. He looked at her for a bit before asking if she was okay.

" I'm fine. It's just so quiet and I didn't hear you come in. I jumped when I saw you. Funny really."

They break out in laughter.

" Anything I can help you with?"

Ann proceeds into the kitchen.

"What can I help you with? And don't tell me you got this."

Doc held out a bag of pizza rolls and lettuce mix. She laughed as she took the stuff to make salad. They worked side by side in friendly banter. Both of them felt comfortable with each other and wasn't quite sure when that happened. Trays of finger food, pizza rolls and the salad was taken to the sofa.

" Do you want to watch a movie? Or do you have more homework to finish up?"

" My homework is done. This is work work. I now work as a paralegal for the law firm that sponsored me during a court proceeding. They hired me on right after. I do the leg work and get extra credit."

" Wow. Wish it worked that way for doctors. When do you have to have it done by?"

" Next Friday. But I will have it done and copied by this weekend."

Doc sat playing with her hair. He was impressed with her in so many ways. They seemed to have the same goals. Maybe a roommate wouldn't be so bad. If she was willing anyway.

" Do you mind if I spend the night on your couch, Doc? I'm not really sure Eva is going to be done with all them guys by morning. Plus I don't want to put you out by taking me back at such a late hour."

He leaned over and kissed her. Her lips tasted like wine and he was thirsty. It surprised her. Her eyes went wide. Then she kissed back. It went from a thirst to a need to flames.

They broke apart for air. Panting he was trying to figure out how to apologize but nothing came.

"So was that a yes? "

The question was so quiet and tenitive that he just wanted to kiss Ann again. He smirked instead.

" Yes it is. In fact it is a invitation to become my roommate if you would like. I study all the time so it's quiet. I don't do gangbangs unless you want one. And I don't have a girlfriend unless you want to take that position as well."

Ann bit and chewed at her lower lip. He watched her like a hawk. He wanted to devour those lips again but she was thinking about all the things he said. She sat up pulling her legs under her.

" So you want me to be your live in girlfriend?"

" We can start out as roommates first if that would be better for you. I know I jumped the gun with my kiss. I won't take back what I did and I can't explain myself either. We move at your pace. I just know that this is better than what you put up with now."

She was back to chewing on her lip. Doc leaned forward and captured that offending lip between his teeth and tugged. When Ann moaned he devoured her mouth. His hand sliding under her shirt. He stopped just below her breast. His fingers splayed across her ribs. His other hand in her hair guiding her in the kiss.

Ann's hands grabbed at his ass. She kneaded at him like dough. Then she moved upward slowly feeling every inch of his body as she went. Her fingers finally tangling in his hair. She moaned in pure delight every bit of the way.

Ann pushed them apart.

"Okay. I will be your live in girlfriend. Are we going to have any ground rules or who buys what?"

Doc had a dumbfounded look on. So she laughed. He went to attach her but she called truce.

" You aren't a prisoner of war yet. So no truce."

" I want to know ground rules. So let's get them settled. I'm sure that your parents visit. I will have to let mine know of my move as well."

The mention of parents was like cold water to Doc.

" Shit. Mom is going to kill me. Fuck. You're going to kill me. Shit."

" Doc, calm down and explain to me what is wrong about the situation. If your mom is against you having a roommate of the opposite sex. I can continue to stay at the dorms. It is not a big deal. Really."

Doc told her how he had called his mother for culinary advice. That she most likely drove by to see how things were going along. They knew he hadn't dated since starting his medical education. It took all of his time and energy to learn everything. To learn that he had company and it wasn't his buddies, his mom wouldn't be able to help herself.

Ann began to laugh. She told him a similar story of her parents doing the same thing. Her's was a study date though. It didn't turn out as good as this was. She convinced him to call his mother and ask if she had been by yet. If she had or hadn't invite them both over in two weeks. She would be happy to meet his mother.

Ann uncurled herself from the couch and stretched. Doc drooled as he watched her young lithe body contort for maximum relief. He didn't hear her the first time she had said something to him.

" I wish to take a shower and get some sleep before my first class if you don't mind. Where do you hide the towels? Do you have something I can use as a nightgown as well? I don't mind the walk of shame but I hate sleeping in jeans."

" You are welcome to use any of my t-shirts. Towels are in here."

Ann complained about how small his bathroom was. He stood at the door and said it wasn't that small. She made the remark that you couldn't do anything else but shower in it. Doc asked her what that was supposed to mean. She told him that if she wanted help with a certain place he couldn't fit in the shower with her. He said I can too and I will prove it.

" So prove it. This i must see."

Doc wasted no time getting his clothes off and fitting his big frame in the shower with Ann.

"Wait. I need to rinse the soap off before it gets somewhere uncomfortable."

He stood outside the door till she had the soap rinsed off her. Watching her like a hungry lion watches his prey. She teased him. Rinsing the soap slowly from her body. Her hands chasing it from her curves with infinite care.

Doc leapt at her. She squeaked. Her legs left the floor as he lifted her to implant his cock deep in that cunt. As he slid inside her wet sheath, her arms and legs wound around him.

" Told you we would fit in here. "

Her sighs and moans were all the answer that he needed. He pounded then slowed down. Teasing her just as she had him. When she began to cry out at the loss of friction, he knew that they wouldn't be able to last much longer. He kissed her then. Stealing her breathe. Her ablity to think of anything else. When he picked up the rythm again both rushed over the edge. They were still riding the orgasm when he carried her out of the shower.

Taking her to the bedroom where he could dry her off, he laid her on the bed. Ann let go.

" I hope you don't think you are done. "

" Not by a long shot, Sweetheart. I want to devour you. We both have class tomorrow so after that you are mine."

Ann smiled. She couldn't help herself. He wanted her just as badly as she wants him. Now if she can get to sleep. It's already been a long night. She grabbed a blanket and went to the couch.

" You really don't have to sleep there. My bed is big enough for the both of us."

" I'm afraid I won't get any sleep if I go in there."

" Well if you change your mind, the door is always open. "

Doc kissed her softly on the lips telling her good night. Ann got weak in the knees and wet all over again. She would never be able to get enough of his kisses. She was hooked.

Dan had only on his boxers. He wanted to strip bare and wait for her. The thought that it would scare her to find him so hard and eager made him leave them on.

Moaning and groaning Ann tossed about on the couch. She was still horny. Frustrated and annoyed now that she couldn't sleep, she walked in the bedroom. Pulling the covers back for her, Doc let her lay down before wrapping the blanket around both of them.

" I'm used to having someone in the room with me. I couldn't sleep without the noise she made. Sorry."

" I'm not. "

His hand was roaming her legs, thighs and butt. As the shirt kept lifting higher so did his hand. He froze when he noticed what he wasn't wearing under his shirt.

" Ann were are your panties? "

" Hanging in the bathroom to dry so I have clean ones to put on in the morning. I hate wearing dirty underwear."

"So much for sleeping."

He pulled her ass against his growing hard on. His finger playing with her love button while he kissed her neck. Softly calling her name over and over. She moaned and wiggled against him. Her own need matching his. The fire in them blazing out of their control.

Ann rolled over. She kissed him with such passion it left them breathless. Doc rid himself of his boxers and she climbed aboard his rod. He wanted so bad to grab her hips and pound into her wet folds. She wanted to be in control though. Nothing sexyer than a woman who takes over.

Ann did just that. Fast. Slow. Bouncing. That was his favorite. Twerking. Made his eyes roll back into his head. And just grinding on him. That made Ann moan the most. It also made him come. They fucked for hours. Switching spots. He pinned her against the wall. She loved that. He would remember that.

Soon sunlight started to stream through the windows. They were still fucking driving each other over the edge into ecstasy. Wet spots could be seen everywhere. Ann started laughing.

" I hope your mother doesn't clean for you."

" Why?"

" Look at all the fuck fluids we have left for someone to clean up."

" That would be us , Sweetheart. I have always cleaned the house myself. Today it will wait till after class is all."

" If your mom comes in and sees it this way?"

"So what. We are adults. We don't have to have her permission to have sex."

Ann looked at Doc.

" I do believe I love you."

" Same here."

After her classes were over, Ann could not get everything settled with her dorm fast enough. Eva asked her all kinds of questions as Ann packed her belongings. Eva shut up when Doc appeared to help Ann with her bags.

" Hello, Gorgeous. Ready to go?"

Ann blushed red as a tomato as she smiled and shook her head. Doc pulled her in for a hot kiss whispering in her ear how much he missed her. Her body reacting to his nearness and words.

" So two bags, a box and I'm assuming that the hanging bag is your work clothes? Not much here for a girl. Guess that's good."

" I don't like spending a bunch of money. I have to pay for college myself. "

" I didn't mean to sound like that. I'm sorry."

Ann grabbed his shirt pulling him in for a kiss. She whispered don't ever be sorry that you have more than someone else. You can always help them make their life better.

" I really need to get you home now! Might be taking care of you in the parking lot if we don't hurry."

She giggled as the hurried down the stairs. They arranged the luggage in his car. He couldn't help but kiss her sweet lips again. Coming up for air, both forgetting for a minute were they are. Ann ran to the passenger side to get in. Off they go.

She to was so hot and needy that she pulled him free from his pants. Her tongue danced over his heated flesh. His cock jerking in her hand. She hummed at him.

" Remember to drive the speed limit now. "

" Fuck."

She engulfed his engorged cock with her mouth. Invch by aching inch she swallowed him whole. He fisted one hand in her hair. Trying to keep a eye on the road and an eye on her was making him crazy. He wanted to pump that sweet mouth of hers. Watch as his fucking cock slid in and out of her throat.

" Shit, Babe. I'm going to cum!"

Hot sperm hit her throat. She swallowed it all. Taking care to clean up any that got away. Her smile was so wicked it made him harder than before. She left his cock exposed to her sight and hands.

" Delicious. I'm ready for more of your cream love."

He pulled into his garage. Cut the engine. Walked around to open Ann's door. She stepped out and he pulled her pants and undies off. Flinging them who knows where. Lifting her up so that she was able to slide down his pole, they fucked against the car. Ann would have black and blue spots high and low.

He didn't let up his pounding piston until she screamed his name. Her orgasm made him release his own. Both were sweating and breathing hard now. Hunger for each other still burned in their eyes.

" Can you walk okay?"

Ann's legs shook a bit but she could walk.

" I'm fine. Let's grab the bags and get inside. "

" What about your pants and undies? Find them later?"

"Yes. I won't be wearing anything for a while. Will I?"

Doc growled at her as they raced inside.

[shadowworks]

Compulsion

Pairing: Mafia!Dabi X Reader

Warnings: dubconish themes, flirting with Hawks, blood, murder, blackmail, fingering. NSFW, quirkless AU!

Word Count: 4.4k

A/N: Alright! This piece is for The Smut Pile Mafia Collab

I have to give my wholehearted thanks to @hisoknen @some-kindofgnome , @pleasantanathema, and @ever-enthralled for reading this over the last couple weeks, and making sure it reads well! I am so happy to have you beautiful souls! Also a special shoutout to Raph for brainstorming with me when I was stuck at the very end. 💕

Edit: This has fanart! Beautiful @maewoahoah created a Mafia!Hawks piece right here and a Mafia!Dabi piece here! She’s very talented! ;)

On this ominous winter evening it begins snowing. 

You readjust your peacoat and step through the frosty glow of the street lamp to your front door. Your muscles ache a little more than usual, your steps a little heavier. It’s been a long and tedious day at work; far less stimulating compared to Toga’s position working for a bootlegger named Tomura. But both jobs pay the rent. You push papers and withhold your scowls towards clients. Now, you want a bath. 

The sound of a muffled radio plays on the other side, and it floods your ears as you walk in with warmth and an iron smell wafting your chilled nose. 

“Folks, I'm goin' down to St. James Infirmary...

Seeeee, my baby there;

She's stretched out on a long, white table

She looks so sweet, so cold, so fair.”

Toga’s playing blues again. It’s a routine she has before the graveyard shift across town. At this time, she’s in the kitchen making something before she goes, but you’re having trouble figuring out what food smells like copper. 

“He-e-e-y,” you call lazily, a sing-songy tone in your voice. 

She doesn’t answer, though you hear the clacking of stiletto heels on wood, which makes you amble down the hall to see what she’s doing. 

“Think you can smuggle some whiskey tonight? I thought we had some, but Keigo probably polished it off last—“

You stop in the doorway. 

There’s a poor bastard lying flat on his back, head twisting too far towards the sink. Ribbons of blood streak down his colorless skin, pouring out from a dark and glossy hole just beneath his jaw. You see it puddle and stain the edges of his hair a sticky red, the only sound besides your heart thudding is the soft thrums from the parlor.

“ When I die please bury me in my high top Stetson hat

Put a twenty dollar gold piece on my watch chain

So the gang'll know I died standing pat.”

You’re in a daze, one where you’re not sure how long you’ve been staring. It doesn’t seem real. Is it real? But it’s not until you hear the sound of heels clicking against the wood floors that you drag your gaze to the noise. 

Toga’s standing near the stove, her features vacant, shoulders slouched, and she’s holding a knife that’s still wet.

What the fuck? 

You want to scream, berate her, seethe what the fuck was she thinking, or if she was thinking for that matter. But the blonde speaks up before you do, with a voice above a whisper. 

“He was going to leave me. Said he was too dangerous.” Toga doesn’t look in your direction, moving to the rim of pooled blood which has stopped spreading out, “I told him I wouldn’t let anyone come between us, but he wouldn’t listen.”

Your jaw goes taut, staring incredulously at her steely face. The lack of emotion gives you a sinking feeling in your stomach.

The man wasn’t a random suit who bled out on your floor, this moron was seeing Toga on and off for months and had been trying to be more present.

Nights spent arriving at your door with flowers and sweets, and driving her to work was becoming a staple in his routine. He preferred staying in Toga’s room if they had the day off, and he always slipped out when the morning frost dusted the grass, a soft bluish hue painting the streets before sunlight. 

But that’s not the problem. See, he was a core member inside the Mafia running the northern side of the city, ‘The League’ they like to call themselves. The only men above this guy was his boss Tomura, and the underboss Dabi. You don’t know the former, but you’ve spent time with the latter.

You’re aware of his sadistic nature that flashes behind those teal eyes, and he doesn’t try to  hide it, either. The sideway glances during a poker match before he fucked someone over , the smile he wore when you asked about the purple bruises on his knuckles. 

So fan-fucking-tastic, the broad has some nerve.

You curl your lip, already shrugging your shoulders from your coat. You toss it over the table and start rolling up your sleeves to the elbows.  

Toga finally turns towards you after catching movement by her side, brows raising confused, “What are you doing?”

“You’re gonna grab his feet and we’re gonna move him onto the rug in the hall.” 

You step in the blood, grabbing him by the rusty black colored jacket and dragging him from the puddle. Of course it leaves drag marks, your heels making tracks alongside, but you can deal with the clean up later. 

Toga hurries over to help, carrying him by the legs and letting you guide the body to the floral rug.

“You don’t want to know what happened?”

You stop. Immediately dropping the dead weight, his blond head lolls off to the side. Your palms sheen with red, but you straighten up and push a beach curl from your cheekbone with the back of your hand.

“Not really. All I want is this fucker out of my house.”

It’s her turn to stare at you incredulously. This is completely out of nowhere for you to be assisting in hiding a dead boyfriend, even if you two are roommates. You’ve only been living together for four months now.

“Toga, I need you to listen, okay?” you say, a bit mockingly, “I can look past the murdering business by pretending you acted in self defense, but if you don’t have the goddamn brains to realize this idiot has friends, then I suggest you don’t stab people!”

Toga flinches slightly at the lilted pitch in your voice, already suggesting panicky, “We can take him to the woods and hide him there?”

“That’ll work.” You don’t think Twice about it.  

Working together, you both hoist him a couple feet onto the rug, refusing to look at his face. You didn’t need to be feeling a pang of guilt. It doesn’t take long for you to roll him towards the front door, as the material wraps around his figure. 

The hardest part is retreating to the car. The moment you push through the door, you see the distance from where you stand and the car parked a little down the sloping street. You both give a hard look to the powdery snow dusting the ground, quiet and enchanting. It would be beautiful...had you not been carrying a corpse.

“Stop being a little bitch and heave!”

“I can’t! You’re making me hold all the weight!”

“He’s off the ground! How the fuck are you holding all the weight?”

“But my arms hurt!”

“Fucking hell, Toga. What if I had stayed at my sister’s tonight? What then?”

“Stop yelling at me! I get it, alright? I shouldn’t have done it in the house!” 

Your bickering toils through the winds, muffled by the falling snow. The burst of cold air is running through your buttoned blouse while crossing to the 1929 Chevrolet causing a shiver to roll down your back. When you reach the car Toga plops the rug down onto the snow first, then you. Your wet fingers feel numb against the metal handle. 

There’s one entrance on each side, which likely will make shimming the body to the backseat  much harder. You pause, looking at the front in thought. 

“I’ll go first,” you say, “when he’s in, you go and grab our coats.”

“Are we burying him?”

“Think the lake’s faster.”

“What if it’s icy? They’ll see the hole if we throw him in.”

You both ponder your options for a little while, this isn’t exactly something you’ve done before...You can’t say the same for Toga, but she seems just as puzzled, almost clueless on how to get rid of her ex. 

Meanwhile, the rolled corpse behind you starts to slip downhill, little by little. The slanting street gives speed and the rug starts to roll.. Red droplets trail behind in its wake. 

You just happen to see it first.

“Toga—Toga, the body! The body!” 

Toga cries out, taking off after the rug as best she can on a frozen sheet. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” 

The graceful snowfall flutters with pain and chaos.

Toga skids against the fresh ice, feet stumbling under her navy blue dress. She falls to the ground with a hard thud, and you see she isn’t stopping. She keeps going alongside the body, sliding until the two disappear under another parked car. 

You don’t have time to think, a chill strikes up your spine in your panic. 

“Toga!” you call out, taking off after her. Unfortunately you find yourself abruptly on your back, pounding hard on the stones and stealing the breath from your lungs. 

If you could sigh right now you would. Or rather, if you could punch Toga right now you would, as rage twists with a throbbing pain in your chest. Was all this worth having a mobster roommate? The odds were piling against her. You have a mind to push her in the lake when you get there.

Several silent minutes go by with you staring up at the cloudy sky. It’s brighter from the illuminating white snow, and despite the icy powder prickling your flesh, you have no choice but to wait for the ache in your chest to fade. 

“Enjoying the view?” 

You hear a new voice, male, and the suave tone tells you who it is before he treads near. He looks over you with half lidded eyes of honey gold. 

He’s very pretty. The drifting snow flakes above his wheat coloured head manage to enhance this, though the uplifted eyes lined in black, and nicely sharp features are the last thing you want to see. You’re nowhere near ready to start lying out of Toga’s mess. 

“That can’t be too comfy down there,” Keigo says, bending forward with an outstretched hand,“C’mon, upsy-daisy.” 

You take his hand, feeling another leather glove hold your waist and lift you onto your feet. When you settle, he starts brushing the caked snow off your back. Mobster or not, he’s at least a gentleman.

“You alright?” he asks, giving you a once over for any fresh scratches.

You give a slow nod, crossing your arms over your chest. Fear’s got the better of you, and you look anywhere but him., “What are you doing here? I thought you were working tonight.”

“Oh I am! You could say I’m on patrol, need to pick up a few things.” 

Your gaze stills to your left, heart skipping. Keigo’s not alone. Standing nearby, a slim figure dressed in black from head to toe is watching you two lazily. A thread of smoke seeps from his parted lips, clouding a handsome face and spikes of black hair. Keigo keeps talking, but you can’t take your eyes off the ghostly presence you know to be Dabi.

“Unfortunately that includes loverboy. He was supposed to be back hours ago, but we figured he’s still fooling around,” a little smirk tugs at his mouth, suggestively “He’s still inside, right?”

You blink, turning back to face Keigo, “I wouldn’t know, I just got home,” you lie. 

“Look at you! You look like you’re about to freeze to death.” He starts suddenly, swiftly slipping his arms out from his heavy coat, revealing a black three piece with pinstripes, and a brighter crimson tie. In one smooth motion he twirls the long, beige coat over your shoulders, letting it rest over your figure.

“Thank you,” you say, before your eyes catch something. 

Dabi moves towards the clumsy skid marks, head tilting down to the red dots in the snow near his polished shoe. You stiffen.

“You sure you’re okay?” 

Your gaze flashes from Dabi’s retreating back to a politely smiling Keigo, “Yeah, I’m fine! I’m really cold is all.”

“Well, we should get you inside. You know you left your door wide open?” Shit, the door. You forgot about the stupid door—

(Dabi looms across the indents in the snow and follows down the hill like a dark shadow against crystals illuminating bright.)

“Ah yeah, I thought I left my purse in the car. It was just for a second, and then I slipped,” You force a smile. Relax. You need to relax. Keigo doesn’t seem convinced, reading something off in your features.

“Is that right?”

(He gets the edge of the old Ford, and notes the specks of red soak wider here. The spots lead underneath.) 

“I know, it’s pretty foolish. It’s um...It’s a good thing you showed up when you did, or...”

Your eyes drift over Keigo’s shoulder. The underboss starts to crouch low. Your pupils shrink, a new wave of panic tingles the back of your neck. Damn him, why was he so clever? 

“Dabi, wait!” you shout, pushing past Keigo’s shoulder. In your hurry you kick up the snowy crystals, rushing to the taller mobster in his long obsidian coat. Dabi quickly turns, standing up.tall before you hook onto his upper arm like a lover. “I saw an animal go under there that looked hurt. You shouldn’t mess with it.”

A smirk that breaks into a grin spreads on his face, a look of amusement blooming from your look of fright. You want to glare at him, though that could be dangerous. Why does he like seeing you scared?

 “An animal, you say?” he parrots back, adopting the same mocking pitch you gave Toga earlier. He’s not in the least bit on edge, and you really don’t like that. He flicks his teal eyes up to look behind you just then, “Good thing I have the city’s best exterminator right here.”

As if on cue, you hear the crunching boots of Keigo walking to the car. “Give me a break with the dirty work, will ya?”

“What, scared of a little pest?” Dabi taunts back coolly.

 “I’m not too fond of getting my knees wet, actually,” Keigo returns quite dryly, sharp eyes studying the long pattern marks. He places his gloved hands on his thighs and drops himself to a crouch in front of the vehicle.

You desperately hope Toga proves you wrong. Maybe she had the common sense to bail while no one was looking. It’s all you can do at this point, while Keigo dips his head underneath. You don’t realize, but your grip on Dabi’s arm presses tighter into the wool.

Keigo inspects below for a moment. There’s a long pause like a winter evening should be. Silent. Calming. You can almost believe in the soothing little lie. Then Keigo coughs a laugh  that echoes through the street. Bursts of manic giggles grow louder from the mobster, leaving you tilting your head at his pushed back hair, confused.

“There’s a pest, alright! I think I caught something—“

Keigo reaches under, and with an impressively strong yank, Toga’s head pops out in a doe eyed stare. Her arms are wrapped around a bundled rug with a fairly familiar head sticking out. 

“Hey there, Toga!” Keigo exclaims, “When did you become a rat?”

 Dabi tips his head down, drawing the lit cigarette back to his lazy smile. He’s shockingly calm which does nothing to ease your shivering panic. Toga however, seems fine. In fact, she’s moved on to livelier feelings.

“Hey! Does it look like a rat could’ve done this?!” she snaps, shaking the body in her arms. It bangs against the bottom of the car sending loud echoes through the nearly empty street. Specks of blood dribble on the white ground, and a couple more drops spray her cheeks.

You stare up at the clouds, rolling your eyes. Goddamnit Toga.

“Yeah, I guess a rat can’t hold a knife, huh? Ya got me there.” Keigo turns and beams you a smug look, eyes half lidded in an expression that reads, nice try, but you failed.

You scrunch your nose, quietly shooting him back a glare. Asshole might’ve caught you both red handed, but he didn’t have to be so fucking cocky about it. It’s only charming when he has a winning hand at cards. Beside you, Dabi’s shoulders shake with silent laughter, though you don’t have the guts to flash him the same glower. He is second in command after all.   

“Yeah, see? That’s what I thought!” Toga says in victory.

You blink very, very slowly at Toga when she finally meets your vastly unamused gaze,“...Nice work, Toga.” 

It comes suddenly. A fiery warmth ghosts the dip in your waist as Dabi leans in. It’s not unwelcomed, raw and soothing even, but it hardly lasts. His hand curls around Keigo’s coat collar and pulls it off your shoulders. The crisp wind rushes to your exposed arms.

“You got any rat poison on you, Hawks?” Dabi tosses the coat to Keigo. 

He catches it mid air as he rises to stand. “Nah, fresh out. But we have some back at the house.” 

“You want to take care of our rat problem then?”

“Can do, boss man.”

Before you can figure out what they mean–what they have planned for Toga–Dabi’s pristine leather glove presses at the small of your back and directs you toward the pouring light of the open door. “Don’t wait up.”

It’s barely there, but as you shift your eyes to Keigo, his features take on a darkened look toward Dabi.

“Play nice, now,” you hear Keigo say. This time though, the joyous tone is gone. 

A new song hums on the radio when you’re pushed through the threshold, you listen to the richly solemn blues as Dabi closes the door. He turns the lock with a click and pockets the key.

“I forgive you 

'Cause I can't forget you.

You've got me in between the devil and the deep blue sea”

He doesn’t give you a passing glance, instead he turns and strolls down the freshly bare hall. He hasn’t removed his coat, and each room he passes he tilts his head in to search for something, stopping by the parlor. With a twist of a knob, he shuts off the radio.

“Where’d she ice him?” he asks, still not looking at you by the stairwell. 

“In the kitchen.” You return. No point in hiding it now. 

His steps creak the wood as he ambles further down, knowing full well where to go. He’s been here a handful of times; of course, those were happier evenings filled with drunken laughs.

You watch him stand by the doorway, staring at the vibrant mess of a crime scene. He pops the tip of his cigarette in his mouth before slipping from your line of sight. Dabi’s got the key to the door, so it’s not like you can run away—especially with Keigo just outside. It’s too risky to try and you know it, but it does cross your mind. 

Summing up the courage, you decide to follow Dabi with measured steps, “What are you going to do with Toga?” 

When you face the kitchen, Dabi’s near the table where you threw your coat. He has a hand in one of your pockets, and he’s fishing for something inside. It jingles in his grip as he stuffs it into his own pocket. Your car keys. 

“Are you going to kill her?” you try again, a little irked he’s swiping your things left and right. He doesn’t release your coat either, laying it over the crook of his elbow.  

He draws a final inhale from the dying bud, and crosses to the sink to snuff it out. An exhale of smoke blows out from his lips, “Killing her seems like a favor, don’t you think?”

“I thought it was the other way around.”

He turns, flicking teal eyes sheening with energy at you, “That lunatic’s no longer your concern. Right now, you ought to be more worried about yourself.”

Your features go taut, which in turn makes Dabi’s sadistic smirk return.

 “I didn’t help her kill him.”

“No,” he agrees, taking a few strides around the blood to approach you,“but you were willing to stash the stiff.”

“Yeah, for this very reason. I didn’t want you coming after me!”

Dabi draws dangerously close, mere inches apart as he glances down with lidded eyes, the smell of tobacco perfumes from his shirt collar nestled under a violet tie. He crooks his index finger, embellished with a silver ring, ghosting it under your chin. “How’d that turn out for you, babydoll?”

With a ruthless smile, he breaks the fixed stare and rounds you to the hallway. He seems to be making his way towards the parlor again, but the swish of your peacoat in his arm, set you off.

How dare he? You don’t like how he’s walked inside, claiming what’s yours. You might have your life screwed over, but at the very least you want your coat back as some semblance of control.

You stalk after him, picking up pace to aim for his arm. The clacks of your heels are loud, but you currently couldn’t care less about being sneaky, “Give it fucking back. You’re not keeping that!”

You lunge for the black wool, but as your fingers brush the material on his left elbow, Dabi whips the coat, rotating arms. You’re not fast enough, but you try a second reach for his right arm, huffing out a growl at his stealthy reflexes.

“Dabi, I’m serious! You’re such a—”

In a twirling motion his newly free palm shoves at your shoulder, pinning you against the stairwell’s wall. He’s close, so close, the blue flames in his eyes are absurdly intense. 

“That makes two of us. You’ll get this back when I say so.” 

His voice is low, soft lips almost connecting to yours. You tilt your chin up, glaring at him with fearful, tentative eyes. His gaze flashes with mirth, and he huffs a small laugh at you.

“I’ve always liked this about you. That spark inside you.” He muses. The peacoat spills to the floor. Dabi lifts his slender fingers, pushing back a loose curl from your cheek. 

Your stomach flips, as shocks tickle your skin. There’s been subtle flirting between you two before. You just wrote it off as overthinking the moment. Even though he only called you, babydoll, and he sat next to you at gatherings. How he filled your glass with water instead of booze as the nights waned. Now, you feel foolish for denying the little signs. 

“You have a horrible way of showing girls you like ‘em,” you counter back, your voice’s quiet but leveled. 

“Yeah?” he asks. The arm holding your shoulder tightens, while the other lowers to collect your long skirt. He traces his knuckles on the soft flesh of your thigh. As his hand trails up, his eyes remain fixed on your facial features. “Maybe this will help.”

His slim fingers reach the cotton slip, and it’s easy to pull off to the side, exposing the lips of your warmth. He tests the waters, sweeping the tips of his fingers across your folds. Your mouth parts in a breathless hitch in your throat. Dabi parts his own lips drawing near, ‘til his lips touch yours but not quite pressing together yet. His pierced nose bumps yours.

“Now here’s what’s going to happen,” he starts, just before sinking two fingers between your folds, pumping deep and slow inside. “You’ll go upstairs and pack what you need. When you come down—”

He thrusts particularly hard into you, sending a gasping moan to fall from your open mouth. His voice remains calm, a hint of glee can be detected. Fucking bastard.

“—You’ll be leaving with me. You’ll work for me...Live with me…And you’ll do everything I say. You got it, babydoll?”

He adds a third finger, soaking his knuckles deep with your slick. He’s hitting the right spots, the perfectly deep pressure. Your attention turns hazy as wakes of pleasure tighten just below your stomach. Your hips buck against his thrusting hand, yet still, you manage to nod your head. 

Moans flutter from your lips and vibrate onto his smiling one. To heighten the pleasure he begins swirling your wet clit. “Ah, Dabi...Oh god, Dabi—”

He slows his fingers suddenly, which makes you cry out. He pretends to ignore it. “If you try to escape me...I will hunt you down and hurt you in ways that will marr that pretty skin of yours. I’ll make you scream so loud, and no one will be there to save you. Tell me you understand.”

He curls his knuckles, pressing into a rough spot at the top, pumping fiercely against your slippery, muscular walls. You cry out, squeezing at his shirt collar and coat. “Fuck—I understand, I understand! Baby, right there, ah!”

Dabi gives you no mercy. He tugs and twirls the bud of sensitive nerves, swirling with driven circles that clench your walls in wonderous pressure. You’re close, he’s so close to sending you in high bliss. Your moans get heavier, and your clenching more and more and—

He removes his fingers. Another cry of protest sobs from your mouth only to be swallowed by Dabi’s lips on yours. His tongue massages the moans from your breath, his scent of cigarettes and smoke immerse your senses as you drown in the kiss.

He slowly breaks apart with a wet sound, looking deeply in your lust-glossed eyes. His voice is low and arousingly husky. “Now get your things.”

Before you know it, Dabi pulls away from your shoulders, and turns for the parlor. You try catching your breath, watching his slim, muscular back...Did that happen? Did he rob you of everything? Your home, your life, your orgasm?

Eventually, with light steps you do as you’re told, and turn to climb up the stairs. What choice do you have? He has your life in the palm of his hand. And right before you make it to the top, your hand drawn on the railing, the spinning clicks of your house phone perk your ear.  

A long pause. Then finally, Dabi’s rich voice speaks up from the parlor,

“Hey, I’ll be needing a few guys at Togas...Yeah, we found him….Toga did him in pretty good...No, we’ll need the good bleach for cleanup.”

***

P.S, this might be a mini series 👀

[zi-i-think]

Emotional Support Himbo

Pairing: Fred Weasley x fem!reader

Rating: SFW

Word count: 1200+

Warnings: none

Request: yes, @wist-elia

Prompt: Gen Z

23. “Will you be my emotional support himbo?”

AN: JSKINFINFS So almost a year later I have finally posted this. I'm sorry. I don't really have any excuse other than I've been busy and kinda forgot about them. I hope you like it nonetheless. It was basically halfway finished when I got back to it. I think this is the last request I had for the batch I got months ago so I might open the requests again in a bit.

*not my gif

Okay, let’s be completely honest here. Y/n was nervous as hell. When she found out that her mom got a job in the Ministry of Magic in London, she was happy for her, excited even. But transferring from Ivermorny to Hogwarts turned out to be the most nerve-wracking part of it.

It was her sixth year and the school was more curious about the TriWizard Tournament than the new girl. She was thankful for it, there weren’t as many people asking her questions. But it was certainly annoying when people completely forgot she was new and picked on her for not knowing the way around. They were in a castle where stairs changed every couple of minutes, she figured people would at least be a bit more understanding.

As the weeks went by, things got better, for sure, but y/n was still struggling to fit in. She had some friends that she met from her House and classes, but none of them were close and she still occasionally got lost. Originally, she relied on Quidditch to find her place in the big school, but with the tournament, they were canceled for the year. So without strong friends or a hobby, she was basically alone.

That was until one sunny afternoon.

Transfiguration had just ended, marking the end of the school day and the beginning of the weekend. But y/n had to stay behind for a bit discussing a not-so-great grade in her last paper. McGonagall was not lenient on grades, but the best she could do was give her tips and points for the next time.

And once the discussion ended Y/n was eager to leave the class and go back to her dorm where she could take a nap or read a book. But once the door shut behind her and she stood out in the cold hallway, the realization settled in. She still wasn’t sure how to get to the Hufflepuff basement. She looked both left and right, down the long, daunting hallways wishing she paid more attention when walking back to the dorms with her roommates.

She took a chance and turned left, walked down some stairs, then up some again, then down, and with the complete wonder of how she got there, Y/n found herself in the lively courtyard. It was warm out and the sun was inviting, making it perfect for students to hang out and have some downtime.

And while the environment seemed like a great time, all the unfamiliar faces were scary to the new girl. She just wanted to get to her dorm. Spotting a small group of students wearing the same black and yellow tie she wore, Y/n pushed aside her fear for the moment and walked over.

“Excuse me?” She asked with a cheerful smile, getting the attention of one girl with brown hair and glasses. “Could you tell me how to get to the Hufflepuff basement?” She kept it simple, that way there'd be less room to say something wrong.

The other girl smiled and her head tilted to the side a bit in amusement.

“You’re the new girl, aren’t you.” She asked. But not in a friendly or curious manner, but in a taunting, humored way.

“Well, yeah,” Y/n answered with a shrug.

“And you don’t know where the Hufflepuff basement is?” She started the chuckle, her friends following along. “Honey, it’s been weeks, figure it out.”

And with that, she turned her head and kept giggling. Her friends chuckled along lightly, but largely just ignored that y/n was standing right there.

Y/n stood there dumbfolded for a moment. But each passing moment that she was standing there, her embarrassment grew and she took a few steps backward to leave the courtyard. She kept her head low to hide any tears that were threatening to spill out of her eyes. Her chest felt heavy and her throat tight.

It felt like everyone in the courtyard was now staring. Like on her first day where she was put with all the first years to be sorted. Like a black sheep. But now it felt like they were judging her.

Still, y/n felt too embarrassed to look up and ground herself back into reality. To see that no one was actually paying attention to her. Well except for one particularly bored Gryffindor. Fred Weasley sat up against one of the columns with an apple in hand when he noticed the new Hufflepuff loosely composing herself.

He noted two things about her. One, she was pretty. Definitely his type. And two, she was nervous. He didn’t recognize her from his previous years. There was no way she was in her first year, but she was also in Hogwarts uniform, so she wasn’t from Beubaxton.

He bit into the apple just enough to hold it in his mouth and pushed off the column he was on. Y/n had turned from the courtyard into the corridor of the school figuring that it was better to walk anywhere than wandering the yard aimlessly, walking towards the Weasley. He bit into the apple and right before she passed and then started walking right beside her.

“Apple?” He offered the half-eaten fruit to her.

Y/n jumped a little. She didn’t even see him approach her. She looked at him and then the apple. Her brows furrowed in confusion and her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. It was obviously a trick to make her feel even worse about herself.

“Are you offering me an apple that has basically been eaten already?” She asked in annoyance.

Fred then just realized how insensitive the gesture was, so he tossed the apple into his other hand and chuckled at himself.

“I suppose I was. But, we can always go to the Great Hall for another one if you’d like.”

“Honestly, the only place I want to go to is the Hufflepuff common room.” She huffed, wishing this boy would just go away.

Fred’s face twisted in confusion then looked around the hall they were walking down. “You do realize you’re walking the wrong way.” He found himself laughing.

Y/n stopped on her tracks. That was it. She was embarrassed and alone, and on top of that, a Gryffindor was laughing at her. Tears were finally starting to drip down her cheek. “I knew that.” She lied through gritted teeth and turned around the other way.

Finally noticing that he might have done something wrong and that this girl had no clue where she was going, Fred stopped laughing and turned around as well to walk with her.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize you were upset.” He said. Y/n was now wiping her tears with the sleeves of her cloak. “The kitchens are in the same hall as the Hufflepuff common room. I know that much. How about, I walk you to the kitchens and you should find your house from there.”

Y/n looked up at him with slightly puffed eyes. “You’re actually being sincere?” She asked.

“Don’t get used to it, I’m not usually.” He chuckled. Y/n couldn’t help it this time. His laugh was infectious.

“Alright, I won’t.” She grinned and then stuck her hand out to shake. “Y/n L/n.”

“Fred Weasley.” He took the girl’s hand and kissed her knuckle rather than shaking it.

“You’re odd.” Y/n laughed at the strange gesture. “Will you be my emotional support himbo?”

Fred’s eyebrows furrowed and his lips were pressed tightly together as he thought. “Not completely sure what that means.” He admitted. “But yes.”

“Wonderful.” She smiled.

[miabrown007]

January, the posting date of the 2021 @mlbigbang fics, is fastly approaching; so let me present the fic I've been working on for the past six months.

The dumbest (post-reveal pre-relationship), the most intricate (fake-dating), and the maximum bearer of fluff in these miscommunication-filled times (they were roommates)!

Now with art from the amazing, the showstopping, the super sweet and talented @art-the-f-up and @lukalunar, my lovely collaborators! <3

seven is my lucky number (in the theaters read on AO3 from the 3rd of January)

“I took eight,” Adrien beamed. “Eight?” “Eight photos! So there wouldn’t be seven of them. That would have been unlucky,” he said with a smirk. Marinette snorted, wondering if he had always been such a dork. “You know that I don’t really dislike seven as a number, right?” “What? M’lady lied to me?" he gasped, his palm leaning flat against his heart. "M'lady lied to me about her lucky number? Oh! Oh! Friendship ended with m’lady! Friendship ended for one thousand years!” “Oh, stop being dramatic! Seven just isn’t like you!” Marinette said, before biting her tongue. She really should have gotten in the habit of thinking before she spoke, because she wanted to finish the thought with, I don’t have feelings for it. She couldn’t say that. But Adrien was looking at her expectedly. She had to say something. “You two are different because you’re odd!” Adrien laughed. Not with her. At her. It was clear as day. “I'm sorry, m'lady, but that's really bad. And not even true because seven is, indeed, odd. So we're just the same.” Marinette felt her face being consumed by flames. Unfortunately, they weren't real. She would have much prefered it. "Well, if you're the same, that makes it easy. Then I hate both of you," she grumbled, trying to hide her face in her phone. "Oh, come on, Bugaboo, you don't mean that!" Adrien coaxed, leaning so close to her, that the only thing separating them was the curtain of her hair. "You don't really hate me, do you?" "Oh, wouldn't you like to know?" Marinette looked up with a smirk that sang odes about the truth. She wanted to reach out to flick the bell in his neck, only… This was Chat in his civilian form. Adrien. Sometimes it sure was easy to forget. "I guess you'll just have to wait and learn it for yourself."