#well i'll have to see what i can do............i wanna save the girlies if i can dkdjfjdj

[vonlipvig]

NOOOOOO I AM AN ALLYYYYYY

[almightygremlinblob]

Gojo Satoru HCs - Canon & Fanon!

���️CONTENT WARNINGS:⚠️ None, for the first part. Under the cut is when stuff gets weird. So minors and those uncomfy with anything remotely sexual don't click the "Keep Reading/Read More"! Will put another warning, tho. Just in case.

This is for my fellow Gojo girlies, platonic and romantic, because WOOOW 261 MAN. Sukuna's up next and then I'll probably dip again lmao. 💅🏽✨

Word Count: 855

Gojo Satoru HCs - Canon Gojo

A mix of HCs and character analysis, if Imma be honest.

1.) His arrogance is an act - both to himself and to others; although a part of him IS actually crazy. He grew up a spoiled rich kid, yes, but the weight of what he represented in the Jujutsu world has been ingrained in him since…well, he could conceptualize things. He is the strongest, and as such he is responsible for the world's safety (at least against curses) - it is in danger if he isn't. He's the strongest because he also HAS to be. 2.) Is definitely a boy dad to his students - guy OR girl. Though, like Nanami, he does try to make sure his female students feel comfortable around him; he's just more obnoxious about it. Not condescending...just obnoxious. Calls out and makes fun of the male students that make the girls uncomfortable, gives them more breaks if they specify that it's their time of them month and they need it, calls them a cab he can monitor to get them home safe (though he does this for all of his students, to be fair), or other stuff along the likes of that. 3.) Bisexual and Demiromantic, but his first and currently only love was Geto. 4.) Is apathetic to the weak because thinking about them would only weigh him down. Moreso than Suguru's betrayal, I think the deaths of his friends - who were arguably the weaker ones - really solidified in his mind just how important it was to be the strongest because it was so personal to him. The more he cares about the weak, the more he thinks about that instead of BEING it - it's an unnecessary weight. He only needs to focus on being the strongest, and then he can be there for the weak if they need him. 5.) HOWEVER, Geto's betrayal and Nanami's initial quitting only further served to isolate him, to prove to him that strength = loneliness. This is probably where his dream of creating more sorcerers equal to him in strength came from. Guy knows how lonely it is at the top, and doesn't want that for anyone else.

Gojo Satoru HCs - Fanon Gojo x Reader

These can be read as either platonic or romantic. Reader's gender and sex isn't specified.

1.) Teacher has a faaaavoriiiittee…(if romantic then favorite other teacher, random person, sorcerer, NOT student)… 2.) Despite how bold he often is, Gojo shows that he cares and looks out for you in very subtle ways - whether that be gently convincing you to take a break when you clearly need it, standing in between you and the road, giving you his umbrella when it's raining (he doesn't need it - he kept it for you in case you ever did), carrying extra meds you may need on hand, or even just getting you a snack, coffee or tea when you need a pick me up. 3.) Congratulations, you now have access to a luxurious mansion(s)! Gives you the keys to one of his many estates. Come and go as you please. 4.) If anybody makes you upset, he won't do anything drastic per se but…he WILL embarass them, somehow - though he often disguises it as a harsh joke at the expense of the other. 5.) Grew up as a weapon, basically, and when he finds someone that actually treats him like a person - he sticks to them like glue, without even realizing it.

Alright you know the drill. Minors and anyone uncomfy with anything remotely sexual DNI, and just scroll past. Don't click the "KEEP READING" if you don't wanna see all the sex-y stuff, and just go on with your day, furendo!

Fanon Gojo - Romantic

⚠️Further Content Warnings!⚠️

Honestly, not much LMAO - I'll save that for the actual fic in, like, 10 years from now. Mostly Gojo fluff, some mentioned sexual activities, and Sub!Gojo.

1.) Inexperienced with women. As much as I love the fanon interpretation of Gojo, he has probably never once touched a woman in his life, even if he and Geto were popular during their younger years. Guys though? Yeah you guessed it - he and Geto had each OTHER. 2.) Adding on to the point above, this guy is LOOYAAAAL when he finds someone that he truly loves. Just look at him and Geto. He has YET to move on after Geto 💔 3.) A golden retriever boyfriend. AND shares his sweets with you but he has to feed them to you. He HAS to. 4.) Guy is a needy, WHINY sub in bed. Loves to please and can stay seated in between your legs for HOURS as long as you praise him. Loud AF too and is absolutely shameless about it - it ruins everyone's day (except for you and him). Loves the wear the marks you leave on him like a crown and it's awkward for EVERYONE. 5.) Because he has so many responsibilities, and the Jujutsu world won't give him a break, you guys don't actually spend much time together - even moreso if you're a sorcerer, too. Expect missing anniversaries, cancelled plans, mismatched schedules, even nights without each other. Despite this, Gojo does try for you, he really does. He calls and texts whenever he can, sees you the moment his schedule allows, and brings home something for you every time.

I LITERALLY CAN'T WITH THE LEAKS PLEASE JUST TAKE THIS

[mermaidsirennikita]

But Books, Though: A Blogger Intro

Hi! I'm Caroline. I read a lot of books. 99% of these are currently romance novels. That could change, but it hasn't in a while. Sometimes, you will see my opinions on things like TV, movies, niche topics. Sometimes, you will see a reblogged post. Mostly... it's books.

Update: I am a Pango Ambassador! What is Pango? It's a website for buying and selling used books (forgive me if that's the exact language of their ad, it plays a lot for me because the Internet Knows All).

If you wanna try it and save money, use code DIFFICULTWOMANREADS for $5 off your first order of $10 or more. Do I get an affiliate kickback? Yes. But it's in the form of Pangobucks, enabling me to buy more books to rant about. Use it or don't, totally up to you!

I like Pango because a) I find that more of the sellers on Pango are actual people versus chains b) it's easier for me to tell the condition of the book I'm getting and ask questions c) I've found a LOT of collectible romance novels there. And, big one: they have a tagging system and categories by genre. Which means you cans search everything from thrillers to historical romance Makes it way easier to find niche books.

Even if you aren't a collector, though, I think it's a great way to be a little more sustainable and pick up physical media you could always sell again or trade in to your local used bookstores. (Highly recommend doing that! It's fun!)

I'm a big used books girly in general because it's a great to save money (often cheaper than ebooks for mass market paperbacks especially) and... I don't know. I love a good find.

Quick Links:

My rating system

My ARC review tag

My Bookstagram

My StoryGraph

My book recs tag

^ This is for all rec requests I get, as well as book reviews wherein I would recommend the book (all books I recommend are 4 stars or higher on my rating system, unless otherwise noted).

There will be repetition, as I rarely leave a rec request hanging and don't often remember to link back to previous asks. Also, new books happen! I also don't currently have subcategory tags breaking them up. I'm sorry. Eventually, I'll try to do that, but... it would definitely require some work, as I've been recommending books on here for literal years :).

[writefinch]

FRIENDLY CHAT

Hey! Sorry to pull you in here before your break, we just need a quick chat. So, long story short, uh, a customer complained that you point-blank offered him a condom.

This isn't the first time. You know it's against company policy. You're only supposed to get them if the customer requests it first. Like, you're not even supposed to have them on display. I know that part is stupid, but if the regional manager checks the tapes and sees condom bowls in plain view, I'd still get written up.

No, no, absolutely not, I'm not going to write you up. I don't think it's necessary and you know it goes totally against my management style. I want to talk through your concerns.

I wanna remind you that we take all the recommended industry-standard precautions. In fact we go above them! First off, you're fully vaxxed, and that's the end of ninety percent of things to worry about, period. You've got an IUD on the company health plan, even though your T-shots probably suppress it. The customers get a physical screen in the waiting area. All us boys and girlies get tested every three weeks, twice as frequent as the industry standard.

That's already extensive, it makes you safer than the vast majority of people in our line of work. If we did any more, customers will get the wrong idea. They'll think we're an unclean brothel with unclean customers. It'd remind them too much of all the you-know-what from the past few years.

Yes, you're not wrong about that. Breakthrough infections happen, and people get sick. But you know what I'm gonna say? You're very robust, you know that? You've been here for what, eighteen months, you've been pulling long hours and beacoup extra shifts and you've barely caught a sniffle. The testosterone must be helping!

Now you might not stay this lucky forever, that's why we have six paid sick days and a flexible admin rota. Usually when you catch something it'll be a mild itch and trouble peeing. You won't even wanna rest, and yeah you won't get the full rate for paid clients, you can still get paid to do the laundry and the paperwork for a week while it clears up.

Every year I get a couple of colds from my kids and take three or four days off, and every year I always get a VD from one of the clients and spend a week washing sheets and cleaning dildos. You know what that gives me? Two or three days rolled over into vacation time!

Yes, you can get unlucky. You can get a couple of back-to-back infections. I tell every boy and girl who starts here the same thing: before they take out a loan on a new car or move out of their toxic roommate situation, make sure to get two weeks pay in a savings account. Even if you do have to dip into your rainy day fund, you know full well that there's always extra shifts to pick up around here.

Yeah, you can catch something nasty. You can have a bad reaction. We all remember how scary it was before the vaccines were available. But here's the thing: you drive to work, right? You're on the freeway twice a day. Forty-thousand people die every year in car crashes, and tens of thousands more get life-changing injuries. You don't spend every day worrying about that, right?

You just get on with it and live your life.

Look, I'm really sorry about this whole thing. You're really special to me, you know that? You're a genuine friend to me, I mean that. We get on really well, all the girls love you, you're a hit with clients and that's why I jumped on this y'know? This job is only as fun as the people here make it, and I don't want to see you written up for something that can be talked out.

Discipline here is so stupid. I'm fucking sick of the owners hassling girls, and boys, out of working here and then crying and bitching when we can't meet customer demand.

I said I'd be out of here as soon as I get my HVAC cert but if they put us all through that again I'll just quit on the spot. That's why I want to look out for you. You've helped me through some really difficult times, on shift and off. I wouldn't have been able to get through junket season without you. I'm serious, if you hadn't joined when you did, there'd be gun laws named after me.

Thanks for listening, and again, I'm sorry for even bringing this stuff up. Just promise you'll keep what I've said in mind? We've all got to look out for each other here.

Hey, once you're back from break, can I have your help with something? I've got a no-refusal client and well, all the other girls refused. What? No I don't want you to take him, c'mon man I'm not gonna let you off a written warning to guilt you into picking up my shit, honestly! No, I'm the supervisor on shift so it's up to me.

Anyway he's not into boys, even pretty ones like you, sorry. But he's a real charmer, so would you mind sticking close in case he starts throwing up or throwing hands? If I have to hit the panic button I think Sergei will throw him out of a window, and nobody needs that headache.

Thanks, I really appreciate it. We'll be in the spa room, so let me know when you're ready to play pool boy…

[notstinky]

@highoctanegem replied to your post “[pm] How are you feeling babe? Has Van Do you...”:

[pm] Oooooh, can I see it? I'll be so normal about it, you have my word <3 Wow, that's like major plot development there, girly. [user feels kinda nice about this actually!] [DEL: Has Van] Well that's awesome. And the best part is, I didn't even have to lie about it. Have I? Not really... maybe I should. Save other folks being threatened by murderous birds while telling them how to get their lives together, YEAH! [DEL: So really quick q]

​[pm] You...wanna see my head? [user attaches a photo of her bald head, her hair is growing in! But also there's a severed arm in the background. oops]

Really? Idk. I don't wanna be one of those people that's like One Direction "That's What Makes You Beautiful" but I've never really thought about myself as like "hot". "Cute" sometimes, but never "hot".

Yeah! I think you could pull it off, Jade. It would be so much cooler than............whatever you do for work. I don't actually know.

[pico-digital-studios]

👋 ^_^

So, since I can ask you any questions, here’s mine! ^^

Who is your favourite & least favourite character from:

Cartoon

Anime

Video Game

Comic/Manga

Etc

And why? ^^

OMT!Mina: Looks like we got our first question! Considering how obscure our stories seem to be compared to most, I'm honestly quite surprised.

CU!Sonic: Okay, let's see... @btnfstudios asks "Who is your favourite & least favourite character from cartoons, anime, video games, comics, etc., and why?"

OMT!Tails: Since there weren't any tags, I thought we'd take the question first to start things off. Sorry in advance that Antho, Brian and Devy couldn't be here for the question. They had some errands to attend to.

Nitro: That's fine. At least Smol Devy managed to get here!

Smol Devy: Hewwo! ^v^

OMT!Tails: Well, as it happens, aside from me idolising Benjamin, my favourite video game character's gotta be Alex Kidd. I really admire the effort he goes to to ensure his dad's safe from harm.

Nitro: Man, I really admire him for being able to do that, even when I couldn't...

OMT!Tails: (comfortingly) Solidarity, buddy.

Nitro: Anyway, if I was to pick between cartoon characters, I'd say I really admire Fluttershy's gentle and all-loving nature, even in the midst of danger. Trust me, you don't wanna be on the wrong end of her bad temper if she gets into one.

D-Sides Mighty: You know, I really dig Spider-Punk and his refusal to abide by society's perceptions and ideals. Reminds me of how my dimension's refusing to stick to a consistent "canon".

BK!Amy: If it's from my favourite anime, I've gotta go with Tohru Honda. I really enjoyed seeing her know that all bad things have to come to an end someday as well.

CR!Sonia: I don't really see much appeal in the cartoon characters that are solely girly and not much else.

CU!Sonia: Ditto. It's why I admire tomboy female characters from cartoons like Lana Loud, who's less enamoured with dresses and prefers activities the guys get up to like skateboarding.

Nitro: Heh, I remember she looks up to Ronnie-Anne a lot back home.

CU!Sonia: Wait, you used to live in the same town she did?

Nitro: Long story. I'll tell you later, if you'd like.

CU!Sonia: Of course!

CU!Sonic: You know, if a character in any of those media is in a healthy relationship with their loved ones, that's all I need to like for them. That, and good character development, of course.

Mr. Needlemouse: Favourite cartoon character? I am a cartoon character! (smug) What more needs to be said about me?

CR!Sonic: To be fair, you did end up on the list of "Top Worst-Behaved Cartoon Characters" recently.

Mr. NM: That again?! Remind me what I did again?

CR!Sonic: Well, blowing stuff up for the heck of it, you and Beeman being as bad as each other, hello?

EX!Alice: You know, I've really found an admiration for Blue Beetle, in a way. Seeing Batman go out of his way to see if he has what it takes to be a hero is such an honour not a lot of people get to experience.

OMT!Mina: I'd say Sam Sharp's my favourite. Rock and roll!

CR!Sonic: My personal favourite game character to this day? It's gotta be Mario! Dude's just saving the day just outta the goodness of his heart, you know?

Mini Sonic: Hmm, let's see... I'll opt for Green Lantern. I mean, come on! He can build anything just with that ring of his!

Wacky: You know, I've found Tintin to be quite the intrepid adventurer in his comics and film, especially when alongside his dog, Snowy.

Hog: What about Cuphead? Does he count?

Wacky: Well, he started as a video game, not a cartoon, though the similarities are there. Plus, he got his own TV show!

Hog: Cool! Where can I see it?

Wacky: Let's see... Ah, bummer. It's behind a Netflix subscription.

Hog: Hmph! If only there was a way to pirate that so I could watch it.

Nitro: I'm sure Lucia will figure out a way later.

Nine: My favourite in anime's definitely that guy from Fist of the North Star. I mean, he's almost unstoppable with those rapid-fire punches and hitting weak points. Omae wa mou shindeiru!

CR!Manik: I'm... gonna pretend I don't know what that means. Dad has really been getting me and Sonia into Wind in the Willows, one of those older British stop-motion cartoons. I particularly find Mr. Toad really hilarious to watch, haha! Poop-poop! The poetry of motion! What about you, Smol Devy?

Smol Devy: Me really likes Ana and Kat! They awesome ninja fwiends!

Trip: Hehe! Glad you're getting on well with them, little guy. I haven't seen a lot of that media before meeting my Team Sonic, but there's something I found appealing about Gromit, Wallace's dog; he's often the one to save the day when all those inventions Wallace makes either go awry or are vandalised by villains.

OMT!Tails: He really is an admirable character, even if he doesn't talk. And there you have it! Thanks for the question, Brendan!

Footnote

Nitro: Pst! I just wanted to throw in my part for the second half of that question for you, Brendan. For the "least favourite character" concerning cartoons for me, under the Looney Tunes lot, that title's absolutely going to Pepé Le Pew. His whole schtick is absolutely inappropriate by today's standards, and I'm glad I haven't seen him around Toontopia. As Vincent Alexander once put it, "If there's any moral to the cartoons, it's that if you act like Pepé, you stink." Well, thanks for the question, dude!

[eyes-of-nine]

question 17 & 18 for .... ALL of them!! :3 i wanna know more bout them all :'D

(but also of course u can also just choose to answer this question for only some of them that u wanna answer it for)

AHFDGGADFH ELLY!! i'll try to keep the intros really really short bc there's quite a few

17.Are they easily embarrassed?

18.What embarrasses them?

Asher (annoying guy with light powers who thinks he can out manipulate everyone.... he can't) i don't think he's easily embarrassed on most occasions, especially with the shit he pulls off, but there are some exceptions. The biggest thing you could embarrass them with is a big spoiler but let's just say an indirect compliment could make him scream internally.

Mitchell (champion of the Ennoia of Desire, he basically gets to be almost immortal as long as he does the gods' dirty work) easily the most embarrassible (??) one out of the ashmix trio. My man cringes every time he has to hold a conversation with anyone. Pointing out basically anything he does whether positive or negative would do the trick. He is very confused when ppl can perceive him.

Phoenix (is having the worst time bc suddenly and for seemingly no reason she might be able to destroy the world and not a lot of ppl are happy about it) Girl has NO SHAME. It would be impressive to get her to show any sort of embarrassment. ...maybe except for the fact she has like -7 perception or the fact her and Theo met bc she broke his nose after he snitched on her for skipping class.

Theo ( just some guy helping his sister run a cafe, saving up for top surgery and suffering bc he's best friends with Phoenix and that means he doesn't get to know peace...ever) He has a pretty decent grasp on his emotions so it's not THAT EASY to embarrass him. He does tend to put other's needs before his own tho so I think just making him the center of attention for long enough would be enough

Star (Theo's oldest friend and a chaos gremlin who runs around using the fact that nobody suspects a small almost blind guy of smuggling illegal shit to, well, do exactly that) He's not someone who likes to show weakness, thanks to the social circles he tends to deal with, so he hides his embarrassment behind hostility. You could not tell if anything affects him or not. But there are some that tend to hit him hard. Specifically his financial situation or his ability/the reason his eyesight is fucked. He'd dislike you for it tho.

Taru-zai (Ennoia of Time and Space, in charge of running the jail between worlds and hunt down possible dangers to the order of the world) No.

Desiderem (Ennoia of Desire, consists of two incarnations: Rem the previous Ennoia of Desire who well is very dead and Des, the current desire incarnate and Mitchell's patron) almost impossible tho they do have a soft spot for their champions which is very not indifferent higher being of them

Different universe time babey!!

Harlow (girl turned android war machine/bodyguard who after a failed android revolution that she barely escaped alive is forced to pick up pieces of her broken life back together on a desolate planet) Girlie should be happy she can't blush any more bc she would look like a tomato 24/7. If you mention anything about her not being a stoic, cold-blooded get things done no matter the cost war machine, it's over for her which looking at her choice of travel companion, she's fucked.

Caitlyn (buff himbo who sees the best in everyone until they hurt someone she cares about, running around a desert planet scavenging to help out her family and Harlow's great choice of travel companion) Not really. She's a very earnest person and rarely feels like she needs to hide something. She does get embarrassed if you use her full name instead of her super cool definitely didn't think of it in middle school nickname Cai. i love her sm

last character and last universe

Maddy (a young medium who just graduated high school and is, to her annoyance, full-time pinning over the ghost of her best friend's gf while also trying to solve her murder. just think ultimate trio of disaster lesbians) She's a bit awkward, like most teenagers/ just freshly out of high school ppl tend to be. She has a dad who loves to tease her and well looking at the bio, embarrassing her isn't that hard

oc asks

[cashandprizes]

i was tagged by my gremlin partner in crime @mr-laveau to pick some songs and list the ships i associate them with. i am such a playlist girlie (gn) so this is very exciting for me!!! welcome to the inner machinations of my spotify~

Prissy (Alexis/Christian) - I know @autisticempathydaemon will have their own song (Hozier, I bet) for them but this is mine. It fits Christian's dorky but trying so hard vibes for me

Hot Honey Pizza/51 Shades of Honey (Guy/Honey) - SOMEONE i won't name names stole my song, so I had to pick another one! This is because of the silly jail jokes.

DAMN Polycule (FL/Damien/Huxley/Gavin/Lasko) - thank you @calicostorms bc this is from your playlist (HE MAKES SUCH GOOD PLAYLISTS Y'ALL) and like I could see FL saying this

Sam/Darlin - it was either this or save a horse ride a cowboy or pony ok this song is what I say every time I talk about the terrible amazing things I would do to my favorite southern belle (including the tiktok adlib "bend me over break my back in and fuck me from the back-") but I think it's still kind of cute and fits them

Ivan/Baby or Regulus and his listener - if you're ever met me you know I love my yanderes so much and like, Miss Twigs was NOT playing with this one (not pictured but also relevant is #1 crush by garbage)

James and his listener - I imagine his listener writing letters to give him when he (HOPEFULLY???) comes back just telling them about everything going on. It's very sappy.

Marcus/Love - speaking of yanderes <3 of course I had to pick a Vocaloid CLASSIC for this one

Alexis/Sam - I just.... this song fits them so well for me there's another Mayday Parade song that I think works too!

Not a ship, but this song makes me think of Freelancer and Caelum in the first season 💖💖

Geordi/Cutie - I mean. The title says it.

Spotify has officially said this is the maximum amount of songs I can link so that's it for now. Maybe I'll make a part two? Who knows. This is Lexi 🌕, signing off.

tagging my friends (no pressure live ur life): @calicostorms @angelnoodlesoup @just-call-me-angel @horrorscoupes @bicyclepainting @ejunkiet @gingerbreadmonsters (sorry if you were already tagged!)

[tangents-within-tangents]

Anytime haha (that's a threat, tangents in bound, buckle up lol)

I honestly forgot about Hunter's fall on Daro, that's a good point (though I will say Tech's fall was a lot higher, plus the railcar would've fallen on top of him. Could still work, yes, but would take a lot more explaining/stretching). And I should say, the "rolling my eyes at Tech girlies' denial" joke has nothing to do with fanon stuff! To each their own of course, write your fics and au's, that's what they're for! But to me, in terms of canon like this is it. The show is over. If the writers were going to bring him back then they would have. The Batch got their send off and I wouldn't want that messed with. (Like I'll read Fives and Echo reunion fics all day, but I don't ever want him to actually come back in canon bc that's just not a good writing choice, you know?)

Personally, as a writer in the post-"Somehow Palpatine returned" era, I'm generally of the opinion that characters should stay dead, but as with anything it can work if you do it right. Setting headcanon stuff aside and looking at what we did get: For me, Tech coming back would've had to be handled extremely well for it to be a good narrative choice (which frankly, doesn't really seem like something the show was prepared to do :/ )

The difference with Nemec is that I don't think he should have died in the first place (which I guess plenty of people would say the same about Tech but at that point we're talking about a WHOLE different story). It served no purpose narratively or in the story (as the post I linked above explains more) especially since Rex's clones never even showed up again so there's zero difference if he had just lived. His death IS narratively weightless (a split second shot vs like the whole s2 finale hinging around Tech's death), so undoing it wouldn't negatively impact the story (doesn't affect themes, arcs, stakes, and character choices). And it could also have many story benefits in seeing more of a character whose potential was unnecessarily cut off after only ~6 mins of screen time (as opposed to Tech's two whole seasons of development). Like I said, if we ever do get a clone rebellion show (more potential canon) I think Nemec deserves to be a part of it, and I guess this theory is a way for that to happen within the limits of canon

(Main character favoritism/red shirt side character treatment is also a HUGE writing pet peeve of mine in general (all it does is make the mc's plot armor more apparent!) so that has a part in this too lol)

Now! To digress even further:

Just wanna say, I don't think it's fair to say Tech's sacrifice was useless.

He didn't know that Omega was a target at that point, so her capture has nothing to do with it. His sacrifice wasn't technically (lol?) for the success of the mission, it was, in the moment, purely to save his family. Bc if he hadn't given his life both cars would have fallen and they all would have died. The fact that they are alive means that his sacrifice worked and has meaning (unlike say Echo's original 'death' in TCW which had no impact on the Citadel mission, or Fireball's sacrifice if Nemec dies 10 mins later. Both of those were unlucky deaths too btw unlike Tech's which was a knowing choice, like Hevy and Hardcase's)

And I think that's what Hunter's getting at with "we're not gonna waste it." Bc if Tech gave his life for theirs, he doesn't want to throw that away by putting their lives at risk again (and yes Hunter's incessant 'refusal of the call' is frustrating as heck (like I have THOUGHTS about this that I've been trying to work out in many a draft posts rn lol) but it is consistent for his character. And if we consider that he is currently grieving a brother he didn't have to lose, it does makes sense (like to him his hesitancy about the mission was just proven horribly right and he wants to prevent that from happening again)). Anyway, point being Tech's sacrifice isn't useless, narratively or otherwise, because in this context, the direct result of it is this:

So in a way the Batch happily living the life they choose is how they honor Tech and make his sacrifice worth it

(which like maybe I'm reading into that a bit and giving more thematic credit than is due, it would've been nice to have a line or something about that, but wHaTeVeR)

I just

look at him

look how cute he is

ahhhhhh

[cheelduh]

How to bet your way into someone’s heart. (Highschool AU)

Pairing: Childe x fem!reader

Warnings: Fake weed. Poor Signora smh. Oh yes, lots of swearing. UNEDITED ASF IM LAZY BYE.

Synopsis: Childe is being an infatuated idiot, Lisa has eyes for vending machine chocolate, and Kaeya is desperately in need of a pencil. With all these distractions, there’s no way in hell you’ll be able focus on the task at hand.

This is crack.

I don’t have time.

You think as you race down the hallway, shoes slapping against the floor as you expertly dodge multiple students in your way.

Bullet. You're as fast as a bullet, because everyone around you is a blur and you don't stop, can't stop, not until you meet your target.

It's funny how one can accomplish many challenges and feats they were unable to, merely due to pressure. Pressure is a twisted ugly thing that can gnaw its way into the pit of your stomach and grow like a parasite. Pressure is a parasite that can either bring the best in you, or the worst, but at the cost of one's peace of mind.

"Move it Signora!" You shouted a warning at the senior blocking your way. There wasn't any time for you slow down at that point, and you'd risk bumping into the breakfast club's stall if you swerved to the side, sending juice flying everywhere.

Signora's eyes widened momentarily, getting the gist albeit her anger, and choosing to back up flatly against the locker.

Her lipstick nearly slips from her fingers as you swerve past, a thick gust of wind in your wake.

It messes with the hair she woke up two hours early for.

Signora plots her revenge. You still don't have time.

You nearly kick the door to your home room down, but you can't risk the perfect image your teachers have of you. So you pat down your t-shirt, take five tempting deep breaths, and tentatively knock the door.

The door opens and you're met with a young man, familiar amber pupils welcoming you.

You try not to huff and puff at the cost of your stamina. Thinking back, there's no way in hell you could have physically been that fast.

"Good morning Y/N," Your homeroom teacher gives you a small smile, moving aside to let you in. "Class is just about to start."

You check your watch, then turn to him with an apologetic tone, trying not to crack under the eyes of your classmates. "I'm so sorry Mr.Zhongli, I slept through my alarm."

Your idiot ass forgot to set one because you studied till four in the morning.

"You're like thirty seconds late, cut the shit." Beidou boos from the back, causing your stance to stiffen.

"I don't wanna hear it Beidou. If anything, you're two periods earlier than usual." Ningguang calls her out for you, but you have a feeling it's more so on behalf of a personal vendetta.

Ignoring the two bickering, Mr.Zhongli gives you the handout. "Take a seat. Do not fret over such minuscule things dear."

Relief washes over you. Your impeccable attendance is not on the line.

Childe tries to flag you down next to him but you send him a pointed glare and sit next to Lisa instead.

"You should give him a chance you know." Lisa doesn't even have to open her eyes to know what's going on.

"Please," You scoff, digging through your bags to collect your notes. "As if I have the time to fool around with a shady kid like him."

Your friend sighs in disapproval, and makes no move to take out her own notes as Mr.Zhongli begins the lecture on the Archon war.

"You should really pay attention." It bothers you that she doesn't, but then again it's not your place to tell her what to do or not to do.

"I don't need to." She yawns, blinking an eye open towards you. "I have you after all."

"I'm tired of saving your ass." You groan and pull a pen out of your pocket to get started on the exercises as Mr.Zhongli talks in the background.

The course outline contained all the topic, and you made sure to teach yourself as much as you could before class to stay ahead.

Immersed in the worksheet, you blinked away your sleep and tried to answer as many questions as you could at the moment. You didn't hear the slight shift next to you, and the change of breathing, or the rate of which time went by.

A familiar scent makes its way into your nostrils.

"Lisa. Why do you smell like mango juul juice." You know the scent from when Signora blew a mango flavoured fog in your face yesterday at lunch when you said you were hungry.

A chuckle erupts and you freeze in place. "That's because I'm not Lisa."

You blink. Once, twice, and then crane your head to the side to meet a pair of teasing cerulean eyes.

Fingers loosening in shock, the pen drops on the desk with a short thud.

You whisk your head towards the front of the classroom, and Mr.Zhongli is nowhere to be seen.

"There's no saving you now." Childe's smirk widens, and he scoots closer to you. "Mr.Zhongli had to get something from the staff room. The staff room is near the cafeteria."

"Which is also near the merch stall." You grumbled, bringing both hands to massage your temples as a headache is beginning it's reign.

"Tsk tsk. Smart girl. I'd like to add that he's forgotten his wallet in his office as well, which is in the south wing."

"Son of a..." You mutter underneath your breath, and opt to scoot further back, but your efforts are futile because your desk is in a corner.

Your next beacon of hope is Lisa, so you scan the room full of chattering students, only to find her pestering her crush, Jean.

Shit...there's nothing getting you out of this one.

"What did it take?" Is your only question, the despair starting to brew. How much did it take for your best friend to betray you?

"A dollar and fifty for vending machine chocolate."

You take a moment to breathe, calming your nerves and burying down the urge to screech. "What will it take?"

"For what?" Childe replies back innocently, and you can't believe how fast he can change masks. You almost give in.

"For you to leave me alone."

"Aww come on girlie," He whines, closing in the distance. "Don't be so cold."

What did your mom tell you that one time? Oh yes. That if you were ever backed against a wall, then just break the damn thing down.

Too bad it's figurative. You're just about ready to sock him in the face if you didn't know he was into that sort of thing.

"I'm serious about you," He says, and it sounds so real, so genuine, nearly makes you sputter. "See? I've even bought school supplies.

He unzips his light backback and spills the contents on the table.

A lone piece of paper flies out, a lighter, and a mechanical pencil with no lead that follows straight after. There's also a pocket knife that you choose to ignore.

You're not the least bit surprised.

"First of all, how the fuck are you passing this class. Second, do you really think I'm into nerds?"

"Well, considering that you are a nerd—"

"You're making things worse."

"My bad, my bad." He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "But on a serious note. I'll do anything."

You cross your arms. "I'm not just another one of your conquests Childe. It's not like I have the time. There are better things to do."

"You need to relax." He says so simply, with complete disregard as to what you are trying to say.

"I am relaxed." You reply, picking up your pen to continue your work. If he's going to annoy you, then you might as well get shit done while he's at it.

You're not wasting any more time.

"When was the last time you got a full eight hours of sleep?" His voice is soft, too soft, and it's not at all like the Childe you know.

Your pen stops momentarily, but you will yourself to continue writing. The words look fumbled, but you don't care. The best thing to do is get your work done and ignore the idiot next to you.

"C'mon, Zhongli won't be back for another half an hour at least. Let's go." He kicks the bottom of your chair to urge you.

The pen shakes in your hand, and you narrow your eyes at the paper, digging holes into poor question eight. "I'm trying to work here. Let me work." You'll say anything to get him off your back.

"Fine fine fine..." He raises both hands in mock surrender. "I'll stop bothering you."

Your ears perk up at that, and you turn to him so fast he has to hold in his laugh. "Really?"

"Yeah," Childe nods along, bringing your hopes up. "If you win a bet, that is." And they're back to ocean level.

You roll your eyes. There's always a catch. That doesn't mean you're any less interested.

"What's the bet?" You ask curiously, all your focus now on him. Just as he longed for from the very start.

He flicks a thumb towards the door, leaning closer to whisper next to your ear. "We bet when Zhongli comes back."

"Are you kidding me?" You aren't bothered at all at the close proximity, mainly because you're too tired and only care about the freedom that will come with your win.

Childe, however, is a completely different story. His heart is beating a thousand times a second, but his face doesn't show it. Not one bit.

Kaeya leans in from the seat behind you two, interested in what's going on. "Ooooh secrets."

"Shut up Kaeya." Childe and you monotonously drone in sync, still having your little staring contest.

The captain of the skating team smiles, about to ask—

"No. We don't have an extra pencil. Even if we did we wouldn't give it to you." Childe finally breaks his gaze to scare off Kaeya.

Kaeya raises a smug brow, and leans back in his chair like the jerkwad he is. "Then don't let me keep you two love birds."

That's all it takes for him to earn Childe's unwavering respect and loyalty for as long as he lives.

After the two are done creating an elaborate handshake as a mark of their newfound friendship, you decide to just forget about the handout. It's not like you're getting anything done anyways.

"Anyways, back to the bet." Childe says, resting his cheek on his fist as he stares at you dreamily. You try not to break under his gaze.

"If I win, you have to go on a date with me."

"No way in hell—"

"Then I'll bother you for the rest of highschool."

Highschool is eternity. You don't want to live through an eternity of this.

"Fine." You answer, and for the first time he sees genuine fear in your face, it makes him waver slightly. Not enough for him to pity you.

"If I win..." You trail, thinking loud and clear as you ignore the excited chatter of your classmates. "I want you to pay attention to class."

"What?" He exclaims incredulously, blinking in disbelief. "I thought you'd get me to stop talking to you altogether."

"If you're paying attention in class, you don't bother me as much and your grades go up." You grin smartly, and oh archons it livens his entire day up, and it's only nine in the morning.

"You care about my grades?" Childe bites back a smile.

"Not at all." You lie, and quickly look away. Woah the floor tile looking trippy.

He decides it's better to get on with the bet without causing you any more distress. After all, you've given him such cute facial expressions today. He's feeling quite generous.

Pulling out his cracked-as-shit latest model phone, he unlocks it and tinkers with it a bit before turning the screen towards you.

"We'll be using this to time both of our predictions at the same time. Whoever has the closer time to when he finally swings by is the winner." The rules are simply put, no room for error.

You tilt your head in confusion. "Why am I seeing a slime review?"

"SHIT!" Childe fumbles with his phone, aggressively tapping on the screen. He lowers his head and voice as if he's been through fifty consecutive hits in the face. "It's uh, Teucer's account."

"Yeah...okay." Is all you can say.

"Ok what do you bet?" He changes the topic to unfuck the situation.

Putting a finger in your chin, you think for a minute, calculating the average of all the times Mr.Zhongli has left the classroom for a considerable amount of time.

"Fifteen minutes." You're sure of it. It's like clockwork every day.

"Hmm..." Childe crosses his arms, seemingly in deep thought. "Five minutes." He places his bet, and both timers start simultaneously.

Five minutes?! Is he serious?

You laugh inwardly. This challenge is in the bag.

The sense of victory you feel dulls when your ears pick up the echo of footsteps nearing the classroom.. Both your heads snap up to the doors.

There's something scary about Childe once his competitive side comes out. "Looks like I've won." He turns to you, eyes darkening evilly.

"What? There's no way in hell a ginger is right." Your palms are clammed up, eyebrows furrowed in panic. You calculated every single variable, how could this be?

You race to the front, Childe right on your tail as the entire class clamps up. The footsteps get louder, causing even whispers to become total silence.

Then it hits you. The shitty music about getting bitches and bars playing on the other side.

The door is swung open by Childe, and you're face to face with an idiot sophomore with a speaker in his pocket.

Childe’s grin is long gone, and you sigh in relief.

The false alarm encourages the class to return back to their idle chatter.

"Scaramouche?" Childe spits, narrowing his eyes at the unamused boy. "I thought it was Signora's shift today."

By "shift" he means being a complete dickwad and scamming fake weed to students in return for their souls. It only really works on the freshmen.

The only reason the club still runs is because Signora threatened the principal with some sus pictures she snapped of him and his assistant.

"Apparently she had an emergency." Scaramouche explains, lowering the volume on his outdated beats pill. "Something about a hair appointment because she got ran into by a, and I quote "lecherous imbecile.""

You steer clear of the conversation, finding the whiteboard far more fascinating and worth your while.

A loud cough is heard from behind the kid, and you're met with a crestfallen look on your beloved teacher's face.

You go through a whiplash of emotions, becoming completely numb towards your loss.

"They were out of slow cooked bamboo shoot soup." He sighs, handing a stack of papers to Childe, who is wearing the fattest smirk on his face at his victory. "Please hand these out to your classmates Childe, and we will begin shortly."

You check down at the timer despite knowing who’s won. Five minutes and twenty five seconds. Somehow, you don't feel as dejected as you thought you'd feel.

Maybe the date will be fun. Maybe Childe isn't so bad. Maybe...you do have time to indulge in these sort of things. If he’s so hell bent on getting your attention, perhaps it’s possible that you can make some room in your heart for him.

However, all those thoughts fly out the window when Childe hands you the new worksheet.

“I hope you're ready for our date tomorrow. We'll be sparring till sundown, and after you’ll be feeding me with chopsticks." He winks, and it makes your heart flip even though all you want right now is to go to the bathroom and barf your guts out.

Feelings are complicated.

You smile back at him nauseously, tight lipped and all, then you pull out your phone, go on maps, and search for the closest cliffs to jump off of.

After he's done, Childe slouches back in his original seat with a different kind of enthusiasm, and opens up his messages. He texts Zhongli a "thank you <3".

[matthewfairchildfanclub]

TSC except it's incorrect quotes and it's part 2 and it's really fucking long sorry.

Cordelia: I like your top.

James, wearing a very bright shirt: Thank-

Matthew: Thanks dude, I like you to.

_

Anna: Gender is a game and I have the cheat codes.

_

Clary, at Starbucks: Can I get a venti caramel macchiato with, uh... seven shots of espresso.

Simon, behind her: Jesus Christ, Clary, just do cocaine.

_

James: If you were to die, what would be your last words?

Matthew: Finally.

James: No-

_

Izzy, on the phone with Magnus: Is it okay if I bring my weird roommate?

Simon: Would you please stop calling me that.

_

Clary: You sure you're sober enough to drive?

Jace: Yeah, I didn't drink anything.

Clary: Okay, go get the car.

Alec: [running after Jace]

Clary: It's okay, he's sober!

Alec: HE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO DRIVE!

_

Will: Jem, you have beautiful eyes.

Jem: You too.

Tessa: ...

Tessa: Did I miss something?

Will: I'm straight, I just like his eyes.

Tessa: You're gay for his eyes.

Will: Exactly!

Will: Wait, no

_

Lucie, walking out in a new outfit: How do I look?

Matthew: Holy shit, that's the ugliest thing I've ever seen.

Lucie: Excuse you?!

Matthew: No, not you, the thing sitting beside you.

Alastair: Fuck you.

_

Magnus: You sure know a lot about the law.

Julian: I do a lot of borderline illegal shit.

_

Cordelia: Lucie! Don't let go!

Lucie, dangling from the side of the cliff: WHY THE FUCK WOULD I LET GO?!

_

Kit: I think I forgot to sleep because I was looking at memes.

Dru: If you ever wonder why you have no friends, just remember that sentence.

_

Christopher: Oh, tiddlywinks.

Matthew: JUST SAY FUCK

_

Will: Swear words are banned in this house, if you say one you'll be grounded.

Matthew: Heck.

Will: You're on thin fucking ice, kid.

_

Jace: You may not know this, Alec, but I'm a flawed person.

Alec: I do know that.

_

Dru: [reading the exorcist]

Dru: [laughs]

_

Matthew: I know you can be "underwhelmed" and you can be "overwhelmed" but...

Matthew: Can you ever just be whelmed?

James: ...

Christopher: I think you can in Bulgaria!

_

James: I think I'm in love with Cordelia.

Grace: Congratulations! You're officially the last one to know.

_

Tessa: James, what are you doing here? Weren't you making spaghetti tacos with Mattew, Christopher, and Thomas?

James: Well, I was.

Tessa: ... was?

James: Well, I- it was just getting hot downstairs because of the fire.

Tessa: THE WHAT?!

(Downstairs the kitchen is completely on fire)

Christoper, looking around while Matthew and Thomas try to put the fire out with olive oil: Oh, this isn't good.

_

Jace: Please shut up.

Simon: Well, since you asked nicely, no.

_

Will: No pain, no gain!

Matthew: But I'm in constant pain and I've lost everything-

_

Matthew: If you'll excuse me, I must attend to my evening affairs.

James: You mean drinking wine and eating gummy bears until you pass out on a chaise?

Cordelia: Or reading Layla and Majnun and crying in the bath because they didn't deserve it?

Lucie: Or shouting your own poetry from your balcony?

Matthew: All three, in that order.

_

Will: What have I told you about comparing Tatiana to the devil?

Lucie: ... that it's offensive to the devil?

_

Jamie: These people are my friends!

Jamie: I've known them for twelve hours!

_

Clary: What are we gonna do?

Simon: Don't worry, you're so small they probably won't see you.

Clary: Simon, is this really the time to be making short jokes?

Simon: Clary, it's never not the time, because just like you, life is short.

_

Matthew, drunk: Always strive to eat the stars.

Lucie, half asleep: Aren't they too hot?

Matthew: Blow on them first, idiot.

_

Cashier: Would you like your check?

Ty: If someone is being murdered right now it would be my alibi, but if someone gets murdered in the store they could pin it on me.

Cashier: Sir?

Ty: I want to speak to a lawyer.

_

Magnus: If you had to choose between Jace and all the money I have in my pocket, which would you choose.

Alec: Depends. How much money are we talking about?

Jace: Alec????

Magnus: Eleven cents.

Alec: Sold.

Jace: ALEC?!!??!?!

_

Alastair: Cursing is for those who have a limited vocabulary.

Matthew: You are an audacious, ideologically unsound, captious, presumptuous, motherfucker.

_

Clary: Hey, uh, maybe we need Simon's help with this one?

Jace: I would literally rather die.

_

Cristina: Name a way to be nice to people.

Kieran: Don't stab them.

Cristina: ...

Cristina: Setting the bar a little low but I'll allow it.

_

Tessa: Where have you been?

Will: Emotional hell.

_

Kit: I made you all of you into Sims, look.

Jace: Where are you?

Kit: I'm in the grave in the backyard.

Jace:

Clary:

Jace: Put me there to.

Clary: Oh my god-

_

Emma: I have the sharpest memory, name one time I forgot something.

Zara: You forgot me in a Walmart parking lot, like, three weeks ago.

Emma: I did that on purpose, try again.

_

Matthew: Will, did you know "thot" means "thoughtful person."

Will: Really? I did not know this modern slang.

(later)

Will: Thank you for helping me with the stables, Tessa, you're such a thot.

Tessa, wheezing: I'm a WHAT?

_

Julian: [choking]

Kit: I'm trying to call 911 but the 9 button isn't working!

Dru: Just flip your phone upside down and use the 6.

Julian, stopping his choking for a second: What the fu-

_

Emma, getting in the front seat: Alright, is everyone ready to go?

The Blackthorns: Yep!

Emma: Okay, let's go.

(looks into the mirror to see Zara running after the van)

Emma: [whispers to herself] Goodbye you little shit.

_

Cordelia: What the hell is going on??

Matthew: Oh, great, you heard my cry for help.

Cordelia: You mean your girly scream?

Matthew: I MEAN MY CRY FOR HELP

_

James: The risk I took was calculated.

James: But holy shit am I bad at math.

_

Izzy and Magnus: [getting arrested at a protest]

Cop: Fake ID's, fake credit card. Got anything on you that's real?

Izzy: My tits.

Magnus: My ass.

_

[in a group chat]

Dru: Adding "lmao" does not hide your pain.

Kit: Yeah it does lmao.

_

Matthew: Excuse me, who made James the boss of the group.

Christopher: You did.

Thomas: You said, "James should be the boss".

Lucie: And then you said, "lets vote," and it was unanimous.

Cordelia: And then you made him a plaque that says, "Boss Of Us".

Anna: And put little sparkles all over it.

Matthew: ... All valid points.

_

Matthew: And once again, James and Matthew save the day.

Lucie: You didn't do anything.

Thomas: It was all James.

Matthew: We're a package deal. Everyone knows that.

_

Jem: I am not "too nice"!

Will: Jem, you apologized-

Jem: I have manners!

Will: -to the waiter who spilled soup on your lap.

_

Kit: You wanna see how hardcore I am?

Kit: [punches a wall]

Kit: Take me to the hospital.

_

Julian: People ask me how I handle the rest of my family so easily.

Julian: The truth is, I don't.

Julian: I have no control over them.

Julian: I walked into the house today and Mark shot me in the neck with a nerf gun.

_

(At a New Years Eve party)

Alec, to the TMI gang: I would like to make a toast!

Alec, raising his glass: I cannot believe we have gone through another twelve months of absolute fuckery.

Alec: Cheers!

[robert-de-niro-only-fans]

The Lesser of Two Evils

Jimmy Conway x Paulie's Daughter Reader

Just felt like writing for Jimmy... Also bc I like @yesbelladoesstuff 's man more than my own apparently 😂😝

TW: mentions of crime, mention of age gap, implied smut

Word Count: 3k

After four long years full of hard work and missing your family, college was finally over! You hadn't gone far for college, and you visited as possible, but the work load of college doesn't always allow for that. For Paulie, it was important that you get a degree, even if you didn't have a "real" job after college; he just knew you were too smart, and you knew it would make him so proud that his little girl finished college.

You moved home on a Thursday after finals and took Friday to just spend time with your dad and the rest of your immediate family, before the rest of your "family" came over for the big party on Saturday. This included Tommy, Henry, and Jimmy and all the various "uncles" your dad did business with. It was a closed circle of people.

You had been home for holidays and summers in between semesters, but towards the end of college, you really started to realize that you weren't in the loop like you used to be. Tommy had really grown into a well-respected mobster, and you respected that they may make him within the next few years. He was still hot headed as ever though. As for Henry, it seemed like he tried to hold off as long as he could, as he had always had a huge crush on you, and everyone, including Paulie, had placed bets on when you two would get together. But he had started going out with this girl named Karen. You had only met her a few times, but you had heard that she kept Henry on the straight and narrow. Good for her.

Jimmy hadn't had too much change in his life during your years at college, except that he had too younger mobsters to help him on his various jobs. He made a lot more money because of them! You never thought when you went to college that you would find yourself missing Jimmy as much as you did; of course, you had always been close with him just like you were with Tommy and Henry, but there was just something about him. He was always very cool, and his jokes were few and far between but hilarious when he told them. He had always been protective over you in a way the other two weren't, you guessed because he was older, but he also let you get away with stuff your dad would've had a heart attack over. Hell, Jimmy encouraged bad behavior.

And that's where you found yourself early Saturday afternoon: fighting off thoughts of Jimmy, and a little nervous to see him because of it.

The table is all set, covered in a black table cloth, with gold and silver decorations everywhere to celebrate your graduation. A few dishes full of your favorite foods are set out, and more will arrive as the family does.

As the family pours in, the table fills with dishes and becomes surrounded by people you've known practically your whole life. You are handed envelopes full of cash, each one thicker than the last. That's how you did presents in this business.

You wondered where the boys were... It's unusual that they didn't show up first.

After a while, Henry arrives with Karen and they greet you with the usual hugs and kisses on the cheek; you can tell Karen is still getting used to greeting people like this. "Glad you have you home, (Y/N)! Congrats!" Henry exclaims. Rather than money, they gift you with a beautiful set of jewelry. You knew Karen was good for Henry, and now you know she has good taste.

"Oooh, there she is!" Jimmy yells as he's coming in the door. Tommy and Jimmy show up right after Henry and Karen. They were likely all hanging out before coming over, but you had to wonder why they didn't just take the same car. Tommy hands you a stack of cash, like he was taught to do, giving you kisses on your cheeks and a sincere congrats for graduating. Before you can really finish up your conversation with Tommy, Jimmy is scooping you up into his arms and twirling you around playfully, earning a squeal from you. "Atta girl! We knew you could do it!" He lets you down gently and pulls you in for a proper hug. "Congratulations, (Y/N). You know everyone here is so proud of you."

As you move back into the dining room and living room to rejoin the party and visit with everyone, Jimmy's hand lingers on you: your shoulder blades, the small of your back, wrapped lightly around your hip. He had always been a bit handsy with you; it's just how you two were with one another, but today it's affecting you more than usual.

Jimmy is wrapped up in a conversation about something he's been bootlegging with one of the uncles, so you turn to him to say, "Hey Jimmy, in gonna go sit with my dad at the table, 'cause I think we're eating soon. I'll save you a seat next to me, if you want it."

"Okay, sweetie, I'll be there in a little while."

You walk away taking a deep breath to try and clear your mind. Had you always felt this way about Jimmy or had something changed?

You say next to your dad and leaned your head on his shoulder.

"Hey there, girlie! You enjoying the party? Everything okay?"

"Yeah I'm okay. It's good seeing everyone again, and knowing that I get to stay home for good this time."

Paulie puts his arms around you, squeezing you tight. He always gave the best hugs! "I'm so happy you're back home. It's been pretty lonely without my girl here... Now I'm gonna have to beat off guys with a stick to keep you here," he lets out a chuckle.

"Oh, Dad, I'm not going anywhere, and you know that. Besides, Henry went and got a girlfriend, so there goes my only shot at a boyfriend."

"Now, you know Henry wasn't your only option. What about Tommy?"

You both look across the room to see Tommy flirting with someone's daughter...

"Ehhh, no," you and your dad say in unison before having a big laugh together.

"Is this seat taken?"

You look over your shoulder to see Jimmy standing behind the chair next to you, "Reserved for you."

"Oh, good!" Jimmy takes a moment to say hello to Paulie before sitting down next to you.

Paulie stands up to announce that it's time to eat, but first he makes a small speech to let everyone know how proud he is of you for finishing college, and that you were always too bright and talented to belong to him.

While Paulie is standing at the head of the table, Jimmy reaches over to your lap under the table and takes your hand in his. You look at him, trying to hide that he's affected you in any way. He gives you a small smirk, and rubs his thumb over yours for just a moment before letting your hand go.

Paulie takes his seat, and people start spooning food out of dishes and into their plates, and you're left wondering what just happened and what was meant by it.

Luckily, the rest of dinner was pretty uneventful, and the food was always so tasty. After everyone got their bellies full, everyone mingled wherever they liked around the house. Some went into the backyard to get a small bonfire going so some of the kids could have roasted marshmallows; some of the guys started inside the house and started pulling out cards and chips and stacks of money; many of the wives gather in the kitchen or the living room to talk all the latest gossip.

You notice Tommy, Jimmy, Henry, and Karen taking lowly and giggling with one another in a small circle. Normally they would've invited you over, so there's definitely something suspicious going on.

"(Y/N)!" Paulie says, waving you over, "come here, kiddo."

"Dad, I just finished college; I'm not really a kid anymore!" You give him a laugh and walk over to him.

He puts an arm over your shoulders and says, "Well, you'll always be my kid." He pauses for a moment before looking across the room and yelling, "Conway!"

The room quiets down, waiting for Jimmy's response. All of the guys and Karen turn to you and your dad. "Yes, Paulie?" Jimmy says with a smug look on his face.

"When you came in here, I didn't see you give my little girl any presents for her graduation. No cash, no cute little boxes with bows. What's the matter with you?" Paulie voice is raised so everyone can hear him. This is very odd behavior, as he normally handles things pretty quietly, so you know something is up.

"Well, ya see, Paulie..." Jimmy starts walking towards you, "I didn't hand her any envelope full of 50s, and I didn't give her any boxes with bows, because what I got for her was too big to fit through the front door." Jimmy lowers his voice to a whisper now that he's in front of you. "You wanna go see your present?"

You now realize that your dad and the guys are all in on some kind of surprise.

"Yes, please."

That's all Jimmy needs to hear before he's picking you up to take you outside. Henry and Tommy rush to the door to open it, and everyone that heard what was going on follows you outside to see what the surprise is.

You and Jimmy can't stop giggling while there are lots of hoots and hollers from everyone gathering outside with you. Jimmy lets you down and spins you around so you're facing the driveway. Sitting there is a beautiful black muscle car with a big gold bow on the hood.

He wraps his arms around your waist and whispers in your ear, "You like it, princess?"

"I- uh... yes," you can barely get a response out; you certainly weren't expecting this. Jimmy was all about handing out money and giving expensive gifts, but nothing like this... He didn't like to do anything that would put this kind of attention on him.

"It's the one you said you wanted right?"

"Yes, Jimmy. It's perfect," you say with a huge smile as you turn to hug him. "Thank you so much!"

"Anything for you, (Y/N)." Jimmy pulls a key out of his pocket and hands it to you. You take it from him and run over to unlock the car and climb in. Immediately, Tommy climbs in the front seat next you you and is shouting, "C'mon! Let's take this thing on a spin!!" Henry and Karen climb in the back seat and Henry only starts egging you on saying, "Let's crank this thing up and get outta here, (Y/N)!"

"Okay, okay! We'll drive it, but only if Jimmy comes too. He paid for the thing after all!"

"Jimmy! Get your ass over here!" Tommy yells before climbing in the back seat with Henry and Karen.

Jimmy runs over and gets in the passenger seat next you you. "Try not to kill us, okay?"

You turn the key in the ignition and the engine fires up loudly, which gets Henry and Tommy rowdy in the back seat. All the people in the front yard were raising their glasses and cheering as you backed out of the driveway! Before driving away from the house, you slowed down and Jimmy rolled down his window so Paulie could pop his head in.

"You guys be careful, and don't let anything happen to that one right there," he says pointing to you.

"Hell, Paulie, she's the one you gotta worry about!" Henry pipes up getting a laugh out of everyone.

"Yeah, well..." he chuckles, knowing it's true and realizing his little girl is all grown up. "Happy graduation, baby; go have fun!"

"Thank you, Dad! Love you!" you yell before driving off, a little too fast.

• • •

After you, the guys, and Karen, whom you had really grown to like, had been driving around a while, you decide to stop off at a small park while the sun sets. It's a cute little public park with a lake, a pavilion with tables for picnics, a small playground for kids (naturally the boys go and play on the playground), and lots of open space with soft grass.

With the boys being boys running around chasing each other, you and Karen get some time to talk alone.

"Seems like you've got Henry tied down pretty well. Takes a tough lady to do that."

"Yeah, well he stood me up on our second date, and so I told him off in front of his friends. We been together since."

"Oh yeah, word got back to me on that one. You had all the guys pretty shocked," you say though a laugh, "They made fun of him a good bit for it, so he must like you a lot if he put up with that."

"Yeah, I think he does." She pauses for a minute. "I've heard from some people that Henry always had a crush on you, and that everyone thought you two would end up together. I'm sorry if I got in the way of that."

"Oh, no! No need to apologize. Henry liked me when we were kids, and it feels like more of a joke now than anything. I don't think I could deal with him as well as you do," you give her a reassuring smile.

"So, you gonna give Jimmy a shot?"

"Hmm? What? You mean Jimmy and me?" You stutter out.

"Yeah, I mean, I know he's older, but it seems like he really likes you!"

"You think Jimmy likes me?"

"Well, yeah girl! He bought you ya dream car!" She says excitedly, her New York accent really shining through.

"Karen!" Henry calls from the playground.

"Whaddayou want?!"

"Come over here, honey!"

You see Jimmy walking towards you and Karen, and notice that Tommy is flirting with some poor girl who was just out for a run. Karen says a quick goodbye to you and heads over to the playground where Henry is waiting for you.

When Jimmy's feet stop in front of yours, he extends a hand to you to help you up from your spot on the grass. He places his hand on the small of your back, and his long fingers delicately begin to lead you in the direction of your new car.

"Did you have a fun time playing with your friends on the playground?" You poke a little fun at him.

"Would've had more fun if you were there," he raises his eyebrows and cracks a smile at you.

You laugh gently out your nose as you arrive at your car, "Whatcha bring me over here for?"

He takes you by the hips, lifting you up and placing you on the trunk of your car. He grabs your thighs and pulls you close to him, your knees brushing against either of his hips. "You like the car, angel?"

"Jimmy, wha-," you let out a shaky breath, "um, yes, it's beautiful."

"Mmmm, good." He brushes your hair behind your ear.

It suddenly becomes clear to you that what Karen had to say about Jimmy was true. In fact, with him standing between your legs like this, it couldn't be more obvious.

"Hey, Jimmy?"

"Yeah, baby doll?"

"Kiss me."

He raises his eyebrows, then looks at the ground for a moment. When he looks back up at you, he tangles a hand in your hair and presses his lips to yours softly at first, but he quickly deepens the kiss, exploring your mouth with his. You gently wrap one arm around his neck, and the other hand squeezes his waist through his shirt. He pulls you into him so your chest is pressed against his.

It feels weird kissing him, but it also feels right. Being with him like this feels like electricity, and you could feel like this forever and it still wouldn't be enough.

"Hey, hey, Jimmy!" Henry calls as him and Karen come up on you.

"Do not interrupt them!" You hear Karen say followed by a whap to Henry's arm.

Jimmy slowly pulls away from you, giving you probably the sweetest look you've ever seen him give. He pecks your lips a few more times before turning to Karen. "Thank you for hitting him."

You slide off the back of the car, putting your hand in Jimmy's.

"Listen, all I'm saying is, it's about time you got a kiss from her, you paid a lot of money for it!" Henry chuckles, slapping the trunk of your car.

"Listen, Henry Hill. I kiss who I want, when I want. And yes, I am grateful for the car, but Jimmy didn't buy my love," you cut your eyes at him.

"Yeah, that's right! What's the matter with you?" Karen backs you up.

Henry puts his hands up in surrender and tries to wipe the shit-eating grin off his face, "Alright, alright, geez!! Can someone go get Tommy so we can go home?"

Everyone gives him a look.

"Okay, fine! I'll go get him!" Henry jogs off to go get Tommy off that girl's back.

Funny enough, the girl ends up coming home with the group, Tommy landing another girl that he won't call in the morning. So you drop everyone off at their respective homes: Tommy and his girl at Tommy's place, Henry and Karen at Henry's place, and Jimmy invited you to his place. You knew Paulie would worry about you not coming home, but it would raise his blood pressure if he knew what you and Jimmy were up to.

It was really the lesser of two evils.

[taterforlife]

WHY DO I ALWAYS HAVE AN INCESSANT NEED TO TURN SECTOR V OF THE KIDS NEXT DOOR INTO AU'S OF OTHER SHOWS I HYPERFOCUS ON WITH KUKI AS THE LEAD EVEN IF OTHERS WOULD SERVE WELL AS THE LEAD

My Hero Academia/Boku No Academia version!

All Might: Bradley (IT COULD WORK PEOPLE, HIS QUIRK WOULD BE HE LOOKS LIKE A SKUNK BUT HIS GLANDS DON'T WORK SO HE CAN'T EVEN USE THAT)

Izuku Midoriya: Kuki Sanban/Numbuh Three

Katsuki Bakugo: Wallaby "Wally" Beetles/Numbuh Four

Iida Tenya: Nigel Uno/Numbuh One

Kyoko Jiro: Abigail "Abby" Lincoln/Numbuh Five

Denki Kaminari: Hoagie P. Gilligan Jr./Numbuh 2

Note on Denki/Hoagie's match: Mostly because of the electricity quirk. Hoagie would still have the high intelligence he has in his canon show and would find a way to maximize output and minimize the brain frying effect with technology and use his quirk to power up the tech. He probably would have made UA's engineering course his Plan B if he hadn't made it into the hero course and actually refuses to allow anyone but himself to make his gear.

I'll think of the rest of class 1-A later. (Sorry Asui, my love! I promise I'll think of someone good for you, I haven't forgotten you, I promise! GO FROPPY FOREVER)

FUN QUOTES

Wally: "Stupid quirkless girly-girl! Get that stupid smile outta my face before I blast it off!"

Kuki: "Oh, yeah! My quirk! I'm a late-bloomer, I guess. A rare case...? A miracle! Isn't that great...? Now I can save people with a smile! ...Wally-kun, um, your glaring doesn't also set things on fire, does it?"

Bradley: "Young Sanban... I, too, was put down for who I was. But I never let that cloud my ideals! And your smile... and your selfless act, with legs that ran without thought... to save a classmate whom you barely know! That is the act of a hero! That is why you are worthy of my great power!"

Nigel: "Come on, team! An early start makes for a great hero in the making! We have so much to do, chop chop! Come on guys, with feeling! See! Kuki gets it!"

Abby: "Abby senses class 1-B is around the corner. We gotta come up with a plan first, we can't just waltz in there and hope we win. Now, here's what I'm thinkin' if we wanna pass this exam..."

Hoagie: "No need, engineers, no need. I already got everything I need, my own costume and weaponized tech and everything. Use those bright minds of yours for the others. Like the blonde one, he doesn't seem too smart yet..."

(Wally: "WHATCHA SAY ABOUT ME PUNK!")

(They aren't good friends yet. Season one quote, there.)

P.S.

WHILE WE'RE AT IT LET'S MAKE MAURICE THE ORIGINAL ONE-FOR-ALL

[benjaycaptain]

i’ve got some good ideas for your gift, mostly just trying to figure out the bg/side ships lmao. i must also ask if there are any other jane or audrey ships that you enjoy seeing. and how do you feel about lonnie as a character?

i have not had much time to read fics this week, but i will definitely read your jay/jane fic soon! the description sounds really cute. (yeah, sorry, i will be avoiding that series because of malvie and several of the other tags. i don't read much explicit fic to begin with lmao)

i'll check out centaurworld when i have time and see what i think. will definitely let you know how it goes!

yayy i'm glad to hear you appreciate the masterpiece that is ever after. yesss 1997 cinderella rights! ooh i've never seen the 1965 one, only the 1997 and 1957 one with julie andrews. omg yes i love that moment from the animated movie!

ooh i have a couple of the descendants dolls too. the disney limited editions ones sound really nice. i don't have any of those, but i've seen some pictures online.

oooh that painting looks so good!! the blue figure makes me think of the draags from la planète sauvage (1973). that nude painting looks so good too! ahh and i love the ink one.

i do a little bit of art sometimes too. i agree that it's definitely easier to work with a reference. trying to come up with a pose in my head never works out lmao

ah i can totally relate to free time going poof because of work. it has been hard for me to find time for everything i want to do too. hopefully you'll have time again to work on a little bit! maybe just some little sketches. i find sketching to be very relaxing, and you can listen to music or a podcast while you do it!

sadly a lot of my hobbies have been put on hold lately. i've mostly been writing and sometimes i do some art-related things. i really like doing little craft projects too.

i happened to see that you like jatp. who are your fave characters from it? and if you could write s2 of jatp, what would you want the plot to be?

- gifter anon

FUNNY YOU SHOULD MENTION LONNIE because i also ship her with either jane or audrey lmao tho i prefer a lonnie who leans more into the girlie girl stuff rather than miss little warrior trying to be her mother's carbon copy [but then again, i strongly dislike all this "the kids are their parents 2.0" crap many try to do]

lonnie is amazing cause like. she didn't really care about the villain roots of the core four, she was just like "y'all cool, wanna make me cool too? yeah? okay we're friends now" lmaoooo she's funny. but also!! she legit had to be dragged away from ben after the family day debacle [dragged away by doug of all people what loser]. she's the only one who hesitates rather than leaving and shaking their head at ben

also eyyyyy do you not like mal/evie either? high five lmao well, not like is probably inaccurate, i'm Extremely Indifferent toward that ship. now, obviously, that wasn't the case when i started writing that monster trash fic, but both that ship and the other one [the two dudes of the core four] are just Meh to me now whoops sorry not sorry

thanks for liking my art things xD i might sketch some things while on christmas break! or i might just play nintendo lmao we'll see

i loooove jatp!! it's so cute and lovely. which is why i cannot even imagine me writing the second season xD tho my kingdom for alex fighting the powers of hell to save willie. but that's mostly wishful thinking, as it probably won't ever happen. i love julie, alex, willie, and flynn. i'm whatever about luke, and i want reggie to go away. or maybe his fans. or maybe both. who knows lol

[jinxthequeergirl]

Lipgloss

Steve Harrington x Hopper! Reader

Summary: the reader has always been steves cooler half but he notices that you start making little changes.

Warning: swearing, none, this is kinda wack it didn't come out the way I wanted it to

~~~~~

You where in fact your fathers daughter in every way possible, tough as nails, quick witted the whole nine yards. And everyone knew it.

The only issue was Steve Harrington, he was your best friend but lately it seemed like he was the only one who could make your cool deminor falter. And everyone seemed to notice it.

You watched Will attempt to follow your steps and skate down the street before turing to stared at Steve as he and dustin made the large order from the ice cream truck. He glanced back at you with a goofy smile making you chuckle.

"Y/n!" Your head snapped forward just in time to see will plow you down on your skate board. "Ah...shit..." You groaned.

"Are you guys alright!?" Steve asked running over to you with the rest of the kids. Dustin helped pull will up as steve helped you up. "Yea...yea I'm fine." You chuckled.

"Sorry kid." You ruffled Will's hair. "It's alright, I'm fine. I'm gonna go again." He said excitedly. Taking the skateboard from the ground and running back to the starting point with Mike and lucas by his side.

"You sure you're fine?" Steve asked again looking you over. "I'm...I'm fine harrington, are you fine?" You asked him nervously. "Yea, yea I think I'm ok." You nodded dusting your hands off on your shorts. "Good, good...oh uh hey wheres my choco Taco?" You asked attempting to save yourself from the conversation.

He looked back over to the Ice cream truck. The man inside was looking impatiently back as the diffrent ice cream bars sat on the counter.

"On it's way." He said jogging back over.

"What was that!?" Max asked coming up beside you with El at her side.

"What was what?" You asked walking to sit on the curb. "With steve! I've never seen you act like that!" Max laughed. You furrowed your brows. "I wasn't acting any way..." You trailed off when Even El gave you a look that said you where acting diffrent.

"C'mon You where totally starting at Steve! And then what was that conversation!?"

"Do you like steve?" El asked cutting in on Max.

You laughed. Both because hearing it outloud made it sound absurd but also out of nervousness.

"Do I..Do I like steve? Me? Liking Steve!?" Max crossed her arms. "I've seen you around boys...it usually ends up with them scared of you...not the other way around."

You opened your mouth but instantly closed it as steve came back over. "Ladies, one orange dreamcicle, A cotton candy swirl and a choco taco." He said handing the ice cream bar to you.

"Thank you kind sir." You winced as the words left your mouth, he laughed and sat next to you digging into his own Ice cream order.

Max and El chuckled at you as you struggled to act normal next to him. "Hey! Y/n?"

"Yea?" You croaked out. "Is it alright if I sleep over at your place tonight?"

You cleared your throat and took your eyes from steve to look at her. "Yea...of course." You smiled lightly.

You winced at the loud crash and steve yelling through the phone. "Sorry about that..." You laughed pouring another bag of candy into a bowl. "No need to apologize...boys will be boys right?"

You could hear him give a light hearted chuckle through the phine making your heart do a little jump in your chest. "How are the girls?" He asked. "Oh you know..doing girl things...painting nails, talking about boys...usual girl stuff."

"Ooh I wouldn't have happened to have been brought up in your boy talk would I?" He asked cheekily. Your face grew hot and you cleared your throat trying to keep cool.

"Why on earth would we talk about you?" You joked. "Ow I'm hurt."

You looked up hearing the girls squeel with joy from the room over. "Ok well sounds like the girls are having fun without me."

"Ok. Hey, I'll see you tomorrow afternoon after I get off of work."

"Of course, Night Harrington."

"Night." You hung up the phone and grabbed the tray of snacks.

"Ladies! Snacks are served!" You announced as you pushed El's bedroom door open. They both looked up from their magazines and ran over to it as you set it down.

"And then Later I picked up some movies from Family video-"

"We had a better Idea!" Max said. "What?" There was knock at the door that El quickly got up to answer as Max sat you down.

"Well me and El wanted to help you with your steve problem."

You shook your head. "I don't have a steve problem." Max rolled her eyes at you.

"Yea sure."

"I heard we where having a girls night, and you needed help with Harrington!" Robin said as she stepped into the bed room.

"Oh god...They got you two involved!?" You asked looking at Nancy and Robin.

Nancy shrugged. "I didn't have anything better to do..."

"Me neither." Robin added hoisting herself ontop of the dresser.

You looked between the four girls and fell back into the bed throwing a pillow over your face and groaning.

"I..i dunno about this guys..."

"We'll just start with small things...like lip gloss!" Max said As you sat infront of the four of them

"Yea! And then we can work up to the bigger stuff!" Nancy said taking the lip gloss from Max.

Their big idea was to give you a make over, 'round out your sharp edges' Nancy had said.

"C'mon guys don't you think Steve should like Y/n for y/n? And if he doesn't then maybe he's not the one for her?" Everyone looked at Robin.

"Actually...actually that doesn't sound like a bad idea." You spoke up. Robin held her hands out to you. "See!"

"C'mon just give this a try, then we can try Robins way." Nancy said holding your chin in her hand to apply the lipgloss. And El held up the mirror to you so you could see yourself.

You frowned slightly at yourself and looked at your glittery lips. "This is kinda stupid." You mumbled wiping it off. "It's not! We can even do your hair a little bit!" Nancy said trying to convince you to go through with it. Max flipped through a magazine and landed on a page.

"We should go with this! Subtle but with a pop!"

You all glanced at the page then at yourself through the mirror. "Have at me if you must."

Robin laughed at the sight eating a handful of popcorn. "You are very helpful." You said to her as El helped do your hair. "Stay still." El said from behind you.

"I just think, maybe you should let things work out on there own..." She said along with pointing at a shirt that Max held up from your closet.

"Ok, ok leave your hair like this tonight...and tomorrow morning take it out and it should look like that." Nancy said pointing to the magazine picture.

You bit your lip and nodded. Thinking about what Robin was saying.

"Ok do this." You followed max's lip motion after you put the lipgloss she had picked last night as you stood outside the mall.

"Ok, ok! You look good! Like yourself but...better."

"Thank you, really." You smiled sarcastically at her.

"You know what I meant!" El rounded the corner quickly. "He's coming!" She said grabbing your wrist and pulling you forward.

"Be yourself! Be flirty!" Max yelled as they basically flung you around the corner into steve.

"Oh hey!"

"Sorry! Hey!" You laughed, Nervously.

"Uh hey! Since you're here do you wanna go...get...food?"

He chuckled. "Yea..I was actually Going to ask you the same!" You nodded and started walking beside him back into the Mall,smiling to yourself.

"Where the hell is steve going!?" Dustin asked coming up beside Max and El.

"A date I think." Max said.

"He was supposed to take us to The arcade!"

You walked scilently beside steve but you could feel him glancing at you.

"What?" You finally asked looking up at him.

"What?"

"Well you keep looking at me so...you must wanna say something or is there something on my face?"

"No! No! Nothing on your face, but Are...are you wearing Lipgloss?" He asked looking closer at you.

You moved from his gaze brushing your fingers under your lips.

"What? N..no!" You laughed nervously.

"It is isn't it! Your wearing something girly!" He laughed. you scowled and punched his shoulder and rubbed the stuff from your lips.

"Ow! C'mon y/n i was kidding." He said rubbing his arm. "Why are you wearing that stuff anyways? You constantly say how much you hate it. "

"It was just a stupid Idea..." You muttered the response and quickly grabbed a seat in the food court.

"No, hey c'mon! It looked good..if thats what you want to start doing I'm not gonna stop you! I'm not saying it was bad just suprising." He said sliding into the seat across from you.

"And hey for what It's worth I think it looked pretty on you, but...but I think you look good no matter what!" He said trying to cheer you up.

"Really?"

It was Steves turn to be the akward one. "Uh..ye..yea..." You smiled turning to him.

"Thanks Harrington...I think you're pretty too." You said jokingly. "Shut up." He said laughing.

You sighed. "Ok...shit..Imma be honest with you...I was wearing it because Nancy and Max thought It would give me a better chance of getting with you...Robin said to just let things happen...I should've just listened to her. " You laughed.

"Yea...really she knew what she was talking about...cause I planned on asking you out this weekend." He said almost nonchalantly.

"You..you where?" He nodded watching you amused.

"I feel kinda stupid now.."

"No! It was kinda funny to watch you be the uncool one for a change."

"Whatever...when should I be ready?" You asked.

"For?"

"Our date. Or did you already forget?"

"Oh uh Saturday like seven-ish?"

You nodded. "Ok..I'll be there."

[angelily95]

On The Day We Fall In Love : Queen Of The Night (Pt.1)

Bang Yongguk x Reader

Romance, slight angst, boyfriend!au

Mention of mental illness in the upcoming parts

Basically a long series of short stories that inspired by different songs.

Tapping your red painted nails on the table, you occasionally tap your phone to see if there's any text from him and to check the time. You would only wait for him for another five minutes, you had been waiting at the cafe for almost thirty-minutes.

Sipping on the mixed berries smoothie, your mind started to drift away from the cafe. You were wondering about the man you had been waiting for. No, he was not your boyfriend and you wouldn't really call him a friend. He's just a guy from marketing class who happened to be paired with you for an assignment because you were absent when the professor asked the students to form a pair. Same goes for him. That was the reason you were meeting him that day.

Your body jumped slightly when a screeching sound greeted your ears. Someone just pulled the chair in front of you and took a seat in a rush, placing a backpack on top of the table. You heard he gasped for air as he offered you an apologetic smile. His hair was tousled, his wavy bang stuck to his sweaty forehead.

"I am so sorry." He verbally apologized to you this time, pulling out his laptop from the black bag.

"Yongguk!" You let out a comforting laugh. "Calm down. Why are you acting like you're being chased by a ghost?"

He mirrored your smile and you prefered it better than his previous awkward smile. He had pretty lips, you personally loved the curls at the corner. "I thought you were mad at me." There was a hint of relief in his voice.

You crossed your arms and said, "I am mad at you."

"I am sorry…"

"This is my first and last warning, okay?" You playfully squint your eyes at him, trying to intimidate him but you could imagine how ridiculous you looked. He nodded, offering that beautiful smile that made your heart skip a beat again.

"Wanna have a cold drink? Your face is red. It must be hot outside." Your eyes scanned his face and the way his hair still stuck to his forehead bothered you. You rummaged through your tote bag and held out a red handkerchief to him, pointing at his temple.

He stared at your face for a moment, digesting your action and you swore you caught his eyes darted to your red lips before he looked at the handkerchief and received it.

He pushed his hair back, making it even messier and dabbed the handkerchief on his forehead. A gasp left your lips when you saw his slender fingers. They were bruised.

"Yongguk, what happened?" You asked, very concerned. Did he get into a fight?

"Huh?" Then, he realized the cause of your concern and hid his hands under the table. "Nothing. I'll go and order my drink." He left the table and headed for the counter. It was obvious he was avoiding your question. You had no rights to push him to tell you but it fell wrong to let him with his bruised hand like that. You called for a staff that was passing by and asked for a first-aid box. Yongguk came back with a cup of iced americano, brow lifted when he saw the box.

"You didn't have to."

"I wanted to help." You insisted. "Give me your hand." You started treating his wound, too focused that you didn't realize Yongguk was gazing at you like he would to the stars on the night sky.

It was the longest time you'd ever held hands with a man that wasn't your boyfriend.

***

A 3 days 2 nights class trip.

You were catching up with your group of girlfriends, waiting for the bus driver to open the door of the vehicle. They were talking about the clothes they brought. You had been trying hard not to but your eyes wandered around the crowd, hoping to see him. It was a dumb thing to do, though. He had replied to your text a few days ago saying he was not a fan of socializing with a lot of people so he would pass this one. Still, you wished he came.

You watched as two men were laughing about something on their phone and when they moved from their spot, it revealed a man who was sitting on top of his luggage, carrying a backpack. Your face immediately lit up, walking toward him who was scrolling his phone. He didn't notice your presence until you poked his arm. He lifted his eyes from the screen and met yours. You caught the flickers in his eyes when he saw your wide smile.

"Hi." He greeted you.

"You're here." You stated dreamily, confirming it to yourself. You were so disappointed a few minutes ago but it was all forgotten.

"I'm here."

"You're here." You repeated like a broken lovesick doll. His melodious chuckle rang in your ear, making your chest swell with something you could not put a name on it. Something crossed your mind, "Wanna sit together?"

"Err…" He hesitated to answer and you couldn't help but be crestfallen.

"It's okay. I was asking just in case you didn't have a seat partne—"

"What about your friends?" was his question.

"Hmm…" You took a few seconds to make a sentence in your mind. "We're a group of five so one will be left out."

"Let's sit together." He reached out to lightly nudge your arm, for no obvious reason.

You smiled, "Let's sit together."

***

That night, you slipped away from your group of friends again to talk to Yongguk. They didn't question why you sat with Yongguk in the bus, knowing you were acquainted with him. Apart from talking to you, Yongguk didn't talk much with anyone else. He joined it when a group of men gathered but he only observed and listened. That's why you felt obligated to talk to him, after all you were the one who convinced him to come.

You were walking toward him when a stranger approached you, selling you a bouquet of flowers. You didn't need those pretty flowers yet you found yourself taking out money from your tote bag and purchased the bouquet. Yongguk would like it, right?

The whole group of the trip were allowed to sightsee on the street, to admire the architecture of the unique buildings there. Yongguk was alone, sitting on a wooden bench near a tall dim lamp pole, slurping a cup of instant noodles he got from the nearest convenience store.

A pair of eyes lit up when he saw you but his mouth was full so he hummed and tipped his head to acknowledge your presence. You took a place next to him and held out the flowers to him.

"For you." You shyly looked at his bewildered face, almost wanting to hide your face in your hands but you kept your cool.

"For me?" His muffled voice inquired as he  was covering his full mouth with a hand. His cheeks flushed when he received them from you, eyes marvelled at the pretty colours.

"Hungry?"

"Oh, sorry." He felt bad for eating alone so he offered the cup to you. You were still full from the meal you had before but something about sharing food with Yongguk excited you so you accepted his offer. Your fingers brushed against his when you took the chopsticks from him, smiling to yourself. You lowered your head to slurp on the hot noodles, forgot to put your long black hair to the back first so a strand of hair entered your mouth along with the noodles but only Yongguk noticed it. So with one hand holding the flowers bouquet, another hand gathered your silky hair and held it back while you kept slurping. His action was so intimate to you, you felt your face getting warm. Or was it the noodles?

You returned the cup back to him and helped him hold the flowers so he could finish his noodles.

Indirect kiss. Silly, girly part of your mind whispered to your heart when he put the chopsticks you just used to his lips. He drank the soup before proudly showing the empty cup to you and tossed it into the trash bin nearby.

"Let's have a walk." He took the bouquet from your hand, only after he quickly caressed the back of your hand with his thumb. And you… your head was high in the cloud, dreamily followed him while staring at his side profile as he was sniffing the flowers. He was such a view, the yellowish dim light that illuminated the street made him look ten times intriguing that he usually were. You wished you could save this view in your mind and look at it on the nights you spend thinking about him. You took out your phone, contemplating whether to ask for his permission first or not.

"Why did you get me this?" He walked closer to you, arms brushing so that you could hear his voice clearly. There were a lot of times you told him you couldn't understand what he said because he mumbled his words, especially when there were others around.

"They are pretty..."

"Hmm?" One of his brow lifted, not understanding how that could be the reason. However, his lips bloomed into a smile.

"...and remind me of your smile." At this point, you were sure you were making your feelings too obvious. Seeing how flustered you were and the way you started to look anywhere but his face, he didn't want to tease you.

"Thank you." He gratefully said. "Can you take a photo of me? This is my first time receiving flowers. I want to keep the photo as a memory."

"Sure." Of course you could take more than a photo, you already intended to do so before he asked. You took multiple shots of him asking him to move around until you got the best shot.

"Done." You announced, looking at the photos to review them. Yongguk quickly held your arm and pulled you to the side as there were a group of people who wanted to pass by the alley. You looked up in surprise at him before shifting your gaze back to your phone, knowing he had kept you safe. 

You leaned your arm on the wall as Yongguk came closer and leaned down to look at the shots you took as you were shorter than him.

"Wow, they came out well."

Your eyes widened at how close he sounded, sending shivers down your spine. You were too afraid to move, as his deep voice rang exactly next to your ear, like his lips were somewhere near your earlobe. You leaned closer to the wall to create more space but there was no use as he was too close. You were not afraid of him taking advantage of you, you were afraid the proximity confirmed your feelings for him.

His slender forefinger was swiping on the screen on your phone while he kept talking about the photos as you were staring at his jaw, eventually at his lips. Yongguk frowned when he noticed your silence so he turned to face you and he was stunned.

There was something burning in your eyes and your lips were parted as your chest was heaving softly. His brown orbs followed the movement of yours, seeking for something. When you breathed through your mouth, the warm breath hit his face, giving him goosebumps.

Both of you stiffened as Yongguk rested his palm on the wall you were leaning on. Your eyes fluttered close when his lips landed on your smooth cheek, nose poking your flesh there. Your cold hands were awkwardly holding your phone on the same spot, floating in the air. You could hear the pounding of your heart and you bet he could hear it too.

His lips lingered on your skin longer than you expected but it was better that way. What if he regretted it after he pulled away?

A gasp left your lip when his cold fingers touched your chin and turned your head to face him fully. Now your back was leaning on the wall, you between his arms. You were getting shy with the way he was scanning your face. 

However, you found yourself looking up voluntarily and tip-toeing to meet his lips.

Your movement stopped when your lips were barely an inch from his, he just put his hand on your shoulders, squeezing them. He whispered your name, softly and lovingly. Repetitively, like a prayer. But to your ears, it was a sweet spell. Hypnotizing, making your fall deeper and deeper and you hoped he was there to catch you.

Yongguk didn't want to rush the kiss even though your lips that were always painted in red haunted him whenever he was alone. If he kissed you, he was afraid he couldn't let you go. If he kissed you, he was afraid he would surrender his heart to your hands. He was not sure if you're up for it and he didn't trust you enough for that.

Another kiss to the cheek would be enough, he decided. He placed his cold hand on your warm neck and you almost let out a sigh at the stark contrast. When his lips landed on your cheek again, your heart flipped yet there was a sudden ache. Maybe because you were hoping for something more.

You inhaled his scent, intoxicating mix of something gingery, minty and smoky. It registered in your head that he was probably a smoker, his lips were a bit purplish rather than pink in colour.

He abruptly pulled away when there were loud footsteps and yelling. You friends were coming your way, they had been looking for you.

"Yah, did you just take advantage of her?" One of your friends hit him with a bottle, staring accusingly. Yongguk looked at you, the fire in his eyes dimmed as he was waiting for you to say something. For you to deny the accusation.

"Guys, it's not like that. Let's go." You wrapped your arms around your friends' and dragged them away from there so they would not bully Yongguk anymore.

You friends were busy nagging at you, scolding you for not being careful.

"Yah, stop being too close with him. I told you he's a lot older than us all." 

"How is that a problem?" You let out an incredulous laugh. His age did not matter at all.

"That means there's something wrong with him. Why would someone take a long gap year to finish his studies?"

"He always has bruises. What if he's a gangster?" Another friend added.

"And he is so quiet and creepy. Like he's on drugs or something."

"Yah, that's not nice!" You hit her on her arm. Yongguk was indeed suspicious but you had never imagined to that extent.

"I'm just telling you he's a bad guy!"

"Let's stop talking about him and enjoy our time here." You suggested, tired of their babbles. They silently agreed and were looking for a famous building while referring to the map in one of your friends' smartphone. You took the chance to turn around, looking for him. There he was, walking alone around ten steps away. Your eyes met his, he was a bit surprised when you turned around because he had been watching you.

You mouthed something to him, making sure your friends did not see you. You smiled when his brows knitted together in confusion. He didn't catch it the first time so you moved your lips again.

There was a tingling burst on your chest when he caught what you're trying to say, flashing you his adorable gummy smile that lit up his whole face.

"Thank you for the kiss." You cutely poked your cheek with your finger, where his lips were. Then, heat rushed to your face at your own boldness.

***

I've bandaged your bruises

You've held back my hair

Who'd have known when this started

That we'd end up here?

But you reach out and touch me

Say my name like a prayer

All my friends say you're dangerous

But I don't fucking care

- Queen Of The Night, Hey Violet.

Part 2