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imabeautifulbutterfly · 2 months

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The Gym Membership - Part 29 (Crosshair)

Summary: Crosshair finds a little peace

A/N: Hello Lovelies,

Sorry for not posting yesterday, I wasn't feeling all the greatest, but I'm fine now. So enjoy!

You'll understand the GIF after you read the story.

WARNING FOR FLASHING LIGHTS - GIF

Love oo

Warnings: Threatening, irritating, coffee, teenagers (aka Youths!), someone woke up and chose death. If I miss any warnings, please let me know.

AO3 Link | Words: 1,199 | PREVIOUS - -> NEXT

Gym Membership Master List | Main Master List

Cross’ irritation arose once again upon hearing the false cheeriness, just when he’d gotten his mood back to normal, it was quickly dipping back to being unbearable. He kept his jaw clenched as he glared into the teenagers face, “Coffee. Dark Roast. Black”

“Oo-kay…” the child answered, nervousness creeping in as his finger shook a little while he put in the order. “Um… sorry, sir the … um … the size?”

Seeing the kid tremble brought a little smirk to Crosshair’s face, it wasn’t fair but hey life’s not fair. Better this kid learned it now. He was scared and self-conscious, simply because the man in front of him was having an irritating day, somehow that brought a glimmer of joy to Crosshair.

He took a deep breath and looked around the counter, “What’s the biggest size you have?”

“Oh well!” The teenager’s cheerfulness came back, his fear vanishing in that second, which simply irked Cross. “We have the vast, enormous, or if you are a real caffeine addict we have the colossal. So it really depends on how much caffeine you would need for today. Not to mention we do have about three different blends we are offering today. There’s Alderaan dark roast, Coruscant speed and our house blend. Now …”

The kid stopped in his tracks as Cross raised his hand, his brows furrowing to a point, his silent way of telling the kid to shut up, “I’m sure this is the absolute highlight of your day. Probably your year, I’ve no doubt that you are thrilled to be out of your house away from your computer, and actually interacting with live people. However, all I want to hear from you are the sizes. Any more than three words, and I can become very unpleasant. Now, I’ll have the large Alderaan dark roast, black. Is that understood?”

“Uh … yes … yes, sir.” His finger trembled as he put in the order, waiting for an eternity for the total to appear, “That’ll be a total of seven dollars and thirty-four cents, sir.”

Cross dropped a twenty on the counter, “Keep the change” after all he was a bit of a prick to the kid, the least he could do was give him a really good tip.

“Oh … uh … t-thank you, sir”

He simply nodded and moved to the other end of the counter waiting for his coffee. He glanced around watching the couples sitting together as they cooed over each other. The students who had their noses buried in a book, letting life pass them by. He even saw a table where a Marine sat waiting for his ride, it looked like. Somehow, all this cheeriness was irritating him even further. He closed his eyes and tried to take a deep breath.

It wasn’t long before his coffee was ready, he dropped in about six sugar packets, as he heard a rather loud and annoying voice order above the crowd.

“I’ll have the Mocha Coruscant Speed Frappuccino with extra whipped cream a sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg with a soupçon of chocolate drizzle, and a slice of pecan pie”

All Cross could think at that moment was how much he missed his gun right now. Whoever that was, had to be the most pretentious and annoying person ever. Did they really have to use such a fancy word? Couldn’t they just call it what it was, a small amount. Ugh. That order alone just made him even more irritated, he was glad to be leaving this stupid cafe. He had no clue what exactly made him even think about going into this hipster, kids pretending to be adults, type of cafe.

He grabbed a to-go lid to cover his cup, wondering why in the world did he have to pay seven dollars for a simple black cup of coffee. He glanced around to see a few people pick up their cups and take a moment to smell the coffee before actually taking a sip. He couldn’t understand what the fuss was about, coffee was coffee. It was just something to keep the day moving along.

His hand hovered with the lid over the top of the cup, wondering if maybe he should see what the fuss was about before covering it and heading off for his day. He tried to brush away the curiosity he was feeling, only to be surprised to see his hand act on its own as it brought the cup closer to his nose. ‘Well, since it’s there,’ he justified as he leaned forward ever so hesitantly. He looked like a man who was afraid his cup was going to jump out and bite him. He felt incredibly ridiculous and annoyed at his own actions, but it didn’t prevent him from taking a whiff of the freshly brewed aroma.

The hint of chocolate, the deep rich aroma of the coffee bean, followed by a subtle scent of cinnamon, filled his nostrils, the beans were strong but not overpowering. The irritation he had been feeling all day was starting to ease with just that one whiff, he wasn’t sure why, but he felt attached to the cup of pure satisfaction.

If this is what a smell could do, he couldn’t wait to taste it. He inched the cup closer to his mouth, he could feel the heat from the hot liquid begin to tickle his nose, as the condensation licked his lips, never in his life had he wanted to taste a cup of coffee as much as he did in that moment.

He felt the hot liquid slosh against the cup as he drew it closer, his bottom lip touched the smooth paper cup, despite the intensity of the heat, he was ready to take it in, to welcome it into his mouth. His hand tilted ever so slightly, closing his eyes hoping the taste would match its scent. His stomach lurched in anticipation, his mouth watered for the warmth he craved.

He took in a deep breath, and just as he felt the beginnings of warmth were welcomed on his tongue … it was gone. The closeness that had been there a second ago vanished, as he felt someone bump into his elbow, forcing his arm into his side, causing his hand to tilt from the sheer surprise and weight of the person bumping into him. Propelling the hot liquid out of its treasured container, spilling all over his hand.

The heat and burn was unbearable on his skin. His fingers released the dangerous substance before he even realized what happened. He winced at first from the burn, and then when his eyes fluttered open trying to determine what just happened, the pain in his hand subsided as soon as his eyes focused on the downed coffee cup.

It almost brought a tear to his eyes to see the coppery rich liquid all over the floor before he even had a chance to taste it. His hand clenched as his irritation flared again, this time with renewed vigour, he turned his head sharply to the culprit, his eyes narrowing as he looked upon the face of the person who’d chosen death today.

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what-i-call-men · 3 years

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Jiggle physics

Jeff Pfister x female!reader

Warnings: SMUT, dominant reader, sub Jeff, some degradation towards Jeff, a bit of voyeurism at the end (reader finds out mutt saw the whole thing)

Request: My fic thought for the night (up for grabs) but it’s Jeff pfister. Reader is a dancer/instructor and Jeff studies her for “jiggle physics”. Thought is definitely a smut

One again I am stealing a picture from @copy-of-a-cheeto because I love the icons they make. Thank you!!

Also thank you to @divineruler for proof reading

It was another day for you to begin with. You were working at a small gym in town after your other job hadn't really worked out. You were freshly graduated from college and needed somewhere to work while you looked for other opportunities, a gym was your best option. Now you weren't an avid gym person, but you did enjoy dancing so you ended up instructing a Zumba class. It was more of a hip hop class because your gym was right near a college town, and early 00s Spanish didn't reach college kids as much as hip hop and rap music.

This week you had specifically scheduled a dirty Thursday class, uncensored music and a lot of confidence boosting music. You were doing your last few songs, pushing everyone to their "sexy limits" as you put it. You had stripped off your tank top, now just in your sports bra and leggings. When you were stripping off your top, you had a few of your regulars whistle or cheer, some even joining you as they knew the choreography. You ended your last high energy song and started your cool downs, opting to leave the shirt off as you were definitely sweating right now.

The slow sounds of Just the two of Us by Grover Washington jr played through the speakers as you instructed your class to stretch out. As you faced them, you couldn't help but catch a glance of blonde hair from outside the glass doors to the room. It looked familiar but you couldn't put your finger on it as you continued your instruction. After you finished your cool down, you moved to gather your things as some of the students chatted with you. One of your best friends had walked out to run to the locker room and came back, running up to you and pinching your arm a bit. "You'll never guess who is outside looking for you." She whispered so others wouldn't hear.

Turning to her you rubbed the now pained part of your arm and raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Um I don't know, Ryan Reynolds ready to sweep me off my feet?" You asked and reached down to pick up your gym bag and tank top, choosing to toss it in the bag rather than putting it on. Your friend followed you out of the classroom with the rest of the remaining class. "No, it's fucking Jeff and Mutt from high school." She whispered and nodded to the front desk where they stood, talking to a receptionist. You looked at them for a second.

"And they have those same dumb haircuts from when they were 12." You choked back a quiet laugh as you approached the front desk. Mutt saw you first and then elbowed Jeff to look up at you. "Hey boys, long time no see." You said and walked up to the pair, holding out your membership card to the front desk people to clock you out. "What warrants such an abrupt visit from the resident horny weeb club." You said and led the boys out, your friend keeping a close distance behind the group.

"Hey y/n, can we talk to you alone? We have a job offer for you?" Mutt said and glanced at your friend. You stopped outside the gym and nodded to your friend to go to the car you shared. "What job could you two possibly have for me? Last I heard you guys were just trolling random people online and spam liking my Instagram pictures." You said and crossed your arms. You weren't really friends with the two in high school, but you did have a friendly teasing relationship with them, rather than really making fun of them like others did. You were really only nice because you never knew who'd end up going crazy, and you'd rather not be on someone's shit list.

"We recently ran into... a lot of money. And we wanted to hire you at our robotics company." Jeff said and gestured excitedly at you. He definitely was on something from the way he had a shake to his hands. "Uh... you two know I majored in archeology? I don't know the first thing past how to google." You said and looked mainly at Jeff. God if he didn't have that stupid haircut still, you'd be tempted to say he got hot. He's got a pretty good body and he looked pretty good in comparison to Mutt. It would help him a lot if he didn't still dress and look like he was 12.

"We're aware. It has nothing to do with your degree. Here, this is what you'd make if you come to work for us." Mutt grabbed a card from his pocket and a pen that hung from your bag pocket. When he handed you the paper you had to blink at the numbers for a second. "Annually?" "Weekly" Jeff corrected your question. You stared at the paper for a second. "How do I know you guys aren't just high or something? How'd you even find me?" You asked and Mutt and Jeff looked at each other before Jeff grabbed his keys from his pocket. He clicked the unlock button and a Rolls Royce beeped from where it was parked only a few spots away from where you stood. "If you're interested come pay us a visit." Mutt pointed at the business card he had handed you and the two walked to the car before you could say anything.

When you got home of course you researched the company name on the card. Kineros Robotics had made actual headlines and pictures of the men were on different sites about their sudden influx of money to their company from a generous anonymous donation. You glanced at the card and pursed your lips before pulling up Instagram, going to Jeff's page, glancing at the pictures he's posted and biting your lip. God you could really tell he was either still a virgin or very submissive in some sense. He wasn't like any of the gym bros that hit on you or messaged you. With a small surge of courage, you hit the 'message' button and typed out a quick text.

After messaging back and forth about the job opportunity for about two days, you found yourself standing outside the main entrance to the robotics lab. You walked down the hall to see glass doors and just a buzzer. You buzzed and were quickly let in. "You guys should get a receptionist or someth-" your words were cut off when you saw what was really in the room. There were humanoid robot figures and a lot of latex parts just laying around. A lot of these parts were tits or asses, all different shapes and sizes but there seemed to be something off with all of them.

"Hey I'm glad you made it. You can set yourself up in the room over there." Mutt said as he stared down at his computer. The room was all white, some windows around but pretty much all of them had shade covering them with little to no light peeking through. There was a pile of white powder sitting at each desk. Oh so they were coked out and making sex dolls. What the actual fuck did this have to do with you? "Set my stuff up...?" You asked softly and Jeff stood from his desk to lead you to the room.

"I didn't tell you what you were here for?" He asked as he opened the door to the next room. You shook your head and looked at the hardwood floor and speaker set up. "We need you to be a model. See... our last few latex prints came out... less than desirable- jiggle wise. Our math was way off and we need these to be as real as possible." Jeff said and walked to a small cabinet in the corner of the room. "I need you to put this on so we can monitor your motions to make our robots more realistic." He said and handed you what was barely any cloth. It looked like those dotted suits superheroes wore so their suits could be cgi but instead of a suit it was a bikini top and what is pretty much a skimpy pair of bottoms that were basically bathing suit bottoms with how little they covered.

"Jeff, you didn't mention this." You said and took the clothes slowly as he headed back out to the door. "Just put those on and I'll be back in a few." He said and glanced over your body again quickly before closing the door. You decided to send a quick text to your best friend- just a "here's what I'm doing in case I get murdered" text. After that you slipped the clothes on and stared at yourself in the mirror beside the little cabinet. You could tell this was a makeshift dance room. That was probably what they were looking for. Good thing jiggle physics was your thing in class.

Jeff came back a couple minutes later with a laptop in his hands. He stopped and gulped when he looked over your body in the skimpy outfit, quickly opting to sit on the ground as he monitored the points on the laptop. "Go ahead." He said and positioned the laptop on his lap, having to adjust himself a bit a couple of times. "Jeff... I need music." You said and moved to grab your phone, nodding to the speaker system, him shrugging and letting you do so. As you leaned over the speaker you glanced in the mirror beside you and he was very much staring right at your ass. God if he wasn't such a virgin you'd probably be disgusted. That was probably why they didn't know the right jiggle physics for a woman's body.

You started playing some of your best twerk music, trying to shake off how weird it was to have just Jeff staring at his computer then back to you as you danced. You tried to just close your eyes and get into the choreography as you ignored the awkwardness of Jeff obviously having a boner and you just twerking for him to collect data. You did a few hip swirls and then some quick shakes, glancing at yourself in the mirror. Honestly as you looked you didn't realize you had given Jeff a perfect look of your ass. He ran a hand through his hair as the song began to wrap up. You went to your phone to change the song and decided to strike up a small conversation.

"So… are you getting good data?" You asked and just got a simple nod from Jeff, his stupidly cute bowl cut bobbing back and forth as he nodded. "So you're making sex robots huh?" You asked as you looked through your playlist nonchalantly bending over a bit to give Jeff a good view of your chest. He once again responded with a nod as you started the next song. It was a bit more sexy than the last one. "Why don't you monitor the jiggle physics of sex then?" You asked as you lowered the volume of the song, starting your choreography, which included some moves where you're on the ground, shaking and bouncing as if you were riding someone. "I'm sure they are more accurate than me dancing." You said as you pushed yourself down to the ground chest first with your ass up and facing Jeff.

He adjusted a bit and you moved yourself a bit closer to where he was seated as he chose not to answer you. "If you want more accurate results Jeff, you need the jiggle physics of sex." You stated and gently moved the computer off his lap, placing it on the ground as you gently moved to straddle his legs. "The reason you and Mutt can't get the math right is because you need to really experience a woman's body during sex and neither of you could rope in a girl to fuck you for science. Am I right?" You asked Jeff as you leaned into him, settling yourself on his lap. His face was so red as his eyes kept flicking from your chest to your face. He just nodded silently to your question.

"Jeff, I'm gonna need you to verbally respond to me. I want to hear you say it." You said and ran your hands from his shoulders and down his chest. He took a deep shaky breath. "Fu- I need you to fuck me for science." He said softly and looked up to you as you tutted at him.

"No honey, the other thing." You said and pushed your fingers under the hem of his shirt. He gulped and took in another breath. "I can't get anyone to fuck me. Please y/n I need you." He pretty much whimpered under you as you pushed up to the balls of your feet, leaning forward and beginning to shake your ass a bit from where you sat on his lap. You rolled your hips slowly forwards and pushed your chest against his, leaning up next to his ear. "That's better." You whispered and then left a small wet kiss under his ear. Slowly working down his neck in small wet kisses and sucks.

You could feel his body tense as you reached down between you and gently palmed at him. God you could tell how hard he was without looking. You smirked a bit and continued to suck small hickies on his neck and under his ear as you quickly undid his button and fly, grabbing his dick from his boxers. Wow if you would've known he was packing you probably would've slept with him in high school, but everyone just assumed he wasn't and that was why he didn't get girls. You pumped him slowly and you could hear him let out small moans and whimpers, wanting to stay quiet on the off chance Mutt heard over the music.

As you pumped him you gently bit his earlobe to get his attention. "If you wanna get inside me baby, you gotta help me out." You said quietly and he nodded and willingly let you take his hands and place them on your ass. He gave a small gentle squeeze and you smirked as you felt him twitch in your hand. "God... fuck... holy shit..." he muttered as you rolled your hips against his thighs, wanting to at least stimulate yourself a little bit.

"You wanna make sure my monitoring is ok baby?" You whispered and he glanced over at the laptop, still reading the outfit you wore. You grabbed his cock again, now moving yourself to push your bottoms to the side. Slowly sinking down on to him, you could've sworn Jeff came right then. And he did. But that wasn't going to stop you from helping him out for the 'sake of science'. You grabbed his hands and placed them on your waist so as to not interfere with his readings. Slowly you began to bounce on him, feeling all parts of your body begin to bounce. Jeff was letting out the most sinful noises. Honestly it sounded like he only knew what moaning was from women in porn, but you didn't mind- honestly it was hot to have him be so responsive.

"Oh baby you're gonna be too loud, Mutt might interrupt us and you wouldn't want that would you? Don't want him to find you moaning like a whore for me." You said lowly as you reached up to gently squeeze his throat. He closed his mouth and nodded at you as you continued to bounce on him. God you could tell how close he was to coming again, but lord knows you weren't done with him. His moans got quieter but he still let out small whines from below you. You reached down to rub your own clit as you bounced on top of him. "Fuck baby, you wanna fuck me so bad? How about you get that data you need by pounding me from behind?" You muttered and climbed off of him.

He barely questioned you when you did so, only whining a little at the loss of contact. As you turned around and got on your knees, pushing your ass up in the air, he quickly moved to his own knees, pushing into you and beginning to thrust at a rapid pace. You could definitely tell his knowledge of sex is from video games and porn because he kinda went wild. He pounded hard and you couldn't help but moan out as he grabbed your waist with a tight grip. After he got a hang on his speed, he reached forwards and pulled you up, pushing you against the mirrored wall he had been leaning against, he paused momentarily to undo the bikini top, and as soon as it dropped to the ground he was grabbing your tits from behind.

You pushed back against him, your face now pushed against the foggy mirror as he thrusted into you hard. "Fuck.... fuck y/n." He grunted out quietly as his thrust became more sporadic and sloppy. You could tell he was gonna come again, so you reached behind your head and grabbed his hair firmly. "You're not coming again until I cum. You fucking hear me?" You groaned as he continued to thrust into you. He nodded and reached around in front of you, fumbling for your clit for a moment before you corrected his hand placement and showed him the correct movement. He rubbed quickly and in pace with his thrusts, you could tell from his look in the mirror that he was trying so hard not to cum.

As soon as you finally reached the edge, you let out a loud and pretty pornographic moan of his name mixed with some swearing and praises. "God... fuck Jeff you feel so good in me. I want you to cum baby. I want you to cum in me baby." You thrusted back on him and kept your hand firmly tugging at his hair. It was only seconds before he was coming in you, his own face twisted in pleasure as you looked at him through the mirror. He slowed to a stop and slowly removed himself from you. You only caught your breath for a couple moments before there was a knock on the door.

"Hey those were good readings, we're gonna need you here again tomorrow so we can get some other position readings." Mutt called through the door. You looked at Jeff. "Could he see the reading the whole time?" You asked Jeff quietly. He bit his lips and nodded. "I assumed you knew because you saw this room through the glass when you walked in." Jeff said and pointed to the mirror which was in fact a one way mirror you had seen walking in from the lab, which you falsely assumed was a window because of the shade. "So mutt saw the whole thing?" You asked softly, slowly piecing everything together. Jeff nodded, scared you were gonna be upset. You only shrugged and reached over to gently grab his throat again. "Guess now he knows how good of a whore you are for me then." And god if he hadn't just come, Jeff probably would've come again from that action alone. Damn you were gonna have fun working here.

#jeff pfister #jeff pfister x reader #ahs apocalypse #Jeff pfister smut #fic thoughts fulfilled

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myherowritings · 4 years

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All That Ass

— One night at the gym, you see a handsome guy with so much ass, you take a picture on the sly and send it to your number neighbor, Bakugou, to freak out over. But what you don’t expect is for him to reply with a picture of you from the same gym.

pairing: bakugou katsuki x f!reader word count: 1,876 genre: number neighbor au!!, fluff

a/n: this is a bonus “what if” scenario based on these asks i received about baku and y/n meeting at the gym while he’s doing leg/butt day LOLOL,, just to be clear, this isn’t a canon part of the nn-verse! it’s just a hypothetical oneshot answering the question “what if they had met this way” AND I THINK IT’S SUPER CUTE!! i hope you enjoy and pls lmk what you think !! xx

“So… Does anyone want to go to the gym with me?” you asked cheerfully, sending a pointed look Shinsou’s way.

You knew Midoriya had already gone this morning (though, if you asked, there was no doubt in your mind he would go again), and Todoroki had just come back from swimming laps at the pool, so your roommate, Shinsou, was your best bet.

Too bad said roommate would rather stay home and play outdated games than workout with you.

When he didn’t reply for a solid five minutes, you poked him on the bicep-- How he actually had muscles considering how lazy he was would undoubtedly remain the world’s biggest mystery.

“Hello? Earth to Shinsou?”

He slowly tore his gaze away from the television, looking up at you from his seat on the couch. “Did you say something?”

Giving him your best smile while fluttering your lashes, you sang, “Does the best roomie in the world want to go to the gym with me?”

“No.” Shinsou hardly blinked.

Your mouth formed a small ‘o’. “Wha--? That’s it? You’re not even going to give an excuse?”

“Nope. Just go by yourself,” he dismissed. “You always talk about how you’re a ‘strong, independent woman’, correct?”

You scratched the back of your neck-- A habit you picked up from him over the years. “Well, yes…”

“And strong, independent women should be able to go to the gym by themselves, right?

The only way you could respond was with an incredulous nod.

“Glad we could agree,” said Shinsou with a wry smile. “Have fun at the gym, then!”

“I… Thank you…?”

And with a slightly confused expression you grabbed your keys and duffle bag and walked out of the door to the recreation center near your apartment, vaguely hearing Shinsou chuckling in the background.

It wasn't until you felt the chilling breeze of the outdoors that you snapped out of your trance.

“Dammit,” you muttered under your breath. How was he always so persuasive? Sure, at times you could be the slightest bit gullible, but regardless, his skills were almost inhuman.

You huffed, shaking your head as you entered the reception area of the gym. After showing the workers your membership and brushing your hair out of your face, you headed upstairs to do some cardio.

“Excuse me, are you done with the StairMaster?” you asked the blond-haired guy wiping down the only open machine.

A bead of sweat trailed down the side of his face to his neck and you had to avert your gaze before he could catch you gawking.

“Just finished,” he said, his voice a gruff timbre that was surprisingly pleasant to the ear. He finished wiping down the handles and nodded your way. “Go for it.”

You beamed, setting your water bottle and phone on the machine to get situated. “Thank you so much!”

He huffed. “Yeah, whatever.”

That wasn’t exactly a warm ‘you’re welcome’, but you shrugged it off with a small smile, stepping on the stairs and starting a light warmup.

You placed your earphones in and played some music to set the mood, ready to work up a sweat. Cardio was a pain, but it was worth it if it meant having a nice butt. (As well as making your heart stronger and increasing your lung capacity, you supposed, but those were mere seconds to the booty gains.)

As you upped the speed and got into the swing of things, you felt your eyes wandering around the room to your favorite part of the gym-- The squat and deadlift area. You noticed a handful of people were littered among the equipment and after your short inspection, you hummed to yourself.

Yup, things were definitely looking good there.

Absentmindedly, you saw your screen light up out of the corner of your eye and you unlocked your phone, briefly checking your messages. Or rather, checking for a certain message from a certain someone.

Still no reply? you sighed, placing your phone back on the StairMaster and trying to distract yourself by looking back at the students doing some leg exercises.

Almost instantaneously, your eyes were drawn to the blond who was using the cardio stairs just before you came.

StairMaster plus squatting what was easily 75 kilograms within ten minutes? You had to stop yourself from practically swooning on the spot. That was some serious gluteal strength he must’ve had.

He was finishing up his current rep of back squats, cheeks flushed pink and hair sticking to the sides of his face with sweat. Not only did he look unfairly handsome, but he had a hot body as well.

His arms were toned with a nice amount of muscles on his biceps and triceps--oh, goodness, his triceps were really something else--and he had impeccable posture as he squatted. (Not that his posture was the first thing you noticed about his squat, of course.)

You were staring so intently at this beautiful specimen of a man that he himself noticed, pausing briefly to try to find the source of the laser beams he felt on his behind. Before he could catch you gawking, however, you tore your gaze away and grabbed your phone, trying to pretend you were on it this whole time.

When he looked away, you sighed in relief, opening your camera app and peering at him through the screen.

You weren’t sure why, but you had a gut feeling your number neighbor, Bakugou, would’ve loved to share this beautiful sight with you. He seemed to be having a bad day and you figured a nice booty would be just the thing to cheer him up. So, really, you only wanted to take a picture of the hot gym guy out of the kindness of your own heart.

After snapping the photo, you sent a quick series of texts freaking out to your ‘bakubestie’ along with an attachment of the image of the blond guy’s backside.

Y/N: *Attachment: 1 Image*

Y/N: HDJSJDJD IK I’M LIKE QUADRUPLE TEXTING RN AND I’M SORRY (but rly what’s new)

Y/N: BUT I THOUGHT YOU WOULD APPRECIATE THIS PIC IDK WHY DON’T QUESTION MY IMPULSES OK

Y/N: i’m at the gym and this hot (albeit a lil bit of a grumpy grump :/) guy is here and woW

Y/N: like i’m just trying to work out in peace but his ass is all “hi there ( )( ) how are you ( )( )” AND I FEEL SO ATTACKED,, how is one person allowed to have all that ass? save some for the rest of us pls bro

After getting a good percentage of your thoughts and thirst out, you let out a sigh of liberation, upping the intensity of the StairMaster to further get your jitters out.

As you continued scrolling through your phone to check for texts from your roommates, you heard a bark of incredulous laughter from the other side of the room. You distractedly looked up, but after seeing nothing out of the ordinary other than the hot guy grinning at his phone, you shrugged and placed your cell down to get back to your workout.

The intense climbing only lasted for about three minutes before you got a text message from Bakugou (which you knew only because his text tone was ‘It’s so fluffy!’ from Despicable Me while everyone else’s was the default chime). A bright smile made its way to your face as you lowered the speed once again, taking a drink from your water bottle to cool down before eagerly glancing at your screen.

bakubestie: *Attachment: 1 Image*

Curiously, you took a look at the picture Bakugou sent. It was one of someone in the gym that looked quite similar to the one you were in, wearing the same workout clothes you were currently wearing… In fact, it looked like the photo was taken just now from inside the room, right next to the squatting area…

bakubestie: Too much ass, huh? I could say the same about you

You blinked, taking a few moments to process just what exactly was happening before you yelped in surprise. “What the--?!”

Your face fumed, head snapping up from your phone so fast you lost your balance and tripped on the incoming stair of the machine. Losing footing, you barely had time to let out a brief, “Oh, shit!” before falling down the StairMaster and onto your butt on the hard floor.

“Ouchie…”

There was a moment of silence before a booming laughter was heard from the opposite side of the room, and a mixture of dread and excitement filled your stomach.

Dread because if your suspicions were correct, the guy from the gym you were thirsting over to your number neighbor was your number neighbor. And excitement because--hello--you were finally going to meet your number neighbor! (That was, of course, if he didn’t run out of the gym at the very moment.) You were so excited that you couldn’t even dwell on the utter embarrassment any normal person would probably be feeling.

The scuffling of footsteps moved closer as you rubbed the side of your hip that landed on the ground.

“Tch,” you heard from above you. You looked up to see an amused expression on the blond gym guy’s face as he extended a hand out to you and checked for any injuries. “You really are a dumbass.”

Your heart skipped a beat at his all too familiar tone, and you winked cheekily at him while accepting his hand and standing upright. “And you really have a nice ass.”

Bakugou rolled his eyes as he fought off the blush on his face, your compliment catching him off guard. “Okay, well-- Now I know for sure it is you.”

With an excited grin, you jumped up and down on the balls of your feet. You were filled with nerves and butterflies and you wanted nothing more than to tackle your number neighbor into the biggest hug you could muster.

“You are okay though, right?” he asked, the smallest hint of worry in his features.

The little crinkle between his brows was so adorable that you just couldn’t help yourself. Your grin widened even more and your face began to hurt from smiling so much. You were certain you looked like a fool, but you didn’t care.

Before you could second guess yourself, you stood on your tiptoes and threw your arms around his neck to tackle him into a proper bear hug. Bakugou was still a bit sweaty and warm from working out--and you most definitely you weren’t looking any better yourself--but that didn’t change the fact that he felt cozy and safe and smelled faintly like your favorite caramel treat at the candy store.

“Yes. I’m better than okay,” you murmured into his shoulder. “It’s nice to meet you, bestie.”

Bakugou froze in shock before letting out a breathy chuckle, slowly wrapping his arms around your waist as you shifted so your head rested against his chest. His hand lingered on the small of your back as he peer down at you with what looked like a smile of his own and you wished you could capture that moment in a frame and relive it forever.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Y/N.”

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ecto-american · 5 years

Text

October Nights C2

Ectober fanfiction || Day One || On AO3

Summary: Danny may have died, but he is certainly not gone. And he refuses to be forgotten.

Day 2: Tarot & Stalker

"Sam, you have to go to school. This isn't optional, get up. You can't keep laying in bed all day. I know it's difficult, but you can't live your life forever in your room."

Her mom's words rattled in her empty mind as she sat shotgun in Tucker's Jeep. Physically, she felt a bit better. After finally taking a long hot shower, washing her hair and dressing in all black on black, she had a feeling of being refreshed. She wore no makeup, allowing for her dark circles from sleepless nights thinking about him.

They used to fly to school together. The Phantom Express, she'd call it. Danny always held onto her tightly, hugging her close. Despite being a ghost, he always felt so warm. He always made her feel so safe that high in the air.

"Hey Sam, were you wanting to join us after school at the gym? Or Nasty Burger? You could probably just sit in the massage chairs if nothing else."

Sam glanced up at Tucker. Ever since their freshman year, he had grown too. Now supporting a short beard and muscles of his own, Sam admitted that her friend grew up handsome as he now stood as the tallest of the trio-the ex-trio. Two years ago they all got gym memberships and went together, to stay in better ghost hunting shape. Their new routine had become the gym before the Nasty Burger, now a reward for the exercise.

"...I should," Sam said quietly as she pressed her forehead to the cold window, staring as they passed FentonWorks. She'd never be Sam Fenton now. "I need to get out. Do things. Continue on, but I just." She felt hot tears beginning to form. She was glad she opted for no makeup.

"I know, Sam," Tucker said quietly. She felt his hand reach out and grab her shoulder to squeeze comfortingly. "Please come to the gym with us and eat. If you can't do it, I'll just take you home early. I'm just worried, and I know Paulina's been worried about you too."

"Yeah, she's been texting me," Sam sighed. She stared out at the street as the warmth of orange, red and yellow were decorating the streets as the headlights shined on it. It was still dark out, but she could see that leaves were everywhere, sticking to buildings and parked cars. Slight blurs of colored jackets as people prepared for the sweater weather, but the people out at this hour were sparse. Nobody really walked to school this time of year anymore, more people relied on the bus or somebody to drive them.

A flash of a figure caught her eye as they drove past. A familiar red jacket and purple backpack worn by a figure with snow white hair. A black jumpsuit, and piercing red eyes that she could only point out due to the glowing shine. They stared her down. She couldn't look away, swallowing nervously.

"Did you see that?" Sam questioned, glancing to Tucker. Tucker jerked his head around, curiously.

"See what?" he asked. Sam shook her head, leaning back in her seat.

"Nothing, just this kid that, uh...yeah."

Tucker could guess her thoughts, and he gave a small grimace as he looked forward. They sat in silence as he slowed down for a red light, bringing the car to a gentle stop. Sam heard Tucker cough and shift in his seat, sniffling a bit. She glanced over to him to see the faint reflection of a tear running down his cheek.

"...I miss him, Sam," he eventually whispered. Sam's words got caught in her throat, and she simply made a pitiful noise of acknowledgement. The light turned green, and Tucker continued one. "I miss him so much."

Sam's breath came out ragged for a moment as she tried to compose herself, stop herself from crying. There was nothing she wanted more than to tell Tucker to please just turn around and drop her off at home. She couldn't do today. How was she supposed to sit in English class when Danny wasn't going to be sitting behind her, idly playing with or braiding her hair? Where was she going to put her feet up during lunch when Danny's lap was now gone? Who was going to fly her home? The reality of none of this happening today, tomorrow, next week, next month, ever, continued hitting Sam like a battering ram.

"I wanna go home," Sam finally whimpered softly. Tucker's hand reached out for hers, and she took it, squeezing it. He held hers tightly.

"We'll get through it," he promised her. "Just gotta take it day by day."

"What if I can't?" she asked.

"Then you take it hour by hour," he replied.

A rush of guilt flooded her. She knew Tucker was just trying to be strong for her. He and Danny were best friends before Sam even entered the picture. This hurt him too. How selfish of her to constantly stay locked up in her room, mourning her boyfriend when her best friend was also mourning his childhood bestie.

"We can do it," she forced herself to say. She was very skeptical of this.

Tucker let go of her hand to grasp the steering wheel, flicking his turn signal on. He slowed, glancing to assure he was clear to turn into the Casper High parking lot. Sam stared out her window as Tucker turned, freezing as she saw the headlights briefly illuminate a figure. Only a brief glance, but she still caught the red and purple with white. Her heart froze, and she immediately shifted in her seat to turn to look through the back window, but there was nobody lit up in the taillights.

"Whatcha looking for?" Tucker questioned. Sam shook her head, sighing a bit as she settled back into her seat.

"I...I thought I saw a cat," she lied. Tucker frowned, but he didn't comment.

He pulled into a free parking space, and Sam saw the small crowd of students trickling in. After he parked, the duo undid their seatbelts and gathered their things. The cold air hit Sam as she opened the door, and she shivered. She adjusted her jacket, zipping it up as she slipped her backpack on. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as a unique anxiety filled her, a feeling of uneasiness.

She looked around, but spotted nothing out of the ordinary. Goosebumps still rose all over her arms, and she slipped her hands under her sleeves to rub at them. Sam just must be cold. It was nearly freezing outside.

"Sam, you coming?" Tucker called out to her, and she immediately turned to him. He had taken a few steps towards school, and she hurriedly caught up to him.

"Yeah, I'm just...kinda out of it," she confessed. Tucker wrapped an arm around her shoulders, squeezing her as they began to walk in step together.

"Hour by hour," he reminded her. Having Tucker nearby helped ease some of her anxiety, but there was still something amiss. Even as they entered the school, both sighing in relief as the school had an instant heat to combat the cold October air, Sam could still feel...something. Being watched.

She looked over her shoulder, trying to find anything. Nothing seemed to be there but the normal crowd of students. Her eyes scanned them, trying to spy one that was staring at her, but she couldn't find one. It only made her feel more uneasy, and she leaned more into Tucker as they stopped by their lockers.

Sam stared at the locker. She missed Danny opening her locker for her, with a flick of an intangible finger. Tucker's locker closed, and she felt him pat her back.

"I'll see you in third period," he told her, and she could only numbly nod, glancing after him only for a moment as he disappeared.

A deep sigh escaped her as a shiver went up her spine. Urgency forced her heart to race with anxiety, and she looked around for the cause. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing staring at her. Despite feeling somebody's eyes locking onto her with an intense gaze. Her fingers began to fumble with the lock combination, turning it. Ah, fuck. Missed it. Had to restart.

Nervous sweat began to collect on her forehead as she knew an intense gaze was turning into a staredown. She fumbled to turn the lock combination correctly. God damn it, she had to restart. Her fingers were beginning to shake as she tried to hurriedly do it again, a panic beginning to settle in as she rapidly turned the lock, hoping that approximation would get her locker open.

Sam could swear that she could hear the familiar sound of somebody breathing right next to her. Right into her ear, despite nothing touching her to indicate a person was there and standing so close. Even the warm breath was tickling her ear, and she wanted to cry. Tears of fright began to collect as she frantically tried a final time. It didn't work again, and her hand was visibly shaking hard.

"Hey, let me," a gentle voice said, and Sam let out a panicky gasp. She saw Paulina standing near her, but nowhere near where the breathing was. Paulina also stood about her height, nowhere able to spook her like that.

The girl looked concerned for her, and Sam surrendered her shaking hand to tuck into herself. She crossed her arms and shivered, feeling one of the beads of sweat drip down her forehead. Paulina opened her locker on the first time, standing off to the side.

"You okay?" Paulina questioned, cocking her head slightly. Sam shook her head no, but she didn't speak. She simply stepped forward, sliding her backpack off and beginning to exchange it out. "Sam, what's going on?" Sam's throat felt so dry, and despite the breath being gone, she still felt so watched.

"I-I-I dunno," she half-lied. She sniffled hard, wiping her eyes with the palm of her hand.

Sam just wanted the day to be over with, and she stared at her schoolbooks. She forced as many as she could into the backpack to prevent having to be back in at the locker again, but her spider backpack was fairly small. She'd have to carry most of them. But maybe if she just took all of her books home, her mom would let her get away with just being home all semester. Do all of her work there, and have Tucker or Paulina bring it to school.

"Are you leaving?" Paulina asked, glancing into her locker as Sam began to hurriedly take everything she could out. Sam shrugged, sniffling more. The feeling of being watched had died down a bit. Paulina being there, somebody she knew, just being around made her feel better, but paranoia was still at the back of her mind.

"I just wanna go home," Sam managed to croak out.

Paulina seemed to understand, at least somewhat anyway, and she opened her arms for her. Sam immediately accepted the hug, sniffling harder. Once Sam pulled away, Paulina reached into her purse to give her a travel pack of tissues. She accepted it and wiped her eyes before blowing her nose.

"Come on," Paulina told her. The girl dug through her purse until she produced a reusable canvas bag. Like many girls at the school, Paulina opted to just use her oversized purse as a bag, relying on the reusable canvas bag for if she had to lug home a bunch of books. Paulina shook the bag a bit, forcing it to unfold before holding it open for her.

"Thank you," Sam replied quietly.

She began to shove the rest of the books into the canvas bag as her friend patiently held it open for her. Paulina said nothing, simply watching as the goth also began to empty her locker of it's accessories. Pictures, her locker mirror, extra pencil bag, a spare set of clothes. Paulina soon had rested the bag on the floor due to the weight, and Sam folded her shirt to squeeze into the bag.

"Don't forget that," Paulina spoke up, nodding at the back of the locker. Sam stood up, peering into the locker, and she felt her heart race.

It was a tarot card, pressed flat against the back of the locker Sam had tarot cards, but she had never brought them to school before. Neither Danny nor Tucker ever messed with them either, so where…

Sam frowned, reaching into the locker to grab the tarot card. To her surprise, it was stuck. She had to use a nail at the sides to pry the beginning parts of it off, and she soon was able to pull it off. Sam flipped it over to see what made it stuck. It was a sticky green substance. Confused, she sniffed it, only to be hit with an oh-too-familiar scent. Ectoplasm.

She nervously glanced around, but saw nothing. But of course...should she really expect to see a stalker that could turn invisible.

"That's a tarot card, right?" Paulina asked, glancing curiously at it. "Are you missing one from your deck?" Sam shook her head no, and she turned around to see which card it was.

And it made her numb. The Hanged Man card.

Rationally, she knew it wasn't a sign that she was going to die. But that card...it represented sacrifice. It could be read as sacrificing so much, potentially everything, only to receive nothing in return. It always felt like a very bitter card to her whenever she read it. A card that meant you giving your all, only to get nothing in return, for nothing to go according to plan. For ultimately, failure to happen.

She bit her lower up, and she shoved it into her spider backpack. Sam forced a smile to Paulina as she shut her locker.

"Thank you. I'll return the bag as soon as possible," she replied. She slipped her bag onto her back, picking up the canvas bag. It felt heavy, and she knew walking home was going to be horrible.

Paulina shot her an understanding smile.

"Please come over later," she requested. "We'll make some food and hang, it'll be good. I know school's a bit much, but I don't want you to rot away in your room. Just you and me." That did sound a bit appealing...While Sam loved Tucker, most of her memories with Tucker also included…

Maybe a hangout with Paulina was just what she needed.

"I'll call you," she promised. Paulina beamed, and she gave her another half-hug before bidding her goodbye.

Sam shifted to carry the bag with both hands, heading towards the front doors of the school. The second she stepped outside, she breathed in the fall air. It was strangely comforting, but the cold air brought on another feeling. An overwhelming fear came back in a gut punch.

Her head shot from side to side, trying to spy anything in the darkness. Shadows seemed to morph into monsters, their constantly growing and looming forms fueled by her paranoid mind. The typical noises of fall, the wind rustling through the trees and leaves blowing across the ground were now masking any sounds of somebody stalking around. No cars passing, no distant headlights only cemented how completely alone she was right now. Tears began to sting her eyes, and she stood up straight.

She fought ghosts for years. She could manage a measly walk home. This wasn't even a new walk. Sam literally walked this route hundreds of times.

Sam went down the steps of the school, each footprint softly echoing in the now silent streets. It only added to her nerves, expecting a second set of footprints to suddenly appear. She looked straight ahead, only to stop dead in her tracks.

Across the street, on the other side just underneath a lamppost, stood an unmoving figure. Even at a distance, she could recognize a red jacket and white hair. His hand, a white gloved one, was resting on the strap of a familiar purple backpack. There was no more blood or ectoplasm covering his jumpsuit. He had cleaned up since last night.

Without any doubt in her mind, Sam knew, she just knew, that this figure was absolutely fixated on her. Her heart pounded, and she took a step to the side as she tried to back up. The figure's head subtly moved to follow her movements.

Oh hell no. Panic overtook anything, and she immediately turned to run up the stairs and back into the school. With tears freely streaming down her cheeks, she dug around her pockets for her phone. She dialed her mom's number, and the second her mom answered, Sam began to openly cry.

"Mom, please," she begged. "I wanna go home. Can you come get me?"

Pamela was quiet for a moment, but thankfully, she seemed to sense Sam's desperation. Sam looked out the window. The figure had crossed the street and was staring at her. Now closer, she saw those red eyes continuing to stare at her. Not malicious. Not welcoming. Just...watching.

"Alright. I'll send your dad to come get you."

#ectoberweek19 #ectober #my ectober #phics #my phics #danny phantom #sam manson #tucker foley #paulina sanchez #i am EARLY my DUDES have some ANGST CITY #october nights

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thoscheiongallifrey · 5 years

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Top best moments of the last year and top best moments of this year

Ask me my “TOP 5” anything!

2018: in no particular order

attending my first Pride with my sis and scream-singing “Born this Way” while waving a rainbow-flag. Awesome

seeing Fall Out Boy in concert

I got my driver’s license, moved in with my boyfriend and got my first job during this year. I call this: Major lifetime steps. It feels like one big moment/movement in my life that’s why it’s summed up.

I have no idea why but the moment me and my boyfriend were at our hotel in Berlin and we just decided to take a nap. We fell asleep all cuddled up together and just spend a few hours sleeping, tired from walking all day. I smile thinking of this. I cherish the stillness and relaxation with him so much

It was late September and we took a small trip to the Swiss Alps, perticulary the Bernina passage. I reeeally wanted to dip my feet into one of the lakes up there but didn’t feel curagous enough to just do it. My boyfriend just rolled his eyes and ran down to a small lake, took off his shoes and went in. I started laughing and ran after him. My mother was terrified and called us insane. I loved it so so much. He gives me the courage to do things

2019: in no particular order (it’s only February okay)

building a giant LEGO Saturn V rocket. Freaking awesome wooohoo

I got invited to ONE job interview in January and got the job.

I have finally the mental capacity to start thinking about hobbies. Like I started learning American Sign Language just because I can.

I have quit my gym membership. Honestly it was a huge step for me to admit that I wasn’t ready for it. I am GLAD I did it. Like finally I don’t feel bad about sports. It’s just not the right thing for me right now.

I have received all my credits for my Master degree. I will hand in the documentation to get it tomorrow or even today. give me a few weeks and I will be finally the Master and NO STUDENT ANYMORE. omg.

also one moment from 2018 I want to add: “I see Fire” during sunset at the Ed Sheeran concert. *___* heell yeah. Also riding a giant unicorn floatie on the Zugersee was so memorable.

aand a major plan for 2019: I want to get my Swiss passport. Intimidating bürocratic stuff but I want it.

#thank you nonny for this ask #like this makes me feel full of gratitude <3 #I am filled with anxiety sooo often #but honestly remembering how awesome things are in my life right now #it's beautiful #more asks more ask *___*#personal #gratitude #Memories

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ourshineeshrine · 7 years

Text

My Number One Fan

Chapter 23 Pairing: JongKey Word Count: 4,612 Summary: Kibum goes to the same, run-down bar every week to watch the man of his affections sing his heart out with a mere guitar for company. He wasn’t expecting the coffee, nor the beautiful personality within the singer. And he definitely wasn’t expecting to fall in love.

A/N: this chapter seems a little boring, idk? it all heats up next chapter though so wooo! for now, enjoy <3

Soon enough Wednesday had arrived, and for the first time in a short while Kibum found himself sitting in the dance room with both Taemin and Minho at lunchtime. Minho had looked the upmost relieved when Kibum had told him that he’d made up with Taemin, but that didn’t stop the awkward aura from lingering around Minho as he interacted with Taemin for the first time since the incident in the hallway.

It was more than obvious to observe that the two hadn’t spoken about what had transpired that day, but Kibum decided against bringing it up, and tried desperately to talk about the things that were going on in his life instead. And well, according to both Taemin and Minho, that meant Jonghyun.

“Have you two screwed yet?” had been the first question Taemin had asked, leaning forward devilishly in an attempt to read Kibum’s expression. The hesitation Kibum had in replying was all he needed as a response. The first year sniggered wildly whilst shooting Kibum scandalous looks, nudging Minho in the ribs as though it was the most amusing thing he’d ever heard. “That’s nasty, Kibum.”

Kibum stuttered. “N-No, we haven’t! We haven’t gone that far yet…I was just shocked by the question.”

“But you’ve done something along those lines, right?” Taemin was hitting the nail on the head, but Kibum merely shrugged and looked away.

“Who cares about that?” he replied, a bright crimson adorning him cheeks.

Minho and Taemin chortled loudly, shooting Kibum the most suggestive looks they could muster. Astounded by their immaturity (and adorableness, but he wouldn’t admit that aloud), Kibum could only roll his eyes and attempt to change the subject. Before he could speak up however, Minho was doing it for him.

“Actually, Kibum,” he began, in between his bouts of laughter. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“Hm?”

Shyness and uncertainty weaved its way into Minho’s expression, and he took one last deciding breath before speaking what was on his mind. “Well…Since you two are so close and all…I was thinking that maybe you could set me up on a date with Amber? Or something?”

Kibum blinked before turning his head in astonishment to gauge Taemin’s reaction. He could tell that the younger boy was trying as hard as he could to keep a straight, interested face, but the faint furrows between his brows told Kibum that he felt otherwise. Jealousy burned behind his eyes, and Kibum took note of the way his fists clenched tightly at the fabric of his pants.

“Oh…Right.” Kibum spoke, biting his bottom lip awkwardly. “Look, Minho…It’s just that Amber doesn’t normally like people or wanna date them like that, y’know? She’s not into all that serious stuff and she probably wouldn’t stay committed. I don’t want you going down that black hole, Minho.”

It was true, certainly. For as long as he’d known Amber (which was quite a while), he’d never actually seen her in a serious relationship. Sure, she’d done a bit of mucking around but labelling someone as her boyfriend or girlfriend? It would probably be a few more years until any of that sort happened. Maybe he would have tried to set them up if the circumstances had been a little different. But Taemin had a huge crush on Minho and it was safe to say that Kibum would rather see those two together than Minho and Amber. And he definitely didn’t want to see Taemin’s heart breaking when the object of his affections ditched him for a girl because God knows that Kibum knew how that felt.

Taemin’s shoulders visibly sagged in relief and Minho sighed deeply in disappointment. “I figured that.” he replied, and Kibum was again reminded of how amazingly understanding Minho was. “Oh well, I suppose. It was worth a try.”

Kibum smiled grimly and patted Minho’s shoulder. “It’s alright, buddy. There’s plenty of other people out there who are worth your time. You just gotta open your frog-like eyes a little wider.”

“Oi!” laughed Minho, which was followed by a loud snort from Taemin.

“Don’t mock his eyes, Kibum. He gets a little defensive about resembling an amphibian.”

Laughing out loud, Kibum turned to face Minho with fake apology swimming in his eyes. “Sorry, Kermit. It won’t happen again.”

Minho’s mouth dropped in disbelief and Taemin squealed in amusement, and Kibum had never been so glad to be reunited with his friends once again. But, bladder was calling, and so regrettably Kibum dismissed himself to go use the bathroom. “I’ll be right back, guys.”

Upon Kibum’s departure, the attention was focused solely on Minho and Taemin, where Minho was regarding the first year with caution and concern. An awkward silence lingered in the air and Taemin’s gaze was directed at only the floor beneath him. “So um, Taem…you know about what I overheard the other day, about Kai? You know you can tell me about that, right? We’re best friends. I don’t want you thinking that you can’t trust me or tell me things that might be worrying you.”

For a few moments Taemin remained silent before reluctantly lifting his gaze to meet Minho’s. His mouth felt dry and his throat tight, but he recalled what Kibum had told him about Minho’s kindness and understanding. Taemin knew that. Of course he did. Minho was easily the purest and most loyal person Taemin had ever known. And so because of that, it was with a little hesitation that Taemin began confessing what had happened back then with Kai.

“It’s true.” he began. “I-I did kiss Kai. I guess I had a little crush on him, I don’t know. I thought he liked me too, to be honest. That’s why I did it. But um…” Taemin worried his lip and subconsciously picked at his fingernails. “He didn’t feel the same, obviously. He punched me, left and never really spoke to me again. He just told everyone in my year level that I was disgusting and gay—But I’m not! Just so you know, I’m not gay. I just liked him. That’s all, I swear.”

“Taemin…” spoke Minho softly. “Even if you were gay, you know I wouldn’t give a shit right? Kibum’s gay and I don’t treat him any different.”

Taemin nodded. “I know that! But I’m really not gay, okay? I’d tell you if I thought I was. You really don’t think it’s disgusting?”

Minho leant forward to ruffle Taemin’s hair. “Never, Taeminnie. I just think that Kai is a real fucking jerk and that I should go beat him up right now.”

“No!” Taemin laughed. “Don’t do that, please! It’ll probably make it even worse.”

“Alright…If you say so. Ah, Taemin, you’re seriously awesome. I’m so glad you’re my best friend.”

A barely noticeable blush coloured Taemin’s cheeks and he grinned giddily. “Same here…Kermit.”

Jonghyun laid on his bed sloppily, scrolling through his twitter feed and laughing quietly to himself every so often at an amusing meme which had appeared. Being an aspiring musician who only works Sundays and doesn’t go to university (which Jonghyun wasn’t sure if he regretted quite yet), it was obvious to see that Jonghyun had plenty of time on his hands to simply lounge around at home and do nothing. Seodam had been trying to convince him to get out of the house more often with a gym membership or a part time job, but it wasn’t as though he had any bills to pay and staying at home all day was more than okay to Jonghyun.

A steady knock sounded at his bedroom door, and Jonghyun hummed loudly in response. The door creaked open and Seodam popped her head around the corner, smiling slyly at Jonghyun’s figure. “Hello, brother.”

Jonghyun looked up from his phone and greeted his sister with a frown. “Hello? Back from work already?”

The medical student laughed and gestured to her watch. “Jonghyun, it’s already four o’clock.”

“Oh. Well was it fun then?”

Seodam grinned mischievously, walking in and taking a seat on Jonghyun’s desk chair. “I guess so…But I’m sure it wasn’t as fun as what transpired here on Sunday night, right?”

It took a while for the words to process in Jonghyun’s head, but once they had he choked loudly on his spit and regarded Seodam with large, worried eyes. “W-What the heck are you talking about?”

“Oh, Hyun-ah…Darling…You know what I’m talking about.”

Jonghyun casually shrugged his shoulders and returned his gaze back to the screen of his phone. “No, actually. I’m afraid I don’t.”

His mother had joined them now, and was leaning against the doorframe with an uncharacteristically evil smile adorning her expression. Jonghyun shifted nervously in his position on the bed, and felt his cheeks automatically flush red in embarrassment. The two females shared a strange look and Jonghyun attempted as best as he could to simply ignore them. That proved a lot harder than it seemed when Seodam started speaking once again.

“Need me to jog your memory? I think it went something like…” her voice lifted in pitch, and she gripped a nearby pillow tightly in her grasp with eyes clenched shut. “Ngh—Kibum!”

Jonghyun picked up the cushion beneath him and tossed it roughly at his sister. “What the fuck, shut up, Seodam! Why do you sound like a ten year old girl, anyway?”

Seodam threw her arms up in surrender. “Hey! Don’t blame me, I’m just copying what I heard. Sorry to break it to you, buddy, but that’s literally how you sounded. And mum, tell your son off please. He threw a pillow at me for no reason.”

“I had plenty of reason! Frickin’ hell, you’re so immature. Get lost.”

His cheeks were practically crimson now, and Jonghyun refused to make any sort of eye contact with his mother who had witnessed the whole conversation. Had he seriously sounded like that? Jonghyun had honestly never felt so humiliated in his entire life. The topic of sex was already embarrassing enough, but for his family to have heard him? At that moment Jonghyun was seriously contemplating curling up into a ball and dying beneath his duvet.

“Seodam, stop hassling your brother. And Jonghyun, stop throwing pillows around.” his mother laughed, moving to leave the room with a departing wink. “Oh, and maybe make sure we’re not home next time you decide to…get frisky.”

Jonghyun groaned loudly in aggravation. “Frisky? Are you kidding me? This family sucks.”

Still seated in the desk chair, Seodam chuckled good-naturedly. “Calm down, we’re just messing with you, Hyun-ah. But seriously, how was it? Did Kibum enjoy it?”

Deadpan, Jonghyun simply stared at Seodam in disbelief. “We are not having this conversation right now.”

“Oh yes we are, buddy. I know you’re not very experienced in that department so tell me, did Kibum enjoy it? That’s very important in a relationship, y’know.”

“What the heck do you know about my experience…” he muttered quietly, before simply rolling his eyes and answering the question at hand. “And I’m not sure? I’m pretty sure he did. You tell me. You were the one listening in, after all.”

Poking her tongue out playfully, Seodam offered a simple shrug in response to Jonghyun’s accusations. “Don’t go kink shaming me, buddy. Now listen here, I’ve dealt with a lot of guys like Kibum before and let me tell you, I know what they like—“

Jonghyun had honest to God never been so lost for words in his entire life. Here his sister was, sitting on his chair, and trying to give him sex advice nonetheless. “—Seodam, in case you’ve forgotten I too am I guy. I’m pretty sure I know what they like.”

“It’s different when there’s two people.”

“If I want sex advice, I’ll just go watch porn or something. No offence, but this isn’t the type of thing you want to hear from your sister.”

Seodam’s jaw dropped and she shook her head ferociously before diving onto the bed beside Jonghyun. “Nope, nope, nope! Don’t you know porn is a bunch of bullshit? Hearing this from your sister is better than gaining some shitty unrealistic advice from porn. You don’t have anything better to do, so I’m going to tell you everything I know. I am a doctor after all—“

“But you’re a med student?” frowned Jonghyun.

“Hush, child. Same thing. Wow, I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“Me neither.”

Seodam continued speaking as though Jonghyun had never said anything. “You’re all grown up now…” She wiped away some fake tears from the corner of her eyes. “Now, Jonghyun. When two people – in your case, two handsome fellas – like each other very much, they can decide to take the next step in their relationship.”

Jonghyun whinged loudly and buried his face into a nearby pillow. He just hoped to God this conversation wasn’t going to last much longer. It did.

The following day eventually arrived, and found Kibum leaving his classroom with a relieved sigh at the prospect of school finishing. He’d barely even made it to his locker when his phone started to ring, but answered immediately upon seeing Jonghyun’s contact flashing on the screen.

“Hello!” he sang into the phone, placing his books away nonchalantly.

“Hi, babe.” came Jonghyun’s response, equally as, if not even more happy than Kibum. “Just wondering if you could come over today…I have a surprise.”

Kibum’s mouth formed an ‘o’ shape and he paused for a few seconds to think. “Yeah, I should be able to. Is um…your family home?”

A laugh sounded from the other side of the line. “Not that sort of surprise, Key. Just hurry over, alright?”

Flushing pink, Kibum could somehow just feel that Jonghyun was winking mischievously as he spoke. “Um, sure? I’ll be there soon.”

“Great! See you soon, Kibum!” And then the line was cut off, and Kibum was left to stand confusedly in the corridor. How on earth was he meant to get there? Jonghyun hadn’t even offered to pick him up.

Kibum frowned. Was he supposed to just call a taxi or something? He willed his forming anger to calm down by concluding that the surprise would be worth it. Taxis from here probably weren’t even expensive, anyway. But before he could ponder the idea of calling one for much longer, a voice sounded from behind him.

“Hey, Kibum?” It was Minho.

“Hm?”

Minho pulled his keys from his pocket and jangled them around, and all of a sudden Taemin too was by their side. “Jonghyun told me to drop you at his house. And I’m dropping Taemin home as well, so he’ll be coming with us.”

Kibum sighed in relief. “For a second I thought he’d left me to fend for myself.”

“C’mon, Kibum…This is Jonghyun we’re talking about. The sappiest guy on the planet.” Minho chuckled.

“Okay fine, you’re right. We should go, he was really impatient on the phone.”

Taemin wiggled his brows and nudged Kibum impishly in the ribs. “Impatient to fuck?”

Jaw dropping, Kibum slapped Taemin over the head. “No, you little shit. And don’t swear.”

“Says you, ya hypocrite.”

Kibum rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t forget that I’m older than you. You’re still a fetus.”

With a loud chuckle, Minho nodded in agreement and mussed Taemin’s hair so it stuck up cutely at the edges. Taemin crossed his arms over his chest and attempted to look tough instead, but it was clear to see that his heart was fluttering from Minho’s display of affection.

“Thanks for the ride, Minho! I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” spoke Kibum in farewell as he left the car, waving over his shoulder enthusiastically as the two younger boys drove off.

Upon their departure, Kibum turned towards Jonghyun’s house and breathed deeply before heading towards the front door. His confusion and nerves for the impending surprise were immediately quelled as the door swung open to reveal an overly excited Seodam. “Hey, Kibum! Hurry up and get in here, Jonghyun’s getting impatient.”

A wide, eager smile beamed over Kibum’s face and he jogged the last few steps towards the house with a bounce in his step. “Sorry!” he laughed, immediately being pulled into the woman’s tight embrace.

“I didn’t get to talk to you on Sunday night,” she pouted. “You were too…preoccupied elsewhere.”

Kibum flushed a dark red. “Oh…R-Right. Well um, anyway…Where’s Jonghyun?”

Laughing, Seodam opened the door wider to let Kibum in and gestured at Jonghyun who was standing in the hall. Jonghyun beamed and quickly scurried over to where his boyfriend and sister were standing, greeting the former with a quick kiss. “Close your eyes.”

“O…kay?” giggled Kibum, closing his eyes softly and allowing his hands to be grabbed and lead forward by Jonghyun.

“And no peaking!”

He nodded. “Gotcha.”

Kibum shuffled along awkwardly, making sure to not trip or knock his arms against anything in a house that wasn’t his own. His mind attempted to guess just what Jonghyun would be surprising him with, but other than a possible present his mind came to an abrupt halt. “Is it a present?” he muttered, mostly to himself.

Jonghyun chuckled and he might’ve been shaking his head but Kibum couldn’t tell. “Not quite. But I still think you’ll like it very much. Alright, we’re here. Keep your eyes closed, ‘Bummie.”

The sound of a door opening sounded and Jonghyun led him through said door, all the while keeping a firm grip on Kibum’s hand. The door shut behind them and Kibum was vaguely aware that they were in Jonghyun’s bedroom, but pushed the memories of what had happened last time they were there out of his head.

“Okay, Kibum. Open your eyes.”

His eyelids fluttered open and it took Kibum a while for his sight to focus, but once he’d regained his bearings a loud squeal immediately escaped his lips.

Jonghyun smiled widely at his reaction. “She’s a bit tired because it’s the first day she’s been here, but yeah. I got a puppy. Kibum, meet Roo. Roo, meet Kibum.”

A small dachshund puppy sat curled up on Jonghyun’s bed, chest moving up and down steadily as she slept. Kibum excitedly sat down on the bed beside Roo and gently ran his fingers through her soft fur, looking back at Jonghyun with a smile which made the singer’s heart skip a beat at the mere sight.

“I swear she was awake like a minute ago…Sorry.”

Kibum gently shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, just look how adorable she is. Did you get her today?”

“Yep! Seodam picked her up after work as a surprise for me…I’ve been asking for a puppy for a while now, actually. But dogs aren’t that cheap and we never really found the time to go and buy one. Do you like her?”

Face lighting up, Kibum nodded vehemently. “She’s the best! You’re so lucky…” He grinned wistfully and lifted Roo into his lap, placing a peck on the dachshund’s small snout. Her eyes were open now and instinctively her tail began to wag, giving Kibum’s hand a happy lick.

“Well actually…I was thinking that we could kind of raise her together? She would stay here, obviously, but we can take her for walks together and play with her like a little family…” Kibum was silent and Jonghyun hurriedly exclaimed, “Only if you want to of course! I mean…she already likes you a lot!”

Kibum gently placed Roo back on the bed and stood up, walking over to Jonghyun determinedly before abruptly wrapping the older man in a tight hug. “Of course I want to, you idiot. This is the best surprise I’ve ever gotten.” He pulled away slightly to instead kiss Jonghyun deeply. “I’ve always wanted a dog, but my parents are never home so y’know… it’s a little hard. You’re amazing.”

“To be honest, I would have penned you as a cat person.” spoke Jonghyun with a fond smile, gently tracing his thumb over Kibum’s cheekbone.

Pretending to gag, Kibum shook his head. “As if. I’m dating you for a reason, aren’t I?”

Jonghyun pulled Kibum closer for another kiss, humming against the other boy’s mouth. “Touché. Rude, but touché. Should we feed Roo and then maybe take her for a walk? I think she’s old enough...”

“Okay!” Kibum cheered, pulling away from Jonghyun to instead lift Roo into his arms. “Do you have a leash for her already?”

“Eager are we? And yeah, it’s in the lounge room I think…We’ll give her something to eat first though. How much are puppies meant to have?”

Kibum laughed and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “I don’t know. Maybe just ask Seodam or look it up on the internet…”

Laughing, Jonghyun felt himself relieved to know that Kibum was just as new to all this as he was. “Okay, okay…Bring your school bag and we’ll head towards your house.”

“Alright, be right back!”

Moments later, Roo was fed (thanks to Seodam’s help), her leash was attached, and Kibum and Jonghyun were out of the house, making their way towards the end of Jonghyun’s street. Their hands twined together with Roo’s lead squished between them, and they walked in a comfortable silence until reaching the main road. “Did you know Taemin likes Minho?” questioned Kibum out of the blue, knowing quite well the answer was no.

“Well I do now…But Minho doesn’t swing that way, right?”

Kibum looked in thought momentarily. “That’s what I was thinking too but…I don’t want poor Taemin suffering, y’know? So we gotta stay hopeful for now.”

Jonghyun nodded. “We’ll be the best wingmen ever.”

Roo was slugging along slowly, at times either stopping completely in the middle of the footpath or racing ahead so that Jonghyun and Kibum were forced to run with her.

“We should ask each other questions or something.” spoke Kibum suddenly, once Roo had calmed down a bit and was trotting along at an even pace. “I feel like I don’t know enough about you yet.”

“True…We dived into this relationship kind of fast, didn’t we?”

Nodding, Kibum gave Jonghyun’s hand a firm squeeze. “But I don’t regret it. I just want to learn more about you, so I’ll go first. What’s your…worst fear?”

“Worst fear? If it’s one of those cliché truth or dare questions then I’d say something like losing my voice or people judging me for being myself but honestly…I’m more afraid of losing you and my family.” Jonghyun responded, cheeks flushing pink against the cool breeze.

Kibum nudged against him fondly. “Aren’t you a sap?”

And then Roo halted suddenly in her tracks, sitting down on the pavement and refusing to move another leg. Jonghyun sighed wearily, and gave the puppy an encouraging poke. “C’mon, Roo…We’re nearly there.” Still, she remained on the ground, looking up at Jonghyun with wide, sad puppy eyes which seemed to beg for sleep. “Do dogs seriously get tired so quickly?” Jonghyun questioned, mostly to himself, before promptly picking the puppy up and holding her like a newborn baby. “I guess I’ll have to carry her…”

“Look at these two cuties.” Kibum cooed, pulling his phone out and quickly taking a snapshot. “Geez, I love my dogs.”

Jonghyun frowned and pursed his lips. “Are you implying that I’m a dog?”

In response, Kibum simply entwined their hands once more and continued walking, mentally rolling his eyes at the fact that Jonghyun had missed the most important part of that phrase.

‘Maybe I was implying that you’re a dog…’ he thought to himself. ‘But I was also implying that I love you, idiot.’

“My go to ask a question!” Jonghyun exclaimed happily, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet yet making sure to keep Roo locked firmly in his grasp. “What’s your personal motto? Something that you always tell yourself.”

Kibum became silent in deep thought for a few moments, the sole sound of footsteps against the concrete pavement filling the empty air. “I mean…It’s not really a motto. Just kind of what I base my decisions around, I guess, but... ‘My dream isn’t to become the best. It’s to become someone who I’m not ashamed to be.’”

Instinctively, Jonghyun beamed, rubbing his thumb fondly against the back of Kibum’s hand. “I like that. That’s really nice, actually. But as a side note – you’re kind of the best, anyway.”

Good-naturedly, Kibum slapped Jonghyun’s shoulder. “Stop flirting, it’s getting you nowhere right now. Now hush, while I think of something to ask.”

“Your wish is my command, King Kibum.”

The younger of the two rolled his eyes fondly, and used his free hand to fix his wind-tousled hair. “Okay…Would you rather go into the past or the future, and why?”

“The past!” Jonghyun spoke immediately, as though it was the easiest thing he’d ever been asked. “I could go back and fix everything I did wrong in high school, I could’ve talked to you sooner, I could’ve kissed you sooner…And if I went into the future, I think I’d be scared to see something that I know I don’t want to.”

Kibum hummed in agreement. Maybe if he went into the past he’d be more careful of the string of lies he told his parents and prevent himself from being caught in positions which lead them to suspect him. And as for the future…Kibum wasn’t quite sure he wanted to see what that beheld for him. The past would definitely be a safer option. “Me too, actually. The future’s a little too wild for my liking.”

“We’re both a bunch of scaredy cats.” chuckled Jonghyun, and he could’ve sworn that Roo’s ears twitched as he said it.

“I know…But at least we can be scaredy cats together, right? Imagine dating someone who made you climb mountains on the weekends, I think I’d die.”

Jonghyun’s face dropped suddenly, and he peaked at Kibum from the corner of his eyes. “Oh…”

Mouth dropping in shock, Kibum stopped to glare at Jonghyun. “You are not a fucking mountain climber. I will dump you at this second if you are.”

His disheartened façade faltered, and Jonghyun burst out into loud laughter. “As if I’m one of those, Kibum. My legs are already getting itchy and we have literally walked like one kilometre.”

“And I’ve got a stitch.” added Kibum amusedly, resting his head on Jonghyun’s shoulder and giving Roo a gentle scratch behind the ears. Too caught up in the moment of insulting exercise and bonding over their lazy habits, Kibum and Jonghyun remained painfully unaware of the familiar white sedan which drove past in that precise moment, the driver of said car watching the two with scrutiny from his rear view mirror.

The rest of their journey to Kibum’s house passed in a warm, comforting silence, their hands not once separating until they neared the perfect, pristine structure. Kibum took Roo into his arms and kissed her lovingly on the forehead before passing her back to Jonghyun. “Hopefully you don’t die of exhaustion on the way home. Maybe I’ll buy Roo some toys or something this weekend. Are you free on Saturday?”

“Sure am.” responded Jonghyun, looking at Kibum’s house cautiously before giving Kibum a chaste peck on the cheek. “I’ll see you soon, alright? Take care, Key!”

“You too Jjong. And take good care of Roo!”

Jonghyun nodded happily, and waved to Kibum in farewell as the younger boy walked up towards his front door. His father was home it seemed, thought Kibum to himself, taking note of the white sedan parked neatly in their driveway. Luckily for Kibum he hadn’t done anything spontaneous enough to warrant a scolding as of late.

Well…So he thought.

#jongkey #fanfiction #my number one fan #this chapter is so chill #I INTRODUCED ROO #yayyy!!#but now we know who the car belongs to ho ho ho #things are gonna get wild

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crypticchanglings · 4 years

Text

from london [03.10.19]

i'm currently obsessed with these youtubers:

j lou - hong konger who posts videos in cantonese/english

it's fantastic since i'm currently learning cantonese/improving my mandarin and she's so hilarious

https://www.youtube.com/channel/uc530gkg2oj26figqzayqqow

slice n rice - hilarious (and musically talented!) interracial couple with content different from most vloggers i've seen

https://www.youtube.com/channel/ucormlwayqudm-ieq49audna

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i've also been obsessing over some poc artists lately:

jess x snow - been following their account since high school and the quality of animation/murals/music/poetry/everything is so so good

https://www.instagram.com/jessxsnow/

hannah che - i really want to be more plant-based for carbon neutrality and sustainability, and she's super inspirational. she posts a ton of chinese recipes made vegan including adorable vegan mooncakes for 中秋節!!

https://www.instagram.com/hannah__chia/

---

also, it's so hard to consistently write travel logs, so i have immense respect for friends who do keep up regular updates. london is fun (classes start tomorrow wish me luck rippp) and there's so many cool clubs/pubs/bars everywhere. the people here are so friendly and i'm unfortunately a ridiculous lightweight (i'm usually done after half a glass of wine lol) and have to sleep more hours than i've been giving myself. there's also an obsession with halloumi, which i discovered in the heathrow airport on my first day in the city.

i've been sort of keeping up a travel log on instagram, but even that's starting to feel disingenuous and like i need to be constantly posting content. i want to find some happy medium that's not too difficult to keep up to date and that doesn't make me feel like i'm trying too hard to please someone. i'm also thinking of making an ig that's more of an artistic portfolio/journal of some sort anyway.

---

i visited cork the week before school started and it made me realize just how much of eastern us/nyc culture comes from early irish immigrants. from food staples (corn and peas and potatoes) to pub culture to irish monuments and cathedrals i didn't really notice before to surnames (williams, allen, brown, campbell, etc.) - basically most of the things i used to just associate with being "american". it was mind blowing to see plants i thought only grew inside flower pots out in the wild, rock formations that aren't faked and inside malls, pubs that have genuinely been around for hundreds of years. talk about cultural appropriation.

i love seeing the different species of birds - the ravens in western cork, the javan mynah in singapore, the nyc pigeon. they all act about the same way you'd expect birds to act, but come from such different backgrounds.

i also met a model turned dominatrix and a recreational dominatrix at a fantastic pub while drowning in half a pint of beer (literally rip). they had somehow not known this about each other, only previously being work friends, so i'm glad i've now united them on a different front. we talked for a long while about open relationships and what makes people click.

---

i started pole dancing, and it's really fun! hopefully by the time i return to mit i'll be good enough to practice some routines on the pika pole. it's a shame that boston doesn't have a vibrant pole culture - every london uni has a pole fitness club, there's tons of pole meetups around the city, and so many pole performances and competitions year round. plus there's something addicting about sore arms.

while london isn't super expensive, there's a lot of things that i took for granted at mit that aren't at imperial. laundry is a whopping £3-4, the gym costs £30 for membership, most clubs aren't free (£5-10 for membership), the doors in my hall lock automatically (??), the mail delivery service is a bit of a pain since they're manually recorded, timetables for classes aren't automatically available online nor are classes rated in any way, there are no frats or house parties so students go clubbing instead (and clubs cost £8-15 for big parties), and since parties aren't subsidized, drinks cost £££ too.

it's kind of hilarious that i'm specifically studying engineering in a place so ripe with poetry, theater, art, film, exhibitions, sculpture, etc. imperial has free lunchtime concerts and art galleries throughout the school, but humanities classes cost £200 a piece.

also, the assassins guild, caving club, hiking club, and hackerspaces remind me of mit. the other mit exchange student told me they seemed less in-your-face than at mit. i suppose ec/tetazoo is fairly in-your-face about caving/climbing and ec/putz with building stuff so that's a reasonable comparison to make.

i've always had a contrarian bent against things i saw were mainstream. unfortunately, mainstream was always defined by the people closest to me, so that meant wanting to not be in cs at mit and instead to be part of a smaller major. somehow, the distance has taken away this discomfort and i feel better about my interests. also, i've been able to discover an interest for exploring/climbing outside of the mob mentality, which is refreshing.

---

i got my first internship offer for the summer (!!), so summer interviews don't feel as stressful. i am still lowkey stressed about iap, since i don't have anything lined up yet rip so winter interviewing must still go on. i feel myself getting a lot better at technical and non-technical interviews, though, so hmu if you have any questions about tech interviewing.

---

travel plans

amsterdam: 10/4-6

oxford: 10/12

wales (with the caving club!): 10/25-27

edinburgh: 10/15-17

istanbul: 10/22-24

iceland: 10/5-8

athens: 10/8-10

marrakesh: 10/13-16

i so so recommend rome2rio, skyscanner, hostelsworld/booking.com, and student universe for finding dirt cheap flights. all of these flights were about $100 or less (mostly less) although being geographically near so many vastly different cultures is convenient.

i also now understand douglas adams' obsession with towels - one of the most useful things ever (and prevents you from having to wipe your naked body with old clothes or a bed sheet after being too cheap/forgetting to rent a towel).

---

i've been writing for hackaday since the summer and while most of my writing has been fulfilling assignments, it's humbling to read the readers' comments. i think i've always taken the maker community for granted and i haven't realized the work that people put in to ensure that open source has the integrity that it has today.

there's constantly talk about whether something feels like an advertisement. i've always been in support of ads on social media and sponsorship since it helps all parties, but i have felt like intentions are faked when there are too many sponsors at a hackathon - or when it feels like sweet talking the sponsors are more important than making a great experience for users.

i'm not sure if anyone's taking the class by the poetic justice group at the media lab, but i worked with them on the green book project this summer and it completely changed the way i look at race inside and outside of america. i also know there's some complicated feelings about malcolm gladwell, but i appreciate the nuance he uses when discussing the sandra bland case in his latest book - i think it puts to perspective the systemic reasons for police brutality, rather than focusing on individual reasons (which is the reason why juries decide the way they do and why attorneys are able to win cases in favor of police officers in the court. see radiolab mr. graham and the reasonable man for more info.)

i'm really grateful for garnette - my writing professor last term - for introducing me to gladwell's masterclass. he really understands how to craft writing to be accessible to people and has a really great approach towards being a writer - having a regular low-stress/low-hours job to pay the bills and writing on the side (until you can make a living as a writer or just perpetually writing on the side). ted chiang (author of the book inspiring arrival) did the same thing - studied computer science in college, became a technical writer to free up time and finances to write, eventually freelanced and is now quite good at his craft, so he's also a minor idol career-wise.

---

that's all for now. just wanted to do a quick update, hope you're all doing well! remember that work isn't the most important thing in the world - drink water, eat vegetables (they feel really good), don't eat too much sugar, take a break, and get sleep!

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