#super curious. tag and reblog away!

[fangirl-dot-com]

Chapter 18 - All For You

Guys, I fear this one may be worse than the last angsty one I wrote. Am I getting better or worse? – I have no clue…I’m just in a super angsty mood rn 

Also, I know that it “Born to Break Records” I said that Max didn’t know about reader’s godfather passing. What I meant to say was that he didn’t know at the time when he gave reader the trophy after she won her debut f2 race. But, because reader has a special helmet for Imola since Lorenzo was Italian, she’d have to tell him about the helmet. 

TW: EMOTIONAL ABUSE, HARSH LANGUAGE, SHITTY PARENTS, AND PHYSICAL ABUSE

I am prepared for the therapy bills…

How does someone write “and they swapped spit” in a romantic way?? Asking for a friend 

Like always comments, questions, concerns, reblogs, and likes are always appreciated! 

TAG LIST IS CLOSED 

It couldn’t be them. 

You blinked and stared in the direction that you had been previously looking. Your eyes narrowed as you gazed at the small crack of the garage and where the gate was. You quickly placed your special helmet down on a table and dodged mechanics as you stepped out. Mitch barely glanced at your leaving as you often went to visit other drivers before the race if you had time. And today, the parade was a bit earlier, so most of the drivers used this time to destress a bit more than usual. 

As you got closer, two familiar people stood out to you. Right now, they were arguing with one of the Red Bull security guards. Your face grimaced as you could hear the shouting multiple feet away. 

As you got closer, your blood ran colder. You knew it was a bad idea to come out here, but it was like a moth to a flame or even a lamb to a slaughter. You couldn’t stop your feet until you were just a few steps away. 

“Mom? Dad?” 

The group of three’s heads swerved toward yours. The security guard, who you recognized to be Frederik, looked at you with a questioning face. The other two looked relieved but also angry at you. 

Your father rolled his eyes and pointed toward you before yelling at Fred. “See, I told you that we were her parents, now let us in,” he demanded. 

Your heart dropped a bit at the statement. You were never one to stand up to your father, especially when he was already angry. 

Your hear barely nodded, almost as if you were trying to even convince yourself that you were fine with them invading your life. 

Fred looked over with concern. 

“It’s ok Fred.” 

“Are you sure kid?” 

Your mother huffed. “She said it was fine. Now let us through.” 

Fred sure took his sweet time to unlock the gate, something that you could find some thankfulness for. 

Your mother came close to you first and wrapped you in an awkward hug: one that you did not return as it was too quick to reciprocate. Your father just stood there, with the same disappointing stare he always had. 

You put your hands to the side. “What are you two doing here? Last I knew is that you wanted nothing to do with me.” 

Your father rolled his eyes and your mother let out a squawk. “Is that what you’ve been telling your friends? Goodness gracious child, going around speaking lies.” 

You winced at her demeaning tone. 

Your father spoke next. “You make it into Formula 1 and forget everything that we did for you? How fucking pathetic.” He all but spit out the last word.

“Kid!” 

Your head whipped around at lightning speed. Mitch was waving at you from the garage, a curious look on your face.

You tried to give her a smile, but it didn’t quite reach your face. “Coming!” You turned toward your parents. “You can follow me, but please do not touch anything and just stand in the corner.” 

That earned another round of scoffs and groans. 

“Someone has gotten bratty I see,” you mother seethed. 

You paid no attention and walked back to the garage. You only knew that they followed you because you had memorized their footprints long ago when you were too scared to even get out of your room on multiple occasions. There was a difference between their normal strides, angry strides, and sneaky strides that they used when they tried to “catch” you doing something you shouldn’t have been doing – like getting an extra snack because they “forgot” to make you dinner. 

You had hoped that Max, Christian, Vito, or even Mitch would be right there when you walked in, but the universe definitely hated you today. The said four were standing in a little circle, probably going over some last minute data. You had stopped in the entrance and watched them, scared that they would ask questions.

While you were watching, a rough shove was directed toward your back, sending you to the floor and making a noise. Your knees were definitely bruised now and your hands were scraped on the concrete. Max, Christian, Mitch, and Vito all turned toward the noise. You had just gotten back up and continued walking, parents behind you. 

Some of the engineers had watched your father push you and were starting to question as to who he thought he was, pushing you around like that. 

“Oops, didn’t see you there,” your father said. 

Vito’s back straightened in defense when his eyes looked at your parents. You shot him a sorry look as he made eye contact with you. 

“Ah there you are kid. We were just going over some last minute notes. Who might this be?” Christian asked, walking toward you. Right now, he was thinking that they might be some older couple that you might have known from your childhood. 

Boy, was he wrong. 

Your eyes glanced back at your parents and sent Christian a look, trying to communicate to him that you really didn’t want these two in the garage. 

“Uh, Christian, these are my parents.” Your hands lightly raised in the air, as if to show them off. 

Christian’s eyes darkened as he looked at the couple. Max behind him was mentally killing them both. Mitch was just wondering about how she could get you out of this uncomfortable situation. 

“Y/n didn’t tell me that we’d be having personal guests today,” Christian said, folding his arms in a defensive pose. 

You prayed that your father wouldn’t roll his eyes at your boss. 

Your father only stared at the slightly taller Brit before looking at you, annoyance evident on his face. Your mother, once again, scoffed. 

“Wow,” your mother let off a very fake giggle, “our own daughter didn’t tell you that we were coming? Shows you how much appreciation kids have these days.” Another fake laugh followed. 

Max winced at the sight of your crest-fallen face. You looked absolutely miserable. 

“Hmmm, doesn’t sound like our kid.” Christian tried to back you up. 

Your mother had walked over to where you special Imola helmet was laying. She picked it up and twirled it around. 

It was a beautiful piece of work. The colors of the Italian flag blended beautifully. On the side you had Lorenzo’s crest with his birthdate and death-date underneath as a tribute to him. You watched as her lip curled in disgust. But, you also saw as one of the mechanics came up and took it directly from her, telling her that no one but you or authorized personelle should be touching it. 

Christian spoke up again, “Well, we are very busy right now and I need to speak to my drivers.”

But before Christian could get you away, Max stepped forward, a false smile on his lips and a hand stretched out. 

“Max Verstappen, three time World Champion.’ 

You knew this shpeel very well. Max only said the whole title when he was over someone’s bullshit, or he knew that they were just using him for his fame. 

Your father had some type of dumbstruck look as he took Max’s hand. The fuming Dutchman used this opportunity to tightly squeeze his hand, tighter than a normal handshake should have been. It made him happy to see your father wince at the grip. 

Your father’s hand then came and rested on your shoulder. You tensed as his grip got much harder and harder, probably leaving yet another bruise. “My daughter has a lot to accomplish if you’re her teammate. Good thing she doesn’t have the talent to outshine you.” 

You hated it when your father belittled you. He had done this multiple times in front of old friends. He was a manipulator and a narcissist. Your breath, that had been a bunch of harsh inhales and exhales, started to hitch. Clear signs of a panic attack were just around the corner. And your team could tell that you were about to possibly have a meltdown if you didn’t get out now. 

Mitch finally spoke up. “We have a race in just under 30 minutes and I need to privately go over something with my drivers. Max and Y/n, please follow me. Christian, I need you as well and Vito you know what to do, we’ll be in the main driver’s room (Max’s driver room).” 

Your manager gave your parents one last glare before rushing out of the Red Bull garage. 

Mitch was totally bullshitting them because it was actually closer to 45 full minutes rather than less than 30. 

Max held your shoulders, much lighter than your father had. He noticed your breathing had started to pick up. He sent a worried glance at the Team Principal who was currently clearing the way. 

To you, it felt like your head was underwater. Everything was blurry as you looked at the world through tears, and your head felt as though it was stuffed with cotton. Your skin felt tingly and it pricked where Max’s hands were now gently holding your elbows as he guided you to the room. You could barely hear them trying to get you to calm down. 

Once in the room, you had sunk to the floor and wrapped your arms around yourself, as a means of protection. Hands waved in front of your face, trying to get your attention as you stared numbly forward. Each wave shook a flinch out of your body. 

A sudden inhale brought on ugly sobs as you tried to breath out apologies for things you didn’t know. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I won’t do it again. Please, please don’t hurt…me.” 

Your speech was broken, along with the hearts of Max, Mitch, and Christian who watched their strong girl break down because of someone who should have loved you. Quick knocks on the door alerted the room of someone else. 

You suddenly froze, not breathing, as you were thinking that your parents were about to invade yet another safe space. Yet, your vision was filled with red and familiar cologne. 

Your body acted on autopilot as your arms wrapped around the familiar figure of your boyfriend. 

His voice was still fuzzy as he started to rock you back and forth. 

Arthur looked around at the pained faces of your teammate, race engineer, manager, and team principal as they all looked down at you. 

Christian kneeled down next to the younger Monegasque. “Is there anything we can do?” 

He thought for a moment. You were curled sideways in his lap. Your legs were scrunched in fetal position, arms wrapped around his bicep as you clung to him. Your head rested against his chest with your eyes still closed. 

“Her blood sugar gets low after an attack, can someone find some juice?” Vito and Christian all but bolted out the door. 

“Mitch can you turn off the light? And Max, please rub her back. I’d do it, but her arms are wrapped around mine.” 

The lights suddenly dimmed behind your eyelids and a hand gently touched your bad, trying to see if you’d flinch. When your back didn’t tense, Max continued to apply gentle pressure and his hand moved in small circles. 

A big sigh escaped your lips as you came down from your sobs. Your lungs burned with each ragged breath, but they were thankful for new oxygen. 

Your eyes remained closed as you took a minute to get your bearings in order. You tried to count down in your head starting from 100, which normally helped you calm down faster. You finally cracked your eyes open and sat up a bit straighter. The hand that was soothing on your back lifted away. A whine almost escaped your lips, but you reeled it in. 

Arthur took notice of your open eyes and pressed a kiss to your forehead. “How are you doing? You were out of it for a while. Much longer than usual.” 

You hummed. “I’m ok. A bit…” 

“Thirsty?” The voice of your manager sounded as he walked in with multiple juice boxes in his arms, Christian behind him with even more juice boxes, and a certain Monegasque driver carried a variety of snacks in his arms. 

Your eyes widened with excitement as your hand reached up to grab an apple juice from Vito. Arthur quickly took it from you and pressed the straw in and held it to your lips. 

“Small sips,” he reminded you. You wanted to roll your eyes, but you knew he was right. 

After a couple of sips, you asked, “How long was it this time.” 

Your legs finally stretched out from their crunched position. 

“Almost twenty minutes,” Mitch told you, handing you an icepack to put on your head. She guessed that you may be prone to migraines after panic attacks and got you one just in case. Mitch was glad to see you take it and put it on your head immediately. 

The room was silent for a moment, before Max spoke. 

“Kid, what were they doing here?” 

You sighed. “I thought I saw them and I went to go check it out. Turns out it was them, and I really can’t speak up against my dad when he’s angry.” 

Arthur concluded, “So he bullied you into getting what he wanted?”

You winced at the word, but nodded just the same. 

Christian spoke up. “I couldn’t get them kicked out of the grand prix since they had tickets, but they aren’t going to be in the garage. Do you feel all right to race today?” 

“You don’t have to kid if you aren’t feeling well,” Mitch also added on. 

You shook your head. “No, I want to race.” 

The room knew what this weekend meant for you. When you had happily shown them your new helmet, their eyes had welled with tears as you talked about the man who loved you more than life itself. 

Max, who hadn’t known until Wednesday, had given you the biggest hug when it was a good moment. You didn’t know who was comforting who at that moment, but the hug would go down in your list of top 5 hugs ever. 

Arthur sensed that you wanted to stand by the way you were wiggling. He slowly helped you to his feet as he pressed another juice box into your hands. Charles quickly opened a bag of Cheetos as you stared at the orange bag. 

“I ran to Logan,” he simply stated. He knew that the American was the one who always had your favorite snacks on hand. One, because it was a big American brand, and two, the blond had a soft spot for you and always kept them stocked. 

You took the orange twist and happily munched on the snack. The digital clock on Max’s desk showed that there was about 10 minutes left until you needed to get into the car. You quickly finished the small bag and chugged the rest of the juice. 

Christian had to step out and start heading to the pit wall. Mitch followed the older Brit so that she could get to her spot inside the garage. Max and Charles left because Max needed to go over some things with GP, while Charles had to run back to Ferrari to get into his own car. 

Vito stayed behind to check on you for just a few more moments. He knew first-hand how scared your dad and mom made you feel.

Then it was just you and Arthur for a couple of minutes. Your forehead pressed against his. 

“Thank you, for coming to help.” 

Arthur chuckled. “You really need to stop scaring me. No flipping today, ok?” 

You nodded before he pressed a gentle kiss to your lips this time. He tried his best not to smile into the kiss, but he couldn’t help it. 

You gently punched his chest. “Thur, you do that every single time.” 

Arthur brought you back closer. “It’s just because you make me so happy chéri.”  

You gave him another peck, before you led him out of the room. He helped you put your helmet on, and did his ritual “forehead kiss” to the top of it. With your handshake also done, you climbed into your car. The mechanics who had seen you with your parents made sure that you were all right. They were met with a bright smile and a thumbs up from you.

For this race, you qualified rather high. Max had pouted because today had been a Ferrari front-row lock out. You had to remind him that he had beaten Charles before from starting father back. It seemed to pacify the Dutchman. 

Starting Grid 

Charles Leclerc  

Carlos Sainz 

Max Verstappen 

Lando Norris 

Y/n L/n 

George Russell 

Lewis Hamilton 

Daniel Ricciardo 

Logan Sargeant 

Alex Albon 

Oscar Piastri 

Lance Stroll 

Fernando Alonso 

Yuki Tsunoda 

Nico Hulkenberg 

Pierre Gasly 

Esteban Ocon 

Valtteri Bottas 

Zhou Guanyu 

Kevin Magnussen 

To say this would be one of your worst races (and you'd DNF-ed before), would be an understatement. Your migraine had come back and your water was completely out by the last quarter of the race. You hadn’t been able to keep Charles off for long for Max to catch up, which made Charles take the lead in the second half. 

Max had also been confused as you had dropped behind him as well when you should have been your strongest. 

You loved racing, but today you hated it. Your brain felt as though it was pounding with a sledge hammer against your skull. 

“For the first time in almost two years, Charles Leclerc has grabbed a victory. Charles Leclerc is the winner of the 2024 Imola Grand Prix. Max Verstappen clinches second with his rookie teammate Y/n L/n right behind him to make it a 2-3 for Red Bull. They are followed by Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton…” 

Race Results 

Charles Leclerc – 25 points 

Max Verstappen – 18 points 

Y/n L/n – 15 points 

Lando Norris – 12 points 

Lewis Hamilton – 11 points 

Oscar Piastri – 8 points 

Alex Albon – 6 points 

George Russell – 4 points 

Logan Sargeant – 2 points 

Carlos Sainz – 1 point 

Fernando Alonso 

Yuki Tsunoda 

Pierre Gasly 

Kevin Magnussen 

Nico Hulkenberg 

Zhou Guanyu 

Valtteri Bottas 

Esteban Ocon 

Lance Stroll 

Daniel Ricciardo 

Standings After Imola 

Max Verstappen – 168 points 

Charles Leclerc – 120 points 

Y/n L/n – 80 points 

Lando Norris – 73 points 

Lewis Hamilton – 60 points 

Oscar Piastri – 53 points 

George Russell – 35 points

Carlos Sainz – 34 points  

Alex Albon – 26 points 

Fernando Alonso – 23 points 

Daniel Ricciardo – 21 points 

Logan Sargeant – 19 points 

Lance Stroll

Pierre Galsy 

Yuki Tsunoda

Zhou Guanyu 

Kevin Magnussen 

Nico Hulkenberg 

Valtteri Bottas 

Esteban Ocon 

Constructors Standings 

Red Bull – 248 points 

Ferrari – 153 points 

McLaren – 126 points 

Mercedes – 95 points 

Williams – 45 points 

Aston Martin – 23 points 

Racing Bulls – 21 points 

Alpha Romeo 

Haas

Alpine 

When you pulled into Parc Ferme, you barely had the strength to get out of the car. You only found out that you needed to get out was when Max lightly tapped your helmet and held out a hand. You gratefully grabbed it and Max hauled you out. 

“Are you ok?” he asked, with concern storming in his blue eyes. A nod of your head pacified him for now. 

Your headache only got worse when you spotted your parents standing at the wall. You tried to send the team apologetic looks when you walked right past them, something you never did even if you didn’t even podium for a race. You always ran to their open arms. 

You’d send them lots of coffee and gifts for their families to make up for it. 

You kept your helmet on for as long as you could. It helped to damper all the loud noise of the paddock. 

Max and Charles both recognized that you wanted little to no noise if possible, so they kept quiet or spoke in soft whispers if they did speak. You immediately sat down in a corner, trying to cool off and will your migraine away. 

You only opened your eyes once again when you were called to the podium. You were thankful that you didn’t feel any panic as you walked out and stood on the lowest step. You watched as Max walked out and stood on the second place step before watching Charles almost skip to the top step. You giggled as you watched the Ferrari driver subtly stick his tongue out at Max. For a moment, you were scared at the repercussions but Max only smiled and rolled his eyes.  

You took off your cap for the Monegasque anthem along with the Italian one. When you were handed your trophy, you gently kissed it (even though it didn’t light up) and held it to the sky while also pointing. The two older drivers watched as you looked so happy. Deep down, they wanted you to be on the top step, but your time was coming. 

Max was then handed his trophy. His lips were a bit tight, but he’d get over it. 

Charles was quite the opposite. You guessed that he was finally happy that his dry spell was over. A sixth career win and first in almost two years. You clapped as the red-clad driver held his trophy proudly. 

Your head was still pounding, but the migraine was slowly going away. You didn’t have much strength to do your usual champagne cannon, but you still sprayed Charles as much as you could. When there wasn’t anything else to spray, you poured the rest on your teammate. 

You had a giant smile on your face as you looked down at the crowd. Yet, it slowly disappeared as your eyes found your parents, looking up at you with distain clearly written on their faces. You turned to Max, who was already looking down as well. 

He pointed down, though, right next to them where Christian and Geri were both standing, proud smiles on their faces as they looked up at you. 

Geri was trying to communicate for you and Max to stand closer and to smile for her camera. You quickly put your hand around his waist to bring him in closer. With trophies raised and bright smiles, she held a thumbs up when she took the picture. Christian just continued to look at the two of you as though you had just won him every single race possible. 

You were then assured off the podium and back to the garage. 

“I promise, I’ll find you after. You know how much I hate wearing my clothes after they get sticky,” you told Max as you walked toward your drivers room. 

You had barely just gotten you shirt on when your door opened and closed. 

Your rolled your eyes. “You couldn’t have just waited?” 

You turned, expecting either Max or your boyfriend. Yet, you were met with a slap across the face. Your cheek stung as you shakily raised a hand to touch it. A hiss left your lips when your fingers glazed your reddening cheek.

You barely had time to get try to get away, before another hand hit the side of your head, making your migraine slowly creep up again. 

This time, a sob slipped through your lips as you looked at your parents, who were fuming.

“What did I do?” you tried to get out, voice cracking. 

“After everything we did for you, you can only get a shitty third place?” your mother spit. 

“Seriously, how fucking pathetic do you have to be. Offering up the trophy to someone who is dead?” your father questioned. 

It was your turn to suddenly seethe. You pointed a finger at your dad. “He loved me. He taught me everything I know.” You knew you were pressing his buttons, and you were about to press the big red one that says Do Not Press. “He was the man that you’d never be.” 

Another hit to the face had your head swinging. You knew that there would be a big bruise in the morning. But you were proud for finally standing up to him. 

Your mother’s hand hit the other side of your face, sending you staggering back to your dad. You braced yourself for another hit, but it didn’t come. Your eyes opened and widened at the sight of your teammate with murder in his eyes. 

Christian was behind him, on the phone, with your manager to the right, boyfriend and his brother on the left.

“You touch her one more time and you’re fucking dead,” Max spoke, scarily calm. Your father jerked to hit him, and that was game over.  

Security came quickly after Max had some more colorful words and quite possibly a hit to his face so that your father’s matched yours. 

Arthur had come to wrap his arms around you, as a protective barrier. 

As you watched your mother and father be led out by cuffs, the news coming that they had been banned for life from any Formula 1 activity, and that Vito had now gotten you a restraining order (something he said that he should have done years ago just in case) – you knew that you had finally found the family that you had always wanted. 

The family that you had always needed.   

And you’d keep racing and winning, because 4 years ago, you made a promise. 

To keep going and to keep fighting. 

As you walked out of the garage, with a third place trophy and your helmet, you gently pressed your own kiss to the top of it. 

“You’d be proud of me,” you whispered, “and it’s all for you. Because you were everything that I needed.” 

y/n.89 has posted

y/n.89 Imola was an experience. Glad I could podium in my late godfather's country to make him proud. I wish he could have been standing there to watch me today, but I have three other men who are enough for me. To Christian, Max, and Vito - I love you three, thanks for always watching my back. Oh, and my boyfriend is pretty great too, he's just shy. Thank you for an amazing experience, I'll be back next year to win (Charlie move over)

tagged: christianhorner, maxverstappen1, and vito_official

liked by christianhorner, maxverstappen1, vito_official, and 94,294 others

y/n_nation I'm not sobbing, you're sobbing

kid_y/n geri and christian both smiling like proud parents killed me

maxverstappen1 why would you do this?

y/n.89 ?? charles_leclerc he's crying right now y/n.89 oh, sorry not sorry?? maxverstappen1 you will be

christianhorner I know I can't speak for him, but he'd be so proud of you kid

gerihalliwellhorner we love you sweetie! can't wait for the next family dinner! maxverstappen1 family dinner? sebastianvettel you didn't get the invite?? y/n.89 oh no christianhorner uhhhhhh charles_leclerc he's crying again

mad_max the way that in every picture, they're looking at y/n

y/n_updates aahhhh the boyfriend has been mentioned!!!

y/n.89 I can't believe we're going to the track that THEE lightning mcqueen drove on

arthur_leclerc you mean...the Monaco Grand Prix....where you live...my hometown...Charles's home race... liamlawson she said what she said - lightning mcqueen's race charles_leclerc I'm done y/n.89 LIGHTNING MCQUEEN RESPONDED TO ME???? LIAM LOOK AT THIS liamlawson I'M LOOKING charles_leclerc goodbye y/n.89 DON'T GO

f1 see you all in Monaco!

author can everyone forgive me now?

TAG LIST: @fionaschicken @glitterquadricorn @laura-naruto-fan1998 @treehouse-mouse @sam-is-lost @kagatinkita @fangirl125reader @megatrilss1885 @myxticmoon @angsthology @cmleitora @agent-curt-mega @graciewrote @ashy-kit @slutofmultifandom @aexitizen-ln4 @sugarvibez @vellicora @thatgirlthatreadswattpad @cashtons-wife @hoetel-manager @xcharlottemikaelsonx @jayda12 @cassie0sstuff @ilove-tswizzle @justme2042 @itsjustkhaos @nikfigueiredo @stopeatread @cha-hot @sadg3 @iloveyou3000morgan @s4turnsl0ver @alessioayla @torchbearerkyle @leptitlu @awekbachira @shreks-sugar-daddy @v1naco @stan-josie @mellowarcadefun @badassturtle13 @beskardroids @callisposts @poppyalice2001 @juniper-july19

[steviebbboi]

Hope you’re doing well 😊 Just super curious - but how exactly did Good For It Ari and Reader actually meet? Would love a meet cute Drabble/one shot if possible? Thanks 😊

Hey lad~~~ thanks for sending in this ask!! I really appreciate your curiosity about these Lumberjack!Ari and Reader :) Hoping this lands well, and would love to know your thoughts too!

Pairing: Lumberjack!Recluse!Ari x F!Reader (Good For It)

Word Count: 1.7k~

Summary: How did you and Lumberjack!Ari first meet?

You could read the original fic here.

Disclaimer: ***I don't give any permission for this to be reposted anywhere! Pls do not steal work, plagiarism isn't demureeee***

Reblogs help writers reach more readers who may also enjoy our work. As you like, kindly reblog~

Warnings/Triggers: Dangerous mundane situations involving a moving box and a speeding car, slight size kink being actualized, seriously cute and intense meet cute/''love at first sight'' - ish. Mild depictions of reader but nothing too specific.

“Oh no, watch out!” A desperate voice cried out.

Ari merely grunted as his muscular arms arched to catch the weight of the box that almost landed on his head.

The voice from earlier turned sheepish as it spoke again. Ari’s view of the person still obscured by the block of cardboard. “God, I’m so sorry! It fell out of my grip before I realized it! Agh, that must be heavy– here, let me take that from you.”

Ari didn’t bother to respond as he wasn’t too burdened by the task. He easily bypassed the arms reaching out to take the box from him by putting down the package on the road pavement before looking up at the hidden voice. 

His breath hitched at the first sight of you. Your luscious hair bundled away from your face in a soft bun, a silky green scarf wrapped around your hair, making you look like a modern day Rosie the Riveter in your white linen button down and denim jeans. Your face was slightly flushed from the initial panic from earlier but seemed to flush for an entirely different reason with Ari’s eyes washing over your silhouette. 

Your nerves spiked up slightly with Ari’s silence and blinking eyes. With the box no longer obscuring your view, the tall looming figure of a man was striking, and he was so handsome. His cerulean blue eyes fluttered with long eyelashes that you immediately felt envious of– and his beard adorned face carried a look that you couldn’t really decipher. 

Needless to say, you both were mesmerized by each other’s beauty. Unbeknownst to the both of you, this also resulted in the both of you just staring at each other for a prolonged amount of time. The silence created a kind of enchantment that wasn’t awkward nor was it uncomfortable, but more surprising and, weirdly, aligned.

The honk of a car passing by was what snapped you out of your reverie. Ari’s unflinching gaze looking up at you made you suddenly realize the tension that carried over the air for the past few seconds and you shuffled closer to the bottom of the truck nervously. 

It was your movement that broke Ari eventually and he was brought back to the present when he saw that you were about to jump down from your position inside the white moving truck. Without thinking, his broad arms reached for your waist. 

His touch startled you and with a squeak, your hands landed on his shoulders to aid him in his efforts to help you down. Your torso suddenly flush against his sturdy chest, you could feel your heart fluttering like a hummingbird as you landed in front of him. Ari was now the one looking down at you, your smaller stature making the atmosphere even more captivating.

“Thank you.” You murmured distractedly, feeling so hyper aware of your body’s reaction to this attractive stranger. 

“It’s no problem.” Ari said quietly, his eyes soft as he took you in now that you were standing right in front of him. 

After a few more moments of silence and looking at each other, you released a small laugh and shook your head a bit, almost like you were ridding yourself of the budding dynamic. Putting out a small hand in between your bodies, you offered your name, a smile, and a handshake. At the sight of your smile, Ari couldn’t help his own small one that formed on his face as he reached forward to take your hand in his large one as he introduced himself back. 

The brush of your skin on his felt electric and your breath hitched at how his hand just enveloped yours. You looked up at him again and really noticed just how tall he was– if he wasn’t giving you the softest smile (that you suspect didn’t come easy for the man), you might’ve felt a bit intimidated, but for some reason, you weren’t. 

Placing that thought to the side, you suddenly came back to yourself and realized how ridiculous you were being, at how you were feeling. You just met the man a few minutes ago (well, almost dropped a box of cameras on him, more like) and you couldn’t act like a normal person! 

With a clearing of your throat, you took a step back to place some space between your two figures. Ari seemed reluctant to let go of your hand but respected the intentional and understandable distance. 

Just as you were about to speak again, another horn honked but this time at you. Seeing the incoming car just speeding towards you, you released another squeal of panic and before you could move yourself, a strong arm wrapped around your waist to pull you out of the way. With an oomph, your hands landed on top of Ari’s biceps. You gripped the hard denim of his jacket and involuntarily squeezed his arms in relief as you tried to catch your breath. 

“Hey, you okay?” Ari asked you worriedly, a furrowed brow replacing the former soft expression as he also looked past you to check out that car. He looked almost angry at the moving vehicle that was now too far to even catch. Pushing back the scare that overtook your body, Ari’s encapsulating arm around your waist tightened, and you realized that you have never felt so secure with a man like this before. 

“Who was this guy?” You thought with your own brow furrowed, so confused by how genuinely safe you felt with this person that seemed to make your nervous system go haywire.

“I’m okay, thank you so much. I didn’t even see that car,” you huffed out a nervous chuckle, feeling embarrassed by your sudden lack of awareness. So caught up in his allure, you felt like a 15-year old girl again.

“He shouldn’t have been speeding.” Ari simply said, his furrowed brows relaxing when he noticed your flushed cheeks. 

You let out an agreeing hum and noticed that you were still clutching his arms. You brushed back away from him to carefully extricate yourself from his embrace, “Oh god, sorry! Jeez, I just met you five minutes ago and you’ve already helped me bypass two dangerous situations.” You let out another nervous giggle before moving to the sidewalk to avoid another dangerous incident, less it be boxes or a car.

As Ari followed to stand in front of you, he could feel his own heart calm slightly from its fast beat, relief flowing through his body at the change of pace. “Anytime.” He said softly, the smile coming back as he matched the levity of the space.

Although lightness was brought, some awkwardness also filled the air as you both felt a loss of what to say. Though you both knew that you could just part ways at this point, it was like you both also knew that neither of you wanted to. 

After a few moments of awkward smiles and shuffles, you looked towards the boxes and remembered, “Oh! Thanks again, by the way. I’m moving all of this stuff by myself and I guess my arms are starting to feel the result of it.” You chuckled and massaged your own bicep in reflex.

Ari frowned again and looked back into the open truck to see a few boxes left. “Did you need any help?” 

Flushing again, you stammered out, “O-oh no, no. Don’t worry, I don’t wanna put you out!” 

Ari looked down at you as if he could see right through your awkward rambles and took another look at you squeezing your arms, and merely let out a responding grunt. He took off his jacket to lay it on the bottom of the truck, leaving him in a simple white tee as he bent down to pick up the box that he caught earlier. 

With his back turned, you still protested at Ari but also couldn’t help staring at how his toned and muscular arms flexed as he held up the heavy box of your collection of cameras. There was something about the way that he just stood there, ignoring your protests, and waiting for your instruction that made you want to capture this moment. 

For some reason, this felt significant and important. The start of something pure and new. Instantaneous lightness made its way into your belly and even through your gazing, you couldn’t hold back a resounding laugh at Ari’s no-nonsense expression. The look, again, made the elevated man seem daunting and unapproachable, but you could only feel soft flutters of giddiness fill you. It’s like a part of you somehow felt familiar with him, as if you already knew him. 

As you led Ari into your small townhouse, and later as you ordered pizza as a thank you, the giddiness and momentous feeling didn’t leave you. You talked his ear off about how you were new to the neighborhood, your family and friends, your work– you quickly found out that even though Ari didn’t talk much, his resounding grunts and active ear made you feel the most heard that you have ever felt. 

He never made you feel like you were being too much during your conversation, nor did he seem like he wanted to get away. He was quiet, but his presence was present and he seemed like he genuinely wanted to be here with you, it was like he got you too.

You sensed that most people would find Ari to be brooding as he mentioned his small cabin that he owned uptown near the mill where he worked. But he was picturesque leaning against your little island, a vein-covered hand gripping onto the neck of his beer bottle loosely as he brought it to his pink lips. Although he was short with his responses, it wasn’t mean or unkind. His expression still carried that softness from earlier as he gazed at you with wonderment and a gentleness that seemed to fit his face gracefully. 

Looking back now, you knew why the moment was important. It was the first time you felt safe with Ari, the first time he saved you.

And it was the first time that you saved him too. 

A/N: This was before the whole incident at the mill -- so I figured that this would give some backstory about how Ari kinda just moved through the world. Still recovering from his time in service, but also still a domineering yet quiet presence. Just a testament to how much Reader has kinda changed his purview of life 🥹 in the most subtlest and unexplainable of ways. I love a good "love at first sight" trope- or well, i guess as close to it as it could get!

Main Masterlist

Ari Levinson Masterlist

Join My Tag List!

****if you wanna be notified on my work (and next updates)!

Tag List: @patzammit @inlovewithfictionalcharacters @mercurial-chuckles @misscherry-26

[kyojurismo]

How do you think Muzan, Kokushibo, Douma and Akaza would react to their S/o who is a demon but dosen't need to eat Humans like Nezuko, and even enjoys eating human food.

# muzan, kokushibo, douma & akaza

tags : gn!reader, fluff, not proofread.

a/n : i’m sorry for taking so long 😭 & i apologise bc it’s quite short.

MUZAN

would be surprised af

but also find it interesting

that means that he would take you to eat at the finest restaurants he could find (;

and when he’s away for important matters he always comes back with some new snacks

wouldn’t exactly study you 24/7 but muzan would be curious about your physical strength and how your stomach (?) works

KOKUSHIBO

surprised yes

also because you’re strong nonetheless, so

makes sure you eat only the best food by the way

you offered your food to him a couple of times but he always refused

koku loves watching you eat happily tho <3

DOUMA

CURIOUS AS FUCK

would eat together even if it seems tasteless or stuff

makes sure his servants cook only the best quality of plates, he checks them personally lol

it truly amazes him that you’re so strong without eating humans

“you sure are a peculiar creature, mh,” he would murmur while you’re eating beside him

AKAZA

you don’t eat humans? strange af

it amazes him, really

akaza always stares at you with curiosity whenever you’re eating bowls of rice, noodles, etc

“tempura is so tasty, akaza-dono!”

he loves when you smile at him happily

reblogs & comments are super appreciated! thank you for taking your time reading it, i hope you enjoyed it. have a good day / night <3

[gomapda]

sidewalks we crossed [side B: him.] (pt. 2)

this is broken into parts because tumblr has a limit of 1000 blocks.

side A found here! | side B (part 1) found here!

author's note:

part two of side b!

the final installment.

it's been a long journey to get here, and any messages or words i read in the tags of the reblogs were a source of comfort for me during these times. i'm glad that my words resonated with even just one of you.

and of course, thank you for being here.

✧⋆°｡☾☼꙳ ੭ * ‧ ⨯ . ⁺ ✦ ‧ ⨯ ς(>‿<.). ⁺ ✦ * . ˚ ⨯ ੭ * ‧☼☽⋆｡°✧

pairing: lee jihoon/woozi (seventeen) x f!reader

genre: romance, fluff

summary: an accidental like, an off-chance comment, a purposeful message. you were in an unrequited love with your childhood best friend and decided to run away from him and your feelings and years later you find yourself in the same city with the same feelings when he stalks your instagram.

rating: 13+

length: 30k (bro WHAT LOL)

tags: idol!jihoon, childhood friend!reader, unrequited love (but not really), reconnection through instagram, this is just different scenes pieced together (including a ton of flashbacks), reader’s nicknames are all bug-themed, reader has depression and it manifests as suicidal ideation sometimes, this is basically real life (aka seventeen exists and debuted 150526), but the years are a little bit off for the trainee period, jihoon left busan later and trained for shorter for the sake of my story hehe, cursing, pining, mamamoo + ateez are the besties of reader, member x member pairings, jihoon and reader are both dumbasses, reader is extremely book smart but has one brain cell when it comes to romantic feelings, jihoon writes music like he’s been divorced 12x, word genius lee jihoon, idk how doctoral degrees work, i only got my masters and it was a non-thesis track lol, also idk how trainee auditions work either, miss communication is a lady we all know too well, super cute soft shit too tho tbh, no beta we die like men, i spent 5 hours trying to format this for tumblr and i’m still unsure

inspired by “drivers license” by olivia rodrigo and “what kind of future?” by woozi

inspo spotify playlist found here!

──────────────────

“Noona, I need help.”

Immediately, the older girl closed the book she was reading, a young adult romance novel and turned her attention to him. “You never ask for my help. What’s going on?”

“I… I like Y/N.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Yes.”

Jihoon balked. “What? Does everyone know this already?”

“Y/N doesn’t.”

He groaned loudly.

“Are you finally wanting to tell her?”

“I mean, yeah. I—I just don’t know what to do.”

“Well, I got just the thing for you, Jihoonie.”

Jihoon spent his time trying to come up with some elaborate and dramatic confession (per the advice of his noona). They sat in cafes, picking out different foods that the two of them knew you’d enjoy, scoping out different restaurants, going to the library and her handing him too many romance novels.

After a few weeks, “Noona, you sure this is going to work?”

“Nope.”

“What?! Then why am I doing this?”

“I was just curious to see how much you were willing to do for her. She deserves nothing less than the best, you know,” the girl grinned, now revealing her mischievous side, one that he has never seen before. “Jihoon, you really think that she’s going to want anything that’s a grand gesture?”

“Well. No, but I thought you would know her—”

“Jihoonie, there’s no one that knows her better than you, I think. You probably know her and see her for how she really is. More than she can see herself. All you have to do is just tell her the truth. That’s it.”

“…this was a waste of time.”

She hummed. “Hm, nothing came up for you?”

“What do you mean?”

He could see that she was fidgeting with her fingers. She let out a nervous laugh as she said, “I actually wanted to see whether you still liked me. Whether spending time with me was going to change your mind. Not that I wanted it to! But I didn’t want you to be wishy-washy. She needs stability. She’s already chaotic on her own.”

“You knew I liked you?”

“Just a tiny bit.”

He let out a dry laugh. “Would you have given me a chance?”

“Would you have tried?”

The two of them sat there for a moment, mulling over the weight of the words said between them. But they both knew that there was someone else in their lives who mattered more, who they truly yearned for. If Jihoon and his noona ever pursued something, it would’ve just been them trying to find comfort in each other because they couldn’t have who they wished for. They would’ve tried to shape each other to fit the missing puzzle piece, losing the essence of themselves.

Jihoon and his noona were only mere reflections of who they actually wanted, the illusion created because of how much time was spent together. And that image would’ve faded fast.

“No, I don’t think I would have.”

“I’m glad you didn’t.”

“Good luck with him.”

“Yeah… good luck with her. It’ll work out.”

──────────────────

Plenty of people could say that his noona was childish, that she should have picked another route to go down. That it all could’ve been left unsaid. But Jihoon was grateful for her choice to do what she did. Because you didn’t deserve that “what if?”. Neither did he. You both needed to be sure.

And he felt it, walking into the restaurant.

He immediately recognized you, even with your head down. He was so used to seeing you from afar that this was a sight that was unfortunately so familiar to him. He walked forward in hopes of closing the distance between the two of you.

“Jihoon! Hey!” Your cousin said, frantically.

Jihoon held back his laughter, the sight of his hyung flustered a rare occurrence. “Hey, hyung.”

“Oh my goodness, it’s our Jihoonie! Hi!”

He could see that her eyes were screaming: save us. Jihoon wondered if he’d be able to. “Hi, noona.”

Ah, there you went.

Your eyes finally met his.

God, so beautiful.

“Hey, firefly.”

“Holy fuck.”

Jihoon was startled. Since when did you curse? And the fuck word too? But it must be a new development considering the other two were making a huge commotion over it. But even in the midst of chastising, you didn’t break eye contact.

“It’s been a while.”

You blinked. “Um. Yes.”

He couldn’t help but smile. This was happening.

His brilliant and warm and fiery sun.

The reason behind why his own light exists.

His guide, his inspiration, his hope.

His firefly.

Close enough to reach out and catch.

But not quite yet.

“So, are you all done eating?”

“No, not even close! Only ordered one pajeon, but feel free to order anything that you want! Oppa will be covering,” his noona responded as she motioned for him to take the seat next to you. He did and immediately felt you tense up beside him. Jihoon mentally cursed at himself. He should’ve asked.

He decided to lean back in his chair to try to mimic the body language he hoped from you: relaxed. “Hyung’s the best.”

“One day, I’ll make you spend that idol money of yours.”

“Alright, it’s a deal.”

You must have recovered from your shock, since you piped up with a, “Wait. Shouldn’t you be careful about eating out? What if someone sees you here? Couldn’t something happen?”

Aw, you were worried for him. “This is a restaurant that’s frequented by SEVENTEEN. This specific table is so far removed in the corner that it’d be hard to get a good look at my face, especially since my back’s to them.”

You looked around and scanned the area, probably noticing the boisterous environment of hweshiks overpowering the casual dining you were partaking in. “Hm. Okay…”

“You worried about me?”

“No, I’m worried I’m going to end up in Dispatch with message requests from sasaeng fans.”

Jihoon felt the color drain from his face. “If you’re uncomfortable with me being here—”

You immediately shook your head. “That was a joke, I guess it was too serious of a reality for it to seem like one. Jihoon, thanks, really. But I’m scary good at ignoring people. Uh… I’m… I’m glad that you’re here. Seriously.” You paused for a moment, probably noticing the tension that he was too aware of. “Because we’re with two weakass eaters so it’s up to us to finish the job. Will you join me on our noble mission?”

He snorted out a ‘yes’ and the table laughed. Your cousin brought up a time where you were crying because you hated wasting food but the dish was too spicy but you were too stubborn to stop eating. You quickly reminded him that he was the one who tapped out first and left a 9-year-old to solve the issue (“Wouldn’t have been a problem for me if you didn’t create one, oppa!”). The four of you spent more time catching up than thinking about what to order until you were all brought back into the reality that you were at a restaurant and ordered nothing but a pajeon and drinks.

The older two let you and Jihoon decide, as you were both pickier eaters than they were. Once the food arrived, you fell into a rhythm of years’ practice. You pushed your portion of fish and beef onto his plate and he pushed his portion of bean sprouts and japchae onto yours. You both split the pork belly serving evenly between the two of you.

His arm would (accidentally) brush against yours but none of the tension remained from earlier. You didn’t retract, you didn’t run away. In fact, you poked his arm for his attention midway in the conversation and he never thought such a small thing could evoke such happiness.

──────────────────

Physical touch was never something that Jihoon craved. In fact, in most cases, he felt negatively towards it. So, the experience of being touch-starved was not something he knew anything about.

That is, until you were gone for two weeks at an academic competition.

Why the hell was an academic competition half a month? And during summer break? What did they expect middle schoolers to do? Solve world hunger with pi? (The number, not the food.)

You were spending your school vacation for the sake of more school.

What a stupid concept.

And you were on the same team as Baek Yunho, the star player of the baseball team and chemistry league. Jihoon saw the way that Yunho would try to come up to you after a game, but you only ever made a beeline towards Jihoon.

He didn’t realize just how much the two of you gravitated towards each other. Between class periods, he’d pinch your nose or flick your forehead or you would attempt to bring him to his knees by pushing your own into the back of his and fail miserably and he would roundhouse kick you in response. If the two of you had the time, you would go over to his house and dig your toes into his ribcage when he totally owned you during a game of Super Smash Bros. And during the summer, usually, you would be sprawled over him, back to back, as he would watch anime or play games on his phone and you would read your summer reading list.

But normal people wouldn’t consider that physical touch.

And yet here he was, genuinely touch-starved, because you were in Daegu with a whole seven days left.

He grumbled under his breath. Another day has gone by without seeing Baek Yunho during practice which meant another day that you were gone. Something that occupied his mind, as he opened the door to his bedroom, swinging his baseball bag onto his bed.

And he heard a loud, “ow!”

He saw you rubbing your knee on his bed, with a pout on your face. “What the hell are you doing here?”

That’s one way to say he missed you.

“I came back from my competition today to apparently get assaulted by my best friend.”

“I thought it was two weeks long.”

“The whole thing is, but I opted out of the award ceremony. Plus, I only competed in the writing and foreign language portion because that’s all they needed me for, which all happened in the first week.”

Jihoon’s mind didn’t catch up with his body as he reached for you. You yelped and threw a pillow at him, “Ew. No, you just got back from practice and you’re sweaty!”

“Firefly, you’re missing out on a rare opportunity.”

You paused for a moment, possibly recalling all the times he’s rejected a hug from you and realizing this indeed was very rare. “Can you at least wipe off your sweat?”

“Nope, not at all,” Jihoon snickered.

It was now a competition to see who would be the faster one, you rushing for the door or his arms. And of course, the athlete that he is, Jihoon won.

“You smell like the sun! Stop!”

He decidedly rubbed his neck into the shoulder of your shirt and you did your best to wiggle away, but failed. Your look of disdain was met with Jihoon’s satisfied one. “Lee Jihoon, you’re the worst.”

“I’m glad my punching bag is back.”

You pushed his hair back only to immediately retract. “Ugh! How does so much sweat just come out of you?”

“Does it matter when I have a towel right here?”

You pinched his ear as he pushed his sweaty forehead against the other shoulder of your shirt. You burst into a fit of giggles when he found your ticklish spot in the middle of your thigh, but soon enough, your ankle found purchase around his and pushed him onto the ground as you clambered away and into his closet, probably to find a shirt to change into.

He was left there on his bedroom floor, listening to your ramblings about his sweat, almost deliriously happy.

He was satisfied, no longer a starving man.

──────────────────

After the food was finished (thanks to the two of you), the four of you walked out of the restaurant, the couple saying they were so full they wanted to walk it off on the way to their hotel. They offered for the two of you to join them but you declined, saying the hotel was in the opposite direction of your home.

Your cousin felt uneasy leaving you to walk home on your own. But you pointed at Jihoon with your thumb and said, “Jihoonie can walk me home, if you’re so worried. But even if he can’t, I’ve lived here long enough. This isn’t anything new.”

As if your cousin completely ignored the latter half of what you said, he glanced at Jihoon who gave a quick nod. “I’ll walk her home. Don’t worry. Then I’ll take a taxi back myself.”

After much long-winded convincing, the two headed off to the hotel while you and him were left walking down the street, his own face masked up and covered with a baseball hat in case of anything.

“You know, you don’t have to walk me home.”

“I’d like to, if that’s alright with you.”

He noticed you adjusting the hem of your shirt. “Okay. It’s a little bit of a walk from here. Maybe 30 to 40 minutes or so.”

“That’s 30 to 40 minutes I’d like to spend with you.”

“…yeah. I’d like that too.”

This felt almost surreal. You by his side.

But also so natural, almost inevitable.

As if this was all just waiting to happen.

After a moment’s pause, you asked him what he was doing for the coming months, if there were any plans.

“There’s a concert that Bumzu’s holding in Busan, and he’s asking some SEVENTEEN members to perform, so I’ll be doing a solo piece for that one.”

“Oh, SIMPLE?”

You immediately made a face as if you got caught admitting something embarrassing and Jihoon grinned. “Ah, you know my solo song?”

“Hm. Maybe…” You trailed off, looking everywhere but at him.

Cute.

“It might’ve possibly made it as my top song of the year in 2016.”

Agh, even cuter. “I’ll tell Yoon Jeonghan that he’s not actually your bias and you’re actually a Woozidan.”

“You can call me a Woozidan, you’d just be exceedingly and astronomically incorrect, like always. Unlike me, who is right, quite literally 100% of the time.”

Jihoon laughed. “Hey, I’ll have you know I’m one of the brains in SEVENTEEN, alright?”

“That’s because you were forged in the fire that was your friendship with me. Of having to deal with my illogical thinking.”

“Ain’t that the damn truth.”

The mood between the two of you was solid and Jihoon felt his resolve flare up within him, gathering the courage to ask, “If I invited you to Bumzu’s concert, would you go?”

“Oh. The one in Busan?”

“Yes.”

“Uh. When is it? I’m supposed to start work in three weeks.”

He wondered how big of a Carat you were because he knew that most would jump at the opportunity, but he felt oddly reassured that you weren’t a fan who would shirk on your responsibilities. “It’s in two weeks. You can… uh, bring Hyejin?”

You blinked up at him. “You know her?”

“She, uh, is always on your Instagram.”

“That’s very sweet of you and she’s gonna freak out that you know her, but she’s actually going to be in Jeonju that entire week with Wheein-unnie because they’re visiting their family. And then none of my other friends know about me knowing you. But. You know what? What kind of Carat would I be if I turned down this offer?”

Great minds think alike. “So… I’ll see you there?”

“Yeah. Yeah, you will. I’ll sing the chorus of SIMPLE so loud I’ll overpower even your vocals.”

“You know, I never said I was singing SIMPLE.”

“Oh, what? What are you singing then?”

Jihoon grinned. “Guess you’ll have to come and find out.”

You let out a low whistle. “Wow, what an idol. Using your charm to convince me to use up my time and money.”

“You think I’m charming?”

“Enough that my wallet is in constant danger.”

“You know, I can always give you free things.”

“It’s okay. Buying your albums and merchandise and concert tickets have been the only way I can support you. And, well, I did promise I would be your number one fan.”

“‘S alright. That’s all in the past.”

Jihoon noticed you flinching at those words. Your voice was barely above a whisper, “…Is it really all in the past? It’s not that simple, is it, Jihoonie?”

He remained silent.

So did you.

You both walked, the evening stroll accompanied only by the artificial lights of the city, the sun having long since gone to rest and the light of the moon nowhere to be found.

You reached the doorstep of your apartment and you turned back to face him. “I think… We probably have a lot to talk about. But maybe the timing is off right now. I know I need to sort myself out, if that’s okay? I’m trying to do this thing where I think before I talk instead of just diving in and regretting something, you know?”

Jihoon nodded. He was all too familiar with that.

“But I just want to let you know that I still want to be a part of your life. And we can navigate how that will look like when we’re both not caught up in living our lives. Is… is that okay?”

He wanted to cry. “More than that.”

You smiled. “I’ll see you at the concert, Jihoonie.”

“I’ll see you, firefly.”

──────────────────

After that night, he was thrown back into his and SEVENTEEN’s work. Outside of Bumzu’s concert, they were working on their next album, aiming to release it in just two months, the theme centered around a youthful infatuation blossoming into a mature love.

He wondered what you would think of it.

One night, he was in his studio with Soonyoung again who looked over Jihoon’s latest solo for Bumzu’s concert.

“Jihoon, this is the saddest shit I’ve ever read.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Are you sure that this is what you’re wanting to perform? That this is what you want her to hear? In front of hundreds of people?”

“It’s… the most honest I can be. Yeah, it could scare her off. But I don’t think we can keep moving forward without addressing what happened between us. But I didn’t make this song to make her feel bad. I made it so I could let go of the pain I associate with the old her to be able to make space for the new her, you know what I mean?”

Soonyoung spared no expression. “Whatever you think is best, Hoon.”

“I’m just going to take a leap of faith,” Jihoon sighed. There really was no predicting exactly how things would turn out. You were different, he was different. There were too many unknown variables with the situation. “Hopefully she’ll be there to catch me.”

“Mm.”

“What’s up?”

“I’m thinking about how you’re going to be singing a ballad, pouring your true and genuine feelings, and I’ll be performing Hurricane in a tiger print shirt.”

Jihoon paused for a moment. “Duality of SEVENTEEN.”

──────────────────

You must have also been busy, as the only notification he got from you was on the day of the concert. It was a selfie of you at a gas station in the wee hours of the morning, no doubt filling your tank before your 4 and a half hour car ride, with a message saying, “i’m on my way to you! fueled by overpriced gas and cheap snacks!”

You were on your way. To him.

There was an electricity that was coursing through him that went beyond just nerves before a show. No, there was so much more riding on this, and as much as he wants to believe and trust that everything would work out in some way or another, there is the deep part of him that yearns for it to work out for the best. The most ideal cut.

He pressed his hands against his chest, as he tried to mimic compression.

But there was just too much bursting out of him to truly contain.

“Jihoon-ah, you alright?”

He must have looked like a crazed man to Jeonghan because the latter had an incredulous look on his face as soon as they made eye contact. “Do I not seem alright?”

“No.”

“Hyung.”

Jeonghan let out a low chuckle and moved behind him to squeeze the shoulders of the stressed man. “It’s okay to hope, you know.”

“It feels like hope is the reason I can’t breathe right now. If it weren’t for hope, I wouldn’t care this much. If it weren’t for hope, I wouldn’t be in this position.”

“You’re right. You wouldn’t be. Without hope, you wouldn’t be in SEVENTEEN. You wouldn't have become an idol, be our unit’s leader, become a producer, written songs, or even had the chance to reconcile with her. All of what you are would’ve been impossible without hope”

Jihoon bit his lip. “I feel like I’m going crazy, hyung. I keep going back and forth between whether it’s worth it. I haven’t felt anxiety like this in years. I know that lo–love–” Jihoon realized he never said that word so directly about her. He always found more poetic ways to dance around the word. “���can be a lot of work. But this? It makes me think that it’s not meant to be. When I see her and when I’m with her, it feels so right. But when she’s not in front of me, I feel like the best thing to do is to just run away.”

“Yeah, but you ran away last time, right?”

“And I wouldn’t be in SEVENTEEN if I hadn’t.”

“But you’ve still pined after her for all these years.”

“Maybe that’s just me being stubborn.”

“Yeah, and? What about it?”

“What happens if I’m pining after her because I regret hurting someone I cared about, my best friend. What if I don’t actually love her–”

Jihoon’s voice caught in his throat.

Jeonghan answered in a low whisper, and Jihoon is sure that if he turned around, he would see pity in his older member’s eyes. “Jihoon–”

“No, I know,” he quickly cut him off, sighing. “Ridiculous notion. Hyung, I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. I don’t understand myself at all. Just yesterday, I was talking a big game about how I needed to trust her and take a leap of faith and now it feels like I’m going back on it.”

“So, you don’t trust her?”

“That’s… not it.”

“Then what is it, Jihoon?”

“I… I can’t…”

“It’s just you and me here.”

Lee Jihoon and Yoon Jeonghan.

The very two people who were in that room together when that fateful encounter on social media occurred.

Yoon Jeonghan, the island of SEVENTEEN.

“What if she doesn’t love me back?”

Jeonghan felt Jihoon’s shoulders tremble underneath his grip. The older began to rub gentle circles and stood there in silence as the younger buried his face in his hands. “...She could.”

“What if she doesn’t?”

“What if she does?”

“That’s not–”

“–How it works? Why are your worries more likely than your hope? Are they more logical? More based in reality? Listen, they’re all just thoughts driven by feelings. They both have an equal chance of happening, and yet you are convinced your worries are true. And maybe that’s your fault. Your fault because you keep suppressing your hope in fear of pain and rejection. So that later down the line, you can tell yourself that you knew it anyway. But guess what? This isn’t a game where you’re trying to come out of this as the least hurt.”

Jihoon felt lucky that Jeonghan couldn’t see his face.

“Just think of it as finally being able to let out the entire truth that you’ve been hiding for years, the truth that has been found in your lyrics, but is now finally going to reach the person you’ve hoped for so long that it would. She’ll be right there, listening to you. You’ve wanted it for so long. Don’t try to convince yourself all of a sudden that it’s not.”

“...Yeah.”

“Plus, they already have the line-up and backing vocals set up, so. It’s not like you can change it now. Go put your in-ear in. We’ll be in the audience. All of us.”

“Thanks, hyung.”

“...I’m not sure if it means anything, but you’re a good man, Lee Jihoon. I’m proud of you.”

Jeonghan patted the younger’s shoulder before exiting the small space, leaving Jihoon to his own thoughts. Ones that no longer swirled over the possibility of pain or even the potential of reciprocation. Instead, he thought about his members. The ones he’s told he’s loved, both in teasing ways and genuine utterances.

And then he thought of you.

He’d like you to hear the same from him.

At least once.

(And hopefully more.)

──────────────────

Busan’s driving laws were nothing like the rest of Korea. 

Luckily growing up in Busan, you were aware of the way that the drivers swerved in and out of lanes, making illegal (?) turns any chance they got. The flow of traffic in Busan is so aggressively different from Seoul, that it felt as though you had to flip a switch to reorient yourself into the version of you that learned how to first drive in Busan.

Not long after the person you were driving to see had stormed out of your home.

You sighed.

You weren’t sure what to expect at the concert.

It felt almost embarrassing how much you daydreamed over him potentially singing a song to you. The reality is dangerously close to overlapping with the delusion that you found yourself trying to literally shake away the thoughts.

But how could you not be a little hopeful?

The love of your life invited you to a concert, with him singing a solo song.

Maybe he’d confess–

The honk of the car behind you pulled you out of your thoughts. You groaned loudly, slapping your forehead. “Get it together, Y/N!”

Jihoon had told you to enter the concert hall through a certain entrance, and that you wouldn’t need to wait amongst the lines. He recommended waiting until everyone else was seated, so you would still have 20 minutes to kill before entering the venue.

You drove, mentally fighting yourself every kilometer of the way, until you finally reached the venue. You showed the badge that Jihoon had given you and was directed towards the back lot where staff parked. You cut the engine and sat there, attempting to calm yourself down.

You immediately get a request for FaceTime on your phone.

You answer it.

“Bumblebee!”

“Unnie, I can feel myself eroding away.”

Hyejin rolled her eyes. “You’ll be fine.”

You heard Wheein’s voice in the background. “Is that Y/N?”

Hyejin answered, “Yeah. Wanna say something?”

Wheein popped into frame. You gave a weak wave. “Are you gonna confess today?”

“What? No. That wasn’t in the plan.”

“Okay? Then change the plan,” Wheein said, as though it was the most obvious thing.

“I just want to be friends.”

“Forever?” Wheein asked.

“For now,” Hyejin supplied.

You rolled your eyes. “Listen. All I know is that I want to be in his life, and whatever that looks like is still to be determined, alright?”

“But what do you want in the long run?”

“You know I can’t plan for the long-term. Let’s just take things day by day, alright?”

“Okay, but what if he confesses today?” Wheein asked.

“He won’t.”

“What if he does?”

“I–”

Hyejin tapped Wheein’s thigh off-camera. “She’ll handle it if it comes up. No matter what happens, we’ll be here to pick up your call, okay? Whether it be to sort out your feelings or to just fangirl about the concert. We’ll be here to listen to whatever you’re willing to share. There’s not much to do here in Jeonju anyway, so. Just hit us up.”

“Go eat Jeonju bibimbap.”

“We did,” they answered in unison.

You let out a short laugh. “Alright. Well. Regardless of everything, time will continue to pass. I’m going to just bask in the fact that I was invited by a member of my favorite idol group to watch his performance.”

“And that’s already cool as hell,” Wheein nodded.

The three of you chatted about their plans for the week while you did your best to focus on the conversation while still paying attention to the time left until the concert. Not long after, you bid them farewell to once again sit in silence in your car, pressing your hands against your chest.

It was time.

──────────────────

Bumzu’s concert started off as nothing less than spectacular.

You always admired his musical prowess, knowing that he was the one who helped Jihoon form his own identity as a producer and songwriter. Bumzu was a titan in his own right, his lyricism and musicality rivaling plenty of others in the field.

Although his talent is impeccable, the venue itself was small. His transition from performing towards writing and producing had a hand in influencing the number of tickets sold. You also realized belatedly that the concert wasn’t advertised to include the SEVENTEEN members that you were promised.

Regardless, it felt like such an intimate space, you were thankful for it.

You were in the upper gallery, away from the rest of the concert attendees. There wasn’t anyone else nearby you, and you assumed that would stay the case.

That is, until you heard someone sit right next to you.

You glanced over, not wanting to be overt in noticing them (although, Korean culture lends itself to staring at others outside of Seoul and Busan), and you felt your breath hitch.

“Y/N. It’s nice to meet you.”

“I–yeah.”

“I recorded a video for you for your graduation,” the most beautifully ethereal man on this side of existence said. “Do you remember?”

“I–yeah.”

He flashed a brilliant grin. “Yoon Jeonghan.”

“I–yeah.”

“Congratulations on graduating.”

“I–” This time, his voice overlapped yours. “Yeah.”

You flushed. “Sorry. I’m just– I’m kind of taken aback.”

“I heard I was your favorite member, your bias.”

“Mm. That’s true.”

“Why is that the case?”

You paused for a moment, the vocals of Bumzu drowning out the sounds of your conversation. “They say that your bias is the one who’s most similar to you. And your bias wrecker is the one that you’d most likely want to date or be romantically involved with.”

“Oh, so, we’re similar?”

“In the way that we love others, I think? From what other members have said about you, the way that you love is both wide and deep. You love others in a way where you can be a home for them during times of hardship,” you said, sheepishly. It felt almost strange to claim you were as loving as you were, but. You knew yourself. You knew your heart. Even the bad parts. “Also, we both would cheat at games.”

“It’s the only way to play.”

“Winning is too easy otherwise,” you added.

“Exactly,” he chuckled. “Well. That makes me feel better.”

“That I cheat at games?”

“No. That you love in the same way that I do. Because if you love Jihoonie as much as I love him, I think I have absolutely nothing to worry about.”

“I do.”

Jeonghan raised an eyebrow at you. “I’m sorry?”

“I do love him,” you said, unhesitantly. Perhaps it wasn’t the wisest decision to tell one of Jihoon’s closest confidants this information. But, it wasn’t a secret. It wasn’t ever meant to be a secret. It was simply a fact. “There’s no way that I wouldn’t.”

“You… You haven’t doubted your feelings?”

This time you raised an eyebrow at him. “Why would I? He’s easy to love.”

Jeonghan laughed. “You’re so right, Y/N. So. Is he your bias wrecker?”

“You mean the one that I want to date?”

“The very same.”

You saw the mischief in his eyes, and you felt yours bubble up inside. “I wonder.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m surprised you cheat at games, you don’t seem like a great liar.”

“Who said I was trying to?” You flashed him a toothy grin.

“It’s rather strange to see just how different the two of you are. And also, how human you seem. The way that he talks about you, you’d think otherwise.”

“Unfortunately, being human is all I know,” you said, trying to shove down the feeling of butterflies in your stomach at the mention of Jihoon speaking of you to his precious brothers.

Bumzu was now giving a ment, but you were still so focused on the man next to you.

He crossed his legs and looked out at the stage. He pursed his lips. “Y/N. He’s a bit of a handful sometimes, you know.”

“I’ve got two hands.”

He smirked at that. “Right. That you do. And if you and I really are similar, then. Well. I hope you really listen to what he has to say to you, even if it can be hard to hear. I hope you try to understand him even when he doesn’t make sense. And, of course, I hope you enjoy the rest of your life loving him.”

You felt some tears well up in your eyes. “I’ll try my best.”

Jeonghan looked at you softly and patted your knee. “That’s all I ask.”

He stood up and you gave a slight bow. He smiled and said, “Enjoy the show.”

Bumzu’s voice rang out: “And now, a special guest: WOOZI from SEVENTEEN.”

Your eyes snapped back towards the stage, barely noticing the figure of your bias move back out into the shadows of the concert hall. You were transfixed by the man walking out on stage, his pale skin glowing underneath the stage lights, his black collared shirt hanging loosely on his frame. The cheers could not distract you from the way he gripped and ungripped the microphone in his hand as he sat down on the stool.

He lifted the microphone to his lips and began speaking.

“Hello, everyone. I am SEVENTEEN’s WOOZI.”

His eyes were darting around, but only looking downwards, barely looking at the crowd. “Today, I’m going to sing a song that I’ve only ever sang once. Um. And that was by myself, in my studio. Not even the other members have heard it.”

The crowd were wowed at the prospect of hearing an entirely new song from a genius producer. Seeing the spotlight shine on him, you realize how bare he looked without his other members surrounding him. His vulnerability was amplified by the closer proximity of the space.

You knew he was the kind of person that would lessen the amount of lines he had solely to allow others to shine more. He wasn’t like the sun, the blazing fire that consumed the day. No, he was so much more like the moon, the one that would reflect others’ light, but in such a way that was never accosting.

Even on the stage in front of you, he glowed so ethereally, you wondered if he was always the fae that you believed lived near the winding tree at Old Man Park’s home. He was the guiding light in the midst of night, always present, but in a less overt way than its celestial partner.

The sun was stunning in its own right, life-giving, even, but the moon provided comfort to those who tread in the darkness.

And you’ve seen the way he has done just that.

Not just for you, but for millions around the world.

“This is, uh. A very personal song,” you couldn’t help but notice the way that his grip around his microphone tightened. “I’m not sure if many of you out there have been unsure about what the future holds. But, this song… captures that, I think. This is ‘What Kind of Future’.”

Your reaction to grab your phone to record was immediately cut off by the piano playing.

This… melody?

Your throat tightened. It sounded so similar to the lullaby he would sing–

As if nothing happened I told myself that it was all a dream. When I closed my eyes and opened them again, I wanted to wake up with a relief.

The melody was so familiar, but because of that, you could focus solely on the lyrics he sang. 

Was this song… about you?

No, your mind supplied. Don’t be delusional.

But what if it was?

Your heart began to pound loudly in your ears, and you had to take deep breaths so as to not miss anything that he had to say.

Our past that didn't line up If I could go back in time Rather than roughly, but warmly Would I be able to let you go?

Your eyes widened.

You thought back to that moment in your house.

Could it be–?

When we weren't over As I held onto whatever was left You let go of me as I refused Although I don't wanna see you, I miss you Although I hate you, I miss you I don't understand myself so well

You immediately recall the desperation on his face and the hurt in his voice that you couldn’t see until it was too late. It was shrouded by his anger and your desire to look away. To run away. Because, to a teen on the cusp of adulthood, that was easier than being honest.

This waiting It's not easy to endure If I forget that someday As if nothing is wrong Our future will be empty and It's not that I want to forget you

You never wanted to forget him. 

You couldn’t.

He surrounded you at every turn.

The best parts of you were things that you learned from him.

He softened your rough edges, quieted the inner criticisms, pacified the burning flames.

The idea of him never being a part of your life again was one that you could not fathom, even with all of your imagination. Because there was no way for the current you to exist without him. Not in a way that deemed him necessary, but in a way that his friendship, his love, for you shaped you into becoming someone you, yourself, learned to love as well.

Your future might have been filled with joy and happiness.

His, just as likely to.

But yours and his, as he said, our future, would be empty.

We were happy about us You, who isn't me anymore Although I don't wanna see you, I miss you Although I hate you, I miss you I don't understand myself so well

You tried to quell your tears as much as you could, in fear of missing even another moment with him. Because you realize now that the feelings you had were not one-sided. Of course, they couldn’t have been. The way that the two of you stuck by each other through thick and thin.

Why were you so adamant that it couldn’t be true?

What kind of future is coming before us? Even if the Heavens don't give us an answer I'm too stupid until the end So I don't know the answer

The love you had for each other was so simple.

It was so direct, so straight-forward.

But the two of you made it complicated.

Why?

You also didn’t have an answer.

The both of you, burdened by the decisions of the past, anxious about the potential of the future.

As his vocals rang out, as he cried out, the tears finally streamed down your warm cheeks. You buried your face into your hands, listening to his voice, but unable to withstand the sight of him holding his microphone with such gentle, yet firm, hands. The same ones that trembled at his side that fateful day. Your breath staggered as you wept for the past versions of you.

The ones who struggled and constantly questioned whether you were loved by the person you longed for. The ones who somehow convinced themselves that you weren’t, rather than trusting in the obvious truth that you always had been.

And still are.

As the song concluded with his smooth vocals, the crowd erupted into cheers. You raised your head and found him looking longingly up in your direction, and if you weren’t mistaken, at you. 

But how could he? 

The stage lights were so bright, you were sure it was impossible to see beyond the stage.

But with the way his gaze softened as your bottom lip trembled.

Maybe, just maybe.

As soon as the crowd settled down to a reasonable level, he began speaking again. “Thank you all for attending tonight. Bumzu-hyung is an artist that I admire a lot, so I feel really honored that I was able to share my music here. This song is… both personal and special. And I hope that, maybe, someone out there can understand what I was trying to convey.

“Carats, thank you always for your support. Remember to stay healthy; I’m always wishing for your happiness. We hope that you continue to love and support SEVENTEEN. I’m always humbled by Carat’s love for us, and I really wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.”

He began to fiddle with the microphone in his hands. 

“Did you know that…” He trailed off for a moment before he glanced up in your direction. Your breath hitched. “...If you dream of fireflies, they’re supposed to represent guidance and inspiration? Because they’re kind of like a beacon of light in the dark. And according to some, they’re also meant to represent taking a chance at an opportunity that’s right in front of you. And I, uh. I’ve been dreaming of fireflies for a long time. So, I think… that means that it’s time to try and take that chance. I’m not sure what it’ll look like, but…”

He shut his eyes for a moment, tilting his head backwards, looking as though he was allowing the weight of his words to really sink into him. He brought the microphone back up to his lips.

“Thank you again. I hope our future together is one of happiness.”

He gave a slight bow to the audience who cheered loudly for him. He, once again, looked up in your direction. You weren’t sure whether he could see your expression, so instead you lifted your phone screen at its highest brightness, open to the phone dial screen.

If he gave any semblance of acknowledgement, it was imperceptible.

Bumzu was welcomed back to the stage and squeezed Jihoon’s shoulder before the latter excused himself off of the stage.

Almost possessed, you followed suit, leaving the upper gallery to rush towards the restroom, out of earshot and view of anyone else.

Not even a minute later, your phone starts vibrating.

You answer immediately. “That was fast.”

“We’ve wasted enough time, don’t you think?”

“Are you… running? You sound like you’re out of breath.”

“Meet me outside. Staff parking lot.”

“I–”

“Security cleared it out.”

“Jihoon, I’m not fit like you! I’m not a runner.”

“I’m not asking you to be. I’ll wait for you as long as you need.”

Your heart swelled. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“I’ll see you soon, firefly.”

The sound of his smile filled your senses as the call ended.

Despite your complaints earlier, your feet were carrying you at a pace you haven’t attempted since your required physical education class. Your eyes were darting around, searching, searching, searching. The adrenaline rushing through your body was enough to keep up your strides. You were rushing forward, and then–

You saw him.

He pushed his hair back, his chest rising up and down, attempting to catch his breath. He was definitely winded from the running. But there was no rest for the weary as your eyes locked. You found yourself barreling forward, not even really thinking of anything other than: him.

And his arms caught you with ease as you slammed yourself into his chest. He spun you around to lessen the impact, but tightened his grip on you. “Firefly–”

“Jihoonie.”

You held each other for a while.

Long enough for both of your breathing to even, for your heart rates to synchronize.

As though making up for lost time.

He adjusted his face just slightly away from the crook of your neck to speak. “Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere you want.”

“Yeah, well. I’m the driver, so no shit.”

Jihoon laughed and squeezed you closer to him. You let out a grunt. “You call the shots, firefly.”

You disentangled yourself from him and pulled out your car keys from your person. “Alright, get in, my passenger prince. Let’s take a trip down memory lane, hm?”

──────────────────

“Hi! My name is Y/N. Here’s a seashell!”

The young boy’s expression contorted into one of confusion. You were completely unaffected. He looked around at the empty playground, save for a few pigeons here and there, before pointing to himself. “Are you talking to me?”

You knew for a fact that he was someone that the CU convenience store auntie would call a ‘cutie’. You’d agree! “I’d like to!”

“I’m… I’m Lee Jihoon.”

“Okay, Jihoon! Can we be friends?”

“S-Sure.”

“Awesome!” You clapped your hands together. “I don’t really know what friends do together, but let’s go on the swings! You can sit first and I’ll push you. I’m very strong.”

“No, it’s okay! I can push you—”

“You don’t think I’m strong enough?”

“No, no. That’s not what I said—”

“Get on the swing, Lee Jihoon!”

“O-Okay.”

──────────────────

“Do you remember when I pushed you on the swing so hard that you lurched forward and got a nosebleed from falling onto your face?”

“That was the first day we met, firefly.”

“Well, I wanted to know if you remembered.”

“To the point that it haunts me.”

“You were so small and cute back then. So shy.”

You half expected that the two of you were going to drive in silence, just basking in each other’s presence. But, remaining true to the dynamic you two always had, there was still so much to talk about. You told him about the drive down from Seoul and how Busan really needed to up its driving laws to match the rest of the country. He told you about how Soonyoung just finished performing “Hurricane” on stage and Jeonghan sent him the video.

You told him about how Jeonghan actually approached you.

“Aha.”

You couldn’t turn to see his expression, so you asked, “Why? Is that a bad thing?”

“He, uh. Might’ve witnessed me have a bit of a mental breakdown backstage, so.”

You took his nervous laughter as a sign to not push further. “Honestly, me on any given Tuesday.”

“What, your grad program?”

“Oh, man, I gotta tell you.”

And so the two of you exchanged both stories and banter until you finally saw the shoreline coming into view. Just a couple of moments later, you parked your car along the sidewalk at the edge of the beach. This was a more local area, far away from tourist spots.

“Ah, this place.”

“Lotta memories here,” you said. You shot him a big smile as you turned off the engine. “Let’s go make a new one.”

The two of you exited your car and threw your socks and shoes into the trunk of your car, just like you did with his parents’ car, when you were children.

As you both walked towards the edge of the water, you were very aware of the silence that had fallen onto the two of you.

There was an instinct in you that told you to remain quiet.

“You know,” Jihoon broke the silence. You smiled to yourself. “I’ve always admired how you were able to be so honest about your feelings, without worrying about what other people think.”

“That’s the nice way of saying that I don’t think before I speak.”

He laughed and you relished in it. “Maybe.”

You skipped forward a bit more, letting your toes dig into the now cooled sand, the sun long set. You had your back turned to him as you waited for him to continue speaking.

“I was always someone who kept to himself. Who never really shared my heart with anyone.”

You hummed as you turned to face him directly. “You did in your own way, I think. You just needed people who knew how to read between the lines.”

“I was never honest about the hard stuff though.”

“What do you mean?”

“I constantly asked myself if I was worthy enough to love you.”

You opened your mouth to retort, but he continued.

“You loved me in such loud ways. You honestly left no room for doubt, and yet my brain managed to squeeze in some anyway. But… you know what I eventually realized?”

“What?”

“I realized that if I were to give myself to anyone, to be safe with anyone in the world, it would be okay if it was you. You’ve always been honest. Your sadness. Your joy. I know I can trust it. Maybe that’s naive considering how long we’ve spent apart. But you’ve never been anything but honest. So this is me trying to do the same. Y/N, my light, my firefly, I love you.”

In his eyes you saw him searching for something, anything. He might’ve not been able to interpret the expression on your face, but there was no need to. You pulled the collar of your shirt down to reveal the ink forever etched into your skin, placed over your heart.

Art that was drawn on a paper towel a decade ago.

You knew even in the dim light of the street lamps high above you, he could see it.

His jaw dropped. “Wait. That’s—”

“I broke one promise in my life. Just one. And I told myself I would never do it again. No matter how stupid the promises were, no matter how mundane, no matter how old they were. I would never break another promise. Because breaking that one promise ended up breaking me. The promise that I’d always be by your side.”

“What are you—?”

“Because it’s you, it’s always been you. Ever since I gave you that stupid seashell from this very beach,” you gestured at your surroundings. “And it was stupid because you could easily get your own, but you kept it. Like it was a precious treasure.”

The rampant beating in your chest matched the rhythm of your words.

“I don’t know what the future holds, Jihoon. I have no idea and I’m terrified. I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know anything. Years at Yale, years at Seoul National, years spent in higher academia only taught me that I know so little. But you, oh, you were the worst reminder. I don’t get how you can make me feel so empty and filled at the same time. I don’t understand how you can make me feel at home with just a smile. I don’t know how you have such a hold on me. You’re just this strange enigma that I can’t seem to place, a riddle with no way to solve. But God, I so badly want to try. You’re a question I want to spend the rest of my life trying to answer. Because it’s you.”

He bit his lip and you wondered if you overwhelmed him.

“I’ve spent years, you know,” his voice barely above a whisper.

“Doing what?”

“Hoping that you would hear me. That my words would reach you,” he breathed out. His eyes softened as he recalled, “‘If a second life that’s different from now is to come to me, will I be by your side? Will you be by my side? I imagine things like this. Even if they’re words I mentioned as a joke. Will you believe me? Even if it’s a funny imagination. On a sudden day when I’m left alone, I’ll take my steps towards you again.’”

He stepped forward, hands reaching for yours, and you immediately took them, as soon as he was an arm’s length away. Physically, this wasn’t the closest he’s ever been, but it was the closest you’ve ever felt.

“‘You did this once before. Only by looking in your eyes I can tell. Whatever may happen, I want to know this emotion. When walking by my side, I don’t even want to let go of your hands. That flattering feeling is because of you, everything is so good.’”

He took another step forward, his voice dropped to barely above a whisper, hoping you could hear his words above his heart hammering in his chest.

“‘What can I do? Without you, my heart stops and it’s always cold. What can we do? Without me, you’ll struggle just as much, so what can we do?’” He paused, before recalling later lyrics. “‘I don’t wanna let you go like this. I don’t want to be scared with a broken heart. I’m the place you can come to. You’re the place I can go to.”

Tears formed in your eyes, but he brushed them away easily, now cupping your face within his hands, the tips of your noses brushing against each other, and you could have sworn he felt the fluttering of your eyelashes against him, dampened slightly by your watery eyes.

“‘I couldn’t express my feelings because I was too young. I wanted to be your tomorrow, so I lived today. Ever since the first day I saw you. In my heart, it’s always been you. These typical words, I’m only saying them now, but I hope these typical words will reach you.’”

You looked at him, your entire being filled and your senses flooded.

With him.

It was only him, him, him.

How could you not have realized?

His words, his feelings were so clear.

He had the kind of love for you that brings forth a melody.

His gentle voice drew you away from your own thoughts, “Thank you, firefly. For choosing me.”

“Always, Jihoonie. Always.”

He leaned in to close the distance.

You met him halfway.

──────────────────

Your hands were intertwined with his as you swung them lightly, back and forth, ebbing and flowing, like the waves almost reaching your feet on the coastline of the local beach where you would laze away during your adolescence and find adventure during your childhood.

The two of you fell into a comfortable rhythm, the sounds of the ocean and lull of the town around you, just basking in what felt like the stars finally aligning.

Jihoon squeezed your hand for a moment. “You know, I thought you left because you realized that I had feelings for you and didn’t want anything to do with me.”

“I’m sorry, what?” You stopped in your tracks and turned to face him, still not letting go of his hand, the sea breeze weaving itself between his and your hair.

He raised an eyebrow. “I thought I was pretty obvious. Hyung and noona thought the same. They figured it out pretty early on.”

“Um.”

He blinked. “You had no idea?”

“I—I thought you were in love with noona—”

“Hey, I might’ve thought she was pretty, but you were the one that turned that into something it wasn’t.”

“What! What about the times we went to try and find out whether the mini golf place was fun enough for a date idea? Or whether the food stand near the beach was romantic enough?”

“Please tell me you’re hearing yourself.”

“I’m—”

“Jesus, firefly. Are you serious? Did I end up ever taking her there? Did I even try? All of those places, all of those times, those were meant for you. You were the one who kept bringing up noona and what she would like while I was trying to figure out whether it would’ve been weird to reach out and hold your hand.” His grip tightened on yours.

You flushed at that. “Okay, but like—you spent so much time with noona before I left.”

“Because she was trying to help me plan something to get it through your thick skull just how in love I was because obviously none of the other things I did was enough.”

“I—you—she’s better than me.”

“I just confessed that I was in love with you, and you’re focusing on her right now?”

You blabbered out incoherent sounds and he merely laughed in your face at your reaction.

(Or maybe at himself.)

“Dozens of songs of writing my feelings for you into the lyrics, and you still didn’t get it. So. I’ll try and say it as clearly as possible. I love you, Y/N. What can I do to get you to notice me? Because I’ll do it, firefly. I swear I will.”

You bit your lip.

“I got my driver’s license.”

He wasn’t expecting that. “Uh… recently?”

“No. A month after you left, a month before I did. I got my driver’s license and I so badly wanted to call you to tell you. Because we talked about late night diner specials and how uncrowded the park was at six in the morning and you said I’d be your chauffeur forever.”

“Yeah, why should I have to learn?”

“Jihoon.”

“I’m doing alright without one, thanks.”

You rolled your eyes, but continued, “I drove around the neighborhood several times, passing by the mailboxes we used to Sharpie, the stop signs we tried to run up and slap, the sidewalks we crossed after hagwon, the sewer where we were convinced a clown lived.”

“That was a you thing, don’t drag me into it.”

“And I realized that none of it mattered if you weren’t in the passenger seat.”

“So, what are you saying? That I’m just good company?”

You eyed him and knew he was teasing, but there was a hint of insecurity underneath it. Because he said those words you had yet to acknowledge, let alone, respond to. The corner of your lips upturned. “Yeah, that’s it. And if it’s alright with you, I’d like to be in said company for at least one lifetime. I love you, Lee Jihoon.”

“You’re missing the ‘too,’ since I said it first.”

“You’re annoying.”

“It’s been one of the only ways to get you to look at me, firefly.”

“Mm. I’m always looking.”

“Respectfully?”

“Most times. Have you seen the ‘Good to Me’ choreo?”

He bumped your shoulder as you burst into a fit of giggles, choosing to let go of his hand to wrap your arms around his waist as he pretended to stomp off. He stuck his tongue out at you, calling you a pervert, and you said, “Hey, you’re the one that’s in love with me, alright?”

He swept you up into his arms and rather than carrying you princess-style or even in a piggy-back ride, he threw you over his shoulder and you yelped loudly. 

“Jihoon!”

“Y/N!”

“Let me go!”

“Nope. Never again.”

You made a gagging noise. Who is this shameless kid?

“I’ll put you down though, my shoulder hurts.”

You smacked it once you were on your own two feet and ran as much as you could with the weight of your feet sinking into the wet sand with each step. He quickly closed the distance between the two of you and tackled you to the ground. You fell back, with his hand behind your head, ensuring no damage to your person. You giggled up at him.

The edge of the waves were mere centimeters from you, but seeing him against the endless night sky, with glittering stars, him, your moon, you could not bring yourself to care.

You had so many questions you wanted to ask him, about his life as an idol, about his pursuits and his struggles and his hopes and his dreams. You were so excited to fall in love with him again. You hoped that he would be just as excited to love the person that you’ve become, the one that is so wholly you, but has been transformed by him.

Leaving things left unsaid was a burden the two of you beared for far too many years, believing that you deserved the painful yearning of each other, to make up for the choices made as teenagers.

You breathed in the salt of the sea, as you thought about how, years ago, you were in the same city, letting this very person walk away from you. Shame washed over you, as it has for years, like the waves that were ebbing and flowing right beside you, and tears began to form in your eyes. It was almost embarrassing, how easily you let him slip away. He deserved so much.

“I’m a lot,” you choked out.

He smiled softly as he cupped your face gently, not moving to brush away tears that were threatening to fall. He simply held you, wordlessly accepting all that you were.

“Never too much, and always enough, firefly.”

You wanted to thank whatever higher power was out there.

Whatever one compelled Jihoon to search your Instagram page and accidentally like a post from years ago, a notification that could have been swiped away accidentally in the middle of the night by a bleary-eyed and half-awake you.

Because what kind of future would’ve come otherwise?

Would you have reconnected in some other way, more purposeful and intentional?

Or would you have convinced yourselves that living apart was something that was inevitable and it was better to have simply let the past be the past?

Or would you have yearned for each other in ways that even the potential of running into each other would lead to an eruption of nerves?

You breathed in slowly as you wrapped your arms around his middle, breathing him in, letting his heartbeat drown out even the sound of the crashing ocean beside you.

It didn’t really matter.

This future will be one that you build.

Together.

[끝.]

[blackbat05]

The Unusual Visit

Adam Warlock x Reader

Plot: You decide to show Adam around Earth, a place he was always curious about. A few shenanigans occur along the way.

Genre: PG-13

A/N: An amazing idea by @littlekidsteve 💜 I hope you don’t mind that I add in some ideas of my own on top of yours and I hope you like it😬! For the rest of y’all, do reblog and comment if you like it. Much appreciated!

Shameless Tags: @tom-whore-dleston

***

“So, remind me what this place is again?”

Adam stands beside you, in awe. The flamingoes in the open enclosure roam around freely, as the sunlight captures their magnificent pink feathers.

“It’s a zoo where you can see different animals.” You explained. “Which reminds me, there are plenty of other animals if we go further down this way,” you steer him in the direction of the lion enclosure.

With the Guardians taking a couple of days off, you decided to take Adam down to Earth. If he had to come for an official Guardian business, it would be great if he was acquainted with some of Earth’s customs.

After racking your brain on what was a good way to slowly introduce him to Earth, you decided on showing him what nature had to offer. You had Blurp to thank as the furry creature had slinked into your bed one night when Adam left his room unlocked.

A mixture of oohs and ahhs could be heard from Adam as the two of you visited various enclosures. He admired the elegance that the lions radiated, though you saw him standing slightly further away from the fence as compared to the other animal enclosures.

You received a multitude of questions when he saw a seal performing various tricks with a zookeeper. “Does the earthling have powers like us?”

“Well, kinda. They have to develop a bond with the animals and gain their trust first.” You were glad to see that he was clearly enjoying this visit. “Come on! I do want to show you that the zoo isn’t the only place where you can see animals.” You grin at Adam’s confusion while leading the way.

~~~

“People can eat and drink here? While playing with… puppies?”

“Dogs.” You corrected him, taking a sip of your blueberry ade. “Not everyone can keep pets at home like how you took in Blurp. But sometimes, they just really need the comfort of a furry friend for a few hours.”

Adam looks down to see a corgi with coffee colored fur circling his ankles. He picks it up with ease, holding it by its body for you to see.

“Why does this one look like bread?”

You giggled. “Almost accurate but not quite. That is a Welsh Corgi.”

“This dog has abnormally short legs,” Adam observes as he puts the dog back down. The corgi decides that his lap was the best sleeping spot and starts to doze off. “Do all dogs look like this?”

“Nope. There are many different breeds. For instance,” you took out a treat to entice a Daschund a few feet away from you. You take a look at the dog’s name tag. “Meet Sausage. He’s a Daschund.”

The dog wiggles out of your grasp, jumping into Adam who thankfully has quick reflexes. Wagging its tail, Sausage starts to lick his face.

“I think it likes you,” you smile at Adam’s futile attempts to fight off the onslaught of affection from the hyperactive Daschund. You decide to help him out, wanting to show him the other lovable dog breeds, big and small.

Preparing to leave for the day, you came out of the toilet to find two of the cafe workers looking anxious. Not thinking much about it, you prepared to meet Adam at the ship.

“Toast is gone! He never goes anywhere!” The girl with strawberry pink hair exclaims. “Boss is going to have a fit when she knows that he’s gone.”

“Calm down,” worker number two comforts her colleague. “I’m sure he couldn’t have gone far. Did you see anyone take him?”

“I was so busy at the cashier. But the last I saw him was with a guy… he was super tall and… out of this world…”

You furrowed your eyebrows at strawberry girl’s description, realization hitting you. You know exactly where the corgi has disappeared to.

~~~

“Adam!”

You entered the ship to have your suspicions confirmed. You find Adam tossing a squeaky ball across the main area where Toast, the Welsh Corgi was scuttling around.

“So this is where you ran of too you sneaky little bugger!” You picked up Toast and gave it a few pats. “Adam, this belongs to the cafe, you can’t take it along with you.”

He sees your slightly exasperated expression. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to find a friend for Blurp.”

You sit beside the God, letting Toast run for a little longer. “I know, Blurp has been kind of lonely. How about this? We can bring Blurp down here every week. I can talk to the staff to let us have Toast for a couple of hours. This way, we can see more places too.”

Adam takes in your suggestion slowly before nodding. “Yes, I would like that very much.”

“Great. How about we return Toast back home?”

You had apologized profusely on Adam’s behalf, but you couldn’t help but to notice the two girls sneaking glances at Adam who was too engrossed in saying his goodbyes to the canine.

As the ship takes off, you see Adam’s forlorn expression.

“Hey, Adam. Hold out your pinkie.”

As he extends his hand with his pinkie out, you wrapped your own pinkie around his.

“This is a pinkie promise. I think it’s sweet that you really love them, and I promise I’ll take you to see them. Not even Rocket’s last minute tasks can stop me. Okay?”

Adam looks at your pinkie intertwined with his, an unreadable expression on his face. He extends his fingers to hold your hand, satisfied with what he had just done.

“There, instead of a pinkie, this is a hand… promise?” The words rolled off his tongue naturally and Adam was pleased with himself. “That way you can’t break it.”

You laughed, holding onto his hand tight as the ship exits the Earth atmosphere.

“A promise it is, Adam. A promise it is.”

[madstronaut]

13 Books!

I can't reblog the original post I saw this from for some reason but saw this originally from @/glassprism; thanks for sharing!

answer these 13 qs

tag 13 ppl

add a shelfie

1) The last book I read:

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

2) A book I recommend:

Conversations on Love by Natasha Lunn

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more):

toss-up between Wounded Healer by Henri Nouwen/The Elephant Vanishes: Stories by Haruki Murakami

5) A book on my TBR: not sure what a TBR is but guessing to be read? idk im not a goodreads/booktok girlie

Nobody Knows My Name by James Baldwin

6) A book I’ve put down: I hate finished these books but nearly stopped...

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro found it hard to follow, trying to keep up with the writing made me feel like I was wearing glasses with the wrong prescription strength, just had trouble focusing

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong. an absolutely incredible and poetic read but I felt like I was getting constantly emotionally pickaxed in the eyes with the raw frequent recountings of trauma told in blunt detail

Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell (George Lucas hyped you up way too much sir...)

7) A book on my wish list:

I keep giving away the copies of all about love by bell hooks lol so for the fourth time it is back on my wishlist

8) A favorite book from childhood:

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. Even now when I pass by a bookstore and see it prominently displayed I get such a happy curious and wondrous feeling

9) A book you would give to a friend:

I recently gave The Midnight Library by Matt Haig to a grieving friend who loved it ❤️‍🩹

10) There was no tenth question so I am making up my own; a fiction book you own:

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

11) A nonfiction book you own:

Wne and War: The French, The Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure by Don and Petie Kladstrup - this is a fucking fun and interesting read!!! great commute/plane/timekiller read

12) What are you currently reading:

Currently speedreading The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

13) What are you planning on reading next?

Nothing is True and Everything is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev

My shelfie:

I will be opting out of sharing a pic of my super-disorganized, filled to the brim with personal knickknacks bookcase but here's some gifs of the hottest bookwrangler in the known universe throughout all space and time as a substitute

no pressure taggies: @evergreenfields @gemmahale @the-californicationist @valkyri @astraluminaaa

@devcica @vampirekilmer @void-my-warranty @ohgeesoap @glossysoap

@syoddeye @kyletogaz @bluemoonrover

@/you if you'd like to share 🤗🤗📚📚

[hisui-dreamer]

ah !! I see request are open and I wanna try one ! but ofc feel free to ignore and delete if it’s breaking any rules or if it’s it’s too much c:

may I ask for some hcs with Ruggie , Kalim and Idia with an gn!s/o who tends to mirror them ? wether it be their laugh or the way they pose ! bc ngl I do the same thing pff— it’s

Characters: Kalim, Ruggie, Idia

Synopsis: How would they react if you have a habit of mirroring them?

Tags: fluff, crack, bot proofread

Word count: 463

Notes: thanks for asking! i do hope you meant mirroring with good intentions hahaha

Masterlist

he's a bit confused at first but once he gets used to it, he finds you so endearing and enjoyable

i mean you're basically enacting his unique magic without him casting it

this is entertainment

he sees it as flattery and it makes make him feel validated and appreciated

might make use of your mirroring to engage in playful pranks together or making you work for him

if you're mirroring him in sports, he might think you're trying to one-up him, which could turn into a rivalry of sorts

as long as you have good intentions and talk it out with him though, he's incredibly chill

"Shishishi!" Ruggie lets out his signature laughter. "I'm not even usin' my unique magic on you, you're so interesting!" He throws his head back in laughter when he hears you mimic his laugh, wiping the tears away from his eyes.

Kalim finds you very fun!

he won't notice you're mirroring him at first, and even when he does, he thinks it's a game

when you explain that no, it's just a thing you do, he thinks you're super fun!

he's flattered you pay so much attention to him

he starts mirroring people around him for fun

when the two of you are together, it's just trying to see who can mirror each other first

usually it's him because he's so excited to see you he's jumping up and down and screaming your name

it becomes an inside joke between the two of you

you remind him of his siblings back home and how he would always play with them

spending time with you is always so much fun!

"Oh!" Kalim turns his head towards you and asks, "You're always mirroring me right? Can you tell me why you do that? I'm curious about it, ahaha!" He stares at you earnestly.

you definitely gave this man an anxiety attack

why are you mirroring him??? are you mocking him??

he sees it as a personal attack

he's already uncomfortable in social situations, and now his withdrawal tendencies are a bit stronger

even once the misunderstanding is cleared, which somehow you managed to do given he's avoiding you every chance he gets, he's still a bit uncomfortable

but if you're talking his gamer lingo, he'll be more at ease with you

it's just like talking to his online friends

he will start talking enthusiastically about his hobbies or interests in public more

he'll feel more comfortable with you then

"Yo, it's actually kinda funny how you're always mirroring me! Feels like we're in sync, just like in a co-op video game," Idia murmurs under his breath, but you've long learned to adjust your to catch his mutters. "It's kinda cool how you get me like that... thanks... I guess..."

Masterlist

if you liked this post, don't forget to reblog!

[dogshit-enchantment]

Gen ai has gotten better and the regular methods for detection don't work. Here's some key tips for how to spot gen ai;

- check the account info. If the person posting the "art" doesn't tag as though they are posting art that is a red flag. If the account is specifically a meme or cute animal blog but suddenly posts some very pretty untagged aesthetic posts that's a sign it could be gen ai

- check the images composition, does it make sense? Does the anatomy check out? Most talented artists will not skip a detailed anatomy check before rendering nonsense slop. This is not foolproof as even talented artists make mistakes but it is a telling sign

- check the details!!!!! If the "art" in question is of something extremely detailed but you can't make out a single detail of what you're looking at, that's a sign it's likely ai. Examples include armor pieces with detailed plating where nothing on the plating is discernable. Or if plants have randomly colored flowers with a random number of distinct petals, especially if it's a "photo" of something.

- highly detailed art attached to memes with no credit is a gigantic red flag. At a minimum if the art is real then it is probably stolen and that's super uncool, and if it isn't then it's gen ai and should not be reblogged. I get we throw away our morals for memes but do not give these people attention.

- things like checking fingers or eyes isn't as reliable anymore since gen ai has improved, but it's still a method that holds some merit. If the fingers merge into each other strangely, if the art seems good but only at a distance, if it has a lot of polish but no credit,be wary.

The best way to counteract gen ai is to interact with art as though the person posting it is real and to be curious about them!! Caring about the artist and why they've made their choices makes you way less likely to fall for gen ai!!!

[steviebbboi]

Mel!! From this text post you reblogged, I’m wondering what you think about #6 and #23 for Biker!Ari? 🫣

Essie!!~ omg why are you, like, in me drafts for Old Bonds, New Beginnings part 2 👀

Without giving too much away about P.2…

#6. What will your character do if they’re being threatened?

Biker!Ari would instantly go into ‘judge, jury, executioner’ mode where he would assess the situation for what it was – and he would be so secure in whatever decision that he would have to make at that moment!

I do think Ari is very weathered in his role as the leader of Red Sea Roaders MC. He’s not blind to both explicit and implicit threats made against him, and is not as worried about himself when these threats are made against him.

BUT, if threats were made against him by exploiting the people that he loves 👀, you bet your ass that he’ll act up. Even in those moments, he’s seen and done many things at this point that will have him be confident in both protecting and retaliating (however, he might see fit).

#23. What will your character do when they have to hold someone they loved at a gun point? Why would it even occur?

Biker!Ari would honestly never do this (he’s more of a fierce and loyal protector more than anything, even as a club leader).

Realistically speaking, even if he was in a situation that had him point danger at someone that he loved, it wouldn’t be so direct, I think.

Everyone in the club is loyal to Ari given that most of them are also locals or within the community around the town.

Ari is the kind of person and leader that even if a loved one really just straight up betrayed him, he would take the time to assess the facts and always be curious.

I think Ari is really respectful and mindful of the people that he does surround himself with – if someone does something out of turn, there has to be a very good reason for it and Ari wouldn’t just resort to petty violence for the sake of image or for the sake of just being violent.

Though, I could see how if Reader/another loved one was threatened, or an Aggressor somehow forced Ari to threaten the Reader/another loved one intentionally in order to to force him into a difficult position, I could see Ari being super strategic about how to abide by that threat in order to buy time.

Inevitably, the other person holding the Reader/another loved one by gunpoint, or any sense of threat, I can imagine Ari to be so confident in how to dissuade the aggressor enough to strike first.

If Ari ever did point a gun at Reader/another loved one, he would ensure that his real aim is set and true on the aggressor, not you (he’s good like that 😉). 

Ari's learned vigilance may put him in situations that make him angry, frustrated, etc., but hes giving Cap. energy -- he's always a man with a plan.

Thank you for sending in this ask, friend <3

Join My Tag List!

****if you wanna be notified on my work (and next updates)!

Tag List: @patzammit @inlovewithfictionalcharacters @mercurial-chuckles

[wrestler-smash-or-pass]

Weekly Wrapup 12/10/23

Top five smashable wrestlers this week:

Kenny Omega - 82.1% smash, 375 total votes

The Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi) - 80.4% smash, 367 total votes

El Desperado - 80.3% smash, 279 total votes

Drew McIntyre - 79.3% smash, 270 total votes

Chyna - 78.2% smash, 239 total votes

More stats under the cut, along with my observations, commentary, and some of my favorite tags...

Bottom five smashable wrestlers this week:

Kane (Corporate variant) - 10.1% smash, 237 total votes

Triple H (Terra Ryzing variant) - 18.6% smash, 231 total votes

Ranjin Singh - 24.7% smash, 158 total votes

Sinn Bodhi - 27.3% smash, 161 total votes

Tony D'Angelo - 41.5% smash, 193 total votes

Most total votes this week (most enthusiasm)

Kenny Omega - 375 votes

The Golden Lovers - 367 votes

Jeff Hardy - 314 votes

Wheeler Yuta - 310 votes

Christian Cage (Brood variant) - 288 votes

And least total votes this week (least enthusiasm)

Ranjin Singh - 158 votes

Sinn Bodhi - 161 votes

Ravenous Randy Myers - 186 votes

Tony D'Angelo - 193 votes

Triple H (Terra Ryzing variant) - 231 votes

The closest match was Ravenous Randy Myers, who won 95-91.

Top Five Overall

Kris Statlander - 91% smash

Rhea Ripley - 84.2% smash

Eddie Kingston - 82.8% smash

Kenny Omega - 82.1% smash

Julia Hart (Spooky Variant) - 81.9% smash

Bottom Five Overall

Vince McMahon - 3.9% smash

Kane (Corporate variant) - 10.1% smash

Triple H (Terra Ryzing variant) - 18.6% smash

The Boogeyman - 22.6% smash

Brock Lesnar - 23.2% smash

Top Women Overall

Kris Statlander - 91% smash

Rhea Ripley - 84.2% smash

Julia Hart (Spooky Variant) - 81.9% smash

Chyna - 78.2% smash

Penelope Ford - 72.9% smash

Top Men Overall

Eddie Kingston - 82.8% smash

Kenny Omega - 82.1% smash

El Desperado - 80.3% smash

Drew McIntyre - 79.3% smash

Orange Cassidy - 77.1% smash

Top Tag Teams

The Golden Lovers - 80.4% smash

Best Friends - 66.7% smash

Young Bucks - 43.8% smash

Average Smash Rating

Week 1: 52.7% Week 2: 57.7% Week 3: 54.4%

First things first, thank you so much for voting, reblogging, liking, following, and sending in requests. This blog passed 250 followers this week, which is very cool. It is so fun to see how you guys vote, and going through your requests has been a great way to learn a little more about wrestlers that I'm often not super familiar with. My pinned post has been updated with links to the results table and a CSV for my fellow spreadsheet nerds.

Thank you also for being cool about my request regarding violent tags. I haven't had to block anyone yet, and I hope it stays that way.

As for this week's polls, it is VERY amusing to me that you all prefer regular Kane to Corporate Kane by 31 points. That is a LOT. Corporate Kane scored lower than The Boogeyman, who will probably always be my yardstick for smashability. Are you doing better than The Boogeyman? Then you can't be doing too badly.

Around 1/4 of you are clown fuckers! Sinn Bodhi scored 27.3% smash, while a couple weeks ago, Doink the Clown scored 28.3% smash.

Wheeler Yuta tied Orange Cassidy, with both of them getting 77.1% smash. OC received more votes overall (and therefore more smash votes). Looks like Best Friends truly is the most fuckable faction.

Max Caster got 59.2% smash to Anthony Bowens' 74.8%. I'm curious to see how they do as a pair, and what happens when Billy Gunn enters the arena.

And now for some of my favorite tags and comments

@booboo-eyedbambi on Christian Cage (Brood variant): #he looks like the fakest realest vampire#like he looked at the trends at the time and went bet#anyway im kissing him on the mouth with tongue#stumble ur way through a conversation talking about how ur just playing vampire while i stare at ur real fangs

@booboo-eyedbambi on Max Caster: #he has to rap about getting in my pants before i smash him tho

@mancewarner on Christian Cage (Brood variant): #outta the way gayboy im about to see what else he can suc- [i am carried away by bats]

@mancewarner on Tony D'Angelo: #my beautiful mob husband he gives me $300 for my nails every week and we have matching his and hers velvet tracksuits

@bratchristiancage on Dave Bautista: #that's my dad#still smash tho i have eyes

@sequentialprophet on El Desperado: #I wanna know why ZSJ is always yanking on his lil ears 😏

[morganwrites12672]

Ajax Petropolus x Gorgon!Reader

Warnings/Tags: Yoko x reader (platonic), Ajax Petropolus x reader (romantically), Xavier x Ajax (platonic), kissing, no smut, nothing very sexual, mentions of stoning people, a few security guards are stoned, nothing super bad, established relationship

Summary: Basically just fluffy shit with ajax after you sneak into his dorm.

Rating: PG-13

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

"Where are you going?" Your roommate, Yoko asks. Shit. You should have known she would see you sneaking out.

"Ajax's dorm," you say and give her a small smile, hoping she will let you go. She couldn't stop you, but she could tell someone. You doubted she would, most likely she would just gossip with Enid about it.

"Ooohhh," Yoko teases as you walk out of the dorm

You walk through Ophelia hall without any issues. Once you reach the very end, you pull off your beanie to stone the lone security guard.

You reach the hall of where your boyfriend's dorm can be found and notice two security guards chatting. You don't see anyone else.

You leave your beanie off and walk up to them. Theu are both stoned before a single word escapes their lips

You tug on your beanie and make sure all of your snakes are covered, you don't wanna stone Ajax. That would ruin the whole night.

You text Ajax to see if he was awake in his dorm. You didn't want to sneak in for Xavier to be the only one of them awake. You hoped that Xavier had snuck out to his art studio, he usually did at night.

Ajax texts back, he is in his dorm. And curious as to why you want to know. You don't reply to his texts and slip inside his dorm.

"Yn!" He exclaims with a smile. He hops off his bed and walks over to hug you. He pulls you in for a tight hug and places a kiss on your lips before letting you go

"Hello," you say as you both sit in his bed. As you had hoped Xavier is no where in sight.

You don't let him reply as you kiss him. His lips are soft and taste like heaven, and the strawberry chapstick he stole from you.

He smiles into the kiss, he was quite happy with his current predicament. He loves it when you sneak in his dorm. You loved it to. The kissing, but also the adrenaline of getting caught was the best.

He pulls away with a smile so he can admire you. He has that stupid lovesick grin on his face. You loved that smile.

"Disgusting guys," Xavier complains from behind you, you and Ajax both jump as you notice his roommate has returned.

Ajax groans, "You couldn't of went back out to your studio for an hour," he complains. You have an awkward smile on your face. This was not ideal.

"I could stone him?" You ask with a smile and Ajax shakes his head to say 'no'. He wasn't big on stoning Xavier. But it had happened a few times, only when necessary or accidental.

"Wow, I love how that's your go to solution. Thanks for dealing with security for me," Xavier replies with a smile. A very smug smile.

"I guess goodnight, see you at Nightshades," you reply and give your lover a final parting kiss. He smiles at you and waves.

"Simp," Xavier mutters under his breath as you exit and he watches his roommate completely fawn over you.

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

Requests are open! Reblogs are essential!

[marshmellowtea]

what's this?? marshy actually finished a fic for the first time in ages??? no fuckin way—

anyway hi i forget how i usually intro these tumblr fics of mine gjdskfds but going by my writing tag it looks like i usually just wing it so uhh here! have some domestic age regression fluff between caregivers!tanya and mike and little!lila (with a liiiight sprinkling of angst and hurt/comfort in the middle there because i just couldn't help myself, lmao). small warning for a reference to will and lila's mothers and what that entails, ie emotional abuse, though it's not super explicit. if there's anything else i need to warn for, lmk!

super special thanks to @whenthedeeppurplefalls for betaing this fic, literally idk if it would've gotten done without you so i super appreciate you looking at it hglkdsjf 💞 tysm pal seriously :') /gen

as per usual with these fics, eventually this'll get posted to ao3 as well and i'll reblog this with a link when that's ready, but for now, without further ado, here it is please enjoy <3

"Babe, why is William in timeout?"

Tanya huffs out a laugh as she makes her way to Mike over at the door, greeting him with a kiss to his mouth and taking the grocery bags out of his hands. "That's Lila, honey," she says, moving aside so he can step inside the apartment and shut the door behind him.

"Ah. That makes more sense," he says, turning his gaze to the girl currently pouting in the corner of the kitchen. "Hi, sweetheart. What have you done this time?"

Lila turns to him, her arms crossed over her chest and her cheeks puffed out adorably. One leg is crossed over the other, giving her the air of an offended little lady, and Mike has to bite back a laugh. Her and William are both so cute—equally so, of course, given the fact they share a body, but they both have their own unique little quirks in the way they carry themselves that are absolutely precious in their own little ways.

"You can tell him if you want to, honey," Tanya says, putting away the groceries Mike had brought home. "I won't add time to your timeout."

Lila huffs, pout increasing somehow. "Mama's being unfair," she says, shooting a withering glare in Tanya's direction. "It was an accident."

"Ohohoho, no it was not," Tanya says, shaking her head with a click of her tongue. "You wanna actually tell him what you did?"

Lila glares at her for another moment, before turning back to the wall. Mike actually laughs at that, taking a few steps further to stroke her hair lightly.

"Well, now I'm curious," he says. "What'd you do to earn the timeout chair?"

Lila huffs, hunching in on herself a little. "You're on her side," she accuses, her cheeks reddening.

"Well, honey, I can't be on your side if I don't know what you did," he says, shaking his head slightly.

Lila stays silent, her eyes fixed on the ground. She almost looks embarrassed, an expression that's very rare for her. Mike ruffles her hair, before moving his hand to squeeze her shoulder lightly.

"I guess she doesn't want to tell me," Mike says, shaking his head. "What'd she do, Mama Bird?"

Tanya turns to him, her eyes alight with amusement and irritation. "Well, she almost burnt the fucking house down," she says, shooting a half-smile in Lila's direction.

Mike's eyebrows raise. "Oh? How the fuck did she do that?" he asks, absentmindedly rubbing circles against Lila's shoulder with his fingertips.

"Put a fork in the microwave," Tanya says, shaking her head. "She's very lucky I caught it before it started sparking."

"It was—it was an accident!" Lila protests suddenly. She looks up at Mike with pleading eyes, leaning against him all cutely in that way she does when she wants something. "This isn't fair!"

Mike hums, turning his eyes toward Tanya. "If she just left her fork in her food, I don't think it's fair to—”

Tanya shoots him a pointed look. "It was just a fork in there," she says, turning her eyes to Lila and adding, "and I'd just told her about how putting metal in the microwave is dangerous."

"Oh. Hmm." Mike looks back down at Lila, giving her shoulder a light pat. "Yeah, I don't think I can defend you, sweetheart."

"Not fair," Lila mumbles, kicking at the air helplessly. "It was—I just wanted to see what happened."

"I told you what happens," Tanya says, pulling out a pot from the drawer. "There was no reason to try it out, my sweet girl.”

“What if I didn’t believe you?” Lila protests, looking up at Mike pleadingly again, as though he’ll somehow be able to help her.

“Well, then we have a bigger problem then,” Tanya says, shaking her head. She turns around then, holding the pot out in front of her and turning her attention toward Mike. “How do we feel about spaghetti for dinner?”

“I brought the meatballs,” he says, shrugging lightly and moving his hand to rub Lila’s back soothingly. “I say go for it.”

“Dada—” Lila starts pitifully, presumably to plead for help or mercy.

Before she can finish, or Mike can say anything, however, Tanya interrupts. “Ah ah ah. No talking rule is back in effect.” She looks over at her, her eyes softening sympathetically. “Only a minute left, little one.”

Lila whines, her eyes dropping to her feet. Mike smiles at her, also sympathetically, and he presses a kiss to the top of her head.

“Sounds like you’ll be free soon,” he says, giving her a light pat. “Hang in there, sweetheart.”

Lila huffs, kicking her feet frantically. Mike steps away from her, then, making his way over to Tanya’s side, watching her as she puts a pot of water on.

“Once you get that on, can we talk for a minute in the other room? Real quick before little one gets free?” he asks lowly. Then, not wanting to worry her, he adds, “Nothing bad, just…caregiver stuff.”

Tanya nods, a slight look of relief falling across her face, before flicking the stove on and taking a step back. “Lila, we’ll be back soon, okay?” she calls in her direction. “We’re just gonna be in the other room for a minute, we’re not leaving, sweet pea.”

Lila turns to look at them, her eyes round and brow furrowed. She opens her mouth as if to speak, but then realizing she can’t, she huffs, turning back to the wall.

Mike snorts softly at the sight, shaking his head slightly and leading Tanya out to the living room. He looks through the doorway, and once he’s certain Lila’s not trying to snoop, he turns back to Tanya with a curious expression.

“How long you put her in for?”

Tanya shrugs. “Just ten minutes,” she says, running her fingers loosely through her hair. “She got it bumped up to thirteen, though, as she usually does.”

Mike hums, nodding thoughtfully. “Kind of a short time for almost burning the house down,” he remarks with mild amusement.

Tanya laughs quietly, shrugging a little. “Yeah, maybe…I don’t know,” she says, letting out a soft sigh. “I think she was just acting out for attention rather than trying to get on my nerves like she usually does. I mean, I was kind of distracted today…I feel bad about it, so I didn’t want to punish her too harshly.”

“Hmm, alright…it does sound like she didn’t add as much time as she usually does, huh?”

Tanya snorts. “Yeah, I think she’s feeling neglected, poor girl.”

Mike coos sympathetically, shaking his head slightly in the direction of the kitchen. “Yeah…poor girl.” He tilts his head then, regarding Tanya with a soft gaze. “What about you? You said you were distracted, are you alright?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m just…” Tanya frowns, waving her hand lightly. “Looking for a job has been…stressful. But it’s not anything more than that.”

Mike nods and reaches out, wrapping his arm around her and giving her a comforting squeeze. “Alright, I get that,” he says gently, rubbing her arm soothingly. “Hey, you’re gonna be okay. It’ll happen eventually.”

“Yeah…I just…I feel bad that you and Will are the ones supporting us, especially with the baby expenses, and—”

Suddenly, Tanya’s phone goes off, the sound ringing out through the apartment. She blinks in surprise, and she fishes her phone out of her pocket, turning it off quickly.

“Oh. Lila’s free,” she says, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips.

Mike smiles as well, despite his lingering concern. “You think she heard it?”

In answer to his question, they’re suddenly greeted with a shout, and the sound of little feet rushing in their direction. They turn to see Lila pausing just in the doorway, her eyes wide and round.

“Mama? Can I…” she starts, rocking back and forth on her heels.

Tanya chuckles softly, giving Mike a squeeze before pulling away from him to go to her. “Yes, baby, you’re out of timeout,” she says affectionately, reaching up to cradle her face. “Is the water boiling, honey?”

“Ummm…” Lila tilts her head, or at least, as best she can while still pressing her face into Tanya’s palms, anyway. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Okay. I’m gonna go continue making dinner,” Tanya says, squishing her cheeks gently and earning a squawk of indignation in return. She chuckles, kissing her forehead gently and asking, “You wanna hang out with Mike while I do that?”

Lila looks at Mike over her shoulder, her brow furrowed and lips drooping. “Um…okay,” she says, her voice sounding hollow.

Tanya frowns, regarding her with concern. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

“I mean…Mike usually makes dinner,” she says, huffing lightly. “And ‘m not allowed in the kitchen when you guys cook.”

“Ohhh…” Tanya says, shooting a frown in Mike’s direction. “You wanna be with me?”

Lila shrugs, and then, hesitantly, she nods. She’s very pointedly avoiding looking at both of them—the embarrassed look is back on her face, too. “Somethin’ like that,” she mumbles.

“I can take over dinner if she wants to be with her mama,” Mike says, shrugging a little.

Lila’s face turns even redder, a pout coming across her face. “You’re making it sound so—I just have somethin’ I need to say to her, okay?”

"Awww, baby, it's okay if you wanna be with me sometimes," Tanya coos, thumbs rubbing lightly at her cheeks. "There's nothing wrong with needing that."

Lila huffs, squirming out of her palms and crossing her arms over her chest. "It's not like—" she starts, before her eyes dart from the floor to Tanya's face. She flushes harder, somehow, her whole face pink, and suddenly races away from Tanya to throw herself onto the couch, curling into herself against one of the arms, making herself small in that way William usually does.

Tanya's eyebrows raise at the sight, and she turns to Mike, shooting him a look that's equal parts amused and concerned. He shoots her a matching look in return, pointing toward the kitchen.

"I'll go take care of the boiling water now," he says, voice wavering somewhere between light and uncertain.

"Sounds good to me," Tanya says, lips twitching slightly. They settle on a smile as she passes Mike on her way to the couch, however, and she keeps her expression soft as she settles down on the cushions next to the now pouting little girl she calls her own, carefully reaching out to stroke her arm. "Hey, sweetie. You doing okay?"

Lila mumbles something unintelligible into the arm of the couch, her face smushed up against the fabric. Once again, Tanya can't help but think of it as a very William move—she can't help but wonder how many traits they have in common that she's just never seen because Lila tends to be less openly vulnerable around them.

"I didn't catch that, little girl. Can you repeat yourself?"

Lila huffs once again, sounding entirely put upon. She looks up at Tanya, her face still smudged with a pink blush, her eyes oddly sad, and murmurs, "I'm sorry I'm such a bad girl, Mama."

The concern already bubbling up in Tanya's stomach suddenly spills over in the form of a coo falling from her lips, a frown falling over her face. "Oh, Lila, honey...come here..."

When it comes to William and Lila, bad isn't nearly as strong a word as naughty—naughty, for both of them, is a sign they're in a very, very bad headspace, naughty means that something has set them off in a very real way, naughty means that they're thinking about their respective mothers again, and that's never a good thing—but it still isn't good to hear, either. Especially not from Lila, who most of the time, refuses to acknowledge that the thing she's done wrong is, in fact, wrong.

Tanya's worries are only further confirmed when Lila crawls all the way into her lap, wrapping her arms around her neck and clinging to her tightly, like she's terrified of being let go of. Sure, Lila's become a lot more comfortable with being touched or physically coddled as of late, even going so far as to enjoy it (which she had admitted to them one afternoon in a very roundabout way), but she's still not much of a cuddler, and she definitely doesn't cling like this unless she's in a mood. Not necessarily in a bad mood, sure, but, well...right now...

"You're not a bad girl, honey," Tanya murmurs, wrapping her arms around her tightly and kissing her on the top of her head. "I mean, sure, you do bad things sometimes, but we all do. I mean, I've fu—messed up things more often than I can count, especially with William and Dada. That doesn't make me a bad person, does it?"

Even as she says it, Tanya has to choke back the uncertainty rising in her throat. She's gotten better about not thinking of herself as the certified worst person in the whole entire fucking world, but god, it's hard not to fall back to hold habits sometimes.

Apparently, Lila knows that too. "But you still feel like a bad person sometimes," she mumbles into her collarbone, clinging a little tighter. "S’okay. I do too s’metimes. 'm sorry. Sorry I do bad things."

Tanya swallows thickly, unsure of what to make of all this. "It's okay, sweetheart. I forgive you," she murmurs. "What brought this on, little one...?"

Lila's quiet for a moment, playing with the fabric of her shirt. "You seemed mad at me today."

"Mad at you...?"

"Mhmm." Lila sniffles, and Tanya's heart breaks as she realizes she's holding back tears. "You didn'...didn' really look at me, or wanna play with me, an'—an' then when you were makin' your tea you told me 'bout the spoon, an'—an' I dunno, I was stupid, an' I wan'ed you t' look at me, 'nd you got mad at me—"

"Oh, honey, I only got upset cuz you were doing something dangerous, I wasn't upset with you before that, promise," Tanya soothes, running her hand up and down her spine lightly. "I...I was a bit distracted today, and I wasn't paying as much attention to you as I should have, and I'm sorry. Did it feel like I was ignoring you? Is that why you thought I was mad?"

Lila whines a little, nodding against her shoulder. Tanya hums comfortingly, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't mad, and I wasn't ignoring you. I was just spacey today. It had nothing to do with you, I promise I would never ignore you on purpose, okay?"

"...mmkay," Lila mumbles, and to Tanya's relief, she sounds less upset than she did before. She does, however, sound a bit embarrassed.

"My little girl. It's okay. You can want attention from me, there's nothing wrong with that."

Lila makes a grumpy noise in response (and oh, Tanya can't even pretend not to chuckle at that, it's just too adorable), lifting her face from Tanya's shoulder. Her flush has gone down a bit, but she is still visibly pink, which is just unbearably precious.

"Hi, sweetie," Tanya says, reaching up to stroke her hair lightly. "How're you feelin'?"

"...better," Lila mumbles, her eyes darting downward, one of her hands reaching up to play with the necklace Tanya's wearing. "I'm glad—glad you weren't mad at me. At least 'til I tried to burn the place down."

"Yeahhh, never do that again, little love," Tanya says with a laugh, still carding her hands absently through her hair. "I wasn't kidding about it burning down the place."

A tiny smile appears on Lila's face at that. "But I still wanna see that!"

"Oh, do not even think about it, little missy," Tanya scolds, but her tone is still more light than actually angry. "We look up videos of microwaves catching fire on Youtube if you want, but don't you dare even think about trying it at home or you'll be getting more than a ten minute time out."

"How much more?" Lila asks, her voice lightly curious. "An hour?"

"Lila," Tanya says, fond and exasperated.

"...two hours?" Lila prods, finally lifting her eyes. As soon as she meets Tanya's dryly amused gaze, she bursts into giggles, bonking their foreheads together. "Three hours!"

"It'll be more like forever, Lila," Tanya says with a huff of a laugh, rolling her eyes fondly. "I don't think we can afford a place other than this. Or to replace all our stuff."

"Mm...William would be mad if I destroyed his toys 'nyway," Lila agrees, rolling off of Tanya's lap to settle at her side instead, still cuddled up close with her head resting against her shoulder and one of Tanya's arms still wrapped around her. "Fine, I won't burn the house down."

"Thank you baby," Tanya says with a chuckle, rubbing her arm lightly. "That's what every Mama wants to hear from her little girl."

Lila giggles at that, nuzzling further into her shoulder. Then, she falls quiet for a long moment, aside from humming contentedly as Tanya strokes her hair. Tanya almost thinks she's gone nonverbal, before Lila suddenly speaks up again, her voice going soft.

"What were you distracted by, Mama?"

"Oh," Tanya says, swallowing back a wave of anxiety suddenly rising up in her. "It's just...adult stuff, honey. I don't want you to worry about it while you're small, okay?"

Lila looks up at her with a scrutinizing stare, as though Tanya's a puzzle she's trying to figure out. "Mmkay...if you say so..."

Tanya smiles at her comfortingly, rubbing her arm lightly. "If you're still worried about it later, we can talk about it when you're big, if you want. But right now you're just a baby, so don't worry about it, okay?"

"I'm not a baby. I'm not William," Lila says, a very adorable pout coming over her face. "But...okay...if you're sure..."

Tanya's smile widens a little, and she chuckles softly. "Are you worried about your mama, Lila?"

Lila flushes, her nose scrunching up a little and her cheeks once again turning pink. "I just don't want you to ignore me again," she mumbles, turning her face away so Tanya can't see her.

"Aww, honey..." Tanya reaches over with her other arm, wrapping it around Lila and giving her a tight squeeze. She presses a kiss to the back of her head, smiling a little at the lightly pleased huff she receives for it. "I can't promise I won't get spacey again, but I promise I'm gonna try to do better, okay? And sweetheart, if it does start to feel like I'm ignoring you again, it's okay to ask me for attention. In fact, please please please tell me if you feel ignored, and I'll make sure to give you the attention you need. I love you to death and I don't want you to feel unloved. Okay?"

"Mmph...okay. Okay, Mama, I will," Lila mumbles, squirming a little in Tanya's embrace. "Thank you. 'n...'nIloveyoutoo. Now get off me."

Tanya chuckles, pressing one last kiss to her curls before drawing back, finally freeing Lila from her lovingly crushing embrace. Lila straightens up as well, lingering close but no longer trying to squish up against her side like she was before, and that combined with the fact she doesn't seem actually seem very irritated about being snuggled makes Tanya figure that she probably was just starting to get a little overstimulated by all the touch. Probably best to give her a bit of a cool down on it—she'll have to let Mike know when they go in for dinner.

"Hey, girls, spaghetti's ready!"

In speaking of the man himself. Tanya smiles, turning to Lila and gesturing back toward the kitchen. "You ready to eat, baby?"

Lila turns in that direction, staring at the doorway with a scrutinizing expression. "Yeah," she says, surprisingly casually for what an intense look she was giving the kitchen, and hops up to her feet. She lingers, however, watching as Tanya gets to her feet, tilting her head a little once she's standing. "Um. Mama?"

Tanya looks at her, another wave of concern washing over her. "Yeah honey?"

Lila looks at her for a moment, rocking back and forth on her heels. "...after dinner, can we watch microwaves explode on Youtube?"

Well, that's not what Tanya had been expecting. She can't help but laugh a little, shaking her head in amusement. "Yeah, honey, of course we can. Just me and you, or do you want Dada there too?"

Lila shrugs noncommittally, her eyes already lighting up in excitement with the yes she's been given. "He can watch too. I don' care, 'long as you're there." She then grins broadly, before turning on her heels and sprinting toward the kitchen, where Tanya can hear her calling, "Dada! Guess what me and Mama are gonna watch!"

Tanya can't stop the fond smile that spreads across her lips at that. She follows after Lila, readying herself to explain to Mike why they're about to spend their evening on Youtube watching cutlery spark and set fire to appliances, and knowing damn well she wouldn't want it any other way.

[fountainpenguin]

hi my friend shared one of ur rancher posts with me on twt and i went INSANE- so i wanted to know if u had a twt? (cause thats where im most active for ranchers stuff) :0

?? My post has broken containment??? Incredible. If that's the one I just posted tonight then that's insane skldjf

No, I deleted my Twitter back in like... 2019 or 2020? I was only there to keep up with publishers and PitMad but then I never used it... never looked back, ha ha.

You're welcome to hang around my blog if you like (I use the tag #Team Rancher for all my Rancher commentary, reblogged art, or original art and I like to think I have a pretty good tag system so you can follow me if interested and blacklist stuff from other fandoms you don't care about; I try to talk positively about my fandoms, keep things clean, and not hate on anything since I like having a peaceful fanspace I can sink myself in and step away from the outside world :) But I'm multi-fandom, so I've got a mixed amount of stuff and it's okay if that's not for you).

-> If you haven't looked yet, I encourage you to browse my Team Rancher tag and check out some of those awesome artists and fellow fandom members!

I do have a very active AO3 account. I regularly post MCYT and non-MCYT content there, but you can specifically subscribe to my Pixels Imperfect series on AO3 if you only want emails for my MCYT content. It's a series, but it doesn't have to be read in order (It's just where I keep all my "morally gray pixel people living their best lives despite the outside world being total anarchy" stuff).

Specifically, tomorrow I'm posting the first part of a short story called Criminal Experience and Chapter 1 involves Tango visiting Mumbo's llama farm. Jimmy's not there, but maybe you'll still enjoy if you like Tango, ranch animals, and/or are curious to see if you like my stuff and my Tango portrayal :) [EDIT - Link]

-> I also posted some Jimmy content this past Tuesday; he makes his first big appearance in Chapter 6 of Dog's Life.

Again, totally fine if this doesn't fit what you're looking for since I'm giving you "Tango content" and "Jimmy content" but not specifically "Team Rancher content"... that's just all I've got right now! But I love talking about them and their characterization and you're always welcome to hit me up if you like!

I don't have anything that is specifically Team Rancher on my to-do writing list, but I'm working behind the scenes on a "put all the Life series into a single coherent timeline and making everything as canon as possible" project, so there will probably be some Team Rancher there. It's Scar-centric so I only have the Clockers nailed down right now, but the Ranchers were my faves so they'll probably exist in some shape or form in that series.

That series is called Neighborhood Watch, though I don't have anything posted for it on AO3 yet so I can't link you that one :')

-> If you are a Team Rancher fanartist/fanwriter and you use Twitter to post Rancher content, feel free to reblog or reply to this post and self-advertise! (But keep this post sfw, please)

[Psp psp even if you don't use Twitter, feel free to reblog or reply because I'm firmly a Tumblr user but I'd also love more Team Rancher in my life <3]

I'm glad you enjoyed my post! I really like Team Rancher... they are just very kind to each other and I could talk for ages about how they passed Scott's compatibility test with flying colors even though he was trying to rig it so they break up SLDKFJSLDFJ <3 Tango and Jimmy were just super kind to each other and incredibly comedic... Double Life was such a fun series. I miss them.

I've got a ton of Rancher fanart reblogs in my drafts/queue but I'm trying to space them out to avoid slam-dunking my followers, sldkfj. We love Team Rancher in this household. Thanks for stopping by!

[the-beleza-muscadine]

💎I have eyes like diamonds💎

Hi there! Welcome to my blog!!! I'm your host, Beleza Muscadine, but you can call me Bel

I'm a fashion designer and makeup artist who lives with my husbands, Vanilla and Tippy, and our son Ramón 😊

💎Passions and interests:

• Art

• Makeup and fashion

• All things snake 🐍 I literally love snakes, but you have to respect the animal too, okay? My stand is a snake, his name is Gilded Cobra, he's very sparkly and blue with gold! But anyway, I just think snakes are super cool and interesting, plus they help get rid of unwanted pests, and they're super fun to study and watch and I like everything about them! I'll post about snakes and stuff, but I'll always tag it as "tw snake" or "snake tw" and all that, you know? Tell me if I forget to tag something!!!

• Space

• Woodworking and sculpting, especially when there's a man with a sculpted figure ahuhuhuhu 🤭

• Medical science, yes even the yucky stuff interests me. I don't even know why though, like, I shouldn't even want to see more, but I guess it's just morbid curiosity? I don't know but I can't just look away, and then I get curious but grossed out at the same time and it's just a whole big thing!

• Scary stories and Creepypastas! Especially video game Creepypastas! Oh, and horror games. Tippy and I have a habit of watching YouTubers play horror games before bed and our husband scares the heck out of us when he opens the door 😭

💎Stuff about me:

• I'm 6'2" (188.976cm) tall

• Birthday is March 25

• Favorite colors: aqua, periwinkle, gold, white, and pink! I love bright, fun, and pastel colors 🩵🩷

• Favorite Food: ramen with two over easy fried eggs, extra points if it's spicy!!!

• Some people say I talk too much and tend to ramble but honestly I think I talk just enough!!! I just have a lot to say and I'm not really bothering anybody I don't think, unless I actually do start bothering people when I talk too fast or too much or maybe too loud? Am I a loud person? I don't think so, I think I just have a lot to say, yeah, like I said before, that's all!

• I used to be pretty mean and kind of a "bully" or whatever, BUT I'm recovering and learning to be a better, nicer, more thoughtful person and stuff. I know I can slip up and say something unintentionally mean, but I will apologize and catch myself........ I think it started back when I was a kid, I felt kind of like an outcast, you know? I was bullied a lot too because people thought I was ugly and so they were mean to me, but then I started being mean back and it was a huge mess. That, unfortunately, started becoming my personality and I would get what I want by being mean and manipulative. Instead of actual confidence, I was arrogant and insecure. But now I'm legit more confident in my appearance and myself as a person, and I understand how others feel when I hurt them and whatever! So yeah

This is a blog for me to post about my thoughts and feelings and whatever!

💎More info below💎

Although Bel started off as just an original character for JJBA, they are not strictly attached to JJBA. Bel is my character and will most likely "follow me (my self insert)" to different franchises.

Beleza Muscadine is an original character created by me: @sapphire-heart-tippy . This is a roleplay and "just for fun" blog. He is not a real person (although, he feels real to me in a certain way) and everything that's posted here is part of an alternate universe called The Sapphire Heartverse: Sugar Crash Void Bash, which is an alternate universe for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

Unfortunately, xe cannot "like" posts, but xe can reblog them and comment/reply to comments. The reason for this is, because this blog is a sideblog for my main blog.

There will be more info to add later

There is even a slice of life alternate universe called "The Bellflower AU" where Beleza and I meet in college and fall in love.

Long story short, although Bel is "just an oc", he's more than that to me. So while he "isn't a real person", he's very much real to me in my heart and will be treated as such for the most part (as in: they have their own thoughts, feelings, likes, dislikes, and independence from me)

I love xem very very much and xe's extremely important and special to me, that's why I treat xem this way.

He pretty much taught me how to love myself and express myself without caring about what others have to say.

[queengiuliettafirstlady]

To follow the Polar Star

To follow the Polar Star   

Fandom: Ikemen Prince

Pairing: Keith x OC (July)

Prompt: Mermay

Tag: Forbidden Love Stargazing Mythological creatures Fluff

Word Count  1.561

Author’s Note: Special thank you to @kissmetwicekissmedeadly for suggesting this challenge to me, with the prompt Celestial a bit different than something I usually do, here it is my entry, super late but anyway I really hope you can enjoy this fic and the banner, I spend more time than I would like to admit creating it to my liking. 😆

A story worth telling between two people who should have not met, but they did, turning upside down all the belief they had, following the polar star that led them both to their destiny, bonding them together with Love. 🥰

Tag list

@kissmetwicekissmedeadly @aquagirl1978 @violettduchess

@nightghoul381 @william-rex @candied-boys @writingwhimsey

@fang-and-feather @moonstruckmelancholic

@wistfulwanderingone @rjthirsty @lichtluv

@ike-garden2024 @jollibeeshappiness @starzyquee              

@maeko-kun @rkmaru

You can find me on AO3 as QueenJuliet 😊

Thank you for everyone who will like, reblog, or comment please be gentle with me english is not my first language so please do not leave rude comments I apologise for eventual errors I hope you will like it 😊

Stars glimmering in the sky,  they attired every kind of gaze from the inquisitive of the sailors looking at them to find their way to the loners, looking at them with a whirlwind of thoughts swimming in their minds to couple romantically looking up at them only to soon indulge in far more pleasurable activity letting their kisses be a worthy show for the crowd of the glimmering constellation witness to their love, to the dreamers searching the universe to find answers for all the question that arises in them, wandering in their reveries like they were used to, a place to let their hearts free of chains of any sort ... not being called weirdos but finally free to be themselves be it for a while.

It was like that he felt everytime he looked up at the night sky, nestled near the border of the ocean where sand meet the water caressing from time to time the curious sea animals that went to check up on him, more often that any of his friends and family ever did anyway, judging him like everyone else a freak with his head on the clouds more interested to learn about other cultures than about politic, struggling all the same to do any choice that he deemed better for his Kingdom, his role of a prince no more than a chain he felt attached to his wrist, able to break free only at night when everyone was asleep and his guards thought useless to watch over the meek and mild prince of Atlantis.

His eyes locked to the stars above the only place he felt to belong to, the slow rolls of the waves crashing on the shore pleasant melody to that spectacle, noticing a figure sat on the sand gazing at the sky the same way before he knew it words he never intent to spoke resonated in the still air of the night

“Do you like the stars ?”

he swimmed closer to it taking on her figure quietly sat on the shore, little waves crashing on her feet melting with the long light gown now floating above the water, startled by the voice she looked at him in the dark, noticing him only when he was so close to her she could almost have touched him if she wanted to, 

“I am sorry I did not want to scare you away… please stay.” his voice  reached her before she could go away, moved by the pleading apologetic tone of his voice she returned to her place on the shore as little waves begin melting back into her gown

“I do like stars and you ?” he was becoming bolder he knew of that, maybe even bothering her, but at that time something else was winning over, his need, his deep desire to have someone to talk to, someone who understood him, someone that maybe could see him as something more than the weird kind prince he was … not receiving an answer he sighed in defeat when suddenly her voice crystal clear and soft like the frizzy breeze rustling on the ocean resonated in the still air of the night.

“I do too.”

Her smile was the most glimmering he has ever seen and her eyes two pools of turquoise he want to dive in and never remerge shining under the light of the full moon, as hair wavy and black like the night sky rustled around her beautiful features

“What is your name ?”

“Keith Howell… and yours ?”

“I am July.”

“It is such a pretty name it suits you.”

“Thank you.”

her question coming unexpected like a summer storm

“Are you not cold in the water ?” no one ever asked that, no on ever cared enough to ask, her eyes hiding an hint of concern as she stared at him warming his heart

“Thank you for your concern but I am not. The water at night can be surprisingly warm.”

a knowing smile light up her lips as she continued 

“From the morning sun, I thought the ocean was different.”

“Not in this part, here we are protected from the cold and harsher sea currents from the barrier reef, we build it up for that reason.”

“You ?”

“Well my kind.” confusion glimmering in her eyes, he bit his lips nervously while his fingers kept fidgeting with his bracelet

“I did not want to deceive you but … I am not human.” her eyes widened in disbelief, he hold his breath mustering enough courage before facing her again

“I am a merman.” he closed his eyes not to see disgust curling her lips, reopening only at the sound of her voice tickling his ears

“I never met one.” he could not believe it at first so much he had to pinch his hand to see he was not dreaming, for there was nothing but curiosity painted in her glimmering eyes as she got closer to him, unable to look away as she stared in his amber eyes

“Well …I have never met a human either.”

“Me neither.” it was his time to stare at her taken aback by her revelation, swimming closer to her rock

“I am a water nymph, more precisely a nymph of the Ocean.”

“There are others kinds ?”

“Oh yes, some are bonded to lakes while some others to seas.”

“ I did not know that … we have pretty much the same thing, some of our kind thrive in colder water while others do in tropical ones.”

“Interesting.”

The curious stars only witness to their peculiar encounter, first of many others as their heart grow closer each day, he taught her the constellations and all sorts of legends about the stars while she helped him understand the water currents, all the while learning together to take care of the water animals they both loved so much.

It was a warm night, they were admiring the little twinkling stars appear one by one in the sky, melting from afternoon to night in the span of few hours they spend leisurely talking about everything and nothing, until she pointed out at a shooting stars, her eyes glimmering like the full moon as a sun bright smile curled her lips, she turned to face him 

“I never told you that but there is a custom among my people, it is said if you wish upon a shooting star your desire will become true, and if a couple do it they will be together forever.”

“It is really interesting. We shall do it.” she nodded enthusiastically 

“Remember to keep the secret to yourself or it will not become real.” he was used to keep things to himself anyway but to please her he nodded, shooting her a side line glance once the shooting stars come into view, desiring for their wish to match and be turned into reality, how beautiful it would have been if it worked, he sighed softly admiring her gorgeous smile lit up her pretty features, resisting the urge to caress her soft cheeks, unaware of the gaze she stole from time to time to his side, seeing his amber eyes reflecting the brightness of the moon, shining over his curly grey hairs she did her best to resist the temptation to slide her fingers in his soft locks, oblivious to that feeling taking roots in their hearts.

All the creatures of the ocean advised him to not meddle with people outside the water not to love them for their were far more instinctual people than oceanic ones irrational and weirds he should have been away should have despised them even, and yet every time he thought of her he felt something he never had in his chest an indescribable warmth spreading from his heart galloping wildly like a seahorse, countless nights they spend together watching the stars and talking about the usual thing the weather, their worlds ... and themselves, little by little they hearts were caught under the spell of love.

No one approved of it and no one ever would have if the old men and women of their tribes would have not recognized publicly that feeling claiming it unbreakable, forbidding everyone to tear them apart, forcing them to accept their union, and by consequence even the frequent visit they paid to one another, able to disguise their bodies and meet in each other world with the help of a magic seashell ring they gifted one another.

She was a water nymph.

He was a merman.

They should have never met but they did, two worlds believed irreconciliable were now allies able to forget their quarrels in honor of a prosperous peace for their kinds.

Their feeling was unusual, they were frowned upon by everyone and yet after seeing the everlasting happiness their love brought them both, changed minds and hearts of the more rebels people among their kinds, all that give immense entertainments of the asters and all the star peeking curiously at them hiding behind the clouds as the tales of a forbidden love turned reality were the talk of the animal proof and evidence that there was no breaking the most powerful magic of them all enrapturing people since the beginning of the universe for mighty and deep was the spell of love.