#was talking to me and a group of our friends after a gym class one day

[spirithalloweeping]

currently remembering the time in elementary school where my friend had a crush on a boy so then i picked a boy to have a crush on bc i felt like i ought to

[sugarlywhispers]

b.katsuki + reader!Quirk similar to him

Your first year at UA was going amazingly. Not only because it meant it was one step closer to your dream of being a hero, it also brought new challenges and new people into your life. You have made two new best friends: Gouna, a tall girl with an elastic type of Quirk, and Zynu, an exchange student from Greece, who had a fast Quirk. Literally, she was freaking fast.

The first semester of school consisted in getting to know each of the classmates and oneself. Training, studying, physical tests in groups. Also boring tests like Maths and English.

But it has been magnificent so far.

Until the training camp. Pushing one's Quirk to the limit had literally brought you to tears. Being a cold type of quirk yourself, you never thought you would be able to do what you were doing. But you gave your all, like always. You were focused. Witty and ready. Ready to fight for that number one spot in the rankings at every moment of your life. And very loud about it too.

"She reminds me of someone…" Kan-sensei once commented to Aizawa-sensei, smiling amused.

Your black haired teacher rolled his eyes, "Please, no…"

You didn't know who they were talking about at the time, but whomever they were, you decided you would be fucking better.

That camp had been one hell of a test for everyone. 

Or so that's what all of you thought until the day to meet the Big Three came.

Despite other previous years, these Class 1s, A and B, hadn't met them until closer to the end of their first year. Apparently, they had been on a mission in another country.

"Can you believe it??? They haven't even graduated yet and they already go on missions!!" Zynu exclaims, giving little fast jumps as the whole classes 1-A and B awaits for the Big Three to arrive at Gym Gamma.

"Well, our little Y/N has nothing to envy them, right?" Gouna lays her forearm on one of your shoulders, making you smile.

"Ughh, I still can't believe Hawks himself asked you for help…" Zyna smiles so happy for you, her hand grabbing yours and shaking it way too fast in excitement. Gouna laughs at the way your one fast and joyful friend pulls you.

"She was only called because Hero Shoto wasn't around to help."

The annoying voice behind you makes you groan.

"Don't you have anything else to do than to prove how very in love you're with my friend here?" Gouna's words make you snort before turning around.

Hamata Aiko, the one guy that always has an opinion about you –a bad one, if you may add– stands there, all bulky, full of himself and annoyingly looking down at you like you're scum, with hands closed in fists.

"All of you are going to be in love with me once I take down all three of the Golden Trio…" He declares, flexing his arm so his bicep pops out even more. Disgusting.

The look you share with your two best friends, followed by a cackle of loud laugh, brings the attention of most students around.

"I'll bring tissues for when you cry like a baby after being embarrassingly defeated. But that was a great joke, Aiko-chan," you can hear the grit of his teeth at your mockery.

A huge shadow with red eyes suddenly appears behind Hamata. "A joke indeed," the low voice that came from the shadow makes this same boy jump away like a scaredy cat.

You back away a few steps just so you don't get stepped on. Light then clears everyone’s vision and you see this man– this mountain of a man, with red eyes and blond hair, a few steps in front of you. You can’t help but think he’s insanely huge, more than anything you could have ever imagined. And the other two guys that also appear on each side of this blond mountain are just as big. Maybe not in muscles and height, but each of them has a powerful energy and stance that immediately makes you succumb to their glorious presence.

Like… fuck. Like fucking heroes! The biggest ones you have ever seen. Ever been in front of.

And you want that. You want that majestic power. That strength that makes everybody believe and trust that they are the best.

"Hello, everyone! It's very nice to meet you finally!" The green haired one greets enthusiastically as the blond mountain rounds him to let him stand in the middle. You also noticed how the blond one and the duo colored haired one stand two steps behind, giving this greenie one space, giving him the lead. "We are very sorry it took us this long to meet, but we hope to make the best of our time together!"

"He's too much of a sunshine," Gouna whispers at you and Zyna, the latter smiling and nodding. You somehow doubt it. Something tells you he is as deadly as his two companions look.

"My name is Midoriya Izuku, hero name: Deku," lots of whispers and gasps from the students are heard as he turns to his right, where the blond mountain stands with his arms crossed over his big chest, a frown deep in his face, "this is Bakugou Katsuki, hero name: Dynamight," some grunts and groans are heard. You even hear a kid say "this is going to fucking hurt", and you definitely feel that. Especially when you see the satisfying smirk on the blond mountain's face. "And, this is Todoroki Shouto, hero name: Shoto."

More whispers and grunts. Some look excited, others are already lamenting getting to class today. But most of the students are terrified. These Big Three look nothing like third year students. They look fucking Pro, and that shit’s scary. Not even your first day as an intern in Gang Orca’s agency made you this uneasy. (And it’s Gang Orca we are talking about!)

"It's Endeavor's kid," Gouna whispers, eyes open wide in excitement looking at Todoroki Shouto. Her biggest dream is to be part of the fire hero agency, but she had told you how that was a mere dream considering how Hero Endeavor only took fire type Quirks in. You feel sad for her, but still encourage her to at least try it. The “NO” was already a given; what harm could be to try for the “YES”?

Of course, you all have heard about the rumors circling the Big Three and their achievements. You are a liar if you say that, even if they are supposedly rumors, their stories don't ignite a spark of hope and admiration over them. However, being in their actual presence is a whole different feeling.

"So today, we are fighting," Midoriya Izuku smiles, but surprisingly enough for everyone except you, the kindness doesn't reach his eyes. His eyes change demeanor and look challenging, a bit scary even. (Ha! You knew it! He isn't as sunshinie as he looks.)

"We did this exact same exercise with the current Big Three of our first year, but this time we decided to give you all a bit of advantage, uniting both classes for the exercise, so you can have the upper hand." The shiny smile doesn't leave his face, and while most around you sigh in relief, you know right then and there is a fake sense of security. It's a trap.

And by the way some unnoticed snorts are heard from behind greenie, it's more than obvious.

This will definitely hurt.

You realize then, as Midoriya Izuku takes his bow and school jacket off and steps back closer to his own classmates, how his other two companions are getting ready. Todoroki Shoto hasn't his jacket nor his school shirt on already, but a sport kind of shirt that accentuates his defined chest, where the sleeves only cover a bit of his shoulders, arms on display. This is definitely strategic for his own quirk, half hot and half cold. You wonder if the material is actually made to bear and endure the changes of temperature in his body, like the ones you wear. Bakugou Katsuki, on the other hand… Holy. Mother. Of. All Might. He now stands with his whole school shirt unbuttoned, chest and muscles and freaking abs on display, sleeves rolled up his forearms, jacket lost somewhere. You haven't actually had time to admire any type of physics in boys since the year started, being completely focused on your goals and dreams. Now, this hot mountain of a man makes you feel things you haven't before. Is that the feeling of butterflies on your stomach as the tingles travel through your body? Fuck, it’s distracting. (Very much so.)

You have to mentally slap yourself to focus. This is not the time to drool over an upperclassmen.

"This is your moment to try your moves and Quirks, they will gladly take them and give you feedback. But remember, this is a sparring, nothing to seek real harm. Have fun, children," Aizawa-sensei speaks as he walks towards the entrance door of the gym and stands there, away from the bloodbath that is about to happen. (If you had to define what betrayal looked like, Aizawa-sensei’s smirk as he stands there looking should be it.)

You, in a very calculated and dissimulated way, grab both of your friends' wrists and pull them back slowly, away from where the Big Three stand. They don't say anything and follow you. After so many group tests passed, you three have learned to work together very well. And with one look, all three of you understood. If you wanted to at least hit one of them, you would have to be a team. No solo fight could win them. And even then, there was no guaranteed win over them. They look, and you're pretty sure they are, very strong.

All three of them crouch a bit, showing they are ready, evil smiles plastered in their faces like they enjoy each and every little sound that showed how scared the two classes were. 

How sadistic. You love it.

You so want to fight at least one of them, one on one. But you know you don't have a chance to win moving on your own. Yet.

"Should we go first?" Deku suggests, seeing how no young student is brave enough to approach.

It's not that you are not brave. You're not stupid enough to volunteer for death first.

Dynamight and Shoto look at each other for a moment before looking back to the front, both smirking, and then the blond mountain yells, "FUCKING DIE, EXTRAS!"

A blast clouds everyone's sight for a moment, before you have to jump to the side as Shoto slides with his ice way too close to you. And then it's chaos. Quirks and fights are seen and heard around. And fuck, you have to dodge Shouto's ice three more times. Not to mention his fucking fire.

Your best friends and you remain as far from the Big Three as you can. Gouna got caught by a little piece of ice from Todoroki on her right cheek, cutting it a bit. Zyna, on the other hand, in these kinds of environments gets anxious, moving rapidly on her spot, needing release to do something in her fastness tempo. You… you get calculating and observing. Everyone around is losing against the Big Three. They are too strong, too big. Students are falling to the ground like levees, no matter how strong some of their Quirks are. These three professionals know what they are doing and how to do it.

It's going to take more than just guts to confront them.

Then you see it. Shoto is standing close to Dynamight. And if he moves, he comes back closer to the blond as fast as he can. Oh. Are they guarding each other's backs? Your eyes travel around the gym until you find Deku on the other side of the gym, fighting at least a dozen of the students, who are trying to get their one on one sparring. Of course, none of them win, other than detailed observations from the one third of the Big Three and a punch that knocks them out. 

An idea then surges in your head. The one creating way too much chaos is Bakugou Katsuki. Maybe, just maybe, if there's a way to distract Todoroki Shouto, you could have a chance to at least try to take Dynamight out.

Alright, maybe not completely out, but at least a punch or two. That would be satisfying enough.

Your eyes travel to your two best friends, and somehow –even though none of you have any telepathic Quirk– you all know what to do.

You three high five together before running to different parts of the gym. You run towards the build up rocks behind and explode some to create more small and medium ones. While doing this, Zyna is smartly distracting both third year students. Running, flying around them to just annoy them as they try to attack her with their Quirks, which is impossible to target her for how fast she is. Once you're done, Gouna is right there, arm expanding to create like a catapult to throw the rocks in their direction.

"Hey!" Deku yells, but he's been held back by his own fights to do anything. It's enough though to grab his other two classmates' attention.

It's your turn to smirk now at their surprised expression, excitement driving your whole system.

Bakugou's eyes find yours as you say, "Now you fucking die."

The rocks fly their way faster than they expect. Both of them fire at them to disintegrate the rocks into ash. And that's exactly what you wanted to happen. The ash creates a wall of smoke that won't let them see either of you.

Zyna helps Gouna to run fast towards Todoroki Shouto so she could evolve him with her elastic arms and legs, putting him out of the fight. One down.

And you… Fucking. Damned. Shit. Why do you always pick the hardest and most difficult fights? You don't know. But you always win. So, could you win against this big mountain?

Only one way to know…

The smoke helps you disguise yourself in it, but you can feel his careful and ready at all times stance. So you play. A spark of explosion from your ice here, and he answers with another of his own fire one. Creating more smoke. Funny. Another spark of your ice there, and he answers again, groaning in annoyance and pain when a sudden spark of your ice finds his left forearm.

"FUCK! FACE ME, YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

You chuckle maliciously from behind him, right at the moment your ice explosions hit the back of his knees. You're not stupid to even think that you'll be able to win a one on one. You need the advantage in height at least.

How's the saying goes? If the mountain won't come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain… Or well, in this case, you'll make Bakugou Katsuki, a.k.a. Hero Dynamight come to you.

Before Bakugou inevitably falls after that cold blast against the back of his knees that unbalanced him, he tries turning around and shooting whomever it's being a pain in his ass. He doesn't count with the knowledge of how small you are compared to him that you fit perfectly in between his stretched arms that are ready to shoot.

As he falls back, your crazed smile is the last thing he sees before an explosion of white and cold happens just in his goddamn face.

A hard and strong thud is heard as the smoke around finally dissipates, giving one impressive image that leaves everyone around stoic and in silence.

Bakugou Katsuki is laying on the floor. You're kneeling on his big chest, hands with spreading cold smoke, like snow, right at his face. His expression is one of complete taken aback and surprised. Like, he can not believe what just happened, as the smirk it's still on your face.

"Who's the fucking extra now?"

You're both inhaling rapidly, trying to bring your breathing back to normal. Your eyes won't leave his, completely enraptured in his deep ruby color, filled with so much fire it feels like he's trying to melt you. (And you would, if these were other circumstances.)

You then stand up and step back from him, smiling. You fucking won! And against this enormous and angry mountain! Fuck yeah!

He’s still lying on the floor, looking very surprised, so you laugh as you stretch a hand to help him up. Bakugou Katsuki takes it, a little side smile finally appearing as he shakes his head and stands. Now you definitely have to look up at him. Jesus, he’s way taller now up this close.

Before any of you says something, the annoying voice of Hamata Aiko says, "You're still an idiot," and he punches you on the side, making you literally fly meters away and hit your head with the wall.

The roaring scream of "HEY!" from several people is the last thing you hear before passing out.

.

When you next wake up, you encounter the kind smile of Recovery Girl.

"Hi, sweetie. How are you feeling? You took one hell of a punch…"

You groan. "Ugh, don't remind me… I'm going to fucking…"

"Language, dear."

"...kill him to pieces!"

She chuckles amused. "Alright, but first, you should rest. Then kick his butt." Her wink makes you smile in content as you relax in the infirmary bed.

"There are people outside waiting for me to report to them. Want them to get in, or should I tell them to come later?"

"It's okay, they can come in," you nod delicately, not wanting a new headache to deal with.

When Recovery Girl said they, you were expecting your two best friends. Not the Big Three entering the room in a hurry, especially the first one, the blond mountain who enters and walks directly at your side.

"How are you, Coldie?" Bakugou Katsuki asks, his big and calloused hand landing over your small one laying on the bed. You pull up an eyebrow at his nickname for you, but don't comment on it.

"I'm fine, Mountain. My left side still hurts a bit, but I have had it worse."

Bakugou Katsuki growls. Literally, like an angry dog.

“That kid was completely out of line,” protests Todoroki Shouto.

You sigh. “It’s Hamata Aiko. He needs to be the center of attention or he snaps.”

“I’ll snap him in two, give me a minute…” You don’t know if Bakugou it’s being serious or not, but the idea makes you snort as Midoriya Izuku exclaims, “Kacchan!” Todoroki just shakes his head and a small curve of a smile in his face.

“He’s being talked down to by Nezu-sensei. What he did… It's not okay at all. I hope he reconsiders his actions.” Midoriya says, in a stern but worried tone.

“What you and your friends did, on the other hand, was pretty impressive,” Todoroki says as both of his classmates nod, Midoriya more enthusiastically.

“I have never seen Kacchan so taken aback!”

“Shut up, nerd!”

“You were smart and fast and careful with all your moves. You took into consideration how different Kacchan was physically compared to you and you brought that to your own advantage! It was the true thinking of a hero in a dare situation! We were all impressed!” Midoriya rambles, his eyes shining now in true awe.

“Not to mention how in sync you and your friends were. I never expected being gripped like that by arms and legs functioning like ropes. It was funny, and smart,” Todoroki also comments while Midoriya nods in agreement.

You feel the tears in your eyes itchy, so you look down in shyness and smile.

“I… I just looked. Midoriya-senpai was on the other side of the gym, being held back by students so I knew he wouldn’t be able to do anything,” you look elsewhere but them, which is the window next to your bed, “and then I looked how Todoroki-senpai and Bakugou-senpai kept being close to each other, clearly looking for each others back, so I thought that the best option was to try and separate them. By looking at Todoroki-senpai using his quirk, I knew he was avoiding close contact combat, so I guessed that was his weakness. At least if you take him by surprise. So, I knew my friends were gonna be able to catch him. Me, on the other hand, I didn’t know what I was gonna do. I just knew I was gonna give my all to win.”

You finish shrugging, taking a deep breath to finally get the courage to look in the way the Big Three are standing.

They all look at you in complete amazement, pleased smiles on their faces.

“Another nerd alert,” Bakugou comments and Todoroki laughs.

Midoriya looks in reprimand in Bakugou’s direction, arms crossed over his chest. “Well, that nerd took you down very easily, without counting the times I also took you down…”

Todoroki then passes an arm around Midoriya’s shoulder in clear partnership as he prepares to pester Bakugou.

“There’s the fact that she is younger than you, Kacchan…” You think Hero Shoto has a death wish.

“I will blow both of your heads off,” Bakugou responds in a growl, pops already sounding from his hands. Both of his classmates snort in amusement.

Oh, yep, they all have a death wish.

“Oh! That reminds me…” Midoriya suddenly changes the subject, “Your Quirk.”

His eyes open wide and look at you in expectation. You tilt your head to the side a bit confused as you put your palm up and then make sparks of blue and white pop as the temperature around you gets colder.

“It’s a lot like yours, Kacchan, but…”

“Cold. Your explosions are cold.” Todoroki says, directing his hand from his cold side closer to your palm so he can feel the sparks.

“Did they discover how it’s produced?” Bakugou asks, looking very serious in your direction. But he isn’t angry, he’s just observing.

You shake your head. “They said it’s a composition of two or more chemicals, but they still can’t find which ones create this type of reaction.”

“That is a very important thing to know. I would investigate a bit if I were you. Knowing your Quirk to the fullest, even the small things, helps you be aware of the possible weaknesses and advantages you can have. That way you can be prepared at all times.” The professional tone in Bakugou’s voice leaves you mesmerized. He is… good. What he’s saying is so true, you haven’t actually thought about it.

“But, the doctors…”

“Doctors sometimes know shit.”

Midoriya physically slaps his own forehead while saying, “Kacchan..”

“He can’t help it. He’s an ass.” Todoroki snorts.

Bakugou decides to ignore them, not before stabbing them with his glare.

“What I’m fucking trying to fucking say,” you laugh at his foul mouth. He smiles a bit in your direction, “is that go beyond. You take the initiative to learn. Don’t wait for the teachers or doctors to tell you who you are.”

You can’t believe the Bakugou Katsuki is actually being nice and giving advice to you.

“You know who you are… Fucking number one, ain’t ya?” You nod smiling as he extends his hand closed in a fist so you can bump yours with his.

Midoriya’s big and proud smile makes you shy. And it's funny when he exclaims, “Plus ultra!”

Everyone laughs.

And, boy… Did you go plus ultra.

a.n; this will have a part two. 😉💥♥️❄️

[cxrdycxps]

And They Were Room Mates • Abby Anderson

☢️ Owen and Mel bashing • pwp basically • reader really enjoys giving Abby head • pussy worship babyyyy • swearing • talking about masturbation ☢️

Main Masterlist • Abby Anderson Masterlist

Your bedroom door opened and Abby slammed it shut behind her, stalking forward to collapse on your bed. You pushed your headphones off and put the lid back on your highlighter. “Hi Abby, how are you? Would you like to come into my room, Abby? Make yourself comfortable.”

Abby grabbed your soft pillow and shoved her face into it and screamed. You stared at her in horror when she took a deep breath and screamed again. “Should I call a priest? Do we need an excorcist?”

“You need to stop humping your fucking pillows. I can smell your cunt on this one.” You stared at Abby when she tossed your pillow away and turned over to stare at your ceiling.

“Firstly, it’s my pillow. I’ll do what I want with it. Secondly, how the fuck do you know what any part of me smells like?” You snapped at her, mortified by her comments. “Get the fuck out and scream into your own pillows.”

“Mel is pregnant.” You stared at her, still off balance from her earlier comments. You weren’t sure why her best friend being pregnant was such a scream worthy event. Or why it resulted in her coming in to bully you in your own room. “It’s Owen’s.”

“Oh fuck.” You couldn’t stop yourself. You covered your mouth once the words were out but Abby was already staring at you, nodding her head.

“Yeah. He fucked her on our three day break.” Abby laughed bitterly and you stood from your desk to sit on the edge of the bed, taking one of her large hands in yours to console her. “Well, he fucked her for our three day break. Then decided he missed me.”

“To be fair, Mel’s a whiny bitch. I wouldn’t have chosen her over you either.” You told her honestly and she rolled her eyes at you. “And it may be personal opinion but you are hotter than her.”

You lived with Abby in shared accommodation just off campus. She had lived here with her friend Manny last year but he had graduated so she had posted the listing. You had been desperate to escape on campus accommodation and jumped at the chance to live in an apartment with your own bedroom and bathroom.

Neither of you crossed paths often, usually coming and going at complete opposite times. She woke early to go to the gym, you worked late at a bar down town. You both had classes all day and she spent a lot of time in Owen’s apartment.

You had moments like this. Pockets of overlap where you found time to get to know each other. You had met her friend group in passing, she had met yours. You had met Owen, she had accidentally met one or two of the girls you had hooked up with in the past while they left the next morning.

You had accidentally propositioned her while drunk once. It was a long running joke at this point.

“You only want me for my body.” Abby sighed and you shrugged, laying back beside her so you were both staring at the ceiling. “My best fucking friend.”

“You should probably get a new one of those. I’ll be your best friend. I’m pretty cool.” You assured her, nudging her shoulder with yours. “I can be your best fucking friend, too. You just have to take me up on my offer.”

“What do you- oh. Best fucking friend. I get it. Smart.” She huffed a dry laugh while you giggled at yourself. “They barely ever even talked!”

“Maybe for good reason?” You asked and she turned so she was looking at you. You copied her and your faces were only a couple of inches apart. “Maybe he wanted to dick her down since day one.”

“You’re not helping.” Abby turned back to stare at the ceiling and you shrugged.

“If I’m being honest, I get why you’re mad or whatever. I just think it’s a waste of your energy. Mel has the personality of the contents of the bottom of the sink after the dishes have been done. Owen micromanaged you and you let him. What are you actually loosing?” Abby probably didn’t want you to be honest but you didn’t typically have another session. “The sex didn’t even sound good.”

“Better than your pillow.” Abby quipped back and you laughed.

“My pillow made me cum every time. Can you say the same for Owen?” You asked her and she grunted in answer which made you laugh, the bed shaking with your movements. “What were you actually getting out of the relationship?”

“He was there for me. When my dad died.” Abby told you and you sighed heavily, clasping her hand in yours. “He got me through that.”

“So he’s not a complete waste of space. People outgrow each other, Abs.” You told her quietly. “You outgrew him a long time ago.”

“I’ve been with him since I was fourteen. How do I let go of seven years?” She asked with a sigh and you shrugged. In truth, you had no clue.

“Go out and fuck someone else. Get a new hobby? Maybe egg his house. Or her house. Or just egg something.” Abby laughed wetly. You didn’t look at her, not closely. She needed a moment so you let her have it. “You can borrow my pillow?”

///

“Got someone looking for you out front.” You were stood in the kitchen, attempting to eat quickly while chatting to the grouchy head chef. Joel didn’t really say much but you knew he had a soft spot for you. He had even tried to set you up with his daughter once. He always made sure to set something aside for you to eat.

“Tell ‘em to fuck off.” You snapped and Joel coughed to disguise his laugh. Dina, Joel’s daughter’s current girlfriend, threw her hands up.

“Do I look like a fucking messenger girl? Get back out on the bar anyway, Jesse is drowning out there.” Jesse, Dina’s ex boyfriend, worked the bar with you most nights. He was a shit bartended though and you ended up doing double the work.

“You ever think about how incestuous this restaurant staff is?” You asked Joel, shoving the last few fries into your mouth. Tess, the line cook, laughed at you and you narrowed your eyes at her. “I know you two have been fucking in the store room.”

Joel barked your name when Tess ducked her head and you skipped out of the kitchen, returning to the bar to find it was three deep. You sighed, tying your apron and pasting on a smile.

“You should fucking quit.” You elbowed Jesse who only shrugged at you, pouring drinks. You waved at people to start shouting orders at you, checking ID along with starting tabs.

By the time the rush had moved off you found your caller sitting at the end of the bar. Abby was nursing a beer, two shots of tequila next to her with all the fixings.

“What’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?” You asked her with a grin. She looked up from her phone and blinked at you before gesturing to the shots. “For me?”

“It’s sad doing them alone and I need some courage.” She told you honestly and you tilted your head. “Time to get back out there, right?”

It had been two months since she came to your room to scream and you had been worried about how well she was handling everything. This was a good sign.

You licked the back of your hand and sprinkled the salt over the wet patch. Abby copied you and you held up your shot to her. “To you getting your pussy ate.”

She didn’t repeat the cheers, rolling her eyes. She did drink though and you took that as a good sign while sucking on the wedge of lime. You looked up when your name was called and found Maria, the manager on tonight, glaring at you. “She bought it for me. It’s good customer service, Maria.”

“Get back to work.” You gestured around to remind her that you were in fact behind the bar, no current customers in sight. She narrowed her eyes at you and moved off to complain about you to the servers. Dina would agree cause she didn’t like that you had fucked Ellie, Joel’s daughter, before she had. She also was Maria’s favorite because she was Ellie’s aunt.

The whole system made your head hurt and you swigged from Abby’s beer to chase the flavor of the tequila on your tongue. “Don’t fucking backwash.”

“Come on, Abby. Admit it, you wanna swap bodily fluids with me.” You leaned forward on the bar and her eyes dipped to look down your blouse. You always left it one button too low to increase tips. “Abby Anderson, are you looking at my tits?”

“You know I am. Hard not to when they’re as good as in my face.” Abby sighed and you grinned, delighted with her honesty. “Don’t worry, I’ll tip well.”

“You know what, Anderson?” You asked her. You looked up when a customer shouted an order at you and you took the lid off the beer sliding it over to him. “If you strike out tonight, I’ll eat your pussy myself.”

You left Abby to consider your words when the next wave began and you dove into the fray to serve them. When you looked back she was gone, a signed receipt and a tip tucked under her beer mat. You laughed and cleared her bottle and pocketed the tip.

///

When you got back to the apartment you were surprised to find Abby still up, sitting on the sofa. With the television playing. You kicked off your shoes and swung by the kitchen, grabbing yourself and her a beer.

“You cleared out early.” You remarked, tossing yourself down next to her on the cushions. You held both beers out and scrunched your eyes shut when she opened them with her teeth. “Strike out?”

“Got a better offer.” She answered and you let your head fall to the side so you could look at her. “Why would I hang around when you already made me a promise?”

“What promise was that, Abby?” You asked her with a sly smile. Abby rarely swore unless she was really worked up and you wanted to set her on edge.

“You know what you promised.” Abby huffed, cheeks pink. You stared at her and brought your bottle up to your lips, taking a long drink. You didn’t speak and she began to fidget. “If you weren’t serious then-”

“Abby, I’ve wanted a taste of you since like thirty seconds after signing the lease.” You laughed and she turned a darker red in her cheeks. The color was creeping down towards her neck. “I’ve literally dreamed about having your thighs either side of my head.”

“You’re such a fucking-” Abby shook her head but you only grinned at her frustration. She hadn’t been with women before, you knew that much. She had realized she was interested in them when she started college but she had loved Owen.

You rolled your eyes and handed her your bottle. You stretched your arms up in the air and shook off the exhaustion of your late shift before standing and moving kneel between Abby’s spread legs. “Time to let me see what’s under these cargos and by the way, if it looks like I’m suffocating? Leave me there. Death by your pussy is such a good way to go.”

Abby was laughing now, too used to your humor to be embarrassed anymore. You helped unbutton her trousers and pull them down. You paused and swallowed, wondering why the simple boxers under her cargos made your own pussy pulse in arousal. Why did her thick thighs look so much hotter than any other woman you had ever been with?

“Later, once you recover from the orgasm I’m about to give you, I’m riding your thigh. I don’t even care if this is a one time thing. I need to experience that.” You babbled, pulling on the hem of her boxer shorts and finally exposing her to you.

“Oh fuck.” You breathed, closing your eyes for a moment. Abby Anderson ticked all your boxes but right now it was like she had read every deep thought you’d ever had. You were the first to advocate for people grooming themselves however they deemed fit but the patch of coarse curls that you had just uncovered made you groan.

Abby had a fat cunt, something you could bury your face in. You spread her thighs with your palms and leaned forward, licking up her slit to find her clit. It was swollen with arousal but when you pulled back you could see the raw abuse on it. “You’ve been playing with yourself.”

Abby groaned, her head back against the couch. Some of her embarrassment was returning as she arched her hips upwards to you. “Tell me you were playing with your clit while thinking of me.”

“Obviously,” Abby grunted and you rewarded her with a firm suck to the sensitive bundle of nerve endings. She moaned and you were proud to note you’d never heard that noise coming from her room when her and Owen had fucked. Quiet as they had tried to be. “Had to take the edge off after watching you in the bar. You’re so fucking competent, bouncing around with your tits out.”

You didn’t speak, choosing instead to spit against her clit and listened to her moans to let you know what she enjoyed. You pulled her thighs and she shuffled out to the edge of the sofa, her fingers grasping at your hair.

It was when you were licking into her, your nose against her clit, that the door opened. The pair of you froze, directly in the sight line of Owen who stood at the door. “Abby, what the fuck?”

It seemed like a private conversation so you looked away, nudging your nose against her clit again. She moaned, her head back against the sofa. “Leave the key.”

You hummed against her hole and her fingers tightened against you. Owen tossed the keys on the entry way table and retreated. You pulled away to call out to him. “If you wait a minute or so you can hear what it sounds like when Abby actually cums.” He slammed the door and Abby’s hoarse laugh was cut off when you returned your attention to her clit.

You used your tongue to push back the clitoral hood and pay special attention to the most sensitive part of her. The almost red skin contracted when you licked at it firmly and Abby lost all pretenses, an actual scream falling from her mouth when she came.

You kind of hoped he was still listening.

[bluecollarmcandtf]

Dads, Dads, and more Dads

I did something I shouldn't have! My buds all bailed on our night out, so I hit the bar and got hammered by myself. Somehow, I ended up blackout drunk in a fortune teller's shop. I remember crying about how much I wanted a fatherly figure in my life. She did this weird ritual to make me feel better. I thought it was a joke at the time, but I know now it wasn't...

"Buddy, get out of bed! Breakfast is ready!"

A pang of guilt empties my stomach. For a moment, I stare at the ceiling with absolutely no urge to eat. It's been two days since that fortune teller put a curse on me, and I have no idea how to live with myself. I obviously can't pretend her little ritual wasn't real anymore.

"Hey, Josh," I nervously answer, stepping into the kitchen to look at my roommate.

"Can't sleep all day, buddy. Eat up!" Josh gives me an endearing smile that sends shivers down my spine.

A few days ago, Josh was a lazy, rude asshole who was only good for paying his part of the rent. We were chill enough roommates, but he only ever talked to me when he wanted a second opinion on girls he saw at the gym. The guy was easily the biggest douchebag in our friend group, always showing off and making someone else the butt of his joke.

Looking at him now, I'd laugh! If only I didn't feel so guilty for his personality's erasure.

"Look at the time! I better get moving. That yard won't maintain itself!" Josh flashes the brand new watch on his wrist. The thing is clunky and old: the kind of wristwatch you'd expect a dad to wear.

"You know we're only renting this place for the semester, right?" I search his expression for any trace of the slimy old Josh, "The landlord is supposed to take care of the yard!"

Josh just chuckles and mutters something about wanting to impress the neighbors. He even has the audacity to reach out and tussle my hair. My face gets hot as a guy, only a month older than myself, treats me like a child.

That curse really screwed up his brain. When Josh found me the morning after, something just broke in him. He immediately jumped to my side and promised to help me nurse my hangover, and it didn't stop there. After he tucked me in for a nap, he drove straight to the mall, buying a whole new wardrobe of cargo shorts and polos. I thought he was just hitting the gym like usual, so when he came back dressed up like the suburban father he hates, I barely even recognized him.

"Have a good day, buddy!"

Josh ignores my protests and plants a big smooch on the back of my head before marching out of the kitchen. It was bad enough my roommate was calling me buddy! Does he really have to kiss me like that too? It makes me uncomfortable to see my scummiest friend infused with such insane paternal instincts, but this is kind of what I asked for. Right?

I slam the back door shut and look at my rusty old bike. Today is already getting on my nerves and I'm not in the mood to peddle all the way to class. Maybe, that guy next door hasn't left for work yet...

"Oh, hey there, Kiddo!"

The deep voice of my neighbor makes me relax a little. I see all six and a half feet of him climb out of the car and stare at me with the same look Josh had on earlier. He's a father of four, but ever since my night out, he looks at me like I'm him his only real son.

"Hey, Mr. Jones," I mumble back.

"Glad I caught you, Kiddo. I was just about to pull out of the driveway," he explains, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder, "You want a me to drive you to class today?"

I push aside my feelings of guilt and manage a smile, "That'd be great."

Mr. Jones beams back brilliantly. He claps me on the back, which knocks me a bit off balance. Before I know it, he's guiding me into his passenger seat and asking me to hold his briefcase.

"Just let me text work to let them know I'm coming in later than normal," he adds while texting on his flip phone, "How are classes going, kiddo?"

I shrug off the question with a one-word answer. Now that everyone's forced to act like my dad, I get asked about my classes like twenty times a day. My thoughts drift, but Mr. Jones keeps up the conversation, lecturing me about good grades or something. I don't know how a guy who barely knows me can have so many opinions about my academics!

"You know what!" I cut him off just before he starts reminiscing on his own college years, "Just drop me off at this cafe."

Worry lines form on his forehead, "Are you sure you don't want me to drive you the whole way?

"No. Just give me some cash."

Mr. Jones gives me a look of disappointment before shimmying his wallet out of his khakis. He counts off forty dollars and hands it over.

"Can I have a little more?" I press quietly.

Look, I know it's wrong to abuse this bizarre new dynamic between us, but I'm a poor college kid! If he doesn't want to give me his money, he can just say no. It's not like I'm holding a gun to his head!

"Sure thing, kiddo," he gives me a dry smile and pulls out a couple more twenties, "Don't spend it all in one place!"

"Ok, bye," I awkwardly announce and hop out.

"Wait!" his husky baritone calls from the car window, "You want a ride home after class?"

"Nope! Just go back to your own life," I yell stiffly. Even though I don't turn to watch him drive off, I hear his car pull away. It's just a car, but it somehow sounds disappointed in me too. I try to swallow the growing lump in my throat and step into the cafe for some much needed coffee...

"Morning, young man. What can I get you?"

The lump in my throat seems to get bigger when I see the waiter. He's a lot hotter of a man than I expected to find in this little cafe.

Already, the way he looks at me is shifting. That curse is transforming whatever thoughts he'd just had in his head. He's feeling more and more protective and responsible for me with every second he looks at me. At this point, I've grown accustomed to the mysterious effect I have on older guys. It's only been a few days, but I've seen so many random dudes go through this psychological transition. It's like they're discovering a new purpose in life: me.

"Uh yeah, I guess a cappuccino would be nice," I mutter with a dry mouth.

"You got it, young man!" he gives me a friendly wink, "Anything else I can get you?"

I know I shouldn't push my luck, but I can't help myself with this guy, "A hug would be nice! I've been feeling a bit isolated lately..."

The waiter instantly puts his pen and paper down and holds out his arms. His welcoming smile is gone, and a look of genuine concern waits for me, "Come here."

I practically leap into his arms, and he eagerly accepts me, pulling me into his chest like it's where I belong. It feels amazing to be held by this man, even if I don't know him at all. I could stay here all day if he'd let me.

"Seems like you're enjoying the hug," the waiter eventually chuckles into my ear.

For a second, I'm confused, but then I realize I'm fully erect and the waiter can definitely feel it poking into his waist.

"Sorry!" I jump back, searching for any other witnesses.

"Hey, don't be!" he assures me, "It's a completely normal part of life, ok?"

"You're not mad?" my voice comes out more timid than I expected, but I can't help myself. I just accidentally boned up someone who was trying to be nice. What makes it worse, is that he's probably only trying to be nice because of my ridiculous curse.

"Of course not," he affirms, "I can help you take care of it, if that's ok, young man?"

"What do you mean?" My face burns red hot.

"Oh, let me show you," he grabs me by the hand and leads me away from the table, "There's no need to be ashamed of any part of your body! In fact, this part can be a lot of fun."

I'm left speechless as the waiter gives me another fatherly wink, but I can't linger on what he's said. I'm being pulled into the men's restroom. I hear the click of the door locking behind us as he pulls me in front of the mirror, sliding up behind me. I can feel his chest on my back and his thighs against my ass.

If I was hard before, I'm practically bursting now!

"It's time you had the talk, young man," he calmly speaks in my ear like this is a completely normal thing for a waiter to do.

He starts droning on about men, women, sex, and where babies come from, but I'm not listening. I obviously know what sex is, and I think I'm having it right now. His hands slip under my arms and wrap around my waist to unzip my pants. My rock-hard cock bursts out of my jeans the second they're open, and a moan of surprised ecstasy fumbles over my lips just when the waiter gets to his point on male anatomy.

Does the waiter really believe a dad should do this for their sons?

He starts talking me through how to jack off. He must think I've never masturbated before, and I'm sure as hell not telling him that I have! Hearing him narrate every wrist movement, every ball tug, every nipple pinch is just too much fun! Before long, the waiter has me violently shooting on our reflections in the mirror.

"And there you go," he pats me on the back while I stand there stunned. The waiter steps back and looks at me like he's proud of the great life lesson he'd just taught me, "Now you know how to get rid of those boners of yours. Let me go get your coffee started."

I stand in the bathroom, collecting myself, as the waiter finally tends to my coffee order. This dad-curse the fortune teller gave me might be more fun than I originally thought. If I can get one daddy to randomly jack me off, then who knows what else I can do! Rushing out of the bathroom, I already have so many ideas flooding through my head...

"Excuse me, sir!"

"Sorry!" I shout.

In my excitement, I almost crash into the cafe's porter. A little less graceful, and I would have sent every single dish crashing to the floor. Glancing at the face of my would-be victim, I almost moan when I see get a good look at him. I can tell his head is already filling up with the same artificial need to be my father.

"No damage done," he assures me, lingering back to stare at me like I'm some lost puppy.

"Don't you...um...have to bus some tables or something," I breath nervously.

"Oh yeah," he frowns, "Sorry to get in your way."

He shakes his head like he's trying to lose the strange new thoughts in his brain. I stand there frozen like a deer in headlights as he walks away. He glances back at me before turning his attention to a cluttered table.

"Wait!" I yell, "Come back!"

The busboy drops the tub of dirty dishes and rushes back over like his life depends on it. The sight of this worried hunk running back to me makes me hard all over again.

I grab him and pull him into a hug, but his arms quickly take over and support me. Once again, my boner is rock hard and poking into the body of some random guy I just met!

"You have a car?" I ask.

"Yeah."

"You want to drive me around?"

"Of course!" he yanks off his apron and puts a hand on my back.

The waiter comes back around and hands me my coffee, looking at his coworker in utter confusion.

"Cover his shift," I demand, "He's driving me to school."

The waiter nods with an open mouth. He does look completely confused, but there's also a hint of jealousy in his stare. I think he's mad the busser gets to chauffeur me around: poor guy.

The porter doesn't seem bothered to be walking out of his job. He's busy smiling at me like I'm his whole world. I slide into his humble car and tell him where my class is. Before long, he's pulling out of the parking lot and driving me to school. I use our time to get to know him. I'm honestly not all that interested in learning about his life, but I do enjoy watching him talk. It doesn't take a while for us to get to campus, but before I get out I grab his hand and put on my best puppy dog eyes.

"I don't know when you get off work, but I'd love it if you came by my apartment. My roommate is trying to clean it up, but he could really use the help of someone more experienced."

"I love housework!" he just answers, "I'll be there!"

I snicker and slam the car door shut. I might be an hour late, but I'm finally here for class. It's time to give my professor a visit...

"Yeah, I can unbutton my shirt!"

My professor fell under my spell just as fast as the others. He had a look of anger when I walked in; probably from me skipping his class, but that expression quickly warped as he looked at me. Within seconds he was rounding his desk to give me a big old hug. Apparently, he "forgave" me for being so late.

"You like what you see?" he asks, gesturing to his hairy chest, "Trying to check out your old man?"

"You're my old man?" I ask, kind of surprised by the goofy smile on his face.

"Well, no," he bumbles, "But I am a strong male influence in your life! I'm like your dad!"

I nod my head like he's just made a really good point, "Oh. Then you probably want to treat me like your son. Right?"

"Yeah!" he holds his arms out to animate his enthusiasm.

Professor Reid has a reputation for being stiff and demanding in the classroom, so his new personality completely contradicts his true character. The man I know would never smile at a student, let alone bare his chest to them.

"So, I'm off the hook for missing today's class right?"

"Well," he pauses, "Sure."

"Can I skip the rest of the semester?"

"What, no. I want you to have a good education, my boy!"

I creep up to him and place my hands on his hairy torso, feeling the fur and the weight of his body. Professor Reid sure has a lot to hide under all those dress shirts he always wears.

"I'm just so lucky to have a daddy like you," I purr, "A daddy who's willing to do everything he can for me."

My professor grabs my arm and stares into my eyes. With a serious tone, "I am willing to do everything for you, my boy."

"Alright," I smile, "You should give me private lessons then..."

"What a great idea," he's back to grinning like an idiot.

"...and you should always do it in your underwear!"

"I can do that. From now on, I'll be stripped and ready before you come in!" He smiles at me like this is the best decision he's ever made in his life.

"Alright, now pull the rest of your clothes off," I command, "I want to see what the rest of my daddy looks like."

Mr. Reid doesn't hesitate to start stripping in front of his favorite student. I could probably get this guy to do anything now. I can already imagine our private lessons; me lounging in his leather armchair and him on his knees with his mouth full. Maybe that curse isn't a curse at all. Maybe it's actually a gift...

"Hey, buddy! How was class today?"

Josh looks tired from a long day of yardwork, but he still seems excited for me to come home. The lawn looks immaculate compared to our neighbors', and I have my roommate to thank for that.

"The grass looks great, dad."

"Dad! Woah!" Josh yells ecstatically, "Buddy, I can't tell you how much it means to hear you say that."

Josh sweeps me up in his arms. Apparently, it doesn't bother him to be the father figure of a guy only a few months younger than himself. It doesn't bother me anymore either. I kind of like that he smells like aftershave and bacon now instead of weed and sweat.

"Let's go inside, buddy. I'll cook something up for dinner," Josh says with a hand on my back. I'm already growing so accustomed to being guided around everywhere.

"Actually, I invited a guy to come over," I admit, "He can cook. You should relax. You got a lot of work done today, dad."

"I did, didn't I?" he smiles proudly, "Let me grab a beer, then. We can watch TV."

"Actually, I thought there might be something else you'd enjoy."

"You know me so well, buddy. What are you thinking?"

"You could bend over the couch..."

Josh cringes and shakes his head. Once again, it's like he's fighting the foreign thoughts entering his head.

"...I know how much you like to make me happy, and I really want to pound ass right now."

For a second, a look of horror flashes over his face, but it's gone in an instant. A bright fatherly smile spreads between his cheeks.

"That sounds perfect, buddy. Enjoy yourself."

Josh doesn't look away as he unbuttons his cargo shorts, smiling at me with love and devotion the entire time. He seems completely relaxed as he bends over the couch, and he only seems to become more comfortable as he spreads his cheeks apart.

Once again, I'm rock hard as I stare at one of my dads. This curse might have made me feel guilty before, but Josh said it himself.

I think I will enjoy myself.

Thanks for the ASK, Vebrendos

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for getting high on Guys Night?

I (21M) am a history major in college. I've accidentally befriended a group of 6 guys who I share classes with - most of them are also history majors, and they're all big fans of football and sports in general. They all played sports in high school, as well, and they go to the gym together sometimes and at least one of them is in a frat. I say accidentally because I am not a gym bro or a sports fan - I'm an autistic nerd and never went to any parties in high school (unless you count MTG meetups in my local game store). They're all roughly the same age as me. They invited me to go to a sports bar with them, and they all seemed nice and I still hadn't made any friends since transferring so I agreed.

I know nothing about football. But they were all nice and explained things to me and we still had a great time. We would talk during the slow parts/commercial breaks. It's been a couple months and I still don't understand everything (I stopped asking because I didn't want to bother them) but I still go and try and watch the game because it's still enjoyable and I like spending time with them.

Well, a few weeks into these meetups and one of the guys "Aaron" (22M) and I got there a bit early and he offered me some of his blunt. I'm a bit of a lightweight so I did get high, but it was manageable. I also found that it helped me focus on the game, and it made the loudness of the bar a lot more tolerable. I had a pack of gummies my sister bought and left there (she was visiting and said I could have the rest), so I started taking them when we'd meet up to watch the game. I'll admit, most of the game nights I've been a bit high. On other nights/meetups I don't get high, it's mostly just a football thing.

Well, one of the guys "Brian" caught on and said it was rude and if I care that little about football then I didn't have to come. I said I really enjoy the meetups so I'd stop getting high, but Aaron stepped in and said it was fine. Aaron said it wasn't noticeable that I was high since I didn't smell and I was acting normally and they only knew because I told them (one of them offered me a gummy and I said no and that I had already taken one). Brian kept arguing that it was rude and that I "clearly don't give a shit about their interests" and started raising his voice so I decided to leave and Aaron left with me. Now the rest of the group is torn.

No one in the group has any issues with using substances (after all, a lot of our meetups are at a bar) and all of them have used marijuana at one point (including Brian).

AITA for getting high on game night?

What are these acronyms?

[angstywaifu]

Black Dahlia - 10. Keeping Tabs

A little study time (well, an attempt at it) with Bodhi one night in the quadrant in the lead up to Presentation Day.

Set Pre Fourth Wing/Books

Garrick Tavis x OC (Dahlia Aetos)

Black Dahlia Masterlist | Masterlist

As per usual the library is quiet as hell. The only noise is the crackling of the fire next to me. It wasn’t quite cold enough for a fire, but the temperature had definitely dropped in the last few weeks as we’d entered September and I welcomed any chance to sit by a fire. It was one of the few things that had brought me comfort back in my room.

Most winter nights I would sit in the chair by the fire in my room reading. Something I had missed due to leaving all my books behind when I’d come here. And sadly the small library in the riders quadrant and the scribes only had historical texts. Something I really needed to change as soon as possible if I could. I’d even debated sneaking back to my room to grab some of them, but knowing my father my stuff was long gone.

The door to the library bangs open, followed my some muffled curses as I am pulled from my thoughts. As I scan the bookshelves behind me, I note the footsteps getting closer and closer to where I sit in front of the fire. A few moments later the familiar curly black hair of Bodhi peeks around the edge of one of the bookshelves, a grin forming on his face as his eyes meet mine.

”Knew I would find you here.” He says excitedly as he steps around the bookshelf heading over to me.

”Don’t you usually go to the gym with your two shadows on Wednesday nights?” I ask as I return to my book as Bodhi starts pulling out his from his pack as he sits next to me. ”Watch out Dahlia, someone might think you actually care.” He teases before I throw my pot of ink at him, which he catches easily. Lucky for him it was closed. ”I don’t care.” I say with a smirk as I look up at him.

Over the last few weeks Bodhi had wormed his way through my walls, and I actually did consider him a friend along with Austin and Liz. Between having all our classes together and training together a few days a week after classes, we’d easily fallen into our own little friendship group. Something I had told myself I wouldn’t do and wouldn’t need to get through the quadrant. Something I hadn’t had since that day my mother had died. But here I was two months later, and I couldn’t deny I enjoyed having friends again after all these years. ”You sure? Seems like you’re keeping tabs on me. Or maybe you’re keeping tabs on someone else?” He mocks as he wiggles his eyebrows at me, handing the pot of ink out to me. ”I promise you, I am not keeping tabs on anyone. You three aren’t exactly hard to spot wandering around the Quadrant. Especially with that giant lumbering oaf walking around with you.” I throw back as I take the pot of ink from him. Bodhi just sighs and shakes his head at me. It wasn’t the first time I’d made a stab at Garrick. He’d barely said more than a few words to me since that first round of challenges where I had very much proven him wrong. Something I knew infuriated him. Here and there he’d made jabs at me before I walked onto the mat, or when I’d come to grab Bodhi for training. All of which I had ignored. If he wanted to hate me for my name, then so be it. I wasn’t going to bend over backwards to prove him wrong. I knew my name came with a reputation, as did his. But clearly he didn’t want to overlook it. Bodhi had tried to convince me a few times to give him a chance.

”He’s really not that bad Dahlia.” Trying yet again to convince me to give Garrick a chance. ”Well he has done little to prove otherwise. So unless he wants to pull his head out of his ass, then I will continue to call him whatever comes to mind.” I tell him sternly before turning back to my book.

”You did well on the Gauntlet today.” He says, changing the subject with ease, clearly getting the hint I did not want to talk about Garrick. ”Barely. I fumbled on those damn balls again.” I say as I recall the moment my heart had dropped when I’d nearly lost my grip on one of the balls today. ”And yet you still had the fastest time today. You need to stop being so hard on yourself.”

Easier said than done. Despite Bodhi getting through the walls I’d built up over the years, I hadn’t told him what had happened all those years ago. Why I was the way I was. And why failure was not an option for me. Any slip up was a failure in my fathers eyes, and I prayed no word got back to him today of my slip up. As much as his opinion didn’t matter to me, I wanted to prove him wrong. ”You know I can’t do that.” I say back in what I hope passes as a joking tone. I breathe a sigh of relief when Bodhi shakes his head and laughs at me. “Oh trust me I know. One day you wont though. I’ll make sure of it.”

I can’t help but feel emotional at Bodhi’s words. Just like Garrick he should hate me. Despise me for my father and what he had done. But he didn’t. Since he’d stood next to me in the Rotunda, he had looked right through that. Been able to accept me as someone besides the weight of my last time. Hell even Xaden had somehow. Though it still felt like he was a little cautious of me at times, but I put that mostly down to Garrick who was always by his side. ”Let’s get through Presentation Day and hopefully Threshing first, then you can work on that.”

Presentation day was only two days away. Meaning we were four away from Threshing. Just four more days and I would hopefully bond a dragon. Bond a dragon and become a rider like I always wanted. The last time I had been close to a dragon was that day. Father now allowing me anywhere near one since then. Would I panic and run like I should have done immediately that day? Or even worse, would I meet the fate that was nearly my own that day? No. I would bond a dragon. I would do it.

”I feel like getting you to be not so hard on yourself is going to be easier than that.” He says with a sigh before leaning back in his chair and staring at the roof. “You scared?”

I close my book, finally giving up on studying now Bodhi was here. Which was a regular occurrence if he found me. “You’re probably expecting me to say no, but honestly I’m scared shitless.”

Which I was. Mixed with not knowing how I would react, I was also terrified I would come face to face with a dragon and panic. Become frozen to the ground with fear and become a pile of ash on the floor just like….

”You’re right.” Bodhi says cutting my thoughts off. “Nothing seems to phase you. But I’d probably think you weren’t human if you weren’t scared of facing off with a dragon.”

If only you knew Bodhi.

”What colour do you think you’ll bond?” I ask as I try steer the conversation away from facing a dragon.

”I don’t know. Never really thought about it I guess. I seem to be drawn to Green Dragons whenever Kaori talks about them. What about you?”

”Blue.” I say without missing a beat causing Bodhi to glance over at me. “I’ve always been drawn to Blue Dragons. But they’re incredibly rare to bond with.”

”Xaden said he was the first one in a few years to bond a Blue and the only one in his year as well.”

I nod in agreement. They were very hard to bond with. Blue Dragons had the highest fatality rate for cadets during Threshing. Even Kaori had advised us to run instead of try bonding a blue. Meaning if I wanted to bond a Blue, I needed to be certain of the one I approached.

”Well here’s hoping we bond the colours we want and come out victorious in a few days time.” I say as I look over at Bodhi who is already smiling at me.

”Don’t worry, we will Dahlia.”

@imtoanonymousforyou @simplyme-fornow @omalmal @lalaluch @wolfbc97 @leptitlu @fullmoon-94

[dlscenarios]

Thief - Akira Kurusu/Ren Amamiya x Reader | Persona 5

I have started pretty much EVERY format P5R comes in & I have finished NONE of them—

Things started getting weird when the infamous transfer student came to Shujin. He was the talk of the school. Everyone would whisper about how he's a criminal, how he "definitely killed someone", that he was "involved in drug deals."

When he walked into your homeroom class, you couldn't pull your eyes away from him. He didn't look like someone that would commit crimes.

Soon after, word got around that he and renowned troublemaker, Ryuji Sakamoto, had gotten in trouble with Kamoshida. Days later, a bright red card was plastered across the school. You took one off of the board and read it.

The note stated that whomever wrote it knew of Kamoshida's crimes and would make him pay for his sins. Putting the card into your bag, you walked away only to notice the transfer student, Ryuji, and Ann Takamaki whispering to each other. You sped away before they could notice you.

Everyone knew Kamoshida was evil, but the day he burst into the gym and confessed caught everyone off guard. This started talk of the "Phantom Thieves" being real.

Before leaving the gym, you approached the group of misfits, tapping the transfer student's shoulder. You asked him to meet you on the roof after school, which he agreed to.

You paced the roof in circles until the boy came through the door. After exchanging hellos, the two of you sat at the group of desks.

"We haven't officially met yet. My name's Y/N." You started, fidgeting with your fingers.

"I'm Akira. Nice to meet you." He gave you such a sweet smile. It was hard to believe this was the guy students were weary of. "I have a feeling you didn't want to meet here for just introductions, right?"

You shook your head, "No. It's about Kamoshida."

Akira perked up, adjusting in his seat before nodding for you to continue.

"Those cards from the other day. Signed the 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts'. Were they from you? I saw you, Ryuji and Ann talking close by. Plus, word is that Kamoshida wanted to expel you right before those cards showed up," You paused to pull out the calling card you had in your bag, "It says that they will make him confess his sins. The next day, he didn't show up to school and then today, he confessed to everything."

"Maybe the timing was just a coincidence." Akira responded, briefly glancing at the card.

"But it's suspicious! You showed up and it was like Shujin got flipped upside down! Kamoshida's been abusing students for years and if anyone opposed him, he ALWAYS won. Then you came and, magically, Kamoshida crumbles. It's too strange to be a coincidence."

Akira smirked.

"What if I WAS involved? You didn't want Kamoshida to stay the way he was, did you?"

You jumped out of your seat, "Of course not! I'm glad he's getting locked up! But...if you ARE a part of the Phantom Thieves, I won't tell anyone. I'm your ally."

Akira stood. "In that case," he gently placed his hand on your head, "Glad to have you on our side, Y/N."

You turned your head, "Yeah yeah. Just let me know if there's anything I can do to help you guys."

~

After that rooftop encounter, you grew closer to Akira, Ann and Ryuji. You even grabbed the attention of Mishima, who asked if you could assist him with his Phantom Thieves website. You were there to greet the new thieves as they joined the squad. Akira had even asked you to hang out with him one-on-one numerous times.

Slowly but surely, you've begun to consider the band of misfits your friends.

One night, you were at Leblanc after Akira called, wanting you to try the coffee he'd learned to make.

You sipped, careful not to burn your tongue, and hummed. "It's delicious. You're getting better at this, 'Kira."

The black-haired boy smirked, dramatically posing.

"Guess you could say I've stolen your tastebuds."

You burst into laughter, grabbing onto the bar as to not fall off of the stool.

"That is the dumbest thing you've ever said to me!" You took a breath, trying to steady your voice, "Aren't criminals supposed to be sly?"

Akira shrugged, "Maybe I'm just special."

You rolled your eyes. "Yeah, maybe you are."

The thief leaned on the counter, looking at you with a soft gaze.

"You're special too, you know?"

"How?"

"Let's see. You were the first person to know we were the Phantom Thieves, you are willingly helping us even though it's dangerous, and you-" He gently booped your nose, "-are the cutest person I've ever met."

"Mmh." You leaned on your arm, ignoring the heat rising to your cheeks. "You're cuter. Do you know how many students say you're the hottest criminal they've ever seen?"

Akira lowered himself to your level, looking into your eyes. "They don't have a chance with me though. I've already got someone I'm interested in."

"And who is that?"

"You." Akira rose to place a kiss to your head before walking away, taking off his apron. You buried your face in your arms.

Suddenly, you perked up and called out to Akira.

"Maybe you ARE a thief, because you've stolen my heart!"

[sillygoblinantics]

Back to my regularly scheduled Lily tearing

*ahem*

“Jock Imoen”

My good mutual @agramuglia covered everything up to Gen 8 in his multi-stream and comprehensive compilation/analysis of Lily orchards over six hour cognitive hazardous brain vomit barely digested review of the main line games of the Pokémon franchise.

And of course, she got many things wrong, so when ant stopped after gen 8 I took it upon myself to finish it for ant and my arceus did I suffer for lilys pokesins.

And let’s get this out of the way:

No she didn’t play arceus because she couldn’t handle the amount of control changes and lore that went into that beautiful (imo) game.

No she didn’t play the dlcs. And frankly I’m glad she didn’t because we all know she’d make the sibling story of Kieran and Carmine weird (and perverted) but she’d misinterpret the entire arc he goes through in all three dlcs)

So how fucking wrong did Lily get with scarlet and violet?

Everything

Points to get out of the way before my reason of pain:

She continues to imply that pennie is a stalker, saying she’s the worst person who shouldn’t be redeemed and that team star terrible. Yes the bullied outsiders who formed a group to stand up to the bullies and later try to breakup only to meet up and assure Pennie that they love her and remind her that they’ll be friends even if the team splits up. In the dlc they’re even working to better themselves for Pennie trying to surprise her even. And yes Lily PROJECTS SO MUCH ONTO PENNIE!

Misgenders grusha (the beautiful snowboarder champ now depressed and detached gym leader who you learn more about the intropersonal conflict of in the dlc!)

No she doesn’t take the classes (doesn’t understand there’s more to the game or)

… continuing from the previous point: SHE DOESNT KNOW ABOUT THE RUINOUS POKÉMON NEVER MENTIONS THEM ONCE

She leaves out the fact Nemona teaches the players about terastalization before you even get to the academy!

She disrespects the entire story line and arc of our boy Arven nor does she fucking cry over the mabostiff arc

Never explains how she got ceruledge. At all

Complains and uses spiderverse as a way to talk about crunch time (LILY I SWEAR TO FUCKING MEW IF TALK ABOUT THE INDUSTRY ANY MORE I WILL REVOKE YOUR INTERNET ACCESS)

She brings up kingdom hearts

11. Never addresses the music or even gen one references

12. (Yes that’s a loss joke)

Now that we got those out of the way, allow me to rant:

OUT OF THE PAST 9 GENS, THE CAST OF FRIENDS IN SCARLET AND VIOLET HAVE THE MOST DEPTH AND PERSONALITY! THEY HAVE SO MANY SIDES THAT UNFOLD AS YOU FOLLOW(KEY WORD BEING FOLLOW) THEIR STORYLINES!

Lily you continue to prove your mental decline and intolerance to human traits and habits and devolve into a fucking ameba! Nemona from the start is not a jock. She is a himbo, she is the current/new student council president of the academy, she’s the champion and she is an only child of absent parents in a big *empty* home, her parents are running around who knows where and she most definitely has undiagnosed adhd or add, she has trouble with socializing because of her confident and pure genuine enthusiasm. She had trouble catching her own pokemon and even throwing which is why she wears that glove so she mostly rents out pokemon from the academy. When your character moves in she’s hoping to not just have a friend, but someone to rival her in battle, because she’s beat the league and everyone is afraid in some way of her because of how forward and high energy she is. The REASON SHE’S SO “CLINGY” IS BECAUSE FOR THE FIRST TIME SHE HAS SOMEONE WHO ISNT AFRAID OF HER REQUEST TO BATTLE! She’s mindful and has had to realize that which is sad if you’re a kid who is as high energy and has trouble waiting to speak. (A bit personal on my end but thats the read) NEMONA IS NOT YOUR JOCK SISTER GIRLFRIEND YOU INEPT PERVERTED CANADIAN FUCKWAD!

LILY LEAVE MY MASTER CHEF SON AND HIS PUBBI DOG ALONE BEFORE I GET THE SANDAL AND BEAT YOUR PASTY WHITER THAN MILK ASS UNTIL YOU SUBMIT AND APOLOGIZE! Arven, is a boy who lives in the shadow of his absent parents who were renowned scientists, he wasn’t given the attention he needed at some point when they got busy with research but after having to leave area zero due to a grievous injury/trauma his truly only family member received he was cooped up in the lighthouse he once lived in with his parents. Arven holds so much resentment to his parents because he (validly) feels abandoned by them as they pushed him aside. Hell, he even shows a grudge and envy to our player when he learns his parent is talking to us in secret! The most painful thing we learn by the end is, arven’s mom and dad… died… they had been dead for quite some time and sadly only synthetic programmed copies of them survived but then they have to leave… arven’s story is him learning that he isnt in his parent’s shadow and realizing he doesn’t have to be alone. The friends made are his family- oh before i forget- THERE IS MORE LORE IN THE FUCKING CLASSES! THE HOME EC TEACHER WORRIES ABOUT ARVEN AND HAS A STORY LINE WITH HIM IF YOU TOOK THE TIME TO STUDY! Arven is a sad grumpy puppy, leave him alone you cynical mustache twirling puppy stomping carbon copy villain stereotype!

LEAVE MY VEE-VEE LOVING INTROVERT ALONE YOU NTH ROOM BROWSING TROGLODYTE! Penny out of the two others has present parents, her dad, who is revealed to be peonie in the dlc, is just loves and cares about her but pennie is going through that phase where “ugh my parents are so annoying with how much they care” type personality. Kids like that exist. Penny is also a vastly intellectually gifted kid, she’s able to do so much with computers and coding and hell she used technology to make friends. She and team star are adorable. They were all bullied and penny thinking quickly hatched a plan to gather them together but when things got out of hand she panicked and thought to run from it. When you meet she takes note of how you respond to her “peril” and thinks of a way to get your help. She thinks that her friends hate her or dont hold her in high regard until you defeat each of them and get the full story. Hell I’ll grab a clip i saved! But she learns to come out of her shell during the main plot and that staying in her head she’ll shut the world and truth out. She’s also such a fucking mood!

Also lily, you hate her because she’s better than you are you eternal hermit!

As you can see I adore this game and while I have my qualms with it I still love it and the story because that’s what I care about and appreciate in this and previous games and with what I wanted said out of the way: that’s

[written-in-flowers]

Appreciated: Wooyoung x Fem!reader

Pairing: Wooyoung x fem!reader

Genre: smut, fluff, tiny bit of angst, romance

Word Count: 9k

Summary: After helping a friend out of her toxic relationship, her situation makes you appreciate your boyfriends even more than before. When Wooyoung makes a specific request, you indulge him.

Disclaimer: These works are completely fictitious and for entertainment purposes only. They are not meant to reflect or label the members of ATEEZ in any way. The events within never took place. Thank you.

Tags: established relationship, polyamory, poly relationship, free-use fantasy, free-use kink, oral sex (f. receiving), breast play, nipple play, pet names, multiple positions, mentions of toxic relationships/toxic partners, sad but with a happy ending, talks of suicide but super brief and nothing happens, members being absolute angels and simps

Previously on Idol Companion

***

You didn't feel like going out tonight. After having dates with San, Mingi, Yeosang and Hongjoong, your energy bar ran low. You know this is one of the downsides to your job, and you should suck it up and get dressed. Wooyoung deserves as much attention as the rest of the group; you didn’t want him to think you didn’t like being with him. Most clients would pout or make a remark about you not being worth the time anyways. Then again, your boyfriends aren't like any clients you've had before. Sitting up from Wooyoung’s bed, all the tiredness you’d gotten from the day washed back over you. Your morning consisted of gym time with Yunho and Mingi, a few dance classes with your toddler group, running last minute errands and then lunch with friends. You’d come to Wooyoung’s apartment and crash onto his bed before he even came home. 

You knew Wooyoung won’t be bothered, but you couldn’t help feeling the anxiousness. You hated being the person who brought down their smiles or disappointed them. Leaving his bedroom, you found Wooyoung already standing in the kitchen with a can of soda in his hand. Long black strands pulled back from his face, Wooyoung wore a black shirt with matching shorts. Personally, you loved your boyfriends barefaced and casual. Something about their natural beauty attracted you, and you couldn’t help looking him up and down when you saw them. He lifted his eyebrows in acknowledgement and took a sip from his drink.

"I wanted to ask you something," you said, getting your own drink from the fridge. 

You noticed he’d paused, studying your expression before saying. "I do too, but I think we're thinking the same thing so you go first."

"Staying in for tonight?"

"Yes, please," he slumped against the counter, "I'm glad you asked. I really didn't feel like putting myself together and going out."

"Me neither," you leaned on the counter beside him. You popped open your drink, then took a few gulps of it before continuing, "I went to the movies with Yeosang last night. I went to the festival with Hongjoong the night before. I went to a concert with Mingi and San the night before that. I went to the gym, had some toddler dance classes, and then ran errands. I'm just…wiped out," you sighed deeply. "I'm sorry."

He smiled, "Don't be. Our schedule has been super crazy and dance practice ran longer today so I'm all bleh." He wrapped you in his arms, "Take out and a movie?”

“I’m tired of eating out,” you said, “I’ll cook something and we can pick a drama to watch or whatever.”

“You sure?” you felt his hand rub the small of your back, “I know how tired you are.”

“I can make something simple and quick.”

“Then, I’ll help,” he concluded. “I think there’s some meat leftovers we can finish, and we’ll cut up some veggies and rice? Simple and easy?”

“Alright.”

Wooyoung went looking for meat and vegetables in the fridge, while you poured a few cups of rice from a holder. You smiled softly to yourself at the relief of a night inside. Having eight boyfriends can be challenging at times. You realized early on that you’d bitten off more than you could chew with Ateez. You found yourself stretched thin from all the tour traveling, kpop conventions, fan sign events, dance practices, recording sessions, and group and solo dates. You lived with only Yunho and Yeosang, but you regularly drifted between the three apartments to be with all of them. It became a lot sometimes, but thankfully, they understood and helped lighten the load for you. Dumping the cups into the rice cooker’s pot, you began washing the rice out when your phone vibrated in your pocket. Busy cooking, you didn’t answer immediately. 

“Any show in particular you want to watch?” Wooyoung asked as he brought a package of meat to the island counter. You always let him cut and cook meat since he was better at it. Rice and vegetables are your expertise. “I saw this new zombie drama on Netflix. We could give that a try if you want.” 

“I don’t know about a zombie one,” you said, finishing with the rice and putting it to cook. “Everything is about freaking zombies nowadays. I want something different.” Putting the rice on, you grabbed the various vegetables Wooyoung brought to start washing them thoroughly. “There’s a drama about a woman who’s like a double agent for a mafia guy and the police. Mihee told me about it and she said it was good. If we hate it, we can just watch another one.”

Wooyoung stayed quiet for a moment, then said, “Nah. Sounds like something I need to pay attention to, and my brain is mush right now.” 

“Then maybe I should cut the meat,” you joked, bringing your vegetables and cutting board over to the island counter. “Your mushy brain might slip up.”

“And have you cut your finger again? I’m good,” he laughed. “I like my food to not have human blood in it.” 

He cut the meat into thin slices, while you carefully chopped the onions, carrots and celery. “We can try this boxer drama I saw,” he said, side eyeing you with a smirk, “As long as you don’t drool over the leads.”

You rolled your eyes, “I do not drool over the leads.”

“Yes, you do,” he laughed, starting to season the meat on the cutting board. “I remember how obsessed you became with Lee Dohyun when we watched Sweet Home together. Then you did it again with Wi Jahoon after Squid Games. You watched everything you could find and got all excited when your friend told you she went on a date with Dohyun.” 

“I couldn’t believe it!” you exclaimed. “I didn’t see him as being the type for that kind of service. She was so lucky.”

“Hey,” Wooyoung said, offended. He took the meat from the counter to the stove, putting oil into a pan. “I’m right here, you know.”

You giggled when he poked your side, and then you gave an apology peck. “Oh, you know I’m all yours.”

Your phone buzzed in your pocket a second time, and you wiped your hands to at least see who called. Expecting your mother’s number, a pit of worry settled in your stomach when you saw the actual name. ‘Mihee’. Wooyoung focused on cooking the meat, so you answered her call. 

“Mihee-ah, what’s up?” you asked, making sure not to sound worried right off the bat. 

“YN-unnie,” you heard her soft-spoken voice squeak your name, and you frowned, “I don’t think I can do this anymore.”

“What happened now, honey?” you kept your concern in your voice. “What’s wrong?”

“I just can’t handle this anymore. It’s too much,” she sobbed. “They’re so…I can’t be here anymore.”

“What did they do?” 

Lee Mihee, a short woman with bright eyes and a friendly smile, came up in the Companion industry beside you. Always bubbly and full of life, clients often noted her way of brightening up their day. She’d gotten into dating groups like you did, and did very well since she could mold herself to fit any personality. However, while you had ATEEZ, who were angels, she’d gotten with Galax1. You’d met them a handful of times at music bank shows and conventions and their vibe immediately threw you off. They’d been kind enough at first, since they doted and praised Mihee often, but from what she’s told you things changed over time. 

“Today was Chulsoon’s birthday,” she began, taking deep breaths to keep her voice steady, “And we all were going to go out for dinner.”

The name alone made you clench your jaw. Chulsoon was Galax1’s visual and main vocalist. A soft, fair-skinny boy with wide eyes and an angelic voice, he is the Yeosang equivalent. Except Yeosang is a real fairy prince, whereas Chulsoon is a goblin in disguise. He never fails to make a disparaging remark about Mihee, usually in a nonchalant tone. You nearly threw a shoe at him when he told Mihee she should lose some weight, since her dress was tight in the middle. 

“Yeseo was coming with us.”

You groaned at the mention of her name. It isn’t uncommon for groups to bring in more partners as they progress in their career. You knew groups that had three or four of them. However, the normal procedure is discussing a new partner with the group’s current partner. Mihee told you that Galax1 did not do that. They brought Yeseo home after a single meeting, and told Mihee that she’d be living with them. No discussion. No contract alterations. You advised her to go to the agency and renegotiate her contract, since they did not tell her they’d be adding a new girlfriend. However, you guessed she never did this due to the group’s leader talking her out of it. This situation might’ve been okay if Yeseo actually got along with Mihee, who is now the group’s Main Partner. Mihee told you she did not. She was spoiled, entitled, and demanded all the attention. 

“And she made a mess of things and embarrassed you?” you guessed ahead, dumping the vegetables into an oiled pan. Wooyoung scrunched his nose in a question, and you mouthed ‘Mihee’, which made him nod and continue cooking. 

“No, no, not that,” she said. “I get dressed to go to the restaurant with everyone, and Chulsoon sees me and-and says that I look too pretty and need to change because this is supposed to be Yeseo’s night. His parents are going to be there, and he wants to introduce them to her.”

Your jaw dropped, “He actually said that to you?”

“He-He did,” she replied in a sob. 

“Don’t tell me you actually changed?”

“I did. I didn’t want to ruin his birthday and Kwangmin told me that Chiwon’s mom was looking forward to seeing me.”

“Let me guess: Chiwon’s mom never said that?”

“No!”

Kwangmin was Galax1’s comedian who likes making jokes and is their mood-maker. Another skinny man with a dimpled smile, fans adored their ‘sunshine boy’. Little do they know, sometimes his “pranks” went too far and could be downright hurtful. Sadly, Mihee is usually his target. You hadn’t forgotten the time he’d pantsed her in public, her face beet red and tearful as the embarrassment filled her insides. Nor the time when he purposefully ruined her birthday party video by replacing all the nice photos with terribly altered ones. Each time he claimed it was a ‘joke’, but nobody was laughing. 

“I felt so stupid and humiliated,” she sobbed. “I almost did not go to the restaurant, but I’d already gotten dressed, so I went anyway. When I was…When I was…” you heard her take deep breaths. 

“When you did what?”

“When I was in the car, Yeseo kept complaining that I still looked too pretty and that she didn’t want me there,” she said. “She said me crying was just going to draw all the attention away from her.” 

“Ugh, that bitch.” You felt like going to their dorm and smacking the insipid bitch. “What happened then?”

“Chiwon told me to stop being a cry baby, and that not everything is about me.” 

Kwang Chiwon. You’d consider the group’s leader your worst enemy if you actually cared about him. In front of fans and cameras, he’s a hard working artist who cares about his younger members. Off camera, he proved to be a different guy; he tended to be Mihee’s worst tormentor. He could cut her down with a single remark. He’d break her things, then blame her for making him so mad that he did it. He never showed concern or care for her. You could tell how much he truly disliked Mihee. You guessed the Companion idea was not his doing, but his managers or his members. His cruelty hurt the most because Mihee had loved him the hardest. 

“I stayed in the car for a bit to calm myself down, but when I got inside the restaurant,” you heard her take more deep breaths before bursting into tears again. 

“Babe, babe, calm down and breathe, okay? Just breathe. Just breathe in and out.” You heard her breathing shakily, and she continued. 

“The host says my name isn’t on their party list and I couldn’t go inside.” 

“What?”

“Yeah, he said that it wasn’t there and I wasn’t allowed to go inside with them.”

“They did that shit on purpose,” you seethed, anger distracting you from the vegetables you’d put in the pan. Quickly, you put them into a plate before they burn up. “They never planned on you sitting with them. They did it to humiliate you, again. Mihee-ah, why do you stay with them? You can get out of your contract easily.”

“I can’t.”

“What do you mean ‘you can’t?”

“I don’t make enough from them to leave. They’re not as popular as your boyfriends. They don’t make a lot of money yet,” she said. 

A Companion’s pay is usually determined by the group’s budget. Since your boys make millions, you can live comfortably on your own, if you wish. Galax1 did not do so well. Hardly anybody really knew who they were, and you’re glad that karma turned back on them. 

“It’s so horrible here,” she sobbed. “They never think about me anymore. They make food, and if I’m not there with them, they don’t make enough for me.” 

This made you pause over your current meal. A meal you’re cooking with your loving boyfriend Wooyoung, who always made sure you ate well. You couldn’t picture them ever leaving you out of anything. Yeosang is incapable of being mean, and Yunho is too caring. Hongjoong, above them all, takes care of you as much as possible. 

“And I never told you about the time Kenny grabbed my arm hard and left a bruise.”

Kenny. The group’s ‘muscle pig’. You’d seen his muscles, and imagined him being capable of that. 

“They used to be so nice to me. I…I don’t know what I did wrong. I don’t know what happened.”

“You didn’t do anything. They’re the assholes. They’ve taken advantage of you too many times.”

You could never see Jongho making jokes at your expense, or San using his strength to physically harm you. 

“We used to all be so happy. I remember when Chulsoon used to make me pancakes after our date nights, and when Chiwon would let me sit in his studio with him to listen to his songs,” she lamented. “Kenny used to sing me to sleep when I had nightmares, and would take me out for coffee after our gym sessions. He doesn’t even want me going with him anymore. I don’t know what I did, Unnie. I don’t know where I went wrong or why they stopped caring about me. Everything is always my fault even when it’s not. I’m always the bad guy, the one in the wrong, the asshole. They hardly notice me or talk to me some days. They’re more concerned with their new pet than they are with me.”

“Then leave them and let her deal with their bullshit,” you told her. 

“Maybe I should terminate my contract.”

The words shocked you beyond belief. All thoughts of your night with Wooyoung went out the window in a single sentence. 

“No, Mihee-ah,” you said firmly. “Don’t say things like that.”

“It’s not like anyone would care!” she cried. 

“That’s not true, Mihee, and you know that. So many people would care,” you replied with a plea. “I’d care. Saehee, Jihye, and Sumi would care. Your parents and grandparents would care. Your sisters, who adore you, would care. Don’t say things like that.”

“It’s the only way I can get out!” 

“No, it is not.”

“I can’t afford to leave. My contract isn’t up for another year. I…I have to do it.”

“No, you do not,” you told her. 

There are only two ways a Companion can get out of their contract without paying: they’re dignosed with a terminal illness or they try committing suicide. You’d heard of Companions ending up in hospitals because they tried ending their lives. A few of them actually succeeded. The idea of Mihee, sweet and gentle Mihee who never hurt anyone, doing something like that brought tears to your eyes. 

“Where are you?” you asked her. “Mihee-ah, where are you?”

“I walked back home. I couldn’t stay there. I didn’t want them to come out and find me,” she said. “It hurt so much. Everything they do hurts. It’s like they don’t want me around. They treat me like I’m a nuisance to them…I’m a punching bag when they’re mad. I’m a joke to them.”

“There are other ways to get out of your situation, Mihee.” 

“How?!” 

As you stayed on the phone with Mihee, you texted another friend of yours: Jihye. She lived closer to Mihee, and would get to her faster than you could. 

You: MIHEE WANTS TO TERMINATE!! 

Jihye-babe: OMG WHERE IS SHE??

You: at her place. I’m trying to talk her down now. I’m too far away to get there in time.

Jihye-babe: omw don’t worry

“You can go to the agency dorms and get a room,” you said, “And tomorrow we’ll go Sungmi and she’ll find a way to help you out. They should have records from your medical appointments. If you tell the therapist what you’re thinking of doing-”

“-I haven’t been going to my appointments.”

“Why not?”

“Chiwon says I don’t need to go. He says I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. Mihee, please,” you sniffled. “Jihye is on her way to you.”

Mihee continued crying, and hearing her cries broke your heart further. Several awful visions went through your head as you listened. Not Mihee. You texted Sungmi, your agent. You told her everything Mihee said, and her response relieved you. 

Sungmi: I will get her a room in the residency building, and send someone to go pick her up. Jihye will be there?

You: Yes, she’ll be there. She can’t afford the fees right now, though. 

Sungmi: I’ll waive the dorm fees for now. I’ll arrange a payment plan with the bursar’s office tomorrow morning.

You: Thank you, Sungmi. 

“Sungmi is sending a van to come pick you up,” you told Mihee. “You can stay there for a while.”

“I can’t pay.”

“She’ll work that out later. We want you to be safe, babe. You’re going to be okay,” you comforted her. 

You felt so helpless. You felt useless. 

“They’ll come get me back anyways,” she sniffled. “They won’t let me go.”

“The agency will make them let you go.”

If there is one authority who could stop this, it’d be your agency. You’d joined The Eden Agency years ago when you saw their dedication to taking care of their employees and workers. You knew all the stipulations and restrictions they put into their contract clauses to keep everyone safe and happy. You couldn’t believe Galax1 somehow made it under the radar this long. Your hands clenched into fists as you stayed on the phone with Mihee, who gradually calmed down until you heard Jihye in the dorm. The savory scents of the food you’d cooked did not penetrate through your anger. How could they do this to her? You couldn’t fathom why someone would do this to a person they claimed to love.

“The van’s here,” Jihye’s voice came through Mihee’s phone. “I’ll go with her to make sure she’s settled in okay.”

“Keep me updated, yeah?”

“Totally.” She gave a sigh, “I can’t believe those assholes. Saehee and Sumi are gonna meet us at the agency. When can you be here?”

“In an hour,” you said, putting the vegetables on the counter with a concerned Wooyoung. “I’ll bring some food for her. She’ll be hungry and the cafeteria will be closed.”

“Good idea. I got a bottle of soju in my purse.”

You didn’t laugh, though you wanted to. “I’ll be there soon.”

“Alright, cool. See ya.”

Both of you hung up, and suddenly you did not feel hungry anymore. Wooyoung stood on the other side of the counter now, chopsticks in his hand as he picked up a bit of meat to put in a perilla leaf. 

“What’s wrong with Mihee?” he asked, with concern on his face. 

“She…” you couldn’t bring yourself to say it out loud. You felt as if saying it might embarrass Mihee. “She had a big fight with Chiwon, and he said a bunch of nasty things to her.” You picked up your own chopsticks, but only picked at the cooked vegetable sides. “She was having a panic attack, so I texted Jihye and Sungmi. She can’t keep living with them. They’re so terrible to her, and that new girlfriend of theirs is no help either.”

“I can’t believe she stayed with them this long,” Wooyoung told you after chewing his food. “I remember doing Kingdom with those guys, and they were so rude. They hated each other, and were hard to work with.” He snorted, “You should’ve heard the way they talked about you when you told that Kenny guy off.”

Yes, you remembered Kingdom. You also remembered Mihee doing her best to keep the six idiots happy. “What did they say?”

“He’d told San that we should keep a leash on our woman,” he snickered, “And that if we put your mouth to good use, it wouldn’t gab so much.”

You groaned, “Ugh, they’re so gross. What did you say?”

“San almost kicked his ass,” he said, eating his meat and leaf. “Hongjoong-hyung told him it wasn’t worth it and took him away.” He shook his head, “I felt bad for her. If they talk badly about other women, I can’t imagine the things they say about her.” 

“They’re so mean to her,” you told him. You picked at a bit of meat and rice, but barely tasted it. Your worry for Mihee ruined any taste you might’ve enjoyed. “I don’t know why a group would keep a Companion they obviously don’t care about anymore.”

You did, but you felt disgusted saying it in the open. So Wooyoung said it for you. 

“Because they want a free cook and maid,” he said, eating one of the sides you made with rice. “I’m sure they can be charming when they’re horny and want a quick fuck from her too.”

“Gosh, don’t say that. I don’t want to think about what that’s like for her.” You ate from each dish sparingly, “I don’t know what I’d do if you guys started treating me that way.”

“I do.”

“Oh?”

“You’d kick our asses,” he smirked and laughed before sipping from his Coke can. “We’d never fall out of love with you, babe. You’re stuck with us whether you like it or not.”

You smiled, “Even if I wanted to leave tomorrow?”

“Even then. I’d spend the rest of my life trying to win you back if you did that.” 

You believed him. Out of all the members, Wooyoung took to you the quickest and easiest. Yeosang joked he skipped a few steps in becoming friends with someone, since by the next time you saw him, he already kissed your cheek and called you ‘love’. You told Yeosang that Wooyoung is simply an affectionate person who likes talking to people. When their debut came and Wooyoung could put his name on your contract, he became the most physically affectionate of them all. It’d been his opinion you trusted whenever you met a new person, since he picked up on vibes and moods fairly quickly. 

“So, I’m assuming drama night is being postponed?” He did not say this in a disappointed voice, but a playful one. 

“At least for a little while,” you winced. “I’m sorry, Woo.” 

“It’s okay. I’m not mad,” he assured you. “Mihee is one of your closest friends, and she needs you right now. I’ll be here when you come back.” He stood up to grab an empty food container, “Take her some food so she’s not hungry. Home cooked food is the best when you’re feeling down.”

You gave his cheek a kiss, then began packing food and snacks for Mihee while he cleaned. When you finished, you turned to see him by the sink. Everything paused all of a sudden. Mihee spends portions of her day cooking for her “boyfriends” and is then left to clean it all up. Your boyfriends never let you do anything on your own. Every time you cooked, one of them offered to help as best as possible, even if it was being Designated Food Taster. They might talk over who cleans up afterwards, but they never bring your name into it, especially if you’re the one who cooked. You couldn’t imagine any of them treating you how Galax1 treated Mihee. 

“Wooyoungie,” you called him, “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything, angel.”

‘Angel’. A name so commonly given to you. What did Galax1 call Mihee? “If we all went out somewhere fancy together, would you make sure my name was on the list?”

“Psh, of course,” he put the last of the dishes in the dishwasher, “We’d make sure your name is the first on it.”

“And would you ever tell me to change my clothes because you didn’t want me to deflect attention from someone else?”

“No,” he squeezed some detergent into the washer, then said, “Is this about Mihee?”

“Yes.” 

“YN,” he closed the door and turned it on, “Never in a million years would we treat you that way. In fact,” he walked over to you and held you in his arms, “We do our best to put your happiness first. It only works out that you’re always doing the same for us.” He kissed you softly, then said, “I love you, YN. Not just because the sex is incredible and you’re insanely gorgeous either,” you both laughed together. “But, you’re a kind, compassionate, empathetic person who would drop all her plans to go help a friend who needs her.” He gently rubbed your arms, scanning over your features, “I’d never do anything to intentionally hurt you, you know that. I can’t believe you’re even asking these questions.” He kissed you again, and said, “I’ll be here when you get back.”

Hearing him say this warmed your heart, but also made it hurt for Mihee more. If anyone deserved to be happy, it was her. You slipped from his arms to grab your bag from the couch, and left out the door. 

Not before Wooyoung reminded you to take a jacket. 

***

They’d put Mihee in a room by the time you arrived at your agency building. The resident rooms are meant for the freelance Companions who only go on dates. Much like a university dorm, it came with a bed, desk, dresser, and a communal bathroom down the hall. With the cafeteria giving three meals a day, Companions could also get discounts at the agency cafe and on their health checkups. You’d enjoyed living there, since it brought you closer to people who did what you do and it helped you out during rough times. It’s why it’d been your first choice when considering refuge for Mihee, who’d been too distraught to think straight. Unfortunately, the dorm came with a fee that they’d take from every check you received. A fee Mihee could not afford immediately. 

“I’ll work something out with the bursar's office,” Sungmi told her as she settled into her new room. “You stay here and rest for a few days, alright? You’re in a safe space now.”

“Th-thank you, Sungmi-unnie.” 

Sungmi gave her a tight hug, patted her head, and said goodbye to you and the others. Jihye, tall with long blond hair, waited until Sungmi left to open her purse. “I brought soju,” she smirked, “We could all use a drink. You, especially,” she told Mihee and began searching for complimentary cups. 

“Have they contacted you at all?” Saehee, short and round-faced with a brown bob hair cut, took a seat on the bed beside Mihee. 

Mihee still wore the shimmery lavender dress she planned on wearing to the dinner. Her tears smudged most of her makeup, and her lip tint wore off and left her lip liner still there. You hated seeing her this way. You pulled out the makeup wipes you kept in your purse, and gave it to her to clean herself off. 

“No,” she shook her head, her voice still thick from sobs, as she pulled out a wipe, “I texted Chiwon, but he…”

“Left you on read?” Sumi asked reproachfully. She took a soju cup from Jihye. Sumin, tanned with medium length black hair, stood wearing her gym clothes still. Out of the five of you, Sumi worked out the most. “Ugh, he’s so disgusting. I don’t know why you’re so bummed. He’s not even that cute or that successful. I won’t be surprised if their group doesn’t disband in a year or so.”

“They embarrassed themselves with that last comeback,” Jihye snickered, handing you and Saehee a cup. You didn’t drink it. You didn’t think you could stomach anything else. “Like, that song of theirs. What was it called? ‘Dick Me Way’?”

You stifled a laugh, “I think it was called ‘Milky Way’.”

“Psh, could’ve fooled me. It did not sound like they were saying ‘Milky Way’.”

“I thought they might at least be curious as to where I went,” Mihee said to you. “They might not care, but I thought at least Josh would text me. He was always decent towards me.”

“Fuck Josh,” said Saehee, who downed her soju shot immediately. “He’s a dick too. I don’t care how nice he was to you. He still lets them treat you like garbage.”

You unpacked the food you’d brought for everyone to pick at while they talked. Mihee started extolling tales about the things her partners did off screen: how they preferred Yeseo over her, the mean remarks they made about her appearance, how angry they’d get if she made a mistake. It upset you far too much to keep on eating. You thought about what Wooyoung told you about your happiness being their first priority. If they commented on your appearance, it was out of concern and not maliciousness. 

Chiwon told Mihee she ate too much. Yunho would tell you that you didn’t eat enough sometimes, often bringing you snacks during shoots or water when he saw you didn’t drink enough. 

Kwangmin once gave Mihee an empty Gucci box as a present. Hongjoong took you to a fashion show where he made sure the designer had clothes for you to wear too. You’ll never forget his face when he saw you in the final outfit. 

Kenny once told her that she’d have to pay her own way to go with them on tour. Seonghwa always made sure you were included in tour plans because he didn’t want to leave you behind. You never paid a single cent. 

Her boyfriends did not care where she went, what she did or who she did it with. She texted their group chat hours ago, and none of them responded. If you go too long without contact, at least three or four of them will call to check on you. Mihee told you that they rarely spent time with her anymore. Your boyfriends would rather be with you than anywhere else. Mihee’s stories made every complaint you’ve ever made about your boyfriends miniscule and childish. So what if Yunho played games until late into the night? So what if Yeosang was a messy eater or Jongho did not always pick up after himself? They adored you. They loved you. They’d do anything you asked of them, and if they could not, they’d find a way to make you happy. You wished Mihee would find someone like them. 

You stayed with the girls in Mihee’s dorm until eleven o’clock when visiting hours ended. You put leftovers in Mihee’s mini fridge, kissed the top of her head and hugged her tightly. 

“Thank you, YN-unnie,” she said into your shoulder, her voice muffled by your jacket. “If you hadn’t done this for me…I don’t think I’d be here right now.” 

This made you hug her tighter. “I’ll come by tomorrow around two and we can go to your place together to get your stuff, okay? Get some rest.”

“I will,” she nodded.

With one last cheek kiss, you left Mihee’s room and met with Jihye and the others down the hall. In the elevator, she said, “Good on you to text me. When you told me she talked about ‘terminating…” she visibly shuddered, “I almost had a panic attack.”

“I was worried she might’ve already done it,” said Saehee, crossing her arms nervously. “I felt super sick thinking about it.”

“Me too,” Sumi agreed. “Is it messed up that it made me think about my own relationship? Like, I can’t see Yongbok or Changbin ever being cruel to me like that.”

“I don’t think so,” Saehee told her. “When she told me about Kenny almost hitting her once, I thought about Seokjin and how he can be sometimes. We might get into arguments, but he’d never try to hurt me or make me cry just to feel like he won.” 

“It makes me realize how lucky I am,” you said quietly as the elevator reached the bottom floor. “Yeah, it’s tough juggling eight guys on my own, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything else in the world.”

“Yeah, me too.” 

The four of you walked Saehee home first and then Sumi. Jihye went with you to the train station where you waited for the train to take you home. 

“Do you think Mihee will be okay?” asked Jihye. “I mean, they’re the first group she’s ever dated and she was so in love with them. What if they try to get her back or she can’t get out of her contract?”

“Sungmi will fix that,” you assured her. “If anything, I’ll pitch in some money to help her out. I’m sure Saehee will too, since her boyfriends are such big superstars now.”

“I’ll hand some over,” Jihye said. “I happen to know some cute clients who are into girls like Mihee, so if she ever has trouble getting on her feet again, I can slip their names to Sungmi.” 

You nodded at her suggestion, and put your hands in your pockets. “I just want her to be happy and safe. She deserves that.”

“She really does.” 

When the train arrived, you hugged her goodbye and went onboard. On the way home, you checked your phone for the first time since seeing Mihee. As expected, Wooyoung was the first to message you. 

WooWoo 🦊: Are you on your way home soon? It’s getting late. 

You: I’m on the train now. We lost track of time. 

You took a train selfie to appease him, but also because he’d ask for one anyways. 

WooWoo 🦊: Beautiful 😍 is she okay now?

You: Yeah, she’s settled into the dorm and I told her we’d go get more of her stuff tomorrow afternoon. Jihye only got the essentials, but she needs more clothes and stuff. 

WooWoo 🦊: I’m glad. I like Mihee. She’s sweet. Now, get home quickly. I have a surprise for you. 

This message prompted you to go into the group chat you shared with all the members. You mainly used it to discuss group dates or to idly talk about your days as a whole. Anything you had to tell them, you sent it there. As the train stopped at another station, you started typing:

You: My friend Mihee’s staying at the residency dorms at my agency because she talked about killing herself. She told me tonight all about how awful her boyfriends are to her and the terrible things they’ve done. It’s so disgusting it makes me sick. I feel so sorry for my friend because she’s a lovely person and very special to me, but her situation has made me realize how lucky I am. 

Tears started brimming your eyes as you continued. 

You: since the day we met, you’ve been nothing but good to me. Even when you had nothing to offer me, you still did your best to make me happy. You give me so much freedom, which a lot of Companions don’t always have. You don’t keep me on a strict diet. You don’t tell me what I can and can’t wear. You include me in everything you do, and never make me feel left out or unimportant. You never push past my boundaries and respect my privacy and space. When I’m with any of you, I feel safe. I know you’d never do anything to hurt me, and if you accidentally do, you make up for it and apologize. I feel special and beautiful and important when I’m with you. I love each of you so much, and I hope we’re together forever. 

The messages poured a few minutes after you wrote this. 

My Bear 🐻: you know we’d do anything for you, angel. You’re such a special person to me, I couldn’t live my life without you now that I have you. 

Yuyu 🐶: The last thing I’d ever do is hurt you. I love you too, baby ♥️

Hwa 🐰: why would I not include you in everything? You’re my angel, baby. 

Prince Yeosang 👑: I always want to be a person you feel safe with. I know you have your bad days, and I want to be someone who uplifts you. I love you, my princess ♥️♥️

Choi ⛰️: Noooo now I’m crying!! I love you so much, angel. I want us to be together forever too. 

Mingi 🦁: I love you too, angel. You’re the first person I think of when I’m down, because you know how to make me feel better. I don’t ever want to be without you ♥️

Choi ⛰️: we were so nervous when we first met you kekeke 

Joongie 🐱: you know I love you more than the air in my lungs. I could never hurt you, because hurting you would be like hurting myself. You’re a part of me. 

Hwa 🐰: waaaahhh hongjoong putting us all to shame!!

The one person who didn’t answer in the chat texted you privately instead. 

WooWoo 🦊: I’m sorry about your friend. I hope she is okay now. I saw what you put in the chat and I wanted to tell you something: 

WooWoo 🦊 : There was this book quote I read once that really stuck with me. “He is more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same”. It stuck with me because that’s how I feel about you, YN. I feel like if we met in a different lifetime, you and I would still fall in love because we’re the same. It’s why you’re in every music video, because we’d love you in every universe. I love you, YLN YN. I love love love love love you. Come home soon. I miss you. 

You wiped the tears trickling down your cheek as you reread their messages. San recounted the night you’d all met. 

Two weeks before their debut, the boys’ schedule was packed with dance practice, studio recordings, promoting themselves, singing and rapping lessons. They did not have much free time, but management set up a date between you and them. You’d been going through financial troubles from your previous relationship, which left you desperate for a good gig. While going on random dates helped in the short term, it was contracts Companions typically sought out. You decided on a trial-run with an eight-member group to see how things went, and if it worked out, you’d sign a contract with them. A one-year contract where you’d be the sole girlfriend sounded promising. You’d handled groups before now, and a year-long contract is a reasonable starting point; you worked out anything longer after a few dates. You’d seen photos and videos of ATEEZ that KQ sent you, since it’s only fair you see what they looked like. The ‘99 line had all been 18 or 19, and Jongho turned 18 right before then. Only Seonghwa and Hongjoong could be actual romantic partners for you. They’d been so young back then, you realized as the train passed another station. They’d seemed harmless enough, and you really needed a good job. 

You never expected to be with them this long. But, when you met them at the barbeque restaurant that night, you really enjoyed their general vibe. You saw their close-knit brotherhood right away, and the genuine care they had for one another. It was something you noticed in groups from smaller companies; they worked and lived together, which built up a natural love for one another. That love soon stretched over to you. Smiling to yourself, you recalled how shy they’d been around you that night. Wooyoung, Mingi, San, and Yunho did a majority of the talking despite their nerves. The other members revealed later on you’d been much prettier in person, and it intimidated them. 

Walking home from the train station, you thought about those days fondly. You’d often meet up with them at the Han River, where you’d go riding bikes and eating street food together in the spring. They didn’t have much money to spend on you, but that didn’t matter to you. Their company soon became enough for you. You remembered a night when you went to eat after dance practice, and you’d sat specifically with Yeosang because he thought you wouldn’t be interested in him. Shy and anxious, you managed to get him to open up to you like a clam, and his shyness melted away. Once, you went to a convenience store with San and Wooyoung after everyone went to sleep. The three of you played hide and seek down the street. 

It’d been under a street light on the corner that Wooyoung kissed you for the first time. 

“Wooyoung, I’m back,” you said into the apartment, knowing well Jongho is too busy gaming and Hongjoong is likely still in his studio. 

He appeared from his bedroom, smiling at the sight of you. He kissed you as easily as he’d kissed you that night on the street. Wooyoung had taken you gently by the waist, bringing you to him and kissing you passionately.

“Glad you’re home,” he said, taking your bag to put on the hook while you slipped out of your shoes. “I have a surprise for you.”

“As you said in your text,” you replied. You couldn’t help the nostalgic feeling inside your chest. Looking at the man in front of you, it dawned on you how much he’d grown up. “Where is it?” you asked him, getting into your house slippers. 

“Come with me.”

He took your hand and led you to his bedroom. You gasped when you saw what he’d done to his bed. Having taken one of his plain white sheets, he’d tied a string across the top so it created a canopy, then placed fake electric candles around his bed to add light. Blankets from the couch outside, plus several plush pillows added more comfort to his large bed. A laptop plugged into the wall sat on a tray with snacks and drinks in a cooler next to the bed. A blanket fort. 

"Wooyoung-ah," you smiled at his setup, "This is so cute."

"What you said got me thinking about our first time together," he said, bringing you to him as he closed the door. "When we made that pillow fort to watch movies and then we…got all hot and bothered?"

You noticed the seductive tone in his voice and let him kiss you. "Well, if I remember correctly, you were the hot one. I was perfectly fine with hanging out."

"I couldn't help it," he said, bringing you over to the bed where he let you climb on top of him. You mounted his hips, deepening the kiss as you remembered the first time. "You felt so nice against me like this," he gently pushed his hips into yours, "I really wanted to wait for a more romantic moment, but I couldn't wait anymore. And…" he pecked your lips as his hands went down your body, "It isn't like you tried stopping me." 

"Maybe I didn't want you to," you sneered, starting to grind into him. "I meant what I said though," you said, "It really makes me appreciate how good you are to me." A thought then occurred to you, "I wish there was a way I can show my appreciation for you."

Wooyoung picked up on it right away, holding you by the waist as he rolled you on your back. In between your legs, you could feel him right up against your center. His shorts made it much easier to feel him through them, and you couldn't resist grinding into him. Suddenly, Wooyoung drowned all your senses. The fresh scent of his shampoo still clung to his black strands, and to the smooth, supple skin under his shirt. His body heat warmed you against the chill seeping through the nearby windows. Your love for Jung Wooyoung blossomed the night he kissed you under that light. It flourished when you both made love in his blanket fort, soft and passionate and completely wrapped up in one another. Your hands stayed at his shoulders, the bones and muscles tensing under your touch before flexing against it. Everything became Wooyoung. Like the very first time, the small enclosure he created turned the world into one for two.

“There’s something I’ve always wanted to try,” he said, pressing his lips to your neck while your hands slipped under his shirt. “If you’re into trying new stuff tonight, that is.”

“I’ll do whatever you like,” you smiled, gyrating into him slowly so he groaned against your neck. “You’re always thinking of me when we do it. I think it’s only fair that I do things you like too.”

“I want you to watch TV while I fuck you.”

“What?”

“I saw this porn video the other night where the girl watched TV while the guy fucked her,” he explained, “And it was so hot. I want to try it with you.”

Free use. That is what he was talking about: partners having sex even if the other partner isn’t particularly horny. It’s in a consensual way, of course. “Oh?” you smiled, “But does it really count if I’m horny too?”

“You can pretend not to be,” he said. 

You considered it for a moment, then said, “Okay. I’ll give it a shot.” 

Wooyoung beamed and kissed you. He dragged the bed tray beside you, then put on a random movie he knew you liked. You supposed you’d simply lay there and let him do what he wanted while you focused on the movie. Spreading yourself out a bit more, Wooyoung laid on top of you as he kissed down your throat to the neckline of your shirt. The movie’s beginning credits started rolling right as he slid your shirt over your chest, and pulled your bra down under them. You tried keeping back the gasp when his warm mouth touched your skin, a wet tongue immediately circling your nipple. He kept your arms by your head as he flicked his tongue over each one, and you forced yourself to not grind into him. The tip grazed across the hard peaks once or twice before he suckled on them, a low groan emitting from his throat. You tried focusing on the film, a horror movie you enjoyed so you had something distracting you from the pleasure. But, it only just barely worked. As you watched young Drew Barrymore answer the phone while making popcorn, Wooyoung slid further down your body. 

You shifted around to let him pull down your leggings completely, leaving you in your panties and socks. When you felt him sliding off your panties next, you nearly gasped. He lifted your knees up to your stomach and started lightly swatting his tongue on your sex. You clutched the sheets, forcing yourself to focus on the teenage girl panicking as a killer plays cat-and-mouse with her. How did porn stars do this? Once you felt the flat of his tongue gingerly lick your pussy open, you moaned softly to yourself. Part of the free-use kink is that the other partner doesn’t react, but damn, Wooyoung’s mouth worked you so easily. So easily, in fact, you should be ashamed of it. Keeping hold of your thighs, Wooyoung focused his attention on the center of your clit where he rolled the tip around several times. 

“Name the killer in Friday the 13th,” said the killer on screen.

“Jason!”

‘No, you moron. It was his mom…’ you couldn’t help thinking. 

Right as Drew Barrymore is freaking out over her dead boyfriend, Wooyoung reached into his bedside drawer for something. You thought it must be the condom, since Wooyoung practiced so little patience when in the heat of his arousal. After a bit of fumbling around, a distinct hardness touched your entrance. 

“Which door am I at?”

‘Run, idiot. Get out of the hou-’

Wooyoung filled you right to the brim, and you couldn’t help giving a soft moan. Unlike San, who needed total silence to concentrate, Wooyoung had no problem focusing on you as the movie went onwards. Hands holding up your knees, he kept you in place while he pumped in and out of you. You looked over at him for a moment to see he’d removed his shirt and tugged down his shorts. He watched himself fuck you slowly, stretching your sex and filling you each time. You knew you weren’t supposed to acknowledge him, but you couldn’t stop yourself from whimpering. When he felt you looking at him, you turned your head to the laptop.

Two hands grabbed your chest, and he bent down to kiss and lick them while he kept his slow pace. You’d truly become a toy for him to fuck; a doll that fulfills his every whim. You loved it. Something about Wooyoung  having his fun with you while you remained indifferent to it turned you on. Soon, his hips snapped into yours quickly, his groans turning into grunts in each stroke. You tried not moaning, since you knew that was not part of this kink of his. You watched the movie, trying to pay attention to the parents finding their teenage daughter gutted and hanging from a tree. The movie moved onto Neve Campbell in her bedroom, typing at her old computer before her boyfriend came in through the window. 

Eventually, he withdrew and helped roll you onto your front. You wouldn’t lie: you quite enjoyed this position and they all knew that. They knew your body so well it was almost unfair. They never failed to pleasure you first during sex, and they knew they’d get a very nice favor in return each time. Straddling your thighs, Wooyoung spat on his tip and went back inside you. You nearly whined from how the new position had him touching your g-spot directly, and the force causing the bed to bump lightly against the wall. 

“Stay like that,” he huffed, returning to the same speed as before. “Just like that…”

You put your eyes on the laptop, but you barely paid attention to the screen. Wooyoung started bottoming up into you, and his weight kept you from pushing up to meet him. You purse your lips to keep back the mewls his long strokes created. How could he expect you to sit still while he took you this way? Your fingers dug into the soft pillow underneath you, clawing at the smooth fabric. You tried not showing any signs of pleasure, but you couldn’t help the need growing inside you. You badly wanted to push against him, pick up the speed and be the naughty, dirty slut he liked. But, this is what Wooyoung wanted, and you wanted him to enjoy himself too. 

In a few more thrusts, you felt Wooyoung stiffen against you. Falling forward, his forehead pressed right on the top of your head as he rode out his orgasm inside you. His damp breath tickled the back of your neck, and his moans drowned out any sounds from the film in front of you. Listening to him cum had your pussy clenching around him each time he sunk inside. Your need for release came almost painfully, the restraint being too much. When he dared to pull out, you immediately tackled him so he fell backwards on the opposite side of the fort. Wooyoung said nothing as you mounted him quickly and began riding him. 

“Someone couldn’t keep it together anymore, huh?” Wooyoung chuckled, holding onto your hips as you bounced on him. “My dick feels too good?”

“Way too good,” you whined, rolling your hips on him. You didn’t care if he’d already come, you knew he wouldn’t stop until you did too. “Play with my clit, Wooyoungie,” you said, “Make me cum, please?”

“Of course, angel.” 

Whirling his thumb around your clit and his tip prodding your g-spot again, you unraveled a few seconds later. Your body tensed in each orgasmic wave and you were soon clawing at Wooyoung’s chest from the force. Slowly, you fell from your climax as quickly as it arrived, and collapsed beside Wooyoung. A small pang of guilt made you frown. 

“Sorry,” you said to him. 

“About what?” he panted, looking over at you. 

“For not going through with the whole ‘free-use’ thing,” you replied. “I don’t know how porn stars do it, honestly.”

“You just need practice, baby,” he insisted. He rolled onto his side, and pecked your lips, “You still did so well. It’s not your fault you’re so…sensitive,” he smirked, pinching your nipple idly before kissing you again. “Trust me, I still loved it. Didn’t you?”

“I did,” you replied, turning on your side to face him. “We can always try it again later,” you suggested, “If you want to, that is.” 

“I wouldn’t be opposed to that,” he grinned, bringing you close to kiss you deeply. He paused for a moment, brushing your nose with his, and said, “I love you, YN.” 

“I love you too, WooWoo.” 

He chuckled at the nickname and you kissed once more. You briefly thought back to Mihee, who likely ended up alone after sex with her boyfriends. Not you. Your boyfriends would never leave you without smothering you in kisses first. 

They simply adored you too much. 

[sweetiesicheng]

seventeen - reunion

the8 x reader

word count : 1,321

-

can i not find my name? oh, there it is. geez, did they really have to put our photos on them?

you pick up a name tag that has your graduating year and a senior photo from high school. you clip it onto your shirt and walk into your high school gym.

man, this place looks so much nicer.

your high school reunion is being held in your high school gym. you look around, noticing the different colored walls and many sports banners hanging from the ceiling. basically everything is updated, even the old wooden bleachers had been replaced with newer looking ones.

"y/n?" you look over and notice someone looking at you. you immediately smile, recognizing the person as someone you used to hang out with. "it is you!"

"hi!" you greet them and walk over to them.

"it's been so long!"

you start talking to your friend and join a table of people that you used to hang out with. all of you talk about life and other things worth mentioning. all in all, just having a good time reminiscing your school days together.

"hey, look over there. it's them," someone says to everyone at your table. "still handsome as ever."

you look over and see a table with easily recognizable faces. it's a group of guys that everyone fawned over back in the day. sports team captains, talented musicians, a few class clowns, but they were and are still the most well known people from your school.

"kim mingyu got even more handsome..."

"hey, you're married now!"

"geez...we're not in high school anymore."

"excuse me?"

you turn your head and see a guy standing behind you. you turn your body more to face him.

"yes?"

"you're y/n, right?" he asks.

you nod in response.

"it's been awhile," he says with a smile. "i was in the math club with you. we made it to finals for one of the competitions because of you."

you raise your eyebrows and smile at him. "yes! i remember you," you reply to him. "sit, let's talk," you suggest and gesture him to pull up a chair.

you start to remember the guy as one of your friend's friends. the two of you were in a math club together, and you had helped him out a lot when he had moved to your school.

it turns out that he went to college and is seeing someone, which you were delighted to hear since you knew he got rejected back in high school. after talking for a bit, you get his phone number and promise to keep in contact with him. you don’t keep the conversation too long because both of you probably have more people to meet before the reunion ended.

after some time, you decide to walk around and mingle with others. it’s hard to recognize a few people, but luckily the name tags help you out. eventually, you make it to the table where the popular guys are sitting at.

"y/n!" seungkwan exclaims when you approach their table. "took you long enough to join us."

"hi strangers," you chuckle and stand near minghao. "hi sweetie," you greet him. you put your hands on his shoulders and lean in from behind to kiss his cheek.

minghao smiled at you, "hey."

"really just had to show off, huh?" chan sighs.

"they are cute together," seokmin points out.

"huh? wait, what is that?" seungkwan suddenly speaks, standing up to go over to you. then, he grabs your left hand and gasps at your wedding ring. "when did you two get married?!" he asks and lets go of your hand.

"married?"

"what?!"

you raise an eyebrow in confusion, "huh? you didn't tell them?" you ask and look at your husband.

"i thought it'd be funny if i didn't," minghao replies with a chuckle. all of your friends stare in bewilderment. "looks like you didn't tell your friends either," he says, looking over at the table you were sitting at previously. you notice some of your friends staring at you in shock.

"when did you guys get married?!" mingyu asks.

"last weekend," you answer and show off your wedding ring to them, "we just got the marriage certificate done and had a small family thing," you mention. "we were supposed to announce it a few days, but it looks like both of us didn't," you say with a laugh.

"here, sit," minghao says and stands up from his seat. you sit down and he stands behind the chair, putting a hand on your shoulder.

"they really just hid something like this from us," vernon says in astonishment.

"seungcheol, shua," jeonghan speaks up, looking at your friends, "you owe me," he playfully says with a grin.

"damn..." seungcheol mutters while the two pull out their wallets, taking cash out.

"wait, did you bet on who was going to get married first?" jun asks, putting his cup down on the table.

"oh, come on," jeonghan almost exaggerates, "of course we did. you know how much fun it was seeing everyone fail at getting dates back in the day?" he replies with a sly grin. "but what was even more fun was noticing y/n getting shy when she went to watch the dance team practice after school."

"hey! jeonghan!" you exclaim before covering your face with your hands and groaning. you feel minghao rub his hand on your shoulder in order to reassure you.

"wait, didn't we make a bet?" chan asks, looking at seokmin. "i feel like we made a bet about y/n and minghao hyung..."

seokmin shrugs, "we probably did. how else did i get snacks from you?"

soonyoung leans back in his chair, crossing his arms. he is clearly pondering something. "but when did you two start dating? how did none of us notice?" he questions.

jihoon sighs, "idiot, they've been dating the year after minghao graduated. how do you not notice anything?"

"wait, really?"

while soonyoung questions his memory, you and joshua talk about work since the two of you work at the same company.

"no, they’re being way too strict in your department," you say to joshua. "regulations shouldn't allow that."

the sales manager sighs, "there's not much i can do about it right now. it's out of everyone's hands," he says to you, "but a bunch of the managers are having a meeting with the branch manager to discuss it. it'll probably be fine in a few weeks."

"you should transfer to operations. i like it a lot more than when i was in sales," you say, almost in a persuading tone.

joshua shrugs, "i've only been at this branch for a few months. i should wait a bit longer.”

"minghao, y/n," you look across the table at jun, "so are you and minghao gonna have a reception?" he asks both of you.

you smile and tilt your head back to look at your husband. "reception? we thought about it," minghao mentions, "if we do, it'll have to be in a few months."

"it'd be nice though. having everyone celebrate you two would be really nice for you two," wonwoo speaks up. "you could have seokmin plan it," he mentions the event planner.

"oh, that's right. you work for the botanical garden too," you recall, looking at seokmin.

"if you text me tomorrow, i can check the events at the garden. it's really pretty out there right now, and you guys could have the reception in the greenhouse. i'm pretty sure we have some openings soon," seokmin says to you and minghao.

you look up at minghao, "we can talk about it tonight some more," you say to him.

he nods, "yea, we should."

"twenty bucks that they'll do it," chan says to seokmin.

"fifty."

"guys, can we stop with the betting about our love life?"

"ten dollars that they'll kiss in fifteen minutes."

"stop it!”

[mr2swap]

Football this season

-calm down boy I got A+ on your exam it was a piece of cake for me, you're going to play American football again this season-

I flexed my huge arms to show my intellect and genetic superiority while the obese middle-aged man just looked at me sadly and jealously, he had been in Johnson's body for 2 days and had already stuffed the ass of the captain of the men's swim team and the basketball one, but the pathetic look behind those square glasses was the best reward.

I never tire of showing off those huge arms and those abs that the fags at school fall in love with, now I understand why all those athletes spend all day in the gym instead of in the library.

As an algebra teacher, every year I have a group of young idiots who beg me on their knees in front of my office to help them pass their exams. Qualifying so they could play the field, but he didn't need any of that crap, all he wanted was their lives.

Of course, the kids don't want a tutor or some kind of extra essay, they just want to bribe me with their parents' money to put a D+ on their exams, luckily I've found a way to take advantage of my situation.

I was never very popular when I was young, but now I get to live 1 week a month in the carefree life of an airhead jock while he lives my shitty life as an underpaid high school teacher with a small penis who still lives with mom, I used to believe that football was stupid, It feels fucking great to be the center of attention on the field Johnson hasn't even played a game since he entered high school all he does is train his body so that I get all the glory after winning the game.

From the moment I saw him enter my class I knew I would put my hands on that rather muscular and fucking handsome body, Johnson was always an idiot, most of the time he was talking to his friends in the back of the room or sleeping in my class.

Stealing the portable body swapping machine from the science fair 7 years ago was the best idea I've ever had, ever since then I've been secretly "helping" my students, Even the Principal has complimented me on my good work with the students .

Although being young and having all my hair is great, the part I enjoy the most is watching my students suffer in my body, after we return to our original bodies they become valedictorian, so they don't have to spend another week in my shoes But there are always Jocks or thugs lining up outside my classroom door for me to receive their bodies.

The rumors that the quarterback was found walking into a hotel while holding hands with an obese 60 year old man is just a small price for an A+, like I said my salary is a pittance so I don't see any of it. Bad at taking a little more of My new youth and charging a bunch of old Homos For worshiping my muscular arms, kissing my perfect abs And kissing my huge stinky feet.

Maybe in a couple of years when I retire I'll steal the body of the new master of chemistry, I wouldn't mind "teaching" again for a couple more years as long as I have this machine.

Hello, if you like bodyswap stories take a look at my patreon, I have a lot of more stories, and you can help me keep creating more stories!

[kurogxrix]

ATWOW characters in Highschool + music taste HEADCANONS

(neteyam, ao’nung, tsireya, lo’ak, kiri, tuk, rotxo)

[ Modern!au, Tuk is still in elementary school lmao ]

Neteyam

Mr.popular guy at school.

Goes to bother Kiri and embarrass her in front of her friend-group everytime at lunch.

Does after school activities nearly every single day.

My boy is so academically smart.

He doesn’t need tuition, tuition needs him.

Ao’nung defo copies on his homework everyday before class.

He’s the typa guy that prioritizes school before hoes so Neytiri is so shocked (and happy) when he finally brings a girl back home.

All of the teachers love him because he can calm the class down easily.

Not in an annoying teacher’s pet way, in a way that he’s literally homies with everyone so they stfu when he tells them to atp.

He definitely listens to afrobeats you can’t tell me otherwise.

He lives for and PRAISES rema.

His favorite songs are Woman by rema, Last Last by burna boy and No Sleeping by 1da Banton.

He also often listens to old school rap like MF DOOM.

Ao’nung

He’s a player fosho.

Like not the typa player to cheat on his partner but the single typa mf that fucks with many people at a time😭.

He’s definitely into sports like basketball. I think we can all agree w that.

Typa guy to wear a basket ball uni with gold plated chains.

He teases the ‘nerds’ in every single class that he has.

Is a menace like usual.

He smells so strongly of cologne.

Typa guy that would walk around with his varsity jacket if not for him being in his basketball outfit everytime.

Type of guy that has a ‘top 3 most attractive teachers’ list w his friends.

Ao’nung listens to rap theres no other.

Not like playboi carti kinda rap no, bro listens to Lil mosey, YNW melly, blueface and dababy (unironically)

Tsireya

She has GROUPS of girls talking behind her back.

They’re all jealous cuz our girl’s perfect fr.

Has one real friend group and sticks with them.

Nobody has the heart to tell her that girls shit talks her while she’s so nice to them.

Has a stash of pads in her locker incase anyone asks for them cuz she’s a real one‼️🤞🏽.

Walks back home with Lo’ak every single day.

She smells like plumeria 24/7.

She defo listens to pop like pinkpantheress and olivia rodrigo. SZA and doja cat girly.

Lo’ak

He throws wet toilet paper balls at the bathroom walls.

Gets called weekly at the principal’s office and wonders why.

Jake and Neytiri are fed UP.

Walks around with a pair of headphones in the morning because ain’t nobody talking to him while he’s half asleep.

One of his ex friends tried doing that and they ended up w a sore cheek fr. keyword: Ex friend.

Does his homework during lunch and always gets caught by his teachers.

He gives gym rat energy but not the annoying ones (are there even those?)

He’s some teacher’s favorite just like his brother, just cuz he’s the class clown.

Bet y’all the english teacher always laughs a little too suspiciously at his dumb jokes.

As the troublemaker kid, outcast and DEFINITELY his father’s least favorite, it only makes sense that he listens to rock.

Like heavy metal and NU metal.

His favorite band is Aerosmith I can see it.

And his favorite songs are walk this way by Aerosmith and born to raise hell by motörhead (ironic enough).

Defo listens to domination by pantera

He listens to Kendrick lamar and The Weeknd at times too.

Kiri

She’s a vanilla girly.

Like vanilla ice cream, vanilla deodorant, vanilla perfume, vanilla EVERYTHING.

She defo has crystals that she brings with her everywhere she goes.

Once she beat up Lo’ak for touching her crystals but my man was just trina manifest good grades fr.

She never finishes her lunch and Neytiri considers even still giving her food atp.

Cannot live without music.

Her earphones are always dangling out of her pocket because she’s always removing and putting them back in there.

No denying that she listens to Taylor swift.

Girl is a swiftie for LIFE. Other than that she defo listens to those indie bands like surf curse and TV girl.

Her favorite songs are disco by surf curse and Lavender haze by taylor swift.

Tuk

She has the newest generation iPad because papa jake’s income is paying good.

Well she isn’t allowed to bring it to school but she doesn’t anyways.

One day she got caught cuz she was playing some barbie makeover game in class.

Flexes her new glittery bag because she can.

She shares her food with her friends that have none because Neytiri taught her good.

She’s defo the typa kid that goes to school with freshly braided hair and comes back with them baby hairs sticking out and somehow one braid just completely undone.

She doesn’t get bullied or anything she just can’t stay in place at all.

she listens to those cringe TikTok songs i’m so sorry.

She’s still in that era 💔

Rotxo

I just know he’s on the verge of crying every morning trying to do his hair.

He’s so cute like wtf.

He struggles to get a girlfriend lmao so he’s always third wheeling everything.

He’s adorable though like, how???

No cuz like this mf STILL does those weird troom troom food hacks TO THIS DAY.

Like the thing where you put fondant in an empty glue stick roll just because.

Let his inner child have fun ok.

He’s a mixed music taste listener.But he mostly listens to rap.

Got influenced by Ao’nung.

-

I got way too lazy to finish or correct this.

[sadstrever]

i’m still 114lbs. i feel sick. yesterday was an awful day, i came home and had an out of body chew and spit session. i wish there was more research on this part of ed’s, or just more people who talked about it because i can’t be alone in this. i refuse to believe i’m the only sick person who does disgusting shit like this. anyways the reason why i call it an out of body experience is because it’s almost like binging-just without all the swallowing of food. i came home and immediately started doing it and filled up 1 and 1/2 2 liter bottles with food. i spent 5 hours doing this without even realizing and pretty much emptied out my whole families fridge. the guilt i felt afterwards was worse than a binge in my opinion. not only did i totally waste SO MUCH food, make a huge mess, ended up with disgusting bottles of mush in my room, i also have to face the consequences of my family coming home to an empty fridge. but when they got home they were happy that i “ate.” god i’m such a fucking piece of shit.

anyways after all that i took 4 laxatives to try and get the guilt of wasting the food out of me. i woke up in the morning today in terrible pain but still had to go to class, cuz what am i supposed to tell my parents? “yeah i haven’t eaten in almost a month and basically just threw all the food we have out in the trash and i also took 4 laxatives, can i please stay home tehe?” so i went to 1 class and ended up leaving because the pain was so excruciating. straight from class i went to the gym and somehow burnt 900 calories because i guess that’s what guilt does to me. i had to take the bus 2 hours home afterwards(bus delays and i went to a new further gym location this time), high out of my mind. i’m home now and my stomach hurts but the laxatives finally did their job. i don’t want to keep doing this. 4 years ago i said i’d recover and then i didn’t. since then i’ve forgotten about recovery (with the exception of a few random moments here and there that i block out immediately), i am so used to living in this fucking misery that i didn’t realize how abnormal my reality is. i don’t want to be a bad person anymore. but i can’t stop lol.

this is what bothers me about the girls who romanticize this disorder SO MUCH, when much of the time they haven’t realized how difficult it can become. i know i’ve done this, even now sometimes as a coping mechanism. but man, i’m sick of it.

i have a friend who writes poetry and she wrote a poem about eating disorders that make me so fucking angry. the thing is, i’ve known her for years and she’s always had the best relationship with food out of most of the people i know. she’s naturally pretty thin(not too thin but normal) and she’s very open about her struggles. i know every single one of her stories, i know she’s diagnosed with adhd. that’s HER disorder, that i don’t understand so i DONT write fucking POETRY about it. a few months ago she kind of forced me into opening up about my eating disorder. after i did, suddenly she started writing these stories about her eating disorder-very very very suspiciously similar to mine. i obviously didn’t tell her everything but i told her about how long this has been going on and just my emotions about it. seeing her start to adapt my fucking disorder into her poetry disgusted me. she glamorized the fuck out of it and made me feel so stupid for ever opening up about it. she’s naturally skinny so she got a bunch of support from our friend group from it and i’m just upset man. i’m sick of living in misery while other people can use the idea of living in pain for attention.

i promised my best friend that in 3 weeks i’ll go back to therapy and try my best to recover. it’s not true. man it’s never fucking true. it’s never fucking over. unlike ms.deep-poetry-girl i can’t just fucking write this and log off and then eat a good warm meal and talk to my parents without them mentioning my body. i can’t wake up tomorrow morning and hug them without worrying that they’re gonna feel my bones. i can’t wear shorts anymore without people noticing the bruises. i can’t go to school and keep my focus because i have nothing to feed my brain. i can’t let anyone get close because soon enough they’ll be just like YOU. OR they’ll hate me for not wanting to get better. i can’t love myself like you do because of the disgusting things i do each day. i can’t wake up thinner and suddenly stop hating myself. FUCK YOUUUUUUUU GOD IM SO SICK OF IT GOD. whatever im done. just sick and tired.

[girltalkcollectives]

Confessions of a Recovering Perfectionist: What I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Academic Burnout

Currently writing this from my favorite corner of the library at 1 AM, surrounded by empty coffee cups and half-finished to-do lists. If you're also here – physically or metaphorically – this post is for you.

The Breaking Point

Last week, I:

Pulled three all-nighters

Cried in the bathroom between classes

Forgot to eat actual meals for two days

Drank enough coffee to fuel a small country

Had a breakdown over a B+

Ignored approximately 47 texts from friends

Convinced myself I was failing at life

And then I realized: this isn't normal. This isn't okay. And I'm definitely not alone.

The Pressure We're Under

Let's be real about what we're juggling:

5+ classes with endless assignments

Internship applications

Club responsibilities

Part-time jobs

Social life maintenance

Basic human needs (allegedly)

Family expectations

Our own impossible standards

Signs of Burnout I Ignored

Looking back, the red flags were screaming:

Constant exhaustion (but unable to sleep)

Sunday night panic attacks

Zero motivation for things I used to love

Living on caffeine and protein bars

Emotional breakdowns over minor setbacks

Feeling disconnected from friends

That weird eye twitch that wouldn't go away

The Toxic Academic Culture No One Talks About

We normalize:

"I'll sleep when I'm dead"

Competing over who's more stressed

Skipping meals to study

Feeling guilty for taking breaks

Measuring our worth by our GPA

Sacrificing mental health for grades

Working ourselves sick

What Actually Helped Me

Real strategies that made a difference:

Setting non-negotiable rest times

No studying after 11 PM

One full day off per week

Actual lunch breaks (revolutionary, I know)

2. Creating study boundaries

50 minutes of work, 10-minute breaks

No studying in bed

Phone on "Do Not Disturb"

Designated study spots

3. Taking care of my body

Keeping snacks in my backpack

Water bottle always with me

Walking between classes instead of rushing

Actually using my gym membership

The Reality Check I Needed

Truth bombs I'm learning:

No grade is worth your mental health

You can't pour from an empty cup

Success isn't measured by exhaustion

Your worth isn't your productivity

Rest is productive

B's get degrees (and that's okay!)

Permission Slips We All Need

It's okay to:

Take a mental health day

Ask for extensions when needed

Say no to extra commitments

Not be the perfect student

Change your major if you're unhappy

Prioritize sleep over studying

Ask for help

What Recovery Looks Like

Small wins I'm celebrating:

Actually eating three meals a day

Sleeping more than 4 hours

Taking weekends off

Setting boundaries with study groups

Deleting social media during finals

Learning to say "no"

Accepting that good enough is enough

Practical Steps I'm Taking

My new non-negotiables:

No all-nighters (they don't work anyway)

Regular meal times

Phone-free study blocks

Weekly planning sessions

Morning routine that isn't just coffee

Therapy appointments

Exercise that feels good

To Anyone Struggling

Remember:

Your grades don't define you

This phase of life is temporary

Everyone's path is different

It's okay to take breaks

You're doing better than you think

Asking for help is strength

You matter more than your GPA

Moving Forward

I'm learning that:

Success looks different for everyone

Balance isn't perfect

Rest is necessary

Breaks make you more productive

Health comes first

Some things can wait

You're not falling behind

The Plot Twist

Maybe the real achievement isn't getting straight A's while running three clubs and maintaining a perfect Instagram feed. Maybe it's learning to take care of yourself while chasing your dreams.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Am I the asshole for how I reacted to a coworker asking me out?

(♠️ to recognise)

I (26 NB but present pretty fem) wasn't getting on very well in my old office so I moved to a new one. While I was there I started chatting to one of my coworkers (23 M) since we share a few hobbies and a dream of making a game. I had a conversation where I mentioned I was asexual and NB, he said he was straight and asked me a few questions about being ace including if I would date an allo, particularly a man. I didn't think anything of it at the time, since I've answered questions like this a few times after saying I'm asexual, but I realised afterwards that he was probably interested in me.

He tried to hint that he was into me a few times after this, with me trying to shut him down gently. I kept hoping I was wrong, because I haven't handled this situation well in the past. He asked me out just before an outing where we and another coworker had agreed to go to the gym and then out to dinner together, and wouldn't accept that I was saying no until I gave him an itemised list of why. I know that wasn't great of him, but he's pretty socially awkward and not good at reading the room. I think he just assumed I would say yes and was confused that I was saying no rather than trying to force me to change my answer.

I didn't want to embarrass him or myself in front of our coworker by leaving, so I followed through with our original plans despite being extremely uncomfortable the whole time. He was pretty upset when I said I probably wouldn't sign up for classes at the gym with them.

Now, this is the part where I think I might be the asshole: we had discussed making a game before since it was something we were both really interested in. I still really wanted to make a game, so I tried to keep being friends with him for a while. He would invite me for coffee or to meet up online most days, and a few times after the confession I said yes, but ended up cancelling last minute with some flimsy excuse because the thought of being alone with him made me feel extremely anxious. So did the idea of explaining my feelings, even though I know I should have, so I continued to pretend to just be sick or tired as an excuse.

I stopped coming in to the office and started working from the library until I got permission to work from my old office. I haven't talked to him alone since. I still have to interact with him because we work together but I make sure its always in a group setting and avoid directly talking to or looking at him because it makes me very anxious. He hasn't threatened me or done anything bad enough to make me this scared of him, this is mostly just me having an anxiety disorder and romanitc situations making me really uncomfortable. I'm worried I've hurt him with the way I've been acting, am I the asshole?

What are these acronyms?

[fragilecapric0rnn]

FRIENDS AU Part 2: The One Where Eddie Copes

[part one]

[cross-posted to ao3] || word count: 3.3k

Eddie doesn’t know how long it takes for his soul to return to his body. 

It left as soon as his eyes and brain fully registered that he was suddenly in the presence of his high school crush. Right here, in the flesh, sitting in the middle of his friends in The Jittery. He can’t help but consider the fact that he may have been the one to summon him with his pathetic cry for his ex-girlfriend just moments before the incident. 

The casual, ‘You remember Eddie? From high school?’ comment from Robin sucker-punched Eddie right in the chest. The eye contact and shy smile that followed nearly sent Eddie into some sort of stress-induced cardiac arrest. 

He hardly registers the barely coherent story that Steve is trying to tell. Eddie watches him bring a glass of water to his mouth with shaky hands and tries not to stare at his lips. 

“I’m confused.” Jonathan says as Eddie starts to regain consciousness.  

Memories of his repressed gay awakening circa-1985 come flooding back with a vengeance. Sitting in the bleachers during gym class, watching this same guy flick off his t-shirt, dripping in sweat, shit-talking his opponents, shoving them around a little too rough for a gym class game of basketball. 

He adjusts how he’s sitting in the chair, right now, in 1993. Beating away the thoughts from the Ghost of Horny Moments Past, pushing away the potential for any unexplainable chubs as he tries to sit and listen to the man himself ramble about God-knows-what, soaking wet like a pathetic little kitten in the coffee shop. 

He’s going to throw up. 

Or pass out. 

Possibly both.

Thankfully, everyone’s attention is on the runaway bride, too distracted to notice that he’s in crisis. 

“It makes perfect sense to me.” Argyle shrugs, handing Steve a giant ceramic cup. 

“Just run it by us one more time.” 

Steve takes a comically large sip from his mug, holds the coffee in his cheeks, making them puff out and Eddie is convinced that this is some sort of punishment for all of his mistakes. 

“You know, they always told me that cold feet are normal. That’s what they all say about  getting married, that you get cold feet. Well, I realized when I woke up this morning, after having a very vivid and intense dream about Harrison Ford, that maybe my feet were never really that warm to begin with, ya know?” 

Everyone is nodding, as if they do know. Nancy has her eyebrows knitted together, Robin looks a bit too amused, Jonathan looks confused, and Argyle is casually dipping his tea bag into his mug, like this is a normal thing unfolding in front of them.

“Look, I was in a frat in college. I am very comfortable with my sexuality or whatever and I didn’t let the dream sway any decision making at that moment.”

Eddie resists the urge to ask him what exactly this sexuality is. 

“So it wasn’t Harrison…” Nancy presses, her hand motioning as if to say, 'Please continue this batshit story.'

“It wasn’t him,” He takes a sip from his mug, the rest of the group inches closer. “It happened about 10 minutes later, when Lola was knocking on my door, standing there in tears.”

“Fuck,” Robin drags out the word, Jonathan lets out a low whistle.

“Turns out, she also had lukewarm feet throughout most of our relationship. She wanted to call it off. And that’s when I knew we had to. Because any normal fiance would’ve freaked the fuck out, right? Would’ve started begging or pleading or yelling or something! But I had nothing. Nothing but relief.” 

The collective air in the room deflates. 

“So, we devised a plan. We’d both get ready, business as usual. And I’d be the one to sneak out of the bathroom window in the groom’s suite. Before we realized it was on the second story of the hotel.” 

He shrugs, as Eddie studies his attire a little closer, seeing he does have twigs and a smattering of leaves on his now-discarded jacket.

“Steve, I know you’re vulnerable and whatever,” Robin says, pausing when Nancy smacks her arm. “But, why here? Why us?” Motioning between her and Nancy.

He chuckles, eyes now looking down into his cup. Eddie can't help but stare at this very odd man sitting in front of him.

“I don’t know. I guess it was mostly because I knew you lived in the city. But there’s another part of me that knew you’d understand. You were one of the only people I’ve ever met that tried understanding me for me. Not what you wanted me to be.” 

And that's, wow. Why on Earth would he say something like that? Now Eddie has to cope with the fact that not only is this dude still hot, he sounds sweet as hell. 

“C’mon, let’s get you up to the apartment.” 

He can’t cope. 

- 

“Mom, you’re gonna need to stop crying or hand the phone back to dad.” Steve pleads. He's been on the phone for about an hour at this point, everyone else scattered around Nancy's apartment, listening.

Eddie, most of the shock worn off by now, is sitting at Nancy’s kitchen table, eating a pie straight from the tin and unable to tear his eyes away from the train wreck that is Steve Harrington, still in his damp clothes, but stripped down to an undershirt and the tux pants and no shoes or socks.

Watches him keep tugging hard at his hair every time a muffled yell comes out of the phone, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. 

No wonder this guy ran away. 

Robin sits backwards on the chair next to Eddie’s as Steve stumbles out of the window onto the terrace, where the rain has somewhat let up.  

“Do you think he’s gay?” He asks as soon as Steve is fully outside. 

“Definitely not straight." Robin plucks the fork from Eddie's hand.

Jonathan shrugs, sighing as he finally sets the change of clothes down on the table and takes a seat.. He has been holding a change of clothes from his apartment in his hands for at least a half hour, waiting for Steve to get off the phone with his parents. 

"I mean, who talks about Harrison Ford in the same breaths as explaining why you ran away from your wedding?” He says, stealing the fork from Robin. 

“I never think about Harrison Ford unless I’m watching him on tv. And even then I barely think about him.” 

“Does that answer your question?” 

Before Eddie can say, not really, his thoughts are interrupted by a commotion coming from the other side of the room where the bedroom doors are closed.

Nancy comes out of the spare room, curly hair frizzier than it had been on the way up the stairs from the coffee shop, rubbing her temples and pulling on her face as she joins the group in the living room. 

“Are they still arguing?” She asks, craning her neck to get a better look at him out on the terrace. He’s still gesturing wildly, doing a lot more yelling. 

“I think so?” Robin turns her head like a confused dog, watching him gesture wildly with his free hand. 

“One minute he’s telling his dad that he doesn’t want to live like him and then it sounds like his mom is crying, I think he talked to his old nanny at one point?” 

“His parents sound like a mess.” Eddie says, earning three different versions of a 'no-duh' look from his friends.

“Have you seen the apple? What kinda tree do you think it fell from?” Jonathan says, passing the fork back to Eddie, which is then snatched away by Nancy. She takes the pie tin from them, putting it back in the fridge. 

They can hear the window opening and Steve falling back inside, silent cursing to himself. 

“No dad, you listen!” All their heads snap in the direction of Steve. Once again, soaking wet. His face is red, his already big hair standing up in every direction, and an insane look on his eyes.

Are his pupils dilated?

“Fine! I don’t care, I don’t care anymore! Cut me off! I don’t care! You know what,” Steve struggles to get his wallet out of his pocket, pauses and just throws the wallet across the room. Muffled yelling comes from the phone. “I'm snapping my credit cards right fucking now!" 

"I’ll stay here, with Nancy and Robin and you can take that inheritance and shove it up your ass!” Steve hangs up the phone and throws it onto the loveseat next to him. 

No one moves. No one speaks. The air is still, but only for a moment.

“I think this is where the sitcom audience would clap.” Eddie forgot Argyle has been laying down on the couch this entire time. Steve’s red face suddenly looks sickly pale. 

"I think I'm gonna be sick."

Jonathan and Nancy hop up from their spots, Robin hands him a brown paper bag, and they guide him to the couch. Eddie watches this all unfold, lingering in the background. Not one for comfort, especially being the king of mommy and daddy issues, without the complicated mess of being a trust fund baby, he has nothing helpful to add. 

“It’s gonna be okay, just try taking deep breaths.” 

Steve nods, the paper bag inflating and deflating slower, but still rather fast. 

“Would it help if I sang a song?” 

The bag inflates and deflates even slower, everyone just sort of stares at Argyle. 

“Don’t worry, about a thing, because every little thing, is gonna be alright.” Steve slowly brings the paper bag down, rests his hand on Argyle’s forearm.  

“I think I’m okay now, thank you.” He visibly winces at the lackluster Bob Marley

“Don’t mention it, mon.” 

For some godforsaken reason, Steve looks right at Eddie as they make the same face, an eyebrow hiked up to their hairlines, the physical embodiment of a scoff without actually scoffing. All while making eye contact with each other. 

Eddie looks away quickly, jumping out of the chair so fast that it scrapes against the floor, startling everyone in the room. 

“What am I gonna do?” He sounds panicked. 

“We’re gonna help you figure it out,” Jonathan says, sat on the coffee table across from him. 

“You can stay here with me, Jonathan and Robin live across the hall, it’ll be fun.” Nancy is patting his arm. 

“But what about money? I have none of that!” 

“There are these things called jobs,” Eddie says, Nancy snaps her head around and damn-near snarls at him. Steve’s brown paper bag is back to inflating and deflating. 

The phone rings, saving Eddie from immediate doom via-Nancy Wheeler. 

Nancy looks at the time and is now the one to get up from her seat next to Steve like something bit her on the ass.

“Shit! Shit shit shit!”

“What's with all the shit, Wheeler?” Eddie asks, Nancy flipping him off as the phone continues to ring in her hand.

“I forgot to call Frank and cancel.”

“Who’s Frank?” 

“My date,” she says, immediately sending Eddie a scrunched up face and mouthing sorry.  

“Wait wait wait, Frank? As in, Frank the Creepy Paper Salesman?” Robin hops over the backside of the couch, falling into Nancy. The phone stops ringing. Nancy takes a deep breath, closing her eyes and looking up at the ceiling.

Creepy was a generous assessment of the piece of work that is Frank. Asking Nancy on dates ever since she started working at The Times, stopping by the office ad nauseam, so much so, he has become a regular fixture in the lore surrounding Nancy's office.

“Yes, that Frank.” 

“Is the dating well running that dry Nance? So dry you finally said yes to Frank the creepy paper salesman?” 

“Listen, he caught me in a momentary lapse of judgment.”

“Were you conscious during this lapse?” 

"Fully, I just. It's been a while since I'd been on a date and my mom would not stop pestering me about it on the phone literal minutes, seconds even, before Frank showed up to talk to my boss. So, when he did his usual creep routine of asking me out, I said yes."

“Was he as surprised as we are?” Eddie asks, Nancy nods, wincing. 

"And are you regretting the yes?"

"Fully!" 

The phone is ringing again. 

“Hello,” she answers, sounding like she has a congested nose. “Hi Frank, yeah, I’m not feeling that well. Yeah, maybe we can postpone. I’ll call you, yeah.” 

“I’m sorry Nancy, I know this was kinda my fault.” Steve’s voice continues to be muffled by the bag. 

“I can’t believe you thought I’d be upset about you going out with Frank the Creep.” Eddie sits back down in the kitchen chair. Is he really that fragile? Can his friends really not share their downfalls with him like they used to? 

“I don’t know! You freaked when Robin went on a date with Tam-” 

“Aht! Aht!” Robin waves her hands in the air, almost elbowing Steve. “We are not talking about my dating life. I am striking this down immediately!” 

“Point still stands, then. You’re still very upset about Michelle.” And the sound of her name feels like a cartoon anvil dropping inside of his stomach, dropping and dropping. 

“We are not gonna talk about Michelle right now.” He deadpans. 

“Who’s Michelle?” Steve asks, paper bag back in front of his face, inflating and deflating as he speaks.  All of the air has been kicked out of Eddie’s lungs. 

“Eddie’s ex,” Argyle whispers loudly, with no effort made to keep Eddie from hearing him. 

“We are not talking about Michelle right now!” Eddie yells. Everyone goes quiet. 

“Right now we are going to focus on getting Steve to stop breathing into a paper fucking bag!” 

To which they all look over at Steve, who is staring at everyone with wide eyes and the bag no longer dramatically inflating and deflating, just held to his mouth as he stares around the room. 

“I’m actually starting to feel a little better.” He says, into the bag. Inflating and deflating. 

-

-

-

Across the hall, Eddie has his feet kicked up on Jonathan and Robin’s couch, hands linked and resting on his stomach. His head in Robin’s lap and his feet on Jonthan’s lap, staring up at the ceiling where he can see a spaghetti stain splattered across the asbestos pattern. 

Jeopardy is playing in the background but none of them are paying attention. Argyle is sat on the floor, head close to Eddie’s as they all pass around a joint. 

“So, you let her take the TV, the bedroom set, and the living room set. What do you even have left at your place?” 

“Pots and pans?” 

“Dude,” Argyle blows a ring of smoke in the air. “That is so not cool.” He passes Eddie the joint.

“I felt bad. It’s my fault we’re in this situation.” 

“There are no faults, and yet you’re still punishing yourself.” Jonathan says, eyes glued to the TV, a familiar spacey look on his face. 

Argyle checks his watch and gets up from the floor, patting around his pockets. 

“Looks like it’s time for me to head out, Aunt Miriam is making midnight spaghetti and I wanna get there before her boyfriend eats all the garlic bread.” 

“Midnight spaghetti?” and “Your great aunt has a boyfriend?” are asked by Eddie and Robin respectively at the same time. 

“See ya man,” Jonathan yells as the door shuts behind him. 

Robin knocks on Eddie’s head lightly before pushing him off of her, stretching and yawning as she stands. 

“I’m gonna go raid Nance’s for some more beers,” He swings he feet off of Jonathan’s lap and stretches. 

“I’ll get your pillow and blankey situated,” Robin says. Eddie half turns to send her a salute before shutting the door, opening the one across the hall almost in one fell swoop. 

He doesn’t expect to see Steve still up, sitting at the same kitchen chair he spent most of the afternoon and evening in. Most of the color returned to face, a glass of wine and an open bottle on the table. 

“Hey,” He says, curious and careful

“Hi.” Steve smiles warmly at him, gesturing the bottle at him, Eddie takes it as an invitation. 

“You alright?” He grabs a wine glass from Nancy’s hanging glass rack. 

“Yeah, couldn’t sleep.” 

“Why? A lot on your mind?” Eddie takes the seat across form him. 

“You’re funny,” Steve fills Eddie’s glass. “I remember you being kinda funny in high school.” To that, Eddie fakes a dagger to the heart, startling Steve a bit, who is looking at Eddie with the same type of amusement that everyone looked at him with a few hours ago. 

“If seventeen-year-old-me heard you say that you remembered me at all from high school, there’d be an Eddie shaped hole in that door.” Eddie takes a swig from his wine, thanking whoever is in charge of the universe that it's red wine, giving him an explanation for the blush already blooming on his face. Well, a better explanation than a cute guy laughing at his silly jokes. 

“Of course I remember you, how could I forget all those lunchtime sermons about how cool and different you were and how lame and boring the rest of us were.” Steve says, not hiding how much it he seems to enjoy that the little walk down memory lane has started to make Eddie visibly cringe.

“Don’t remind me of that,” Eddie groans into his glass. 

“You seem a lot softer now.” 

Eddie drags his eyes up from where they were studying the knick in the the wood on the table, meeting Steve’s gaze. 

“You caught me at a soft time in my life, Harrington.”

“Right,” Steve leans back in his chair, brings his own glass to his lips, pausing to take a sip. “Your ex.” 

“Yep, my ex.” 

“Did she just, totally break your heart?” He asks, throwing Eddie off guard a bit. He didn't expect Steve to be so forward with his nosiness. Kinda respects it. 

“No, it was more like. I broke my own heart.” 

“What does that even mean?” 

He looks at Steve. Really looks at him, and can almost see the kindness actually spilling out of those pretty brown eyes, how he came to Robin and Nancy specifically to help him out, knowing that they would. 

“It means, I realized that she’s not really my type after all. After eight years together, I finally realized that I am g-” he clears his throat. 

“That I’m gay. No matter how much I love her, no amount is going to change the fact that I wasted both of our time.” 

Eddie can’t bear to look up at Steve, but feels his eyes on him. 

The glug glug sound of wine pouring out of the bottle breaks the silence, Eddie finally looks up. 

“You need it more than I do,” Steve says, taking a swig from the bottle, tipping it over the table to show that it’s now empty. 

This makes Eddie laugh. A full belly laugh that seems to be contagious, as Steve’s now laughing, a snort escaping his nose and mouth, making the two laugh even harder. 

“You guys, seriously?” Nancy comes out of her room, robe on and rollers in her hair. “Some of us have to work in the morning!” 

“Sorry Nance, we’ll keep it down.” 

“Sorry.” 

She looks at them, her face softens with look of mild bewilderment. Stands there for a few seconds longer than she otherwise would’ve, before wordlessly going back into her bedroom. 

“That reminds me, I need to get one of those.” Steve says as her door clicks shut. 

“One of what?” 

“A job, or something.” 

“I can put a good word in for you at a few places.” He says, taking a big gulp from the very full wine glass. 

“Thanks, Eddie.” 

He can’t help but think maybe, just maybe, he will be able to cope with Steve being around.