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hees-theman · 5 months ago

Text

MOONSTRUCK

Title: Moonstruck

Pairing: Heeseung x f!reader

Genre: Romance, fluff, stranger to lover

Word Count: 5.8k

Summary: When Heeseung and Jay need help organizing a university festival, Jay enlists the talented Y/n to help them. As they plan and prepare, their bond deepens, and one of them eventually fall in love. Y/n thinks that their time together is just a fleeting chapter, not knowing that it is a start of a love story. Amidst cultural performances and late-night planning sessions, they discover that some connections are destined to be more than just a festival fling.

A/n: This wasn't proofread. Hope that you will love this as it's been so long since I wrote a fluff romance. Thank you for reading!

—

“No offense, but elementary kids can do better than this.”

Jay slumped against the chair and let out a whine. Heeseung, who is leaning towards the computer with his right hand on the mouse and the other on the top of Jay’s chair. Just shook his head.

“I tried my best, okay. It’s not my fault I don’t know how to design posters,” Jay grumbled.

Heeseung let out a soft sigh. Being a committee member to an event is not an easy job – especially when you were appointed to be the leader.

Both Heeseung and Jay are students from Faculty of Performance Arts. Annually, the faculty will hold an event where there will be performances, food stalls, etc. The purpose of the event being held is not only to promote the faculty, but it is also one of the major subjects that the sophomore students must passed.

Just like past years, all the sophomore students of the faculty will become the committee members. This time around majority voted for Heeseung to be the leader of the event. Heeseung is someone who will do his job properly. The type of guy to put his efforts into something. For him, it’s all or nothing.

As a result, 90% of the preparation is done. Everything has been prepared according to its plan. Decorations are done, food stalls are secured, performances are ready. The only thing that is left is the designing part.

He did ask from the other committee members if anyone has experience in designing. However, they already have their own part to settle. Not to mention that some of them are also part of the performers. So, they barely have any time to commit to other job.

That’s how Heeseung end up with Jay. Jay is the next in command of the event. Ever since they were freshmen, Jay had always been there for Heeseung whenever he needs help. Jay and Heeseung are technically partner in crime.

Well… except when it comes to designing of course.

“I think we need to ask for help,” Heeseung whispered under his breath.

Help. Help. HELP!

Jay turned the chair slightly towards Heeseung, notifying him that he is looking at the leader.

“We need help, right? I know who to ask for,” Jay said with a grin.

“Who?”

—

“You guys really don’t have anyone good in designing?”

Jay just nods his head as you and him walk side by side across the hallway to meet Heeseung in the committee room.

“What can I say, we perform arts. We don’t design arts,” Jay said with a shrug.

You are one of the students from Faculty of Multimedia and Publicity. Both you and Jay happened to be high school friends. But you were not close during high school. You and Jay belonged in different group of friends back then. You do talk from time to time, but that’s all that you guys did.

However, things changed after you and Jay enrolled in the same university. Considering that you guys only know each other on the first day of university, you decided to talk more often to each other. At least both of you would have someone to befriend with outside of your faculties.

After few minutes of walking, you and him reach the room. Jay turned the doorknob and invite himself in before looking at you.

“Come on in.”

As soon as you step into the room, Heeseung lifts his head up from his phone and look at you.

Breath taking – that was the first thing that came up into your mind when you look at Heeseung for the first time. It is an understatement that you felt that way because Heeseung looked like he was blessed with good features here and there. You silently thank his parents for sleeping late that night.

Heeseung stands up from where he was and walk towards you. With a smile, he held out his hand to shake yours.

“Hi, I’m Heeseung, the leader for the Performance Arts’ Annual Event. It’s nice to meet you.”

Trying not to make your admiration for him obvious, you take his hand in yours and shake it with a smile on your face.

“Nice to meet you, Heeseung. I’m Y/n, multimedia students.”

Both of you let go of each other’s hands.

“Come with me,” Heeseung said as he guides you to your seat. “I believe Jay has informed you on the things that we need, right?”

“Yeah,” you said while nodding your heads. You unzip your bag to take out your laptop and mouse.

“Is there any deadline that you want me to follow,” you asked Heeseung. Both him and Jay are now sitting across you.

“Considering that the event is next week on weekends, is it possible to settle everything by next Tuesday,” Heeseung asked.

You look at both guys in the room, and with a confident smile, you said,

“Leave it to me.”

—

Ever since then, you, Heeseung, and Jay have been staying over after classes to finish up everything that is needed to be done. From time to time, Heeseung will come to check on your progress while checking up on others as well.

The time spent with Heeseung has been increasing day by day. Whenever you and Heeseung are on break, both of you will chat with each other, getting to know one another.

That’s how you know that he is the youngest child, he has a perfect tone, and he likes to eat ramyeon.

“Really? That’s your favourite meal?” You double confirmed Heeseung, letting out a chuckle.

Although Heeseung’s eyebrows creased slightly, a grin plastered on his face.

“What? Ramyeon is good, okay! It is also easy to make,” he said.

“Whatever you say Bambi boy,” you replied with a playful smile before turning back to your laptop and continue your task.

Ever since they day Jay introduced you to him, his instinct told him that it won’t take much effort to be comfortable around you. In fact, he thought that you are beautiful the moment he laid his eyes on you. He had a lot of crushes on different women before in his life, but none of them looks like you. You are on another level of beauty. It felt as if you are destined to be his and only his.

Heeseung is not the type to be comfortable around people easily. Yes, he talks to people, but that doesn’t mean that he can talk about anything with other people. However, with you, all the conversation run smoothly. He doesn’t need to think much about the topic to talk about with you. It always came naturally.

Not to mentioned there were also times where Heeseung purposely sat too close to you, both of your knees touched. He was waiting for you to at least move your knee away, but that action never came. At least now Heeseung knows that you are comfortable with him.

And just like that, his crush on you grows as day passed by.

—

The day of the event is finally here. You are dressed in a simple sweater and jeans, standing at the entrance of it. You look at the banners hang around the venue with a proud smile.

It came out so well, you thought. Of course, who won’t be proud if their artworks are being showcased to the public. Furthermore, designing is not something that just anyone can do. Without creativity and original ideas, you could barely make a small poster, let alone a huge banner.

“Y/n!” A voice called out as he runs up to you with a huge grin on his face. Despite being sweaty, you must give credit to Jay for still looking good like he always does.

“You came!”

“Of course I came. I designed all of these for you, duh,” you said with a teasing tone. Jay laughs at your remarks and turns to look at the banners.

“Yeah, it’s okay, I guess,” Jay replied with the same playful tone as yours.

You look at Jay for a quick second and pats his shoulder. “You’ve done a good job, Jay.”

Jay scoffs and wraps his arm around your shoulder. “Thanks to you as well. People won’t know about this event if it’s not for you.”

Suddenly, everything came into your sense. Right, you were here just to help Jay and Heeseung with the event. Things will go back to its original place once the event is over. Going back to your usual schedule means that no more spending time with the performance arts’ students, no more playing fight with Jay, and finally, no more being close to Heeseung.

You’ve thought about it since the day you met him. You’ve always known that whatever happened between you and Heeseung will come to an end. You thought of him as your wildest dream. Now that the event has been successfully held, your time with Heeseung is up.

“Hey Y/n!”

As if on cue, Heeseung is now standing in front of you while waving his hand in front of your face. “Are you okay?” He asked.

You don’t know how long you were lost in your thought, but it was enough for the man to appear, replacing Jay’s spot.

“Oh, I’m okay, but where’s Jay?”

“Ah, he said he needs to use the washroom. He will come back later.”

You just nod your head at his words. Before allowing yourself to overthink again, you look at Heeseung with a smile.

“Congrats, Heeseung. You’ve done a great job for this event.”

Heeseung smile sheepishly and scratch his non-itchy nape, clearly feeling embarrassed. “Thank you. You also made it happened.”

Now, it’s your turn to blush at his words. Funny how with just a simple compliment from him would make you shy. If it was other guys, you would just throw another smart remark. But Heeseung is different.

Heeseung is the type of guy who is not afraid of communication – be it positive or negative. Being around him make you feel at ease. Both of you can sit in silence for hours and it will not ruin the vibe. It will still be comfortable.

“Come, let me show you around,” he said.

With a smile on your face, you nod your head and walk with him to explore the venue. Well, since it’s the last time you’re spending time with him, might as well use this moment to collect more memories before it ends in a few hours.

Or so you thought.

“Oh, will you come to our party tomorrow at my house?”

You turn your head at the question he threw. “Me? But I’m not one of the committee members.”

Heeseung laughs softly at your remark.

“You might not be the official members, but you helped us a lot. It’s fair for me to still consider you as one of us…”

He stops his words to study your reaction.

“… Besides, everyone is asking for you to come…”

Once again, he stops his words to rub the back of his head and turn the other way.

“… I want you to come.”

Cute, you thought. Your lips slowly curve up into a smile and give in to his request.

“Okay, I will be there.”

—

“I can’t believe that this time YOU are the one asking me to go on a party.”

You just shrug your shoulders with a small smile on your face at your best friend’s – Yuna – remarks.

You met Yuna on the first day of the class. Ever since then, both of you go everywhere together – even the toilet. Girls’ thing, you know. Yuna is also the one who introduced you to home parties.

Everytime there is one, she will invite you to go to one. That’s why she was quite surprised when you were the one who invite her first this time. You are not really a goody-two-shoes. You just prefer not to go to parties because most of the time you don’t know what to do. In fact, 99% of your time were wasted with drinks and observing people. That’s all.

“Well, we are not a freshman anymore. Somethings must change, right,” you said as you take Yuna’s hand with yours and walk into the entrance of the party.

Like you expected, the party is filled with people here and there. Some are talking, some are playing games at the center of the room. One thing in common with everyone is that they all have drinks in their hands.

As you walk across the rooms, you noticed a few familiar faces. Of course, it is a party to celebrate the success of the Faculty of Performing Arts’ annual event. The event that you helped in terms of designing. The event that allows you to meet the man – Heeseung.

“So, which one is him,” Yuna asked as her head turns left and right, searching for the man that you’ve been telling her about.

Of course, being friends with Yuna, you must tell her about Heeseung. During the period that you helped with the event, once you reach your room, you will call Yuna just to talk about him.

Honestly, Yuna was so happy the first time she heard you talking about Heeseung. She loves how happy you sound. The way you talk about him is so pure and innocent. It’s almost like you went back to high school. That was how cute you sound like.

As if on cue, Yuna saw two men walking towards both you and her.

“Hey, you made it,” the guy with one ear piercing said with a smile.

But what caught her attention is the guy next to him. He has a very cute face compared to the other one. Anyone who saw him for the first time might think that he is mad, but the moment he smiles, oh God isn’t that the cutest smile Yuna have ever seen in her entire life.

“I see you brought a friend,” the man Yuna is staring at spoke.

You look at Yuna, standing as if she just saw an angel from above. You bite your lips to stop yourself from laughing at how stunned Yuna looks.

“Yeah, this is Yuna, my friend. I hope you don’t mind me bringing her along to the party.”

The cute man nods his head and hold out his hand to shake Yuna’s hand.

“Hi, the name is Jay,” he said.

Yuna clears her throat and take his hand with hers. “Yuna.”

You and Heeseung looks back and forth at the other two, who are just standing there with their hands intertwined with each other. You look at Heeseung with the corner of your eyes just in time with Heeseung doing the same to you.

Both of you throws a knowing look to each other.

Heeseung clears his throat before patting Jay’s shoulder, waking him up into the reality.

“Y/n and I will grab some drinks. You can accompany Yuna,” he said. Jay’s eyes twinkle at the thought of being together with Yuna. He replies Heeseung with a small nod.

You go next to your friend’s ear and whispered, “Behave, okay?”

Yuna just roll her eyes at your words before mouthing I know at your way. With that, you and Heeseung go and grab some drinks, leaving Jay and Yuna in their own world.

—

“So, how do you know Yuna,” Heeseung asked, initiating a conversation with you.

He leaned his back against the counter of the kitchen with a drink in his hand and his eyes fix on you. You on the other hand just finished pouring yourself a drink. After that, you copy his stance next to him.

“Well, on the first day of freshmen, we sat next to each other. We talked and figured that we clicked. Since then, we became friends.”

Heeseung nods his head at your replies. He taps his finger against his cup before facing towards you.

“So, are you available tomorrow? I’m planning to go to a musical and I’m hoping you can join me,” he said.

“Musical? Where is it,” you asked despite your heart beating faster than it should be.

“At the university’s theatre. A friend of mine is one of the performers. So, I want to go and support her,” he answered.

You nod your head in understanding manner. You almost thought that he is asking you to go on a date. Turns out he just wants to watch his friend and bring you along with him for God knows the reason.

“Yeah, I’m available tomorrow for the musical.”

Heeseung’s lips curl up into a wide smile. “Thank you, Y/n.”

“No problem.”

For the rest of the night, you and Heeseung just chat normally, getting to know each other even more. Just like that, both of you find comforts in random conversations in the kitchen.

Little did you know, your heart is not the only one beating irregularly fast that night.

—

After around 10 minutes, you’ve finally arrived at the theatre. There he is, standing by the door, waiting for you while looking as good as he always does. It’s almost amusing to you on how a guy in denim jacket and pants can still be attractive. The look is effortless and yet he managed to make it looks exquisite.

You walk up the stairs and stand in front of him, making him looks up at you.

“Did I make you wait for a long time?” You asked with a smile on your face.

Heeseung blinks his eyes and absent-mindedly study you from up and down. If he thought that you are beautiful before, tonight, you look mesmerizing to him.

He looks up at you with a smile and shakes his head. “Nope, I just arrived not too long ago as well.”

You nod your head at his words.

“I wouldn’t mind waiting either, if it’s for you,” he muttered under his breath, but enough for you to hear.

Your cheeks slowly turn bright red as you listen to his thoughts. You thought that he accidentally said it out loud, so you decided to pretend you didn’t hear it. But, if only you look up at his face, you can see that he is covering his lips with the back of his hand shyly – even though he intentionally said what he said out loud.

“Shall we go in?” Heeseung asked. For the nth times of the night, you just nod your head without saying anything and follow Heeseung inside the theatre as he leads the way to your seat.

—

“So, how’s the date?” Yuna asked as you walk into the room.

Well, to be fair, you don’t need to say anything to let Yuna know that everything went well. She knows about it by the way you haven’t stop smiling since you open the door. She might even say that you look so madly in love right now.

“It’s not a date. He just needed me to accompany him and support his friend’s musical,” you said, still with the same smile.

“Still sounds like a date to me.” Yuna shrugged her shoulder and continue typing away on her phone.

You look over at Yuna, who is now laying on the couch. You tilt your head a bit when you hear her giggles now and then.

“Who is making you feel all giddy?” You playfully asked Yuna with your arms crossed against your chest.

Yuna sits up on the couch and turn to you, before flashing a sheepish grin towards your way.

“Jay asked me to go to the music festival together with him next week.”

Your jaw drops at the reveal and take a sit beside Yuna.

“That’s so great! You should totally go.”

Suddenly, her grin disappeared, and it is now being replaced with a pout.

“But what about you? We promised to go together.”

“Oh, right.” You puff out your cheeks at the thought of going alone to the music festival.

Before you can be sad further, Yuna looks at you with a wide grin and twinkle eyes.

“Why don’t you ask Heeseung? Maybe he wants to go as well?” She suggested.

“Do you think I should?” You questioned her. It’s not that you don’t want to. You’re just not yet confident to ask him to go out with you casually.

“Of course he won’t mind. He invited you to the musical first. I bet he would be thrilled if you invite him to the music festival with you.”

You thought about Yuna’s words for a while before opening your chat with Heeseung and send him an invitation to the music festival. You don’t know why your heart is pounding so hard it could burst out of your chest.

Will he accept it? Will he say no? What if he declines? What if you are too rushing that it made him uncomfortable?

Just before you can overthink about it any further, a notification pops up at your phone. You open it, and just like that, your worries got washed away.

[Heeseung: Sure. Let’s go to the festival together :)]

—

Your eyes move left and right, searching for Heeseung. After a few seconds, you finally spot him and he’s already looking at you, waving his hand up in the air. Your lips curl up into a grin and waves your hand back at him.

As you walk closer to him, you saw another woman beside him. The grin that you had earlier slowly fading into a small smile.

Who is this woman? He didn’t say anything about bringing another person along. Does he like her? You thought to yourself.

“You’re looking beautiful, Y/n,” he said with his unnecessarily beautiful smile.

“You’re looking good yourself Hee,” you said, still with the same smile before your eyes turn to look at the woman next to him.

“Oh, this is Yeji. I bumped into her while walking here.”

“Hi Y/n. It’s nice to finally meeting you. Heard a lot about you from this guy,” Yeji said before playfully nudging Heeseung with her shoulder.

“Hey, behave yourself,” Heeseung told her off with the same teasing tone before they share a laughter.

Seeing them being happy together makes your heart ache bit by bit. God knows how long you can stand this situation before you decide to walk back home and cry yourself to sleep.

"The event is starting soon. Let's go there now," Heeseung said to both of you. You just nod your head and walk with him and Yeji towards the audience spot.

The whole time you are at the festival, you only face the stage simply because you don't want to witness how close Yeji and Heeseung. Every now and then both of them would scream their hearts out and honestly, that annoys you.

They look so happy together that anyone at the festival might as well think that they are a couple - and you're just a third-wheeler. Well, maybe you are. So, for the rest of the night, you just stand there beside Heeseung, waiting for everything to end.

—

After what felt like forever, the festival finally end. Yeji decided to go back by herself and leave you and Heeseung alone, currently walking through the university park.

You told Heeseung that you can go back by yourself, but he insisted to walk you back home, saying how it's already dark and anything can happen.

As much as you'd like to feel flattered by his gesture, you can't help but thinking that he's just doing all of these because he is just nice to everyone.

Like, who are we kidding? Heeseung has the looks, the personality. He is also funny in his own way. He can get any woman he wants. Someone who is prettier than you. Someone who is better than you.

"What's going on in that pretty mind of yours?" Heeseung asked, pulling you out from your thoughts.

You shakes your head at him before both of you continue to walk in silence.

"Yeji is very pretty, don't you think so?" It might sound like an innocent question for Heeseung, but for you, it's a way to figure out whether you should continue your feelings for him or not.

Whatever he answers, you are ready to listen. If it goes bad, well, at least you've had your share of university romance with him, even if it's one-sided.

Heeseung nods his head. "Yeah, she's pretty. My brother is lucky to have a wife like that."

Ah... He agreed that she looks pretty-

"Wait... Wife? Your brother's wife?!" You look at Heeseung with shock expression.

"Yeah, she's my brother's wife. They got married after they graduated from this uni. Didn't I tell you that earlier?" Heeseung blinks his eyes at you.

God knows how you are holding back from kicking him at his ass for leaving out A VERY important detail when he introduced Yeji to you earlier.

"You didn't tell me that was your brother's wife! You only told me her name." You huffs out and cross your arms, your eyebrows knitted slightly.

Heeseung bite his lower lips, trying to hold back a laughter looking at how cute and adorable you are while throwing tantrum. If he didn't know any better, he would say that you are jealous. Very very jealous.

Heeseung walks in front of you and held both of your arms. "I'm sorry I forgot to tell you who she was. Please forgive me."

Your eyes turn to look at him. You didn't say anything but your eyebrows are no longer creased and your cheeks are now puffing air.

Heeseung should be awarded with 'the gentleman' award because if he didn't hold back, he would just grab your face and make out with you instantly just to show his true feelings towards you and you should not be worried about anyone.

But, he knows he can't do that.

Yet.

"How about this? In two weeks, Jay and I are going to the beach and spend the night there. Why don't you and Yuna come along with us?"

Your eyes twinkle at the suggestions. Call Heeseung a simp because God, he would do anything to see those eyes sparkles all the time. That's when he knows he's so so down bad for you.

"... And I'll make it up to you as well. How does that sounds?"

You hate Lee Heeseung. You hate him so much because he managed to melt your heart easily. It's as if he has known you so long enough to know where to hit the spot.

"Promise?" You lift up your pinky finger in front of him.

He takes your finger with his and smile softly towards your way. "Promise."

Just like that, both you and Heeseung continue to make the way to your house, with both of your pinky fingers still intertwined.

—

"It's the beach!" Yuna screamed excitedly before grabbing your hand and pull you together with her towards the ocean as the two men watching while laughing.

"Honestly man, I didn't think we would come here, with not only one but two women," Jay said as he turns his head towards the man beside him.

"Well, sometimes difference is good." Heeseung said, eyes still watching the view in front of him - specifically you.

As cliche as this would sound, Heeseung has never met a woman that could fill his heart the way you do. Looking at you being happy with your friend is enough to make himself smile.

It feels like an achievement - and he wants to do it again, and again, and again, until death do both of you apart.

"So, how's the arrangement for tonight?"

Heeseung turns to look at Jay with his eyebrows creased. Jay scoffed looking at his expression.

"I'm not dumb to know that you're up to something. My instinct is telling me that I will be left alone, if it weren't for Yuna joining us as well."

"Well, I guess I can't hide anything to my best friend huh," Heeseung said as he wrap his arm around Jay's shoulder.

"I'm planning to have dinner together with Y/n..."

Jay looks at Heeseung with his eyebrow lifted, waiting for Heeseung to continue his words.

"... and I will tell her, tonight."

The man doesn't need to explain more about it. Jay understands what he meant. His own lips curl up into a soft smile as his hand reaches up to pat his best friend's back.

"Good luck man. You can do it."

—

"Sit down here, but slowly," Heeseung said as his hands cover your eyes.

You let out a soft chuckle before slowly taking your seat as you were told.

Back in the room, you were weirded out at the fact that you are the only one who is getting ready, while Yuna was still on her bed, focusing on her phone.

When you asked about it, Yuna just told you that something special is waiting for you at the lobby. As you reached there, you saw a familiar guy. It's no other than Lee Heeseung.

Now, here you are sitting on what felt like a cloth with your eyes covered by Heeseung's hands.

"Are you ready," Heeseung asked.

"I'm more than ready Mr. Lee," you answered.

The moment you gave your answer, Heeseung uncovers your eyes. As you open your eyes, you let out a gasp when you witness the view in front of you.

In front of you, a few foods laying around on the cloth, showing that this is not a normal dinner, but more like a picnic at night. However, it doesn't stop there.

Your eyes are also served with the view of the ocean at night. Not to mention that it also happened to be a full moon tonight. The light from it illuminate the water beautifully. Nothing can ever beat the sight that you are seeing right now.

"Do you like it?"

You turn to look at the owner of the voice. Your lips form a smile before you nod your head.

"I love it."

Heeseung let out a sigh, loud enough for you to hear. "That's a relief."

You let out a small laugh as you look at the man next to you. He looks so concern that you find it a bit funny.

"Why do you look so worried Heeseung?"

"How can I not be worried, when I keep on thinking about what if the woman that holds my heart doesn't like all of this."

The laughter that you had earlier died down as you listen to his words. You search for his eyes to make sure that you heard him correctly.

Heeseung moves closer towards you before he reaches for your hand and hold it in his. His touch is so gentle and delicate, enough to make you warm and comfortable. His gaze never settle on anything else but you.

"Y/n, I'm not good with words but I will try my best to say it to you," Heeseung said.

His other hand reaching up to your cheek, caressing it softly as if he's holding something that is so fragile.

"I like you Y/n, a lot."

His words make your breath hitched. You can't believe that the man you have been crushing on all these while is actually confessing his heart to you right now.

As if his confession is not enough, the light from the moon decided to shine upon the side of his face as well, making him look even more gorgeous than he already is.

"The first time you stepped into the room, I found you so so beautiful. I thought that I'm just attracted to you in that moment and everything will fade away..."

Heeseung let out a soft chuckle.

"After that we talked to each other more and more. The more I get to know about you, the more I want to be closer to you. Before I know it, I found that I want to always be with you. Whenever I have time, I want to spend it with you. I want to go wherever you go. I want to do whatever you want to do. I want to protect you. I want to care for you. I want you."

Heeseung's hand on your cheek is getting warmer and you lean more to his touch unconsciously.

It's not fair. It's not fair for Heeseung that you look so mesmerizing right at this moment. You have always been beautiful, but something about this moment just enhance your visual in his eyes.

With a deep breath, Heeseung gathers his courage before finishing his thought.

"I love you, Y/n. Will you be mine?"

You bite your lower lips. Your eyes look into his and all you can see is his sincerity. You felt like you're in a dream. The man of your dream just confessed his heart out.

Obviously, you are not saying no. No one knows how long your heart has been yearning for him except from you. All of those moments you had together, spending time with each other, everything has led both of you here.

Your hand reach up to his cheek, mirroring his move.

"You know, during the event, I thought that we will not be in touch with each other as often. I thought I have to give up my first ever university romance."

Your eyebrows crease lightly at the thought of it happen.

"But, what happened after that made me grateful. I'm glad that I get to keep these feelings. Whenever I'm with you, it felt like it's only both of us in the world. Everything seems so peaceful and somehow it's easy with you. I never believe in fate before but, look where we are now."

You reach for his hand that is on your face to hold both of it with yours.

"I love you, Lee Heeseung. Thank you for making me happy - and I will be happier to be yours."

Both you and Heeseung's lips curl up into a huge smile. Without a second thought, Heeseung grabs you by your shoulder and pull you into a hug.

You let out a soft sigh as you enjoy the warmth of the man in your arms. Heeseung's hug feels so warm that it could melt you and make you want to stay in it forever.

However, before you could indulge in the warmth more, Heeseung pulled away slightly. His eyes move from yours to your lips and back to your eyes again.

"Can I..."

The sight of him is enough to make your tummy turns. You nod your head as an approval to him.

Slowly, he leans closer to your face as you close your eyes. Before you know it, his lips is sealed with yours. Heeseung pecks yours a few times before biting your lower lips lightly, asking for you to open up.

And who are you to deny such request? Once you give your permission, what started off as innocent kiss slowly turns into a heated one.

Both of you refuse to let each other go. In fact, somewhere along the moment, you were pulled to sit on his lap, lips still glued to each other.

It is safe to say that the foods are long forgotten. What matters tonight is the love that both of you have for each other - and the moon are your witness.

#enhypen #enhypen imagines #enhypen scenarios #heeseung #heeseung imagines #heeseung scenarios #heeseung romance

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renthony · 3 months ago

Text

Nov. 21, 2024:

The national furor in recent years around banning books on race and gender in public schools is intensifying as President-elect Donald Trump threatens to shut down the Department of Education, emboldening conservatives to end “wokeness” in classrooms. Battles over books in school libraries have become emblematic of the country’s larger culture wars over race, historical revisionism and gender identity. A new report by PEN America found book bans increased by nearly 200% during the 2023-24 school year, including titles on sexuality, substance abuse, depression and other issues students face in an age of accelerating technologies, climate change, toxic politics and fears about the future. Book censorship has shaken and divided school boards, pitted parents against parents, and led to threats against teachers and librarians. It is part of an agenda driven by conservative parental rights groups and politicians who promote charter schools and voucher systems that could weaken public education. The issue goes to the heart not only of what students are taught but how federal and state education policies will affect the nation’s politics after one of the most consequential elections in its history.

Read the rest from the Los Angeles Times.

#us news #censorship news #book banning

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tacitoru · 6 months ago

Text

pleaser (2) - gojo satoru ; geto suguru

pairing: gojo satoru/reader/geto suguru

summary: You wish someone would have told you how lonely college would be. Classmates and other students outside the newspaper staff keep you at arm's length. People tend to give you a wide berth. It's no big deal - for a journalist, you are laughably not a people person. Small talk makes you want to crawl out of your skin. Relationships are tedious. People are finicky and prone to lying. Unreliable. Getting close to the star players on the university's basketball team was only supposed to be a means to an end. And then it's a little more than that.

rating: explicit (eventual smut)

tw: basketball!au, enemies to lovers, journalism

wc: 4k

ch: 2/5

read on ao3

Then

“Your eyes will get stuck like that.”

Your editor-in-chief is not at all surprised to find you sulking. Shoulders slumped, arms crossed as you glare petulantly across the foyer of the student union. You don’t play aloof very well.

She stands shoulder to shoulder with you and follows your gaze.

In the distance, two basketball players donning signature sky blue jerseys draw a crowd near the student government office. They stand out among the sea of milling students like skyscrapers. The swath of unnaturally white - surely he wasn’t born like that? - hair on the tallest one is even less helpful in helping him blend in. A few passerby stutter in their steps trying to catch a glimpse of their faces. The young men have their backs to where the pair of you observe, in the middle of addressing the small audience. A mix of student government and faculty, the source of your ire stands amongst them. Kento Nanami stands at the head of the crowd with his smartphone in one hand and a tape recorder in the other held just slightly above the sea of heads. His blond hair and crisp blue button-up make him easy to pick out from the gang of suits.

When snark doesn’t draw your full attention, Utahime calls your name instead. “You look like you’re about to cry.”

Furrowing your lips, your frown deepens. “Who the fuck even carries around a real tape recorder anymore? Does he not have the app on his phone?”

Your pseudo-boss shoulder checks you. Never one to miss an opportunity to play morality police. “Don’t be obnoxious,” she admonishes in what you think she thinks is her gentlest tone. “Not everybody has a smartphone.”

“He’s holding one, Utahime,” you snark back.

The animosity catches you both off guard. You’re not typically one to be confrontational. In all of your years on the university’s newspaper staff, you’d suppose you’re akin to a fly on the wall. A floater, you’ve moved from section to section at the dismissal of the lead editors each year. It wasn’t that you were an incompetent writer so much as it was that no topic seemed to really stick with you. Student leadership wouldn’t let you go if they could help it - it was easier to keep and train staff members than to recruit. But they would never promote you - there was always somebody who fit the bill just a little bit better, who wrote with a little more flare. You were nearing the end of your senior year anyway. It was too late to even consider.

You’ve never really minded - never minded anything at all, really. The fact that almost all of the leadership was a year younger than you. Or the fact that you were consistently assigned fluff writing. That you had been skipped time and time again for any chance at covering anything more important than the carpets in the library being updated from green to gray, or minor changes to a dining hall’s dietary restrictions.

A perfect passive participant on staff, you follow all the rules. Do every story they assign you. More often than not, it’s the ones nobody else wants to bother with. They offer you some sort of loose camaraderie in return; a pat on the shoulder, a lukewarm invite to be a plus one to a holiday party. All of the necessary tools for social survival in college. The news, cultures, and opinion columns shuffled you around semester by semester like a cumbersome stage prop. Comfortably standing in the shadow of your peers. You never ask for anything.

So you decide to be a little nicer to Utahime, to whom all this attitude must be coming out of left field.

Never taking your eyes off the crowd, you ask with a little less bite, “Did they tell you when the press conference is yet?”

They , as in the athletics department, had been keeping zip tight on the details of the university basketball team’s newest arrivals since they had touched down in the States over the weekend. The pair of you watch as the shorter one, a young man (albeit still a full head taller than most of his audience) with black gauges and his hair pulled into a bun, delivers a short comment that causes a laugh to ripple through their onlookers. You think you see even Nanami, of all people, crack a smile. It’s hard to tell for sure from this distance.

It wasn’t unusual for the staff on the student newspaper to share tips and ideas or track events on campus together, but it’s irregular for you to be among them. There was no need to ask for help when your stories were practically written out for you. Today however, you had kept a keen eye out for your fellow writers on campus, ear to the ground all morning as you sought out some kind of - any kind of - hook that could solidify your claim to what was sure to be one of the most memorable feature story of the year: the athletics department's annual exchange student program.

“Do they allow players to wear gauges on the court?”

“You’re asking me a lot of questions for somebody that’s not assigned to this beat.” Utahime sighs. The awkward moment rolls off her shoulders with an ease you’re becoming familiar with. “I’m not giving you a press pass.”

“I - okay?” You wilt a little, shoulders slumped as Utahime takes the next question right out of your mouth. “I didn’t even say anything. That’s not even what I asked.”

“You didn’t have to. I can see it all over your face-,” You duck the graze of her knuckle as she moves to brush a faux tear, but the unimpressed look on her face remains. “But no. I haven’t heard anything from the coaches yet.”

You try and fail to hide your disappointment. You refuse to pout in front of your boss. Utahime had a softer spot for you than most of your fellow staff members - as a writer who had been on staff for so long with little to no promotion or department to call home in all four years of your college career, whispers of questions around the validity of keeping you on staff started to circulate well into the winter semester.

“Why were you so interested in doing this feature anyway? I got the feeling you didn’t like writing for this kind of stuff.” You never ask for favors; she tells you as much. “I’m just surprised, is all.”

From your peripheral, Utahime looks at you curiously, a hand on her chin. Maybe it was because she was a year younger than you, and pitied the disposition she found you in after being elected into the chief position. But even that softness only went so far.

You shake your head, still watching the crowd from across the lobby. The taller basketball player, the white-haired guy, sticks out among the crowd like a dandelion, bending and swaying to an invisible breeze while he crowds into the space of his teammate. You crinkle your nose - his posture is surprisingly terrible.

“Kind of stuff?”

“Y’know, just - sports? Your strong suits have been more like…like, what kinds of water bottles have been popular on campus! Oh, or that listicle you did of all of the best fall-themed soundtracks-,”

“-that we published in the spring -,”

Utahime waves you off. “That’s not the point.”

She launches into a reassuring ramble, throwing a hand up when you don’t start to look any more appeased. The motion seems to catch Nanami’s attention from across the foyer’s open floor. He doesn’t crack a smile, but waves at the pair of you with his phone-holding hand, polite as ever. You wave back. When he turns away, your pout melts into a grimace. Tuning Utahime out, your eyes wander back to the head of the crowd, only to choke on your gasp. You’ve also inadvertently caught the attention of one of the exchange students - and he looks pissed .

From where he stands, the white-haired wonder boy has twisted the whole top half of his body to bless you with the ugliest look of contempt you’ve ever had the displeasure of witnessing in your short life. He only rights himself when his dark-haired teammate corrals his focus back to the congregation ahead of them with a gentle hand on his shoulder. It’s enough of an interruption to make you turn your whole back on the entire debacle in embarrassment.

Utahima continues to do her best impression of placating you, hands folded above her chest as she pleads. “- And, you know, it would just be a lot easier for everybody, really, to give this to somebody who already knows if players are allowed to wear gauges on the court, and other frivolous shit like that instead of wasting time asking me.”

You make a noise like a laugh through your nose, thinking of what she considers your strong suits. “Okay.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you see the objects of your interest begin to make their way out of the front of the building, enticing their crowd of university staff and students along with them. An underclassman tries to give the white-haired man a high-five in passing. He dismisses him with a shrug. Your resolve wavers. You follow all the rules. You never ask for anything.

“Look,” Utahime begins in a tone that makes you think uh oh. “It’s not that I don’t think you’re a capable writer. I hated turning you down so publicly at the staff meeting, and there’s no doubt that your contributions to the paper have been -,” she searches for a word “- impactful to our student body. But I need somebody who’s going to do this feature, um, quietly. I mean look how much attention those two are drawing and it’s not even time for lunch yet.”

Two girls run straight into each other, phones clattering to the ground, their eyes glued to the spectacle making its way out of the building. You can’t help but snicker, a little less forlorn. Requesting to cover the feature story for the exchange students had been the first time you had stuck your neck out for yourself, only to be succinctly rejected in front of your peers. Utahime hadn’t even the decency to pretend to hesitate. At least you’re not the only one making a fool of yourself today.

Utahime fixes you with a look that makes you straighten up a little, all business.

“I want to get this right the first time, and it’s already going to be hard between the fangirls, the fanboys , and the limited press access during the season. Can you promise me that you won’t try to butt in?”

In lieu of answering Utahime’s question, you ask, “You’ll let me know when they do, right? When you hear back from them.”

Somehow, she manages to glare harder.

You suck your teeth, sigh, and relent, “I promise.”

The editor-in-chief doesn't look entirely convinced, but the severe expression on her face relaxes nonetheless. “There’s no need to worry,” Utahime’s phone buzzes in her pocket and she turns on her heels as she checks the notification, effectively closing the conversation. “Nanami will do this piece justice.”

The two exchange students stride towards the exit, seemingly now caught up in their own little world as they chuckle amongst themselves, hardly minding the entourage that follows. The afternoon sun floods the glass double doors with a bright light, and you watch after them as they push through.

“But that’s what I’m worried about,” you mumble, resign, and follow her into the office.

You wish someone would have told you how lonely college would be.

Classmates and people outside of the newspaper staff tended to keep you at arm's length once they learned of your extracurriculars, mostly for fear of one day seeing themselves among the crisp pages of the biweekly print. It was all in vain; in your four years being juggled between columns, you had never aired out anyone’s dirty laundry. You were diligent in your moral code, however gray. People tended to give you a wide berth nonetheless.

It was no sweat off your back - for a journalist you are laughably not a people person. Small talk made you want to crawl out of your skin. Relationships were tedious. People were finicky and prone to lying. Unreliable. Their stories, however - actually, maybe just as much so, but that was an entirely different thrill. And yet as graduation crept closer, your lackluster portfolio mocked you far worse than your meager contacts list. Submitting job applications felt like shooting blanks at a target while blindfolded. You needed a miracle - and fast.

It’s just your luck that the evening you are the last to lock up the student newspaper office, two miraculous things happen at once: the lead sports editor forgets his press pass at his desk just as two of Japan’s highest-ranking athletes in men’s college basketball officially announce their transfer to your institution as part of some long-running good-will exchange program.

The first anomaly is sports editor Kento Nanami’s sudden bout of forgetfulness. In his rush to make it to the press conference early, he had left the badge on his desk. You’re nice enough to promise to drop by the auditorium where it’s being held, telling him as much over text. Your peer responds with the same level of dryness you’ve come to associate with him.

Thanks. Read 6:46 PM.

The whole thing already felt like a bad omen.

Enter anomaly number two, the two Japanese exchange students joining your school’s record-holding Division One basketball team for the year. The news had spread like wildfire across the campus of your large liberal arts college before it had even reached the newspaper. It was never a matter of why the exchange program was happening.

The university boasted an extremely impressive men’s basketball team that dominated the American college league in every sense of the word. Armed with a history of individuals who went on to become some of the highest-paid athletes in the NBA and a team of coaches with a tremendous wealth of experience, your sleepy liberal arts school has made a name for itself in the world of college-level athletics. It was inevitable that other institutions would want a piece of the pie, and Tokyo University had long established their in.

It was never a matter of why, but who.

They’re gorgeous. Inarguably so. A pair of athletes in a league of their own amongst their peers both in the States and on their home turf, both parties of which you’ve witnessed trip over themselves in a clumsy dichotomy of disdainful and overbearing eagerness already in the short time you’ve spent observing the team. Youthful, dripping raw athleticism, handsome beyond words, and worst of all, they know it - the smarmy one with shocking white hair tells you as much when you meet for the first time in the elevator.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”

Satoru Gojo had every right to be brash and vainglorious. More popularly referred to by his last name, the famed shooting guard from Kyoto boasts an impressive track record under his belt, stats that put even the shiniest American college basketball players to shame. His inhuman height and athleticism make him a living nightmare to oppose. The strongest , the tabloids and play-by-play sports podcasts had labeled him. Even Nanami, of all people, had described him as a monster on the court. The lead sports editor is not the type to give compliments lightly - if that could even be considered one. But if Satoru Gojo is scary on paper, he’s fucking terrifying in person.

Heat crawls up your neck, and spills onto your cheeks, your gaze quickly returns to the floor. “Sorry,” you mumble, embarrassed. Without even having introduced yourself, you’ve somehow managed to tick him off twice in the span of a few days.

It seems as though the universe has a sense of humor tonight. You had rushed across campus to the auditorium, press pass held in your iron-fisted grip in an attempt to beat the clock. Only to end up in the elevator crammed between the very two people you’d been hoping to catch a glimpse of on your way out. While you had been hoping for some sort of miracle to be tossed your way, this..this was…

Caught off guard and underprepared, you feel brittle like a leaf in the wind under the shared weight of their gaze. Later, when you playback the recording on your phone in your pocket, you pretend not to notice when you hear your voice shake.

Suguru Getou, the other exchange student and equally formidable athlete, admonishes his teammate softly. The one who, now that you’re standing close enough to confirm, does indeed wear black gauges. His hair is loose from its bun today, inky locks tossed carelessly over one shoulder. They both don the university’s signature jerseys once again, the cleanest they’ll probably be all season. “Satoru, please.”

Satoru . You make note of the use of his given name, spoken gently and laced with amusement, like a parent scolding a wayward child.

You might almost believe Suguru to be sympathetic if he also didn’t look one slick comment away from laughing at your discomfort.

“What?” His teammate flat-out whines, having complete disregard for politeness - and personal space, apparently. He reaches over and flicks the piece of plastic clutched in your hand suddenly enough that it makes you flinch.

“Ain’t this a press pass? I’m just sayin’. They’ve got, like, a whole hour to do this shit.” Gojo gripes, scratching his head. In perfect English, they talk around you. Over you, like you’re just some physical inconvenience in the middle of a conversation they were already having. You probably are. Recognizing this doesn’t make your heart race any slower.

Out of the corner of your eye, the elevator ticks closer to the mezzanine floor, where you know Kento is waiting for you. This is your chance, this is your chance!

Like an idiot, you stumble over your words, trying for something between a convincing protest and solid introduction, quickly shoving the pass into the pocket that’s empty. “No, not all! Um, actually, I did have a few-,”

The elevator dings, announcing your arrival. Internally, you swear. Twice your build and stature, Gojo shoulders you on the way out without a second glance, nearly rocking you off of your feet. Over his shoulder, he wags his finger at you. “Ah, ah, no head starts.”

Suguru is at least polite enough to offer a smile, albeit one you can’t determine if it's sympathetic or pitiful. He gives you a once over, so quickly you might have imagined it. “Good luck out there.”

Stepping out into the hall, you watch half-stunned as the two teammates swagger in the opposite direction of your destination, off to where you assume their coach and athletic staff await.

Could you have possibly fumbled the ball any harder? You fiddle with your phone on the way to where Kento said he was last sitting, pausing your recording. Fumble? No, that’s football. What’s the basketball equivalent..?

Your colleague paces anxiously in the top row of the mezzanine, waiting for you to pass off his badge. If you had been paying close enough attention, you might even say he was nervous for once. Any other day, that’d be something you’d revel in. But tonight, caught up in your train of thought, you miss the look that crosses his face when you hand him the press pass without so much as a greeting.

“Are you okay?” He asks warily, more so out of obligation than kindness. You remember with stark clarity where he had been sitting at the staff meeting when Utahime rejected your request to cover the story - his stoic, unflinching expression when she announced it had been assigned to him. You had hardly been able to look him in the eye since. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“What do you call a fumble in basketball?”

Kento goes from overly cautious to puzzled. “...A fumble?”

“Ah.”

From where the pair of you stand at the height of the auditorium, the press gathered on the lower level look like a hungry, writhing mob. You observe them as they prepare for your esteemed guests, each armed with microphones and totting cameras with flash attachments the size of your fist. They face a backdrop littered with sponsorship logos, two seats, and an unimpressive table decorated in your school’s colors and laden with more microphones.

Kento moves to head to the elevator, only to hesitate at your contemplative look.

“Does this…” he sighs and starts over, fiddling with the pass slung around his neck. “I can’t bring you with me down there.”

“I know.”

“Or to any of the games.”

“I know.”

“Or interviews.”

You glance up, facing him full-on for the first time in days. Scanning his features for any sign of mockery. “...Okay.”

“But between this and the rest of the sports for this season, I’ve got my hands full.” On stage, the head coach appears to greet the slew of reporters, thanking them for coming out tonight. He begins to say a few words about the exchange students and the history of the exchange program. Kento’s eye twitches - you can feel him getting antsy. “I’m fine taking notes, but I could use some help with the drafting.”

A feeling wells up inside your chest. Amid all of the dejection, the disappointment, the worry - a glimmer of hope had appeared. Somebody was finally giving you a chance.

He offers his hand but you’re slow to take it. Eyes narrowed, you tell him rather than ask, “And I get credit.”

“Partial,” he acquiesces. “And we’ll be on the front page.”

The clamor beneath you begins to grow louder, and your colleague lurches back like he’ll jump over the balcony if that's what it will take to make it down there on time. Steel-eyed, you snatch Kento’s hand in yours before he can take anything back.

“Deal.”

The crowd below you erupts into a thunderous roar of cheers.

<< prev.

#gojo satoru x reader #gojo x you #geto suguru x reader #geto x reader #jjk smut #jjk angst #gojo smut #satoru gojo x reader #geto suguru #gojo angst #jjk fanfic #pleaser

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fiddlepickdouglas · 7 months ago

Note

Where do you watch your Thai BL dramas and do you recommend any to start with?

WOW how did I miss seeing this????

Oh boy this is gonna take a while for me to properly answer because you managed to ask, in so few words, a question that has a long answer! (Which I am all too delighted to give, HEHE)

This ended up being such a long post omg, here's a read more.

So starting with where: There's quite a few places. Streaming services with a prescription, YouTube, and even a few free sites where fans will typically upload content (depending on availability and access, these update latest if a show can be found at all).

Streaming platforms (featuring Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean, and Thai content):

iQiyi - Chinese owned, has a free option with ads and a subscription option. Also features bonus content on certain shows that subbed users can access if you're into that. Has a good balance of stuff that isn't LGBTQ+, lots of great Chinese wuxia - I'm honestly amazed they have as much queer shows as they do but I am not complaining because there's a lot of good ones there.

GagaOolala - Taiwanese owned, has a free option with ads and a subscription option. Stout LGBTQ+ collection. There's certainly other programming but it's thing is being more out and proud, so it's a win for me.

Viki - American owned, allows users to add/edit subtitles. I haven't used this one much, but I haven't needed to get a subscription so far with the shows I have sought to watch and haven't been bothered with ads either? Not sure how that works but I haven't needed to bother looking into it lol

Other sources I've used to watch other BLs are YouTube (there's so many, and they're for FREE), DramaCool, kisskh, and Bilbili.

In this next bit, I'll be summarizing different studios that produce Thai shows, including Thai BL specifically. I'll summarize the studio and then list recommendations for shows.

First up:

GMMTV - (most content on YouTube, some has been put on iQiyi and Gaga though) This is a popular one for Thai shows, and Thai BL especially. It's nicknamed the Disney of BL for a reason (pumps out a lot of new shows each year, huge roster of actors signed to them, very focused on branding and promotion, etc.). A lot of people's first Thai BLs are among their shows, since it was the company that produced the show that launched Thailand's BL industry onto the map. They can be hit or miss with the level of satisfaction, but overall there's plenty to choose from and much to recommend.

Shows I recommend from this company:

Bad Buddy

This is the first one I watched and it changed my fucking life. Pat and Pran are the perfect mix of next door neighbors who were raised to be rivals, but they can't help becoming friends, and eventually fall for each other. It does great subversion of a number of tropes and has a kissing scene that so memorable I bought a t-shirt that's worn in it. The acting is superb and it's both funny and devasting in a lot of good ways. There's a sapphic side couple who are incredibly cute as well!

Be My Favorite

Pisaeng and Kawi, two guys who can't seem to accept their feelings, each live out multiple time lines where they can't help but be drawn together when Kawi is given a time traveling device. This show ponders the affects of one's actions and how living your truth can make or break the happiness you seek in life. This show was unprecedented in how good it was, especially since the leads were an unusual pairing. I love them I love them I love them.

SOTUS

This is the one that kick-started everything back in 2016 for Thai BL. It follows a group of college freshman who are subject to ritual hazing by their seniors, and one student worms his way into the heart of the senior leader. This show set out to censor fags (cigarettes) and not fags (gays). There's so much cultural significance that it's difficult to describe. It sets the tone for a number of BLs to follow.

Not Me

Do you like gays? Do you like social activism? Do you like batshit plots that put you on your fuckin knees for the whole ride? Have we got a show for you. I don't know how to summarize this one without immediately feeling insane, I love this show with all my goddamn heart. Twins Black and White get separated because they have a connection where they can feel the same things when they're close, and it has proven dangerous. Black gets put in a coma and White takes on his identity and joins an anarchist gang to find who hurt his brother. Not everything is what he thinks, though. Also this show inspired my first tattoo because Yok is my favorite boy forever and ever amen.

The Warp Effect

Alright, it's not a BL, technically, but my GOD is it queer. Don't believe me? Here's a list that I made of not even all the reasons why this show is so queer. It addresses so much about sex ed, relationships, consent, kink, body shaming, and even features a non-binary character. A boy, who made a promise to his late mother to save his virginity until marriage, breaks the promise and wakes up in the future. He has to help old friends and acquaintances resolve things that happened on that fated night if he hopes to return to his youth.

3 Will Be Free

Also technically not a BL, but it is poly!! A sex worker, a club host, and the son of a mafia boss end up on the run together after being involved with the wrong people and being in the wrong place...and killing a guy. By the same director of The Warp Effect, so you're guaranteed a similar flavor of thorough queerness.

More shows by the company that I recommend: A Tale of 1000 Stars, Moonlight Chicken, Enchanté, Vice Versa, The Eclipse, My School President, Wandee Goodday, Only Friends, Midnight Musem, The Gifted (those last two aren't BLs but the vibes are there).

Next up!

Idol Factory - (YouTube channel for watching) Founded by actor Saint Suppapong with the purpose of creating a studio that harbors a safer and more positive experience for people in the industry. Well known for producing one of the first and most popular GLs or girls love shows.

Shows I recommend from this company:

GAP The Series

Sam has been Mon's idol since she was little and now she's secured a job working at her company! She's so excited! Until she realizes that Sam is...kind of heartless. Her unwillingness to let her boss walk all over her does more than win over a good professional relationship. It's got all the drama of class divide and arranged marriage along with it, so it's a fun ride and makes for an iconic entry for lesbian cinema.

The Sign

Phaya and Tharn aren't just reincarnated lovers, they weren't even human before! The story follows a curse that's followed them since they first met as naga and garuda, both powerful legendary creatures who have fought each other for ages. In the present, they train as police officers and end up working together in a case related to Tharn's tragic past.

The Loyal Pin

This one actually hasn't started airing yet (August 4th!!!!) but it's about a lady and a princess who grew up together. From the looks of things, it's gonna have drama and angst up the wazoo so I'm looking forward to it.

More shows by the company that I recommend: Secret Crush On You (I haven't personally seen this one but it's been on my list and highly recommended)

Next up!

Domundi - (uncensored versions on iQiyi, cut versions on YouTube) It's more of a "content creator" company, so it includes musicians as well as actors, so there's not many shows under their wing. But they are good with high heat (more explicit) BL stories. One currently airing, Battle of the Writers, includes Chinese wuxia elements which is incredibly interesting and kinda ballsy (there's suspected attempts to lower viewership for censorship reasons). I highly recommend watching it just for the sake of elevating it, there's a cut version on YouTube.

Shows I recommend from this company:

Bed Friend

Poor Uea is traumatized to hell and back; it's like the world is out to get him. He and his coworker King decide after a one night stand to be exclusive fuck buddies, and ngl it's HOT. We get catboy kinks in this one! Their connection deepens and they have to figure out what they both want from each other. Also all the shitheads get owned, it's really nice to watch. It inspired a Jennette McCurdy meme from me.

Middleman's Love

This is the story of Uea's best friend Jade, who sees how happy his friend is in his new relationship, and takes his turn being Emma Woodhouse. Well....it doesn't go to plan. He keeps pushing Mai toward someone else and doesn't realize that Mai likes him. This one starts incredibly goofy (I put that as a warning), and then gets steamy later on.

Battle of the Writers

This one just started airing! Ob-un is accused of plagiarizing fellow author Chan, and after things have been cleared they end up on a writing team together. The wuxia characters here are characters from their novel. It seems their relationship will parallel certain aspects of the story.

Next company!

Wabi Sabi - (YouTube channel for shows) They've recently lost a whole bunch of actors (several to GMMTV no less) due to terminating artist management, so I'm not sure what the future looks like, but they've released several shows that are considered BL staples.

Recommended:

Until We Meet Again

Dean and Pharm are reincarnated lovers who previously had a tragic end. This one is heavy on the emotions, the first 10 minutes took my fucking knees out. Has lot of themes of intergenerational trauma and how important having supportive parents can be. Pharm is so cute, I need to squish him!

Between Us

It starts around the same time as Until We Meet Again, but from the perspective of Team and Win. They have their own angst issues and family traumas that make them messy, and there's a lot more development of the side characters that were featured in the first series as well. I especially enjoy the sideplot for gamers Waan andTul, lol, I wish they could get their own series too! I do recommend watching UMWA first if you don't want to be confused about a few scenes in this one.

Final company, let's go!

Change 2421 - The company that made the omegaverse alpha-alpha car racing BL. That one. Need I say more?

Recommended:

Pit Babe

Mx. omegaverse alpha-alpha car racing BL themself. Babe is a star racecar driver with special abilities. He's charmed when he meets Charlie, but things begin to change for him faster than he can recognize. The home he ran away from tries to force him back as he attempts to reveal its worst secrets.

This Love Has No Long Beans

This is currently airing! Oab is your chef from Kitchen Nightmares that judges harshly with a tough exterior but genuinely has a good heart. Having lost his passion for cooking, he decides to set up a contest to find a successor to take over his restaurant. Plawan chooses to enter this contest despite having no skills and already having gotten on Oab's bad side. Things get heated when Plawan's determination to make it through the competition ignites the passion for cooking again.

There's plenty more companies, but these are the ones I am most familiar with. But there's still more!

Shows I recommend that aren't from the companies listed above:

Kinnporsche

The mafia BL that took over. I have so much brain rot about this one that it's hard to summarize without going crazy. Porsche and his brother have been struggling to keep their beloved family home, so he takes an offer he can't refuse - working as a mafia bodyguard. Kinn, the current mafia head, is undeniably attracted to him and it ends up making them inseparable in more ways than one. I especially enjoy the side couples, VegasPete and KimChay (there is ENDLESS insanity from all possible pairings tbh).

Love in the Air

It's kinda split into two stories, Payu (or Phayu, honestly the spelling gets switched a lot and even I don't stick to one thing) and Rain, and Prapai and Sky. PayuRain are the most couple ever, that's just the best way I can put it. The actors have incredible chemistry and set a fucking standard for making out. Sky and Prapai will make you cry. They handle some pretty intense material and do an incredible job with it. Also bisexuals with motorcycles and light mafia action.

I Told Sunset About You/I Promised You The Moon

Not only an iconic BL series that strives for telling an incredibly realistic story (no goofy sound effects or gags here), but the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous. Also the messiest bisexual awakening known to man. Oh my god. So much crying. Sooooo much angst. It's okay if you throw shit over this one, it's worth it, I promise. Tee and Oh go through pretty much everything that could make weaker couples hate the other person and that's what makes them top tier.

Ingredients

This whole series is a grocery store commercial? Ignore that, these roommates have the most adorable development. I binged this and was crying at 2am. Tops is an aspiring chef and Win is his himbo roommate who is trying to make it as a musician. As they each work toward their dreams, they become important aspects of each other's lives. Also, if you don't come out of this obsessed with Jeff Satur (or anything else he does), I will question your taste. Pun intended.

Old Fashion Cupcake

Japanese BL? Older queers? Office romance? Age gap? A confession scene that meets Jane Austen level standards of desperation? Togawa and Nozue are something else man. They make it a game to pretend to do what young women do as an "anti-aging" technique, but really it's Togawa's scheme to hopefully catch the eye of his boss. Incredible, no notes except maybe I'd like to have a Thai remake? Please?

And last but absolutely not least...

Semantic Error

A fantastic Korean BL. Rivals to lovers and 10000% ADHD4autism. Jang Jaeyoung is prevented from graduating by Chu Sangwoo and makes it his personal mission to get under his skin. And well....it works lol. They're both the most characters, I adore them and their chaotic stumbles into romance. Bonus Choi Yoona bisexual goddess side character, we love her.

Kiseki: Dear To Me

Taiwanese BL that's also split somewhat split between two stories. Zong Yi takes in a wounded Zhe Rui. The student realizes he's keeping a gangster in his dorm and tries to ignore his charms but ends up being drawn into his world. Meanwhile, Ai Di and Chen Yi, other members of the gang, deal with the consequences of Zhe Rui's disappearance.

Well. That was a whole lot. I hope this isn't too overwhelming for you! I've only been in the BL fandom for a couple years so this is barely scratching the surface as far as what's out there.

#answered #loveofmyknife #long post #thai bl #bl series #good god there is too much to tag here #i hope this answers things for you

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serpenshyades · 3 months ago

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Dark Academia is now known as having a strong knowledge of different cultures, especially generation Z. This subculture which is characterised by appreciation of classic literature, vintage appearance and public intellectualism has greatly enthused the postmodern generation. However, what makes it so appealing?

The romanticization of dark academia

In fact, Dark Academia isn’t only a style but probably a way of living as well. The images promoting the Pre-Fall 2014 collection of items such as tweed blazers, plaid/daisy skirts, and oversized sweaters, brings consciousness of an older, more rational era. It gives a sort of respite from the stresses which characterise the contemporary world while also feeling more genuine. Influenced by the themes such as darkness and art, the aesthetic encourages Gen Z to enter a world appreciating wit and talent.

—Nature of Intellectual Curiosity

Apart from the visual, leaning heavily into Dark Academia promotes a passion for books. It encourages reading great literature and diving into intellectual discussions—not just for school, but as a way to grow personally. In the present era where generation Z is receiving a lot of unknowns about socio-economic reality, enjoying learning forms a good selling point now. School isn’t about getting all your subjects right; it is about wanting to learn and nurture an idea.

—Emotional Connection

As it also presented so far, Dark Academia also allows characters to vent socially. Although themes of sadness and existence are present in the subculture, which many Gen Z individuals are willing to discuss. Sketch is a method of creating personal art forms as well as an open platform for sharing more profound problems or feelings in face to face discussions or on paper. Some people think this romanticises suffering, many, however, believe it allows them to address and discuss difficult feelings safely and through art.

—Criticism of Dark Academia

Nevertheless, to the present, Dark Academia is not devoid of issues.The pressure to always be learning, creating, and looking perfect can make Dark Academia feel unrealistic for some. It may also lead to unhealthy comparison because everyone will be expecting to achieve the same or even greater results than the last person. The subculture can also feel clique-like because the focus of the students is a specific form of education or class.

—Conclusion

In general, the Dark Academia trend has influenced Gen Z greatly. It has changed the perception of the many towards learning, self-voice, and even self-therapy. Although it has its flaws, Dark Academia remains an open space for sharing ideas, deep thinking, and honest emotions. For Gen Z, it provides an opportunity to navigate through the world as well as reason and understand it.

Let me know what you think! Have you found that Dark Academia affected you in some way, whether it being hobbies, fashion, or mindset? Let’s talk about it!

🎞️🎻🎹♟️✒️

#dark academia #aesthetic #babel rf kuang #classical art #dead poets society #if we were villains #the secret history #autumn #academia #literature #english #academic assignments #babel an arcane history

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allthecanadianpolitics · 5 months ago

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A non-profit organization in southwestern Manitoba has its sights set on helping Black and African students thrive in their chosen Canadian professions. Loy Excellentia Initiative was created by Aloysius Anyichie — a Brandon University professor— to promote excellence among Black and African students. The organization offers support in adapting to Canadian society and post-secondary education while working to build a cross-country network of students and mentors. "There isn't much support for that transition from Africa into Canada ... The culture shock, the weather and then even the education system is not the same," he said. "A lot of them are struggling ... because some of these supports seem to be lacking in the institutions." Census Canada data shows that Black workers tend to be overqualified for their jobs, work in low-level occupations and earn less money compared to non-racialized Canadians of the third generation or later.

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

#black students #education #immigration #immigrants #black #cdnpoli #canadian politics #canadian news #canada

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radfemsiren · 4 months ago

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So, idk how to say this but, I'm kinda new to this side of Tumblr. So I am Hindu, I'm not that religious as following the rituals and such but I wouldn't lie and say the concept of God doesn't give me peace. Stating my religion because in it, there is no one god (if you have a basic idea, I think you'll get what I'm saying) so there are forms of God that are feminine/female presenting or female who is considered the mother of the universe and all being. What I'm saying is in a country where you'll find men worshiping a godess at every corner and street those same men are vile to women in real life. From sa to domestic violence to eve teasing.

My friend who is studying veterinary medicine told me about this incident where a classmate of his was a devout worshipper of goddess, like he had a tattoo and stuff but was selling explicit pictures and videos of a junior female student (a 17 yo girl). Though the action was taken, but he wasn't sent to jail as they didn't involve police.

I'm sorry if it offends anyone. I just wanted to share it here, felt like a safe space.

No offense at all, thank you for sharing! ❤️

Yes this is something I noticed that religious men do. When you give feminist arguments that criticize the religion or culture, they’ll pull excuses like, “Well Mary is a respected figure!” For Christianity, or “Well Khadijah is a respected female figure!” For Islam…

But if there is no authority, then there is no respect. If her existence doesn’t offer any punishments to consequences, than she is not an active, real part of the religion. Religion is not an academic study, not something to read about… it’s a verb, it’s practiced.

If the practicioners of a religion are systemically engaging in hurting women, then this is what the religion and culture is promoting.

#asks

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stvllioner · 1 year ago

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Wet Dreamz | Katsuki Bakugo

Pro Hero!Katsuki Bakugo x Pro Hero!Black![FEM]Reader

CONTENT WARNING(S): sexual content, mutual (?) pining, hint of infidelity, bakugo & reader are a duo, reader is in their head a LOT, clubbing, grinding, shifty hands mentions of perversion, voyeurism, fingering (m->f), making out, blue balling, mentions of infidelity, slight sero x reader, bakugo & reader are basically playing cat and mouse.

WORD COUNT: 10.8k words (45 mins).

I/B: wet dreamz by j. cole | wired interview w/bts

READ MORE: masterlist + [bakugo & students masterlist]

KEY:

y/n = your name.

l/n = last name.

h/n = hero name.

h/n/n = hero nickname.

c/n= country name.

g/s= grading system.

h/t = home town.

"italics" = words in full quotation marks is indicated as English.

bold = words in full quotation marks is indicated as your native language.

A/N: just because ie didnt want reader to just be a american, i left things like talking in native language to be up to interpretation. almost everything is up for interpretation in this one lol. slowly tryna get used to writing real stories instead of just fuckin. makes me wish ie was doing this earlier because it's actually really fun to think stuff up for stories. not rushing and getting smt out to have it out lol. the lyrics are… interpreted in a different kind of way, sort of play on words if you will. anyways hope y'all like it! i sure did. 🫶🏽 thank you anon!

"Cameras rolling in—"

The camera crew were finishing the set up in the background, the makeup stylists were adding their additional touches and you only had a few seconds to mentally prepare for your filming.

"Three, two …. !"

Snap.

"Hi! My name is Y/N, better known as H/N!"

"And I'm Bakugo Katsuki, also known as Dynamight."

"And we are here with WIRED to answer the web's most searched questions!" You two finished the cut unanimously.

The camera cuts to you as you turn to him with a nervous jitter, still with the joyful appearance you always kept. "I'm pretty nervous, people are wild these days."

H/N.

A hero that represented what it means to be a young, headstrong role model. A hero that was from a country outside of Japan whom Bakugo was immediately infatuated with upon first meeting.

L/N.

His interest in your last name marked your own culture, despite being foreign to him. The name you didn't say as you introduced yourself to the camera.

Y/N.

Your first name that he is always itching to say, practicing day and night how it'd finally roll off his tongue when you two could get to that stage. Today seemed to be that day.

You two had been paired up as a duo for about over a year now for some hero promotions and the chemistry between you two had been gradually growing. Indeed, you did not speak much as you had initially expressed not being confident in your Japanese abilities when you moved to Japan, but he is deeply impressed by your determination to continue learning the language.

"Oh! The boards are in English, I might excel in this." You joke, towards the camera.

"You excel in a lot of things, H/N/N." Bakugo promptly responds and he's just as quick to move on after he pulls up the cardboard and tilts it to the side, ready to officially start the interview off. Your lips purse together as you swallow the budging feeling to crack a smile at the personal nickname. Bakugo always had a knack for nicknaming people, but hearing yours out loud in front of everyone else gave you an entirely different feeling. One you couldn't place.

"Who is in…?" The blonde-haired male tilts the board as he reads it, proving his dexterity as he also rips the label off to reveal the rest of the first search. You could tell he was struggling a bit and you move your head to read it as well.

"Firecracker," You finish off with a smile, sitting closer to the edge of your seat as you look at it. "Although we just introduced ourselves, I'm sure we can spruce it up a little?"

Bakugo takes the initiative with a subtle nod, using his other hand to gesture to you as he introduces you for the repetitive round of introduction.

"This is, Y/N or "better known as" H/N. One of, maybe, only heroes I can tolerate."

You can't help but laugh at his rendition, nodding your head as you adjust yourself in your seat. "The honesty, wow! We have, uh," You turn more to your side, looking him up and down before looking into his eyes. "Lord Explosion Murder: Dynamight? But you may know him as just Katsuki." You look back at the cameras as you finish, a bit of sass as you conclude.

Katsuki.

The way you said it just sounds so much better than when anyone else says it.

An unexpected chuckle comes from him as he teases you back. "I think I liked my intro better than yours." He rips off the next label and turns the board for you to read.

"Who in Firecracker got their quirk first? " You hum and look up at him, face full of concentration now. Bakugo's gaze is completely focused on your face as you go into deep thought, scarlet eyes taking in your change of expressions. His gaze follows your body and takes in the details of your outfit, the volume in your hair, and the way that the makeup stylist (fortunately) did you justice that properly accentuated everything beautiful about your skin tone and features.

Bakugo was starting to like everything about you, and he was starting to crush hard.

"I think I got mine in, uh…" You roll your eyes to the right as you look back at the camera, perking up as it comes to you. "I guess at five years old… you guys would call it during yōchien. For me it's called, "G/S". How about you, Katsuki?"

He's smug in response, puffing up his chest as he looks into the camera with pure arrogance. "Four years old. That means I win this question."

"I didn't know we were competing." You joke back.

He soon peels off the last question for the section, turning the board to him to keep it to himself. "I want to read it."

"Oh, okay…"

"Who is the strongest in Firecracker? " Before he's finished with the question you're already grinning and pointing towards Bakugo. He scoffs and rolls his eyes, throwing the bit of paper on the floor and adjusting himself in his seat, his demeanor flustered if you were paying close attention to him.

"We're both fuckin' strong. Give yourself more credit."

You double-blink as you try to rack something up to say. Bakugo has never complimented you before—at least nothing more than "good work today" or a "nice job out there" or something along the lines of that. You did notice lately he's been more communicative with you, but you chalked it up to the fact that maybe he can tolerate you more now with the fact your Japanese is getting better. Still, you had no compass or direction to tell what he was feeling at any given moment.

To your rescue, an exasperated callout comes from behind the cameras, making you laugh out as well as the camera crew behind the director.

"Watch the potty mouth, Bakugo-kun!"

You give Bakugo's shoulder a light push, immediately going to grab the next board for a visual excuse for your nervous fiddling. "We both know how incredible your strength is! I'm being real."

— ✮ ★ ☆ —

The rest of the recording went pretty well, and the chemistry between you two was undeniable. It seemed as though the longer the shoot went, the more comfortable you two got with each other. It hadn't hit you until now that you and him never really talked before.

Of course, it's not like you two ignored each other, no, that wasn't the case. But finding out things like what his favorite meal is during a movie, or why he loved hiking so much made you want to learn more about him. He is also much funnier than you had thought.

You were pretty aware of the rabid fanbase that followed him consistently. The fan edits, the stans, the ones who truly believed they were going to marry the young man. The thought made you cringe as you thought back on your first reaction upon hearing that you two were being paired together for this joint project.

"This will be a great opportunity to reach a further fanbase across the globe in countries that love to support their favorite superheroes!" Your manager exclaimed in excitement before wiggling her brows as she nudged you. "And by support, you know what I mean…"

"Financially?" You finished her sentence, an uninterested look on your features.

"Yes! This will be such a big break for you. Think about it -- they see you paired with one of their top heroes. One, they'll think you can keep up with him. Two, this is an opportunity to grow your exposure as a fairly new hero on the scene. But third, and most importantly the country relations." She looked at you with a serious look this time, her gaze strong.

You scoffed at the implications of the "perks". You were sitting still in the comfort of your manager's old office, your unmoving reaction giving her an insight into how you had truly felt.

"Look, I know you like to be on that 'I can do this myself' tirade, but this will look great. For both of you."

"But at the expense of me though," You crossed your arms and looked down at your feet as you couldn't help but feel blindsided. "I mean, you didn't even ask me. I have never been to Japan, and I don't even know this dude. He could be a fucking creep for all I know!"

"Y/N." She said it as a warning for your tone. She sighs and softens up a bit, but still maintains her composure. "This is something that could be good for you. Think about the titles, the awards, hell even the recognition. Isn't that what you want?"

Not when it sounds like that, no. You didn't become a hero and train this much for the fame of it. You weren't an idiot, and you knew that part of the job is to get your face out there. But a part of you feared that you could become a person who would only go for things that will look good without actually doing the part.

"Do you seriously think you'll be some big-shot hero while staying a nobody in here? We need to expand."

You scoffed at her wording, eyes flickering up to look at her in offense. "So you think I can't be successful on my own?"

"Y/N-"

"I get that there isn't much of a demand here, but I feel as though I am fulfilling my duties. I don't need to be famous to make an impact. I like it here."

"You aren't thinking long term. There simply isn't enough demand, and that has to change. I know it's hard but you have to trust me." She reached across the desk to hand you the papers, the gesture not received on your end.

Sasha called out your name as you muttered a dismissal from the meeting. You stood up as you gathered your stuff from her desk, packing up the discarded papers and other supplies. You knew you were being dramatic, but rightfully so. This was never discussed, nor did you ever think you would have to live in a foreign place. It was so painfully random and left field that you couldn't help but feel slighted that such a big decision was already made for you. Especially where foreigners weren't exactly welcomed and that thought alone made you nervous.

That night was hazy if you remember correctly. You didn't have anything to attend to, you just wanted out. You were worried sick about this new endeavor. You would have to say goodbye to everything you had built at home. The community, the friends, the experiences. All for this opportunity. You were an emotional mess and honestly, as you cringe thinking about it now, it wasn't that serious but it sure felt like it. You were only given a year to brace yourself for the inevitable, train, say goodbye to the people you were used to seeing every day, and on top of that, learn a whole new fucking language.

One thing you did remember correctly though was your manager calling you to check up. When it had slipped up that you were currently out drinking and sad about yourself, she hopped in her car and immediately came to your rescue to pick you up before you could do something stupid. The car ride was silent as she didn't want to chew you out then and make you feel any worse than you already did. When the time was right, she had thought up something to say. It was her words that stuck with you that made you start to reconsider this business decision.

"Listen, if I told you, I know that you would say no," Sasha said as she held your hand, voice softer than ever. "But I know you deserve better and bigger than this." She sits up a bit in her chair that sat on the side of your bed and properly tucked your hair back into your hair cover. "It's not because I don't think you're incapable. It's because I know you would stay here in this small town without growing and staying in your ways."

"But I like it here… I like the people. My family is here… the community needs me…" Your voice cracked at the end as tears started to spill from your eyes. "I can't just leave. it's more than the accolades, the fame. I want to make a change and I c-can't do that if I'm not here."

She hums as she brings you in for a hug, a twinge of hurt coming from her. Sasha felt awful seeing you like this, and she was aware that even when in her best intentions her decisions could be harsh. Even if she wanted nothing but to see you succeed, she wanted you to be happy too.

"Listen," She starts as she wipes your tears. "We'll figure something out, okay? You won't be abandoning this place. If I can secure a deal like this, I'm sure I can sway some more from the company to get you happy. Alright?"

You meekly nod, your overflow of emotions never stopping as you can't calm yourself. You were too destroyed to come around to the idea. You were terrified of the turn of options and all the drinking you did that night did not help one bit. You are so used to being well-liked, what would the world offer when you change from a small hero in your H/T to a big international one? To what lengths did you have to keep giving yourself up to make the higher-ups happy? Were you in over your head choosing this path?

These questions were justified, but it all came back to the same common theme: boxing yourself in. If you didn't want to do this, you would've called it quits long ago. But here you were, and even with all the villains you've taken down, this seemed scarier. Nothing is more frightening than putting yourself somewhere you are emotionally vulnerable. And for the lack of a better word, alone.

You'd have to start again, meet new people, start a new routine. How would you be able to adapt?

"You'll have a year and some change before you go over. I've already been scouting for the best Japanese tutors out there." She pulled back when it seemed as though your sobbing had subsided and she smiled. "I'll get you the best of the best and I'll be damned if you're not taken care of."

You nodded wordlessly and wiped the tears from your cheeks. She handed you your water bottle once you sit up, a hand on your back for support.

"So think about it, please. I know it's scary to think about, but this can help you. Seriously." She stands up and tidies up the area before gathering her stuff. "And you won't be alone, remember that."

She smiles before closing your bedroom door leaving you to your muddled thoughts.

Later on, it was revealed that your pairing would have the "organic" formation. You two would be put together for a few big missions and soon enough when the public would notice, that's when the process of being in a semi-duo would take effect. Your manager made sure to stress how it was important the two of you kept your individual identities to cover all basis. No fan will be completely pushed out of their comfort zone while you two could rely on each other when the job needed it. The other part of the deal was that you would be able to work almost more than half of the year in Japan whilst being able to use the other days to visit back to your country and most importantly your home town.

It was a win-win and you couldn't thank Sasha any more than you did when she relayed the news. When recounting it, you can vividly remember the amount of relief that washed over you to the point it made you emotional again. The feeling of embarrassment had also risen to the surface and you profusely apologized about the prior outbursts to the initial news. In manager fashion, she hushed you before reassuring you that it was her job to get her client right and out there. If you didn't have her, you honestly weren't sure where you'd be right now.

But unfortunately, the things you overthought about weren't exactly wrong either. Most of the things that popped up in your head had come to fruition, some worse than others. Being in a duo with a male counterpart was rough. Especially if he was hot young and (seemingly) a bachelor. People didn't like to see their fave with the opposite sex who seemed to be of that same description with the added addition that they don't come from the same background as well.

Recently after the WIRED interview, the fans were starting to come along to the idea much more than it seemed. Many more positive comments were starting to pop up online and now the public perception of your pairing was really starting to kick off.

There was a mixture of comments that ranged from, "Wow! They look so cute together" "You have to admit they do get the job done" to "I fucking hate XYZ" and we don't need to address the vulgar ones…

Of course, at first, you use to read those comments for hours. You'd be stuck on an unhealthy loop, emotions from high to low as it seemed there was never a day that didn't have all kinds of comments and interactions. Some days are better than others, and some days you'd have to force yourself to log off and do other things in your life. But all in all, the interview seemed to be a hit so now both your agencies are scrambling to book more to boost engagement.

You sigh as you stretch out onto your couch, thinking about how two years have been both hell and a blessing. You stare up at your ceiling as your phone locks, setting it on your coffee table.

The idea to message Sasha as you recounted past and recent memories started to poke at you. You still hesitate on the action though considering the fact you know she's always busy with her schedule. You feel a buzz and you pick up your phone, the text catching your attention.

Sasha-Sama 👯‍♀️

Are you up for going out today?

[->] Sent 13:34.

'speaking of the devil….' you smile and swipe up to correspond to her message.

You

depends. what am I leaving for?

[✓] Sent 13:35.

Sasha-Sama 👯‍♀️

I've got a client I want you to get closer with.

Management says it'll be good for you to get more acquainted with the heroes here. You might actually like her.

[✓] Sent 13:41.

You hum in curiosity, thinking about it a bit before replying.

You

who is it?

[✓] Sent 13:42.

Chat bubbles pop up on your screen and you watch as she types up her response. Today you were taking a very much-needed break for the week and you weren't too sure if you wanted to go out and do some crazy amount of networking.

Sasha-Sama 👯‍♀️

Mina and a few others are in the top 10 for Japan.

You may have met her already, at those galas a few times.

[✓] Sent 13:47.

Your brows quirk up at the name. You're quick to open Instagram, wanting to see a more personal image of her than the one you would see from a search engine.

Oh.

Yeah, you remembered her. She was lively for sure and everyone around her seemed to like her as well. Her page was a mix of official posts and personal ones, perfectly balancing out professional and niche drives to curate an audience. There were even a few posts that were shitposts too.

You were intrigued. Now that you thought about it, you didn't have any friends here… like at all. You spent most of your time focused on work, and if not that, then interacting with your fans in person and online. When you weren't doing either of those things, you were studying Japanese. Surely the studying paid off though with the additional advantage of living in the environment to grasp the content. One could even call your behavior shut-in, but could you blame yourself? Even with your determination to get yourself out there, it was hard. You were still trying to adjust to all of this, and you haven't hit your time mark to visit home just yet. Hell, you can't even remember the last time you got laid.

Your phone dinging catches your attention again and you realize that you hadn't got back to your manager yet.

Sasha-Sama 👯‍♀️

So is it a yes? I will be forwarding your number to her.

[✓] Sent 13:56.

You think a bit before coming to a decision but you need a bit more info first.

You

yes for now, but who else will be there?

you mentioned something about a few others.

[✓] Sent 13:59.

Sasha-Sama 👯‍♀️

Well, I know that Bakugo will be there, but I am not sure who the other people are. Just got in that it's actually not just the top 10, just a few other heroes around the province as well.

[✓] Sent 14:02.

You hesitate at the information on your screen. Bakugo is going to be there? You're not sure why, but a sense of anxiousness starts to flood you as you start to think about him in such a casual setting. You blink a few times as you rub your forehead, now starting to rethink your decisions.

Sasha-Sama 👯‍♀️

Y/N, you will be fine. I'm sending a car to pick you up at 18:30. Wear something… "cunty" and cute. There might be paps there so look good pls. 👀

[✓] Sent 14:05.

You groan loudly at her text and almost want to throw your phone. Is she for real? Even when you need to go out to meet people, it's still about your image. You wanted to text her your thoughts, but a better part of you knows that this outing is probably for your good. You just hoped that these people weren't controversial and this wouldn't be hard work to clean up anything that comes along with their bullshit. You doubted the idea as you remember how much your agency wants to push you to the public. Anything that could be a blip in your appearance was always scrapped and replaced. They were your last safety net to coast safely in this whole hero-ing thing if you were being honest.

You

Sasha… 😐

"cunty"??? PLEASE.

[✓] Sent 14:09.

Sasha-Sama 👯‍♀️

↳ Liked your picture.

🤷🏾‍♀️

Love you, N/N! And stay safe, you know to call me if anything is going on. 💪🏾

[✓] Sent 14:11.

You jokingly send a thumbs down in retaliation to her message, albeit hearting the message as you know she means well. Turning your head to the side, you find yourself staring back at your TV's black mirror. You still had a lot of time left so you decided to at least start prepping for the evening ahead of time.

To prevent the inevitable disruption of hunger, you make your way into the kitchen and decide to get something to eat. You prepare leftover protein to eat with noodles that you've wanted to try all week. It's like when you think of mixing a food combo but take forever to put it into fruition. In anticipation of your ingenious meal, you eagerly await its arrival as the smell taunts you as you wait.

Once it's done you are in no rush to scarf down your food. You even sit down at one of the high chairs on your island with a half-awake presence. It was no surprise that you woke up late today due to the fatigue that comes along with being a pro-heroin. You couldn't even recount the last time you sat down and ate a meal like this. Back in the day (why did you age yourself like that?) when you were in, H/T, you always had enough time to do everything. To experience everything. Yes, you felt blessed to be here even with how hard it's been, but to be able to just sit and relax was a whole new feeling of euphoria you haven't felt in a while. The feeling was pretty nice.

You scoff as you try to think about how things can change so fast. As you blankly stare at your surroundings, you map out the different things you should get to make your penthouse more "homey". It was a very nice and very, very, very expensive place. One that you were definitely not paying for yourself, one that your company took the liberty to do. You have only been able to get the basic things you need for a living space, and only some decorations to truly make it yours. Hell, you even had more clothes than furniture and dishes combined. But that was thanks to sponsors and of course, having to properly ration your paychecks. You had to admit your living space being taken care of for you was an immense help to begin with so you didn't want to complain too much.

Your phone buzzing on the couch successfully gains your attention and you can't help but sigh in annoyance. One thing to also note about being in Japan is that you were practically on call all the time. There was a reason you couldn't leave your phone on silent. You finish up your current bite before hopping down from your chair and trudging your way to your device. You light up upon the contact on your screen. It's an unknown number but the person messaging you makes themselves known in their message.

XXX-XXX-XXXX

hiya! this is Mina!! heard you were coming out with me tonight! 🤟

hope this is the right number lol

[✓] Sent 14:39.

You

Hey! Yes, this is the right number, haha.

My name's Y/N :)

[✓] Sent 14:40.

Mina

your name is SO CUTE! it really suits you <3

[✓] Sent 14:41.

Your heart flutters as you receive the compliment, a giddy grin spreading across your lips as you get more eager to contact her.

You

Thank you! I could say the same for you 🫶🏽

[->] Sent 14:42.

Your thumbs hover over your screen as you try to think of something else to say, not wanting the conversation to die so fast. She hasn't seen your message yet and hopes something comes out of this interaction. Deciding not to stress about it too much, you resume finishing your meal.

So many thoughts run through your mind as you try to prepare yourself for tonight. Even in your hometown, you didn't frequent clubs or bars often, especially not with well-established individuals your age either. It seemed as though Mina was nice enough but you had to factor in the fact Bakugo was going to be there. Then it was also the added stress that other people you didn't even know would be there as well.

You still have no real idea of Bakugo. He seemed pretty reserved, almost goody-two-shoes-like. But honestly, you're sure you gave off the same image as well. Something about him just gave… in the clean. Saying innocent felt like a stretch but you were starting to lean towards that with his mostly clean record. But that could easily be attributed to the fact there was no doubt his agency was probably paying out-of-pocket to keep the shit he does on the low. Maybe you should take it upon yourself to look into him…

Amid your inner thinking, you had decided to clean up the kitchen after your brunch. Having just finished eating, you are now cleaning your dishes. Some dishes were left in the sink and strewn about, but the place thankfully wasn't a pigsty. You rest your hands on the edge of the sink, thinking about the many ways tonight can go before reminding yourself that any time you have tried to predict the future, shit has always gone left field. You hum as you shut the tap water off when you finish and push off the sink to find a towel to dry your hands with. You make your way back to your phone and sit down on one of the high-up chairs as you check your phone.

Mina

this is sort of sudden, but do you want to go shopping with me tonight? figured you don't have that many friends anyways

we can get to know each other!

[✓] Sent 14:57.

Well damn. She ain't have to say it like that. You feel a tad embarrassed at the wording but make up your mind anyway. You itch the back of your neck as you reply immediately.

You

Of course! I would love to. When should I get ready?

[✓] Sent 14:59.

Mina

i figured you'd say yes lol. omw what's your address?

[✓] Sent 15:00.

Your brows shoot up at the late notice and hesitate a bit. You look at the time before deciding to go along with it anyways.

You

000-0000 Shibuya-ku

[✓] Sent 15:03 P.M.

Mina

sweet! will be there soon 😉

[✓] Sent 15:04.

— ✮ ★ ☆ —

"Hey!" Mina calls out from her car as soon as the windows are rolled down. "You are so much cuter in person!" She unlocks her doors and gives you a wink as you bashfully laugh at her friendly flirting.

"Thank you, you too." You smile as you get in and adjust yourself. You look around as you get settled and admire the layout. You still have yet to get your license and being driven around could sometimes get tiring.

"I was thinking that we should go to that new store in that big shopping district mall in the district. They usually have cute stuff on sale there." Mina suggests. She expertly pulls off and looks over at you with a grin before reaching over to playfully nudge you. "No need to be so tense around me! I totally get you are probably really nervous. Don't worry, I can get you hooked up." She smirks as she looks back at the road, giving you a small glance before she finishes her thought. "In more ways than one…"

"A-Ah, I'm not too sure about that one." You nervously laugh. "If I'm being honest I haven't done anything at all since I've been here… especially, that."

With the gasp she let out, you would think that you just told her you work for the League of Villains. As she reaches a red light she looks over at you with a shocked look, completely flabbergasted at your admission.

"Are you serious?!"

"Completely."

"Not even joking?"

"I am so serious."

"...how?" She looks away completely in silence and scoffs. "Doesn't matter anyways, we'll get you laid in no time~"

You chuckle at her determination and shake your head. "To be honest I'm not really in the mood for that stuff… I kind of like being by myself. It's way less stressful."

"Well, no one said you have to be committed. A little fun once in a while doesn't hurt."

You hum in agreement and rest your arm on the armrest. Mina wasn't completely wrong, but you were totally out of the loop by now. You had to leave behind all of your suitors and sneaky links in H/T. Even then you were too busy with work. There were moments when you wanted to get out there for some sort of excitement to ease your boredom, but nothing ever came of it. Your desire to relinquish your needs always ends with you, your toys, and your imagination. A bit devastating if you think about it too hard.

The bustling shopping district Nina talked about isn't too far from your place and you have also learned that Mina lived pretty close to you as well. There are so many people moving about; lots of people doing their things and plenty who seemed to recognize you both. Luckily, she knew of some ways to avoid crowds.

By the time you two had made it to the mall, basically half an hour and then some had passed. Mina sucked her teeth as she looked at her phone to check the time, her manicured nails tapping against the screen as she spoke to you.

"Ah, who cares? The place is pretty laid back. Being a little late might make you look cooler."

Mina had persuaded you to stop by her favorite boba cafe near the newly opened stores. And surely after reassuring you a bit, she had convinced you to let her take care of the spending for today (although you decided in your head that you'd pay her back).

She grins at you as she finally puts her phone away to look at the menu board. You watch as she effortlessly orders her usual at the kiosk. You attempted to keep up with her movements but it proved to be a difficult task. This pink-haired girl was much more assertive and bold than you thought she would be. Everything she did was done with such confidence and carefree energy that you felt mesmerized by how she carried herself. Though her bluntness did shock you a bit from time to time. The way she talks to you is like you two have known each other for years instead of the fact you two have only greeted each other in passing at formal events. It was her unique sense of being a girl's-girl that made it much easier to get more comfortable with her.

The wait for the drinks doesn't take that long and soon enough you two are on your way to the clothing store. You admired everywhere around and swore to yourself to go out more often. You hadn't realized all the cool stuff you had been missing by just focusing on furthering your career. You were pretty amazed at how the store you were visiting occupied two whole floors, with another giant store on top of it as well.

You and Mina were separate in the store since you two were looking for different things. You were looking for a new pair of bottoms while she looked for accessories on the floor below. You mindlessly sifted through the clothes on the racks not sure what you were looking for specifically. Periodically you'd look out the window and admire the view outside, the day's sky shifting to a more dreamy sunset tone. The music you couldn't recognize softly played in the background, but the ambiance of the 2000-early 2010s feel certainly encapsulated the store.

You find yourself humming softly to the tunes though, a bit shocked that you could understand some of it. Some songs and artists you could recognize while some seemed to be either Japanese or from a different place entirely. As you paid half attention to the clothes while the other half tried listening to the music, the next artist that comes in makes you stop. You're unmoving in your spot and look around as you listen closely, a smile spreading across your lips as the tune properly makes its way to your ears.

It was a song from J. Cole and shockingly enough it was uncensored too. You lightly laugh to yourself as they tend to do this, playing foreign songs with the cuss words on full blast without a care in the world. You couldn't quite place your finger on which song it was though and it seemed as though the song was about to finish anyways.

Soon enough you can find a pair of pants that would suit the outfit and idea you had in mind have half a mind to try it on. You find your way through the options as the song unfolds, looking at the different clothes on your way to the dressing rooms. You softly hum along to the song although making sure not to be too loud. Lord knows you already stick out like a sore thumb, but god, you did love a good J. Cole song.

As the unnamed song comes to a finish, you are on your way to find the dressing rooms. A courteous attendant asks normal customer service questions before leaving you to be in your presence. It's not long before the next song plays and it so happens to be another J. Cole song, except you knew this song very well.

You breathe out a laugh as the intro starts to play and you have to keep your excitement in. You could hear the song much clearer in this section as it was more closed in than the rest of the other area. Despite the music being clearer now, the faint chatter around did indicate you were not alone, and many people liked this store as well.

'note to self: find the furthest stall to avoid any confrontation with anyone else.' You thought to yourself and continued your venture to the furthest spot.

By the time you had made it to the back, it seemed like there was one last stall at the end of the hall. At first glance, it seemed as though it was empty, but as you grew close, you noticed the door was ajar. You had half a mind to barge in but what you saw in the changing room made you freeze.

A familiar tuff of blonde hair and a toned figure dawning in a dark green tank that complimented his tan skin caught your eye. Your gaze followed the chain that adorned his masculine neck, his strong shoulders were next to fall into view, and his well-defined back that his shirt that perfectly molded to his skin was last. You could see he was hunched over in a position that didn't seem as though he was trying something on, but still moving nonetheless. A soft gasp that's immediately hushed makes you look up and your eyes widen. The sound was way too feminine, and it certainly was not from you. Another noise makes you squint, trying to see what was going on.

"Stop teasing me," She whispers to him and that's when you finally realize what the hell was going on.

Before you could turn around a pair of eyes makes contact with yours through the reflection of the mirror and you suck in a quiet breath at the fact now you have been caught. The reflection of his deep scarlet eyes showed no direct emotion and you couldn't read what he was feeling, much less thinking. His movements continued without faltering though and another soft sound of encouragement followed his actions. One thing was clear and there was no mistaking it: you could see him and Bakugo could see you. You know that you should leave. However, now you are dangerously curious and confused. The worst part is that you were frozen in shock.

Prettily manicured fingers lightly glide over his shoulders and trace his tanned skin before finding its way to lose itself in his hair. You could hear her question what he was looking at before guiding him to pay his full attention to her once again. It's when he breaks eye contact you can finally break out of your trance.

It was at that moment that the song over speakers reached your ears again and the irony that hangs through the air is almost laughable. No longer wanting any part in listening or seeing this go down, you swiftly turn around and walk away pretending nothing happened in the hope to find the furthest stall away from him.

When you find a stall you immediately close the door and throw the store's clothes onto the side. You rub your temples and close your eyes, another sigh leaving your lips for the millionth time today. Much to your dismay, closing your eyes didn't ease the impending headache that was about to hit, nor did it halt the memory of what you just witnessed. Your mind only brought the visualization of what you just saw to the forefront. You purse your lips as it didn't help that her voice accompanied the memory.

'it started off real innocent my ass.' You thought to yourself as that part of the song over the speakers made its way to your ears. When you open your eyes you're met with your reflection in two mirrors and have no other choice but to look at yourself. You felt like you were going crazy and rightfully so! You weren't innocent yourself, no, but have some damn grace. To be so careless like that, you're starting to realize that the coworker you thought you had a general idea of is way off.

But what did this make you? You stood there and watched them. Not for long, but long enough. Long enough that he saw you. Bakugo knew you were standing there and didn't do anything about it. At first, you thought that his expression was unreadable, but the more you thought about it, you had completely missed the challenging look in his eyes.

The piercing look of instigation with a hint of his curiosity. It was as if it was a look of provocation. As if… beckoning you to try something. Or are you desperately trying to justify why you watched two people doing lewd acts to each other while you just stood there in shock? One of them being your partner in fighting against crime.

You harshly scoff and turn around to avoid looking at yourself to hopefully put off letting it run through your head any longer. You start to strip your clothes off and face the door as you get undressed. As your mind starts to clear, you hear the song playing over the speakers and can't help but humorlessly laugh at the fact the song was about to finish. It had only been what? Almost four minutes and this whole thing had you in shambles. It would've been easier to handle if you didn't have to see him so soon—as in literally a couple of hours—but nope, your dumbass decided to go out today. To, "network". To have fun.

After finishing your haul you have long forgotten any songs playing over the speaker and now you just wanted to leave this store without encountering those two ever again, actually. Unfortunately, never seeing them again isn't an option, and making sure not to cross paths with them for now will be quite the challenge.

You slam the door open and accidentally startle the other shoppers due to your outburst. While apologizing profusely you hear a familiar voice call out to you, a wave of relief hitting over you once you realize it's Mina.

"Ready to check out?" Mina asks, completely unaware of what just happened. You wordlessly nod your head as you follow behind her, ready to get out of this place as fast as possible.

— ✮ ★ ☆ —

The club's music did not disappoint. Admittedly, you have been to a few clubs here and there that completely sucked. Like… really bad. The clubbing scene is totally different and it was clear that the culture here was adversely opposite of what you were used to. Not to say that every club you went to back in H/T was spectacular, but you could at least anticipate people having a ball and throwing ass. Consequently, you were pleasantly surprised by the one you were invited to since you chalked it up to cultural differences. However, it may have just been that you needed to find places that worked for you.

As aforementioned, you and Mina did end up arriving late but it seemed as though many of the other people in your party were milling about and having fun anyways to pay attention to that fact. You met a few others that your manager had briefly mentioned and had the pleasure to meet.

The first was Momo, a hero that had lots of prestige and was very kind. She often modeled but did other charity work as well. She had offered to put in a good word for you as she deeply admired your beauty. The next was another woman, Hagakure. You had heard about her before, and somehow her outgoing presence and energy rivaled Mina's. The downside though you knew to keep your distance since she seemed a lot more.. chaotic which is why you had already known about her prior.

Then there were the other guys there. Denki who was practically Mina's partner in crime, and another one whose name is Sero. He was pretty chill, not going to lie pretty cute too. He had a level of nonchalant charm that had you intrigued. The top hero of the country who everyone knew and loved was also rumored to make an appearance, but Sero advised you not to hold your breath. It was a whole workaround just to get the top three heroes in a public setting like this even when they could find refuge in the V.I.P section such as this one. It was a miracle that the second top hero—Dynamight A.K.A Bakugo Katsuki—was in attendance that night as well. Women and even men were always trying to find opportunities to throw themselves onto their desired hero, hoping that they'll be, "the one". The thought always made you laugh at the insanity of it all. Throughout the interaction, you did find yourself swayed to chat it up with him. He seemed sweet and Sero was honestly a calm breath of fresh air compared to the vibrant personalities that you have met so far. Even with how well you two were kicking it off, it did feel like something was looming around. Almost as if someone was watching you.

You assumed that you'd be safe on the terrace as there were a handful of people out there too. When you looked around you couldn't see anyone, and it seemed as though everyone was doing their own thing and partying. You're not sure how but at a certain point you two had gotten closer in distance, thighs touching and personal space becoming slim. You'd lean into his ear so he could "hear you better", his calloused hand resting on your knee that touched his and you had to admit that you didn't want it to stop. The small amount of liquid courage was making this easier for you. The alcohol gave you a level of confidence that made your words have a lighthearted cadence to them, much more fluid than when you are sober and worrying if your vocabulary is fluent and with the trends.

"D'you wanna dance?" Sero proposed. There was a playful grin on your face and you were more than welcome to oblige.

"I'd love to."

Both of your bodies are close and you can feel his strong hands on your hips. There is no space in between and there was no mistaking that you could feel his,,, friend down there. But you welcomed it. You even pulled his arms closer and ground against him. It had been a while since you have danced like this and he was cute enough for you to let this continue.

While feeling the rhythm (and his obvious boner and shifty hands) you catch the attention of someone you weren't expecting. You're too into feeling the motions of your environment to properly be stunned but it was no mistake that it was the same guy you vowed to avoid until further notice, Bakugo. You two never break eye contact as you tilted your head to the side, the horny male behind you taking it as a sign to kiss your neck. Your brows scrunch in pleasure as his lips are undoubtedly skilled, his teeth teasing your skin numerous times but not deep enough to leave any marks. Your hands find their way to tangle in his hair, egging him on to continue.

Bakugo's eyes are intense just like you had witnessed in the changing room. It seemed as though he had no plans on breaking eye contact with you and it scared you in a way that he was unwavering. While you cowered coming across him and his presumed girlfriend, he openly stared at you. Another challenging look with confidence oozing from him. Just when a hand starts to wander a little south on your body, he starts to move towards you and now you're starting to get anxious.

Breaking eye contact, you're quick to turn around in Sero's hold, an apologetic expression on your face.

"Too much?" Sero asks, his hand coming up to wipe a strand of hair from your face and you shake your head.

"I have to run to the restroom real quick, okay?" You squeeze his hand before leaving and take a few steps before actively making your way in the opposite direction in which Bakugo was going.

Your eyes search desperately for the bathrooms and much to your relief signs were pointing in that direction. Despite all of the dancing bodies and other people trying to make it around as well, you can find refuge and go into the restroom. You immediately walk up to the sink on the furthest side of the room and place your hands on the ledge of the sink. A deep sigh comes from you as you try to calm yourself down knowing that you were starting to get too cocky outside.

What the hell even was that?

You have had your fair share of rendezvous' and sneaking around, but never have you made eyes at someone's boyfriend or whatever the fuck he was to her. Everything about today was going way too fast, and you were sure you were going to need another drink.

You turn on the water and grab a paper towel to wet, applying the wet paper to clean off your face and skin. You were right about one thing though: Sero was pretty skilled and you wondered how he was able to contain himself and not mark your skin. Had it been any other bumbling idiot, you would've had to be covering up your neck and shoulders with makeup for a good few days or so.

You bend down to catch the water instead, fully committing to the idea that you'll reapply your makeup, if any, before leaving the bathroom to get yourself together. As you try to sober yourself up you hear the door open and close behind you and pay it no mind. The running water of the sink distracts you for a hot minute before it hits you that there was no movement at all after the door had initially opened. You turn off the water and turn around, a sharp gasp coming from you as you fully take in who's at the door.

"Having fun?" Bakugo asks in a tone you've never heard before. It was deeper, a light husk to it rather than his regular monotonous or rambunctious tone. He steps closer and you back up, trying to create more space between you. He scoffs at the action, stepping forward again and watching as you have nowhere else to go. You have no other choice but to watch him slowly make his way up to you, and you aren't sure what to expect.

"Bakugo," You start but fail to continue. What do you even say to him, how do you even start? Your mouth opens and closes as you try to collect yourself making him chuckle.

"Keep going and you might turn into a fish."

His mockery successfully makes you close your mouth and glare at him. Bakugo's calloused hand reaches out and softly touches your neck, tracing where Sero's lips once were. His thumb lightly traces your skin, a low hum in approval at how his work is pretty much unnoticeable.

"You shouldn't be in here." Your voice is low and timid. He grins at your words and places his hands on your hips, pushing you to sit back on the counter behind you. You curse yourself for choosing the last sink in the corner and you curse yourself for responding so easily to his touch. "And we shouldn't be like this either." You try to reason more with yourself more than anything.

He scoffs out a laugh and leans in close to your ear, lips brushing against your skin. "Why not? It's just us."

"But that… girl?" You lightly pull away from him and place your hands behind you to support yourself. His face shows confusion for a split second when he merely pulls inches away from you.

"Camie?" Bakugo's cocky demeanor returns as he slides his hands from your hips to your thighs, parting them enough to fit himself between them. "So it really was you at the store, eh? Didn't know my partner was such a pervert."

The nerve. He was the one who left the door ajar. If anything, you should be calling him the pervert.

"I-I wasn't trying to, you left the door open." You counter back, eyes narrowing in response. He lightly shrugs before moving in to kiss the opposite side of your neck Sero left untouched and places an open kiss on your skin.

"Must've forgot."

A humorless laugh comes from you in reaction to his answer, a soft gasp following in its footsteps. His teeth sink into your skin and you are sure that, unlike your first pick for the night, Bakugo definitely left a mark. You softly whimper as he places his right hand on your waist to press your body closer to his. Your back arches into his and you move your head to welcome his rough kisses, the stimulation undoubtedly reawakening the lust you had on the dance floor. His hand on your hip grips your thigh and slips its way to the middle of your legs, wasting no time pressing the pads of his fingers against your heat.

You moan at the pressure and hurriedly press your lips together in embarrassment. Your eyes are closed to avoid making eye contact with him as you already know he was gearing up to tease you.

"Shit, when was the last time you got fucked, princess?" Bakugo grips your cheeks and forces you to open your eyes. There's no way he expects you to answer with his grip, and you're sure he's not expecting it anyways. "Soy sauce face ain't do it for ya'?"

You look up at him with a dazed and confused look, the look in your eyes making him groan. The nicknames he picked were certainly unique, and you can't quite pinpoint why he coined Sero that; much less what their connection to each other is. He was under the assumption that like him you were actively 'busy' in your free time. You certainly weren't if that wasn't evident with how receptive you are to his touch.

"I'll get you all fixed up, baby," Bakugo leans in close to your lips, "make you forget all about that dunce's face." He finishes the declaration with a kiss, his grip softening on your cheeks and then moving to your neck.

The kiss, albeit sloppy, intoxicated you. His lumps were plump and soft, a hard contrast to his strong and calloused hands that held your thigh and waist. His tongue brushes against your lower lip asking for an entrance and you gladly allow him entrance. You moan as his tongue dominates your mouth, his wet muscle caresses yours with passion.

Your hands now gripped onto his strong shoulders like that other girl once did. You can't help but think about her, your thoughts starting to cloud about the two of them. You pull away as you start to feel guilty, a string of saliva connecting you two as you part.

"What's wrong?" Bakugo wipes the string of saliva away, a soft pant to his words as he collects himself.

"I just can't, Bakugo. You have a girlfriend."

"She's not my girl, not like that," Bakugo reassures, his thumb pressing against your lip before moving his finger to press various pecks against your lips. "I ain't never did this before, but I've had my eye on you for a while." The confession shamefully made you blush. You had always thought he was attractive but never thought deeper about it. Even a few days ago from the WIRED interview you never made the move to ask or even care about getting to know him. But here you were, sitting on a random club's sink with him between your luscious thighs.

Your cumbersome thoughts start to lose their way as he leans in to kiss you again, your worries washing away when his soft lips find yours. His kiss is overwhelmingly commanding and you love it. You were used to guys taking a more passive approach with you and the lack of control his kiss held undoubtedly made you more responsive to him. Even with that distinction from before, the kiss now is more controlled this time and his composure shows he meant business now. His tongue works smoothly against yours and doesn't shy away from wrestling with yours. You were so enraptured by the kiss you hadn't noticed his left hand had slipped into the front of your bottoms, the feeling of his fingers pressing against your clothed cunt making you buck into his hand.

You whimper as he continues his stroking, your hands never letting up their hold on his strong shoulders. His fingers welcome your grinding and he pulls away from the kiss to look down at the spot between your hips and watches in interest.

"Bakugo—"

"Katsuki," Bakugo corrects you and tilts your chin down to maintain eye contact with you once again.

You bite your lip and your eyes flutter closed once he presses his fingers against your clit eliciting a breathier moan from you.

"Say it and I'll put them in, Y/N." He lets his fingers slip down to collect your slick, the tips of his fingers lightly pressing at your entrance before tracking back up to play with your clit again.

"K-Kat," Your jaw locks up at his diddling, a frustrated pout adorning your features as you try to keep up with him. "I—thought you said you haven't done this before, hm?"

He lightly laughs at your accusation, softly shaking his head at your confusion. "Messin' around like this, princess." His eyes flicker down at your movements and softly groans.

"So it's not about me being a foreigner?"

"That too," The question gets a genuine laugh from him, his brow raising in amusement as he slips in a finger whilst he answers. "used to stealing other people's girl's, not the other way around."

"Shit!" Your fingers grip his tank top and you bring him in for another kiss. His experience is clear in the way he maintains his rhythm in both his kiss and fingering your sopping cunt. Bakugo slips in another finger when you start to lubricate more, a lewd squelch welcoming in his digits.

He curls his fingers to find your soft g-spot, his touch delicate but rough at the same time. You were a vocal one for sure and he loved it. When he presses his palm against your once abandoned clit, your sounds let him know how much you appreciated the attention again. You two break the kiss when you both need time to breathe, lips still very much pressed against one another as you two take each other in.

"Katsuki, fuck-"

"You're close aren't you, pretty girl?" He hums and you nod your head in confirmation. He barely reacts when your nails press into his skin, his eyes scanning the way your body reacts to his movements and how unabashedly expressive you were. So many other women were always focused on how pretty they looked and wanted to be prettier and more memorable than the last the young man encountered. You seemed so natural and into it and he greatly admired it. His crush that he has developed on you for some time now was growing for sure and it was all by chance that it was panning out like this. At this point he didn't care if you were using him to get your rocks off, he wanted to see you like this more often.

With bliss written across your face, your orgasm washes over you in an artful visual. Bakugo had grown to love all your expressions and this one by far might be his favorite. Your brows were scrunched as you released, eyes closed and your mouth shaped like an "O". When you opened back up your eyes to look at him, he knew what you were asking for. Bakugo softly sweet-talks you as you come down, his fingers slowing to a stop before pulling from your pants to lick his fingers.

You're a mess, a light pant to your breath as you watch him lick up your essence from his digits. You move to palm his hard-on, but his other hand immediately stops you.

"Fuck me, Katsuki." You mumbled against his lips, the look in your eyes showing nothing but a lustful plea.

"Not yet, princess," Bakugo answers back in the same manner, his lips brushing against yours as a way to tease before pulling away. "Can't spoil you too much now, can I?" He gives you a look over and scoffs at your dumbfounded seemingly fucked out state.

You call out his name as he washes up and leaves you behind in the bathroom.

You sit on the counter and stare at the door in shock. Your body felt like it was on fire. Your panties were now soaked and to add fuel to the fire you were left horny as fuck.

You slump against the corner and roll your eyes in exasperation. You no longer wanted to go back out and the pull to get another drink quickly died once you found yourself getting drunk on lust from what just occurred. You press your thighs together and groan at how Bakugo successfully blue-balled you both. You knew he was hard as fuck too the way his dick pressed against your thigh confirmed it.

You tilt your head to the side to observe yourself and have to admit you look a hot mess. Your eyes are half-lidded, you weren't sure how but your hair was a mess and now your once clear neck is now adorned in marks from Bakugo's rough kisses. You look away from the mirror and begrudgingly hop off the counter, the need to go home and take a shower finally reaching its way to your nervous system.

You

hey girlie, I'm heading out for the night. thanks for hanging out with me! 🫶🏽

[->] Sent 1:24 A.M.

You make sure to text Mina to avoid any miscommunication of you randomly disappearing during the night. You took your time to gather yourself not wanting to leave until you were ready. Once you leave the bathroom, you make a beeline towards the terrace needing to grab your things before having to leave in a cab for home.

"Leaving already?" A male's voice behind you makes you turn around.

"Ah, Sero," You smile apologetically as you properly face him. "I just… I'm not feeling well all of a sudden…" It was a shit lie and you knew it. You couldn't think of a better excuse but it wasn't a complete lie either. After your encounter with Bakugo, you needed to spend the night preferably alone.

Sero nods his head and gives you a warm smile. "I get it. Could I uh… get your phone maybe? Only if you're comfortable."

"Oh!" You light up and nod your head. "Yeah, of course."

After searching his pockets, Sero pulls out his phone and hands it to you. You quickly type in your number right before getting the notification on your own device that your ride is ready.

"It was nice meeting you, Sero." You lean up to kiss him on the cheek, leaving not too long after. It was a bit hard moving through the crowd but you were able to leave, and hopefully, you would be able to go home without any trouble tonight.

But what you didn't know was some people were paying attention and saw that whole exchange.

Quite a few, actually.

#bnha x reader #mha x reader #bnha smut #mha smut #bnha x black!reader #mha x black!reader #bnha x poc!reader #mha x poc!reader #bakugo katsuki x reader #pro hero! bakugo katsuki x reader #bnha fanfiction #mha fanfiction #bnha imagines #mha imagines #bnha scenarios #mha scenarios #n/sfw #sav's saucin'

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allthebrazilianpolitics · 2 months ago

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Palestinian flag flies from landmark bridge in Brazil in major act of solidarity

The Palestinian flag was displayed recently on the Hercílio Luz Bridge in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina in Brazil. The iconic bridge is a historic landmark of connection and unity, and was chosen specifically to be the site of a significant act international solidarity with the people of Palestine that resonated deeply with advocates of human rights, cultural understanding and justice.

The Hercílio Luz Bridge is the largest suspension bridge in Brazil, and has long been a symbol of connection between Florianopolis and the mainland. Its imposing structure represents unity, resilience and the power of bridging divides, qualities that align closely with the global struggle for justice and equality, especially in occupied Palestine.

By flying the Palestinian flag over this historic landmark in this way, the people of Santa Catarina delivered a strong message of support for the Palestinian people and their aspirations for freedom, dignity and self-determination. The act underscored the bridge’s role not just as a physical connector, but also as a platform for promoting shared values of solidarity and peace.

The display of the flag on the major tourist attraction was organised by the Frente Palestina Livre de Santa Catarina (Free Palestine Front of Santa Catarina), in collaboration with SINTESPE-SC (Union of Workers in the Public Service of Santa Catarina) and supported by SINTUFSC (Union of Workers of the Federal University of Santa Catarina), the Maruí student movement, and the Movimento Bem Viver.

#politics #brazil #palestine #israel #brazilian politics #international politics #image description in alt #mod nise da silveira

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dreamtydraw · 8 months ago

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Hello there ! Today’s post is a bit special because it’s a game recruitment post.

For those who are unaware, last october I published a demo for my sapphic horror / romance game Apple bag. Since then i've been working on other projects but i now returning to wok on it to offer an expended demo release for this october ( Possibly for this year Yuri game jam ).

It’s this game :

I’m currently looking for :

Gui artist ( open )

-Work would consist of making entire new gui assets to make the game more polished visually.

Renpy programmers ( open )

-Work would consist of coding the gui assets as I am not knowledgeable enough to code it myself + Help reducing my coding workload by coding the dialogues and make the development quicker.

Sensitivity readers

More precisely :

-Someone who suffered or is knowledgeable about anorexia nervosa. ( open )

-Wasian person familiar with the struggle of double cultural identity, preferably Taiwanese / European. (Open )

-Work would consist of reading the script and making commentaries to ensure the content depicted in the story is correct and handled with care.

Additional position : Guest artist ( open )

-This isn't a work that is necessary for the game development but for game promotions. It would consist of having artist working on promotional art (chibis, simple ilus, doodles ) that could be used for promotional post ( ex VA announcement, promotional post, date announcement ). This position is more for fun and interest for artist who wants to do small amount of artworks.

The time frame this project will be worked on is august / october and most of the work regarding programming and commenting won't be requested before at least mid september. Additionally this project is unpaid because the game will be free upon release and I'm a broke college student working on this game by passion.

For questions you can leave them on this post or directly message me. For candidature please message me on my discord ( dreamty_dream ) or private message

Thank you for taking the time to read my post, wishing everyone a good day.

#my games #apple bag #yuri game jam #indie visual novel #visual novels #renpy visual novel #renpy game #renpy #gui artist #artist #artist on tumblr #amare game #otome game #sensitivity reader #wasian #anorexia nervosa

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feminismisstillahatemovement · 1 year ago

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Purely by chance found myself reading the "45 Current Communist Goals" list that was read out in the U.S. House of Representatives and into the Congressional Record by Democrat representative A. S. Herlong on January 10th, 1963.

Some of the stated goals are not so pressing since the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union, but the following ones seem far more pertinent today, 61 years on.

I'd be tempted to dismiss the list as simply "Red-Scare"-era hysteria, were it not for the fact they've all, fairly undeniably, come true: --------------------------------

Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

Gain control of all student newspapers.

Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policy-making positions.

Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."

Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."

Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy.”

Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity, which does not need a "religious crutch."

Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."

Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old- fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture."

Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand [or treat].

Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use "united force" to solve economic, political or social problems.

#communism #russia #politics #how we got where we are

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weloveluigi · 13 days ago

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✖ x 【 Cat boy Luigi Fanfic 】 #rpf

He was a teacher at Stanford, a robotics engineer, of genius IQ, he had been part of every type of club at prestigious Gilman school, an Ivy League all-boys tech school for those of exceptional performance. He'd read the works of so many acclaimed authors and was in regular discussions with people the whole world over. He talked about science, society, artificial intelligence, life extension. Luigi Mangione might have seemed a...

Character without flaw. But he had many brewing under the surface. Most of all, his troubles with spondylitis and how it would rapidly degenerate with time. The human spine is one of the most poorly designed features of the human body. It had been swapped from millions of years of evolution as a horizontal cordage to a vertical support for the entire body. And it had not adapted well. It was prone to injury, fell apart with age, and was further riddled with instability for Luigi. His engineering mindset was fixated on how to overcome the limitations in poorly designed robotics, poorly designed code, and poorly designed constructs. It was no wonder that he'd had the epiphany he did.

The epiphany was, put simply, that the human body was a robot. One that ran on code. One that was constructed of smaller parts. It was not a new observation, not by him, not by anyone. But it came to him all at once, all again, as he was listening to a colleague. This was another teacher preparing his science class at Stanford University. He was discussing a science demonstration that illustrated out to pull genetic material out of any biological mass using the dish soap method, and how he was preparing students for a thorough introduction into cas-9 CRISPR gene modification, and how this isn't some far off scientific future. Why, the yogurt he brought in with him for lunch warned in bold letters that it contained genetically modified organisms; the cultured probiotics that promoted gut health. Luigi's eyes caught with the other professor after staring for some time, and he shot him a smile, apologizing for eavesdropping on the conversation. He'd been sat at a table a distance away after hours, and was supposed to have been looking through papers his own students had put together on their experiences with training an LLM from the ground up. Luigi stood from his desk and mozied over to the other teachers with a smile. He felt no shame in butting in. They were all nerds here and they loved to discuss their work. He had a lot of questions, and he wanted to hear more about CrispR. It fascinated him to hear how it worked. That one could reprogram a viroid to enter human DNA, cut out a specific gene and simply replace it with something else. Whatever you wanted. It was a biological way of editing genetic code in an already living organism. It was so much like simply fixing code in a algorithm of robot that no longer, or perhaps never did, work. He always wished humans could do that with themselves. That they could make themselves live longer, that they could make themselves healthier. That they could make themselves happier. He thought of Misery Was. A philosophical lecture on a hypothetical future in which humans eliminated anguish and suffering from the human condition using methods just such as these. The teacher proceeded to tell him about "backyard gene engineering" and his eyes sparked with curiosity and intrigue.

The epiphany was, put simply, that the human body was a robot. One that ran on code. One that was constructed of smaller parts. It was not a new observation, not by him, not by anyone. But it came to him all at once, all again, as he was listening to a colleague. This was another teacher preparing his science class at Stanford University. He was discussing a science demonstration that illustrated out to pull genetic material out of any biological mass using the dish soap method, and how he was preparing students for a thorough introduction into cas-9 CRISPR gene modification, and how this isn't some far off scientific future. Why, the yogurt he brought in with him for lunch warned in bold letters that it contained genetically modified organisms; the cultured probiotics that promoted gut health. Luigi's eyes caught with the other professor after staring for some time, and he shot him a smile, apologizing for eavesdropping on the conversation. He'd been sat at a table a distance away after hours, and was supposed to have been looking through papers his own students had put together on their experiences with training an LLM from the ground up. Luigi stood from his desk and mozied over to the other teachers with a smile. He felt no shame in butting in. They were all nerds here and they loved to discuss their work. He had a lot of questions, and he wanted to hear more about CRISPR. It fascinated him to hear how it worked. That one could reprogram a viroid to enter human DNA, cut out a specific gene and simply replace it with something else. Whatever you wanted. It was a biological way of editing genetic code in an already living organism. It was so much like simply fixing code in a algorithm of robot that no longer, or perhaps never did, work. He always wished humans could do that with themselves. That they could make themselves live longer, that they could make themselves healthier. That they could make themselves happier. He thought of Misery Was. A philosophical lecture on a hypothetical future in which humans eliminated anguish and suffering from the human condition using methods just such as these. The teacher proceeded to tell him about "backyard gene engineering" and his eyes sparked with curiosity and intrigue.

"Yeah, this guy only got into it because he wanted to eat pizza. He essentially had it replace the section of his DNA that made him unable to produce the enzymes he needed to digest lactose. He was able to eat cheese for the first time in his life without getting sick, for six straight months after just one treatment of the stuff." This changed a lot of things in Luigi's mind all at once. He had generally thought of this as a bit more far off than it had actually been. He knew three, potentially four human children had already been born in China with altered genetic structure, that companies were already squabbling over patented genetically modified organisms (GMO) foods, particularly a brand of tomatoes that was immune to pests. But he also thought of these things as (1) Unattainable outside of immensely close circles of the world's leading, defining experts. Impossible to get a firm foothold in the door of. And (2) something that needed to be done with an embryo. Last he'd checked into the field had been a decade ago, and he was woefully unprepared to hear that people had successfully been genetically altering... Themselves. That the effects were immediate, temporary, and surprisingly had yet to do any major harm to anyone. That, apparently, people can extract DNA using just.. Dish soap. That you can order bacteria cultures and medium to grow them in over the internet. That you can find and learn how to alter DNA anywhere in the world with an internet connection and just... A bit of determination. The human genome was just a code waiting for someone to edit it. Okay. Challenge accepted. Luigi usually took about three weeks on average to get a basic understanding of a new coding language, he just needed some starting resources and he'd be on the right track. He didn't in that moment even consider that he would ever be altering the genetic code of a real human being. At best, he thought he'd type up some shit on Twitter or find some GitHub comments to ramble in. Maybe write up a Google doc about how something like his spondylitis could be one day treated in some manner with just a pill or injection that told the body how to heal itself at the genetic level. Oh he'd love to go on some reddit rave about it.

Luigi headed home that night a little behind on work, but thoroughly captivated with a new task on his mind. He was going to learn backyard gene editing and figure out if he could write a code to "patch" spondylitis, or - maybe he should do something a little less self serving? Why not just write a hypothetical code for genetic immortality? He knew about the immortal jellyfish and how that was something that occupied a corner of his mind at all times. Humans got "old" because of something called an evolutionary shadow. That is, once a human passes reproductive age, their genes rapidly decline in health. They appear just to hold out long enough to allow an individual of a species to reproduce, and raise its offspring. Beyond that point, nothing can be further selected for because evolution is driven solely by reproduction, and whether or not one dies before reproduction. After reproduction however? Well, nothing matters anymore. All across nature, animals die immediately after reproducing because their selection shadow is so strong. Salmon, crabs, spiders, octopuses, to name a few. And yes the plural is octopuses, he would fight you on that. These specific animals have hundreds or thousands of offspring at one time though, just to make up for the fact they don't get another chance. Human decline in health with age is slower. They stick around, suffering, dying, graying, becoming weaker, and more disabled at an agonizing pace, over decades as they produce multitudes of mostly single births, then live out the remainder of their lives defending those incredibly slow growing offspring. And, when they're finally grown, humans die. Brittle and gray. With bone density a fraction of what it should be. Often blind, deaf, suffering immeasurably. He never liked that humans just accepted this fate. But immortal jellyfish didn't. They have no selection shadow. They never get old. They never stop reproducing. In fact, if they ever become irreparably injured, they just revert back to their polyp stage, essentially their own infancy, and then regrow into a whole, uninjured adults again. These animals refused to grow old. They refused to die. He wanted that for humanity. He wanted that for his own stupid spinal issues that's for sure.

He placed himself at his home desk and got to analyzing code. He found a few resources, then one that really seemed to help visualize the noise he was looking at. As he learned the basics, he wandered briefly to and from his desk deep in thought. He'd end up spending the following weeks like this. Completely enraptured in the topic at hand. He learned about telomeres. That in humans they were the little ends of the DNA that broke down each time cells copied. They ended up being like an hourglass ultimately determining when selection shadow began. For humans that was around age forty, fifty, maybe sixty if one avoided cellular damage well enough. But the DNA did, inevitably, lose more of those telomeres. There would be nothing left by around a maximum age of 120. This would leave a human exactly as frail as someone with a lethal dose of radiation. The cells in both instances stop dividing. For most people, health issues have accumulated to the point they gave long been dead before that age. But living beyond age 120? Just not feasible without somehow re-growing telomeres. Immortal jellyfish though? Their telomeres regrow. That was their secret. He knew what he had to do. And once he figured out someone had so helpfully already sequenced and compared the genetics responsible for this ability in that species, with the way cells divide in humans, he was already set. Other people had written code for him. But no one had the guts to test the code on a real person. The man who had altered the genetics of multiple human embryos spent years in prison because there was no way those children could consent to their genes being altered. But that backyard scientist? He tested it on himself and he faced no repercussions. He consented to being his own Guinea pig.... With no further way to amuse himself with the code already drafted by numerous scientists before him, he stared at the screen for some time. Perplexed and defeated. Luigi had to just wait for someone to be brave enough to try to immortality serum themselves. Annoying. Unless...

Luigi could always be his own Guinea pig.

It was time to start ordering supplies. At first for proof of concept, then for what ended up being a ridiculously great amount of time and effort to produce even miniscule results. He was ordering incubators for growing bacteria cultures and his own pill making supplies before he knew it. This entire excursion had become a huge part of his life, and one he was simultaneously both thrilled with and embarrassed by. Why, he couldn't possibly tell anyone about it. It might spur concern. Or mockery. He really wasn't sure which. He wasn't sure he'd like either. But he did somewhere deep down hope that, if this l went well, he could publish his findings somewhere. He knew it wasn't likely he'd experience any sort of fame or widespread celebration from this. But was that really why he was doing it in the first place? No. Not really. He didn't want fame. He just wanted to do something. If not to better himself, then to better mankind. And why not start now? On reversing aging? He's not getting any younger..

Initially he had indeed made something he hoped would correct spondylitis with healthy spine genetics. He wondered if this would in any way heal his spinal condition or if it would just pass on to his offspring if he had any. Would they have no spinal issues? Surely the genes would repair themselves long before he had kids. He had already pressed this version of his gene testing into pill form. He had taken a regular fast growing bacteria and modified it to carry the viroid he'd need to do the gene editing. And that viroid would simply need to carry what was to be placed into the human genome. He knew what it needed to "attack" and that it would need to be his spine, but... This is where he became rather stuck. How was he to ensure the bacteria actually got to his spine? The spine was one of the most thoroughly walled off and protected areas of the human body. Even ones own body had trouble getting in to correct an infection should one occur there. And any kind of spinal injection required expertise he did not have. And he knew from experience how painful that was. He of course had a pill form. But then what? His body would likely just digest it. The last guy managed to fix his stomach enzymes with those pills because, well, the stomach was exactly where the viroid needed to attack. He was felt a tad dejected about his conundrum after spending all this time on it. But, he would ultimately take the pills just in case. He closely monitored his health for a bit after this. He felt a tad queasy perhaps because he had just knowingly eaten an experimental drug that he, a novice, had made out of bacteria and hijacked viruses he himself cultured with the vague hope it would attack his own spinal column. Yeah that thought was likely the source of the queasiness. But realistically, he realized there was absolutely no possibility he'd actually wake up with a miraculously fixed spine from this. It was this that really pushed him to immediately start on his life extension instead. He can't really access his spine so readily. But all his cells age. He replaced his dissatisfaction with perfecting making a pill form of his anti aging gene hack. But this time he began working with a separate version as well. He would be administering this with a syringe in addition to pill form. If he could figure out a self administry method that worked, he would know by being able to take samples of DNA from the administration site over prolonged periods of time and see if their telomere length shortened any. He could take other samples and intentionally break down their telomeres. He would need control samples taken beforehand with no gene editing so he could see how each reacted. He was so invested. He wondered even, if finding a way to reverse cellular damage could help ease or even cure cancer. Lofty dreams, sure. But it pushed him through any doubts he had learning to draw his own blood and injecting himself with bullshit.

His first injection was a needle that hurt quite a bit going in just below his abdominal muscles, and the second one was a little backup he thought would help with his now secondary goal of curing spondylitis. During his efforts to locate the best part of the body to inject his anti aging serum, he came upon an article that mentioned the tailbone, accessible through the pelvic girdle, could be a possible access point when treating the spine. It was some article about tailbone breakage and - well he almost skipped by it. But then he got a bit brash. This was by far the most embarrassing and perhaps insane thing he'd ever done. But he made a serum using more of his first attempt at spinal healing culture. And,... He placed it in a syringe and walked himself to the bathroom. He took a medical alcohol pad and dropped his pants, his underwear as well. He wiped down just above his ass crack, and, he stuck the needle in where he had just disinfected. He immediately felt an incredible sting. The nerves there were more tightly bundled than where he had been doing syringe work anywhere else. His stomach, his arms, he could deal with that. But this area was quite a bit more sensitive, and it bled more than he'd have liked it too. He sucked in a sharp breath and held a bit of tissue paper to the injection site until it stopped bleeding. "What the fuck am I doing?" he thought to himself. One leg on the bathroom counter, peering up at himself in the mirror to inquire upon himself on just why he was like this. Over the following days, weeks, aside from a spike of pain here and there, and a fever plus inflammation at the injection site, he wasn't really experiencing any sort of drastic effects. No super powers of course... That he knew of. He monitored the injection sites to ensure he didn't end up with any abscesses or any other form of lasting infection. But he seemed fine. His body probably just fought it off and killed anything he added. As for the pills, well, maybe they worked or maybe his stomach acid just killed off anything he tried to introduce. He kept taking blood samples and using soap to extract the DNA strands, but he didn't have the willpower to spend $10-15,000 on a microscope of his own JUST to check for telomere regrowth. But luckily they had a few of those at Stanford. After hours, he'd bring his blood samples and dish soap and ask again to use the microscope when his colleague Brandon was done using it. They didn't seem to mind him coming in and checking a few slides now and again, but they were starting to get curious about his insistence. He did his best to handle the equipment with care and was always nice and friendly so they didn't really mind but- "Hey," Brandon said. "I'm headed away for the next few weeks, I know you like to come in and use the facilities and the microscope after me but-" oh no, Luigi got a bit nervous and perked up, worrying he was about to be scolded or something.

"I can leave you the keys to the lab equipment, you'd just need to lock up after me. I just wanted to know if you'd do me a favor while I'm away and uh- I mean-, can you check in on my cat while I'm gone? She's pretty self sufficient and I can leave her with plenty of food, she gets her own water from the fridge, but I'm worried about her being alone for too long." Luigi was thoroughly caught off guard by that. He loves animals. He never would view something like that as a chore or a burden, so really, it seemed like he was being given two blessings. He quickly accepted. It would be an honor, he just needed to know what times to fit it into his schedule, where Brandon's place was, what sorts of things he'd need to know. More importantly, Luigi wanted to see the cat.

Her name was Maisie and she was a long haired calico, one white ear, one red ear red and black patches on her white fur. Big green eyes and a fluffy tail. Luigi would be honored. He was already honored. He was already going to sneak her treats and become the favorite cat uncle. The trip was just a short distance down the road from his favorite gyro place in town so he wasn't opposed at all to the detour. After all his work at the school and his obsessive detouring, it was nice to take a little break and check on a kitty cat. He'd been asked to watch pets for friends, but never by a colleague before. Then again, maybe that just means they're friends now? He was okay with that.

He honestly didn't feel half as strange taking the keys into the microbiology lab after hours as he did walking up an unfamiliar driveway with nobody home. Keys jingling in his hand as he placed them into the door and fiddled for a moment until he heard the internal click that meant it had unlocked. He pushed the door open, curious to look inside at an unfamiliar foyer. Any ounce he had of apprehension melted away when he remembered there as a fluffy cat somewhere within the home waiting to greet him.

He stepped into the house, a bit surprised by the unfamiliar sound of the wooden dowel on the back of the door clattering. There was a decoration up announcing the start of spring and he gave it a once over, setting his jaw in that funny way he often did before closing the door behind him. Onward through the house he went, looking for the cat he had been left in charge of. He made a little clicking sound with his tongue in hopes of calling the cat, knowing that using an unfamiliar voice to call her name might not be advised unless she was friendly to strangers. Cats were a tad meek, not like dogs. He knew as much. On his way into the kitchen is when he heard the little jingle of her collar. The fluffy calico came running to the sound of footsteps heading into the kitchen.

She seemed to expect that meant it was food time, or at least time to beg for food she wasn't supposed to have as she did have a timed feeder. It was only as she set eyes on Luigi that her tail went straight, then curved into a question mark with uncertainty. Halting in her advance, she paused to reaffirm marking her scent on the cabinet that this was her territory and she didn't know this man. She waited him suspiciously as he peered down at her and flashed her a smile. About to turn around and run away, Maisie stopped because Luigi did something altogether unexpected. He sat down and folded his legs, seating himself on the kitchen floor so he was less of a towering threat, and just watched her with his LaCroix. She had scampered off to the edge of the foyer before turning back, flicking her tail twice as she watched him. What was he doing? Maisie crawled under one of the little decorative side tables and sat down, watching him back. It was now a standoff.

Or sit-off.

He tried not to make too much eye contact. After a moment, he reached into his plaid shirt pocket and pulled out a little package containing a toy mouse he had gotten her. He hadn't told Brandon he was getting her a toy but he had asked what kind of toys she liked and had hoped to gather enough information so as to get her something but also not arouse any suspicion. The toy in question was a little felted cardboard mouse with catnip inside. He untied it from the piece of cardboard packaging it was twisty-tied to, and placed the toy mouse down on the floor, giving it a little shake so its string tail wiggled about. Then took his hand away. Maisie was suspicious of this, but lowered her head to sniff the catnip from afar, shaking her head a bit and doing a hesitant little head bobble. It was her way of sizing up a threat. The toy mouse and Luigi's seating stature weren't threatening to her, but his hand was. He had big hands and she didn't know him. As a cat, you see, she didn't like the idea of being snatched up by anything resembling big talons. It was just two intellectual, introverted minds trying to work out how to silently communicate cross species with one another. After Maisie gave the table leg another nuzzle to indicate this was her home and she still didn't know him, she stood and approached a few steps, flicking her tail as it curved into an inquisitive question mark again. She stood there, looking between the toy mouse and Luigi. How dare he come in her home and give her weird gifts? Without her owner present? She remained dubious of Luigi's attempts at making peace. It wasn't until he reached out just one finger towards her that she seemed to lower her guard.

One finger outstretched, for whatever reason, seemed to register in her kitty brain as an offer to touch noses. It was not a nose. But it had been co-opted by people as the same peace offering with cats before. She cautiously approached, extending her neck to sniff his finger. Not a big scary grabby hand, but a fingertip that was much less threatening. She touched her nose to his finger, and only then seemed to realize he smelled not only of the catnip toy he had just placed down, but partly like her owner Brandon as the two worked together, and Brandon had given him his keys which were covered in his hand oils. She seemed to understand then that Brandon allowed Luigi to be here. After a moment of hesitation, she turned a little circle and allowed Luigi to pet her. Then she moved on to investigating the gift. It was precisely the type of toy she liked, and her eyes got big. Within a moment, she was already in play mode. Catnip getting the better of her, she began to bat the toy around the floor. Luigi had won. He had befriended the fluffy cat, and he tried not to laugh. He was always getting gifts for people and they were often a bit more skeptical. It was nice to befriend an animal the same way. After a moment, he seemed to realize she might also like to play with the twisty ties the toy came packaged in. They spent the next few minutes playing together before he went to pet her again. She didn't like to be petted without a warning. So he learned to make a little kissy noise at her before petting her first. This let her know what to expect and kept her from being startled by his large hands.

He didn't stay in the home too much longer however. He had to check on Maisy's automatic feeder because sometimes she had a habit of knocking it over, and he had to check her litterbox to make sure it was clean. He was also left in charge of watering the houseplants and generally making sure she didn't leave any hairballs or messes anywhere. He did, before leaving, get to see what Brandon meant when he said Maisie knew how to get her own water. She would stand as tall as she could and press the fridge water dispenser pedal on the ice maker. She'd simply get all the water she needed from the fridge that way and wouldn't bother with a water bowl. So spoiled. He was very tickled by that. Before he knew it, coming over to check on Maisie had become the highlight of his evenings. It made him want a pet... almost. He wasn't exactly thrilled with cleaning the litterbox, but for Maisie he would do it. And by the end of the week, he had not only earned her trust enough to pick her up, but was dancing around the kitchen with her in his arms like she was a baby.

All this dancing with the cat was leading to him being positively covered in cat hair. He thought he could just brush the fur off of himself. But she was a long haired cat and it was now spring so she was shedding her winter coat. He was woefully, phenomenally under-prepared for how much cat hair he would find himself covered in. He'd be picking it off of him the whole next day. Honestly he had no idea how Brandon kept the fur off of his shirts when he came in to work. He'd ask him, had he not currently been away on that trip. It didn't seem important enough to worry him over. He didn't want the guy to think he had never owned a cat before—even if it, sort of, was true. He had a way with animals and was always a favorite of cats when he went to visit his extended family. Many of them had cats, dogs, exotic fish and birds. But he had never owned one himself. In truth, cat owners steered clear of fabric that collected cat hair and tended to wear shirts that more closely matched the color of their cat's fur. Regular vacuuming and brushing helped too. But the fact of the matter was: cats shed. And he wasn't really going to get around that. He actually started bringing out a roll of scotch tape before going into the lab. His biggest issue being... he needed sterile conditions to keep playing with the genetic engineering he originally agreed to do this whole cat sitting venture over. He needed his blood samples unsullied, petri-dishes clean, microscope slides clear, and he absolutely needed to ensure whatever genetic material he was trying to extract from those jellyfish polyps he ordered were uncontaminated.

The issue with cat hair is it clung to everything due to static electricity. He would thoroughly, thoroughly remove all the cat hair from himself and it would be floating in the air around him only to settle right back down on his clothing and into whatever he was working on right when he thought the coast was clear. It wasn't until he was nearly done with his next attempt at an anti-aging serum that he noticed there was a god damned cat hair stuck to the bottom of what he had been so painstakingly pulling DNA strands out of. The wobbly white protein strands hanging onto his toothpick were discarded just so he could poke the cat hair out of the bottom of the flask with the toothpick instead. He sighed. Clearly he was woefully unprepared to be undertaking such experiments. He needed a decontaminated laboratory and probably a controlled airflow like people who worked with deadly diseases kept going. Some type of intake vent and very hefty air filters. Maybe he should be wearing better gloves. Maybe he needed to heat sterilize what he was working with. Whatever he was trying to do, he wasn't prepared. It was incredibly disheartening because he liked to imagine he was always just on the cusp of finding a cure to something as debilitating as age, something as chronic as his spinal disorder, maybe even something as simple as the digestive troubles he'd been living with since he was diagnosed with IBS. He really saw the potential for temporary gene editing and the thought of being cured of something like this, even for just a little while, after only one dose of medication. One injection. One pill. Hell, he thought. He might even try it with his IBS. He knew, if nothing else, that stomach related conditions had been cured through backyard GMO pills. He'd successfully made multiple pills himself following that guy's tutorials, and it had cured that man of lactose intolerance. Maybe it wouldn't cure his spine or make him immortal but, it certainly could improve his quality of life if his body didn't reject so much of the food he ate.

As quickly as he found himself disheartened in fixing his spine or making himself immortal, he had already become obsessed with curing IBS. He knew exactly what he would devote the next few weeks to incubating next.

But he'd of course stop to go back and do a little dance with Maisie again each night. She had grown accustomed to climbing onto his lap and 'making biscuits' they called it. It was something cats did when nursing to stimulate milk flow, and even though Maisie was an adult cat and Luigi was certainly not her mother, it was a behavior that remained in cats long into adulthood that showed they felt safe and taken care of. So he appreciated seeing it even though her little claws hurt like hell and were covering his legs in little scratches. And her inevitably falling asleep on his lap where he wouldn't dare disturb her. Even as it ran incredibly late into the night and he had to get home. He sighed and scratched behind her fluffy ear.

Evidently, Luigi was sad to say goodbye to his new kitty friend by the end of the three weeks. They had already made such a bond, but he understood she was not his cat. He was actually a bit relieved to finally have the cat hair situation under control with a few more washes of his clothing and to have Brandon back at work again. He gushed so much to him about Maisie and of course offered to watch her again in the future should he ever need another cat sitter. There was no denying how quickly they had grown on each other. But he had goals to focus on. Goals that were immediately interrupted again because god fucking dammit he just can't catch a break. "To a visionary, any time away from work feels like work." That was a quote he thought about a lot. Here he was so excited to hull himself up in his room and get to work on curing another disease he probably would never actually cure and that, in all fairness, was far outside his area of expertise, and YET, his incredibly irresponsible friends were out here DRAGGING him to the beach just because the weather was nice. Fuck off. He rolled his eyes and started packing his bags. Absolute dinguses wanted to head to wildwood and get plastered.

Of course, his tune changed the moment he was indeed at Wildwood, getting plastered.

Next thing he knew, he was riding in the back of a monster truck as it did donuts on the beach in New Jersey. He, Mat, Brian and Patrick were absolutely enjoying themselves.

His shirt was nowhere to be seen.

They stopped to get margarita pizza, had ice cream—well, except Luigi who had foregone it this time—and also picked up a basket of deep fried Oreos. Then it was time to race each other to the beach. It was low tide so the beach was exceptionally long and they had quite a great deal of fun running along the sand. The boardwalk was fun. Everyone was sad that the waterpark wasn't open yet and wouldn't be open until summer. But the weather was perfect for just a fun day at the beach, and he was enjoying the feeling of the sun beaming down on his skin. He'd always loved that. The sun kiss from above. Just relaxing on the beach for a time felt incredible. He could take a nap right there. The smell of the sea was particularly enchanting. They had some bad experiences with the waiters; the boardwalk was understaffed and there were people positively everywhere. It had only been so long since wildwood re-opened post covid era and people were flooding to the beaches again. He didn't blame anyone for the poor service or the short tempers they were having.

Something was a tad off though. He had felt a bit dizzy. Was it dizziness? He couldn't put his finger on what exactly was going on. Light tracing effects he'd never seen before, and had trouble catching again at a double glance. He would stop and stare for a long time along the board walk when he caught certain smells but he couldn't quite figure out what was making him feel... nostalgic? Maybe a bit of Déjà vu? Or was it the opposite of Déjà vu? Jamais vu? At times the world just felt a bit smaller, or bigger than it should. It stayed in the back of his mind and it must have been noticeable because Matt asked him if he was okay. "You look distracted" his friends told him. He was distracted. He didn't even know what he was distracted by. It was a lot of things. Something particularly bothered him about walking on the wet sand. He loved running on the wet sand, but today just the feeling of it was setting him off. As if it actively revolted him. Was it just New Jersey beaches that were gross? This one probably had an immense amount of pollution. Something made him feel as if a lot of people had urinated on this beach. He did not like it. He had never felt so perturbed by wet granules in his entire life. But the one thing that absolutely sent him, and.. honestly, every one of his friends into concern was when he finally did work himself up to the water where usually he and his friends would cool off in the surf. And he found himself frozen at the edge of the water. Not only did he NOT want to be on the wet sand, he could not stomach the idea of getting into the water. The moment the cold waves touched his foot, he recoiled.

Patrick was the first to wade back after realizing something was wrong. Brian and Mat were thoroughly drenched and having fun in the water. Luigi's swim trunks weren't even wet. He would not join them. Had not joined them. "You alright?" Lu didn't know how to respond, honestly. He didn't rightly know if he was alright. He didn't feel alright. Something shook him very terribly as he peered out at the crashing waves. It was a sense of fear he had never experienced before. He did not suffer from a fear of the ocean. He adored the ocean. But the darkness of the waves swelling and crashing was making him so fucking anxious. He felt as though he'd just awoken from a terrible nightmare and he began to try to put it into words. "I don't know I just have a bad feeling about it." "What?" Patrick laughed behind his big stupid sunglasses. "What do you mean? About what?" Luigi's mind began to try to make sense of what he was feeling. Maybe a premonition? A shark was out there? He didn't know. He felt embarrassed about it, honestly. "I don't know, not feeling it today." His cheeks flushed red a bit, embarrassed he couldn't really elaborate on why he was so afraid. He backed himself up until he was on dry sand again, and waved to the others in an attempt to communicate to them that he was going to head back to their beach towel and lay back down. The best he could do was gesture to his stomach that he wasn't feeling good. Thankfully the IBS he still possibly hadn't cured was his get out of jail free card. Brian and Mat, out in the surf, looked to Pat out of curiosity and for an explanation. He'd headed back to ask Lu what was up. Patrick just shrugged and went back out into the water with him. They were all a tad concerned. "I dunno, he's not feeling well I guess." That was alright. Lu had never had great health. The price the man paid for being hot, rich, intelligent, likeable and kind. God had cursed the man with an infinite series of health problems. It was the only way to even the playing field, apparently.

Lu didn't feel sick in precisely that way. But he didn't feel well either. He felt restless. Over the course of the day, he started to realize that his perception of time had… altered. People moved somehow faster than he anticipated them to, and yet slower in his field of vision. He saw more light tracing, after images as if people moved in a series of frames rather than in one solid movement. He felt like he was watching a slideshow at a low frame rate. He felt his temple begin to sweat, and he wondered if he had eaten something bad or if a mixture of the alcohol and the sun were just not sitting well with him. He'd never had this sort of problem before, but he knew others complained of mixing running, alcohol, and heat. Maybe he was dizzy still from the monster truck ride. God that was fun, even if he thought on more than one occasion that it would flip over and they would all die. Why was he so anxious today? He just wanted to sit in the sun and not move. Maybe he was getting old. He wasn't 21 anymore. He wasn't 18 anymore. Maybe this was what it was like to grow old and decrepit and before he knew it he'd be thirty and before long he'd be sixty. He wanted to go home and get back to work on his attempts at anti-aging because this wasn't the way he wanted to live. He was sitting up on the beach sunbathing on a towel like all the old people he looked out and saw to either side of him. While the young and healthy people played in the water. God dammit.

The group eventually moved the rest of the way up the beach and to the boardwalk again. They all had resumed their high spirits and were excited to shower off and head to the shops to buy dumb shit they didn't need like sun hats and necklaces they'd never wear- one of them needed to use the restroom, but they once again became concerned for Luigi who just seemed to want to head home. He also opted for absent mindedly patting and brushing away the sand in lieu of stepping under the running beach showers. He was still covered in sand, but he couldn't bear the thought of even that water. He convinced himself something was wrong with New Jersey. It was the butt of the joke on the east coast and everyone had to make fun of the state for one reason or another. So of course he chalked it up to that. New Jersey's water is foul and he wanted nothing to do with it. That was fine. "Hey!" Brian's turn to play concerned mother hen this time as they waited for Matthew and Patrick; the duo they jokingly called 'MatPat' to both return from the public restrooms. They had time! There was a bit of a line. "You alright? You got rattled up pretty hard on the monster truck I wanted to make sure you didn't hit your head or hurt your back or anything, I'm surprised no one dies riding those things." Lu smiled and dismissed it outright. "Nah I'm fine. If I was hurt, you'd know." That was true. His bitch-ass wouldn't be up or walking if he'd slipped a disk, they all knew that.

After the restroom run, they gave up on going to visit the shops and arcades, and then, reluctantly and only because it was such a long drive back, they did all decide to head back to the car. They didn't expect Luigi to want to eat anything given it did really seem he had an upset stomach or something. But he had to stop them. He wanted ice cream. He didn't get any earlier because he didn't know if it would upset his stomach or not so they didn't mind stopping to let him have some. Besides, the poor guy didn't seem to be enjoying the beach day as much as the rest of them so they'd let him get some ice cream now at least. It also meant they didn't have to leave just yet. What they did not expect was how big an ice cream he ended up ordering, or how quickly he downed the thing. There were quite a bit of laughs at how big a bite he took right into the vanilla cone. Some of them had sensitive teeth so of course they called it sacrilege. He was probably doing it just to tease them. What a jerk wad. Look at him and his perfect teeth able to bite ice cream without it feeling like a needle straight to the gums. How rude! They teased him for teasing them, but really Luigi was more stunned than they were. He practically inhaled the ice cream in two seconds flat. He didn't even know why. He almost wanted to go back for seconds but they overcharged for ice cream out here and he wasn't gonna go get back in line. He was sorely tempted though. That was the best ice cream he'd ever had and he was so, incredibly eager to return for more. His eyes flitted back to the line. But he did walk away from it ultimately. Whilst sucking the melted ice cream off the back of his arm where somehow it had managed to dribble, of course.

The whole drive back he thought about that ice cream. He wanted to go home and get a shower because, as Brian pointed out, he'd gotten sand all over the fucking car for refusing to take a beach shower with the rest of them. He was itchy and covered in sand. He was tired for some reason. It had been a fun but confusing vacation day. At the end of it all, he was happy to be dropped off back home and gave each of his friends a big hug. He missed hanging out with them all the time and as the years went by, he had less and less time to spend with them. But he genuinely, genuinely felt grateful the trip was only a day. He wanted to return to work. He wanted to figure out what was going on with his vision. He wanted to pull these sandy swim trunks off and toss them in the washer. It was the first thing he did when he got inside. That, and head to the bathroom to comb all the sand out of his curls. He turned on the bathroom fan and went to climb into the shower.

Turning it on so it could run until the water warmed up, the showerhead spritzed the back of his arm and he recoiled so fast he nearly tripped over the damn toilet. Why did that scare him? He quickly wiped the water away with the towel he was going to use when he got out of the shower. He laughed an uneasy laugh as he watched the shower run. Now the thought of getting into the shower was ….. daunting. He didn't know why. That was concerning. He didn't seem to register that he was afraid of water. But he certainly felt it. He didn't even want to reach back in to turn it off now. In shock and disbelief at his own situation, he turned around and just walked out of the bathroom with the shower still running.

To distract himself, and calm his nerves he went to the kitchen and dug around for something to drink. There was a water purifier in the fridge. "Rabies?" He wondered. He had no problem pouring himself a glass of water, and drinking it. Fine. Water not the problem. He leaned against the counter and tried to run through his mind what the problem actually was then. He surely hadn't contracted rabies. That did cross his mind, though. Hydrophobia was a tell-tale symptom of rabies. It was basically the only medical condition he knew of that would make someone suddenly afraid of water. And it would make you confused, and cause visual disturbances like he was experiencing. That was terrifying, because of course, if you are experiencing any symptoms of rabies infection, you are already dead. There is no cure. There is no treatment. If he had rabies, he was going to die. That thought did not leave his mind, even as he continued drinking his glass of water. He sighed. "Stupid." People with rabies can't drink water. Animals with rabies can't drink water. They're afraid of water because it hurts to swallow water while experiencing the active infection. He does not have rabies if he just finished a glass of water. And yet, he could still hear the shower running and he had positively no interest in going back in there to turn it off because the water might spray him again. What the fuck.

After pacing around his kitchen for several minutes, he finally bit the bullet and decided to go into his bathroom and get the damn shower. His teeth clenched incredibly hard, enough to cause his gums to hurt, just in preparation for the experience. He got in there and immediately felt the worst sensation of his entire life. He felt like he was drowning. He felt water ALL OVER HIM and he frantically rinsed his hair of sand as if he were trying to will himself to run through a cockroach infested basement. His face went bright red and he made a hiss through his teeth, a weary whine, hopping in place to fight the urge to fly back out of the shower. The water kept pelting him. He tried to turn the water pressure down, up- was it the temperature? It was incredibly cruel he had to put his hand through the stream of water just to turn it off. His eyes were watering. He hated this. He'd never hated water so much in his entire life. He did the best he could to turn the shower back off, get out, and towel off. He scrubbed his hair so damn hard to dry it off because otherwise it would keep dribbling on him. But then finally he seemed to register that it was over. His hair was still damp, his eyelashes were damp. His eyebrows were damp. He could feel his body hair sticking all over his legs, on his arms, and once he became aware of how awful that felt, he found himself standing completely still as if not moving would somehow make the water go away. He didn't want to move a muscle. Just stand there, clutching the towel while he started to shiver. He almost... felt traumatized.

Thoroughly shaken, Luigi finally steeled himself to crawling away to bed. He didn't even eat dinner that night, he just crawled right under his blankets and couldn't make himself leave. He didn't know what was happening. His heart was beating so hard. He seemed to put together that he was afraid to move while wet because any time he did, any of those water droplets were potentially touching him again. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced. Like he was afraid something awful was going to happen to him if he stayed wet, if he stayed in or near that water. What water? The fucking shower? Was it still the beach from earlier that was bothering him? He was in fucking Pennsylvania, the new Jersey water couldn't get him now. He's safe. He tried to convince himself that the water here isn't scary. Just in New Jersey. It's okay. But every time he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, he saw the ocean waves. And it bothered him. It bothered him that it bothered him. Maybe he narrowly escaped certain death out there he didn't know about? Trust your gut instincts, they say. They're always right. He didn't know how his instincts could POSSIBLY be right this time, but he trusted them. No more beach trips to New Jersey.

They next morning, he awoke near completely having forgotten about his harrowing adventures the previous day. He had only pleasant memories of ice cream and perhaps an uneasy beach going experience, but he was glad he went. He slept like a baby. Overslept, really. He was starving because he "forgot" to have dinner the previous night. He was tired, he told himself. He went right for the yogurt and ate the hell out of it. Had been on a cream kick lately apparently. Mango flavored too? It's mango, babeyyyy. Actually, he felt great today. Whatever bug had crawled up his ass and died that made his day suck at the beach, that was gone now. He felt lovely. He was humming as he went and changed over the laundry he had forgotten to move to the dryer last night. His beach stuff was a little wet after sitting in the washer all night, and he hated that, but it was fine. He tossed it in the dryer like he was shooting a basket ball through a hoop and went about humming as he buzzed around his apartment.

He stopped by the window to soak in some sunshine. That's it! That's why he feels so great today. The sunshine feels amazing. He needed that vacation, fresh air, the sun. He could go for another nap on the beach were it not so far away. He had code to do, but he didn't actually want to do it. And because of all of his hyper fixating on genetic research, he was woefully behind preparing for the summer studies coming up. And they were coming up. Students would be in class again soon but he felt lazy. Was it possible to feel both energized and lazy at the same time? He decided to camp out by the window and read a book, enjoy the breeze. He felt so elderly yesterday and now today he felt so much younger. He assumed this was temporary. Why, he didn't usually feel this good, especially not yesterday, so he'd enjoy it. Work tomorrow, why not? He spent time in the kitchen making himself food, he video called some of his friends to act like an idiot on webcam while he made vegetarian sausage quesadillas and rice. He was having a grand time. It didn't occur to him until the second day he woke up feeling this great and had to get ready to head in for work that he realized- hey, maybe it's time to take another blood sample and get that under some slides. He grabbed up everything he needed and paused just once, eyeing the shower warily. He took one every other day. Tonight was a shower night. He eyed the shower like he was staring down some dark enemy. Then he pushed it from his head and was off on his way.

In a silly mood, he texted a friend that his nickname 'Pep' made sense for once. He had it in his step. Hehe, haha, lol and all that. Everyone was happy he went out to wildwood with his friends because ever since, he'd stopped being so cooped up in the school labs and toiling at his desk. They all wanted him to get out more. This was proof they were right. But he didn't agree. This was proof he was right. Because when he was done catching up on everything he'd fallen behind on, it was time to skootch on over to the microbiology lab with some glass slides. He had purchased a little diabetic blood sampler--not one of the decent or competent ones, as he had no intention of using it to actually give accurate readings on his blood sugar, and was instead using it to take blood samples as painlessly as he could. He winced to prick his finger. One drop of blood on the test device, he placed it between some panes of glass and slipped them under the microscope. Joking and teasing with Brandon the whole time. This was the first time Brandon realized, and in fact saw, Luigi was taking his own blood and putting it under the microscope. "Hey- uh.." He watched with a hint of concern crossing his face, but Luigi had the biggest smile he'd seen in some time, so he didn't bother him over it. Nerds were always doing weird shit like that anyway and it wasn't the WEIRDEST thing he saw someone put under that microscope so. "How was the trip?" "Wildwood? It was awesome! They had monster truck rides! Guy told us not to scream or he'd drive faster. Then Patrick made the funniest noise I have ever heard in my life." Brandon laughed at that.

The two chatted for a bit, but then Luigi got quiet as he started taking notes in the little booklet he'd carried around with him all spring. He was checking the measurements and writing down absolutely everything he saw. Microscope zoom level, time the blood was taken, making sure he kept notes of how long blood had been out of his body before he looked at it. Everything. They discussed that too at first. "The only difference between screwing around, and doing science, is writing it down." Common joke among the lab technicians. But Luigi's silence and double, triple, quadruple checking his notes was causing a bit of concern to cross Brandon's face again. "What is it?" Luigi, with a halfway shaky voice dismissed it quickly. "N-nothing, nothing." Then immediately writing in big letters "It worked" with six exclamation marks and then circling it three times in his notebook. "Ah. Okay." Brandon smiled. He didn't know what Luigi was so excited about, but he was happy for him. They all loved seeing each other enjoy their work. Science wasn't always fun. But moments like these made it worth it.

Luigi all but burst out of the school building. He was shaking. He was so excited. He RAN down the steps of the building and just kept looking at his notes, then the little spot where he pricked his finger. It worked. It fucking worked. The blood looked healthier. The strands he pulled free with the dish soap had longer telomeres. He FELT better. He felt younger. It was working. Whatever he did, whatever he made, it was working. He licked his lips to wet them in preparation for going on some long winded rant to himself, but the words never came out. He had done it. He was so excited he felt like he was going to piss. He needed a beer. He needed to tell everyone. No, he needed to tell NO one. He might have just managed to reverse aging. Maybe cure aging. Maybe even if it only set his telomeres back a few years in age. Maybe if it only lasted a few months. He didn't know. He didn't care. He just knew he was onto something big and something he worked on involving telomere regrowth had somehow taken. It stuck. It altered his genetics. It had undone cellular damage to his DNA in the way all those miracle products on TV claimed to. If he could bottle this, he could save the whole fucking world. If he could get this to people who needed it. He knew he had to be careful though. The world was full of Martin Shkrelis and Brian Thompsons who would keep this from getting to the public. Who would probably do harm to him to ensure only the elite got their hands on it. He had to be smart about this. More importantly, he needed to do more tests.

This concludes part 1...

Stay tuned!

#Luigi Mangione #Luigi #Mangione #lulu #rpf #Luigi fanfic #cat boy luigi au #trigger warning LaCroix #real person fiction #trigger warning New Jersey mention #Patrick Rich #Brian Chirikjian #Matt Fohner #trigger warning Brian Thompson mention

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