#maybe ask him a few very important questions about a few very interesting songs like catapult and the jewellers hands and golden trunks??

[perfectly-clear-from-here]

i swear to jesus, his mother and all the angels in fecking heaven if ONE more alex turner x reader oneshot comes up on my feed i'm going to go BALLISTIC. that man does not need me, he needs a lad sculpted by the gods with incredible guitar skills to throw him around till the sun comes up. preferably by the name of miles kane.

[brazilian-vampyra]

៹ ☆ MUSIC TO FUCK TO ! ꞌꞋ ࣪

(english)

⟡— synopsis: songs that jujutsu characters would listen to while having sex with you.

⟡— characters: nanami kento, gojo satoru, geto suguru, choso kamo, ryomen sukuna and toji fushiguro.

⟡— warnings: raw sex (please use condoms), rough sex, breeding kink, dacryphilia, oral, fingering, male dom, praising kink, hair pulling, degradation kink, alcohol use (only mentioned), size kink, fem!reader.

˛ 𓏲࣪ 𝗡𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗠𝗜 𝗞𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗢 𖹭︐

IT IS COMMON SENSE to agree that this man exudes elegance and luxury, in addition to having refined taste — despite his life as a salaryman.

Kento likes to enjoy quality time where he can relax and rest listening to something peaceful, real music for his discerning ears. So he bought a rustic record player in a vintage store that had opened downtown. With that, he could leave the music boxes and headphones aside, enjoying the various vinyls that were on the shelf in his living room.

He loves jazz and blues.

It was a peaceful Friday night, and his apartment was quiet, with the record player playing. You just had a few glasses of wine and enjoyed some cuddling on the black leather sofa. But every time you took a sip of the expensive wine, the contents seemed to go down your throat and straight to your legs.

It seems that your favorite blonde felt the same way, and it didn't take long for the innocent late-night caresses to evolve into heated, intimate touches.

Now you were in the bedroom. Your back was on the comfortable mattress and your hands gripped the silk sheets as your boyfriend held your legs on his shoulders. He held on tight, moving his hips against you. Your clothes were scattered around the house and you were completely surrendered to the heat, feeling it hit your core perfectly.

Nanami's hoarse moans were mixed with the sensual notes of "Sometimes I'm Right" by Hubert Sumlin.

The blonde held your legs, close to the knees, at the end of your thighs, keeping you still so he could be more precise with his hips. His beautiful eyes seemed to look into your soul, intoxicated by the growing desire that made your heart race. The dim orange light from the bedside lamp shone on his athletic body, giving you a perfect view of those muscles.

━━ B-Babe... please... stop torturing me... — you asked in a plea, for him to move his hips faster.

A hoarse, sarcastic soft laugh left his lips.

━━ Oh kitten, you have to stop being so hasty... — he placed a hot, sensual kiss on your ankle. ━━ You know me, you know I like to taste every little part of you...

This was an absolute truth. For him, it didn't matter if the sex was going to be slow and sensual or rough and fast. The most important thing was to be able to enjoy every last second with you in that intimate moment.

At a certain point he moved his hips a little further and then thrust in quickly, all at once. This time you cried out in pleasure.

━━ Always being a good girl, taking my cock so fucking well...

This blonde was madly in love with you.

[...]

˛ 𓏲࣪ 𝗚𝗢𝗝𝗢 𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗨 𖹭︐

WE CAN ALL AGREE that this man is one of the most promiscuous on Earth, right?

The strongest have a very strong sexual aura, and all women — even some men — wondered what it must be like to sleep with Satoru. That was a question you never wondered for long, as he had developed a notable interest in you.

He can make jokes all day long, he can take some situations in a more playful way and all that stuff, but when it comes to sex he is super serious. Although life seems simple for the strongest sorcerer in the world, he gets stressed about a lot of things on a daily basis, and there is no one who can help him relieve all of that as well as you can.

You've already fucked in many places, listening to the most varied artists, but in more intimate moments there is a specific artist that he likes to listen to more than the others: Two Feet.

Maybe it was because of the melodic tone, or the acidic guitar notes, or even his engaging voice, but Gojo loved listening to him.

Now you are in the bathroom, listening to "Love Is a Bitch".

Your back was against the tiled wall, and the ideal temperature hot water ran down your bodies, while your boyfriend held your thighs, getting support so he could thrust his hips slowly. You moaned against each other's parted lips, and he sucked your lower lip shamelessly. The steam from the hot water filled the room, along with your moans and the sounds of this sensual melody.

Although the sex wasn't rough this time, it was slow and deep. He could make your mind go wild by moving his hips like that.

━━ Hell yeah, babe... that feels so fucking good...

He groaned in your ear, hiding his face in the crook of your neck as he slid his hands down to your ass and squeezed.

━━ I can't get enough of you- ugh! S-Satoru... please...

Hearing this he bit the sensitive skin on your neck, making you whimper louder. He felt the soft taste of the chamomile soap that he had rubbed over your body with a soft sponge a few minutes ago.

You didn't let this go unpunished and brought a hand to the back of his neck, grabbing the wet white strands, pulling a little, making those piercing blue eyes look into your irises. A mischievous smile was plastered on his lips.

━━ You'll be the death of me someday...

The sorcerer wasn't lying every time he said you were his strongest weakness.

[...]

˛ 𓏲࣪ 𝗚𝗘𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗨𝗚𝗨𝗥𝗨 𖹭︐

THIS MAN IS much more reclusive when it comes to his particularities. But you noticed that he was almost always smoking around, while wearing his headphones and having black strands of hair thrown across his face.

Maybe it was hard to tell what he liked to hear, he was so quiet. His voice was soft, he wasn't as "scandalous" as Gojo Satoru, Geto was always a guy who had his own vibe. However, he really liked listening to rock, especially alternative and indie.

You started getting closer when he saw you in the park, it was summer and you were under his favorite tree, reading a book you had gotten from the library and listening to some music on your headphones. He had no problem "sharing" his favorite space with someone else.

There was the beginning of your friendship with that beautiful boy with siren eyes. And it didn't take long for this friendship to evolve into a beautiful relationship — thanks to a little help from Satoru.

It was now a rainy afternoon in the city, not as cold as it seemed. You were lying on his bed, your panties were probably on top of some random pillow and he had his head buried between your legs. Drops of rain wet the window glass and you saw the wind ruffle the leaves of the trees, but you couldn't pay much attention while he was eating you out.

There was something very addictive about your pussy, something that not even he could say what it was, but he was on his knees for it. Literally.

"Knee Socks" by the band Arctic Monkeys was playing.

You were wearing one of Geto's shirts, which had the fabric pulled up, exposing your stomach and breasts. White socks that reached just above your knee covered your legs, which were draped over his shoulders.

━━ Uhmm... this pussy is so fucking delicious, darling — he groaned against your body, while his skillful tongue worked on you.

Suguru's soft lips also moved in sync, making you want to close your legs. You pressed your thighs against his head and you could feel him smile against your sensitive skin. Immediately those big cold ringed hands of his went to the sides of your thighs, squeezing a little and holding them open so he could rub his face there.

━━ S-Suguru! Yes, babe! Yes!

You screamed slyly, taking a hand to his soft, long black hair, squeezing and pulling a little. He really liked that and would never deny it.

━━ Like this?

He asked, in a hushed tone of voice, as you felt him slide two fingers on your wet sex and penetrate, sliding easily, curved slightly upwards to reach a spot that made you scream. He used his mouth again, but this time on your clit as the rhythmic chords of the music played, mixing with your needy moans, his muffled moans and the erotic, wet sounds.

This man is your deepest desire.

[...]

˛ 𓏲࣪ 𝗧𝗢𝗝𝗜 𝗙𝗨𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗨𝗥𝗢 𖹭︐

THIS HELL OF A MAN is a walking question mark. He really was a big unknown, but unfortunately — or luckily — for him, you loved solving puzzles.

Toji wasn't the most "difficult" person you had ever met, but he was certainly the most reserved. He didn't talk about the past, about life, he didn't express his feelings, he didn't share personal tastes and there was no way he would spit out the secrets he carried behind his frown. But, despite everything, that wall of muscles could talk about some things that wouldn't expose his particularities so much.

For example, you once brought up a topic about musical taste, a very vague and silly subject, but it was the starting point for you to approach him. Yes, it was much more varied and had much more culture than you expected.

It was perfectly eclectic.

He really liked listening to music when he was fucking too. You were in his room, with the neon light on, not too strong and not too weak, illuminating the room and your features in a shade of blue mixed with purple. The soft bed's sheets were a little wet due to the obscene and intimate acts being performed on top.

You were on all fours, your palms and knees serving as support so you were comfortable. It was playing "Hotel" by Montell Fish.

Toji was right behind you, with that beautiful physique exposed and illuminated by the neon light, that made everything more arousing. He thrust his hips roughly against your ass, and this caused the erotic sound of your bodies to echo throughout the room. His big, strong hands were holding your waist tightly; maybe it would leave some marks.

━━ Now that's a pussy... hmm... so fuckin' tight around my cock, am I too big for your poor little hole to handle, my angel?

He practically growled, followed by a rude laugh, in a bitter tone.

━━ I-I can handle! — you replied, in a desperate tone, lowering your head a little.

Immediately Fushiguro took one hand from your waist and reached for your hair, holding it in a sloppy way. This caused you to whimper and look at the huge mirror there.

━━ No, no. Don't look away... keep watching the way I ruin you!

You would be completely destroyed afterwards, but it would be so worth it, just like it was every time before.

[...]

˛ 𓏲࣪ 𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗦𝗢 𝗞𝗔𝗠𝗢 𖹭︐

HAVING A SHY BOYFRIEND could be difficult for other people, but it wasn't so much for you. It's okay when you approached him you didn't have much to talk about, since he didn't do "mundane" things like everyone else did.

Curses generally didn't listen to music or watch cartoons and go to parties, as is normal to see human beings doing. He was also very inexperienced in several aspects, because despite having centuries of years, he didn't do much and didn't interact with people in general.

But he had no problem learning from you.

You introduced Choso to music little by little, first you started by showing him what you liked and then you started introducing him to what he might like. This worked out really well, as little by little he began to accept this as something natural and listened to music more frequently.

Kamo discovered that he really likes rock and metal, and is now willing to learn how to play the guitar. Maybe that's a topic for another time, the most important thing is what you were doing at that moment.

The song "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" was playing, it was originally by The Smiths, but the version that flooded the room was by Deftones. He had put together a playlist full of songs with this theme that walked a fine line between being horny or going into depression.

You were riding him in reverse cowgirl. The elastics that held Choso's hair had come loose a long time ago and now he had his black hair loose, framing his face. He was panting and begging beneath you, his hands on your hips, squeezing your ass a little, watching as you moved it up and down at a slow yet very satisfying pace.

Since he was still a bit inexperienced, he had no problem letting you be in charge most of the time. And you loved having the honor of being on top of that beautiful and arousing man. You could hear the sound of your bodies along with your boyfriend's moans and the whimpers of the Deftones singer, as well as the distorted guitar riffs.

Without any prior warning, you began to move your body faster.

━━ F-Fuck, my love! If you keep this up I'm gonna cum inside of you! — he whimpered as you felt his cock twitch against your walls.

━━ But that's exactly what I want, silly.

You looked back with a wicked smile on your lips, seeing his pale cheeks completely flushed and his strong chest going up and down as he tried to catch his breath.

[...]

˛ 𓏲࣪ 𝗥𝗬𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗡 𝗦𝗨𝗞𝗨𝗡𝗔 𖹭︐

THE GREAT KING OF CURSES was an ambitious man, who desired greatness and power at all times. He did not accept anything that was different from the standard he was used to receiving as a powerful and feared entity.

He was not at all monogamous, he was used to having several women in what would have been a harem. He was insatiable, a ferocious beast who depended on sex as one of his main sources of fuel. However, now Sukuna had to get used to the modern world, whether he wanted to or not.

Curses were no longer respected or feared, as sorcerers were on hand to fight them. By the irony of fate, you ended up crossing paths and since that day there was no concubine to feed his desires, he only wanted you. Despite the countless declarations of love coming from him and all his talk, you weren't easy.

You didn't sleep easily with anyone, even more if this person was him.

But he was a trickster, he wasn't the king of curses for nothing. He approached you with that soft talk and that naughty way until you were finally able to create a bond. But flirting with people in the modern era was a bit tricky for a man who had been away for many, many years.

You introduced music to Sukuna, and over time he became more fond of it. He really liked rock and classical music, they were two different extremes, but who were you to question the taste of the king of curses?

Although when he was fucking you he wouldn't listen to Mozart or anything like that.

You were in his castle, in a room filled with the most diverse and luxurious tapestries. There were extremely comfortable cushions and silk sheets everywhere, as well as treasures, pillars and chests. Sukuna was on top of you, his naked body full of symbols a little sweaty and his gaze devouring you.

Your legs were comfortably crossed around his hips, while those strong hands with purple nails grabbed your wrists and pinned them high above your head, leaving you immobilized. He had a rough pace and really loved every little inch of you, every time.

The song "One Of The Girls" by The Weeknd was playing. That song had a very strong sexual atmosphere, and that made him even more likely to fuck you.

You felt some of his pub hair touching your skin every time he moved back and forth with his hips. He was thrusting deep inside you, making you tear up from so much pleasure you were receiving. That was a the best thing in the world for that sadist who found it adorable to see the salty tears running down your hot cheeks as you begged for relief.

He knew he wasn't hurting you — because if you indicated he would stop instantly. You changed Sukuna a lot, took away from him that kingly immediacy that he possessed, and above all consent was sexy as hell.

━━ Baby... I-I don't know if I can cum any more... — you cried out, because he had already made you cum several times today, you didn’t know if your body could take any more.

━━ Aww, are you so sensitive that you are crying, my princess? — a sadistic smile was on his lips while those red eyes seemed to be darker from the lust flowing through his veins.

━━ Y-Yes...

━━ But you are a very obedient princess, and I know I can make you cum again. You don't need to control yourself and give it to me again. I'm only going to stop when this pussy is squirting all over my cock, understood?

He took one hand off your wrist and brought it to your face, squeezing your cheeks a little and making you nod. With your free hand, you pulled him closer to kiss him intensely, making your tongues touch each other in a bold way.

He had found his other half.

[...]

୭ 📂 𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄¹: this is my first time posting something in english on tumblr, and as it's not my first language i'd appreciate it if you could correct any grammar mistakes˚. ᵎᵎ

୭ 📂 𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄²: all of this is created by me, i do not authorize adaptations or inspirations without credits˚. ᵎᵎ

XOXO, kisses that taste like blood o negative, see you next time little bats 💋

— brazilian-vampyra, 2024.

[daengtokki]

𝓌𝒾𝓈𝒽 𝐼 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹

© ᴏʟʙᴀᴘᴀɪɴᴛɪɴɢꜱ

────────────────────✦

Kim Seungmin/noona reader

wc: 5.9k

rating: angst/mature/18+ ಇ (idiots trying to get to lovers/mutual pining)

contains: drinking/drunkiness, implied mental illness, medication mention, weight mention

comments: Part two of this noona fic request. Not sure how much interest there is in this (there's more, because I love writing it and I needed some angst), but let me know if you guys like it!

songs to listen to while reading: orion sun - intro // chloe george - when does it get good

──────────────────♡──✦

Seungmin feels around in the dark, and he knows at any moment, he’s going to trip. The layout of your apartment is still foreign to him, but he likes it here, and he wants to get used to being here. It’s a welcome change from the dorm—there it's usually a mess. It smells, it tends to get loud at the worst moments, and the worst part of all is that you’re not there. Ever.

He’s a bit embarrassed of the place, even though his room is usually clean and ready for company. It’s better here, though. It’s always quiet, and warm, and it smells like vanilla and coffee, even now, in the middle of the night.

As much as he wanted to keep things between the two of you, for now, it did not work. Seungmin came home very late the night after he confessed (and you confessed), so it was easy for everyone to figure out. Still, though, he hasn’t talked much about it in the three days since. And now, somehow, he’s ended up at your apartment, and it’s well past midnight.

You fell asleep on the couch watching a movie, tucked against his side, and he shook you awake eventually.

“Time to get to bed, yeah?” He said, and he gave you a few more minutes to collect yourself before helping you up. Then he guided you into the bedroom, but he just stood there at the door for a moment, watching, waiting until you turned to him and smiled.

“Goodnight”

“You’re leaving?” You check the time on your phone. It's late.

“Yeah, I should go,” his heartbeat picks up a little as he casually looks around your room. This is his first time seeing it., and Seungmin thinks to himself how very you it is—the colors, the mix of adult and not-so-adult, pages from magazines and photobooks pinned to a corkboard next to very important looking things. He sees his face pinned there as well; a closeup of him, ripped neatly from the Noeasy photobook. No, two photos of him...three.

“Okay. You don’t have to, but…” you think, look around, look back at him, “text me when you get home, okay?”

“I will”

He clicks the hall light off as he makes his way toward the door, and with the glow of the tv gone, it’s suddenly very, very dark. The light of his phone helps, but he hits his foot on the coffee table, of course, and then he finally grabs his bag. Luckily it takes him a few extra minutes to fight into his shoes, because a text comes through just as he goes for the door.

don’t leave yet

Seungmin looks toward your bedroom door and waits. One, two, three seconds. It swings open, and you leave it there so the light pours out and illuminates him.

“Did I forget something?”

You stop in front of him and nod, “I did,” and grab the front of his shirt to pull him down. You kiss, and he kisses right back. And then you let go. “Can I ask what’s in your backpack?”

“Huh? My…oh my bag. Just my usual stuff, uhm, it’s silly. Sometimes I feel like I’ll be pulled away when I have no time to pack, so I always carry something with me.”

“So that's your overnight bag?”

“I guess. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea...if it’s the wrong idea. I wasn’t expecting something to happen, I promise.”

“Seungmin, it’s okay. I just came out to kiss you goodnight, not question your motives.” You pull him to you again and kiss. “And you’re welcome to spend the night—on the couch, or in my bed. Preferably in my bed. But wherever you’re comfortable.”

His laugh is so nervous, and he hates it, “maybe next time?”

“Of course. I’m leaving for a while tomorrow, but I’ll let you know when I get home.”

“Will you be gone long?”

“No, a week at the most”

“A week. Okay, that’s not bad. If I’m home when you get back., we can do something.”

“Right, you might not be here”

You stare at each other silently, maybe hoping to read each other’s mind. You might not see him for a while and that was hard enough when you were just friends, pining endlessly. Now you’ve touched him and kissed him, and you need more time to do those things.

“I might be, though”

“Goodnight, Minnie”

This time he kisses you himself.

─ ⋅⋅ ─

“I’m not surprised…but at the same time I’m a little surprised,” Felix scratches his head. He’s watching Seungmin cross the kitchen to fill his glass with water.

He doesn’t notice everyone staring at him until he turns toward the coffee maker. “What?”

“Surprised why?” Minho cups his chin in his hand and smiles at both of them.

“How was your date last night, kid?”

"Date?" Minho jumps and grins at Seungmin.

“We just watched a movie, it was good. She’s leaving today so I won’t see her for a while.”

“Oh no, that’s no good. So—“

“What are you surprised about?!” Minho slap his palm on the table, “Yongbok!”

“I’m getting there!”

“You’ve never been to her place before, right? What brought that on…a movie at her apartment?”

Seungmin is making his coffee, patiently, and looking at his roommate as he takes his time getting to the point. But Felix waits as he makes his way to the table with them to press on.

“You never really told us what happened the other night. You two just disappeared.”

“Oh, we went to her place, so we could be alone…”

The three of them OH in unison, because Jeongin turns the corner just in time. Minho is still confused, and nobody seems to want to elaborate for him. All four of them here at the same doesn’t happen often, so Seungmin is feeling a little crowded

“…to talk.”

“Ooh,” Jeongin smiles, “and? Did you talk last night, too?”

“Not much, no”

Their eyes grow as they wait for more, but now Seungmin is having too much fun stringing them a long.

“Please continue”

“There’s nothing else,” he shrugs, “we drank a little, watched a movie, we both dozed off for a while, I think…no,” Seungmin throws a hand up when Felix' mouth turns up into a smirk. “It was a long movie, nothing else happened.”

“Did you kiss?” Jeongin leans closer and whispers, “you kissed, yeah?”

Seungmin can’t help but smile when he asks. He can feel his face grow warm just thinking about it. Last night, and then your first kiss. That one got much heavier than he expected, and he loved every second—the touching, your tongue, your fingers running through his hair. He doesn’t want to wait a week for more, but he’s not going to chase after you now. He has to be patient, again.

“You should have spent the night"

─ ⋅⋅ ─

You sit across from each other in the cafeteria, just like you’ve done a dozen times before. It’s not busy, not even at lunchtime, but looking up at him for too long is making your heart race. It’s not that you’re afraid someone will walk by and read your mind (but if they did, they might be disgusted), it just feels different being with him in public now.

It feels like you’re both doing something a little bit wrong.

Seungmin is a young idol, and he’s sweet and kind and innocent, as far as everyone knows. You’ve already seen his unfiltered self, and it’s better than any act he’s had to put on. But he is still sweet and kind and…you assume a little innocent. You’ve never talked about your sex lives, ever.

You look up at him and lock eyes. He smiles, and you can’t help but start undressing him. Yes, you’ve touched him, finally. His thigh—he let you run your hand from his knee and up you went until you knew it was time to stop—his neck, his shoulder, his face…but there’s still so much of him to touch and see. The part of your mind that you can't keep quiet is afraid there won't be many more oppurtunities.

You have to close your eyes and relax.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m okay, just thinking. Over-thinking.”

He smiles again, and you start to wonder if he’s doing it because he’s nervous.

“About us?”

Us? That’s a much bigger word than it was a few days ago. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Good things?”

Good things, yes. As long as you stay focused, there's nothing to think about when it comes to him except for good things. “Yeah, of course.”

“How is your lunch? Spicy enough?”

“Is my face red?”

“A little, yes”

“No spice today, so it’s you doing that.”

─ ⋅⋅ ─

What if he stays too late tonight, again? He doesn’t want to run off at the first mention of spending the night, because he wants to stay here with you. There was no expectation of it when you asked last time, he assumes, because he can sleep wherever he wants; he can do whatever he wants. And you wouldn’t pressure him anyway. He knows you better than that.

He knows nothing about your sex life, though. And almost nothing about your dating life.

Seungmin doesn’t really know much about either of those things when it comes to himself, actually. There was never much time to date, or it was low on the list. And having sex without at least dating someone doesn’t sit well with him.

But he has been on dates, and he has kissed, and touched, and he’s been touched right back. But that’s all. No sex—that blowjob didn’t count—it was awkward, and it wasn’t very good. And as hard as he tries, he can't forget his first time trying to find a clit.

“Do you want a drink?” You shake his arm until he finally seems to hear you, “drink…beer, coke, coffee?”

“Soju?”

“I have strawberry and peach”

“Strawberry somaek?”

You disappear into the fridge and dig around, and Seungmin watches carefully when you bend forward. He’s always admired your body, though it never had much to do with him liking you the way he did. But now, he feels like it’s okay to appreciate it more. You’re shorter than him, and curvier (which doesn’t take much, seeing as how Seungmin is basically a straight line). Your ass and thighs are an eyeful for him, though.

Everything looks soft. Everything is soft, because he did sneak his hand there that first night. He squeezed his fingers right above your knee, then moved up ever so slightly to get some thigh. He didn’t dare go any further, though.

The touching you did the second time was much more innocent—holding hands, fingers laced together, your head against his shoulder as you fell asleep. He looked you over carefully, but kept his hands to himself, only daring to run a thumb over your wrist as you dozed off.

“Would you like to pour, or do you trust me?”

Seungmin snaps out of it. He’s pretty sure you caught him staring. “I trust you.”

“Can you grab the glasses for me?”

He does, and he follows you back to the living room and makes himself comfortable at the coffee table. And now that he’s started, he can’t take his eyes off of you as you move.

“That’s…oh okay we have different pours,” Seungmin eyes the glass, but you pull it toward yourself. “That’s much more soju than I usually do.”

You pour his now, but only fill the glass a third of the way before topping it off with the beer.

“I thought maybe you were trying to soften me up.” His breath catches in his chest when he says it, because it sounded much more stupid than it did in his head.

“No, trying to soften myself up, actually.”

“Why? You can’t get drunk without me,” the frown he gives you is over the top and very cute. “I don’t want you to fall asleep too early.”

“I’ll be careful”

─ ⋅⋅ ─

Seungmin feels good after two glasses. It’s not much, but he hasn’t eaten recently, and he’s pretty certain his second drink was identical to yours.

You’re halfway through your third.

“These are too easy to drink.” You sit at the table with a dish of mandu and dakgangjeong. “And I’m guessing you’re hungry.”

“I usually am.” He leans forward and smells the chicken, “did you make all this.

You shake your head, “I’m not the best at cooking. I wish I had more time to practice.”

“That’s okay. Thank you for feeding me, and getting me tipsy.” He grabs a piece of chicken and pops it in his mouth. And then a dumpling. And then finishes off his third somaek.

“You can’t be tipsy yet”

“I will be if I have another”

Seungmin does have another. And the for his next drink, he switches to straight beer—but he’s drunk. He picks up his chopsticks and grabs for a dumpling, but it slips off and bounces onto the table.

Both of you just stare at for a long moment. And then Seungmin giggles as he tries again. This time it makes it to his mouth.

“Where you going?”

He’s slowly getting to his feet, and he stands for a minutes to get his head straight.

“Bathroom”

“Good idea”

“Are you joining me?”

You stop halfway onto your feet and look up at him, his hand is outstretched like he’s welcoming the company, “ah…you first.”

It’s very obvious he had a bit too much. And you did, too, but you’re working hard to keep yourself together. When you walk back out from the bathroom, Seungmin is standing up, staring at the tv, and the rest of the chicken is making its way into his mouth. He looks comfortable and satisfied—drunk, yes…but happy.

It makes you warm up even more, and you can’t remember the last time you felt so good.

“Hey”

“Hi…hello, do you feel better? Do you want the last few pieces?” He holds some out to you, but it disappears into his mouth as soon as you shake your head. “We should sober up.”

Yes, you should. You sit on the couch and curl yourself up into a ball, but when he sits next to you, your limbs develop a mind of their own. Before you can stop yourself, you slide your arms around his waist and hold yourself tight against him. Your leg drapes over his lap, and you’re practically straddling his thighs. He takes it in stride, though. Seungmin holds you right back and takes the opportunity to slide a hand across your hip, and when he squeezes, you jump.

“Sorry”

“Mm mm, no…it’s good. Feels good.”

“It does?”

“Yeah, you’re so warm”

“I think that’s the alcohol”

“Maybe…maybe, but you always—“ you stop and start to giggle, and you shove your face into his shirt to try to stifle yourself.

“Always what?”

You shake your head against him, push harder against his chest, take in his scent…feel yourself becoming even more drunk. “Nothing.”

His hand slides back up and settles on your hip, “always something good, hopefully.”

“Sorry, my head is swimming.”

“Mine too”

“I was hoping the alcohol would help, but you’re making me so nervous.”

“You’re nervous? I’m making you nervous?”

“Yeah, maybe telling you will make it go away."

“I’m also nervous. I wasn’t the last time I was here…so maybe the drinks are working against us.”

You force yourself to look up at him, and he looks down at you with big, heavy eyes. Your gaze drops and takes in every bit of him—his cheeks, his nose, his lips…his lips. He wets them and a smile pulls at his mouth, and you desperately want him to lean down closer to you. Every part of you is screaming for him, but you’re still frozen.

He’s frozen, too. The booze just made both of you stupid.

“Seungmin?” You’ve never, not even as a teenager, felt so stupidly in love with someone.

“Yeah?”

The longer you watch him, the closer he seems to get, and you see every little detail, every little spot, every little perfect blemish and pore on his skin.

“Kiss me before I explode”

His lips press into yours and his fingers squeeze so hard again. You want him to hold you tighter still, and you need to be closer. He does. Seungmin moves you until you’re on his lap, and he devours you. He’s all tongue, and it’s wet and messy, not like his previous kisses, but it’s so good tasting him, and tasting the entire night on him.

Then he stops suddenly to catch his breath, but he stays there and bites down lightly on your bottom lip. Your eyes open, and he’s right there, staring. He pulls back, looks at the space between your thighs, and there’s not much there. If you let yourself relax a little more, you’d feel his dick growing in his sweatpants.

But you can see it. You’re no longer frozen, so you shake the thought of what’s between his legs out of your head, for now. Both of you are way too fucked up for the first time. What you do need to do is kiss him again, so you take over, squeeze his shoulders and hold him steady while you lick across his parted lips. Seungmin opens up for you and he moans into the kiss—moans right down your throat.

You shake your head, “we should stop until we’re, um…I don’t wanna do this drunk.”

“I don’t either,” he keeps kissing, but slows down and softens his touch. His hands move to your waist, and then your back, where they stay.

“But don’t leave tonight”

“I won’t”

─ ⋅⋅ ─

Seungmin watches you from his side of your bed. He did fall asleep for a while, but he woke from a dream and forgot for a few moments where he was. His racing heart beat against the mattress as he looked toward you, facing away from him, shirt pulled halfway up your back. You kicked the covers off in your sleep—probably too warm from sobering up, but so deeply asleep. Still, he reaches out and runs two fingers down the skin that’s peeking out.

You move ever so slightly, and mumble something. He looks at the time: just after 4am. You’ve been asleep for about three hours, because both of you were out as soon as you hit the bed.

But Seungmin feels better. Less drunk, at least. His head aches a little, but not enough to bother him. He reaches out again, but this time he pulls at your shirt until you’re covered.

“Minnie”

“I’m up, you feel okay?”

You mumble again, and groan, but you don’t answer.

“Minnie…hmmm, don’t leave”

“Hey,” he crawls closer and runs a hand down your arm, “hey, oh you’re still asleep.”

You wake up when you feel his lips on your shoulder. “Min?”

“Are you up or talking in your sleep?”

“I’m up…oh no, what did I say?” You turn onto your back and grab his hand. “I don’t do that all the time.”

“Just my name”

“Oh”

“And you told me not to leave,” he squeezes your hand and searches for the soberness in your eyes, “I’m still here.”

“Sorry, I don’t usually speak so clearly”

The sleep-talking doesn’t phase him. In fact, the quietness of the room is a welcome change to his typical nights. The whole night, drunk as you both were, was quiet and calm. “Were you thinking about me in your sleep?”

“I must have been,” you move his hair away from his eyes, and now you’re searching for any leftover drunkenness. He seems wide awake and sober.

“It’s 4 in the morning, if you’re still tired…we can go back to sleep.” That’s not what he wants, but he also wants what you want. Seungmin figured you’d get into bed and both of you would sleep soundly until morning. But he woke up.

“No, I feel good. And you look good.”

The truth is, you are very tired. If you close your eyes right now, you have no doubt that you would fall back to sleep almost immediately. Instead you rip off the rest of the blanket and sit up.

“Where are you going?”

He watches you stand slowly, carefully, just in case. But your legs work just fine. Maybe Seungmin can change that. The thought sends a little wave a pleasure through you, and you smile when you turn to look at him, “bathroom.”

That is what you do, but you dig through the drawer under the sink as well. You didnt prepare properly, because you didn’t double check to see if you still had condoms, and if they were still good.

“Oh good,” you grab the half used pack and look closely at the date stamped on the bottom, "lucky.” But you make the mistake of looking at yourself in the mirror, and your reflection feels like it's a mile away. Your eyes blur, and the room spins for a moment.

A perfectly timed knock on the door makes you jump, and the box slips from your hand.

“Are you okay? I gotta go, too.”

“Yeah, Minnie, I’m coming,” you pick them up and palm them as you head for the door, “sorry, go ahead.”

-

Seungmin whistles as he returns and quietly shuts the door, “so are you…out?” He holds up the empty box and shakes it. “You left the drawer open.”

“Oh, no no,” you grab the condoms from your bedside table and show them to him, “we have two.”

He pulls one from your fingers and examines it for a moment, “I don’t think these will fit.”

─ ⋅⋅ ─

It’s stupid, and it’s reckless, and you know it. But it’s not going to stop you. From the moment he said the condoms—the only condoms either of you had, wouldn’t work, you tossed it back onto the table, looked up at him, “okay,” and grabbed the waistband of his sweatpants until he was right in your face.

“Okay” He sets his down, too. “Are you…” he groans when you find a good spot on his stomach, and he laughs when you graze your lips across his skin.

Every time you get back to his belly button, you tug a little more. His sweatpants start to tent, and you’re starting to feel exactly how much he wouldn’t fit into those condoms. One more tug, and you can see him—the stiff base of his cock, held still by the grip of your fingers.

He’s so hot against the fabric, and a wet spot of pre-cum starts to come through as you stroke him.

“I’m not surprised you like to tease,” he smiles down at you, but he’s blushing…everywhere. His cheeks, his ears, his neck. When he pulls his shirt over his head, he’s flushed all the way down to where your lips are.

Seungmin is just as lean under all those clothes as you imagined, and his shoulders…

“Turn around”

“Huh…turn?”

You stand and grab his hips, “yeah, turn around for me.”

He listens and peeks back at you the best he can—until your hands move from his hips, slowly upward, touching every bit of skin you can—across his shoulder blades, back down his spine.

The sigh he lets out is so content and relaxed, it actually puts you more at ease. He laughs sweetly when your lips touch him. “I like your teasing.”

Seungmin turns back to face you, and your fingers slide across him as he moves.

“Just admiring you." Yes, you are admiring him. Touching him, finally, is doing more for you than anything else possibly could. But every step forward now is taking all of your energy.

“Admiring? Me?” He cups your cheek and lifts until you’re looking at him, then pulls you close.

It’s sweet and it’s perfect, and you melt into him, but now you’re so distracted by his dick pressing against you. You push your hips in until he groans, slide your hands under his waistband.

Seungmin grabs back, and squeezes your ass. “Let me see you.” He pulls your shirt up and over your head before you can react, but you fold your arms over yourself before pressing back into him.

“Ah…I’m sorry, too fast?” His hands keep you against him. He holds so tight, you couldn’t escape even if you wanted to. “I should have let you do that.”

“No, I just—“

“I didn’t think you’d be shy”

A shiver runs through you when his hands move down your back, then back up.

“How about we…” he scoots closer to the lamp, keeping hold of you, and clicks it off. “Is that better?”

“Maybe,” you laugh, but it’s hesitant, a little edgy. “You’re too perfect, Minnie and…ah, I don’t know what's going on, I’m nothing special.”

“No, you're very special. What’s the matter?”

You relax a a little in his arms.

“I’m not perfect, not even close. You haven’t seen me after rolling out of bed at noon, or grumpy when my mouth hurts after getting these things tightened.”

You whine his name. You’re ruining the moment. Him comforting your sudden stupid thoughts and doubts—he’s probably already getting soft. “I’m sorry, I’m making a mess of everything. I'm not sure what happened.”

“Mm, no…you haven’t made a mess of anything.” Seungmin grabs your shirt from the edge of the bed and slips it back on you, “it's okay, we can get back under the covers if you’d like.”

─ ⋅⋅ ─

“Give me your hand”

Seungmin holds it up to you, then sets it in yours.

Back under the covers is where you end up, and you really do feel like a tease now. Poor Seungmin—his dick doesn’t know what’s going to happen next, but right now, you know he’s definitely not hard. You've ruined that.

“You think I’m perfect…can I think you’re perfect?” he lets go of your hand and runs his up your arm.

“No, I’m a mess. My skin, my hair is a mess. I’m getting chubby because I never watch what I eat. I don’t know why you’re here.”

“Because I want to be here. Because you brought me here and made me feel like I was yours."

“I was so high off of your words before. I thought I was dreaming when we were talking after dance practice.”

Seungmin moves closer, and now you’re sharing a pillow, and you breathe in every sigh he breathes out. His hand is moving so slowly over you, and he’s being so patient as it finds the curve of your hip and slides under the bottom of your shirt. “You’re not a mess.” He’s touching you and kneading his fingers into your side. Into your back. He works his way up and drags his fingertips up to your throat. “And they weren’t just words.”

How could you possibly deny him, looking at you like this? You shouldn’t, but your brain is telling you it will never work; it’s a waste of time. He’s going to really see you, and change his mind—he’ll find out how bad you are at this, and how emotional and unbearable you get when you do. It’s too much for him.

Still, his touch is as soft as his eyes, and he moves even closer until his leg can slide over yours.

“No, I don’t deserve you”

He isn’t sure how to reply to that, so he just stares. Maybe he’s waiting for you to crack a smile, or laugh it off, but you don’t. “Why would you say that?”

“You can do so much better than me, I promise.” You get as far as sitting yourself up, and your head pounds against your eyes. The alcohol is catching up to you and turning into a hangover already. “I shouldn’t have let it get this far, I’ve been stupid.”

“What are you saying?” Seungmin grabs your arm as you shift to get out of bed. His head is pounding now, too, because he's trying to figure out what went wrong and where he fucked up. “I can go if that’s really what you want, but give me a minute.”

You struggle with a response. You don’t want him to leave, but he should. And if he does, it might be the end of something that didn’t even begin. “A minute…for what?”

“To say something”

“Right, I’m sorry”

“I meant everything I said before, even if I didn’t say much. But you knew what I was thinking.” He lets go of your arm, because you seem to have relaxed. You’ve settled back in your spot, under the covers, back against the pillows. “I want you, and you want me…I think. And I need you around, I know that much. If I leave, will we go back to how we were before?”

There’s a long silence. You’re not sure if he wants an answer to that, but you don’t want to think too hard about it. Maybe, eventually, the memory of this can pass and you can be friends again.

“I don't want to go back to that. Not after this,” he answers himself. “So…”

Seungmin throws the covers off of himself, puts his feet on the cold floor, and then waits a few seconds before standing. It takes a moment to find his shirt, but he does and throws it on, and the entire time you watch him so intensely. But you stay quiet.

He knows you’re watching, and he takes his time, hoping you’ll stop him as he goes for the door. But you don’t.

And he anxiously waits for his phone to buzz after he grabs it from the coffee table. The empty bottles and glasses—the mess from the food scattered everywhere—Seungmin stares at it, waiting for a text that won’t come, and he decides he won’t leave yet. Instead he starts to clean.

─ ⋅⋅ ─

You’re stuck in your spot on the bed, phone now in hand, and you stare at the messages you’ve shared over the last week—to prove yourself wrong, maybe. Or just to make yourself feel worse. You couldn’t possibly feel any worse right now, though. Seungmin is still here; his scent lingers, and the feeling of his touch. But he left. You kicked him out, and deep down, you know you don’t want to subject him to whatever the future might hold. This isn’t possible, and thinking it could be was both of you just being struck dumb with lust. And maybe love.

You’ll be back tomorrow morning, right? I get my days mixed up sometimes, especially when I’m home for a while. Do you get like that? Maybe my memory is going already, haha I’ll be around if you’re free, so I hope you are. I can’t wait to see you again.

Seungmin is a good texter. He’s thoughtful and sincere, and he seems to choose his words carefully, as if he’s speaking to you face to face. That, or he just closes his eyes and types everything he feels. That wouldn’t surprise you.

I hope texting you so soon isn’t weird. No, it’s you! It’s not weird, or if it is that makes it normal for us. I hope you feel as good as I do. Good night ♥️

You pull the covers up to your chin and try to get comfortable. But you can’t take your eyes off the string of messages.

I practiced your song today! It might take a little more work to get it to sound good with my vocals. Maybe I need your input. But I’d rather surprise you!

He’s probably been working on it all week, and here you almost forgot about it. Before he sent this text, you didn’t know if he was serious, or it was just his opening line.

The sound of glasses clinking together echoes into the bedroom, and your heart pounds wildly. Then the pounding in your head starts up again, and for some reason you choose now to start crying. The tears start to brim, and you try desperately to keep them from going any further.

The sound of water running gets you out of bed fast, and you walk slowly to the bedroom door. You can see the kitchen light on through the crack, and the shadow of movement is there, too. His backpack is untouched at the end of the couch, and when you walk out to the hallway, you see his shoes next to yours. He’s washing the dishes and cleaning up the mess the two of you made.

“Seungmin”

He jumps and almost drops the glass.

“What are you doing?”

“Uh,” he sighs, “I didn’t want you to have to clean all this up in the morning. I’m sorry, I’m done.” He grabs his backpack and heads for the door. “Get some sleep before the sun comes up.”

One shoe is on, the other is halfway there as he stares at you. “Are you crying?”

You wipe at your cheek and feel what you couldn’t hold back.

Seungmin kicks his shoes off again and hesitates for a moment, but eventually, when you don’t speak, he closes the space between you. “You’re crying,” he takes your cheeks in his hands. “Please…if you won’t talk to me now, please call me tomorrow. Or text, I don’t care. Tell me you still feel the same as you do right now, and I’ll leave you alone.”

“Stop it,” you squeeze your eyes shut and feel more tears escape. Seungmin’s warm embrace, his arms holding tight around your shoulders, it makes everything else fall away.

“Stop what?”

“Being so good, and patient, and calm. You should’ve run off by now”

“Why are you so hard on yourself? You think you should be punished for…yes, I remember you saying that…for what? I know you want this.”

All you can manage is a mumble against his chest.

He relaxes his arms and grips your waist, “what did you say?”

“I do”

“Want this? Or think you should be punished?”

More silence from you, but he waits.

“I’ll leave. And I hope I hear from you tomorrow.”

He lets go, and manages to get into his shoes before you say his name. As fed up as he should be hearing his name again, he’s not. Seungmin looks at you with hopeful, tired eyes.

“Yeah?” He watches you closely, tilts his head to the side. You can see his eyes moving up and down over your body, "tell me I can stay.”

Your legs shake and your head swims. The ache behind your eyes is growing worse and worse, but looking at him makes it bearable, somehow. Even now, he’s ready to run to you as soon as you say go. But you can’t figure out why.

Seungmin is still who he is, and you’re who you are, and you don’t really belong together. Someone will find out and put a stop to it. But what if things slowly start to connect; fall into place; work out for a while? Forever? No, that doesn't sound right. Loving him before was easy, because you assumed it would always be one-sided and simple; no worries about making something work, or about working toward something. Now this is real, and it's a little bit scary looking at him and realizing how much you want him, and how big this could get.

"Say something," he sighs, and it sounds nowhere near as irritated as it should.

Your gaze drops to your feet, defeated—it moves toward his, and again, he’s taking off his shoes. Seungmin stands there and faces you.

“Okay...okay."

─ ⋅♡⋅ ─

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is:  judasofsuburbia! @judasofsuburbia has 31 fics in the Stranger Things fandom and 24 of them are in the Steddie tag!

@cheatghost recommends the following works by @judasofsuburbia:

shake this world off my shoulders

the seventh heaven (when i kissed the teacher)

wanna be the only one for miles and miles (except for maybe you)

you make my life worthwhile (it's all about you)

get up and shake the glitter off your clothes

If you were to ask Emily what they think about their work, she'd probably say something along the lines of, "haha, it's just silly smut!" And even if that may very well be the case with some fics (and I'm so, so grateful for it), the one true constant in all of Emily's writing is the heart. They are truly an expert at weaving genuine emotion and care into their work, infusing every moment, every scene, every fic with so much passion. -- @cheatghost

Below the cut, @judasofsuburbia answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

I’ve been a fan of Stranger Things since it came out in 2016 and of course, I fell in love with Steve’s character right away. But never in the show did I think they gave him a good love interest. His relationship with Nancy is obviously a catalyst for a lot of plot devices and it was important to the growth of both of their characters but it naturally had to end. Then…in walks Eddie Munson. I remember watching the forest scene for the first time and little alarm bells went off in my head. They have a great jumping off point of being the big brother figure of these dweeby teenagers, both being older and stuck in Hawkins, both being endearingly lame in their own unique ways but still having that opposites attract energy. Their dynamic was so fun to me, even in the limited scenes that we got, and I finally thought “Yeah. This guy. That’s Steve’s love interest.”

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

I’ll read just about anything if it’s recommended to me or a beloved friend writes it but I have a particular soft spot for future fics. Getting to see these characters grow and heal from what happened to them while also being in love or falling in love really hits home for me.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

I write a lot of AUs for this couple. It seems I love putting my boys into situations lmao BUT I think I adore writing love confessions the most. Like no matter what universe they’re in, they’re going to have this realization of love and it’s going to just pour out of them.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

My 252 bookmarks are shaking in their boots at this question so I’m going to shout out just a few! Bright Things series by @cheatghost, took you for a working boy by pukner, Catch Me (I’m Falling) by @fragilecapric0rnn, driving in your car by @kkpwnall, and carve your name into my chest by @hexiewrites.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I would love to explore a Monster AU. I’ve technically written Kas!Eddie but I’d love to explore something more like demon/creature/werewolf SOMETHING because I always find those stories so interesting.

What is your writing process like?

It usually starts with like one line or one idea that I hurriedly jot down in my notes app or in a new document. Then, I find songs that relate to that premise or scenes from other media that help inspire me. Usually, I plan it out bullet point style in a physical notebook and then start writing bit by bit!

Do you have any writing quirks?

Somehow making everything cultivate into something sexual lmao. It;s now a joke amongst me and my friends that I can always make something horny. But really, I love what can be discovered, what can be said, what can be revealed, and what can change a character throughout a sexual scene. Not every fic I write has smut in it but a vast majority do and it’s because I love getting to use smut as a tool for something else.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

Definitely once I’ve finished something. When I was first starting out, I posted chapters for long fics as soon as they were done and that led to me abandoning fics because I simply ran out of spoons to write them. Now, I’m much more conscious of what I’m putting out there and making sure it’s completed before I start posting. I might make personal schedules for myself but I very rarely stick to them lmao.

Which fic are you most proud of?

Definitely my zombie apocalypse series “the darkest hour is just before dawn”. Those fics came together in a matter of a few weeks and I just loved being able to dive into each of those couples (the spicy six) and figure out how they would react differently to their circumstance. It started with me picturing Eddie with a southern accent but only when he’s stressed, angry, or drunk. What’s more stressful than a zombie apocalypse?

How did you get the idea for get up and shake the glitter off your clothes?

The song “Waking Up in Vegas” by Katy Perry came up on shuffle and my brain said “Oh, there’s something here.” It started as just a blurb of Steve waking up extremely hungover, noticing Eddie’s in bed with him, and then seeing Eddie’s mood ring on his left ring finger in a hotel mirror. I posted that blurb just to Tumblr and my brain just kept thinking about it and now it’s a whole fic!

When writing you make my life worthwhile (it's all about you), what was something you didn’t expect?

That it is so, so hard to write breakup fics. Because you never want one of them to be “the bad guy” or to be toxic in a way that leads to heartbreak. I struggled with shaping the narrative in a way that you could understand the hurt from both sides but I’m really happy with how it turned out (them making up of course!!)

What inspired you make my life worthwhile (it's all about you)?

It was 100% my days being in the 5 Seconds of Summer fandom when I was a teenager. I remember having to defend that band to people, saying “It’s not a boy band! They all play instruments! They’re just a band!” but now I can see how their marketing was catered to teenage girls and how that led so many people to believing they were similar to One Direction. The first thing that came to mind was Eddie having to fight for his music to be taken seriously and that spawned this idea of him, Steve, Argyle, and Jonathan being in a similar band and Eddie wanting out.

What was your favorite part to write from wanna be the only one for miles and miles (except for maybe you)?

I’m a sucker for wound care so writing Steve sitting a grumpy Eddie down to tend to his wounds with kisses and jokes was a lot of fun!! I’m also a cowboy enthusiast so that AU was a hoot and a half for me all around.

How do/did you feel writing the seventh heaven (when i kissed the teacher)?

MUSHY. Mushy as all get out. I love, love, love writing Steddie with kids. I just think there is so much domesticity and softness to kid fics, especially if a character is a single parent. I was seriously a pile of mush writing that fic and making them all lovey dovey.

What was the most difficult part of writing shake this world off my shoulders?

Candidly, it was figuring out how they were supposed to be alone so they could have sex. They’re always traveling as one big group, sleeping in unconventional places, and taking turns being on watch. Finding a realistic setting and a realistic circumstance was very difficult!

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

It’s hard to choose just one but I do think about this passage a lot from hey now, don’t dream it’s over: “Because even if Steve didn’t think he’d get this far. Even if he thought he wouldn’t see 21 let alone 30. Wouldn’t keep in touch and love with all his heart a gang of misfits from Hawkins. Wouldn’t fall in love with a wonderfully crazy man and adopt two beautiful girls with him. Wouldn’t be held when he cried or celebrated when he smiled. Wouldn’t wake up each morning and wipe sticky faces, talk high school seniors through college doubts and fears, wave his hand through the wind out his car window listening to pop radio in Chicago traffic, scoop mac and cheese onto Disney-themed plates, get kisses from his partner that make his kids groan, hear about their days, all their imaginations, their creativity, and everything they love and hate about the world, bath time every night, putting their hair in soapy mohawks, hearing their bright giggles, and tucking them into bed. Ending up in bed with the one person he loves more than anything just to wake up and do it all over again. He never, ever thought he would actually get this. But he did and he loves it. He doesn’t want to feel guilty for loving it anymore. He pulls away from Eddie’s neck and just beams at him. Eddie, who is more or less confused by the range of emotions he’s sporting, smiles right back at him. Steve kisses him deeply and feels Eddie wipe away his tears throughout their kiss. Steve Harrington is thirty years old and is enamored with the very thought of it.”

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

Nothing huge in the works right now! Mostly just waiting for inspiration to strike again.

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

Just that this fandom has changed my life in immeasurable ways. I am so happy that this community exists and the various types of showstopping art I get to engage with because of this show. I have made some of my very best friends in this fandom and I wouldn’t change that for the world. Thank you for all the love and laughter, thank you for nominating me (seriously that is so incredibly sweet), and thank you for loving these boys as much as I do.

Thank you to our author, @judasofsuburbia, and our nominator, @cheatghost! See more of judasofsuburbia's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[the-togepi-man]

The boy you (and maybe shawn?) have a crush on

Sure, im a little high and he wont see this since he doesn't use tumblr. Dunno if I'll ever get the chance to tell him all this so

I cant speak for Sean, who I knows really enjoys his company but falls for people a lot slower-

But I think he's a great guy. He's gives off this very aloof vibe, but he's incredibly smart and very sharp with his wit and observations. The first time He, Sean, and I hung out together - those two talked about how they listen to NPR and the Economist in the morning. It was goofy but thats when I first noticed myself getting flustered. He cares about his friends and his relationships very much, as do I. SO while polyamours people don't HAVE to all date each other it's insanely important to me that Sean enjoys their company too

He and Sean also have this rapport and bounce off each other so well that it's just hard to not roll your eyes but get caught up in it. He's got this really cute smile, and when you make a jab at him or catch him off guard his opens his mouth with this goofy smile and his cheeks turn bright red. His eyes also twinkle a little when he gets excited. And even though he doesn't like eye contact, if the conversation is important he maintains it to show how much he's listening. Also after he does his hair - a few hours in to the day the very front of it has one curl that drops down on to his forehead and its adorable as all fuck

He's passionate about the things he's interested in, and even more passionate about staying true to himself. It's very clear that he wants to live his life as who he is, and I think that more people should aspire to do. He puts his passions and his friends first and does his absolute best to make sure he sticks to all the plans he makes with them. When i first asked him to make plans with us, I was thinking "ah yeah he might fade away like everyone else" but then the next day he followed up with plans for a happy hour. When I point out things I am really interested in he asks questions and says "oh we will have to watch that some time" or "or ill have to try that." He and Sean inspire me to try new foods and do new things I normally wouldn't. Sean's helped me grow a lot, but when he and Sean both commit to something I start to see how much I was missing out on

Small break from his personality- he's also SUPER hot. Like just tall, gorgeous, great body, hairy chest, great cuddle buddy, beautiful eyes, comforting smile, and from what I recall a good kisser- among other things.

He has a lot of parts to his personality and every time we hang out I feel like a learn more in a good way. Like every time we hang out it's a new discovery. With that said, he's also not high maintenance. I love going out and doing fun stuff with him and Sean, but I also love that we can just grab some drinks, hop on the couch, cuddle up and watch something together or listen to music together. He puts on songs sometimes that remind me of my childhood and sitting around at my grandparents house listening to my family talk while I fell asleep to the music

That might be the hardest part about not saying all this to him, - but he feels like he really fits right in to place with Sean and I, not like I've ever felt before. And of course I've talked to Sean about all this (Because Sean is the fucking BEST- and someone would have to really be awesome to have an impact on both of us). Anyhow, he just seems like such a wonderful person that we'd both fight the standards of society to have in our lives.

So all in all, I am just glad I can be his friend more than anything. Thanks anon for letting me get this out! It felt good to type it since again, dunno if he will ever get to hear me say it- nor would he need to hear it. He can handle his life on his own- I just hope I get to be a supporting member for the rest of it :)

[annymation]

Hello Hello! I know it's been a while but I was wondering if you could have the lyrics and maybe the instrumental of the song that Asha sings in the square to help her people (if you don't want that's fine... I'm studying and I started listening to some songs to inspire me and I remembered about this scene in your rewrite and I started to imagine your rewrite as a 2D animation of the classic Disney and I wondered what this scene would be like heheh) if you don't mind too... I also wanted to know what your favorite foods are of your characters in the rewrite (asha, magnificent, amaya, and the 7 teenagers), you could also say what the 7 teenagers like to do alone/ their hobbies. Well, that's what I wanted to ask about your rewrite, sorry if it was a lot of questions, I'm LOVING everything about your rewrite♡ ten thousand times better than Disney's wish😤 anyway, thanks for the rewrite and stay well and drink water hahaha😁😋

Unfortunately I don't have lyrics for that song yet, it would take me a lot of time that I don't have yet to work on creating it, maybe once I'm done with the whole rewrite I can try coming up with something since that song IS very important to the narrative, and currently all we have is "It's an inspiring song about fighting to achieve what you wish for no matter if all the odds are against you" that so happens to have a few references to past Disney I want songs.

Though... After listening to this deleted scene

I'm considering making "A Wish Worth Making" THE song, or at least a place holder for now. It's surprisingly fitting. However, my idea was for the song to be like a story that Sabino told her, since ya know, he couldn't sing nor play the mandolin because that was his wish that Magnifico kept from him... So I'm undecided.

Anyway, now for the favorite meals part, that sounds fun, and helps me explore the national heritages of each one of the characters, so let's do this:

Asha

Her favorite food is Mhalbi with pistachios, a milk pudding from Algeria. Her mother was Amazigh, and she taught this traditional recipe to her husband and Sabino. After she passed Sabino would still make it for Asha, it's a little piece of her culture that is very sweet and easy to make, she has a bit of a sweet tooth.

Dahlia

Dahlia is a special case since her family has been robbed of their passion for their traditional cuisine, if originally her mother and father wished for things along the lines of "We want to share our culture through our food" the king changed that to them just cooking what he liked. Sooo she has no connection to Japanese food. But, hypothetically, if she did grow up with her parents acting normally, her favorite meal would be Takoyaki, a savory dish of grilled balls of batter made with flour and eggs filled with octopus chunks and other ingredients.

Gabo

The name "Gabo" has German origins, so I decided Gabo's family comes from Germany. His favorite dessert is a bienenstich kuchen, also known as "bee sting cake", I think it's fitting because Gabo is always acting like he just got stung by a bee. But besides his rough exterior he has a soft spot for sweets.

Simon

Simon's last name is O'Donohue, which is a name of Irish and Gaelic origins, also the name means Dark Fighter... Interesting. Anyway, so his family is descended from Irish people, thus I choose that his favorite food is a traditional Irish Colcannon, a flavorful dish of mashed potatoes and greens like sauteed kale, and green onions. Quite easy too make and eat for a sleepy head like him.

Bazeema

I've mentioned in my blog about the 7 teens that Bazeema is muslim and wears a hijab (As she did in some concept arts... But Disney changed that, cause they're stupid) so her favorite food is a Palestinian lady cheeks... heheh get it? Because Bazeema blushes a lot?... Anyway this is a traditional dessert are like made with orange blossom water, cinnamon quill, caster sugar and other sweet ingredients, sweet just like her.

Hal

I saw on twitter that Hal's earrings resemble "Jaaro dibbei" earrings from the Fulani people, a West African tribe. So I picked a traditional meal from west Africa. Kedjenou, this dish consists of a spicy stew that is slow-cooked in a terracotta pot over fire or coals. Hal is more into spicy food, matches her fiery passion.

Safi

Safi is a name of Arabic origins. His favorite dessert is Mamoul, a traditional arabic cookie, made with yeasted semolina, these vanilla and rose-infused cookies are sweet and floral with a decadent and robust centre, and although they look like they'd make Safi sneeze like crazy, they're one of the only meals that don't make him sneeze at all.

Dario

Dario is an Italian name. So I picked gnocchi because SAME! Gnocchi is my comfort food too and I'm not even Italian, Dario is just like me for real.

... *siiiiiigh* I was dreading getting to them... Here we go:

Magnifico and Amable

The blood of their enemies Just kidding, I'm giving them both the same favorite food because honestly these two have so much in common they might as well be the same character (Also it's currently 1 am as I'm writing this, I must go to bed.) so let's wrap this up. Their favorite dessert is Spanish Baked Apples, get it? Like the poisoned apple from Snow White? HAHAHAHA- Actually come to think of it their favorite meal might be children's tears, idk.

WOOOOO okay this was a wild ride, researching and learning about all these meals was really fun! Thank you for the ask!

(Also I just now realized you also asked for their hobbies... I'll try answering that another time, cause' like I said, I gotta go to sleep lol)

Aster has no favorite food yet by the way, because he can't even taste food, but comment what meal you think would be his favorite if they were human.

[darth-sonny]

[Weary and Wild AU]

just a fun(ny) little snippet about One and Lee's relationship after he starts working for Big Mama

The car ride was, by all definitions, awkward as fuck.

Lee fidgeted in his seat a little. He wished he were the one driving, but One had insisted (read: demanded) that she be the one to drive him to the closest entrance to the lair. Which didn’t need to be accomplished by car; all Lee had to do was lift open a manhole cover and go from there.

But that wasn’t the reason why she wanted him in the car with her. The excuse One used was just a ploy, an invitation into a trap he couldn’t refuse. Four was with them when she asked, and Lee could either risk eternal embarrassment or a mauled throat. And right now he wished he’d chosen the latter option.

“So,” One says, and Lee internally prepares himself. “Now that I have you in a confined space, let me ask you a few questions concerning…” she motioned towards him with one hand, “you.”

He turns his head to look out the window. Right now, they’re in traffic - meaning that, hypothetically, Lee could skip this whole conversation by simply walking out. But that would make him look like a weirdo. But was he willing to risk that?

“Are you, Lee Hamato or Hamato Lee - whichever you prefer -, currently seeing anyone either in the romantic sense or sexual sense?”

Yes. Yes he was willing to risk it.

He reached for the door handle but found it locked.

“Answer the question.”

“I don’t want to,” he says plainly, his voice pitched a bit higher than what it normally was.

“I understand why you might not want to be truthful,” One says, her tone dripping with professional sympathy. “Statistics by the Bureau of Labor says that fifty percent of people over the age of forty are single, with specifics towards males being twenty-seven percent.”

He jiggles the door handle even more, but it still doesn’t budge.

“And I am aware that getting into the dating scene might be harder once you reach your forties. But it doesn’t have anything to do with you personally; it’s just a result of being more settled down and finding it difficult to explore something new with a perfected routine-”

“Uh-huh. Interesting.” How in the fuck do you open this door?

“-of course that’s not putting into account the child care, work hours, and health issues budding in at this day and age-”

“Yep, tha~t’s it,” he sing-songs. Seriously, what kind of fucking car was this that he can’t even open the door? What did it say about him?

“-so, returning back to my earlier question; are you seeing anyone romantically or physically?”

“Uhh, no on both fronts can I please get out?”

One hums. She looks at him in the corner of her eyes before turning back to face the road. It’s moved, so far, five inches.

“Alright.”

Lee sighs in relief.

“But if you were to see anyone would you use protection?”

The older man proceeds to choke on his own spit.

One watches him have a coughing fit for about a minute before opening her mouth to repeat her question. A large hand covers the lower half of her face, stopping her from saying anything. She gives her brother a glare.

“Wha-” he coughs again. “What!”

One removes his hand, her face settled into a deadpan glare.

“Will you use protection if you were to begin seeing anyone in a sexual manner?”

Lee wants to run. He wants to leave the car and never come back. He doesn’t think he can face his family right now after this. Maybe he’ll go to Hueso’s and hide out there for a few hours. Fuck being seen as a weirdo for walking out of a car mid-traffic but he did not want to be here anymore than he had to.

“Protection is very important, Lee.” Oh sweet god, she was still going. “Thirteen percent of the US population right now has an STD, STI or HIV. That’s more than forty million people! And in New York, there are around eight point four hundred and sixty-eight people, and that’s not even mentioning the yōkai population…”

“Are you saying yōkais can get STDs?”

“Yes!” She smacks him upright on the head. “Pay attention! The three most common types of STDs are Human Papillomavirus, chlamydia, and gonorrhea. And you know what’s the most prevalent STD in New York? Chlamydia! So it’s very important that you use protection! But if you don’t then, hey! I’m not going to stop you!” She pauses for a second. “The guys at the Nexus called that something. I think it had to do with dogs or-”

“OKAY!” Lee shouts, face beet red. “Okay! I promise that if the need ever arises - which I can assure you with full and total confidence that it won’t! - I will use protection! Deal!?”

The car is silent for a second as One ponders his statement.

“Deal,” she says finally. “But you didn’t have to shout.”

He lifts the hood of his jacket up and crosses his arms, pouting like a pre-teen.

The car is, thankfully, silent for a good while. It hardly moves, a consequence of them leaving well into the witching hour. He could hear vendors, pedestrians, and car horns from his seat, albeit somewhat muffled.

Lee feels himself finally start to relax when One asks another question.

“What did you mean when you said that you didn’t need to worry about catching STDs?”

Fffffffffffffffffffffuck.

He hums, pretending that he didn’t hear her.

Unfortunately, this is One, his younger/oldest sister that doesn’t take kindly to that offense; either by him, their brothers or any one of the hundred battle-hardened fighters and Champions of the Nexus.

She smacks his arm, hard, leaving a stinging sensation. He makes the mistake of turning to rub the spot, as One decides to grab his hood and yank his head down to meet her eye-to-eye. That all took less than two seconds, and Lee ended up with a minor case of whiplash.

“Answer the question, Number Four.”

“That name’s taken,” he groans.

“It’s still your name as well,” One says casually. “It can be shared. You think you’re the only ‘Lee’ or ‘Leonardo’ in New York? The US? The world?”

“Alright, alright, I get it.”

“Good,” she lets go of his hood. “Now answer the question.”

Lee sits up, leaning his head back. Sighing, he wonders how to tell her the news. Professionally or bluntly? One is a girl who likes when people get straight to the pint, and that’s something that never changed. Even in the future. There were many moments where Commander Venus Hamato shut down several scout leaders who bailed on their missions when they tried (and failed) to distract her with flattery.

Might as well honor her memory by doing the same with her younger self.

“I’m…” he sighs again. “Romance is not…something that I can experience.”

“How so? Explain.”

Lee huffs out a laugh. “There are people who can experience romantic attraction.” He sees her nod. “I’m not one of those people.”

One nods again.

“This extends to sexual attraction as well. I don’t…feel those things. I actually get a bit seasick when I have to watch romcoms. Can’t handle them.”

One continues nodding.

“And I’m guessing…” she says. “That that extends to Four as well?”

Lee shrugs. “I should think so.”

A moment of silence passes before One smacks him in the arm again. 

“Ow!”

“You could’ve said something earlier!” she shouts. “I wasted an entire day researching and preparing that speech because some group of random people kept asking me if you’re single or if you’re looking for a hookup or a one night stand!”

“Oh my god…”

“Luckily Four scared them away but still!” One huffs, crossing her arms and pouting very much like how he did. “Honestly. I try to do something nice for you and this is how you turn it against me.”

He can’t help it. Lee laughs.

“I’m being serious!”

Lee laughs harder.

One smacks him in the head again.

His laughter starts hurting his stomach.

Once his laughter dies down, Lee wipes some of the tears out of his eyes. One is still pouting.

“How long did you research for again?”

“A whole day,” she responds automatically. She turns her head to look at him. “Four helped. I’m guessing you two have some sort of fondness when it comes to the medical field?”

“We do.”

“Thought so.”

An idea began to form in Lee’s head.

“Say,” he says, catching One’s attention. “We can’t let all that research go to waste. Now, it may not apply to me or Four, but I do know three teenage boys who are trying to branch out into the dating pool that might need a bit of a…heads up of the dangers to one’s health that could come from it.”

One stares at him with wide eyes for a few minutes, taking in the wide and wicked smile that grew on his face.

A similar wicked smile grew on hers.

“You are quite correct. We simply cannot.”

“As our duties as the eldest?” he asks, extending one hand for a handshake.

“As out duties as the eldest,” she affirms, clasping his hand.

[mdverse]

teehee you told me to drop by so i'm asking the most important question of them all.... of the main new directions who do they bias in bts and how much do they like bts 🤭

hi u are so real for this sorry this has taken me a while to get to!! been trying to organise my thoughts but i'm still not fully set on things. i guess ill do this from like. most to least likely to enjoy bts? (also i will say i have thoughts on the vb au squad specifically! i don't remember them in detail and they're probably similar to what i've written here but i def remember talking about it with mist)

tina: 100% most likely to be an army also def a once and a sone but that's not relelvant here! girlie has taste and i love that for her <3 she has jimin stan energy to me, i think she'd see the similarities between him and mike and she'd have a major soft spot for that

sugar: not technically one of the main new directions but i wanted to include her anyway bc i bet she loves bts. she has that vibe. she'd have all the merch and could very easily spend hundreds of dollars on concert tickets for herself and tina and anyone else who wanted to come. idk how she'd feel about the older eras but she'd def be a fan of the more poppy songs (maybe hyyh-onwards? def enjoys the LY/MOTS eras). probably a big vocal line fan, specifically jin and possibly jungkook as a bias wrecker

brittany: i think she'd enjoy bts a lot tbh! idk if she'd dive deep into fan theories or keep up with stuff like run bts but she'd def vibe with their music and i would kill to see her do the dance challenges or even full dance covers. i'd say she's hobi-biased but also just a big fan of 3J/sunshine line

blaine: i think he'd enjoy their more recent eras! mainly LY/MOTS-onwards i think? he has boy with luv/dynamite vibes. major jungkook stan in my head but i think he would really enjoy joon's lyrics/writing style

mike: def introduced to bts through tina dkfjgh but i think he'd get sucked in by the dance practices and the live performances even if the music itself isn't necessarily stuff he'd listen to! probably a 3J stan, if i had to pick one i'd very hesitantly say jimin

santana: idk if she'd listen to them regularly but. i do think she'd vibe a lot with agust d's albums? and i also think she'd find mono and indigo really soothing. epiphany would alter her brain chemistry and no one can tell me otherwise! i know for a fact that she would cry at that song. namgi fan

quinn: casual bts listener i think? def a joon stan tho i don't make the rules here!! i do also think she'd enjoy jin's voice a lot

artie: i feel like bts would be a guilty pleasure for him? idk if he'd be super invested but he would enjoy some of their music and he would def have an appreciation for the mvs! musically i'd say he enjoys tae the most but he def thinks jimin is ridiculously pretty

sam: hmmm sam is one i feel much less familiar with. mist said u guys have talked about blamtina being armys together and i can kinda see that? he does also kinda seem like he'd consider them a guilty pleasure to me tho. jin or jungkook stan energy

mercedes: secondhand fan through tina! idk if she'd listen to them on her own but if tina is around she doesn't mind listening to them. there's bound to be at least one song that hits hard for her but idk what it is rn. i think she'd appreciate tae's voice the most?

kurt: also introduced to them through tina! idk if i see him being much of a kpop fan but i do think he'd appreciate the aesthetics and the artistry of it all. i think he'd like jungkook bc he gets blaine vibes from kookie? alternatively there's sth about him that makes me think jimin stan

puck: bts doesn't really have much rock music so i guess puck wouldn't be super interested in most of it but i feel like there are probably a few songs he might enjoy just vibe-wise? maybe stuff like stigma, house of cards? i also inexplicably get a hip hop fan vibe from him despite that not being a thing in canon so i could potentially see him vibing with their earlier eras and stuff like the cyphers and being biased towards the rap line? but i'm not very set on that

finn: doesn't strike me as much of a kpop fan tbh but i think there are a couple of songs here and there he might like (fake love rocking mix!). idk if he'd actually ever remember any of their names tho kdfjgh he'd probably pick a different bias every time he's asked bc he never pays enough attention to recognise any of them

rachel: does not have kpop fan vibes to me at all but i find it hard to read her so i could be wrong there? idk i don't think she'd really listen to their music since she is so showtunes to me. that being said i think if she had to pick a fav it would be jungkook if only bc of the gold star/golden maknae association

[mitochondriencocktail]

not sure if they are from the same universe but 4, 11, 24 and 30 in your puppy play fics

Anon, your mind...... genius. I didn't even consider this as a possibility. I hadn't initially written the puppy play fics as a specific universe, but now.... my mind is racing with the possibilities. Let's do this.

4. What’s their favorite sleeping/cuddling positions?

So, to preface, I picture the puppy play thing as an important component of their relationship but not the vast majority of it. It's framed as an outlet for Bojan who, for the purposes of this fic, is in dire need of someone taking the reins sometimes, relieving him of responsibility and decision. It's also a thrill for him to do so. Being so public, there's a lot of perceptions and images he needs to keep up.

BUT to answer your question, most nights Bojan likes to just wrap himself around Jere, the latter of which loves it because it's like a gravity blanket but also his boyfriend. After they have a particularly intense session though, Jere likes to hold Bojan from behind, like he's putting the pieces of him back together and keeping him safe always.

11. What’s a song that describes their relationship? Or, what’s the song that they’ve deemed “their” song?

Despite the fact that this AU essentially consists of just smut, I actually picture them as stupidly in love with one another. (Though, I mean, that's nothing new for me...) That type of dynamic requires a lot of communication, understanding and trust though, so I'd go with:

and then for the bedroom...

24. What are their favorite places to kiss on their partner(s)? What are their favorite types of kisses?

Jere LOVES to go to town on Bojan's thighs... for obvious reasons. I'd say also, lots of kisses right over his heart in this AU, pulse points, feeling the thrum of energy underneath his skin.

Bojan, perhaps like a puppy, kisses Jere enthusiastically anywhere and everywhere. When they're not having a session, he comes up behind Jere and just unleashes a frenzy of kisses along his neck and back and cheeks.

I think they both just love all kinds of kisses from one another <3

30. Free space! Say something about this ship that you want to say!

INCH RESTING. I haven't had one of these yet, I think. This is such an interesting AU to get this one for... In a way, even though I've combined them for these questions, I do think actually that the puppy play fics live in sliiightly different universes. One is adjacent to the regular ol' ESC-verse, while the other is, perhaps, an AU where they happened to find one another.

Maybe started as friends, grew closer, Jere thinking Bojan has the hots for someone else entirely until suddenly one night Bojan's kissing him outside his apartment after a night out and asking if he wants to come inside.

They hook up a few times before Bojan very nervously confides in Jere what type of things he's into, and Jere has to think on it for a bit. Do some research, ask Bojan questions, but then he gets it. It clicks and becomes part of their bedroom dynamic.

The timeline of the fics, I'd hazard, has them about 3-4 years in at that point.

Oh man I rambled a lot. Thank you for asking about them! This was an interesting one to tackle! <3

[riddlerosehearts]

decided i'm going to start posting my thoughts on baldur's gate 3 every so often as i make my way through the game, because it'd be nice to have some of this stuff about first playthrough written down somewhere! my tav is a half-high elf bard named elenion (he/they) who's neutral good-aligned, and despite being a bard he's very reserved and is always feigning self-confidence. also, he's a college of lore bard who honestly would've fit the sage background pretty well but i went ahead and gave him entertainer instead lol. i guess that actually gives me the opportunity to see more of the inspiration goals by not having the same background as gale! anyway though, here's a few thoughts about what i've done while still being very early in act 1:

at the point i'm at in the story right now, i was supposed to go look for halsin, but instead i decided to finally find karlach. i feel like i probably should've gotten her sooner, but once i got to the grove i didn't wanna venture too far from the main objectives--and the grove is where you recruit wyll and learn about karlach in the first place.

however, halsin sounds very wise and capable so i guess he can handle himself while he waits, and the mindflayer tadpole symptoms aren't progressing like they're supposed to, so why not just go off and act like we've got all the time in the world! maybe elenion is just easily distracted. they did waste quite a bit of time earlier when they found alfira and felt compelled to help her finish her song. and speaking of, i was not expecting such a beautiful cutscene for that?! or for the squirrels we talked to using speak with animals to be so mean and hate her song 😭 but i hope we get to see alfira again and that nothing bad happens to her, and i hope i don't eventually regret saying that!

also, wyll did say karlach is a danger to the entire sword coast, which makes hunting her down sound pretty important... and elenion has an interest in history so they recognized the phrase "advocatus diaboli" and were able to mention the blood war when wyll first talked about her. so maybe they're also interested in seeing if they can get a devil who fought in the blood war and is now wandering the material plane to answer a few questions before taking her down. anyway, point is we're leaving the druids and our quest for a cure hanging to go hunt a devil.

took me a bit to find her despite wyll's quest leading you to her, though. i have a horrible sense of direction, which i guess is okay because my horrible sense of direction did lead me to accidentally find scratch and now we have a dog!

eventually i did get to karlach, and elenion's mind connected to hers and gave him a much closer look at who karlach is and what she's doing here than he expected. naturally he convinced wyll to stand down because karlach does not seem evil. and then he tried to ask karlach some of the questions he had in mind back at camp, but she won't reveal anything until we hunt down the paladins that are still hunting her. understandable, i guess. i like her though! i should try and make sure to get her earlier on my next playthrough.

encountered mizora for the first time when i rested at camp, and i'm very intrigued by what's going on with wyll and i actually have been since way before i played the game and found out he was a fabled hero who was also a warlock. which is why i also think it's a huge shame that from what i've heard at least, he was given a lot less content for his quest and his romance than the other companions were.

wandered around the world a bit more and ended up freeing a poor guy who was being spun around on a windmill by goblins. then i got the scene with gale where he teaches you how to channel the weave, and it not only had bard-specific dialogue options but also had an option that specifically reflected my character's proficiency in history, which was all really neat to see. god, there must be an insane amount of different dialogue branches in this game. love that there was also an option to be like "yeah that was neat, but i could've done it myself lol" since a bard is already a spellcaster.

the range of these particular dialogue options is killing me LMAO

i had high enough approval with gale to trigger a very obviously romantic scene and then the game is literally like "okay, so do you want to kiss him or do you want his severed head on a spike" 😭 like wtf do you THINK?! i can't even imagine how i'd roleplay a character who would be cruel enough to get this far and lead gale on so much before picking to project an image of his head on a spike directly into his mind. and yet i am so curious about what happens if you do--but not curious enough to reload and try to find out. mostly because i cannot bring myself to be mean to gale.

anyway, i picked the romantic walk option. i thought elenion would consider the kiss thing to be a bit too forward. but that was such a sweet scene and i love flustered gale gets when he realizes how you feel about him. going into this game i really thought i'd wanna try for astarion or shadowheart's romances first, and i do like them a lot and want to keep learning more about both of them, but gale surprised me with how much i already liked him from his introduction. he's just really charming and funny and also fits well with the character i made, so i will definitely keep progressing his romance.

aaand i've been progressing a bit slowly because of irl stuff but everything about this game is so good that i wish i'd picked it up sooner! i've been spoiled on quite a bit of things about the story already, but there's also a lot that i haven't been spoiled on and i can't wait to experience all of it anyway.

[mydaroga]

I'm sorry, I really don't understand what's so weird/striking about the Maybe I'm Amazed quote? Isn't he just saying it's his favorite song that he's written? If John came back to life and sang one of his songs he'd want it to be his favorite one? And he's just relating the two questions because they are essentially the same question (what's your favorite song you've written)? Can you help me understand what I'm missing here? Thanks!

Hi! Thank you so much for asking, because it's all a little ambiguous, isn't it? And maybe I'm making too much of it. And we never really know what goes on in another person's mind, etc etc.

So you're referring to this post which says:

Sir Paul was asked if Lennon were alive, which McCartney song he would like him to play. He said: ''Maybe I'm Amazed came into my mind. That would be interesting to hear him sing that.'' …

Asked if he had to choose a song to be remembered by, Sir Paul said: ''Your songs are like your babies, you don't want to have a favourite. But Maybe I'm Amazed - 'cos John's got to sing it.”

I think this is an interesting set of statements for a few reasons. One, it's a very passionate song that Paul wrote for/about Linda, the love of his life. The idea that he's thought about how it would sound for John to sing a song that has so much personal resonance that Paul still sings it at every show implies either that Paul's relationship to the song isn't as personal as I thought, or that John singing it doesn't take anything away from the personal nature of it. Either seems singular, because he didn't say, I dunno, "Jet" or "My Brave Face" or something less personal.

It also just sort of connects itself in my brain with the other Paul songs John insisted or wanted to insist on singing: "In Spite of All the Danger" and "Oh! Darling." Because subconsciously or not, it sort of slots "Maybe I'm Amazed" into that category of passionate Paul songs that John, or he, thought should be sung by John. In the case of "Oh! Darling," of course, it was John who thought he'd sound better doing it (and here Paul doesn't say John would be 'better,' just that he'd like to hear it) but it seems like an interesting counterpoint.

Third, the fact that he is hanging onto this idea of John singing it after the conversation has moved on is touching. I don't actually think "what's you're favorite song you've written" is at all the same question as "what would you like John to cover." And certainly, at least in my mind, "it's my favorite because I want to hear John sing it" is a strange answer given that he's been asked how he wants to be remembered, himself. I'd expect him to say "because it's about my lovely wife, Linda." Or, "because it represents something really important to me about the time it was written." And maybe it's just the first thing he thinks of because it's already come up, and maybe it means nothing more than that, but it's interesting that the notion of John singing "Maybe I'm Amazed" captured him so much at that moment that he brings it back up entirely unbidden and connects it back all by himself.

So I don't think it necessarily means anything, but I do think it's interesting that at least in this moment, his mind is connecting his own lasting songwriting reputation to John singing his passionate ode to Linda.

But of course, your mileage may vary, so do let me know if that makes any more sense to you or if you disagree!

[bardic-tales]

Okay, I am quite curious about something. Do you've some headcanons for any of your couples?

Hi, Leia. Thanks for the question, and I hope you are having a wonderful day. I do have headcanon for all of my couples. Creating their headcanons can become like some people experience earworms for songs.

Again, thanks so much for the ask. It helps me keep my mind off of Loki for a bit and sort of forces me to actually think about the work that I didn't have the heart to pick back up since his diagnosis.

I'm going to answer this by splitting it up between Original and Fandom work. The original work I'm focus on right now is Cold as Ice, so the couple in that are Cyras Giovanna Teresa Covelli da Lucci and Vaene Ectorius Arturis.

The fandom work is The Old Republic: Cynthia Prescost and Darth Noktis. For Uncharted, it's Niamh Donovan and Nathan Drake.

Cyras and Vaene share a few interests. They both have a love for the finer things in life: art, literature, fashion, and exotic dishes.

Their common goal is to bring the Olessan Empire into a glory age. This means that they have to shed their opinions of each other. This will be harder for Vaene when he finally learns the truth about the planned coup.

Both Vaene and Cyras would do anything for their spouse and family. His son was taken far too early from him; Cyras' son was accepted into the ranks of the Knights of Agosto.

Vaene hates how guarded Cyras can be around him. He knows that she had a traumatic experience growing up, and that has caused her heart to have walls around it, but he just wishes that she could lean on him.

Cyras admires the way he seems to command presence in a room without really doing anything. Vaene is a very confident, cocky man, but it is to keep people from becoming too close to him. Vaene admires how strong Cyras is. She was an orphan on the streets of Glyndon, the neighboring country, and she rose to the second important position in the Olessan Empire, the Stewardess.

Fandom Original Character

This is the fanfiction section. Maybe, one day I'll make a fancy header for it. lmao.

Star Wars

My two characters that I usually do this for is Agent Cynthia Prescost, my Imperial Agent, and her lover, Darth Noktis: the player character that was known as Darth Nox.

When they walk side by side, she will often walk with her hands behind her back and fingers interlace. Even though they eventually became bonded, Cynthia still shows this respect to Noktis. He will often tell her to relax.

Cynthia was originally sent by Imperial Intelligence to become Noktis' servant when he was an apprentice to keep tabs on his master: Lord Zash.

As soon as Noktis first saw her, he was struck by a vision of the future. He would be ruling the Empire with her by his side. He often struggled with this vision as she is a human and he is a Zabrak. Noktis is often a slave to his visions, and this makes them easily manipulated.

He often tells her he will kill for her, and this does become a reality. When they were visiting the new empress on Dromund Kaas, their plane is sabotaged. Acina, Cynthia, and Noktis go through the jungles and the Sith Temple to return to Kaas City. Cyn is pregnant at the time. When he found out who put his wife in harm, he used his saberstaff to strike down the aggressor before his gathered allies.

Noktis believes that his love for Cynthia is stronger than any hate he could feel. He told her that both the Jedi and Sith are afraid of the attachment. Hate tends to die when the target dies; love is eternal.

Cynthia often likes to dance for Noktis. He enjoys his private dances, but they are often exhibitionists, too.

Their relationship was inspired by Persephone and Hades.

Due to her upbringing, Cynthia is a bit touch-starved. She enjoys it when he just teases her. As Noktis has immense command over the Force, he tends to use the Force to see to those needs. Noktis loves to indulge in the Force, and as his wife, Cynthia loves to watch.

Uncharted

For Uncharted, this happens five years after the events of Uncharted: A Thief's End. Nathan Drake is a widower; Niamh Donovan is the daughter of the late Arthur "Art" Donovan, the inspiration for Indiana Jones.

Niamh was lovingly crafted to compliment Nathan Drake's traits. I had a friend said that they wished that Niamh was included within the Uncharted Universe.

Nathan is 53 (give or take); Niamh is 31. I always believed that the older you are, the more that age is a number.

There are many activities that the two like to do together. They often discuss history, their past hunting adventures, and drinking bourbon together. Niamh is a bartender, and she made her own drink to compliment Nate's personality. She loves to create it for him.

They share the same surrogate father figure: Victor Sullivan. Sully is old friends with her father. While Nathan, Sully, and Elena were dealing with the events shown in "A Thief's End", Arthur Donovan was abducted by Kira Mitchell, the top lieutenant for Rourke McGlouglin. Sully has refused to leave Niamh's side. In fact, Nate is shocked to find Sully at Sunset Shores in 2020.

Nate and Niamh met at her bar Sunset Shores in Kuta Beach, Bali, as he is searching for her father's journal as a way to revive Cassie and Elena. She served him a beer, as she thought that he lost his wife to one of the Balian Natives, but he quickly shoots that down and says he is a widower.

When they are searching for the location of her father's journal, they first start in his study. Niamh often refused to go in there. Nate accompanies her into the room and even holds her as she cries from the memories before they begin the search for a clue or the location of her father's journal.

Nate still wears his wedding ring, and Niamh never asks him to remove it. She could never ask him to simply "move on", but their love does grow.

When they do find the Ark of the Covenant, Nate will have to have a choice. He will not be able to bring back Cassie, but he could Elena. He would need to exchange the life of someone he loves for the life of his true love. Niamh is afraid he will view her as disposable.

[inspiteallthedanger]

Hi, this is not a very original ask, and I know it must have been discussed a thousand times, but I just got reminded of it again and I got to really really wonder about it. My question is: Who do you think Paul meant with "I'm in love with a friend of mine" line in ''Dear Friend''? My first instinct is to be always a sceptic, and I always want to try a rational and objective explanation first. For those reasons I've always kinda assumed that line was about Linda, something like "Can't you understand/be nicer to me and Linda, she's another friend and I'm in love with her''. Something like what John was often saying about how Yoko was a partner in art, who you can touch (unlike Paul). So Linda was a friend who you can be in love with.

But.. right now I find my sceptic interpretation odd and weak. The word ''friend'' in the title and the orther lyrics of the song is obviously about John and that has been admitted many times. Why whould the other time he uses ''friend'' be suddenly not about John? And when has Paul ever referred to Linda as a friend of his, they never started as friends I think. It just doesn't make much sense that he would use that phrase for her and in a song about another ''dear'' friend. Though, then the ''really truly, young and newly wed'' seems to be about Linda... (but that doesn't mean that the I'm in love with a friend of mine should also be...?...) So confusing, and this is actually a song in which all other lyrics are understandable! For me it's not really one of those occasions when Paul is casual and obscure forever because he never meant the lyrics to make sense. Not to mention how uniquely emotionally he sings it in the home demos. The end of demo 1 especially. Not that the emotion explains the line per se, but if ''I'm in love with a friend of mine'' was a happy victorious statement about the newly wed, then why was he singing the song so sad? So I wondered what you thought, because you're so good at analysis and I think you can think of other sceptic and rational explanations. And if not maybe there's another kind of light in the tunel. Maybe for the first time I can rule out sceptic.

Hello! I do see what you mean about the song being a little confusing, but I think you're right that it's a song to John about Paul being in love with Linda and all the apparent fallout that's created. I think this is explained if you replace 'friend' with their names. For example:

Dear friend, throw the wine I'm in love with a friend of mine

Becomes:

Dear John, throw the wine (I guess this means throw a fit or ruin the party)

I'm in love with Linda

I think it's all in line with Paul being somewhat baffled about why John's being so terrible to him (and Linda especially). The reason it's sad is because he's talking to John and so all of that baggage is bleeding through. He's devastated because he thinks this might be the end of his and John's relationship, if they can't get passed him being with Linda:

Dear friend, what's the time? (is this the end of us?) Is this really the borderline? (are we at the end of all things?) Does it really mean so much to you? (is me being with her really the breaking point?) Are you afraid, or is it true? (are you just scared I don't love you, or are you really being serious and don't want me anymore?)

So I don't think he's exactly saying "Be nicer to her" although I guess that would be the outcome. He's asking John over and over what's going on, why is he being a jerk, when all Paul's done is fall in love with Linda. Obviously, it's weirder from Paul's perspective, because that's exactly what John did a few months before him. Let's not get into why that's weird or we'll be here all day.

I will say, that it's very interesting to me that by giving both John and Linda the same title of 'friend', he's sort of suggesting they're equally important to him. Which is why I think John took it to be an olive branch and calmed down a bit. Overall the song can be seen to say: "Listen, what's happening here? I love her and I'm happy with her, can't you get over that? I care about you both deeply and I cannot bear the thought that you're making me choose."

Side note in crazy tinhat moment 'friend as a term for partner' = 'old estranged fiancé' + 'think of me from time to time, old friend'. I've connected the dots etc etc.

Anyway. That's how I take it. Does that make sense? Let me know what you think!

[oblivious-aro]

Brief overview of Carrie and Lowell and this project: Carrie and Lowell, released in 2015, is the seventh studio album by Sufjan Stevens. In 2012, Stevens' mother (Carrie) died from stomach cancer. He had a very complicated relationship with Carrie, who suffered from schizophrenia, depression, and alcoholism. She left her first husband when Stevens was a year old and was absent for the vast majority of his life, but from the interviews I've read she seemed to be a relatively pleasant person to be with when she was around.

This album calls upon a lot of symbols and imagery whose meaning seems to be very personal, so it can be difficult to say exactly what is meant by some lyrics, which makes it very interesting to try and interpret some of the nuances of what he's saying.

I've never had someone close to me die, but a lot of the ways Stevens talks about pain and sadness in this album have really resonated with me. Many of these songs are my go-to when I'm feeling down. It's also one of the few albums that I'll listen to front to back.

Since I feel so strongly about these songs, I thought it'd be fun to go through each one and write down what the lyrics mean and how they resonate with me. Starting, of course, with Death with Dignity:

--------------------------------------------------

Spirit of my silence I can hear you, but I'm afraid to be near you And I don't know where to begin And I don't know where to begin Somewhere in the desert there's a forest, and an acre before us But I don't know where to begin But I don't know where to begin

The singer starts off by talking about a presence he is aware of, but hesitant to face (obviously grief and complicated feeling about his relationship with his mother).

He doesn't talk about these heavy feelings with others, and likely doesn't acknowledge even in private (spirit of my silence), but their presence is still constantly felt, and he knows he probably should be doing something about them.

He knows he's neglecting some important things, but his issues feel too big and intimidating to face, so he tries to avoid dealing with them. Again I lost my strength completely, oh be near me tired old mare With the wind in your hair

Of course, just because you aren't dealing your problems doesn't mean they aren't affecting you. These feelings are heavy, and he's carrying them all the time. He may not be properly facing with his feelings, but they are still there and they still drain him.

The mare's been around a long time and the singer still thinks she's beautiful and her presence is a comfort, but she's probably not the same as she once was.

Amethyst and flowers on the table, is it real or a fable? Well I suppose a friend is a friend And we all know how this will end

He questioning a memory here. It's not likely that the flowers (that probably some family member had out on their table when he was a kid), were actually adorned with jewels. His brain is making this memory seem even better than it was, and he's aware of this. The flowers certainly might have felt that decadent at the time, or maybe he's inflating the positive feelings in the present because he wants something pleasant to give him a break from the pain he's in.

In the end he concludes it doesn't matter either way. He's here for comfort and escape, which the image is providing it. Does it matter if the memory is totally accurate? It's only a temporary distraction, he won't be thinking about it for long either way. No point in wasting time worrying about it.

Chimney swift that finds me be my keeper, silhouette of the cedar

He fantasizes about receiving relief from a stranger. He wants someone to stumble upon him and offer him help rather than reach out to someone he already knows. Asking for help can be daunting, and sometimes it's easier to talk to strangers than those that are close to us. Lower stakes.

Not really much to go off of on the cedar bit, but I assume the silhouette is another image whose beauty evokes strong feelings of comfort.

What is that song you sing for the dead What is that song you sing for the dead

At first I thought he was looking for another memory to take comfort in, to distract him. He remembers this one evoking some feelings in him, but he can't quite remember how it goes. Might be a suitable distraction if he remembers how it went and can see what he saw in it again.

Then I realized he's saying he doesn't know what to do to grieve properly. That would tie it back to the whole I don't know where to begin thing. That makes more sense. Both lines even repeat. He seeks reassurance and comfort from past memories a lot in this song, so it fits that he's looking to his past for guidance on grief too, rather than the present.

I see the signal searchlight strike me, in the window of my room Well I got nothing to prove Well I got nothing to prove

This ties in a bit to the chimney sweep and the spirit of my silence bit. He's hiding his feelings from the people around him, and himself (in his hesitancy to properly face them), but he can't run from his feelings forever. He's going to face the feelings he's been pushing away eventually.

Acknowledging them feels jarring, like he's being called out. He's been keeping his feelings hidden for a while, then suddenly they're not.

Maybe bringing things to light wasn't actually as big of a deal as he feared it would be, or maybe he's playing off like he doesn't care to try and minimize the distress.

I forgive you mother I can hear you, and I long to be near you But every road leads to an end Yes every road leads to an end Your apparition passes through me, in the willows and five red hens You'll never see us again You'll never see us again

(Fun Fact: I thought the lyric was But I'm afraid to be near you, sowing that he's drawn to thoughts and memories of his mother, but they can be as painful as they are pleasant. Guess not.) He's reaching for her, even though he knows she's out of reach.

I imagine the hens were on some kind of decoration that he doesn't have anymore (like one of those fancy plates in your grandma's kitchen), rather than actual chickens. His Mother's gone, just like the plate. He's never going to see either of them again. but the memory is so vivid that it almost feels like he can reach them. They feel almost in his grasp.

--------------------------------------------------

Some Final Words: When I listen to this song, an image of a sunny field shows up in my head. The amethyst and flowers are on a wooden table inside a simple wooden house with big windows that gets lots of sunlight. I usually picture the flowers as yellow or purple. The signal searchlight also takes place in a simple wooden house, shining through one of the upper floor bedroom windows at night. It makes sense that the part of the song where he talks about feeling exposed takes place in the most personal room in a house.

Death with Dignity is about Stevens' difficulty facing his grief. Carrie's death left an emptiness that's difficult to fill because of just how little she was actually in his life. Despite her long absences, her relationship with Stevens is still very significant to him, and her absence is very much felt. He grasps at pleasant memories, what little pieces of Carrie he does have, to fill in the hole she left when she died.

Like most of the songs in this album, Death with Dignity ends with a sustained visceral ethereal noise. This one is very choral. It's beautiful but tinged with sadness and longing. Still very gentle, especially compared to some of the later outros.

[doxiedreg]

Ask game: 2, 7, 22? :]

2. what's your favorite thing about your style I absolutely love the way I render things and how colorful and vibrant my art is! And! How I try to make the background a real environment for the character featured in it, even if abstract. I know that's 3 things but I think i deserve a lil confidence boost for myself 7. show us a WIP

god I have so many abandoned art pieces and also just concept sketches to visualise ideas. I'll throw in a few here, this is a question that can be asked multiple times

old thorn sketches im still very fond off, especially that big headshot

attempt number 300 to create a behemoth form for thorn that im satisfied with, i dont know why it's so fucking hard. I am not 100 percent happy with this one either. I just want him to feel unique, massive and heavy with some bull and big cat influence. I also want to include tusks since in mythology the behemoth is often elephant like

Vampire demon lord Thorn AU because i love putting my favorite boy in different constumes. again not satisfied with this design. Also haven't rped it in a while so my muse for it is gone at the moment but maybe it will come back some day. This thorn is so fucking angsty and bitter you have no idea. Has so many huge walls around his heart If you want to see more wips/unfinished graveyard pieces you guys will just have to send ask number 7 again 22. what inspires you? In my childhood, the dragonology books were a huge passion and creative influence for me. Especially the illustrations by douglas carrel. Another book illustrator that i was kinda obsessed with was chriss riddell, just love how detailed their illustrations are Ghibli studio's style I always love. Just watching their movies is such a treat, I always feel so full of inspiration. As for current inspirations? Honestly the artists I follow and the music i listen to. I always draw the best art when my spotify shuffle liked songs playlist has just the right flow and it fuels me! And when I see other artists share info on their characters or glimpses into their oc projects it makes me want to work on my characters!! And when my fav artists upload an art piece with such good shapes and colors and compositions?? Augh it makes me want to draw. Oh an animatics! I love watching animatics! Especially for musicals they are so fucking good and so many talented artists it fills me with joy. just gives me straight up shivers!! Another thing that fuels me is the reactions of you guys and my friends! I want to share my characters and art and use them to engage with people. Get them interested in my world, inspire them, just engage with the community, get talking! So yeah art is very important to me haha. Normally I get really mad when im in a dryspell like this but seeing how i drew 18 art pieces last month im cutting myself some slack haha, i deserve some rest after that, especially since my routine and energy levels are extremely wack right now, i need to recover. Heck that turned out way longer and more passionate than i expected, I hope you didnt mind the ramble! Feel free to send more questions owo

[spnhunter4life]

End Up Here Chapter 2

Chapter Summary: Emily and the stranger from the bar meet and sparks fly.

Word Count: 3.5k

A/N: Lots of dialogue in this one. Honestly, the whole thing is lots of dialogue, but with a story focused on two people getting to know each other the dialogue is kind of important. I spent a lot of time tweaking this one to try and get it right and I think I finally got it to a point where it flows pretty smoothly.

Masterlist Series Masterlist

My mind was racing. What was he doing? Was he really coming to talk to me? Why me? What would I say to him? I took a couple of seconds to try and calm myself down, but I didn’t have time to make much progress before he was standing in front of me.

“So, you’re a Led Zeppelin fan,” he said, more a statement than a question. Well that’s definitely not what I had been expecting. I must have looked confused, because he nodded towards my shirt.

“Oh,” I said, looking down. It was a black t-shirt with the band name printed in bold red letters in front of what I had always assumed to be the cover art from one of their albums. I looked back at him and was momentarily stunned by the color of his eyes. It was a little hard to be sure in this lighting, but they seemed to be a beautiful shade of green. “I can see why you would think that, but no. I actually used to have a friend that liked them and she gave me this shirt,” I admitted.

“Well your friend has great taste in music,” he said. “I’m Dean.”

“Emily.”

“So tell me, Emily, what kind of music do you like?”

“I’m not terribly picky. I’ll listen to most things with the exception of a few genres. But I guess typically I stick to pop with a side of country.”

“Oof,” he playfully grimaced. “That’s not what I wanted to hear.”

“Is that a dealbreaker for you then?” I smiled, catching on to his teasing.

“That depends. Is rock one of those genres you won’t listen to?”

“No, I like rock,” I told him. “It’s not something I usually go out of my way to listen to, but whenever I do hear a rock song, I always enjoy it.”

“Ah, see I can work with that. Definitely not a dealbreaker.”

“What about you? Are you strictly into rock?” I asked.

“Yeah. Pretty much. I’m always open to hearing something new, but you can’t beat a good Zeppelin or Metallica song. Why? Is that a dealbreaker for you?” He said with a small smirk.

I smiled back.

“Definitely not. I can work with that,” I echoed.

He grinned at me and then looked out towards the dancefloor.

“How come you’re not out there with your friends?” He asked.

“I’m really not much of a dancer,” I told him. 

“What if you’re dancing with someone?” 

“Why?” I asked with a smile. “Are you offering?”

“Maybe.” His answering smile was a little crooked and it looked so good on him, that I once again wondered what he could be doing talking to me.

We looked at each other for a few seconds. I don’t know what he was thinking, but I was trying to figure out where this was going. Surely offering to dance meant he was interested beyond just knowing my music tastes.

“Thanks, but no. Dancing with another person doesn’t make me look any less stupid. If anything, it makes it worse because there’s someone else right there to compare me to.”

I hoped turning down his offer wasn’t the wrong call. I didn’t want to lose his company.

“Only if the other person is a good dancer. Maybe I’m even worse than you,” he pointed out. “Or maybe you're not as bad of a dancer as you think you are.”

“Well, maybe so, but I’m sorry to say you’re not about to find out. Trust me, it’s not a good way to make a good first impression.”

“Fine by me. I didn’t really want to dance either,” he said. I scoffed.

“Well then why did you make such an argument for it?” 

“Just wanted to make sure you weren’t secretly wanting to be out there but lacking the proper motivation.”

“And that would be you?” I asked, taking a drink of my water.

He grinned.

“Well you have been looking at me all night.”

At his words I accidentally inhaled some of my water. Luckily it wasn’t very much, and I was able to talk again after only a couple seconds of coughing.

“What?” I gasped out. “I wasn’t-”

“Yes you were,” he said confidently, cutting off my denial. Then seeing the no doubt bright red color my cheeks were turning, he laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I was looking at you too.”

“You were?” I asked, a little surprised but more doubtful than anything. Granted, it’s not like I’d never looked away from him at all the whole night. But I’d definitely been watching him more than I should have been. Wouldn’t I have noticed if he was looking back?

“Yeah. How else would I have seen you looking? Believe me, if I wasn’t paying attention to you, I would have had no idea.”

“Why didn’t I see you looking then?” I asked.

“Guess I’m just that good,” he smirked. I gave him a doubtful look and he let out an amused chuckle. “Look at what’s hanging behind the bar,” he instructed with a nod in that direction. It took me a few seconds to realize what he was talking about. Hanging along the full length of the wall behind the bar was a long mirror. A mirror he could have used to see the room behind him without turning around. 

I looked back to the dancefloor, not really looking at anyone in particular, just staring into the distance. I debated if I was going to ask my next question. It didn’t really matter, but I was still dying to know the answer.

“Why me? I saw more than one woman shoot their shot with you tonight, and you turned them all down. What makes me any different?”

“Hmm. Good question,” he said. “Is it too cheesy for me to say there was just something about you?”

“Yes.” There was nothing wrong with the statement and I supposed it was a compliment in some ways. But it was too vague. Too much of a line to be really meaningful. I wanted a real answer.

“Alright. Making me work for it. I can respect that,” he smiled. “Well I guess I’ll start with the obvious and tell you that I noticed you at first because of how beautiful you are.”

I couldn’t hide my small smile when I answered him.

“That’s just as much of a line as the first thing you said.”

He laughed.

“Maybe, but it doesn’t make it any less true. Beauty is a thing we tend to notice. Would you have paid any attention to me if you didn’t find me attractive?”

“I guess that’s a fair point,” I agreed.

“And since you were wondering, the reason I turned all those other women down is because I know what they wanted from me and that’s not what I’m here for.”

“What are you here for?” I asked.

“I’m new to town. I just wanted to come relax for the night. Maybe get a feel for what the locals are like. A bar is a pretty good place to do that. So I definitely didn’t come here with the intention to meet girls. Or at least not beyond a polite conversation. But even if that was my intention, one night stands really aren’t my thing.”

“They’re not?” I asked a little doubtfully. He’d be one of the rare few guys that felt that way then. At least in my experience.

“I mean, I’m not going to lie to you. I’ve had my fair share of them in the past. But I’m at a point where I want to actually meet someone, you know? Have a real relationship. And the best way to do that is to have a conversation with a woman if I find her attractive, not to sleep with her once and then never talk to her again.”

“There’s no rule that says you can’t ever talk to them again,” I pointed out, not sure what made me say it. 

“True,” he agreed. “But then it wouldn’t be a one night stand. Those are, by definition, one night. Besides, maybe some people can make it work, but in my experience we usually just end up avoiding each other.”

I wasn’t sure if I believed him, but if he was telling the truth, that was a lot of points in his favor.

“So coming to the point here, I came to talk to you because you are clearly interested. You were also clearly not going to do anything about it. I am also interested and, since your friends seem to have abandoned you, I figured it was a good time to introduce myself. I won’t lie, your shirt did pique my interest a little bit. And even though it turned out to be false advertising on your part, I’m still glad I came to talk to you.”

I laughed and lightly shoved at his shoulder.

“It’s not false advertising. I’m not wearing a shirt that says ‘I love Led Zeppelin,’ am I? You can’t assume that just because someone is wearing a shirt with a band or tv show or whatever it, it means they like that thing. Maybe they just thought the shirt looked cool and have no idea what it actually is.”

“Fair enough,” he agreed.

Before either of us could say anything more, my phone started buzzing in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw my alarm was going off. 11:00. Time to go home. I turned the alarm off and sighed.

“Everything all right?” Dean asked.

Maybe I could stay out a little later? It was a self imposed curfew after all. But no matter how much fun I was having now, no matter how much I wanted to stay and talk to this handsome, charming, very nice man, I knew I’d be kicking myself in the morning if I didn’t leave now.

“Yeah. I just should be heading home,” I told him. “I better go let my friends know I’m leaving.”

I walked out to my dancing coworkers and let them know I was done for the evening. There was the expected amount of protest and asking me to stay, but I ignored it.

“Hey, wait!” Rose said before I could walk away. “We all saw you talking to that sexy ass man from the bar. Is this an excuse to leave with him? Because you know you could just tell us.”

I frowned at her.

“It’s not an excuse. You know I don’t do hookups. It’s 11. I told you I was leaving at 11.”

“You know there’s no judgment from us. We were just curious,” Lauren said.

“Okay, well I’m going home. Alone. I promise,” I told them. Then I walked away before they could try to pull me back in, calling out a goodbye over my shoulder.

Dean was waiting by our table when I stopped there to grab my stuff.

“You’re not driving, are you?” He asked, sounding concerned.

“I’ve only had two small drinks. I feel more than ok to drive. But no. I’m walking.” Of course I would be driving later, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Let me walk you home then,” he offered.

“There’s really no need,” I told him. “I don’t mind walking alone and it’s a small, familiar neighborhood.”

“Whether you’re comfortable by yourself or not, I’d still like to go with you, if you don’t mind.” He must have seen that I was about to turn him down again, so he quickly interjected. “Call it me not quite being used to small towns yet. I’m still in a big city mindset, and I really don’t like the idea of sending a girl off walking by herself at this time of night. Even if she is perfectly safe.”

I thought about it. Years of being told never to put myself in a position where I was alone with a strange man came back to me and made me question the wisdom of this decision. But I’d been around guys that gave me bad vibes before, and he definitely wasn’t one of them. I was confident that his concern was genuine.

“Ok,” I agreed. “As long as you understand what’s going on here. I’m walking the six blocks to my friend’s house where she has two roommates who are home. Once we’re there, I’m getting in my car and leaving.”

He just smiled at me the whole time I was talking, like I was being ridiculous and adorable at the same time.

“Understood,” he told me. “Lead the way.” He held his arm out, gesturing for me to go first.

As we were leaving, Bon Jovi’s It’s My Life started playing through the speakers.

“Aww, I love this song,” I said disappointedly as I stepped through the door.

“We can stay and listen to it,” Dean chuckled.

“No, let’s go. It’s not like I can’t listen to it whenever I want. It’s just typical that they play something I know and like as soon as I decide to leave.”

We stepped outside, the noise of the bar becoming muffled but still audible when the door closed behind us. 

“Well if you’re a Bon Jovi fan, your taste in music can’t be too terrible,” he teased, picking up our earlier conversation.

“You’re a Bon Jovi fan then?” I asked.

“Eh.” He twisted his hand back and forth a couple times in a ‘so-so’ gesture. “I wouldn’t call myself a fan. But they do rock on occasion.”

“I wouldn’t call myself a fan either. I only know a few of their songs.”

“How about Wanted Dead or Alive?”

“Yeah, I know that one,” I told him. “It’s a good one.”

“It is,” he agreed. “What else do you like?”

“As far as rock goes?” He nodded. “As far as songs that I can actually name, it’s just a mix of stuff. And to be honest, I’m a little hazy on what qualifies as rock and what is something else entirely, so don’t judge me if I list something that you don’t think counts.”

“I’ll probably judge you a little, but I’ll at least keep it to myself,” he told me.

“I guess I can live with that,” I said. “I’d say pretty much everything I’m about to list, I only know two, three, four songs max from each band. But uh… AC/DC, Linkin Park, Nickelback, Bon Jovi obviously, Def Leppard… that’s all I’ve got off the top of my head. Like I said, it’s not my go to genre of music.”

“We do have some difference of opinion on what qualifies as rock. I’ll give you AC/DC of course. The rest… may or may not be technically categorized as rock, but it’s not the kind I listen to. So when you say you like rock music whenever you hear it, where exactly are you hearing it?”

“Movies and tv shows mostly,” I admitted. “I’d be willing to bet it’s stuff you would listen to, but I have no idea what it is so I couldn’t give you an example.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, why do you have to be home by a certain time on Friday night?”

“What?” I asked. It’s not like I misunderstood his question, it just took my brain a second to process the very sudden change in topic.

“What? You didn’t expect me to just talk about music all night, did you?” He smiled. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” 

“Oh. Um, no, it’s fine. I just have stuff to do tomorrow, so I don’t want to be tired and hungover.”

“How responsible.”

“Yes. Responsible,” I said a little bitterly, remembering Rose’s remark earlier in the day. “I’ve been told it’s one of my flaws.”

Dean scoffed.

“Who told you that? Responsibility is a great quality to have. As long as you don’t take it to extremes where it runs your life and you never do anything fun which, given that you were out with friends tonight, I’m going to assume is not the case. I think it’s an attractive quality for a woman to have.”

Could this man surprise me more than he already had?

“So what you’re telling me is that you’re looking for a woman who is responsible and who doesn’t like one night stands? I don’t know if I believe you, Dean. That doesn’t sound like something any guy I know would say.”

“Then you don’t know the right guys,” he answered. I kept quiet, waiting for more. Understanding this, he explained his statement. “I’m 30 years old. Not exactly ancient, I know, but old enough to have grown up a little and have an idea of what I want out of life and what kind of person I want to be with. There’s nothing wrong with setting standards. Women set standards for men all the time. Why’s it so weird for me to do the same?”

“It’s not weird,” I said. Then I thought about my statement and realized that wasn’t entirely true. “Well, not weird in a ‘what is wrong with you’ kind of way. Just unusual. But that’s not a bad thing.”

I stopped myself from blurting out the next thought that popped into my head, but after thinking about it for a second, I decided I should let him know. He’d been very open and honest with me. The least I could do was offer him the same. I needed to say it before I lost my nerve.

“It shows a level of maturity and an agreement on certain standards that I guess I’m not really used to. And… I find that to be an attractive quality.”

I peeked over at him just in time for him to turn his smile on me. It was the most alluring smile I’d ever seen. I was certain he could get whatever he asked for if he only hit the unsuspecting person with that brilliant smile of his. I looked back at the ground and tucked a loose strand of hair back behind my ear.

“So,” I started, desperate to change the subject and move on. “What brings you to Nebraska?”

I chanced another look at him. He was still smiling, but seemed willing enough to accept this new topic of conversation.

“Nothing in particular,” he said. “Just trying something new.”

“You went through the stress of packing up and moving to a new place just for the sake of trying something new?”

“Not exactly. My dad was in the military, so we moved around a lot. Because of that, I never really had a place that I considered my home. It was just always another stop before we moved again, you know?”

“I imagine that would be hard,” I said sympathetically.

“It could be at times. Anyway, I guess ever since I’ve been on my own, that’s what I’ve been looking for. A place that feels like home. I haven’t found it yet though, so this is just me giving it another try.”

“I hope you find what you’re looking for,” I told him. “And if not here, then hopefully sometime soon.”

“Thanks. I hope so too.”

We’d reached Rose’s house and I stopped beside my car.

“Well. This is me. Thanks for walking me,” I said. Then with a teasing smile I added, “Even if it was completely unnecessary. I still enjoyed the company.”

“It was my pleasure,” he said.

I fished my keys out of my purse and opened the door.

“Hey,” he called out before I could get in. I paused with a hand on the door and one foot inside. “I know you said you have things to do tomorrow, but is there any chance you could squeeze me into your schedule somewhere?”

“That depends,” I smiled. “What did you have in mind?”

He shrugged.

“We could get something to eat. Lunch, supper, whenever works for you. I’m free all day.”

“How about breakfast?” I asked. I didn’t want to take too long of a lunch break and I didn’t know how long I’d be there, so I didn’t want to feel rushed to be done in time to make supper. Not to mention I would need to have time to clean up before meeting him. 

“Breakfast sounds great,” he agreed. “You have a time and place in mind?”

“How about 9? You name the place.” I had originally planned to be getting to work at 9, but I could push it back a little. I didn’t want to make Dean get up too early on a Saturday, and I had the entire day to work on my list of things that needed to be done.

“I found this really great little diner over on Main Street. Ricky’s. Ever been there?”

“Yeah. I eat there every now and then. It’s a good place.”

“Ok,” he grinned. “Ricky’s at 9. I’ll see you there.”

“See ya there,” I agreed. I got into my car, pulled out of the driveway, and headed home. I watched Dean grow smaller in the rearview mirror until I turned a corner and couldn’t see him anymore. 

Never had I been happier that I agreed to go out on a night I wasn’t particularly excited about the idea. I couldn’t believe my luck with meeting Dean. I spent the drive home thinking about him and riding the high of excitement.

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