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[blasphemyandbackshots]

Touya Todoroki - Dabi

1. slow burn to absolute obsession

He doesn’t fall easily, but once he’s in, he’s in deep. And sex? It starts out like a game. Taunting, teasing, “just for fun”, but the second he realizes how badly he needs you, everything shifts. He fucks like he’s spiraling.

2. smirking the whole damn time

He’s cocky. He knows he’s good, and he loves making you say it. “C’mon, doll. What’s that look for? Can’t talk with my cock in your mouth?” His favorite sound is you moaning his name between sobs and curses.

3. rough hands, careful touch

He’s covered in burns and staples and even though he acts like he doesn’t care, there’s a part of him that’s fragile under the bravado. But when it comes to you? He holds you like he’s not sure if he wants to break you or protect you.

4. hips that don’t quit

Dabi fucks like a man who has nothing to lose. Deep, filthy thrusts. Fingers bruising your hips. His stamina is criminal. He wants you wrecked, trembling, crying, begging for a break you’re not getting.

5. biting, scratching, blood

He gets off on marks. He wants to see you the next day with your neck covered in bruises, thighs scratched up and throat raw from screaming. And if you leave marks on him? Oh, he fucking melts. You want to claim him? Do it. He’ll let you.

6. eye contact so intense it burns

He’ll pin you down and stare into your soul while he’s inside you. No blinking. Just those icy blue eyes full of heat and madness, whispering, “You like this? You like being ruined by someone like me?”

7. utterly addicted to your reactions

If you arch your back, whimper, beg him to go deeper, he loses it. He needs to see you fall apart under him and he’ll keep going until you’ve got nothing left but his name on your tongue.

8. will absolutely degrade you, unless you need praise

Dabi’s default is filthy talk; “Slut,” “my little toy,” “look at you, so cockdrunk you can’t even think.” But if you break, if you get teary and overwhelmed, his voice shifts. “That’s it, baby. You’re doin’ so good. I got you.”

9. surprisingly intimate when it’s just you two

He doesn’t do public affection. But in private? He touches your face. Kisses your scars. Traces his burns along your ribs while murmuring, “You’re the only thing that makes me feel human anymore.”

10. post sex? cigarettes, cuddling, chaos

He’ll light a cigarette, offer you a drag then pull you into his lap like it’s second nature. Might say something awful just to keep the walls up, but if you kiss him anyway? He’ll melt, pull you tighter and bury his face in your shoulder like he can’t believe you’re real.

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[fafodill]

I never got why people had to make things up to dislike Snape.

You hate him for being a asshole (witch he is) you can hate him for being a heavy handed teacher, you can even hate him for being greasy little freak but don't hate him for something he didn't do.

P.S Love the moody little fucker

As I've been falling in love with Snape's character, I talked about it with a few people and what is striking to me is just the aura he kept even after the last book.

Severus Snape was the character 'we weren't sure about' until the end. This was a deliberate trick (and a very good one) from jkr which had been very much accentuated by the villain caricature that was made of him in the first 2-3 books. These books were very simplistic (and not bad by any means, they weren't meant to become such a huge success, nobody expected it) and in them, Snape was the mean teacher every kid liked to hate. We all had one teacher a bit like that. Sure, Voldemort was the real big villain but he wasn't close to Harry or us. Snape was. We could relate to Harry's dislike of Snape. He was unfair, angry, greasy, shifty and mysterious.

And when you read the books, the way Harry talks about him and sees him is so biased. Just these scenes from GoF:

Harry’s loathing of Snape was matched only by Snape’s hatred of him, a hatred which had, if possible, intensified last year, when Harry had helped Sirius escape right under Snape’s overlarge nose. “It’s no one’s fault but Potter’s, Karkaroff,” said Snape softly. His black eyes were alight with malice. Snape’s eyes met Harry’s, and Harry knew what was coming. Snape was going to poison him. Harry imagined picking up his cauldron, and sprinting to the front of the class, and bringing it down on Snape’s greasy head.

Harry is always super dramatic about their relationship. He imagines the worst, interprets his expressions, always emphasizing on his physical attributes in a negative way. The text is littered with this and it impacts the reader's emotions towards him. We're supposed to be on Harry's side and Snape is against Harry, therefore he is against us. And this feeling - this childish hateful feeling - sticks. And it stuck with the readers until the very end and well ; it's pretty hard for a lot of people to take the time to reconsider their feelings towards a character they so thoroughly disliked or downright hated for so long (which is exactly what might have happened in the wizarding world after his death btw).

When I talk to people in my life about my love for Snape, they always bring up how mean he was to Harry. They do remember he loved his mother but never took the time to reconsider his actions and what we had learned about him and what it meant. How good he was despite his shitty attitude. How selfless, how remorseful, how loyal, how brave he was.

Snape's story could only be understood when you got at the very end of it, when he finally gave up his truth.

And it required of us to think back on our prejudices.

Most people haven't and there's a clear dissonance in their discourse about him. They cannot accept that he was good.

But he was. He truly, truly was.

Maybe one of the best.

[moomine]

MORE DAISUKE PLEASSEEEEE

i literally love how you write him omg. if i could kiss you i would.

maybe a med intern reader perhaps????

it can me sfw or nsfw whatever you want just go crazy

thank you babygirl <3

-🍒

patchin things up | daisuke

author's note: hey... so uh, long time no see? sorry i died. not my best work, but this is my apology x (cover image credit)

summary: (daisuke x gn!reader) You're Anya's intern. While she's taking a break one day, Daisuke comes to you with a minor medical emergency.

word count: 871

warnings: no trigger warnings! all characters are 18+

now playing: LSD and the Search for God - "Starting Over"

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆

Medbay was the coldest room in the Tulpar. While stinking of sterile equipment and antiseptic, you always seemed to make the otherwise depressing room quite homey. Warm. At least, that’s how Daisuke saw it. One of the perks of Anya having her own intern this haul was actually being able to take a break. You had a natural understanding of medicine, a fantastic work ethic, and a real desire to help people. It only made sense she felt comfortable leaving you alone for a while to eat or rest up a bit. 

Daisuke was in luck. You were equipped enough to handle minor emergencies in her absence. Approaching the door to medical, he took a deep breath and twisted the handle. He had already been chewed out by Swansea for touching live wires unknowingly, and he knew you’d likely give him an earful as well.

“Oh my god,” you said as the automatic door wheezed open, eyes blown wide with surprise. “What happened?”

Before Daisuke had the chance to respond, to explain why he was clutching his arm close to his chest, you were already by his side. One hand was wrapped around the wrist of his other, which hung limply in front of him, pointer and middle fingers bright red. 

Daisuke couldn’t help but admire the small crease between your brows as you gingerly took his injured hand in your own, observing the electrical burn that was already blistering on his skin. The way they were slightly furrowed with concern, your expression both pained and focused all at once. Your breath hitched at the sight, a sound that seemed to bubble out of your throat before you could surprise it. Not out of fear or discomfort, but innocent worry. Worry for the boy you loved.

“Hey, hey, hey. Relax, ‘kay? It’s just a little burn, I’ve had worse,” Daisuke explained, but the waver in his voice betrayed the pain he was in.

“Little burn?” You echoed. “This looks second degree, Dai. How did this even happen?” You ushered him toward the sink, turned on the cold water, and instructed him to hold his fingers under the stream.

Cool water washed over his inflamed skin, causing him to wince at the contact. His gaze flickered away from yours bashfully, like a puppy caught misbehaving. Daisuke absolutely hated worrying you. You had enough on your plate as it was; you didn’t need to waste your time worrying about what clumsy slip-up he managed this week.

“Oh, you know…” he started, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. “I might have touched some cut wires without thinking… Maybe…”

“What?”

“I know, I know. Swansea said I was lucky it had such a low voltage, otherwise I’d probably be toast. But hey, I’m okay!” There was an air of humor in his tone, almost like he was trying to soften the blow with his typical optimism. It didn’t quite work, and he knew the second his eyes met your face once more. You weren’t looking at him, eyes fixed to his swollen fingers under the faucet’s stream. A small frown curled your lips downward, although the rest of your features had softened. Daisuke swallowed thickly before placing his other hand on your shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’m okay, yeah? I’ll be more careful next time, I promise.”

The feeling of touch grabbed your attention  —the comforting warmth of his palm seeping through the cool denim of your jumpsuit. “You better be,” you murmured, turning off the water. “Take a seat. I need to clean and dress your burn.”

Daisuke obeyed quickly and walked to the cot in the middle of the room. As he took a seat atop the rough sheets, he shifted nervously, staring down at his injured hand in his lap. Just like before, you were in front of him at a moment's notice. You dragged a small rolling cart with you, equipped with bandages, antiseptic wipes, and burn cream.

“This might sting a little,” you said as you carefully took his hand in your own again.

“It can’t be that ba-” Daisuke started, but he quickly cut himself off with a hiss.

You did your best to stifle a laugh as you wiped the pads of his fingers. “Told you so.”

Once his burn was clean, you applied a generous layer of burn cream, and wrapped his fingers in a clean bandage. As you moved about the room with purpose, cleaning up your supplies and disposing of the used materials, Daisuke looked at his hand. The seared flesh beneath the bandage still stung, but it was soothed by the cooling ointment and your gentle touch.

“Thank you,” he said with a smile. “You forgot something though.”

You stopped what you were doing and looked back at him, raising a brow in questioning amusement. “Oh really? What is that?”

“Aren’t you gonna kiss it better?”

Daisuke outstretched his hand toward you, bandaged fingers in the cold air. Rolling your eyes, you moved in front of him once more and leaned down, then pressed a gentle kiss to his fingers.

“Better?” you asked.

“Much better.” A wide, infectious smile spread across Daisuke's face, stretching from ear to ear.

[delugyu]

I LOVE U SO BADDDDD 😭😭🤍🤍🤍🤍 thank u so much for reading bae!!!!

eek i’m so glad that u found yj cute and awkward in an endearing way hehe that’s exactly what i was going for! writing men that are lowkey losers and kinda pathetic is everythinggg like that’s my bread and butter… writing yeonjun this way specifically was super fun, especially cause he really is clumsy and silly irl and i love bringing out that side of him for a fic 🙈

the soobin yeonjun roommate dynamic was sooo based on me and my roommate from my first year of college tbh LMAOO so writing that came easily. hehe yup while they’re a little quiet around each other, they’re still comfortable and, as u mentioned in the scene where soobin makes sure yeonjun’s okay, caring for the other

ackkk i loved writing that scene w taehyun lol!! it was so short but revealing towards yeonjun’s character. he cares about his responsibilities, but he doesn’t always have his priorities straight and is prone to making impulsive or poor decisions lol. this is seen again when he carries his phone with him while doing his spidey activities, or leaving the lab instead of cleaning up the mess from the failed experiment... etc lmfao. i loved breathing life into his character, he was just so real and entertaining to write

hehe the party scene is one of my faves of the whole fic. i loved writing their dialogue and developing their relationship. esp when kai came in lol, im glad u liked that scene too 😇

aghhh that whole scene where jjun talks to gyu was so difficult to get the way i wanted!! but it came out decent after like… three total revisions LOL but yes yeonjun’s disappointment was so palpable, poor boy ☹️

MUAHAHA the apoptosis line was one of the only things i didn’t have to look up to make sure i wasn’t totally wrong… thank you neuroscience! hated that class but was good for this one sentence in this one fic<3

glad u liked that ending line cause i thought of it like midway thru writing this fic and had to write around it to make sure it fit LMAO. i never write in scene order but tbh i think that actually helps me a lot in terms of foreshadowing!

anyway i’m geeking out rn thank u friendddd hehe this was a joy to read 🙈 so flattered that u like my writing style eek!!! also i’m so happy to hear the fic feels seamless cause i def tried super hard to make sure each scene felt like it had its place, that the transitions were smooth enough, and that it had a steady flow !! sending u kisses rn ily hehe tysm again 😚😚😚😚

by a string

summary: Yeonjun’s got a lot on his plate. Not only does he have to worry about being a star student, but he also has to be the city’s web-slinging hero. And a lab intern. And a semi-decent roommate. And a little bit in love with you.

pairings: yeonjun x fem!reader

word count: 18.9k

tags: fluff, smut (mdni), some angst, spiderman!yeonjun, his webs shoot from his actual wrists like tobey maguire’s spiderman, college au, yeonjun is a cute awkward charming nerd, inaccurate science stuff sorry, blood, physical violence, lots of spidey shenanigans, campy weird action scene teehee, small arguments

smut tags: making out, heavy petting, webs as cuffs LOLLL, thigh riding, edging, fingering, praise, unprotected sex, cum eating, oral (f rec.), yeonjun is so playful and such a tease

notes: omg she’s finally here!!! i am so excited to get this out to u guys hehe<3 tysm for all the love on the teaser, i hope spideyjjun steals ur heart. enjoy the fic !!!

Saving the city can suck sometimes. Homework sucks significantly more. If Yeonjun had the option to zip through the city chasing some bad guys instead of sitting here trying to finish his calculus assignment, he’d be flying out his window in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, responsibility is a virtue, and Yeonjun cannot swing through the city for no good reason.

The one good thing about this tedious, awful calculus homework is that if it’s hard enough, he always gets a text from you. His body springs to life when he hears his phone buzz, rushing to pick it up and check the notification.

[you] have u done the calc homework

[you] how do you solve #4 :(

Do most of your conversations revolve around your shared class? Yes. Does Yeonjun ever get tired of teaching you the concepts? No, never. In fact, he stretches out his explanations as long as possible to keep you talking to him longer. Yeonjun never knew before that math talk could make his heart flutter.

“So, does that make sense?” he asks after a long-winded explanation. He’s almost out of breath after spewing out so much math jargon, but being on a call with you for ten minutes has similarly breathtaking effects.

“Yeah. Thanks, Yeonjun.” He bites back a giggle upon hearing your words. “You should seriously be teaching this class,” you say with a laugh.

“Oh, no, I wouldn’t—I mean, I’m—I’m more of a science guy,” he stammers out, lips tightening into a thin line at the embarrassment of stumbling over his own sentence. “Our professor’s pretty cool, too,” he adds as if that saves him at all.

“Is he? Maybe I should start going to his office hours,” you muse.

Oh. Well in that case, your professor sucks. Yeonjun can’t have you stop coming to him for math help; you’d never talk to him at all if it came to that!

“He’s not that cool,” Yeonjun says. You laugh, and he huffs out a short chuckle too.

“Noted. I’m gonna go now, but thanks for helping me. You’re the best.” Your praise goes straight to Yeonjun’s head, making him feel like the greatest man to ever live. He doesn’t even feel this accomplished after going out on his little spidey-missions.

He’s a beat too late to say goodbye or good night to you, the call already hanging up as he opens his mouth to speak. He melts into a puddle over his desk, sighing out as he plays back his conversation with you in his head. He thinks you have the prettiest voice he’s ever heard. You’re so smart, too. He never has to over exert himself to get you to understand, though he would happily do that for you.

He jolts up as his roommate walks into his dorm. Yeonjun glances at him quickly as he straightens out his posture, picking his pencil back up and returning to his homework.

“Hey,” his roommate, Soobin, greets quietly. Yeonjun didn’t know Soobin prior to this semester, but he’s been pretty nice. He’s very quiet, but very respectful of Yeonjun’s space. It’s much appreciated, considering Yeonjun’s hiding a few of his red and blue spandex suits in his closet.

“Hey. How was your day?” Yeonjun asks, only half-interested in the conversation.

He watches Soobin shrug from his peripheral as he slides off his shoes. “Normal,” he answers.

Yeonjun nods. “Cool.” The conversation kind of dies after that, which is fine. Soobin isn’t the most extroverted person, and Yeonjun doesn’t push him to talk more than he’s willing to. He sometimes forgets he even has a roommate with how quiet it gets in the room.

Yeonjun regains his focus a minute into the silence. His eyes widen when he realizes that there’s now a doodle of your face on his calculus homework—when did that get there..? His face heats up as he grabs an eraser from his desk’s drawer. Thank god he didn’t do this assignment in pen.

──── ──── ──── ──── ────

Yeonjun’s not really paying attention to the professor, finding more interest in taking quick glances at you. You’re wearing a different bracelet today. It’s really pretty—maybe he should compliment you on it. Is it weird to lean in and tell you that? Are you close enough where he can compliment you without looking weird and creepy?

He rests his head in his hand and starts doodling in his notebook, mindlessly scribbling on the page while he waits for the lecture to end. He thinks of quick conversational things to say, something to discuss in a few minutes when it’s time to pack your bags and leave. Interesting class, right? Who would’ve thought—Yeonjun looks up at the projector to see the professor’s notes—the shell method… would be so cool… Maybe he shouldn’t say that, actually.

He’s honestly better off not trying to strike up a conversation with you at all; the chances of it leading to total and utter embarrassment lean greatly towards one hundred percent. He just wishes he had a little more spine, or that he was naturally a little cooler. The only interesting thing about him is something he can’t even talk to you about, or with anyone at all.

Yeonjun barely registers it when the professor dismisses class. He steals one last glance toward you, lips parting like he finally built up the courage to speak, but the words build up in his throat and die on his tongue. He seals his lips and focuses his gaze back on his own things, closing his notebook and shoving it in his bag. It’s not worth it. He decides he’ll just keep his mouth shut.

“Hey Yeonjun?”

Yeonjun almost jumps out of his seat, and he has to fight away his nerves as he turns to you. You’re packing your things back into your bag, not even looking at him. A part of him thinks he might be hearing things until your eyes meet his, waiting for an answer.

“Yeah?” he responds, voice coming out strained. He clears his throat.

“We’re friends, right?” you ask. He blinks, feeling like this is some kind of trick. He analyzes your face, making sure there’s nothing snide or teasing hidden in your question. You look honest enough, which puts him at ease.

“Yeah, for sure.”

“I hope that’s not sarcasm,” you say, getting up from your seat and adjusting your bag over your shoulders.

“It’s not! Really, we’re friends,” he reassures. You walk past him and he follows, leaving the classroom and entering the busy hallway.

“Well, good. I wanted you to go with me somewhere.” Your statement is wildly cryptic, and it leaves Yeonjun’s mind whirling with the possibilities of what you might offer.

“Right now?” he asks. “I-I have class…” As much as he likes you, he really can’t risk dropping his grade due to missed attendance.

You laugh, “No, tonight. There’s this party, and I”—you keep talking, but Yeonjun barely registers it. He’s never partied in college before. What would he even do at a party? He can’t handle his drinks well, and he’s not sure how well he’d blend into that kind of environment. He’s scared he’d make a fool of himself.

As you leave the academic building, you turn to Yeonjun, raising a brow in question. You must have asked him for his confirmation. Yeonjun forces his brain to rack up a response.

“Could you text me the details..?” Yeonjun asks. You relax a little at his words, nodding happily. You pull out your phone, ready to text him now. Yeonjun feels his heart pounding. He catches sight of the time on your phone, noticing he’s only got five minutes until his next class. The hall he’s supposed to be in is at least a three minute walk from here.

“There,” you say, awarding Yeonjun with a grin so bright that being late to class might just be worth it. “I really hope to see you there.” You tilt your head a little, and Yeonjun feels starstruck.

“You will,” he promises mindlessly.

──── ──── ──── ──── ────

Yeonjun feared he might’ve been in trouble when his professor asked him to stay after class. Turns out, it’s something much worse.

“Yeonjun, do you think you could help in the lab later today?”

Yeonjun doesn’t think much before he nods. “Yeah, of course, how much later?”

“Around 6 this evening,” his professor answers. Yeonjun’s heart drops. That would be perfectly fine any other day, but he promised to go out with you today. Of course the party would start at the same time Yeonjun’s professor wants him to stop by the lab.

“I’m not sure I have the time,” Yeonjun says quickly, suddenly fidgety and feeling antsy to leave the room. “I’ve got this… thing to do.” His professor doesn’t look too convinced. Yeonjun wants to facepalm himself. Yeah, great excuse.

The professor sighs, but Yeonjun starts up again before his professor can say anything. “I can come in earlier! I’m free right now, so I could just go over after this.”

“The cells we’re working with need a full 24 hours in culture for the sake of our research. Are you sure you can’t push your plans forward? Or back?” he asks.

Yeonjun’s stomach twists with guilt. He knows he shouldn’t let his professor down. Yeonjun’s kind of counting on him to write his recommendation letter for a graduate program, too.

“I’ll push the plans back,” Yeonjun says, giving in. He hopes the dejection isn’t too evident in his voice. His professor smiles and pats Yeonjun’s shoulder in thanks. He half-listens as his professor gives him the usual rundown of what to do during and after the process, nodding along and holding back the frown that tries to tug at his lips.

When Yeonjun finally leaves the building, he lets out the heaviest sigh of his life. His shoulders sag, and he feels like he might be the unluckiest person in the world. You finally give him attention outside of just asking for homework help, and the universe just had to intervene. This is laughable. It’s also stupid. Annoying. Frustrating.

There’s a pout etched onto Yeonjun’s face as he walks back to his dorm. He’s got a couple hours until he needs to go to the lab, so maybe he can take a nap or tidy up his room a little. His head hangs low, gaze transfixed on the sidewalk, kicking along a small pebble that keeps him company on the way.

He only picks his head back up as he walks past a certain field of grass, one he often finds you sitting in. Sometimes you’re on your laptop, sometimes you’re taking notes in a textbook, but most of the time you’re just lounging and doing nothing. It’s almost inspiring. Yeonjun would probably benefit from relaxing and decompressing more.

You’re there, sitting cross-legged on the grass, peaceful and silent. You look up suddenly, making eye contact with Yeonjun. His face flushes, but before he can turn his head in embarrassment, you raise your hand and wave. Yeonjun almost stops in his tracks. You’re waving at him, acknowledging his existence yet again.

He smiles and waves back, failing to tame his heartbeat as he takes the sight of you in. He’s forced to look away when he nearly stumbles over the pebble he’s been kicking around—“Oh, shit!” he utters, quietly enough to not draw attention to himself.

He glances back at you casually, making sure you didn’t witness him tripping. Fortunately, you’re on your phone, no longer paying him any mind.

Back at his dorm, Yeonjun stands by his closet, contemplating what exactly to wear tonight. He also has to make sure his outfit is lab-friendly, so the loose sweater he’d been eyeing is a no-go. He sighs, looking at himself in the mirror. Maybe the t-shirt and jeans he’s wearing now will suffice.

Time passes slowly, slow enough for Yeonjun to clean his half of the room, make himself a small meal in the communal kitchen, and even read a chapter ahead in his calculus textbook. He almost feels relieved when his alarm sets off to go to the lab, eager to get his work over with.

He’s determined to get this done quickly enough to still see you tonight. The thought of letting you down the one time you ask him to hang out is almost painful. He imagines the frown you’d wear next time he sits next to you in class. He can’t let that happen; he has to make sure he gets to you.

He throws on his lab coat and adjusts the goggles to fit onto his face. He sighs as he grabs containers of various chemical compounds from the cabinet, leaving them on the counter as he fetches the other materials he needs. With everything set out in front of him, he grabs the petri dish of cells and glances at the procedural note his professor left.

Yeonjun’s done this enough times to get into the swing of things, so he’s not too concerned with double checking his every move. His bigger priority is getting this done as fast as possible so that he can get to you. Lab work is never particularly fun or interesting, so he passes the time thinking about you.

The smell of the chemicals burns Yeonjun’s nose a little, and he wonders for a second if he’d been zoning out too much. He picks up the procedural note and glances over the measurements again, making sure he’s been adding the right amounts of everything. If he does something wrong and messes with the cell culture, he risks not being allowed back in the lab. He should probably slow down a bit, even if it means making you wait longer.

He’s more careful throughout the rest of the process, pushing back the worries that he might’ve messed something up. He continues to reassure himself that everything’s okay as he finishes up his work, placing the lid back on the petri dish and storing it away. He writes the date and time on a piece of tape that he sticks onto the lid, then finally lets his body relax as he steps back.

He cracks his knuckles to alleviate the stiffness that had been building there and rolls his shoulders back, groaning at the soreness of his muscles. All the fine motor movements from working in a lab does a number on his arms and fingers.

He hears a rattle, and he turns quickly to make sure he didn’t knock anything over in his haste. His eyes scan the room, but nothing looks amiss. He shakes the feeling and sheds himself of his lab gear, eager to head to you at the party already.

It’s been over an hour, and the thought of you waiting so long for Yeonjun’s arrival strikes guilt inside his chest. He opens his phone to find the path he needs to walk to get to the house the party’s being held in, eyes bugging out when he sees that it’s a twenty minute walk from the lab. Shit, by then you’ll have been waiting an hour and a half for him to show up!

He groans, trying to think if there’s a better way to get to you. The buses around campus don’t stop at the street he needs to get to, and it’s not like he has one of those electric bicycles or scooters that everyone seems to love. He wonders now if it might be a worthy investment. He pouts and throws his head back, totally drained from everything happening today. His eyes land on the tops of the academic buildings and the tall trees overhead. Maybe there is another way to get there after all.

No, he shouldn’t. That would be way too reckless. He’s already gone through the whole power and responsibility spiel, and he’s not in the mood to get himself in trouble for acting rashly. But if no one sees…

He turns his head and scans for people in each direction. No one’s around. No one would know, and he really needs to get to the party before he makes himself look like an asshole. He checks for anyone one last time, then aims his wrist towards the sky.

“Yeonjun! What’s up!”

Yeonjun startles and brings his arm back to his side hastily. He whips around to see who’s talking to him and lets out a breath when he sees his friend who had just exited the lab building. “Taehyun, hey man,” he says, ignoring the anxious pounding of his heart. That was way too close. Lesson learned.

“Didn’t catch you at the physics meet last week. Everything alright?” Taehyun asks. Yeonjun really hopes this conversation doesn’t take too long. The last thing he needs is another ten minutes piled on top of how late he already is.

“I’m good, I was just”—controlling a fire set by some idiot arsonist, then trapping said arsonist with his webs until the cops arrived—“uh, kind of sick.”

Taehyun hums and nods. “Well, we missed you bro, hope you’re feeling better. I’ll see you around!” Yeonjun waves and returns the smile his friend gives him, then walks as fast as he can to the location you sent him. He manages to get there in fifteen minutes instead of twenty, only at the expense of heavy breathing like he just finished a marathon.

When he gets to the entrance, there’s two men Yeonjun has never seen in his life guarding the door. He almost scoffs. What is this, some kind of nightclub?

“You got the money?” one of the guys ask.

“What?” Yeonjun scrunches his brows and leans his head forward a little, thinking he might have misheard him.

“No money, no entrance,” the other man says.

“Dude, come on!” Yeonjun whines.

“House rules. Stop wasting our time and get out of line.”

“No, no, I’ll”—Yeonjun sighs, reaching into the back pocket of his pants to fetch out his wallet. “How much?” he asks. The men tell him, and he bites back the complaints that almost push past his lips. Yeonjun slaps the bills into the guy’s open palm. They finally open the door for him, and Yeonjun steps inside.

He’s taken aback by how many people are cramped into this place. The house is pretty big, but there’s at least a hundred people mingling around, which makes space tight. He squeezes past the crowd with muttered apologies, but no one seems to pay him any mind. He scans every room for you, but it’s a little hard to do it efficiently when there’s so many faces to check. A part of him fears you might’ve left already.

He pulls out his phone, ready to text you and ask, before he feels a tap on his shoulder. He turns at the action and smiles when he’s met with your pretty face. “Hey, you!” you exclaim. “I thought you bailed on me.” There’s no real bite to your words, but it still makes Yeonjun frown.

“I’m sorry. I had to do this lab thing, and”—

“It’s alright, don’t explain. You’re here now!” you say. “Did you have anything to drink?”

Yeonjun shakes his head. “I don’t drink much.”

“Me either,” you say. You look out the window, then grab onto Yeonjun’s hand. His brain short-circuits, and he has to stop his eyes from going all dumb and wide. “It’s kinda stuffy in here. Let’s go outside.”

Yeonjun puts up no fight as you lead him out the back door, walking out into the yard. There’s almost as many people out here as there are inside, but the lack of walls means there’s more space to move. It’s much more breathable.

He takes quick glances at your face, trying to decipher what you’re staring so hard at. Your gaze is fixed on a small group of people just sitting and laughing. All the guys have girls in their laps, and a few girls stand around them, sipping their drinks. They all look happy. And drunk.

“Did you want to join them?” Yeonjun asks. He doesn’t know any of those people, but he’ll go if that’s what you’d like. It’s not like there’s much else to do when you’re not drinking or dancing.

The LED lights that line the house reflect in your eyes, making them dazzle extra bright. Your eyes dart to the group one last time before you shake your head. “Nah. Let’s just sit down and talk.” Yeonjun gladly obliges.

You find an empty spot to sit at, looking up at Yeonjun after you situate yourself. He laughs a little, “You really like sitting on the grass, huh?”

You smile at him and pat the ground next to you. “Don’t act like you’re too good to connect with nature.”

“It’s more about getting grass stains on my pants,” Yeonjun says, but sits beside you anyways.

You turn your head to him, and something about seeing your face this close makes it hard for him to keep eye contact. It’s quiet for a few seconds before you speak up, “So how come you said yes to the party?”

Something about your question strikes fear inside Yeonjun. Did you find him out? Do you know he likes you? Maybe this is some kind of humiliation ritual you’ve set him up for.

“Cause you asked,” he answers, voice a little meek as he fidgets with his hands in his lap.

“And if it was someone else who asked?”

Yeonjun thinks for a second, but he can’t come to an answer. “I don’t know. Like who?”

You hum and look into the crowd of people. Your head turns back to him after a couple seconds. “Like Yerim,” you say.

Yeonjun laughs as if the scenario is ridiculous, mostly because it is. Yerim would never even give him the time of day. She’s notorious for being cold to anyone who she isn’t interested in. Somehow, that seems to attract a bunch of guys to her. Not Yeonjun, though.

“No chance I’d go,” he says.

“So what makes me different?” you ask.

A lot of things. You’re nice, and you’re smart, and you’re down to earth, and you’re a beacon of warmth. Everything makes you different.

“Cause we’re friends,” he says instead. He wants to punch himself after the words leave him. This was his chance to flirt with you, yet he couldn’t even muster up the courage to give you a single compliment.

You nod. “I’m just asking cause… well, I guess I’m just surprised you agreed to come.” Your eyes meet his, warm and kind. “Thank you for that, by the way.”

Yeonjun’s stomach does flips when you look at him like that. “You’re welcome.” It goes quiet for a moment, so he continues, “I think this was worth handing over the last of my cash for.”

You burst out laughing. “They made you pay?! Why didn’t you just say you’re here with me?”

“I’ll keep that in mind for next time,” he says. He bites his tongue after the words leave him. Who is he to assume there will be a next time? He hopes you don’t call him out on it.

“We should just go somewhere else next time. There’s a lot of places downtown that I want to visit,” you suggest, bumping his shoulder with yours. Yeonjun almost explodes.

“We should do that then,” he agrees. He’s not sure what suddenly drew you to him as more than some kind of tutor, but he thanks the universe for bestowing him with all this luck.

“There’s that bakery that opened a couple months ago,” you mention.

Yeonjun lights up. “Oh my god, I’ve been wanting to go there too!”

You squeal in excitement and clasp your hands together. “Let’s do that next. Tell me you’re free on Sunday,” you say.

“I don’t know, things come up last-minute sometimes. I’ll let you know.” It’s hard to make plans when he’s basically living a double life. Then again, he did agree to going out with you tonight on a whim. He’s not very consistent with his rules. He pushes the thought back.

Your eyes land back on the group of people hanging out and laughing. Yeonjun frowns, and he wonders if he’s not entertaining you enough. He doesn’t want to keep you from having fun.

“Why do you keep looking at them?” he asks, curious and soft. He hopes he’s not prying.

“They’re just some friends,” you answer.

“Oh. Why don’t we go say hi, then?” he offers.

You pull your lips into a tight line. “I’d rather not.”

“That’s alright,” Yeonjun says. You give a small smile in appreciation.

“What about you?” you ask. He tilts his head, not knowing what you mean. You continue, “Who’s in your friend group?”

Yeonjun laughs awkwardly and shrugs. “I mostly hang out with the physics honor society,” he admits.

“That’s cool. You must have a good bond.”

“We do,” he says. “How’d you meet your friends?”

You smile at him, and something in your face tells Yeonjun that it’s a complicated story. You sigh dramatically and lean back a little, “I met them at parties. Does that surprise you?”

Yeonjun’s not sure if that’s a rhetorical question. “No. You’re friendly. I can see why people come to you,” he answers.

“Thanks,” you say, voice a little quieter.

“Are you friends with your roommate?” he asks.

“I don’t have one. I live in a single dorm.”

Lucky. If Yeonjun had the extra money to spare, he’d be dorming alone too. It would definitely make heading out as Spider-man easier; he’d just be able to change in his room and jump out his window. Assuming no one is around to see, that is.

“That must be nice,” he says.

You shrug. “It’s alright. What about you? You got a roommate?”

“Yeah. We’re…” Yeonjun struggles to find a word to describe his relationship with Soobin. They’re not exactly friends, but they’re peaceful with each other.

You laugh and finish the sentence for him, “Roommates and nothing more.” There’s a lilt to your voice when you say that, and you wiggle your eyebrows like that’s supposed to suggest something.

“Ignoring your insinuations, yeah, pretty much.”

“I’m just kidding,” you say. He’ll let you make jokes at his expense all you want, it doesn’t bother him. Especially not when it means he gets to see you all giggly and happy. He thinks that you look the prettiest like this. Yeonjun would stare at you smiling up at him forever if he could.

The sound of a guy calling your name pulls Yeonjun from his stupor. He blinks at the man standing before the two of you, then looks at you with scrunched brows as if to ask who is that?

His unspoken question is answered the next second. “Hey, Kai,” you say. When Yeonjun gets a better look, he realizes that this is one of the dudes in the group you kept looking over at.

“Who’s this guy?” Kai asks, jutting his chin toward him.

“I’m Yeonjun.” He goes to hold out his hand for Kai to shake, but quickly puts it back down upon realizing that might be weird.

“Oh, Yeonjun from calculus. I know you,” he says.

“I didn’t know you’re in that class too,” Yeonjun muses.

Kai laughs, “I’m not. Y/n just talks about you.”

Yeonjun nearly melts. You talk about him. This is the best day of his life.

“Anyway,” Kai continues, looking at you again. “I need a couple more people on my beer pong team. You guys down?”

Yeonjun turns to you to gauge your reaction. He can’t really tell what you're feeling, not even when you face him as you contemplate your answer. Yeonjun shrugs, as if to tell you that he’s down for whatever you want to do.

“I think I’m good,” you say.

“Ah, alright, you bummer,” Kai jokes, stepping back and sending you a bright smile. “Continue your convo with the calc lord, I insist.” He’s gone after that, jogging off to the rest of his friends, setting up the game.

“Calc lord?” Yeonjun repeats, amused.

Your laugh is accompanied by a roll of your eyes. “He means it nicely, I swear.”

“Well, depending on how well he does in this game, I might start calling him beer pong lord,” Yeonjun says. You push at his shoulder as your laughter continues.

Yeonjun already knew he likes you a lot, but as the night goes on, he finds out that you’re even better than he thought. Conversation unfolds easily with you, even if Yeonjun’s answers are dorky and awkward at times. He feels exactly how he thinks you look when you sit in the grass alone: content and peaceful.

He’s not sure how many minutes or hours have passed when you ask him to walk you back to your dorm. All he knows is that tonight could have stretched into infinity, and that would’ve been fine. He follows you into the building, then into your room. He’s not sure why. It just feels right.

“Thanks for bringing me back,” you say. Yeonjun smiles and nods. He leans against the wall and stares out the window. You live on the top floor of your building, so the view’s pretty different from Yeonjun’s second story view. This would be a fun room to swing out of.

“Do you need anything else?” Yeonjun asks. A smile slowly takes over your face, and you cross the room to stand in front of him. You blink up at him, and something about it feels flirty. If he wasn’t biting his tongue so hard, his thoughts would have slipped right past his lips: you look cute.

You break the short moment of silence with a giggle. “Just for you to promise me we’ll hang out again,” you say, voice barely over a whisper.

Yeonjun has to remind himself to breathe and be normal. “I promise,” he says. He even holds out his pinky to seal the deal. You curl your pinky around his, accepting the playful gesture.

“Did you want to stay?” you ask. You look out the window, then back at him. “I’m okay with sharing my bed.”

That definitely flusters Yeonjun. “Oh, no, I’m—I was gonna just walk back to my dorm or something. Or take a bus. I don’t know. Thank you, though.”

You laugh. Hopefully not at his sputtering and rambling, but Yeonjun has a feeling that might be why. “Alright, then. Good night, Yeonjun.”

Your soft voice has Yeonjun wanting to backpedal and say he’ll stay the night, but he swallows down the words. He smiles at you as he backs away toward your door. “Good night,” he says, standing in your doorway.

“Yeonjun,” you call, stopping him before he could leave. He turns, waiting for your words. He’s surprised to see that you look a little shy. “I’m really happy I asked you to come with me. Tonight was fun.”

Butterflies erupt in Yeonjun’s stomach, and he feels like he could float from how giddy he is. “I’m happy too,” he says.

He steps out into the hall, thoughts lingering on how overwhelmingly good his time with you was. His mind is clouded with rosy memories of his night with you, and he finds himself repressing the urge to twirl around and jump for joy. He’ll probably be skipping all the way home, imagining all the possibilities of what could come next between you.

──── ──── ──── ──── ────

It’s Sunday, and Yeonjun knows exactly why you’re calling. He stares at his phone, then back at the man in front of him tangled up in webs. Yeonjun shoots another web over the guy’s mouth.

“Sorry, gotta take this,” he says. “Stay right here.” He slings himself onto a branch of a tall tree nearby, just to make sure no one can listen in as he accepts your call.

“Hey Yeonjun!” Your voice is so cheerful that it makes Yeonjun giggle. He even swings his feet in the air as he sits on the branch.

“Hi Y/n,” he greets, hoping his voice isn’t too muffled through the mask of his suit.

“Did those last-minute plans end up showing, or are you down to try out that bakery?” you ask. Yeonjun frowns, hating to let you down when you sound so happy.

“I’m really busy today, I’m sorry,” he says, shoulders sagging from how awful he feels. He’s got a whole lab procedure to write once he’s done sorting out the crime scenes of today.

“No worries, maybe we can go after class sometime.”

He frowns. “I wish I could, but I got another class right after ours. Let me check my schedule, I might be able to”—

“Are those sirens?” you interrupt, and Yeonjun looks out to the street. He’s grown so accustomed to the sound of those things that it didn’t even register. “Where are you?” you ask.

“I’m… uh,” Yeonjun stammers, focusing on the cops getting out of the car and making their way towards the criminal.

He tunes into the cops’ conversation. “Looks like Spider-shit’s been here already,” one of them comments in a gruff voice.

The other cop huffs out a laugh. “He’s always meddling in with petty crimes. What do you think this guy did?”

“Jaywalking?” The cops chuckle.

“Not like he can explain with that over his mouth.” He points to the web Yeonjun placed on the man a minute ago.

Yeonjun scowls. He’s not sure why the cops hold so much scorn for him, but if they’d like to know, then the petty crime that Spider-shit helped stop was an armed robbery. If these guys were a little better at their jobs, he wouldn’t have to meddle in all the time.

“Hello?” you ask, and Yeonjun reels his attention back to his conversation with you.

“Sorry,” he says. “I’m just coming back from the store. Crazy stuff going on today.”

“Oh. Well, stay safe,” you say.

“Thanks, I will.” He sees the cops looking around, probably trying to spot him, so he flattens his back against the tree and tries to talk a little quieter. “I’ll see you in class, I gotta go.”

“See you!”

Yeonjun sighs once the call ends. His suit doesn’t even have pockets, he just carried his phone with him today in case you contacted him. Stupid? Mildly. Inconvenient? Very. He had one less hand to work with when dealing with today’s crime culprits. To hear your voice, though? Worth it. He smiles like an idiot as he swings over to the next nearest building, making his way back to his dorm.

──── ──── ──── ���─── ────

Yeonjun’s professor accompanies him to the lab today, overseeing the procedures for the day. The feeling of his professor watching over his shoulder is more nerve-wracking than any day spent fighting crime on the streets. He’s usually careful with his work in the lab, but he’s extra, extra careful on these days.

He pauses when he retrieves the petri dish of cells. He briefly considers the possibility that he’s crazy and just seeing things, but Yeonjun’s pretty sure that the clump of cells just moved. Like, uncanny movement. He holds his breath.

He stares at the clump, trying to make sense of what he’s seeing. It doesn’t jerk around anymore, so maybe it was just his imagination. Fear still creeps up his neck at the idea of the research going wrong. He remembers feeling like he messed up at some point last time he was here, and the realization is making his skin grow clammy.

“What is it?” his professor asks, taking a step closer to Yeonjun.

“Nothing, I was just thinking,” he quickly responds, keeping his voice calm and steady. He brings the petri dish to the table and does his best to forget what he saw earlier. Yeonjun fears how his professor would react if he told him something unprecedented might be occurring. It happened so quickly that he can’t even tell if his mind was just playing tricks on him. Maybe he’s just extra nervous today.

He wipes the sweat off his palms onto his lab coat, bringing the necessary materials to the table to continue the research. His professor reads off the instructions slowly, and Yeonjun pretends he doesn’t feel his stomach twisting as he works with the cells.

He tries to calm down as he walks back to his dorm, but there’s a permanent chill shooting down his spine. There’s no way the clump should have moved like that—it shouldn’t show any observable motion at all, not without some kind of electrical stimulation.

Maybe he just jerked the dish too harshly. He was pretty nervous, so it would make sense. He must have been shaking and just didn’t realize. That would explain it. That would put Yeonjun at ease.

He can try to convince himself that everything’s fine, but he can’t stop the anxious thrum of his heart. Apparently the fear reads on his face, too, because Soobin’s quick to notice it when Yeonjun enters the dorm.

“Are you okay?” Soobin asks. Yeonjun’s not sure what must have given himself away. He pays more attention to breathing slowly and talking casually.

“I’m good,” he answers. He doesn’t expect Soobin to push the subject considering how quiet he always is, but Soobin’s gaze isn’t leaving Yeonjun. He must be really concerned.

“Did something happen?” Soobin asks. Yeonjun sinks into his desk chair, covering his face with his hands as he groans. “Sorry,” his roommate apologizes, turning away from Yeonjun to look at his laptop instead.

“No, you’re good, it’s just…” Yeonjun sighs. He might as well get this off his chest. “Some lab thing.”

Soobin nods, not asking any further. Now that Yeonjun’s started though, he doesn’t feel like stopping.

“I think I might’ve fucked up,” Yeonjun admits.

“How?” Soobin’s playing some video game on his laptop as he talks, which actually puts Yeonjun at ease. It feels less pressing, less like an interrogation or a confession and more like a normal conversation.

“The cells I’m working with are being weird. I don’t know. I don’t even know if I saw it right. I just feel crazy now.” Yeonjun rubs his palms against his eyes in frustration and exhaustion, soothing the headache he’s got building up.

Soobin hums. The little shooting sounds and animated voices coming from Soobin’s game fill the room until Soobin speaks again, “Did anyone else see?”

“No. My professor was there, but he didn’t notice.”

Soobin shrugs. “You’re probably fine then.”

Honestly, Soobin’s nonchalance to the situation eases Yeonjun’s worries a lot. He knows he can get in his head sometimes, especially when it comes to doing everything right, so to hear he’ll be fine lifts a weight from his shoulders.

“Yeah, probably,” he agrees. He basks in comfortable silence for a minute now that his heart isn’t beating so hard.

“By the way, have you bought more laundry detergent yet?” Soobin asks.

Ah, shit. “Tomorrow, I promise.”

──── ──── ──── ──── ────

Being Spider-man is tasking, but it’s usually pretty cool. Not everyone gets to zip around the city and restore peace in people’s neighborhoods. Not everyone, however, has to worry about getting stabbed by a criminal in the middle of the night.

Yeonjun always stays until the cops arrive. It almost feels essential, just to make sure justice gets served. This time, he can’t.

He has to stop himself from groaning too loud when he feels the knife pull out from his side. The man in front of Yeonjun is already stuck to the side of a building, held there with a thick layer of web, so there has to be someone else. He turns around to look at the perpetrator, but the world moves a lot slower than normal.

Yeonjun blinks hard, focusing on breathing and staying conscious. The coward who stabbed him is wearing a ski mask, and he’s running away quickly. Yeonjun can’t let him leave. He moves forward and ignores the searing pain that sets his body alight. He straightens out his shaky arm and aims his wrist at the man, but the web that shoots out is just as weak as Yeonjun is.

Frustrated, Yeonjun growls and forces himself to move faster. It burns, he’s never felt any kind of pain like this, but he can’t let this man walk free. He can’t let this man stab another innocent person. Even with his staggered pace, limping as he tries his best to catch up to the man, he advances quickly.

He breathes hard and holds the air in his lungs as he aims again at the man, brows furrowed with angry determination beneath his mask. He lets out a loud grunt as he shoots his web out, and finally, it lands. The criminal falls as the web captures his ankle, keeping his leg stuck to the ground.

Yeonjun huffs as he traverses the rest of the way toward the man, nothing but fury in his veins as he shoots another web out. This one’s bigger, covering the man’s back and securing him to the pavement. He picks up his head and looks at Yeonjun with fear in his eyes, but he doesn’t care. He can’t. All he feels is pain and anger and pain and pain and so much fucking pain.

Yeonjun’s not the vengeful type, but getting stabbed really tests a person’s limits. He shoots more webs over the guy, making sure he won’t be able to move a muscle until the cops arrive.

Yeonjun doesn’t waste his breath making snide comments, though he does have a few choice words for him. He takes off the man’s ski mask and resists the urge to deck his face. He’s got fear etched into his expression, but Yeonjun finds it hard to feel sorry for him. The man starts begging for his life, and Yeonjun scoffs. Of course he’s not going to kill this man—no matter what, he doesn’t end people’s lives. A city’s hero shouldn’t get to decide who lives and dies.

Yeonjun stumbles away after finding a passerby to call the police. Now that the adrenaline’s gone, Yeonjun feels less mad and more scared. He’s really bleeding now; his hand comes up soaked when it presses against the wound. What the hell does he do? He can’t die like this.

He can’t go to the hospital with a stab wound. There’s no way for him to make up some alibi that wouldn’t just trace Spider-man’s identity back to him. He hisses through gritted teeth as he frantically scans his surroundings, looking for somewhere to go. The only thing that’s coming to mind is you, and it’s aggravating. He could be dying right now, and all his useless mind can do is think of you. Maybe it’s all the blood loss, and he’s just getting delirious, or maybe it’s a sign. It’s not like he has many good options right now.

There’s not enough time to think about it. He zips through the city and back onto campus as fast as he can, ignoring the splitting pain in his side that shoots up his body every time he moves. It’s getting harder to breathe, suddenly feeling suffocated by his mask, but he has to hold on. He’s not far away now.

He remembers the view from your window. He remembers exactly which room to shoot himself up to. He adheres himself to the wall outside your room and pulls his mask off, leaning his forehead onto the cold glass of your window with a sigh of relief. He catches his breath and knocks with a shaky fist. He’s really sorry for having to wake you up at this hour, but he has a feeling you’ll understand.

He doesn’t wait long. You're trudging out of bed and making your way toward the window, tired eyes blinking slowly. You look really cute. Everything is spinning around him, but he focuses on you. You’re still groggy and out of it until you meet Yeonjun’s eyes through the glass. As soon as you see him, it’s like you wake up immediately.

He watches your jaw drop, your frantic hands racing to open your window. His vision is nearly blacking out, and he tries to blink away the dizzy feeling in his head the best he can.

“Yeonjun?!” you squeak as he drags himself through your window and into your room. He can’t even hold himself up anymore, weak body collapsing to the floor. He groans and leans against the wall, clutching his side. He ignores the sickening feeling of blood dampening his hand, sticky and warm against his palm and between his digits.

You pick him up by the underarms, grunting as you heave him toward your bed. He notices how shaky your arms are, and he tries his best to pick up his own weight, even if it hurts like hell. He’s burdening you enough as is coming here so late.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know who else to go to,” he says, catching his breath as you guide him to lay on your bed. He’s half-aware of how bloody and dirty he is, but you seem fully ready to let him stain your sheets. Concern and confusion fill your wide eyes, and Yeonjun can hear every word that you don’t say.

Luckily, you save the unnecessary questions for later. “What do I do?” you ask. Your hands tremble as they peel the shirt of his suit up, just enough to expose his midriff and the nasty damage to his side. You gasp upon seeing how bad it is, hardly able to stomach it, opting to look into his eyes instead.

He wants to respond to you, if not to answer your question then just to comfort you, but breathing is enough of a chore on its own right now; talking seems almost impossible. Watching you panic about this is shattering him. He makes an effort to move his arm out toward you, just to hold your hand and reassure you, but he doesn’t have enough strength.

You lift from the bed and open up a bottle of water, pouring some of the cool liquid over his head. It’s relieving against his burning skin and keeps him from losing consciousness. It also makes him realize how dehydrated he is.

“Please sit up,” you beg, placing a hand underneath his head to lift it a bit. He comes up just enough to drink some of the water you feed to him, swallowing down the rest of the bottle. He collapses back against your pillow once he’s finished, feeling much better just from that.

You come back with another bottle of water and pour small bits at a time over the gash in his side. He hisses and tenses up each time it hits his skin, but he knows you have to do this. He doesn’t want to make it harder by thrashing around and complaining, so he bites his tongue and keeps his body stiff.

The sheets soak beneath him as you continue emptying the water bottle over the wound. He should help you clean up after this; he doesn’t want you dealing with his mess all alone. A few minutes pass before you discard the plastic bottle and grab a t-shirt from your dresser.

You press the bunched up cloth against his injured skin gently, and he holds back any grunts that threaten to slip out. It’s like you can sense his pain despite his efforts to hide it, because you keep murmuring apologies to him.

“I’m okay, don’t be sorry,” he reassures. He doesn’t think you believe him, judging by the way lips stay tugged into a frown.

A quietness falls over the room. You pull your t-shirt away from his body and observe the wound, and your fingertips on his torso send electricity throughout his body. It doesn’t hurt so much now.

“You’re not bleeding anymore,” you point out.

He hums. “That’s good.” Your hand grazes the skin just outside the gash. There’s a soothing effect in the way your fingers glide against him, pressure so light that it’s barely there.

“You need stitches,” you say quietly, like you hate to break the news to him.

Yeonjun doesn’t mind. “You got a needle?” he asks. You fidget with the fabric of Yeonjun’s suit as you sigh and look away.

“I do,” you say. You don’t sound too confident, though. He doesn’t know what to do to make you feel better.

You grab his hand like it’s second nature to do so, and the action would be romantic if only you didn’t have that nervous look on your face. He can practically feel your heart pounding, and he’s dying to let you know that everything’s okay.

“I trust you,” he breathes out. He makes sure he’s looking you in the eye so you can see how much he means it. He’s risking everything by trusting you, but he’s not scared. He feels safe even with his life in your hands, his secret identity in your knowledge. If there was something more sacred and dangerous to give up than that, he’s sure he’d be okay lending that to you too.

It feels much more real when you have your needle and thread in hand. Yeonjun can’t contain his noises anymore, whimpering in pain when he feels the sharp tip pierce his skin.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” you say quickly and desperately. “I’ll do it fast.”

He hisses as he feels the thread start to tug his wound shut. He throws an arm over his eyes, as if not watching you treat him will stop the piercing feeling. All his muscles are tensed up no matter how much he tries to relax, but he keeps his breathing steady and lets you do your work.

It’s not too long before you’re tying off the final knot and discarding your needle onto your nightstand. You run your thumb over the stitch, gentle and slow. Yeonjun takes his arm off his face and fixes his gaze on you, watching you scrutinize your work with scrunched brows.

“It feels fine. You did perfect,” he says, wanting to keep you from judging yourself too harshly. He wants to thank you, but the words feel so awkward building up in his throat.

“I don’t have a big enough bandage to put over this,” you say, still fixated on his injury. Yeonjun tries to sit up, but your hand on his shoulder eases him back down. “Don’t move too much.”

“Y/n…” he starts, but you give him a pointed look, and he decides to shut up and listen. He relaxes against your mattress.

“I wish I had some clothes to change you into,” you mutter after he pulls the shirt of his suit back down. The spandex isn’t super comfortable against his fresh stitches, but it’s easy to ignore in comparison to the searing pain of the open wound. He’ll have to throw out this suit; it’s bloodied beyond repair, and he has plenty of back-ups anyway.

“It’s alright,” Yeonjun says. You shuffle on the mattress until you’re laying down beside him. “Aren’t the sheets wet?” he asks, surprised at how unfazed you seem.

You let out a small laugh, and that frown finally leaves your face. “I don’t mind. I wanted to lay down.”

“I’ll buy you new sheets,” Yeonjun promises. “And a new needle. And I’ll explain everything to you, I swear. Please don’t”—

“Yeonjun,” you cut off. He shuts his mouth. “That stuff doesn’t matter. Are you okay now?”

He nods. “I’m okay.”

“That’s all I care about.”

The room falls into a comfortable silence. Yeonjun stares at the ceiling and wonders how much this is going to change things between you. He has some hope that this will make you two even closer, but a small part of him fears that you won’t want to associate with him anymore. He wouldn’t blame you; it’s not like being close to Spider-man isn’t a riskless situation. He doesn’t regret coming to you tonight, though.

He feels your eyes on him a moment later, and he can only bring himself to look at you for a second before returning his gaze to your ceiling. You must find that funny, because he hears you chuckling beside him.

“You know, I wasn’t expecting this when you said you’d hang out with me again.” There’s a softness in your voice that makes Yeonjun feel lightheaded. Not the losing-too-much-blood kind of lightheaded, but the oh-god-I-really-like-her kind—this one’s much more preferable and much more welcome than the former.

“I’ll have to make it up to you,” he says.

“How do you plan on doing that?”

He turns his head to face you, and something feels awfully domestic about getting to lay this close to you in your bed. It’s hard to breathe when you’re smiling at him so eagerly, when there’s a glint in your eyes that tells Yeonjun you’re having fun. There’s an itch all the way down to his bones that begs him to push forward and kiss you already, but he resists.

“I’ll find a way,” he whispers.

The room gets quiet again, and Yeonjun supposes he should leave. It’s not like he can wait for the sun to rise and walk out of your room in his bloodied Spidey-suit glory. He’s not sure what time it is right now, but he knows that if he doesn’t leave soon and get some sleep, he’ll be passing out in his classes.

“Thanks for fixing me up,” he says, pushing himself off your bed and stretching his limbs. He feels beyond sore, wincing at the pain that shoots through his body. You sit up immediately, scrambling to stop him.

“You’re leaving? Are you crazy? Stay here!” you insist, trying to drag him back to the bed. He turns his head to you and smiles, and something about the silent plea in your eyes lights up his heart. He keeps his feet on the ground and resists your efforts, even though he wants nothing more than to spend the night with you. It’s just not smart and not worth the risk.

“I can’t,” he says. You pout and stand before him, blinking up at him so prettily that he almost changes his mind. “It’s dangerous.”

“I know. I just wanted to keep you.” That makes Yeonjun giggle.

“Sorry. Maybe next time.”

You swat his chest. “Don’t let there be a next time. You almost scared me to death.”

“I’ll make sure to tell the next knife-bearer you said that,” Yeonjun jokes. It gets the laugh that he was hoping for out of you.

“Well…” you start, eyes darting between his own. He barely has time to register it when you press a kiss against his lips, your movement so hesitant and shy. It’s soft. It’s sweet. It’s over before he knows it. He blinks at you dumbly—it’s all he can do to not pass out like a dork in front of you. Your smile is just as soft and sweet as your kiss was. “Just stay out of trouble,” you finish, patting his chest gently.

“I’ll try.”

“I guess I’ll see you in class, then,” you say.

“Yeah,” he agrees. He should go now. He should make use of his feet and back away, but he stays planted in his spot. You sway girlishly in front of him, hands clasped behind your back.

“Good night,” you whisper. Yeonjun can’t help it—he pulls your face in so he can feel your lips on his again, more properly this time. They’re pillowy and dreamy, and Yeonjun could just melt into you. He doesn’t linger longer than he has to, backing up just enough to see your face. You mirror the glee that he feels in his own expression.

“Good night,” he echoes. He backs away and grabs his mask, slipping it back on. He opens your window back up and slings himself to the nearest tree. Each time Yeonjun looks over his shoulder, he sees you leaning at your window smiling right back at him. His heart does a little flip. On second thought, maybe getting stabbed is kind of cool.

──── ──── ──── ──── ────

Despite how well last night went, Yeonjun wakes up with a heavy weight on his shoulders. Every ounce of confidence that his interaction with you last night might have given him is completely gone the moment he remembers it, and sheds away at itself further when he notices you skipped class. A dreadful thought creeps up his spine: are you avoiding him?

Maybe you woke up regretting it all. Maybe you realized how ridiculous and stupid getting involved with Spider-man is, and you’re just protecting yourself before you can be burdened further. The classroom feels hot and suffocating, and fresh air sounds really nice right now, but Yeonjun stays put in his seat. He doesn’t want to make a scene and start freaking everyone out. To the best of his ability, he pushes his fears down and saves his panic for later—preferably for after he talks to you and gets some answers.

He doesn’t even open his notebook in his last class of the day. He shows up just for attendance purposes, then zones out staring at his desk for the rest of the hour. Time passes far too slowly; Yeonjun’s itching for the lecture to end so he can talk to you already. He’s practically running out of class as soon as it’s dismissed, but finds himself slowing down the moment he’s outside the building.

He’s pretty sure he knows where to find you. The bigger issue is figuring out what the hell he’s going to say. Is there any way to start this conversation without being awkward? Hey, thanks for saving my life last night. Also I am indeed that hero or whatever taking care of criminals in the city, hope you don’t mind! He feels so lame.

It’s wishful thinking to hope that you won’t care about what happened last night—well, except for the kissing part, but that’s probably not as important right now. He’ll push aside that conversation until the more important one happens.

He wants to run away the moment he sees your figure in the distance, sitting exactly where he thought you’d be. His tongue suddenly feels like lead, too heavy and useless to try talking to you. He gathers his breath and walks across the field, not letting himself back out now. You deserve to be given a little peace of mind. He’s sure today must have been confusing for you, that clarity hit you like a train this morning the same way it did to him.

You look over your shoulder when he reaches you, staring up at him and squinting your eyes from the sun. “How’d I know you’d come find me?” you ask, half-amused.

Yeonjun gives you a short laugh, unsure of himself as he sits on the grass beside you. It feels a little like he’s invading your space. He’s seen you sitting alone on this field as if it was all yours so many times.

“I thought I should thank you again,” he says, a little shy. He feels like he owes you a lot for last night. The whole city probably owes you a lot for saving him, honestly.

You look at him with a small smile, leaning your head on your bent knees. “Mhm. Shouldn’t I be thanking you, Spider-man?” There’s a teasing quality to your voice, and it makes Yeonjun laugh nervously. He should probably address that.

“I really hope you won’t tell anybody.”

“I won’t. I’m still finding it hard to believe anyway,” you say. Your sentences are all laced with a tiredness and exhaustion that Yeonjun can’t help but to feel at fault for. “It’s just weird to know it now.”

Yeonjun hums. He can sympathize with you on that—it must be really bewildering to know your classmate is the one swinging around town shooting webs at criminals. He just hopes you can forgive him for dragging you into this.

“Spider-man’s a little less cool now, huh?” he jokes, keeping his voice quiet even though no one’s around.

Your smile is full and genuine, and Yeonjun’s heart skips a beat. “I always thought he was a little lame,” you answer. Yeonjun’s ego bruises at that. You continue, “But I think he’s kind of interesting now.”

He can only hope that you don’t see the blush that takes over his face. He looks away to hide it, but he feels your gaze on him. “I don’t know if I’m that interesting,” he says, acting all humble. It’s clearly bait, and he hopes you’ll catch it.

“I can be the judge of that. Let me get to know you more,” you offer. Yeonjun bites his cheek to stop himself from grinning at this massive win.

“Well, we still have that bakery to go to,” Yeonjun mentions, and judging by the way your eyes gain a new sparkle, you seem to like the idea.

“You don’t have any more classes today, do you?” You already look ready to go.

Yeonjun doesn’t bother hiding his excitement anymore, letting his smile take over his face. “I don’t.” You’re standing up the next second, and Yeonjun’s quick to follow.

The bakery is a cute, cozy little place near some other restaurants downtown. There’s no seating inside due to the lack of space, but that’s made up for by the giant row of sweet selections to choose from. Yeonjun’s stomach rumbles in anticipation as his eyes jump around to look at each confection.

After buying your treats, you lead Yeonjun to a nearby bench. You both open your pastry boxes and bite down on the baked goods eagerly. You hum in satisfaction, nodding at the taste. “Wow, we should go here again,” you say, going in for another bite.

Yeonjun chose a sweet cheese bread, which he completely devours within a couple minutes. You don’t eat as fast as him, but he doesn’t mind waiting for you. He makes conversation in the meantime: “How come you skipped class today?”

You laugh a little around your mouthful of food, swallowing before you answer, “I barely slept. There was no way I could’ve focused if I went.”

Yeonjun hums in understanding. “I barely slept too,” he says.

“But you still went,” you add. “I guess you’re better than me.”

Oh god, he hopes you didn’t take it that way. “Not at all!” he rushes to say.

You smile and pat his shoulder. “I know. You’re just a star student, that’s all.”

Is that a compliment? Yeonjun blushes anyway. “I like to do well,” he says.

“I mean, considering everything you’re balancing, yeah, you are doing pretty well.”

Yeonjun laughs awkwardly in response, barely able to take your praise. He’s pretty sure you’re alluding to what you found out about him yesterday. “Thanks,” he mutters, all humble.

“Do you wanna talk about last night?” you ask, finishing your last bite.

“Sure,” Yeonjun answers, feeling a smidge of nervousness returning to him. It’s quiet for a few seconds. “Did you have any questions?” he asks. He feels more bashful than anything else, but it’s better than coming off as braggadocious.

You hum in thought, pouting your lips while you conjure up some ideas. “Was that your first kiss?”

He’s completely taken aback by your question—and a little embarrassed, quite frankly—and he scrambles to spit out a response. You’re stifling your laughter before he can even get his defense out. “No! I had my first kiss in, like, high school!”

“I’m just teasing,” you admit. “You’re a good kisser.” The compliment goes to Yeonjun’s head, playing in a loop while he floats on cloud nine. You liked kissing him. He should do it again and again, just to keep you happy. And for more selfish reasons, too.

Your voice breaks through his thoughts when you speak again, “Do you feel better today? Are you healing alright?” The joking tone leaves your voice, replaced with genuinity and care.

“I feel fine,” he answers. He pulls up his shirt to show you the wound, all stitched up and starting to heal over.

You wince. “Good thing I finished my food already. That killed my appetite.” Yeonjun laughs at your grimace and releases his shirt, falling back into place. “You should really put a bandage over that,” you suggest.

“I don’t have any.”

You shake your head in disbelief, though your amusement reads on your face. “You should be more prepared.”

Your concern is cute to Yeonjun. “I know,” he says.

“So who stabbed you?” you ask.

He shrugs. “No clue. He’s probably in a cell now.”

“Did it hurt?” you ask, though the answer is obvious.

“Like hell,” he says.

“How’d it even happen?” Honestly, Yeonjun’s not too sure about that either. He can usually sense imminent danger before it comes, but maybe he was too focused on the crimes he’d already been dealing with.

“He came up behind me while I was handling another criminal,�� he answers.

You hum, getting off the bench and tossing your trash in a bin nearby. You start walking off then, and Yeonjun follows mindlessly. “Must be tough being Spider-man,” you say.

“Careful how loud you say that.” Yeonjun tenses as someone walks past the two of you, praying they were out of earshot when you said that. He sighs in relief when he sees the person had headphones in.

“Right, sorry. There’s just so much I wanna know now.” You turn a corner, taking a path leading back to campus.

Your curiosity excites Yeonjun, and he’s ready to answer whatever question you come up with. Some of his stories have serious entertainment value to them.

“Ask me, then,” he invites. You twist your head to smile up at him for a second.

“How’d you get like this? Were you just born this way?”

Yeonjun laughs at the idea. He swings his head around to make sure no one’s around when he answers, “No, a radioactive spider bit me.”

“When did that happen?” you ask. Yeonjun reminisces the first few weeks after the bite, thinking back to those initial feelings of fear and dread when he realized something had happened to him.

“In high school,” he says. It was super bewildering back then to change so drastically, yet be forced to act so normal. It’s much easier now—he’s had years to adjust—but he was a teenager when it first happened. That’s a lot for a kid to take on. He had to act like he was the same Choi Yeonjun his classmates had grown up with, and not some mutated superhuman dealing with the stresses of his new identity. Of course, he did that whole Spider-man thing to himself, but it was the right thing to do. He doesn’t regret it.

“Does anyone else know?”

“My uncle did, but he’s gone, so now it’s just you.” He looks at you, lips twitching upward.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” you apologize, voice growing soft. He realizes that you’re in front of your dorm building now, and he supposes this is where he should leave. His eyes dart between yours, like he’s waiting for you to tell him to go. To ask him to stay.

“Are you doing anything today?” he asks. Maybe he sounds desperate. He doesn’t really care.

“Catching up on some work,” you say.

“I’ll give you my calculus notes.”

You smile. “That would be nice.”

Yeonjun didn’t even take notes in calculus today. He doesn’t know what he’s saying.

“Can I stay?” He’s teeming with hope and bravery today. You open the door to your building and signal him inside, and he has to hold back the victorious giggle that almost escapes him as he trails behind you.

The rest of the day passes in a blur of questions and answers. Yeonjun’s never talked so openly about being Spider-man before, and a part of it feels healing. You study hard while he rambles about stories of the little things he’s done throughout the years. Some are funny and make you cackle, and some draw your attention away from your textbook so you can look at him in shock. It’s impossible for Yeonjun to wipe the grin off his face—not when he bids you good night, not when he walks back to his dorm, not even when lays in bed to sleep. His heart never lets up on that jittery rush it has for you.

──── ──── ──── ──── ────

A quintessential part of the college experience, Yeonjun’s come to find out, is trying out all the different ramen brands to see which one is the best. He’s a fan of whichever one he’s chowing down on right now, and a 5-pack of this barely puts a dent in his bank account. Seems like a winner.

He glances over at his dorm’s door when it opens, curious to see that Soobin brought someone over. Yeonjun isn’t bothered by that, though; if this guy is anything like Soobin, he’s not worried about getting annoyed.

“You can remember to buy ramen but not detergent?” Soobin asks, chuckling. Yeonjun chooses to read that as a joke instead of a passive aggressive comment.

“Ugh, dude, I keep forgetting, I’m sorry,” he apologizes. Yeonjun points at Soobin’s friend and continues, “This your friend?”

“Yeah, I’m Beomgyu,” the friend introduces. Something about him looks a little familiar.

“Nice to meet you,” Yeonjun greets with a nod.

Soobin grabs some clothes from his closet then turns to the door. “I’m gonna go change and then we can head out,” he says to Beomgyu, then heads off to the bathroom.

When the door shuts, Yeonjun returns his attention to his ramen and ignores Beomgyu’s presence as best as he can. That doesn’t last too long, though, cause soon enough, Beomgyu’s breaking the silence: “Are you still hanging out with Y/n?”

Yeonjun turns in his seat to face Beomgyu. He’s not sure how Beomgyu would know that, but Yeonjun entertains the question nevertheless. “Yeah. You know her?” he asks.

“She’s my friend,” he says. “Kind of.”

Yeonjun already feels something weird in the air. He’s waiting for the turn that this conversation is bound to take. He finally pieces together why this guy looks so familiar; he’s one of the boys at the party in the group that you kept looking over at. Now Yeonjun’s really curious.

“Why do you ask?” The question comes out a little hesitantly.

“I’m telling you this man-to-man, I think you might be getting played,” Beomgyu says.

Yeonjun’s immediate reaction is only confusion. How would you be playing him? You’ve been nothing but sincere with your feelings—or, that’s what it seemed like, at least. Now Yeonjun’s doubting himself. A part of him doesn’t believe it and doesn’t want to indulge in this conversation any further, but he’d start spiraling whether or not Beomgyu explains himself now. Worry swirls in Yeonjun’s stomach.

“Why?” he asks despite himself.

“This is just what I’ve heard, but apparently she had a thing with Kai, and he started talking to another girl, so she wanted to get back at him. I don’t know, though.”

Kai. That boy who came up to you at the party. Yeonjun remembers him.

He doesn’t want to show how much those words affect him, but shit. Hearing that hurts. His body feels weightless, like he’d be falling over if he wasn’t sitting at his desk. He nods as he exhales slowly, keeping his heart from going haywire.

“Huh,” is all he says. Soobin comes back the next second, and Beomgyu heads out with him after that, and the world keeps spinning on, but Yeonjun feels trapped in that moment. He waits to wake up in a sweat, hoping this is all some nightmare that’s going to end, but the wake never comes. He’s forced to deal with his whirling thoughts instead.

None of this can be true. It wouldn’t make sense. You kissed Yeonjun. You said you were interested in him. If this was all a lie, how will Yeonjun ever trust anyone again? When he came to you bleeding out, you saved his life. When you found out his secret identity, you kept it safe. Yeonjun miscalculated something that night—there is something more sacred and dangerous to trust you with than those things: his heart.

He doesn’t even want to finish his ramen anymore. His fingers brush against the wound that’s healing pretty well thanks to you, and a thought crosses his mind. The night that you kissed him was the night you found out he was Spider-man. An especially sickening question starts to haunt him. Did you only start liking him because of that?

Yeonjun feels played. He’s always known that he was a fool, so he doesn’t know why he’s so surprised, but really? Beer pong lord?

Five minutes is hardly enough to process the information Beomgyu dumped onto Yeonjun, but that’s all he gets, because now his alarm is going off and telling him to go over to the lab. He drops his head to his desk with a groan. It’s like an anchor’s been tied to his heart, sinking further and further until it makes him his stomach churn.

The fresh air feels good in Yeonjun’s lungs as he walks over to the lab. A permanent pout is etched onto his lips, unable to stop thinking about you. Good things. Bad things. Everything. Each memory hurts now.

He probably looks like some depressed college kid, walking around with his hood up and head down. He should be less pathetic, pick himself up and get himself together. It’s not like you two were really anything anyway. A kiss doesn't always mean something to everyone. Maybe it’s his fault for assuming that for you, it did.

It’s not just that, though. Yeah, kissing you made Yeonjun feel alive in a way that only swinging through the city could compare to, but there’s so much more to you than that. It’s the way you talked to him, the way you cared for him, the way you looked at him. How the hell do you fake that kind of connection? Hurt splits him at the seams like he’s being torn in two, but he keeps walking like nothing’s wrong.

“Yeonjun!” He recognizes that voice immediately. He pulls his eyes off the sidewalk and catches sight of you walking up to him. He almost forgot that he walks past your little field on the way to his lab.

It feels like he’s the one keeping a secret, palms clamming up as you stand in front of him. He stops in his tracks to allow you the conversation. “Hey,” he says.

“What are you up to?” you ask. He fidgets with the sleeve of his sweatshirt. Should he just act normal? Should he let you get away with using him? When he thinks about it like that, it puts a sour taste in his mouth.

“I’m headed to the lab. Got some stuff to do, and it’s time sensitive, so…” he trails off awkwardly, looking off into the distance instead of at you.

“Oh, okay,” you say, sounding a little dejected. Yeonjun shouldn’t be feeling bad for you right now, but he can’t help it. It makes his chest clench to hear the joy leave your voice. “Maybe we can hang out after? Just to study or something,” you offer.

Yeonjun sighs, “Maybe.”

You’re quiet for a second as you assess him. “Are you okay?” Concern fills your voice, and when he brings his vision back to you, he can see it in your eyes too.

“I’ll talk to you about it later,” he says.

You frown, taking in his flat expression. You must gain some insight from that, because then you’re asking, “Did I do something?”

He wants to hold his head, feeling defeated and frustrated and sad and a million other different things. He’s not sure how to label it. He’s never felt emotions this complex before, probably because he’s never liked anyone this much before.

“Oh god, did I?” you repeat, more fear in your voice at Yeonjun’s lack of a response. It strikes him and deflates his will to be dismissive about it, not wanting you to sit here worrying for the rest of the day. Curse his soft heart.

“Just come with me,” Yeonjun says, continuing on the path to his lab building. You follow beside him, taking long strides to match his quick pace. He notices you struggling to keep up, so he slows down, even though it might make him a few minutes late.

“I’m sorry,” you apologize. He can feel you looking at him, but he keeps his eyes ahead.

“You don’t even know what you’re apologizing for,” he mumbles.

“Tell me then,” you plead. The thought of having to talk about this with you makes him feel sick. He doesn’t know if he can even choke up the words without getting nauseous.

“Let me clock into my lab first.” The rest of the walk is silent; you keep quiet even as you enter the room with him, watching him take off his sweatshirt and put on his lab coat. You’re quiet even as he goes through the study procedure, not even lingering near him to see what he’s doing. He feels a little cruel for it, wondering if he’s just torturing you by forcing you to stand silently and worry about what he must be upset at you for.

He steals a glance at you. You’re leaning against the wall by the door, so many steps away, keeping so much distance. He bites his lip and looks away, figuring it’s time to start the conversation.

“I want to talk to you, but I don’t want you to lie to me,” Yeonjun says, breaking the long stretch of silence. He walks toward you, stopping before he gets too close.

“I won’t. I’m not gonna hide anything from you.” It’s funny you say that.

“Do you like Kai?” His question catches you off guard, your frown leaving your face.

“No,” you answer.

“Don’t lie.”

“I’m not.”

“Okay. So why did Beomgyu tell me you used me to get back at him?”

He watches you stiffen at the question. “How do you know Beomgyu?” you ask.

“Please just answer me,” Yeonjun says. He doesn’t want to run around in circles, he just wants to hear the truth from you.

“I don’t like Kai anymore.” Something about that sentence hits like a stab to the gut. Yeonjun would know the feeling.

He tsks and shakes his head, ready to walk away and end the conversation, but you continue, “Please let me say the whole story.” Yeonjun sighs and meets your eyes. He decides to hear you out, only because a part of him is dying for you to make this right.

“Go ahead,” he says.

“I invited you to the party because you’re my friend, and I think you’re cute, but also for really petty, stupid revenge. It was so dumb and I’m so sorry, I feel so fucking bad for that now,” you explain. Yeonjun thinks back to how excited he was when you asked him. He remembers the rush of butterflies, the nervousness that pooled in his stomach, the adrenaline through his veins when he realized he finally had your attention.

You continue, “But I swear on my life, Yeonjun, the second we went outside at that party, I realized how unfair it was. I wanted to make Kai jealous, but when we were standing out there, I couldn’t do it. You’re a good person, and I felt fucking awful, and I didn’t go through with anything, and I’m glad I didn’t. You gave me one of the best nights of my life that day. I mean that. Seriously.”

There’s sincerity in your eyes, so Yeonjun knows you’re not lying. The ache in his chest is dull now, but still there. He can’t believe you planned to use him as some pawn to get back at Kai.

“Why’d I have to hear it from someone else? Why couldn’t you tell me yourself?” he asks. It’s pathetic how his voice carries more heartbreak than anger.

“Cause I didn’t want you to misunderstand and leave!�� you explain, desperate. “Yeonjun, please. I don’t care about Kai anymore. I haven’t even talked to him since the party.”

Yeonjun wishes he could feel comforted by your words, but all he feels is hurt. He has this terrible thing where he can’t stop asking questions that will only batter him worse. “So you didn’t really like me?”

You take a step closer to him, placing both hands over your heart. Yeonjun’s not blind; he can see the fear in your eyes, the worry that he might walk away. He doesn’t have it in him to relieve your stress right now.

“I always liked you. I like you more every day,” you answer. There’s honesty in your words, which Yeonjun appreciates. It doesn’t quite melt away his insecurities, though.

Yeonjun can’t bear looking at you any longer, dropping his gaze to the floor and stepping back. He’s ready to leave, thinking he needs the night to himself to stare at the ceiling and contemplate this whole situation.

You stop him before he can get too far. Your hand hooks onto the sleeve of his lab coat, shaking as you cling to him. It’s so pitiful that it ruins the monstrous image Yeonjun’s trying to fit you into in his mind. Against his better judgment, his eyes meet yours again.

He’s about to speak—maybe to console you, to get some of that sadness out of your eyes—but the sound of glass breaking behind him makes him turn with wide eyes, searching for the damage. He’ll be the one stuck replacing any broken equipment; he can only pray that it wasn’t a more expensive piece.

His eyes flit across the room, but he finds nothing. Is he seriously losing his mind? Every time he’s in this lab, there’s something new giving him a mini heart attack. He brushes this off as some kind of paranoia. He considers talking to his professor about taking a break from the lab, just until he can restore his sanity.

“Let’s just head out of here,” Yeonjun says, unable to rid himself of the chill down his spine.

“Do you still like me?” you ask, unable to move on from the conversation. You stay planted in your spot as Yeonjun takes off his lab gear. He groans internally at your question—of course he still likes you. Do you think his feelings are so malleable? His adoration for you feels like an immovable boulder. He can’t even stay mad at you for as long as he wanted to, though he tries not to let you win too easily.

He sighs out your name instead of answering. He waits for you at the door as he throws his sweatshirt back on, and you trudge forward with a pout. Once his sweatshirt is slipped over his head, he catches sight of something behind you, heart stopping entirely.

“What the hell—?!” he emits, eyes growing wide as the cell clump he’d been working with expands out past its storage spot, spilling out onto the floor. The broken glass earlier must’ve been from the petri dish—shit, he should’ve checked. It’s discolored now, so dark it’s nearly black, and growing more rapidly than it should be able to.

You spin on your feet to see what Yeonjun’s looking at, yelping when you see the growth. You back up quickly and bump into Yeonjun’s chest. “What’s happening?” you ask, turning your head back to look up at him.

“I don’t know,” he answers. He has to think fast, because it doesn’t look like the cell replication is stopping any time soon—if anything, it looks like it’s growing exponentially. The clump is a goo-like substance, slowly spilling out further and further onto the floor, looking something like tar as it expands out. “We’ll have to trigger rapid apoptosis,” he says.

“How do we do that?” you ask. Yeonjun’s not sure either, so he doesn’t bother to answer. He opens one of the cabinets and pulls out all the different liquid chemicals he can find. One of these is bound to do something.

You hold yourself and watch him carefully, still looking shy and desperate and nervous from your argument. Yeonjun’s not sure why you seem to be more bothered by him not reassuring you that he likes you than by the clump that grows behind you. Your attention remains on him the whole time.

“Are you mad at me?” you ask.

“No,” he answers sharply and quickly. He has bigger issues to be worried about than staying mad at you.

“I promise I wasn’t lying. I won’t talk to Kai ever again.”

“Why are we having this conversation right now?!” Yeonjun asks, frustrated.

“Because it’s important to me that you know!”

He ignores you in favor of unscrewing the lid to one of the acids, hoping it could digest the cells. When he pours it onto the clump, a loud hiss rings through the room and smoke comes up from the mass. It doesn’t seem to dissolve the cells, though.

He emits an exasperated groan, opening the lid to another chemical substance, and you rush to do the same. He can’t stop to think about how dangerous this is, too focused on controlling the problem before it gets irreparable. You and Yeonjun pour chemicals onto it at the same time, and it seems to react. The tar-like blob thickens now, erecting itself up from the floor languidly.

You and Yeonjun back up, watching with fearful eyes as it stands. It moves like it’s alive, like it’s a living organism. It’s eerily silent for a room as you two stare at the mass in shock. Then, rapidly, it comes charging at you, attaching itself to your cardigan as you shriek. Yeonjun acts fast, running to you and grabbing your waist, adhering his feet to the floor to keep you from getting dragged any more. You shed your cardigan quickly before tugging it back from the blob. It tears from how harsh you pull it, but you don’t seem to care, chucking it to the opposite side of the room.

This is an unfortunate time to see you in a tight-fitting tank top. Your chest heaves from the panic of being grabbed by the organism, rising and falling as you start to steady your breath. You look over at him, and he finds himself blushing and removing his gaze from you in embarrassment. God, now he’s the one struggling to focus on the bigger problem.

Yeonjun directs his wrist at the blob, shooting a web at it to keep it from charging at you again. The web sends the mass flying back until it collides with the wall. Though it can’t remove itself from the confines of the web, it still slowly grows, and it will be able to expand enough to attack again soon. Still, this should buy you two some more time.

“You should leave,” Yeonjun says, coming to you and cupping your face. His eyes beg you to go, strung up on the possibility of you getting hurt.

“I won’t,” you say, grabbing onto his wrists.

“Please. You’re too important.” His hand strokes through your hair like you’re something precious.

You take his hand and kiss it. “You are too. I won’t leave.”

He sighs. He knows he’s not winning this, there’s too much determination in your words. Before he removes his focus from you, he thinks he should tell you one last thing. “Just so you know, I like you too.”

You’re barely able to hold back your smile, but Yeonjun can’t stay and watch your reaction. The mass continues to grow over the confines of the web, and he has to find a way to control it before it overcomes the binds. He opens the binder that holds the descriptions of all the lab materials, hoping he can find something useful in there. His eyes flit across the words, scanning for the chemicals that will be his saving grace.

He stops when he reads the description for nitric acid. The words digest and dissolve kick his body to life, hope stirring inside of him. “Come here with the nitric acid!” he shouts over his shoulder.

“Which one is that?” you ask hurriedly, scanning through the different bottles of chemicals.

“It’s in a brown translucent bottle. Quick!” Before he can panic further, you’re racing to his side with a bottle of the acid. Yeonjun quickly pours it over the mass, watching it shrivel when the liquid hits its surface. A weight lifts off Yeonjun’s shoulders when he realizes he finally found something that works. The bottle doesn’t hold nearly enough, though, because Yeonjun empties it out before he can melt the organism completely.

He turns to you expectantly, and you’re rushing back to the counter where all the chemical substances are held. You’re turning each to read the labels, growing more aggravated as you fail to find another container of nitric acid. You curse as you swing the cabinet doors open, checking if there’s any stored away in there.

You pull out a bottle from the cabinet, reading it quickly. “Would sulfuric acid work?” you ask, looking at Yeonjun like you need him to say yes.

“It would react with the nitric acid,” he answers. You groan.

“You think I know any of this stuff?!” You go back to searching through the cabinet.

“Yes! You’re, like, the smartest girl I know!” Yeonjun exclaims, equally as frustrated.

“You must not know a lot of girls then,” you huff. You finally pull out a bottle that seems to match, running over to Yeonjun. He takes it from your hands and pours the liquid over what remains of the clump, watching it dissolve until all that’s left is a murky puddle on the floor. He plops the nitric acid onto a table, finally letting himself take a full breath. He tastes the chemicals swirling in the air, but he can’t bring himself to care about any toxins filling his lungs. He’s worn out, crouching down in exhaustion with a groan.

When he picks his head up from between his arms, he searches for you. You’re bent over one of the tables, head tucked between your arms as half your body rests over the surface. You must be just as drained as him. He stretches his body out as he stands back up, then approaches you at the opposite side of the table. He rests his elbows onto the tabletop, leaning forward to be closer to you.

“You get feisty when you’re working under pressure,” Yeonjun teases, breathless laugh escaping him. You lift your head to look at him, and he can see how you hold back your amusement.

“I could say the same about you,” you respond. You seem winded, still breathing hard as you push yourself off the table and pick up your cardigan from the floor. You hold up your cardigan and examine the damage. It’s stained and ripped and looks disgusting. You pout. “This was my favorite one…”

“Don’t worry, you’re pretty good at stitching things back up,” Yeonjun says, coming up to you and taking the cardigan from your hands to tie it around your waist. You look up at him, something fond shining in your eyes.

“I guess I am,” you say, tugging on Yeonjun’s sweatshirt to pull him closer to you. You wear a dopey smile as you stare at him, hands resting on his shoulders, and Yeonjun really hopes that you do what he knows you’re both thinking about right now.

You don’t leave him waiting long; your hand comes to his jaw to bring his face to yours, and the next second, Yeonjun’s having the best kiss of his life. It feels like a reward after the shitshow that today’s been. For it to come to this, he’d relive it a dozen more times.

“Wait,” Yeonjun says, pulling back. “Are we dating now?”

“Haven’t we been dating?” You look at him like he’s a fool, and it endears Yeonjun endlessly.

“I mean, boyfriend-girlfriend dating,” Yeonjun explains.

“Oh, I’ve already told, like, three people that you’re my boyfriend.” There might be real hearts in Yeonjun’s eyes right now.

“Good,” he says, coming in for another quick kiss. “I’m all yours.” His words are uttered against your lips, since he can’t seem to pull himself away from you.

You gladly accept his kisses, and he has to keep himself from getting too drunk off your taste. He has to remember he’s still in a lab with a bunch of chemicals filling the air—it’s probably a good idea to get out. Even though he doesn’t want to, Yeonjun steps back and looks around at the mess throughout the room. Given everything that happened, it’s not awful. A mop would take care of ninety percent of the problem.

“We should clean this up,” he sighs.

“Yeah,” you agree. Neither of you make a move. You start laughing after a few seconds, and Yeonjun returns his attention to you with a cheeky grin.

“No, let’s just leave,” he suggests. He’s exhausted. He’ll explain everything to his professor tomorrow, he can’t take any more of this today.

“Should we go back to my place then?” you ask. Yeonjun does a very poor job of hiding his excitement. He wants more than anything to hold you to his chest and zip across campus to get to your dorm, but alas, he does the smart thing instead. A ten minute walk has never felt more like ten hours in his life, and seeing your dorm building finally come into view has his heart racing in anticipation.

Yeonjun’s all over you the minute your door closes behind him. He doesn’t let your lips disconnect for a second—not to talk, not to breathe, because nothing’s more important than tasting your lips on his.

Your back falls to your mattress, and Yeonjun’s mind briefly wanders to the last time you two were here. Having you sprawled out beneath him is quite different than you patching him up above him. In a way, that moment felt like the start of something bigger between you. The initial spark came long before it, but that night is what caused fire to catch. He feeds the flame now, fingers untying the cardigan at your waist and throwing it to the floor. Your shirt’s the next thing to go, and he only pulls away long enough to shed the cloth off of you.

His mouth on yours is ravenous and unwilling to waste any more time. He feels up your stomach, cherishing the warm flesh with eager fingers. He trails his hands up to your chest, feeling your breasts over your bra. You gasp when he squeezes experimentally, and it encourages him to continue, movements growing hungry.

You break away from the kiss, panting for air while Yeonjun latches onto your jaw. He’s insatiable, sucking your skin and placing kitten licks over the mark after. He hovers his face over yours, biting back his grin when he sees how hazy your eyes have become.

You catch his face in your hand, cupping his jaw and thumbing his cheek. The action makes his heart soar, and he leans into your warm touch. Your smile turns from soft to wicked when you push your thumb between his lips, and he engulfs the digit without a fight.

“I like you,” you say as he sucks your thumb, blinking up at him adoringly like he’s not doing some lewd act right now. He swirls his tongue around you before popping it out of his mouth, kissing your fingertip then taking your hand in his own.

“I like you too.” His free hand goes behind your back to search for your bra clasp, fumbling with it clumsily until he gets it to disconnect. You pull the material off, and Yeonjun’s cock twitches in his pants when he takes in the sight of you. A part of him feels wrong for doing this, like this is too dirty, but a larger part of him can’t wait to indulge in you. He’ll just make sure to take you out for dinner after.

Yeonjun throws his sweatshirt and shirt to the floor, pride swirling inside him when he sees the way you ogle at his skin. You lay your hand over his chest, trailing your fingers over the expanse teasingly. He takes your wrist and drags your hand away.

“You don’t deserve to touch me. I’m still upset about Kai,” he says. It’s a lie, but he’s in a playful mood. Your hand makes its way back to his chest despite that, so he grabs it and brings it to the bed, shooting a web over your wrist so you can’t move it. He giggles. The whole web-slinging thing comes with some perks.

“Oh, come on,” you sulk as he does the same to your other wrist. He leans back for a moment, looking down at you all proud. A few different sights flash through his mind, endless possibilities of how he could make the most of your hands being restrained. Maybe he should punish you for ever liking Kai in the first place, keep you on the edge until you’re chanting apologies into the air. He could also just indulge in your body greedily, taste every inch of you without your hands pulling him away. The ache in his pants grows at the thought.

You sigh in satisfaction when his hand meets your clothed core. Your hips grind against his hand, and he allows you to use him to find your pleasure. Your hands close into fists as Yeonjun lets you ride his open palm, still fighting against your restraints.

“How much do you like me?” Yeonjun asks. His free hand holds your waist, fingers brushing against your skin gently.

“So much,” you answer, never abandoning your rhythm. “You’re so smart, and handsome, and funny, and—nngh—and good to me…” Yeonjun’s hand travels from your waist to your chest in reward, thumb rolling over one of your nipples.

“Yeah, I am good to you. I stay with you even though you’re mean to me.”

You shake your head at his statement. “I’m not mean to you,” you say.

He laughs at how you try to control yourself, how serious your tone gets. Your hips slow, so he takes measures into his own hands and moves his palm against your cunt instead. If he presses down hard enough, he can feel how wet you are even through your pants.

“You are,” he says. “You use me to get other men.” He knows that’s not true now, but a part of him is still a little bruised by the idea. He figures that airing out his insecurities like this might help him, and it makes him feel less vulnerable.

“No! That’s not true!” Yeonjun ignores you and takes off your pants, letting them join the other articles of clothing on your floor. He short circuits when he sees the wet patch on your panties. A sense of shame must fill you then, because your legs clamp shut to block his view.

“Hey, be nice,” he says, opening your legs back up. He holds you open as he presses his knee to your folds, and he can feel your arousal even through the fabric of his sweatpants. He’s squealing internally, overjoyed to have you soaking for him, but he keeps his calm on the outside.

Your hands push against the webs again, shaking the mattress a little. You pout at him. “I want to touch you,” you whine.

“Sorry about that,” he says. He matches your pout as his hands smooth down your legs, lazily exploring your flesh. He grabs your hips and positions them up a little so that you’re pressing into his thigh. He hears the moan that gets caught in your throat as he drags your cunt against him, holding back a satisfied smirk.

“Should I tell you what I like about you?” Yeonjun asks, something silky and smooth in his voice. You nod, rolling your hips over his thigh. “Say pleaseeeee,” he prompts.

“Please,” you echo. He giggles.

“Again.” He’s having fun.

“Please, Yeonjun,” you beg, sweet voice dripping with need.

He releases your hips so he can pull off your panties, tugging you back onto him once you kick the cloth off your ankles. He can really feel how wet you are now, and it makes a knot form in his stomach. He wants you more than anything.

“I like how pretty you are,” he starts, leaning over you to press kisses against your neck. “And I like how cool you are.” His mouth travels a little lower, sucking at your collarbone. “And I like how I can talk to you for hours and never get bored.” His lips smother your chest, just above your tits, familiarizing himself with every inch of your skin. Your hips buck against him when he presses his thigh more firmly between your legs. “And I like how wet you get,” he laughs.

His mouth finds your breasts then, tongue swirling teasingly around one of your buds. Your nipples perk up, begging for his attention. He drags his tongue over to your other mound, sucking at the swell of flesh, moaning against you. The taste of your skin in his mouth makes him feel high.

You whine, hips rolling more fervently against him, chasing your approaching high. Yeonjun busies himself with delivering kitten licks to your nipples, watching the way they glisten with his saliva after he runs his tongue across them a few times. He peels himself off of you when your rhythm gets unsteady, not wanting you to cum yet. There’s a look of betrayal on your face as he disconnects from you, not touching you at all anymore.

“Yeonjun,” you moan, wrapping your legs around his waist and pulling him in. “I need to cum.” Your needy cunt grinds against the tent in his boxers, hungrily trying to get yourself off. He lets you have your fun for a minute, enjoying the feel of your warm, wet slit coating his clothed cock, before holding your hips still and keeping you from moving. That doesn’t stop you from digging your heels into his back, pushing him harder against you.

He removes your legs from him, holding you open as he plunges two fingers into your cunt. Your heat takes him in so nicely, the slide of his digits inside you made so easy from how slick your cunt is. You arch your back, moaning out as he curls his fingers inside you.

“Tight girl, gotta stretch you out,” he says, scissoring his digits to prepare you. Your arousal pools out of you, dripping onto the mattress as Yeonjun fucks you on his fingers. “Need to get you ready for me.”

“Mhm, need your dick,” you say. You look so helpless like this, laying back and letting Yeonjun fuck his fingers into you however he wants. He increases his speed just because he can, knowing you can’t pry his hand away, grinning when you emit a surprised gasp. Your walls start tightening around his fingers, a warning of your orgasm, and Yeonjun pulls his hand away before you can get there.

You’re whining his name again, thighs clamping shut to relieve the pressure. He shushes you as he tugs his boxers out of the way, stroking his cock as he watches the way you tremble. Poor thing.

“You want me to fuck you?” he asks. Your legs spread open immediately in invitation. He watches as a glob of arousal drips out from your core.

“Yes,” you breathe out. He pumps his shaft a few more times before bringing it to your folds, letting your wetness coat his tip. “Put it in,” you beg, jerking your hips up. He ignores your plea, bringing the head of his cock to your clit to tap on it a few times. The stimulation sends a buzz through you, and Yeonjun coos at you sweetly.

“Want you to feel so good,” he says, aligning his tip to your hole and starts pushing in. You throw your head back and groan, and he gives your neck a wet kiss. “Wanna be the best you’ve had.” He sinks in slowly, letting your walls adjust to him inch by inch. You feel like heaven around him, and his fingers dig into your hips to keep himself from losing his mind. He wants to meld himself into you.

He grinds his pelvis against you when he bottoms out, steadying his breaths so he doesn’t lose himself too quickly. His moans are deep and airy, while yours are whiny and pathetic. He trails a hand up your body until he’s cupping your face, bringing your attention to him. You look dazed, and he wants to watch you fall apart. He needs to see your perfect face scrunched up with pleasure, eyes glassy and mouth open, going stupid from how fucked out you are.

He presses a light kiss against your lips, then leans his face into the crook of your neck. He finally starts pulling back, slamming back into you with a whimper. Your cunt takes him so readily despite how tight you are, your arousal making him glide in and out of you so easily.

“Gonna be perfect for you,” Yeonjun promises. “Be a good boyfriend. Fuck you every day. Keep you happy.” He lifts himself up to watch your mouth fall open as he thrusts into you. He presses against your stomach to feel himself inside you, moaning whorishly when he does. It makes him fuck you harder, desperation coursing through his system.

You can barely speak from how far gone you are, stuttering out curses and whimpers of his name. He brings his thumb to your clit, rubbing at the swollen bud to get you clenching around him. He groans at how tight you get, sucking him in like your body was meant to take him.

“Need you to cum now,” Yeonjun says, feeling his high looming over. “Gotta feel you milking my cock, let me see it.”

“Kiss me,” you say breathlessly, mouth hanging open as you wait for him to take it. He obliges eagerly, shoving his tongue into your mouth with a needy whine. He licks into you as if this will coax your orgasm out, and it does. Your walls clamp around him, and he’s barely able to move from how tight you get. He circles your clit diligently, only letting up when your body jolts in overstimulation.

He pulls out soon after, only having to stroke himself a few times before he’s spilling his seed onto your stomach. He groans as he milks himself for every last drop, hand shaking as he releases the last of it. You look hot painted with his cum; he bites his lip and squeezes your thighs, needing more and more of you.

“You’re so gorgeous,” he says, making you turn your head away shyly.

“Thanks. You are too.” His stomach flips, feeling proud that he earned your praise. He lowers himself to your torso, lapping at the milky strands of his cum. He cleans you nicely, swallowing down his own release until your stomach’s coated in only his saliva. He brings himself to your slit to lap at it languidly, loving the little whines you emit at the sensation.

“Did so good for me, thank you,” he murmurs into your cunt. He pushes his tongue into your entrance, slowly fucking the muscle inside you. You sigh and roll your hips against his face, relaxed and melting into the feeling.

“Y-you’re good too,” you praise. He licks his way up to your clit, taking it into his mouth and letting his tongue roll over the bud. He likes to hear that he’s being good for you, it makes him feel like he’s worthy of you. He thrives off your happiness, so he feels content as he pleases you with his mouth.

He never wants to let you go. He wants you in his arms forever, he wants to stay in this room and live the rest of his life with just you by his side. This much is enough for him. He glides his hands down your thighs, letting his fingers lightly drag along your skin. He opens his mouth a little more to taste more of you, to kiss your folds more hungrily. He presses the tip of his tongue to your bud, focusing the pressure right against it until he hears you mewl.

“Right there!” you gasp out, pressing yourself further into Yeonjun’s face. He hooks his arms around your thighs to keep you in place, making sure you don’t jolt away when your orgasm creeps up on you. He flicks his tongue over your clit repeatedly, feeling your thighs shake in his grasp. He doesn’t stop until you’re releasing on his face, coating his mouth and chin with your essence.

He detaches himself after a minute, licking his lips and letting go of your legs. He sits up and smiles at you, taking in how pretty you look. He holds your jaw so he can kiss you, and he can’t help but to giggle into the kiss. This is so surreal. He would have fainted if he knew one month ago that this would be happening to him.

“Hi,” you say when he finally pulls his face from yours. This feels like a dream.

“Hi,” he echoes, butterflies fluttering in his stomach. He cherishes the smile you give him.

“So when does this dissolve?” you ask, tugging at the webs holding your arms in place. Yeonjun scratches his neck bashfully. That's enough of an answer for you. “Yeonjun…” you sigh, body deflating.

“Less than two hours!” he rushes to say.

“Two hours?!”

“It’s not that bad. I think we can pass the time,” he says, failing to hold back his smile.

Your eyes flit down to his stirring cock. “I guess I have nothing better to do,” you give in. Yeonjun sees right through your nonchalant act, but he lets you get away with it. He has better things to busy himself with than arguing about that.

──── ──── ──── ──── ────

You bring Yeonjun to the market after learning about the laundry detergent debacle. You place the item in your basket, shaking your head at him as you do. “I can’t believe your roommate had to tell me to get you to buy this.”

Yeonjun raises his hands in defense. “I get busy sometimes,” he says.

“With coming to my dorm every other night?” you ask with a raised brow, walking into the next aisle.

Yeonjun drops a candy bar into the basket alongside the detergent. “No, with lab stuff, and class stuff, and Spidey stuff,” he corrects. He picks up a bottle of your favorite drink as he passes by it on the shelf. “And with girlfriend stuff,” he adds sweetly.

“Right,” you say unconvincingly, smiling as you nod your head.

Yeonjun grabs a pair of sunglasses off a rack, placing them on his face and turning to you with a grin. “How cool are these?” he asks, pointing at himself.

You laugh and lift the sunglasses up so they rest on his head. “So cool,” you answer. You tilt your head to check the price on them. “You should totally spend the last of your money on them.”

He pulls the glasses off his face to check the price tag, eyebrows raising in reaction. He puts them back on the rack. He can’t get rid of the smile on his face as he watches you shop, endeared and swooned by every little thing you do. It’s small moments like these that make him feel like the luckiest guy on earth.

“We should get bandages. I can’t believe you don’t have any,” you say, looking for where the item would be in the store.

“There’s a lot of things I don’t have. I’m operating on a limited budget,” he explains. It’s not like he can tackle a job on top of everything else he does. He’s grown accustomed to his ways of living, accepting that he’s become the male college student stereotype.

“I’m glad I stepped into your life then,” you say, throwing a box of bandages into your basket. “I’m actually scared you’d die without me.”

Yeonjun can’t help but to laugh at that. “I would die without you,” he agrees. He follows you as you continue walking around the store, aimlessly searching for anything you might need. You stop when you feel your phone buzz, pulling out your phone upon receiving a notification, checking it curiously. He reads the message over your shoulder; it’s an alert from your local news station about some rescue mission for a bunch of dogs that ran loose from their shelter just now. You turn to him with a knowing smile.

“That’s your cue, Spider-man.”

notes: god i loved writing this so much…. i hope u like spideyjjun just as much as i do<3 i would love to hear ur thoughts if u have anyyy!!! tysm for reading hehe

taglist: @ambsphoria @bananasdiary @beaabz @beomgyusluver @beomsdoll @brrytears @bumgyuz @dawngyu @enhastolemyheart @estrnrea @fancypeacepersona @fatbixchwithanopinion @heejamas @heesmiles @insanityz @i4tzy @jellyyjn @kejingken @lilbrorufr @lovesickchoi @mrsjohnnysuh @raspberrii @sanscupid @saraalovestxt @soobinieswife @starrynightgyu @starstrucktae @taebatu @taysfairies @tubatukimoa @tyongyuta @usuallyunlikelyfox @verco @vvjolyneee @xylatox @younbeanz @yourenzoo @yunverie 🤍

© delugyu 2025, do not translate or reupload

[theangelstar]

Part 2 analyzing cb characters in a wordy way cause:

2. Buddy (Nox)

First appearance: Episode 1-A Beautiful Maiden

Episodes he's in: A Beautiful Maiden, A Mysterious Key, An Honest Talk, A Leisurely Week, Cinderfella 1, 2 and 3, Silver (mentioned), Rules of Engagement 1 and 2, Flea Market 3 (mentioned), Bronze (mentioned), Toffee Break 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, We Need to Talk About Buddy 1 and 2 (flashback), Beach Boys 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, Dreams by Day (flashback), Sick Day 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, Dreams by Night, All That Glitters 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, Honor Among Thieves 1, 2, 3 and 4, The Book of Deacon (mentioned), Requiem of Blood and Moonlight 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, Friends and Family (mentioned), Still Waters 1 (mentioned), 2, 3 and 4, All Good Things (Season Finale)

General character rate: 100/10

General character analysis: I love Buddy he's my favorite character, you don't even know. From the first time he appeared in this Webtoon, I knew I was gonna love him. And I continued to love him. I love how the more the story goes on Buddy gets more expressional. I love him so much! I love how he is still a "villain" but still continues to worry about Chase. I love how he tries to get Chase's attention later in the webtoon. I love his name, I love everything about him. Call me a Buddy simp because at this point I am.

Buddy in Cinderfella: 9/10

I love how smexy he is in here (he's smexy in all the episodes) but that knife to his neck and that pose...AHHHHHHHHHHHHHhh....I love him so much. He's so extra.

Outfit rating: 7/10

His default outfit, its okay, I love it, its wocky, its Buddy. Thats all that counts.

Buddy in Rules of Engagement: 7/10

All there was was dancing but Buddy and his roasts. Like god damn Buddy.

Buddy in Toffee Break: 10/10

I loved him in this ark. He is so purrrfect to be a kitty, and the fact he loves pets is so funny to me. Time to get the head scratcher.

Outfit rating: 8/10

I love his outfit and his shinies, and that chest window is so yes. And those cat ears are just darling! Also I live how the shoes go from Grey to black.

Buddy in We Need to Talk About Buddy: 9/10

I love him and his urges to pin people to the walls. I think it's to make him feel better about his real height.

Outfit rating: 100/10

This is my favorite outfit of his. Punko I need more of this outfit, although it does look a little hard to draw, hmmm. But I still love it, the crystals are so cool!

Buddy in Beach Boys: 9/10

Okay so he did hit his husband with a spear but that's okay, right guys? This is the ark where I think he started to gain feelings for Chase but it wasn't bad enough where he was like, "Wow I am like so into this guy." Also he try to get Chase's info by talking to him in his sleep which I'm not too stoked about that. Buddy I'm gonna smack you with a newspaper.

Outfit rating: 3/10

This is my least favorite, and its because of 1. it doesn't match Buddy as a character, like where is my guy's shinies. (not making fun of Punko's work, she designed it well I'm just being nit picky) 2. It makes Buddy's chest look really weird. So in the Honor Among Thieves ark, we see Buddy's bare chest and it looks fine. But look at the beach outfit and the other outfit side by side. His chest as we see in the beach outfit does not look the same. And maybe it's because he was skinnier, but I can't wrap my head on how he got from the beach chest to a manly chest. Can Violet somehow alter his appearance?

I just love how the oufit I hate got a full pargraph but the outfits I love are short lol

Buddy in Sick Day: 9/10

I love his concern about Chase. We can tell Buddy gets worried about him in this ark, but tries his best not to show it. There was a small detail when Chase was walking down the stairs, Buddy was behind him making sure he didn't fall. And when Chase is like, "Stop following me!" Buddy acted like he wasn't. Guys don't we love this guy. Also when Chase was running to help Deacon, he didn't have the strength to pull up the ladder, so Buddy ran and helped him. And for some reason, the moment looked so weird to me. I thought it was an adult joke at first, but then again this webtoon is G rated and webtoon I don't think would have any of that. I was watching the reaction Punko vids, and she said nothing about it. Idk why I thought that's what it was for.

Outfit rating: 10/10

When yall were doing the day trend thingies, I saw a lot of people who were not into this outfit, I honestly love it. I forgot the reason people hated it tho. Maybe it was because he had hip windows? Also this outfit is a big indicator for the final which I love btw. I love everything about this outfit. Oh! and those little gem stick ons were so cute and made his eyes look so pretty.

Buddy in All that Glitters: 15/10

Buddy was so cute in this ark! Like him getting embarrassed by a hair complement AHH! Also Buddy's reaction in the first moment he appeared in this ark, was so cute, like, "A-are we not dressing up today?" omg Buddy you cutie.

Outfit rating: 20/10

This outfit is my 2nd fav. I seriously love it so much. It just matches him so well. Violet, I want you to be my 2nd outfit maker. Please! I beg you! Also his hair, omg I could talk about his hair all day if I could. That hair style makes him look older, which is good because he is in his 20s? I believe? Again with the gradient shoes, awesome!

I just came to the realization that if Buddy was real I couldn't date him because that will be illegal...but he is for Chase anyways, so it doesn't matter.

Buddy in Honor Among Thieves: 8/10

In this ark he was okay. Him dancing made me cringe ngl, but I soon got over it. idk. Not much to say about this one I'm afraid. The reason I gave him an 8/10 was because he was so ridiculous in this chapter.

(I am so done typing lol)

Outfit rating: 4/10

Not really anything special. Don't have any negative or positive feeling on this outfit.

Buddy in Requiem of Blood and Moonlight: 10000000000000/10

BUDDY MY POOR BABY!!! AHHHHHH!!! YES CHASE SAVE HIM!!!!! Also did I mention I love jealous Buddy.

Outfit rating: 9/10

VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!VAMPIRE BUDDY!!!

Okay so this outfit was cool, but the shirt looked like it didn't fit him or the pants didn't match. I saw his skin on his sides more times then I can count, which is not healthy, but its hot. The pants just didn't look right with the shirt, I think that's what it is. Idk what pants would tho. The demon tail rapping around his leg is cool.

Buddy in Still Waters: 20/10

My little baby, awww. And he still continues to come to Chase's rescue, double awwww. We also find out he's a key and his name is Nox, finally his name we have been waiting foreverrrrr (even though the finale came out like few or more months ago)

Outfit rating: 7/10

Poor Buddy and his sulking. He lost trust in Chase therefore he lost trust in his chest. What with Buddy and gradients.

Wait I just realized, in A Mysterious Key, he said obnoxious little brat....obNOXious.....hmmmmm

First episode quotes he appears in:

"NOT SO FAST."

"Obnoxious little brat. He just keeps coming."

"Not just. Also arson."

"Pspspspsss..."

"Really? The original Cinderella?"

"Excuse me, Countess..."

"They'll get what's coming to them."

"You're LATE."

"So quick to abandon the plot of the story again, are we?"

"Meeeeow."

"I don't believe my eyes."

"Well, well...where's that other person you brought? Your brother?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Lost your feeble interest in the story? I'm not shocked. But I AM surprised you of all people want to avoid violence."

"Ughh..."

"Well, obviously."

"Finally..."

"Well...what have we HERE..."

"Hmmm hm-mmm..."

"Yes, a BONFIRE, to alert the rescue ship! Not burn down our only shelter!"

"Sigh...what."

"I don't know why you're acting like this I TOLD you it was my goal to fine where you live. Very clearly."

"Well..." (thought)

"Did someone lose an idiot?!"

"Get up. I said, get UP."

"Debatable."

"Generally, walking works better when you're not half-dead."

"Finally. You're awake."

"HUFF"

"A-are we not dressing up today?"

"God, what a little twit."

"Well, well..."

"If your highness has planned it, surely nothing can go wrong."

"I don't believe him!"

"Well, well, WELL..."

"Hahh..."

"All right, I got the wine."

"Mmm...not the whole story, that I know of..."

"Well..."

"Well......isn't it about time you two showed up?"

"Tch. That vampire is so boring. What a dull walk that must've been. If Chase loves vampires so much, how did he not notice I'm one?"

"Pfff...that's ridiculous."

"Fewer. Are you sure this is the best way for him to end this book?"

"BOLD claim of the obvious."

"Ch-chase-"

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW FAR AWAY WE ARE!"

"IT'S TOO LATE FOR THAT NOW! RUN!"

What do you think of Buddy?

[bennyb0i0]

Slashers with a chubby s/o

Some nsfw in a few, reader gets insecure in some, heart emoji!

Characters: Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Brahms heelshire, Billy lenz, Jason Vorhees, pennywise (2017), art the clown, Stitches the clown, Sinclair brothers (separate)

-He don’t care.

-he tolerates you=he loves you. That includes your body. He likes that he can squish you without it hurting too much.

-not much to say for him, because he literally doesn’t say anything at all. Though he DOES like to pick you up if you’re complaining about your weight. It gets his point across that you’re perfect for him.

-little shit.

-literally little too. Scrawny. Fast. He says something backhanded and scitters away like a cockroach before you can give him a whack.

-he pmo so bad I love him so much.

-if you show that you’re hurt he will only be meaner tbh

-you have to cry/give silent treatment before he stops and apologizes.

-don’t accept his bare minimum “im sorry”s either. If you do that, it’s not enough of a punishment, and he’ll keep being mean.

-he loves your body, but He only really shows it during sex when he’s gripping, rubbing and slapping it.

-“I want that one.”

-I feel like he is a chubby chaser, but it just doesn’t register in his head that he is one. He just likes it.

-he is BRICKED watching you bend over and clean. He’s bricked all the time around you.

-he can’t help it though he just loves you so much.

-cuddles are hard because you’re both just so WARM. (This is a problem that will occur in later scenarios too)

-he loves your breasts specifically. He likes being able to rest his head on them. He just likes being held.

-he doesn’t stop calling you piggy bro.

-slaps your ass when he gets the chance. He likes watching it jiggle. You usually hear him giggle and run away after. Don’t chase, he’s already in the attic.

-He REALLY likes your body. Tits, ass, thighs, tummy, ALL of it.

-he’s not as warm as Brahms, so cuddling him isn’t torture. He’s actually pretty chilly. Warm him up. Let him grab your butt. Hand warmer. Please.

-he loves you so bad.

-He isn’t AS scared of breaking you. It’s comforting.

-if you make him food he will literally do anything for you. It reminds him of his mom. You provide and comfort him like she does. He loves you so much.

-he wants to keep you in a little room with your favorite things. He can’t help it!!

-Another one who dont care

-ur his mate.

-literally so neutral idk why i even included him.

-WAIT breeding kink and he talks about your tits okay bye

-little shit #2

-pokes your tummy and runs away. Feels less loving than how billy does it.

-all jokes aside he’s putting you in missionary to watch your boobs jiggle.

-speaking of boobs, he grabs them, squeezes them, and puts his horn in your face while he does it. He’s so funny.

-I couldn’t find a gif for little shit #3

-one night stand turned into him feeling comfortable shoving his face in your “fat fuckin’ tits”

-Nono he’s def a chubby chaser, but also a joke maker.

-please don’t get insecure he’s just a clown

-little shit #4

-totally Im denial about his attraction.

-will tell you to go away just so he can watch your ass as you walk through the door.

-he’s mean, but you get his cock real hard.

-finally a sweet boy

-he thinks you’re a work of art. You know those candles of torsos they sell at those witchy-hippie shops? He has like three of those he MADE based of YOUR body.

-touchy if you’ll let him.

-how could you possibly be insecure with him?

BRO IT WONT LET ME ADD MORE PICS SO THIS IS A DIVIDER AND IM TALKING ABOUT LESTER SINCLAIR NOW

-anyway this is another boy who don’t care

-he’s perverted, but more sweet than anything.

-also picks you up to show that you’re light as a feather!

-he loves you so much he’d kiss your whole body if you’d let him.

[scribephoenixwriting]

Robert Reynolds Character Analysis Part 3: "They can call you whatever they want. Savior. Destroyer. All that matters is what you choose"

This is Part 3 of my Sentry Character analysis. I'm going over all of Bob's major arcs and mapping out a detailed timeline of his psyche.

Part 1

Part 2

Lets Recap:

After finding his footing, Bob is approaching a better place mentally. His heroic persona has, up until this point, been guilt-ridden wish fulfillment, somewhat analogous to a high he's always chasing.

After Civil War though, Sentry changes, and things start looking up for him. He has friends, he's been asked to join the avengers, and he is starting to see himself in a more positive light.

Sentry is becoming less of a character that Bob puts on, and more of just who Bob is. Void has been absent for some time now. He hasn't killed his darkness, hasn't self-destructively fought it off like the other million times, he's just learning to be a better man.

After Ultron kills Sentry's wife (Then subsequently resurrected), she withdraws from the relationship, too afraid of her godlike husband. This leaves Tony Stark, who views Bob as more of a big red button than a person, in charge of Bobs stability.

Hulk, who Bob felt somewhat responsible for, has just declared war on planet earth after the death of his family.

The Illuminati are a group of big brains in the marvel universe who meet in secret and run things behind the scenes. They consist of Dr Strange, Professor X, Reed Richards, Tony Stark, Namor and Black Bolt. Hulk blames the Illuminati for his family's death, and he decides to kill them and possibly destroy the whole world in the process.

But the Illuminati have Tony and Reed, so they have a backup plan should they be unable to defeat him. During an initial scrap with Hulk, avengers tower (And by extension, Sentry's watchtower) is destroyed. Bob has temporary housing in Vermont right now, and notably, he's looking a little different.

He looks rough, and I can't see Lindy anywhere. She might've just been told not to listen in to this conversation, but I personally believe she's not in the same house as Bob at all.

Bob is exhausted, and he doesn't look like Sentry anymore. He's gone back to being weak, skinny, and feeble after Lindy's death, indicating to me that he likely has reverted to a less than healthy mental state. He doesn't want to fight the Hulk, not at all, but Tony and Reed are here, saying they need him, they're saying the Hulk needs him, so he bottles up all those feelings and changes.

Void does the things that Sentry can't. Sentry does the things that Bob can't. Its easy to think that Sentry is cool, powerful, handsome, dreamy, and muscular, so his presence is good, but here, he represents Bob's resignation. He HAS to do this, but he doesn't want to, so he pretends to be the guy that can do anything.

Before actually fighting Hulk, Sentry insists that they try to pacify him with a synthesized version of his golden light.

but it doesn't work. Hulk snaps out of it pretty quickly and turns Mr Fantastic into a pancake. I think that the light isn't the thing that makes the hulk calmer, the light is just associated with Sentry. It was ALWAYS the companionship Sentry could provide, the kindred spirits that they were.

But Sentry is paranoid. He's scared. He's guilty, since last time he and Hulk spoke, Hulk got hurt by the Void. If Sentry showed up here for real, maybe they could've talked, maybe, but he didn't. Bob let him down.

While they try this, Sentry is sitting on his couch, watching. He's hoping to god that he doesn't need to go fight his friend, but everyone is saying that this is the heroic thing to do now, since the light didn't work. Hulk is HIS responsibility. To Bob, he always has been.

Tony must be sharing his notes, because now, suddenly, everyone knows how to push Bob's buttons. Sentry is Bob's heroic persona, he's supposed to do the good thing. Ever fiber of Bobs being is trying not to fight Hulk, but everyone else is telling him that they're depending on Sentry to save the day like he always does. Remember, Sentry is so strong to take the burdens off of Bob's shoulders, therefore, he HAS to be willing to fight Hulk. More than happy. To protect Bob, Sentry needs to be gleeful about it.

Its jarring, seeing Sentry go from hiding in his home to enthusiastically beating Hulk up, but it makes sense when you consider how Bob is justifying things to himself. He KNOWS Sentry is doing something he shouldn't be here, so instead, he has to fall back on Sentry's other purpose. Wish fulfillment and self-punishment.

The Void can do a myriad of things. He can shapeshift, he's got tendrils, he can teleport, he can manipulate. Why can't Sentry do any of that? This is why. Bob wants to be able to take hits and dish them out, its the simplest, most gratuitous form of satisfaction he can achieve.

So, Sentry gets to have a little power trip here. He gets to hit something hard, just once, without caring about the surrounding city. He practically destroys new york in this fight, its crazy. But he also gets hit. he doesn't dodge, block, parry, or fly around. Every punch Hulk throws, he just eats.

Because he KNOWS he deserves it right now. And fucking duh. Sentry loses control. He gets lost in the high of this fight, he can't stop, even though he's lighting setting everything ablaze. This isn't the Void, this is Sentry at his lowest, burning his brightest. He's not trying to be anything other than a punching bag to feel better about this, about Lindy, about how much of a screw-up he is.

But this is Hulk he's fighting. They know each other, they're kindred spirits. If anyone can snap Sentry out of this, its the person who Sentry is responsible for. His big green son.

This matters so much. This is incredibly important. Hulk gets it. He understands. Just like how it was Sentry's job to reign the Hulk in, the Hulk can tell Bob exactly what he needs to hear.

This whole arc, Bob has been struggling. He has a responsibility to Hulk and the people of new york. He has a responsibility to keep the void at bay. He needs to atone. He needs to feel strong. He needs to live up to Tony's words. He needs to be the strongest. He needs to be someone he doesn't believe he is.

I believe that Bob is a good person. In fact, I think that despite what a lot of others think, I believe that he was the right person to get his hands on the golden serum. All that power would corrupt anyone, even Captain America. Imagine having the power to be right about anything. Imagine if Cap had the power to end Civil War in a day, even if he was correct about most of it. Imagine what would happen if Aunt May died and spider man could wipe out cities in an instant. This is the power of the Sentry, the power to kill anyone on earth by wanting them dead, the only person worthy of that power is someone who whole heartedly believes that it would be better in someone else's hands.

"They can call you whatever they want. Savior. Destroyer. All that matters is what you choose"

And Hulk tells Bob that he doesn't need to be the hero that everyone else wants him to be. That he isn't the Void, that he isn't the Sentry. In a way, Hulk forgives Bob for hurting him as Void. None of that matters.

"You don't need to be the guy that Tony insists you almost are. You aren't the sum of your worst parts. You aren't at the mercy of the Void or the Sentry, you're you. You CAN be a hero, you just have to be one"

So two things. First of all, I think that Sentry powered down of his own volition here. I think he could've won if he wanted to. I also think Hulk wasn't fighting at full power. Sentry purposely turned back into Bob, but Hulk was holding back, and was forced to turn into Banner. Personally, I think that Sentry can't lose, why would your perfect idealized self ever be able to. If he goes down in a fight, its because Bob lost the will to continue fighting. Bob can lose, but Sentry can't.

We see here that Bob thanks Hulk. This was good for Bob. He got to let off some steam and he was reigned back in from another episode. Who knows what would've happened if Sentry just kept going from here, or if he accidentally killed Hulk. But at the same time, Bob has turned back into Bob, and not only that, the injuries have carried over. Bob is still blaming himself, and not only that, he's allowing Sentry's punishments to carry over.

World War Hulk comes to a close with Bob in a strange headspace. He's still reliant on his friends, he's still a little unstable, but he's also still in the avengers, and eventually, back in the Watchtower, is living with his wife again.

Bob mostly keeps his bucket from tipping for a lot of Mighty Avengers, but its worth noting that in issue #10, he gets transported back in time and immediately begins to spiral.

Not only that, but in the past, he sees the Void (accurate to the time period they're in) and has a panic attack like immediately. I find it interesting that Sentry can fight the Void if he knows he's coming in advance, but if he's surprised, Bob will shut down and often run away entirely.

Back then, Void seems to be just a villain. He wasn't some world ending threat. Things were simpler. Even in the past, though, both are Bob, he's able to be in two places at once without much issue. He needs Iron-Man to calm him down, but he's obviously still shaken by it. I think that Bob locks in because he has to here, but would've greatly benefited from a break to screw his head back on.

After this, Sentry doesn't get a lot of panel-time aside from basically embarrassing Dr Doom. It's pretty minor, but once again, here's Tony's bullet mentality coming out in full swing.

Sentry has just seen the Void. He's had a bit of a panic about it, but things are mostly okay. This is recoverable, but as a super-hero, he's obligated to respond to the next worldwide crisis. And it sucks that the next attack would be a psychological one.

Secret invasion (2008) is a big deal. The seeds have been sown for a long time, and now its coming out in full swing. The Skrulls, an army of shape-shifting aliens, are finally going forward with their plan, intent on taking over the avengers and the world. They've copied select members of the super-hero community, and no one is sure who can be trusted. Not only that, but they know Bob's weakness is his mind.

(Mighty Avengers #14) In order to force their most powerful enemy off the battlefield, the Skrulls pretend that the currently raging battle is his own fault. We've established that when he's surprised, Bob will run away, so a blindside like this is the perfect strategy, especially right after Bob was reminded of the Void a few issues ago.

This is everything he had feared and more. This is the worst case scenario. The void wasn't gone, he was just hiding, scheming. Not only that, but the skrulls are playing on his genuine emotions here. In some way, Bob knows this is possible because he might feel a slight resentment for the heroes forgetting him.

The glass shatters, and Bob flies away.

Off to space, where nobody can hurt him. Give him some time to think.

God. I'm sorry Bob. The entire world (Including avengers tower) is under attack by Skrulls right now and he thinks its his fault. He got comfortable, he was happy. Things were getting better and this is his rightful punishment. He shuts down completely, even though he knows his friends need him. Sentry is there to protect Bob, remember? Bob simply cannot handle the idea that he's the cause of all this. How could he?

Still, that doesn't change the fact that new york is in danger.

Sentry stops Bob from feeling guilt, and down there, its all Bob's fault. No amount of saving people is going to make him feel any better. They're attacking the avengers. They're attacking his home, where his wife is right now. Bob cannot go down there, but he needs to save Lindy, needs to do something. He isn't going to let her die again.

The Void didn't cause all this, and only one person knows that. If Sentry can't do it, then Void can.

First of all, this is the version of Void that inspired his look in The New Avengers film. It works so well.

Bob is Void. Void is Sentry. Sentry is Bob. Even if Void represents all of Bob's intrusive thoughts and hatred, he is still Bob. The Void is the opposite of the Sentry, so if Sentry is happy to stay in space and do nothing, Void will intervene. Personally, I believe that Sentry is still up there. Bob has the ability to be in multiple places at once as we know, and we saw a second shadow up there by the rings of Saturn. They've swapped places.

This is the moment that Bob snapped. Secret Invasion broke him. The deception can be cleared up. He can be assured that it wasn't his fault, and that they were lying to him, but Bob can never be certain that anything is real ever again. How would he know if all his friends are secret imposters, how could he know that the Void won't punish them, now that the idea has come to him.

But most importantly, Bob has to consider this:

"The Void touched my wife. The Void saved Lindy. What will he do next time"

The Void defends New York from the Skrull invasion, and Lindy survives. This is the last we see of this particular encounter, so one can assume that everything really is okay, and eventually Bob just comes back as normal. If Lindy wasn't a shell of a person before, she certainly is now.

But Secret invasion does something else. The public loses faith in superheroes. They lose faith in Tony, and as a result, Tony loses the tower; purchased by Norman Osborn thanks to newfound trust the public has in him. We are about to move into the darkest time Sentry has ever endured, wherein the avengers are underground, and Bob has no friends or support in the whole world.

Except Norman Osborn, of course.

Stay tuned for Part 4. The return of the Void, and Sentry's time in the Dark Avengers.

[rhea-is-bored-again]

UGH WHY have I not found your blog before 👹👹👹👊👊 you can probably guess who I am bc of the spam likes on your posts but yk.. I LITERALLY LOVE YOU WTF WHY ARE THESE SO CUTE

Would you mind if I request a Darry x singer reader <33 just a lil dabble in something with a theatrey S/O with him and his brothers coming to watch one of her shows would be fun. Tysm, no pressure at all<3 have a lovely day

YES OFC and tysm you're literally so sweet. lmao i love the spam likes tho it makes me so happy 😀

anyways here you go!

front lines

as darry watched the actors prance around on stage, his eyes were on you the whole time.

you'd gotten a pretty big part in the community play and been practicing at darry's place like crazy.

he knew your sung lines were coming up, and he felt his heart skip and his stomach flip as he heard your heavenly voice ring out suddenly, making the crowd erupt in cheers as everyone else went quiet onstage to hear you bless them with song.

sodapop was bouncing excitedly in his seat on darry's left, shaking his arm and whispering "glory look at y/n!"

ponyboy on his right just stared at the stage in awe, smiling. it was like a movie to him, just more real.

as the song ended and the theatre erupted in applause again, darry couldn't help but catch you eye, to which you gave him a soft wink.

the next few minutes were speaking lines, and darry couldnt help but admire at how into it you were. you were so in character, so...in your element.

it made him happy to see you do your little thing.

once the show ended, there was a roar of applause and cheers as the actors came out to hold hands and bow.

he spotted you smiling and he mirrored it, feeling a happy feeling in his chest as his brothers on either side of him bounced around and clapped.

after the actors had been released, darry stuck around by the back of the theatre, a small bouquet of flowers in his hand.

he found you smiling and sweaty: stage makeup running down the side of your neck, mic tape on your cheek (because it only sticks when the mic is gone 😔) , and strands of hair falling out of your hairstyle. yet he thought you'd never looked more beautiful.

"you came!" you say, as if he wouldnt have. he smiled and handed you the flowers pressing a kiss to your lips.

"did great out there, sweetie." was all his dignity allowed him to say, when he really wanted to fangirl over you like his brothers were doing right now.

you giggled as soda fawned over you and ponyboy gave you a hug.

"cmon, what do yall think about dinner out?"

you all immediately agreed, especially since it was rare that yall ate out.

darry snuck you another shy smile, to which you returned with another kiss as the brothers went ahead to get seated in the car.

"like the show?"

"loved it." 'cause my baby was in it.

a/n: reblog if ur a theatre kid!! (i was once veronica in heathers and janice in mean girls. comment yalls roles!!)

[cloudedcreams]

Can we have a yandere who fell in love with reader because she was quiet and gave off the air of some sort of elegant princess or something while also being kind (because she'd look out for the people around her without expecting anything in return, and that includes him. And him being the oily haired, awkward, friendless little freak he is couldn't help but latch onto her), but when he starts stalking her/befriends her (or both), he learns that she's actually really fucking talkative and highkey autistic? As in, stims a lot (constantly fiddling with objects, making strange noises, clapping, shaking her head or the classic, flapping her hands) or info-dumping or poor regulation of vocal volume because he finds her at a point where she's relaxed and no longer masking!

And I say "she" or princess", but if you so please, you can definitely make it gender neutral. I just use feminine pronouns because I'm a girl.

I'm hesitant to write this request though since some authors are hesitant to write neurodivergent characters if they have no prior knowledge, so it's okay to ignore this request <3 I completely understand the discomfort of writing something so unfamiliar. Or, you don't necessarily have to diagnose reader with anything, and simply write them off as someone that acts vastly different when they're relaxed and is free from judgement.

If it's not obvious, I'm an autistic mascot🥰 (dubbed by my friend, lol).

I was going to do this anonymous but then I realised that cringe is dead and I've requested for worse things. Shyent represents!!!

Also, is it embarrassing that I made 2 requests in a day? But then again, how many of y'all are making several requests anonymously🤨

But also, I talk too much!! So additionally, hi, you like jazz? (what's your favourite song this month)

...Atp, you should actually just ignore me.

i love hearing people yap like this lowk lit my soul up a bit like this is so cool of you. you’re epic. 😾

my favourite song this month… ‘nope youre too late i already died’. obsessed with it from the moment it was released last month and after his suicide. literally crazy oh my days, i was so heartbroken </3 rip wifi skeleton. ❤️‍🩹 🕊️

cringe doesn’t exist, i have a fucking yandere blog i genuinely do not judge people at all. PLEASEEE never be shy with requests like i promise you i love hearing the amazing ideas people come up with. and when i tell you waaah this one filled me with joy.

i’m all too pleased to write about an autistic character! …i am… also… autistic! 😂 boo! did the autism scare you! 😂

okay that was genuinely so unfunny it feels like an inside joke but it’s not idk what possessed me to write that oh my days yk that trend where people think autism is all cool and silly, yeah.

on a real note, i received my diagnosis years ago and oh lord 🤦🏾‍♀️. living hell. i’ve become a lot more comfortable being myself and i don’t see it as a negative thing at all. gives me an excuse to use my special interest as a reason for excessive merch and i adore info dumping. autism definitely isn’t the ‘funsies’ that a lot of shitty social media pages try to make it seem like, but i could never see it as anything less than a blessing either. <3

anyways ahahshs corny rant im so tired im deadass gonna crash ill try to have this out tmrw. bonne nuit.💝

[randomrory69]

THANKS TO THIS POST I FOUND OUT There's ANOTHER FANDOM RELATED TO ANGELS + ANALOG HORROR- I WAS SO EXCITED WHEN I SAWWWW THISSSS- HEHRHE AAS AN ANGELOGY NERD I ABSOLUTELY LOVE GAMES/NOVELS OR ANY MEDIA RELATED TO ABRAHAMIC MYTHOLOGY- AND WELL, OBVIOUSLY IM OBSESSED WHEN IT TURNS INTO SOMETHING MORE DARK AND TWISTED AND THERE'S RELIGIOUS/CATHOLIC TRAUMA/GUILT INVOLVED. I was shooked when I saw that the mc Or main villainn... (Who knows :OO) uri, shared the same name as my oc, HWRHWHR but vruhman. I just saw the series rn on yt only. I mean, the idea and plot of the series was REALLY interesting, and it lowkey gave me IHNMAIMS vibes for some reason. But I gotta say despite the fact that it uses AI to execute it's art, it's still mid asf... Sadly... I was dissatisfied and disappointed with the first 10 swconds only and got bored uhrm

There's MANYY reasons for this tho :( cuz I actually found out the creator used a craploada doctor nowhere art and shoved it into their ai thingy. No wonder uri looks so much like the boiled one phenomenon. 2. The constant use of creepy ahh soundtracks in the background, like lavender town- I feel it's trying WAYYY too hard to look scary- 3. Man, why did they steal the "GOD IS HERE" Chorus from squirrel stapler >:O and 4. Inconsistent art, because at first I thought the ugly ahh melted tar looking mf at the start was a whole different character. I mean sure dude was tortured in the most agonizing ways possible but it looks like a whole new creature. And yeah, I know AI isnt the best at keeping their chracter designs constant but STILLLLUHH. ThEN JUST HIRE ACTUAL ARTISTS?? CLUGH COYGH WELL GET 2 THAT And yeah. The ai voices.. Augh.. They haunt me. I hate the part where he says "save.me."

And the most important reason- it's confusing as hell. No. I know an analog series won't straight up reveal it's lore to the dramatic effects blah blah wtver but like, why is the plot always changing? I dont get it. Whos the jug is even the mc- and the little cyber desert apocalyptic world seems wayyy too..overused.. And not fun. And also. The prophecy stated archangel uriel will be CAPTURED by humans to be used as a living powerbank. So why did uriel go down there WILLINGLY to help them? Did he not know what's going on? Was he just naïve as heck? Because the dialogues heavily implied that he actually did know that, and he didn't feel that much pain while being tortured and still loves the humans. Which was pretty sad. Maybe he just didn't show it...

BUT other than that. I've also heard sm very good news. the creator said they'll be hiring ACTUAL REAL ARTISTS (AYYAYAYWYAY) since the series was actually getting popular. And due to the well, hateee.. But there's also another bad thing cuz people who were actually very skilled artists said they'll be willing to even draw for them for free :( which welp didn't seem reaaaally fair to me ig but man, if this series actually gets fixed in the other episodes it's gonna be absolute cinema.... AND POOR URIEL I FEEL SO BAD FOR THE LIL FELLER AUEUEUEGH EVEN AFTER ALL THIS. HOW CAN HE STILL LOVE HUMANITY- he's either a masochist, or is secretly planning something like calling literal God down to punish the humans (idk) or well..maybe he can't feel pain actually. I gotta watch like a craploadaa game theory vids to understand the lore- Nd I have no right to hate or complain too much about the series when I haven't even understood it yet. It can be good if I try hard enough to make it in my mind (delulubehaviourcoughcougj)

BUTTT ANYWAYAYSH I'm gonna draw this scrunkle too now hehe I'm debating on whether to draw him with my other uriel oc- or like gabe from mandela catalogue- or like, gabriel from ultrakill- or like, azazel from helltakerrrr but whar if I MAKE THEMMM MEEET TOGETHERRR :OOOO LIKE AN INSANE CROSSOVER EPISODE AHHSHEHEHEHHEHA

Man I'm going insane

I LOVE ARCHANGELS WGFHAJNKZ❤🖤❤💜💙💚🤎❣️🤍❤‍🩹🤍❤‍🔥❤‍🔥💞💝🤍❣️🤍💜❤💜❤💚🤎🤍❤‍🔥💘❤‍🔥❣️🤍🤎🤍💘🤍💖💞💗💖💞💗💞💘🤍💜💕💙❤

The disappointing thing about Angel engine, besides the obvious shit with the AI, is that I normally would have loved it. If it was any good.

I am a sucker for horror that uses angels or religion. But if we removed the AI from the picture, it is still lackluster. The execution is poor, it's just spelling out everything without an ounce of subtlety. And the voices, which are also AI, are a pain to listen to. The first episodes are just the weird wispy voice going "How to (blank). Step one-".

The idea of humanity using an angel, a divine being who only desires to help them, as a battery when the world is almost destroyed, is a good one. But the way Angel engine goes about it is ??? It's public information that they're torturing a literal angel? And this doesn't cause public outrage, even though the first episode established that people of all religions prayed for salvation. You're telling me religious people wouldn't take issue with a corporation torturing one of gods creations?

I like the idea of Angel engine, but not the series itself. Uriel by himself has potential, and he is the only thing I like that's come out of the series. But I like the version of him I have in my mind.

[nyhti]

I'm watching Atom Man vs. Superman and using it's version of Lex to work on my own design of him

[lilybug-02]

Eimmet High...temmiE high. OMG!

Part 28 || First || Previous || Next

--Full Series--

Next update may take...much longer! I have finals and an internship and not to mention I have to draw- A LOT :')

[corseque]

what strikes me

about the family's anger toward her feeling hollow - it really didn't for me... Aline said something interesting to me, it was something like, "You defied me, and now Verso is dead." which I think is the harshest thing anyone actually says directly to Maelle in the whole game, and it's a horrible thing to say to your teenage daughter............. but it is likely literally true. She is the Mother but she was also the head of the Painter's Council at the time. And none of the four characters who know the truth of what happened (Alicia, Aline, Renoir and Clea, and I think maybe even Painted Verso) even slightly push back against the thought that Alicia blames herself. They all know that it was her fault in some way, and it's that exact truth in the situtation that is part of what Maelle wants escape from. The more reasonable way Renoir and Clea also accept her guilt in the situation is very interesting to me, like they're both like "you just have to accept what happened and learn and grow from it." I think it's a little bit a different direction to absolve her of the guilt she feels just because she's a teenager when her character story is torn between avoidance and stagnancy vs growth and change.

It is very interesting that the game also includes that beautiful "you will always be our princess" speech from her MOTHER, who was painted by Aline, her mother... which I think is meant to communicate how her mother truly feels about her, when her mother is not in the depths of grief.

I actually don't think there's a drop in quality for the two of them in Act 3 - by far their most emotional and complex scenes are in their final character missions. And that's actually a wrinkle in my theory, because idk if they should be capable of that much depth when painted by Maelle.

And it's difficult to describe my feelings about their relationship toward Maelle, because it's a strange feeling that I have that's kind of based on vibes, and I'm not sure that the narrative was being explicit about it. it's a bunch of little things that make it feel strange to me, like their insistence that she's the one who takes the sword to break the barrier... and especially the part where they learn she's a Paintress but their relationship with her doesn't seem to change or evolve at all. So I'm just talking really generally that I think it's a rule in the story that Maelle can't be changed by the people in the canvas, she can only change THEM while remaining stagnant and safe herself.

I REALLY like the reversal of expectation that the Evil Family are actually the ones being remarkably reasonable and loving to her, while we never hear Lune or Sciel talk about how their decision to expell Renoir and depend on Maelle's powers will kill the girl. Like Sciel says, she would sacrifice Verso in a heartbeat if it meant she got her family back, so that probably also applies to Maelle.

I think that, whether she even wants to or not, Maelle herself also thinks of them as less real than she did before she recovered her memories as well.

I also keep thinking about how while Maelle is doping herself up inside the Canvas, the Writers may slaughter the rest of her family and then destroy the painting anyway, so what she's doing isn't helpful to even the people in the canvas either.

This is just a suspicion that I have that I would need to play the game again to test.

In another thing I was thinking about:

I also think about how everyone on Reddit goes on and on about the people in the Canvas being just as real and worthy of life... and I agree, but they stop at the REALLY juicy question that should come up, which is - so when SHOULD a canvas die? is the ONLY ethical or acceptable answer to this problem that everyone in every Canvas should always be completely immortal and untouched by trouble or sorrow forever, with all their sacrifices and deaths reversed?

The truth of the matter in the story of the universe, the life of the Canvas is actually finite when it is painted in the first place. No canvas will last forever beyond time, SIMPLY BECAUSE the Painter who painted them cannot live forever beyond time. The Canvas' natural and reasonable lifetime is tied, in my opinion, to the painter, otherwise the Painter's soul cannot be whole and rest in peace. This is arguably confirmed to me with Monoco's talks with Verso - Monoco only wants for Verso's soul to rest in peace, and for Verso to be reborn someday. It's remarkable to me that the only TRUE ORIGINAL inhabitants of the canvas are extremely accepting of the canvas passing, and it's only the ones created by Aline that seem troubled and can't accept it, maybe because they're tied to Aline and so they're still tied to a living artist and stuck in a dying world..?

It gets very metaphorical and complicated because... I always think about how when an artist dies in our real world, the entire universe of art and creation, a lifetime of memories and love within them dies as well. And how we (in real life) can't even begin to picture the entire universes of possibility that are lost with the life of a single artist. And when you start to try to continue the same painting, or continue a piece of art that a dead artist left behind, it's always a bit like puppetry, or it's not the same art. Their art died with them, and it will never return, and new art is not possible.

So it feels correct to me that, on a level that is based on my feelings about art and death in real life, and my feeling about Clair Obscur as a fictional story, that the lives of the beings in the canvas would also metaphorically and literally and story-wise end with the death of the artist.

And then you think - or Reddit says - if they are simply destined to die or end, it cannot possibly be moral to paint them in the first place? If you aren't prepared to forever prop up the fictional worlds you create as a painter, then you should never paint anything

But the story also goes into THAT as well, with all of the women who speak about how they never had children because they don't want to give life to someone who is destined to die. And "it is better to lose a rock than never have a rock in the first place" (not sure of the wording). So to me, the story is deliberately opening these ideas AND giving closure to them as well. And I think there may be different interpretations, but I had a very strong opinion at the end

Painting is not immoral, because it is better to have painted than to have never painted. Verso's painting was dead the moment that he died, and the family's efforts to paint into it were all travesties like when anyone tries to paint into a dead artist's painting in real life. Your brother has died, and you must accept it. Art cannot live in a living way beyond an artist, and so the people in the Canvas have a very different but equally natural death that is tied to the Canvas creator, and railing against it is futile. It is not a matter of the people in the canvas being "real" or "fake" because they are obviously real - it is a matter of whether they are dead or alive within the lifespan of their artist, because that feels like the natural end point. To me, it is very sad but necessary to accept that they too, are already dead in the game about grief. The sad part are the people painted by Aline that must die prematurely because they were painted into an already "dead" canvas, but even if they were painted into another canvas in the first place, they would be tied to the mortal soul of Aline.

And I think that is emphasized by the major painted characters dying on screen, and that being denied. No matter what Maelle does, her brother AND the people in the painting are dead.

I'm sure there are other answers that you could come too, but this one feels like it involves the least amount of suffering and the healthiest and most grounded in real life reaction to the reality of death.

I adore that a "correct" answer you can come to at the end of this game is yes, the world should be destroyed. Because all things eventually die. That is, I think, why they portrayed Verso as suffering in his endless immortality... we don't want that for the canvas. Denying death always leads to unnecessary suffering for everyone.

and THAT's why I think when people on Reddit say "they needed to make the 3rd act more about them accepting the people in the painting as people" they're trying to change one theme for another, because this theme is about the acceptance or denial of death. The people in the canvas are already dead, their lives literally had a countdown they knew about. Their railing against the countdown of their own death felt correct because that is a natural thing to feel, but it actually goes contrary to the theme, and that is why the ending where they all live forever feels so hollow and horrifying. The expeditioners were uknowingly fighting for the exact thing that the "horrible villain" Painted Renoir was fighting for. You slowly realize how actually horrible it sounds when Maelle brings someone back to life in battle and has a voice line that says "You can't die yet."

When CAN they die? When SHOULD they die? If you rail against death and don't accept it, don't you just cause your own death in another, worse way? The death of stagnation and the death of never looking outside yourself?

You can accept death and truly live, or deny death and die inside yourself forever.

Anyway, that's part of how I feel about it. A story about grief and art and what happens to the universe of art within the artist when they die. I might change my mind if I remember different details.

another clair obscur spoiler thought that might be wrong because I would need to do another playthrough

it really strikes me that the first real world character that you speak to and have an exchange with is Aline at the end of act 2!!

Every character who speaks to Maelle before that is in some way a creation of Aline. And what is very interesting is how the ONLY criticism that Maelle ever goes through is when she's speaking to people from the real world.

When I played the game, I found the criticism from her family to be harsh, but watching the scenes again, I think the only ones that sound actually cruel still are some of the things her mother says, but even those, I think the cruelest things are things Maelle/Alicia SAYS that her mother thinks of her, not anything we actually see or hear the mother actually saying outright.

Clea especially, after hearing her really caring advice that she gives to Maelle/Alicia if you get to the top of the Endless Tower where she advises Maelle to follow her heart... her tough impatience feels different on rewatch too. She's just in mourning and her personality is sharp and she's a little condescending, but she talks about loving Verso and she compliments Maelle when she hides the painting well. She's just a normal person with her own priorities and battles. The father as well.

But none of the painted characters in the painting act even a little irrationally cruel in their grief toward Maelle when the act 1 spoiler happens. They always act extremely loving toward her, and you think that it's just a found family thing, but then you start to wonder about - like she would still have Painter powers that she could use to influence the people around her to love her. I remember there's certain lines that Lune etc say that imply Of Course They Love Maelle, almost like it's maybe something they have been painted to do, maybe just by Maelle being around them. This could also explain why Maelle wanted to get away from Lumiere as a child...? To get to somewhere real? (She is such a complicated character, I need to think about it more)

But anyway, there's SOMETHING about how the only people who seem to talk to her in a normal, real and even slightly critical way are her family with real lives and real concerns that exist outside of her....? And then this seems to be supported by the ending where she has painted Lune and Sciel to wear the exact same clothes as each other, styled the same (even though when the two were created by Aline, they had very unique fashion senses).

I've seen people call Renoir's painting of Alicia cruel and unflattering and Maelle speaks as if he doesn't understand her in his painting ("I get vertigo" she says), but imo it's genuinely such a true and heartbreaking depiction of her, like he sees her truly for who and what she is and I think he painted her accurately. It's literally a portrait of her in the last frame of the Alicia ending, stuck in place and not working on anything or even moving at all.

Like I think it was purposefully done in the story that the real people that she actually knows in her family can give her insight into herself that will help her grow and change, while she cannot get pushback or growth from the paintings....?

[bacchuschucklefuck]

LIVING for your ponytail Yugi he’s so cute 😭💖

thank u! i hold dear in my heart the way yuugi is like a little plushie that wants nothing more than to die a noble death

[arolesbianism]

Sometimes I just look at Isabeau and just know that if isat came out and I got into it when I was like 16 he would be my favorite character and I would've gone absolutely buck wild over this man and feel like he was laser targeting me. But alas Odile has a grip of steel on me rn due to her virtue of being a middle aged woman

[bleaksqueak]

Insomnia is letting up off and on, but I'm still super jelly brained from it case in point, I want to continue back with posting WIPs for the aired pages, but I can't remember what page I left off on now lmao (guess I'll have to dig through my blog to check... eesh. at least it's decently organized by tags?) Not a result of goo brain, really, but equally "AUGH" is that I let my screen protector go for too long without replacing it and now it's slick as snot and I don't have a replacement handy to put on it. This isn't a resulting consequence of goo brain but it does mean I'm going to be trying to draw without any traction while I'm already loopy. Good times ahead!