#so it's nice to like. get some of that creativity flowing again. even though it's on like 10% brain power
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ruvviks · 9 months ago
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in more exciting news i finished outlining the diner so i can finally get a move on with draft zero :^)
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arcaneauthor · 3 months ago
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Cute things Bang Chan does as your bf
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Pairing: Bang Chan x Reader
Author’s note: Just something sweet and simple to get my creative writing juices flowing again. Lmk which member you’d like me to do next!
Warnings: none? Mentioned neck kiss, Just pure fluff really
Tags: established relationship, fluffity fluff, Chan being absolutely adorable bf material
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Pulls you into his lap while he works on music, head layed on your shoulder giving you periodic sweet neck kisses.
Always turns music on while the two of you cook cause he likes how intimate it feels to just laugh and dance around the kitchen with you
When you two go out he always either has ahold of your hand or guides you with a hand on your lower back especially in big crowds just to make sure your safe (also partly because he just likes having physical contact with you at anytime he can)
Back hugs 24/7. I mean he’s literally hanging off of you like a koala any chance he gets.
Will purposefully leave his hoodies lying around your place for you to find and wear, not to have some kind of stupid “claim” over you but just because he thinks you look extremely cute in his over sized clothes and plus he knows you like wearing them so
Has a secret little album of songs he’s made just for you (though his ears are bright red when he first shows them to you cause he’s afraid you’ll think it’s stupid or cringey)
Loves giving physical affection but if you give it to him it’s gonna embarrass the hell out of him. Not to say he doesn’t like it, he loves it, but we’re talking about face flaming, head ducked, face covered. Especially if it’s with other people around.
On the topic of physical affection, he will always either hold your hand or have a hand on your thigh while driving
This man can not take a compliment but he sure as heck can give one. he’s literally got something nice to say about you 24/7, no matter what. “You look really nice today” “Chris I’m literally still in my pajamas”
If you’re the same height or taller than him (which I am) he’ll constantly be joking around by getting on his tiptoes around you to make him the same height/taller. Especially in photos.
No matter how tired he is from work he’ll always make time for you. Whether that be planning elaborate dates or just taking the time to watch a movie with you. It doesn’t matter how big it is as long as you’re doing it together. “Chan it’s okay just go to sleep you’re tired.” “No no, I’m fine. I can make it through one movie” and then he ends up falling asleep before the movies even halfway finished
We all know Chris loves him some bracelets so he’s definitely buying you matching ones
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End notes: I promise I’ll write an actual story one day lol
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lovemybluebully · 3 months ago
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Over My Dead Body
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Got writer's block on the fic I mentioned with X23 so I wrote this to keep my creative juices flowing. 😁 Hope you guys don't mind. lol I swear this was just going to be a little drabble, buuuuuuut I got carried away. It was just like, I have an idea! Oooh I have another idea! And then it just spiraled. 🤣 I suck at writing short fics. lol
Probably not my best work, but just a little silliness between these two guys. Another fic where Wade discovers Logan is ticklish and goes all out on him. I very much enjoy tickle origin fics. 🥰
Again some somewhat movie spoilers, but if you haven't seen the biggest movie in the world by now then that's your fault. lol Then of course the typical foul language and Deadpool's dirty mouth.
"Deadpool and Wolverine"-verse
M/M Tickle Fic
Word Count: 5,139
"Fucking give me that remote, Wilson!" Logan let out a teeth-bared snarl while chasing Wade comically around and around the couch like in a Scooby Doo cartoon.
"But baby cakes, I want to watch 'Touched By An Angel'! Wade snickered, managing to stay just one step ahead.
"Fuck that shit! This is the final round for the Flames in the Stanley Cup, and I am NOT missing it!" He finally caught up to Wade and took him down with a flying tackle of heavy adamantium as they both crashed to the floor and the tv remote went sailing out of reach.
Logan quickly scrambled to his feet as he made a break for it, but Wade successfully grabbed his leg to trip him as he hit the floor again with the merc now up and giggling as he ran to claim the prize.
"Yessss! Home run! And the crowd goes wild!" Wade mimicked the sounds of a cheering stadium while triumphantly holding the remote over his head. However, this was instantaneously followed by a loud growl from Logan as he charged his roommate like a bull and slammed into him harder than a Mack truck.
Wade didn't have time to yelp as his body went flying across the room though the remote had been knocked from his grasp and dropped to the ground, exploding the case open as the batteries all popped out. Logan reached down to pick it all up, shaking his head in annoyance as he walked back over towards the couch and tried to jam the batteries back in properly.
"Motherfucking idiot. Just sit your stupid ass down and take the L. I'm putting on the hockey game and that's that."
But Wade wasn't through yet. He was having too much fun with this! He was always trying to get Logan to roughhouse and play with him, but with the X-man being such a stiff it was hard to get him to let loose. Alcohol usually played a big factor in getting Logan to loosen his inhibitions and engage, but at the current moment he was sober as a judge. 
Pissing him off was the next best thing, and Wade loved a good chase and the physical contact, even if it was of the more painful variety. They had a rule about not spilling any blood inside the apartment, but he knew Logan could be pushed too far sometimes and forget about that so Wade would usually back off before he reached that point.
Though at this present time he had only antagonized him a little bit so he knew Logan would be able to tolerate him just a smidge more.
Logan's hypersensitive ears easily picked up the sound of the energetic man coming at him again as he turned around just as Wade plowed all of his weight into him to tackle him onto the couch. Wade quickly took the position to straddle the man's thighs and started making grabs for the remote as growling curses were hurled at him.
"Goddammit! You juvenile fucking moron! Just back off! The only way you're getting this is over my dead body!"
"Bet," Deadpool nodded and kept up in his efforts.
As they played slap-hands fighting to get a hold of the controller it slipped from their grip, hitting Logan in the face on its way down before sliding inside his collar down into his button-up overshirt.
"Nice going, captain loser. Don't worry, I'll get it!" Wade immediately went after it as he haphazardly began squeezing and poking around Logan's midsection as he tried to find the location of the remote hidden beneath the fabric.
As irritated as he was Logan now found that he had a new problem as his body started involuntarily reacting to the way Wade was grabbing at him. It was making his skin crawl. Shivers running up his spine as he began to writhe underneath the other man, trying to avoid the touches.
"Stop squirming, would you? You're making this way harder than it has to be. And I can't find the remote either," Wade teased, always managing to slip in inappropriate innuendos, but Logan was too occupied to make a sarcastic retort as he frantically tried to grab and get control of Wade's busy hands.
"Q-Quit it, shithead!" Logan gritted through his teeth as Wade just clucked his tongue and shook his head.
"Oh c'mon! Stop fighting it and just give it up!" Wade's words held a double meaning in this situation as his hands moved lower, giving the grump a particularly firm squeeze around his hips as Logan couldn't hold it in anymore. 
His back arched off the couch accompanied by a loud snort; his nose scrunched as a soft string of giggles tumbled their way out. 
Upon hearing that Wade immediately stopped what he was doing; practically frozen in shock as he stared down at the bigger male below him. After a few long, tense moments a slow grin of realization started to spread over his face and Logan was suddenly overcome with a feeling of immense dread at what was about to transpire.
"Did...Did you just giggle?"
"....No," was all Logan could say lamely; his uneasy mind not allowing him to come up with anything else as Wade only smiled more.
"Now here's the plot twist that I never would have expected. You wanna tell me what that was all about? Forgive me if I'm finding it difficult to believe that a hardened tough guy like you could possibly be, dare I say it.....ticklish."
Logan's eyes betrayed him as they widened in pure terror; his brain frantically trying to figure out a solution to get him out of this mess, but his silence told more than enough.
"Ohohoho, you are, aren't you? Well this just made things a lot more sexy...I mean, interesting," Wade stroked his own chin, pondering the situation while Logan finally regained his wit and was now on the rebound to try to deny it.
"What? Are you kidding? Tch! I am not ticklish. Where the fuck do you come up with such stupid ideas?" He made his best attempt to sound convincing, but Wade could easily see right through his bullshit.
"I gotta tell you that all sounds exactly like something a ticklish person would say. A pitiful performance like that isn't going to win you any Oscars," Wade smirked before his eyes then drifted back down to Logan's torso, "Oh dear. It looks like the remote has fallen inside your shirt. Whatever shall we do?"
Wade was gently tugging at the front of his shirt as Logan narrowed his eyes.
"Just get offa me and I'll get it myself. Quit looking for excuses to grope me, ya fucking pervert," Logan growled deeply with his characteristic hard-as-nails Wolverine glare, trying to be as off-putting as possible to hopefully get Wade to lose the notion.
"But it's so confusing when your mouth says 'no', but your eyes say 'yes'," Wade grinned, giving a light tickle to Logan's sides that made him flinch, "By the way, what do you want your safe word to be?"
"Touch me and I will cut your useless motherfucking head off, Wilson."
Wade laughed chaotically and shook his head.
"Now that's kind of a mouthful to say. You should pick something easier like 'umbrella' or 'avocado' or 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocious'-"
Logan realized he was running out of time for stalling and was now struggling to push Wade off of him before he could actually carry out this heinous act, but the merc simply shoved his arms aside and launched his attack, tickling wildly along his ribcage.
"Oh I get it! You don't want a safe word! Very kinky! I like your style! Well you did say the only way I was getting the remote was over your dead body. Who knew it was going to be death by tickling?"
Logan made a strained grunting noise as he steeled himself and began writhing about, still fighting to force Wade off despite the fingers running along his ribs. He in no way wanted to give Wade the satisfaction of making him laugh and would hold it in for as long as he could.
"Looks like we've got a tough guy, ladies and gentlemen," Wade grinned, momentarily looking out at the camera then turning back to his victim, "You know in all the fanfics I've read it's always the toughest guys that are the most ticklish of all. Look at you doing everything in your power not to laugh. How cute. Too bad you're not going to be able to keep that up. I pretty much wrote the book on 'lerring."
Wolverine had no idea what that meant but could hardly fathom the idea that he was going to have to listen to Wade's annoying jabbering and teases without being able to give him a piece of his mind. Because if he even dared to open his mouth it was game over and he was going to fucking lose it.
"So are you like one of those guys who are only ticklish around here...," Wade squeezed and massaged into his sides as an involuntary grin stretched across Logan's face while keeping his jaw clenched, "Or are you one of those head-to-toe ticklish kinda guys? I'm betting the latter."
While still keeping one hand digging into his side Deadpool now reached up to teasingly trace his fingers with a feather-light touch over Logan's ear and down his neck as the man wrenched his head away and scrunched up his shoulder to try to cover up that side of his head.
"Ooooh so sensitive. Am I going to have some fun with you. All we're missing is the sweet sound of your laughter. C'moooooooon just let it out already. You're not embarrassed of your laugh, are you? I'm sure it's wonderful. Don't be shy now, it's just the two of us here."
Every word that came out of Wade's mouth was slowly eating away at Logan's resolve along with his mental capacity to resist the laughter building up inside of him. Giving into Wade's demands was not high on his list of favorable activities, but he knew it was about to happen whether he wanted it to or not.
"You are one hard nut to crack, I'll give you that. But that's okay, it's just going to make breaking you even sweeter. Heheh, look how red your face is. You look like you're about to explode. I just need to find the right spot to poke that bubble and free you of your burden. Hmmm, I think I know where....," Wade smirked big time as he changed tactics to thrust his hands underneath Logan's arms and furiously tickle into his armpits.
The battle was finally over. Logan had fought for as long as he possibly could, but he just couldn't take it anymore. With Wade having honed in on one of his most sensitive areas he felt his lips make one last valiant effort to stay sealed as they trembled right before releasing his loud, pent-up outburst.
"HAHAHaahaha! AhahahahaStop! Stahahahap ihihhit!" Logan hollered as he managed to shove Wade's hands out of his pits, though they immediately latched onto his waist and dug right in. Wade was beyond pleased with this turn of events.
"Ahhhh there it is. And it's just as adorable as I imagined. See? Nothing to be embarrassed about," Wade's grin encompassed his whole face as he didn't let up and kept kneading his thumbs right above Logan's hips.
"I wahahahasn't embahahaharrassed, ya dehehehense fuhuhuhucking prihihihiiick!  Gahahahahaa! Just didhihihidn't wahahahaha-wahant to gihihihive you the sss-satisfahahahaction!" Logan struggled to speak clearly through his laughter as he twisted and squirmed, trying to wriggle out from under the other man.
"Well mission failed, my little stud muffin. I can't believe you've been hiding your ticklishness from me all this time. Think of all the fun we're going to have together now!" Wade exclaimed with pure glee as he moved back up to the ribs now that he was receiving the reactions he wanted, making Logan cackle uncontrollably.
"Fuhuhuhuhuuuuck!! Okaahahahay! You gohohohohot meheheee! I'm tihihihicklish! Now fuhuhuhuhuhuck ohhohohoff!" Logan's hysterical proclamation was accompanied by a series of hard snorts, making Wade's face light up even more.
"You're a snorter?! Oh that's just so precious! How can you expect me to fuck off after hearing that?! Nononono, I think I will keep fucking on, thank you very much! Besides if I stop now then this will be the shortest tickle fic ever written!" He increased his speed, probing between every rib bone as he played his friend's sides like a ticklish piano.
Logan surprisingly laughed even harder, wheezing for air as he continued letting out a snort every few seconds with his burly arms pitifully clamped as tight as he could against his sides. Nothing was stopping the devilishly dexterous fingers of his hyper roommate though.
"Wihihihilsonaaahahahahah.......sssstooooohahahahahahooooop! I'll....I'll gihihihihive you ohohone lahahahast chaaa-EEEHEEHEEHeheheheheheeh!" Logan literally squealed much to his chagrin as he broke into high-pitched giggles with Wade switching spots to now claw mercilessly at his stomach and waist.
"Oh I've never heard a Wolverine squeal before. It's just the gift that keeps on giving. Definitely going to need that as my new ringtone. But hmmm, I think this could be better...," Wade mused as his fingers kept scratching over the buttons going down Logan's flannel shirt, no doubt hindering his tickling efforts if only a little.
In the next second he grabbed Logan's overshirt and pulled hard in opposite directions to pop all the buttons as the remote was finally freed and clattered to the floor. The mercenary smirked as he saw that Logan wasn't wearing anything underneath as his hairy, heavy-muscled torso was now on full display.
Logan was grateful that it had all stopped and the remote was now nowhere near him as he leaned his head back and tried to catch his breath.
"........Fuck......Okay.....You win you win. Just take the fucking thing.....and go ahead and watch your stupid ass shoHOHohOhOHOhoW! NAAAAHOHOHOHOOOOO!!"
Logan had thought it was over, but his momentary sparkle of hope vanished instantly as Wade paid the controller no mind and lunged for him again.
"Ahh yes, that's much better! Now I can really get my hands in here!" Wade smirked in delight with his fingers currently buried and wriggling into Logan's armpits while the feral man roared with deep belly laughs before fizzling into helpless wheezes.
"Ohoho you're very tickly here, aren't you? Bet you wish you would've chosen a safe word now, huh? Or not. Maybe you're enjoying this. Is that it? Don't lie to me now."
"I'm gohohohohonna fffffff-aaahahahhahahah.....fuhuhuhucking k-kihihihill yooooou!" Logan wheezed out as he weakly smacked at Wade's arms and haphazardly kicked his legs around.
"Awww don't be mean, peanut. I just can't get enough of the sound of your laugh. That's not a crime, is it?"
Logan couldn't remember having ever been tickled like this. It had been so long since he'd been this close to anybody, and his memory of such things was pretty fuzzy of anything that happened before his regrettable incident. After those events he'd become even more withdrawn and had fallen deep into depression from the unbearable guilt he felt, confident that he never deserved to be happy again.
And then this annoying little fucker appeared at that bar one day and dragged him on the wildest, most fucked up adventure he could ever recall being on. If at the beginning of all that someone had told him that Wade and he were going to become great friends then he would have laughed right in their face.
But it did happen, and Logan was taken-aback to finally be around someone again who actually cared about his well-being. Someone who wanted the best for him and to make sure that he knew that he mattered. Someone who wanted nothing more than for him to be happy.
And Deadpool was always trying to make him laugh. The look of genuine happiness on Wade's face was unmatched whenever one of his jokes managed to land and make Logan chuckle. The X-man seemed to smile a lot more these days, but laughing was still a rare occurrence for him, which is why Logan was so defensive against the tickling that was currently causing him to do so.
But could he say with complete honesty that he truly hated all this? The answer irked him a little bit because it was no, he didn't hate it, but he was conflicted because he still didn't think he should be allowed to feel pure joy again. 
He felt that guilt come up again when he admitted to himself that laughing like this actually felt good. He didn't deserve to feel good. Ever. But obviously Wade had a difference of opinion on that. Wanting him to smile. Wanting him to laugh. Wanting him to let go of his guilt and be happy in this universe that undoubtedly wouldn't be here without him.
"Don't think I forgot about this little sweet spot!"
Wade brought him out of these thoughts rather quickly once he began scribbling all ten fingers over his taut, bare stomach as the Wolverine tossed his head back in howling laughter with his eyes squeezed shut and tears forming in the corners of them.
"Coochie coochie coo! Awwww wittle Wolvie is so ticklish! Yes, he is! Yes, he is!" The merc cooed playfully, knowing all these teases were key to breaking down Logan's mental barriers. And it was working as Logan finally stopped feeling sorry for himself and just gave into it all.
"W-Waaade nooooo! Aahahahahahaah! Cuhuhuhut it ohohhohout! Pleeheheheheeease!"
The merc cocked his head in amusement, having never heard Logan even come close to begging for anything before.
"Oooooh this really is a killer spot, isn't it? Is this rock-hard belly of yours the most ticklish of all? How ironic," Wade mused while absentmindedly squirming a finger down into his navel, making Logan buck strongly and shriek with unrestrained giggles.
"Shihihihiiiiit! Aaaheehehehehehee! Noohohohooot in thehehehere! Fohohor fuhuhuhucks saahaahaakeheehehehehehahahah-st-stoohahahahop tihihihickling! You're kihihhihillin' meheeheehee!"
Wade's stomach did a little somersault at how vulnerable Logan was now being with him. It was all he ever wanted was to see his friend let go of all his anger and self-loathing of the past and surrender himself to the present day. 
Logan was laughing freely now. He wasn't grinding his teeth and trying to hold anything in anymore and he even stopped really fighting to get Wade off of him.  His face and chest were flushed, tears running down his cheeks as he just laid there in a squirming heap with his wide-open mouth releasing endless peals of laughter and pleas for mercy.
In all honesty Wade didn't want to stop just so he could keep Logan in this state for as long as possible where he was freed from the prison of his own mind, though he knew that he'd have to let him go eventually. Still not quite this second.
"Stop? But I couldn't possibly! Look how happy it's making you! I'd be an asshole to rob you of that! Lucky for you I'm such a good friend, huh?! Tickletickletickletickle! Laugh it up, buddy!" He kept ruthlessly tickling his heaving belly while his other hand slid up to creep back into his armpit, rendering Logan into a powerless wheezing wreck.
"Nohohohooot fahahahaaair! Baahahhhahahaha! Wahahade pleeeease! I cahahahaa-cahahaan't tahahake anymohohohore! Uhuhuhuhuncle!"
Between Wade's unrelenting yapping and Logan's loud fits of laughter they both failed to hear the sound of the front doorknob rattling right before it opened and in walked Dopinder with several plastic bags of take-out in his hands.
"Hello? Your UberEats order is here, Mr. Logan. I've got your hot wings and your pizza rolls and your-AAAH!!" Dopinder let out a scream as he rounded the corner to find Wade straddling and feeling up a howling, red-faced and bare-chested Wolverine. 
Upon hearing the terrified cry Wade immediately paused what he was doing as he looked back over his shoulder like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Uhh heeeey Dopinder. Ummm.....This isn't what it looks like.....," he had a guilty look on his face, but quickly revealed his facade as he broke into a devious grin, "Just fucking with you! It's totally what it looks like!"
"And-And what exactly does it look like?" The younger man dared to ask despite his better judgement.
"Well you see Dopinder when two men start living together they begin to develop these feelings; feelings that cause them to get these strong urges that they just can't ignore and-," Wade's tirade of nonsense was cut off as Logan took the opportunity to give him a hard shove and flip him over the back of the couch between pants for air
"Fucking idiot. Don't...freak out, kid. The asshole....was just ticklin' me...is all," Logan breathlessly grunted while moving to take a normal seated position on the couch as Wade then popped his head up from the back.
"That's what he wants to call it. Wanna get in on this action, Dopinder?"
"Oh uhh hehe, n-no thank you. I actually have some more deliveries to get finished. Ermm, next time perhaps," he stuttered nervously as he gingerly placed the food down onto the coffee table in front of them and began to make his exit from the apartment.
"Don't think I'm not holding you to that," Wade teased, making his former cab driver blush and dart out through the door as Wade chuckled and nudged Logan in the shoulder, "Hehehe, did you see how flustered he got? I'll bet he's even more ticklish than you are."
"Leave the kid alone, Wilson. You'd probably kill him. He doesn't have a healing factor like I do," Logan snorted, bunching up his shoulders as Wade lightly ran a finger across the back of his neck.
"Ohh I can be gentle if I want. But I'm pretty sure you're the kind of guy who likes it rough," Wade teased as he moved around to the front of the couch to sit next to the other man, surprised to hear Logan let out a low chuckle.
"Was that a laugh? Nice to see you finally start to appreciate my elite level of humor. Maybe I won't have to start with the daily tickle sessions after all."
Logan made a face at that and lifted his brow.
"Daily? Yeah fuck no, that ain't happening. Once in a while......fine. But I don't think I could take it every day," he mentally shivered thinking about what Wade just put him through.
"Tell you what, you start laughing a little more at my jokes and I'll consider it. But no fake laughing! Because I can tell the difference! Especially now that I know what your real laugh sounds like and let me tell you it's going to be hard for me to get enough of it," Wade experimentally grabbed his knee, giving it a firm squeeze and digging his fingers in around the kneecap as Logan instantly wheezed out a laugh and quickly wrenched the hand off of him.
"Alrihight! I get it! Promise I'll try!"
"I guess that's all I can ask of you. Of course I'm still making it my mission to find everywhere else you're ticklish, and what other really bad spots you have.....unless you just want to tell me," Wade suggested with a grin as Logan just smirked right back.
"Now where'd be the fun in that?"
"You know, you are so right, you smug little honey badger. I gotta say though I'm liking this mood you're in now."
"Well it's your fault. Ya tickled me so bad I couldn't even think straight. Seems like you pushed all the negative thoughts right outta my mind," Logan confessed as Wade began to reconsider his earlier promise.
"Is that so? Hmmm maybe those daily tickle sessions are a good idea after all...," Wade teased just to watch Logan squirm at the thought again.
"I don't think so, bub. Besides, look what ya did," he gestured to his wide-open shirt, pointing at all the areas missing buttons, "You ruined my favorite fucking shirt, dickhead."
"Hardly. You've got like twenty of the exact same one. That's all you ever wear," Wade was quick to point out as Logan just shrugged with a smile.
"So? What's your point?"
"My point is you're a walking fashion disaster. But okay, I'll try not to be so rough next time. We can do the gentle stuff if you prefer. So for research purposes can you tell me how you feel about feathers, hm?" He grinned as he saw Logan shift uneasily in his seat.
"You're gettin' a little crazy now, Wilson."
"Oh c'moooon, just imagine a nice, fluffy feather teasing that big ol' neck of yours.....circling your little tummy button....stroking the backs of your knees.....threading between all your toes....I can't imagine that your feet were spared of your adorable weakness."
"Wade...."
"Oooh! What about raspberries?! Those are fun! Bet it would drive you insane if I blew them on your belly. How about we test that out really quick?" Wade took a deep breath and started leaning towards him with his eyes locked onto his stomach.
"Alright cut it out!" Logan's hand caught him by the face and shoved him kind of hard, though couldn't stop himself from chuckling as he shook his head, "Fuckin' hell, you've seriously got a career in how to mentally torture a guy."
"At your service," Wade tipped an invisible hat as he then surveyed all the bags of food on the table in front of them, "So what did you order all of this for?"
"I told ya I was gonna watch the hockey game. Can't watch it without some proper snacks now," he reached into one of the bags and pulled out a tall can of beer as he popped the pull ring and took a long drink out of it while the other man began removing the take-out boxes.
"Chimichangas? Since when do you eat chimichangas?" Wade looked over at him questionably upon opening one of the containers as Logan gave him a half-smile.
"I got those for you, dumbass. Thought maybe you'd wanna hang out and watch the game with me." 
Wade was left momentarily speechless, truly touched by Logan's unexpected gesture.
"Well.....yeah of course. I'd love to. But how come you didn't ask me earlier?"
"Didn't get a chance to because you started bein' an idiot and going off about some other stupid show....'Touched By An Asshole' or something. What kinda pervy ass show is that anywaahaahaays?" Logan giggled, rubbing at his ribs where Wade had now just indignantly poked him.
"It's 'Touched By An Angel', you disrespectful twat. And it's a national treasure. But besides the fact that I've seen every episode, I didn't really want to watch it. I was just trying to get a rise out of you. You seemed tense," Wade admitted as Logan only shrugged and sipped from his beer can.
"When am I not?"
"Umm...Right now. Honestly I haven't you seen this relaxed in.....ever. Even when you're drunk sometimes you're still pretty moody," Wade pointed out as Logan took it in and knew he was right. He'd literally been forced into laughing off all of the burdens that he had carried for many years. His mind currently free from all the adverse feelings and troubles that he'd been endlessly plagued. 
The effects were likely not permanent but at least for the time being he felt good. Having to suffer through a vicious tickle attack to achieve that was more than worth it he decided.
"Hmph. Yeah. I guess you're right," a smile broke across Logan's face as he punched Wade in the shoulder, "Thanks asshole."
"Any time. And if you ever change your mind about the daily ticklings then I'm your guy," Wade was glowing from the actual genuine appreciation he'd just received from the normally cantankerous Wolverine.
"Heh. We'll see," Logan smirked as he bent over to pick up the remote off of the floor and turned on the television ahead of them, switching channels until he found the right one, "So do ya even like hockey?"
Wade nodded enthusiastically.
"Love it so much that I've never watched a game in my entire life," he said matter-of-factly before clapping his hands in excitement when he saw Dogpool trot into the room, patting the spot on the couch next to him as she jumped up.
Logan sighed as he handed his roommate a beer, realizing that the next few hours were going to be filled with Wade obnoxiously asking questions about every little thing that happened in the game. Though he couldn't help but smile as he watched the man-child start happily eating the chimichangas while simultaneously feeding little bits of them to his unusual looking dog.
Truth be told they all were an unusual bunch. Not just the three of them, but Blind Al, Peter, and Dopinder, to name a few. All these people that Wade had brought into his life and openly shared with him. Not to mention without Wade's intervention he never would have met Laura; someone he found he made a fast connection with and was now someone he cared deeply about.
Really Wade had rescued him that day. Rescued him from himself and gave him another reason to keep on living for. He felt his heart warm as he looked over at one of the side tables where Wade kept a framed photo of all of their friends; only now it was a new picture that included Logan, Laura and Mary Puppins in it.
Logan's smile grew as he reached over to pat the dog on the head before Wade made a whimpering noise and leaned his own head towards him to receive the same affection. He chuckled and obliged for a few moments before getting a wicked grin on his face as he snatched the hair piece off of Wade's head, prompting a momentary yelp of pain from the scarred man.
As the merc rubbed at his head while glaring over at him Logan found it impossible not to start laughing while jokingly dangling the toupee up in his hand. Wade then promptly broke into a smirk that told him he was dead, though even with that warning Logan made no attempt to escape.
Wade easily knocked him onto his back again to mercilessly tickle his sides while at the same time making the Wolverine shriek by blowing those promised raspberries into his stomach. And they tickled just as badly as Wade had said.
Yes, they were an unusual bunch, but they were his whole world now. And Logan was never going to let them down. Over his dead body.
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wirewitchviolet · 1 year ago
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How a Computer Works - Part 1 (Components)
I am about to teach you on a real fundamental, connecting up electronic components level, how a computer actually works. Before I get into the meat of this though (you can just skip down below the fold if you don't care), here's the reasons I'm sitting doing so in this format:
Like a decade or two ago, companies Facebook pushed this whole "pivot to video" idea on the whole internet with some completely faked data, convincing everyone that everything had to be a video, and we need to start pushing back against that. Especially for stuff like complex explanations of things or instructions, it's much more efficient to just explain things clearly in text, maybe with some visual aids, so people can easily search, scan, and skip around between sections. It's also a hell of a lot easier to host things long term, and you can even print out a text based explainer and not need a computer to read it, keep it on a desk, highlight it, etc.
People are so clueless about how computers actually work that they start really thinking like it's all magical. Even programmers. Aside from how proper knowledge lets you get more out of them, this leads to people spouting off total nonsense about "teaching sand to think" or "everything is just 1s and 0s" or "this 'AI' a con artist who was trying to sell me NFTs a month ago probably really is an amazing creative thinking machine that can do everything he says!"
We used to have this cultural value going where it was expected that if you owned something and used it day to day, you'd have enough basic knowledge of how it worked that if it stopped working you could open it up, see what was wrong, and maybe fix it on your own, or maybe even put one together again from scratch, and that's obviously worth bringing back.
I'm personally working on a totally bonkers DIY project and I'd like to hype up like-minded people for when it gets farther along.
So all that said, have a standard reminder that I am completely reliant on Patreon donations to survive, keep updating this blog, and ideally start getting some PCBs and chips and a nice oscilloscope to get that mystery project off the ground.
Electricity probably doesn't work like how you were taught (and my explanation shouldn't be trusted too far either).
I remember, growing up, hearing all sorts of things about electricity having this sort of magical ability to always find the shortest possible path to where it needs to get, flowing like water, and a bunch of other things that are kind of useful for explaining how a Faraday cage or a lightning rod works, and not conflicting with how simple electronics will have a battery and then a single line of wire going through like a switch and a light bulb or whatever back to the other end of the battery.
If you had this idea drilled into your head hard enough, you might end up thinking that if we have a wire hooked to the negative end of a battery stretching off to the east, and another wire stretching off to the east from the positive end, and we bridge between the two in several places with an LED or something soldered to both ends, only the westernmost one is going to light up, because hey, the shortest path is the one that turns off as quickly as possible to connect to the other side, right? Well turns out no, all three are going to light up, because that "shortest path" thing is a total misunderstanding.
Here's how it actually works, roughly. If you took basic high school chemistry, you learned about how the periodic table is set up, right? A given atom, normally, has whatever number of protons in the core, and the same number of electrons, whipping all over around it, being attracted to those protons but repelled by each other, and there's particular counts of electrons which are super chill with that arrangement so we put those elements in the same column as each other, and then as you count up from those, you get the elements between those either have some electrons that don't fit all tight packed in the tight orbit and just kinda hang out all wide and lonely and "want to" buddy up with another atom that has more room, up to the half full column that can kinda go either way, then as we approach the next happy number they "want to" have a little more company to get right to that cozy tight packed number, and when you have "extra" electrons and "missing" electrons other atoms kinda cozy up and share so they hit those good noble gas counts.
I'm sure real experts want to scream at me for both that and this, but this is basically how electricity works. You have a big pile of something at the "positive" end that's "missing electrons" (for the above reason or maybe actually ionized so they really aren't there), and a "negative" end that's got spares. Then you make wires out of stuff from those middle of the road elements that have awkward electron counts and don't mind buddying up (and also high melting points and some other handy qualities) and you hook those in there. And the electron clouds on all the atoms in the wire get kinda pulled towards the positive side because there's more room over there, but if they full on leave their nucleus needs more electron pals, so yeah neighbors get pulled over, and the whole wire connected to the positive bit ends up with a positive charge to it, and the whole wire on the negative bit is negatively charged, and so yeah, anywhere you bridge the gap between the two, the electrons are pretty stoked about balancing out these two big awkward compromises and they'll start conga lining over to balance things out, and while they're at it they'll light up lights or shake speakers or spin motors or activate electromagnets or whatever other rad things you've worked out how to make happen with a live electric current.
Insulators, Resistors, Waves, and Capacitors
Oh and we typically surround these wires made of things that are super happy about sharing electrons around with materials that are very much "I'm good, thanks," but this isn't an all or nothing system and there's stuff you can connect between the positive and negative ends of things that still pass the current along, but only so much so fast. We use those to make resistors, and those are handy because sometimes you don't want to put all the juice you have through something because it would damage it, and having a resistor anywhere along a path you're putting current through puts a cap on that flow, and also sometimes you might want a wire connected to positive or negative with a really strong resistor so it'll have SOME sort of default charge, but if we get a free(r) flowing connection attached to that wire somewhere else that opens sometimes, screw that little trickle going one way, we're leaning everyone the other way for now.
The other thing with electricity is is that the flow here isn't a basic yes/no thing. How enthusiastically those electrons are getting pulled depends on the difference in charge at the positive and negative ends, and also if you're running super long wires then even if they conduct real good, having all that space to spread along is going to kinda slow things to a trickle, AND the whole thing is kinda going to have some inherent bounciness to it both because we're dealing with electrons whipping and spinning all over and because, since it's a property that's actually useful for a lot of things we do with electricity, the power coming out of the wall has this intentional wobbly nature because we've actually got this ridiculous spinny thing going on that's constantly flip flopping which prong of the socket is positive and which is negative and point is we get these sine waves of strength by default, and they kinda flop over if we're going really far.
Of course there's also a lot of times when you really want to not have your current flow flickering on and off all the time, but hey fortunately one of the first neat little electronic components we ever worked out are capacitors... and look, I'm going to be straight with you. I don't really get capacitors, but the basic idea is you've got two wires that go to big wide plates, and between those you have something that doesn't conduct the electricity normally, but they're so close the electromagnetic fields are like vibing, and then if you disconnect them from the flow they were almost conducting and/or they get charged to their limit, they just can't deal with being so charged up and they'll bridge their own gap and let it out. So basically you give them electricity to hold onto for a bit then pass along, and various sizes of them are super handy if you want to have a delay between throwing a switch and having things start doing their thing, or keeping stuff going after you break a connection, or you make a little branching path where one branch connects all regular and the other goes through a capacitor, and the electricity which is coming in in little pulses effectively comes out as a relatively steady stream because every time it'd cut out the capacity lets its charge go.
We don't just have switches, we have potentiometers.
OK, so... all of the above is just sort of about having a current and maybe worrying about how strong it is, but other than explaining how you can just kinda have main power rails running all over, and just hook stuff across them all willy-nilly rather than being forced to put everything in one big line, but still, all you can do with that is turn the whole thing on and off by breaking the circuit. Incidentally, switches, buttons, keys, and anything else you use to control the behavior of any electronic device really are just physically touching loose wires together or pulling them apart... well wait no, not all, this is a good bit to know.
None of this is actually pass/fail, really, there's wave amplitudes and how big a difference we have between the all. So when you have like, a volume knob, that's a potentiometer, which is a simple little thing where you've got your wire, it's going through a resistor, and then we have another wire we're scraping back and forth along the resistor, using a knob, usually, and the idea is the current only has to go through X percent of the resistor to get to the wire you're moving, which proportionately reduces the resistance. So you have like a 20 volt current, you've got a resistor that'll drop that down to 5 or so, but then you move this other wire down along and you've got this whole dynamic range and you can fine tune it to 15 or 10 or whatever coming down that wire. And what's nice about this again, what's actually coming down the wire is this wobbily wave of current, it's not really just "on" or "off, and as you add resistance, the wobble stays the same, it's just the peaks and valleys get closer to being just flat. Which is great if you're making, say, a knob to control volume, or brightness, or anything you want variable intensity in really.
Hey hey, it's a relay!
Again, a lot of the earliest stuff people did with electronics was really dependent on that analog wobbly waveform angle. Particularly for reproducing sound, and particularly the signals of a telegraph. Those had to travel down wires for absurd distances, and as previously stated, when you do that the signal is going to eventually decay to nothing. But then someone came up with this really basic idea where every so often along those super long wires, you set something up that takes the old signal and uses it to start a new one. They called them relays, because you know, it's like a relay race.
If you know how an electromagnet works (something about the field generated when you coil a bunch of copper wire around an iron core and run an electric current through it), a relay is super simple. You've got an electromagnet in the first circuit you're running, presumably right by where it's going to hit the big charged endpoint, and that magnetically pulls a tab of metal that's acting as a switch on a new circuit. As long as you've got enough juice left to activate the magnet, you slam that switch and voom you've got all the voltage you can generate on the new line.
Relays don't get used too much in other stuff, being unpopular at the time for not being all analog and wobbily (slamming that switch back and forth IS going to be a very binary on or off sorta thing), and they make this loud clacking noise that's actually just super cool to hear in devices that do use them (pinball machines are one of the main surviving use cases I believe) but could be annoying in some cases. What's also neat is that they're a logical AND gate. That is, if you have current flowing into the magnet, AND you have current flowing into the new wire up to the switch, you have it flowing out through the far side of the switch, but if either of those isn't true, nothing happens. Logic gates, to get ahead of myself a bit, are kinda the whole thing with computers, but we still need the rest of them. So for these purposes, relays re only neat if it's the most power and space efficient AND gate you have access to.
Oh and come to think of it, there's no reason we need to have that magnet closing the circuit when it's doing its thing. We could have it closed by default and yank it open by the magnet. Hey, now we're inverting whatever we're getting on the first wire! Neat!
Relay computers clack too loud! Gimme vacuum tubes!
So... let's take a look at the other main thing people used electricity for before coming up with the whole computer thing, our old friend the light bulb! Now I already touched a bit on the whole wacky alternating current thing, and I think this is actually one of the cases that eventually lead to it being adopted so widely, but the earliest light bulbs tended to just use normal direct current, where again, you've got the positive end and the negative end, and we just take a little filament of whatever we have handy that glows when you run enough of a current through it, and we put that in a big glass bulb and pump out all the air we can, because if we don't, the oxygen in there is probably going to change that from glowing a bit to straight up catching on fire and burning immediately.
But, we have a new weird little problem, because of the physics behind that glowing. Making something hot, on a molecular level, is just kinda adding energy to the system so everything jitters around more violently, and if you get something hot enough that it glows, you're getting it all twitchy enough for tinier particles to just fly the hell off it. Specifically photons, that's the light bit, but also hey, remember, electrons are just kinda free moving and whipping all over looking for their naked proton pals... and hey, inside this big glass bulb, we've got that other end of the wire with the more positive charge to it. Why bother wandering up this whole coily filament when we're in a vacuum and there's nothing to get in the way if we just leap straight over that gap? So... they do that, and they're coming in fast and on elliptical approaches and all, so a bunch of electrons overshoot and smack into the glass on the far side, and now one side of every light bulb is getting all gross and burnt from that and turning all brown and we can't have that.
So again, part of the fix is we switched to alternating current so it's at least splitting those wild jumps up to either side, but before that, someone tried to solve this by just... kinda putting a backboard in there. Stick a big metal plate on the end of another wire in the bulb connected to a positive charge, and now OK, all those maverick electrons smack into here and aren't messing up the glass, but also hey, this is a neat little thing. Those electrons are making that hop because they're all hot and bothered. If we're not heating up the plate they're jumping to, and there's no real reason we'd want to, then if we had a negative signal over on that side... nothing would happen. Electrons aren't getting all antsy and jumping back.
So now we have a diode! The name comes because we have two (di-) electrodes (-ode) we care about in the bulb (we're just kind of ignoring the negative one), and it's a one way street for our circuit. That's useful for a lot of stuff, like not having electricity flow backwards through complex systems and mess things up, converting AC to DC (when it flips, current won't flow through the diode so we lop off the bottom of the wave, and hey, we can do that thing with capacitors to release their current during those cutoffs, and if we're clever we can get a pretty steady high).
More electrodes! More electrodes!
So a bit after someone worked out this whole vacuum tube diode thing, someone went hey, what if it was a triode? So, let's stick another electrode in there, and this one just kinda curves around in the middle, just kinda making a grate or a mesh grid, between our hot always flowing filament and that catch plate we're keeping positively charged when it's doing stuff. Well this works in a neat way. If there's a negative charge on it, it's going to be pushing back on those electrons jumping over, and if there's a positive charge on it, it's going to help pull those electrons over (it's all thin, so they're going to shoot right past it, especially if there's way more of a positive charge over on the plate... and here's the super cool part- This is an analog thing. If we have a relatively big negative charge, it's going to repel everything, if it's a relatively big positive, it's going to pull a ton across, if it's right in the middle, it's like it wasn't even in there, and you can have tiny charges for all the gradients in between.
We don't need a huge charge for any of this though, because we're just helping or hindering the big jump from the high voltage stuff, and huh, weren't we doing this whole weak current controlling a strong current thing before with the relay? We were! And this is doing the same thing! Except now we're doing it all analog style, not slapping switch with a magnet, and we can make those wavy currents peak higher or lower and cool, now we can have phone lines boost over long distances too, and make volume knobs, and all that good stuff.
The relay version of this had that cool trick though where you could flip the output. Can we still flip the output? We sure can, we just need some other toys in the mix. See we keep talking about positive charges and negative charges at the ends of our circuits, but these are relative things. I mentioned way back when how you can use resistors to throttle how much of a current we've got, so you can run two wires to that grid in the triode. One connects to a negative charge and the other positive, with resistors on both those lines, and a switch that can break the connection on the positive end. If the positive is disconnected, we've got a negative charge on the grid, since it's all we've got, but if we connect it, and the resistor to the negative end really limits flow, we're positive in the section the grid's in. And over on the side with the collecting plate, we branch off with another resistor setup so the negative charge on that side is normally the only viable connection for a positive, but when we flip the grid to positive, we're jumping across the gap in the vacuum tube, and that's a big open flow so we'll just take those electrons instead of the ones that have to squeeze through a tight resistor to get there.
That explanation is probably a bit hard to follow because I'm over here trying to explain it based on how the electrons are actually getting pulled around. In the world of electronics everyone decided to just pretend the flow is going the other way because it makes stuff easier to follow. So pretend we have magical positrons that go the other way and if they have nothing better to do they go down the path where we have all the fun stuff further down the circuit lighting lights and all that even though it's a tight squeeze through a resistor, because there's a yucky double negative in the triode and that's worse, but we have the switch rigged up to make that a nice positive go signal to the resistance free promised land with a bonus booster to cut across, so we're just gonna go that way when the grid signal's connected.
Oh and you can make other sorts of logic circuits or double up on them in a single tube if you add more grids and such, which we did for a while, but not really relevant these days.
Cool history lesson but I know there's no relays or vacuum tubes in my computer.
Right, so the above things are how we used to make computers, but they were super bulky, and you'd have to deal with how relays are super loud and kinda slow, and vacuum tubes need a big power draw and get hot. What we use instead of either of those these days are transistors. See after spending a good number of years working out all this circuit flow stuff with vacuum tubes we eventually focused on how the real important thing in all of this is how with the right materials you can make a little juncture where current flows between a positive and negative charge if a third wire going in there is also positively charged, but if it's negatively charged we're pulling over. And turns out there is a WAY more efficient way of doing that if you take a chunk of good ol' middle of the electron road silicon, and just kinda lightly paint the side of it with just the tiniest amount of positive leaning and negative leaning elements on the sides.
Really transistors don't require understanding anything new past the large number of topics already covered here, they're just more compact about it. Positive leaning bit, negative leaning bit, wildcard in the middle, like a vacuum tube. Based on the concepts of pulling electrons around from chemistry, like a circuit in general. The control wire in the middle kinda works in just a pass-fail sort of way, like a relay. They're just really nice compared to the older alternatives because they don't make noise or have moving parts to wear down, you don't have to run enough current through them for metal to start glowing and the whole room to heat up, and you can make them small. Absurdly small. Like... need an electron microscope to see them small.
And of course you can also make an inverter super tiny like that, and a diode (while you're at it you can use special materials or phosphors to make them light emitting, go LEDs!) and resistors can get pretty damn small if you just use less of a more resistant material, capacitors I think have a limit to how tiny you can get, practically, but yeah, you now know enough of the basic fundamentals of how computers work to throw some logic gates together. We've covered how a relay, triode, or transistor function as an AND gate. An OR gate is super easy, you just stick diodes on two wires so you don't have messy backflow then connect them together and lead off there. If you can get your head around wiring up an inverter (AKA NOT), hey, stick one after an AND to get a NAND, or an OR to get a NOR. You can work out XOR and XNOR from there right? Just build 4 NANDs, pass input A into gates 1 and 2, B into 2 and 3, 2's output into 1 and 3, 1 and 3's output into 4 for a XOR, use NORs instead for a XNOR. That's all of them right? So now just build a ton of those and arrange them into a computer. It's all logic and math from there.
Oh right. It's... an absurd amount of logic and math, and I can only fit so many words in a blog post. So we'll have to go all...
CONTINUED IN PART 2!
Meanwhile, again, if you can spare some cash I'd really appreciate it.
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saintescuderia · 8 months ago
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pancakes (pt. 3)
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AKA - the story of how the naive australian rookie befriended the gym junkie F1 hospitality worker with the shoe collection - and inadvertently broke the grid's most treasured and unspoken rule: you don't go for y/n.
series masterlist here :) // the pancakes recipe here :)
A/N: don't come for me. i love daniel. it's all for plot. (also, if the timeline seems odd it’s bc creative liberties have been taken 😌)
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P3 - stairmaster endurance
As you walked down the steps to the Drivers Gala in your stunning red dress, you were unaware how one Ferrari driver couldn’t take his eyes off you. Looking at you smiling elegantly to one of the reps who greeted you, Charles realised just how much of a mistake he had made. Carlos was at his side, saying something that was back ground noise. All Charles could focus on was you. Your flowing hair, your eyes glinting in the light as you smiled your beautiful smile at whoever was talking to you. You always spoke with such passion. Charles always loved that about you. He would always love every little thing about you—
The alarm went off. 
You blinked and stopped the timer notification that essentially shook you out of the deep rabbit hole of F1 fanfiction you had found yourself falling into. Closing the purple app, you wondered why you still remained on Tumblr even after the 2013 hype of it died and everyone shifted to Twitter. Let alone the fact that your Tumblr had become your closeted way to fangirl about the sport you had dedicated your life to.
Then again, what were you to expect? The algorithm clearly picked up on your interests. That or the government was listening in and knew that Formula 1 was your day-to-day. That would explain how, one day, you were simply scrolling through the random, niche memes and BAM! You were met with the completely random gif-set of Arthur Leclerc and Oscar Piastri sat in an interview for Prema. 
It had caught you off guard, seeing that come up on your phone screen. It had also been a while since you had seen Arthur. For the whole duration of that single and endless moment, you didn't know how to react.
So your thumb double tapped the screen.
And maybe it was your fault for liking it, for encouraging the algorithm. But you could’t help but smile at the gif of Arthur confident and proud of his 18 hour screen time. That boy had no filter and never gave a fuck about the social norm. That and he often just didn’t read the room. Even after all these years, and his climb up the motorsport ladders, that youthful element about him had remained. It made you smile. You always liked that about him.
However, with that gif-set came more stuff. Innocent stuff. More F2 bits - you really missed those boys - and then everything else. Funny bits of Max at Red Bull. Carlos and Lando. All the Guenther Steiner moments. It was a little weird to be liking gifs of a team principal, you were well aware, but if anything it just made you feel proud of how far the German-Italian had come.
Back in the old Red Bull days, Guenther would always tell you about his dreams of directing his own team. It was nice to see him finally achieve that. It was also an endless source of amusement for you.
For example: the day Kevin had shattered the door.
When it happened, though, it was definitely not a laughing matter. You had been just finishing up the lunch service at the Haas motorhome - making sure to pack up some food for the drivers and mechanics who still were in a meeting - when you had heard the loud noise. Mack, the sous-chef, had stopped and looked at you with wide eyes.
You had both exited the kitchen to walk out to the main space of the motorhome and see other Haas employees equally as confused and whispering. Not getting a clear answer, you patted Mack on the shoulder and returned to the kitchen to finish plating up Kevin and Romain’s lunch for later. 
Fifteen minutes later, however, and you had gotten your answer when Guenther stormed into the kitchen fuming. “He does not slam my fucking office door! What am I going to do? Call Gene and tell him his drivers are some fucking idiot babies?!”
You had simply stared at him, blinkingly.
Guenther had then spied a plate of food sitting on the bench. “That fucking driver doesn’t deserve any of your fucking food!” And he picked the plate and dumped plate with its contents in the bin.  
“Guenther," you had began in a calm voice, "that was my lunch. Kevin’s plate is in the fridge.”
“Well eat his fucking food! Or—" Guenther reached into his pocket and pulled out a credit card and slammed it onto the table in front of you. “Go to a fucking five star hotel and have lunch there on that fucking idiot baby's pay.”
And the two of you had actually done so.
Even after he calmed down, Guenther had been adamant to take you to lunch which, admittedly, wasn't the most odd thing ever. Guenther was removed enough from all the driver drama and you had known him a for long time. You were the reason he had helped in the debut in 2016 anyway.
Still, no matter how Guenther Guenther was, Kevin was still a driver. You knew how it might look.
Said driver, however, had thankfully just dismissed it when you offered to pay him back. "Make me those mini pizzas next time you're with us and we're good."
And so when you clocked on this morning to see you were covering Haas, you immediately smiled and went to make good on your promise to K-Mag.
You always loved working in the Haas motorhome. If only half the stuff you saw Guenther did and said ended up in gif-sets on Tumblr.
Pushing yourself off the stool, you pocketed your phone and grabbed the oven mitts to pull out the mini pizzas. You had made extra for the engineers since there was an issue with Nico’s PU and knew they would be up late working on the engine. It wasn’t a secret that your pizzas were a coveted snack, being low-carb and high protein enough for even the drivers to consume. You were half expecting Fred Vasseur to pop in and steal some. He did love these pizzas. Any time you were stationed at Alfa Romeo, it was a guarantee you would be making them at his request.
Though, now Fred was moving to Ferrari. So you weren't sure if he was still going to be nice to you. Mattia Binotto had always treated you like the fucking plague.
"Ah, Y/N. For fuck's sake!" You heard the German accent and felt your mouth curve up into a smile as Guenther arrived on scene. He was dressed in the Haas gear for 2023, lanyard around his neck. "You still here running the coffee when you can beat any of these idiots in the car."
You gave him a fake two finger salute. "If I drove, no one would stand a chance."
"Well maybe you could help us score some fucking points." Guenther said. Immediately, he got down to business. "Harry Kane did well last night. Scored two fucking goals."
You snorted. One of the many reasons you and Guenther bonded so well was that you one of the few people amongst this Paddock that took football seriously. Almost as seriously as Formula 1. Almost.
"Didn't see it." You said, shaking your head. Bundesliga was lower on your list of priorities when it came to games. You only paid attention to the German league when it came to teams making it into Champions League. Besides, Guenther should’ve known what game you were watching last night. Still, you reminded him. "The Reds were playing."
He rolled his eyes, though unsurprised. "Of course you're going to watch English fucking football."
"Hey, only because of Salah.” You reminded him and hit your chest proudly, “I gotta represent."
"That much is fucking obvious." Guenther said. One of the many reasons you liked working in Haas so much was that it was by far the most relaxed garage out of them all. For example, you hadn't yet taken off the hoodie you wore which had, on top, the number 10 Liverpool jersey. It looked unprofessional, having a t-shirt over a jumper like that, especially mixed with the headscarf you had tied on your head like a durag, but Guenther couldn’t care less. If anything, he was probably just offended at your choice of EPL team.
“United is fucking Red.”
"Ah, Guenther. You know my heart really lies." You reminded him.
Your uncle, with his love for football, had brought you up following the iconic Real Madrid. He literally visited the hospital with a teddy bear and Bernabeu membership, adamant he would get his newborn niece into the sport. No matter what.
From the moment he found out your number one team, Guenther was salty. “Los Blancos.” He scoffed. “The fucking villains of football." He came round to see the circular pieces of bread covered with sauce and an array of different toppings. Guenther picked one up - and immediately dropped it. "Fuck!"
"It's hot." You said, dryly. You took out another tray and set it down. You closed the oven door and turned it off. You flipped the towel over your shoulder as you watched Guenther now at the sink, running water over his burnt fingers.
"You don't fucking say." Guenther blowing on his fingers.
“Stop being a baby.” You laughed, bringing up your hands to your head to fix your headscarf.
Guenther ignored that comment. "Fred fucking loves these things. Don't tell him you made them. I don't want him in here stealing them."
You said nothing and turned around to pretend to busy yourself with the trays of mini pizzas. It was best to just remain quiet sometimes. Bahrain testing had kept everyone occupied and at that start of the season F1 Hospitality were usually running around after Stefano Domenicali and the FIA Co. for last minute set up. It was only into the race calendar that Hospitality were eventually went around to the teams.
So, no. You hadn't seen Fred. You hadn't seen anyone. You were just grateful that your first race of 2023 was in the safety of Haas. Nico and Kevin were older and, therefore, a little more out of it when it came to driver drama. If they knew anything, they were old enough to be mature about it.
Though, that couldn't be the same of others from their generation. You were already losing sleep from the feelings that arose from seeing Daniel in Red Bull gear. It didn't help that the last time you two had spoken, things hadn't exactly been civil.
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You were on the stair-master. The clock on the machine read 37:48. The sweat was dripping off you.
Your grey jumper had darkened in shades, wet from the sweat. You kept your hands on your head as you stepped and stepped and stepped and stepped. Angsty rap music blasted into your ears. Tinnitus was likely to worsen, but you would take that over the shit storm that was currently breaking all over the Paddock. 
I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press statement late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year. This is wrong and I have not signed a contract for Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year. 
Oscar hadn’t even yet joined Formula 1 and he was already stirring trouble. That was a problem. For you. You were supposed to lay low. The whole point of this was to lay low and not drawing any attention to yourself. The agreement was that you could still be there if only in the role of Hospitality. 
And the idiot had tweeted that and then, ten minutes later, decided to follow you.
How he even found your Twitter was surprising? It wasn’t very personal - your profile picture was solid black - so no fans would be able to recognise you. But the Paddock? The FIA and your bosses? They were raising confused eyebrows that Oscar Piastri would drop that bomb and then follow you.
You could already imagine what Otmar was going to say. God, the 2023 season hadn’t fully started and you were already dreading walking into the Alpine home. And then Jos Verstappen was rumoured to be attending more races this year and who could forget about Daniel coming back to Red Bull? The universe apparently needed to give you some character development, it seemed.
Your legs ached, begging to stop. Your mind thought about pressing the red emergency button, to just end it. But you knew better. You knew this was all a mind game. Pain is an allusion. Keep going. Shit hurts but you push through. Keep going. Keep going. Keep fucking going. It's what you always told yourself. It's how you got yourself through everything. It's how you'll get through all of this. If you can push through the pain of the stairmaster, then you can push through the pain of anything. You had learned that pain was temporary and it was just a mind-game. You could always go longer than you thought possible. You just had to keep reminding yourself of that fact. So, right now, it was just practice. Each step you took right now was practicing the endurance of pain from this stairmaster fucking filling your legs. If you could get through this, you would be able to handle any drama in the future.
Unfortunately, drama walked through the door before you could make it through the current pain of said stairmaster.
Daniel Ricciardo stormed into the Driver’s Only Gym, knowing all too well that this was where you would be. He had been the one to tell you about this fucking place in the first place. Before everything, you had always loved working out and exercise was part of the reason you two ended up as you did. Now, you didn’t have the luxury you did before. You didn’t have the lanyard.
So, now, you had to workout in the shadows.
That didn't mean Daniel didn't see you. Didn't hear you. Didn't know what you were doing every single day of every weekend the both of you avoided each other at the Paddock. He knew you still wore your sneakers according to the race location. He knew you still wore headscarves when in the Middle East and covered your tattoos when in Japan. He knew you still avoided Charles just he like he knew you still avoided him. He knew you.
So Daniel knew you woke up at 4am every day to work out. And after Zak Brown told him the news, he spent the night dealing with his spiralling career through a bottle of Jack Daniels. Then he had the idea to come out from the four walls of his hotel room and see you.
Because Daniel knew you had made your pancakes for the rookie, that fucking Oscar Piastri. And Daniel was one of the few people who knew, who fully understood just what that meant to you.
Drunk and emotional, Daniel planted himself right in front of the stair master. He stared at you, caught like a deer in headlights and got right to it.
“You must be fucking happy.”
It was the first time he had directly spoken to you in five years.
So it took you a second to process what was happening.
Daniel Ricciardo was right here, in front of you, at 4:50 in the morning as you sweated your body weight out through the repeated steps you took on the machine.
Suddenly you were aware that you had rolled yourself out of bed with a little less motivation than the norm. You had been extra tired, hitting snooze more than twice. You hadn’t washed your face and you wondered if Daniel would be able to spot the stain of egg yolk on your hoodie. It had been some time since he had been this close to you and you were in bike shorts and currently on a bulk. Suddenly, you wished you were on a cut. Why did the one time he came this close to you had to be so big and puffy?
"Excuse me?" You found yourself saying, shifting one headphone off your ear. “Can I help you?”
"Did you know?" Daniel asked. He didn't give you a chance to respond. "Of course you fucking did."
Without even thinking, you pulled the red plug your mind had obsessed over and jumped down. The pain was already here so there was no point going through any more than necessary. You looked up at Daniel, panting. He, too, was exhaling a little heavier than normal. Too angry and, judging by the smell of his breath, drunk to be stable.
There was no point lying to him. Aside from the fact that Daniel was emotionally charged (and drunk - and he got super passionate when he was drunk) you knew he would immediately pick up on it. You don't spend three years with someone and not know them like the back of your hand. And, unlike him, you can safely say that you hadn't really changed since 2018. If you lied, he would know.
"I signed a NDA, Daniel." You said simply, walking to your gym bag sat on the red bench. You picked up your bottle to take a sip, your throat dry. You tried to keep yourself calm and not shaky. Do my legs look too big? God, Please don’t let me smell like BO. Your thoughts were still running rampant. Despite the extensive cardio, your body was buzzing from the anxiety of having Daniel so close.
Daniel. To think you had once been so deeply in love with the man stood before you.
"Fuck off." He spat. You recoiled. "No one gives a shit about that."
"I do." You said, trying to keep your voice from growing small. "Sorry I care about my job."
Daniel let out a sardonic laugh. You braced yourself, knowing what was to come. You had experienced this many times before during your fights. "What? Making coffee and fucking washing the dishes? Yeah, great job you got there, babe."
"Don't call me babe." You spat back. "And can you not be a dick for two fucking seconds, Daniel."
You said it. His name. When was the last time you had said it? It made you both take a second to process what was happening, to acknowledge how long it had been since the two of you had actually spoken to one another, how long since you had addressed the other as a human being that actually existed.
In that moment, Daniel finally seemed to lose a bit of anger and, instead, show a glimmer of vulnerability. "I lost my seat. I don't know what I'm going to do."
You looked down at your shoes at show of helplessness. New Balance 350s. Red and yellow. They had been on sale. You liked them for stable LISS circuits but hated the colour way. Now, they were the most interesting thing to look at.
Everyone knew that Daniel Ricciardo was always all smiles and that, no matter what, he was optimistic. Happy. He never showed any weakness.
Except, you had seen him when the smiles fell away and the laughter died. In the safety of your private hotel rooms and Daniel could just be, you saw him vulnerable, you saw him hurt, you saw him stress, worry, cry, swear and be open to how he was really feeling. Like right now.
“Daniel I—“
"You didn’t even think to fucking tell me."
You looked up at the change of tone and how he was frowning-- no, sneering at you. This made you change and any remorse, any pity, you felt for the man in front of you immediately vanished. You weren’t in a hotel room. You were in the gym. And it had been five fucking years.
"Are you fucking blaming me right now?"You snapped back. "What the fuck do I owe you, exactly?"
"I’m the reason you’re here!"
By now, your heart was racing. And not from the exercise. This, this was it. You finally had your moment to say it.
"Yes, exactly, Daniel. You’re the reason that I am, as you said, making coffee and fucking washing the dishes! If it weren’t for you, we both know where I would be right now. But you got fucking scared of Max and blamed me for it!"
This hit a nerve. "I was not scared of Max! I outperformed Max!"
"Yes, on the weeks I fucking trained you!"
"Fuck me,” Daniel was shooting straight daggers at you despite the wry grin on his face, “do you really think that was all you?" 
You put your hands on your hips and squared up to meet his eyes, narrowing your own. "Considering how your teammate took me on as a trainer and then became the number 1 driver, yes, I will take some fucking credit for that." Daniel's face dropped when you said it. And you knew it was a low blow, but you couldn't help the words before they tumbled out from your mouth. "The world’s fucking moved on from Monaco 2018. Maybe you should too."
"Fuck you!" He shouted.
"Fuck you!" You shouted back. You grabbed your phone and found yourself tapping onto a recent chat and speedily composing a text. You hated how your fingers shook. You also hated how you were texting for help.
"Well, clearly you haven’t moved on from Monaco if you’re bringing it up." Daniel said, no longer shouting, but his tone still as icily. "You’re going to be mad about that until the end of time?"
You closed your eyes and willed your eyes not to think of the image of him with her, the pain you felt walking in and seeing that. Instead, you opened your eyes and stared him dead in the eye and spoke as calmly as possible.
"Jos Verstappen will be coming to the races more often this year. That means I won't be able to work in the Red Bull garage. If I'm at AlphaTauri, do not fucking come."
Daniel ignored this, undeterred. Instead, he kept grinning down at you thinking he found something. "You seriously aren't over it, are you?"
"No, the memory of you putting your dick into another woman still keeps me up at night." You rolled your eyes despite how it still did admittedly hurt. You pretended it didn’t and hoped he believed it. "Please stop thinking so highly of yourself. Remind yourself of why you're here, right now, talking to me."
Daniel's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to say something but the sound of the doors opening had him closing it. You grabbed your gym bag and finally made a move to turn around and escape the gym.
Ignoring the looks of one very confused Carlos Sainz as you breezed past him.
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"I have to go deal with idiots who can’t tell me what’s wrong with the engine." Guenther said. You had brought forth two plates and slide two pizzas onto each.
"Here. For you and Nico." You said, knowing Nico would join the meeting about his car. "I'll bring a tray in a little bit for the rest of the engineers."
"Make me and Nico some coffee, please." Guenther said, taking the plates. "And pour in some fucking whiskey." You laughed and watched him disappear down the hallway of the offices set up. Haas' lack of financial support meant their motorhome was mediocre at best. Still, you loved being here more than anywhere else. It was the safest, really.
Wiping your hands on the towel, you went outside to where the coffee cart was situated. Another example of Haas' lack of funding was needing a Formula One coffee cart and not having an in house machine like everyone else did. You went about preparing the coffees like how you knew Nico and Guenther liked - as well as making yourself one while you were at it.
"No Real Madrid today?"
You found yourself jumping at the familiar Spanish lilt of the other Ferrari driver. Carlos Sainz was someone you never really paid any close attention to. He wasn't close enough to either Daniel or Charles' circles to ever have been on your radar. He had left Red Bull before you did and since he was Ferrari associated, it meant you never really had much to do with him.
Still, he was pleasant and nice. He always had been. He was one of those drivers that if word had spread to him - and it was very likely that it had - he didn't show it. Or care enough about it. Any time Carlos saw you around the Paddock, it was with a warm smile and a quick small-talk question about your thoughts on Real Madrid's latest match. But that was really ever it.
Until that time he had walked in at 5am to see you and Daniel Ricciardo screaming at each other.
"Uh, no. Liverpool was playing yesterday." You said, wondering if he knew you also cared about the Scouse team. Admittedly, you didn’t have the same love for them as you did for the Spanish legends, but you couldn’t have Egyptian heritage and not care about Mo Salah.
"You're Egyptian, no?" He asked. You focused on frothing the milk, unable to really look him in the eyes so soon after this morning.
"Yes." It was there in the mix, yes, but you really weren't up for explaining the complicated heritage of your ethnicity this morning. Looking at the milk circling in the silver jug, you realised your face was heating up. You were slightly surprised he even knew you were Egyptian in the first place. Unlike with Guenther or the splattering of other football fans in the Paddock, you and Carlos only ever had brief snapshots of Real Madrid small talk.
Still, this wasn't an odd conversation, you had to remind yourself. You were talking about the one thing you and him ever talked about. But, again, this was after Carlos had walked in to see you, a Hospitality worker, arguing with a driver.
"Please don't tell anyone about me being in the gym." You finally said, turning off the frother to gently tap the metal jar against the bench and settle the bubbles in the milk. "I could get into a lot of trouble since it's only for drivers."
Carlos waved a dismissive hand and shook his head. When it was clear he wasn't going to, you breathed a small sigh of relief. But then he leaned against the cart and you felt yourself starting to get anxious again. There was a quiet moment for a second as your poured the latte for Nico. Carlos' eyes followed your hands.
"I will say something if Ricciardo upset you." He said in a quieter voice.
You immediately shook your head and finally looked him in the eye. "Please don't. There's enough complication with... everything." You finished lamely.
"So I've heard." Carlos said.
You looked away. He knew.
"So then you'll know I don't need anymore complications." You said through gritted teeth, hating very much the confirmation that word had spread about what had happened.
"You haven't done anything wrong, though."
This caught you by surprise. It was the first time anyone - or, at least, a driver - had said those words to you. At the start, everyone had immediately pointed fingers at you. You were shunned and blamed. Some saw your position with the Formula One Group as part of Hospitality too light a punishment for what had happened. For the longest time, it was the confusion as to why everyone had reacted that way that did that hurt you. You hadn’t thought you had done anything wrong. Not really. You struggled to understand why no one else saw it that way. Least of all any of the drivers that knew what had happened.
Hearing Carlos say that really threw you for a short second. Carlos even caught it. He said your name and you finally looked up at him when you heard him say your name.
"Sorry it’s just - uh, Carlos, man.” You laughed a dry laugh. “You're probably the only driver who thinks so."
"I'm not." Carlos crossed his arms. "I might be the only one who has said so, but if I've understood correctly... then I'm not."
You looked down at metal jug in your hand with the extra milk you had frothed for yourself. Suddenly, you didn't feel like any caffeine. Your anxiety was already through the roof.
"Do you want a coffee?" You asked, sounding, again, very lame as that was your response to Carlos' comment.
The Spaniard looked back down at the spoon and jug in your hands. He nodded. "Have you had one already?" You asked. He shook his head and so you went about pulling down another paper cup to make his piccolo.
"You remembered." He said, laughing slightly.
"First coffee is a piccolo. Second and third are black." You recalled his order. Carlos smiled at you as you poured the milk. "I know everyone's coffee orders."
You didn’t catch how his smile lessened slightly at that.
You looked back at him and tried to ignore the thought of whether his kindness was exaggerated for your sake. A pity thing or something. Carlos accepted the coffee and then he actually offered a thank you in Arabic. You found your lips turning up hearing the marhaba on his Spanish tongue. “Es un placer.” You came back with his own native language.
You don’t work in Formula 1 without picking up a few things here and there.
Hence how you could recognise the German swears that sounded from within the motorhome as Guenther suddenly appeared.
“Where is that Y/N? Liverpool fucking tops the league and thinks she can take her time with— ah, you Ferrari fuckers!” Both you and Carlos looked to where he had come up behind the driver and slapped a friendly pat on his back. “Tell Fred he can’t have any pizza.”
“Pizza?” Carlos asked and looked down at you. “You made your pizza?”
You didn’t get a chance to respond before some Haas engineers appeared behind Guenther and called for you and him. Carlos took this as his sign - he was technically on Haas territory - and nodded at you and Guenther, holding up his piccolo in salute. Guenther had already taken the coffees you’d made for him and Nico and disappeared behind the sliding doors. You made a move to follow when Carlos called out.
"I want to try some famous Y/N pizza!” He said, turning on his heel as he walked backwards and called out to you.
You smiled and shook your head, walking back into the Haas home. You went back to the oven and set about plating up the pizzas to be a little more presentable to them. You also made sure to put some aside especially for Kevin. This was supposed to be for him.
You thought idly of saving some for Carlos when some Haas engineers you vaguely recognised walked past.
"Oh nice!" One engineer said, coming up and immediately reaching for one to stick it in his mouth. You watched him do the same blunder that Guenther did.
The other engineer, a woman with a thick Irish accent? was staring at you. Smug. "Damn, who got you smiling like that, missy?"
"What?" You asked, eyes going wide. You hadn't realised the wide smile on your face that was likely the direct result of one Carlo Sainz. Your face became hot again and it took every ounce of will to not seem affected by her words. “No one.”
"Mmm. If you say so.” She said in a sing song voice. “Well and me Mr Cool over here,” she gestured to the the other engineer trying to breathe through the hot pizza, “are heading to the garage now to see Kevin. Can we take them?"
"Yeah." You nodded. "Go ahead."
"Not saving some for anyone?"
"No." You shook your head firmly. "Take them all."
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< prev ch [2] | next ch [4] >
taglist:
@eugene-emt-roe @spookystitchery @vicurious28 @taytaylala12 @c-losur3
@hiireadstuff @samantha-chicago @fionaschicken @casperlikej
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girlgrouptrash101 · 1 year ago
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Karina (Aespa) as Your Girlfriend
Requests:
"aespa’s karina as your gf please?"
"Can you do Karina from aespa as a girlfriend please?"
"I would like to request Aespa Karina as your girlfriend 😍"
"hi!! i hope your having a great day and i hope your doing well, can i request aespa’s karina as your gf? thank you~"
"Hello! Can I please request Aespa’s Karina as your girlfriend? Thank you!"
A/N: cannot believe it has been over 2 years since I've written anything lol. so here's a lil something to try get the creative juices flowing again wOO 🤭
- C
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when 99% of the relationship is you just staring at karina and wondering how someone can be that beautiful. as you SHOULD
idk why but i feel like karina is the perfect person for the trope where she would make a habit of going to the same coffee shop every day even though she hates coffee,, just because you were the cute barista that worked there
despite her cool and composed aura, she unfortunately had no idea how to talk to you outside of ordering a drink; her brain would just fizzle out whenever she tried to strike up further conversation 🥲
so you had to be the one to take the first step, which took a hot minute because perhaps. miss yoo jimin had a sliiiiiightly threatening aura at first (you quickly learned she was really just a cutie patootie behind that stoic face she tended to wear. teehee)
after gaining enough courage, you ended up asking her out for coffee because you thought hm,, she comes here every day for coffee she must love it!
safe to say it was a little surprising when she responded with a very embarrassed "...i don't even like coffee"
with the tips of her ears flushing red as she had to explain her reasoning behind coming in every day
you decided instead to take her to the carnival that came to town every summer
[insert cliche top of the ferris wheel kiss here]
and every summer since then you've always gone to the carnival together, the two of you running around to go on all the rides like little kids, never getting tired of it even though you do the same thing every time it comes
she's the kind of girl to be super head over heels for you but never admit it until those times where you lay side by side in bed at night, your eyes doing your best to see each other's silhouettes in the dark
her hand coming up to rest on your cheek, thumb gently caressing your face as she reminds you of how much you mean to her
but don't bring it up the morning after unless you wanna get hit with the "idek what you're talking about i would never be so sappy 🤨"
fit checks!!!
refuses to leave the house in said fit unless you send a paragraph in all caps hyping her tf up (it's just what she deserves!)
queen of soft launching your relationship on social media 🥹
like IG stories of flowers you gave her, or your hands intertwined, but nothing too much more than that
because it's her relationship and she doesn't need the world to know about every little thing you two get up to,, that's for her to know and her only
well......... her and the aespa girlies who can't help but smile every time their leader comes home and launches herself face first into her pillow, gushing over how much she likes you and how nice your date was
(which she will NEVER admit happens. she's no softie, okay? okay. yes she is hehehehe)
ningning stealing karina's phone at the dorm and blowing your phone up with memes n sending off guard pics of Karina lol <3
Loves going for walks in the park nearby, no matter the weather or time, especially if there's something on her mind and she just wants to get some fresh air and chat it out with you
lives in your hoodies whether you like it or not, you have no choice cuz girlie just treats your wardrobe as hers
never brings PJs when she's staying at yours as an excuse for you to lend her even more clothes
brings a film camera everywhere,, her favourite thing is when the film fills up and she gets the pictures developed so she can bring them back to you and you can look back over the memories shared together
scrapbooking together !!! will even spend hours in the stationary shop looking for the perfect pen/washi tape to use for it hehe.
Can't stand it but also loves it when you compliment her as often as you do
(but it hurts ur heart a little when you feel she doesn't believe what you say is true, you wish she could feel the same love she has for you for herself too :[ )
so you pledge to always be there to lift her up and be her #1 fan!! in both day to day life and as a My of course
which meanssss first row seats to all the aespa concerts, practice nights, just generally supporting her through thick and thin, and she will no doubt do the same for you!
and that one day you came to an aespa fansign to surprise her 🥹 she had to hold back all the affection she wanted to give you :((((
gaming nights 🤓 and by gaming i mean gardenscapes....... god she's such a lil nerd
anime nights 🤓 her getting all excited when her faves come on screen, smacking you on the leg repeatedly with joy while she explains what's going on (because as much as you enjoy sitting down to watch her favourite shows w her, you really didn't understand half of it LOL)
loooooves late night arcade dates
especially so she can win plushies in the claw machines,,, or rather, you can win them for her (so chivalrous 😁)
her love for claw machine plushies gets so bad that your bed now has a mountain of them stacked up that you have to throw off before bed everyyyyy night omg
not to change the subject but like. Karina's morning cuddles 🥹
or for the mornings where you wake up late, your eyes opening to the sound of her padding back into the bedroom to check on you, a smile creeping onto your face as you feel the bed sink where she sits by your side
and when she leans over to kiss your forehead, her gorgeous locks framing her face while her cute glasses slip down her nose 🥹🥹🥹 IM GONNA CRY
tldr; the softest girl that just wants to be loved the way she loves you 😔
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deathofacupid · 7 months ago
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game (headcanon) | clay jensen
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a/n: something. i had to post something. (i'm halfway through season three, any requests can only be made in the timeline of season one + two + three! please, no spoilers! (i'll cry.) i wanted to write something, literally anything, to get the creative wheels turning. this is kind of just a starting point for me. italics - clay; normal - ...anyone that isn't clay.
summary: how you and clay became you and clay.
warnings: mostly fluff, some depressive/suic!d@l thoughts (nature of clay), it's 13rw... let's face it, the show tackles some dark stuff.
pairing: fem!reader x clay jensen
word count: 0.79k+ words
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-after hannah, clay wasn't great at putting himself out there, especially when it came to girls.
-the biggest thing he'd be worried about was girls. once hannah passed, the main reason he was having trouble was because he was trying to find another hannah.
-clay couldn't help but compare everyone to her.
-it was funny though, because the second he saw you, it was like; who's hannah? the world of "before hannah" and "after hannah" was gone.
-in that moment, when you'd first locked eyes, anything revolving the mere thought of hannah disappeared. he didn't have to think about her, and as selfish as it feels to him, it was refreshing. relieving.
-and you know what? he loved that feeling. he loved the feeling of cloud nine.
-sure, plently of times he'd considered asked you out. and then the thought would hit him like a brick; he's never even said a word to you. how's he going to ask you anything at all, if he can't even utter yet a simple "hi" to you?
-trust me, he tries. clay tries a whole lot. but he'll be inches away, and freeze up.
-part of him is afraid to love again, because what if everything ends up like hannah? like one big repeat? he's not sure if he can live through that again. it was hard enough the first time around.
-eventually, he gives up, choosing to admire you from afar.
-it's luck for him, however, when you're the one to break the ice.
-he remembers it clearly, how you lean over during english lit.
-"clay? do you have any idea what we're doing. because... yeah, i wasn't listening." / "huh? what? oh, uh, yeah- yeah, it's chapters 12-15, questions 1-10."
-he's panicking. you're talking to him.
the second time, you're complaining about your math grade to a friend. he's not even thinking when he blurts out:
-"i can help you. like, tutor you or whatever. i'm pretty good at it." / "wait, really? like, for real?" / "sure."
-clay's non-chalant on the outside, not so much on the inside.
-you seem happy, and instantly, he is too.
-the first thing he does is head into his room, kicking justin out.
-"yeah, okay, well, the adoption papers strongly disagree." / "please? y/n's coming over! i need this to go well." / "y/n? no shit?" / "no shit."
-justin gives in, he's clay's number hypeman anyways. justin lingers in the main house, and then finally wanders to find jessica. that's not clay's concern right now, though.
-it's his room. or more specifically, his shared room. he's freaking out, he hasn't been this nervous since the trial, as he shoves all - i mean all - of justin's crap into the closet, then cleaning up his own.
-he hesisitates over his akr comics, before shoving them in a drawer.
-clay showers, it won't hurt, and spritzes on some of justin's more... masculine colongne.
-half an hour later, there's a knock at the door. he's giddy as he answers it, yet nervous as well.
-"nice house-shed." / "thanks."
-he hopes it a compliment. you're nodding in approval, taking in his room. (shared room.) the little trinkets and trophies.
-and the one akr comic he left out.
-"oh, you read these?" / "y-yeah. i mean, yes. i do. wait- do you?" / no, but my little brother does."
-it's incredible how the conversation flows so smoothly after that.
-after a while, you and him got close. suddenly, it wasn't just study/tutoring sessions, it was hangouts at your place and his.
-everyone thought the two of you were dating, starting with justin.
-he would just be talking to his brother, and it would slip in.
-"how's it going between you and y/n?" / "what's going?" / "dude, you still haven't said anything?" / "there's nothing to say."
-or between his parents:
-"clay, honey, how's your girlfriend? you should bring her over for dinner!" / "we aren't dating, mom." / "really?"
-and more frequently, at school. everyone just assumed you and him were together, and at some point, you stopped correcting them.
-"hey, man, your girlfriend left her jacket in class." / "i'll give it to her."
-somewhere along the line, the difference between dating and not-dating blurred, to the point where you weren't even sure what was going on.
-"hi, not-boyfriend." / "hey, not-girlfriend."
-^became a regular occurence.
-"should we just date? y-you know, because everyone thinks we are... so... it's like-" / "sure." / "okay. wait, really?" / "yeah, why not? i'm suprised it took you this long. i'm literally always flirting with you." / "oh."
-like i said, clay isn't always the best with girls. it doesn't matter though, because you have enough game for the both of them.
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kurishiri · 5 days ago
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15.5 . . . “ the memory engraved in my body ”
꒰ ִ ֺ ⊹ @ notice ⊹ ֺ ִ ꒱ this translation may not be 100% accurate or contain creative liberties due to characterization or narrative flow purposes. if you enjoy, please consider reblogging, but don’t repost these or claim these as your own!
— 🍷 his side story, chapter 15. this is the one you need to reach alfons bond level 22+ with in order to purchase.
— cw: alcohol consumption.
Alfons: And to see you deceived just like that——I see you don’t really hold that thing called ‘love’ for me.
Kate: ...!!
I chose words that would purposely hurt.
Just like that, her eyes wavered, teary.
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Kate: I... I really, truly—!
Alfons: Loved me? ...Or what, did you mean to say love?
I asked, a mocking tone in my voice, and her palms, which had pushed against my chest, gripped tightly at my shirt, causing it to wrinkle.
It would be nice were she to throw away these feelings she had toward me on her own volition, but——
(Reality just isn’t so nice, after all.)
Kate: Just why... would you do such a thing...?
K: Why do you have to reject me so much... just over me saying ‘I love you’?
Tears fell from her cheeks as she spoke from above.
They were very much like stars falling from the night — so pure, and so beautiful.
(——So much so, it’s like the moment I touched her, I would end up getting burned.)
Kate: Not once did I say we had to be official.
K: All I wanted was to like you, and be by your side… and yet…
Alfons: …Because I find it a nuisance.
A: The fact you had fallen for me, and the fact you like me even now... all of it.
I used those sharp words to deeply pierce through her heart.
Such words seemed like such a sin toward her straightforward feelings,
and, compared to her words, which so resembled pure stars, mine were akin to shattered glass sinking down the gutters of a back alley.
Alfons: All this was meant to be was an entertainment that lasts but a month, and then letting it end the same way.
Kate left the room, and when I descended the crumbling staircase,
The friend with a wound on his eye was standing at the entrance to the hidden, dilapidated room.
Man with a wound over his eye: To think you suddenly came in with a memo saying ‘Stay at the pub until I call you. If you come then, your drink’s on me’——
Man with a wound over his eye: I was wondering what in the world was going on.
Alfons: Hehe... thank you for your cooperation on that matter.
Man with a wound over his eye: If getting perfumed and greeting a lady when she woke up was all it took for some free booze, anyone would do it.
Man with a wound over his eye: So it was to get that ‘little robin’ to give up on you?
Man with a wound over his eye: You always up and run away, fading right out, so if she could make you go to this length, well what a lady she must be.
Alfons: Indeed, you can tell me that again.
I could dodge her at every turn, push her away, but she would still put her energy into her love without so much as getting discouraged,
so left with no other choice I threw away what little of a good heart I had left to break her to pieces.
(Unable to deceive herself into thinking this wasn’t love, but instead all a misunderstanding...)
(What a poor, darling little miss robin.)
Man with a wound over his eye: If you wanted me to make love to her for real, though, I would be fine with that too.
Alfons: Now that won’t do. I’ll have you know despite all appearances, I happen to be a gentleman who despises hurting women.
Man with a wound over his eye: ...I doubt that.
Alfons: Do you now?
Man with a wound over his eye: How would I know. Well, I’ll leave the payment to you.
My friend didn’t bother to seek the truth, instead leaving the conversation like that and disappeared into the night city while laughing.
——This pub was open 24 hours, so it was lively regardless of time.
Exchanging greetings with several acquaintances and taking a seat, the bar master lifted his brow, as though exasperated.
Bar master: And here I thought you wouldn’t come back til the morning. You’re back early, aren’t you?
Alfons: I so dearly missed seeing your face, you see.
Bar master: I’m anything but happy being missed by an arsehole. Pay up for that friend of yours.
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Alfons: Goodness, so cold.
While making small talk, from the back of my mind, I remembered her, who had been sitting next to me just a few hours before.
—— Flashback ——
Kate: Alfons...
K: ...I won’t put the blame on you or anything else anymore...
K: So please, make love to me.
—— End flashback ——
—— Flashback ——
Kate: Just how bloody cruel can you get...!!
K: I don’t understand, why would you lie to me like this!? Help me understand...
—— End flashback ——
She did not say, ‘Why did you do such a cruel thing’——but rather, ‘Why did you say such a lie?’
From the start, she had seen through my lie that another man had made love to her.
(...Just where did I slip up?)
(I stayed silent... could it be body temperature? Or the shape of my body? The movements? Or smell?)
At the very least——even if she couldn’t see with her eyes, she was able to confirm that it was indeed me.
All that to say, there was no doubt that the memory of me had been engraved in her body.
Bar master: That’s a pretty long face.
Alfons: That it is, could I ask for your consolations?
Bar master: Of course, this is a shop to share such things. For a price, that is. What’ll it be?
Alfons: Quite stingy now, aren’t we... well then, I’ll have a sherry perhaps. Any type is fine.
Bar master: A sherry? Not every day you get that.
Alfons: ...Is that so?
Indeed, I felt that I normally didn’t drink sherry.
That said, I sought out the intoxication from the liquor, so I wasn’t so caught up on the type it was.
Yet the name had slipped so easily out of my mouth, I tilted my head as I took the glass filled with a dark mahogany color liquor.
The moment I took in that mellow, sweet scent though, I remembered.
(Ahh... this was the liquor that she had drunk this afternoon, isn’t it.)
—— Flashback ——
Kate: I... don’t like it... when others touch you...
K: ...Whatever, I know I’m... just like a kid t’you...
—— End flashback ——
(...Considering she was downing this sweet sherry, I would say her taste is like that of a kid’s.)
When my lips met with her, who was still blindfolded, her tongue did indeed have the sweet taste of the sherry.
But, for a reason beyond me, I felt that the kiss I shared with her was far sweeter than the liquor I was drinking now.
Alfons: ...Master, could you see if the carriage at the back of the shop is still there?
Bar master: What? Don’t go ordering the bar master around like that.
Alfons: I’ll get your mooost expensive liquor. In a bottle.
Bar master: ...How many?
Alfons: How does ten sound?
The bar master clicked his tongue and flipped a middle finger at me before leaving the back to the alleyway and coming back the next moment and shaking his head.
Bar master: It’s not here anymore.
Alfons: Is that so, then that’s a relief.
Bar master: Is it the lady who drank with you that went on the carriage?
Alfons: You’re quite in the know, aren’t you?
Bar master: Sending her back alone in the wee hours of evening, some sexyman you are.
Alfons: That’s just how it is.
Bar master: ...If you care about her enough to prepare a carriage, the least you could do is send her off.
Alfons: ‘Care,’ huh... I suppose.
A: I didn’t want to put her in any physical danger,
A: but I did need to instill so much shock in her that she would want to forget it all... so it was all a necessary measure.
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Bar master: Not so sure what you’re getting at there, but what I do get is that you’re one hell of a shitty bastard.
Alfons: Ahha! I would expect nothing less from you, master, knowing me to the tee.
It took time for memories to fade.
That went for the memory of me engraved in her body... and the memory of her in mine.
But time seemed to have a knack for passing like it was melting away, unexpectedly so.
If she was going to go back to her uneventful, warm everyday life from long ago, then even more so.
Alfons: ...It would be great if you could find a man who can heal the wounds of a lost love and become happy.
Before I knew it, the glass in my hand was empty.
The sweet flavor of the sherry lingered on my tongue, staying there without fading away for eternity.
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l3xdrigo · 9 months ago
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I had silly thoughts run into my mind, Regulus igniting Vertin's passion to do art again by showing her an abandoned wall and bringing spray paint.
Vertin is more traditionally on painting but she has known about spray paint and has been wanting to try them for a long time and Regulus gives her the opportunity to test them out.
When first picking up one of the spray cans, she's not sure what she wants to create, what type of mural or artwork. Vertin is pretty unfamiliar on how to work with such a big canvas, and with a tool she hasn't quite got the grasp of yet. Regulus comes back with a bunch of paint buckets and big and small paintbrushes "What are these for? " "To help us with the painting of course, I may not be the best at any painting stuff but this pirate is passionate in anything art based and the freedom of expression! " Regulus happily chimed.
Vertin was grateful but she's not sure what to make yet, so she asked Regulus who gave her one of the buckets of paint, puzzled, she looks at Regulus "what am I supposed to do with this? "
"Throw it of course! Throw it against the wall and watch it splatter, let it be messy, let your artwork be free. It has been awhile since you last painted yes? So why not let all your creative ideas out now? "
Vertin looks at Regulus and then to the paint bucket in her hands, the swirling color inside it, she knows what she needs to do. Taking a slight step back, she throws the paint out of the bucket towards the wall, making a huge splatter to it and some to themselves as well. Regulus let's out a cheer "There ya go! Now, Let's get painting!"
Splashes of colors added to the wall, the more added, the more Vertin felt free. The paint flowing down like raindrops, the lines of contrasting colors overlapping each other, using the spray paints to add more texture and little designs and details. It was messy yes, but it was free, Regulus smiling wildly as she continues to paint the already very colorful wall, this felt nice, it felt great. Vertin was smiling, laughing even at times where they get hit with splashes of paint, Regulus's joy has been contagious and seeing Vertin happy made Regulus even more joyful.
After finally finishing their artwork, both sat down on the ground, facing what they've created. It was a messy mural, with designs of their interest, a music disk, some doves, a golden thread, butterflies and much more. Both were covered in paint and colors, it'll take a while to get them off but that's the least of their worries for now. "I think this pirate can say that, that is one beautiful mural" "It is, thank you Regulus, for bringing me out here and doing this" "No problem, you've been cooped up in that office for days now, I think you deserved a break.. And you did tell me you liked painting so, this was the best idea I could come up with" "One of the ideas you had that didn't end in disaster *pfft*" "Oi-"
Both bickered for a bit, laughing and giggling like children. It's moments like these that make all the work and sacrifices worth it, even with the weight of responsibility of being the timekeeper, others are lending a hand to carry the weight, just like Regulus. Both sat there, as the sun sets and hope rebuilds.
(Or platonic soulmate Reguvert my beloveds<333)
Bonus:
As both sat quietly, a song from the radio that Regulus brought suddenly plays "Oh hell yeah! I love this song.. Say Vertin, do you dance? "
The timekeeper pondered for a bit and gave her an answer "I do, why? "
"Well, would you like to dance with this pirate? I think that'll be fun"Regulus stood up and stretched out her hand, Vertin, slightly surprised by the sudden request, but accepted it, taking Regulus's hand into hers.
" Though be aware that this pirate may not be the best at dancing, but will certainly try her best" It's been awhile since both had danced, and more so with someone but none of that mattered right now, they're just here to have fun. Dancing to the beat of the music, as both moved to the rhythm, a few slip up's here and there but is still going strong. Going with the flow of the music, both have actually made a good dancing pair, being able to move to the rhythm easily and adjusting their movements to near perfection. Despite not even having steps in mind, both have their own, synchronized and adapting as the music goes on. It felt like walking on air as they continued to dance, they kept this on till the music ended and both were exhausted.
"I must say, you're a great dancer Regulus"
"Thanks, you're not half bad yourself, we should do this more often" "I'll check if my schedule can free up a bit"
They realized that it was near dark soon, both headed back into the suitcase, walking and talking about their interest, plans and anything really. They've grown into each other's company, and they wouldn't have it any other way, a captain and her second best mate, a bellwether and her first follower.
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do-androids-dream-ao3acc · 5 months ago
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chronic pain buck not telling anybody (tommy!)
This ask has been sitting in my inbox for a while, because I already had this WIP and initially wanted it to become a multi-chapter-thing. But, you know, life (and ideas)... so here's, finally, my humble offering of chronic pain Buck.
A Little Bit Off
Buck wakes up two hours before the alarm clock goes off, and he immediately knows what kind of day it's going to be. 
The world is still dim, a black veil of silence covering the loft. Buck squints at the ceiling until his eyes have adjusted to the darkness. There was a dream, what was it? It’s already slipping away from him, becoming transparent like a faded piece of fabric. It was at night, in a forest, I was running away from something, constantly looking back. Tripping over a root, I fell, I fell so hard – it was just a dream, but when I hit the ground my leg exploded. It wasn't the dream that had woken him, just a nightmare like many. It was the pain. In the past, Buck would have never believed that you can feel pain in a dream, so fresh and strong as if it wasn't just a memory, but had just happened. 
Now it's just a dull, throbbing pain, nothing like the tons of weight that crushed his leg back then. He has lost the actual memory of the fire truck on his leg, even though he knows exactly what happened, even though he was conscious. But those few minutes are missing from his memory, which is probably why he keeps hurting his leg in different, creative ways in his dreams. The pain, however, is real, both in his dreams and now. Not as bad as back then, no, but constant. This throbbing deep in his bones, it will stay with him all day. 
Buck has consulted three different doctors, he has googled his fingers to the bone, but there is no simple solution. This pain is chronic, and it doesn't really matter whether it's a nerve malfunction or a change in the weather. It comes and goes, flares up like a bush fire: quickly, without warning. And it’s just as difficult to extinguish. Buck debates with himself whether he should get up and take a pill, but painkillers often don't help, and he still has a shift. If he's going to gamble on his luck, he'd better do it later. 
All three physicians he visited are not LAFD contract doctors, for one simple reason: nobody must know about his problem. The days when he has no pain, when he can forget that he ever had it, it's easy to convince himself that it's not really a problem. It comes and goes, maybe at some point it will go forever. That’s a deceptive hope, and he knows it. But there’s a fear in Buck, deep down in his guts, that a permanent condition will destroy his career. 
He sighs into the darkness only to quickly turn his head. Did he wake Tommy? No. The sight next to him fills his heart, much more than the pain fills his thoughts, at least for a moment. A few tousled curls poke out of the blanket; they'll be gone in at dawn. Tommy is lying on the very edge of the bed – it's not necessarily too small, but for two such tall men, it kind of is. He has wrapped himself completely in the duvet. It would be nice if that was the real reason Buck woke up so early, wouldn't it? The guy keeps pulling the covers off him at night. He sighs again, quieter this time. 
Swinging his long legs out of bed, the treacherous mattress squeaks, and now Tommy is stirring, after all. 
"Evan?" 
He turns, squinting, but he can't keep his eyes open yet.
"S’it time yet?"
Tommy's sleepy voice causes a warmth to spread inside Buck, flowing through his whole body, lifting the corners of his mouth to a soft smile. 
"No, babe. Go back to sleep."
Was there something in his voice? Tommy blinks again, obviously not quite convinced. He pushes a strand of hair out of his face, opening his eyes. 
"Something wrong?" he asks.
How well he already knows him. Half a year of bliss, and this man notices nuances in Buck’s voice even when he’s not quite conscious. 
"I'm just going for a pee," he claims.
In the bathroom, Buck leans on the sink and looks at his reflection in the mirror. It’s strange that he looks so normal. A little disheveled, a little tired, but certainly not like a man whose leg feels like it's slowly being hollowed out from the inside. Thump, thump, thump, maybe there are little miners inside him, digging for gold. Buck grins at his reflection, but a smile that doesn't reach his eyes is just creepy. 
Thoughtfully, he runs his forefinger over the edge of the medicine cabinet. Should he take one now? Should he take it later? He feels like a drug addict, and that's an amazingly cold thought. Almost analytical. Because even if he only needs the pills sometimes, what if it gets worse? What if he needs them so regularly that he becomes really dependent on them? 
There is a whole spiral of thoughts that have just been waiting for Buck to let them surface. What if the pain gets so bad that he starts to limp? What if he deliberately doesn't put any weight on that leg and people start questioning his movement? What if he can no longer think straight because of the pain, ending up making a mistake?
Knuckles white, he clutches the sink again, gritting his teeth until his cheeks ache. Tommy, he thinks. If it has to start somewhere with nobody noticing, then it has to start with Tommy. The thought feels right and wrong at the same time. Buck lets the toilet flush, then runs cold water over his wrists. 
He returns with the vague hope that Tommy has simply fallen asleep again. Instead, the man sits upright in bed and says, "I've been thinking."
"It's like... 4:30 in the morning," Buck replies with a glance on the clock. "And you've got the whole blanket again." 
Snuggling up next to him, he tugs at the comforter until Tommy finally gives up a piece of it. 
"Yes, but I'm awake now," says Tommy. 
"Shit, I'm sorry."
"Never mind," Tommy returns good-naturedly, "your shift starts much earlier than mine, I'm sure I can sleep a little longer."
Well, I won’t, thinks Buck, but he’s careful to not let his thoughts show. He buries his face in Tommys side, breathing in his scent. It's something he would much rather become addicted to, that peculiarly stimulating smell of sleep and masculinity. 
"And what were you thinking about?" he mumbles. 
"That we should move in together."
Now Buck is also wide awake, even more so than before, and for a brief moment, the pain is actually irrelevant. He sits up, looking inquisitively into Tommy's face. It's still dark in the apartment, the sunrise can only be glimpsed behind the blinds. So whatever he sees now, it may be easy to misinterpret. 
In fact, Tommy's sharp features are soft in these pale surroundings. He almost appears… insecure. Buck doesn’t even know why he’s suddenly kind of shaken, after all he’s moved in with some of his partners before, and earlier, even. They've just never talked about it, maybe because it wasn't necessary, maybe because Tommy still thinks they should be taking it slow. Every time Tommy's supposed confidence crumbles when they're together, in such small, very tender moments, Buck feels like his heart is about to jump out of his chest. 
"Your place or mine?" he asks, and the smile he causes on Tommy’s lips is worth it. 
"Actually," Tommy returns, stroking Buck's hair, lost in thought,  "I thought we'd look for something new. Together."
"It's a big deal," Buck opines.
"Right, it's probably too soon."
There’s not even a hint of disappointment in Tommy's voice, he’s far too composed for that. Buck recognizes himself so much in this answer that it hurts, in a completely different way to his leg. It's easier to withdraw than to live with the disappointment of having your wishes ignored over and over again. Tommy knows this as well as himself, but it only seems to have made him stronger, while it made Buck sadder. At least until he met Tommy. And he doesn't want him to feel like that. 
"It's not," he says, leaning forward to brush Tommy's lips with his. "I'd like that."
"Really?"
"Really."
The sun rises, less outside the blinds but in Tommy's face. His kiss is unexpected and impetuous, regardless of the fact that they should both brush their teeth first. A second later, Tommy's lips graze Buck's earlobe, breathing a "This is going to be great" that sets his skin on fire. Tommy seems to sense this, he starts nibbling on the sensitive spot on Buck's neck.
"I thought you wanted to go back to sleep," Buck mumbles, but his hands are already kneading Tommy's muscular back.
"Hmm," returns Tommy, shifting to manhandle Buck on his back. "If you’re not sleeping, I’m not sleeping."
Tommy’s beautiful face above him, his hands all over his body, Buck knows that this will successfully ease his pain. For a few minutes, at least, he will no longer be able to distinguish between pain and passion. He will forget that he hurts, and it will be easy not to show.
Maybe, one day, he’ll be ready to tell Tommy about it. 
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aclowntiny · 1 year ago
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🏰 Ateez as Hogwarts Students🪄
Who wouldn’t want to go to Hogwarts with these boys? 😁 can’t wait to write some AUs for them too!
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Hongjoong
☆ “Ah,” the Sorting Hat hums as it’s set atop Hongjoong’s head, “the mind of an artist. Don’t see this one too often. Creative, determined, you like to do what you want.” With a chuckle, the hat’s folds opened again, this time with a shout of “Ravenclaw!” Hongjoong is proud, hoping he could represent the house known for creatives and intellectuals who push boundaries.
☆ Proudest “blood traitor” Pure-Blood family this side of Hogwarts, that’s the Kims, especially Hongjoong 😌
☆ Like, the only student at Hogwarts who has an actual knack for Divination, like he actually sees things and they actually make sense. No one believes Hongjoong until something actually comes true. He even asks for his own crystal ball from his parents for Christmas and customizes a really pretty base for it. He’s also really skilled at Transfiguration, all the really flowing magic just cones to him even though there’s a precision to that one. Hongjoong can roll with it all!
☆ He doesn’t hate any of his classes, but History of Magic is the least interesting one for sure.
☆ Hongjoong joins the Ravenclaw Quidditch team as a Chaser, a position where he can lead and guide the team…and also try to pull as many distracting trick shots as he can! Gets really creative with how he spins the ball.
☆ He cannot wait to see what his Patronus looks like, secretly hoping to either get something adorable or really beautiful. He gets his wish and then some as wings burst out, a phoenix flying from his wand. It is quite rare for someone to have a magical creature for a Patronus, but chalk that up to Hongjoong’s spirit! He absolutely adores his Patronus, the sight of it perched on his shoulder, and his heart swells. His memories literally created magic.
Seonghwa
☆ He kind of wants Gryffindor, but has been told he'd make a good Hufflepuff, so ultimately Seonghwa leaves it up to the hat's decision. "Leaving it up to me, huh?" The Sorting Hat chuckles. "You're kind. You care for and value others...and their opinions apparently! You're a Hufflepuff!" Huh, so that was that.
☆ Having Muggle parents, he was quite surprised to develop powers, but a quick visit from his future teachers cleared things up…sort of! He can’t get over how amazing Diagon Alley is, dragging his parents into every shop he can.
☆ Absolutely ENAMORED with Care of Magical Creatures, like oh my gosh little tree guys! Funny cats! A REAL HIPPOGRIFF??? Seonghwa can’t get enough of the fantastic animals. He’s also a natural at Herbology, basically you can always trust him to keep things alive! Both of those classes simultaneously relax and excite him.
☆ Flying? Up that high? No thank you!
☆ Due to his fear of heights, Seonghwa doesn’t join Hufflepuff’s Quidditch team, but is the loudest, proudest supporter out there! You’ll always find him in the stands, especially since he has friends in every house.
☆ Seonghwa wonders what animal he'll get: maybe a cute cat or a big, strong tiger? A lovely mare? Sort of! A large pegasus is what ends up soaring from the tip of his wand, spreading its gorgeous wings and snuffling at its partner, bringing a wide-eyed look of eye and smile to him as he reaches his hands out to the white winged horse.
Yunho
☆ He’s outgoing, so maybe Gryffindor? That’s what Yunho thinks as he does some pre-hat self-reflection. The hat, however, takes a different approach. “Hm, kind, loving, loyal, yes, very loyal…” “Thanks!” Yunho exclaims, surprised the hat seems so nice. This isn’t so bad! “This one goes to Hufflepuff!” Yunho is surprised, but it makes sense given what the hat said. Happiness shouldn’t be too hard to find in Hogwarts’s kindest house!
☆ Yunho’s family is Pure-Blooded, but they raise their children with great sympathy for those without magic.
☆ Due to his interest in the world outside of wizarding, Yunho signs up for the Muggle Studies elective and loves it. They use electricity? Like lightning trapped in metal and that’s how telephones work? It’s almost more amazing how people go without magic than just waving a wand and making things move on their own! He also enjoys Charms, just quick little spells he can let go on the fly for fun.
☆ Doesn’t really hate any particular classes, but he got emotionally attached to the mandrake he raised in Herbology and got sad when it died.
☆ One of Hufflepuff’s Chasers. Loves the feeling of the wind in his hair and being able to fly victory loops when he scores and wins!
☆ Yunho is so excited when it’s his turn to try a Patronus, practically bouncing on his heels and hoping he gets a cool one as he remembers so many wonderful and exciting moments of his life so far. With quite a burst, a golden retriever leaps out and stands up on him, almost bowling him over!
Yeosang
☆ "You're an interesting one, aren't you?" "Er, thank you...sir?" Yeosang glanced upward at the mass of fabric atop his head. "You're trying not to laugh right now," the hat exposes him, "and yet a thousand ideas are coming to your head. Best express a few of those. Ravenclaw!" Yeosang wasn't sure what he was expecting, sure he thought he could make Gryffindor and some of his friends teased him about being a shoo-in for Slytherin, but something about being in a quiet, intelligent house didn't bother him either. He could be more than happy about that!
☆ A Half-Blood born to a Muggle and a wizard, Yeosang has a foot in both worlds. Magic is no great surprise to him, though, being raised around all his wizarding family and the rest sworn to secrecy! His Muggle cousins are so jealous he gets powers!
☆ Enjoys Astronomy because it’s really relaxing to look at the stars and draw beautiful charts. The idea that they might reveal secrets is amazing to Yeosang too. He jokes about taking Muggle Studies just for the bit, but ends up in Ancient Runes with Hongjoong. It’s a hard class but at least they can write secret code notes to each other!
☆ He’s not a huge fan of Potions because the mistakes tend to get messy! Wishes he could take it with Wooyoung every year.
☆ Ravenclaw’s Seeker, Yeosang has a knack for focusing in on one thing and even when his eyes wander, having them land on the golden snitch!
☆ Frankly, Yeosang isn’t sure what he’s expecting, like will the animal look like him? Represent his memories somehow? Just be whatever it happens to be? Despite having no specific expectations, he still can’t contain his awe and surprise when a glowing lioness slides out of his wand, fierce but caring and capable, and leans to peer at him with soft eyes.
San
☆ He’s not sure if he’s more of a Slytherin or a Gryffindor honestly, but the assumption in his mind is that he’s one of the two. “Slytherin or Gryffindor, huh?” The Sorting Hat asks. “Well, I just thought of those as the houses that take action, and-” “You’re a doer, huh?” The hat replies. “Big heart, too. I’ll say…Gryffindor!” The hat seemed to agree with San and listen to him, so he’s happy to join the house of lions!
☆ San is a Half-Blood, his parents being a Half-Blood and a Muggleborn, so he has plenty of wizarding experience along with his sister, but there’s something special about the memories they make with their Muggle grandparents!
☆ This boy loves to fly! He’s pretty sad it’s only an official regular class in First Year because an hour of flying is the best decompress after a bunch of lessons. He also really loves Care of Magical Creatures, trying to apply what he knows from caring for the cat he brings to Hogwarts as if it’ll help him remember what nifflers eat!
☆ History of Magic bores him, but at least it’s a good excuse to goof off and play with his friends in- all while keeping his head up as much as possible, of course.
☆ One of Gryffindor’s Chasers. Addicted to the rush of flying, just being able to soar around after the balls. Also loves having that opportunity to contribute to a team, it makes his heart warm!
☆ Everyone says it’s going to be a cat, and San just laughs, saying he wouldn’t mind at all. Well, luckily for his Patronus San is good-natured, for it slinks out of his wand as a Siamese cat that looks suspiciously familiar… perhaps Patronuses really are made from the things people love most.
Mingi
☆ Mingi wants to be in Ravenclaw, even though the house’s reputation for great minds is a bit daunting. “So, it’s Ravenclaw you want?” The Sorting Hat asks him. “Well, if I’m being honest,” Mingi replies, “yes. I- I think I can do it!” “Of course you can. You’ve a good mind on you,” the hat tells him, “Ravenclaw it is!” So proud to be in his dream house, Mingi swears to prove himself worthy of it.
☆ As a Muggleborn, he gets thrust into the wizarding world very quickly, but he makes friends the moment they set foot in Diagon Alley, so that’s where he learns about things like his school’s houses and sports. Mingi feels so lucky to get to experience it all and that the other kids he meets are so nice!
☆ Absolute Arithmancy whiz! Everyone’s whining about how hard it is and here’s Mingi with his great grades like it’s nothing, even though he’s forgotten his inkwell a few times. Everyone thinks he’s not going to be good at Potions but he surprises them with that too. Never has any big blowups and really likes making different brews once he gets the hang of it!
☆ Defense Against the Dark Arts makes him nervous because he didn’t realize how dangerous the wizarding world could be! Could those things really be out there to get him or his friends? He can only hope he remembers all he learns.
☆ Prefers watching Quidditch to playing, but he hand-makes a banner to wave in the stands that is the most precious mood booster to the team!
☆ Mingi isn’t sure what he’s going to get, jokes ranging from a powerful lion despite him being in Ravenclaw to a little leaping bunny. As his will is focused through his hand and wand, though, joy turning into light, it takes the shape of a snowy owl. Wise, fierce-looking, and yet…it tumbles over and bursts into what looks like a smile at the sight of its caster and Mingi can’t help smiling back!
Wooyoung
☆ The Sorting Hat speaks almost the second it’s placed on Wooyoung’s head. “Oh, Merlin! This one’s a Gryffindor if I’ve ever seen one!” Grinning, Wooyoung is off the stool in no time, proud to get the house he wanted so definitively.
☆ He’s a Half-Blood, both of his parents wizards just descended from mixed lines, plenty of Muggleborn and Half-Blood genes contributing. He used to joke that his family needed to be careful or else they’d end up with a bunch of squibs, but he couldn’t care less about blood- they’re his family.
☆ This boy LOVES Charms- any class he can use to screw with his friends is a great one for Wooyoung! He’s also an absolute star at Potions AKA his friends’ savior when they need help. He just legitimately loves it, though, so working on even the homework for it is often fun for him!
☆ Cannot STAND History of Magic, it’s just blah blah blah…but at least he can kick San under the bench and see what random stuff he can levitate without Binns noticing (it’s a lot).
☆ Another of Gryffindor’s Chasers, Wooyoung is known for taking (and often landing) really daring shots! May even want to try out for captain later on.
☆ Jokes about his Patronus looking like a lion because he’s that proud to be a Gryffindor, but as he remembers good times with friends and family and a fox leaps from his wand with a sly tilt of its head, Wooyoung can’t help but feel like he got the perfect partner.
Jongho
☆ "You're good at something once you put your mind to it." Jongho's mouth fell open into a little 'o' of surprise, not expecting a compliment from the Sorting Hat of all people...well, beings? "Convincing, too, very convincing. You can take charge when you need to." Jongho nodded along with the hat's words right up to the moment it called out "Slytherin!" He was a bit surprised being so brave and active, but he sort of had the feeling it'd be either Gryffindor or Slytherin.
☆ A Pure-Blood wizard, Jongho doesn’t let the pressure of that get to him- to him they’re all witches and wizards, it’s their skills and application that depend, and he intends to use and grow his!
☆ One of his favorite subjects is Flying because it helps him practice for Quidditch, one of his greatest areas of desire to achieve! He also adores Muggle Studies, the class where he learns about Muggle sports like soccer and subsequently tries to find Muggleborns to play with him.
☆ Considers dropping Divination because it’s such a ridiculous class, but keeps it just because it ends up being some of the most fun bonding time with friends. And ok, fine, once something may have been accurate and the curiosity has eaten him up since.
☆ One of Slytherin’s Beaters, and boy is he good at it! Such a strong arm makes for some spectacular Bludger shots. A big part of why the other teams are worried about playing Slytherin.
☆ Is determined to cast a corporeal Patronus, focusing with all his might on his best memory. It definitely pays off, he thinks, as a massive light fills the space in front of him, coalescing into the form of a big grizzly bear ready to firmly protect him.
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a-risk-to-take · 10 months ago
Note
….you posted your tattoo (sick) and linked to house of dirk and i read it all and its unfinished. if you hadn’t posted i may have lived my life without getting fanfic blue balled for the first time since 2015. if you have any sympathy for my loss you would give me fanfic recs >:[ /lh
I feel your pain believe me 😭😭 I’m sorry I didn’t warn you at least. I’m low-key hoping the tattoo image gets to imarriedacherub and inspires them to continue the story - obviously not likely but it’s nice to dream!
I got recs for you though! I’ve got hundreds of bookmarks on my ao3 but here’s the HS stuff I love the most:
The epics:
Dayvhe’s Broken Diamond Club and everything by @unda-dsk: DBDC is my personal fave of theirs, and the best treatment of troll culture in any fic ever. If you know HS fic you are probably aware of MC Escher That’s My Favorite MC, and that one is absolutely excellent and completely deserves its status as one of the very best. And then there’s Alternate Universe, which is a perfect and beautiful magic school story. All of these are absolutely top-tier - I cannot stress this enough. They are epic and very long but some of the best stuff I’ve ever read—fanfic or otherwise—and they changed me when I read them. Despite the length, DBDC is very episodic so you can read each chapter as its own story and easily take breaks in between them without losing the flow, so you might want to start there. I promise it’s worth it!!
so we don’t kill the ones we love by @callmearcturus: I’ve never read anyone who can create an atmosphere like Arc can - this one is kind of a John Wick AU but in a really refreshing and elevated way. The characterization is so on point. Lots more I could rave about but I’ll just add that Arc’s Karkats are the hottest and most based out there. Again all his stuff is really good - this one is my favorite, but don’t miss this really cool magic artisan AU also.
The meteorstucks:
Aahhh there’s no way this is gonna be complete because I’ve read like hundreds and I get them confused but these are some that stand out. In case you haven’t notice already this list is gonna be very davekat centric!
Keep It Down by sburbanite - chef’s kiss concept and execution just read it
A Xenological Exploration of Music and Language by superbloom - super fun and well written with neat headcanon - and turned me on to some great music
I’m actually gonna just declare this section unfinished for now - I need to revisit these and remind myself what’s what - stay tuned!
Illustrated
Since you liked HoD you might be looking for more comic-y stuff with art. Definitely check out @chthonicarcher’s amazing davekats! Such as That’s All We Are
Dream a Little Dream of Me by koroke - this is just a little dream bubble comic but it’s simply the loveliest and I’m massively envious of the art style
Gonna Need Some Windex by the End of the Year by magniloquentChanteuse - more artistic storytelling just neat!
More
It’s About Time by @laurasauras - this is a sweet cute lovely little time travel davekat that I actually sent to a friend to read who knew nothing about HS and successfully led them into the fandom. (Followed by AU by Unda). Laurasauras is prolific and there are so many great fics written by them I can’t list them all here but they are one of my absolute favorite authors. Their understanding of the strider psyche is absolutely impeccable
The Worst Goddamn Movies Ever Fucking Made by writerbot - this fic brought me so much hilarity and joy I can’t even tell you. The Karkat voice is perfect and delightful and the social media interludes are so fucking funny and impressive. One of the first fics to show me how creative and funny this fandom can be.
I’m surely going to add to this - there are so many more meteorstucks and other authors I know I’ll think of after I post this - but I don’t want to spend too much longer on this now when you could be reading some of this great stuff! ENJOY!!
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run2yew · 2 years ago
Text
Frustrated.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Pairing: Han Jisung /Female reader
Genre: romance, suggestive, smut (minors dni), best friends to lovers au
Word count: 5.9k
Warnings: swearing, oral (male rec), making out, semi public (??)
Summary: "You want me to help?."
"I told you, you don't have to. I'll figure something out."
"No, like, right now. Do you want me to help?"
He stops, batting his eyelashes in shock.
"What the fuck are you talking about?."
You shouldn't do this, but right now, you're not sure if you're thinking with your brain at all. And that's probably why you get on your knees, spinning his chair to face you. Your face leveling with his core.
hanji <3: come pick me up im scared
you: did I ask?
hanji <3: do you HAVE to be mean w me even when im struggling :((?
you: yes, and you like it
you: what happened to my favorite brat?
hanji <3: you know what time I got here? 6AM
hanji <3: my last meal was LUNCH
hanji <3: it's MIDNIGHT AND NO DINNER YET
hanji <3: im so fucking hungry and tired I might go insane
you: are you trying to die??
you: seriously, just tell me and I'll do it for you, no need to starve!!!
hanji <3: very funny
hanji <3: we can't go out to eat rn and I don't wanna eat the company food 😭
hanji <3: stupid changbin with his stupid pork craving now I want pork :/
you: im sorry, wish I could do something to help :((
hanji <3: you're bearing me, that's nice
hanji <3: plus, it's not like you could bring me food or anything lol
you: yeah
you: you'll be fine though, we'll have pork on the weekend, I'll pay!
"What are you doing here?." Jisung asks, suddenly getting up from where he was sitting. His brows arching as he blinked slowly in your direction, although you didn't miss the way his lips curled up slightly.
"I bought food." You simply put, leveling the food bags with your face and beaming before closing the door behind you.
You turn back to meet his eyes again, bowing to his friends in the process.
It was late, and you couldn't help but feel bad when Jisung texted you. Admitting he was exhausted, rambling about how he couldn't stop to get some food and how the song was turning out great but they couldn't risk cutting the flow.
Jisung and the guys are hardworking, and even though you appreciate their art, it's not fair to their own bodies to ignore what they're feeling. 
So you had a brilliant idea: randomly showing up with food.
It was a bold move, of course, but if you wanted to do something nice for him you'd have to go for it. He'd do the same for you.
"I'm sorry for interrupting, I just..." Your eyes shift to the smiling ChangBin lazily placed on the studio couch, legs thrown over a chair relaxedly, leaning in like he wants you to keep talking.
"Jisung told me you guys were hungry and tired, so you know...couldn't fix the tired. The hungry was the next thing on my list." You chuckle nervously, finishing with a shrug.
"Please, you're not interrupting us, you're doing us a favor" Changbin points as he straightens his back on the couch, restraining his legs from where they were placed. 
"An amazing favor, actually. Thank you." Chan adds, eyes softening, and you can't help but give him a smile back, which he gladly returns with a small wink that makes you chuckle.
"Don't worry though, I'm just going to drop this off and go back. I don't mean to bother, just wanted to help."
Chan immediately stands up, vigorously shaking his head in denial, reaching for your hands as he takes the bags from you and puts them on the small coffee table in front of him. "No, no, no, no, no. Come on, you're staying and eating with us!."
"Chan, it's fine, really. I don't want to come in between your creative process. I'm already doing too much by having this conversation." You insist.
"Stay." Jisung's voice is assertive, a bit demanding even, and it echoes as the room grows silent, that's when you realize the effect that the acoustics of the place have on your conversation, and it's also when you realize he hasn't said a word this whole time.
"I can't just let you leave like that," He continues, crossing his arms in front of his chest and taking another step forward to meet you. "Eat with us and chill for a bit."
"The whole point of me coming here was to not interrupt-"
"You're staying. End of story" He states, waving his index finger warningly, "And you're eating."
You try to protest, whining in response, but you have no luck convincing him. He grabs you by the shoulders and guides you to the empty seat next to Changbin on the couch, plopping you there and mumbling a small "sit" when you try to get back up.
What are you? A dog?.
"So, what did you get?." The guy next to you asks, leaning forward, trying make out what was inside the bag, but by the way he was smiling, you assumed he already knew.
"Samgyeopsal." 
Changbin lets out a yelp, quickly shifting in his seat to face you, you can sense his mood lifting as he smiles so brightly it reaches his eyes, almost jumping from the words you said. Jisung was right, the man really loved food.
"You're joking..." He shakily trails off.
"Nope," you chuckle. "You were craving it. It'd be mean not to get it."
"Oh my God Sungie! I Iove you, I love you, I love you." Changbin sing-songs, standing up to chase the younger boy that fails to escape from his embrace, rolling his eyes at the display of affection.
"And you," he reaches out his hand for a high five that you happily return, "Thank you. I'm sure we'll be great friends." 
I'm sure we will." You try your best to sound nonchalant, nodding before deciding to open up for a hug. Sensing that's what he wanted to do in the first place, Changbin gladly takes the request and wraps you in his - insanely strong?- embrace.
When you try to pull away, he spins you, lifts you up and adds another "Thank you.", Your attempt to break free with is unless, laughing until Chan pulls you away from him.
Gosh, it was hard to keep a neutral expression around these guys, pretty soon your cheeks were going to hurt from smiling so much, but you couldn't help it, how are you supposed to keep it together?.
You turn to face Jisung to tell him to eat, only to be met with his eyes already on you, his expression completely neutral, his arms still crossed.  You wonder if something's wrong.
You give him an upside down smile, squinting your nose playfully, which he returns with a roll of the eyes, followed by a small chuckle.
He's probably just tired.
"You guys should eat before it gets cold." You say.
Chan nods, opening the bags and placing the food on the table, organizing everything however he felt like it. Jisung offered to help, and while he organized the cups on the table, you started taking in his presence.
Jisung looked different today, but you couldn't quite place exactly what had changed in the last two weeks since you last saw him. You wonder if it's the hair, parted in the middle, falling on his eyes every now and then. But when he rolls up the sleeves of his black hoodie, exposing his strong arms and veiny hands, causing you to gulp, you realize that's probably not it.
Doesn't matter.
Lost in your thoughts, you don't feel a small plate being placed on your legs by your best friend, you also don't realize you've been spacing out until a gentle squeeze is delivered to your knee.
Jisung stands by your side, completely oblivious to where your mind was wandering, as he hands you chopsticks. 
He takes a second to push his hair out of his face, a failed attempt since little strands fall back onto his eyes. 
His hair's really long.
And it looks really soft.
Regardless, you force yourself to look at him in the eyes, too afraid he'd catch what you were thinking if you didn't.
"Thanks Ji."
He chuckles, nudging your shoulder lightly, "Always."
You breathe out, hyperfocusing on the way his eyes stay on yours for just a bit longer than usual.
Shit.
What the fuck is going on?
"My God, this food is hitting, I feel like I'm going to ascend to heaven." Changbin whines contentedly, pushing your attention away from your inner conflict.
Chan, who's now sitting by his side, rolls his eyes, "You say that about everything we eat."
"It's true, though!." He takes another big bite, nearly whimpering at the taste of the food.
"Can you not moan while we're trying to eat?." Jisung groans in annoyance and you laugh at their antics. It's nice to see people so comfortable with each other, it's nice to see your friend in a different element. You're happy they're enjoying the food you bought.
Jisung scoots closer to you, your shoulders barely touching, but it's enough to make your breath catch, and you hate it. He's done this to you a million times.
"Yo, try this." He holds a spoon to your face, pouting when you take a second or two to analyze the food combination before taking his wrist and moving the spoon to your mouth.
He beams, watching you gleefully munch on the delicious food, licking your lips afterwards, leaving out a soft hum. "Oh my God this is life changing." You speak, eyes widening.
"I know, right?." He snorts, taking another piece from your favorite part of the meat and moving it to your plate, a simple but attentive act.
Suddenly, he stops mid-eating and moves back to stare at your face, like he's searching for something. You tilt your head in confusion, letting your gaze follow his.
"Wait," He moves his free hand to hold your face, pulling you closer to him by your cheeks.
You're not sure what makes you so warm, he's not even holding you tightly, but just the slightest bit of pressure on both of your cheeks makes you grow warm.
"What are you doing?" You whine, trying to get away from him, struggling to hide the way your heart pounds.
"Stay still!." He demands, brushing his thumb over the corner of your mouth and wiping what seemed to be sauce from the food he previously fed you with it. 
You blink, gaze shifting everywhere but his face, a new feeling begins at the pit of your stomach and ends right in between your legs. You have to gather all that's within you to try and form a steady answer. "I- uh, thank you, Ji."
Jisung though, is completely unbothered, batting his eyes as he takes his thumb coated with the small bit of sauce and props it onto his mouth, leaving a low hum at the taste, eyes still on you when he releases it with a pop. "No problem."
You clear your throat, left to face the table in front of you.
Except you can't concentrate because, holy shit.
That was hot.
Like, really hot.
Jisung's hot.
Wait, you think Jisung's hot?.
Oh fuck.
"You have to chill." You mutter to yourself, pacing left to right inside the bathroom, trying to get a hold on when your mind started going where it did.
You take another look at yourself in the mirror, contemplating whether you should splash some water on your face to wake the fuck up or not.
You tried, you tried to forget what happened, but it feels like the thought is always there, on the back of your head, chasing you, haunting you.
It's been 30 minutes since the little "incident" with Jisung, and since then, you can't fucking concentrate on anything. Chan told you to stay with them for a while, to vibe with them, to keep them company, and Jisung and Changbin didn't oppose the idea, so you agreed. Now, you regret it completely.
You're having the most difficult time of your life, you can only think about Jisung. With his plump, red lips that seemed—oh, so soft - wrapped around his thumb, tongue swirling around to lick the remains of sauce from his callused finger, his eyes locked on yours throughout the whole process. 
You squeeze your eyes shut again, taking a deep breath.
It's too much.
How can such a small action rent a fucking triplex on your brain like that? Just the imaginative sight of him, grabbing on your face like that, so delicately yet so possessively...
No.
You have to stop.
You're imagining things.
What the fuck are you doing?. This is Jisung you're talking about, your best friend Jisung.
Pull yourself together.
It's your hormones, maybe you're ovulating. You have to be.
You can't let it get the best of you, not now.
Not when you're about to leave this bathroom and see him.
Inhaling deeply, you force yourself out of the room, attempting to get this over with quickly.
"Just an hour, an hour and I can leave." You tell yourself.
"I need a break or I'm going to LOSE MY MIND." Changbin exclaims, stretching his body as he gets up from the chair.
"You're so dramatic, it's been like an hour since our last break." Jisung responds, still focused on the screen in front of him.
"Two hours." The other corrects.
Yeah well, the plan of staying just an hour didn't work that well, time went by quicker than it should and that couch was far too comfortable for you to dismiss it, especially after eating.
"Maybe it's time for some ice cream?." You ask.
"I'd kill for that." Jisung adds.
"I can get some, you guys keep with the work. You want more water?."
"No, no, no, you already got us food it's unfair." Chan refutes, "I'll go."
"But-"
"Don't worry, Changbin gets all whiny if we don't have at least one break, and I don't know if I can deal with him tonight without going the strangling route." He jokes, earning a nice laugh from you and Jisung. "it'd be good for us.
"You sure?." 
"Yeah, yeah you can stay with Jisung while he finishes off his part. Tell him off if he gets too distracted." Chan winks.
"You good with that?." You ask Jisung.
"As if I have a choice." He puts, ironically.
"We should be back in a a while. What flavor do you want?." He asks you.
"Strawberry." Jisung answers for you, his hand moving to hug your waist sneakily.
Your heart does the thing again.
Of course he knows your favorite ice cream flavor, he's your best friend.
And it's not like he's never hugged you before.
"I should get my wallet."
"Are you insane? You're not paying!." Jisung squeezes your waist.
"Shut up, I want to."
"Too bad." Jisung gives Chan his card, and the older boy shrugs whispering a "sorry" to you as he takes the card.
Jisung gives you a smile, then turns back to the computer, slowly going over what he was doing.
You're still on the couch, but you decide to move to where Chan was sitting, in the chair by his left side.
Slowly, you watch him do whatever he's doing, huge headphones covering his ears as he skillfully works. You wish you understood at least a little about music production.
However, watching him work was always entertaining to you, and now that you're alone and you can see him properly, it's even better.
"You're really good at this." You whisper, resting your head against his shoulder, careful not to disturb him and making sure he can still move his hand with ease.
Jisung jolts a bit, and you chuckle, watching him take the headphones off.
"What are you doing?." 
"I missed you." 
You did. This was the first time you saw Jisung in two weeks, and physical touch being one of your love languages definitely didn't help with the absence of him. You didn't want to go overboard when the guys were there, afraid you'd make him (or them) uncomfortable or disturb their work. So you kept it light: a leg thrown over his while you were eating, occasionally getting up and reassuringly rubbing his shoulders to ease the tension. 
But now, you're alone, and you can express just how much you missed him.
"I missed you too, pretty." He pats your head and scrunches his nose, "Once I have the time, I'm spending the night at yours for a week straight. Prepare to be sick of me."
"Like is hard." You shrug.
"If it's so easy then why are you all over me right now?." He narrows his eyes, eyeing your other hand that placed on his lower thigh. 
"You're so annoying." You yank your hand away, surprised by your own action, convinced you did it subconsciously just to support yourself in the position you were in.
He lets out a sincere laugh and puts his headphones on, shoving your head back to where it was. When you whine, he simply gives you a pat on the head and focuses back on the screen.
Asshole.
You really missed him.
You go back to watching him, moving the hand that was on his tight to his upper arm, rubbing soothing circles on the skin to keep you from thinking.
It didn't work for long though, soon your mind betrayed you once again, and you were caught thinking about how big his arm was. You know he's hitting the gym, but lord, did he get even bigger with just two weeks? That's not possible, is it?.
Squeezing your eyes shut, you move your hand, realizing he's not typing on the keyboard anymore. So you take his hand and place it on yours, interlocking your fingers in an attempt to calm yourself down.
You stay like that for a while, playing with his rings, trying not to hyperfocus on his fingers, cursing yourself internally for being a pervert in such a sweet interaction, a time you have with your friend after weeks.
"I can't focus." He says, almost throwing the headphones over the computer. You jump, not expecting the sudden action.
"Is everything okay?." You move away from him, trying to read his expressions. "Did I do something? I can sit back on the couch if that's the problem..."
"No, no, no, no." He says almost immediately, barely letting you finish speaking, grabbing your hand and squeezing to reassure you. "I'm just..." He sighs, "So fucking frustrated. I'm working a lot. It's difficult for me to work so many hours like Chan and Bin, plus I'm not like them, I-"
He stops, mouth open as if he's pondering what to say before sealing his lips again.
"What?."
"It's stupid." He disregards, shaking his hand while staring at his own feet.
"Ji, if it's bothering you, then it can't be stupid." You affirm.
"It's weird, talking to you about these things. Trust me."
"Come on, we've talked about pretty much everything, nothing you say can be weirder than what I've already heard from you." You joke, and he lets out a single scuff, enough to feel like you're easing him in.
"Fine."
"Say it." 
"I'm really worked up-"
"Already know that, and I told you to at least try to get some rest-"
"I'm not done." He adds, tone dropping lower while you try to dismiss the sudden wave of warmth that courses through you.
"Sorry."
"I'm so fucking frustrated, in anyway you can think of. And it's not like I can relieve myself like Changbin and Chan do with their girlfriends, part of me feels like I just need to have a proper release. But lately, I haven't been able to do that." He sighs, moving his hands to his face, covering his eyes. "I love music and I love working, but all I've been doing lately is focusing on music all day, I can't even see you anymore..."
"Oh..."
"Also, you're here, touching me like this, in the most innocent way, and I can't help but... anyway- it's not really helping..." He admits, but then immediately snaps a hand over his mouth in shock.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have said it that, God, this is stupid, I'm just so-"
"Horny?." You lift your eyebrow in question.
"And tired." he adds.
"Well, I could... find someone for you?" I have some friends that-"
"No. Just forget it." He sighs, shifting in his seat, and getting ready to put the headphones back.
You stop him.
"Do you want me to help?."
"I told you, you don't have to. I'll figure something out."
"No, like, right now. Do you want me to help?."
"What the fuck are you talking about?."
You shouldn't do this, but right now, you're not sure if you're thinking with your brain at all, and that's probably why you get on your knees, spinning his chair to face you. Your face leveling with his core.
"I can't stand watching you suffer. I want to help." The proposition lingers, and you panic, afraid you're about to get rejected, scared he might not be interested in you in that way. "As a friend."
"You do?."
"Yeah, if you want me to."
"I do - fuck, yeah I do. But are you sure?."
You nod. Running your hands all over his thighs, he must've been really worked up, he's already out of breath from a simple touch, and you haven't even touched to his dick yet.
This could be fun.
At least for a moment, you can have him, without actually having him.
"How much time do we have?."
He glances at the computer, then turns to you disappointed.
"Like twenty minutes." He pouts.
"That's more than enough, Ji." You chuckle, "Should I remind you to be quiet?."
"Maybe, yeah." It comes out more as a breathy exhale than a sentence, and you laugh.
You begin by slowly rubbing him over his pants, Jisung immediately grips the sides of the chair tightly.
"Relax for me, hm?." You say. You don't want him to feel like he has to do this in any way, and you also don't want him to feel pressured or nervous about it. You're just helping him out.
"It's hard to..." 
"I got you. You're with me now."
Without a warning, you zip down his black washed jeans, skillfully pulling them down to his knees. He looks huge already, and he's incredibly hard over his underwear too, what a sight.
"Fuck, you're so hot." He whines impatiently, and you take the chance to finally free him from his boxers.
Oh my God, he's big.
Bigger than you expected.
You give him a stroke or two, staring directly into his eyes, and you watch the way his whole body jolts, leaning into your touch. You smile, so horny you can't bother to be shy, wanting to be so good at this that he falls in love with you.
Just like you fell for him.
Cockily, you begin to slowly kitten lick his tip, before swirling your tongue around his member saliva pilling on your mouth, just enough to make everything nice and wet, enough to make him let the sweetest groan fall from his lips. 
You take a deep breath and bring him into your mouth, making sure to relax and feel him around your lips, savoring the chance of being with him.
It feels so good to have Jisung like this.
A moan leaves your mouth the second he hits the back of your throat, that's when you pull back a little and get into sucking him, rubbing your thighs together, dying for some friction.
"H-Holy fuck, it feels so fucking good."
The way you're bobbing your head is driving him crazy, and the confirmation comes with how he's moaning so loudly , it has you reaching out for your clothed core and rubbing soft circles against your clit in a second - Not the way you want to relieve yourself, but I'd have to do it for now.
You've heard about how loud Jisung can get in every drunk late night talks you have with the guys — 'he's so loud we can hear him even when he's alone'
But this, being the one and only reason for these sweet sounds, felt much different.
You bring his balls into your hands, cupping and massaging his base, giving your mouth a second to rest.
When you put him on your mouth again, his eyes are already rolling to the back of his head, chest rising and falling rapidly, and mouth agape. You dig your fingers into his inner thighs, scratching the flesh, leaving pretty marks all over him, then move to do the same with his torso.
It seems to rile him up even further, considering he begins to quite literally fuck your mouth, fingers gathering your hair to move your head along with his hips.
You can't let him forget who's in charge, though.
So you push his hips down with all the strength you have and remove your mouth from him completely.
Jisung whines—almost screams, actually—from the loss of contact, narrowing his eyes at you.
"Don't be impolite, Jisung, I'm helping you." You joke, licking your lips.
"I know baby but I'm so close." He argues, breathless.
It's just a pet name
He's just desperate
He does not mean that.
"Either you let me do whatever I want, or I'll leave you here." You say.
"Jesus Christ, have you always been like this?."
You nod, "Can I get back to it?."
"Please."
Just to tease him, you don't put him in your mouth right away. You lick all over his balls, tracing your tongue against the base of his cock, never quite reaching the tip, feeling his body tense all over again, listening to his whimpers get louder and louder, before wrapping your lips around him once more. You're getting right back on track.
That's when your phone rings.
You roll your eyes, and Jisung groans in annoyance. Luckily, your phone isn't out of reach, right on your back pocket, so you can grab without stopping what you're doing.
Until you see who's calling.
"It's Chan." You mumble, detaching your mouth from him. You clear your throat in an attempt to sound normal, looking over to Jisung to gesture a small "shh."  
"Hey Chan, what's up?" You say, while evilly pecking Jisung's sensitive head, he squirms, hand flying over his mouth to muffle the sounds while you silently chuckle.
"Hey, we just got to the store because Changbin kept refusing to walk faster. I called to say there's no strawberry ice cream left. Any other flavor you'd want?.
Pouting, you answer, "Aww, that's too bad. Just bring me vanilla instead then."
You're pretty convincing. You're sure no one could tell you're licking a long stripe over your best friend's dick right now.
Chan talks about something else you can't quite focus on, and you take the moment he's blabbing to take Jisung deep into your throat, careful not to make any suspicious sounds. 
Not a good idea in the slightest, Jisung moans loudly, the hand over his mouth doing absolutely nothing to shut him up.
"Everything okay?." Chan asks.
You quickly take Jisung out of your mouth, saliva dripping down your chin in the most pornographic way possible. The man in front of you looks like he's going insane, tightly gripping the handles of the chair and staring at the trail of saliva. He's probably like this because he's been pent up, you argue, but it's undeniably satisfying to see him enjoy this so much. Going crazy over you.
"You there?." Chan asks.
"Yeah, yeah, sorry. Everything's fine, Jisung almost fell of his chair here." You force out a chuckle.
Chan lets out a laugh, but you can tell he's suspicious, and you silently curse Jisung for that.
"Okay cool, we'll be back in twenty, maybe thirty if Changbin keeps trying to buy every snack he encounters. Wait- Bin we have chips at home!. I should go." With that Chan hangs up.
You laugh, watching Jisung's eyes prick with tears as you painfully tease him.
"What? We have time." You say.
"Y-you're so mean."
"Oh, am I?"
He nods and says, "I would've never pegged you as that type."
"Eh, it depends on the mood."
"And what's today's mood?"
"Making you cum so hard you forget your own name."
"If you keep saying shit like that, I might cum untouched."
"Let's leave that for some other time."
At this point Jisung is a complete goner, he was already so close, so when you suddenly decide to go full out on him; messy, intense, delicious, it drives him insane. You look up to find him looking at you with so much desire while still struggling to keep his eyes open, you can see him fight the internally against the need to close his eyes, just to watch you. Probably the hottest thing you've ever seen.
"Fuck yeah, shit just like t-that..." His head is entirely thrown back now, his back arches and he reaches for your hair to pull on the strands again, you moan, a bit louder than you intended too as it gets harder to keep it together.
He groans, again and again, and you're pretty sure you've learned everything he likes by now because he's so fucking responsive, hips stuttering to your every touch, whimpers coming out whenever you tease him...you want more.
But this is all you can have.
Every sound that comes out of him just builds and builds and it doesn't take too long for him to turn into a whimpering, moaning mess, calling your name and all sinful things you've wanted to hear for so long.
"I-fuck I'm so close."
"Yeah? You're gonna cum for me Ji?." You ask, jerking him off a few times to rest your mouth before taking him in again. "I want you to do it on my mouth, I want to taste you Ji, please."
Jisung comes with one loud, dragged out moan that's music to your ears. He moves from your hair to your shoulder, gripping tightly at the skin.
"Holy fucking shit..."
He shoots so much into your mouth is hard to gather, but you make it a mission to swallow every single bit of him, making sure to lick him clean afterwards, only stopping when he cutely pushes your head away, overstimulated.
"E-enough, please..." He pleads.
You laugh, giving his tip an extra peck, before pulling his pants back up.
Silence fills the room, his eyes are still shut while you're resting infront of him, knees hurting and mouth already starting to feel sore. Jisung opens his eyes and you shyly smile, a wave of embarrassment hits you when you realized you've showed him a side of you he hasn't seen yet.
"So, you're freaky like that huh?." He asks, leaning in to meet your, face. "All this in the studio?"
"Shut up." You laugh.
"Come here." He taps his thigh with his palm, signing for you to sit on his lap. You think, once, twice, then comply to his wish, making yourself comfortable, yet awkwardness doesn't fail to rest inside of you.
You wait for him to speak, but no response. Instead, Jisung begins to deliver slow open mouth kisses on your neck, you sigh when he brushes his tongue right on the sweet spot you love so much, and hiss when he begins sucking and biting there.
He lets go of your neck to bring your face closer to his, staring directly into what felt to be your soul.
Jisung wastes no time in kissing you, testing every part of your mouth in such a particular way, exploring you like you're full of possibilities. His tongue works so perfectly with yours it has you squirming
When he pulls away, he's met with your love drunk face, staring right back with a smile.
"Oh my fucking God." You grin and he follows, shaking his head.
"We just kissed."
"After I sucked you off."
"Nice reminder." He slaps your thigh jokingly.
"So..."
"Yes?."
"I know the order is mess up especially after all this time of being friends, I'm definitely supposed to take you out and then you suck me off, but... would you still be up for a date?"
Your heart skips a beat the moment he finishes his sentence, still incredulous that this is actually happening.
"Sure." Is all you can manage to answer back.
"But promise me, it won't fuck up or friendship-"
"Jisung." You stop him, "Don't worry about it." You add, kissing his temple. "We'll make it work."
"We will." He afirms.
"Now that we got that out of the way..." Jisung's hand that's been resting on your thigh goes higher, it sends shivers down your spine. You're already so wet from the whole situation alone, it's unreal that you're gonna get to feel him touch you, after all this time.
When he reaches where you want him the most, and begins to apply pressure right on your clit, all you can think about is one thing:
You're a fucking genius for wearing a skirt today.
But you're interrupted by the loud sound of the studio door opening. Jisung's hand flies away from you and you quickly jump from his lap in an inhuman speed.
"We're back!." Changbin says before entering the room, Chan following him right after.
"Yeah, we can see you." Jisung rolls his eyes, turning his chair back to the laptop, like absolutely nothing happened. He easily wears the most cynical and hypocrite look to ever exist.
It's kinda hot
"I should eat your ice cream for the attitude." Changbin says, throwing the bag on the table.
"You okay?." Chan asks, looking at your currently state, your hair is not as messy as it was a few minutes ago, but the way your skirt has ridden up is definitely suspicious.
"I- yeah, I'm good. I think I'm going to head home though..."
"What about the ice cream?."
"I'll just have it on the way." You say, putting on your best smile and gathering your stuff.
"You fucked didn't you?." It leaves Changbin's mouth like it's nothing, a simple question he delivers while eating his ice cream.
"Huh? No!. What makes you think that?." Jisung asks.
But his smile gives everything away.
hanji <3: hey lol
you: what do you want?
hanji <3: what do you mean 'what do you want'?? cant i just say hey to my girlfriend?
you: its 11pm and you texted 'hey lol', something has to be up
hanji <3: fine.
hanji <3 : im working on this song, nothing much, just a sample for myself, was wondering if you'd want to be on the backing vocals
you: you have to be kidding me
you: you cant possibly know me for so long and not know I cant sing for the life of me
hanji <3: well that isn't exactly what I want to record
hanji <3: there wouldn't be much singing...
you: what?
hanji <3: ;)
you: oh?
you: OH
you: HAN JISUNG
hanji <3: are you down or nah?
you: be there in 10.
If you enjoyed this don't forget to reblog it with your feedback, it means the world to me and I'd really appreciate it! Feel free to send me an anon or ask me anything, I'm always open. Don't forget to be kind <33
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starstruckkittensweets · 1 year ago
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chapter one
Fandom: My Hero Academia Pairing: Dabi x Reader Words: 6.2k
A/N: The first chapter of my lil Dabi passion project. Partially inspired by "Haunting Adeline" (awesome book but PLEASE heed the warnings in it). The full list of warnings is included in the main masterlist, but individual ones will be posted at the beginning of each chapter. Also this is my first time writing from both Reader and Dabi's perspective, so I hope it's not too bad. I hope you enjoy!
Warnings: 18+ only (minors DNI), explicit language, mentions of arson, mentions of violence, stalking, breaking and entering, working in retail (I'm sorry), Reader lives in a cute lil house in the middle of the woods, Reader also has 3 plushies (that all have names, because I'm a dork)
"Kerosene and Butterflies" Masterlist
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It’s raining again, for the fourth day in a row. Barely any light to work with at the little workspace you’ve made for yourself at the kitchen table. So instead you rest your hands on your arms, watching the rain patter against the window panes. Pen and paper pushed away and left forgotten on the surface.
Rain always makes you feel nice. Not happy or sad, just nice. Gives you something to look at, the sound mindless enough to put you at ease. Soft and warm, more often than not lulling you to sleep with its voice. It’s hard to explain, but it seems to make sense in your mind.
Your phone lights up on the table with a text. It’s your mother again, sending her weekly check-in text. Even though you’re perfectly capable of taking care of yourself and living on your own. But it’s more for her than you; you think it helps her cope with one of her kids living abroad, so far out of her reach.
Well, that’s what enticed you about this house in the first place, but you’ll never tell her that.
With a yawn you grab your phone and send a quick reply. Yes you’re okay, you’re getting enough sleep, you miss her home cooked meals. Call her tomorrow, put her mind at ease. Buy another few days of freedom before the cycle inevitably repeats itself.
When you finish and place your phone back down, you give the paper and pen one last look. Maybe you could try one more time, see if anything comes to mind?
Your chest deflates at the thought. No, the spark is long gone. Try again a different day, get some sleep for now. You need it.
You can almost hear it laughing at you, the uncapped pen lying dangerously close to its blank skin. You’ve been hearing it for the last hour or so, wracking your brain to come up with something, anything. Words, ideas, or even bullet points you can just jot down in your chicken scratch handwriting. Just a sliver of something to get those creative juices flowing.
But your eyelids are already drooping, the rainy weather not helping you one bit. Your brain feels like it’s all dried up, giving you a never-ending headache. Telling you that you’ve already reached your peak; that nothing else you make will ever come close to how you want it to come out.
Oh well. Tomorrow’s another day, right?
But you know damn well you’ll be back to square one tomorrow night, when you get home from work. Staring at that blank page with your head in your hands, praying for the words to come. For the inspiration to strike—to make you feel anything other than this.
At least the paper’s still good, maybe you can use it for a shopping list later in the week. That way it’ll get some good use out of it.
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Your job isn’t exactly the flashiest; definitely not what you envisioned yourself doing at twenty-four years old. Working at a dead-end department store in the shady part of town, along with four or five other people—and none of them are close to you in age. But it keeps the bills paid and food in your fridge, so you guess it’s not as bad as it could be. You could do without the annoying entitled customers, though.
At least your shift stretches into the latter half of the day, meaning you only have to deal with them for about four hours, five tops if you end up taking your lunch break late. Then the store closes, the customers are ushered out, and you spend the rest of your time stocking the shelves and getting ready for the next busy day.
Most nights the store’s already empty, with only a handful of customers roaming the aisles. That gives you some extra time to start stocking; you prefer putting stuff back on the shelves rather than ringing on register anyways. Register gets boring and repetitive fast, but working on the floor always gives you something new to do.
“Excuse me, where can I find the laundry detergent?”
“Down the next aisle and to your left, all the way down at number twenty-four.”
“Where’s the soup and all the instant meals?”            
“Right over here actually, on the middle shelf.”
“You have any beer?”
“Last aisle down, all the way to the end. You’ll see the freezer straight ahead.”
Every interaction gives you a rush of excitement, as sad as it sounds. In all honesty, your job isn’t the complete worst. Most customers are fine and even pleasant to deal with, and it always makes you feel good when you’re able to help them find something on their lists. Besides, it tests your knowledge of the store, almost like a matching game; after three years of working in the same place, you pretty much know it like the back of your hand.
Tonight seems like one of those lazy nights, with only a couple customers roaming through the aisles, the lone cashier at the registers looking like he’s about to fall asleep. You’re sorting through the grocery bin at the front (either what customers decided they didn’t want, or items found randomly throughout the store). There’s quite a bit today, must’ve been pretty busy earlier in the day.
It doesn’t take long to put the shelf-ready stuff into a cart and trek down to the grocery section. Most of it is candy anyways, which is in the first couple aisles. One item after another, until you start to see the bottom of the cart.
You step back from the shelf, a handful of candy bars clenched between your fingers, when your back suddenly collides into something—or someone, judging by the grunt they let out.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean that, I should really watch where I’m going, I’m really sorry about that—”
The words die right there on your tongue as you glance up at the person. You can barely see his face behind the dark mask over his mouth and his hood pulled over his hair. But something catches your eye—something dark and heavy beneath his eyes.
He’s got some serious bags under his eyes, poor guy must be working himself to death. Must be a college student, you know how it feels.
Wait a minute…bags?
Your head begins to buzz. You don’t think you’ve ever seen bags bad enough to leave the skin so…wrinkled. Almost like they’re—
But he’s already walking away, his hands shoved into the pockets of his hoodie. Head hanging low and shoulders tense as he disappears down the next aisle.
It’s not until another customer asks you where the hand soap is, that you remember to blink—and breathe. It takes a bit of effort, but you manage to give them the right aisle across the store. But then you’re staring off into space once more, thinking about the strange person in the black hoodie and mask.
Dark patches under his eyes… Could it really be…?
No way, stop thinking like that. You know where your mind is going, don’t you dare entertain the thought.
You shake your head. You’re being ridiculous. It’s getting late, anyway. You didn’t get that much sleep last night to begin with, it’s early to bed when you get home later tonight.
You file the last of the candy in its proper home on the shelf before heading down the main path towards the registers. Pet food, paper goods, detergent, body wash… A couple aisles here and there for every department. You should check and see if there’s any chemicals up front that need to go back on the shelf. Probably the easiest department for you to handle, other than food and appliances—
Your jaw drops when you turn the corner and come face-to-face with the dark stranger from earlier. Staring down at you with those dark eyes—no, the patches are dark, his eyes are actually quite bright, and oh my fucking God they’re blue—
There’s something sticking out of his pocket—the red and white label of a box of Band-Aids. And that’s not the only thing in there, judging by the awkward bulges and pointy corners. Maybe some extra medicine or painkillers.
You glance back up at him. Neither of you make any move to leave.
“…I won’t tell if you won’t.”
The words are out of your mouth before you can stop them. All you can think about is how this little corner of the store lacks any functioning security cameras, and how it’s probably only a few dollars, it won’t necessarily put the store out of business if he gets away with it. Just this one time. No one has to know, except the two of you.  
He’s glaring now, probably curling his lip at you from behind the mask. You swallow the growing lump in your throat, your heart throbbing furiously against your ribcage.
“Can…I get you anything else?”
“Fuck off.”
He shoves his way past you, shoulder nearly knocking you on your ass. Your throat runs dry as his words echo in your ears, his voice sending chills down your spine.
You know him, but from where? You know his voice, his looks—but why can’t you remember him?
You glance over your shoulder but he’s already gone, most likely heading towards the exit. Not like you’re gonna stop him.
Still, you can’t get your little encounter out of your mind, even as you try to busy yourself with your work. Not even ten minutes pass by before you grab another box of bandages and a bottle of rubbing alcohol, mumbling to your coworker, “Store use, I’ll claim it out when I get back,” all the while feigning injury as you cradle your wrist against your chest (where a small pack of cotton balls is pressed between your fingers).
The back of the store leads out to the dumpsters in the back alley. A prime spot for smoke breaks, despite smelling like absolute crap. Chalk marks and spray paint decorating the walls, trash bags spilling out of the dumpsters in the corner. You clutch the supplies to your chest, head swinging wildly in search of the stranger.
But there’s no one out there. He’s gone for good this time—and for some reason, you can’t explain the sudden ache in your chest.
You don’t know what makes you leave the bandages and alcohol in the corner of the alley, hidden by the shadow of the dumpsters. Or why there’s a pang in the pit of your stomach, as you remember how bright his blue eyes looked.
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Here’s a tip for any aspiring writers out there: get comfortable with constantly going on the internet. Whether it’s looking for an obscure random fact about Victorian houses in the 1800s or learning just how long it takes to recover from a bullet wound in the shoulder, search engines like Google will become your best friend. It won’t always provide the most accurate information, but it’s a start to get the ball rolling.
But this particular search doesn’t stem from a story in your drafts; all you can see are those mysterious blue eyes from the store, and the dark wrinkled patches beneath them.
It doesn’t take long at all to find your answer: a thread of articles and blurry photos of the infamous League of Villains—the same ones that have been terrorizing the country for the past year or so. Casualties, crimes, and even past victims. Every word brings another wave of goosebumps, but you can’t tear your eyes away.
Of course. That’s where you knew him from. Makes sense now.
There’s a handful of people in the photos, each one more terrifying than the last. A young girl with a feral smile, associated with a string of murders involving severe blood loss. A man capable of decaying anything with just a brush of his fingers. And the same stranger you saw in the store, known for over thirty murders and thousands in property damage, all thanks to those dangerous blue flames.
You slam the laptop shut and suppress a shiver. What were you thinking? Acting so casual with a villain—you knew you recognized those eyes somewhere—and oh my God, were you really going to try to meet him outside at the back?
And for what? Some bandages that he’d clearly already stolen? Hell, you’d let him walk away even when you knew he was planning on stealing them!
Hopefully your boss never finds out about that.
You glance out the window of your living room, pulling the lapels of your jacket closer to your chest. The door’s locked, the windows are latched, and the curtains are closed. Nothing out there but the trees and the moon and the gentle rainfall.
Calm down. Why would he come after you? You didn’t do anything to piss him off, did you? So what makes you think he’d try to figure out where you lived? What would he have to gain from that?
Still, you triple check the lock on the door, before moving backwards towards your bedroom. Also clicking the lock into place once you’re safe inside.
A villain. You can’t believe you came across an actual villain.
Villains were a common presence even back home, and you knew before moving abroad there was a possibility you could encounter some of them. But they always kept to the shadows, staying out of the spotlight for as long as they could. Only showing up in cities far away from your own. You’ve never come face to face with one of them, never been so fucking close to one of them before—
You crawl into bed and throw the covers over your head. Trying to focus on the pitter patter of the rain against the windows.
But you can’t get those images out of your mind. No matter how hard you squeeze your eyes shut, or bury your face into the pillow, you can still see his face. Those horrid wrinkled patches beneath his eyes. The same shade of blue as the flames from his palms. The way he looked at you as though you were nothing but a smear of dirt on the bottom of his boot.
He could’ve burned you right then and there.
You don’t fall asleep easily that night.
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Despite your paranoia, the next few days go by without any issue. Work, errands, go back home. Your life continues just as it did before you met that crazy villain—and knowing that, you can breathe a little easier when you rest your head on your pillow for the night.
The little pile of medicine and supplies you’d left in the back alley had disappeared the next morning. Someone else had probably picked them up, who could say no to free medical supplies? There’s a slim chance that villain came back and took them for himself.
You know it’s a long shot. And yet there’s still some part of you that clings to it, wondering if he’s still sticking around this part of town.
Come on, what’s wrong with you? Are you really that eager to put your life in danger like that?
The rational part of your brain says no. But there’s another part, a much more vocal part of your brain, that can’t stop thinking about your little encounter. And what you would’ve done if he’d been in that alley that night.
Probably cry your eyes out. Then get killed like the dumbass you are.
Still, no matter what you do or what you try to focus on instead, he keeps coming back to your mind. And you find yourself visiting those damn websites, those stupid forums night after night when you get home from work, speculating just who he might be beneath those painful scars and bright blue flames.
What kind of life did he lead before joining the League? Does he have any regrets about becoming a villain? Does he actually enjoy being on the run like this?
It’s only when you’re lying wide awake in bed at close to two in the morning, still worn out from a long day at work that the more innocent questions start to plague your mind:
What’s his favorite color? Is it blue, or does he actually hate it? When is his birthday? Does he have any friends, either before he became a villain, or anyone in the League? You wonder, what’s his real name?
“Why am I even thinking about this? Not like I’m ever gonna see him again…” And you should be grateful for that.
But there’s still an ache in your chest, an awkward swirl in your stomach, every time you remind yourself of that simple little fact. And you don’t really know what to make of it.
Another hour passes before you push yourself out of bed and right to your desk in the corner. Grabbing one of the little notebooks you’d bought for story notes and ideas, but haven’t really touched in the last few months. Sliding into the seat with a sigh and clicking open one of the many black pens from the drawer at your side. Flicking on the small desk lamp and squinting against the sudden brightness.
It’s not uncommon for the inspiration to hit at ungodly hours of the morning. Honestly, you do your best writing between midnight and six a.m.; the only drawback is being unable to stay awake at work the next day. But at least you have some damn good writing to show for it.
But that hasn’t happened for months now. Not since you moved and started working nights. Now you have to hit the hay almost as soon as you come home, if you want any chance of a normal sleep schedule.
The pen moves on its own. Every breath brings another word on the page. Ink starts to smudge the side of your hand.
They appear in front of you: all the questions circling around in your mind, begging to be answered. The honest, the childish, even questions you think of on the spot. Anything and everything you would ask him if you were ever given the chance.
What are you doing? You should be in bed trying to sleep. Not doing…whatever this is.
You swallow hard as a single word appears before you: Dabi.
And immediately you start to shiver, your cheeks growing warm beneath the scathing looks of the ink and pages.
You’ve always had a strange complex when it comes to writing out people’s names. They’re much easier to speak out in your mind, or even say verbally. But once you write them out, it becomes almost final. It’s different to actually see those letters right in front of you, rather than just imagining them in your mind. Guess it makes everything seem so much more real that way. 
It’s stupid, so fucking stupid.
But you don’t stop, even when your hand begins to cramp. Because this is the first time in almost half a year that you’re actually letting your pen guide you. The first time you truly feel at ease, not even caring about what you’ve written, or even stopping yourself to edit it.
What’s it called, word vomit? It’s therapeutic, but incredibly hard to do sometimes.
It’s not until the sun rises a couple hours later, and you’re half-asleep at your desk. Your arms curled beneath your head, the muscles in your hand throbbing like crazy. But then you see all those words you’ve written, all that ink staining those pristine white pages…
And you can’t help but smile as you drift off to sleep.
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The air is stale with the scent of smoke and ash. The city always smells like shit, but it’s usually better on the outskirts. But the burning pile of flesh at the end of the alley begs to differ, and his hands still ache as blue flames lick at his palms.
Another shitty night coming to an end, thank fuck.
Dabi’s been in this damn city for the better part of two weeks now, boss’s orders unfortunately. Scouting for any possible members, new blood they could add to their ranks. But every group is the same; they’re either loud-mouthed fucks with more muscle in their arms than their own damn heads, or they’re practically children, fresh out of school and all set on playing hero. Still thinking this is a fucking game, and that they can stand to take the League out from the inside.
He’s already had one guy try it a couple months back, but he knew better than to go through with it. Can’t say the same for the rest of the dumbasses burning in the alley, though.
Oh, well. No doubt the heroes will find them tomorrow, if they even bother showing up. Not many of them like to venture all the way out here, especially if it means real danger.
He slides a pack of cigs out from his pocket, choosing one and lighting it with the tip of his finger. He’s walked these roads too many times in the last few nights, practically knows them inside and out. And it’s not long before that silly little department store comes into view—the same one that oh-so-generously let him borrow some of their stock last week.
Didn’t even need to use his quirk to make it happen, either.
The double doors slide open, the blaring lights a stark contrast to the shadows of the streets. He barely has time to step back before someone steps out, waving their hand behind them with a smile on their face.
Oh, the same one from that night. He can’t help but smirk at the memory.
It’s a girl—and if her face and height are anything to go by, he’s starting to wonder if she’s even old enough to work at a place like this. Apparently her brain must be impressively small too, with the way she’s walking down the darkened street without a care in the world. One hand fastened on the strap of her purse and the other dangling down at her side, a dark lanyard wrapped around her wrist. She must have a shit-ton of keyrings on them, judging by how hard she swings it back and forth. As if that’s going to protect her if someone tries to jump her.
Fucking dipshit.
He rolls his eyes and takes another long drag of his cigarette. Watching the stupid kid out of the corner of his eye—and nearly dropping the cig altogether when he watches her veer off the sidewalk and head straight for the forest.
What the fuck is she doing? Does she want to get herself killed?
Maybe it’s sheer curiosity—or maybe it’s hoping something out there will pick her off so she’ll learn her lesson—whatever it is, it has his feet moving on their own. Picking up the pace to keep her within his sights, the cigarette barely hanging from his mouth.
Didn’t anyone teach her not to go walking around this late at night? For fuck’s sake it’s nearly one in the morning, does her shift really last that long? What compelled her to take a walk in the goddamn forest of all places? No way she lives all the way out here, she’s probably got a place somewhere in the city. Probably just looking for a cheap thrill so late at night.
Stop it. She’s not your problem to worry about, so quit it already. Just sit back and watch the show.
He follows her down the old trodden path, waiting for her to hit a stray root or trip over a rock and fall flat on her face. But nothing happens, other than a few scuffs of dirt on her ratty old sneakers. Almost like she knows these woods—like the back of her hand.
It’s a struggle to keep his footsteps soft. His boots do nothing to quell the sound of leaves crunching, dirt spraying across the path. Luckily she doesn’t hear, either that or she just doesn’t care.
Where the hell is she heading at this hour?
His answer appears in the form of a house. A pretty shitty-looking one, if he’s being completely honest. Shabby roof, flimsy door, moss creeping over each and every corner. Almost like no one’s bothered to visit the place in the last decade or so—at least.
The girl steps right up to the door, swinging that stupid lanyard at her side. Shuffling around until she finds the right key, before disappearing into the house altogether. A light flickers on in the window, her shadow visible behind the aging curtains.
Fuck him, she does live here.
In the middle of nowhere, secluded from the rest of the world. She’s stupid, isolating herself from all those people in town. Help’s not gonna come if you’re stuck in some random forest, she’s probably better off in the heart of the city. Then again, it must be nice for her. Being able to wake up in the morning without the blaring of sirens in your ears. Tucked away where no one can find you, safe and sound in the comfort of your own quiet home.
He almost envies her. Almost.
The longer he stares at the little mossy house, watching her shadow flit back and forth behind the curtain, the more he starts to wonder what she has inside. Must be stocked on food and medicine; that shit’s hard to come by these days. Might be worth a peek once she’s gone. She’ll probably leave tomorrow night for her shift, right? He’ll slip in then, see if she’s got anything worth his time. Better this random cottage than an apartment in the city, right? From what he can tell there’s not a soul in sight, save for the looming trees and starry sky.
He’s smirking now, slipping back into the shadows of the forest, right beside the old trodden path. She never even sees him.
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The house is dark and empty by sundown. The path is easier to walk in the daylight, but he still waits until nightfall before scoping out the house. Just in case she getany bright ideas and decides to return home sooner than she should.
It’s a two-story house, and while the front door’s latched shut, the windows sure aren’t. It slides open with a squeak, like it hasn’t been touched in years. Looks like the kitchen—or a sorry excuse for one, if he’s being honest. A small table with only two chairs, neither of them looking like they’re from the same set. Papers and books and pens litter the surface, with the napkin holder knocked down on its side.
Not that they have a better one back at the base. Hell, they’re lucky enough if they’re able to sit down for most of their meals, if they can get their hands on any.
Which reminds him of his mission, and he’s scanning the room for any possible food. And there, to his left: a crowded counter stacked with boxes of cookies and candy, below a pair of cupboards with even more food stored inside.
Jackpot.
The League’s not picky when it comes to food, anything will do when your stomach’s keeping you up at night. Well, Dabi can’t say the same for himself—he fucking hates fish. He’d much rather deal with an empty stomach rather than scarf down a few meager bites of sushi. Just the thought of it makes him want to puke.
He can’t take too much the first night, that’ll only make her wonder. It’s best to have as little people in this secluded house as possible. So for now he stuffs his pockets with small snacks for the guys back at base…and maybe even a few candy bars for Toga. Last thing that little psycho needs is more sugar in her system, but he’d rather not hear her whine that he didn’t get anything for her when he gets back.
Plus, this girl doesn’t seem to have any pomegranates around (or any fruit or vegetables, for that matter), so candy will have to do.
When both pockets are jammed with food, he takes a step back to survey the rest of the house. At least the inside looks marginally better than the outside, save for the abhorrent dining room. Simple and sweet, even if it’s a little bland in color.
A gray couch with a couple of pillows in bright colorful pillowcases. A side table with one too many remotes on it, along with a paperback that’s definitely seen better days. A kitchen isle with a sink cluttered with dirty dishes, and a single stool resting beneath the opposite end. Not a single house plant in sight, but plenty of photos throughout, some on the wall but most taped on the fridge. Must be friends and family—but so far, he can only see one person living in this house.
How sad, she must be so lonely without anyone else here…
He rolls his eyes and trods up the creaky set of stairs. Might as well take a peek at the rest of the house, right?
The hallways split up into three major bedrooms. One is filled with storage totes and moving boxes, still waiting to be unpacked (though, by the layer of dust on each of them, he’s not thinking any time soon). The other bedroom is filled, and he means filled, with books. Every square inch is either vacated with an old aging shelf or a stack of hardcovers on the floor. It’s messy and cluttered and he slams the door shut as soon as he opens it.
Lives like a fucking slob, doesn’t she?
The final bedroom turns out to be the biggest one of all, and it’s the only one in the house that actually lives up to its name. A dresser, a desk, and surprise, surprise, another fucking bookcase. There’s also a bed with a thousand plushies on the covers, each one more ridiculous than the last. A giraffe, a raccoon, and whatever the fuck that is. Some weird fuzzy brown creature with a large snout and a bitchy expression on its face. Toga probably knows the name of it, but Dabi couldn’t care less.
There’s also a set of double doors that leads out to a little terrace. It looks better than the rest of the house—must be a newer addition—overlooking the forest beyond. Overall it’s a cute little spot to live in.
And still no sign of anyone else living here with her.
He’s smirking now, thinking of all the things he can sneak out of here in the next few nights—when something else catches his eye. A strange outline under the blanket of the bed, in the center of all the damn toys staring back at him.
He has half a mind to burn the little giraffe to a crisp as he reaches in for the mysterious object. And it’s…a book. Fucking shocker.
No, wait—it’s a journal. Only a few pages filled in so far, the ink messy against the bright white pages. It’s the size of his palm, with a black leather cover and a matching black string attached to the spine, probably to act as a bookmark. And sure enough it’s stuck in a certain spot in the book, the entry dated to just a few nights ago.
I want to see him again. I know that sounds wrong, but it’s the truth. I can’t really explain it, no matter how hard I try. Everything that comes out just sounds wrong…but in my head it makes perfect sense.
I know I’m probably screwed in the head for thinking this. For thinking about him like this. Like I could be the one to change him, to be the only one he wouldn’t kill on sight.
No, wait a minute. I was, wasn’t I? We saw each other that night at the store, and he didn’t even try to hurt me.
He can feel his brow inching further up with every word he reads. What the fuck is she talking about? He flips to another random page—
And the answer’s staring him right in the face, in stark black ink.
Dabi
Dabi
Dabi   
Dabi
I want to see him again. Ask him so many questions, the same ones that keep rattling away in my head. Why did you become a villain? Where did you come from? What is your favorite color?
Please, just one more time. We don’t even have to talk to each other. I just wanna see him with my own two eyes. Now that I know he’s real, that he’s the villain everyone’s afraid of. And I know I should be too, and I am…but I think I’m more curious of him. Maybe that just makes me stupid.
Yeah, I’m just stupid.
The words are swimming on the pages, blurring together, screaming in his head so loud he wonders if he’s read them out loud. But no, it’s dead silent in this room, in this house. Just him and this little black book, written in the hand of that little weirdo. The same one that chooses to live in a creepy old house in the middle of the forest, the one that works at a sketchy department store well into the night. The same one that didn’t scream once she saw him—but instead offered to let him go, even when she knew he was stealing.
And for some reason, he can’t hold back the smirk that stretches across his face.
Of all the people in this city, in this whole damn country, he thinks he’s found the one that intrigues him the most.
Poor girl, doesn’t even know what she’s caused. Just mindlessly writing her thoughts down in her diary, hoping no one will ever read what she’s written.
As carefully as he can, he tucks the book back in its place under the covers. As tempting as it is to take it with him, he knows that’ll only cause more suspicion. Still, he wants to leave her a love letter of his own—something that lets her know she’s not alone in her fascination.
So he does.
And a few minutes later he’s climbing out the kitchen window and making the trek through the forest, pockets full with snacks and a shit-eating grin on his face.
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You hate Saturday nights. Arguably the busiest night of the week, and yet you’re still so short-staffed the cashiers end up taking the full brunt of the work. Ringing register, sorting supplies, stocking shelves—oh wait, we need you back up front to do register. Wait why aren’t you working on that cart I told you to finish? Excuse me, can you unlock this item for me? Can you help me check out, and only me, these lines are too long for my liking. Why can’t you be in two places at once?
Not that you ever find it fun to come to work…but Saturday nights just make it a little less fun. And once it calms down and the store closes up, you have to make the journey back home half-asleep. It’s a miracle you haven’t woken up in the middle of the forest yet.
Tonight is one of those nights, where you stumble your way back home like you’ve just had one hell of a night at the bar. But no amount of rubbing your eyes or chugging the bottle of soda in your hands will keep you upright. Eventually you see your little house in the distance, and your chest starts to feel a little lighter at the promise of sleep.
You fumble with the keys twice before managing to unlock the door. Latching it shut behind you, you don’t even turn on any lights before heading straight to your room. The dishes and laundry can wait till tomorrow. Right now, all you need is some fucking sleep.
The trio of stuffed animals on your bed greet you when you step into the room. Before coming to live here, your mother insisted you bring along some childhood stuffies with you, just so you wouldn’t get too lonely. And you hate to say it, but she was absolutely right. More often than not do you find yourself cuddling up to them, wondering about your family back home.
You kick off your shoes and drape your jacket over the back of the desk chair. Then you flop face first onto the bed, not even bothering to change into pajamas. You know you’ll be out cold within five minutes, so what’s the point?
“Goodnight, Rascal,” you mumble to the little raccoon, “goodnight, A.J.,” you pet the little giraffe, “and goodnight, Maxwell.” The little capybara toy is your favorite, but you’ll never admit it out loud. (Not when the other two can hear you.)
You roll over onto the bed, but something sharp juts into your side. You groan and force your hand beneath the covers to yank it out—oh, that’s right… you forgot you’d left your little notebook in bed with you. Must’ve fallen asleep while writing in it last night.
But there’s something sticking out of it, something that prevents it from closing all the way. You open it up and a scrap of paper falls out; not a loose page from the book, but a folded-up index card. One that’s got a note of its own written messily on the side.
One that makes the exhaustion all but vanish from your body.
You should keep this book in a safer hiding spot. You never know who might be reading all your little love notes, doll. 
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the-wip-project · 10 months ago
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SloMo WriNo: Failure Proofing Your Goals
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A Novel in one year.
So, what are the numbers for that?
If you’re so inclined, you’ve probably already done the math, and come up with some numbers for yourself.
Numbers like projected length of novel (I’m going to use 80k for this, but don’t get married to that, once you get into it the work with find it’s own length) and how many words a day you would need to write to hit that goal. (220)
That’s all very nice, but the problem with word count goals, is that you can create a situation where your writing becomes a pass/fail situation.
A situation where if you perceive yourself as failing (did I meet my word count goal this week? No? I AM A FAILURE!), and the pressure rises, it starts to feel safer to simply quit, rather than face repeated failures.
I’m against that sort of thing. (The quitting and also the negative self talk.)
So how does one measure progress without creating that sort of situation? How can you win the psychology game of getting words on the page?
Of course everyone is different. But here’s two methods (tricks? hacks?) that work for me at various times.
Low Goal, High Results. (The Min-Max zone)
The idea with this is to set a daily, or per session word count goal that feels too easy.
By now I hope you’ve figured out a good time and place to write. So go there, at that time, and do a timed 15 minute sprint. However many words you got, halve it. Repeat this exercise a few times to make sure you’ve got a good average.
Unless you’re a power writer, you will most likely end up with a number that is below that 220 we mathed out earlier, DON’T PANIC. In fact, for this example lets say that you managed to write an average of 200 words in your 15 minute sessions. Which means that your daily goal is now 100 words.
Of course with that number, even if you write every single day for a year that will only give you 36 500 words. Not a novel. Barely a novella!
The point here is not to write only 100 words a day. It’s making the daily task of writing feel easy and approachable. Not scary. If you know you only need to write 100 words, and you know you can get that done easily in less than 15 minutes, then why not do it? And once you’re writing, writing a little more generally happens easily enough. If getting started is the hard part, this should really help.
It’s a common psychological trick. But it’s common for a reason. It works!
Once you’ve set your (very easy) minimum goal, I also encourage you to set a maximum daily goal too. Especially if you’re the type of person who tends to go on 10k writing binges and then not write again for two months. Set your maximum at what you can comfortably write in 1.5-2 hours. So let’s say that’s 1000 words. Meaning your goal is to write 100-1000 words every time you sit down to write, and consider everything, from barely getting 102 to maxing out at 1002 an awesome, winning, writing day.
What does that look like? On a bad day, a day you don’t fee like writing at all, it means you tell yourself that all you need to do is write for ten minutes. Just get down 100 words (or whatever your minimum goal is.) And then if you haven’t found your mojo, you stop. No guilt or regret. You’ve met your goal, even though you’re having a bad day. You’re doing awesome!
On a power day, when you feel almost possessed by the muses, it means that when your timer beeps, or you see that number on the bottom of the screen hit 1000 (or whatever your number is), you make yourself stop. Yes. Stop mid flow. (It’s painful, I know! But please try!) Why stop? Because you’re learning how to have a healthy long term writing habit.
Write yourself some notes, and come at it fresh tomorrow. The goal is teach yourself that your creativity isn’t actually a unreliable muse. You are not subject to it’s whim. With time and practice your creativity will be there whenever you reach for it.
This is the method that I use most of the time, and I strongly recommend you give it a decent try (6 weeks at least.)
However perhaps you’re really just convinced that particular kind of psychological trickery just won’t work for you, or perhaps you’ve tried it in the past without success. Maybe it creates the opposite effect for you, and you find daily writing skippable because the minimum goal feels so low that you think you can make it up later (you won’t, but ahem, brains are weird.) So here is an alternative method that is also quite effective.
2. Higher Goals to Plan For Misses
Instead of setting your goal ridiculously low, you can try setting it high enough that you can miss writing days while still staying on track.
This will only work if you’ve been able to carve out a larger chunk of time for daily writing, thirty minutes to an hour.
So, lets run the example numbers. Using the 80k novel template, we already know that it would take 220 words a day if you write every single day, and never delete anything.
Writing every day is almost impossible, so you’re setting yourself up to fail if you set 220 as your goal.
So instead you plan for writing 6 days a week. Perhaps you intend to take Mondays off. They suck and you know you usually don’t feel like writing then anyway. Awesome. Let’s make that our schedule. Writing 312 days a year means a daily target of 257 words.
But still, that leaves no margin for error. No time for bad days, illness, that one scene you have to cut because it wasn’t working, etc.
So we double it. Your goal, with a plan of writing 6 days a week, is 500 words a day. And also (and this is the important bit) 2000 words a week.
Wait! That’s 4 days, not 6! Yes. That’s the point. It allows room for misses. To allow you to fail without failing. For days when you can’t reach 500, for days when you don’t have time (and with a larger daily goal like this, that’s a lot more possible.) For days when you just can’t.
Of course if you can only count on writing 5 days a week, or 4, or whatever your life situation calls for, adjust your goals accordingly. Always keep your goal word count about 1/3 higher than needed, to give yourself that cushion. If the numbers gets too large to manage, then it’s time to change the long term goal.
Yes. Really. Change it. Setting a goal that you’re bound to fail at is not going to help you.
Perhaps it’s more feasible for you personally to write your novel in 18 months, or two years. As always, your health is more important than an arbitrary time line, and you’ll still be awesome if you write your novel a little slower.
But what if both of those methods still stress you out, or if focusing on the numbers like that kills your joy?
Here’s a bonus method, that I personally use when things get to be a real struggle.
3. Gold Stars
This is for the times when the thought of tracking word count is just one step too many, and becomes an obstacle for writing at all. However when you abandon tracking completely, it’s often a way to abandon writing too.
So having some sort of way to confirm that yes, you’ve written for the day still helps, whether that’s putting a gold star, or an X on a calendar (you can find printable month/page calendars online for free, or you can buy those little book calendars very cheap), creating an art or craft piece (one time I wrote an entire novel assisted by a scarf where I only got to crochet a row after I’d written for the day), or whatever other way you can think of to mark that you wrote. Having a way to look back at your week or month and confirm that yes, you’ve written most days, is often enough keep you honest (with yourself.) As long as it’s something that feels like a reward and not additional work.
So there you have it. 3 methods for setting word count goals and tracking what you’re accomplishing.
Let me know what you’re going to try, or what sort of tricks work for you! (and feel free to ask me for help figuring out how to apply this in your own life.)
—Maree
Subscribe to my substack to make sure you don't miss a post, chat with me on the WIP Project discord, and tag any posts you make about the challenge with #slomowrino if you want me to see them!
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ra-scheln · 3 months ago
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Writing Interview Tag Game
The lovely @kimberbohwrites tagged me – thank you so much!
When did you start writing?
I don’t remember a time before stories. Partially it might have been due to my environment, that I had to escape somehow – even if I could only retreat into my own mind and the worlds I could make up there. They weren’t really finished narratives, I was mostly into making up worlds that my friends would add characters to, and we would draw comics around the stories that developed from that .
Although that stopped when I was around fifteen or sixteen. The abuse at home kept escalating with my growing independence, and I couldn’t maintain the connection to myself necessary for true creativity and the willful ignorance regarding what was happening to me I had developed to protect myself. There is no writing or other piece of art from my time, because I just stopped being able to do it.
Stories I need to live, said ignorance I needed to survive, so it had to take precedence.
Ten years later or so, I’ve been reclaiming my own perception of events with, among other things, half a decade of therapy now. I can touch my own ideas again without them slipping through my hands.
BG3 is it’s own special joy here – it’s the first fandom I’ve really written for, recently, and that’s mostly thanks to the writer friends I’ve found through it (my pedipalps <3).
Are there different themes or genres that you enjoy reading than what you write?
Outside of fanfic, yes! I read a lot of classic stuff – Thomas Mann, Michail Bulgakow, Oscar Wilde are the last few authors I read in that department. Fiction-wise, I enjoy things that explore the more ambiguous sides of human emotion, or generally darker and more serious stuff – Das Parfüm by Patrick Süskind (The perfume) for example, although that’s something I also write about. I’d also count Accabadora by Michaela Murgia amongst that, though that’s also a historically inspired and socio-critical. Tbh I mostly read nonfiction though, Roberto Saviano’s works on the Ndragheta and other organised crime are currently back on my mind.
In fanfic, I’m pretty stuck in my tastes as far as themes go, but there are some characters that don’t inspire me to write, but that I like reading about – Rolan for example (though I might have something cooking for him), or Halsin.
Can you tell me about your writing space?
I often lug my laptop to the university library or onto my balcony, but I’ve also recently treated myself to new desk equipment – so I’ve started using it more, now that I have a second monitor, a nice mechanical keyboard and a chair that doesn’t kill my back.
One thing about my writing space though – it has to be spotless. I can’t deal with crumbs on my table or unfolded laundry lying around.
This all goes for writing itself. My ideas I mostly write down by hand in my notebook, wherever I am in that moment.
What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?
I don’t. I either have something to say and then I sit down and say it, or I don’t. Your mind also needs to lie fallow every now and then.
If the words aren’t flowing when the ideas themselves are there, it’s usually because something else is taking up my attention. Be it any kind of mess (as I said…) or something I’m avoiding in other areas of my life, that has to be taken care of first.
Are there any recurring themes in your writing?
Some are fairly common in fanfic – trauma, the aftermath of sexual abuse etc. I think some of my other patterns are characters that are neither good nor bad, the need to accept yourself and what you’ve done even if others may not forgive you, and love that is built, not found.
What is your reason for writing?
The words have to go somewhere, or I start to get restless.
In seriousness, I also think that stories are a chance to explore the things that often don’t have room in daily life. Especially fiction that doesn’t have to perform well, like fanfics, can leave the kind of room for the regular human messiness to breathe.
Is there any kind of specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?
I haven’t published a lot yet and I haven’t received that many comments yet; So it’s hard to say. But so far I can say that whenever I can feel that my writing touched someone and they take the time to share that with me it stays with me for a long time, and keeps me motivated to keep sharing my stuff.
How do you want to be thought about by your readers?
I haven’t thought about that yet much, and the idea of someone developing a parasocial relationship makes me want to crawl out of my skin, but uh… I think I’d like my writing to feel safe to people? Not necessarily in the sense that they won’t encounter difficult themes and injustices in it, but that the darker themes I explore are handled in an informed and tasteful way.
What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?
I think my compassion with my characters and their actions. Nuance, in general, seems to be my thing as well – I don’t do black and white.
How do you feel about your own writing?
I’m a bit frustrated that my fictional writing is all in English, currently. It’s neither my first nor my fourth language, and it’s not my favourite language to read in either.
Aside from that… I’m growing fond of my own style, now that I’ve found my voice, sort of. My sense of humour is starting to shine through, which is also nice!
When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely for yourself, or a mix of both?
So far, what I want to write and say takes precedence. I do, of course, think about the “how” of writing – how style and vocabulary can help me get my ideas across. Who knows, I could try taking requests, that might be fun.
Tagging: @dutifullylazybread @blackjackkent @invinciblerodent @faerielli and @lewdisescariot
EDIT: AND @forget-me-maybe!!! As well als @cactusmisslittle
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