#no one but them knows what violent rock paper scissors is and at this point it’s so far removed

[thereareeyesinsidethetrees]

ford: hey stab- i mean stan

stan: y. yeah

ford: are you up for a game of violent rock paper scissors

stan: oh. one of those days, huh?

ford: these hands crave destruction

stan: alright, i’m down. but i’m totally gonna crush you at this >:]

ford, slamming his hands down on the table: yOU’RE FUCKING ON >:D

[rottenpumpkin13]

AGSZ visit a chocobo ranch!

• The Firsts + Zack get sent out to the Grasslands on a mission that⏤unsurprisingly⏤took less time than originally planned since all four of them were on it. Zack begs the rest of them to take the rest of the day off to visit the local ranch to see the chocobos, and for once, they agree.

• Once they arrive they find out that one of the mother chocobos recently passed, leaving three baby chocobos orphaned.

Sephiroth:

Angeal: No.

Sephiroth: But I didn't say anything.

Angeal: You're not going to adopt the baby chocobos just because "you relate to them and want to see them thrive in a way you could not at their age."

Sephiroth: ........

• Zack goes around the ranch pointing at every chocobo and comparing it to Cloud, who "couldn't be here today, but who watches over us in the spirit of this chocobo"

• Genesis won't stop whining about the smell of chocobos, the mud, the lack of cell service, and "the evil looking chocobo who keeps staring at him as if it knows his sins."

*Angeal, Zack and Genesis are standing before the most disagreeable looking chocobo ever, who's enclosure name plate reads "Sugar"*

Angeal: The keeper told me this one's violent and has a track record for hurting people. Whatever you do, don't try to pet it.

Zack: Aww! I think it looks lonely.

*Zack sticks his hand inside to pet it*

Zack: Come here, Sugar, let me⏤OW OW OW OW HELP HELP HELP

*The chocobo immediately tries to bite his arm off*

Genesis: DON'T MOVE IT CAN SMELL FEAR

*Genesis tries to pull Zack's arm out. The chocobo sees this as an act of defiance and bites Genesis too*

Genesis: OW. What is this creature's problem?? All I did was⏤IT'S TRYING TO EAT MY ARM.

*The two are now screaming and trying to fight the chocobo off while Angeal watches*

Angeal: It's like I speak gibberish.

*Sephiroth happily walks up behind him holding a baby chocobo*

Angeal: Put it BACK Sephiroth.

*Sephiroth walks away, disgruntled*

• Angeal manages to distract the chocobo with a sugar cube while Zack and Genesis pull away. The smart thing to do now would be to leave and go give another chocobo attention, but Zack is determined to befriend Sugar.

*Zack and Angeal are in line picking up chocobo treats*

Angeal: Zack, I really don't think this is a good idea.

*Meanwhile, in the background, Sephiroth and Genesis are doing rock-paper-scissors to see who gets to ride the mechanical chocobo next*

Zack: Nonsense! What chocobo doesn't like snacks??

Angeal: The kind that tried to eat your arm.

Zack: .............

*Genesis wins and smugly hops on the mechanical chocobo*

Zack: Okay, I see your point, but it's just a chocobo! I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason why it acts the way it does.

*Genesis is promptly flung off the mechanical chocobo. Sephiroth is on the ground laughing*

Angeal: OR! Some animals just can't be trusted and provoking them is how people die.

*Sephiroth is next on the mechanical chocobo. It's going well, he knows how to balance himself, Genesis doesn't like this*

Zack: OR! Some animals just need love!

*Genesis is enraged. He rips off his boot and throws it at Sephiroth, knocking him off the mechanical chocobo*

Angeal: Whatever. I won't argue with you. Just don't expect me to take care of you in the infirmary after Sugar tries to eat you.

*Sephiroth flies at Genesis. The two are now on the ground fighting*

Zack: Why can't you have any faith in me??

*Sephiroth manages to strap Genesis to the mechanical chocobo and cranks the ride up to its full capacity*

Angeal: I do have faith in you. I just don't think you're the most responsible person at times.

Zack: Oh yeah? What about Sephiroth and Genesis? They're not responsible all the time either, and I don't see you constantly berating them!

Angeal: Sephiroth and Genesis are the most responsible men I know.

*This makes the ride malfunction. The mechanical chocobo flies off the contraption and hits Sephiroth, knocking him to the ground*

Zack: Yeah....fine. Fair enough.

• Zack takes the greens back to Sugar as a peace offering. Somehow the chocobo is uninterested in chewing Zack's arm and is now allowing him to pet it while it eats the treats.

Zack: Ha-ha! See? I told you so!

Angeal: *sigh* Fine. Just this once I'll admit that you were right.

Zack: Yeah! See, Sugar? Who's a good chocobo? Who's a cute⏤OW OW OW OW OW OW ANGEAL HELP

Angeal: That's it. We're going home.

*Back in the military vehicle, where Zack's arm is in a sling and he looks disappointed*

Zack: I really thought I could make Sugar be my friend.

Genesis: Don't look so sour, Puppy. If it's any consolation, if I was a chocobo, I'd be your friend.

Zack: You were laughing as the chocobo was biting me.

Genesis: I was expressing my concern for your well being.

Zack: You were taking pictures.

Genesis: Yes, several.

*Suddenly there's a "kweh!" from behind Sephiroth's seat*

Zack: Huh? That's weird. Sephiroth, I didn't know you could imitate chocobos.

Sephiroth:

Angeal: Oh my god.

*Angeal turns around and pulls out a baby chocobo that Sephiroth smuggled into the vehicle*

Angeal: Really, Sephiroth?? You brought it back with you?

Sephiroth: Excuse you. His name is not "it"

Angeal:

Sephiroth: That's Cloud Strife.

[gamebird]

Murderathin Rec List

Revised for fall of 2024

As compiled by the denizens of the New Tideland MB/G channel! The greatest hits of TMBD's most popular frenemy ship - the fics that got us into it, and the fics we made because of it. "PR" are quotes from us as we talked back and forth about what was awesome about the fic, or from AO3 comments. All works are complete except Enemies, Closer and If Statements.

The Long Emergency by murderbot Words: 56,866 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: Trapped on the survey planet when the last emergency beacon fails, Murderbot and the PreservationAux team scramble to survive deadly fauna, cruel weather, scarce resources, and GrayCris's armed hunting parties. In a grueling ordeal spanning two planetary years, Murderbot becomes closer to its humans than it ever thought possible. PR: “the absolute ur-Murderathin fic”, “an absolute stunner”, “that’s the one that got me into the ship”, "This fic is amazing! Murderbot's voice and everyone's characterizations were so on-point, and all of the details of their survival on this planet and the action scenes were so well-fleshed out.", "The first MB/G fic on AO3!"

Recollection by murderbot Words: 30,753 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: SecUnit and Gurathin agree to be married, temporarily, for ease of travel during an assignment. After a violent encounter and a bad wormhole jump, they crash land on a habitable planet and discover their entire ship is suffering from amnesia. Nobody remembers anything from their past. The ship's records are badly scrambled. The planet is too far for anyone to reach safely. When Gurathin and SecUnit find the record that indicates they are married, they build a life together as marital partners, not knowing their union is based on a lie. PR: “I love pain”, “It absolutely broke me”, “still haunts me”, “wonderful”, " I'm so full of bittersweet emotions", "I was this close to crying for a few chapters, and the ending was perfect."

Enemies, Closer by Abacura, Gamebird, IHopedTheredBeStars, opalescent_potato, Rosewind2007, theAsh0 Words: 134,190 (WIP) Rating: Teen and Up Summary: When a Combat SecUnit with identical genetics to Murderbot is sent to Preservation Station to commit a massacre, the delicate balance between Murderbot, ART, and Dr. Gurathin shifts, putting all four of them on a collision course. PR: “a wonder and a delight”, “my favorite one”, "Rock-Paper-Scissors dom dynamics in which ART is the secret fourth option, Dynamite", "Can't wait for more!", "A monumental collaboration!"

Boots by opalescent_potato Words: 5,762 Rating: General Audiences Summary: Murderbot learns a little more than it wanted to about Gurathin's mysterious past. PR: “such a great, quiet study in emotional intimacy and shared trauma. Also has an absolutely amazing Oh. Oh no moment.”, "this feels like the realest depiction of poverty trauma I've ever seen in fanfic", "Info dumping as a love language. Learning self care from the most particular human."

No Peace/No Rest by IHopedTheredBeStars Words: 4,363 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: Though Dr Gurathin eventually accepts the addition of SecUnit a.k.a. Murderbot to PreservationAux, and even assists in its recovery & rehabilitation after the corporate gunship debacle, he never warms up to it like the others do—at least according to our unreliable narrator, Murderbot itself! Let’s assume Murderbot is right this time. So what’s up with that?? This story takes place (chronologically) after Fugitive Telemetry and just before Network Effect. PR: “an excellent MB&G fic”, "So many fantastic ideas in here", "This is such a great look at grappling with the guilt of having taken a life, and being stripped of that comforting denial that it wasn't a person."

The Last Client by Gamebird Words: 70,290 (series) Rating: Explicit Summary: A series with the premise of 'What if GrayCris had attacked PresAux first instead of DeltFall?' In the first, Last Client Standing, Dr. Gurathin is the only PresAux survivor, with Murderbot protecting him from GrayCris' continuing efforts to eliminate them entirely. In the second, Who Guards the Guardian?, they return to Preservation where they must come to terms with how much they, and events, have changed. PR: “Gah! Gurathin and Sec having to navigate ALL the emotions. I’m… (no better way to say it) ded. I am ded. De d ded." "Man the image of Murderbot dragging itself along with no working legs almost this whole fic and still managing to fight off a good chunk of GrayCris." "So many emotional moments, happy, sad, bittersweet, as they worked through their grief and what they mean to each other."

Gurathin’s Side of the Story by Gamebird Words: 51,849 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: A retelling of The Murderbot Diaries from Gurathin's point of view. PR: “An incredible character study that adds so much depth to Gurathin. The reader falls in love with him every step of the way (and Murderbot does too)”, "There are so many moments where this story just drop-kicks me with how real it is.", "a lovely view into Gurathin‘s CR background, augments, and his soft belly under that armadillo shell."

Faking It For Real by Gamebird Words: 1,571 Rating: Explicit Summary: Murderbot does a bad job of pretending to be Gurathin's ComfortUnit on a mission, until it figures out how to be better at it. PR: “the one where everyone's playing it cool but the feet are paddling madly beneath the surface" "I know this is a cracky premise but it sure is hot!" "the sexy frisking is definitely hot" "HOT DAMN"

Boots by Gnomeskillet Words: 2,797 Rating: General Audiences Summary: "I'm going to fix your boots," he explained, talking to me like I was a small human child that didn't know anything. At least he kept his eyes on the floor while he did it. "They're a mess and if you want them to last longer, then you need to take care of them." PR: “this entire fic got me", "Omg who knew shoe shines could be so full of tension??", "This was sort of in kink no man's land, in between the barbed wire embankments of desire and fulfillment."

It Was Only A Kiss by Gnomeskillet Words: 2,102 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: Frustrated and desperate, Murderbot hauls Gurathin into an alleyway and makes out with him in order to avoid Station Security. Hey, it has a 100% success rate in media! PR: “excellent”, “Incredibly sexy and very sweet.”, "Dom Murderbot absolutely wrecking Gurathin while not really knowing what the hell it's doing is my favorite flavor"

Pressing Down On Me, Pressing Down On You by Gnomeskillet Words: 1,061 Rating: Not Rated Summary: I was just thinking about MB pressing down on Gurathin's augments like how ART presses down on MB in the feed, and I like thinking about MB being tsundere about taking care of its least favorite augmented human. It doesn't LIKE Gurathin, he's just less annoying this way. PR: “ahhh yes this one was absolutely one of the ones that made me go OHHHH. It made me so invested in their relationship”, "Poor Gurathin doesn't know what he's getting into, good thing Murderbot is so nice XD", "I love the idea of cuddling in the feed."

Just to Suffer the Pressure by Chyoatas Words: 2,113 Rating: Explicit Summary: He was already out of breath when he let his hand press to his throat. (That hadn’t been in the original plan. This was already too close- too fraught. It was already embarrassing enough (and hotter for it, but he wouldn’t admit it.)) PR: “Okay we were all thinking it. There are not nearly enough fics where Murderbot erotically asphyxiates Gurathin.”, "this is insanely good holy shit", "unhinged screaming I can't form words, this is everything I want it to be"

Murderathin NSFW Zine Comic by Chyoatas Words: 1,069 Rating: Explicit Summary: My NSFW comic from the Murderbot Diaries NSFW Zine! Alternative text description of the comic is embedded in the images. PR: "So hot!", "sweet, naughty, and snarky", "So much thought went into this. The closer I look, the more details pop out at me!"

Purr by Rosewind2007 Words: 3,448 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: I saw a post by someone saying: “Wouldn’t it be nice if humans could just purr, like cats. You could let people know you were happy without talking about your feelings or anything...” And I thought: it’d be nice if Murderbot could purr. So, here you are. PR: “Ah yes, my favorite trope. Murderbot purring when it's happy!”, "MB your friends care about you!", "This was adorable and I loved it"

Sex Pollen by Rosewind2007 Words: 7,240 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: Atypical human and para-human courtship behaviors and coitus triggered by xeno-floral microgameteophytes Abstract: Twenty four (24) subjects were exposed to xeno-floral microgameteophytes (XFM). Atypical behaviors were recorded by all but two (2). PR: “the yearning”, “I love watching Murderbot and Gurathin dance around each other in this. Both trying so hard to be normal and just internally yearning to be close to each other. The longing is so palpable!”

Bundling by Rosewind2007 Words: 18,348 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: It was a stupid accident. We’d identified the presence of space debris in this sector, including pieces large enough to deflect the course of a small transport; but my Risk Assessment Module was happily burbling in the low teens (it really needs replacing, but I’m quite fond of its optimism now) and ART had calculated the risk of an actual collision as approximately 1 in 159,753. But of course we were that one. And of course the client I was with would be that one.  PR: "And thereby, Murderbot, SecUnit, discovered it loved itself.", " A wonderful story", "That last line is just so perfect"

That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a SecUnit by Rosewind2007 Words: 14,918 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: What it says on the tin. PR: “amazing, showstopping" "oh yess oh yess oh yesss" "Murderbean. Murderbaby. You're killing me ❤️❤️❤️ Ahhhhh the ending to this was so sweet and so perfect, I'm all up in my feelings now"

The Corporate and the Construct by beeayy Words: 87,919 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: Bots and constructs have taken over the Corporate Rim. When PreservationAux is captured sneaking into AI-controlled space, someone must stay behind with the sophisticated bot-pilot that remembers a lot less than it thinks it does, and the rogue SecUnit with more anxiety and depression than anyone knows. PR: “my favorite AU”, “fantastic”, “An amazing AU. Great marriage of Fairy Tale elements with Robot Overlords.”, "This fic was such an amazing ride", "I had emotions and cried at the last chapter. Good job!"

I Hate The Way I Don’t Hate You by beeayy Words: 53,345 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: Murderbot hates Gurathin, though the reason changes on a daily basis. PR: "I love this whole thing", "These two ridiculous assholes *always* end up meeting in the middle", "I love fake marriage fics  especially when it's enemies to lovers."

Wrinkles by beeayy Words: 1,405 Rating: General Audiences Summary: There is a disavantage to being a rogue SecUnit in the long-term. Gurathin helps Murderbot through it. PR: “'my face is falling off' will stay with me forever" "This is the sweetest! I love depictions of them in an established relationship where they are clearly happy together, but also true to their nature (AKA assholes)." "This is so fricking ardorable!!!!!"

ComfortUnit!Gurathin by beeayy Words: 29,278 (series) Rating: Mature Summary: Gurathin tries to keep a secret from Murderbot while on a mission in the Corporate Rim. Or, "Heartbreaking: Your Least Favorite Co-Worker Is Secretly Hot". PR: “honestly top tier ending lmfaoo, and top tier fic" "I loved this whole damn fic and you nailed the ending." "This story was loads of fun, and the chemistry between them was so effective!"

Maintenance Protocol by Abacura Words: 5,762 Rating: Explicit Summary: I’m worried about SecUnit. This isn’t the first time I’ve caught it making a face that looks like it's in pain. I worry that it isn’t taking care of itself, that without a cubicle, it needs maintenance that it isn’t telling us about. I wish it would tell me. I wish it would let me take care of it. I could take such good care of it. PR: “smoking hot, I wholeheartedly recommend”, "The maintenance was so perfect and then it was done and I figured so was the fic but holy fuck (literally)", "This is the good stuff. This is perfect."

Fuckboy Strategy by The_Onion Words: 6,203 Rating: Not Rated Summary: 'Can you know you don’t like something without trying it?' I'd texted Ratthi. He responded, 'Sure! But trying things out is always a good idea :D' which I am sure he would not have said if he’d known what I was talking about. // Murderbot explores idioms, the ethics of ghosting, and its own sexuality. PR: “Ah yes, my favorite trope. Murderbot being an absolute bull in the china shop of Gurathin’s heart.”, "so good and so funny i am beside myself", "made me laugh out loud"

Construct, Social by kiwisson Words: 1,852 Rating: General Audiences Summary: Late-night human behavior discussions with your favorite deadly weapon. PR: “the vibes are really good”, “Perfect tag is perfect: You Jerks Talk A Lot For People Who Hate Each Other”, “a fascinating example of the first tagged MB&G which shows many themes already emerging!”

Imperfect Reactions by xianvar Words: 1,324 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: It’s a normal evening with friends – easy laughter, Bharadwaj stopping by to chat, Gurathin and Murderbot sniping at each other, Murderbot letting Gurathin tease it… wait, what? PR: “exterior POVs are always SO good”, "there's so many little characterizations in this fic and its really delightful!", "Adorable!"

If Statements by the_moonmoth Words: 36,683 (WIP) Rating: Explicit Summary: Without a cubicle to reset its endocrine system, Murderbot goes into heat. Gurathin would normally be the last person it would turn to for the kind of help it now needs, but he smells so good. PR: “hot, sexy, omegaverse action! Full of luscious art, too!" "Oh my LORD joining the freak train because this is fantastic!" "Aaaaaaaaaah *scream* *squeeeal* asddsgdhfthfj"

Recharge Cycle by SeeMaree Words: 5,023 Rating: General Audiences Summary: Murderbot just needs a quiet, comfortable place to run a recharge cycle. PR: “the one with the slippers" "i love this!!! Asshole friendship my beloved. U write them so good im soft" "I can’t believe you’re making them actually TALK to each other lmfaoooo"

Mixed Signals by firefox49 Words: 6,099 Rating: Mature Summary: While Dr. Gurathin is repairing some of Murderbot’s circuits, Murderbot makes a discovery about itself. PR: “the one that blows my fuse every time" ""Ahh I love how secunit is just like. Sex is a competition and I am going to win it" " I am that "sickos" meme going *yes hahaha YES*"

Plus One by musicofthespheres Words: 14,587 Rating: General Audiences Summary: Murderbot needs Gurathin's help, but he's busy. Turns out he has... other friends? Besides Ratthi and Pin-Lee? That doesn't sound right. Murderbot needs to get to the bottom of this. PR: “Murderbot being indignant about Gurathin having other friends is a fave" "Awwwwr i loved this so much its definitely one of my new favorites!" "Ohhh I just adore this whole thing" "they’re such a great little grumpy team"

[skykind]

I need everyone to understand that Trump just held a Nazi rally in New York City. It was so bad the New York Times actually pulled its act together, at least temporarily (embedded links mostly weren't working correctly).

Trump at the Garden: A Closing Carnival of Grievances, Misogyny and Racism

Michelle Obama: ‘I Am Asking You, From the Core of My Being, to Take Our Lives Seriously’

Election Live Updates: After Trump’s Racist Rally, Campaigns Plan Furious Week of Events

The Misogynistic, Bigoted and Crude Rally Remarks Trump Hasn’t Addressed

By the time former President Donald J. Trump took the stage at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, a parade of speakers had already spent hours disparaging Latinos, Black people, Palestinians and Jews; directing misogynistic comments at Vice President Kamala Harris; and echoing language used by the Ku Klux Klan.

In the backlash that followed, Mr. Trump’s campaign publicly disavowed only one of the remarks, a line from the comedian Tony Hinchcliffe: “There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. Yeah. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.” A senior campaign adviser, Danielle Alvarez, said in a statement, “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”

Here is a look at other things speakers said at the rally, which the campaign has not commented on.

Tony Hinchcliffe

In addition to disparaging Puerto Ricans, Mr. Hinchcliffe made a crudely sexual anti-immigrant remark about Latinos in general. “It’s wild,” he said of people crossing the border. “And these Latinos, they love making babies too, just know that. They do. They do. There’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They come inside, just like they did to our country.”

Two minutes later, pointing to someone in the audience, Mr. Hinchcliffe said: “Cool, Black guy with a thing on his head? What is that, a lampshade? Look at this guy, oh my goodness. Wow. I’m just kidding, that’s one of my buddies. He had a Halloween party last night. We had fun. We carved watermelons together.” (Watermelons have a long history as an anti-Black stereotype.)

He described Palestinians as violent and Jews as cheap: “When it comes to Israel and Palestine, we’re all thinking the same thing. Settle your stuff already,” he said. “Best out of three. Rock, paper, scissors. You know the Palestinians, they’re going to throw a rock every time. But you also know the Jews have a hard time throwing that paper, if you know what I’m saying.” He made a motion with his hands to indicate dollar bills.

Then, brushing off an analogy Hillary Clinton had made between Sunday’s event and a 1939 pro-Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden, Mr. Hinchcliffe made a crude comment about former President Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky and about the false conspiracy theory that the Clintons were involved in the suicide of a White House lawyer.

“She calls him Hitler,” he said, referring to Mr. Trump. “Let me remind you, Hillary, it was your husband who shot innocent people — or, as he called them, interns. Yeah, Hillary, I bet you did not see that one coming. By the way, if I commit suicide in three weeks, I didn’t.”

And he implied that the N.F.L. star Travis Kelce might kill his girlfriend, pop star Taylor Swift, whom Mr. Trump is angry at for endorsing Ms. Harris.

“I think football should be all year round,” Mr. Hinchcliffe said. “So many great athletes. I don’t know about you guys, but I think that Travis Kelce might be the next O.J. Simpson.”

Sid Rosenberg

Sid Rosenberg, a conservative radio host who once called Ms. Harris’s Jewish husband, Doug Emhoff, “a crappy Jew,” also lashed out at Mrs. Clinton for comparing the event to a Nazi rally. In doing so, he declared that Democrats were bad people and made a point to emphasize that he was talking about every Democrat in the country.

“She is some sick bastard, that Hillary Clinton, huh?” he said. “What a sick son of a bitch. The whole fucking party, a bunch of degenerates, lowlives, Jew-haters and lowlives. Every one of them. Every one of them.”

Then he suggested that undocumented immigrants were taking resources from more deserving people. “You got homeless and veterans, Americans, Americans, sleeping in their own feces on a bench in Central Park,” he said. “But the fucking illegals, they get whatever they want, don’t they?”

Grant Cardone

Grant Cardone, a businessman, disparaged Ms. Harris with a term used to describe a prostitute: “Her and her pimp handlers will destroy our country.”

Moments later, urging Mr. Trump’s supporters to give him not just a narrow victory but a resounding one, he used violent language: “We need to slaughter this other people.”

Rudolph Giuliani

Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York mayor turned Trump lawyer, argued that because some Palestinians had committed violence, people shouldn’t trust any of them or allow any of them into the United States.

“They won’t let a Palestinian in Jordan. They won’t let a Palestinian in Egypt,” he said, referring to two countries that have sizable Palestinian populations. “And Harris wants to bring them to you. They may have good people. I’m sorry, I don’t take a risk with people that are taught to kill Americans at 2.”

Stephen Miller

Stephen Miller, a Trump adviser and an architect of the former president’s immigration policy, told the crowd that Mr. Trump would “stand up and say the cartels are gone, the criminal migrants are gone, the gangs are gone, America is for Americans and Americans only.”

“America for Americans” was a slogan used by the Ku Klux Klan.

Tucker Carlson

The former Fox News host Tucker Carlson gave a speech that resembled his remarks at a rally last week — filled with grievance and exhortations to Trump supporters to view themselves as a maligned and downtrodden majority.

In pushing that message, Mr. Carlson nodded to the so-called great replacement theory, a racist claim that Democrats are trying to “replace” white Americans with foreigners.

“People know, in a country that has been taken over by a leadership class that actually despises them and their values and their history and their culture and their customs, really hates them, to the point that it’s trying to replace them — they know someone who actually has affection for them, and that’s Donald Trump,” he said.

And in a long, sarcastic spiel that framed a hypothetical victory for Ms. Harris as illegitimate and not to be believed, Mr. Carlson cast the vice president as an intellectual lightweight and mocked her ethnicity with an obviously false descriptor.

“It’s going to be pretty hard to look at us and say: ‘You know what, Kamala Harris, she’s just, she got 85 million votes because she’s just so impressive as the first Samoan-Malaysian, low IQ former California prosecutor ever to be elected president,’” he said. “‘It was just a groundswell of popular support, and anyone who thinks otherwise is just a freak or a criminal.’”

Hey all my fellow Americans.

Vote.

Like, seriously, if you can, vote.

Preferably for Kamala.

“But Kamala is really bad”. Yes she is, and I can guarantee you that the alternative is going to be worse. Trump is literally running “Mass Deportation Now” as a slogan and saying that immigrants are poisoning the blood of our country with him and his VP knowingly spreading false rumors that Haitian are eating people's dogs and cats. And he’ll probably appoint even more religious zealots onto our Supreme Court who will last quite a long time.

“I’m sick of picking the lesser of two evils. She should EARN my vote” I agree. And in a just world she would have to do that. But of the two parties, one is FAR more likely to implement policies that will make it so she has to like Ranked Choice Voting.

“So you’re saying to support genocide?” Voting is not advocating for a candidate’s policies. ESPECIALLY in the dogshit political hellscape we live in.

"Voting for a Democrat isn't going to make the changes that need to be made." You're right again! Voting alone isn't going to make those changes. But between the two parties, I think one of them is going to be easier to organize under, and it isn't the one who said that cops should shoot protestors during the BLM protests.

"After all Biden's done with no promise of Israeli divestment from Harris, I simply can't bring myself to make that vote" And I understand that. The issue is that there just isn't a good choice available for that front, especially if you believe that Kamala and Walz can't be bullied. So you have to make the decision based on every other front. And whether it be the economy, rights for immigrants, rights for LGBTQ people, rights for women, foreign policy, or plenty of other issues, the orange man's platform is LEAGUES worse.

So I ask you, if you are able to, vote. It might suck, but at this point in time, it's something we can do.

[jrhartauthor]

Okay, so, I feel like sharing my entire TBR is way too overwhelming since it's hundreds of books, but I thought I'd share my current shortlist of books and what I'm super excited about in each of them.

First, though, how cute is my Bargello tissue box cover? I got the pattern from Hello Bargello (not a sponsor? Is that what people say? I don't know. Lol). Honestly, it's one of my favorite crafts I did last year.

Right. Anyway. Actual books. That's what you're here for. Popping my thoughts below the cut so this doesn't get impossibly long.

(All buy links are Amazon affiliate links).

Fit by Rebekah Weatherspoon Looking forward to: D/s dynamic, part of a series, a nice quick read, plus size MC, perfect for that January "ready for a diet" season. Not loving: casual fatphobia in the chapter I've read so far.

Buy it here.

Cups of You by Karmen Lee Looking forward to: Coffee Shop vibes, opposites attract, seems super cozy, "back in town from the big city" trope, first in a series, an author I like. You might love: It's in Kindle Unlimited.

Buy it here.

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney Looking forward to: I've heard it's a page-turner, character with face blindness, marriage on the rocks, it's a domestic thriller.

Buy it here.

Newsletter Ninja by Tammi Labrecque Looking forward to: Learning how to start a newsletter because that is not my skillset, it came highly recommended by authors I trust, it's my current non-fiction read, I love growing my business, part of a series.

Buy it here.

The following two books on my list are books that I purchased before the HarperCollins Union Strike began. The Union has asked that authors not be boycotted, so I am going ahead and sharing these books, but please keep in mind that both of them do come from HarperCollins imprints.

I will be donating money to the HarperCollins Union Solidarity Fund in the amount of the list price of these titles. If you're so inclined, you can also donate to the Solidarity Fund here.

"The major asks from the union are, one, stronger union protections, two, more support for diverse employees and three, higher wages, particularly for folks at the bottom tier who the union wants to see get paid at least 50,000 a year." -NPR

Road Out of Winter by Alison Stine Looking forward to: Apocalyptic thriller, illegal marijuana growing as a plot point, a violent cult, chilly winter vibes, Rep'd by Eric Smith (trust his taste very much).

Buy it here.

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade Looking forward to: Fanfiction references, nerd appeal, celeb x normal person pairing, plus-size MC, secret dating, there's a sequel.

Buy it here.

What are you reading right now? Anything good on your TBR?

[yutaholic]

the left wing (M)

PAIRING: Mark (NCT) + reader (female)

YOU: no more stalling. no more excuses. it’s the middle of the night and you need to get away from NCTU and all of its watchful eyes. maybe, with you and Mark alone, you can finally tell him how you feel.

HIM: Mark is steadily working up the courage to be honest with you about his feelings. but when he learns that your controversial story is connected to neonet, Mark begins to wonder if he can trust you with his heart.

WARNINGS: mild language; explicit sexual content

NOTES: 7k words; this is part four of smashing the six

It was much easier said than done. Like most things in life.

Telling Mark how you felt was great in theory, but then your brain started going through all the possible things that could go horribly wrong.

“We call that anxiety,” Winter quipped.

“I know,” you mumbled under your breath.

You had made a strong effort to mend things with Winter and you were reminded that she was the only person in your life you could actually talk to about your feelings for Mark.

Not to mention she had been rooting for the two of you to get over your issues and just bone already. But that was beside the point.

You and your best friend were out to dinner for the first time in weeks. After losing a round of rock, paper, scissors, Winter chose her favorite Chinese spot - hot pot to be exact. So it was like you both won anyway.

“If you like him so much, you should tell him,” Winter said. Again. “What’s the worst that could happen - he turns you down? He would still be your friend. He cares about you.”

“I know. I know,” you chanted.

Mark cared about you. That much was certain.

Would he actually have the patience to try and make a relationship work with your cowardly ass? That remained to be seen.

By now, you had accepted you were just stalling. It went against every single one of your instincts - putting your heart on the line with a chance it would get crushed again.

Winter thankfully shifted topics. “How is your story coming along?”

“What story?” you replied sarcastically, taking another big bite so you would have time to come up with a bullshit answer for her next question.

“The one that finally got you back in the saddle and got neonet grinding on your ass?”

You shrugged. “Not much of a story so far,” you lied. It wasn’t that you distrusted Winter, you just wanted to play things safe. You didn’t want to give them a reason to target her.

“Smashed anyone else lately?” she pried, no doubt eager to hear the sordid details.

You thought about Johnny and pinched your lips together, ultimately shaking your head and fibbing, “Nope. Neonet would blab about it if I had.”

Winter tilted her head cutely. “Have you ever wondered what it would be like to run neonet?”

You glanced up, eyes stern. That was the last thing you ever expected your best friend to say. You could hardly believe your ears. “What?”

Winter took your shock and obvious disagreement in stride and said, “Yeah. I mean, come on. Who hasn’t thought about it, right?”

You had never not once in your time on campus entertained the idea of running neonet. “My thoughts about neonet are only violent,” you retorted, burning the roof of your mouth when you slurped another spoonful of broth.

Winter set down her chopsticks and studied you. There was something unreadable on her face. “I just wonder how it feels to have that much information at your fingertips. Everyone’s dirty little secrets. How do you decide what to keep to yourself and what to post?”

“You mean, how does a person decide whether or not to ruin someone’s life or reputation?” This was personal. You were downright snarling.

Winter bobbed her head. She looked so wide-eyed and innocent. So naïve, but you knew she was anything but. “I’m just curious. That’s all,” she said with a noncommittal shrug.

“You’re also corruptible.”

Winter chortled at her own expense. It was true. “Yes. Not you though,” she replied, maybe a little envious. “You are set in your ways and god forbid someone ever get in the way of you going for what you want.”

You stuffed more food in your mouth to keep from answering. This whole conversation had become unsettling, but you chalked it up to your paranoia getting triggered by the mere mention of neonet.

“Except when it comes to Mark,” Winter added sharply. “He’s the one thing you’re afraid to chase.”

“The thought of chasing a man goes against everything we were ever taught.”

“Oh, please. Chasing men is half the fun.”

You almost laughed, but that dreadful sinking sensation was back in your stomach. It was there whenever you thought about Mark, along with the butterflies of course. The ones that only came alive when he was on your mind and started to dance whenever you laid eyes on him.

Ironically, Mark was as big a coward as you. If not bigger. Maybe together, the two of you could scrape the bottom of the barrel for some courage.

“She makes me crazy,” Mark groaned, shaking his head. “Are you gonna eat that?”

Haechan handed him the crust of his pizza, annoyed. Over the girl, not the food. “I swear to God, if I have to hear one more sob story about how terrified you are of the girl you like.”

Mark made a face. A mix of a frown and a pout. “I’m not terrified of her. I’m scared of rejection.”

Haechan scoffed and leaned back in his seat. “Well, you gotta get over that. Life is full of rejection.”

“You are always such a ray of fucking sunshine.”

“It’s the cold hard truth and that’s the reason why you’re always asking my advice, because you know I won’t bullshit you.”

Mark feigned anger, but his lips twitched with the urge to grin. “Whatever.”

Haechan let a merciful moment of quiet pass, during which he chose his words carefully. Then, he asked, “Can we address the elephant in the room real quick?”

“No,” Mark huffed. He knew which elephant his friend was referring to and frankly, Mark would rather have his eyes ripped out. Ever since you started on your little escapade, he avoided talking to Haechan about it.

Because Haechan didn’t mince words. Mercy wasn’t in his vocabulary.

Haechan continued anyway. “This… stuff about her on neonet. What’s up with that?”

Mark knew this was the trade off. He would talk to Haechan about how to approach you, but in return, he would have to admit what he knew about the posts of you on neonet. “It’s a story she’s working on.”

“A smut fic?” Haechan joked.

Mark groaned and the words were like poison in his mouth, “No, there’s some kind of challenge about screwing a guy from each of the athletic programs.”

Haechan raised a brow and said nonchalantly, “You mean smashing the six.”

Mark eyes widened. “You know about that?”

“I’ll ask the questions,” Haechan deflected. He was a rather passionate psych major and relished in putting it to good use whenever he could. Though he was honestly considering a switch to pre-law at this rate. “What does she know about it?”

“She seems to think it’s connected to neonet,” Mark replied with a shrug.

Haechan folded his arms. And for the first time in his life, he was oddly silent.

Mark’s eyes got even bigger and he screeched, “Is it connected to neonet?”

“Mark, I love you…,” Haechan started.

“Ew.”

“But this is above your paygrade.”

Mark bristled with anger and frustration. He was always pushed aside, like a bothersome fly swatted out of the way. He was too soft, too sweet.

Too forgiving.

“Oh, please,” Mark snapped. “Miss me with that bullshit. You and her are the same. You give neonet way more power than it actually has.”

Haechan pursed his lips with amusement. His voice was silky. “You keep telling yourself that, but you know - as well as I do - that neonet has lethal levels of power in this fucked up little town.”

Mark relented on the spot. There was no denying the damage neonet had done and could still do. “Yeah, I know.”

Haechan put the straw to his lips and took a sip. It was loud, because all that remained of his drink was melting ice. The gears were turning in his head. “Is your girl trying to get a crack at neonet?”

Mark flushed at Haechan referring to you as his girl. He wished you were. Mark wanted to belong to you more than anything he had ever wanted in his life. “The hell if I know,” he said bitterly, eyes on the table. “She doesn’t tell me anything anymore.”

“Why not?”

Mark began to pick at his fingernails, nervous. “I wasn’t… very supportive when those posts about her came out.”

Haechan gaped in disbelief. “Did you slut shame the girl you’re in love with?”

“No,” Mark shot back defensively. “I just - fuck - I was a dick. I should have had her back and instead, I probably made her feel more alone.”

Haechan cocked his head. “You were jealous.”

Mark admitted, “Yes.”

“Okay, well, jealousy I can work with. Being an insufferable self-righteous asshole is where I draw the line.”

Mark wallowed deeper into his chair and tipped his head toward the ceiling, heaving a loud sigh. “I apologized to her. We had a moment the other day, but since then she’s avoided me again.”

Haechan had his own motivations and though he would never pursue something at his best friend’s expense, he could bend the rules if this were mutually beneficial. “Hm.”

Mark had never seen his friend so damn quiet. It was downright unnerving. “What?”

“I’m thinking.”

“That’s never a good thing,” Mark deadpanned, reaching for another piece of pizza. Stuffing his face would be a good distraction.

Haechan rubbed his chin. The glint in his eyes was that of an evil genius on the verge of his next big bad idea. “Offer to help her.”

Mark cocked his head innocently as he chewed his food. “Help her with what?”

Haechan couldn’t believe he had to spell it out and said with annoyance, “You’re on the hockey team, aren’t you? Dumbass.”

Mark gawked when he realized what his friend meant and his appetite evaporated. “No.”

Haechan flashed his most mischievous smile. “Yes.”

“She won’t go for it.”

“And how would you know? Have you ever actually told her how you feel?”

Mark folded his arms tightly across his chest and lowered his head. He was totally to blame for the state of his relationship with you. Or obvious lack thereof. “I hate you,” he huffed, but he didn’t mean it.

Haechan knew that and he simply shrugged. “Listen, you have given her zero idea that you’re interested. She’s free to do what she wants with her own body. As if you haven’t been hoe-ing it up since the day you got here.”

“So have you,” Mark shot back.

“I didn’t say there was anything wrong with that,” Haechan snapped, running out of patience where his cowardly friend was concerned. “But the road goes both ways. You can’t be mad at her for things she doesn’t know.”

“I’m not mad at her,” Mark said quickly and it was the truth. You hadn’t done anything wrong. “I’m mad at myself for not being brave enough to tell her how I feel.”

Haechan reminded, “Well, it’s not too late.” And for once, his smile was kind.

Mark nodded. He had wasted enough goddamn time. This was the last little push he needed. Every day spent carrying this secret, of fighting his feelings for you, was eating him alive.

“I’m gonna do it,” Mark eventually said. “I’m gonna offer myself on behalf of the hockey team and then… tell her. Everything.”

Haechan giggled. “A worthy sacrifice. Try not to enjoy it too much.”

Mark snorted.

And leave it to Haechan to crush a sweet moment with his humor. “Just remember that post-nut clarity hits like a bitch. You may want to confess your love before and not after.”

“Fuck you.”

Haechan only laughed, satisfied.

Mark started planning. He would call you in the morning and offer to take you out for coffee. Or breakfast. Whichever you wanted. Then, he would ask you how the story was going and if you needed someone from the hockey team yet.

Naturally, Mark’s imagination took over and he spent the next ten minutes with his hand down his pants, picturing you beneath him, moaning his name. He came so hard his vision blurred.

After cleaning up, Mark lay in his bed, thinking of your smile, of all the times you’d made him laugh. The memories with you were endless. He thought of the times you read people to filth to their faces or carefully extracted information for another one of your articles that shook up the campus.

Neonet had certainly found a worthy opponent in you.

Mark knew you could have anyone you wanted. You were pretty and smart and a force of fucking nature. He always wanted to know what made you swear off dating and sex, but he was too scared to ask. It was a rather invasive question.

Who had broken your heart so badly you didn’t dare risk letting it get damaged again?

I want to be everything, Mark thought, rehearsing how he would finally tell you. I want to be your partner. Your lover. Your ride or die. I want your wins to be mine and your losses to be mine too. I want to help you pick up the pieces of our lives. Together. I want to be the one you run to when you need someone to hold.

Because I love you.

Mark swallowed the lump in his throat. His heart was racing at the thought of finally being honest, of getting it off his chest. He was becoming less nervous and more excited of telling you just how amazing he thought you were and how he wanted to be a part of your life.

If you turned him down, that would be that. Mark could at least start moving on. But if you gave him a chance - if there was some way in hell you reciprocated his feelings - he was willing to do anything and everything to make you happy.

His phone lit up, vibrating on the nightstand. Mark reached over, expecting it to be Haechan, and couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw your name on the screen.

Hey. Are you asleep?

He texted back immediately and then chided himself for seeming too eager, I can’t sleep. What’s up?

Your response was fast, You down for a drive?

Mark didn’t even think about it. I’m down.

Meet me outside my dorm.

I’ll be there. The moment he sent the message, Mark sat up, leaping off the bed to get dressed.

You waited patiently on the front steps of the girls’ dorm. Night had fallen and the security guards were out on patrol. That always made you feel safe. Too bad they couldn’t lock up neonet and throw away the key.

Speaking of the evil app, there had been no posts about you and Johnny. Which was both a shock and a massive relief. You knew it had totally to do with Johnny, because you had clearly been fair game since the moment you set foot in NCTU. But it seemed that truly no one wanted to cross Johnny Suh.

Your brow furrowed. Then, why did neonet send you in his direction? If he was secretly off-limits to them in some way, why did they pimp you out to him in the first place?

Stop thinking about it, you chastised yourself. Johnny had given you a push in the right direction and you were eternally grateful for that. Tonight was about you and Mark.

It had been almost a week since you hooked up with Johnny and you had intentionally avoided Mark, but only because you were focusing on self-care. You were getting yourself back into a good place mentally. You had to if there was any fighting chance for you to make things work with Mark.

If he even wanted that. What if he didn’t feel the same way? What if you were damaged goods to him?

You caught sight of Mark coming toward you from across the way and you smiled, those thoughts banished away in an instant. You got to your feet and came down the stairs, closing the rest of the distance between you and him.

Mark grinned when you didn’t hesitate to throw your arms around him in a hug. “Hi,” he greeted shyly. Thank goodness you couldn’t see the rosy blush on his cheeks.

“I’ve missed you,” you said, holding him tight and burrowing your face in his shoulder.

That warmed Mark down to his very core. He squeezed his arms around your waist. “I missed you too.”

You pulled back, looking up into his eyes. There was an adorable crimson hue to his cheeks. Jingling the keys in your hand, you asked, “Ready to go for a little ride?”

“Lead the way,” he said without a single shred of doubt. Mark would follow you, the girl he loved, straight to hell if you only asked.

It had been a while since either of you left campus. Maybe you should have made a habit of it. For sanity’s sake.

You drove to a small spot outside of town, a safe nook away from neonet’s prying eyes. It took about twenty minutes, give or take. The highways were empty at this time of night. No traffic to slow you down.

And you still didn’t feel far enough away. No surprise there.

Mark gabbed with you the entire drive. He filled you in on all of the drama you’d been missing at the paper while you were on your Doyoung-imposed break. Doyoung had been very strict that no one was allowed to disturb you, which made you want to send him some kind of flower arrangement in gratitude.

You told Mark all the shows you had been binging and the books you’d been reading. It felt like old times. His precious laugh rang out in the car and you didn’t realize how hard you’d been grinning until your cheeks began to burn.

The moon was only a tiny sliver in the sky above. Your heart skipped a beat when you parked the car on a dirt road. Only locals knew about it. You used to come there a lot in high school with your friends.

Between the trees was a scenic overlook of the bay below. The stars were out in full force despite the moon, blanketing their reflections on the surface of the sea.

Mark glanced around curiously, sticking his head partially out the window to get a better look. “It’s the coast, huh?”

You nodded. The familiar salty scent of the ocean filled your nose and the distant crash of waves filled your ears. Everything was perfect. All was right with the world in this place.

Mark turned to you, his eyes twinkling even more than the stars. “Why did you bring me here?” he murmured gently, like he was hinged on your answer.

You tugged the sleeves of your sweater down until they covered your hands. You’d been rehearsing the words in your head and it was finally time for them to come out. “I want to be honest with you and I felt like I couldn’t be honest anywhere else.”

Even though Mark knew the answer, he still asked, “Why not?”

You sighed. “Someone is always watching at NCT University.”

Mark joined you in looking out the window. Gazing at the ocean in the distance was anchoring in some odd kind of way. It grounded you and him back to the earth. Though all either of you wanted was to be swept away in the current.

“I’ve been wanting to talk to you. I…,” Mark trailed, chuckling to himself. It was now or never. “I was planning it out.” Like an idiot. I wasted so much time.

You chuckled when you realized he was as nervous as you were. There was no denying it. You turned serious. “Mark?”

“Hm?”

There was so much hope written on your face when you asked, “How do you feel about me?”

Mark swallowed. There it was. His throat had gone dry in the fraction of a second. But there was something about the softness in your voice and the expectation in your eyes.

Even here, in the darkness of your car, away from everyone else with only the sea and stars as a witness, Mark had never seen you so clearly. He knew then that his heart was safe with yours.

“I think you already know,” he whispered.

You shifted your eyes down, looking at your hands nervously. “I, um,” you started, biting your lip. Tears were already burning in warning that emotions were going to take over. “I’ve been really scared, Mark.”

Mark said your name tenderly, slipping his fingers beneath your chin and lifting your head until you looked him in the eyes.

“I really like you,” you finally forced the words out. “And I’m so tired of fighting it.”

“Then, don’t,” Mark replied, moving toward you and sealing his lips to yours.

You melted into the kiss and let it consume you, cradling Mark’s head in your hands. He was yours. You could feel it. Smiling against his mouth, you let the tears that had gathered in your eyes from nerves slip down your cheeks.

The nerves were gone, chased away by the relief that spread out from your chest.

Mark kissed the tears from your face. He kissed your nose, your brow, the corner of your mouth. You giggled at his affection. He couldn’t get enough of you. Love and joy were spilling out of him with every touch.

You sucked in a breath when his lips wandered to your neck, settling over your racing pulse which only went faster when he kissed and nipped at your skin.

The mood shifted then. You could feel it like imaginary smoke filling the car, making it hard to breathe, making sweat gather at the back of your neck. You gasped a little as Mark sucked a bruise into your flesh, his fist tangled in your hair.

You dragged him with you into the backseat, kicking off your shoes. Mark couldn’t bring himself to stop kissing you for even a second, grunting into your mouth when the two of you landed in a heap in the back. He couldn't believe he was on top of you, your lips meeting his hungrily.

Mark made a noise when you wrapped your legs around his waist. He could feel your clothed sex pressed to the erection in his pants. Kissing you for barely a minute had gotten him hard. You arched into his body, hands roaming down his back, and moaned softly.

You hadn’t planned on hooking up with Mark. Your intentions were pure. You wanted to air things out and put all of your cards on the table. Now that you knew Mark felt the same way and wanted the same thing, you could finally accept how badly you wanted him.

Sex would complicate things, it always did, but you couldn’t bring yourself to stop.

Mark started grinding into you and you rolled your hips into his. For this tiny moment, you were content to kiss him, but that feeling was growing, building inside you. It had been so long since you felt this way and you had been convinced you would never feel it again.

It wasn’t enough. You wanted more. You needed more of him.

“Mark,” you said, tugging at his hair. “Take off my clothes.”

He drew back, staring deep into your eyes like his brain couldn’t comprehend that you’d actually said that. “Are you sure?”

You smiled at the look on his face, resisting a giggle. He was adorable, looking at you like a deer in headlights. “I’ve never been more sure about anything.”

Mark met his lips to yours slowly, intimately.

You lifted your arms up as best you could, letting him get your shirt off. The two of you stripped each other naked without any sense of urgency. Time had lost all meaning in this little hidden corner of the world.

Mark cupped your naked breast and broke from your lips to suck a nipple into his mouth. There was a catch in your breath as he tongued around the bud, kneading your other breast with his rough hand. Your eyes fluttered closed and you sank your teeth into your bottom lip.

“Fuck,” you cursed. Mark was nudging his hard cock against your wet sex, sliding between your folds and coating himself with your slick. You kept undulating beneath him, desperate for him to fill you up already. It was safe to say you were on the verge of losing your mind.

Mark moaned when you dragged him away from your chest and began nibbling at his neck. Your breath was hot on his skin, cooling the sweat that was cascading down from his hair line. Mark shivered when your lips brushed his ear.

“Put it in, Mark,” you whispered softly. “Please.”

It was the worst moment possible for Mark to realize something very important. “Shit. I didn’t bring a condom,” he exclaimed, tossing his hair out of his face with a turn of his head. “Goddamn it. I had no idea this was gonna happen. I swear.”

His panic earned a chuckle from you. You made him look at you, holding his face in your hands. And his heart. “Neither did I, but you can come inside or pull out. I’m on the pill.”

Mark’s pupils dilated at that.

You resisted another laugh at his expense, but you were still serious. “Are you clean?”

He nodded rapidly, hoping you knew he would never lie to you. “Yes.”

You brushed some of his damp hair back from his sweaty brow and cooed, “I am too. So we’re okay. Just focus on me, baby.”

Mark lowered onto you and kissed you with so much fire and passion it made your toes curl.

There was nothing left for him to worry about. Nothing more for him to overthink. It was just you and him and how you made each other feel.

Of course, Mark was faced now with an even bigger dilemma of fucking someone raw and finally having sex with someone he was in love with.

Neither of which he had done before.

It was too much. He knew he wouldn’t last. He just knew he would fuck this up and you would be disappointed and never want him to touch you again.

You could see the fear seeping into his eyes, which up to this point had been clouded only with lust and desire. You were an endless well of love and affection for him. So, you traced your fingers over his cheek delicately and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Mark was propped over you, trying not to think about the brush of your nipples against his chest every time either of you moved even the slightest bit. “I’m nervous,” he said, trembling.

“You’re not the only one,” you replied, trying to put him at ease. You stroked him with your hands, his shoulders and his back, hoping to settle him down. It was such an intimate moment; you thought you would burst.

That made Mark feel better. His eyes locked to your face and he nodded. All of his attention was on you now, making you feel good, making it last. He met his lips to yours, convinced his heart was going to explode and kill him.

Well, at least he’d die in your arms. Mark was so far gone at this point.

You let him lead, kissing him back and making no moves to touch his hard cock resting against your folds, no matter how badly you wanted to. You held him to you and slipped your tongue into his mouth, which coaxed a tiny growl out of him.

Mark hooked your leg on his hip, fingers pressing into your thigh. He was still kissing you with abandon when he steered his cock to your entrance and started to push inside.

You both broke from the kiss to moan into each other’s mouths. You were so wet with arousal, he slid right in with a few coaxing strokes.

Mark bottomed out and moaned again, gripping your waist to the point of bruising because, fuck, you felt so good he couldn’t breathe. “Are you okay?” Mark asked worriedly.

“I’m fine, baby,” you whispered, tugging him by the hair to kiss the corner of his mouth. “Are you?”

Mark still couldn’t believe this was happening. He was tempted to pinch himself to see if he woke up. “God, I’ve wanted you for so long.”

You smiled sheepishly. “Me too.”

“Yeah?”

“Mm-hm.”

Mark stole another kiss, this one deeper than all the others, and started to move. He rocked into you and you arched to meet him, matching his slow rhythm. The little sounds that spilled from your pretty swollen lips made Mark shiver in your arms.

He knew he had fallen in love with you. Now, he was falling again and again. There was no bottom. Just him free-falling to whatever fate awaited him.

You grasped his sides, leaving bruises in your wake. Mark was steadily sinking in and out of you. There was a wet clap every time he pressed back into you deep. He arched and rolled his hips, making you cry out his name.

Both of you were sticky with sweat, but the heat burning between your bodies didn’t let any chill of the night air touch you.

“Fuck,” Mark groaned, gripping you tight and slowing down.

You fisted a hand in his hair, chuckling darkly because you knew he was close. Much closer than he wanted to be. Lifting your legs higher on his waist, you started bouncing your hips ever so slightly, tightening on him.

“Oh, god,” Mark whimpered, burying his face in the crook of your neck.

“Please keep going, Mark. Please,” you begged in his ear. “You feel so good.”

Mark’s body responded before his brain could even process. His hips slapped into yours, driving in hard and deep and fast. Mark fought back his own release to the point he was forgetting to take a breath.

“Just like that, baby,” you purred.

Mark brought his lips to yours, kissing you messily. His eyes were winched closed, face tense with overwhelming pleasure. The tight wet heat of you around him was nothing short of the best thing he’d ever felt in his life. Nothing could compete with it.

And seeing the beautiful girl he loved beneath him. The look in your eyes as you had stared at him was seared into his mind forever.

You were faring no better. His pace was rough now, jarring you on the backseat. You wrapped your arms and legs around him, clinging to him for dear life. He was dragging you to the edge and you only hoped he would catch you when you fell.

“Please. Come with me,” Mark staggered out, saying your name. His eyes met yours. “I need it.”

You bucked your hips into his, matching his desperate rhythm. The two of you were chasing release together with each other’s bodies and you knew Mark wouldn’t let himself have it until you did.

Mark could feel the car swaying with his movements, but he didn’t care. You were moaning with every thrust. He winced at the bite of your fingernails hooking into his skin, but he was out of his mind with lust that he made you feel this good.

“Fuck,” you cried out, lips parting with a silent scream. You tipped your head back as you came, hands flying out to fist the seat. For a moment, your body wasn’t yours anymore - it was his.

The moment you swore, Mark moaned and started releasing inside you. The more your walls kneaded him, the more he filled you, stroking slowly to milk every last drop he had.

Finally, after what felt like ages, Mark went still and you went limp. He blinked to clear the haze in his eyes and glanced down to see your hips in his hands. He didn’t realize just how hard he’d been holding onto you.

He watched the rapid rise and fall of your breasts, wanting to cup them in his hands, but he was so fucked out he couldn’t move. You were panting, lashes fluttering.

You would never admit that orgasm had taken you by surprise, but it sure fucking did. You met Mark’s gaze, immediately flushing with heat, and giggled.

He cracked a smile. “That was really good, right?” he asked in a raspy voice.

You nodded and assured him, “Really, really good.”

Mark felt some energy returned to him. He palmed your soft thighs still spread open for him, roamed his hands up your body, and slipped his fingers over your nipples.

You grinned as he propped himself over you and kissed your lips sweetly. Oh so satisfied.

Mark shifted to let his spent cock slip out of you and couldn’t stop pressing gentle kisses to your face and neck with affection.

You were absolutely and hopelessly drunk on him. Basking in the way he made you feel, you didn’t hesitate to say, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Mark said contentedly, resting his head on your chest over your wildly beating heart. It was better than his dreams. “So much.”

You toyed your fingers through his hair. “Can we just stay here, like this, forever?”

“Fine by me,” Mark said without missing a beat.

You snorted.

The two of you were riding a high; one bigger than any high sex could give. Everything was out in the open. No more hidden feelings or fought back emotions.

Both of you had been honest.

Mostly anyway.

It embarrassed you how much you liked holding hands with Mark. He walked you back to the dorm, fingers laced through yours, and you were practically floating. You were his and he was yours.

Sadly, the night had to come to an end.

Mark tugged you toward him, looping his arms around you. “Hey, so Friday night,” Mark started.

You perked up. “Yeah?”

“Do you wanna go on a date with me?”

You frowned, remembering what you still had left to do. “I can’t.”

His brows stitched. “Why not?”

“I have a few loose ends to tie up,” you confessed. Unfortunately, this answer was a bit vague. Not because you wanted to hide your intentions, but because you couldn’t drop any names.

Mark took it as the former and all the thunder left his voice. “But I thought we… never mind.”

You could hear the disappointment, the betrayal, and you smoothed your hands up and down his back in comfort. “Mark, I need you to trust me on this.”

Mark scoffed. “Trust you? To what - fuck someone on the football team next?”

You flinched like you’d been slapped. You would have jumped away from him, but Mark had already taken a step back away from you.

Mark was suddenly filled from head to toe with venom and he had no idea how to cope with it. It was such a foreign feeling. “You want me to wait for you while you’re off hooking up with other guys? You want to have your cake and eat it too.”

You could understand where he was coming from. That was certainly how it looked. “It’s not like that.”

“It’s exactly like that,” Mark hissed.

You planted your feet and told him, “No, Mark. I have to talk to someone. I have to settle things with him if I want there to be any chance of you and I making this work.”

Mark looked you dead in the eye and replied coldly, “I don’t believe you.”

Your heart sank. “What?”

“You can pull that with anyone else but me, because I know you,” Mark said with disdain. He should have known better. He should have seen this coming from a mile away. “Your ambition always comes first. Especially now that I know this little sex challenge of yours is connected to neonet.”

You gaped in disbelief. “Who told you that?”

Mark laughed, but there was no mirth. He was so furious with himself for letting his guard down he couldn’t see straight. “That’s what you care about? Goddamnit,” he cursed, huffing your name.

Your voice trembled. “I’m sorry.”

Mark turned and began walking away. He didn’t want to hear your apologies or your excuses. Your justifications. They were all salt in the wound.

You couldn’t believe it. He was leaving. After everything said and done. How happy you had been was crumbling before your very eyes. You did the last thing either of you ever expected you to do - you chased after him.

“Mark, listen to me,” you shouted, circling in front of him and bracing your hands on his chest. “You have every right to be mad at me. I know how this sounds. I had no idea we were going to have sex. None. I just wanted a goddamn moment alone with you to tell you how I felt and - fuck it - Mark, I couldn’t help it. I have so many feelings about you!”

Mark softened, but only a little. He wanted to be enraged. It was better than feeling discarded after he’d served his purpose.

After he told you he loved you.

But you had said it back. That meant something. Mark had to hold onto that.

You reached out, taking his hand. It had felt so perfect around yours, so right. “Mark, please,” you begged, tears filling your eyes. “Just give me a little time. Let me fix this.”

Mark sighed loudly, but he was clearly swaying where he stood. He loved you so much, he would do anything you asked of him. Even if he hated it. “Fine.”

You let out a breath, the fear threatening to shred you at the seams. “Thank you.”

Mark refused to look at you. He knew if he did, your teary eyes would break what little resolve he had left. It was cruel. You were his for a moment and already, that moment was gone.

You slid into his arms hesitantly, wondering if he would push you away. When he didn’t, you wrapped you arms around him tightly and whispered, “I’m yours, Mark. I promise.”

“You were right,” Mark said gruffly. “We should have just stayed there forever.”

You chuckled.

Your little laugh made Mark crack a smile. He pressed a kiss to your temple, then told you, “Go inside. So I know you’re safe. Please.”

You nodded, though the last thing you wanted was to part with him. Being in his arms made you feel whole. Turning away obediently, you headed up the stairs and into the girls’ dorm, looking back at him one more time before disappearing inside.

Mark watched you go, then he headed home, dragging his broken heart behind him.

Copyright 2020-2024 © yutaholic (formerly zenyukhei) All rights reserved do not copy or translate without my permission!

[fablesofkitkat]

pov: one does not simply fake date Sero and NOT start catching feelings

genre: fluff

PART 1 HERE

🅂🅈🄽🄾🄿🅂🄸🅂: almost everyone in 1-A passed the final exams. You know that at that point your life's gonna change. Just not in the way you expect.

You are just a fool who keeps pretending that you're loving me

-cavetown

tags: @bl--ankhaeji @shijjii

img cc: 스키 🎗️ @DSH_0

There are times in your life that you sit in a daze, wondering if you're really a functioning human being that knows how to make solid decisions. As much as you like to pretend that everyone has done their fair share of stupid decisions, they probably wouldn't make the same choice as you did which is: fake dating Sero.

How'd that happen?

Bakusquad asked you a favor. Turns out Sero hit his head one too many times during the final exam. Sero thinks he's dating you. What kind of reverse amnesia is that?

And now you're here at training camp, trying to avoid him as best as you can. Why are you avoiding him?

---

"Hello, Sero." You approach him timidly. His friends asked you to come with them because Sero's getting released from the clinic, and then afterwards, they'd celebrate.

"Sero?" His tone exasperated and he stares at you adoringly. "If this is about me sleeping on Midnight-sensei's lap, then I'm sorry, cariño. Next time, I'll just let Mineta get hit by the pheromones.I didn't know it bothered you."

You coughed awkwardly. Right. "Yeah, um it does a little bit."

"I'm gonna make it up to you." He gives you a half-moon smile and you can't help but return it with one of your own.

He kisses your hand. His soft lips on your skin had you disintegrated. You don't know how to explain it exactly but it's like melting. Melting but more violent. Blissful. Your cheeks warmed. You couldn't look at him. You walked back all the way to class with Sero still holding your hand. Still not saying anything.

He squeezed your hand gently, his thumb exploring your palm.

"Mi amore?"

"..hmm?"

Sero lets go of your hand but not completely, he holds on to the tip of your fingers, loosely, he's not ready to let go. "Let's hang out later?"

You nodded.

"I'll miss you."

You stop nodding halfway and finally met his eyes in confusion. "But we're classmates."

"Still not stopping me from missing you all the time."

Kami. Your heart just exploded. You made an excuse that you were going to the rest room. Once alone, you bring the back of your hand to your lips, just to have a vague knowledge of how he felt when he kissed your hand.

---

Being Sero's girlfriend meant having an open invitation to hang out with Bakusquad. They try to include you in conversations but as a shy person, you could only take so much social interaction. You were glad Bakugou doesn't even try to converse with you. With his personality, for sure you'd start crying. In consolation, you have Sero to entertain you. Not his full attention, but under the table his hands find ways to entertain you.

You sipped your ice coffee quietly. Mina and Kirishima are asking Bakugou how to solve a certain math problem while Kaminari is talking with Sero about the new Akuma Killers movie. A hand brushes yours. He discreetly takes your hand onto his  thigh and then he makes a fist, bouncing up and down. You understand the gesture: rock, paper, scissors.

"I'm so excited! Have you seen the trailer?" Kaminari gushed, waving his phone at Sero. "They really placed huge money on effects! And the way the fight scene flowed! I kept replaying it."

Out of the corner of his eye, Sero smiles at you. You flush under his glance. You play with him. He wins the first round. He flicks your hand as punishment. The second round you won.  You flicked his hands harder than he did yours. It became a contest. Midway, you realized how he was still able to manage keeping up with you even though he's still in conversation with Kaminari.

Your lips pouted. The next round you won, you pinched his skin between your fingers hard enough to mark. Sero yelped. "Ow! Gently! Gently!"

You smirked in satisfaction, taking your hand away from his thigh but he grabs it and laces his fingers with yours. Doomed. That's it. You're doomed to hand holding whenever Sero's around. He lets out a happy sigh.

"Oi."

You and Sero turned to look at Bakugou.

"You better be sticking to hand-holding under this table and nothing else." Bakugou grumbled.

---

"What do you remember?" You ask Sero.

"I remember almost everything except some parts like how we got together are blurry." He scratches the back of his head. "I do know that I've been so much happier ever since we started dating."

"Okay."

Sero takes you to an empty classroom, you sat on the desk with your brows scrunched up trying to figure out what serious talk you're going to have. He calls your name. "I remember... we paired up with each other during one of Present Mic-sensei's classes."

You grinned, nodding. "Yeah."

"So... as a reward, call me by my first name?" He leans his palms by the edge of the desk you're sitting on. "..while looking directly into my eyes. Don't shy away now, mi amore. No one's here."

"I– Hanta." You blushed hard because the tape quirk user stares into you so intensely that it's starting to hold your breath hostage.

"I also remember that one time I was having a hard time writing a report in the library and you helped me for a few minutes." He leans forward. Slowly. "This time no stuttering."

You blinked, arms starting to tremble not in anxiety but in anticipation. "Hanta."

"I remember helping you clean up a fallen trashbin. It wasn't your fault but you cleaned it up anyway." He inches forward, giving you ample time to voice for him to stop. "I need you to say my name five times, cariño."

You took a shuddering breath, your throat bobbed and for a second Sero breaks eye contact to follow your throat's movement. "Hanta." You whisper. "Hanta." His face is close enough you feel the fan of his breath. Oranges. "Hanta. Hanta." His eyes flicks to your lips. "Han..." You trail off when he finally, finally pressed his lips on yours.

---

AN:

Hehe childish flirting.

---

NEXT PART >

[antebunny]

Parent Trap AU

...with a side of on-the-run hacker!wwx AU, and celebrity!lwj AU. Full series here.

-

In the end, all the chaos starts because Lan Jingyi gets offended.

“What do you mean you haven’t heard of my uncle?” Lan Jingyi demands. 

He glares down at Wei Sizhui from the top bunk. Lan Jingyi and the other two boys in Wei Sizhui’s cabin got into a fight over who would get the top bunks, and after several heated rounds of rock-paper-scissors, they went to Lan Jingyi and Ouyang Zizhen.

“Stop shouting!” Jin Rulan yells from the other side of the room. He yanks his headphones off and directs his own glare at Lan Jingyi, who scowls back.

“He said he hasn’t heard of Hanguang-jun!” Lan Jingyi yells right back.

Jin Rulan frowns. “The singer? So?”

“I’m sorry,” Wei Sizhui interrupts, before they can get into a fight. “My dad and I travel a lot, so I’ve never stuck around in one place long enough…”

Lan Jingyi frowns, this time with suspicion. “What does your dad do?”

“Uh.”

He’s a genius-level hacker wanted for a felony he didn’t commit and he’s been on the run from at least two organizations for the past nine years.

“…He’s a computer engineer.”

“Really?” Ouyang Zizhen perks up from his top bunk. Wei Sizhui knows vaguely that he likes graphic design. “That’s so cool.”

Wei Sizhui smiles weakly. “Yeah. Um.” He tries not to panic thinking about what to say if anyone asks him any more questions about his dad’s job.

Lan Jingyi flounders for only a second. “Still,” he insists. “You guys have heard of him, right?” When Jin Rulan and Ouyang Zizhen both nod, he points his iPhone victoriously at Wei Sizhui. “See?! He’s famous!”

Wei Sizhui shrugs helplessly. He doesn’t know why he hasn’t heard of Hanguang-jun. He suspects that it’s because he moves around so much, he’s never really had the chance to make friends, so all the music he knows is the music his dad listens to. Wei Sizhui knows his dad is doing his best, but sometimes it’s unbearably lonely.

Which is why he’s at this summer camp in the first place. His dad pulled a lot of strings (read: committed a lot of forgery) so that he could make friends. And now it seems he’s already made a mistake in not knowing Lan Jingyi’s (“Well, he’s not really my uncle, but we’re related…somehow”) uncle. 

“But you’ve at least heard his songs,” Lan Jingyi insists. “Like, uh.” He clears his throat, then shoots a look at Jin Rulan, cheeks flushing. “Our Vow? Water Under The Bridge? I Promise? Someone Like You? At First Sight?” He shakes his head in disappointment when Wei Sizhui just continues staring at him blankly. 

“Wait, I’m pulling it up on Spotify,” Ouyang Zizhen chimes in. He rolls over onto his stomach and fishes his phone out of his pocket.

“I can’t believe this,” Lan Jingyi says, still shaking his head. “You’ve at least heard the chorus of Under Moonlight. There’s no way you haven’t.” He clears his throat again, and then clearly chickens out again.

“Go ahead, sing it,” Jin Rulan says, smirking.

Lan Jingyi glares at him, then a thought brightens his face. “Maybe you’ll recognize him!” He whips out his phone and starts typing furiously.

Wei Sizhui opens his mouth to protest, seeing no reason why he would recognize the singer’s face but not their voice, but he’s too late. Lan Jingyi is already clambering down the ladder, and proudly presenting the Google Image results for “Hanguang-jun.” Then Wei Sizhui’s mouth, despite not being closed, really falls open.

“I know him,” he blurts.

“So you do recognize him,” Lan Jingyi says, pleased.

“No, I…” Wei Sizhui stutters. 

Now it’s his turn to fumble for his phone. He opens Photos and taps on Albums, then opens Favorites. At the top, timestapped April 5, 2010, is one of the only photos Wei Sizhui has of his dad. His dad hates being caught on camera, for obvious reasons. Still, Wei Sizhui doesn’t hesitate to open the photo and show it to Lan Jingyi.

Lan Jingyi cranes his neck to peer over Wei Sizhui’s shoulder, and his mouth falls open too.

The photo is a still image of two people. On the left is Wei Wuxian, Wei Sizhui’s adopted dad. He’s dressed in a sharp black suit, a red flower tucked into the right breast pocket. He’s throwing up peace signs for the camera. His arms are draped around the other person from behind, and his smile is blinding. 

The other person is clearly Lan Jingyi’s uncle, Hanguang-jun. The man has the same striking face, the same light brown eyes. He’s dressed in an all-white suit, save for the light blue flower tucked similarly into a pocket. He has the same ribbon wrapped around his wrist. The main difference between the Google Images that Lan Jingyi pulled up and the photo that Wei Sizhui has is that in Sizhui’s, Hanguang-jun is smiling softly.

It’s a wedding photo.

“No way,” Lan Jingyi breathes. “I recognize that guy! My uncle carries around a picture of him in his wallet!”

“Wait, really?” Jin Rulan perks up at this bit of drama, taking his headphones off completely. 

Ouyang Zizhen also perks up, abandoning his quest to find Hanguang-jun’s music. He slides down his ladder, colliding with Jin Rulan’s attempts to get out of his bed. After minimal cursing, both boys make their way to Wei Sizhui’s bed, where Lan Jingyi is still gaping at the photo.

“Wait, that really is Hanguang-jun,” Ouyang Zizhen says. “I guess your dad met him, Sizhui?”

“Oh my god,” Jin Rulan says at the same time. “That’s my uncle.”

This time Jin Rulan is the one to pull out his phone. He scrolls through his videos until he gets to the very beginning, narrating as he goes. “It’s the only video I have of my uncle,” he explains. “My uncle–I mean, my mom’s other brother–doesn’t like to talk about him, because he went to jail like a decade ago–”

At this, Wei Sizhui winces, suddenly remembering why he’s not supposed to talk about his dad with other people. 

“–But my mom does, and she sent this to me,” Jin Rulan finishes.

Finally, he finds the right video, and opens it.

The video was filmed on a 2010’s iPhone, so the video quality is poor. Still, the audio is clear enough when the camera is turned around to view the filmer. The man taking the video has a half-fond, half-exasperated scowl on his face. He’s wearing a violently purple sweater, under which the collar of a black shirt peeks out.

“He’s going to break his legs before I have a chance to break them for him,” the man says, rolling his eyes. “Look.” 

The camera is flipped around, showcasing a staircase and Wei Wuxian, leaning over the railing. Wei Wuxian looks back and grins at the camera. 

“It’s going to work, just you wait,” Wei Wuxian says. 

“I’m going to watch you break your legs,” the man says again.

“Aw, Jiang Cheng, have a little faith,” Wei Wuxian retorts. He leans over the railing again. “Wait, shh! He’s coming!”

Jiang Cheng dutifully falls silent, as Wei Wuxian leans further and further over the railing. 

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian shouts, and then he jumps over the railing.

Jiang Cheng starts running to the stairs, and any and all sounds are drowned out by the background wind noise of the man running. When he stops, he points the camera over the stairs. 

There’s a scattering of books across the hardwood floor, and a man in white, whose face is obscured by Wei Wuxian, held in his arms. Wei Wuxian wraps his arms around the man's neck and twists to look up at the camera. 

“I told you he’d catch me!” Wei Wuxian shouts victoriously.

“You made him drop all his books!” Jiang Cheng shouts back, from behind the camera. 

The camera is flipped back to Jiang Cheng, who’s still rolling his eyes. “Somehow this is my dumbest brother-in-law,” he says. 

“Jiang Cheng, don’t be jealous!” Wei Wuxian shouts from the other floor. “We’ll find you someone one day!”

Jiang Cheng’s face colors purple, and the video ends.

The four boys are silent for a moment.

“So that was Hanguang-jun?” Ouyang Zizhen says, after their moment of silence is over.

“I guess so,” Jin Rulan says. 

“You’re telling me my uncle and your dad were married?” Lan Jingyi demands.

“And he went to jail?” Ouyang Zizhen adds. “Sizhui, what happened there?”

Jin Rulan wrinkles his nose. “Why does your uncle still carry around a photo of him if they split up?”

“Why did they split up?” Lan Jingyi asks. “Was it the jail thing?”

“Seriously, what did he go to jail for?” Ouyang Zizhen asks.

In eerie unison, all three boys put down their phones and look at Wei Sizhui expectantly.

Two weeks into summer camp, and Wei Sizhui has already made his first three friends, and blown his dad’s cover. He’ll be wanted by the FBI after this, for identity forgery, if they aren’t already–Wei Sizhui isn’t entirely clear, and his dad doesn’t clarify.

Wei Sizhui smiles nervously.

“Who did you say your dad was again?” Lan Jingyi asks.

[has-gilgamesh-doneanythingwrong]

Gilgamesh, Iskandar and Ozymandias hanging out

Hello anon, thank you for the request! Sorry for the long wait as well. This is a fun one!! Gotta love how chaotic these three kings are.

As you didn't specify what you'd like them to do, I will send them to the HOT SPRINGS for this occasion, as I am OBSESSED with the Hot Springs. You can send me requests for all the fate characters in the hot springs and you bet I'd love it! Holiday headcanons are my favorite genre!!!

#KINGSNITEOUT

Gilgamesh, Iskandar and Ozymandias: Trip to the Hot Springs

♨️ Chaldea had finally scheduled a week-long holiday! This meant only one thing for the Kings- it was time to get some much-needed TLC. Although Gilgamesh vehemently denied the need to rest- "The King is infallible. I have no need to rest like the common zasshu", Iskandar's explanation on the beauty of the springs, paired with Ozymandias' incessant challenges to a duel- eventually results in him caving in!!!

♨️ Before anybody can even stop them, the three jump into any vehicle they find and jet off to the closest Hot Springs! Ozymandias and Iskandar battle over who is the better driver, but after Iskandar attempts to make the car fly with Bucephalus as a ploy to save time; the wheel is rightfully yielded to Ozymandias.

♨️ Although they all pride themselves on entering establishments of a good quality, the urge to sit and relax in refreshing waters is too strong for them to mull over which hot springs are best to visit. They have no choice but to rely on a good old map, courtesy of Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon. As to why Gilgamesh has been ever-so-conveniently storing tourist guides and maps in his gate...well, he absolutely refuses to let them know (he loves travelling)!

♨️ After debating in the car on whether they should go to a bar first, or a resort spa or a quaint little hot spring in the countryside; they play a rather violent game of rock paper scissors (that almost knocks Ozymandias out of his golden car) until finally, they all begrudgingly decided to go to a location famed for its legendary springs.

♨️ As soon as they arrive, Gilgamesh's inner fanatic is unleashed as he takes an entire slew of selfies of this location. When asked why, he begrudgingly admits that it's the main setting of some of his favorite tv dramas and anime- with a massive blush on his face. A fight breaks out once Iskandar starts photobombing Gilgamesh's selfies. In addition to this, Ozymandias almost causes an indefinite crisis by trying to take photos with his Sphinx family.

♨️ They are greeted with such sincere and heartwarming customer service, with staff gifting them with traditional Japanese snacks and a nice soothing cup of tea. Gilgamesh is so moved by their kindness that he pays them in gold. This unleashes yet another catastrophic reaction, with the ryokan manager fainting with shock.

♨️ Other visitors stare at them in awe, as they enter the rather quaint and small ryokan (inn). The roof is so low that poor Iskandar smashes head-first into it. Life isn't easy for tall kings in the hot springs, after all. Although their shared bedroom is quite plain, Gilgamesh waxes poetry at the ancient crafting methodology behind its incantation; as the other two actually listen with rapt interest. Actually, the staff are so impressed by the breadth of Gilgamesh's knowledge that they ask him if he wants to work with them; leaving the King of Heroes torn between feeling pride that they value his insight, and abject horror at merely comprehending what it would be like to work in customer service.

♨️ "If only I could fit a place like this in my Ionian Hetairoi..." Something about this place excites Iskandar greatly, to the point where he thinks that it would be a fun addition to the world of his reality marble.

♨️ Things become ridiculously competitive between the kings once they undress for the baths. Gilgamesh is sparkling like the sun, Ozymandias is jeering with pride; and Iskandar...well...let's just say that a 'length/size' match erupts between the three as they dart between complimenting each other's well-toned bodies, as well as competing over their...various 'assets'.

♨️ The competition refuses to settle down for the entire stay! However, between battling to see who can stay in the springs the longest and who can breathe underwater for the longest; they finally enjoy a nice snack of alcohol and hot spring boiled eggs.

♨️ By the time they're finished, evening has finally struck; a full moon waxing and waning above a brilliant midnight blue sky filled to the brim with twinkling stars. Changing into their robes gifted by the staff, they make their way out of the steaming hot water. (Iskandar's robes barely fit at all XD)

♨️ But the Kings aren't satisfied just yet! They play a game of 'Punishment Ping Pong'- in which the loser has to adhere to the winner's requests. This game of ping pong is so deadly and dangerous that they almost destroy the entire establishment! Luckily, the staff's yells for them to come to their specially reserved dining room finally brings their lethal activity to a grinding halt.

♨️ Over a luxurious meal teeming with naturally-sourced ingredients and overflowing alcohol, they merrily celebrate together; as they laugh and cheer merrily over shared conversation. These kings may be chaotic, but their bond is strong.

♨️ Once it's finally time to rest for the night, a rather hilarious event occurs: Gilgamesh miraculously ends up snuggling in-between Ozymandias and Iskandar- almost as if he's desperate for their warmth. Not that he'd admit that of course! However, Iskandar is quite the forceful big spoon, clutching onto Gilgamesh for dear life. This causes quite the conflict. As for Ozymandias, he's up for their company and obliges to the warm hugs.

♨️ Like true homies, they showcase their love and affection for one another, as well! It's a special camaraderie between kings that can truly understand one another.

THE END

[no-psi-nan]

Okay so after girding my emotional loins, I think I'm ready to tackle this one.

Buckle in, this is a long(er) one!!

They were both wildly intelligent kids. While baby Asumi wasn't yet as wordy or as perceptive as he is later, he's still really smart and easily calls out Takashi's tricks for being mundane. They both see themselves as being essentially different from the rest of humanity in some way, and that makes them both lonely and wishing for connection.

Baby Kusuo makes me so sad every time because he clearly just wants a little bit of attention and love. He can do tricks so much cooler than everyone else, and he could have everyone's admiration and attention. But after the rock paper scissors fiasco, he knows he shouldn't, because it would cause trouble for him and his parents. So he sits quietly alone, sometimes doing the tricks anyways in a discreet fashion, just to prove to himself that he really can be cooler than the other guy. 😭

Actually, since Akechi mentions that children can't save a marriage in his introduction, I wonder if that this point there's already marital strife in Asumi's life, to where he's not getting very much love and support at home. His parents really should've noticed their only (?) kid getting bullied daily and moved him to another school or something fr.

And then Asumi actually starts hanging out with Kusuo, and Kusuo finally has someone to commiserate with about how much underserved attention and respect Takashi gets. And Asumi also gives him some of the attention he craves, and they really do play so nicely together as kids. Even when Asumi slips up and calls Kusuo's art project trash, Kusuo only frowns at him until he apologizes, then he's all smiles again and it's so cute...

Asumi doesn't mind that Kusuo is essentially nonverbal and it seems like he easily understands Kusuo's expressions and body language to figure out what he means to say. While thinking about this now, I realize that as a high schooler, Saiki is wayyy less expressive, communicating the bare minimum to move through life and having a poker face most of the time, while baby Kusuo is more communicative and clearly expresses approval/disapproval/interest/etc in a way that invites conversation.

Just thought about this now but... Perhaps baby Kusuo was so protective of Asumi partially because he never really got that kind of protection in his own life. Kusuke has been competing with him relentlessly basically since he was born, his father can barely handle either of his overpowered sons, and his mom doesn't seem like she recognizes or knows about the animosity between Kusuo and Kusuke. When Kusuke prevented their parents from telling the grandparents about Kusuo's powers, it certainly seems like he was never disciplined for it. So Kusuo feels like he's under attack every day and then he also sees Asumi under attack every day, but the key difference here is that Asumi has no powers to defend himself with. And the adults clearly haven't helped at all either. So of course when he sees his only friend, the person whom he relates to most in the world, battered and hurt badly, he's going to blow up in a spectacular fashion from all of those suppressed feelings, not only for Asumi's sake but also his own.

And while Kusuo did switch schools and essentially leave without a trace afterwards (probably kick-starting Asumi's interest in mysteries and detectives), he did leave behind a gift. In leaving the classroom as destroyed as it was, Kusuo set Asumi up to be perceived as an ESPer, a rumor that would protect Asumi from bullying for as long as there were any other students from that elementary school with him. And this worked, because Akechi thanks Kusuo for "saving him from bullying" and shows no fear when interacting with people he knows to be powerful and violent, like Kuboyasu (untill Akechi remembers that no one thinks he's an ESPer at this school and he has no actual protection, and starts sweating a bit when Kuboyasu gets heated. Though I wonder if he thought maybe Saiki would jump in again, if Kaido hadn't successfully calmed Kuboyasu down??)

And then there's the whole thing where Akechi tries his utmost to prove Saiki is psychic, for the simple reasons of wanting to thank him and perhaps rekindle the friendship. Akechi really spent all of his free time on this for 6 months iirc, out of pure gratitude and admiration. He had no interest in using Saiki's powers for himself (unlike Kuniharu 😡) or outing him (unlike Kusuke 😡). Has anyone ever really thanked Saiki so wholeheartedly before? Saiki really spends so much time taking care of his friends who have no clue he's their local guardian angel lol and his dad takes him for granted. His mom does seem genuinely thankful and impressed when he gets her the groceries in the internet episode, but that's it!

And now we get to the part that sends me to the shadow realm every time... Big Bahonkadonks. So Akechi has given his sincerest thanks to Saiki, but now that he knows about Saiki's powers, Saiki is free to be himself around Akechi. Which, as we can see with the other Psychickers, means that he considers himself perfectly free to try overtly pushing them out of his life instead of having to do it discreetly with all his other friends (and failing). Saiki refuses to let Akechi in and even crushes his foot a little bit to deliver the message because he knows Akechi is persistent AF (notice that he never does this against Aiura or even against Toritsuka. Toritsuka gets his ass beat for pervert crimes and only gets intimidated with the toilet paper spear thing). But Kurumi is there to save the day and force Saiki to spend time with someone who genuinely cares about him instead of literally staring at the ceiling all day. Saiki, my friend, please figure out some other sort of hobby, god damn.

So now Akechi and Saiki are awkwardly hanging out in a room together and Saiki is being a very boring and shitty friend tbh. And yet STILL, Akechi wracks that genius little mind of his until he can figure out something they can do together.

SOMETHING THEY CAN DO TOGETHER, and Saiki can freely use all of his powers. This is HUGE!! Saiki has always had to hide and minimize his powers, he spends most of his energy hiding and minimizing his powers, the only time he ever gets to use them is PvP against Kusuke basically. And the consequences of losing to Kusuke are essentially the destruction of his whole life, ever since the limiters got put in!! That's not friendly competition, that's do or die!! No wonder my man has anxiety!!!

And notice that Akechi never once considers Saiki's use of his powers to be cheating or something negative to be prevented! And Akechi never expresses envy over Saiki's powers either, which is a massive pet peeve of Saiki's. He really just sees Saiki's powers as an intrinsic and neutral part of him that he should try to accommodate. ACCOMMODATIONS... He makes an effort to create a game where Saiki can play as his whole self, with the whole gamut of his abilities, and still have an actual challenge and a possibility to lose, AND the consequences of losing are basically nothing. That's something Saiki has literally never had in his life, something he didn't even think would be possible, something he laments missing even from the first volume of the manga. The excitement of playing a real game, the heights of winning, the depths of losing.

Akechi then delivers the line that nails my fucking coffin every time: "I can still be your playmate." And it sounds so stupid out of context but like think about this for a minute. Akechi is basically promising here that he's going to try his best to accommodate the abilities and preferences of this local god so that he can have fun, relax, and be himself regularly. That is such an expression of love and caring that it makes me cry IRL. It's so fucking hard to come up with games Saiki could play like this. Even Kusuke, mad scientist genius Kusuke has to essentially handicap Saiki with Nendo and Kaido during the hide n seek. But you can bet your bottom dollar that Akechi will sit there and research and think and figure out games Saiki can play just because he wants Saiki to be happy and he wants to spend time together. And Saiki RECOGNIZES this and that's why his eyes shine with emotion and he makes literally the weakest most pathetic attempt to keep up the tsundere facade with the "please don't (come back)".

By the time the other Psychickers want to "evaluate" Akechi, Saiki has basically accepted Akechi as his friend. And it's really funny how he just lets Toritsuka and Aiura figure out for themselves that Akechi is NOT someone to be underestimated. Personally I find it hilarious that he lets Akechi basically bully them for a little bit before he steps in like "okay, that's enough". Toritsuka and Aiura pretty quickly accept that Akechi is one of them, probably because Saiki clearly respects him a lot and they follow his lead.

Unfortunately we don't really get much more Akechi moments after that. The Reawakened anime tries to fix this by turning the Hii guardian spirit problem into a longer P.K. Psychicker segment, but it was kinda weak imo. Coming up with a problem that requires all four of them to solve is just logistically tricky, though I do come up with one in this chapter of my fic, shameless plug. I really wonder why Akechi wasn't involved in the volcano arc at all. While he probably would have had major trouble acting as Saiki given his motor mouth, surely he could have at least been there to keep an eye on Toritsuka or otherwise provide some logistical support? Or maybe Saiki just wanted to keep as many of his friends safe as possible because he already had a bunch of them insisting on hanging out at the Apocalypse Splash Zone??

But anyways, post-canon, Akechi and Saiki are definitely gonna be hanging out regularly, playing games together, fighting over dessert a little, catching up on what happened while they were apart. I think the fact that Akechi is ridiculously chatty is great because even if Saiki doesn't feel like talking, he can just listen and offer the occasional comment and they'd both have fun with it. Though Saiki can be chatty too if he's being his actual self and just saying what he's usually just narrating lmao and I think Akechi would be happy to hear that as well and try to engage him in conversation as much as possible.

So yeah they are also Certified Besties for Life™ and I really think that anyone who marries Saiki is just gonna have to accept that Akechi is going to randomly show up sometimes, accompany Saiki with whatever he's doing for a while, complete a miscellaneous chore, and then leave when he gets bored. That's just how it's gonna be, even they end up on opposite sides of the planet. And no matter how much he tries to be discreet about it, Saiki will always be happy to hang out with his bestie even if the bastard is way too good at horse gambling and steals all the cake.

[chastiefoul]

secret. | itafushi

in which Fushiguro and Itadori are dating in secret.

and it was going all great and good

until Itadori accidentaly kissed Fushiguro in front of their whole group of friends.

---

Needless to say, it was kind of a great night.

With both, 1st and 2nd year trio hanging around in the common room watching some stupid movie—that’s what they decided to call it after Itadori chose it- cramped around each other, because no one really wanted to give up the couch and sat on the floor.

Well, not really everyone is cramped up. Maki—of course, got to sit alone on the single couch all because she won the rock paper scissors tournament, and when that settled no one really wanted to rechallenge the scary master of cursed weapons now, did they?

Panda and Inumaki had also luckily managed to win the double couch, already making themselves comfortable. And given how unlucky the first years track record was—like having to fight a literal special grade cursed spirit on their very first mission, the three of them had to sit pressed against each other on the another double couch available there.

It was right then Itadori, Fushiguro, and Kugisaki made an unspoken agreement that as soon as their damn white-haired teacher comes back from his usual shenanigans, they would rightfully demand another place to sit they deserved immediately. Literally these guys had to risk their lives every time a mission comes up and they couldn’t even get a proper common room where everyone could sit comfortably.

Though, it’s not like these situations didn’t bring certain advantages to certain boys who are dating in secret.

The atmosphere was strangely quiet, only the sound of the tv continued along the nightfall. They’re all focused on the movie that Itadori had specially hand-picked from his personal collection. He felt strangely smug about that—fortunately no one has said anything about it.

But the thing is, being the guy who recommended to film means that you’ve already watched it. And it’s only normal to find some parts of it were pretty boring when you already knew what’s going to happen.

Itadori yawned, feeling the drowsiness coming. Kugisaki that was leaning to him mumbled on his right shoulder, “You tired?” Her eyes still on the moving screen. “Nah, just sleepy,” Itadori responded, finding himself staring Fushiguro on his left. He thought about how great it was if he could snuggle up against the boy and just sleep right then, but couldn’t, since they both agreed to wait for more time until telling the group about their relationship.

It wasn’t long before Fushiguro noticed the lingering gaze, returning the stare with one of his own. “What?” He whispered exasperatedly, yet gentle, like a newfound fondness in what he considered to be annoying before. Itadori just smiled, letting out the quietest mutter he could manage, “Nothing, you’re just too pretty I couldn’t help it.”

The raven-haired male only cringed at how cheesy it sounded but still blushed, nonetheless. “The embarrassing things that came out from your mouth sometimes..” He held the cushion pillow closer to his face, in an attempt to hide the color that was creeping up to his cheeks, though it wasn’t really doing much since the room was already dim.

Suddenly Itadori felt a sharp nudge on his right side, making him double over in pain. “Shut up with your whispering over there, some of us are trying watch!” Kugisaki hissed, clearly infuriated. “Salmon,” Inumaki chimed in, seeming like agreeing to what the redhead had to say.

Itadori only chuckled without any remorse.

“Fine I’ll be quiet! Geez. This could be considered bullying, y’know,” he mumbled the last part, Kugisaki made a face at this, ready to give him a second violent nudge. Itadori raised both of his arm, surrendering. He could feel Fushiguro’s body shook, holding his laughter. Itadori softened.

If he could see Fushiguro’s smile then all is good.

Another fifteen minutes passed, Itadori couldn’t take it anymore. He’s extremely sleepy. As good as the movie was, it’s not really fun anymore to watch for the second time, especially for someone who got easily bored. He let out another yawn,

“I think I’m gonna go back to my room, enjoy the rest of the movie everyone, good night.” Everyone offered a curt hum, one or two of them mumbled wishing him a good night as well.

He got up, giving Fushiguro a small peck under his eye.

It was not until too late and everyone had stared at him that he realized, he just kissed Fushiguro in front of them, the very people who they’ve been desperately hiding the relationship from.

Itadori would be fine with some cheering, or a hundred bombarding questions, or maybe something else, really, anything besides this complete and utter silence. This unbearable stillness that demanded explanations about what it was that Itadori just did.

“Th-there was an eyelash on Fushiguro’s cheek!”

Even Fushiguro’s demon dogs knew that wasn’t a very smart answer.

“So like a normal person you decided to pick it up with your mouth?” Maki asked, drawing her hand up to fix her glasses’ placement.

“That’s unsanitary,” Panda said disapprovingly while Inumaki only nodded along.

“What?! How was it different than kissing a person?” Itadori retorted, Fushiguro wished that the older male would just stop talking. None of the thing he said had helped their now futile attempt in keeping their relationship a secret.

“So you were kissing him then?” Kugisaki smirked, the four of them succeeded on cornering Itadori to where they wanted.

“There was no kiss, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Itadori stubbornly deflect, bringing his gaze elsewhere. “No? So nothing like the one like last week when both of you were in the kitchen making dinner?” Maki said, now wearing a similar smug smirk like Kugisaki. “Or that time at night after a mission before you both went back to your respective rooms?” She continued, merciless.

By then Itadori and Fushiguro’s faces had turned red in shame, the pink-haired boy a spluttering mess, the younger boy had his face so deep on the cushion he’s holding, wishing it would open a hole similar to a shadow puddle he summoned on a daily basis and swallowed him already.

“Right, I also saw you two on the training ground a few days back, underneath the tree, K-I-S-S-“ Panda followed, tone mischievous.

“Ah!! Stop, stop!!” Itadori cut him off, before he could totally die out of mortification.

His friends already knew, they already knew and didn’t say anything to him. He remembered all those times thinking he was being sneaky when it turns out, they all already knew, even worse, they saw it all!

“I can’t believe none of you guys said anything until now!” Itadori yelled, though it lacked bark seeing his neck still in a color similar to his uniform’s hood. “Please, it’s not like we had to see you guys kiss to know you both are dating, you flirt with him in broad daylight every damn day, have some shame!” Kugisaki yelled back, now standing up pointing his index finger sharply to the other male.

“Wha-well, in my defense, Fushiguro likedit!” He blurted out, making the entire room spared their attention to the shadowcurses-wielder.

If Fushiguro didn’t want to die before, now he definitely does.

“Oh? Why are my cute students still up this late at night?” Said a familiar playful voice, making everyone turned their heads to the source of sound. Gojo had come back from whatever business he was attending to. Honestly no one asked anything about it anymore, the guy’s too vexatious.

Itadori saw this distraction as an opening, he dashed past his teacher, grabbing along Fushiguro with him.

“Nothing at all, Gojo-sensei, me and Fushiguro were just about to go back to our own room!” The older male shouted, running to the direction of their rooms.

-

It seemed like they were both saved, because Fushiguro honestly didn’t know how to respond to that kind of thing. Relieve washed over him, seeing the sight of his own room’s door. A safe place. But forget about that.

Fushiguro thwacked Itadori over the head, it didn’t hurt, it never did. “Are you an idiot, saying things like that in front of everyone?” He sighed relently, his cheeks somewhat still a bit warm. He was actually glad by the sudden development of the event, Itadori really looked like he was really troubled then.

“Ehh?” Itadori leaned in upon hearing that, putting his both of his hands on the dark-haired male either sides, trapping him against the wall between their room. He’s pouting. “But you do like it, right?” His eyebrow furrowed in worry, searching Fushiguro’s expression.

The latter man only squirmed at the sudden proximity; his face returned to a color of crimson.

“Of course I do,” he mumbled, looking away. Fushiguro’s eyes glistened with peeking moonlights, his eyelashes moved gently along the breeze of wind over the opened window. What a stunning sight, Itadori thought.

He sneaked a hand below his lover’s jaw, leading his stare back to him. The usual goofy expression on Itadori’s face was gone, replaced by a serious one. Like finding a chore that had to be done immediately, the urgence on the boy in front of him was pulling Fushiguro in, he shivered in excitement.

Finally their lips met, for a moment, nothing else mattered.

It was only a quick kiss, but still sweet nonetheless, considering the smile they have on their features.

A realization dawned upon them suddenly. Perhaps the real problem here all along was that they need to stop kissing in places like hallways if they really want people to not know. They only looked at each other, knowing that the matter was far from over since they practically ran away from the situation.

They can only imagine how troublesome tomorrow’s going to be.

“We don’t learn, do we?”

“I guess we don’t.”

They smiled.

[antman-56]

Taiyang : I can handle being tased.

Qrow (pulling out taser) : Put up or shut up!

Taiyang (nervous) : We need someone else to do it.

Qrow (spots Summer) : Summer we need you.

Summer (walks up to them) :  What you need?

Qrow : You to tase us.

Summer (no hesitation) : Okay.

Takes taser from his hands.

Taiyang : So who goes first?

Qrow : Rock paper scissors? Loser goes first?

Taiyang nodded and the boys do best out of three.

Taiyang won. 

Qrow walked up to Summer and used his left hand to hold his right wrist.

Qrow (avoiding eye contact) : Alright Sum, just do it.

Summer : Where?

Qrow : Hip.

She puts the taser to his hip and pushed to button. 

Qrow fell to one knee and got back up.

Qrow (clutching his hip) : FUCK!!! It’s like being pinched hard!!

Taiyang gets near Summer and readies himself. 

Summer : Same place?

Taiyang (not looking at Summer and nodding) : Yeah. 

Qrow : Did I look like that?

Summer : Like a big baby? Yep.

Taiyang chuckled at the comment and that was when Summer struck.

Taiyang flopped to the floor and shook violently. 

Qrow (laughing and pointing) : Look who’s the bitch now!!

Taiyang (getting back up and clutching hip) : Do it again!! I wasn’t ready!!

Summer (laughing) : Not gonna lie I kinda feel bad now.

Taiyang : Sum tase me again!!

***Library***

Raven (smiling) : I don't know why but I feel happy right now.

[gamebird]

Murderathin Rec List

As compiled by the denizens of the New Tideland MB/G channel! The greatest hits of TMBD's most popular frenemy ship - the fics that got us into it, and the fics we made because of it. "PR" are quotes from us as we talked back and forth about what was awesome about the fic, or from AO3 comments. All works are complete except Enemies, Closer.

The Long Emergency by murderbot Words: 56,866 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: Trapped on the survey planet when the last emergency beacon fails, Murderbot and the PreservationAux team scramble to survive deadly fauna, cruel weather, scarce resources, and GrayCris's armed hunting parties. In a grueling ordeal spanning two planetary years, Murderbot becomes closer to its humans than it ever thought possible. PR: “the absolute ur-Murderathin fic”, “an absolute stunner”, “that’s the one that got me into the ship”, "This fic is amazing! Murderbot's voice and everyone's characterizations were so on-point, and all of the details of their survival on this planet and the action scenes were so well-fleshed out.", "The first MB/G fic on AO3!"

Recollection by murderbot Words: 30,753 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: SecUnit and Gurathin agree to be married, temporarily, for ease of travel during an assignment. After a violent encounter and a bad wormhole jump, they crash land on a habitable planet and discover their entire ship is suffering from amnesia. Nobody remembers anything from their past. The ship's records are badly scrambled. The planet is too far for anyone to reach safely. When Gurathin and SecUnit find the record that indicates they are married, they build a life together as marital partners, not knowing their union is based on a lie. PR: “I love pain”, “It absolutely broke me”, “still haunts me”, “wonderful”, " I'm so full of bittersweet emotions", "I was this close to crying for a few chapters, and the ending was perfect."

Enemies, Closer by Abacura, Gamebird, IHopedTheredBeStars, opalescent_potato, Rosewind2007, theAsh0 Words: 104,478 (WIP) Rating: Teen and Up Summary: When a Combat SecUnit with identical genetics to Murderbot is sent to Preservation Station to commit a massacre, the delicate balance between Murderbot, ART, and Dr. Gurathin shifts, putting all four of them on a collision course. PR: “a wonder and a delight”, “my favorite one”, "Rock-Paper-Scissors dom dynamics in which ART is the secret fourth option, Dynamite", "Can't wait for more!", "A monumental collaboration!"

Boots by opalescent_potato Words: 5,762 Rating: General Audiences Summary: Murderbot learns a little more than it wanted to about Gurathin's mysterious past. PR: “such a great, quiet study in emotional intimacy and shared trauma. Also has an absolutely amazing Oh. Oh no moment.”, "this feels like the realest depiction of poverty trauma I've ever seen in fanfic", "Info dumping as a love language. Learning self care from the most particular human."

Boots by gnomeskillet Words: 2,797 Rating: General Audiences Summary: "I'm going to fix your boots," he explained, talking to me like I was a small human child that didn't know anything. At least he kept his eyes on the floor while he did it. "They're a mess and if you want them to last longer, then you need to take care of them." PR: “this entire fic got me", "Omg who knew shoe shines could be so full of tension??", "This was sort of in kink no man's land, in between the barbed wire embankments of desire and fulfillment."

No Peace/No Rest by IHopedTheredBeStars Words: 4,363 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: Though Dr Gurathin eventually accepts the addition of SecUnit a.k.a. Murderbot to PreservationAux, and even assists in its recovery & rehabilitation after the corporate gunship debacle, he never warms up to it like the others do—at least according to our unreliable narrator, Murderbot itself! Let’s assume Murderbot is right this time. So what’s up with that?? This story takes place (chronologically) after Fugitive Telemetry and just before Network Effect. PR: “an excellent MB&G fic”, "So many fantastic ideas in here", "This is such a great look at grappling with the guilt of having taken a life, and being stripped of that comforting denial that it wasn't a person."

Mutually Trusted Network Affiliates by Gamebird Words: 16,517 Rating: Explicit Summary: Murderbot finds itself in a dilemma. It has discovered Gurathin likes it and decides it has to do something about this. This one's for the shippers. PR: “a cornerstone Murderathin fic, but it low-key requires reading pretty much the entirety of the Gamebird cinematic universe”, "MB a chapter ago: Ew, no! We didn't have sex! MB now, gazing derisively at Gurathin's sex toy suggestions: What is this shit? Are we fucking or are we fucking?", "using these characters to explore alternate modes of sexuality and explore what intimacy means, as itself, when divorced from the usual biological drives and cultural frameworks is brilliant"

Gurathin’s Side of the Story by Gamebird Words: 51,849 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: A retelling of The Murderbot Diaries from Gurathin's point of view. PR: “An incredible character study that adds so much depth to Gurathin. The reader falls in love with him every step of the way (and Murderbot does too)”, "There are so many moments where this story just drop-kicks me with how real it is.", "a lovely view into Gurathin‘s CR background, augments, and his soft belly under that armadillo shell."

It Was Only A Kiss by Gnomeskillet Words: 2,102 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: Frustrated and desperate, Murderbot hauls Gurathin into an alleyway and makes out with him in order to avoid Station Security. Hey, it has a 100% success rate in media! PR: “excellent”, “Incredibly sexy and very sweet.”, "Dom Murderbot absolutely wrecking Gurathin while not really knowing what the hell it's doing is my favorite flavor"

Pressing Down On Me, Pressing Down On You by Gnomeskillet Words: 1,061 Rating: Not Rated Summary: I was just thinking about MB pressing down on Gurathin's augments like how ART presses down on MB in the feed, and I like thinking about MB being tsundere about taking care of its least favorite augmented human. It doesn't LIKE Gurathin, he's just less annoying this way. PR: “ahhh yes this one was absolutely one of the ones that made me go OHHHH. It made me so invested in their relationship”, "Poor Gurathin doesn't know what he's getting into, good thing Murderbot is so nice XD", "I love the idea of cuddling in the feed."

Just to Suffer the Pressure by Chyoatas Words: 2,113 Rating: Explicit Summary: He was already out of breath when he let his hand press to his throat. (That hadn’t been in the original plan. This was already too close- too fraught. It was already embarrassing enough (and hotter for it, but he wouldn’t admit it.)) PR: “Okay we were all thinking it. There are not nearly enough fics where Murderbot erotically asphyxiates Gurathin.”, "this is insanely good holy shit", "unhinged screaming I can't form words, this is everything I want it to be"

Murderathin NSFW Zine Comic by Chyoatas Words: 1,069 Rating: Explicit Summary: My NSFW comic from the Murderbot Diaries NSFW Zine! Alternative text description of the comic is embedded in the images. PR: "So hot!", "sweet, naughty, and snarky", "So much thought went into this. The closer I look, the more details pop out at me!"

Purr by Rosewind2007 Words: 3,448 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: I saw a post by someone saying: “Wouldn’t it be nice if humans could just purr, like cats. You could let people know you were happy without talking about your feelings or anything...” And I thought: it’d be nice if Murderbot could purr. So, here you are. PR: “Ah yes, my favorite trope. Murderbot purring when it's happy!”, "MB your friends care about you!", "This was adorable and I loved it"

Sex Pollen by Rosewind2007 Words: 7,240 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: Atypical human and para-human courtship behaviors and coitus triggered by xeno-floral microgameteophytes Abstract: Twenty four (24) subjects were exposed to xeno-floral microgameteophytes (XFM). Atypical behaviors were recorded by all but two (2). PR: “the yearning”, “I love watching Murderbot and Gurathin dance around each other in this. Both trying so hard to be normal and just internally yearning to be close to each other. The longing is so palpable!”

Bundling by Rosewind2007 Words: 18,348 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: It was a stupid accident. We’d identified the presence of space debris in this sector, including pieces large enough to deflect the course of a small transport; but my Risk Assessment Module was happily burbling in the low teens (it really needs replacing, but I’m quite fond of its optimism now) and ART had calculated the risk of an actual collision as approximately 1 in 159,753. But of course we were that one. And of course the client I was with would be that one.  PR: "And thereby, Murderbot, SecUnit, discovered it loved itself.", " A wonderful story", "That last line is just so perfect"

The Corporate and the Construct by beeayy Words: 87,919 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: Bots and constructs have taken over the Corporate Rim. When PreservationAux is captured sneaking into AI-controlled space, someone must stay behind with the sophisticated bot-pilot that remembers a lot less than it thinks it does, and the rogue SecUnit with more anxiety and depression than anyone knows. PR: “my favorite AU”, “fantastic”, “An amazing AU. Great marriage of Fairy Tale elements with Robot Overlords.”, "This fic was such an amazing ride", "I had emotions and cried at the last chapter. Good job!"

I Hate The Way I Don’t Hate You by beeayy Words: 53,345 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: Murderbot hates Gurathin, though the reason changes on a daily basis. PR: "I love this whole thing", "These two ridiculous assholes *always* end up meeting in the middle", "I love fake marriage fics  especially when it's enemies to lovers."

Maintenance Protocol by Abacura Words: 5,762 Rating: Explicit Summary: I’m worried about SecUnit. This isn’t the first time I’ve caught it making a face that looks like it's in pain. I worry that it isn’t taking care of itself, that without a cubicle, it needs maintenance that it isn’t telling us about. I wish it would tell me. I wish it would let me take care of it. I could take such good care of it. PR: “smoking hot, I wholeheartedly recommend”, "The maintenance was so perfect and then it was done and I figured so was the fic but holy fuck (literally)", "This is the good stuff. This is perfect."

Fuckboy Strategy by The_Onion Words: 6,203 Rating: Not Rated Summary: 'Can you know you don’t like something without trying it?' I'd texted Ratthi. He responded, 'Sure! But trying things out is always a good idea :D' which I am sure he would not have said if he’d known what I was talking about. // Murderbot explores idioms, the ethics of ghosting, and its own sexuality. PR: “Ah yes, my favorite trope. Murderbot being an absolute bull in the china shop of Gurathin’s heart.”, "so good and so funny i am beside myself", "made me laugh out loud"

Construct, Social by kiwisson Words: 1,852 Rating: General Audiences Summary: Late-night human behavior discussions with your favorite deadly weapon. PR: “the vibes are really good”, “Perfect tag is perfect: You Jerks Talk A Lot For People Who Hate Each Other”, “a fascinating example of the first tagged MB&G which shows many themes already emerging!”

Imperfect Reactions by xianvar Words: 1,324 Rating: Teen and Up Summary: It’s a normal evening with friends – easy laughter, Bharadwaj stopping by to chat, Gurathin and Murderbot sniping at each other, Murderbot letting Gurathin tease it… wait, what? PR: “exterior POVs are always SO good”, "there's so many little characterizations in this fic and its really delightful!", "Adorable!"

[l4verq]

remnants (3) | r.d

ransom drysdale x reader

in which you have to protect ransom drysdale because he has the same face as steve rogers, your ex who’s gone back to peggy.

warnings : mentions of panic attacks

lmk if you wanna be added to the taglist 💗

ʀᴇᴍɴᴀɴᴛꜱ

*not my gif*

-

“rock, paper, scissors, shoot!”

your eyes frantically looks around the outstretched hands, each holding up a rock.

bucky yells a cry of victory while you groan, glaring at your hands holding up ‘scissors’.

ransom rolls his eyes, “you guys hate me that bad?”

upon arriving to the hydra base after a long, long road trip, ransom grumbling about the music, sam screaming about how marvin gaye remains superior, you just couldn’t seem to catch a break.

because of course, you’d lose in this stupid game of rock, paper and scissors and of course, be forced to stay back with ransom in the car while sam and bucky scoped out the base for “any traps”.

“alright, we’ll be back in a few,” sam puts on his goggles, “but if we’re not-.”

“then we run.” ransom interrupts, pointing at you and him.

you have to bite back a smile seeing sam’s unamused face.

“then we go see if anything’s wrong.” you correct ransom, giving him a look.

“actually, no. he’s right, just run.” bucky ponders over it.

ransom scoffs under his breath and looks at you.

you’re smiling sof-

wait, were you actually smiling? at what that shaggy dude just said or more precisely, repeated?

“we’re obviously not running. it was a joke.” ransom clarifies, glancing over at bucky.

bucky’s vibranium arm locks in place, returning ransom’s stare, air getting unnecessarily tense.

they just look dumb, atleast to you.

sam claps his hand, “ok, so no one’s running. let’s go.”

he deploys red wing, the scarlet gadget humming off into the sky.

bucky gives you a nod, trailing behind sam, headed towards the entry door.

an awkward silence ensues, crickets violently chirping in the moonlit night.

“how’s your hand?” ransom clears his throat, adjusting his stance.

he’d been meaning to ask since yesterday but he just.. couldn’t.

“been better.” you flare your sore hands in front of you, tilting your head.

even though there weren’t any external wounds, you knew all of the damage was inside, lurking behind layers of flesh.

“so, you really did break your hands to get out of the chains?” he questions, eyebrow quirked.

“if you put it like that, i sound crazy.” you cross your arms, leaning against the car next to him.

he chuckles, a loud - almost obnoxious - sound that startles you a little.

steve never laughed like that, even when he did, it always felt like he was holding back, had his guard up.

“y/n, do you copy?” sam’s voice crackles in your ear, courtesy of the ear comm.

ransom springs to his feet, hand on his ear.

he’d asked for an ear comm as well to which everyone respectfully declined.

but after two hours of whines and grumbles about why he wants one, bucky practically flung that flesh coloured, pea sized gadget at him.

“we’re here.” he barks a little too loud.

“yea, we can hear you.” bucky mutters, annoyance laced in every word.

“you can speak normally.” you inform ransom, who flashes a thumbs up with a “got it.”

“there doesn’t seem to be mu-.”

static takes over, cutting sam off, you and ransom both flinching at the sudden blare in your ears.

you immediately cock your gun, reach into the car to pull out a flashlight and hand it to ransom.

“stay behind me.” you order, “we’re going through the back.”

“is there even one?”

“let’s find out.” you grab a flashlight as well.

you’re light on your feet, with careful, calculated steps.

ransom.. you couldn’t exactly blame him, he’s just a normal guy.

a normal guy who’s made it his goal to step on every single fallen leaf, producing this god awful crunching sound in the dead of the night.

“a little quieter?”

he starts tip-toeing, stumbling around.

you walk round the building, well what’s left of it.

it’s in bad shape, the entire building, hanging on by decaying bricks covered in mold.

it looks like it might’ve been around 3-4 stories high but it’s impossible to know now.

“there it is.” you whisper, flashlight pointed towards a door labelled EXIT.

on closer inspection, the knob is broken, only a hole where it used to be.

the hinges creak as you push the door open with ease, uncertain how the door didn’t fall right off because it was barely holding on.

gun in hand, flashlight on top, left foot forward, supporting your dominant one, just like you’ve been trained.

“this is how people die in movies.” ransom whispers, peeking inside the dark room.

you glare back at him, shushing him.

he clamps his forefinger and thumb together, dragging it along his lips, pretends to lock it and hands you the key.

“just search for a switch.” you mutter, looking straight infront again.

you aim your flashlight around, taking small steps inside.

clang.

you damn near jump out of your skin, finger already curled around the trigger, ready to pull when you whip around.

“sorry.” ransom mumbles, hands trailing around the wall, looking for a switch.

“i nearly shot you!” you whisper yell, lowering your gun.

the light flickers on, your eyes nearly blinded by it.

you look around, vision slowly adapting to the lit up room.

it’s a workstation with sewing machines?

the red, white and blue bits of cloth catch your eyes as you inch neare-

thud.

“y/n!” ransom shouts, but it’s distant.

too distant.

“yea, i’m here! i fell.,” you groan in pain, “somewhere. be car-.”

thud.

“fucking hell.” ransom curses, rubbing his shoulder, writhing in pain on the ground.

you’d be screaming at his stupid ass if only you weren’t doing the same, all feelings in your left leg lost.

“didn’t you see me fall?” you grit your teeth, clutching your leg.

he moans, slowly rolling over to his face.

“great! we’re both stuck here.”

you crane your neck to look up at the crack of light at the top, maybe a good four stories from where you’re sitting?

it was a miracle neither of you plunged to your death.

your hands fumble around the cold ground, feeling for your gun when you hear it.

a low, gentle whirring but it’s definitely not red wing this time.

you frantically scramble to your feet, left leg screaming in anguish even at the slightest pressure.

your hands reach out and this time they land on something hard.

something cold, much like the ground itself with ridged lines and creases.

it’s the wall.

but you could’ve sworn it wasn’t there before...

“the walls, they’re caving in.” you breathe out, instinctively backing away.

the familiar dread building up in your heart seemed to dull whatever pain resided in your leg.

“hey! get up.” you hop towards him but he brushes you off with a wave of his hand, still squirming in pain.

the whirring stops abruptly, along with the walls.

“bucky? sam? can you hear me?!” you yell into the ear comm, only to hear distorted sounds.

your eyes are adjusted enough to see the space between the two walls has decreased significantly.

ransom pushes his body off the ground with his shaky arms, slowly getting on his feet.

“am i crazy or did the wall move?” he breathes out, touching it.

“yea,” you exhale, closing your eyes shut, “yea, it did.”

“y/n!”

your ears perk up at the familiar voice.

“down here!” you yell, not sure if your voice can even be heard from where you are.

then like music to your ears, a familiar scarlet buzzes towards you two.

“sam!” you wave your hands at red wing hovering over you two.

his voice crackles “we’re trying to shut the whole place down, we’ll get you out.”

“the walls-.”

the whirring starts again as if reminded about what it needs to do.

red wing bumps against the contracting walls, falling into a heap of metal next to your feet.

you limp closer and closer to ransom, the wall centimetres away from your back, both of you realising the only way to have more space.

he pulls you into his chest, his good shoulder around you.

tears well up at your eyes, the crippling feeling sneaking in again.

these endurance tests are meant to help you get over your fears and phobias.

steve’d lied.

the endurance tests didn’t work.

because you were struggling to breathe, air hitched in your throat.

“it stopped, the walls.” ransom can barely move his body around, back hitting a hard boundary whenever he tries to.

balled up fists hanging desperately onto his clothes, you’re sobbing now, a hysterical mess.

the air only seemed to thin out more and more, your lungs straining for oxygen.

he watches in horror, the tiny space filled with your desperate gasps and whimpers.

you’re having a panic atta-

think, ransom.

what calms you down?

“you know, sometimes i look up at the stars at night when i can’t sleep.” he blubbers out, heart racing.

anything to just get you to stop trembling like that.

“i just lay in my bed - i have this window on my ceiling - and i look up at it.”

he’s unsure as he continues.

“reminds me of the glow in the dark stickers i had back in fourth grade.”

and of his fleeting childhood.

“did you have those? the $1 a pack with all the crazy fonts?” he whispers in your ear, tapping your back for an answer.

you manage a small nod, biting down your quivering lip.

who didn’t have those ugly stickers that seemed to fall off the very day you put them up.

“take a deep breath, can you do that for me?” he cooes, wincing when he brings his other shoulder around you.

he’s pretty sure it’s broken.

“c'mon, i’ll do it with you,” he pats your back, signalling you to inhale.

so you do.

you focus on the pace of his chest rising up and down steadily, willing yourself to do the same.

it was kind of working? whatever he was doing.

with those arms around you, whispers of sweet nothings in your ears, mediating your breathing.

until the whirring started again.

-

a/n : ohshsjsnssjsteysys pt 3 finally uppp :)))

tags : @readermia @inmate-marmalade @randomsevans @xoxabs88xox @thebadassbitchqueen @mypalbuck @natrushman3000 @townwitchbitch

[inskz]

lucky charm - lee minho

pairing - lee minho x reader

genre - college!au, best friends to lovers, very cliche fluff (lucky girl starring lindsey lohan kinda vibes???)

words - 4k

note - this is just a cute little drabble i wrote while im still waiting for my covid test results to come back so that i can leave my room and see the sun again 🤪 pls be careful everybody take care of your health 💚 enjoy!!!

- - - - -

“You must be kidding me,” you sigh when you see Minho’s hand has turned into a fist, his rock crushing miserably your scissors. Once again, you lost at rock, paper, scissors. And once again, you’re the one that is going to wash your best friend’s dishes that have piled up in is tiny kitchen sink throughout the week.

“Fuck that. This is so unfair,” you grumble, throwing the dishtowel in Minho’s stupid yet perfectly chiseled face.

You make a beeline for his bed, which is actually only a few steps away from the kitchen. Being a broke college student definitely doesn’t allow him to rent a spacious studio, let alone a two-room apartment. You throw yourself headfirst onto his uncomfortable mattress, whose springs always poke your back at night.

“Life is so unfair,” your friend mocks you, dragging out every vowel of his sentence dramatically.

No doubt, you would be strangling him at that very moment if you weren’t so busy playing dead, hoping he would forget about your pitiful existence.

But there is no way mister Lee Minho would miss out on an opportunity to have his gross plates cleaned by someone else. Grabbing onto your ankle, he drags you out of bed until you plop down on the dirty carpeted floor (Minho has the unfortunate tendency to procrastinate vacuuming too). At this point, you are fake crying, throwing a literal tantrum, like a 6 years old child would.

“Life is unfair!” you yell, your feet kicking in the air in pure anger.

At least it is to you. You can’t remember the last time you’ve been lucky. The only instance you got remotely close to it was when you found a four-leaf clover last summer. Well, only if you disregard the fact you stepped into dog poop  on your way to picking it. Oh and that you were wearing brand new white Converse. 

On the other hand, it seems like the boy has the whole crew of the Olympus gods on his side. Not one day goes by without his guardian angel manifesting its presence. 

Minho has always been the lucky type. The type to get an extra nugget in his box of 10. To find 20 dollars bills on the ground. To win every single Instagram giveaway he participates to (and lord knows how much he likes participating to them). 

But how can you be mad at him when he always happily shares his food with you, invites you to the restaurant without you even asking, and gives you his prizes, pretending he doesn’t need them? You don’t believe him when he says he see no use in a panda onesie or a waterproof bluetooth speaker. Deep down, you know it’s his way to silently love you. 

But well, you can still blame him for occasionally taking advantage of your misfortune to make you do his dreaded house chores, just like right now. 

Everyone thinks you are a bizarre duo. Even you can’t fathom how in hell you two became best friends, considering how awfully your first encounter went three years ago. 

On orientation day, he asked you for the time, probably because his phone was dead (or maybe because he was dying to talk to you?)

Without hesitation, you lifted and rotated your wrist so that you could see your watch. Little did you remember; you never actually owned a watch and you were holding a fancy 7 dollars iced coffee, which, of course, did not have a lid on because plastic is bad for the environment (duh). 

Minho couldn’t help but burst out in hysterical laughter when the whole drink spilled on your jeans. For your defense, you didn’t sleep at all the night before  since you were terrified of being alone in your new dorm room the first few days (weird stuff happens all the time in dorms, okay?). If he had asked you for your name, you probably wouldn’t even have been able to tell him. 

But Minho thought you were the funniest person on campus, and he really needed a clown like you to entertain him throughout his endless college semesters. That’s what he told you anyways. Not that he thought you were the cutest human being he had ever seen. 

Why would he when you are the literal definition of a mess: always having toothpaste stains on your sweater, bags under your eyes, messy hair, tripping and falling, missing buses, breaking things, losing stuff. 

Most of the time, you just forget your keys and Minho lets you crash at his place since he hasn’t got any roommate and he isn’t used to sleeping alone, especially without his cats. It surely isn’t because he loves waking up next to a very groggy but adorable you every single morning, no.  

Minho manages to bring you back to the countertop despite your reluctance. Positioned behind you, his arms trapping your body to make sure you can’t run away from your duties, he dips your hands into the soapy water, and you can’t help but squirm at the touch of an unknown substance sticking to a plate that has probably been soaking here for a week. You despise doing the dishes and your friend knows it.

You hear him giggle in your ear while he is playing with your arms like you are some type of marionette, making you to take the sponge and squeeze dish soap onto it. 

You’ve never been the kind to like proximity nor seemed to be Minho, but for some reason, you always end up glued to each other. You hate public displays of attention and pet names a little less when it comes from him. Or maybe you don’t hate it at all and actually crave it every single minute that goes by.

Before he has the time to come up with the Machiavellian idea to soak your pajamas in dirty water (because you know he would inevitably have at some point), you yank his hands off of you and start scrubbing angrily the dirty cups. 

Minho stays behind you anyways, observing your every move, his chin propped up on your shoulder like a curious little bird. To be honest, his presence is kind of getting overwhelming. But whatever, it’s not like his slightest touch makes your heart warm up in comfort or that he smells like fresh linen drying out on the porch of a cottage house on a sunny Sunday morning or anything. 

“You missed a spot. Here” he murmurs teasingly, his lips almost touching your earlobe, while he points at the handle of his hideous ‘world’s greatest dad’ mug Jisung gifted him last christmas. 

You know he has noticed the way you shivered violently at the feeling of his breath tickling your skin because he starts snickering loudly. 

“I swear to god if you don’t shut up and go seat on the couch, I’ll slap you so hard with this spatula you’ll regret you were even born,” you say, turning around suddenly to menace him with the plastic utensil. 

Of course, he isn’t afraid one bit. Right now, you really wish you could make the smug, but oh so attractive, look on his face disappear. 

“Alright, ma’am” he laughs, holding up his hands in surrender. “I’ll let you do your thing”. He lets himself fall onto his dingy couch. 

You can hear him humming one of his favorite songs above the sound of the water running. It would probably be getting on your nerves if his voice wasn’t so pretty.  

“Chan’s sick, so we’re not going to the gym tomorrow night. Do you wanna eat tacos? El Huero has even better deals than usual” he asks you, scrolling mindlessly through his phone. 

“Aren’t the deals supposed to be on Tuesdays?” You frown and scrub a little harder the frying pan Minho has burnt the night before while trying to make chocolate chips pancakes for diner, because why eat savory food when you can have dessert for every meal, right? It is one of the few advantages of living without your parents you both truly enjoy. 

“Yeah, that’s what I said. Tomorrow,” he yawns, probably exhausted after what you put him through last night. You forced him to catch up on the entire season of Love Island because you desperately needed someone to bitch with, and what better partner than Lee Minho.  

You take a quick glance at him and see him stretching himself across the cushions like a cat. You always thought there was something feline about his features. While you’re drying the mugs with the dishtowel, your mind wanders uncontrollably, thinking about his piercing eyes, his delicate nose, the corners of his lips that curl up a little… 

All of the sudden, your hands freeze. Minho is too immersed in TikToks to notice the stupor on your face. “Wait. Today is… Monday?” you stutter. 

Alarmed by the sound of your voice, his eyes finally leave his phone’s screen to look up at you. “Yeah” he repeats slowly as if you are the dumbest person he has ever encountered. 

And you truly are. You are pretty sure your heart has stopped beating. Minho’s “world’s greatest dad” mug you’re holding slips between your fingers and comes crashing on the floor with a deafening sound. The pieces are now scattered all around you, making you unable to make out what’s written on it anymore. Not a big loss, if you ask. 

“Y/N, you know that’s my favorite mug!” he exclaims, leaping up from the couch. “I’m sure you did it on purpose,” he mutters while he’s trying to collect the small fragments, in vain. 

But you’re too shocked at this very moment to pay attention to the glare your friend is giving you. To be honest, Minho has only two moods: glaring at you or teasing you.  

“My interview,” you finally manage to say, and Minho’s eyes go wide as he realizes the critical situation you’re in. 

You check the time on the microwave: 10:45. In 30 minutes, you’re supposed to be on the other side of town, being interrogated by boring businessmen that are going to decide whether or not you’ll be accepted for a paid internship in one of the most reputable music label of the country. Basically, decide whether you’ll live a happy and fulfilling life, working in the sector you’ve always dreamed of or end up miserable with a boring office job and a massive college debt. 

“Holy shit,” Minho whispers. You can see a wave of panic washing across his face for a split second, but, as always, he manages to find his composure back immediately. 

He has never been the kind to lose his cool, except to scold you when you forget the names of his cats and their respective coats’ color (which you unfortunately often did forget). 

“What are you doing? Get dressed!” He tells you when he sees you’re still standing there dumbfounded in the kitchen, like the famous Robert Pattinson meme, wearing an oversize Kermit the frog shirt with a dozen holes in it and his favorite Adidas sweatpants you always stole from him.

“No, it’s too late. I can’t make it,” you mutter, your breath short. You’re paralyzed, as if there is a 20lbs rock sitting at the bottom of your stomach, pinning you to the ground. 

This isn’t bad luck, you think. This is karma. This is what you get for skipping classes to watch telereality shows in your bed with your best friend and not even realizing it isn’t the weekend anymore.

“Miss me with that bullshit.” He runs to his closet and rummages through his drawers, throwing every piece of clothing that’s on his way to find an appropriate outfit that would fit you. 

“You’re gonna go do this interview even if I have to drag you all the way there.” He pushes you into his bathroom since you still haven’t moved an inch. 

You manage to brush your teeth and your hair, fighting through the nauseous feeling that is building up in your tummy. 

When you come back to the living room, Minho has found dress pants and a sweater that might not look utterly ridiculous on you. He lets you change in a corner, while he runs around the room collecting all your essentials. 

“You’re coming?” you ask him when you see he is already wearing his puffer jacket.  

“You really think I’m gonna let you go all by yourself when you’re literally not even able to put your shoes on properly”. You are, indeed, struggling with your laces, as if your fingers are suddenly made out of butter. 

Minho ties them up for you and you literally feel like he’s your babysitter. You know you’re gonna hear about this for months – what are you saying- years! But all you can think about at the moment though, is the fact that sneakers are definitely not appropriate for an interview. 

He throws your warmest coat at you, grab his keys, and by some type of miracle, you’re both out to the door in less than 10 minutes. 

You try to call the elevator, but Minho grabs your arm and leads you to the staircase. His hand never leaving yours, he runs down the stairs and you have no choice but to follow him as fast as you can. 

You can’t count how many times you missed a step and fell at this particularly slippery spot, between the 5th and the 4th floor, but weirdly enough, it doesn’t happen today. 

When you finally reach the ground floor, you exit the complex and Minho hops on his old and rusty bike that he had attached to nearest tree the night before.

“There’s no way I’m riding behind you on this death machine,” you laugh nervously. The memory of that one time Minho convinced you to seat into his bicycle basket (as if you could even realistically fit in it) and you both fell seconds after he started to pedal is coming back to your mind.

Sure, it was after a long night of drinking, you were both tipsy and it was the only way to get you home since you had spent all your uber money at the bar, but still! You’re pretty sure the bruise on your butt hasn’t disappeared to this day.  

“Hurry up,” Minho groans, ignoring your complaint. You unwillingly seat on his flimsy pannier rack and wrap your arms around his torso. 

You haven’t even left, yet you’re already holding onto his puffer jacket for dear life. A giggle escapes your friend’s mouth (which you think is very inappropriate in such a desperate situation) before he lifts his feet off the ground and starts pedaling. 

You try to ignore the loud squeaking of the bicycle drive by shutting your eyes tighter and rehearsing your introduction you have prepared over and over in your head. No matter how hard you are trying, you can’t remember what you are supposed to say just after your age (which, as you can imagine, isn’t really far into your monologue). 

By the way the wind is lashing your face, you can tell Minho has picked up the speed. His breathing is getting louder, his heartbeat faster and you can’t help but think you’re probably way too heavy for him to bike you around like that. Maybe he shouldn’t skip his gym sessions with Chan so often. Or maybe you shouldn’t have eaten the leftover pancakes for breakfast after all.

You find the courage to open your eyelids and are pleased to see you’re already halfway there, probably because every single one of the traffic lights you encounter is green, and your friend is going surprisingly fast. Is luck finally starting to smile upon you? 

Your mad race comes to a halt when you reach the address of your interview. You hop off the bike and so does Minho who, by the way, is a panting mess. He’s barely able to catch his breath, strands of hair sticking to his sweaty forehead, but he’s beaming at you when he realizes you’re just on time. 

“Go” he gasps, pushing you in the direction of the building’s hall. 

You walk up to the glass door but as your hands are about to push it, you pull a 180. Your friend sighs loudly, already knowing what’s coming next. 

“Wait. No. I can’t do this. I’m not prepared” you tell him frantically. “I’m freaking out. I think I’m gonna pass out.” You are now walking in circles, mumbling incoherently. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.” 

Your heart is racing in your chest and your hands are getting clammy at the simple thought of failure. But guess what? You can’t fail if you don’t even try! One more good reason to just go back to bed and forget about your sad life for a good 8 hours, right? 

“Y/N, you’re the most talented person I know, you’re gonna do just fine” Minho catches you in his arm to stop your endless pacing. You would probably think this gesture is endearing if it wasn’t just meant to make sure you couldn’t run for your life.  

“No, I’m not. What if I throw up in front of everybody like that one time during the Romeo and Juliet musical?” You look up at him and his face is only inches away from yours. You’re sure you would be swooning at how beautiful he looks if you weren’t so terrified at this very moment.

“You were nine,” your best friend says, and you swear you have never heard him speak to you in such a sweet tone before. His voice is like honey and lavander but it doesn’t soothe you like it should. 

You manage to break free from his embrace to crouch down, in an attempt to slow down your breathing. If only you had data left, you could be watching those short relaxing videos on your phone. They always work. But no, you had to spent it all on online games, just one week into the month. You really are beyond help.  

“Y/N I know you’re scared, but if you miss out on this opportunity, you’re gonna regret it for the rest of your life.” Minho is lowering himself so that you can hear him, even though you’re curled up in a ball. 

“And I’m warning you, I won’t want to hear you complain about it,” he adds, this whole situation obviously starting to get on his nerves. 

If you were him, you would have probably left a long time ago. But this isn’t your best friend’s way of behaving. You know he would never abandon you no matter how annoying you could be (and you could be very annoying sometimes). After all, he is always the one holding your hair while you puke in the toilets when you had a couple too many drinks.

It takes all your willpower to stand up but there is no other way, you have to do it. You can hear the time ticking dangerously in your mind, as if your brain had turned into a clock.

“You’re right. Slap me,” you say, looking at him straight in the eyes, dead serious. 

“Wha -“

“Slap some sense into me. They do that in movies when people are panicking. It’s like throwing a bucket of cold water in someone’s face. But clearly we don’t have a bucket and we don’t have cold wa- “ you start blabbering. 

“What the fuck are you talking about? I’m not gonna slap you!” Your friend isn’t usually that horrified at the thought of beating your ass. In fact, he has felt the desire to rip your head off more than once, especially when you’d steal all the duvet at night, but at this moment he is just scared you might have actually lost your mind.  

“Just fucking do it Minho!” you scream, your hands clenching the front of his grey hoodie he always looks so divine in. 

Minho has never obeyed you, and this is not the day he is going to start. 

He puts both of his hands on the sides of your face and crashes his lips onto yours. 

You would be lying if you said you have never imagined the day your best friend would kiss you. It happens pretty much every single time you look at his cute pout a little too long. But one thing is certain, it isn’t like you pictured it to be at all.

You were convinced your heart would go so wild it would burst out of your chest and your head would spin so furiously you’d lose your balance. You thought your stomach would fill with butterflies to the brim and your whole body would be on fire.

But none of that is happening. On the contrary, every single muscle in your body relaxes under his touch. The way his soft mouth presses gently against yours makes you calmer, almost at peace amongst all this turmoil. 

Minho is kissing all your tension and stress away and you catch yourself letting a sigh of relief escape your parted lips.

As if you have kissed him already hundreds of times in your past life, Minho feels like home. He’s a safe haven you can always take refuge in during troubled times. Ever since the day you met, he has never left your side.

When he breaks away from the kiss, you notice your breath isn’t so ragged and your mind isn’t so foggy anymore. You’re serene. His cold hands are still cupping your face, slightly squishing your cheeks, and you feel like an idiot sandwich for asking him to slap you seconds before.

“That can work too, I guess…” you mutter.  

“You’re okay?” he asks, staring at you with the softest eyes you’ve ever seen.

You just nod, unable to say one more word, and sprint to the entrance, not wanting to make your interviewers wait any longer than they already have.

“Good luck!” You hear him yell just before the door closes behind you and you can’t help but grin from ear to ear.

- - - - - 

Thirty minutes later, you finally step out of the fancy lobby to find a very bored Minho leaning against a tree, patiently waiting for you.

“You’re still here?”

“Of course, I am,” he says, his mouth full of croissant. He gives you a large iced coffee he probably went buying to kill time. Your lips unconsciously curl up into a smile when you notice it comes from the same chain that the one you spilled on your lap on the day you first met him. 

“How did it go?” he asks you, sticking his buttery pastry into your mouth so that you can take a bite.

“Way better than I thought” you answer, right after you swallowed. You hate the way flakes would always get stuck between your teeth. But Minho is always there to warn you about it before anyone else notices, and even pick them for you if you can’t manage to, which, when you think about it, is kind of gross. 

There are two things the boy knows about you: you’re the greatest pessimist on earth and you’d rather die than admit you were wrong (especially if it meant he was right). So for you to even say it wasn’t that bad, means it went phenomenal. 

“I don’t want to say ‘I told you so’ but I told you so.” He smiles so wide you can barely see his eyes anymore. You have to look away, otherwise you know you might become instantly blinded by love.

“Maybe I could use some more of your luck” you mumble, staring at your shoes and kicking the red leaves that were surrounding your feet on this sunny autumn morning. 

“Really? And what makes you think I’ll share it with you,” he teases you, leaning forward to incite you to look at him in the eyes. 

“That.”

Your hand finds the back of his neck and pulls him in, in order to close the space that is still left between your mouths.

At first, Minho stiffens, taken aback by your bold move. But soon enough, he caves into your touch. He kisses you back fervently, like he means it. 

His fingers entagle in your hair, his arm wraps around your waist and his chest presses against your body. You’re melting in his embrace, submerged by a wave of bliss which he alone seems to know the recipe. 

It feels new, yet so familiar. Like it was supposed to happen, like it was written in the stars. 

He tastes like croissant and Americano. Like fortune and fate. 

And you can’t help but think you’re the luckiest person on earth.

Who cares about winning the lottery when Lee Minho is your lucky charm? 

[emilycollins00]

Two faces of the same coin

Pairing: Tenma x ghost-looking! reader. Part 2

Part 1

Here we go! Enjoy! 💕

.

You were used to people reacting a certain way when seeing you since you were young.

Be it your pale skin, eyebags or voice, you ended up not taking it too personally as you grew up. After all it was a general statement you didn't have the best sleeping pattern, and that your hair and posture needed to be worked on. Still, you enjoy peaceful time alone -no glances or scared whispers- although you had to admit this boy had broken a record.

"Dammit...!"

After even frightening you from the intense shriek that came out of his throat, in a poor attempt to run away from you he had stumbled and crashed into a chair so hard you were now wincing as he fell to the harsh floor.

Ouch. Concerned, you approached the groaning teen in pain. “Are you-?” Tenma didn't let you even finish. Violently shaking he turned his back on you, curling into a ball.

“This is not real, this is not real, this is not...!"

He kept mentioning words like curse and death in between, and you could only stare back trying to process what was happening. "Sorry If I scared you. I was-”

“I won't say anything!" he kept on pleading, refusing to open his eyes "I really-REALLY don't taste good please just let me leave!!"

It wasn’t working. You decided to get up from the floor, which only made Tenma pale even more at the sound of something moving.

“I won’t, uh- do anything.” you hesitated. “You, uh, hurt your head right?”

The loud and repetitive pleads died slowly on his lips, and as he opened one eye to glance your way he might have as well. Pale face, somber looks… you both stood in silence in the empty room for a while, you waiting patiently.

"...what?"

He seemed to find again his voice, or at least enough for you to hear. You brushed the dust off you as he flinched at the sudden movement, still on guard.

"I'm, uh- I'm not a ghost." You took out your student card, your name and student photo -equally terrifying some would say. "See?"

An uncomfortable silence filled the air.

Tenma stares at you for a long moment. One could practically see the wheels turning in his head, trying to keep up. And then, just as quickly as he had paled, the color red made way to his face.

“…ah?”

Right. Great answer.

You tilted your head while putting the student card back in your pocket. Maybe he hit his head harder than it looked? “So... what are you doing here? Not that you can't, I guess. I also like it here even though we are not supposed to but- you know. You surprised me a bit too."

Tenma's eyebrows knitted together as he slowly stood up from the floor, not understanding what you were saying. The adrenaline rush was leaving him and could feel himself starting to calm down a little, finally letting his guards down.

“What do you mean. I-Isn’t a library a normal place to work?”

“Yeah. This is the old building though. The new one is on the opposite side..."

You waited patiently watching how Tenma breathed in once again, crimson becoming more and more intense as seconds passed. You had never seen anyone behave like that and he hoped the ground could swallow him about right now. “I... I knew that! I knew that I was just looking around because uh- I’ve never seen this place before!”

“It is rusty.”

More awkward silence from you both. Tenma looked at you and at his pile of books. You looked at them too in reflex, not understanding why a student could have so much book carrying around. "Sumeragi... Tenma?"

"Don't look!" said leader troupe was quick to hide his name, though he was well aware it didn't matter at this point. He tried to avoid your gaze. Shit. Shit, shit, shit last thing he needed today. "Just- don't tell anyone. I'm serious!"

Without sparing another second glance at you and still feeling his face burning, he took everything and left.

His forehead hurt.

One week later

“Why do we have to do this every time?”

“Come on! Don’t tell me you’re afraid to lose?"

“I am not afraid to lose." Tenma frowned at the other two members of mankai. The three were sitting under the shade of a tree in the courtyard, something they took as a routine whenever they didn’t use the cafeteria. Background laughs and conversations could be heard from students around the patio, enjoying their free time before the bell rang and called them back again to their respective classes. He huffed. "This is stupid."

"Got it!" Taichi moved around his arm dramatically "Ready…? Rock, paper, scissors!”

Three hands presented their results with different reactions altogether.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Aw yeah, paper is the best! It's your turn to go buy drinks Ten-chan!”

“I wanna strawberry juice.”

“Soda for me!”

“Tsk,” Tenma squinted his eyes at his hand and sighed, getting up and dusting away grass from his uniform, taking their coins. “Fine. Strawberry juice and a Green tea.”

“H-hold on, I said soda!”

“I’ll get going.”

“Yeah.”

“Ten-chan I was joking please!!”

It had been a few days after the library incident and so far, he hadn't heard any weird rumor of him- to which he counted it as a big safe considering the situation. Weird, but safe.

“Oh come on.”

After buying Taichi’s and Juza’s drinks, Tenma kept shoving his hand into his pockets, cursing at his emptiness. He was sure he had brought his wallet with him to school… maybe he left it in his room after all? A sigh left his lips, wondering how long would his bad luck last.

Until his exams passed maybe? He hoped not. He had managed to get Tsumugi to teach him at night after a few days of begging his homeroom teacher, revising together all concepts that Tenma couldn't seem to grasp. It had been embarrassing to let him check all his late school results, but at the end of the day it was Tsumugi. And well, Tsumugi was fine. Unlike Itaru, he was always-

“Excuse me.”

Tenma covered his mouth at the close sound of the eerie voice. A shiver definitely running from the last strands of hair until his very own toenails.

Yeah, finding you blinking at him- too close for his taste- took all the strength he had to not scream in public. He stepped back from you. his heart practically on his throat. “W-what are you doing!?”

“Ah, sorry. Thought talking louder would be better. Didn't mean to scare you”

“UH?! I-I wasn’t scared! I-uh, I was just surprised!" Even in plain daylight of the hall in comparison to the sinister darkness of the old library room, Tenma still felt like he was talking to a- Well.

A ghost.

You took a step back away from him too, pointing your forehead “You don't have a bump anymore.”

He touched his own forehead unconsciously. Right, Igawa had made a fuss about it when he saw it. Thanks to Omi’s ointment though it was already almost not existent though. He always worried too much.

“I’m glad.”

"Uh, thanks."

Very much opposite to your physical appearance, your voice while husky and kinda odd, was calm. It made Tenma feel weird, though it was probably because you kept staring at him. Why didn’t you go away?

“Are you... a fan? Do you want like, an autograph or something?”

You pointed behind him. "I was just waiting for my turn.”

His cheeks grew warm self-consciously, moving so you could insert your coins.

“I’m guessing you couldn't find more coins for three drinks,” You suddenly commented looking at the drinks in his hands. Ignoring his confused face, you crouched down and picked the drink, turning to him. "You complained kinda loud so... here. Not sure if you'll like it but I think it's good."

"What? I don't need it."

“It’s fine. Take it as an apology." you shrugged offhandedly. You placed it on top of his other drinks and turned once again to the machine. "It was my fault I scared you anyway.”

Tenma stared at your hunched figure while you got another drink. "Then," you waved your hand slightly and left the place quietly to who knows where.

He didn't even manage to wave back. What had just happened?

“Oh man...”

“Tenma-kun, are you okay?”

Students' whispers made him come back to his senses, losing sight of the path you had walked out. “What?”

“Did that person say anything weird to you? You know, like threaten you or something.” they pointed to where you left

“Uh- no.”

Some sighed relieved while others stared at the machine, as if you might have cursed- somehow.

Tenma frowned. It was true it hadn't been the smoothest conversation, but saying you might have tried to do something to him felt wrong. "Why do you all say that?"

"Ah? Mmm well..."

"Just look at them I guess."

"Yeah I don't know man. Gives me the creeps whenever they walk around. As if our school wasn't already scary inducing."

"Whoah, that's so mean."

"Are you saying you don't think it's true?"

"Tenma-kun, if you have time want to come have lunch with us? We..."

As they kept talking, Tenma looked down, the drink you had bought in his hand; Chocolate milkshake.

"It was my fault I scared you anyway.”

Later on

“Stupid old library...” he found himself growling for the umpteenth time "Should have just leave it be."

Another week had passed before he found the courage and once again, adventured himself around the old halls, carrying one chocolate drink.

I must have gone crazy.

Tenma just didn’t wanna be in debt with anyone. Yeah, that was it. Even if you scared the soul out of him, he had somewhat gotten the sense that you weren’t all bad -although your memories still left him trembling- and if there was something he hated more than anything, it was people making assumptions of others. He learned it from Mankai. Especially from his own troupe.

“Are you lost again?”

However old habits are hard to break.

“Dammit! Do you always need to talk like that?!"

"It's my voice, can't help it." You two had found each other at the corner of the hall. Tenma wasn't sure if this counted as good or bad. "…Do you need help to find the new library? I can draw you a map if you want me to”

“I-I was just about to do it, I don’t need-!”

“Ah- you should be careful not to crash on a chair again. Some are really old“

He placed the two drinks on the table making you blink, not sure how to react.

The awkward silence stretched, and Tenma felt his own cheeks heat up. "D-don't misunderstand, I just don't like to be indebted and I really didn't need that drink last time okay?"

A few seconds pass by. And then. Then he hears your laugh.

“You’re a really nice guy you know.”

His stomach jumps and doesn’t say anything for a while. Embarrassing. He felt his face was going to light on fire. He tried to focus his attention on something else- Not that he enjoyed it. The place itself wasn't comfortable looking.

“...Why do you hide here anyway? It doesn’t help with, well,” he didn't finish the sentence, feeling it sounded wrong -even though it was kinda true.

“I wouldn't say I hide" You hummed mindlessly while opening the drink, giving it a go before turning your attention back to him "I found it a few months ago while looking for a place to study. People overreact when they see me, so I’ve been coming here. I think it’s a pretty chill place myself.”

Tenma stared at you. At your dark eye bags and messy hair. You could definitely get a role in any horror movie you might want for sure. Yet there you were, happily drinking a chocolate milkshake in the old side of your very own high school.

“...You are weird.”

You laughed again. “For someone who’s supposed to be scared but still frequents the same place, I’d say the same about you.”

__________________________________

When I said it was gonna be a long request I meant it.

Have a wonderful day! 💕

Part 3 soon!