#yet so busy I’m failing my other club

[bunibelles]

I’m at that point where I’m so busy yet doing nothing 😞😞

[starrihan]

Higher Than Heaven (Yeonjun Fic)

→ Pairing: Yeonjun x afab! Reader

→ Plot: a group project is the last thing you want for your midterm, but working with the student who smokes makes it 10x worse

→ Genre: smut, tiny tiny bit of angst, protection (yes!!), kissing, hickeys, piv sex, reader is judgmental + hates smoking, swearing (Imk if i missed any!!)

→ Warnings: smoking, mentions of food, joke about dead grandparents

→ Word Count: 7,746

→ Notes: hey guys! This is the first fic of my Sanctuary Series! For more information about the series I would recommend going to this post here!I just want to clarify that I do not share the same views as the reader does in this fic, it was purely for plot purposes! Hope you enjoy pt 1 of the series 😚

༄ ༄ ༄

You were always a goodie two-shoes. Perfect attendance, good grades, class president, the story writes itself. You grew up playing different instruments and were always enrolled in a sport or after-school club to keep yourself busy and your portfolio reflecting nothing less than perfection. So how did you go from valedictorian and class president of your high school to a college student who is on the verge or dropping out? 

The amount of work you’d allowed to accumulate over the past few weeks was enough to scare even the professors, making them question whether they actually assigned that much work. You could feel your grays coming in at the sight of all your work, exhaling as you decide to tackle the easy assignments first. 

It’s the middle of the day on a Thursday. You had a couple of assignments due tomorrow night that you absolutely could not afford to push off any longer. You had already asked for extensions on most of your assignments so far and you didn’t know how many more dead grandparents you could have before your professors questioned the validity of your failed punctuality when it came to turning in your assignments on time. You had class at 3 p.m, giving you a good two and half hours to get some work done. 

༄ ༄ ༄

You pack up your belongings as the clock strikes 2:30 p.m. You had gotten a couple of your easy assignments done, though it was very taxing to say the least. You make your way to your class, bundling up as the cold was brutal enough to warrant a cancelation, though, your university would never do that (speaking from experience because wdym its 2℉ out and i have to walk to class when theres black ice on the ground??).

You make it to your class about 15 minutes later, shivering from being cold yet sweating due to the many layers you had on. You take a seat next to your best friend, who had gotten there before you and saved your seat. 

“Can we go get food after class? I’ve had back to back classes and meetings all day and I’m starving.”

She drones on. You nod as you take out your laptop, waiting for the professor to start class. You’re prepared to mindlessly take notes for the next hour and half during lecture, but are pleasantly surprised when the professor doesn’t pull up the lecture slides. 

“Good afternoon class. I can all tell you guys are doing great so far.”

Her joke lands for some people, getting little chuckles and giggles from different corners of the lecture hall.

“Your midterms are a month away. I would normally give an exam for this class, but this year I have decided to switch it up. I have you all in pairs and you will be submitting a group assignment as your midterm. You will not be required to present but I will give you free reign on the design, layout and mode of presentation on the project meaning you can use any platform or software you would like to get the information across. I have sent you all emails with the name of the person you will be paired up with.”

You and friend look at each other and groan, knowing that the chance of you two being in a group is slim to none. Surely enough, you check your emails for your project partners.

“Who is Choi Yeonjun?” 

You ask, looking to your friend to see if she has any answers. She scans the room, presumably to see if he’s in class to point him out to you. 

“You see that kid in the middle row to the left? The one with the red hair? That’s him.

You look at the back of his head, sighing as you realize you don’t know this person and that this project is going to take a lot more time out of your busy schedule. 

“At least you’re not working with Choi Beomgyu. I heard he can be a handful.” 

Your friend rolls her eyes, burning holes in the back of the blonde boy's head, who happens to be sitting next to Yeonjun. You follow your eyes to see the boy, laughing at the irony of your partners sitting next to each other, just like their partners were. 

The rest of the class is drag, the growling of your stomach making it seem longer than it was as hunger consumes you. 

“Let’s go to the dining hall. I can’t afford to spend any more money on that overpriced cafe.”

Your friend says as you follow her out. It’s gotten pretty dark outside and there weren’t many students walking around in the cold. There were a couple of people here and there, probably walking back to their dorms after class. You two find yourself walking behind a person with their hood up, paying no mind to him until a cloud of smoke hits your face. Your audible groan at the smell of weed alerts his attention as he turns around and apologizes for smoking right in front of you. As he pulls his hood down, you recognize the tuft of bright red hair sitting on the top of his head. 

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t know you guys were behind me. I didn’t mean for the smoke to hit you.” 

‘Great,’ you thought. Not only did you have to work with a random stranger, but he also smokes publically on campus. You didn’t like smoking or people who smoked. You couldn’t understand why people do it or what joy butchering your throat and lungs could bring you. Your friend knew that about you and sensing your irritation, she speaks up for you, dismissing the incident on your behalf while you both walk ahead of him. 

As soon as you know that you’re far enough away from Yeonjun, you ask,

“Can we switch partners?”

Your friend snickers.

“If he smokes, I can almost assure you that his friend does too, so switching partners wouldn’t help.” 

You finally enter the dining hall, taking in the heated building before putting your stuff down in search of mediocre food. 

༄ ༄ ༄

You spend the next few days catching up on any missing work, putting the project aside since you still have a month left to do it. You decide to use Sunday as your rest day, drained from the assignments you were able to get done. You still had many assignments left to do, but you could only do so much work and you were already feeling burnt out. Doing more work wouldn’t be eventful in any way. 

You prepare for your day as normal, showering and throwing on a cute, weather appropriate, outfit as you make your way to the cafe on campus. You needed something better than the dining hall coffee for a change. You went there quite often, as you were high school friends with one of the baristas there. You smile as you spot him, walking up to the counter. 

“Taehyun! How’ve you been?”

The boy beams brightly at you, loving your cheerful spirit upon seeing him.

“Y/N! I haven’t seen you for a couple days! I’m good, how are you? And, do you want your usual?”

“I know, I’ve been busy and broke. But I’m doing alright, just catching up on all of my assignments. And yes please.”

“Oh, that’s good at least! Also we have a new employee that I’m training so it might take a minute to get your order. Is that okay?”

“Yeah of course! Take your time. Thank you!” 

You say, paying the balance of your meal and waiting at the end of the counter to get your food. You see a tall boy with red hair come out from the kitchen. You scoff to yourself as you recognize Yeonjun. ‘Of course he works here,’ you think. It takes him a couple of minutes to make your drink, still new to all the syrups and flavors that are available. As he finishes he calls out your name. 

“Y/N!” 

You walk up to him, remaining polite as you thank him for your order.

“Thank you.”

“Sorry if it took a while, it’s only my third day here.” 

“It’s okay, thank you for the food!” 

He stares at you and you’re about to grab your stuff and walk out, but he stops you.

“Wait, Y/N? Are you taking history 2204? With Professor X?” 

“Yeah?”

You feign ignorance, pretending not to know who he is. 

“Ah, I see. I’m Yeonjun. I think we’re partners for this project. It was nice to meet you.” 

He says as he smiles. You felt a little guilty about your prejudiced dislike towards him. He seemed nice enough, so what if he smokes? And you couldn’t lie to yourself, finding his smile and crinkled eyes cute.

“Oh yeah! It’s nice to meet you too!” 

“Can I give you my number? So we can discuss what days work for us to meet up and work on the project?” 

You nod as you hand him your phone. You watch as he types away his number, smiling as he hands it back to you.

“Thank you, Yeonjun. I’ll text you my schedule and we can figure out what works then.” 

He wished you a good day and you smile, finding his manners charming. 

༄ ༄ ༄

A week had passed since you met Yeonjun at the cafe. You were officially back on track as you submitted the last of your missing assignments the night before, finally being able to focus your time and energy on this project. You had yet to message Yeonjun and you didn’t know why you were nervous to text him. You didn’t want to start off the messages awkwardly so you went with a simple yet forward message to start the conversation.

“Hey! This is Y/N from history class. You gave me your number last week at the cafe.”

You release the breath you were subconsciously holding, hitting ‘send’ and waiting for a response. You didn’t want it to seem like you were glued to your phone, waiting for him to message you back so you bide your time by doing other things around your space. Cleaning up your desk, putting away your clothes, etc. 

You hear your phone go off, waiting a couple minutes to check who the message is from. You groan when it’s just one of your friends asking if you wanted to hang out later. You replied ‘sure,’ and went back to doing anything you could occupy yourself. 

It had been a couple of hours since you messaged him and still no response. Now pissed that he hadn’t yet gotten back to you, you decided to get ready to go out with your friends. There was a party at a bar on campus and you allowed yourself to go out as a reward for completing all your assignments. Putting on some light makeup, you chose a rather revealing outfit despite the winter weather, assuming that it was probably going to be hot in the bar. 

You met your friends there and all started with some drinks. You were talking about your days, just checking up on them. You had all been so busy with midterms coming up that you barely had time to hang out. After having about two more drinks, your friends dragged you onto the floor, dancing to whatever music the band was playing. 

“Y/N!!” 

You hear your name being called and turned around to find the source of the noise. You spot Taehyun and instantly your mood brightens up. 

“Taehyun! I didn’t know you’d be here!” 

“I wasn’t planning on coming but my friend asked me to come with him. I think you’ve met him before, Yeonjun? He’s the one that made your order a week ago.” 

You grimace upon hearing his name. At first, you cut him some slack because he seemed nice enough. You felt guilty about judging him because he smoked. But after not messaging you all day and then hearing that he was at this party, you went back on your word, the idea of disliking him appealing to you again. 

“Oh yeah, I know him. I remember meeting him last week.” 

You say, emotionless. 

“I want you to meet him again. And my other friends too, they’re all cool so I think you’ll like them.” 

You trusted Taehyun so maybe you had to hold off on your hatred a little longer. Though you were good at using your words, your expression and body language always failed you, never being able to hide your negative emotions. 

“These are my friends, Yeonjun, Soobin, Beomgyu and Kai.” 

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you guys, I’m Y/N!” 

“Ah yes, we’ve heard a lot about you. Taehyun told us how you guys were best friends in high school.” 

Soobin said, his tall frame and black hair are easy on the eyes. 

“Yeah, me and Terry go way back! It feels like we met just a year ago but it’s already been 7 years”

You say, laughing. Yeonjun chuckles at your comment, sipping at his beer. 

“It’s nice to formally meet you Y/N. And I like your outfit, it suits you.” 

You stare towards him is cold but your cheeks betray you, heating up at his compliment towards your outfit. 

“Thank you…” 

Your night goes on, hopping between your friend group and Taehyun and his friends. One by one, they all start to leave as you’re left with one of your friends, Taehyun and Yeonjun. You introduce them all to each other and stay at the party for a little longer before deciding to leave. 

“I think I’m going to head back, Y/N. I’m tired and I have classes back to back tomorrow,” 

Your friend says, gathering her things.

“Alright but you can’t walk back by yourself? It’s too dark and you know how dangerous it can be.” 

You look around, trying to find a solution so that your friend doesn’t go back by herself. 

“Taehyun! You live on this side of campus right? Can you walk back with her?”

Taehyun looks to your friend, who’s blushing a little as you try to help her out. 

“Yeah sure but, what about you? You live on the opposite side so what are you gonna do?” 

“I can walk her back. I live around there anyways. It would be no trouble, really.” 

Yeonjun says, smiling as his eyes disappear. You mentally curse yourself for being left with Yeonjun, even though there was nothing else you can do about it. You all nod and go your separate ways, Taehyun with your friend and you with Yeonjun. 

On your walk back to your dorm, Yeonjun fishes a lighter out of his pocket, using it to light the joint that was in his other hand. Taking a drag, you immediately smell the inebriating plant and walk faster. He can sense something off between the two of you, the tension weighing down the atmosphere. 

“Did I do something to upset you? It just… seems like you don’t like me or don’t want me around?” 

You stop in your tracks, having been walking in front of him this entire time and turn around to face him. You exhale loudly before starting:

“First of all, I was not in the best state when the professor announced we were working in random pairs for this project. Not really your fault but then I’m walking behind you as we leave class and you’re smoking! Let alone, the smoke blows into my face and I hate smoking, let alone people who smoke. Then I met you at the cafe and you seemed really nice so I gave you the benefit of the doubt and thought that maybe I judged you too quickly and then I felt guilty. But then this morning, I text you and you left me on delivered all day and then I find you here, at this party and now you’re walking me back to my dorm. So yeah, you can say I’m not really fond of you.” 

You huff, the feeling of letting all of that off your chest almost euphoric. He puts his hand with the joint down next to him, taking his phone and checking his messages, and found that you did in fact text him and he didn’t read it. 

“I’m sorry for not reading your message, I was busy all day and I’m not allowed to use my phone during work. And I do apologize for smoking in front of you, even though it blowing in your face isn’t my fault. But that’s it? I didn’t actually do anything to you, so what’s the judgment for? Why do you hate people who smoke?” 

You didn’t want to stand in the cold any longer, and you didn’t want to have this conversation either. Really, you were avoiding his gaze because you really did have no valid reason to hate him. He never actually did anything to you. But you couldn’t back down now, otherwise you’d be embarrassed. You just huff as you turn on your heel, walking in the direction of your door, the rest of the walk back remaining silent. 

He walks you up to your building. You feel your phone ding, grabbing it from your pocket to check the notification. 

“I sent you my schedule. Let’s get this project done as quickly as we can so we don’t have to see each other again.” 

You hang your head low, guilt hitting you like a truck at the sight of an upset and hurt Yeonjun waiting for you to walk in. Even though you told him that you didn’t like him straight to his face, he still had the courtesy of waiting for you to enter your building so he can say he waited until you were safe to leave. You look back at him one last time, feeling worse than before as you run in and take the stairs up to your room. 

༄ ༄ ༄

You stare at Yeonjun’s schedule that sits in your messages, debating on whether or not you should ask your professor if you could work alone. You’re seriously contemplating it but ultimately decide that you should at least fix whatever you started, as it would be unfair to Yeonjun to leave him to do the project alone, though after your encounter last night, you’re sure he would appreciate not being your partner anymore. 

“Hey. I’m free this weekend if you are to work on the project.”

His reply is almost immediate, like he had been waiting for you to text him back. 

“Yeah, I’m free this weekend as well. Time and place?”

“Would you be comfortable coming over to my dorm at like 12 o’clock tomorrow? I want to apologize for the things I said and the way I acted…”

You bite your lip as you send the message, waiting for the rejection message to pop up.

“Sounds cool. I’ll see you at 12 tmr.”

No rejection? You were utterly surprised at this chance of redemption though, a little taken aback at how nonchalant he sounded. You lived in a single dorm so cleaning up wasn't that bad. You made sure to have plenty of snacks and drinks stocked in your mini fridge and made a little cozy corner for him to work in, while you would sit at your desk. You even made sure to text Taehyun and to ask what Yeonjun’s favorite drink was so you could have it ready for him when he arrived. 

༄ ༄ ༄

You woke up early in the morning, getting ready for the day as you make your way to the cafe to pick up the drinks you had ordered for both yourself and Yeonjun. 

“Hey Taehyun! Do you have those drinks ready for me?”

“Hey! Yeah I do. I have your usual and an iced americano for Yeonjun!”

The boy says, big eyes gleaming as he hands you the drinks. 

“Thank you! I’ll see you later!”

You didn’t tell him about the events that transpired after the party, and from the looks of it Yeonjun hadn't told him anything either. You say your goodbyes and make your way to a little pop-up event on your campus. They were selling cookies and cupcakes to support their club, so you thought it would be a nice gesture to buy you and Yeonjun both a cookie and a cupcake each. 

Struggling to open your door with all the treats in your hands, you manage to get inside of your room and put all your stuff down. You check the time to see that it’s only 11:30 a.m, relieved to see that you still had some time to yourself. 

You hear a knock on your door a little bit later. You had sent Yeonjun the details of your dorm room before he got there but were still startled by the knock. You compose yourself, nervously opening the door to see a blank-faced Yeonjun staring back at you, this time wearing a loose sweater that hangs off his shoulder on one side, gray sweats and black, thick framed glasses. 

“Hey Yeonjun. Come in, I have some things prepared.” 

He nods as he walks in, slipping off his shoes at the little welcome mat you have placed in front of the door. The dorm itself is pretty small, enough for one person but it could still comfortably afford a guest. 

“First of all, I want to start with a verbal apology. I’m sorry for being prejudiced against you based on your smoking habits. And I’m sorry for lashing out on you last night when you asked a valid question. I know it wasn’t your fault that the smoke blew into my face and I guess I was just anxious about this project and texting you that I didn’t even stop to think and consider the fact that you could’ve been busy and didn’t have time to check your phone. Secondly, I asked Taehyun what your favorite drink at the cafe was so I got you an iced americano, and a cookie and cupcake from the fundraiser one of the clubs on campus is having.” 

You shyly hand over the cup with his drink and the snacks that were packed into a little plastic box. He takes the snacks out of your hand and for the first time all week, you relax your shoulders as Yeonjun smiles, accepting your apology and finding it cute in the process. 

“Thank you Y/N. I know you don’t know me and I don’t know what your deal with hating smoking is, but I accept and appreciate the apology nonetheless. Shall we get started?” 

You nod as you instruct him to put his stuff down in the little workspace you created for him, a small throw pillow and fox blanket resting on the inflatable chair you had blown up for him to make use of. He chuckles at the cute setup, settling his stuff down and getting comfy to start working.

༄ ༄ ༄

Throughout your working session, you had some conversation here and there when things got boring or you ran into a particularly difficult part of the project. A couple hours into working you both decide to tap out, noticing the time and finding that you had been working for 6 hours straight. 

“Oh my god, it’s been 6 hours!” 

You say, surprised that you were able to focus on the same assignment for so long though, to your credit, it felt like many different assignments bundled into one. 

“Damn, I didn’t even notice how late it was. That wasn’t so bad actually.” 

Yeonjun says, getting up to stretch his legs, americano and snack box empty as you both refused to leave the room to eat lunch. He picked up his trash, throwing it in the garbage before returning to his corner, looking at you before asking you a question you didn’t think he’d ask:

“Would you ever try it? Smoking I mean?

You stare at him blankly. Your immediate answer was no. Smoking is bad for you, it can cause illness or death. But when you opened your mouth to answer, you didn’t expect this to come out: 

“Maybe one day?” 

You’re speechless yourself at your answer. You were so adamant on hating smoking and never wanting to try it. What about Yeonjun asking you made you change your answer? Was it the way he so confidently stood up to you last night? Or the way he walked you to your dorm despite learning about your true feelings for him at the time? Or the way you wanted him to find you different from the character you first gave off, the one that judged him for smoking in the first place? As if he could see the inner struggle etched onto your face he remarks,

“I thought you hated smoking? What makes you want to try it?” 

Your face heats up at your own silence, but you respond anyway.

“I do hate it. And I actually don’t want to try it. I don't know why I said that. But why do you smoke in the first place?” 

You ask, trying to change the subject to be towards him. Catching onto your little trick, he humors you. 

“It’s a relaxing way to unwind after a stressful day. Sit back, throw on a movie and take a couple hits and you’re there. Relaxed as can be with no other care in the world. You should try it, maybe then you won’t be as tightly wound.” 

You scoff at his little jab at you towards the end of his explanation. You couldn’t lie, with the way he was explaining it to you, the idea of smoking did sound very enticing. But nonetheless, you were willing to stand your ground on this topic, after all, this whole situation you were in with Yeonjun stemmed from your hatred towards smoking and you weren’t going to back down now. 

“As if. And I am not tightly wound, thank you very much. Maybe you can’t tell because you’re brain fried from all the weed you smoke.” 

Thinking your remark has granted you victory in this argument, Yeonjun smirks, offering you a challenge. 

“Try it. Prove me wrong that you won’t feel relaxed. That it won’t make you feel like a weight has been temporarily lifted off of you.” 

He reached down into his bag, pulling out a metal box and setting it on your desk. Upon clicking it open, the smell of weed immediately wafts through the room, filling your nose and causing you to cough slightly. 

“Do you mind not opening that up in my room? We’re not supposed to smoke in the dorms anyways!” 

You said, grabbing air freshener to dilute the smell of the weed. 

“Relax, it's fine. Plus the hall directors on this floor all do it too, so they won’t care.” 

You scoff as he takes a seat, carefully grinding the bud so as not to get any on your desk. He then fiddles with the contraption used to pack the weed into the paper, sealing it off after having packed it fully. 

“I’ll demonstrate how to do it and then you take a hit, okay?” 

You gulp nervously, teetering between the idea of kicking him out or waiting to see how this all plays out. Were you really going to get high because a cute boy challenged you? You’re quickly broken out of your thoughts as you see him flick open the lighter, the smell of burning paper replacing the smell of weed in your nose. He lets it burn for a while, opening your window in the process. 

“When you take a hit, blow out of the window otherwise you’ll set off the fire alarm.” 

You mock a smile as he laughs, bringing the joint up to his lips as he takes a small inhale. You watch as the fibers of the paper burn, the weed contents turning gray. You analyze the way he takes the hit and hold it in his throat for a second before slowly blowing the cloud of smoke out of the window. 

“Your turn.” 

He passes you the joint, as your clammy hands impatiently reach for it. You look at him one more time nervously, bringing the joint up to your mouth and inhaling. You don’t know how fast you ripped it, throat burning and violently coughing as Yeonjun scrambles in your fridge to bring you a bottle of water. You chug the water to stop your coughs, handing the joint back to him as you catch your breath. 

“Nothing about that was relaxing in any way.” 

“That’s because you did it too fast. Look, watch me. You slowly inhale, don’t let the feeling of it in your throat bother you otherwise you’ll start to cough.” 

You hold a little grudge in your stare, cursing at the fact that you were so easily convinced to try the one thing you spited and how your resolve crumbles so easily before your very eyes. You watch him bring the joint up to his lips again, Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat before taking another hit. This time you watch how he holds it in his mouth, counting the seconds before he blows it out. 

“Think you got it this time?”

You take the joint from his hand, silently reassuring him that you’d be fine. You try again, this time slowly inhaling. Remember his words from just a few moments ago, you let the particles settle in your throat for a moment, slightly inhaling before releasing the breath, successfully blowing the smoke out of the window. You look up at Yeonjun with big eyes and a proud smile. 

“I still don’t feel relaxed.” 

“You will in about 3 more hits and 15 minutes.” 

You continue to pass the joint to each other, careful not to rip it too fast or inhale too much. You can feel your eyes start to get a little droopy, a constant smile appearing on your face as you feel your body loosen. You feel slower but not heavy as you turn to Yeonjun and start giggling. 

“I can tell that you’re starting to feel it now. Gonna tell me you don’t feel relaxed?” 

You nod, giggling at his smile. The longer you stare at him, the cuter you think he is. Even in your high state, you couldn’t blame the weed for the attraction you felt for the red-haired man. Maybe you were starting to form a little crush. You think about the sweater he’s wearing, how his neck and collarbone are so perfectly on display, longing to be nipped at. Or the way the glasses make him look more sophisticated and smart, you did like nerdy looking boys. And the way his thick lips wrapped around the joint, eyes following his every move as he takes another drag. You couldn’t help the way you were rubbing your thighs together, the idea of his lips on yours creating a need to form within you. He looks at you, dumbfounded as he himself is now high as well. 

“How are you feeling Y/N? Do you feel good? Do you feel relaxed?” 

This time, you could blame the weed for what you say next:

“I feel great. I would feel even better if you kissed me.”

You laugh at your own comment, finding Yeonjun’s shocked expression priceless and thus further causing you to laugh. You allowed yourself to be bold, not knowing when again you’d have this opportunity. 

“Don’t say things you don’t mean, Y/N. You’re high right now and so am I. Neither of our judgments can be trusted right now.” 

He tries to play the mature, responsible role. He was the one that got you high so he felt responsible for any and all actions made by you or towards you by himself. But the slight, ever-growing tent in his pants was giving him away, revealing that he was not as grounded in his resolve as he wanted to be.

“What? You don’t believe me? Should I prove it to you?”

You take his previous words of challenge and use it against him, playing him at his own game. You walk up to him slowly, eyes red and droopy as you stare into his. You place your hand on his chest, tippy toeing to try to reach up to his lips. 

“Help me out a little?” 

As if all rhyme and reason was thrown out the window, Yeonjun doesn’t hesitate to lean down, capturing your lips with his own. He throws one arm around your waist, the other carefully holding the joint so as not to get any ash over your floor. Your hands remain on his chest as your lips move slowly in sync, breaths heavy from the temporarily shortened capacity of your lungs. You still feel a burn every time you inhale, but it’s worth it for the way Yeonjun has you feeling right now; completely relaxed and carefree. 

He pulls away for a second, grabbing your hand with his free one and placing the joint in between your lips, guiding you to take a hit before he puts it in the metal box with his other weed essentials. His eyes watch you in awe as you close your eyes to take the hit. He pulls you onto his lap as he takes a seat on your desk chair and you happily follow, hands around the nape of his neck as you play with the hairs there. You take your time holding the smoke in and he kisses you again, running his hands along your sides, squeezing as you gasp, letting the smoke out from your mouth into his. He takes the opportunity to gently slip his tongue into your mouth, causing you to moan at the contact, grinding down a bit into his thigh. Your mouth is dry, partly due to the cotton mouth you're experiencing, and partly due to the nerves that had worked their way into your body when you decided to be bold and admit to wanting to kiss him. 

He licks the inside of your mouth before pulling away a little to suck on your tongue, teeth grazing it as he pulls away to trails kisses down your jaw and neck. You’re panting out of breath at his actions, the wetness between your legs only growing as you feel his hard-on press against the side of your thigh. You giggle as he nips a particularly ticklish spot on your neck, the effects of the weed present and causing him to giggle as well. 

“Can I kiss your neck?” 

“Well when you ask so nicely…”

He laughs, pulling away from your neck and tilting his head to the side, granting you permission to mark him up. You lean down, lightly nipping at his milky skin, biting around the area of his collarbones and he rests his hands on your hips, rocking you back and forth on his thigh. Your little whimpers at the contact only turn him on more, hard cock throbbing against his sweats as you eye the clear outline of them. Pulling back to look at your little marks, you’re satisfied as you pull him into your lips once again, this time more hungry. His hands that were settled on your hips move to grab your ass, squeezing as he presses you down harder on his thigh. Your moans are drowned out by his lips as the makeout becomes heavier and messier, saliva escaping from the corner of your lips and dripping down your chin. He pulls away first, admiring your red and puffy lips with a dazed smile. He stands you up, grabbing the joint and taking a big hit, holding it as his hands sweetly caress your face and he gives you another kiss, letting the smoke cascade into your mouth as you try your best to inhale and not choke. He smirks watching the excess smoke slip between your mouths, putting down the remainder of the joint and feeling you up underneath your shirt. 

“No bra?”

“I was in here all day. There was no need for it.”

You respond simply, taking a step back to fully take your shirt off, giggling as you watch his eyes open dramatically at the sight of your bare tits, nipples hardened as a result of the cold air. He pushes you against your desk, leaning you back over it as he takes one of your nipples into his mouth, not even bothering to get you both on the bed. He swirls his tongue around the sensitive bud. You moan at the contact, harshly gripping his hair as he grazed his teeth against them. He takes the chance to slide his hands down the waistband of your pants, settling just above your pussy. 

“Yeonjun…” 

Your whimpers turn him on further as he begins rubbing circles on your clit through your panties and you throw your head back at the sheer amount of pleasure you’re feeling at the moment. He switches his attention from one nipple to the other, trading his fingers up and down your slit, feeling the wetness collect on the fabric separating his fingers from your heat. You don’t realize your grip has gotten impossibly tighter, accidentally pushing his head further into your chest, not that he minded. 

“You’re rough, I like it.” 

He pulls his head away from your chest and you whine at the loss of contact, the warmth his hold brought you being replaced by the cooling of his saliva all over your boobs. He pulls you close enough to him to help you take off your pants and underwear, sitting you back down on your desk as he admires your glistening lips, sliding down both his sweats and his boxers. 

He goes over to his bag and pulls out a condom before rolling it on to his painfully hard erection. 

“You just carry condoms on you at all times?”

“It came in handy, didn’t it?” 

He smirks at your failed attempt at being snarky, grabbing your waist as he slides the head between your folds. Your arms rest on his shoulders, one hand playing with his hair as the other twiddles with the necklace he has on.  

“You tease too much…” 

Yeonjun guides you back and forth on his dick, relishing in the little yet satisfying pleasure he’s giving himself right now. One hand rests on your pelvis, thumb reaching down to circle your clit as you hiss, biting your lip to suppress the moan you desperately want to let out. 

“Please Yeonjun…” 

Your begging only made it harder for him to resist you, slowly bringing the head down to your sopping entrance, groaning as he pushes it past your walls.

“Fuck you’re so tight. Gotta stretch you out on my cock.”

You wince as he pushes himself in deeper, releasing a sigh of content as he fully sheathes himself inside you. He keeps his thumb on your clit, the speed of his actions constant. 

“Y-you can move now…” 

He moves slowly, still letting you adjust before moving at a more constant pace. You’re mindful of the moans pushing past your open lips, finding it hard to contain them as he sets a firm rhythm. You look down beside you and pick up what’s left of the joint. Yeonjun takes note of your actions, holding you steady with both of his hands as you grab the lighter to reignite the substance. You bring it to your lips once again, letting the effect of the weed wash over you, reveling in the heightened effect of the drug. 

You hold the joint up to Yeonjun’s mouth, smiling lazily as he takes a hit, his hips never stopping their relentless pounding into your pussy. He attaches his lips to your neck once again allowing the smoke to escape and you to stabilize yourself while his thumb goes back to circling your clit, this time much faster than before. He also speeds up thrusts, the volume of your moans increasing as his harsh thrusts knock the desk back into the wall over and over again. You’re afraid of the amount of noise you’re making, worried about whether or not your neighbors can hear the scandalous sounds coming from your room, but all worry flies out the window when Yeonjun leans you back, bringing your hips up to a whole new angle for him. 

“Yeonjun!!” 

You scream as his tip hits your spot so deliciously, legs wrapping around him, pulling him that much closer. He chuckles as your face scrunches up, indicative of your close release. He can’t help but to move faster, pistoning his hips at an incredible speed, one that has your eyes rolling to the back of your head as a gush of liquid comes rushing out of you. 

“Yeah that’s it, squirt all over my cock for me. Let it all out…” 

You’re so high that you barely even register the fact that you just squirted all over him, creating a mess on your floor. Your feelings only seem to intensify as the overstimulation kicks in, sensitive walls clenching down on him as your second orgasm approaches you quickly, his fingers still working your clit. 

“I’m… I’m gonna cum again… Y-yeonjun please…” 

Your whines come out broken and sporadic, not sure how much more you can take. 

“Hold on for me a little longer baby, I’m almost there.” 

You nod as you pull his head back down to you, kissing him one last time as he nails his final thrust, hips stilling in you as he feels himself fill the condom. Your pants and sighs fill the now smokey room. 

“I didn’t know you could squirt like that baby girl. You’re so fucking hot”

He carefully pulls out of you, making sure not to let any cum seep out of the condom. You wince as he pulls out, legs feeling like jelly as you release him from your hold. After discarding the condom, he quickly reaches for the napkins you have sitting on top of the fridge, cleaning you up before kneeling on the cold floor to wipe up any remnants of your release. 

“You look good when you’re on your knees,”

You say playfully, biting your lip as you watch him clean your floor. 

“I was right.” 

Your head feels empty and you’re slightly tingly. The high you were having definitely intensified the feeling you were having during sex but it did nothing to help jog your memory. 

“What are you talking about” 

“Have you already forgotten”

You shrug as you jump off the desk, using his shoulder to help ground yourself as your legs recover from their jelly-like state and proceed to put your clothes back on. 

“I told you that smoking would help you feel more relaxed. I guess in your case it also helped you be more bold.” 

Your usual eye roll was replaced by a giggle. 

“Did I really say that? I guess I had no idea what I was talking about?” 

He laughs with you as he finishes cleaning the floor, pulling his pants back on before putting his weed materials away, shirtless. 

You keep staring at him, realizing that you were too high and too needy to notice his toned abs before. 

“I can send you a picture of them if you want? You don’t have to keep staring at me like that.” 

He pulls his sweater over his head to which you pout, upset that your view was now covered. 

“Relax, you’ll see them again the next time we do this.” 

“Next time?” 

You couldn’t say that you hated the feeling of being high, but maybe you weren’t in the right mind to be making decisions like that. 

“Yeah? Next time we work on the project we can get high and do this again. It was fun.” 

He puts his stuff away in his bag, leaving it on your inflatable chair. He wasn’t just gonna leave you after fucking you whilst you were still high. 

“We got a pretty good portion of the project done today. We don’t even have to meet up to finish out individual parts.” 

You say, reminding him about your 6 hour grind to finish as much of the project as you could. 

“What are you trying to say?” 

He says while fixing his glasses and hair in your mirror.

“I’m saying the next time we meet we don’t have to do work.”

He makes eye contact with you through the mirror, his smirk hard to hide at your insinuation.

“You dirty girl. So bold when you’re high, only want me over to have sex.” 

“Well… to have sex and get high! I do enjoy your presence but I’ve never felt so good before. That was like heaven.” 

Even though he didn’t know you that well, he could tell the effects of the weed were still strong on you, watching you yap away, knowing you probably won’t remember this conversation in the morning. He just laughs at your comment as you put your stuff away. 

You watch as he goes back to his seat, moving his bag back to the floor. You walk up to him, sitting down on his lap. You tangle your fingers in his hair, staring at his lips again, which are also swollen. His eyes follow your gaze and he throws his head back in laughter, scaring you a little as you flinch at unexpected sound. 

“You’re still horny?” 

“What makes you say that?”

You play dumb as if you weren’t just drooling over his lips. 

“But we just put our clothes back on!” 

He whines, fixing your position so that you’re properly straddling him. 

“Yeah but, you aren’t gonna reject me right? Not when I’m high and needy because of you?” 

You feign your best soft voice and puppy eyes, trying your best to hold back from laughing in his face at your own antics. Yeonjun takes your face in his hand, giving you a sweet smile.

“No of course not, that would make me a monster.”

He says, pulling you back in for another kiss as you settle in. Maybe smoking a little bit of weed wasn’t so bad after all. 

[yeonmuse]

ᥫ᭡ f!reader x yang jungwon ── 𝒢enre. Uni au. fluff, non idol enha. feats. ot7 [reqs are open] ᝰ.ᐟ 𝓁ibrary 🎧

authors 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝑒𝓈 I this series has officially met its end everyone, though I’m thinking about making a special christmas chapter im not 100% I will be doing so. Considering I have all of the other members series to start writing. Within ending this i’d like it to be known that every member will be receiving a mini series that all tie in with one another, beginning with this series. This is part of admins Enhypen university Series

ᦓynopsis Jungwon is a film major that finds honestly complete captivated by an antisocial girl with a love for the stars and a passion for music

TAGLIST CLOSED FOR THIS SERIES

The girl with the headphones | THE FINAL CHAPTER

Tonight was the night that Jungwon and the film club had been working so hard on, the night had finally come to premier the film they had all been working so hard to pull together. The first viewing would be at heartstrings, with only a selective few from campus. Yn was more excited than anyone, Jungwon hadn’t told her much about the film other than a few minor details when the two began working on it together so she was over the moon to finally see what ideas had been plaguing his mind.

The two of them hadn’t really spoken much since last night, the night they shared their first kiss. Though she knew it was because he was most likely far too busy trying to perfect things at heartstrings for tonight’s film viewing. When It came to his craft Jungwon was completely serious about it, she’d always found herself admiring him or staring at him at the time even the two were working on the project together. Something about the way his expressions changed so vividly when he was focused, made it impossible to keep her eyes off of him.

A knock at the door forced the girl out of her thoughts of her boyfriend as she brushed her teeth. Before she herself could even make it to the door her roommate had already opened it.

“Oh Nessa! When did you get back from your parents?” Chaewon slips inside as if it were her own dorm, something she had done time and time again and both yn and nessa had grown used to it.

“I got back yesterday, the snow storm last night made it completely hell to get back.”

“Are you coming to Jungwons premiere tonight?”

“I wasn’t going to at first but I feel like I’ve missed so much that I need to be there to not miss anything else, besides I need to meet this new boyfriend.”

“You haven’t met Jungwon yet??”

“Nope she hasn’t let him come over here once because she was too afraid i’d scare him away.” Nessa sighs dramatically and holds her chest as if she had just been struck in the heart.

“That’s not true, he always asked to walk me back to the dorm but it’s been snowing so much I don’t want him out in the cold for too long.”

“Oh she’s whipped.”

“She’s been daydreaming about him ever since I got back.”

“That kiss must have done a number on you or something, he’s all you can think about now.”

“Okay okay enough you two, are we going to go shopping tonight or not, or will you both stand here all day talking about my love affairs?”

“Who says we can’t do both?” Nessa shrugs as yn opens the door and both she and Chaewon follow each other out.

“Oh I almost forgot we’re waiting on one more person.” Chaewon pulls her phone from her pocket as the three of them step out into the main hall of the girls dormitory.

“I thought Sunoo was helping the guys with preparations today?”

“He is, it’s not Sunoo that’s joining us.” As Chaewon slips her phone back into her pocket, as if on queue her name is called causing the three of them to whip their heads around to the hallway.

“Chae Chae you did not.”

“Isn’t that the girl from the theater department”

“Long story short, Heeseung has a thing for her and he’s been trying to approach her for months but fails every time.”

“Heeseung? As in Lee Heseung? As in thee Lee Heeseung, that's always flirting?”

“Yup, I invited her to the premier tonight.”

“Chaewon Heeseung might actually kill you this time.”

“He tried to set me up with an obviously straight woman, this isn’t the worst I could do.” As Sakoia finally made it over to the three of them, it was obvious to the three of them why Heeseung had taken a liking to her. Not only could she sing, and act but she was breathtakingly beautiful.

“Were you guys waiting on me all this time? Show preparations ran a little later than usual today.”

“Nope you’re actually just in time. Koia, this is yn and that’s her roommate Nessa.”

“Nice to meet you both, Chaewon talked about you both nonstop yesterday.”

“I didn't know you were into theater Chae.”

“Oh she’s not, the only reason she was there was because the fashion department and theater department are working together for the upcoming show.”

“I’ve never been more stressed out about fashion in my life, theater majors are no joke.” The three of them laugh at Chaewons obvious fatigue having to deal with so many thoughts and ideas having been thrown at her yesterday.

“Should we get going now? We only have 5 hours until the premier and Chaewon takes the longest time picking out outfits.”

“Mm yeah let’s go, or else we’d end up missing the movie picking out an outfit for just Chae alone.”

While the girls had been out and about, shopping and pampering themselves for tonight’s premier Jungwon had been working the guys like it was their 9 to 5.

“How come Taehyun gets off so easily without doing anything?” Jake complains, as he and the others continue making decorations for the tabletops.

“Um maybe because Taehyun owns the place and he’s already helped enough by letting Jungwon premier hops film here and making the menu for tonight’s show.” Taehyun retorts to his complaining in a mock whiney voice as he places a stack of menus onto the diner counter for them to take.

“Fair enough.”

“Where is Jungwon anyways?”

“He went off into the back room to make sure the film was working properly.”

“Film? What is this in the 1800s? Why didn’t he just make it a drive or something?”

“He wanted it to be authentic, like a drive in theater so he had another copy of it put on film.”

“Do any of you even know what the film is about?” They all fell silent before looking around at one another, usually at least one of them would have been listening to him when he’d go on and on about his works, but not one of them knew.

“I don’t think he ever talked about this one now that I think about it?”

They were right, he hadn’t talked about it, the only people that truly knew what this film was about had been them and those that had put the work in in making the film. Only he knew the true meaning behind the film though, but once everyone else had seen it it would become a matter of time until they realized its true meaning too.

Eventually the sun had started to set and all of the guests had come flooding into the cafe. The very last four to enter had been the four girls that spent almost the entire day in preparations for the night. Once they entered they all parted ways, Chaewon going off to find manon, Nessa going off to find herself a drink and yn off to find Jungwon, that left Sakoia alone.

“Are my eyes playing tricks or were yn and Chaewon serious about inviting Sakoia to the premier.” Sunghoon calls out, making both Heeseung and Jay turn towards the direction which Sakoia stood, seemingly on a phone call.

“Oh Chaewon actually did it.” Sunoo laughs as he joins the three of them, he honestly couldn’t say that he hadn’t expected her to actually do it after all it was Chaewon.

“Of course this was Chaewons doing.” Heeseung rolls his eyes, he had been trying his best to act nonchalant, as if he didn’t care but it was obvious he wanted nothing more than to go talk to her.

“You still haven’t talked to her yet?” Jay was shocked to say the least, if there was anyone out of the Seven of them that had the least trouble with talking to women, it was Heeseung.

“He’s tried, every time he has she’s either had preparations for a show or he chickened out on asking her out.” Jakes comment only further annoyed him

“Why don’t you just tell her you have questions about a play or something?” Maybe Sunghoon had been onto something with that suggestion.

“Five bucks says he chickens out or she gets another call.” Jake bets as the four of them watched Heeseung finally approach her with a newfound confidence (more like annoyance)

“Jungwon, are you here?” Yn had slowly made her way through the back hallway of the cafe, knowing that Jungwon was bound to be found in one of the rooms if not out with the others.

She found him standing next to a film camera, his eyebrows furrowed as he rewound the film back to its start in preparation for the film night. She stood in the doorway watching with a smile on her face, her hip and head resting against the doorframe.

“Penny for your thoughts.” Hearing his girlfriend's voice he couldn’t help but feel his heart leap in his chest, pulling his focus away from the camera he turned to look at her. As his eyes fell upon her standing there in her beautiful dress, he felt the luckiest man in the world was no one other than himself. His eyes raked over her figure as if he was capturing a snapshot with his eyes.

“How can I focus on tonight's film when my girlfriend is standing here looking this beautiful in front of me.” As she steps inside the room he closes the space between the two slipping an arm around her waist while the other hand rests on the side of her neck and face.

“You're an absolutely breathtaking baby.” He places loving kisses on her forehead and cheek until finally his lips rests on hers making sparks fly between the two. She couldn’t hide the smile that made its way into her face at his gentle loving kisses.

“How were preparations? Is everything ready for tonight?”

“They went surprisingly smooth, other than a few dramatics from Jake, everyone pulled their weight.”

“It really looks beautiful out there tonight, I can’t wait to see how everything came out.” She smiles and Jungwon can’t help but melt at the sight of her smiling before him. This was what he had waited for from the moment he saw her. Spent months thinking of how to approach her, how to get her attention without scaring her off. All the time he spent with her occupying his mind, the nights the two had been alone working on the sound score, it all led up to this moment. He felt content holding her here in his arms, as no one else’s but his.

“Is everybody here already?”

“Mhm we’re all just waiting for the man that made all of this happen.” She smiles, locking her fingers with his as he stares down at her with pure adoration in his gaze.

“Then let’s not keep them waiting any longer.” He brushes the loose strands of hair behind her ear before leading her out of the room.

As she took a seat amongst the others Jungwon made his way to the front of the cafe to give his pre premier speech.

“I want to thank everyone for coming tonight, the film team has been working on this film very diligently over the last two months. I’ll admit it surely wasn’t easy having to go through so many different changes and rewrites but it was all worth it. Usually the films I’ve made in the past have all been some sort of documentations or darker concepts but this one is a little different than the others, please enjoy tonight and I'd really appreciate any feedback you’d like to give when the film is over, thank you.” Once Jungwon’s shows was over everyone applauds, the guys of course cheered louder than anyone else, then the film began.

The film itself had been everything Jungwon hoped it to be, a silent film that focused more of the musicality than it did the lines, though the very few lines there were had been aced by the actors and actress. A love story of two people that had no one other than themselves. An empty world where only the two of them existed, a girl that loved music and a boy that absolutely loved films. Both walk the world aimlessly, alone until they cross paths with one another and discover that they aren’t alone anymore, they’ve found each other. It was obvious in the film that the guy had completely adorned the female lead. He’d look at her with so much love and adoration in his eyes yet she was completely clueless. Always walking around wearing those same headphones, humming soft tunes when the two sat alone together just enjoying each other's company. He’d show her his favorite movies and she’d show him all of her favorite songs. The two of them became inseparable, completely bound to one another, not simply because they were the only two still walking the earth but because their connection was strong. By the end of the film he confesses his love to her in an empty aquarium, pulling her headphones of her ears he stares directly into his eyes and asks her. For once in her life the female leads world silences, no music, no solemn tune just silence.

“Even if there were a million others walking this earth, my eyes will always find you, the girl with the headphones. Through any crowd, my eyes would only see you.”

The movie ended with those words, leaving a lingering feeling in the audience, a feeling of the unknown as well, or at least unknown to everyone that had watched that wasn’t him or the rest of both their friends. They all knew, everyone knew..the film was about her, yn.

As if she herself had just realized it her eyes met him, full of tears, her heart thumping in her chest. He met his gaze with one of her own and wiped away every tear that fell from her cheek. Then he recited those words

“Even with the millions of others walking this earth, my eyes will always find you, Through any crowd, my eyes will always only see you.”

Previous part | Series Masterlist | Full Enha Masterlist

🔖 @jwonistic @jiamini @sol3chu @river-demon-slayer @butterflywonz @squiishymeow @firstclassjaylee

Authors final thank you and goodbye to this series

Thank you to everyone that has read this series completely through, this has been one of my absolute favorites to write and I’m so sad that it’s now come to an end but I really did enjoy writing this one. To anyone that commented, liked, reposted or even asked to be part of the taglist thank you so much i love you all and appreciate your interest in my series

[pink-heart-jam]

Enemies to lovers, anyone? 👀

Enemies to lovers is always peak mlm material! This has always been one of my favourite tropes in fic and it couldn’t be any different when it comes to BL. School/office rivalry, fuck buddies, revenge, toxic obsession, unhinged mythological wars… this list has a little bit of everything and I’m sure you’ll find something especially crafted for your tastes. Get ready for that delicious angst + hate intense sex combo and enjoy!

Checkmate by Tan (E)

Soohyun doesn’t have a “first love,” but he definitely has a “first hate” - his high school classmate Eunsung. A smooth-mannered all-star, Eunsung snaps up first place in everything, leaving Soohyun always trailing behind in second place.

Ennead by Mojito (E)

The once peaceful land of Egypt has been stained with blood under the tyrannical rule of Seth, the god of war. Horus, son of the god Isis but not yet one himself, rises to challenge the throne and put an end to the chaos and destruction.

Glasses Cloth and Playlist by Gwak jongpil (E)

Two people in the catalogue department fall in love, get quickly married, and emigrate to another country, leaving their positions to be filled by new recruits Bada Lee and Seomin Hyun.

Out of Control by Bboong (M)

The story depicts the school life of 2 different guys: Yuri, considered as the school's most handsome guy who hates ugly people, always followed by crowds of girls but always extremely cold and distant towards them, and Jaerim, the school's ugliest guy.

Park Hanhoo's Manager by Kim Tac (M)

Chansol never experienced friendship before he met Park Hanhoo, a troubled boy who terrifies school gangs and hides his face with an unruly haircut. But when a horrific event turns Chansol's world upside down, he is forced into hiding and reneges on his promise to stay by Hanhoo's side.

Part-time Partner by Cherrymanju, Ilyoil (E)

Kyuho has become smitten with the new club member, Yoongun. Not only is his face gorgeous but there’s something about the way he stands his ground confidently. When, out of the blue, Yoongun says “you’re not my type”, the two start a love-hate relationship for the ages.

Semantic Error by J. soori, Angy (E)

Sangwoo Choo is a stickler for rules. So when his classmates free-ride on a group project, he doesn't credit them. But this prevents one senior, Jaeyoung Jang, from graduating. And like oil and water, Sangwoo and Jaeyoung don't mix. Can Sangwoo debug Jaeyoung – a semantic error in his perfect life?

Steel Under Silk by Snob (E)

Yeonjo used to have it all: a highly respected family, a kind brother, and a comfortable life. Now, with his father executed for high treason, his last kin dead, and damned to a lifetime of slavery, Yeonjo has nothing to lose. All that is left is vengeance, and his chance comes when the new governor assigned to the region is none other than Kwon Hee-ryang, the man who destroyed everything Yeonjo loved.

The Foul by Chepali, Joo (E)

Ever since inheriting his father’s debt as a teenager, Joo Hawon has been doing whatever it takes to buy his freedom back, whether that means working as a VIP dealer in the casinos of Macau, or taking other riskier jobs. But when a mysterious casino guest offers to pay off his debt if he successfully finishes a job on a cruise ship, it’s too good an offer to turn down–despite his instincts warning him of obvious danger.

You Get Me Going by Moscateto, Oh doyeon (E)

Not even if he were the last man left on Earth! Youngwon yearns for true love, but his overbearing nature always leads to failed relationships. Lately, he finds himself clashing with his polar opposite, Hyunwoo, at work. However, things heat up when they go on a business trip together. Will these sparks of enmity turn to love?

[oceanbug]

when worlds collide

smau non!idol ningning x reader

11.5. yoo jimin.

•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•

Senior Valedictorian; Volleyball Captain, who led Spring Hill’s team to their first tournament victory in over 30 years; And the most wanted girl at Spring Hill High.

She was a legacy; no one else could compare to her. Yet she was still so humble.

She still went home every day and helped her mom cook dinner. She still volunteered at her local pet adoption center. She still stayed behind every day and tutored anyone who needed the help.

Yoo Jimin was golden.

 ___________________________________

Jimin’s P.O.V

Three Years Prior, Spring Hill High School

“Jimin, come sit here! Right here! Hey! Over here! J.I.M.I.N Y.O.O” 

Normally, having someone scream out your full government name would be concerning, but not for you since it was a daily occurrence. It was none other than your loud, eccentric friend, Ah Yujin.

“Shut up! Everyone’s staring at you, dumbass.” And there goes your equally loud friend, Y/n L/n.

Everyone was staring at your friends, but that never bothered you; you were used to it. You did, however, dislike the comments that came with it.

“How could someone like her be friends with them?”

“Doesn’t she have the highest GPA of our senior class? And isn’t Yujin failing every course, including study hall?”

“She’s so pretty; she’d be even prettier if she lost that rat pack of hers.”

You couldn’t seem to understand why their opinions mattered. Why couldn’t you be friends with people you like? Why is it such an inconvenience to everyone else? They didn’t know your idiot friends like you did, so how could they have such awful words to say? Still, you walked past everyone and showed a bright smile in front of your best friends. So, if they ever heard everyone’s opinions, you could at least show them that you don’t care about everyone's negative views. It's not like your friends could listen to anything over Yujin’s screaming, but just as a precaution, you smile extra brightly every day.

“I’m less than two feet away from you, Yu.”

“Just making sure you remember where to sit!” Yujin was practically bouncing off the walls; you couldn’t understand where she got all this energy from.

“We sit at the same table every day, Yu.”

“Hey, Jimin.” The same chipper yet quieter voice came from the other half of the table.

“Heya Y/n.” Y/N was always pretty quiet; you just chalked it up to nervousness. Yujin always knew how to draw a crowd with her antics, so it wouldn’t surprise you if Y/N felt overwhelmed by the attention.

“What’s got you bouncing around today, Yu? You’re usually hyper, but it looks like you took it up a notch.”

“She’s acting like she just had four megadoses of cocaine.” You laughed since your friends always had a way with words. You wished you could speak freely, but that would go against your character.

Your character.

“How could you not be excited? Graduation is less than FOUR days away.”

“You’re just excited to party.”

“Well duh? High School was a fucking drag. Of course, I’m excited to celebrate leaving this place.”

“Maybe if you joined a club, or, I don’t know, applied yourself, it wouldn’t be such a drag.”

“You sound like my mother; sorry, we can’t all be perfect like Yoo Jimin.”

That stung. You hated that phrase. You hated being the one everyone compared themselves to. Was it so bad that you worked hard? Can’t they get off their asses every once in a while and help out? No, instead, they’re too busy blaming you for setting an impossible standard. They blamed you for being Yoo Jimin. Fuck being Yoo Jimin.

You couldn’t say any of this, though; it would be out of character for you. All you could do was smile and laugh. You’re Spring Hill’s golden child; why complain about being told you’re perfect?

 _______________________________________

And so,

All your hard work ended up being worth it. You guess? Here you were at the same graduation party as everyone else. Going to the same college as your close friends. The same college as your friend Yujin, who graduated with a 2.3 GPA, while you graduated with a perfect 4.0. The same college as your friend Y/N, who never did an extracurricular activity in their life while you did in 7.

... Why did you work so hard?

Well, that doesn’t matter now. At least you get to have fun and celebrate with all your friends.

Speaking of which, why was your friend Yujin talking to, Wonyoung?

The Jang Wonyoung? What could she possibly have in common with Yujin?

Why didn't Yujin tell you they were friends? You always got caught up with all the work you did, but you always made time for your friends. Did Yujin not feel close enough to tell you? Since you were too busy being Yoo Jimin? Had the image you worked so hard to maintain caused your friendship to drift apart?

Before you had the chance to speak to Yujin, you felt a sudden voice come slithering into your ear. It was Ning Yi Zhuo.

“Yeonjun’s here with that bitch he left me for; it’ll totally make him jealous if we kiss, don’t you think? He’s a total asshole for cheating on me; he deserves this.”

No. Why would you agree to that? Sure, you heard the rumors about Yeonjun cheating. You agreed that he deserved some sort of payback. But not with you. Why would someone like you kiss Ningning? The school’s known rich bitch? That wasn’t very in character for you. That wasn’t very Yoo Jimin.

…… Fuck Yoo Jimin. You just wanted to live life normally; you wanted to drink and curse. Fail an exam. Stay out past midnight and trespass around town. You hated the high pedestal everyone put you on. You didn’t want to be ‘The Yoo Jimin.’ You just wanted to be Jimin.

So, you kissed Ningning.

•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•

masterlist ~ next

(Synopsis) Y/N had never been the type to take life for granted. You grew up with the mindset that if you wanted something, you had to work for it; So getting paired up with the university’s “Rich Bitch” Ning Yi Zhuo for your midterm was the last thing you wanted. Are you willing to step into the world of fame for an A+?

taglist (open): @azraism ; @kimsgayness ; @sewiouslyz ; @winieter ; @llluvbluy ; @i06kkura ; @everydayiloveyves ; @edamboon

[aheathen-conceivably]

🎶 You made me happy every single day, but now, I've got to go away 🎶

Things between Josephine and Giorgio had only grown more tense since she went back to work at the club. He knew that her business had gone under, but she still wouldn’t talk about it with him or anyone other than Zelda.

So every silent answer she gave or glare in his direction was perceived as her inability to rely on him, to simply trust him and let down her guard. In turn, she read his need for dependence as a desire to weaken her, and only continued to push him further away.

Yet still they chased after each other, both threatening to be the first to walk out the door but neither ever really intending to.

Even their usual cycles of fights and apologies had grown tainted by the widening rift and deepening distrust between them. It was as though neither of them really knew if any touch was genuine any longer, or if it was just a way to temporarily end what seemed like infinite hostility with no other solution.

Josephine’s nights weren’t any better. Being back at the club was like being in a prison of her mother’s design, trapped in some sort of distended version of the past where she had lost all of her autonomy again. She could never understand how Antoine worked here; even worse, how he continued to live in the same rooms above where she had so many memories.

But night after night she went into work, expertly pouring whiskey into crystal goblets and eyeing each and every man who spoke to her or any other woman, suspicious of their intentions and sick of their drunken glares.

That night had been no different, so mind-numbingly irritating that she had completely forgotten it was she and Gio’s four year anniversary. She had promised him that she would be home in time for them to have a midnight supper together; only now it was closer to daybreak than midnight, and she hoped he would be well asleep rather than up waiting for her, disappointed.

When she entered the apartment she knew that her hopes were dashed, as she could hear soft music coming from the gramophone in the kitchen. She entered the room to find Giorgio at the table, the half melted candles barely illuminating the pained impatience on his face.

She sat across from him, immediately donning her most apologetic countenance as she explained, “Gio, I’m so very sorry. The club ran late and I had to stay behind the bar…”

Giorgio gestured for quiet, “I’m not here to fight with you, Josephine. I’m here to tell you, to celebrate really…well, I bought a farm out West.”

Josephine shut her eyes to try and comprehend his words. Even at their worst, she never thought that he would leave her in the night, buy a house in some far-flung place and run halfway across the country.

“Josephine, before you answer, please listen. You have too much love and pride to see the writing on the wall, but my love, you must accept what is happening. Most of the old clubs are set for demolition; and you can hide it all you want but I know what happened with your business.”

Pride darkened Josephine’s expression but Gio held up his hand and spoke before she could, “Save your venom, Josephine. I told you I’m not here to fight. I’m serious about this, and it’s already done. It isn’t just this city you see…”

He explained exactly what he had said to Antoine, pointedly leaving out his own involvement with the city’s criminal underworld. Josephine was stunned into silence for the first time in her life. An economic crash? Leave New Orleans? For a bloody farm at that? All she had ever known was New Orleans; but New Orleans had failed her.

Giorgio reached across the table to grab her hand and pull her out of her reveries. His eyes and his grip held a thousand apologies, a concentrated effort of reconciliation for everything that had gone wrong between them, “Josephine, mi raccomando, my love, will you come with me?”

[flowerandblood]

My Best Friend (18)

[modern! club owner • Aemond x fem!reader]    

[warnings: mention of sex, fluff, swearing]

[description: Aemond has his own club and often does business at the home of one of his business associates. There he often meets his younger sister, with whom he develops a deeper relationship through shared secrets. This is slow burn love story.]

* English is not my first language. Please, do not repost. Enjoy! *

Previous and next chapters: Masterlist    

_____

After what he said to her, they talked in whispers for several more hours, kissing and touching. Aemond asked her to repeat everything Albert had told her. She told him everything, unable to stop crying. Aemond didn't interrupt her, just stroked her hair, kissing the top of her head once in a while. 

When she finished speaking, he explained to her, that he had no idea what Alys had said to him, because he hadn't spoken to her in months. He didn't want to go into the details of their relationship because Albert told her everything, but he said that the last thing he wanted was to share her with anyone. No threesomes or other relationships with women were an option for him. Not with her.

He told her about his fear that after the events of 8 years ago he had fallen into a trap and started sleeping with much older women to use them for his own purposes, just as he had been used. That he wasn't driven by any feelings, but by a desire to dominate, a sense of power over them that turned him on so much. 

He felt embarrassed when he told her about this, he stroked her hair slowly, trying to hide the trembling of his hands. She listened to him carefully, running her fingers along his back, calming down more and more. She felt relief. Relief that he didn’t want to duplicate his patterns with her.

After that their confession kept them from falling into a peaceful, deep sleep. They were too shaken by everything that had just happened between them. Every move or change of position that woke one of them made them start kissing and touching again, as if they both needed proof that it was all true, that they really had feelings for each other. 

This led to them having sex once more that night. Virtually unconscious, guided only by instinct, they were unable to withstand the tension they gave each other with their constant touching and kissing. Something snapped in both of them that night. They fell asleep soundly only when the sun had long since risen.

Aemond was awakened by a sound coming from below. He suspected that Klaus had been awake for a long time and was preparing something to eat. Aemond felt that he needed a shower to refresh himself not only physically but also in his mind. He wanted to wash away all the emotions he had felt last night before he went to bed with her. He gently disentangled himself from their embrace, trying not to wake her. He failed, however, her hand immediately touched his shoulder.

"Don't go yet." She said softly, still half asleep.

"I'm not going. I want to take a shower. I'll go downstairs to talk to Klaus and wait for you. Sleep." He said softly and kissed her hair. Y/N grunted in contentment and released him, returning to her dream. Aemond looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. He was afraid that if he confessed anything to her, he would immediately regret it. However, he was surprised to find that it was quite the opposite. 

He felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his heart. He told her he loved her, he told her about his past and his world didn't collapse. He knew her enough to know she wouldn't rush him or judge him, and that made him feel comfortable. The feeling that he could share what he felt with her, because she wouldn't use it in a way he didn't want to.

After a while he stood up, zipping up his pants. He picked up his things from the floor and quietly left her room, heading towards the bathroom. He turned on the shower and slid in, naked, even taking off his blindfold. He rubbed his hands over his face, the sound of the water calming him. The events of last night flashed through his mind. It was only the thought of losing her that made him feel like he wanted to open up more to her. Give her more. He felt that after all she had endured for him, she deserved it.

He wondered what to do with Albert. Yesterday, in that corridor, he really wanted to kill him, beat him senseless and strangle him. If Criston and Y/N hadn't been there, he would have done it. He thought they and Klaus always got the best out of him. Somehow, with them, he was a better version of himself. Maybe because they were good friends.

He briefly considered paying Alys a visit and warning her that if she went near Y/N, he would strangle her with his own hands. But he was afraid that this was what she and Albert wanted. Him to go to her place, so Albert could tell Y/N later that they were doing something different than what was really happening there. Aemond feared it was a trap. He exhaled loudly, deciding that now he had to focus on her, not the people he despited. At least until he comes up with something.

When he was done, he went down the stairs. He saw Klaus pouring his coffee. Klaus looked at him displeased.

"I asked you to let me sleep. Because of you, I kept waking up." He said frustrated, taking a sip from his cup. Aemond looked away, embarrassed.

"Sorry." He just said, not knowing what to answer. He suddenly remembered that Klaus didn't know anything. 

"Yesterday Albert pestered Y/N after she went to the restroom." He said slowly, looking at him again. "I smacked his face, but I suspect it won’t help."

Klaus stopped drinking and swallowed hard.

"Where the hell did he come from?" He asked nervous and disgusted.

"He came with Alys." Aemond replied shortly without even looking at him.

Klaus closed his eyes for a long moment.

"Fuck." He just said opening his eyes and staring at him. "Is Y/N..."

“He told her everything. That's why I wanted to stay with her last night. To comfort her." He said, trying to explain his actions somehow, but he had a feeling that it sounded worse than he wanted.

"Comfort her? By fucking her all night so she wouldn't accidentally ask unnecessary questions?" Klaus asked annoyed, putting his cup down aggressively on the counter. Aemond frowned and pursed his lips. He debated whether to say it or not. Klaus, after all, was his friend too.

“I confessed my feelings to her yesterday. I confessed that I’m in love with her." He finally said looking away. “I also told her about Alys and the other women. I told her everything.” He touched his tongue to his cheek, trying to escape the embarrassment that overcame him. He wasn't sure Klaus would believe him.

They looked at each other, Klaus staring at him intensely as if trying to decide in his head whether to believe him or not. There was a long silence.

"Did you really tell her that?" He asked after a moment, as if to make sure he understood correctly. Aemond sighed, tired of this conversation.

"Yes."

Klaus ran a hand over his face, taking a few steps back and forward around the kitchen. He took another sip of coffee, but the tension seemed to leave him. He sighed, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe what was happening. He changed the subject.

"What are we going to do with him? He’s is getting more and more cheeky. He's spying on her and you and me. He's probably going to get Criston's ass in no time." He said impatiently, looking to the side, thinking hard.

“I would like to meet Marcus, alone, in his office. Can you make us an appointment?” Aemond asked. Klaus looked at him surprised.

"I can." He said uncertainly. "For when?"

"For today."

***

Y/N woke up terrified. She wondered why she was naked and not in her pajamas. She looked around the room and slowly began to remember the whole of last night. She remembered his confession and their long conversation, or actually, his monologue. When she remembered what they had been doing next until the morning, she felt that her face was literally scarlet. And what he whispered in her ear as he thrust in her again and again.

"I love you."

She pushed the thought away as she got up. She wanted to get dressed as quickly as possible to see if he was really waiting for her downstairs or if she had just dreamed it. She wasn't sure what was real and what was her imagination anymore. 

As soon as she put on a shirt and shorts, she ran downstairs and peeked into the living room. Aemond and Klaus were sitting on the couch with coffee in hand, talking about something, when they heard her, they both looked at her.

"Hey, someone's finally resurrected. You left your classes today." Klaus said sarcastically as he stood up and walked over to her. He touched her arm, as if physically wanting to make sure she was okay.

The gesture touched her. She always thought in moments like this that her love for him was boundless. She looked pleadingly at him.

"Please, let me be. I'm a human wreck." She said squeezing his arm in response.

"I see. Will you eat something? I can make you some lettuce, tomato, and radish sandwiches.” He said calmly. He knew it was her favourite. She smiled warmly at him.

"Yes, please." He pinched her arm and went into the kitchen. Y/N sat next to Aemond, who watched them through the entire exchange. Before she even had time to say anything, he automatically put his arm around her, transferring the coffee to his other hand. Y/N, feeling exhausted, just laid her head on his chest, wanting some comfort. Aemond grunted contentedly and ran his fingers through her hair and back. They both closed their eyes, sitting in silence, hugging each other.

Klaus glanced at them as he was slicing tomatoes. He would never have expected Aemond to take an interest in his sister. Like the others, he thought he was only interested in older women. When Y/N told him about what they were doing the morning after his birthday, he was furious. He didn't want it to be some kind of experiment for Aemond, a test to see if he might enjoy screwing girls younger than himself as well. He resented him for choosing his sister, knowing how much he loved her and how close he was with her.

But watching them from the sidelines during time, he began to see that Aemond acted differently around her. He was calmer, his expression softened. Sometimes he even smiled. Then he began to think that maybe it wasn't quite what he thought. Now, as he looked at them, he felt at last at peace. He knew that if things didn't work out between them, at least what was between them now was sincere.

***

It took Aemond hours to get together, rushing to meet Marcus. He told Y/N that he wanted to talk to him about things associated with his club, but both she and he knew that wasn't true. Y/N was afraid he was planning to do something to Albert, and Aemond didn't want to admit that was exactly what he had in mind. He knew he would never let that son of a bitch go. But he didn't want to add to her worries after what she'd been through yesterday. They said goodbye at the door. Embracing her, he kissed her tenderly and warmly, her scent filling his nostrils.

"I love you." She whispered softly, almost inaudibly, looking at him with her big, bright eyes. Aemond smiled almost imperceptibly and kissed her forehead. He felt completely at peace.

He was driving through the city during rush hour, there were traffic jams everywhere. Marcus's office was in the center of the city, in one of the large office buildings that looked like his father's. However, he managed to get there on time. 

He went inside. The secretary greeted him with a flirtatious smile. She offered to show him the way, and he nodded. She was saying something to him as they walked down the hall, but he wasn't listening, deep in his own thoughts. When he saw a door with a sign with Marcus's name on it, he simply opened it and went inside, not paying attention to the fact that the woman was still talking to him. He closed the door behind him.

Marcus's office was impressive. It was big and spacious, you could feel your breath in it. There were lots of plants around him, and his desk was wooden and heavy. In front of it were two very comfortable looking armchairs. One of the walls was just big windows that looked out to other big skyscrapers.

"There you are. Sit down, please." Marcus said, putting down the papers he just had in his hands. “I was surprised by your sudden request and I don't have much time for you. What is it about? I heard Albert started pestering Y/N more directly?" He asked, immediately betraying that Klaus had told him about the whole situation so that Aemond wouldn't waste time on pointless explanations.

Aemond sat in the chair, crossing his legs. He tapped his fingers against the armrest. There were photos on the wall behind Marcus. Probably him and his parents, him and Klaus and Y/N's father, him and some pretty, smiling blonde who he guessed was Laura. There was also a picture of him and Y/N hugging and smiling, her head resting against his shoulder.

"I want to teach him a lesson. Once and for all. But I need your contacts." He said finally, glancing at Marcus. You could see in his eyes that he was serious. His face was stone.

Marcus looked at him for a moment, thoughtful.

"And who do you want to do this for? For her or for yourself?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"For both of us." He replied dryly, glancing to the side impatiently. He thought Marcus was an intelligent man, but he didn't need lecturing right now. “He told me what new drugs he had started selling to the mafia. His people have to pick up the goods somewhere. I want to find out where and send the police on them." He finally said, glancing at him intensely.

Marcus sighed.

"If it had been about Albert himself, I would have helped you. But think of his less pleasant colleagues. They can do more to Y/N than poke in front of the restroom at a party. They know she is your weak point. They'll rape her and leave her outside your club. If you think you can protect her from them, you're wrong." He said shaking his head. Aemond swallowed hard at the thought.

"Listen to me." Marcus started. Aemond moved to protest and express his anger, but Marcus didn't let him speak. "Listen."

Aemond let go, exhaling impatiently through his nose. He looked at him expectantly.

"You don't have a monopoly on love for her. Klaus loves her. Me too. If you think I love her less than you, you're wrong." He said, something in his voice that made Aemond shiver. The mood in the room changed. "I've done a lot of bad things. I've helped a lot of bad people. Worse than you, Albert, or even his mob morons. These are fucking hurdles. Do you understand? They don't mean anything. But stir the water and the big fish will come out, and then you'll see what happens." He said, tilting his head to the side. Aemond swallowed hard. "Take care of her. Take care of your club. Realize at last how much you have to lose."

_____

For all of you who were looking forward to their conversation after the last part. Kisses!

If you want to be tagged, just leave a comment. ~

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[imdoingsortagay]

Mommy Agatha and the brownie Incident

Summary: Agatha makes her famous batch of brownies for the neighborhood bookclub with a ✨ twist ✨

Warnings: R calling Agatha mommy, Soft!Mommy Agatha, fluff, a bit of crack, edibles,

Word Count: 1.3k words.

a/n: thanks to @wandakink , @tr333sus, and others for helps on this as I have no goddam experience lol, enjoy !!!

“Mommy?” 

She assumed that you were napping after a busy morning of classes so she had started on some of the orders for the neighborhood ladies. 

What you thought was some regular baking by her ended up being Agatha spending two hours making some edibles for all the women in her book club. Who knew that a group of housewives would go crazy over her cookies with the special butter? 

“Are you baking without me ?” you pout at her and she is unsure of her magic thank god to stop you from seeing what she’s up to. She prided herself in making edibles away from you and she was not in the mood to have to explain to you what she was doing. 

“Well I’m baking for all of my friends in the book club honeybee, we have a meeting tomorrow about this month's book,” she explains as she quickly gets the brownie batter in the tin to bake in the oven. 

It’s her signature brownie resource with an added twist for the ladies but to your sweet innocent soul it looked like a regular batch of brownies she’d make every once in a while. 

“Can I have some Mommy?” You ask nicely, barring your eyelashes for added effect at your girlfriend that sadly fails. 

“ how about you help me clean some dishes for me then honeybee?” She asks you and you pout before leaving the kitchen to the living room, Agatha uses her magic to quickly clean up the mess while her brownies are baking.

“ you pouting in the living room like always ?” 

“ noooooooooo Aggie,” you tell her before she scoops you up in her lap for some cuddles, a highlight of each of your days. 

“ I know you too well by now to not know you,” she giggles,” how about the two of us head to the bedroom to take a nap, Mommy needs one after the baking she did today”. 

“Why would baking be tiring for you, Aggie? You have magic to help you speed up the process?” You ask her with curiosity as she giggles.

“ my honey,” she says, “ you have no idea".

Agatha had fallen asleep with you in her arms after she had let the brownies cool down in the kitchen while you had been forming a plan to eat the delicious dessert. 

You slowly slipped out of the woman's embrace and placed one of your plushies in place so as to not make her worry. 

Agatha’s famous brownies never failed to cheer you up and the older woman would not be mad if you decided to take at least one for yourself.

  She could always just make more so the ladies wouldn’t be mad at her. The closer you got to the kitchen the more excited you got, only craving what you consider to be a favorite thing of hers. Agatha might not be able to cook but she can go hard in the baking department. 

The brownies were in their container, not yet cut and you did the honor of cutting them up to make 9 somewhat nice pieces. The first piece of the chocolate dessert was heaven in your mouth and you suspected nothing weird about them. What you didn’t know was your lovely girlfriend had woken up by the time you made it into the kitchen, wondering where you even went and so she decided to look around the house. She was shocked to see that you had made it to the brownies before she could pack them up. 

“ Honey bee,” your girlfriend announces as she sees you eating the brownies, unaware of the chaos you just unleashed. 

In the two years that you and the older woman were in a relationship, she knew that you had no experience with drugs and you didn’t have much experience with alcohol too. The last time you had gone out without her, Kate had to drag you home from the bar while you were rambling about how hot Agatha was. 

“ KATEEEEEEE” you say as the brunette woman is driving you home, expecting to have a chill day at the bar until Yelena had dared you to drink a bunch of shots. 

“ What?” Kate asks you. 

“ I can’t wait to go see Agathaaaa, she’s so hot,’ you pause,” like she’s a milf goddess Kate bait like you don’t know” 

“ Did you just call me Kate bait”? 

“ KATE BAIT SHE ALSO HAS SNACKS, I WON A MILF WHO HAS SNACKS,” you cheer as Kate drives into Agatha’s driveway to drop you off.

All Agatha wondered was how your body would react to the thc of the butter that she used compared to the effect that alcohol had to it.

“ Did you eat the brownies that mommy told you not to eat? “ she says as she talks in her strict voice. 

“ They kind of just showed up in my mouth”. 

“ Really now ?” 

As you shamelessly continue to eat the brownie, your girlfriend makes her way to the pan to see that two pieces are missing and tries to hold in her laughter before she’s met with you behind her. 

“I want chips, Aggie,” you start to ramble,” and a milkshake, ohhhhhh yeah pls we can go to Mort's ice cream shop he makes the best and always adds a cherry on top” 

Agatha covers your mouth as a means to stop you from talking and she laughs at the fact that she’s got a long day ahead of her. 

“ y/n?” she asks you while slowly removing her hand from your mouth. 

“ No nicknames? wait am I in trouble? Wait did Wanda tell you about how she almost gave me one of her cat’s kittens? ” 

“ No superstar,” She says calmly,” we’ll talk about the kitten thing later but Mommy needs you to tell me just how many brownies you had”.

“ 2 and I almost had another one, before you stopped me of course,” you say happily as she puts the brownies away from your view. 

“ Honey you had pot brownies,” she says,” Mommy didn’t tell you because I also said they were for the book club!!!”

“ my bad,” you whisper, feeling a bit bad that she spent all morning making these brownies that weren’t for you in the first place. This was your first actual experience with edibles, she probably didn’t want to stress about how you'd react to it.

“ It’s okay my sweet honeybee,” she tells you in her kindest voice, the one that brings you comfort in your hardest days,” Mommy is gonna be here to take care of you while you get to experience what it’s like to be high!!!” 

“ Fun times for the both of us’ the older woman thinks to herself. 

Agatha was hoping that with the amount of THC in those brownies, it would be easy to handle you in a high state.

And she was right about that as she got to see you deal with the munchies and lucky for her, Agatha had gone grocery shopping the day before so she didn’t need to order some snacks. 

“ Mommy look at this,” she hears you say as the both of you are sitting in your shared bedroom on a rewatch of some cartoon from the 90s,” this Cheeto is shaped like a Y!!! WOW”. 

“ And I’m just gonna Nom,” Agatha says before taking the chip in her mouth, leaving you shocked that she dared to take your special chip. 

“ RUDE AGGIE” and you fall on the bed dramatically,” now I don’t have more snacks, what the heck Aggie?” 

“ Did my baby just cuss ?” 

And before you even try to explain yourself, Agatha starts to tickle you to make you giggle, the rest of the night is spent with Agatha holding you in a warm embrace, happy to be able to have such an adorable and great girlfriend like you.

[doppotranslations]

Butler Cafe Minuet ~Welcome home, young lady~

===============================

Hypmic ARB in-game event story (Jakurai, Doppo, Rei)

Recording Link: https://youtu.be/24ZRzYdjE94 (in case you wanna read along with the in-game voice lines and sound effects :D)

===============================

Chapter 1

Doppo: *talking on the phone* Yes… Yes… Then it’s settled, I will explain the proposal tomorrow morning at 11:00… Yes… Yes. Well then, I’ll get in touch tomorrow, thank you.

Ogura: Kannonzakaa~. Could you show me the delivery note you’re about to hand in to Toranomon Hospital Nr. 1?

Doppo: Yes. I’ll send it right away. Ogura: Thank you~ Doppo: Hmm… The invoice should be in this folder…

Boss: Kannonzaka-kun! Is Kannonzaka-kun here?

Doppo: (Ugh… that baldy came in… I can see his sweaty face coming over… what stupid thing does he want from me this time…) Boss: Kannonzaka-kun!

Doppo: Y-yes… Can I help you…?

Boss: You will be dispatched at the start of the next month!

Doppo: EH!? D-dispatched!? Where in the world would I…

Boss: To a concept cafe, or so they say! Doppo: C-concept cafe… Boss: The name is “Butler Café Minuet”!

Doppo: B-but, there is no food service experience on my resume, is there…?

Boss: That’s right.

Doppo: Then… Why do I have to go…?

Boss: Because one of our company’s shareholders opened that shop. That’s why I’d like all the members of Matenro to be the highlight of the cafe’s grand opening.

Doppo: Eh!? A-all three of us…?

Boss: The president agreed that two of you will do just fine.

Doppo: T-two… It’s fine if it’s just me, but I can't just make Sensei or Hifumi be part of this too!

Boss: Don’t say you can't do it when you haven’t even tried to do anything about it!! This major shareholder is kind enough to only want one other member to participate! I don’t care which one of them it is, make sure to bring him with you!

Doppo: B-but…

Boss: If you don’t bring either one of them your salary will be cut so you’d better do your best! Now then, get to it!

Doppo: W-what the…

[At Doppo and Hifumi’s apartment]Doppo: *sigh* I’m home… Hifumi: Welcome home, Doppo-kun!

Doppo: Heading to work?

Hifumi: Yeah, I was just about to leave.

Doppo: …Hey, hey, are you free the first weekend of next month?

Hifumi: Around that time I’m going to the club in Osaka for two weeks to help out.

Doppo: *sighs* I s-see…

Hifumi: …what is it? Doppo: N-no! It’s nothing! I was just thinking we could go out together if you were free.

Hifumi: That’s too bad. We’ll have to hang out when I get back.

Doppo: Y-yeah… let’s…

Hifumi: Uh-oh… it’s about time I have to go. See ya!

Doppo: L-looks like I have no choice but to beg for Sensei to help me out…

[At Jakurai’s house]

Doppo: S-sorry for coming so late at night…

Jakurai: I don’t mind it at all. Well then, you said on the phone you had a request that had to be discussed in person?

Doppo: Y-yeah, actually…

[Skip to after Doppo explains it]

Jakurai: A butler cafe… hm?

Doppo: Y-yes… it’s a no, as I was expecting, right…?

Jakurai: Not at all, let’s do it!

Doppo: Eh!?

Jakurai: I wouldn’t want you to have to handle this all alone.

Doppo: S-sensei… Thank you so much…!

Jakurai: I’ll do my very best on that day!

Chapter 2

Rei: …

Con Man A: Amayado-san!

Con Man B: Greetings!

Rei: …so, how did it go?

Con Man A: Well… we couldn’t exactly approach the target.

Con Man B: The security the head conglomerate has there was way too tight…

Rei: What the hell~. You said I could trust you to quietly approach and observe-

Con Man A: Please forgive us…

Rei: *lights a cigarette* …whatever, looks like little old me has got no choice but to go on a business trip.

Con Man B: …All of us entered the building from different angles yet it still ended in failure… I’m afraid it will go the same whether or not you join in or not…

Rei: You two keep saying that but fail to realize your plan was mediocre in the first place.

Con Man A: But, tricking him isn’t so easy…

Rei: You two are too naive Could someone really call themselves a con man if they weren’t able to deceive anyone in this world?

Con Man B: For future reference, could you tell us what your plan to enter that building is?

Rei: If you really want to become first class professionals you should be able to think of it yourselves.

Con Man A: I get what you’re saying but could you at least give us a hint…

Rei: When it comes to this job, what’s of the utmost importance is entering the residence. That’s why the best way to go about it is to become live-in servants.

Con Man B: That is something we thought of too, but the employment process proved to be a real obstacle…

Rei: Hehe. Saying that just proves to me you’re still a second rate con man.

[In the mansion]

Doppo: Sensei… Thank you very much, I really mean it, I am so grateful… thank you so so much!

Jakurai: If you say so… I’m very glad to help out with this favor, but you don’t need to thank me so much.

Doppo: AAH!! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!!!

Jakurai: Don’t worry about it… The inside of this store looks exactly like a Western mansion, doesn’t it? The accuracy of the architecture is truly astounding.

Owner: Greetings! First and foremost I would like to express my gratitude to the two of you for cooperating with us. I am the owner of this store.

Doppo: Oh, it’s a pleasure meeting you… I am Kannonzaka Doppo from the sales department of E.L. Medical Ltd.

Jakurai: My name is Jinguuji Jakurai. I’m delighted to make your acquaintance.

Owner: Thank you for your politeness! The rest of the staff will also introduce themselves at once. Everyone, this way!

Doppo: Eh!?

Jakurai: You are…

Rei: Oh, it’s a small world, isn’t it~

Owner: Now then, everybody, please get changed into your uniforms at once.

[Skip to after they get changed]

Doppo: T-this outfit… it’s so embarrassing…

Jakurai: You look great in it, Doppo-kun.

Doppo: Eh, ha, ha, thank you… but it suits you a lot better, Sensei.

Rei: Hey now, it’s pretty clear that the one best suited for this attire is little old me~ *wink*

Doppo: Hey… Amayado-san… What are you doing here?

Rei: Hehe. I’m here to rehearse my butler skills. Isn’t that obvious?

Doppo: I-is that so… I don’t get what you are saying at all…

Owner: Now then, everybody, starting tomorrow we’ll be open. Today you may all receive a short course on customer service.

Doppo: Please…

Jakurai: That would be great, thanks.

Rei: Sure thing.

Chapter 3

Doppo: W-welcome… h-home… m-mish…

Jakurai: Doppo-kun, you shouldn’t be this stiff when saying that…

Doppo: U-uhh… This is way too hard…

Rei: Today’s black tea is Dimbula blend. With its great balance of taste and fragrance, it is certainly something that I recommend.

Jakurai: Amayado-san, you've surely gotten used to being a butler, haven't you?

Doppo: Hey, Amayado-san…

Rei: Yeah, what is iiit?

Doppo: How are you so good at this?

Rei: Whaaa? Being a gentleman is just something I am passionate about.

Doppo: T-that’s right... I am no gentleman…

Owner: Greetings, ladies and gentlemen! You may have a taste of our store’s food if you wish.

Doppo: Woah~. It sure looks tasty.

Jakurai: Hmm… Hachis Parmentier, Légumes à la Grecque, Coq au Vin. Looks like they are serving French food.

Rei: Let’s have some right away then!

[Skip to after they taste the food]

Owner: Was the food to your liking?

Doppo: It was all so delicious!

Owner: That’s great-

Rei: Not really, the quality of the food doesn’t justify the price at all.

Doppo: Eh….?

Jakurai: The arrangement of the food is beautiful. The taste is not bad either. However, as Amayado-san mentioned, it just does not live up to the price.

Rei: *sighs* This would only satisfy fools with bad taste.

Doppo: F-fools with bad taste…?

Jakurai: Yes. Doppo-kun, if you don’t know the genuine flavor of these dishes you can’t really help it.

Doppo: Sensei…

Owner: W-well… What exactly was bad about it…?

Rei: Rather than wasting time explaining it, how about I show you how it’s supposed to be made? Jinguji, lend me a hand.

Jakurai: Yes, let’s get to it.

Doppo: Haha… Looks like I’m just a fool with bad taste who doesn’t know the genuine flavor of these dishes…

[Skip to after they cook]

Rei: Pardon the wait! Here’s the genuine Coq au Vin.

Jakurai: Excuse us for making you wait! Here’s what I know Hachis Parmentier is supposed to be like.

Owner: E-even the scent is different…

Rei: Hehe. Make sure not to let it get cold.

Owner: T-then… *tastes the food* A-amazing! The chicken is so wonderfully tender and it perfectly intertwines with the richness of the red wine sauce…

Doppo: Excuse me… *tastes the food* Sensei’s Hachis Parmentier… It’s so good that I can’t even begin to compare it with the dish from before.

Owner: How is it so different when the same ingredients were used…

Rei: Well, what made the difference was the skill of the people who made it.

Owner: If it’s not a problem, I would like you two to help out in the kitchen…

Rei: That’s great and all but how about we also change this dull menu while we’re at it?

Jakurai: If my skills will suffice, I’ll gladly lend you a hand.

Owner: That’s a great help!

Rei: Well then, Jinguji, let’s go to the kitchen right away.

Jakurai: Yes. Doppo-kun, please help us out by tasting the food.

Doppo: Would someone who’s a fool with bad taste who doesn’t know the genuine flavor of these dishes really be the right person here…

[Skip to after they help in the kitchen]

Doppo: I can’t eat anymore… Everything is tasty...

Rei: Well, looks like we did it. We taught them how to perfectly follow the process.

Jakurai: Doppo-kun, here’s some stomach medicine.

Doppo: S-sorry for this… Thank you so much…

Owner: I’m very grateful for your help, everyone. We shall meet again tomorrow for the grand opening.

Rei: Yep! I surely want to keep riding this ship. Jakurai: I’ll do my very best. See you tomorrow.

Doppo: E-excuse me for being a bother, I’ll d-do my best…

Chapter 4

[The Day of the Grand Opening]

Doppo: Welcome home, miss. I shall prepare the tea at once. Your table is over this way.

Jakurai: Here we use only the highest grade tea leaves. The light elegant aroma together with its refined taste make this black tea truly a pleasure to drink.

Rei: Miss, it appears it is time to depart. Please follow me.

[Later, in the kitchen]

Doppo: *sighs* …even though it’s only the first day there are so many customers…

Rei: Hey, Kannonzaka. Give me some water too.

Doppo: Yes, of course. *pours him a glass and hands it to him*

Rei: Thank you. *drinks water* Phew~ looks like lil old me got tired too, as expected.

Doppo: It’s because we’ve been moving around constantly since noon…

Jakurai: Hey, Doppo-kun.

Doppo: Yes. What’s the matter?

Jakurai: It seems like someone has called you over. Please head over to the hall.

Doppo: Called me over…? Alright, got it… Hmm… I wonder who it is. *goes back*

Ogura: Yo~! I came to poke fun at you~

Mitsuya: Tailcoat, huh? (lmao)

Doppo: Get the hell out of here…

Ogura: Oi oi oi~ Are you ok-?? What’s with that attitude, dude??

Doppo: Such a bother… Come on, hurry up and turn right…

Mitsuya: Excuse mee~. That butler is being awfully rude to us.

Jakurai: Please excuse us. …Doppo-kun.

Doppo: E-excuse me…

Doppo: W-welcome home, young master… Please hand me your luggage so I can carry it.

Ogura: Right on!

Mitsuya: Don't mind if I do.

Doppo: Damnit, I should stuff the insides of their bags in the fucking garbage..

[Time skip]

Owner: Jinguji-san, Amayado-san!

Jakurai: Yes. What appears to be the matter?

Rei: Yeah, what is it?

Owner: Both of our chefs seem to have injured themselves with kitchen knives… I hope it is not too much trouble, but could the two of you help out in the kitchen?

Rei: Well now, that’s fine and all, but…

Jakurai: Our absence would surely turn out to be a burden for Doppo-kun…

Doppo: A-ahaha… I’ll try my best to manage somehow…

Owner: I deeply apologize…

Doppo: The inside of the cafe is completely packed… Those two are absent so I have to cover for them… Yup, I’m dead… (Huh!? Wait a second… It doesn’t have to be like that. There are two idiots here who aren’t customers!) *runs to their table* Oi, you two!

Ogura: Oi oi oi! What do you mean by “you two”? What happened to “young masters”?

Mitsuya: Hey, watch your tongue!

Doppo: *chuckles* The owner is in trouble…

Ogura and Mitsuya: Huh?

Doppo: It’s time for work, you assholes!! Go change into these tailcoats at once!

Ogura and Mitsuya: WHAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!!!????

Owner: Everyone, thanks to you we brought our opening day to a good end. Thank you very much. As an apology for not being prepared enough for this, please have something to eat if you’d like.

Jakurai: Thank you very much!

Ogura and Mitsuya: S-sshoo tired…

Ogura: We didn’t even get any training in working as butlers or anything… that was horrible…

Owner: Oh? Where are Kannonzaka-san and Amayado-san?

Jakurai: Doppo-kun is taking out the trash and Amayado-san went to get changed.

Owner: Is that so?

Ogura: Oh, there’s beer!

Mitsuya: Oh~! I definitely need it after all that hard work.

Ogura: Hey, Jinguji-sensei, here, have some!

Jakurai: N-no… I shouldn’t… Mitsuya: C’mon, no need to hold back!

[Outside]

Rei: *lights a cigarette and sighs*

Doppo: *throws the trash* Amayado-san, thank you so much for helping out. Thanks to you it looks like I won’t be getting a pay cut…

Rei: Ahaha! You seem to be working for a really shady company! If it’s all fine and dandy, lil’ old me would love making some sweet moolah off of scamming these chumps~

Doppo: Ahaha… if you do that I’d be getting that pay cut after all, since they won't be able to pay my salary.

Rei: Anyways, it’s been forever since these old bones have moved this much, so my joints are creaking~

Doppo: Ahaha… mine too… *sighs* I want a massage…

Rei: Massage you say? I could make some arrangements for that.

Doppo: I’d love to go, but I have work tomorrow…

[Glass Breaking Noise]

Doppo and Rei: !?

Jakurai: There isn’t enough fuckin’ booze! Hurry up‘n bring me more already!

Ogura and Mitsuya: *gasp* HELP!!!

Doppo: Amayado-san. On second thought, I’ll be taking you up on that offer for getting a massage.

Rei: Yeah, sure, but first let's slip into something comfier…

Doppo: If you go inside you’ll be finished for sure! So, let’s get the hell out of here!

Rei: Oi oi! What the hell are you talking about…

Doppo:  (Ogura… Mitsuya… turns out I’m counting on you…)

[whysamwhy123]

So, I started writing a dumb crackfic about a bunch of my blorbos attempting to hit on my newest blorbo because it was funny in my head buuuuut turns out I'm not funny enough to bring it to life so I probably ain't gonna finish it. But I don't wanna feel like I completely wasted my time, so I'm just gonna drop the unfinished thing here because I can't seem to make myself continue it. It's a shame because I feel like it would have gotten a little better/funnier after I got the set-up out of the way, I had plans for where this would go, but alas, my brain has failed me yet again. And whatever, this most likely appeals to absolutely no one anyway, so here it is, read at your own risk because it sucks!

Jack was minding his own business before the show, wandering the halls while dicking around his phone, when he spotted Hook, just standing there.

‘’Hey man, what’s up?’’ he said, leaning against the nearest wall, still looking at his phone.

When no response came, Jack looked up. Hook was still as a statue, his eyes focused forward. Did he not hear him?

‘’Hello? Hook?’’

Jack got closer and slowly turned his head in the direction Hook was staring. ‘’What are you looki - whoa!’’

Jack almost dropped his phone when he first caught a glimpse of her. No wonder Hook was staring - she had to be the most beautiful woman he’d ever soon. She was fucking gorgeous. The kind of woman that’s so beautiful it feels like she shouldn’t be allowed to exist. Or that you shouldn’t be allowed to look at her, how dare you think yourself worthy! But she was real and she was right there all the way over on the other side of the hallway. She seemed to be checking how she looked in her phone’s camera, adjusting her long blonde hair and examining her makeup as though it wasn’t already perfect. She was perfect. She was wearing this all red ensemble that showed off just how killer her body was. And she was tall too. Long legs.

Jack’s mouth was agape. He knew it wasn’t polite to stare but how could he not?

‘’Jack, buddy,’’ Hook said, not taking his eyes off the beauty across the hall. ‘’I’ve found my next conquest.’’

Jack couldn’t take his eyes off her either. Who could blame them? ‘’Who is that?’’

Hook somehow managed to tear his eyes away from the vision they’ve been blessed to look upon and turned his head to Jack instead. ‘’My next conquest. Weren’t you listening?’’

Jack forced himself to look away - any longer and he was about to start drooling. ‘’No, who is she? What’s her name? I’ve gotta know.’’

‘’You seriously don’t know who she is?’’

The two men whirled around to find Daniel Garcia right next to them.

‘’How long have you been there?’’ Hook asked.

Daniel waved him off, a whatever gesture and then nodded his head in the direction of the unbelievably gorgeous woman. ‘’That’s Mariah May!’’

Hook and Jack blinked at him.

‘’From Stardom?’’

More blinking.

‘’Club Venus? Rose Gold?’’

‘’You’re just saying words at us, man,’’ Hook said.

Daniel gave them a judgemental look. ‘’You guys don’t watch Stardom? For real? Do you not watch any joshi wrestling at all?’’

Jack scratched the back of his neck. Hook gave a half-hearted shrug.

Daniel shook his head. ‘’What’s wrong with you guys? Y’all got no taste. Where else do you find spots to steal?’’

‘’My dad,’’ Hook said.

At the same time, Jack said, ‘’Shawn Michaels, I guess?’’

Daniel sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘’I’m surrounded by uncultured swines. Look, she was one of the hottest - literally - free agents in the business. She just signed here, she’s debuting tonight.’’

‘’She’s a wrestler?’’ Hook said. ‘’Damn. Would have been easier if she was a rat.’’

‘’She could be,’’ Daniel said. ‘’You can be a wrestler and a rat at the same time.’’

Hook narrowed his eyes at Daniel. ‘’You would know.’’

Daniel smiled back, completely oblivious. ‘’Yeah, I mean, look at Adam Cole. Or Edge. Or CM Pu -’’ He stopped himself and his eyes went wide in Jack’s direction. A very uncomfortable silence fell over the three of them, one that seemed to last precisely one million years. ‘’...other examples…’’

‘’Alright, enough standing around,’’ Hook said finally. He took his hands out of his hoodie pocket and cracked his knuckles. ‘’I’m going in.’’

Two hands, one from Daniel and one from Jack, shot out and grabbed his hoodie, preventing him from taking a step.

‘’No way,’’ Daniel said.

‘’Nuh uh,’’ Jack added.

Hook glared at the two. ‘’I saw her first.’’

Daniel was aghast. ‘’No, I saw her first! You didn’t know who she was until fifteen seconds ago!’’

‘’That doesn’t count,’’ Hook argued. ‘’I saw her first in the building, so I get first dibs.’’

‘’That’s not fair!’’ Jack whined.

Daniel said, ‘’You don’t understand, man - I’ve been crazy about this girl ever since I first saw her on Stardom World. I’ve been waiting for this moment for months - that could be the love of my life right there!’’

‘’Yeah, well, I wanna fuck her,’’ Hook said, as though that was the most airtight, well-reasoned counterpoint imaginable. ‘’You can fanboy over her all you want after I’m done with her.’’

‘’Hell no! I don’t want your sloppy seconds!’’

‘’If ‘the love of your life’ is sloppy seconds, what does that say about you, huh?’’

Hook and Daniel had been gradually inching closer to each other with each response. They both looked mad, like they were one second away from throwing punches. Jack couldn’t let that happen. Not after last time…

He put a hand on each man’s shoulder and created some distance between them. ‘’Guys, guys, calm down! We don’t need to fight.’’

Clearer heads seemed to prevail, Hook and Daniel shared a nod and then their body language changed, less guarded.

‘’Besides, you’re both wrong,’’ Jack continued. ‘’I should get to approach her first.’’

Hook and Daniel, now suddenly allies, raised an eyebrow each at Jack. ‘’Why?’’ they both asked at the same time.

‘’Because…’’ Jack started. His mind drew a blank. ‘’...I…want to…’’

Now it was Jack’s turn to be blinked at. He wracked his brain - he couldn’t let this opportunity slip away, not when the girl in question was that hot.

‘’Okay, here’s why it should be me! Or, I guess, here’s why it shouldn’t be either of you!’’ He pointed at Daniel. ‘’You hit on girls all the time, while I don’t. So much. So it’s only fair that I got a shot first because, you know, it’s a special occasion.’’ Daniel looked incredulous and opened his mouth to respond but Jack cut him off by pointing at Hook and continuing. ‘’And you! Aren’t you already seeing someone?’’

‘’Uh, no? The fuck you talking about?’’ Hook asked, looking very annoyed at the mere suggestion.

‘’What about that girl you hook up with all the time? The one who’s always texting you? Carly something?’’

Hook rolled his eyes. ‘’Alright, look - technically, I never told Carly we were exclusive. I just…told her a bunch of other stuff and she kinda assumed and I didn’t correct her because I didn’t wanna seem like an asshole. But just because she lets me hit on the regular doesn’t mean I owe her anything - she should understand that. So how is it my fault if she gets mad about something like this?’’

Jack furrowed his brow at his best friend. ‘’You…you don’t seriously think that, right? That’s gross!’’

‘’Nah, that makes perfect sense,’’ Daniel said. ‘’Flawless logic. She’s the one in the wrong, not you.’’

He and Hook shared a quick fistbump. Fuckboy solidarity.

Jack sighed deeply. ‘’See? This is why I should get to shoot my shot first - I won’t treat like her dirt like you two assholes!’’

Daniel looked offended. ‘’I’ll have you know, I’ll treat her like a queen!’’

Hook nodded. ‘’Yeah, same. Unless she doesn’t want me to, you know?’’

Fistbumps all around.

‘’There’s gotta be a way we can decide, fairly, who gets to go first,’’ Jack said. ‘’Some way we can settle this like mature adults. Like men.’’

The three men took a long moment to ponder their predicament and search for an appropriate solution.

Hook glanced down at his fist. ‘’Rock, paper, scissors?’’

‘’Yes,’’ Jack said, emphatically.

Daniel rubbed his hands together. ‘’Alright, how we doing this? Elimination style or triple threat rules?’’

Jack decided to defer to Hook; it was his idea after all.

Hook considered it for a moment. ‘’The usual 3-way match rules. First to score a fall wins.’’

The three of them formed a triangle and each of them placed a fist onto their other palm, ready and waiting. After silently confirming they were all ready through a series of shared nods, Jack took it upon himself to count them down.

‘’Okay, here we go! Rock, paper, scissors, sh -’’

Before he could finish, Jack was shoved back by Daniel, his back colliding with the wall. Daniel then grabbed Hook’s hand, still balled into a fist, and promptly covered it with his own palm, preventing Hook from changing his option and signalling paper-beats-rock.

‘’I win!’’ he announced proudly.

Hook ripped his hand away. ‘’Like hell you do!’’

‘’The fuck was that?!’’ Jack demanded, rubbing his back where it was now sore. ‘’That wasn’t a win, you cheated!’’

Daniel smiled smugly. ‘’No, I didn’t. We said triple threat rules - that means it’s No DQ.’’

A lengthy discussion ensued about what exactly constitutes a disqualification in a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, hollowed by a side tangent about why there aren't disqualifications in a triple threat match. Upon realising that they weren’t going anywhere and were just wasting time, they all agreed to play by elimination rules. Hook was the first fall, picking paper while Jack and Daniel went with scissors. And in the finals, Jack’s paper bested Daniel’s rock. How poetic.

‘’Yes!’’ Jack exclaimed triumphantly. He took a great deal of satisfaction in Hook and Daniel’s sour, dejected expressions.

Jack glanced back over to confirm that Mariah was a) still there and b) hadn’t overheard any of that, which turned out to be true on both counts. She was in the exact same spot as before, still admiring herself in her phone’s camera. Jack could relate.

Jack took a few deep breaths to psyche himself up. ‘’Okay, Jack, you got this. You got this! I know exactly what’ll work here!’’

Hook groaned. ‘’You’re not seriously gonna try that again, are you?’’

‘’I told you, it totally works!’’ Jack said, defiant. ‘’Sometimes.’’

‘’What’s he talking about?’’ Daniel asked.

Hook sighed. ‘’He has this thing he does to try and pick up girls. It’s stupid - he just stands around looking sad and supposedly, a girl will eventually come up to him and ask him what’s wrong.’’

‘’It. Works. Sometimes,’’ Jack insisted.

Daniel considered that. ‘’Huh. Yeah, I can see it. One time, there was this girl who told me I had ‘sad eyes’ and it was half the reason she fucked me. So you might be onto something.’’

With his confidence boosted, Jack took another breath to calm his nerves and headed down the hallway to his target. He willed himself to stay calm, but he grew more nervous with each footstep. The closer he got, the better he could see her. She was even more stunning up close.

When he was near enough, he put on his game face. Which was to say, he put on his best sad puppy dog eyes and leaned against the wall, dejected.

His head was bowed, but he could see Mariah out of the corner of his eye. Unfortunately, she was still distracted by her own reflection. Jack didn’t blame her, but he really needed her to look his way. 

He let out a loud sigh. Nothing. So he sighed louder. Still nothing. The third sigh was so loud and exaggerated, it was almost comical. But it was the one that got the job done. Mariah finally looked up from her phone and found him there. There was a flash of concern on her face and Jack knew his diabolical plan was working.

‘’Excuse me, are you alright? You look really sad!’’

Whoa, she has an English accent? Jack wasn’t expecting that. It took him a couple of seconds to process and actually respond.

‘’Oh, it’s nothing, really. Just one thing after another today, you know?’’

Jack knows this is the part where she asks more questions about why he’s so sad and tries to cheer him up.

Mariah just hummed. ‘’Okay,’’ she said, and then turned her attention back to her phone.

Uh oh. It’s not going according to plan! Jack’s brain scrambled for what to do next. He pushed himself away from the wall and closer to her.

‘’Uh, hey, wait! Uh, I’m Jack!’’ he said, offering his hand out.

She eyed his hand curiously and then reluctantly shook it. Goddammit, why did he try to shake her hand? That’s not romantic, that’s…business-y?

‘’Nice to meet you, I guess,’’ she said. ‘’I’m Mariah May.’’

‘’Yeah, I know who you are,’’ Jack said. He wracked his brain for what it was Daniel said about her back there. ‘’I saw you wrestle in, uh…Venus World?’’

[the-sidekick-club]

Kim… We Have a Problem 🍫

Written by:

@heroes-villains-side-blog★​​@tratieisdabest★@just-a-space-rabbit​​  

TW: Breaking and Entering, Attempted thievery, Destruction of property, Food (comfort eating implied), Fighting ❘〣❘〣❘ ✿ ❘〣❘〣❘

Hirra kicked open the front door of Kim’s apartment building. She seemed to be in a grumpy mood after failing to rob a jewelry store earlier that day, but was still looking forward to today's meeting.

While the "Sidekick Club" (the name stuck after Vulcan used it) didn't have much information to share on Shadow's and Alexandria's relationship, they had still chosen to meet.

Each member had their own reasons, but Hirra had told herself the free snacks and the look on Mender’s face when she lost at a board game was too good to give up. It would hopefully make her day a bit better… 

But as the echo of the door finally subsided, she stopped as the open hallway was filled with strange clicking noises followed by annoyed grunts. They seemed to be coming from the floor above, which was concerning ‘what if someone was trying to steal something from Kim?’ and annoying ‘and why are they so loud about it?’. 

Sneaking up the stairs to Kim’s floor, she looked around for the source of the sound. It was only then she got to Kim’s front door, she saw what it was.

“OI! MENDER!” she yelled, making Mender jump up in fear and drop the lock picking kit.

“Hirra! Why did you scare me like that?!” she yelled back. But Hirra was too busy going for the kit to reply, “Hey, that’s my lock picking kit!” Mender yelled as Hirra grabbed it before her.

“Why are you trying to break into Kim's place?”

“Well…” Mender looked at Hirra as her cheeks reddened. “I couldn't get through the window and I have already knocked, but Kim was not home, so I…”

“Tried to steal my thing?” Hirra sounded offended, “I’m the one that picks locks here and you- eh, wait… what did you mean you knocked?!” 

“I knocked on the door and Kim isn't home, and I'm good at lock picking. But I think Kim replaced the lock with a better one, because it's really complex!” Mender refused to look Hirra in the eye when she said all this. 

“Well, then,” Hirra's demeanor changed completely, “guess it’s time for you to learn from a lock picking master!” She said proudly and shoved Mender to the side. “Now look closely! This is how it is done, just take it like that, and there we go!” she said as the door clicked open.

“Wait now, hang on! You didn't tell me how to do it!” Even with her mask covering parts of her face, you could still see how the hero's… everything scrunched up in annoyance. 

“Tough luck” Hirra smirked and walked into the small apartment, Mender quickly followed, but with a frown. It still felt strange being here when Kim was not home, but that never stopped the two from entering anyway. 

After the ‘pockets incident’ as they called it, Kim had to move out of the other apartment (as the location was compromised now that Lady Alexandria knew where it was), and into somewhere new.

Earthly and natural, would be the words Mender thought of to describe it with its old and mismatched furniture. On the surface, nothing in the room matched anything else, and yet it still somehow worked together.

It wasn't a bad place per se, though it was a bit cramped.

There was a sudden thump, as Hirra lay down flat on the sofa, typing away on her phone. 

“What are you doing?” Mender asked, looking down at her. 

Hirra looked up at her for a moment before turning back to the phone, and kept typing. “I’m trying to find out why Kim's late, but they won't answer me.” 

“Can you at least move, so I can have a seat? I’m tired from work,” Mender said. “Also, I want my lock picking kit back.” Hirra shoved the kit at Mender without looking up from her phone.

Mender just sighed and went to the kitchen in search of the hidden club snack storage. ‘Might as well prepare for the meeting’ she thought as her stomach made a loud growl. 

“What was that?” Hirra snickered from the sofa. 

“Not my fault. We had four villains all of who committed crimes during my lunch break today, so I haven't eaten since breakfast!” but Hirra only laughed at her, until her stomach made an equal sound, making Mender snicker.

After some looking she finally found it, the metal box labeled "candy"... she could feel Hirra’s eyes looking at it. 

“Any word from Kim yet?” Mender asked as she grabbed the box and brought it to the table. 

“Not yet,” Hirra sat up as she answered.

“Well, at least we can have some snacks!” Mender was trying to cheer up the mood a bit, so she placed the box on the table, plopped down on the couch, and opened it to find... 

“WHY IS THERE ONLY ONE LEFT!!!!” They yelled, looking down at the sad lonely chocolate, surrounded by the red licorice Kim had mistaken for raspberry toffee some weeks earlier. 

But before they let the thoughts of who had done this, and why, there was a more urgent matter to attend to

‘Who is going to eat it?’

They both stood up and looked at each other, clearly thinking the same thing. 

“This chocolate bar ain't big enough for the two of us, pardner.” Hirra said as she moved to the side for a better fighting angle.

Mender confusedly moved in the opposite direction, though she made sure not to move too far away from the little candy box. “Why are you talking like that? Never mind, I’m starving and Kim’s out of snacks and food!” 

“If you want food, best you mozy on down to the grocery store and get s'more then. Git.” Hirra snickered back at her. 

“I won't be mozying anywhere! If anyone will be mozying, it's you! Pardner.” Mender said in a stereotypical "cowboy" accent matching Hirra back; clearly neither were backing down, which meant only one thing.

There was a loud crash, followed by an even more concerning bang! As red starts to spread everywhere from all the scattered licorice, Hirra and Mender lay bound together on top of the now broken coffee table. It seemed like they fired their weapons at the same time, and Hirra's net guns and Mender’s grappling glove clearly don't mix well in a tight space.

They were both stuck in a tangled mess of rope and… more rope, both from the net and grappling hook. 

As they both twisted trying to get loose there was a snarky “Well… that was clever of you!” from Hirra. 

Only for Mender who was currently on top of Hirra to yell back “Yes, REALLY clever of you to use a NET GUN INSIDE! Where did you even hide that thing?”

“Like I would tell you!” Hirra used her power to create a knife. “Now, please move! I need to cut the grappling rope.”

“What?! No, you can’t do that! Cut the net instead, that’s what's really trapping us.”

“No way I’m cutting my precious net!” Hirra yelled.

“Well, there is no way I’ll let you cut my rope!” Mender replied, laying down so that Hirra could not cut anything. 

What followed was an “Ugh… FINE!” as Hirra relaxed as well. 

The room almost fell into silence before Mender chimed in, “… so, will you cut the net then?”

“No.” Hirra answered with a straight face. “I’ll wait for Kim to come home, so that they can do it.”

“Fine! But don’t complain when Kim has to cut the net open!” Mender said. 

They lay in silence for a while, before there was suddenly someone calling Hirra’s phone. Hirra tried to get up but was unable to, swinging the net uncomfortably for the two.

“Hirra! STOP! We can't reach it!” Mender yelled. The call stopped and a message began to play. 

“Hey, sorry, Hirra, I’m going to be late!” said Kim’s voice from the phone. “You guys just go ahead and enjoy some snacks in the meantime, see ya when I get home in an hour!” 

And then silence… 

“A whole hour…” the two breathed out defeatedly.

It took one hour and thirty minutes before the sidekick duo heard the door open, and Kim finally rounded the corner of the small hallway.

"Sorry, I'm late,” they said, not fully looking at the duo, as they brought in several grocery bags. “Vulcan held me up in some dumb meeting, and then I also had to get groceries after... What are you two doing…?" Kim said as they finally looked at the two of them. 

“IT WAS ALL MENDER!” the villain yelled. 

“NO, IT WAS ALL HIRRA!” the hero yelled.

“I can’t believe you two!” Kim says in a defeated voice as they rub their forehead in annoyance.

There was a cheeky “Can you get us out?” From Hirra, but Kim just looked back at her before answering. “Nope.”

“WHAT?” they both yelled.

“I need to get this food in the fridge. In the meantime, you two can explain why you are bound together like this and apologize for breaking my coffee table.”

As Kim got to setting the food in place, the two begin talking. 

And they began recapping their day, and everything that happened before the fight started.

“And I've been having a hard day since I haven't eaten anything since breakfast!” Mender piped up trying to support her argument “Just been one villain after another!”

“Like my day was any better!” Hirra interrupted. “I spent weeks planning that robbery of that jewelry store, but then after everything went PERFECTLY, guess what?” 

“What?” Kim said, having left the remaining food to sit down on the sofa and listen to the two.

“IT WAS ALL FAKE! And because of me, they got arrested! And I was left with a bag of worthless junk!” Hirra yelled. 

“Yikes…” Kim said, shocked. 

“Yikes, indeed.” Hirra huffed. “And then I come here, and I can’t even successfully steal a single small piece of candy.” 

“What do you mean by that?” Kim said, finally noticing all the red licorice, spread all over the floor.

“Hirra refused to share!” Mender grunted. “And I was so hungry!” she pouted while giving Kim her best puppy dog eyes.

While the hero didn't have any siblings, she did have older cousins, and most teachers liked her; she'd had many years to perfect the sad sad eyes. But before she could get Kim to feel bad for her, Hirra interrupted!

“WELL, SO WAS I!” Hirra yelled back. “But when we opened the box—”

“The Box!” Kim yelled and jumped up from the sofa. “I forgot about that!”

The two looked up at them in confusion, before Mender began to ask, “What do you mean 'you forgot'…? Kim…? Why was it filled with only licorice???”

But Kim was no longer keeping eye contact with the two. When they sat back down on the sofa did the duo notice Kim’s cheeks had reddened. “I… I ate it all…” they said in a defeated tone.

“YOU!!!” Hirra yelled.

“I mean it does make sense,” Mender said. “Who else would have? But what I want to know is WHY?”

Kim was not looking at the other two as they began talking sheepishly. “Well, the thing about adult life and living alone is that you have to remember things like how much there is left of stuff and all that, and then yesterday I had forgotten to buy more food, but I did not feel like going out so… I ate it. I had planned to refill it before the meeting! But I got caught up with work…''

“What happened yesterday?” Hirra asked sounding almost worried.

Kim looked like they would rather not answer. “I got stood up... on a date…”

“You went on a date?!” Mender suddenly asked. “With who? Do we know them? Are they a villain!? I can get them arrested if they are! Who are they!?”

But Mender’s questions were quickly downed out by Hirra yelling her own questions. 

“WHO DID IT?! TELL ME KIM! AND I'LL BEAT THEIR SORRY ASS!!!”

“Who it was is for neither of you to know.” Kim finally answered once the two quieted down. “And, yes, I was supposed to go on a date yesterday. Would have been nice to know that they changed their mind, before paying TOO MUCH for a new dress and dinner reservation, and then letting me sit there for over an hour waiting, but hey, that's just how dating a villain is sometimes.”

“So it was a VILLAIN!” Hirra yelled, making Mender and Kim jump. “Mender, I think we got our next case! We need to find out who the villain is and beat them up!”

But before Mender could answer with her already forming plan, Kim had gotten up and brought out an old hidden knife that Hirra had made for them years ago.

This immediately took the duo’s focus.

Kim began to move and test the different parts of the bindings. “Looks like I need to cut both the net and grappling rope to get you loose. So let's make a deal.”

“A deal?”

“Since we're all a bit to blame and all of us seem to have had a bad day.” Kim began. “I’ll cut you loose and then fix your weapons after. In return, you two need to make dinner and help me either fix or get a new coffee table. Does that sound good?”

“Yes! Deal!” Mender and Hirra nodded in agreement, seeming very ready to get separated from each other. 

Then, as Kim was about to begin cutting they stopped. “Oh, and one more thing… There will be no looking to find the person that stood me up, okay?” 

The duo was silent for a moment, before Mender answered, “Yes, we won't do that!”. She didn't like it, but anything to be free of Hirra. After more silence, Kim then made full eye contact with Hirra who after some time gave a half enthusiastic “Fine…” 

Turns out they were a bit more tangled together than any of them originally thought, but after fifteen minutes both Hirra and Mender were out of the mess.

"Soooo, what's for dinner, Kimball?" Hirra asked, looking curiously towards the kitchen and the half empty bags of groceries.

“Kimball?” Mender whispered in confusion. 

“I bought food for some Nortusen isle's style Tacos, though with some authentic spiciness.'' Kim said as they got up to look for a toolkit to fix the broken weapons.

Meanwhile, Hirra was walking over to the open kitchen throwing several fist bumps into the air in joy, clearly approving the choice. 

Mender, on the other hand, looked down at the broken coffee table. “Sorry, for breaking it, it was stupid of us to fight like that.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it!” Kim said as they dropped all the needed stuff on the small dinner table. “I got it for free from some guy online, the only annoying part was carrying it here. But I think I can fix it. If not, then at least I got two people to carry the new one for me. And hey, got to say I’m impressed! With the weapons used, it is quite unbelievable that you two only manage to break the table and nothing else!” They laughed at the end of the sentence, making Mender smile. 

In the end, it was a not so productive meeting, but at least it was a fun one. The trio ended up spending a lot of time chatting over good food and weapon repair.

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

[betteryetblog]

8 Female-authored summer reads!

The summer is when I do most of my reading, lounging on the beach with an ice-cold lemonade. Doesn't that sound so good right about now? Get that summer feeling with my 8 summer reading picks by female authors!

The Better Yet Blog is a growing catalogue of articles where you can better your closet, beauty, body, mind, and life. Follow our blog to never miss a post! It's not about becoming perfect, its about becoming better yet.

Click "keep reading" below to check out my TBR (to be read) list!

The Summer book by Tove Jansson

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson is full of humor and wisdom. It follows a summer trip between an artist grandma and her six-year-old granddaughter. On an island in the gulf of Finland they learn each others fears, whims, and yearnings. This story is the perfect heart-warming tale!

Endless Summer by Elin Hilderbrand

When I am looking for a quick read, I love to check out short story collections. The best part of them is that you can get through one or two, even three, stories in one sitting. Endless Summer is the perfect book for long-time fans and new readers as she revisits some of her most beloved characters! One such story is “The Tailgate” which revisits the story of Hilderbrand’s book The Matchmaker.

Playing with Matches by Hannah Orenstein

If you liked The Matchmaker, you need to check out Playing with Matches by Hannah Orenstein. This is the book I am currently reading, and I’m about 65% of the way through. This story is a perfect balance of eccentric clients and main character Sasha’s rollercoaster personal life. I must say, I am loving this book so far!

Gilt by Jamie Brenner

Gilt by Jamie Brenner is next up on my TBR - as I wait for it on hold at my library. In the same realm of Succession, Gilt follows the story of three sisters divided by the family diamond business. After a decade, main character Gemma is the only granddaughter and also a jewelry designer. She is working toward success for herself and the legacy of her mother who passed away. This book is perfect for lovers of family drama, with a little glitz!

Silenced in Sequins by Debra Sennefelder

Silenced in Sequins is part of a series by Debra Sennefelder, but can also be read as a stand alone. This book follows Kelly Quinn as she transforms her grandmother’s old consignment store into a hot spot for fashion lovers around town. She receives a dress that becomes the center of a public riff between two Long Island Ladies tv-show stars, when one of them ends up dead! It seems that only Kelly can get to the bottom of this and save the reputation of her store.

Fatal Inheritance by Rachel Rhys

Lovers of historical fiction must check out Fatal Inheritance, set in 1930, by Rachel Rhys. Eve, in her loveless marriage, receives a letter one day of an inheritance from a wealthy stranger. She travels to the French Rivera to the villa left just for her, but discovers a group of people that will do anything to take it from her. Before things become sinister, she needs to uncover the mystery of the letter and the person who sent it.

Going Dark by Melissa de la Cruz

Told through social media posts, diary entries, and firsthand accounts, Going Dark is a 2023 release by Melissa de la Cruz. The reader goes through the mysterious disappearance of influencer Amelia Ashley. When Ashley failed to show up her boyfriend left their romantic Rome vacation without her. Meanwhile, a hacker is untangling her social media web. Then, the reader learns of another girl who went missing two years prior - could this be a coincidence? Going Dark is the perfect read for fans of true crime to put their detective skills to use.

The Club by Ellery Lloyd

The Club written Collette Lyons, alongside her husband Paul Viltos. Island Home is a newly-launching and exclusive retreat for celebrities and a-listers. The invite list is sure to bring a group of “beautiful people with their own ugly secrets.” Yet, before the party even gets started, tensions rise between Island Home employees. The Club is a thriller sure to leave you on the edge of your seat - or edge of your beach chair.

Now that you know what I'm reading this summer, I would love to hear what is on your TBR list and which one of these you are going to check out. Learn more about them by clicking the links above!

[lgcminjxe]

இ SPRING BOYS THOUGHTS இ

Yoon Minjae had never imagined that he would be here. He never thought that he would make it onto Spring Boys. Most of all, he never thought he would be given a solo. No pressure or anything.

The closer it got to the recording of his solo mv, Minjae felt the pressure building on him. Was he ready to have a solo? Did he deserve it? Why had it been he that had been given a solo and not anyone else? What made him different? Was it Legacy’s way of embarrassing him? These thoughts and more ran through his head often and his coach noticed just how busy his mind was. The same coach that had been there for Minjae throughout the entire Spring Boys process.

Today was no different to any other day and Minjae found himself opening up easy. Now that everything was over and Spring Boys was finished, Minjae felt more relaxed. He used this moment to release all his thoughts and feelings that he has kept in throughout the show.

❛ How did your solo performance go? ❜

❛ You know obviously that I was so nervous about being given a solo and that I felt a lot of pressure because of it, right? ❜ He began. ❛ It turns out it was justified. After seeing all the other clubs and groups performing I was thoroughly impressed and scared that I would fail. When it was my turn to perform I almost cried. Sure, I’ve performed before but never solo like this and never under such conditions. But I’m glad I got to have that experience. I was able to learn and grow as an artist because of it. ❜ The coach nodded and Minjae let out a soft sigh of relief.

❛ What was it like bonding with the other boys? Easy I’m guessing since you’re so social, Minjae. ❜

Minjae nodded and smiled brightly. ❛ It was so much fun getting to know everyone and seeing how talented everyone was! Oh! Also getting to spend time with V&A sunbaenims was a dream come true. We had a lot of fun playing games and working together on performances and songs. It’s definitely an experience I won’t forget anytime soon and I hope I made some new friendships out of it. ❜

❛ You seem to enjoy performing a lot, Minjae-ah. Have you thought of switching paths? ❜

This question threw him for a moment as he wasn’t expecting it. He thought about it for a moment before he finally shook his head. ❛ Not at all. Sure, I love singing and performing, but I also love acting. If the chance was presented to me to become an idol I wouldn’t say no and I would happily accept it, but I don’t think I would switch paths. At least not yet. I love what I do and if I ever want to perform I can just audition for a musical, right? I’m not saying no to being an idol, but I enjoy being an actor too. ❜ Minjae smiled brightly at the coach.

[tren-fraszka]

Fall Anime 2022 summary

Since Fall 2022 anime was stacked I decided to make summary, because there’s so much good stuff. Am I slightly late? Yes. Does it really matter? No.

And to get it out of the way, I didn’t watch Chainswman anime, because I read the manga and found it not nearly as entertaining as most of the people do. Denji just really doesn’t work for me as protagonist.

I also dropped My Hero Academia, because I feel nothing, but pure disappointment for the direction its manga took.

Bocchi the Rock - best comedy and best exploration of social anxiety all at once. Those two elements shouldn’t work together so well and yet they do. If you want to see a girl with crippling social anxiety realizing her dreams to join a band and shred the guitar before actual live public then you won’t find anything better. No, scratch that, this is probably the best this fall anime season has to offer with extremely creative animation and well-crafted set characters that compliment each other perfectly

Gundam: Witch of Mercury - generational trauma the anime. The series is ongoing, but so far the setup had been excellent. The addition of school setting was actually a brilliant move, as it allowed to explore the twisted relationship between the wealthy corporation owners and their children. And have I mentioned the main plot centers around a lesbian engagement? This shows creates a beautiful intersection between a corporate profit, giant robots, personal vendettas, and teenagers entering adolescence.

Raven of the Inner Palace - a slowly burn romance between a young emperor and the girl with ability to summon ghosts, who’s confined inside the palace. With totally not Chinese palace as a backdrop to all the court intrigue and supernatural drama. If any of those elements sounds interesting then I would recommend it. The story isn’t finished and the second season is unlikely, but even then I enjoyed how different this story felt from everything else that aired this season.

Do It Yourself - fluffy story about DIY school club with some solid character interactions and nice jokes. It’s a pure feel good story, and it really excels in that aspect. It gets a bit ridiculous at the end with how far the characters go to not use their own money to resolve issues that could be really easily resolved that way. Still, it was a nice watch. I’d definitely recommend it if you want a series to cheer you up with unrelenting good vibes

I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss - a solid if a bit too rushed comedy. Even if the final episode was painfully rushed, I think it’s still worth experiencing this hilarious romance of a go-getter villainess and a sadistic demon lord. Consistently strong gags and endearing characters make up for the failings, resulting in a pleasant if ultimately forgettable experience

Urusei Yatsura - Rumiko Takahashi’s old manga had received a new adaptation to prove that it contains plenty of joke that can entertain even the modern audience. The show will continue into the second season, but given that the plot is mostly an excuse for new gags, there’s no reason not to start now. There’s just a certain charm to Rumiko Takahashi’s style of comedy that’s still worth experiencing 

Management of a Novice Alchemist - A really wholesome story of an orphan attempting to maintain her own alchemy business with some surprisingly solid economic beats in it. Who will be able to wield capitalism to their advantage? This anime is just a good comfort food and I want to shout out the animator who despite the show having mostly average animation, just went really hard during some action cuts. They were only a few seconds long cuts, but I’ve seen you and I respect you.

Reincarnated as a Sword - exactly what it says on the tin. Rather than being an overpowered character in it’s own right, the next victim of Truck-kun reincarnates as a powerful sword who ends up saving a slave catgirl and decides to become her weapon so she can find happiness and achieve her dreams. Pretty wholesome and fun overall with announced continuation.

Bibliophile Princess - A romace involving a bookworm and a prince. I’ve seen people consistently complain that it’s a subpar adaptation and while I don’t know the source material I feel like they might have a point. It felt like this anime was constantly underutilizing its own potential, not using it’s medium to properly communicate plot or character moments and relaying way too much on telling viewers things which could have been shown. Still, it was a pleasant romance which had something going for it.

Spy x Family Part 2 - If you’ve seen first part you know exactly what to expect, though focusing more on shorter unconnected gags makes this half feel weaker overall. It’s still good, but ends up feeling a bit too diluted when it comes to the proportions of main plot and just pure gags

Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun S3 - remains the tastiest comfort food. My son grew up and went to win school’s survival tournament. I’m proud of him and all his friends, who are proving just how skilled they are.

Mob Psycho 100 S3 - a great send off for the series, though it did drag a bit for me at times. But the final arc was such a great conclusion that it easily makes for the slower pace of this season.

[nickgerlich]

C Is For Change

There are many things we can learn by studying consumers. We crave consistency, yet can be fickle. We can be all-in with some product categories, but couldn’t care less about others. We can be predictable to a fault, then turn around and do something completely unexpected. We differ between genders, age groups, income, education, geography…pick your demographic, but there is one thing that practically everyone demonstrates to some degree: Resistance to Change.

And I like to use capital-C Change, because it is a force more powerful than just the incremental progress we see day to day. Change, you see, can be very unsettling, no matter where the Change is happening. It can be a new boss, new minister, even new President. It can be shifting gender roles, marriage, and family. And it can happen in every avenue of business, from products and services to physical stores and e-commerce.

Naturally, there is variation between individuals too. Some people are quick to embrace the Change around them. It doesn’t matter, though, how open or closed we are to Change. There will always be some degree of friction when Change occurs, primarily because we become accustomed to a status quo. When that status quo is no more, then we have to adapt.

Which…drumroll, please…is what the folks at Sam’s Club will be watching in Grapevine Texas with their new prototype store. The 150,000-square foot retail bazaar has seemingly everything except one thing: checkout stands.

You shop, you scan, you go. Period. If you can’t handle that, then don’t even bother going.

Sam’s Club, which is owned by Walmart, sees this as the store of the future. That future, though, depends completely on how well this new concept is embraced by customers. Given that there are more than 20 other Sam’s Clubs in the DFW Metroplex, members have a choice and could shift their purchases to stores that still have checkouts. Those other stores offer a mix of Scan and Go, self-check, and traditional. I’m sure they will be watching the numbers closely.

But there are also other numbers to note, and that’s the data associated with those who have been using Scan and Go up until now. Scan and Go is experiencing rapid growth and adoption. Thus far, those people spend three times as much as others shopping at Sam’s, and are more loyal. This translates to more membership renewals as well. That’s another way of saying this is a great group of shoppers, perhaps so great as to bet the farm on them.

It’s all part of parent company Walmart’s push into all things digital, and they are crushing it between all of their retail formats. But Sam’s, with 600 stores and annual sales of $84.3 billion, pales in comparison to rival Costco, which has 614 stores in the US but sales of nearly $250 billion. In other words, Costco is selling three times as much as Sam’s with practically the same number of stores.

No wonder Sam’s wants to court its Scan and Go customers, because…in case you already forgot…they purchase three times as much as others in the store. The disparity could smooth out pretty quickly if the new store format is a success.

The big question is what would happen to those shoppers who still want to check out among the other ways, but could no longer do so if Sam’s commits to Scan and Go only. Would they fail to renew their membership? Would they shop elsewhere?

Remember, Change can be very painful for some people. There are many among us who refuse to do any kind of self-checkout, either because of technology fear, virtue signaling their support of labor, or just a personal preference for human interaction. I can already think of one family member—my brother—who would have difficulty with this. Too much Change, too fast.

Me? I want to see this, and when I do my December Tour of Texas photography junket, I will make sure to go through Grapevine. I don’t have a problem with this kind of Change, but more importantly, I owe it to my students to stay on top of things like this.

What about you? Are you part of the resistance, or would you give this a go? The folks in Bentonville Arkansas will be watching and waiting your verdict.

Dr “Play It Again, Sam” Gerlich

Audio Blog

[emp13]

For my first game summary I’m gonna summarize the 5th session which was the most recent. The coterie meets at Scyllas club to celebrate and debrief the two members who were absent last session. I’ll get into that story at a later date though.

They then decide to talk to one of the more influential members of the new Primogens domain, Miguel Ramirez, a Lasombra who’s been a part of the Camarilla for his 40 years of unlife who is also a Catholic priest. Due to some tension Jack and Elizabeth walk there and Kyler uses his familus to fly him there in rat form, Miss Anderson takes her old Civic while Freya, Scylla’s driver, drives her and Victoria. Speaking of Victoria our Ventrue, she is tragically disadvantaged here due to her supernatural aversion to saintly imagery. This means she just stays in just barely in the church. They arrive at the end of Saturday evening Mass which is given my father Miguel. The coterie excluding Victoria go to meet with him to much success and he’s in favor of Kyler as Primogen. Though the arrival of Minerva a nomadic Malkavian who travels with her coterie around the country and is dressed like a nun arrives as she has business with the father. Now there are three stories following events of three members of the Coterie.

First is Anna Anne Anderson, who is asked to stay in father Miguel’s office by Minerva. She reveals herself as a Salubri as she takes off her habit to reveal the 3rd eye. She tells Anna that she’s her old friend who she met on SchreckNet back in the day. Minerva reveled she was here so that she and Miguel could discuss enlightenment a topic both of them are interested in. Anna was rightfully shocked and didn’t know how to respond, she left pretty quickly.

While this was happening our dear “straight girl” Elizabeth went to a pew to give a quick prayer before she left. While this is happening she feels a tap on her shoulder, it’s Eve her “old friend.” They both stare forward as they talk and Elizabeth is shocked Eve would even want to talk to her but Eve felt it might be her only chance. I’ll recreate a part of the scene I particularly liked as best I can.

Elizabeth takes Eves hand in hers.

Eve responds with “Liz, your hands, they’re freezing” with a slight tremble to her voice.

“You know I’ve always run cold” retorts Elizabeth.

Eve with her other hand sandwiches Elizabeth’s hands cueing Elizabeth to activate the blush of life to make herself seem more human causing the beast to gnaw at her to take a bite from Eve. Elizabeth not trying to draw suspicion from her coterie she doesn’t know that well yet tells Eve to meet her back here in a week and Eve agrees.

For the last mini story the 4 vampires could make two perception checks, one for identifying anything about the events that had just transpired. Somehow everyone failed every roll, Victoria even got a beastial failure on one. This triggered the beast to go paranoid and activated the paranoia compulsion. Her first instinct was to find a driver and get out of here and back to her building. She gets into Scyllas car and with her vampiric power demands Freya drive her to her building and she complies unable to do anything else really. She gets back to her building and locks everything down.

With all this resolved, the coterie leaves the church, much to Scyllas confusion though, her driver and Victoria are gone. She gets Freya back here eventually but she isn’t happy with what Victoria did. That’s where the session ended.