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#maybe i should make my own kernel too
yiffos-official · 2 days
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i randomly found my matching ram at the cashies for 10$ today so now i'm up 2 32gb of ram.
time 2 compile many many things
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official-impravidus · 2 months
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Could you do “Why did you choose me?” for Parkner?
"Why did you choose me?"
Harley's head turns suddenly, the words registering in his mind but not fully comprehending.
In his defense, he isn't expecting that sort of question while they're standing in the canned vegetable aisle of the grocery store.
Harley had been in an intense mental debate between two different brands of baked beans when Peter said the words that still aren't making sense.
"To go... grocery shopping with me?" Harley asks slowly.
"No. I... to be with you."
"At the grocery store?"
"In this relationship."
Harley blinks, the confusion quickly shifting into concern and alarm. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong."
"Something's gotta be wrong if you're asking questions like that while holding a can of Del Monte corn. Which, maybe set that down before you crack it open." Harley gently pulls the now very dented can from Peter's hand, his touch slackening his grip. Harley intertwines their fingers. "Where's this comin' from?"
"There's a lot of corn in the world."
"...Yeah I guess so. Tennessee's more of a soybean state than corn, but I know there's the yellow and purple kind. Probably more. There's blue ones right? Because the chips are blue." He pauses. "We should get some salsa."
"Harley," Peter says, grabbing Harley's hand as he starts to drift towards the canned tomatoes. "There's a lot of corn in the world. There's corn on the cob and the kind that come off the cob in freezer bags and kernels that turn into popcorn—"
"I don't think I'm following."
"—and there's the kind that comes in the can," Peter finishes, breath heaving like he's just single-handedly fought of a whole hoard of aliens. "And... and the kind that comes in the can is tinny and it's submerged in water and you've gotta drain the water out and when you warm it up it gets hard but if you don't then it's lukewarm unless you put it in the fridge and have it cold but then the can is cold—"
"Peter," Harley says, grabbing Peter's face in his hands.
"I'm like canned corn. I've got all these extra steps and extra problems and extra baggage and trauma and you could have the corn on the cob or the frozen corn or anything easier than canned."
Harley stares at Peter, mind racing as it finally clicks. He runs a thumb over Peter's cheek and presses a soft kiss to his forehead.
"Corn on the cob's gotta be shucked. It makes a mess and doesn't always break easily and you gotta cook it and it doesn't taste the same if you boil it or broil it or grill it."
Peter's eyes go wide, clearly not expecting this response.
"Frozen corn's gotta be warmed up too. You can put it in the microwave but when you pour it, it's got boiling hot juice and condensation that spills on your hand when cut it open. And if you leave it in the fridge too long it gets stale and covered in frost and gets stuck together in one big ice-corn cube."
Harley taps his finger on Peter's chin, making a face like he's pretending to think. "And, y'know, now that you say it, I don't actually know how to make my own popcorn. I just get the kind that comes in the bag that you pop right into the microwave. I'm guessing it takes a lot of skill to not get everywhere and cook just right."
Harley smiles. "But I like canned corn a lot. It's reliable. You know what you're getting and you know it's gonna be good. And yeah, sure, cooking it might be a pain, but I don't see anything wrong with how it is. Just a spoon and a can of corn, juice and all."
Harley shakes Peter lightly by the shoulders. "I love you because you're you, Peter. Not because it's always gonna be easy. Not because you're the simplest choice. But because you're you, all of the tin and juice and inability to warm up."
Peter chuckles wetly.
"So you know what? Even if you've got more extra steps than the frozen corn or more problems than the corn on the cob or more trauma than the corn kernels — which, in my opinion, I think whatever that process is to turn it into popcorn is so much more traumatic than whatever you've got," Peter laughs again, "know that it's all worth it. Because I love you. And you're worth taking the extra steps. And you're also worth not taking any extra steps at all and just accepting who you are already."
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autolenaphilia · 3 months
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I got a Steam Deck last year, and it’s such a great machine. It’s obviously inspired by Nintendo Switch, but it’s a lot better than a Switch.
The most important part is that it runs PC games. It’s fundamentally a Linux gaming PC in the form of a handheld console. There are a lot more games available than any console and and PC games both on Steam and GOG are a lot cheaper than console ones. You can get old or indie games for as cheap as 1-3 euro during sales. It’s a tremendous advantage for the deck over its console competitors.
And while the obvious intent of the deck is to get more people to buy games from Steam, it isn’t a walled garden at all. The deck launches into Steam when you boot it up, but you can go into desktop mode, and then it functions as a normal PC running a Linux distro. From there you can install Lutris or Heroic Games Launcher, and use it to easily install games you bought from GOG and Itch.io.
You can also do things like use the official dock or an unofficial usb-c hub to hook the deck up to a monitor, mouse and keyboard to use it as a desktop PC. Or you can hook it up to a tv to use it as home console.
The hardware is also a lot more powerful than a switch, the demanding triple-a games it can play is actually impressive. Although this comes with the natural disadvantage that it’s bulkier too. Putting more powerful PC parts demands more space for them. The deck is not something I bring with me outside. But then again I didn’t even do that with the 3DS, which was actually of a practical size to do that. The deck is portable enough that I can comfortably play lying in bed, which is how I always used my handheld consoles. So it’s perfect for me, but maybe not if you want to play it on the bus or something. It can probably be a fun addition to your luggage on longer trips though.
Of course, as mentioned, the Steam Deck uses Linux. This has both advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage is that it allows Valve to customize the operating system to make it fit with the machine it’s running on. The Deck’s SteamOS feels really well-integrated into the hardware, like how a proper console OS should be like. It’s not that dissimilar to how Sony used FreeBSD to make Playstation’s OS. Windows would not allow for this amount of customization and would not integrate as well.
And the open source nature of most Linux development allows Valve and the user to use existing open-source Linux software to their advantage. For example, the desktop mode is largely not a Valve creation, it’s an existing desktop environment for Linux, KDE Plasma. Yet it extends what the user can do with the deck to a great extent, like for installing non-steam games.
The main disadvantage to the Deck using Linux is that most PC games are built for Windows and don’t run natively under Linux. To run games built for Windows, the Deck has to run it through Proton, a compatibility layer which is Valve’s own gaming-focused version of Wine. Wine/Proton is far from perfect, sometimes games require extensive tinkering to work, or only run with serious issues, or don’t run at all, no matter what you do. Sometimes a game not working with Wine due to some random but serious issue that comes naturally from running a Windows executable on a Linux system via a compatibility layer. Sometimes it’s due to things like a multiplayer’s game anti-cheat system requiring access to the Windows kernel, and it will block a Linux pc from running the game because it has no Windows kernel.
This is however not as big a problem as it might otherwise be. Most games work, more or less. Valve has put a lot of work and money into both their own Proton and the Wine project as a whole, and they work a lot better than they did 10 years ago. Many run perfectly out of the box, because they are native, or play nice with Proton. Some require mere minor tinkering, like using a different version of Proton. And I generally don’t play multiplayer games, or if I do they don’t have draconian anti-cheats, so the games that are blocked because of anti-cheat are no big loss to me. The Steam Deck not running Fortnite is a plus in my book.
And we shouldn’t forget the Steam Deck verified system. Basically Valve employees check if the game runs out of the box with no issues on the Deck. They get a verified rating if they work with no issue, including both proton compatibility but also things like the controls working nice and the text being legible on the deck’s small screen. They also get a “playable” rating if the game runs to an acceptable standard but with tinkering required or other minor issues.
This is a good system. If you dislike tinkering, you can just buy and play games on steam with a verified rating, and the deck will work like a normal console for you, but with a lot cheaper games. It’s a good way to get people used to consoles into PC gaming, which is probably the point of the Deck.
And if you want more than deck verified games from Steam on the Deck, you are given the freedom to do it. I’ve gotten officially non-supported steam games to run on the deck by installing and using proton-GE and I’ve installed and played games from GOG.
The Steam Deck is really how a Linux PC for the common people should work. An easy and slick experience for casual users, but freedom and customization given to those that want it.
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punsmaster69 · 7 months
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9/MAR/20XX
"Uuugh."
frisk groaned as they wiped up a mess of orange juice.
"How did I even manage to miss that badly?"
"We are all a little loopy in the mornings."
"Golly. The cup was RIGHT there... and yet you still missed!"
"Maybe you should leave that to Toriel still, huh?"
flowey laughed at frisk's misery.
"Flowey, be nice."
"...Though, I am more than willing to assist you if you need help, my child."
"I can pour it normally. Just... not right now, apparently."
"like she said - it's mornin' still, and you just woke up. don't beat yourself up over it."
i glance to flowey.
"and don't let any flowers beat you up over it, either."
"I'll say what I want!"
a stern look from toriel.
"....."
he huffs and goes back to picking the cereal out of his marshmallows.
toriel gave this a disapproving look too, but it's a regular occurrence.
she helped frisk pour another glass of orange juice, and they slumped back in their chair, deflated. don't know if i've ever seen a kid look more upset while drinking oj.
"Are you still planning to follow Sans home after you eat?"
they looked at me.
"paps won't be back until around ten."
"I'm good to hang out with you until then."
"alright."
"Flowey, will you be-"
"Staying here."
"I don't want to be around those two nincompoops alone for two hours."
again, an occurrence too regular for her to bother saying anything about anymore. these days, she almost doesn't even notice the insults sometimes. i think everyone else tunes them out a little, too.
——
"...."
"so, are backwards shoes the new thing?"
"..What?"
frisk paused and looked down.
"........"
"How."
they started walking again.
"No wonder they felt weird."
"you wanna stop and fix 'em?"
"I'm gonna take them off at your house anyway, so I'm gonna just deal with it until then."
"well, c'mon - this way. i know a little shortcut."
——
a ball of paper bounces off my skull.
frisk slams their head into the side of the couch, not accounting for the fact that it'd hurt.
"Aggh-"
"careful."
uncrinkling the ball, there was the start of a drawing with scribbles where the legs would be.
i folded the page back up, and they loosely smacked it out of my hand.
the paper smacked them in the face.
". . ."
".....jeez."
"lady luck's got a vendetta against you, huh?"
sitting bolt upright, they shouted.
"Not just that, but I keep messing stuff up - and then having the WORST luck with just about everything else!!"
throwing their arms up in the air...
and immediately hitting my brother on accident, who just entered.
"Oh mY GODDDDD-"
curling forward into a ball.
"welcome home, bro. you're a bit early."
"HELLO..."
looking with concern at the human groaning annoyedly on the couch in front of him.
"...UM."
"IF YOU'RE UPSET ABOUT HITTING ME, WORRY NOT! I AM A-OKAY!!"
"IT TAKES MUCH MORE THAN THAT TO HURT SOMEONE AS STRONG AS I!"
"not just that - their luck's been shot all day."
"And shit."
he sat himself onto the couch and dragged frisk like a stuffed animal to his chest for a hug.
"HAVE NO WORRIES - THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS HERE TO BALANCE YOUR POOR LUCK OUT WITH MY OWN INCREDIBLE LUCKINESS!!"
"AND NOW THAT I'M HERE... WHAT ACTIVITIES SHALL WE DO, HUMAN?!"
".....Can we just sit here?"
"WH-"
"sounds good to me."
"WAIT, WHY??"
"Nothing bad can happen if I do nothing at all."
"sound logic."
"NO, IT ISN'T! NOTHING GOOD CAN HAPPEN, EITHER!!"
"If you're here, that's good. That happened and I didn't do anything to cause it."
"WELL, YES. BUT THAT WAS INEVITABLE. I WAS ALWAYS TO COME HOME AND HANG OUT - AS ALREADY PLANNED."
"And I wanna hang out by doing nothing."
"......"
"we could at least put on a movie."
"...."
"DOES THAT SOUND NICE, FRISK?"
"...Yeah."
"and i'm pretty sure we've got popcorn still."
"we'll do a movie night."
"IT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER FOR SURE!"
——
they dumped the bowl of blackened kernels into the trashcan.
they sighed defeatedly.
"..W-WELL. THAT'S OKAY! WE'LL JUST MAKE YOU ANOTHER BAG."
he opened the cabinet and grabbed the popcorn box, reaching in and... patting the empty inside.
"......."
𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘮.
𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘮.
𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘮.
frisk pounded their head against the sink door. i put my hand between the door and their forehead to lessen the impact of the blows.
my brother gently pulls them away from the door by the shoulders, turning them around.
"NOW, NOW. THIS IS OKAY, TOO!"
"WE STILL HAVE-"
"me and undyne split the last of the chips the other day."
"...WE CAN STILL STOP BY THE STORE AND GET YOU A SNACK THAT DOESN'T REQUIRE ANY PREPARATION!"
"here, i know a shortcut."
"Another?"
"yep."
"COME ALONG!"
——
exhaling every bit of air they had, frisk looks between the cash on the counter, and the total on the screen - thirty cents short.
quickly appearing beside them, papyrus moves all their cash back into their bag (slipping an extra ten in) and pats frisk's head as he hands it back.
"DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT, FRISK. I WAS GOING TO PAY ANYWAY!"
the way they looked at the machine, you'd think it was about to reject papyrus' card or blow up or something.
it didn't. he quickly waved goodbye to the cashier as he scooped up frisk's items into a bag himself. he passes it to frisk, and they take his hand. with the other, he grabs onto my hand.
"MAYBE WE CAN WALK! FRESH AIR SHOULD DO EVERYONE SOME GOOD."
halfway down the sidewalk, a branch catches frisk's bag. the bag tears; their chips and candy fall to the floor - sweet tea rolling away.
i stop it with my foot, picking the other items up as well.
"i'll pack 'em. no problem."
taking the torn bag and shoving it into my pocket, we continue walking.
a bit further on, papyrus spots a puddle on the side of the road. spontaneously grabbing frisk and lifting them up, a car speeds past and sprays him with water - i just barely get out of the way.
frisk remains unsoaked, thanks to my brother's quick thinking.
"...WHEN DID IT RAIN?"
"sometime last night."
"AH. I SEE."
"Thank you Papyrus. I'm sorry."
"DON'T BE! IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT."
"maybe we take a shortcut after all."
——
the rest of the day, papyrus is extremely diligent in making sure nothing else happens to frisk. in the end he secretly seems thankful for the doing-nothing choice.
it really is easier to keep someone out of bad luck's way when they're sitting still.
papyrus makes tomato soup for dinner, deciding nothing can go wrong with that. to be absolutely certain, he cools it to nearly room temp before serving any to them. when frisk almost spills it, he hands them a straw.
"...isn't that a bit much?"
"It's fine. Not like I haven't used one for soup before."
"CERTAINLY NO WAY TO SPILL IT WITH A STRAW."
succeeding again, he messages tori to say he'll keep them just until bedtime.
"YOU NEED A BAD-LUCK COUNTERBALANCE LIKE ME AROUND TODAY."
frisk nods in silent agreement.
both me and frisk are impressed at his ability to navigate around unlucky situations throughout the night, but i suppose he 𝗵𝗮𝘀 been dealing with 𝘮𝘦 forever. avoiding messes is basically a special skill of his at this point.
when it was time for frisk to go home, paps was still pretty worried and accompanied them all the way home - apparently even going as far as to tuck them in himself, according to toriel.
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dingodad · 8 months
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how would quadrants work on beforus as opposed to alternia?
i dont have a singular solid answer to this because i think ultimately Beforus was left a blank slate that the reader can and will project different ideologies onto - many see it as equally malevolent to Alternia, i see it as innately benevolent - but i guess i have 2 ideas to add to the conversation.
1) that despite their differing purposes, Beforus just like Alternia operates as a well-oiled machine where every individual has their own position and purpose. so despite its distinctly less authoritarian bent, it makes sense that Beforus' quadrants would have a similarly utilitarian nature to Alternia's
and 2) Scratch didn't make anything on Alternia from whole cloth; everything on Beforus was in some way bent into a shape that better suit him. so no matter how different the quadrants might be on each planet, there should remain a kernel that is easily recognisable to us. (in much the same way matespritship is the "closest parallel" to what we call human love, or how what jack noir and the queen have going on is "a dead ringer" for kismesissitude. the general rule seems to be that the existence of these relationships are universal truths, even if the way they are used on Alternia may be peculiar to that situation).
so in that sense it's easy to see how moirallegience probably remained pretty similar across the scratch. the romantic ideal of moirallegience people tend to think of today, where trolls from different positions in the hemospectrum are able to directly benefit each other (i.e. a calming influence from a lower blood in exchange for physical protection from a higher), is even pretty similar to the existing social structure on Beforus as we understand it - though you could also argue that makes it somewhat redundant. (I guess this also depends on how much one chooses to buy into the idea of highbloods as naturally tending toward violence.)
kismesissitude is obviously a bit harder to imagine. while it's never been totally clear in what way Alternians benefit from the institution of kismesissitude, other than that it is somehow necessary for their form of reproduction (and it's not even totally clear this form of reproduction is the same on Beforus), we do have a pretty full picture of the caliginous quadrant's more cosmic purpose. it transforms the deeply mythical battle between protagonist and antagonist, hero and villain, green cherub and red cherub, into an intimately interpersonal relationship; it is storytelling-as-romance. it shares this systematic nature with moirallegience, so i certainly think it's something Beforans would be interested in as a practice. but how that practice realises itself, again, largely depends on what you see Beforus as like more broadly. do Beforans use kismesissitude in its most literal form, as a way of stamping down evil? (I have argued in the past that Beforus was probably a lot like the world of classic comic books, so this one is a fun possibility to me.) or maybe, in the absence of the kind of overt evils that define Alternia, Beforans use it to elevate lesser conflicts into a kind of performance?
a third factor to take into account could also be that what we know of Beforus largely comes as call-and-response to reader reactions to Alternia and its cast of characters. so in the same vein as my cutesy moirallegience suggestion above, maybe the Beforan version of the black quadrants is literally just the cutesy fanfic kismesissitude where an auspistice gets called in whenever it starts to look like it's going too far. (auspisticism is an interesting one to take into account because its entire existence on Alternia is predicated on the fact that kismeses love to cheat on each other. is pitch infidelity even an issue on Beforus on a remotely similar scale? again, this is a huge "depends" which might drastically alter how you approach this whole topic).
but that's my two cents :)
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Let Me Be Your Light (Empires SMP)
Summary: Twin orphans, Gem and fWhip, are the newest hires at Circo de Fantasia, a travelling circus filled with performers who have various magical abilities. However, the Mad King has been following the circus around for decades to steal the powers of various performers to take for himself. Recently, fWhip has been the most recent victim. Gem, who was born without powers and who only joined the circus to be with her brother, consoles fWhip while also realizing she may be integral to defeating the Mad King and getting everyone's abilities back.
AO3 Link
Word Count: 6797
Thank you to @mcytblraufest for hosting the event! Also absolutely huge shout-outs to my incredible artists @yoshiintheweb (art link)and @pidgedee (art here)!! The pieces look amazing!
~~~
Chapter 1
The Circo de Fantasia was a whirl of activity an hour before sundown—the time when the circus would officially open to the random city they had chosen. They were planning to stay for a week; it gave people living outside city limits time to travel to see the circus, but not too long that the performers got restless.
Multi-coloured striped tents littered the flat plot of land in organized chaos. The red-and-white big top, where the trapeze and tightrope apparatuses were set up, sat in the heart of the circus; all paths ended up there.
Gem hefted up her box of popcorn kernels further up her hip to keep it from slipping. She was heading in the opposite direction of the big top, towards the front entrance where the snack tent stood. Katherine, the strong woman, passed by with two large metal poles balanced on her shoulders like double fishing rods.
The snack tent was hard to miss. It was built to catch the eyes of anybody who passed through the main gates. The glass display was already filled with cookies, cupcakes, cotton candy, and slices of cake of all kinds of flavours. The choices were so vast that options had to be switched in and out on different days of the circus. Tonight there were oatmeal cookies, strawberry cupcakes, blueberry cotton candy, and carrot cake. The latter Gem had to be careful with—she was allergic to carrots.
There were other more exotic treats baked by the witch, Shelby: gum that, once chewed, made the consumer’s tongue a random, glowing colour; ice cream that made steam come out of a person’s ears and nose, the cone able to act like a goat horn to make various loud noises; and brownies that caused the person’s hair to float as if there were no gravity.
As Gem was putting the box of kernels away in the back as extra, Sausage appeared at the other end of the display case, Mittens the large boa constrictor twirling around his neck. The ostrich named Pippy was to his left.
Mittens let out a hiss, her tongue flicking out. Her triangular head bobbed in Gem’s direction.
“Mittens says you should check on fWhip,” Sausage translated, pursing his lips. Then, after a pause, “Tell him that, if he wants, he can help me out with my acts. I could always use more hands.”
“Thanks.” Gem gave a curt nod as Sausage continued on his way. She finished straightening out the snack tent before heading in the direction of the personal tents, way in the back of the circus.
The personal tents were much smaller and made of black material as they only had to house a bed, a dresser, and maybe a couple pieces of belongings. fWhip’s tent was right next to her own.
“fWhip,” she called out to her brother as she stood just outside his tent. “Can I come in?”
There was a muffled grunt from the other side that Gem took to be a “yes,” and so she entered.
The tent was sparsely decorated, which was to be expected. She and fWhip had only arrived at the circus two months prior, a little after their fourteenth birthdays, and they had been orphans living on the street. Not many personal belongings to spruce up the tent with. Gem’s only possession was a family picture of herself, fWhip, and their parents from Before.
fWhip himself was curled up in his bed, his red hair pointing in all directions. His face wasn’t nearly as pale as it had been a week ago at their last city, so Gem supposed that was one positive. Still, fWhip had been unusually quiet on their trip here. Gem couldn’t really blame him though—he was going through a lot.
“How are you feeling?” Gem asked quietly, sitting at the end of fWhip’s bed.
fWhip grunted again and dug his head into his pillow even more. He had mostly stayed in bed all day and the Ringmaster allowed it, saying that fWhip was grieving and needed a little more time to get back on his feet.
“Sausage told me that you could help him during his acts,” Gem said. “I know you like helping him care for the boars.” She tried to keep her voice as soothing as possible.
fWhip rolled over onto his back and his eyebrows were drawn down. “I don’t want another act,” he snapped. “I want my own one back.”
“Well, sleight of hand—”
fWhip grimaced. “I do not do sleight of hand—I mean did.” He stumbled over his words, the past tense clearly paining him to say. “There ought to be a way to get my magic back.”
Gem decided not to engage with more talk about the Mad King. Instead, she pivoted. “Just look at everybody who's lost their powers. Katherine might not be inhumanly strong anymore, but she’s worked out so much that she can still lift more than the average person can. False used to be able to fly, but now she does the trapeze. Jimmy could adjust his height at will, now he’s our contortionist.”
“But that’s the thing,” fWhip said. “Everyone already had those talents before the Mad King stole their powers. Katherine consistently exercised even when she could single handedly lift an elephant, False already swung around the forest like a monkey, Jimmy’s limbs were always freakishly flexible. Martyn didn’t grow up afraid of fire, so he can do non-magical fire acts. And Joel didn’t have to change much out of his act—just had to go on a tightrope without electricity pulsing through the rope.”
Gem had been wracking her head for an exception then finally landed on one. “Joey! He used to be able to control water and now he throws knives.”
“I don’t want to learn a new skill. I want my old one back.” fWhip finally sat up and he frowned, his eyes blazing. “You don’t understand, Gem. The magic that was inside of me, it was always there ever since I was born. I could always replace things with other objects, could always pull a pen out of someone’s pockets, put a coin in someone else’s. And now it’s just gone. You don’t have powers so you don’t understand.”
Gem blinked rapidly, not expecting her brother’s words to hurt as much as they did. Her lack of powers had been something she’d grappled with when their parents had still been alive; fWhip could do literal magic, she couldn’t. As they got older, the difference hurt less and less. Regardless, the bruise was still there.
Gem’s hands turned to fists in her skirts and she rapidly stood up. “Fine. I’ll just leave then. I’m trying to be nice and offer you some ideas on other acts you can do without your magic. And sure, I might not understand what it’s like to lose your powers, but I sure do understand what it’s like to be powerless.” Her nose crinkled as she grimaced. She yanked open the flap of fWhip’s tent. “It’s not so bad, you know, but you make it seem like the Mad King stole your life rather than your magic.”
Gem stomped away.
Chapter 2
By the time Gem changed out of her regular clothes and into her wizard’s costume (it was Circo de Fantasia; fantasy was in their name and the Ringmaster took it very seriously), the circus was about to open.
Above, dark clouds threatened to rain. Gem hoped it would hold off, at least until the end of the circus. However, despite the lack of natural light from the moon, the circus was properly lit up. Fire torches and electric lamps and fairy lights decorated the paths and tents. There was no shadowy area within the circus grounds, not even among the personal tents—especially among the personal tents.
Even though everything was well-lit (probably too lit for a night-time circus), Gem was still on edge. What if the Mad King found them again? Although he usually showed up one every two or three cities, the Ringmaster said the king was becoming more powerful due to all the magic he was stealing from people.
Scott, who was able to see a person’s magical aura due to his magical eye, said he could feel the power radiating from the King. When the Mad King had arrived last, stealing fWhip’s power, Scott had said the king’s flame burned bright and large—unnaturally strong. When Gem had questioned Scott about this when she’d just arrived at the circus, she’d asked him how it had all worked.
“It’s as if everyone has a candle inside them,” Scott had replied, looking at her with his blue eye and yellow crystal one. It had creeped her out at first; his yellow eye reminded her of a cat’s. Now, Gem was pretty used to his heterochromia. “Most people have regular flames. You know, tiny drops of fire that flicker every so often. However, others have a brighter flame, more immoveable. It’s hard to describe the difference, but those are the people with magical abilities. Those who have these abilities can train to make their fire within them stronger, but there’s a natural stopping point when it can’t get any bigger or more radiant.” Scott had shrugged.
Martyn, who had been previously rocking in his rocking chair, spoke up. His grey hair poked around his cowboy hat. He was the oldest performer at the circus by a long shot and his wrinkles grew deeper as he smiled. “Not me, though.”
“No, not Martyn,” Scott admitted. “Martyn used to be able to create and wield fire. But fire is alive and has a mind of its own. Without care, it can catch and grow out of hand. It actively fights against anything or anybody trying to control it. And, because of that, Martyn’s inner flame was much weaker since a part of his magic was fighting against the nature of fire.”
Martyn had laughed. “Now I just have to be extra careful when wielding fire; I’m not automatically fireproof nor can I douse fire with my mind!”
Returning back to the present, Gem sighed as she put in a bunch of popcorn kernels into the bright red popcorn machine behind the display of foods. Already, popcorn smell was wafting around the tent, all thanks to Shelby’s popcorn-smelling potion being released around the circus’ grounds.
The light jingle of bells announced Oli’s arrival, wearing a multi-coloured jester hat decorated with mini bells. His ukulele (dressed as a lute) was strung behind his back and multiple other instruments were hanging off his person. Trailing behind him was seven-year-old Hermes on a unicycle and wearing a similar court jester’s outfit.
“Gem!” Oli greeted with a kind smile and wave. He was a year older than Gem and that probably was one of the reasons why they got along well. “Ready for another night?”
“Of course,” Gem smiled, just as the popcorn began popping. She poured out a small cup and gave it to Hermes who took it eagerly.
Oli then became a little more serious. “And how’s fWhip doing?”
Pursing her lips, Gem responded, “Not exactly well. He’s missing his powers quite a bit. Lashing out.” She decided not to get into the details and what exact words were said.
“Dad was angry when the Mad King stole his powers,” Hermes said. “He tried to hide it from me, but I could tell it really upset him that he couldn’t do his usual tricks on the tightrope. He couldn’t clear the storms that could close the circus for the night.” The young boy frowned. “He’s happier now, I think.”
Oli patted Hermes on the back before pulling his ukulele around. He strummed out a chord and hummed along with it. He began picking at the strings, creating lyrics on the spot. Something about losing a part of yourself and never really being the same afterwards.
Tears pricked in the corner of Gem’s eyes and she sniffed violently to stop them from falling. She swatted Oli’s hat. “Stop that! You’re going to make everyone who steps inside the circus burst into tears.”
Oli placed his hands along the four strings of the ukulele to stop their vibrations before starting up a new song, much more upbeat than the last. A grin spread on Gem’s face as she felt the tune raise her spirits, joy rushing through her body.
“I wish the emotions you created stayed after you stopped your music,” Gem said with a sigh. fWhip could use some happiness in his life right now, even if it was fabricated and would evaporate as soon as Oli stopped singing or playing.
Oli shrugged, just as the first people entered the circus. “I’m only really good at temporarily changing emotions. It wouldn’t be healthy if it was permanent.”
“You’re probably right,” Gem said, readying her hands to fill bags of popcorn and hand out food for most of the night.
It wasn’t too bad, really. She liked seeing the people who entered the circus and, on the nights where they were opened multiple times in a single city, she enjoyed recognizing the people who came again and again.
People of all ages walked through the gate. A lot of the people entered were families with younger children, but older folks and adult couples oftentimes came too.
And it wasn’t as if Gem would be behind the snack tent forever. False was teaching her some trapeze moves and soon they could be a double act, flinging each other around in the sky. Gem wasn’t quite there yet, but it was exciting having future plans that weren’t just popcorn girl.
Abruptly, every light and flame in the circus went out. A dark fog appeared, making it so that the city’s light pollution was completely gone as well. There was only blackness. The brownie in Gem’s hand she was about to give to a child dropped to the ground.
Gem’s knees went weak and her mind began to race. Somewhere nearby, a kid began crying. Gem’s heart thumped, suddenly thrown back into her childhood where monsters lived in her closet and under the bed, and she had to sleep with a little light plugged in to ward away anything evil.
Panicking, she felt around until she was out of the snack tent. Light, she needed light. Blood was rushing in her ears and Gem began to run, hands out in front of her. She knew it was dangerous, that she could possibly run into someone or even a pole holding up a tent, but Gem couldn’t think straight; the only thing repeating in her mind was light. She was a moth frantically searching for a lamp.
Heat built up inside of her chest and Gem fell to her knees, gripping at her heart. Pain burned through her body, tears forcing their way out of her eyes. Was this what a heart attack felt like? Was she going to die here, in the unnatural darkness? Then, all of a sudden, there was a bright burst of golden light and Gem passed out.
Chapter 3
When Gem opened her eyes, fWhip was peering down at her, his nose practically touching her own.
She jumped, nearly smacking heads with her brother in the process. “fWhip!” she exclaimed, her voice slightly hoarse.
fWhip stood back, slightly sheepish. “Sorry,” he muttered, and Gem realized they were in her tent. “I wanted to see if you were still breathing.”
Gem squinted around the tent, in search of her clock. She finally found it, the hands telling her it was early morning. “What—what happened?” she asked. She remembered the darkness, the fear, and then the bright light.
There were footsteps outside her tent. “May Scott and I come in?” the Ringmaster said. “I can answer a few of your questions.”
“Sure,” Gem said, and waited until the Ringmaster and Scott entered.
“Are you feeling better?” the Ringmaster asked.
“Tell me what happened, please,” Gem said.
The Ringmaster sighed. “The Mad King has clearly grown stronger. He must have planned for a mass theft of magic last night. Douse all lights, steal the rest of our magic.” The Ringmaster worried his bottom lip and dark circles ran under his eyes.
Gem remembered her and fWhip’s first time at Circo de Fantasia, listening intently when the Ringmaster explained the circus’ purpose: to be a safe haven to those possessing magic.
“While having multiple magic wielders in the same space might not be ideal, the circus keeps us up at night, when the Mad King is the strongest,” the Ringmaster had told them.
“How does he find them?” Gem had asked. “How does he know who to steal from and who not to?”
The Ringmaster hadn’t said anything for a long moment. His eyes had gone far off, to a place Gem didn’t know, before finally responding by saying, “A type of hunting. Watching for inhuman abilities. Our witch, Shelby, casts a protective spell that follows the circus around and lasts a varying amount of time. She never knows when it fades away and, while she does try to reinforce it, the magic drains her a fair amount.”
Gem had furrowed her eyebrows, finding a rather large hole in the Ringmaster’s plan. “Then why are you placing yourselves all together? The Mad King has all of you in one place.”
“The Mad King steals powers easiest when his victim is asleep or unconscious—the magic flows freely then. In a circus, we’re up the whole night. Not only that, but he’s the most powerful at night when he can travel and manipulate the shadows. By day, we’re asleep and under Shelby’s magical protection.”
This conversation ran through Gem’s mind as she stared at the Ringmaster. Her eyes travelled over to Scott for a split second who was looking at her strangely and then to her brother who seemed to have decided that they were on good terms once again, their argument on the previous night forgotten.
“Okay, and? What was the bright light?”
“You,” Scott said, his eyes fixated on Gem. “Your candle’s flame is stronger. It doesn't flicker like it used to.”
Gem and fWhip instantly met each other’s gazes before Gem broke away to look at Scott. “Wait, what? Does that mean I unlocked a magical ability? Is that even possible?” The world spun; she felt like her tent was a ship’s cabin and she was seasick.
“Her power is light?” fWhip exclaimed, and Gem could hear hints of jealousy and awe in his voice.
The Ringmaster glanced over at fWhip and shook his head slowly. “Not just light. The sun.”
At this, Gem chuckled a little. “The sun?” she repeated. “It was nighttime when the bright light occurred. The sun had been down for hours.”
“The moon only shines because the sun’s rays reflect off of it,” the Ringmaster said.
Scott’s blue eye was frantic as he said, “you could be the key to defeating the Mad King. His original power is darkness and shadow, right?” He turned to the Ringmaster. “This could be a turning point. We wouldn’t have to worry about him stealing our powers.”
“If the Mad King dies, will I get my ability back?” fWhip said, his eyes lighting up; Gem hadn’t seen such hope on his face in weeks.
There was a slight lull in the conversation and Gem watched Scott’s yellow eye flick over to her once again.
“It’s possible,” the Ringmaster said slowly, turning to fWhip, clearly not wanting to get his hopes up too much. “But it’s also entirely possible that, once defeated, everyone’s powers die with him.”
The light in fWhip’s eyes suddenly dimmed and his mouth drew down in a frown. Gem wanted to say something to make him feel better, but what was there to say? He had recently lost his power and was now learning that his twin sister did have one when he’d previously thought otherwise. And, even if the Mad King was defeated, there was still no guarantee of getting his own ability back.
“At this point, the best we can hope for in killing the King is that no one else’s abilities are stolen,” Scott said. “We’ll have to get you training right away. You’re lucky False has been training you in the trapeze—being physically strong will help immensely. But Martyn might also be useful; he knows what it’s like to fight against the nature of fire. For you, Gem, you’re fighting against the nature of the sun.”
The Ringmaster rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “If you could somehow focus a light blast similar to last night’s, aiming directly at the Mad King…that could be the end. Your light might be able to be the killing blow against his darkness.”
“This is perfect,” Scott said, and his voice sped up as he continued. “The Mad King has been able to extinguish any kind of light, fire and electricity, but with Gem’s power—he can’t take out the sun—we might actually have a chance of not running for our lives for an eternity.”
“There’s only one problem,” fWhip said blandly from the corner of the tent. Both the Ringmaster and Scott swivelled their heads to look at fWhip as he pointed to a bottle on the bedside table Gem had had Shelby create to glow for three hours after being shaken. “Gem’s afraid of the dark.”
Chapter 4
Gem truly thought she had grown out of that particular fear. When she thought about being scared of the dark, she remembered padding out to her parents bedroom until they bought her a mini nightlight and, even then, she’d keep her curtains open so the light emanating from the nearby buildings would keep the imaginary monsters at bay.
To be fair, Gem was no longer scared of monsters with horns and sharp teeth and one eye; it was the fact that she couldn’t see. She was completely vulnerable in the dark, unable to do anything about a hypothetical danger. Like a power-hungry king, for example.
When her and fWhip’s parents died and they were orphans on the street, Gem had just assumed the trauma of losing them overrode her fear of the dark.
Now, looking back, Gem just realized that, living on the streets, she was never truly in darkness. No matter how dark the alleyway was, there was always a streetlamp, or a building whose light was still on, or the moon and stars. Even if it was mostly dark, she was never in true darkness.
The next afternoon, Gem visited Shelby’s work tent where strange herbs and ingredients on tables were lined up in bottles and a handful of brewing stands were bubbling and steaming away.
“Do you think you could make a night-vision potion for me?” Gem asked, watching as Shelby ground up a pink flower. She was wearing a green apron with multiple pockets in the front, holding various tools and other ingredient bottles.
Shelby winced, brushing the pink dust into an empty glass bottle on the table in front of her. “It’s not going to be able to help you see when the Mad King comes back.”
Gem sighed—this was what the Ringmaster had told her earlier that day. “Still, it might give me some peace of mind, you know?”
With one hand, Shelby reached into her apron’s pocket for a bottle of mushrooms, with the other she flipped open a heavy book. “Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.” Her eyes ran through the words on the page as she unstoppered the bottle in her hands. “I have all the ingredients, nether wart…golden carrot—”
A lump formed in Gem’s throat. “Carrot? Like, an actual carrot?”
Shelby nodded offhandedly before realization dawned on her face. Her hands stopped moving and she placed all her attention on Gem. “Wait, you’re allergic to carrots, aren’t you?”
~~~
“Were you ever afraid of anything?” Gem asked False as they stretched below the trapeze equipment. “And did you get over your fear?” Gem didn’t think False could be afraid of anything—not when she flipped and spun around in the air without a net and her power of flight stolen from her.
False thought about this for a moment, her legs straight out in front of her, her body bent forwards so that her head was touching her knees. “I used to be afraid of cats.” She turned to look at Gem with a wry smile. “If I thought I saw one out of the corner of my eye, I’d run the other way.”
Gem’s eyes widened. “Really?” she asked. “And you’re no longer afraid of them? How’d you do that?”
“It took me a long time to get over that fear,” False said, then must have noticed Gem’s pinched face. “Fears don’t go away easy. You have to work at them constantly. And, even now, sometimes a cat catches me by surprise and I find myself taking steps backwards.”
Gem flopped down on her back and sighed. “Then how am I supposed to get over my fear? The Mad King could be here tonight and I need to be there to defeat him.”
False pursed her lips and put a comforting hand on Gem’s arm. “You aren’t alone in this fight. When the Mad King comes, everyone will be there. My advice for you? Go talk to Lizzie; she might be able to help. She did for me, and not just because she has cat characteristics.”
Gem still wasn’t sure. “How? Even if fortune telling could help me, she’s not actually a real one.”
“I know, but she gives solid advice. I think she might be helpful.”
“Well, if you say so.” If False said Lizzie could help, Gem would take her word for it. Clearly something had worked if False got over her fear of cats with Lizzie, a woman who was like a cat.
Gem and False then spent the next hour flying on the trapeze, letting go and catching each other in mid-air. She could feel the wind in her hair, her stomach dropping when she let go of the bar of a split second, then the satisfaction of connecting with False’s hands. It was nice to get her mind off of something that wasn’t related to the Mad King.
~~~
On her way to Lizzie’s tent, Gem passed the Ringmaster, hurrying in the opposite direction. When Gem turned the corner and walked a couple more steps, Sausage and the Ringmaster were speaking together in low tones, head bent together. While Gem didn’t know the specifics of the Ringmaster’s power, perhaps it was teleportation? Although, she had never seen this happen before.
Deep in thought, she almost bumped into fWhip.
“Where are you headed in such a hurry?” fWhip asked. While her brother’s complexion was a little less sickly, there were still dark circles under his eyes.
Gem desperately wanted to go to Lizzie’s as soon as possible, but she couldn’t find it in herself to brush off her brother. She was so in her head about her own issues, but fWhip was also going through difficulties. “I’m heading to Lizzie’s for advice. Wanna come?”
fWhip looked just as skeptical as Gem felt, but shrugged. “I suppose. Nothing else better to do.”
As they walked shoulder-to-shoulder, Gem asked, “so, did you take up Sausage’s offer?” She felt like she knew the answer, but she hoped nonetheless.
fWhip snorted. “No.”
Gem sighed, but didn’t push further. She didn’t want to get in another fight. She needed her brother to be here with her, just like she knew fWhip needed her as well (despite thinking otherwise).
Lizzie’s tent was an elaborate deep pink and, during the nights, a fine fog emanated from it (curtesy of one of Shelby’s potions). Out front, “Mystic Mary’s Fortune Telling” was written on a sign.
Inside, there was a little table filled with strange objects, a glass ball, and a stack of cards. Lizzie herself was curled up in the back, in a nest of blankets. As soon as Gem and fWhip entered, her eyes shot open, showing off her vertical pupils.
“Oh, it’s just you two,” Lizzie said, and she unfurled herself so she could stand. She was shorter than both Gem and fWhip. “I assume you aren’t here for a reading.”
“False told me you helped her get over her fear of cats,” Gem explained as Lizzie sat down on a stool behind the table. Gem decided to take the other chair, leaving fWhip standing. “She said you might be able to give me advice about my current...issue. You see, I’m scared of the dark. I don’t think I’m going to be strong enough to handle being completely in the dark and focus a blast powerful enough to kill the King.”
Idly, Lizzie picked up the stack of tarot cards, beginning to shuffle them. Gem could see how people thought Lizzie was a legitimately skilled fortune teller. “Well, that’s easy.”
“It is?” fWhip said, and Gem turned her head slightly to see that her brother’s eyes were focussed entirely on Lizzie’s hands, moving the cards around. Yearning was clear in his gaze.
“Well,” Lizzie amended, “it’s quite difficult to get over fears quickly. There’s not exactly a way to shortcut those kinds of things.”
Gem deflated.
“But that’s not what I’m talking about,” Lizzie continued. “The Mad King is the strongest at night, right? So just don’t fight him then. Lure him out and then when it’s day—when you’re the most powerful—land the final blow.”
Chapter 5
Gem didn’t have to wait long for the Mad King to strike. In the two weeks leading up to it, her days consisted of being with False and becoming physically stronger, and being with Martyn to become mentally stronger and able to create balls of light between her hands.
“You’ve got to believe in yourself,” Martyn had told Gem, out in the back field behind the circus one afternoon. “You’re fighting against the sun; you’re taking light for yourself. Even using a miniscule amount needs willpower.”
Gem who, at that point, hadn’t been able to conjure more than foggy beams of light since that night she realized her powers was close to quitting for the day. “Why can’t this be easier? Why can’t the sun just let me take some of its light?”
“The sun ain’t exactly listening to your prayers,” Martyn had replied with, and he’d adjusted his cowboy hat on his head that he wore, even outside of his fire performance. “It’s a game of tug o’ war and you have to come out victorious.”
“Well, what did you do in the beginning to create fire and control it?” Gem had asked. “How did you even start?”
Martyn had given Gem a wry grin. “Anger. I focussed all the emotion I felt about being supplanted in my town into the palms of my hands. Fire really reacted to it; it crackled and popped so much so that I burned down a forest. But it was a start.”
Gem had frowned. “Doesn’t exactly seem very healthy.”
“Well of course it wasn’t. But it was the match strike I needed. Now I just think about the adrenaline I feel during each of my performances.”
It had taken a moment to search for anger, something to latch on to. Gem wasn’t a naturally angry person. fWhip had come to mind and the fact that all he wanted to do was wallow, but that really wasn’t fair. Gem wanted what was best for her brother and she couldn’t expect him to just get over it.
Finally, Gem had found something. The Mad King. The man who had taken so many people’s powers—probably too many to count now. Who had stolen from so many good people; who had taken from her brother. Who would continue taking until he had consumed all of it. And, if it ever got to that point, would the Mad King even be satisfied?
That had been the turning point. A great ball of light formed above her open palms.
~~~
Everyone knew distracting the Mad King until daylight would be difficult, but they all had a plan.
And so, when the circus descended into darkness, everyone was ready. All the patrons ran off once they realized it wasn’t a part of the show, afraid out of their wits. Lizzie, with her uncanny sense of who was around her, led half of the performers with powers away from the King while Scott, whose eye gave him the ability to see everyone’s flames—shrouded by darkness or not—took the other half.
Everyone else was on distraction duty.
The only exception to this rule was the Ringmaster and Sausage, who asked help from bats so they could navigate without seeing. The two of them went off on their own and Gem didn’t question it at the time, although now she was wondering if it was safe to do so.
Gem had tried to persuade the Ringmaster to have fWhip be with her; she didn’t know what she’d do with herself if something happened to him. But the Ringmaster assured her that fWhip was in good hands. Katherine’s hands to be exact.
Somewhere to Gem’s left, she could hear Oli humming a song under his breath, her anxiety about being thrust into the darkness once again lessening.
“Shhh,” Lizzie hissed, and Oli instantly stopped and Gem felt the hairs on her neck rising, her heartbeat speeding up. She gripped onto Hermes’ hand as tightly as he was holding hers.
Suddenly, there was a lot of jostling as people tripped over each other’s feet and, over the slight din of the nearby city, Lizzie said, “quickly. Turn left.”
Gem followed the group as best she could, feeling everyone around her adjust to Lizzie’s instructions. That was when she heard fWhip’s voice nearby. Gem couldn’t exactly make out what he was saying, but her body went stock still when she heard the next voice.
“You’re the little boy who I stole from last time at this wretched circus, aren’t you?” The voice was gravelly and deep.
Instantly, Gem yanked herself from Hermes’ grip and ran blindly towards the Mad King and her brother. She knew this wasn’t a part of the plan; the plan was to keep moving around the empty field and outskirts of town until the sun broke through the horizon. But the Mad King did not mention Katherine, and Gem needed to be there with fWhip if Katherine wasn’t.
Gem kept the layout of the circus in mind, forcing herself to take quiet breaths and knowing she was coming upon a turn. Slowly, she crept forward with her arms outstretched until she felt the smooth material of the side of Oli and Hermes’ clown tent.
“I see,” the Mad King said once again. “The silent treatment.”
“I don’t have anything to say to you,” fWhip’s voice came out hard and almost annoyed. “Haven’t you ravaged this circus enough? Aren’t you powerful enough?”
The Mad King laughed—and Gem stopped in her tracks. His laugh was terrifyingly confident, as if he already knew what would happen. That he would consume Gem’s power and he’d be able to steal people’s abilities for an eternity. “Boy, there’s never enough. There will never be enough powers to take. Nothing will ever be enough for me. Just how nothing will ever be enough to satiate the space in you that was previously filled by your powers.” There was a pause. “But I can make you a deal.”
Gem felt rooted to her spot, suddenly feeling an overwhelming sense of fear. It was dark, the Mad King was just over there, and he was speaking to fWhip, one-on-one. She could barely hear her own tumbling and twisting thoughts.
The Mad King continued. “I can give you any power you want, however many you want. Your old powers back, telekinesis, super strength, shapeshifting…” Another pause. “All you have to do is bring me your sister.”
Gem’s heart dropped to her feet. fWhip wouldn’t…would he? Ever since her brother’s powers were stolen, just how many times had he complained? How many times had he told her that he wanted his powers back?
“Any power I want?” fWhip’s voice was suddenly meek.
Gem’s mouth felt impossibly dry.
“Your wish is my command.”
There was a third painstakingly long pause before fWhip replied with a snort. “Yeah, no thanks. I’ll get over my lack of ability, but I could never forgive myself for giving Gem up to you.”
The Mad King didn’t seem all that upset. “Plan B, I suppose. A lot less dramatic, but it’ll have to do.” And there was a snapping sound.
The darkness dropped away. One moment, Gem was surrounded by nothingness. The next, the beautiful sky, stars, and moon, and the tents of Circo de Fantasia.
Gem, who had been at the edge of the tent, suddenly came face to face with the Mad King, floating a couple of feet off the ground. He was wearing all-black armour and only his mouth was visible. It curled into a satisfied grin. “Hello Gem.”
fWhip’s head spun around and his eyes widened. “Gem!” he exclaimed, and ran towards her.
Gem came to the too-late realization that the Mad King had wanted her to overhear him. If fWhip agreed to the King’s terms, Gem would have been beside herself and therefore an easy target. And, if fWhip hadn’t, Gem would still be within distance.
Like she was right now.
The Mad King still wasn’t moving, although his smile was more than a little unnerving. “It’s time for me to snuff out your light,” he said.
“Oh no you don’t,” the Ringmaster’s voice said, coming out from the tent Gem was standing next to. And he let out an ear-piercing whistle.
Another Ringmaster came out of the tent to Gem’s right, and the other tents lining the pathway. Sausage’s llamas came bounding around a corner, Sausage himself riding one with a sort of wooden staff in his hands, a cyan gem between the curved top.
Gem rubbed her eyes as a dozen Ringmasters appeared.
The Mad King looked at them all thoughtfully. “Do you like each time I consume a Pixlriffs’ power, my time travelling ability will grow stronger—?”
Sausage raised his staff and a blue light shot directly at the Mad King’s back, immobilizing him.
The Ringmaster closest to Gem turned to her as the rest of the Ringmasters began to surround the slowly descending King. “The Staff of Sanctuary, an old relic from Sausage’s past, won’t last long against him—he’s consumed too many powers. I know we wanted to wait until day, but it’s just not possible anymore. You must defeat him now.”
Gem shuddered and glanced up before looking over at fWhip who looked just as bewildered as Gem felt. He gave her a thumbs up. Gem returned it with a strained smile.
She was grateful the King’s darkness was no longer a factor. She was surrounded by friends—multiples of friends—and her brother. She was standing within circus grounds, with its comforting light and brightly coloured tents. This was her home.
Gem took a deep breath, feeling her palms grow hot. Instead of finding anger within herself to unlock her light, she found something else. Something harder to find, but stronger.
Hope.
She could do this. Even if it was dark, Gem had a feeling she could conjure light even then. Her brother would never betray her, despite being at first doubtful. But she never should have been skeptical of him.
Gem felt her eyes flutter closed. She didn’t see the light, but she felt it as it blasted out of her hands and into the Mad King. Her eyelids flashed a bright orange.
When she re-opened them, Ringmasters were gently fading into mist. Gem’s head pounded, her hands felt raw and dry.
“What’s happening to them?” fWhip asked to no one in particular.
The Ringmaster closest to Gem replied, “going home. They’ve been stuck here for years. Every time I’ve tried to see past the moment the Mad King tries to bribe you, I couldn’t see. It fogs up. Stuck in this moment.” He smiles. “Now everything’s changed.”
“And everyone’s powers?” Gem asked, feeling a yawn coming on.
fWhip grinned and Gem suddenly felt a heavy rock appear in her pocket. “Guess,” he said.
Gem smiled back, letting out her yawn.
“Alright let’s get to bed,” fWhip said, and the rock disappeared from Gem’s pocket. He steered her shoulders in the direction of her tent. “You should definitely rest.”
And, as Gem closed her tent’s flap to collapse into bed, the sun began to rise.
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cleoselene · 5 months
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TTPD ten days later
well I did try to cancel my vinyl order but it was too late. I'll probably resell it eventually because I don't like the album very much but I will say this: Jack Antonoff's production does always sound much better on vinyl. Like with Midnights, the production feels a lot more lively and actually has somewhat of a pulse on vinyl? Still I should be able to enjoy a song's production when I tell Alexa to play it, I shouldn't HAVE to own the vinyl and play it on my nice sound system for it to not sound like ass. I am BEGGING her to work with a new producer next time around. BEGGING.
That said, some of it has grown on me. Some of it has not. I am never going to be interested in what she has to say about Matt Healy because she doesn't seem to care about the reasons people had a problem with him. I guess i'm just a sanctimonious creepy empath viper, that's fine. I would like her to know I wasn't trying to save her, though. I just think he's disgusting and I was expressing my disgust. I hate that his next album is probably going to be the biggest success of his career. His music sucks and so does he.
I'd compare this album with Tori Amos' Abnormally Attracted to Sin, in that it was the first album by an artist I expected greatness out of that delivered me fresh mediocrity. I think there are kernels of greatness on TTPD and AATS, but it's overall bland. TTPD manages to be both bland AND messy at the same time which is an amazing feat?
The songs I like though:
So Long London Clara Bow The Black Dog The Prophecy The Albatross Florida!!!
I would add The Bolter to this list but the line "there's escape in escaping" is maybe one of the dumbest things she's ever written and yeah, it makes me take the song so unseriously.
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originemesis · 2 months
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@deathinfeathers xxx
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"...it...was a genuine answer, sir..."
Like two solitary birds forced to share a too-small enclosure, communication doesn't always come easy. Humans are very expressive, she has learned, and they do not always say the things that they mean. Even when they do, sometimes they use their words in a way that makes it needlessly difficult to decipher their contents. Sarcasm, euphemisms, slang-terms, these things bolster the commander's vocabulary in ample proportions and the habit never ceases to inconvenience her—the same way she supposes her brusque manner of speaking vexes him. Something that she is actively trying to combat by injecting a little more vitality into her otherwise drab phraseology.
"...the sound that you enjoy...it is much harsher than what I typically hear around the golden city...it exudes a certain brutality...I think that makes them nervous...people are discomforted by things that they are not used to. That they do not understand..."
She shifts in her seat atop his lap, scooting backwards until the small of her back meets with his hefty abdomen, miniscule shape all but dwarfed beneath his imposing stature. While he speaks on she absently thumbs the fringes of the instrument, studying the unique vibrations of each string he plucks, but she's quick to fall stock still when the commander raises a hand to capture the cherubic contours of her face in his obsidian talons.
Head tipped back, she has nowhere to look but right into the pixelated display of his visor while he smushes her face as if she were a beloved lapcat. Something in his carriage elicits an odd sort of sensation in the surface of her skin, a warm and restless feeling that makes her feathers stand on end and her features flush a stark gold that all but matches the sunlight yellow in her eyes...what is he on about now?
"...I...don't see why I couldn't? I have trained rigorously for this station for many years, sir...whatever you're..."packing"...won't deter me from tending my duties to the absolute best of my ability..."
"Oh-...?" Well her perception of the human condition to not be so truthful with one's messages without out right lying is spot on, at least. Though maybe she doesn't notice how the subtle bat of her eyes and the timely turn around of her response could translate to her finally playing his game. "So you're being cute now? Okay~ I can fuck with it." Handle it, he meant. But surely she's used to his harsh handle on words by now. After all, she's the top candidate to have been exposed to his soul's shredding frequencies. Mainly now whenever he feels like playing a round of ripping a court room's ceiling tiles off with well aimed slams on the great ax that served as his channeling vessel, but also whatever exposure her previous handlers had solicited to best hand pick members of a flock that could stay in the sky near any thunderous pulses he should emit.
Her observation, carefully curated as ever to best appease his own sense of assuredness amidst a city as golden as the feathers he holstered at his sides, gives him pause, but no sooner pushes back with a slouchy shrug, the seat they shared creaking as he leans into the backrest. "Yeah well, humanity's side of this simulation isn't what I'd call...cadence for the many. They told me you'd understand." The commander adds, though he's starting to wonder if that understanding is really just the tolerance of a soldier forged under just the right amount of pressure. "Best in the academy, was it? Hah- nerd." Though he seems pleased to dangle that kernel over her head like she'd even find offense at his jovial jabs at this point, the hint of fondness suggests he enjoys pecking at her outside of their preening hours.
It's the curve of her back suddenly finding a suitable backrest against the folds in his robe that gives him enough wherewithal to detect the ever uniform scent of anise, steel and shoe polish she brings into a room, and with a rumbling exhale, the rest of his stomach flexed briefly with a hitch of breath spills forward to fill the gap. Comfy! Albeit, a tad distracting to the music lesson when the metronome of his soul's steady pulse begins the slow migration south.
With her head tipped in his talons, he finds through some fond squishing that her cheeks bely that granite exterior she so often exudes. Proper. Probably laces her boots every night and shit. The only thing that might convince him that she's not just a slab of rock brought to life like he a handful of dust is the golden flash of heat creeping along the bridge of her button nose- a sweet splash of honey to offset the monochrome. Precious. Almost as much as her insistence for him to let her do her job. Fine.
Talon tips loosen their claim, though not without sliding beneath her chin, passing a pale throat on the way to cup the side of her cheek where the golden heat seemed most concentrated. She can probably hear the whirring of fans in his mask from this distance, but certainly a chuckle as he traces slow, doting circles into the yellow apple of her cheek with his thumb. "That right? Alright. Prove it ~ " Even if she was of no comparable size next to his to serve as a support beam to his ongoing dilapidation.
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"Kiss me."
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acourtofthought · 1 year
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First Kiss
This post will contain spoilers for the TOG series. The following are the words exchanged between various pairings prior to their first kiss in SJMs books.  Some are endgame while others did not last. Tamlin / Feyre - "Time goes faster when you're drunk on faerie wine" "I'm not drunk"  "They're starting again" "I want to show you something better" "Here" "What is it?" "What are they?" "Will-o'-the-wisps - spirits of are and light."  "Come to celebrate the solstice". "They're beautiful." "Dance with me, Feyre." "Really?" "Really." "Feyre."  "Feyre."   "It's almost dawn" "What?" "I'm thinking I might kiss you." Celaena / Dorian "And how's your present?" "Oh, she hid under my bed, then in the dining room, which is where I left her." "You locked the dog in your dining room?" "Should I have kept her in my bedroom, where she could ruin the carpets? Or in the gaming room, where she might eat the chess pieces and choke?" "Perhaps you should have sent her to the kennels, where dogs belong." "On Yulemas? I couldn't think of sending her back to that wretched place!" "Well?" "You left the ball without saying good-bye" "I'm impressed you got up here so quickly - and without a pack of court ladies hounding after you. Perhaps you should try your hand at being an assassin." "I'm not interested in court ladies." Yrene / Chaol "I knew another woman who lost as much as you.  And do you know what she did with it - that loss?  She hunted down the people responsible for it and obliterated them.  What the hell have you bothered to do all these years?" "I might not have battled kings and shattered castles but I am the heir apparent to the Healer on High.  Through my own work and suffering and sacrifice.  And you're standing right now because of that.  People are alive because of that.  So I may not be a warrior waving a sword about, may not be worthy of your glorious tales, but at least I save lives - not end them." "I know."  "Yrene, I know". "Please" "Don't go, I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "I meant none of it."  "I was spoiling for a fight and - I meant none of it, Yrene. None of it.  And I'm so sorry." "A kernel if it must have been in you, though." "I meant it about myself.  What you have done Yrene, what you are still willing to do...You did this - all of this not for glory or ambition, but because you believe it is the right thing to do.  Your bravery, your cleverness, your unfaltering will...I do not have words for it, Yrene." "Please, Yrene." "Perhaps it makes you feel better about yourself to associate with meek, pathetic, little people like me." "I do not....You know I didn't mean it." "Do I?" "You know it, damn you." (Reading the light in her eyes.  The tone.  The witch was tricking into walking.  Coaxing him to move.  To follow) Feyre / Rhys - "Did you think I would go with him?" "I heard every word between you.  I knew you could take care of yourself, and yet" "And yet I found myself deciding that if you took his hand, I would find a way to live with it.  It would be your choice" "And if he had grabbed me?" "Then I would have torn apart the world to get you back." "I would have fired at him if he had tried to hurt you" "I know" "One thought in exchange for another, not trained involved please." "I'm thinking, that I look at you and feel like I'm dying.  Like I can't breath.  I'm thinking I want you so badly I can't concentrate half the time I'm around you, and this room is too small for me to properly bed you.  Especially with the wings" "I'm thinking that I can't stop thinking about you.  And that it's been that way for a long while.  Even before I left the Spring Court.  And maybe that makes me a traitorous, lying piece of trash, but - " "It doesn't" "We should go to sleep" "You're shivering so hard the bed is shaking" "My hair is wet" "No expectations, just body heat" "Your finger...is very cold" "You cruel, wicked thing."  "Didn't anyone ever teach you manners?" "I never knew Illyrians were such sensitive babies" "Greedy - first you terrorize me with your cold hands, now you want...what is it you want, Feyre?" "What is it you want Feyre?" "I want a distraction" "I want - fun" "Then allow me the pleasure of distracting you" Nesta / Cassian "Who and what I prefer is none of your concern" "Nor is - " "You haven't answered my first question.  Or are all thsese other questions a diversion?" "What's it to you?" "More questions" "No, I haven't."  "Why should I have bothered?"  By the time I came of age, I was surrounded by low-born brutes and bastards.  I'd rather use my own hand than sully myself with theirs." "Who." "I don't know what you're talking about." "Did someone hurt you." "Would it change anything if someone had?  Would it make you see me differently, treat me differently?" "It'd make me hunt them down and shatter every bone in their body" "You don't know me."  "Why bother?" "I'd do it for anyone" Or possibly people are counting the following as their first kiss since the above only led to Cassian kissing her jaw: "Get up."  "Get up." "You're too heavy." "I can't - he's coming -". "Go" "Go!" "I can't, I can't". "I have no regrets in my life, but this."  "That we did not have time.  That I did not have time with you, Nesta." Aelin / Rowan "You said that things had changed - that we'd deal with it."  "I'm not going to ask you for anything you're not ready or willing to give." "Aelin, you deserve better than this - than me." "Don't tell me what I do and don't deserve.  Don't tell me about tomorrow, or the future, or any of it." "What do you want me to tell you, Fireheart?" "Tell me that we'll get through tomorrow.  Tell me that we'll survive the war.  Tell me - " "Tell me that even if I lead us all to ruin, we'll burn in hell together." "We're not going to hell, Aelin."  "But wherever we go, we'll go together." "Just once," she aid.  "I want to kiss you just once." "That sounds like you're expecting not to do it again." "I know the odds." "You and I have always relished damning the odds." "Even when we're apart tomorrow, I'll be with you every step of the way.  And every step Elain / Azriel "I..."  "I was coming to leave this on your pile of presents.  I forgot to give it to you earlier." "Here." "You put them in your ears, and they block any sound.  With Nesta and Cassian living there with you....." "No wonder you didn't want me to open it in front of everyone." "Nesta wouldn't appreciate the joke." "I wasn't sure if I should give you your present." "It's beautiful." "Put it on me?" "I should go". "Yes" "Yes" Does anyone see where I'm going with this?  The couples that became endgame shared in fairly deep conversations before their kiss.  Were they always being 100% honest with themselves?  Definitely not, especially when we know Feyre was still trying to deny what she felt for Rhys at that time.  But they still shared more than polite, surface level conversations.  They were somewhat raw and made themselves vulnerable to one another. Was the build up to Feyre and Tamlin's first kiss romantic?  Absolutely in a very Hallmark kind of way but SJM isn't that sort of author.  If two characters are not dealing with something that has emotional depth or if they're not fighting before their kiss than chances are not good that a couple will be endgame.  Her romances feel heavy and intense to me, not sugary and sweet.   She could take things in a completely different direction in the next book, rewrite the way Elain and Az are around one another or create sides of the characters personality that we've yet to see.  But I would bet that the way Elain and Az are currently written as individuals and together means they won't be happening.  
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moodymisty · 2 years
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I posted 998 times in 2022
That's 997 more posts than 2021!
92 posts created (9%)
906 posts reblogged (91%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@rexxdjarin
@ariadnes-red-thread
@sleepingsun501
@zoeykallus
@rosegold-darling
I tagged 522 of my posts in 2022
Only 48% of my posts had no tags
#recommendedfics - 97 posts
#not writing - 66 posts
#return of the queue - 52 posts
#mywriting - 45 posts
#reader insert - 38 posts
#reader - 36 posts
#the bad batch x reader - 27 posts
#tbb x reader - 25 posts
#tech x reader - 18 posts
#crosshair x reader - 14 posts
Longest Tag: 139 characters
#the amount some people nowadays will just drop fandoms like andy dropped woody once offical content stops for more than even a few weeks is
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
✨Your Lingerie vs The Bad Batch✨
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Authors note: These may or may not have inspired some fic wips send help
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🔴Echo is a simple man. He loves the classics; Delicate lace and soft edges, not too aggressive but not too demure. But he'll also be onboard with whatever you like the most, as your confidence is just as much of a turn-on as the outfit itself. But if he ever had to think of something that would really get his engine going...
While Echo may have traded out of his reg armor when he decided to join Clone Force 99-changing into black and red paint to fit them-he'll still always have a weakness for you wearing something colored in that ever distinctive 501st blue.
⚫️Tech loves elegance. He is as clean cut as he can reasonably get given circumstances, and has a guilty desire for seeing you in the same. When he thinks of lingerie he instantly thinks of slips and corsets; Things an heiress or princess would wear. They make you feel expensive, like you should be walking down a palace hall with a robe worth double it's weight in credits.
If you ever chose wear something like that? Blue screen. Full kernel error. 404 'Tech.exe' not found. His hands will gently lay against your thighs and feel both your skin and the fabric underneath his palms, face beat red while you however, feel incredibly pleased.
🔴Hunter secretly loves letting you have the lead every now and again, and he's able to melt under your touch. But Hunter has never actually said it out loud, even if you already knew.
One day you decided to really capitalize it, having invited him to your home while he was on shore leave. You'd kissed him and before long, decided to tell him you needed to change really quick. Hunter found it a little odd, but watched as you ran off like you were about to open Life Day presents, swiping something from your closet on the way.
You returned a few minutes later dolled up in with jet black, full garter belt and stockings. Hunter's throat choked up so that he grew almost silent, to the point that you worried you didn't look as good as you felt. That turned out to not be the case, and Hunter enjoyed playing that night what he felt was maybe a little too much.
You still have that same set packed away in a safe spot, breaking it out every now and again when Hunter gives you that look.
⚫️Wrecker You had tried the whole 'fancy lingerie' thing before, as a surprise when Wrecker had a rare bit of shore leave after deployment. And while it certainly didn't go badly, not a set of even the most expensive lingerie could beat the way his chest tightens at the sight of you wearing his own clothes.
Having once decided to steal one of his black undershirts, the sleeves went down past your hands and the bottom went to your thighs, meant for someone far larger than you. When he'd caught you in the process of stealing it, you had jokingly asked how it looked; fingers grasping the bottom hem and spanning the fabric out on either side. Wrecker figured words weren't going to work when he spit out 'you good look yeah' which make you bust out laughing, then he busted out laughing in response to you; Before he just decided to pick you up and move you to a more desirable locale.
🔴Crosshair more so wants the outfit to fit the scenario. Wearing some soft lace and ruffles? Best become pliant and behaved under his hands. Pulling on a more demure type of slip, that you'd almost be scared to touch with rough hands ? Crosshair can corrupt you, while watching fabric worth far more than its weight in credits softly rub against your thighs. Jet black or fire red bras and garter belts with tight, harsh seams? Not many can break a clone like him, but he'd love to see you try.
Crosshair will always be a brat, but it's a matter of which type of brat you're getting. Lingerie helps set the mood, though he won't admit he also likes the rare feeling of softness against his skin.
369 notes - Posted June 17, 2022
#4
Tight Confines
Authors note: Hunter with a scent kink. I don't think I have to say much more beyond that.
Part 2
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Summary: Hunter has one hell of a nose, and you smell incredibly good. (Pre-Order 66.)
Relationship: Hunter/Fem!Reader
Warnings: smut, scent kink, quickie, Hunter has a real rough time but he tries, ever so slight angst, getting frisky in the cockpit of the Marauder while everyone else is asleep, overall just general smuttiness
Words: 8462
AO3 Link
See the full post
467 notes - Posted June 5, 2022
#3
↢ Bad Batch Kinks ↣
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Author's note: Now, is it really kink HCs if I don't say Hunter has a predator/prey kink? It's like a right of passage.
Warning: NSFW
See the full post
593 notes - Posted June 22, 2022
#2
✨Where each boy likes to be kissed, and where they like to kiss you✨
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Authors note: This infested my mind like brain worms and I had to spit it out
(Gender neutral reader)
See the full post
692 notes - Posted June 7, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
✨Clones and how they act with a crush; A Guide✨
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Authors note: I'm stuck in a hotel for the weekend, so enjoy my cabin fever musings
(Gender neutral reader)
See the full post
992 notes - Posted June 11, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
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felteverywhere · 1 year
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continued from here for @waywordhearts
Fox relented, though he knew following down this path would mean taking away from a moment from the very kernel of knowledge he was in pursuit of, the why of Henrietta's own investigation. Reluctantly, he spoke, chin lifted as though it was the last thing he wanted to do. "If it were your own haunting you were investigating... then I could understand how you would be disinterested in letting me be privy to that. In that case, I could muster up the respect and self-control to leave you be, but the way you're asking makes me suspect it isn't that, but something else entirely." He was quite sure about that, enough to say it aloud.
She was withholding so stubbornly that Fox had to appreciate her ability to keep it all at an arm's length from him. It was like she knew just what to say to continue to bait him along and he was a foolish fish on her line, still thinking he was going to get... something. Anything. "Knowledge is my thing." He deadpanned. "The unusual. The inexplicable is my thing. Hauntings go underneath all three categories, I believe."
Sliding into his chair carefully, he reached again for his Coke Zero, taking another sip as the fizz helped to calm his nerves and settle him enough to focus. He didn't want to get caught up in the back and forth, though with Henri it was somehow more exciting than it'd been with others. He would enjoy debating with her more than he would with others, he was certain. His shoulders should have relaxed when she began speaking about a farmhouse, but instead they instantly tensed up. Local legend. Did she have any idea how much he obsessed over stories like that? "I don't believe I have." He carefully placed his can down, searching his mind for mentions of something similar. How many farmhouse related stories had he looked into? Probably too many to count, a classic American setting for the things he liked to look into.
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As she elaborated, Fox found himself entranced by every word. Possessed? Vague mention of cruel acts? He was hooked, maybe even more than he had been before. "Alone?" Was the first thing that left his mouth, before he remembered to answer her question.
"Sorry to say it, but nothing is satiated right now." Fox scoffed. "You could probably use the help, you know. Stories like that, sometimes they're nothing, sometimes..." He exhaled, a smile dancing on his lips. "Are you a hoarder about these things? Got negative feelings towards teaming up?"
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lasclsharing · 2 years
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Hackintosh mac pro operating systems
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#Hackintosh mac pro operating systems how to#
#Hackintosh mac pro operating systems for mac#
#Hackintosh mac pro operating systems mac os x#
#Hackintosh mac pro operating systems upgrade#
#Hackintosh mac pro operating systems full#
I've never built a PC before - might be fun.
#Hackintosh mac pro operating systems full#
Since Elite: Dangerous won't be released in full for many more months, maybe I should look at this concept. That said, you might consider a hackintosh or just a purpose build gaming pc. Typically, games run better in Windows than OS X on the same hardware. Most games are not multithreaded very well, and single thread performance on these 6 year old computers may be to low. RAM is expensive though.īut you may run into cpu limits with some games. Adding an extra 6pin connector is easy, together with the 6 pin connector already present you can add pretty much any GPU. Just FYI, a Mac Pro 3,1 runs Mavericks out of the box, without any modifications.
#Hackintosh mac pro operating systems upgrade#
Right now I have 8GB of memory, but will upgrade soon. Are you intending to run under OS X or Windows? I haven't tested it out yet on my Mac Pro 1,1, but I can let you know how it performs under Windows 8.1 or 7. The add-ins can indeed be very GPU and CPU heavy, but depending on your flight sim, you'll want to take a look and see how it performs on utilization of multi CPU and potentially multi GPU systems. Now, for the original poster, which flight sim(s) are you interested in? I'm getting seriously into flight sims now, and between X-Plane 10 and Flight Simulator X, I chose to go with Flight Simulator X and add a bunch of realistic add-ins. You can put the latest GPUs in these systems still as well, from both Nvidia and AMD/ATI. I have a Quad 2.66GHZ Mac Pro 1,1 with three GPUs in it (most powerful GPU being a GTX 560Ti). Now, yes, these aren't *supported* systems under OS X 10.9 Mavericks, but they surely do work well running it. For Mac Pro 3,1, all that's needed is to modify ist.
#Hackintosh mac pro operating systems for mac#
To summarize, for Mac Pro 1,1, Mac Pro 1,2, and Mac Pro 2,1, all that you need as a modified boot.efi and edited ist.
#Hackintosh mac pro operating systems how to#
Some others and I have some good notes on exactly how to do this within this thread. Just want to make a slight clarification: Mac Pro 1,1, Mac Pro 1,2, and Mac Pro 2,1 actually can run Mavericks perfectly. The 2006 model would have been fine if it weren't for this limitation. I ended up buying a 2010 2.8GHz quad core and stuffed 32GB in it (typing on it now). Unfortunately since it didn't run the 64-bit kernel it limited my guest VMs to under 4GB. I used to own a 2006 quad core 3.0GHz 1,1 Mac Pro. There are and are not any bottlenecks depending on your requirements
Motherboard has no obvious bottlenecks?.
Limits which make an upgrade not worth performing (IMO). The CPUs can be upgraded but within limits. For compute intensive tasks a Mac Mini will likely outperform it but for general tasks it makes a fine system. Not sure what this means but even the original Mac Pro is a capable computer.
Processor is modern-enough (side question - are they upgradable in the old Mac Pro)?.
Sadly the 1,1 and 2,1 versions cannot despite having enough compute power to do so.
#Hackintosh mac pro operating systems mac os x#
Mac OS X Mavericks (and beyond) compatible?Īny Mac Pro 3,1 system can run Mavericks.
It looks as if the gaming aspect of this has already been addressed so I'll offer my two cents on some of the questions you asked: Motherboard accepts acceptable versions of GEFORCE's and RADEON's?Īnd any other information I should consider when buying an old Mac Pro would be appreciated. Processor is modern-enough (side question - are they upgradable in the old Mac Pro)? Mac OS X Mavericks (and beyond) compatible? So, where is the line between "too old" and "not that old" for the old Mac Pro? Having been out of PC gaming for almost a long time (that is, when I bought my first Pentium III 1 GHz so I could run games well, it was the top of the line chip-well, for Intel), I have no idea what passes for good or bad hardware-wise anymore.Īnd I'm not shelling out $2500 for the Mac Pro Tube. I'm thinking about getting an old Mac Pro - suddenly the explosion of space flight simulator games being released over the next few years (my only must-play genre) has made me think I might need a machine to run these in either Bootcamp/Windows or Mac OS X. EDIT: Also considering Hackintosh, if you have any experiences with them you'd like to share.
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jungshookz · 3 years
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maybe, she can drive his car; mechanic!yoongi
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➺ pairing; mechanic!yoongi x spoiledbrat!y/n
➺ genre; mechanic!yoongiverse!! sfw!! honk honk humour!! some suggestive behaviour because this is mechanic!yoongi and his y/n we're talking about!! the green-eyed monster inside of y/n is awoken after being dormant for so long and she's ready to bite some heads off
➺ wordcount; 11.6k
➺ summary; yoongi's ex is back in town for a visit and you'd be lying if you said you weren't slightly envious of a) how knowledgeable she is about stupid cars and b) how well she gets along with literally everyone.
➺ what to expect; "right, about that- i know i was supposed to come over for dinner tonight but- listen, i don't know what lisa did but obviously she's got a lot of connections now and the shop has literally never been this busy before... you understand, don't you?"
➺ currently spinning on the record player; mustang sally (originally by wilson pickett, covered by andrew strong)
(unfortunately i wasn’t able to track down the original maker of this gif but this is where i sourced it from! all credits go to the original creator of course :-))
»»————- 🛠️ ————-««
namjoon usually doesn't pay too much attention to you whenever you're hanging out at the workshop with everyone because of how often you're here, but there's something about the way you're acting today that even he has to admit is oddly very...
cute?
and it's not that you're not cute all the time (because you totally are!!) but it's just that the version of you today in particular is suddenly making him want to go off and find a y/n of his own
"whatcha doing?"
namjoon jolts in surprise when a grimy hand suddenly burrows itself into the warm bag of freshly-popped popcorn that he has cradled to his chest and he scowls before turning his body away slightly
"hey, you're contaminating the popcorn, man-" he huffs, quickly grabbing the mega-sized pack of hand wipes from the desk before plopping it down on the countertop for jungkook, "at least have the decency to wipe your hands before digging into my popcorn- also, i'm watching. duh."
"watching?" jungkook frowns as he sloppily wipes his hands on the front of his shirt, turning to look out the open door, "watching what?"
"yoongi and y/n." namjoon hums, popping a couple of kernels into his mouth with a crunch, "she's been following him around like a little duckling all day."
"mm." jungkook props an elbow up on the counter as he looks towards the two of you before clicking his tongue, "...he must've really given it to her good last night if she's acting like that-"
"okay, now you've ruined the moment-" namjoon frowns, his shoulders dropping slightly before he gestures to you guys, "it's sweet! this is obviously a wholesome thing-"
"call it what you want, but all i'm trying to say is that good sex makes you do crazy things-" jungkook snorts before aggressively shoving a handful of popcorn into his mouth, "cravy phings."
"i'd like to argue that good sex forms a strong emotional bond which explains why there are cartoon hearts currently floating around y/n's head-" namjoon perks up when he notices the way your eyes light up at something yoongi says, "look at her! look at the way she's looking at him!"
"oh, please." jungkook tuts, "that dopey look on her face is telling me that the only thing on her mind is yoongi bending her over the hood of that car and just ramming-"
"namjoon and jungkook are arguing again." you point out, turning to look towards the office just in time to see namjoon throw a handful of popcorn at jungkook only for him to open his mouth and chomp wildly at the air to get some into his mouth
"jungkook probably said something stupid, as per usual." yoongi snorts, leaning over to lock the hood of the car into place before pulling away and taking a look at the situation, "now, let's see what we have going on here..."
when namjoon told him that this was a brake master cylinder repair he immediately felt all the excitement leave his body
he hates doing brake master cylinder repairs
all the parts are so small and the handiwork is super tedious anD the last time he did one of these he took like four hours to get it done
overall it's a pretty boring repair job and as much as he wants to pass it off to one of the others to do, he knows that he's the most skilled with the internal mechanics of a car compared to everyone else which he usually likes to brag about but today he wishes that that wasn't the case
"so what do you have to do?" you frown, stepping over so that you're standing by the side of the car and you're not in yoongi's way, "all the thingies look fine to me."
"well, i actually need to replace the brake master cylinder thingy." yoongi teases, smiling lightly as he points at some kind of container, "there's a leak in the seals, which is pretty common since they wear out after a few years. it should be an easy fix! it'll just take a while, that's all."
luckily, taehyung already took care of the messy part and emptied the fluid from the reservoir for him so now it's time to start the actual repair process
"so does beeper have one of these cylinders in him?" you ask, tilting your head in curiosity
you've never actually taken a look at beeper's under the hood situation before so you wouldn't know
(it feels like he's all naked and exposed whenever yoongi lifts his hood up and you just want to give beeper some privacy, that's all.)
"if beeper didn't have one of these cylinders in him, you wouldn't be able to brake, silly." yoongi snorts, reaching down to unclip the sensor from the reservoir, "see, when you push down on the brake, it pushes a piston through the cylinder and forces hydraulic fluid through the brake lines, which goes to the slave cylinders of each wheel, and then-" he pauses when he notices you've gone all quiet and he turns to see you staring directly at him with a dopey little smile on your face "-what? what'd i say?"
"i like it when you talk shop to me." you giggle quietly, "i mean, i don't understand 98% of the words that come out of your mouth when you do, but i still like it a lot-"
"yeah?" yoongi teases, taking a hand off the edge of the car so he can gesture for you to come closer (and you do, obviously), "you like it when i talk to you about... hm, i don't know..." he feigns cluelessness as he stands up to slink an arm around your waist and bring you towards him while your arms automatically hang loosely around his neck, "how the rubbing of the brake pad against the brake disc generates friction..." he lowers his voice as he sits lightly on the edge of the car and gives your hips a squeeze
"mm, tell me more..." you play along, letting yoongi pull you closer so that you're settled nicely in between his legs
"i don't know, maybe i should save all the good stuff for the bedroom..."
you resist the urge to immediately start whining when you lean in only for yoongi to dodge your kiss, "hey, i like you in these baggy overalls, by the way." he suddenly changes the subject and you feel your cheeks flush when both his hands slide in through the gaps until he's able to grip your bum, "big, big fan of them-"
"you- namjoon and jungkook are right there-" you gawk, "at least have the decency to turn me around so they don't see you fully groping me-"
"they can always just close their eyes or something-"
"okay, you two, break it up-!" you hear namjoon's claps echoing from the office as he tries to get your attention and you immediately turn to look at him with a grin, "god, it's like you sick freaks want to rub it in our faces-"
"okay, i have to get to work so why don't you go and hang out with namjoon in the office?" yoongi stands up, being careful not to hit the top of his head on the hood, "he'll let you play chess on the computer if you ask nicely."
"i thought i was helping you out today!" you frown, grabbing onto his hand before waving it back and forth, "you said i did a good job handing you the tools and stuff. i'm getting better at not mixing all the different types of screwdrivers up!"
yoongi can't help but laugh at how needy you're being and he reaches up with his free hand to adjust his bandana
"i know you wanna help, but i promise you there's nothing exciting about repairing a master cylinder." he hums, reaching up to pinch your cheek playfully, "plus, don't you still have a huge research paper to work on?"
"yeah, but i'd much rather hang out with you..." you pout, yoongi cooing before leaning in to give your pushed-out bottom lip a little kiss
"we can hang out when we're both done with work."
"okay..." you purse your lips before letting go of his hand, "it's your loss. i'm a fantastic helper."
"mhm, you certainly are-" yoongi spins you around before pushing his palm against your lower back to get you to move, "now go and bug namjoon!"
you turn back to glance at yoongi one last time and he sweeps his hands at you to tell you to gO
fine!
it was getting hot in the garage anyway and namjoon always has the aircon blasting in the office
"sorry! only sad, single people are allowed in this area-" namjoon jokes as soon as you step in, gesturing to the office space with a grin, "leave or i'll have security escort you out."
"oh, stop it." you giggle, folding your arms up on the counter and leaning forward, "i keep telling you i'd be more than happy to set you up with one of my friends!!"
"i know, and that's very nice of you to offer, but i just want to find someone organically, you know?" namjoon sighs, leaning back against his chair before looking up at the ceiling wistfully, "being set up with someone doesn't feel like a natural process."
"namjoon thinks he's the main character of a shitty netflix romantic comedy." jungkook mutters, the two of you exchanging low giggles with each other
"well, if no one comes into your life organically you can always let me know and i'll- woah-" you jump in surprise when the sound of a roaring engine suddenly shatters the peaceful atmosphere and you turn around just in time to see a sleek car veering into the shop
you wince and raise a hand to shield your eyes from the bright headlights and you don't get a chance to make the first comment because jungkook beats you to it
(for the record, you were going to talk about how dramatic of an entrance whatever that was)
"oh my god. that is the sexiest car i've ever seen in my entire life." he breathes out, stepping away from the counter so he can stand by the door and get a closer look, "a 1965 mustang. nice."
"fun fact: i was actually thinking about getting a vintage mustang! i wanted an olive green one because i could've named her 'olive' which is super cute-" you nod enthusiastically, looking back and forth between namjoon and jungkook only for them to.,., completely ignore you and continue staring at the glossy mustang sitting out front
"okay, you guys, it's just a car-" you roll your eyes and let out a little snort of disbelief, "this isn't going to change your life or anything-"
a high-heel clad foot steps out of the car and onto the pavement and you immediately recognize the classic red-bottom louboutins
you actually own a pair of them as well but you rarely wear them out because you're always paranoid that you're going to topple over and snap an ankle and that would be completely mortifying
they're six inches tall!!!!
for the record, they look very nice sitting (collecting dust) on your shelf but now you're starting to think that it might be a good idea to wear them out again because this stranger makes it look like walking in them is easy breezy beautiful
"holy shit. is that lisa?" namjoon murmurs, reaching up to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "oh, wow. she..."
"i don't remember her looking like that the last time we saw her." jungkook whistles lowly, "hello, miss manoban."
"lisa- who's lisa?" you frown, tilting your head in curiosity as you watch this mysterious lisa toss her oversized sunglasses into the front seat of the car before slamming the door shut
"uh, she's just one of yoongi's exes- she actually used to work here but-" namjoon reaches over the counter so he can nudge you aside gently to get a better look, "when did she get a vintage mustang?!"
lisa leans down to look at herself in the side mirror, smearing some red lipstick over her pillowy bottom lip before rubbing her lips together and nodding satisfactorily
"guess her car-wrapping business really took off." jungkook hums, his eyes glued to the car
she seems to be moving in slow motion as she takes her hair down and shakes her head back and forth, the three of you tilting your heads at the same time as you watch her in awe
"car-wrapping?" you ask curiously, "she must spend a fortune on wrapping paper and giant bows-"
"no, obviously it's not actual wrapping- like-" jungkook huffs and you resist the urge to bop him over the head at how snappy he's being with you when he already knows you're clueless when it comes to this kind of stuff, "okay, you know how you said that if you ever got a g-wagon for yourself one day that you wanted to make it baby blue just like beeper and also matte? lisa could do that for you."
"oh! in that case, it might be nice to get a business card from her or something-" you make a mental note before shaking your head and turning back around to face namjoon, "hey, so, super casual, can we round back to the whole 'yoongi's ex' thing real quickly because i-"
"yoohoo, boys!" lisa whistles, grinning excitedly when she's suddenly joined by everyone outside one by one, "what, no one thought to roll out the red carpet for me?"
"c'mon, namjoon! let's go say hi to lisa and her vintage 'stang!!" jungkook grins, gesturing for namjoon to hurry before he's darting out the door, "lisa, hey!"
"yeah, okay!!" namjoon gets up from his seat so quickly that he sends his chair rolling back and smacking against the file cabinets, "oh, y/n-! if anyone calls, just send them straight to voicemail-"
"but i-" you don't get a chance to say anything before namjoon's brushing past you and dashing out the door as well
you don't know too much about lisa but obviously she's a pretty big deal around here
it'd probably be good for you to go and introduce yourself instead of awkwardly hanging out in the office by yourself
"hello, lisa. it's very nice to meet you. firm handshake." you mutter to yourself as you step out of the office and head towards the bustling group of boys, "hey, lisa! so great to meet you. firm handshake. hi, girlie-! nope, don't like that one-"
"-in town for business so i thought it'd be nice to swing by and visit my boys." you manage to catch the end of lisa's sentences as you join the boys, trying not to make any sudden movements to catch her attention
"you should've texted one of us or something!" namjoon pulls his phone out of his back pocket, "we could've ordered a pizza for lunch-"
you reach over to give the back of yoongi's jumpsuit a little tug just to get his attention and he glances over his shoulder at you before offering you a teasing smile and reaching back to wiggle his fingers against your stomach
you giggle lightly before swatting his hand away and he turns back to look at lisa
"well, i wanted to surprise you guys!" lisa chirps, tucking her clutch underneath her armpit before clapping her hands together, "i see nothing's changed around here... except for..." you feel your heart drop when she suddenly leans over and looks directly at you, "hello! i don't think we've ever met."
"oh, shoot- sorry, i should've introduced you sooner-" yoongi steps aside so that he isn't blocking you, "lisa, this is y/n! y/n, this is lisa." he smiles, gesturing towards lisa, "my girlfriend." he pauses and quickly shakes his head at his little flub-up, "i mean- lisa, this is y/n, my girlfriend-"
"he's definitely gonna pay for that later." jimin mutters, jungkook snickering before nudging at his side to get him to shut up
"it's super nice to meet you, y/n!" lisa doesn't acknowledge yoongi's error and she steps forward to get closer to you
she's practically towering over you but it's really just because of the stilettos
she turns her head to look at the boys and a second of silence goes by before they realize what she's asking of them and they all scatter in different directions
you give yoongi a look that basically screams S.O.S. and you resist the urge to burst into tears when he gives you a cheery thumbs up in return and trots off to go and do something else
okay
you'll be fine
you have nothing to be nervous about!
this is just yoongi's very hot ex who looks like a million bucks while you'e currently dressed like a giant toddler
it doesn't help that you're wearing what's commonly known as a 'baby tee' under these overalls
"you- yeah, you too-" you chuckle uneasily, giving her a weak handshake before pulling away with a smile, "i'm sorry, i'm a little underdressed-" you pause to gesture to the grubby overalls you have on, "i promise i look better than this most of the time..."
"oh, don't be silly. i just grabbed the first outfit i saw out of my suitcase and threw it on-" she sighs, reaching up to pick some lint off her blazer that you're pretty sure you saw in the most recent YSL spring catalog (in fact, you're pretty sure it's on your to-buy list), "so, what do you do?"
"me? i- uh, well, nothing, at the moment- i'm still studying for my undergraduate degree, so..." you shrug sheepishly, reaching up to scratch the back of your neck
for some reason you can't seem to maintain eye contact with her for more than three seconds at a time
"oh! you're still in school?"
"yeah, i- well, i'm graduating this year, so i'm almost out of school if you think about it that way- but yes. yes, i... am currently a university student, so that's what i'm doing."
"mm, cute! what are you studying?"
"history! i'm a history major and a marine biology minor." you nod, "so... the cold war and... like, sharks. something like that."
"ah, very cool."
to be honest you're not entirely sure if lisa's being sincere or not but you'll take the compliment either way
you can tell she's trying to scope you out - which is fair, because this is the first time you two are meeting and you're currently involved with someone she used to be involved with
"i'm sorry. i'm probably, like, freaking you out right now, aren't i?" lisa snorts, reaching out and placing her hand on your forearm for a split second, "i promise i'm just genuinely curious and i'm not trying to, like, interrogate you or anything. it's super nice to meet you! and honestly- i love the overalls. the little knee patches are adorable."
"oh, thank you..." you smile nervously, reaching down to glance at the mismatched patches of fabric sewn onto the knees of your overalls, "yoongi actually sewed 'em on for me! i usually wear this whenever i'm here because i'm okay with getting it dirty- i, um, i like your blazer! and your heels. and your purse- a chanel clutch is a classic!"
"ooh, someone has an eye for fashion..." lisa winks, raising her clutch and waving it slightly, "maybe after i'm done talking business with yoongi we can talk about gucci's new multicolour line-"
"oh, i have so many thoughts on gucci's new multicolour line!" you gasp, suddenly reignited with a spurt of energy, "honestly the colour scheme is very stabilo highlighters to me but we can talk about it later- i'll just be hanging out in the office, so you can find me there whenever you're ready-"
"perfect!" lisa gives you a thumbs up before pointing over to where yoongi is, "if you'll excuse me, i have to go and talk about boring things with yoongi-"
"mhm!" you watch with a smile as lisa click-clacks off towards yoongi before you spin around on your heels, giving yourself a mental pat on the back for how well you handled that interaction
lisa's actually nicer than you thought she'd be!
obviously the saying don't judge a book by its cover is very applicable here
"so... what'd you think of lisa?" namjoon joins your side before nudging you gently, "she's nice, right?"
"i like her! she seems really cool." you nod enthusiastically, pausing to glance over your shoulder to look at her from behind, "i need to ask her for tips on walking in those louboutins and how not to fall over."
"you know, i must say i'm pleasantly surprised at how you're handling this." namjoon snorts, holding back for a second to let you into the office first before he steps in behind you, "colour me impressed!"
"thank you!" you reach over to pull the lollipop jar towards you before suddenly pausing and looking back over at namjoon with a frown, "hold on a sec, what's that supposed to mean?"
"hm? oh, it's nothing." namjoon scrunches his nose, dismissing you with a flick of his wrist as he takes his seat behind the counter, "i just know that if i was in your shoes and my significant other's very attractive and very successful ex came back i would be a little antsy about it-" namjoon glances up from the computer and his eyes widen in panic when he notices that your eyes have widened in panic, "i- i mean- not that you're not very attractive and very successful- what i'm trying to say is that you have nothing to worry- you and yoongi seem like a very stable couple so-"
"do you think maybe you could tell me a bit about yoongi and lisa?" you interrupt his spiral and you feel yourself starting to get a little fidgety, "because i- i actually don't know anything about that situation-"
namjoon has a point, now that you think about it
lisa is very successful and very attractive and can walk in high heels very elegantly
and what about you?
yesterday you submitted a paper one minute before the deadline because of how much procrastinating you had done
and you haven't worn heels in forever because they just hurt so much
but lisa wouldn't complain about her feet hurting in high heels
lisa could have a hundred blisters and still walk into the room with a beautiful, red-lipped smile
"has he never told you about her?" namjoon frowns, "i feel like every couple should at least have one conversation about their past relationships."
"i think he tried to one time, but i- i dunno, you can't blame me for not wanting to sit there and listen to yoongi talking about all the girls he's been with, so i just changed the subject..." you mutter, pushing the jar away from you after pulling a strawberry lollipop out, "kind of regretting that decision now."
it's not like you have a reason to be insecure or anything, right?
your relationship with yoongi is very solid and there are certainly no trust issues or communication issues or anything of the sort
...
but he is your first boyfriend...,., and this is your first serious relationship which means you've had no prior experiences to learn from which means you're just going with the flow most of the time.,., so is it possible that you're being a little naïve right now?
"still, i don't think me telling you all the details of their relationship is a good idea because i feel like this is a conversation you should be having with yoongi-" namjoon chuckles nervously, leaning back against his chair before tucking a pencil behind his ear, "sorry, kiddo. i'm not trying to stir the pot here."
"i- oh, c'mon, joon- what's it gonna take, huh?" you reach into the front pocket of your overalls before subtly flashing a folded up hundred dollar bill, pursing your lips slightly as your eyes flicker back and forth between namjoon and your chest-money, "hm??"
"first of all, it's very concerning to me that you stash loose cash in your pocket like that. second of all, are you really trying to bribe me into telling you about yoongi and lisa?" namjoon asks incredulously
"what?! no!" you scoff, tucking the bill back into your pocket before pausing and raising an eyebrow, "...is it working?"
"no! in fact, i find it offensive that you think i'd be so easily swayed-"
"the next time i bring sushi for lunch, i'll get you your own mango shrimp tempura roll." you offer, namjoon staring at you blankly before he suddenly springs into action
"so, they used to sleep together, obviously." he clears his throat, "when lisa started working here, i kind of expected her to get involved with one of us and unsurprisingly it was yoongi, because... well, it's yoongi- i'm pretty sure it was a friends with benefits kind of thing because i remember asking him about it and he said they didn't want to put a label on it? and then at one point jimin asked lisa about it because all of us were super curious and she called it a 'situationship'... which, personally, i think is a pretty cheesy label- i dunno, they'd go out to dinners sometimes and occasionally they'd come into work together in the morning because- well, you know- uh, they were in this 'situationship' for... maybe, like, eight months? and then lisa got an opportunity to work elsewhere and she took it and they decided to call it off and fast forward to now... here we are!" namjoon claps his hands together before pressing his palm over his heart, "and i promise you that's all the information i have- well, maybe this piece of information might be useful to you: they were, like, super horny for each other all the time. like, almost outrageously horny, which i think is one of the downfalls of the relationship because you can't base a solid relationship off of animalistic sex, right? ooh, there was one time i caught them in yoongi's office and lisa was-"
"okay, i think that's enough-!" you hold a hand out to shut namjoon up and he shrugs before leaning back against his chair, "more than enough, actually-"
you weren't expecting to learn about the raw, animalistic sex yoongi had with lisa, but then again, you weren't expecting to even meet lisa at all
oh, god
should you be nervous??
you shouldn't be nervous, right??
...yeah, you're being ridiculous!
yoongi has been with other girls before and that shouldn't bother you because you didn't exist then
this has nothing to do with you!
so what if he bent her over the office table and-
okay, maybe it's time to stop thinking about this because the point is: you're fine. don't worry. everything is normal. yoongi is your boyfriend. lisa is his ex. everything is great!
"by the way, i want you to know that you honestly have nothing to worry about." namjoon suddenly chimes in as if he can read your mind, "lisa was yoongi's past but you are his present and most likely his future as well, so- seriously, don't even worry about it."
"yeah, you're right. it'd be silly of me to be upset about yoongi being with someone else when i wasn't even in the picture yet." you snort, reaching up to smack your own forehead gently, "okay! i'm feeling a little better. it would've been nice to not be informed about how horny they were for each other, but thank you for that detail-"
"yo, where are the snap ring pliers from my toolbox?" you turn just in time to see yoongi pop his head in, "i can't find them anywhere... i swear to god, everyone keeps borrowing my tools and 'forgetting' to put them back-" he rolls his eyes before looking over at you with a smile, "hi, baby-"
"hi yoongi-" you giggle, all your doubts and insecurities immediately fluttering away
see? nothing to worry about!
phEw
it feels like a weight's been lifted off your shoulders
"i think hoseok might've been using them earlier this morning." namjoon hums, "what do you need them for?"
"oh, lisa offered to help me out with the master cylinder repair and she needs 'em." yoongi points back over his shoulder, "you know how great she is with her hands-"
"woah, i thought-" your voice cracks slightly and you clear your throat, "i thought, uh- you were working on it yourself? like, i thought you didn't need any help and that's why i'm in here-"
"oh, i don't, but- well, lisa's good with fine-tuning so i might as well take advantage of her expertise while she's here." yoongi snorts before looking back over at namjoon, "you said hoseok had them?"
"yep!"
you bite down on your tongue to keep yourself from commenting any further
it's fine!
as we've already established, you have nothing to worry about.
...right?
»»————- 🛠️ ————-««
"and... voilà!" you smile satisfactorily to yourself after you set the scented candle down on the coffee table
the living room is going to smell like warm brown sugar and cinnamon in a few minutes and you can't wait
this is yoongi's favourite candle so you hope he'll be excited about that when he gets here :'))
you've been preparing the apartment for his arrival and lighting the candle was one of the last things on your to-do list
you still have to order dinner for tonight and you've always been awful at making decisions so you figured it'd be best to let yoongi choose instead
you haven't seen him for about a week and a half because of finals (and, being perfectly honest, you were the one who implemented this distancing rule in the first place because you know you won't be able to focus on studying when yoongi's in the apartment with you) so you're pretty pumped for tonight!!
you hum to yourself as you click on yoongi's phone number in your contacts, flopping back on the couch with a fwump! while your legs swing lazily over the arm
"hello?"
the phone picks up after a couple of rings and it takes you a second to realize that the voice on the other end certainly does not belong to your boyfriend
"he-" you pause, pulling your phone away from your ear and frowning at the unfamiliar voice before bringing it back, "um, hello?"
"hi! who's this?"
"who's this?" you point to yourself before scoffing lightly, "what do you mean who- who's this?"
"oh- oh, y/n! hey, it's lisa!" lisa greets enthusiastically and you relax a little knowing that it's just lisa, "sorry, i didn't look at the contact name before picking up- what's up?"
"well, i-" you pause again to recollect your thoughts, "um, sorry, i guess i was just expecting yoongi to pick up his own phone so i'm a little lost right now-"
"oh my gosh, don't even worry about it! yoongi's hands are super gross right now so i offered to take his call for him which is why i picked up the phone. is there something you wanted me to pass along to him?"
"yeah, you could pass his phone right along to him-" you joke before reminding yourself to keep the unnecessary cattiness to a minimum, "yeah, um- can you ask him what time he's coming over? so that i know what time to order our food and stuff? i want the food to still be nice and hot by the time he gets here, so i just need a time from him, that's all-"
"yeah, about that... i actually don't think yoongi's going to make it for dinner."
"i-" you frown, pushing yourself up so that you're leaning back against an elbow, "what? why not?"
"the thing is, i hooked him up with a bunch of clients so the poor thing's been working like a dog all day and it looks like he's going to be stuck here for a while... if you're worried about him skipping dinner, i can totally go and get some food for him if you want! there's this sandwich place a block away and i know what he likes-"
your eyes widen slightly at how... happy? lisa sounds about the fact that yoongi potentially won't be joining you for dinner and you nod to yourself as you clench your jaw
"that's- that's very kind of you, lisa-" your voice is a little pitchier than usual at this point and you clear your throat obnoxiously, "i'm sorry, i just really have to talk to yoongi for a second so if you could just, like, hold the phone up to his ear that would be okay too-"
"okay! gimme a sec." there's a bit of shuffling on the other end and you press your lips together as you wait (im)patiently, "yoongs! it's y/n... dinner... hot food... her place... clients... pretty busy tonight..."
and she even has a nickname for him
that's just downright adorable, isn't it?
"god, just give him the damn phone." you mutter under your breath, raising your other hand to inspect your cuticles as you lie back down on the couch
hm
you should probably schedule another manicure soon
"-it's okay, i can hold the phone myself- y/n?" you perk up when you hear yoongi on the other end and you can't help but kick your legs in excitement
you can't help it!!!
you haven't heard his voice in a whole week and a half!!!
"greetings, yoongs." you tease, "what time are you going to be here?" you bypass lisa's whole monologue about yoongi probably not being able to come over tonight in hopes that she'll be wrong about him ditching you to continue working, "i wanna order the food so it'll get here a little before you arrive. also, i haven't chosen what we're going to eat tonight so you're going to have to choose for us-"
"right, about that-" yoongi clears his throat, "i know i was supposed to come over for dinner tonight but- listen, i don't know what lisa did but obviously she's got a lot of connections now and the shop has literally never been this busy before..." he pauses and you hear the sound of loud clanging in the background, "you understand, don't you?"
it takes you a couple of seconds to process the fact that yoongi really won't be coming over tonight and you puff your cheeks out to keep yourself from immediately whining in protest
to say the least, you are.,.,,. very disappointed,.., but!! it won't be the end of the world, right?
you hate that lisa was right, but that's a conversation you can have with yourself another time
and if yoongi won't be here, that means you can hog all the garlic cheesy bread to yourself so maybe this is a blessing in disguise >:-)
"no, yeah, i- yeah, get it!" you nod, "i love that business is booming, i just don't love that you didn't text me or call me earlier to let me know you weren't going to come over tonight," you frown, turning your head to look at the flickering candle, "a heads up would've been nice, that's all..."
"i asked lisa to text you earlier when my hands were full... sorry, she must've forgot..."
"oh. yeah, i guess it could've slipped her mind." you respond dryly, "it would've taken, like, five seconds to text me-"
"okay, i-" you hear yoongi let out a small sigh before he speaks up again, "i'm sorry, baby, i really am- do you- i can come over now if you want me t-"
"no, it's okay! i'm sorry, i'm just-" you shake your head quickly before chuckling uneasily, "i just haven't seen you in a while so i miss you, that's all- but i'll let you get back to work now and i'll see you later?"
"yes! you are the best, you really are- look, i promise i'll be all yours as soon as i-"
"yoongi! these tires aren't going to change themselves, silly-"
"oh, c'mon-" you grumble, your teeth grinding slightly at the interruption of lisa's peppy voice in the background
"uh- yeah, in a sec-! i gotta go, doll- i'll call you later-"
"okay, b-" you don't get a chance to even say goodbye before the line goes dead and the only thing you can hear is an obnoxious beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep- "-ye."
»»————- 🛠️ ————-««
one of your goals for the new year was to try your best to not hold a grudge
admittedly, holding grudges is one of your specialties so it's been a little bit difficult but you think you've been doing an okay job so far!
like that time jungkook accidentally drowned you with dirty car water because he didn't see you and also he had headphones on so he couldn't hear you
you were ready to strangle him right then and there but you just took a deep breath and reminded yourself that *~deep-cleaning services exist~*
and sure, you were a little upset that yoongi couldn't make it for dinner the other night and that the two of you haven't really had a chance to have a moment alone because of how swamped he's been with work, but... well, the past is in the past and challenges like this are good for your personal growth!
plus, it's the start of a new week so you're just going to focus on the present
you try your best to keep your footsteps as quiet as possible as you approach a preoccupied yoongi from behind
he's currently sorting out all the things to do on his giant whiteboard (you bought this for the boys because you thought it'd be a good way to organize all their tasks and unsurprisingly, namjoon was the most excited about it)
"guess who?" you hold your hands over yoongi's eyes with a giddy smile and he immediately spins around to face you
"hey, what are you doing here?" yoongi asks, leaning down to give you a quick kiss before pulling away to check the time on his watch, "aren't you supposed to be in class right now?"
"my history seminar was cancelled because my professor had some kind of an emergency so i thought i'd come and have lunch with you guys!" you hum, reaching over to fix the thin silver chain hanging around yoongi's neck, "i was going to pick the food up before coming here but i didn't want to just choose for everyone so i thought it'd be better to get everyone's orders first-"
"oh, you don't have to do that, baby-" yoongi shakes his head, capping the marker and dropping it back into the wire holder, "lisa actually offered to treat us to lunch- apparently there's some bagel place that has, like, a hundred different fillings-"
"lisa's here?" you interrupt, suddenly straightening your back before looking around quickly, "i... was not aware that lisa was... still here! i thought she was only here for a little while-"
"mm, she ended up extending her stay! one of her clients pushed their appointment to thursday so she came over to help out for the day."
"oh, cool." you nod, pressing your lips together as you take a second to sort through your thoughts
your nose scrunches slightly as you weigh the pros and cons of saying what you're about to say to yoongi
...
it won't kill you to ask, right?
"hey, i don't wanna, um-" you pause, "you know, i don't wanna... be that girlfriend, but... do you think that there's a slight possibility that lisa might still have feelings for you?"
a moment of silence goes by before yoongi practically barks out a laugh of disbelief
"what? lisa? no, no- that- no, don't be ridiculous." he snorts, shaking his head before turning back around to face the whiteboard, "lisa most certainly does not still have feelings for me- and, by the way, she was the one who broke things off with me, so if anything, i should be the one who still has feelings for-" he stops himself midway and presses his lips together before turning to glance at you over his shoulder, "you know, i'm hearing the words coming out of my mouth and i... am going to shut up now."
"mm, good choice." you raise a brow before shrugging, "alright, well, i just- you know, it's a possibility but if you say that lisa doesn't still have feelings for you, then i believe you-"
"alright, boys! it's chow time!"
you turn your head to see lisa waltzing into the shop carrying two large paper bags and the rest of the boys immediately rush over to her like moths to a flame
she brought bagels for lunch?
you're not trying to be biased or anything sandwiches are easier to eat, in your personal opinion
you basically have to unhinge your jaw to get a good bite of a bagel
"y/n!" lisa looks more than surprised at your presence when you and yoongi walk over the join the group, "i wasn't aware you were going to be here today- yoongi told me that you had class so i-" she pauses to set the bags down on the table, "oh my goodness, i am so sorry but i really didn't know you'd be joining us for lunch... yoongi, you could've texted me or something-"
"she just got here!" yoongi shrugs as he takes a seat at the table, "don't pin this on me-"
"ah, i probably look like such a jerk right now..." lisa winces, scratching the back of her head before reaching down to grab a bagel out of one of the paper bags, "here! you can take my bagel-"
"no, no, it's alright!" you hold your hands out before shaking them, "don't be silly, you don't have to do that- it's very nice of you to offer but i- it's alright, you go ahead and enjoy yourself!"
"oh, stop- take the bagel, y/n." lisa scoffs playfully, practically shoving the bagel into your arms before rummaging through the bags again, "i'll just share a bagel with yoongi! you don't mind, right, yoongs?"
"yeah, i had a snack earlier so i'm not, like, starving or anything-" yoongi nods, "what kind of filling is it?"
"this one is..." lisa pauses to look at the sticker on the top, "smoked salmon and dill cream cheese with capers."
"yoongi doesn't like capers." you chime in, suddenly feeling the need to prove to everyone that you know your boyfriend very well, "i remember they were sprinkled in a salad one time and he said they were too salty-"
"eh, i'll survive. i can always just pick 'em out." yoongi shrugs nonchalantly and you can't help but purse your lips in mild frustration at his response
"'atta boy! luckily, they're already sliced in half otherwise we'd have to take turns taking bites which would be weird-"
"agreed." you mutter, peeling the label off your bagel and sticking it onto the side instead
"oh, lisa! i was wondering if maybe you could help me out with some custom headlights i'm working on?" hoseok perks up, "i'm having some trouble getting the halo lights to work and i need your magic hands-"
"mhm! i can definitely check them out after lunch-" lisa grins, taking a seat next to yoongi, "anyone need a napkin?"
"yes, please!"
"i need one too-"
"pass one over here-"
you know it's silly of you to be feeling jealous over this because god knows the only thing you know about cars is that key go in and car go vroom so obviously the boys would never ask you to help them out with anything like how they're asking lisa to help out
and you're trying very hard to noT throw a self-pity party but it's getting harder and harder to not to that
(and it certainly doesn't help that there aren't any more seats left at the table)
you just can't help but feel so!!!!! inferior!!!!! compared to lisa
she's so cool and pretty and witty and obviously very knowledgable about cars
and what are you bringing to the table??
ham and cheese sandwiches??? fancy sushi rolls????
obviously not anymore because they've been replaced by these stupid bagels
this is the first time you haven't been able to throw money at a problem and you're not,.., sure.,., how you feel about it,..,
"i, uh, have to work on a paper, so i think i'm going to go and eat this in the office if anyone wants to come with?" you clear your throat quietly as you start to back away from the table slowly, "...or i can just go fuck myself, which is fine too."
you're not entirely surprised when your comment isn't acknowledged by anyone and you nod to yourself before swiftly turning on your heel and trying your best not to storm towards the office
you force your fists to uncurl and your shoulders to relax slightly but you can't help but make a face when you hear the boys laughing obnoxiously at one of lisa's jokes
of course she has to be funny as well
because the woman literally has zero flaws
you've been trying to find a reason to hate her and so far you haven't found anything negative to say
hating someone for having perfectly styled hair is a little odd
the legs of the chair screech against the floor as you pull it out and plop down
whatever
you like eating alone anyway
you unwrap the parchment paper and pick up the bagel before taking an overly aggressive bite of it, your cheeks practically bursting from how much food is currently in your mouth
you wipe your mouth with the back of your hand as you chew, tossing the bagel back onto the wrapper with a thunk!
...
damnit!
this is the best goddamn bagel you've ever had in your entire life!!
"phtupid phriggin' bavhel." you grumble, reaching up to wipe the sauce off the corner of your mouth before swallowing roughly, "even the mayo is delicious! god, what is this? some kind of garlic mayo-"
"oh my god. i think she's finally lost it." you jolt upon hearing jungkook's voice and you turn to see him and jimin standing at the door
"what's your problem?" jimin asks, the two of them walking over to join you at your sad, lonely table
"what? nothing. i don't have a problem." you shake your head stubbornly, "i just- i just wanted to be alone, that doesn't mean something's wrong-"
"is that why you're in here basically yelling at a bagel?" jungkook points out as he pulls out a chair and sits on your right
"i'm- i'm just stressed about- my paper. or whatever. it's whatever, i'm fine-"
"you can talk to us, you know." you frown when jungkook suddenly reaches over and in an uncharacteristic move, places both hands over yours
"is it about lisa?" jimin asks, crinkling his nose as he sits down as well, "it's about lisa, isn't it?"
"no, it's not-" you press your lips together before letting out a light laugh, "you know, i don't even have a reason to be upset about lisa, right? she's super cool and very nice and knows a lot about cars and is yoongi's age and namjoon blessed me with the knowledge that she, apparently, was a very passionate lover- so i have nothing to be upset about!" you snap, slapping your palm down on the table before wincing and cradling your hand to your chest, "...everything is fine."
"i have to say, i really don't think jealousy is a good look on you." jungkook clicks his tongue before glancing down at your feet, "i also don't know if those shoes are a good look on you- jeez, it's like the people at gucci are just pulling design elements out of a hat-"
"you are not making me feel any better, jungkook- these shoes are new!"
"ooh, you should make him jealous!" jungkook suddenly lights up and the fluorescent light hanging above you guys flickers for a second
"we're going to have to round back to my shoes later because i really don't think they're that bad-"
"you should make him jealous and give him a taste of his own medicine..." jungkook trails off, ignoring your previous comments once again, "it's what you deserve."
"i'm not- i'm not doing that." you chuckle uneasily, "are you serious? this isn't high school and getting him back would just be petty of me-"
"but it'd feel so nice to be petty, don't you think?" jungkook encourages, scooting a little closer to you with a devilish grin, "think about it, y/n. don't you wanna see yoongi get all hot and possessive over you-"
"i don't think it's a good idea." jimin chimes in, shaking his head quickly as he moves in closer as well, "because if yoongi finds out you orchestrated something just to get him back, that might create an issue of trust in the relationship, and that would be very, very bad-"
"oh, but it feels so good to be bad..." jungkook coos, poking your arm with his pointer finger, "so, so good..."
"uh, i don't think so! i'd like to argue that it feels bad to be bad-"
"don't listen to jimin, he's a wuss-"
"don't listen to jungkook, he's an idiot-!"
"okay, cut it out!" you snap, shoving your hands into both their chests to keep them from coming any closer, "i... must admit, i do want to do something to piss yoongi off because of how much he's pissed me off, but... i'm not like that, you know? and i don't want to come off as some crazy girlfriend because-" you pause when you notice jungkook's finger creeping closer and closer to your bagel and you immediately deflate as soon as you realize what's going on here, "oh my god. you guys only came in here because you wanted to try my bagel, didn't you?"
jungkook and jimin exchange knowing glances before looking up at you sheepishly
"yeah, that makes more sense-" you snort, rolling your eyes before pushing the bagel away from you, "have at it, you animals."
you lean back against your chair, stroking your chin in thought as the sound of jungkook and jimin bickering over who gets the bigger half of the bagel starts to fade out
to be petty or not to be petty, that is the question...
»»————- 🛠️ ————-««
(spoiler alert: the answer to the previous question is to be petty. very, very petty.) »»————- 🛠️ ————-««
"namjoon! where did you put my keys??" yoongi calls out, yanking open another drawer to rifle through its contents, "i'm supposed to pick y/n up from campus and i can't find them anywhere... i don't want her to just stand there waiting for me..."
"looking for these?"
yoongi looks up to see lisa standing by the door with his keys in her hand before she tosses them to him
"yes! you're a lifesaver, thanks-" he catches them with one hand before stepping out from behind the counter, "i thought you were leaving today? we already said goodbye to you this morning-"
"yeah, i know-" lisa chuckles as she steps into the office, "it's just that... well, i was going to just leave but i actually had something i needed to talk to you about before i left. i felt it wouldn't be fair to either one of us if i didn't say anything."
"mm. what's up?" yoongi hums, sticking his hand into the lollipop jar to pull a cherry flavoured one out
he pulls another one out before tucking it into his pocket (one for you when he picks you up!)
"well, i guess i should just go ahead and say it- just gotta rip the bandaid off-" lisa straightens her blazer before clearing her throat, "yes."
"...yes?" yoongi frowns, unwrapping his lollipop before popping it into his mouth and scrunching up the wrapper, "i'm not following. yes to what?"
"oh, don't play dumb-" lisa snorts, flicking her wrist at him, "yes, as in: i would love to rekindle our friends with benefits situationship-"
"woah, what?!" yoongi immediately chokes and he yanks the lollipop out of his mouth before patting his chest roughly, "what are you- what the hell are you talking about??"
"what do you mean what the hell am i talking about??" lisa stares at him incredulously before shaking her head, "you're the one who's been giving me secret signals all week-"
"signals-" yoongi's gawks, "what signals??"
"you know, like, how you cancelled dinner plans with her so you could be with me..." lisa croons, taking a step closer towards him
"i cancelled dinner plans with y/n so i could be with twenty cars-" yoongi inches to the side so he can make a quick getaway to run behind the counter in case lisa pounces, "which, i'm realizing doesn't make me sound like the best boyfriend but- i most certainly didn't cancel just to spend private time with you, no offence-"
"what about when we shared a bagel and you didn't complain about the capers??" lisa snaps, lunging towards yoongi only for him to quickly spin out of the way and hurry to get behind the counter
"uh, we shared a bagel because i wasn't hungry for a full bagel and i thought you weren't either, and also-" yoongi grabs namjoon's wheely chair as a makeshift barrier between him and lisa, "i'm a grown man, i'm not going to throw a fit over some friggin' capers-"
"how about when i squeezed your arm and asked you if you'd been working out and you totally flexed your arm for me??" lisa grabs the arms of the chair before yanking and aggressively rolling it behind her, yoongi's eyes widening in panic at the sudden empty space in between the two of them
"i flexed it to prove to you that i have indeed been working out-!" yoongi hops up onto the counter as soon as lisa darts towards him and he hurries to jump off so he's on the other side of it, knocking the phone and namjoon's pen holder down onto the ground in the process, "friends can ask each other if they've been hitting the gym!! i squeeze namjoon's arms all the time because his biceps are literally boulders-"
"i just feel like we have unfinished business, you know?" lisa whines, pausing for a second before bringing a hand up to bite down on the tip of her pointer finger teasingly, "plus, you have to admit that our sex was super hot-"
"are you- hello, i'm dating y/n!" yoongi gasps, "our business is finished! we have no more- we're out of business, lisa!"
"oh, c'mon." lisa raises a brow, clearly unimpressed with his reaction, "it's not going to hurt anyone to keep me as your sexy little secret- it's perfect! i only come into town, like, once or twice a year, so she won't even suspect anythi-"
"what are you- are you insane?! i'm not going to cheat on y/n-" yoongi chokes before raising his hands in defence, "lisa, you're a very beautiful woman and we do have a history, but- look, i'm sorry if i sent you mixed signals this week, that was certainly not my intention- please understand that i am very much not trying to cheat on someone who i love very much and who i'm pretty sure loves me back, so-"
"then who's that person she's so obviously flirting with right now?" lisa points over his shoulder, "also, she's barely visited you this week. what kind of girlfriend doesn't want to always be with her boyfriend??"
"first of all, space can be healthy, and second of all, she- hold on, you said flirting?" yoongi turns to look over his shoulder and out the door, tilting his head slightly when he sees you standing at the front of the garage laughing with... someone he certainly doesn't recognize...
"you can leave all of this behind and come and work for me, yoongi-" yoongi jumps when he suddenly feels hands grasping at the collar of his jumpsuit and he turns back to see lisa standing right in front of him (how did she move so quickly and quietly?!), "we can be happy together, i swear-"
"yeah, cool, just give me a second-" yoongi gently yanks lisa's hands off of him before hurrying out of the office and making a beeline right for you and this mysterious stranger
"oop- okay, he's coming this way-" baekhyun mutters, glancing over your shoulder before looking back at you, "it's show time. you ready?" he hums, reaching over to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear
"what do you think? do we look convincing?" you reach down to unbutton another button on your blouse before adjusting the collar
it's taking everything within you noT to whip around to see if yoongi's just walking towards you or if he's storming towards you... because there's definitely a difference and you definitely want it to be the latter
the plan you came up with had a pretty simple formula: one handsome stranger + one flirty, oblivious y/n = one jealous yoongi
jungkook had a point about how nice it'd be to get yoongi all riled up and possessive and frankly you think you deserve it considering how dismissive he's been with you all week... which is why you were more than happy to recruit your very handsome friend baekhyun (he's very sweet / you met last semester in one of your history courses / he was more than willing to help out with your plan because he's a theatre major and this is good practice for him) to help you out with your plan!
"you're laughing like a robot." baekhyun lowers his voice, "i told you to act natural-"
"i'm being natural! ha, ha! ha! ha-ha. you're so funny, baek-" you giggle obnoxiously, reaching over to slap his chest gently, "you are absolutely the funniest person i've ever met-"
"y/n!" yoongi clears his throat loudly and you bite back a grin at the hint of annoyance you can detect in his voice, "i... thought i was picking you up from class today? i wasn't aware you hired a chauffeur!"
"oh, yoongi!" you spin around, feigning surprise as if you totally weren't expecting to see him at all, "oh, this is actually my friend- i know you've been busy so he offered to give me a ride!" you hum, stepping aside to let baekhyun step up onto the sidewalk, "baekhyun, this is yoongi-" you gesture to yoongi, "yoongi, this is baekhyun! ...my boyfriend."
you're hoping your accidental on-purpose flub-up triggers yoongi's memory of how he accidentally introduced lisa to you as his girlfriend and you're delighted to see the way yoongi's jaw drops slightly, "oh, my bad! i'm sorry, i don't know how that happened- what i meant to say was baekhyun, this is yoongi, my boyfriend. there we go."
"baekhyun..." yoongi repeats, his eyes narrowing slightly when baekhyun suddenly wraps an arm around your shoulder and gives you a squeeze "well, that's very nice of you to drive y/n all the way here. thanks for doing that, man."
"oh, it's no problem at all!" baekhyun hums, reaching over to pinch your cheek, "y/n's the sweetest and i didn't want to abandon her on campus-"
"okay, she wasn't abandoned, i was literally about to leave to pick her up-" yoongi points out, lifting his keys with a jingle before abruptly shoving them into his back pocket, "you know, y/n's never mentioned a baekhyun before. you two seem... close!"
"oh, baek and i go way back." you snort, digging your elbow into his side with a grin, "isn't that right, baek?"
baek
yoongi pokes his tongue against the inside of his cheek at the fact that baekhyun still has his arm wrapped around your shoulder and you haven't made a move to shoVE it off
how can you not see that his intentions with you aren't just chummy??
he wouldn't have driven you all the way here if he didn't want to get his grubby hands under your skirt-
"we most certainly do! we made some great memories in that lecture hall- i have to say, i was, uh, pretty disappointed when i found out she was already in a relationship..." baekhyun sighs dramatically, shaking his head before looking back at you, "i would treat you right and never cancel dinner plans with you-"
"okay, i think it's time for you to go, bacon-" yoongi forces a smile on his face before reaching over to gently pull you towards him, "thank you for dropping my girlfriend off. have a good one."
"oh, no problem!" baekhyun points towards you, "hey, lemme know if you need a ride to campus on monday because i'd be happy to swing by your apartment and-"
"no, i can take her!" yoongi manoeuvres you so that you're standing behind him and basically blocked from baekhyun's sight, "i've got it from here, thanks."
"bye, baek!" you wave at baekhyun as gets into his car and he salutes at you before his right eye drops in a cheeky wink and it's at that point that yoongi really thinks he's about to lose it
what the hell was that?!
he spins around to face you as soon as baekhyun zooms off and you keep yourself from asking him why his ears have suddenly turned super red
"why are you wearing lowbuttons to class?" yoongi crosses his arms over his chest, "i thought you said you were going to use them as, like, apartment decoration."
"louboutins, yoongi." you correct, looking down at your slick stilettos, "and why can't i wear louboutins to class?"
"you wore them out to dinner one time and i ended up having to carry you back to the car because your feet were aching-" yoongi reminds you with a pointed tone, "are you telling me that you walked up and down and all around campus in those things?"
"maybe i did." you shrug, turning to stick your nose up in the air a little, "i can wear stilettos to class if i so please."
"and the miniskirt?"
"what, you don't like it?" you pout, reaching down to pick a piece of fluff off the surface, "it's new!"
it's a plain black skirt but it has a little slit on the side and you purposely bought this specific piece knowing that yoongi has expressed how much he likes you in black
"of course i like it, and obviously i'm a big fan of the heels but-" yoongi huffs, "all i'm saying is that it's a little odd- the timing is weird for your miniskirts and heels to make a sudden comeback now that you're all buddy-buddy with this backyawn-"
"it's baekhyun-"
"that's what i said!"
"you know, i don't know what you're implying here but i haven't done anything wrong-" you shrug, "are you feeling okay? maybe you need to take a nap-"
"stop being stubborn, y/n. just tell me what's going on!"
"nothing's going on!" you insist, raising your hands in defense before flicking a strand of hair over your shoulder, "everything is perfectly fine and nothing is-"
"are you leaving me for baekhyun?" yoongi interrupts, his eyes suddenly softening, "because if this is how you're telling me we're over, it's a pretty shitty-"
"what- what?? no!" you shake your head quickly, "no, of course i'm not- why would you even- okay, fine! fine, i-" you let out a breath and your shoulders drop a little, "it's just that... i don't know, it kind of feels like i've been fighting to get your attention for the whole week and i... i feel like i shouldn't have to do that as your girlfriend, you know? and i'm not... i guess i just felt like i wasn't stacking up to lisa and how cool and smart she is and- this whole week it's just felt like you're in a relationship with lisa and not me, so i... wanted to make you jealous to see if you still cared. or whatever."
"are you serious?" yoongi's eyes flutter shut and he reaches up to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration, "fuck, i'm sorry, ah- i'm sorry, y/n, i really am-" his brows knit together in remorse as he looks at you, "i think i just got swept up in all the new clients she was bringing in so i was focusing more on that than on noticing what was going on with you... i'm sorry. why didn't you just come and talk to me about it?"
"i didn't know how." you mutter, reaching up to scratch the side of your head, "i've never had to deal with something like this before, so... i know it was silly of me to come up with this whole thing-"
"you are my girlfriend, y/n." yoongi reminds you, his voice softening, "not lisa. it's you." he reaches over to hook a finger under your chin so he can get you to look at him, "i promise i only have eyes for you, pretty girl. you still love me?"
"god, yoongi-" you feel your cheeks flush at the nickname and you roll your eyes playfully before turning your head, "yeah. duh."
"oh, you silly thing..." he tuts, pulling you in for a hug and propping his chin up on the top of your head, "i'm sorry, baby. i really didn't mean to make you feel like that..." he pulls away and reaches down to glide his finger down the bridge of your nose before poking the tip, "i hope you can forgive me for being a shitty boyfriend."
"i'll forgive you if you forgive me for pretending to flirt with someone else." you smile sheepishly, yoongi grinning before nodding in agreement
"deal." he wraps an arm around your shoulder as the two of you head back towards the direction of the office, "so you really went through all that trouble just to make me a little jealous?" yoongi grins, "just for a little bit of attention? as if i'm not already all over you when we're alone-"
"well, it worked, didn't it?" you take your bottom lip in between your teeth as you squish your cheek against yoongi's shoulder and look up at him, "my acting skills are not half bad, if i do say so myself-"
"oh, shit, uh-" yoongi suddenly stops in his tracks when he sees lisa step out of the office and he spins around so that his back is facing her, "not to make you worry, but you should probably know that lisa's somehow convinced that i've been secretly flirting with her all week because i want to become friends with benefits again and she almost, like, body-slammed me in the office- also, if namjoon asks, tell him a raccoon snuck in and that's why his desk is a mess and his pens are all over the floor-"
"wait, what?!" your brows knit together and you're about to lean over to look at lisa but yoongi quickly reaches out and grabs onto your shoulders to keep you in place
"-yeah, so i'm going to lay you down on the hood of that car now because doing something extreme is probably the only thing that'll prove to her that she's wrong and i am very desperate to show her that she's wrong-"
"lay me down on the- and do what?! yoongi-!" you don't get much of a chance to say anything else before yoongi's suddenly bending down to pick you up off the ground in one swift movement, his fingers digging underneath your thighs as he lays you down on the hood of the nearest car, "yoongi-! you can't just-"
"shush!" yoongi hisses, pressing his lips against yours to shut you up promptly
"mmvph-"
it doesn't take you very long to melt into the kiss once you realize you haven't kissed yoongi like this in like a week and a half and you can't help but smile at the familiar faint taste of cherry you're getting from him
yoongi's warm hand slides down from your waist so he can hitch your left leg up against his hip, one of your heels slipping from your foot and clattering onto the floor
your senses are so clouded with yoongi cherry yoongi cherry that you nearly forget the two of you aren't alone (and also, all of this is definitely being recorded on the security cameras right now)
"hey, so- i- i'm gonna get going-" lisa announces loudly as she stands at a good distance away from the two of you, her eyes looking up towards the ceiling so that she doesn't have to watch the way yoongi's kissing down your neck, "i have to check out of my hotel, so-"
"yeah, sounds good!" yoongi pulls away for a second and shoots a quick thumbs up over his shoulder, "see you later, pal!"
"bye, lisa!" you chime in, giving her a wave even though she isn't looking at you and is really trying to double-time it to her car, "it was so nice meeting you!"
the two of you watch silently as lisa practically leaps into her mustang, the sound of the engine revving before she quickly speeds off like she just remembered she left the oven on at home
you turn your head to look up at yoongi before scoffing lightly, hooking a finger against his chain to pull him back down towards you, "you're ridiculous, you know that?"
"yeah, i know-" yoongi's nose crinkles before he offers you a boyish smirk and a half-hearted shrug, "you love it, though."
🎙️help me help you make your wishes come true (send me a request!) ✨why don’t you explore the rest of the library while you’re here? (full fics!) 💫or perhaps you want something shorter to read? (drabbles like this one!) 🌟or something even shorter? (teeny tidbits!)
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defectivegembrain · 2 years
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Community characters as Crazy Ex Girlfriend songs
Yep I'm doing this because of course I am. Partially inspired by this post, but also I do this a lot at least in my head with a lot of different media.
Jeff: Let's Have Intercourse, Settle For Me, Don't Be A Lawyer, I Could If I Wanted To, Greg's Jeff's Drinking Song, I'm the Villain in My Own Story, End of the Movie (to Abed), Feelin' Kinda Naughty (about Rich), Get Your Ass Out of My House (to Chang), The Moment Is Me
Jeff and Troy: Sports Analogies, Fit Hot Guys Have Problems Too
Jeff and Britta: We Should Definitely Not Have Sex Right Now, Horny Angry Tango, Nothing Is Ever Anyone's Fault, We'll Never Have Problems Again
Jeff and Craig: Gratuitous Karaoke Moment
Britta: I'm a Good Person, Without Love You Can Save The World, This Is My Movement, You Stupid Bitch, What'll It Be, A Fuckton Of Cats, This Session Is Gonna Be Different (when she tries to "therapize" Abed), Oh My God I Think I Like You (about Jeff), The Darkness, I'm Not Sad You're Sad, Love Kernels (about pretty much every guy she dates tbh, yes even Actual Ray of Sunshine Troy Barnes)
Troy: I Have Friends (in high school), Thought Bubbles, A Boy Band Made Up Of Four Joshes Troys (in early Annie's head), Trapped in a Car With Someone You Don't Wanna Be Trapped in a Car With (driving everyone home on his birthday)
Troy's dad: Get Your Ass Out of My House
Troy and Abed: Having A Few People Over (housewarming party), You Go First (pillow war)
Abed: A Diagnosis, Gettin' Bi (yeah yeah not canon whatever, let me have this it's so cool in my head), Dream Ghost (to Jeff)
Gobi Nadir to Abed: I've Always Never Believed in You (I'm so very very sorry), Forget It
Annie: The Darkness, Love Kernels (about Jeff), Dear Joshua Felix Chan Troy (does he have a middle name?) Barnes, Romantic Moments, How to Clean Up (to Troy and Abed probably at some point), I'm Just A Girl In Love, You Do/Don't Wanna Be Crazy, Meet Rebecca Annie (Other Annie is the version in Jeff's head he imagines being married to)
Annie Kim: I'm So Good At Yoga Model UN
Evil Annie to Evil Jeff (unfortunately): Strip Away My Conscience
Annie's mom about rehab: Forget It
Abed and Annie to Troy: What U Missed While U Were Popular
Annie and Jeff in response to the ACB (Jeff is Paula being unenthusiastic): Back in Action
Shirley: I'm a Good Person, I've Got My Head In The Clouds, Maybe This Dream
Pierce: My Sperm Is Healthy (I'm so sorry, but if I had to think it you have to read it)
Britta, Annie, Shirley, and also Abed I guess? That time they encouraged him to insult other women they didn't like: Women Gotta Stick Together
Jeff, Britta, Annie, Troy, Abed sometimes I guess: The Math of Love Triangles Quadrangles Whatever the Fuck Kinda Shape That Makes
Craig: I'm Just A Boy in Love
Rachel and Anthony when Abed and Annie were trying to decide who would live with them: I Feel Like This Isn't About Me
The Fives in Meow Meow Beans: Friendtopia
Jerry trying to convince Troy to do plumbing: Flooded With Justice
The group when they try to get Abed to flirt with that girl, Jeff and Britta trying to convince Troy to like Annie, Annie setting up Troy and Britta: The Group Mind Has Decided You're in Love
Rich to Jeff: Research Me Obsessively
Nicolas Cage to Abed: Research Me Obsessively
Everyone except Abed about Frankie: Who's The New Guy
Frankie: I Feel Like This Isn't About Me
The group in Basic RV Repair and Palmistry: Trapped in a Car Van With Someone You Don't Wanna Be Trapped in a Car Van With
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realcube · 4 years
Text
TELLING THE BNHA BOYS YOU WANT TO SIT ON THEIR FACE | hcs + drabble
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navi | masterlist | taglist 
thank you to anon for this request <3
characters ♡ kaminari, bakugo, sero & tamaki
content warning ♡ sexual references, fem!reader, all aged up! - minors dni
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denki kaminari 
♡ it depends how confidently you say it 
♡ if you’re clearly embarrassed, he’ll be too
♡ but if you own your statement, it’ll prompt him to be more self-assured and forward 
♡ so he’ll either by completely red in the face and tell you to stop messing with him, or his lips will curl into a suggestive smirk as he encourages to act on your claim 
♡ also if you’re not really the type of person who talks about sexual acts too often or casually, he’ll pop a hard-on 
♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥ 
he was lazily sprawled out across the two-seated couch, his legs lay were you were going to sit and it took every bone in your body to resist the urge to just yank his legs away yourself, since you had been training all day so your legs were in agony, all you wanted to do was sit down and relax. but he prevented you from doing that, so you finally spoke up, “denki, could you move your legs, please?”
kaminari looked up from his phone to see you pouting, bags in hand as you waited for him to let you take a seat. he was feeling especially mischievous today so instead of just retracting his legs like he usually would, he shrugged and hummed, “eh, no. the floor looks comfy though. maybe try that.” 
you scoffed, dropping your bags and hastily wrapping your hands around his ankles before aggressively tugging on them, “move it! you’re stupid fucking face looks comfy!”
he froze, staring at you with wide eyes but you continued to pull at his legs as you had yet to process what you just said as you meant in more as trash-talk rather in a sexual way. 
suddenly, he flipped his position so he way now laying down on his back, his head resting on the seat you were trying to obtain as he stared up at you with starry eyes, “sit, then!”
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katsuki bakugo
♡ goes red in embarrassment, anger and horny 
♡ at first he yells about how immature you are but then his mindless threats begin to turn more..erotic?
♡ he’s like ‘fucking do it then! sit on my face! i fucking dare you! don’t be a pussy! do it!’
♡ and you kinda just stand there like ??? is he being serious ???
♡ he was being dead serious 
♡ he can’t have anyone knowing that he wants you but he does want you so he shows it through anger and hopes that you are aroused rather than frightened
♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥ 
you walked into the theatre by bakugo’s side, not as his date or anything - definitely not - but because he had ‘accidentally’ bought an extra ticket for a movie that you had been talking to your co-workers at the agency about and now that you thought about it, you recalled that bakugo was in ear-shot of the conversation while he was making his coffee in the lounge. 
anyway, the movie had yet to begin but most who were seated remained silent as they watched the trailers. he glanced at you before shifting his gaze onto all the rows of seats in front of y’all, “where do ya want to sit?” he mumbled, casually popping a piece of popcorn into his mouth. 
he simply asked just in case you had a preferred location or an eye-sight problem that he was unaware of so you almost made him choke on his corn when you replied with a click of your tongue, “your face.”
once he coughed up the kernel lodged in this esophagus, he turned to shoot you a deadly glare, “what the fuck?!” 
afraid that you might have made him uncomfortable, you threw you hands up in defence and hastily tried to change the subject before he created a scene in the middle of the silent theatre, “sorry! i just meant it as a joke- erm, sitting at the back would be nic--”
before you could finish, bakugo grabbed you by the collar and dragged you out of the room, towards the cinema bathroom and..you know what happens next. 
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hanta sero
♡ probably incited you to say it lol
♡ he’s like ‘aight bet’
♡ you should know better than to try tease this man bc he is going to make you follow up
♡ not forcefully, but he becomes so racy that it’s hard for you to not just..take a seat :)
♡ he doesn’t get flustered bc he’s too cool for that (⌐■_■)
♡ also he’s horny asf all the time so even if he’s literally never talked to you before, he’ll immediately be escorting you to an area where y’all can be in private
♡ after he’s made you cum for like the fifth time he’ll be like ‘so what’s your name? :)’
♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥ 
friendly banter was something you should’ve learned to avoid. from when bakugo chased you around the school after you made a comment about deku being number one, to when iida gave you a 20 minute lecture when he heard you joke about skipping class - jesting with your friends never ended well for you so why did you think today was any exception?
though those things were in past, you had moved on; you had gotten a fresh new job at a new agency along with an old classmate of yours who you’ve since gotten closer to - pro-hero cellophane. 
you were casually chatting to him in the break-room, making friendly conversation with him as you had deduced that your bad luck with banter was exact that, bad luck - hardly anything that can’t be avoided, or so you thought. 
“exactly!” sero nodded, agreeing with the comment you made on internships, “my mentor kept making me go on these elaborate missions with them but seriously, i was just there to get a recommendation letter, save some people, have a hot hero-girl sit on my face then dip, y’know?” 
you chuckled, prompting him to continue, “well, did it work?”
“i got my recommendation letter but unfortunately, no hot hero-girls sat on my face.” he explained, he taking a sip of his coffee before eyeing you, his frown slowly curling into a titillating smirk, “you could change that, though.”
your eyes widened, but you were somewhat mentally prepared for him to say that so you were quick to blurt out, “yes please.”
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tamaki amajiki
♡ he doesn’t get what you mean at first-
♡ like he thought it was a threat..or maybe you were making fun of him
♡ you, mirio or nejire have to explain to him what it means
♡ then he passes away ⚰
♡ like mans is blushing so hard 
♡ he can’t look you in the eye for 3 months after that 
♡ it’s not that you made him uncomfortable or anything, he just gets like that around the subject of intercourse
♡ if he ever starts talking to you again, you know better than to ever make a dirty joke around him again
♡ but when y’all start dating - maybe a year into the relationship - he’ll randomly turn to you one day and be like ‘remember that joke you made over a year ago about sitting on my face? yeah, that one. do you think you could maybe like..do it? like right now, please? 👉👈’
♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥ 
you sat on the bed beside tamaki, absentmindedly scrolling through your phone as he played animal crossing next to you, on his switch. you were looking through pinterest for date ideas as your one year anniversary with tamaki was fast approaching and you wanted it to be special. 
you opened a picture of a couple at the arcade, looking as though they were having a fun time so your natural instinct was to ask tamaki i he was down, “baby, what do you think about the arca--”
“(y/n).” he interjected with a shakily, “um, remember that time we partnered up for a chemistry project?”
you giggled, no clue as to where he was going with this but humming along, none the less, “yep, i do! that was a while ago though, tama.”
amajiki nodded, awkwardly averting his gaze, his cheeks visibly flushing red as he recalled the events that happened - he couldn’t believe he was bringing this up again, after he tried for so long suppress the memory. but currently, his need to hear your sweet moans overwhelmed his shyness, “do you remember the joke you made?”
you hummed in thought for a moment before it hit you. you peered at his with an eyebrow quirked, mentally questioning if you were remembering it correctly. “um, yes.”
“well, can you?”
“can i what?”
tamaki frowned, before leaning in and whispering his scandalous request - he didn’t want to say this aloud but desperate times call for desperate measures. “sit on my face.”
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mintmatcha · 4 years
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I want giggly cuddly sex with tadashi 🥺 where there’s no power dynamic just us two having a good time and wanting to make the other feel good :((
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I combined these two little ditties into a fic!!! I hope you don’t mind!!!
CW: established relationship, praise, sex, fluff/smut. 
yamaguchi x reader 
(reader has a vagina- no pronouns or gendered language used)
first time
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It's one of the pitfalls of a new relationship; everything the other person does is endearing. 
"I'm just saying, it's weird that the fourth movie is so good!" Yamaguchi digs his hand into the bowl on your lap, picking through the entire bowl to scrape at the popcorn kernels. He tosses the bits into his mouth and chews thoughtfully, cracking through each kernel loudly, before pausing to suck the excess salt off of his fingers. 
God, if anyone else did that, you'd probably be disgusted, or at the very least annoyed, but there's something about Yamaguchi that makes it unbearably endearing. Maybe it's the little shoulder dance he does every time he takes a bite. Maybe it's the way your heart skips a beat when his tongue swipes over his knuckle, catching a bit butter. "Name another series that has a good fourth movie. You can't. Scream 4 is one of a kind." 
He does it again, crunching through the kernels happily, tongue peeking out once again to wipe across his fingertips.
God, you wished he would lick you like that. 
"Tadashi, you're gonna break a tooth." you chide, even as you sink further into his lap. There was plenty of space on the couch, but you had somehow migrated to his lap sometime during the previous movie. The arm around your shoulder tightens, pulling you into a kiss on the cheek. It's greasy with butter residue, but somehow it still makes your heart flutter. 
Fuck. Only 3 months into the relationship and you were wrapped around his finger, watching movies that you didn’t have any interest in. Any little annoyance was forgotten as soon as he flashed you that freckled smile. Every little nuance you discovered made you fall deeper into .... like.
Not love. Like. You weren't ready to admit to the 'love' word quite yet, but it was getting closer. You had been 'in like' with Yamaguchi since shortly after he moved into the cubicle next to yours.  Maybe it had been the way he always remembered to grab you an extra sugar packet for your coffee, or the way he laughed at whatever podcast he was listening to that day, or the way he silently procrastinated at the end of the day so you could walk to bus together: whatever it was that won you over didn’t matter, what did matter was that Yamaguchi made you feel happier than anyone else.  It felt natural to be with him, to be held by him, to be ‘liked’ by him.
...Your only complaint was the pacing. One of the best and worst things about the two of you was that you were both polite, constantly dancing around unsaid boundaries, trying overly hard to respect each other, avoiding any situation that could possibly make the other one uncomfortable. Which meant your physical relationship was nothing more than the occasional kiss.
Honestly, you were beginning to think he didn't want to. His hands never wandered, his texts never turned dirty, and you certainly never initiated anything. It felt like there was never an opportunity to start anything; even now, sitting on his lap while wearing a sweatshirt he had left at your apartment weeks ago, it felt wrong to interrupt a wholesome moment.
Not that you didn't want to. God. You wanted to.
"You know,  I don't think anyone's ever worn my hoodie before." he comments, eyes never leaving the television. He’s enthralled with this stupid movie, even though he had seen it 'dozens of times.'
"Really? I’ve been wearing it as a shirt. " you grab at the fabric, "Do you want me to take it off? "
"Yeah, sure." he responds blankly, attention still glued to the movie. Then, he seemingly realizes what he said, face immediately erupting into a furious blush. He's quick to separate for you, almost spilling the entire bowl on the ground. You mirror him, unsure if you should laugh at his panic or cringe. "No! Do not take your shirt off! I do not want that!" 
"Tadashi. Calm down." You laugh, even as disappointment settles in the back of your throat. Does... does he really not want to see you undressed? Is this why you guys having had sex yet? Did he just see you as a friend? For his comfort and not your own, you inch farther away, back against the opposite arm as him. "It's fine, I get it."
"No, I-" he takes a moment to settle himself, "You look phenomenal with my hoodie on, I just, I don't want you to take your shirt off unless you want to, because it’s totally something I want. I think about it-" he pauses mid sentence, ears burning so red that his freckles seem to disappear, " I mean, if- I'm not like that- if you're not ready- that's not why I invited you over. I'm not expecting anything." 
He gives a nervous chuckle, widening the distance between the two of you more. You let his words sit, only the sound of the movie in the air. 
"So." you begin slowly. "You think about me without a shirt on?"
“I mean, of course.” He is acutely aware of the edge of the couch, his body teetering at the brink, but he bares it. "Can I tell you something? You can't laugh at me. Or think I'm a pervert." 
"I can't promise that. Are you, like.... sniffing my underwear or something?" you joke, a grin sneaking across your face.
He snorts and shakes his head almost violently. 
"Okay, no! Now the real thing doesn't sound as pervy." he adjusts only slightly, his shoulders unbunching themselves. Most of the tension in the air has melted away. That's what was so great about Yamaguchi; even when things turned awkward, they quickly returned to normal. "Do you remember that time Yakki split that water all over you?"
You roll your eyes at the memory. "Of course."
"And you had that little white blouse on?" he swallows, "My productivity at work dropped about 50% that day. It was so bad that the boss scolded me." 
"Yeah, because you were too busy worrying about me catching a cold!" you say, "You even gave me your jacket!" 
"No, I gave you my jacket because your shirt was see-through.” he admits, “My productivity dropped because all I could think about was how I wanted to take you and that little see-through shirt into the storage closet."  
Oh God. This is it. This is the opportunity. 
You lean forward with a tilt of your head, the gapping neck of the shirt falling forward past your collarbone. His eyes are glued to the neckline, tracing over the hint of skin, silently begging for more. You tuck your knees up under you and begin to crawl, only half convinced that this is sexy.  The closer you get, the more he can see down your shirt. His breath hitches slightly at the sight, but he doesn't dare to look away.
"Oh? What were you thinking about doing to me in that storage closet?" Yamaguchi lets his legs fall apart and, hesitantly, you place a hand between his knees, fingertips grazing the grey cotton of his sweatpants. The band of his bright red underwear peeks out from under his shirt and, without thinking, you trace over it with a pad of your finger. At the touch, he leans forward, lips tickling the shell of your ear as he speaks. Your heart is thrumming in your eardrum, so hard you can barely hear what he's saying. 
"First, I would have ripped that wet little shirt off, button by button." he chuckles, reaching to tuck a tendril of hair behind your ear. Your pussy clenches at the low rumble of his voice, so hard you feel like your stomach is cramping. "Then, I-"
A scream cuts through the room. The both of you jump forward into each other, knocking your skull against his jaw. Almost in unison, you both reel back: you clutching your ear, him clutching his lip.  The bowl spills across your laps, scattering popcorn all over the couch and floor as you both frantically search for the source of the noise. The dramatic music of the movie drums through you as some damsel in distress is running across the screen, screaming for help.
One beat. Two beats. 
Then, you laugh. It's one from the belly, that makes your gut ache from effort. You're trying to reach for Yamaguchi, make sure he's okay, but your eyes are watering, and your whole body shaking.  He's giggling too, still covering his lip. 
"The movie scared me!" you explain through tears. He nods in agreement, gesturing to the mess across his lap, including a huge butter stain across his crotch. It's not a funny moment, not when both of you are aching, but an intangible something has you both snorting and sobbing through giggles. The moment is way too long, way past the point of any humor, but Yamaguchi's snickering feeds into yours. 
Finally,  Yamaguchi manages to collect himself, scrunching his lips into a straight line. The corners of his mouth twitch upwards and you dissolve into giggles once again.
"I want to fuck you so bad right now." he breathes. His directness surprises you. "But not on top of the popcorn." 
You pull a deep breath, trying to center yourself. "We could move?"
"My roommate is going to kill me when he comes home to this mess." he says, but he stands anyway. You follow and his hand finds the small of your back, pulling you into him softly. He presses a kiss against your lips, warm and gentle, and then pulls back with a grimace. 
"I think you bruised me.” he touches his lower lip gingerly, as if testing it. 
“I’m sorry, we don’t-” he silences you with another kiss and now you can feel the swollen corner of his mouth, gritted slightly with salt. He clutches on to your top as he steps backwards, dragging you along with him so the kiss doesn’t break. Each step is rocky and unsure (you barely miss colliding into the wall) but you stay embraced, your hands clutching into his dark locks, partially to keep your balance as blindly follow. His hands trace up under your shirt, thumbs digging into the soft of your hips, pulling you flush against him, forcing you deeper and deeper into him until-
“Oh, shit.” he breaks away suddenly, pushing you back slightly. “I- my room- I need you to stay here.” 
“What are you talking about?”
“My room’s a mess, I really didn’t expect that you would- that we-” he shakes his head. “Gimme 30 seconds- please. I don’t want you to see me like this.”
You don’t object as he scuttles away, clicking the door firmly closed behind him. You can hear the muffled sounds of drawers slamming and objects being tossed about as you wait. It feels like you have been standing there, starting at the generic art hanging in the hall, for ages. It’s much longer than 30 seconds, but not quite the eternity it feels like.
The door creaks open and your favorite freckled face peeks out.  “Hi.” 
“Hi.” you repeat. Somehow, every amount of tension had returned in the scant amount of time you had been apart. Both of you knew what you wanted to do, but, the knowledge seemed heavy. It was an explored territory, sleeping with someone new. No matter what your past relationships were, each new experience with a new person (especially a new person you CARE about) brought its own pitfalls and challenges. It seems so serious, so scary, until you tear your eyes away from the floor and actually look your boyfriend in the eyes.
"Did you just brush your teeth?" you reach out and brush a little bit of white foam from the corner of his mouth with your thumb. He leans into your palm with a smile.
"I didn't want to taste like popcorn." he says and you can't help but laugh as he leads you into the room. It’s his brand of organized chaos; there’s clothes peeking out from the closet, miscellaneous knick knacks on the nightstand (including a still foamy toothbrush) and half hung posters across the walls. . You break away to sit on the bed, tracing over the pattern of the bedspread. 
“I like this.” you comment, “Very nice.” 
He nods, frozen in the doorway. Slowly, he reaches up to the lightswitch and flicks the light off. The darkness feels heavy with anticipation and worry as he pads around to the other side of the bed. He feels it too, you decide, as you watch his adam’s apple bob in the low light, this insane mixture of pressure and excitement.
For Yamaguchi, it’s the thoughts that usually plague his mind at night that grate away his confidence. The dreams of your skin between his fingers, your taste on his lips, are so close to reality, but he can't bring himself to make the first move. Even in the low light, he can see the curve of your waist, slowly contracting with every exhale. His own breathing matches your pace and, for some odd reason, that realization makes his chest burn with longing.
"I'm not expecting anything. If you don't want to." he reiterates as he lies down. How pathetic, he thinks. He really wasn't expecting anything, but, god, was he thinking about it. He'd been thinking about it since the first time he had seen you from across the If he could just reach out, just grab your collar and pull you to him, he could finally-
"Tadashi." his skin jumps at the sound of your voice and the sound of you shuffling, laying across the mattress. It's enough to knock him out of his thoughts and back into reality. He swallows back the tightness in his throat as he inches closer to you, his knees brushing against yours. He feels the gravity of the mattress shift as you shuffle closer and closer, until you're within inches of him.  You're almost face to face now, close enough that he can feel the way your breathing picks up as his hand finds your shoulder. You hum at the contact; he's warm. Even through the thick cotton, his skin is unusually hot against you. 
"You're like a little space heater." you whisper. Yamaguchi blinks, thinking, before his lips peel into a smile.
"Is that a good thing?" He doesn't wait for an answer.  He squeezes gently and you let him pull you forward, nose pressed against nose, hip against hip. His own shoulders shake with a silent laugh and you can't help but join him. It's something about the novelty of the situation, the joy in doing something new, breaking an unspoken boundary, that makes you laugh. You both dissolve into giggles, shifting closer and closer until you're laughing in each other's arms, fully pressed against each other. Even through your sweatpants you can feel the suggestion of his cock pressed against you, heavy against his thigh.
" ’Dashi." you whisper into the thin space between you. 
"I- Yeah?" he lets out a shaking breath. You take his hand and guide it to your chest, his fingers immediately cupping the flesh, massaging the flesh with a surprisingly steady touch. The way he sucks in air, fast, surprised, and hungry, sends heat pooling to your core.
"There's no popcorn here." you joke, "If you wanna fuck me." 
It's enough to break through his anxiety and he's against you again, this time with no laughter to keep your lips apart. His mouth finds yours, hungrily catching your lower lip between his teeth, tugging it ever so slowly. The sharpness makes you gasp and he uses the opportunity to kiss you deeper, tongue against yours. He tastes like his brand of toothpaste- soft and sweet mint. It's unexpectedly hungry, unexpectedly rough. 
The kiss doesn't break as he rolls over on to you, pressing your back into the down of his bed. His heart is already racing, battering against his ribs, as he continues tugging and teasing your breast, but he can't find it in himself to slow down. His free hand pushes up the hem of your shirt (his hoodie) to expose your chest. The kiss ends as he pulls away, forcing the short in-between your teeth, holding it up to give him free reign of your body. His head dips to join his hand, breath hot against your nipple. The cloth muffles your moan, but not enough to hide it from your lover.
He pauses, mouth open and tongue lulled out of his mouth, gazing up at you through his eyelashes. "Is this okay?" he's not touching you, but you can feel the low vibrations of his whisper against your skin.
"Yes, please." you whine through the sweatshirt, wrapping your hands into his hair. "Please, Please."
His tongue traces over your nipple delicately before he pulls back,  just far enough to watch it pebble under his touch.  He returns to work, clamping down and sucking, leaving the dull pain of a blossoming bruise behind. Your hips rut up into nothing, looking for any sort of friction.
He continues like this, leaving scattered marks across your skin as he worships you. Yamaguchi seems so content, just learning the scape of your body, but the building tension in your core is wearing thin.
Trailing touches down his body, you slipped your hands under the band of his sweatpants, gripping him through his boxers. Yamaguchi breaks, resting his forehead against your collar bone with a swallowed groan, as your fingers trace around the crown of his cock. Unwilling, he bucks into your light touch, dragging his length through your grasp. You tighten your fingers as he continues fucking himself against your palm, his own hands drifting to grasp your hips, pushing down your shorts just a fingers-length. Finger pads traced against the newly exposed skin, dipping lower and lower until tracing over the lace of your underwear.
"Wow." he breathes, lifting his head up to press a kiss against your chin. "Lift your hips for me, beautiful." 
You comply, letting him peel off your shorts and underwear in one pull. The cool night air made you shiver, but his warm hands soon returned to explore the newly exposed skin. 
"Oh, you're so..." his hand dips in between your legs, dragging a digit through your folds. The sound of your slick against his fingers makes his cock pulse in your grasp. He leaves his thought unfinished as he starts circling your clit with a steady touch. The pressure sends you keening, hips rolling into his touch eagerly, but he remains steady, patient.
He's building you up embarrassingly fast, leaving you sweaty and panting under his touch. Just as your legs start shaking, your body right on the brink, he withdraws. His tongue darts out to wipe away your fluids from his hand and he groans at the taste, eyes fluttering. 
"I'm sorry, beautiful. You can't  cum until I'm inside you." he whispers, sitting up to peel off his shirt. Clusters of freckles dapple his shoulders and it's all you can watch as he scrambles away to the nightstand drawer.  He returns a moment later, eager tearing through the tin foil packet with his teeth.
"Tadashi! Be careful!" you scold as you throw the blankets aside.
"It's not ripped!" he says, grabbing the bunched up shorts from the crook of your knee and tugging it completely off, dragging you a couple inches down the mattress with them. He tosses them aside as he pulls off his own; even though you just had your hand around it, the sight of his cock makes you anxious. It's thick, much thicker than you anticipated, and around leaking, a bead of precum catching at little light in the room.
As he begins rolling the condom on, you peel off your top and Yamaguchi's mouth falls open, eyes darting around the entirety of your body.
"Holy. You-" he sighs happily. "You're the most beautiful person I've ever seen." He surges forward, pressing you down into the mattress once again. His mouth is against yours, swallowing your whines. His hands are at the small of you back again. but now it's about but pure. He's forcefully angling your hips back and forth against his cock, dragging your clit against his spongy head and spreading your wetness against the plastic film. 
"I can't believe I get to fuck you." he says in between kisses. Yamaguchi continues to fuck your folds, his calm pace finally losing it's rhythm. "I can't believe I get to play with this perfect pussy. Can't wait to see you cum around my cock." With a trembling hand, he reaches down and presses his tip against your entrance, hesitating before sinking just the head inside you. The pop of his cockhead entering your cunt makes both of you gasp in unison- and another wave of giggles over takes the both of you.  As he dips down onto his elbows, eyes screwed shut, he doesn't make a move for a long moment, the only sound in the room is his steady breathing.
"I'm sorry, I'm just-." he presses a kiss against your neck, another laugh bubbling up, "You just- ah, you're so pretty. I can't believe this is real." 
Your hand catches his jaw, pulling his face up into yours. Your thumb traces over his cheek, tracing over the subtle dimpling of his pock marks. The freckles scattered across his cheeks, the crinkle at the corners of his eyes as he smiles- he's the beautiful one here. At your touch, he pushes further into you, steadily feeding your tight whole inch by inch, watching the way your mouth gapes and twists at the pressure. Once he's fully seated in you, he pauses, watching your chest move with each breath. 
"Dashi," you whine, hooking your ankles together around his waist, "You're so thick." 
"I know, you're doing such a good job." he presses a kiss against your forehead as he begins rolling his hips against you. Each thrust is rough, your hips angled up for him to sink his full length into you. "Keep being good for me, baby." 
With an unexpected strength, he tugs you closer, lifting your hips off the bed. Each stroke is steady, pumping his entire length in and out of you at a tantalizingly slow pace. His name falls out of your mouth like a prayer, begging for more, but he doesn’t oblige. It stays sinfully slow, building you up in a controlled burn. Each kiss, highlighted by the mingling of your hot breaths, is further raking the coals. 
“Is my pretty baby gonna cum for me? Look how great you’re taking me.” he groans.  He’s praising you blindly now, neither of you sure of exactly what he’s saying, all of his attention focused on grinding into you.
Your back arches further, and you’re seeing stars as he fucks you just right. You can barely keep your vision focused on him, those grey eyes clouded with concentration Your orgasm knocks the breath out of your lungs and you come undone with a strangled laugh, fisting the sheets desperately. The way you clench down around him makes his hips finally stutter, a hiss escaping his gritted teeth. Your chest is filled with a flurry of emotions as you sling your arms around his shoulders, unable to wipe away the goofy grin in your face. 
A few more snaps of his hips has him melting into you as he cums. He tucks his head under your jaw with a hum, dropping you on to the mattress. His hands find their way back to your chest, giving you a final squeeze.
"Fuck." he whispers into the soft of your neck as he withdraws. He's quick to peel off the condom and tie to off, discarding it off the side of the bed. Yamaguchi rolls onto his back, holding his arms open expectantly. "You're so hot when you laugh, you know that?" 
Curling into his arms, finding some sort of gross comfort in his sweaty warmth, you can't help but suppress another giggle.
"Hey, be careful. Keep laughing and we'll have to do that again." he grips your jaw, tilting your face towards him to capture you in a kiss. "Don't test me; I'll fuck you so hard you'll need a standing desk on Monday."
"Oh yeah?" you tease, your hand tracing down his chest, connecting his freckles. "Prove it."
"Oh, I will, come here-"
The distant sound of a door slamming catches your attention. "Yamaguchi, what the fuck?" a familiar voice echoes through the apartment. 
Yamaguchi shoots up, frantically searching for his pants in the sheets. "Fuck, I forgot about the popcorn!"
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