#anyway this is part of the reason i want to work as a librarian because of a big part of that job is public service and giving people safet
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So I don't know what to do with this information so buckle up I guess.
Hi, my name is Eve and in my real life I used to work at a grocery store (it's a chain but not necessarily a national one so i won't be saying their name for purposes of anonymity).
I worked there from the age of 16 (was hired December 18th 2016). Eventually started working in their shopping department for curbside pickup in 2019, when the department opened. Became a supervisor in the department in November of 2021 (after doing the job for a few years being paid as a part time shopper rather than supervisor) then i was promoted to Lead of the department in Feb. of 2022 (which essentially meant I ordered supplies, dealt with managing a group of 13 individuals and sat in on corporate meetings and the like).
That's my history. I quit in September of 2023. Because the job was trying to kill us all and I hit my breaking point. (My breaking point was when 5 of my employees including myself nearly passed out from over exertion. I say nearly because I forced them to stop and eat and hydrate when it got too bad, i was fighting for management to give me help so we could get breaks out but they wouldn't listen and I ended up absolutely word vomiting my building frustrations with their management style that I had been actively fighting against for well over a year at that point.)
I know I'm a good leader, but management increasingly thought of me as naive and too soft as a leader because I refused to step back and allow abuse of my workers for corporate profit. Despite the fact I would show them statistics and give them nuanced balanced perspectives they let their own biases get in the way.
Three of my shoppers were their main targets. Two of which were neurodivergent and came from a not so great background. The third one wasn't neurodivergent but she came from a broken background that involved drugs and alcohol as a minor she was 19.
I think about the third girl so often. Because I remember she wasn't shopping at the speed they wanted her too (aka the goal for the whole department) which was a valid critique and the manager basically played bad cop which was fine. And I remember after this I was working with this girl and we were running behind that day, to no fault of hers, and i had to come help her finish her shop so we could prepare for the customers to arrive.
And she was panicked. Saying she's really trying and she's afraid she's going to get fired and a bunch of other things as i'm helping her. And I looked at her and tell her. "Listen I've seen you're numbers recently, they aren't where they need to be but i can see you steadily increasing if you keep increasing no matter what the number is by the time management says something again. I will back you. It is okay and me helping you right now is not your fault."
I found out recently she no longer shows up to work. And she basically quit. Which was probably in part due to personal issues like the fact her best friend was in coma at one point. And such. And she also got jumped in the parking lot by some girls and the police had to be called.
But I can't help but to wonder if I had still been there, if she would have felt safe to keep coming back knowing that there was at least one person in charge in her corner. (now, I know for a fact there is none because I was a one man defense line)
I can't help but to think about my one coworker, one of the neurodivergent ones, who is still routinely get shit about his out of stock list despite back when I was still working there I literally showed them that his numbers averaged out to be about the same as everyone else.
I'm not going to say any of the three were perfect, they didn't always do their best and were sometimes unreliable. But did they deserve to get emotionally abused by one of the supervisors (who i reported over five times, and who also once threatened me but management refused to deal with)? No. Did they deserve to be treated like less than assets when two of them used to come in all the time on their day off to help until they got fed up with being treated like they were lesser?
I think about the time I fought against a capacity increase (literally one of the hours we could have 13 orders drop for one hour with only 2 hours to do it, and maybe 2-3 shoppers to execute it, and that's assuming we had the previous hour completed and actually had a full 2 hours). And then when it went into effect anyway despite me shoving numbers at every higher up I could about how it didn't work for what we had to work with. My one manager told me that's just how you build a business, increasing volume. So I told him it's also how you burn one down. He didn't have a reply.
I asked politely from the store manager that if we called for help, if there was no other employee who could, a manager should help us. And he returned with hedging and saying that "well if there's only one manager on duty that's not really feasible". Even when there were three managers on duty and two of them were standing around talking they did nothing. But don't worry if it was register front end drowning two managers plus a stocker would come to the rescue.
And prior to all this, prior to my Lead position, I didn't know I could be an effective and intelligent leader. Now I know I can, but absolutely no one will listen to me and will routinely talk down on me when they were so interested in me, that they fought corporate when corporate didn't want to give me the promotion and gave me a bigger raise than was protocol because they believed in me. And that belief went down the drain immediately when they realized I would not blindly fall in line.
I feel so bad that I'm no longer on the front lines defending them, and that I failed to give management one last piece of my mind like I was going to, but I know if I stayed there it would have eaten me alive and that it was slowly killing me.
I don't know where to go from here. How to live knowing I have enough intelligence to lead and be fair and nuanced, but having no where to put that to use. I don't know what to do anymore but this one haunts me.
And like I'm not gonna say I was perfect and I definitely didn't know the answers to everything. And I did have my issues. (I was angry but refused to take it out on anyone, I sometimes got so overwhelmed I had to ask someone to take over while I laid on the floor for a second to regain perspective, and I would often have to sit down because I would become light headed and dizzy from the heat outside). But at the very least I fought for them ya know?
#musings#tw: abuse#capitalism#i think about them so much and i wish there was something else i could do#but i can't even go public with my knowledge because there's no documentation#all there is is first hand accounts from shoppers#but that's not really anything#and everything can be twisted in our own faults very neatly#corporate hell#leadership#anyway this is part of the reason i want to work as a librarian because of a big part of that job is public service and giving people safet#where there is none#which stems from like my trauma or whatever i guess#i just want people who have the cards stacked against them to at least have one person in their corner when everyone around them is telling#them that they are worthless#can you tell why i live AFTG yet#I'm such a wymack#or dan#or neil#aftg
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Still thinking about the Social Worker Jazz concept that @gilbirda posted about and it's slowly turning into a full Anger Management fic send help
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Jason at length - much longer than it really should have taken really - set the resume down.
The new Social Worker’s resume. Because she was there, in his office, trying to convince him to hire her as a member of his criminal organization.
Crime Alley’s new social worker. A bright eyed Midwestern transplant from some tiny speck of a place that only qualified as a city because there was nothing bigger in a hundred miles in any direction to claim otherwise. The new social worker who had a Psy D. and three masters degrees and who had graduated Valedictorian. The one that had high paying private gigs lined up all over the country with the offering companies fighting over her.
The one who had, apparently, decided to take a shit job in Gotham’s shoddy social services department instead. The one that got kicked to Crime Alley - which was its own division despite technically being a small neighborhood in the grand scheme of things - within her first month. Supposedly for the sole purpose of scaring her off or getting her killed for all the questions she was asking and secret dealings she was sticking her nose into.
That social worker.
“I’m gonna need you to run this by me again.” Jason said, never so grateful for the voice modulator in his helmet as he was in that moment. It stripped out the bewilderment that had bled through into his words and made him sound stoic instead.
“I’d like to work for you.” The social worker - one Dr. Jasmine Nightingale - repeated primly. Back straight, clothes neat - if skewing more on the librarian side of professional - expression confident and hopeful. Completely and utterly oblivious of how fucking insane she sounded. “I was told that you’re the person in charge of Crime Alley.”
He resisted the urge to scrub at his face. It’d just look weird with his helmet on and not do anything to actually settle him in that moment anyway. “I understood that part.”
“Look, Doc,” She earned a doctorate and she was crazy enough to waltz into the office of one of Gotham’s most powerful Crime Lords, he’d be respectful about using her proper title at least, even if he suspected she was ten pounds of crazy in a five pound bag. “You’re going to have to tell me why. I was under the impression the only reason you ended up dumped on our end of the city ws because you wouldn’t play ball. But now you want to sign up for my crew?”
Nightingale frowned a little at that.
“Is that what people are saying?”
“What else are they gonna say?” Jason answered, leaning back in his seat, “Head of the department only dumps Crime Alley on folks he don’t like. And everyone knows he doesn’t like anyone that can’t or won’t play his game by his rules.”
“Alright, well. I’ll give you that.” Nightingale conceded, “Payne doesn’t like me. The feeling’s mutual. But for the record,” She added giving him a wry smile, as if sharing wry smiles with Red Hood was just something people did, “I asked to be assigned to the Park Row and Bowery neighborhoods.”
“You wanted to work here.”
“Yes.”
“Bullshit.”
Nightingale laughed. It was a bright sound. Not especially clear or pretty, but warm and welcoming in a way that carefully calculated giggles or overdone guffaws couldn’t be. Something with real and honest amusement in it, that encouraged those nearby to laugh along. Not the kind of involuntary, nervous chuckling people tended to slip into when they thought they had pissed someone that scared them off.
She just wasn’t intimidated by him at all, was she?
Behind his helmet, Jason found himself smiling. Just a bit.
“I’m serious.” She assured, blue-green eyes meeting the dark stare of his helmet without a moment of hesitation. He watched as she brushed a lock of her bright red hair behind her ear and out of the way. She’d woven it all into a practical, neat braid but a few sly pieces had snuck out to bounce around her. Gilding her quiet professionalism with a playful charm that worked well with her academia but make it cottagecore kindergarten teacher aesthetic.
“I’ll admit, Gotham wasn’t part of my plan when I first graduated. Time and choices take you funny places sometimes.” She plucked an invisible bit of lint off her soft blue cardigan, not nervous but absent as her gaze went distant for a moment. Thinking back on the events that had led her to his fine city. In a blink, those sharp eyes were back to focusing entirely on him. “But Gotham is where I am now, and I want to help.”
She looked at him, a serious, determined expression settling easily on her face. “The city as a whole has so much chaos and crime breaking out all the time.” No censure or horror in her voice, just a neutral fact to be observed. “But where the rest of the city has millions of dollars poured into it by various foundations or charities run by the Waynes, Park Row is largely ignored.”
Jason watched as steeliness sharpened her gaze, the blue-green shifting from the shine of a bird’s wing to the warning hue of something poisonous and deadly. “No one deserves that. No one.” Her chin tilted up, proud but not imperious. “So yes, I want to work here. There are people in Park Row and the Bowery who need help and I refuse to let any of them feel like they are going to be ignored.”
Jason considered her.
Really looked at her. Pealing back his initial off handed impression of her as some clueless transplant in over her head with no idea of what she was doing or what she was poking her nose into to find the real woman beneath. Her confident poise, her clear unshakable belief, her unflinching willingness to look danger in the eye and not blink. The tense curve of her frown, the lines of pain at the corners of her eyes, the simmering anger beneath it all. There was an edge to her, too. Something sharp and dangerously well hidden by the cardigan and folksy charm of her accent.
It was personal for the woman before him, Jason realized. Maybe not Crime Alley specifically, but something about the whole situation. The treatment the neighborhood and its residents received from the city at large, from those even beyond it.
Crime Alley wasn’t a place that received much in the way of charitable thought. The average joe with their house in Somerset and job at some corporate shithole hating every second of their life but thinking at least I don’t live in Crime Alley. Those asshole hoity-toites in city hall throwing money around equally between shit that’d get them re-elected and their off-shore slush funds in the Caymens doing their damn level best to pretend the black mark on the other end of the city just didn’t exist. Bruce, flooding the entire city with charitable programs and carefully constructed infrastructures shying away from the manifested grief and trauma that was the place he watched his parents get murdered.
For the most part no one from outside of the Alley gave a shit about the Alley other than as a place to avoid at all costs. And most of the time those natives that manages to claw their way out into better and brighter lives didn’t ever turn to glance back. Orpheus could have learned a thing or to from an ex-Alley Kid who managed to eek out a steady 9-to-5 and move to Burnley.
And something about that seemed to piss Dr. Jasmine Nightingale Psy. D right the fuck off.
He could see why Bill said he liked her enough to let her in.
“Alright.” He said, tilting his head, watching the woman seated across from him carefully, “Still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here. Why you’re trying to get on my payroll.”
“I’m not trying to get on your payroll.” She said, some of the glinting edge softening, but the steel remaining. Strong and unyielding. “I’m trying to get into your community outreach program.”
Jason thanked god and all the saints once again for the gift of his helmet. That baby had saved his ass more times than he could count both by keeping his head in one piece and keeping his stupefied expressions wrapped up and hidden from view. Dr. Nightingale was one hell of a woman to make him have to rely on that fact twice in one conversation.
“Wasn’t aware that was something I had.”
Nightingale, not fortunate enough to have a full face covering helmet of her own, had nothing to hide her stupefied expression behind. Jason had a feeling she might have removed it to make sure he saw even if she did though. She looked like she had caught him eating glue like it was a cheese stick.
“Yes you do.” She said, sounding deeply confused but unshakable confident in what she was saying. “I’ve seen it. The soup kitchens, the shelters, the collection boxes for donating old clothes, the after school day care.” Nightingale ticked off on her fingers, “I’ve lived here for less than two weeks and I’ve lost count of all the things I’ve seen setup to help people struggling in the area that I’ve been very reliably informed you and your organization are behind.”
Oh.
Those.
“Those aren’t part of some community outreach program.” He said, “We are simply locals offering services for our neighbors.”
He watched as her caught-him-eating-glue expression shifted into one that said she’d stumbled upon him licking electrical sockets for a mid-day pick-me-up instead. He had to give it to her, the woman was not afraid to let one of the most dangerous men in the city know she thought he was a fucking idiot.
“Let me see if I understand this right.” She said, and he appreciated that there wasn’t any kind of condescension in her voice, even though she very clearly thought he’d been dropped on his head as a baby. Possibly from the top of a three story building. “You have a large group of people working together to plan, organize and execute multiple services in your area - your community, if you will - that provide aid and support to those that otherwise would not receive it. Reaching out with your available time and resources to offer these services, that you provide. For free.”
Alright, Jason got it. He had stumbled ass backwards into creating a community outreach program. But he wasn’t just going to let her think she won this one. He was Red Hood, he had a reputation to uphold here.
“What makes you think any of that is free?” He tilted his head at just the right angle, the one that cast shadows across the planes of his helmet and made him look hell-touched and terrifying. “Just because we don’t charge money, doesn’t mean there isn’t a price to pay.”
Dr. Nightingale, dressed like a damn kindergarten teacher, laughed at him.
#dpxdc#jazz fen#jason todd#social worker jazz#social worker jazz fenton#anger management ship#anger management#pre anger management#jason todd x jazz fenton#i don't know why i keep writing scenes where Jazz writes resumes to apply to work for crime bosses but it just feels right in my soul okay#the real reason Jason wears a full face helmet is so people can't tell when he utterly fails to hide his emotions about something#the idea of social worker jazz working in crime alley has completely consumed me mind body and soul
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Work The Case
Request from @doctorsteeb: This may be too sensitive a topic but just an idea— Hotch!daughter taking out a school shooter?
Aaron Hotchner x daughter!reader
Summary: A normal Tuesday takes a turn when you come face to face with your father's work.
A/N: Not going to lie I wasn't going to write this because I felt like the idea was too sensitive but then I remembered that I'm the queen of writing too sensitive things in real life so I may as well do that here too (within limits of course. I still have ethics). So here it is!
CW: school shooting, fatal gun shot, talks of foyet, talks of dead mothers, talks of car crashes, talks of drunk driving, talks of divorce, Jackson Pollok slander
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The morning started out like any other Tuesday: you got up and ready for the day before having breakfast with your dad and brother- oatmeal and orange juice- then your dad drove you and Jack to school. Jack always got dropped off first at the elementary school, and you at the high school. The ride between the two was short, but it was always long enough for a small, private conversation between you and your father.
“You okay?” he asked you.
Ugh. Profilers.
“I’m…” You thought about saying ‘fine,’ but you knew he wouldn’t take that as an answer. You sighed. “The teacher let the class vote on what chapter we would cover in class next, so we started on abnormal criminal psychology yesterday.”
“Oh.” You’d never heard your dad sound so uncertain.
“It’s an extra chapter. Since it’s not listed in the curriculum we aren’t being tested on the material. The teacher told me I could spend that period in the library if it was… too much,” you finished.
You dad pulled in front of the school, leaning over to kiss you on the forehead goodbye. “Whatever you need, sweetheart.”
“Thanks,” you told him.
“Try to have a good day,” he said before you shut the car door.
You nodded. “I’ll try.”
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You took your teacher’s offer and went to the library instead of their classroom. The space was large, but mostly empty of people- there was just the librarian behind her desk and a few students scattered amongst the tables. You took a seat and pulled out your homework, trying not to think about what they were learning back in the classroom. You’d honestly overheard enough phone calls that whatever they were learning about you already knew. There was a buzz in your pocket, which automatically made you freeze. You kept your phone on do not disturb through the school day. The only reason your phone would buzz would be if your dad was texting you… and if your dad was texting you it was an emergency.
You pulled your phone out and you were right- it was a text from your dad. Three words: Work the case.
Shit. That was code for you and Jack to hide- to hide somewhere that you wouldn’t be found unless you wanted to be. You looked around the library, but the area was like an open plain. You shoved your work in your backpack and hurried towards the doors-
BOOM!
A gunshot.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
People began to scream. Through the glass windows of the library you could see students running, but it wasn’t because they were late to class. The lockdown alarm sounded and you scrambled under one of the tables, hoping it would be enough cover.
There was a stillness and a silence for a minute and you hoped that it was over, but gunshots rang out again- this time they were louder than they had been before. Someone was getting closer.
Your heart was pounding in your chest, making it feel as though your entire body was thumping to its too-fast rhythm. You wanted to cry, but you didn’t shed any tears. You wondered if this was what it had been like for Jack when Foyet had killed your mother and then tried to kill your father. As part of WISTEC, you had been sent away to a private boarding school with an alias while Jack and your mom were sent elsewhere. In the end, sending you away had saved your life, but now you were wondering if you were going to die soon anyway.
That was, until the library doors burst open. From your view under the table you could only see old shoes and baggy jeans but you heard the shots that were fired into the air.
“Get up! All of you!” It was a male voice.
You, along with the six other students in the library that had all dropped to the floor, looked around at one another- who would make the decision to stand up or stay down? Who would make that call?
More shots were fired. “I said get up!”
You thought about your dad- what would he do? And so you were the one to make the call, the first student to crawl out slowly from under the table and rise, your hands held up to show that you were no threat. The rest of the students followed your lead. This was your team now- if one of them died, it was on you.
You looked at the shooter and you knew who he was- Timmy Rogers. He’d been in some of your classes in middle school and high school. He had always been quiet- the kind of kid who did well in class but never answered any questions. The person who put their share into a group project and didn’t complain about having to pick up the slack if someone else bailed. He was nice enough of a person that you wouldn’t have expected him to be holding a firearm in the middle of your school, but then again most unsubs could keep themselves hidden for years- that much you knew.
“Line up against the wall. Now!” he shouted.
You walked calmly to the wall while some of the other students scampered. One girl was crying. Another boy’s fists were twisted with fear. The librarian was on her knees, pleading with Timmy. “You’re a good boy. You always have been. Your mother-”
“Don’t talk about my mother! Don’t talk about me! You don’t know me!”
“Yes I do,” the librarian was crying. “I do know you and your mom wouldn’t have wanted-”
Timmy pulled the trigger and she was gone. He marched over and grabbed the girl who was crying, dragging her out in front for the rest of you to see. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry!” She fell to her knees. “Please, I’m sorry-”
You thought quickly about everything you knew about Timmy. He wasn’t an athlete by any means but he joined the wrestling team anyway, he liked art and his project last year was based on his parent’s divorce, his father was a marine, and his mom…
Oh. His mom had died in a car crash last week. She was hit by a drunk driver.
“You never cared about me!” he yelled. “Nobody cares about me. Nobody cared about her-”
“I did.” You didn’t know where the words came from- they were solid and bold and half a lie, but they made Timmy let go of the girl.
“And who are you?” He pointed the gun in your direction. You wanted to scream, but you didn’t.
“I’m (Y/N) Hotchner. W-we had art class together last year.” You hoped your stumble wasn’t too obvious.
“Yeah, and why does that matter? Why should I let you live? Why should I let any of you live?” He waved the gun around in the air, making some of the students shriek, but somehow you stayed calm even though you wanted to explode.
“Y-your mom died in a car crash last week. But it wasn’t her fault. It was the other person who was driving drunk and it wasn’t fair that they got to live and she had to die,” you said.
“Why do you care?” He spat.
You reached deep down… really deep. “My mom died too. She was murdered by a serial killer. She deserved so much better, just like your mom did.”
Timmy paused, the gun in his hand was shaking but still pointed at you. From your view, you could see that through the glass there were officers moving into the school. No. Not just officers- they were wearing FBI vests. Help was almost there, you just had to stall.
“My parents got divorced too,” you said. “Your final project last year really spoke to me- your dad was away all the time and your mom got tired of it, even though they still loved each other.” That was a total lie- the guy was about as talented as Pollok, but you had to find something. “My parents were the same way.”
Now Timmy was crying. You could see behind him that agents were moving towards the library, but you were too focused on stalling Timmy that you weren’t focused on their faces.
“And I was at a boarding school when she died so I was alone- all alone, just like you, Timmy. My mom died and nobody was there to comfort me. My dad wasn’t with me, just like your dad isn’t here right now.”
He was so distracted by your words that he didn’t even notice that the library doors had opened behind him allowing Agent Morgan, Dr. Reid, and your dad to come in unnoticed.
“He- he didn’t even come for her funeral-” Timmy’s hand was getting weaker. He was crying harder. “I-I can’t reach him-”
“I know. I couldn’t reach my dad either since I was still in WISTEC. They couldn’t tell me anything about him until I got home. It’s not fair. I know it’s not fair. I care that it’s not fair.”
Timmy dropped the gun, crumbling to the ground in a fit of tears. Agent Morgan tackled him, pulling his hands behind his back while Dr. Reid disabled the firearm. Your dad ran straight to you, gripping you in a bone crushing hug and you sobbed into his chest.
He pulled you in tighter, stroking a hand down your hair. “It’s over, sweetheart,” he whispered. “I’ve got you. It’s over.”
“I worked the case, dad,” you managed to get out between your sobs. “I worked the case.”
#criminal minds fanfiction#criminal minds#aaron hotchner#aaron hotchner x daughter!reader#aaron hotchner x child!reader#hotch x daughter!reader#hotch x child!reader#criminal minds x reader#criminal minds x y/n#criminal minds x platonic!reader#criminal minds x teen!reader#criminal minds x daughter!reader#criminal minds x child!reader
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My opinion : Babs was deaged to be with Dick.
Okay so I've seen so many dickbabs shippers try to deny that Barbara was deaged to fit Dick for the purpose of defending dickbabs or make them look better i guess. They keep saying that wasn't the reason why she was deaged. they always point to the 1st time she got deaged.
like why are they so upset when they see people say that. I wonder if they care more about the ship than barbara as an individual character.
cuz if they truly liked Barbara separately from Dickbabs maybe all the anti-dickbabs comments wouldn't be an issue for them. 🤷♀️
anyway i'm going to explain why it's true.
here's the thing :
Barbara was deaged multiple times
Crisis on Infinite Earths wasn't the only time she was deaged, she got deaged again in other books/continuites.
So The real question is where did they deaged her to be the same age as Dick to make them work not when was she first deaged. (we all know it's always in dickbabs comics where she's written as the same age as dick, i wonder why)
The 1st time she was deaged was in Crisis on Infinite Earths, it was so Jim could be younger but they only decreased her age slightly because she's still written as older than Dick, here is a panel from Secret Origins #20 that was published in 1986 exactly 1 year after she was deaged in Crisis on infinite earths (1985) she said Dick is too young for her and that batman is always the one on her mind. So Dickbabs during this time still has a big age gap so they're still unable to work.
The 2nd or 3rd time she was deaged is in dickbabs comics where she was finally made the same age as Dick so dickbabs can finally work as romantic pairing.
Instead of being older she's now written as a part of Dick's generation.
From a congresswoman to someone who went to highschool prom with Dick.
Even Tom Taylor wrote them as childhood sweethearts so he can portray them as soulmates in his comics. a huge wtf moment for me because Babs wasn't originally this young when she first met Dick 😭
pls She had a PHD, has been working as a librarian and congresswoman when dick was still a young boy in gotham.
Barbara is now written as a part of his generation and his one true love since day 1. (from an independent congresswoman to Dick's childhood sweetheart and girlfriend who revolves around him)
Before Dickbabs couldn't work because of their age gap but now they can work. thanks to dickbabs comics deaging barbara again and this time for the sole purpose of reducing Babs into Dick's love interest.
So Just because she wasn't deaged to be with Dick in her 1st deaging doesn't mean she wasn't deaged to be with Dick in her 2nd or 3rd deaging 🙃
Dickbabs shippers can deny it all they want but at the end of the day dickbabs wouldn't have worked out if she wasn't deaged to be the same age as dick.
and even if they're right, let's say for the sake of their argument they're right that babs wasn't deaged to be with dick, it still doesn't change the fact that dickbabs is weird.
Regardless if Babs was deaged to be with Dick or not, It's still weird to see Dick being put in a relationship with a woman who was originally a congresswoman when he was still in highschool.
It's like deaging Batman into a teenager (like let's say it's because they want to make Bruce appealing to teenagers) but years later they decided to give him a love interest who is also a teenager as part of the new batman stories.
So even though his deaging has nothing to do with women or shipping in the first place, it's still weird to suddenly see Batman in a relationship with women who are a part of dick's generation knowing he was originally much older than them.
Like Bruce/Raven or Bruce/Starfire suddenly becoming a thing 🤢 No amount of deaging would be able to justify those pairings.
The same happened to Barbara she was originally a part of Batman and Superman's generation.
for goodness sake she dated Superman!!!! She was so much older than Dick.
Also remember when Dickbabs was originally a pedo-like ship and it was so controversial and hated the same way Brucebabs was hated today? Because Barbara the adult woman is kissing minor grayson but now she's fully making out and having sex with minor grayson in dickbabs comics.
The reason why Dickbabs fans don't want people talking about this is because they care more about making dickbabs look good than barbara's independence. They don't care that Barbara lost her independence, her phd, her solo careers, her librarian and congresswoman job because of dickbabs shipping.
They don't view Barbara as a character seperate from dick. Barbara is trapped in this relationship because of people like them. They don't fight for Barbara's independence. The only thing they want from her is to be the girlfriend of Dick and nothing else. It is so hard for them to let Barbara Gordon be independent and not just “Nightwings girlfriend."
Barbara's real enemy is the dickbabs ship. Before, she is able to stand on her own, but now she's nothing more than just a love interest who can't live without dick and too dependent on him and his solo books to exist.
DC really needs to get Barbara some actual character building that doesn't involve Nightwing whatsoever but it's hard to do that when she won't even stop chasing Dick nonstop like a dog in his solo books and thinking about him 24/7 because of writers like tom taylor who is always busy making babs' entire personality all about dick than writing solo babs stories.
Dickbabs is unnecessary and disservice to her character, it does nothing for her independence. She is forever demoted to Dick's love interest unless they free her from this ship.
poor babs she deserves better than people who only want to associate her with dick 24/7.
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For the past several years (can’t remember if this attitude predates the pandemic), I’ve been kinda “meh”/side-eye re: New Year’s Resolutions. I am a very goal-oriented person and feel existentially unmoored when I don’t have something that I’m working toward, be it a class, a trip, a concert, a zine or other artsy project. But I also tend to have very unrealistic expectations, namely of how much time it will actually take me to complete tasks and how much energy I will still possess after I get home from work every day. So I don’t want to put all this abstract pressure on myself for the new year and then get burned by my, idk, ENORMOUSLY OVERWHELMING CAPACITY FOR HOPES AND DREAMS (or inability to accept reality or whatever, I guess, depending on your viewpoint lol).
Last year, I got a faculty librarian job and I was able to finally quit doing part-time transcription work, a (second) job I’d held for over 11 years. I thought the sudden influx of “free time” would result in a flood of creative projects in 2023, but I didn’t get nearly as much done (or started) as I’d hoped. My new job duties brought increased stress – I supervise someone now and received zero training for this so I’m having to figure out all this soft skills work relationship stuff on my own, I’m one of only two special collections catalogers in a large academic institution and ofc our backlog is a million miles long, I have to deal with so many more dang emails and meetings as a faculty person than I did as a staff, our institution is grossly underfunded and understaffed and people keep leaving bc our wages are comparatively Bad; many of my colleagues and I are burnt out af. SO ANYWAY due to all that, instead of blossoming into a creative powerhouse now that I have only one day-job, I instead found myself sinking into the couch after work, watching youtube on the big tv screen and transforming into a sad amorphous blob.
BUT! One reason I am risking feeling slightly more hopeful about 2024 is that this year, I am scheduled to have two out of four credit card loans paid off! (I had five but already paid one off this year too :D) This will put like… nearly $400 back into my pocket each month. I hate complaining about my money situation bc I do make what would be a decent living wage for my ~lifestyle~ (2 very frugal working adults, no kids in the home), but nearly 25% of my income goes to debt (not including mortgage lol). (The reason I am carrying so much debt is because I didn’t make anything even remotely close to a living wage for the entirety of my working life until I got the librarian job last year and I had to use credit cards for things like groceries and travelling home for funerals and then I’d transfer the credit card balance onto a loan and then I’d be like “okay, as long as we have no more emergencies for 18 months, we’ll be good,” and then there’d be another emergency and I’d have to borrow more money again 🇺🇸) So the TL;DR is I strongly suspect that when I have a bit more of a financial cushion and don’t have to deprive myself of most material pleasures (such as the occasional deli sandwich or vinyl record! I have simple desires!) and white-knuckle it through the last week of every month, I might be a bit less exhausted and stressed out on a daily basis?
So based on that completely speculative hope, here are my goals/resolutions for 2024:
Start a monthly one-pager photozine (my intention is for this to be a simple project to keep me active in the zine community and more ~intentional~ with my photography). Finish writing Moonshot #3 (Summer 2024) and #4 (Fall 2024). Start outlining (at least) Phases of the Moon #7. Maybe: Think abt starting a new art/literary comp zine. [I used to do tons of comp zines when I was younger and I’ve been revisiting them in my zine digitization/archiving project and feeling inspired!! Love bringing a variety of people together to collectively work on an amazing goal! ♈]
Do something analog with photography – maybe cyanotypes? [I’m despondent that I’ve been dragging an enlarger around for over 10 years but still haven’t built a home darkroom. This can still happen someday, but in the meantime, I know there are other analog photographic processes I can do without a full darkroom!] I also want to get back into photographing concerts. [I was a little disappointed that my Quintron pics {still forthcoming sry} didn’t turn out fantastic but it was my own damn fault for falling out of practice with my DSLR, and also forgetting to turn on autofocus lmao.] AND, I think it would be fairly easy to turn my bedroom into a camera obscura, which would be TOTALLY AWESOME and SWEET.
Redesign my website/portfolio: selenographer.info. Try to actually post some newsletters once in a while?
Finish at least one cross-stitch!
Leave the house more often for social activities?????
Better daily health routine [I already do this stuff, but I’m not always consistent]: Meditate & do yoga, preferably in the morning. Teeth care at least twice a day [sry if it’s TMI gross but brushing before bed was never part of my childhood and it has been a constant struggle to solidify this habit as an adult, ugh] and actually use the dang waterpik & electric toothbrush that I bought. Wear the sleep apnea device every night. [This thing works. But I fucking hate wearing it and I skip nights which makes me feel like a big dummy since I borrowed an additional $3000 to treat this problem.] STOP TAKING GOODY’S POWDER. [This should follow if I am consistent in wearing the apnea device bc I won’t get morning headaches if I am not waking up in a state of oxygen deprivation!]
Buy a new bed! [We got one of those cheapo internet mattresses in 2018 and man is it killing me. If I ever won the lottery the first thing I would do is completely redesign the bedroom into the ideal sleep environment.] Also need to buy 1 or 2 new bookcases bc I now have 3 storage bins full of unshelved books and it makes me anxious.
Work-related goals: Reclaim as much time as possible from the workweek. Try to have at least a half-day of work-from-home time per week. Actually use the professional development time I am privileged to have as faculty! Try to detach from the stressful sense of urgency other people (inexplicably) bring to the table and don’t let that shit get to you. Figure out a better way to handle emails? [My current modes are either complete avoidance so I can hyperfocus on a task, or checking my email every 30-60 mins and spiralling into the distraction zone for hours.] Hopefully take another class at Rare Book School. Help with more outreach events (aka teaching people about ZINES! :D)
GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY <3
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Like a butterfly part 3
A/N: HI GUYS!🤠 IT’S BEEN A WHILE. ANYWAYS, finally chapter three is here!
So sorry it took so long, I hope you still have a lot patience for this fanfiction🙏🏽
I’m starting to get some ideas for the plot and the chapters, but in all honesty I was also on a small vacation, and another thing is: I’ve been working my ass off. Right now, I’m just really in need of some money because I’m fucking tired of this broke ass bitch (me) and this dumb ass inflation making me bad, sad and MAD🤬
We’re not going to discuss or talk about the constant
mood swings I had while writing this bitch while on my period, OKAY?👹😪🗿🥵💀💔💫
Anyways‼️ as always thank you for bearing with me. And thank you for liking, commenting, and reblogging my shit🌺
I very much appreciate every single one of you💞
🦋< Previous part – Next part >
Pairing: Nakamoto Yuta x Female! Reader
Contains: Non-idol! AU, Tattoo artist! Yuta, Librarian! Reader, Bruises, Comedy, Drama, Friends to lovers, Flirting, Nudity, PDA, Photography, Romance, Teasing
Warnings: Abusive toxic relationship, alcohol, bad language, cigarettes, cursing, drinking, fighting, friendship, friends with benefits, lots of JEALOUSY‼️ mixed feelings, smoking, violence; Yuta punching a few fuckbois cause Y/N’s being sorta sexually harassed, also him beating a random dude up... it’s not that bad though :T, violence.
Wordcount: 10,4 K (rip💀)
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Disclaimer: The reader I’ve created in this fanfiction is a woman of East Asian descent and she has certain features and looks a certain way. The reason for this is that I wanted some more East Asian representation in Kpop fanfics! Some of these relationships between said persons are only meant to be considered fictional, in no way do I ship them in real life. They’re just there to add dynamic to the plot. (Also, because my multi fan ass just wants to have fun.) Please keep in mind that the way I’ve described the idols in this story is in no way real or representative of how they behave in real life, this is just based on my imagination.
Also in this fanfiction, some said persons are involved in an abusive, unhealthy and manipulative relationship. Please keep in mind that this is all fanmade and fiction. I don’t encourage this kind of terrible relationship and if you are in one, please seek help. Never put yourself second to anyone; remember that you’re loved. 💚
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“Want to dance with me?” Yuta said, holding his hand out to you. You looked up and smiled, “Yes, I would love to,” you took hold of his hand and walked back to your friends.
Everyone looked at you two dancing happily. You smiled brightly as Yuta spun you around, and you giggled. The DJ suddenly changed the music and played the song “You Make Me Feel…” by Cobra Starship ft. Sabi. You hummed to the song, looking at Yuta as he did the same, “la, na-na-na-na~” The two of you began dancing and laughing.
And finally, you had fun at this party.
Suddenly Chaeyoung and Somi walked over, joining you in dancing, “where are the others?” Yuta asked, “Jungkook and Johnny are outside smoking,” Somi explained. “The two of you seemed to have a lot of fun,” Chaeyoung giggled, “of course we are, I mean it’s been a while since we last attended a party,” you chuckled when Yuta was looking at you and smiling. (Chaeng’s outfit)
Somi elbowed Chaeyoung’s arm and giggled at the way Yuta was obviously admiring you. “What’s so funny, Chaeng?” You asked, tilting your head in curiosity, “oh nothing! It’s just… you and Osaka Prince look so good together,” she winked as Yuta smirked, “almost like a cute couple~” Somi added, giggling with her. You blushed at the idea of you and Yuta being a couple, you were nothing alike or similar. “Yo what’s up, guys?” Mark asked, resting his elbow on Yuta’s shoulder.
“Oh, nothing much, Marcus, just pointing out how much these two look like a couple,” Chaeyoung added playfully, “Chaeng, we’re not a couple…!” You protested stubbornly as everyone chuckled. “Omg, I just noticed! Mark, you got an eyebrow piercing now!” She patted Somi’s shoulder and giggled, “yeah, you look so cool now, Markie!” She added, “thank you, Yuta-Hyung did it for me,” he chuckled and smiled.
“Let’s go and get something to drink, I wanna dance some more!” Somi said, waving her arms up as Chaeyoung nodded. You looked at her as she smiled, “a Margarita or Pina Colada, right Unnie?” You nodded a slight smile on your face, “thanks Chaeng,” Mark spoke, “just grab a beer for me and Scotch Whiskey for Yuta-Hyung. Thanks, Chae, and Somi.”
“So did you and Yuta-Hyung recently start dating?” Mark asked as your mouth dropped slightly, “oh no, Mark. You got it all wrong, me and Yuta-san aren’t dating, Bryce’s my boyfriend…” You explained as Yuta put his hands into his pockets, his jaw clenching in slight jealousy, “so that means you’re still seeing Miyawaki, huh?” You looked at him as you heard her name.
Miyawaki…?
Yuta rubbed the back of his head, “I’m actually planning on,” he moved closer to you, “–breaking it off with her.” He locked eyes with you. “I’m done with fixing things that can’t be fixed.” Johnny and Jungkook walked towards you, “where are Chae and Somi?” Jungkook asked, rolling up his sleeve.
“–Here with your drinks!~” Somi smiled, holding three drinks in her arms, “ah thank you, Somi,” you smiled, taking your Pina Colada and drinking a little. “Do you guys wanna grab something to eat after this?” Chaeyoung asked, looking at us all. “That’d be awesome! What should we eat, Chae?” Somi asked, drinking her blueberry Soju, “hmm, I don’t know, maybe we can order some pizza or fried chicken?”
You had to use the restroom but there’s still a lot left from your delicious Pina Colada. You walked over to Yuta, “Yuta-san, can you please hold my drink? I’m going to use the bathroom,” you asked politely as he nodded and held your drink. “No worries, just take your time,” he gave you a reassuring smile as you went to the bathroom.
You finished using the bathroom stall as you washed your hands while checking yourself in the mirror. And finally, you fixed your hair a little and left.
You went to the dancefloor to look around, in the hopes of finding your friends but you couldn’t spot or see any of them.
Strange… They were here just a few minutes ago…
You walked around a bit before finally deciding to lean against the wall, crossing your arms and checking your phone when someone was approaching you.
“–Saw you earlier on the dancefloor, you were quite wild,” a random guy said, staring at you up and down inappropriately as you started to feel uncomfortable by his presence, “say why don’t we have fun at my place tonight?” You looked down and shook your head.
“No thanks. I have a boyfriend…” You managed to voice out clearly although your voice was full of uncertainty. “Boyfriend?” He looked over at his friends before scoffing. “You seem quite lonely and single to me, the name’s Seth,” he pinned his arm against the wall forcing you to look at him as he began to speak, “why don't we have some right now?” He chuckled, playing with your top as he slowly lowered its strap. “Stop it…” You said sheepishly as Seth chuckled when somebody poked him on the shoulder as he turned around.
“–What the fuck?!” He groaned when Yuta punched him in the face, he walked closer to you as Seth looked at him. “Yuta…” he wrapped an arm around you as he held you close, your head meeting his chest, “are you okay, Y/N?” You nodded as he glared at the group of guys around you. “Who the fuck do you think you are?” Seth rose and spat, “do you know them, Y/N?” You shook your head, and hugged his arm, “I don’t know them, Yuta,” you said, looking into Yuta’s warm eyes.
“I suggest you fuckers leave her alone.” Yuta demanded, “huh?” Seth scoffed as Yuta cleared his throat, “you were making her feel uncomfortable, so apologize to her now.” He repeated, “who do you think you are?” Seth scoffed, staring at him. “Me? I’m her fucking boyfriend, you bastard.” Yuta scoffed, patting your back as you looked at him, he gave you an understanding nod. “Your girlfriend’s dressed like a slut, I thought she came to this party to have sex with a bunch of guys,” Seth scoffed, staring at your chest as you pulled your pink top a little in an attempt to cover up, you looked down feeling ashamed of your body. (Y/N’s outfit but she’s short black miniskirt instead or you can choose your own outfit.)
Why did you dress out of your comfort zone? You feel so ashamed of your body…
You felt his hand move away from your back as Yuta walked over and punched them, you were taken back. “Yuta-san!” You yelled, “scumbags like you should watch the bullshit that’s coming out of your mouth,” he took hold of Seth’s shirt before punching him again, “my girlfriend can wear whatever the fuck she wants to, after all, I can fight,” Yuta scoffed as he walked over to you. “Are you okay–?” You asked when he hugged you close, “I’m okay, let’s get back to the others,” he reassured, wrapping an arm around you as you walked outside to the others.
“There you two are, what happened?” Chaeyoung asked, walking away from Jungkook’s back hug as she returned your Pina Colada. “Sorry, Chaeng, we ran into a bit of trouble…” You bowed shyly, taking hold of your drink. “Trouble…? What happened, Unnie?” She asked in concern, “a group of assholes were harassing Y/N and saying nasty things to her, so I stepped in and pretended to be her boyfriend. Until they finally left her alone,” Yuta explained, taking a sip of his Whiskey as you simply nodded.
“Wah, thank goodness handsome Osaka Prince saved you there, Y/N-Unnie!” Chaeyoung teased as Somi giggled, “yeah, thank you Yuta-san,” you added, smiling at him. “Alright, let’s go and get some food, I’m starving like crazy,” Mark chuckled, putting his arms behind his head, “oh my god, me too, Marcus,” Somi laughed, “good thing, Yuta was there. There can be some real assholes at this nightclub,” Johnny added, smoking and exhaling.
Yuta wrapped an arm around you, and whispered something into your ear, “ehh?” You said, looking into his eyes, your foreheads practically touching, “can I have a taste of your Pina Colada?” You nodded, before taking a small sip and handing it to him. He took a big gulp and licked his lips, “mhm, it’s really delicious,” he smirked as you felt a bit shy about his flirtatious behavior.
“Do you wanna try mine, Y/N?” He lifted his glass filled with the golden liquid, your eyes looked in a slight curiosity, “is it strong…?” You asked, holding the glass, “maybe a little, but I can water it down a little with a kiss~” Yuta whispered, lifting your chin and you could clearly tell he was a bit tipsy. “Stop teasing me, Yuta-san…” You pouted, feeling his thumb on your bottom lips. You took a big sip as you covered your mouth, “mmh…! It’s super strong…” You whined as he chuckled, “sorry, you’re so cute. You’ve never tried a Scotch Whiskey before?” You shook your head, “not really… I always drink Soju or Margarita…” You confessed as he leaned in.
His fingers were on your chin, the thumb gently caressing your bottom lips. “Should I water it down with my kiss now?~” Your eyes widened by his reply, “stop playing with me Yuta,” you said, entirely flustered by him.
Chaeyoung snickered, elbowing Jungkook at the sight of you two trying each others’ drinks. “Yuta-Hyung has really fallen hard for Unnie, heh,” he chuckled, “of course, I mean she’s pretty and the best!” She added, hugging his arm.
We left the nightclub and started walking around in Hongdae…
“Let’s just order Korean fried chicken or fast food,” Somi suggested, scrolling through her phone in the search for restaurants. “Yeah, what are you guys in the mood for?” Johnny asked, walking in front of the group, “I’m down for anything honestly,” Mark said, putting his arms behind his head as he looked at us.
You didn’t see Bryce for the rest of that night, but you felt that it was better this way. He was probably getting high or taking drugs anyways.
“Should we go for fried chicken? I’ve really been craving it,” you said, looking at everyone with a smile, “alright, Y/N-Unnie. Let’s do that,” Chaeyoung nodded and giggled. You walked towards the subway and headed downstairs.
“Should we eat at the restaurant or just at our apartment?” You asked, looking at them, “hmm, it’s up to you guys, I don’t care. What do you guys think?” Chaeyoung answered looking at the guys, “I guess since it’s quite late, let’s just get takeaway,” Mark suggested.
“Alright, boys you go order the fried chicken while we’ll get some drinks and snacks,” Somi ordered, locking arms with you, “deal,” Johnny gave a thumbs up.
You, Chaeyoung, and Somi walked inside the 7/11, looking for drinks and snacks for the rest of the night. “Should we buy more of the standard Soju or the fruit-flavored ones?” Somi asked, holding the basket, “hmm, Johnny and Yuta prefer the standard ones,” Chaeyoung responded as you placed two bags of Kkokkal Corn Snack and chocolate almond LOTTE Pepero sticks. “Oh my god, I missed drinking these,” you giggled, opening the refrigerator and picking 4 bottles of Mogu-Mogu, “wow~ Unnie you must really love the litchi-flavored ones,” Chaeyoung chuckled, placing 3 bottles of strawberry Ramune into the basket.
“Alright, I think we got everything we need,” Somi said, placing 2 bags of Nongshim Honey Twist Snack and a few bottles of banana milk into the basket, “maybe some orange juice for breakfast,” you added, getting your wallet out ready to pay. “Got it,” Chaeyoung said, placing the things onto the checkout counter belt.
The three of you went home, then Somi and you got two mattresses onto the floor in the living room. “Right, good thing your apartment’s so big that we can have sleepovers like this,” she chuckled as Chaeyoung had a cheeky smile. “You and Jungkook better not wake us up when everyone goes to sleep,” she scoffed sassily as you giggled a bit.
“–Yah Jeon Somi!” Chaeyoung yelled as the door opened and the guys were also there.
“Hope you’ve ordered the spicy, sweet, and sour version that I love,” Chaeyoung folded her arms, winking at Jungkook, “of course, we got both since we didn’t know which one you prefer,” he added and placed the plastic bag on the table. “What drinks did you buy?” Mark asked, looking through the plastic bags, “lots of Mogu-Mogu, Soju, banana milk, Ramune,” Somi replied, packing the snacks out.
You gathered on the floor in a circle around the food, “can you pass me the pickled radish, Chaeng?” You said, eating your crispy and crunchy piece of chicken wing, “of course, here Unnie,” Chaeyoung passed over the bowl, “wah, it’s so good, forgot how much I love fried chicken,” Somi hummed, “so good,” Mark nodded. “It’s super delicious, good choice Y/N,” Yuta said, smiling at you. Johnny nodded, eating sweet and spicy chicken, “agreed, we should leave all the food decisions to your roomie, Chae,” he chuckled.
“Of course, not only is Unnie a big foodie - she’s also an excellent cook!” Chaeyoung added, “you guys make me so flustered,” you fanned yourself shyly, being complimented like this was a bit too much.
“Never knew that your roomie is such a cutie, ahaha,” Mark chuckled as you looked over at him. “Woah, woah. I guess Mark got a crush on Y/N-Unnie!” Somi cheered, drinking her blueberry Soju when Chaeyoung decided to speak up. “I already told you guys that Unnie’s–”
“–Back off Y/N, Mark, I saw her first,” Yuta sneered in jealousy as everyone looked at him, “I knew it - so you two are dating!” Mark said tipsy, “we aren’t!” You protested, you didn’t want to mention his name tonight so that’s all you said. You rested your clenched hand under the table, visibly frustrated that Bryce wasn’t even here beside you tonight. He noticed you were upset, he moved closer and placed his hand on top of yours when you looked up slightly.
Yuta gave you a comforting look as you nodded slightly, you let him hold your hand as it reassured and warmed you. Thank you, Yuta… You smiled with your eyes as he smiled.
“Now that we finished eating should we play karaoke or truth or dare?” Johnny suggested, “how about like karaoke and then only play K-pop songs?” Somi added.
Suddenly Yuta’s phone rang as he let go of your hand to answer. “Hey, Nakamoto-kun, do you wanna meet up tonight?” You heard what seemed to be a Japanese-speaking woman’s voice from his phone, “–I wanna make it up to you this time…” She told him on the phone as he sighed, getting up. “–Listen, I thought we already made things clear between us,” he went outside just to speak with her.
That must be Miwayaki-san…
“Woah, who’s that Osaka-Prince’s chatting with?” Somi elbowed Chaeyoung, “it’s Miwayaki Sakura, his former fwb,” she whispered to her as you felt your heart ache. “Yeah, I don’t know what has been going between them,” Johnny added as Mark noticed your rather depressing energy, “yo guys, let’s talk about something else.”
“–Right!” Chaeyoung clapped, “Unnie, which song should we play?” she smiled, looking at you. “I don’t know,” you said in a monotone voice and got up. “I’ll just need to use the bathroom,” you excused yourself.
You wish that the girl’s name didn’t bother you as much as it sadly did.
“I think Y/N’s bothered by Miyawaki,” Mark mumbled, drinking his Soju, “yeah, let’s not mention it, she also fought with Bryce earlier,” Somi added, eating her honey twist chips.
You tried dialing Bryce’s number but he didn’t answer at all. “The person you’re trying to reach - is unavailable–” You sighed in frustration, looking at yourself in the mirror as small tears started to fall on your cheeks.
Mark looked at which song he should choose for karaoke. “Omg, Mark you should totally do “Rap God” by Eminem!” Somi laughed loudly and pointed at him, “yah, Somi, you’re too loud! I don’t want my neighbors to complain about me!” Chaeyoung elbowed her, “the only ones who are loud are you and Jungkook in your bed–” before Somi spoke another word, she got smacked by a pillow.
“Oh my god, you two sure are drunk and feisty,” Johnny chuckled and Jungkook finished his original Soju. “Hey, Babe shuffle the playlist for Mark-ah,” Chaeyoung snickered, “oh God, it’s “Tell Me” by Wonder Girls…” Mark let out a small laugh, “good luck, Mark,” Somi giggled, drinking her blueberry Soju as Chaeyoung handed him a hairbrush. “Go perform, Minhyung.”
You got out of the bathroom after fixing yourself. It seemed like everyone was super drunk or sober. You sat on the mattress by the couch before texting Bryce.
Bryce (my boyfriend)
You: “Sorry, for earlier…”
You: “Can we talk in the morning?”
“Ah, is that “Tell Me” by Wonder Girls?” You said and stood up eagerly, “it’s my favorite song! You said, dancing as Somi applauded. “Go Unnie! Go Unnie!” Chaeyoung cheered as Johnny started filming you and Mark performing.
“Tell me, tell me, tell tell tell tell tell tell me~” you and Mark sang while smiling, “omg here comes the dance break!” You exclaimed eagerly and began dancing while Chaeyoung and Somi clapped repeatedly. “Omg, Unnie’s so good at dancing!” Jungkook chuckled while filming as Johnny laughed, taking pictures of you with Chaeng’s Polaroid camera. “Omg here comes the rapping, are you ready Mark-ah!” Chaeyoung exclaimed, holding Jungkook’s hand. Mark rapped, “Hit me one-time baby dashi hanbeon, okay banggeumhan geon aljiman tto hanbeon!” he finished rapping flawlessly as Johnny laughed, “holy shit dude, you killed it!”
“Next song, Chaeng!” Somi pointed at the TV screen, “coming up, shuffle… Let’s go!” She said as the song started playing. “MIROTIC” by TVXQ was the next song when the three guys stood up in seriousness, “jogeum dacheodo neon gwaenchana Oh~” Johnny sang as Jungkook held the hairbrush. “Neon nareul weonhae, neon naege ppajeo, neon naege micheo, heeonal su eopseo~” they all sang, “I got youuu under my skin,” Jungkook harmonized. “You guys are so amazing!” You exclaimed, filming them as they continued singing.
“Okay, I dare you, girls, to do a song together!” Mark chuckled, shuffling Chaeyoung’s playlist. “Miniskirt” by AOA started playing as Somi hit Chaeng softly, cackling like crazy, “oh my God, no way,” you said, covering your mouth, “come on, ladies. You can’t back down now,” Mark teased as Johnny nodded, handing you the hairbrush.
You sighed, getting ready to perform. “Hey hey hey AOA, hey hey hey! Brave Sound. Drop it!” Chaeng sang, performing just like Shin Jimin, “nal baraboneun siseoni~ neoneun yejeon gatjiga anheun geol~” Somi laid down on the floor like Shin Hyejeong. “Woo! Go, Jeon Somi!” Mark cheered as Jungkook, crossed his arms trying not to die of laughter. Johnny chuckled, filming this to his Instagram story. “Jjarbeun chimareul ipgo~ naega gireul georeumyeon modu nareul chyeodabwa,” Somi sang as you soon joined, covering Park Choah’s part when Yuta opened the door to see you lift your black skirt as the guys whistled, “jjarbeun chimareul ipgo~ geunde wae hapil neoman nal mollajuneunde.” You sang, wiggling your ass with Chaeng and Somi when he watched you closely.
“–I see that I missed quite a lot while I was gone, huh?” Yuta scoffed, looking at Johnny as he nodded. You continued, performing and trying not to look in his direction. “Didn’t know Y/N could pull off sexy concepts like this one, she’s full of surprises,” he said, smirking.
“この女…” (This woman…) “nan jeomjeom jichyeoga,” Chaeng sang, grabbing the chair as Somi did the same, “nal baraboneun geu nunbitmajeodo,” she said. “Wae geuri chagaunji moreugesseo,” you sighed, clearly feeling the song’s lyrics. “Ije byeonhal geoya oh oh!” You sang, performing with the ladies around the chairs you’ve gathered.
Yuta smirked, watching you have fun and clearly distracting yourself from your previously hurt feelings. “Let me perform the next song with Y/N,” he said as everyone was stunned to speak, “fine,” you crossed your arms as he poked his cheek with his tongue, standing there with his hands in his pockets. “Now” by Trouble Maker started playing, that iconic melody made you recognize the choreography immediately. “Omg, Chaeng, they’re going to perform “Now!” Somi wheezed, finally finishing her blueberry Soju, “I think it was Yuta-Hyung’s idea from the start,” Jungkook whispered to Chaeng as she smirked, “Yah, Unnie! Don’t lose to Osaka-Prince!”
“I won’t, just give me a second, Chaeng,” You said, walking inside your bedroom to remove your black mesh shirt, “are you ready?” You asked, folding your arms as you were left in your skirt, black stockings, and that hot pink top. “I was born ready, Y/N-Princess,” Yuta chuckled, smiling as he held his hand out to you. “Ooh ooh ooh ooh tell me now now now,” he sang, standing close to you, “ooh ooh ooh ooh tell me now now now,” you said, looking into his eyes. They were filled with sadness, you began singing and performing Hyuna’s part. Everyone was amused and focused on you two performing so professionally. “You’re still recording this,” Mark whispered to Johnny as he nodded, watching you.
“Uri gachi inneun i mirosoge” Yuta sang to you, “gidael su inneungeon neoppuniya” you sang expressively, stroking his shoulder and forearm as you touched his hand. “Nungama naege angyeo,” you both sang, looking at each other deeply. “Naeireun tto eobseunikka,” you both sang full of emotions as you danced elegantly, he held your hand and spun you.
Yuta spun you back into his arms, making you look into his eyes as you suddenly felt your heartbeat race. The two of you danced elegantly during the dance break of the song. “Woo! You two were incredible!” Chaeyoung yelled, finishing Jungkook’s original flavored Soju.
“FANTASTIC BABY” by BIGBANG, started playing as Jungkook stood up, “woo this is a banger!” he grabbed the hairbrush from Mark and began to sing along. “Nananana nananana, wow fantastic baby!” Mark and Johnny hyped him up as you clapped while laughing. “Dance I wanna dan dan dan dan,” Chaeyoung sang along, dancing with him, “dance wow fantastic, Chaeng,” Jungkook chuckled as she danced wildly.
Yuta sat down next to you as you pressed your lips together, “what’s wrong?” you hugged your knees, “nothing…” you mumbled, trying not to think of the way Bryce ignored you. “It’s that asshole - isn’t it?” He glared as you looked away, “I’m so pathetic…” You sighed, looking down as he took hold of your hand, “you’re not. He’s the one losing such a gorgeous woman,” he said before kissing your hand as you blushed red.
“Boom shakalaka, boom shakalaka, boom shakalaka!” Somi clapped her hands before filming them while laughing, “you guys are so crazy, ahaha!”
After an hour or two everyone fell asleep, Johnny was completely wasted on the couch while Somi and Mark were next to each other on the mattress. “Good night, sleepyheads,” you giggled, covering them with a blanket and a pillow underneath their heads.
“Mhm, night’ Unnie,” Chaeng yawned, walking into her room with Jungkook, “night you two,” you whispered, walking to the bathroom to brush your teeth. You checked your phone one last to see that Bryce didn’t even read your texts. You sighed, starting your night skincare routine. You finished and headed out when the door to the apartment opened.
“Ah, Yuta-san, you went outside?” You asked, standing in front of him as he took his shoes off, “yeah, I was just outside smoking,” Yuta explained as he looked at you.
“Were you worried about me?” He added, scratching the back of his head. “A little, I was wondering why you weren’t sleeping with them,” you hummed as he looked at your face in the dim moonlight’s glow.
“Everyone’s still sleeping…”
“But you’re awake.” Yuta reached his hand and stroked the back of your hair gently. The gesture made you feel soft as you looked at him with a small smile.
“I had to use the bathroom and then I heard someone by the door,” you replied, rubbing your arm as Yuta nodded. The awkward silence between you was heavy. But somehow you couldn’t stop looking at each other.
“–We should probably sleep too, it’s almost 4 AM,” he rolled his neck back and walked to the living room. It was dark but Somi and Mark were sleeping next to each other on the big pull-out mattress. It was as if they were almost cuddling. Johnny slept on the couch, his feet hanging by the end of it.
“Damn, these two crashed the big mattress,” Yuta whispered and chuckled, “guess I’ll sleep on the floor,” he sighed, grabbing the blanket and sitting on the cold wooden floor. “If you want to, you can sleep in my room. I have a couch too,” you suggested as he took your offer.
“You sure that you don’t mind me sleeping in your room?” Yuta asked, sitting on your couch, “it’s fine, I don’t mind. Besides the floor’s too cold to sleep on,” you insisted and handed him a warm blanket and a pillow. “Thank you,” he said, lying down and pulling the blanket. “Goodnight, Yuta,” you said, turning off your lamp, “sweet dreams, Y/N,” he whispered and closed his eyes.
Never would’ve thought that I would be sleeping in Miyoshi Y/N’s bedroom, huh…
The next morning…
“Yah Suh, you’re leaving so early? I haven’t even made breakfast yet,” Chaeyoung mumbled, crossing her arms, “sorry Chae, I gotta open the studio at noon,” Johnny chuckled, rubbing the back of his blonde hair. “Besides that, I also need to go home and change into an outfit that doesn’t reek of cigarettes and alcohol,” he chuckled.
“You guys can drop by at lunchtime if you wanna bother us,” he waved and left, “see ya, later,” Jungkook chuckled and waved. “Where is Yuta-Hyung? Did he go home already?” Mark asked, rubbing his morning hair, “yeah, I didn’t see him sleep here with us,” Somi added, putting her hair in a messy bun.
“Yuta’s sleeping in Noona’s room,” Jungkook smiled before sipping his banana milk, “–what? No way you’re lying,” Chaeyoung exclaimed as Somi giggled, “–I guess it’s a possibility, heh,” Mark rubbed his chin and chuckled.
You were still sleeping, you were pretty exhausted from yesterday’s partying and dancing. Yuta was already awake, he woke a while ago but he didn’t want to disturb your sleep. “Such a pretty woman,” he mumbled, caressing your cheek as he moved the strands of hair away from your eyelids. The mixed feelings from yesterday between your lovers somehow brought you two closer.
Sleeping beauty… Yuta thought, admiring your face in the dim sunlight. He leaned in and whispered into your ear, “hurry up and break up with that asshole, I’m getting impatient.”
You slowly opened your eyes as you saw Yuta’s face, you pursed your lips, “mmh, Yuta-san?” you murmured still half asleep, “おはよう, Y/N-姫,” (good morning, Y/N-Princess,) he chuckled, gently caressing your cheek.
“おはよう…” (Morning…) You responded awkwardly, he was really close and you tried desperately not to look into those dangerous eyes.
“Did you sleep well?” Yuta asked, pinching your cheek and letting go, “mhm, I slept okay, what about you?” You nodded, looking at him. “I slept wonderfully in your bedroom,” he smirked when the door opened as Chaeng peeked her head in, “ah mornin’ lovebirds~ breakfast is ready~” she snickered, “what’s so funny, Chaeng?” you got out of bed as he helped you, “oh nothing~ must be nice to sleep in her bed, huh Osaka-Prince?” She bit her lips as he chuckled, “–that’s not what happened, Chaeng!” You blushed red at the thought of it.
Your phone rang as you answered, “もし-もし,” (hello,) you put on your watch, “ah, could you watch Ayaka while I’m out doing some urgent errands?” She asked as you were about to head out for work, “sure thing aunt Asami, what time do you pick her up?”
“Maybe late in the evening, I’ve so much to take care of,” she added as you nodded, “that’s okay, you can drop her off at the library at 1:30 PM. Ayaka-chan can have fun reading books in the children’s reading room or playing in the kids’ space downstairs,” you added, putting on your high heels as you headed out.
You sat down and placed your books and notebook on the table. You started to memorize a few kanjis, aunt Asami would always test you whenever she was visiting. She would always praise you for working so hard and you didn’t want to disappoint her.
“Yo Y/N,” Yuta cooed, leaning against the bookshelf as he stood across from you, “Yuta-san, what are you doing here?” You asked, adjusting your glasses and looking at him.
“Paying you a little visit, Princess,” he chuckled, walking over to pinch your cheek, “well, I’m too busy for your little visit,” you replied, looking at the kanji. “Ah, I see. You’re learning kanji, huh?” He looked at the piece of paper as you nodded. “I thought re-learning Japanese was hard but memorizing kanjis is even worse!” You groaned, resting your head on the table. “Then get a Japanese boyfriend, that’ll make it easier,” Yuta smirked, patting your head as you pouted, “not funny, besides I already have a boyfriend,” you protested.
“So where do you want to eat lunch, Aya-chan?” You asked, looking at Ayaka’s drawing, “I don’t know, maybe something Japanese,” she mumbled, coloring her turtle. “Okay, what about some udon noodles?” You asked eagerly as she nodded, “yay! I would love that, Onee-san,” she hugged your arm and giggled.
“Onee-san, is Nakamoto-kun your boyfriend?” Ayaka asked as you waved your hands rapidly, “no, no, Aya-chan. Yuta and I are just friends,” you smiled, “Bryce’s my boyfriend, remember?” You looked at her as she shook her head, crossing her arms as Yuta chuckled, “do you want me to be Onee-chan’s boyfriend?” He teased, poking his cheek cutely.
Ayaka nodded immediately, “mmh! Nakamoto-kun’s much more fun and handsome than Bryce!” She confessed as you dropped your jaw. Yuta hugged her and chuckled, “I guess this little Miss knows the truth, I like her.” You crossed your arms, you knew these two together could be up to nothing good.
“–Onii-san, do you want to eat lunch with us?” Ayaka asked all of a sudden.
You were rather surprised to hear her ask such a question. Since Ayaka’s usually not fond of new people but she has somehow taken a liking to Yuta.
“Aya-chan… I think Nakamoto-san’s busy–”
“–時間があります.” (–I have time.) Yuta replied, putting his hand up as Aya smiled happily.
“Besides I would love to eat lunch with you,” Yuta had a sly smile while looking at you. “Yay! Onii-san is going to eat lunch with us!” She chanted happily and jumped eagerly. “I’ll pay for the lunch - so what do you want to eat?” He asked, holding her hand as she smiled brightly, “I want to eat Sukiyaki, Onii-san!” She exclaimed as you sighed. “Ms. Irene I’m off,” you said as Irene smiled and waved, “what a strange couple, heh-heh.” She giggled seeing the three of you off.
You walked inside the restaurant “NEGI” in Gangnam-gu. “A table for three please,” Yuta walked up to the counter, “ah yes sir, please follow me,” the waiter said.
“So Onii-san, how long have you stayed here in Korea?” Ayaka asked in curiosity, looking at him. “Mhm, I’ve stayed here quite a while now. I believe for almost 6 years I’ve stayed here,” Yuta nodded and smiled, “wow, that’s so long, Onii-san! Do you ever miss Japan?” She asked, waiting for his reply.
Yuta stirred the thinly sliced well-marbled beef as it began sizzling. “Of course I do, I get homesick quite often, I miss my mother’s cooking. But thanks to Miyoshi-san, I don’t feel so lonely anymore,” he confessed with a soft smile as you looked away for a split second. The pot was boiling as he served her a bowl with the udon noodles.
“Onii-san, do you like Onee-san?” Ayaka looked at him deeply as she chewed on a piece of maitake mushroom. “Yes. I like her a lot,” Yuta conveyed, glancing at you with a small scoff as he ate a piece of beef. You could feel your cheeks burn up by how flustered you were. “Aw, sorry Onii-san! Onee-san already has a boyfriend~” she teased, slurping on the udon noodles. “I know. It’s such a shame, Onee-san’s a very pretty woman,” he rested his cheek in his palm, winking at you. “You’re such a naughty girl, Aya-chan,” you chewed on the tasty shiraki noodles, looking at her. “Hehe!~” Ayaka giggled, sipping the soup base. “Ayaka-san just enjoys teasing Y/N-Onee~” Yuta chuckled, drinking his Ramune. “Here, since you love them so much,” you added extra enoki and shiitake mushrooms to her bowl.
“きのこが好きですね?” (You like mushrooms, don’t you?)
“はい! そうですおにさん!” (Yes! That’s right Onii-san!)
You smiled at them, eating some shiitake mushrooms and a piece of broiled tofu, “how long are you staying in Korea, Aya-chan?” Yuta chewed on the meat as she looked at him, “me and Mommy are staying here for 2 weeks, hehe,” Aya smiled sweetly as she ate some chrysanthemum greens, “wah… You’re not staying here for too long that’s too bad,” he pouted, finishing his Ramune. “I know! I really wanted to stay longer but I have school…” She sulked, slurping the broth as she finished eating. “Maybe next time, you can stay longer… and spend more time with me and Yuta-san,” you smiled, eating a piece of burdock root.
“ごちそうさまでした、 おにさん!” Aya smiled and bowed, “hehe, you’re welcome,” Yuta chuckled as she held his hand, “yeah, thank you. It was very delicious,” you nodded and bowed softly.
“The three of you walked, hands held together as you walked to the bus stop, “oh my God, what a young couple…” a woman whispered to her boyfriend passing by us. “I guess everyone is different,” he chuckled as Yuta scoffed a bit, thinking about the fact that you were the boyfriend and father of Y/N’s child. “What’s so funny?” You raised an eyebrow as he chuckled, “oh it’s nothing…” You and Aya sat down on the bench, waiting for the bus.
“People think Onee-san and Onii-san are my parents, hehe!” Aya pointed out, kicking her feet. You blushed red, “Aya-chan that’s not funny!” you said, feeling so flustered as Yuta chuckled. “Ah, there’s our bus, Onee-san!” she said, hugging your arm.
“おにさん、 またね,”(Onii-san, see you,) she said hugging him as he smiled, “気をつけて、アヤちゃん.” (Take care, Aya-chan.) You smiled proudly, “take care, Yuta-san, okay?” You said, walking inside the bus as she waved.
“Where are you going?” Chaeyoung mumbled, stretching out, “I want to get healthier, so I’m heading to the fitness center,” you said enthusiastically as she smiled, “okay, have fun, Unnie,” she waved, snuggling in her bed as you left.
You went inside the women’s changing room, “it’s really clean in here, I’m rather surprised,” you mumbled to yourself as you headed out. You scanned the area, stationary bicycles, dumbbell sets, treadmills, powerlifting equipment, bench presses, lat pulldown machines, and many more.
You felt a bit anxious, wearing some loose jogging pants, an open hoodie, and a sports bra. But everyone was rather focused on themselves to even look at you, everyone was working hard to reach their goals and it filled you with motivation.
Which one should you try? Or you could go and look for an instructor.
You felt a hand on your shoulder as you turned around, “–Y/N, good to see you here,” Johnny chuckled, “ah hi, Johnny are you also working out here?” He nodded, “yeah, I’m here with Yuta, we arrived here 30 minutes ago.”
So he’s here too, huh…
“Good morning, Yuta-san,” you greeted him as he was lifting a dumbbell. When Yuta heard your voice he looked up to meet your eyes, “what a lovely surprise to see you here, Y/N-san,” he smiled, looking at you.
“Wasn’t expecting to see the two of you here, it’s my first day,” you said, tying your hair into a ponytail. “Oh, so you want to start working out, or are you here for the yoga classes?” Johnny asked, “here to stay fit and healthier!” You smiled as Yuta nodded, “I can show you around if you’d like,” you nodded, “thank you, I’d love that.”
“I wanna see how the treadmills work,” you said as Yuta nodded, following you. “Step on it, here you adjust the speed,” he pointed, adjusting the speed as you began to walk at a slow pace. “Do you want to go faster?” You nodded, “yes, please. I want to run!” He chuckled and increased the speed as you began to run fast, “woah! This feels great!” You smiled brightly as Yuta smiled.
“These are dumbbells, some of them are heavy while some of them weigh less,” Yuta explained, lifting one as he was flexing his arm. “You’re so strong, Yuta,” you said, watching him as he chuckled, “I’ve been training for a while now, heh. Although I've been wondering Chae already has a fitness membership, how come you haven’t joined her earlier?” He asked, looking at you.
It’s true, you’ve always listened to Bryce’s words. One sad memory you recalled was him telling you not to get a fitness membership because he feared that guys might harass you while working out. Especially if you wore leggings and a sports bra, you didn’t mention this to Chaeng.
“I wasn’t quite sure of myself, but thinking again. I finally want to do the things I want to do. So here I am,” you confessed, hands on your hips as you had your head up high. “That’s my girl,” Yuta chuckled proudly, patting you on the shoulder in support. “Welcome to fitness, Y/N,” Johnny smiled, wrapping an arm around you as you smiled, “thank you two.”
Not listening to Bryce was so unlike you, in a way you felt free and so relieved. Finally doing things on your own… You were delighted with that decision to follow your heart.
The three of you were jump roping for 10 minutes, you were sweating but it felt good. You felt energized and so fresh. “Woah! This is amazing, I feel so good!” You said, smiling as Johnny smiled, “you’re doing incredible, keep up the good work, Y/N,” he added.
About 45 minutes had passed as you were done for today’s workout. “Thanks a lot for today, Johnny and Yuta-san,” you smiled, loosing your ponytail as you let your straight light brown hair down. “No problem, Y/N,” Yuta smiled and reached for your shoulder, “well done, I’ll see you next time?” You nodded, “if you want to, you can have my number and text me anytime you want to work out. We can do it together.” He said, looking at you as Johnny chuckled, “really, won’t I bother you?” You asked, holding your phone as he grabbed it, “not at all, now we can be gym buddies,” he smiled. “Yeah, you can also have my number in case Yuta bothers you too much,” Johnny chuckled and added his number to your phone.
You smiled and nodded, “thank you two, so what are your plans for now?” You all slowly walked towards the changing room, “we’ll grab some breakfast and get back to the studio, what about you?” Yuta drank from his water bottle, “yeah, I’m heading to work too,” you smiled, patting your hair down.
“If you want, you can stop by the studio later for lunch. We plan on ordering some boba,” Yuta said, wiping the sweat off his hair as you nodded, “I would love to, I’m off work at 2:00 PM, I’ll text you once I’m there,” you smiled.
You went inside the women’s changing room and began to shower, that morning workout energized you for work. You exited the subway station and walked inside the library, “hello Ms. Irene,” you waved as she adjusted her glasses, “hi Ms. Miyoshi, you seem a lot fresher today,” she smiled, writing down new arrivals of books. “Oh well, I just started working out in the morning. It really does something to you,” you explained.
“So what do you want me to start on, Ms. Irene?” You adjusted your glasses as Irene held a notebook, “I need you to do some computer work, so bookings, meetings, events, author signing, and orders.” She told you, with a small smile, “I’ll go around and clean the shelves and adjust books.” You began using the computer in the office, planning events and reservations for newly arrived books. You were multitasking and doing your work faster than usual.
“Ah Ms. Irene, I’m done,” you bowed as she came down from the ladder, “ah already? That was quick,” she folded her arms. “This is what happens when you work out,” you giggled, “alright, alright you can go on lunch break, Ms. Miyoshi,” she nodded.
“Ah, Ms. Irene, do you want me to get something for you?” Irene hummed, “if you can get me a cappuccino from 7-11, I would appreciate that,” you nodded, “okay, will do. See you later, Ms. Irene.” You waved and left to get her drink, you got yourself an iced caramel latte.
“Ah where’s Yuta-san?” You asked, looking around the room, “ah he’s inside the private room, you can just go inside,” Johnny smiled as Ten looked over at him, “dude.”
You shrugged your shoulders and walked inside, “ah Yuta-san, are you in here–?” You mumbled, walking inside as he was in the middle of a tattoo session on a gorgeous blonde hair woman, she was only wearing a bra and a pair of skinny jeans. Yuta was finishing the final details of the tattoo on her hip bone.
“–Ah Y/N, how long have you been standing there?” He asked, turning around as the woman sat up, “omg Oppa, that looks so great, I love it!” She hugged him closely when she got eye contact with you. “Who’s that girl, Oppa?” She asked, wrapping her arms around his neck in a flirty manner.
“–I’m so sorry for bothering you!” You worded manically and bowed your head, heading out in sheer embarrassment.
How embarrassing to be walking in on Yuta and his lover… You sighed, leaning your head against the door. “–Did you enjoy the nice surprise?” Johnny teased you, “not funny, Johnny!” You pouted and crossed your arms, “next time please warn me if Yuta-san’s lover is here…” You mumbled, staring at the ground flusteredly.
“Yuta’s lover? That is just one of his beloved customers,” Ten explained, “beloved customers…?” You repeated, “yeah, Yuta’s quite popular with our female clients and he tends to do a lot of private sessions with them since most of them prefer him over us.” Johnny explained briefly.
“Private sessions…? Do you mean that Yuta and the clients–” Your mind went crazy and wild with those exaggerated what-ifs scenarios.
“–Private sessions are just tattoos done on either private body parts or just when our client doesn’t want to be seen by someone while being tattooed,” Yuta replied, standing behind you. “Where’s your special client then?” You asked, looking at him.
“Right here~” The lady said, wrapping an arm around Yuta as she practically pressed her breasts against his arm. “Yuta-Oppa, who’s this girlie?” Her accent sounded different like she was from the USA. She looked at you up and down, her arms and thighs were filled with several tattoos. “Mindy, this is Y/N,” he smiled, “Y/N, Mindy,” looking at you obviously being slightly jealous by her presence. “I’ll just clean the room, Ten please file her payment,” Yuta said, closing the door as she stood in front of you.
“Y/N?” Mindy cooed, walking up and staring at you intensely. “Yes…?” You mumbled, rubbing your arm, “are you a foreigner too?” She asked eagerly. “Ah, no. I was born and raised here in Korea,” you answered.
“Ahh, I see~ you’re so pretty! I, myself am from Las Vegas in the USA!~” Mindy giggled, “anyways, ready to pay Ms. Mindy?” Ten sighed, waiting at the cashier. “Right, right, I’m sooorry~ Ten Lee~” She walked over to swipe her credit card, “yah, don’t I get any discount today Mr. Lee?” She scoffed, tapping her long pedicure nails on the counter. “No, not this time, Missy,” Johnny added, scoffing sassily.
“Bye-bye guys~” Mindy waved as she left the studio. “Finally she’s gone, that girl’s voice drives me crazy,” Ten shook his head, “Yuta-Oppa~” Johnny laughed while imitating her nasal sassy voice. “Isn’t Mindy your beloved customer?” You asked, sitting on the couch, “she’s mostly here because of Yuta, she knows places that have lower prices for tattoos. But insists on going here each time in hopes to see him.” Ten chuckled.
Yuta has many admirers… He’s probably a player. You crossed your arms in tiny frustration. “So should we get some boba?” Yuta peeked his head at the door, “all done cleaning the mess in the room?” Johnny asked as he nodded, rolling his neck, “that darn girl made me work in such an uncomfortable position,” he hissed, rubbing the back of his neck.
“You should get a massage,” Ten nodded, “maybe Y/N call help with that,” Johnny chuckled and winked, “what?” You said cluelessly, “I would love that,” Yuta smiled, sitting on the couch with both his arms on the side.
“Great, we’ll get boba tea and you two watch the studio,” Ten waved, “wait a second…” you mumbled, “you want a Matcha milk tea with strawberry nata de coco, and for Y/N…” Johnny hummed, “I’ll take a Jasmine milk tea with tapioca pearls and no ice, thanks.” You smiled, checking your phone.
“The cultural event is in a few days…” You mumbled as you saw Yuta doing some weird exercises against the wall. “Oi, what are you doing?” You asked, staring at him, “my back really hurts from earlier…” he replied, rubbing his neck.
“Then… let me massage you.” You suggested as he smiled, “thank you,” Yuta smiled as he lay flat on the couch. “Yah, how am I going to massage you when you’re lying like that?” You poked his back, “you can just sit on top of me,” he smirked and chuckled.
“ちがいます!” (That’s not right!) You crossed your arms, “then what do you think we should do?” You sat on the couch as Yuta sat down on the floor in front of you. “The floor’s too cold…” He pouted as you pushed a pillow to his lap, “here, sit on it.” He sat on it and rolled his neck.
“Ready…?” You mumbled, “I’m ready,” Yuta nodded, closing his eyes as you began to massage his shoulders as he hummed. “Do you want me to be rougher?” You asked, nudging your thumbs in circles on his shoulder blades. “Mhm~ wah… that feels wonderful,” he hummed as you rubbed your elbow in circles on them.
“This is what you get for messing with my girlfriend, you punk,” Hisashi scoffed, punching Yuta in the stomach as he coughed. “Then learn to fucking take care of her, asshole,” he spat before punching him in the face.
You were sleeping on the couch when all of a sudden your phone was buzzing. “Mmh… Hello, who’s this…?” You asked, answering it as you heard a familiar voice, “Y/N… Please help me–” Yuta panted into the phone as someone was beating him up, your eyes widened as you checked the location and ran.
Yuta… You idiot… Just what are you doing…!?
“Stop it! Please stop it!” You begged, pulling the guy away from Yuta as he was on the ground, bruises all over his face. “–Who are you?” He asked, scoffing and staring at you, “–that’s not important, why are you hurting Yuta-san!?” You yelled as he clenched his fist about to hit you when Yuta pulled him by the ankle, “stop it, Hisashi… She has nothing to do with this,” he coughed, “don't hurt her…” you flinched at the sight of his hurt body on the ground.
“–Learn to not fuck around with someone else’s girlfriend, punk-ass,” Hisashi scoffed before walking away when he stood in front of you, “–and you. Don’t get involved with this guy if you don’t want to end up like him, girlie.” He warned you as you stood there speechless.
“Yuta…” You whimpered, tears slowly falling from your eyes, “I’m sorry for… dragging you into this…” You shook your head, taking hold of his hand, “don’t say that…! Just please be okay, you idiot!” You voiced as he sat up, you looked into his eyes before hugging him close.
“You idiot… Why did you put yourself in danger like that!?” You demanded as Yuta chuckled, “I’m sorry, but thank you… for saving me,” he spoke, patting your hair.
You two sat on the floor in front of the couch. “Oww, oww,” Yuta grunted. You treated his wounds on the face and hands, “this is your fault for being a bad boy!” You scolded him, putting bandages on the knuckles. “Mhm, but you like bad boys,” he added cockingly, “I like smart bad boys, not stupid ones.” You scoffed sassily, crossing your arms when he took off his shirt.
“I can be like that too,” Yuta smirked, flexing his abs as you pursed your lips slowly reaching out for them when he took you by the wrist. “Mmh…” You blushed red, feeling the touch of his strong abs, your eyes wandered over to his butterfly tattoo, “that asshole punched me here too,” he scoffed, standing as you looked at him deeply. “Let’s treat it then,” you said, patting the bruises on his abdomen as he hissed. Looking at you from his point of view gave him the absolute wrong thoughts, and he threw his head back.
You placed an ice pack on his abdomen as you looked up, fluttering your eyes, “does this feel better?” Yuta licked his lips before cupping your cheek and scoffing heavily, “much better, Princess,” he smirked as you got up.
“What’s with that smirk?” You folded your arms, sitting on the couch, “nothing I just didn’t know you were so good,” you looked at him, “–good at treating wounds.” He chuckled. “Well, I’m used to it, Bryce always gets into stupid fights…” You said as he glanced at your pink lips, “do you want something to drink?” he nodded, “can I have some hot green tea?”
“Thank you for saving me earlier…” Yuta bowed, drinking his tea, “why did he beat you up?” You asked, hugging your knees, “it’s a long story, I uh… his girlfriend and I used to sleep together.” He rubbed the back of his neck as your heart sank, “we didn’t fuck but we had something,” he explained as you held onto your knees in frustration. “But I ended it. We were not meant to be together. We used each other and didn’t respect each other’s lives. And we hurt ourselves,” Yuta confessed, sighing heavily.
“That girl he was referring to is Miyawaki Sakura, right?” You said, feeling hurt and jealous as he held your hand, “that’s true but I ended it all with her a few days ago, I don’t care about her most slightly anymore,” he looked into your eyes.
You don’t want to believe those lies even if Yuta was being honest…
“Please believe me,” Yuta begged, you closed your eyes, “I don’t, I don’t know why… my heart hurts so much when I heard her name…” you confessed, tears falling from your eyes, “even though I’m with Bryce… it hurts… to see you in so many bruises and pain because of her,” you cried as he pulled you into his chest, “I’m so sorry, I’m really an asshole.”
Does seeing my bruises bring you so much pain…? Those pretty eyes filled with tears because of the fucked up things I do… Y/N, you’re really a woman who needs attention. I feel bad…
You blushed red, pulling back as he looked into your eyes deeply.
Looking at this man, Nakamoto Yuta… He reminds you of Bryce but the complete opposite of him… Yuta protected you from guys that would harass you and even comforted you when everyone else was drunk…
You fluttered your eyes as he wiped the tears away before kissing your forehead. “But thank you, Y/N.” You blushed red, looking down before thinking about your relationship with Bryce.
If I couldn’t get away… would you become mine?
Yuta lay on the couch, sleeping heavily. 20 minutes went by as you made some Nongshim Soon Veggie ramen noodles, “careful it’s hot,” you said as Yuta sat up, “thank you for letting me stay here,” he slurped the delicious noodles and bit a piece of the soft-boiled egg. “Is it good?” You giggled as he licked his lips and nodded.
“What do you want to do?” You asked, eating your Nongshim Shin Ramen noodles, “I don’t know,” Yuta replied, finishing his bowl as he looked at your lips. “Want to watch anime?” He smirked.
“Wah, this anime is kinda relatable…” you hummed, drinking litchi-flavored Mogu-Mogu, “that’s what I told you,” Yuta scoffed, sipping some juice from your bottle. “I usually only watch romance and slice-of-life animes, this anime is surprisingly good,” you nodded as he chuckled. “You should watch season 2 after you finish season 1,” he smiled, leaning a bit closer to you and resting his arm behind your neck. You just finished watching episode 1 of Noragami, you continued watching a few more episodes as you slowly fell asleep.
Your head was resting on Yuta’s shoulder as he chuckled, “fell asleep already? Heh, I guess I did put you through a lot of trouble today…” he mumbled, feeling bad about earlier, “I’m sorry.” He whispered into your ear as you hummed in your sleep. He carried you in his arms, walking you to your bedroom.
It’s a good thing, you’re not so heavy, Princess. Yuta thought, smiling as he placed you on your bed and covered you with the blanket. “Mmh…” You mumbled tiredly as he glanced at you, “sweet dreams, Princess,” he whispered before leaving your room. He lay on the couch as he fell asleep too.
After an hour you woke up and looked around, “oh? How did I end up here…?” you hummed before walking to the living room to see Yuta sleeping heavily on the couch. You walked over and tugged him with a warm blanket before admiring his cute face.
Yuta’s sleeping, I bet he’s exhausted from earlier… You moved some of his black hair away from his eyes, caressing his cold but soft cheek.
“Don’t pretend to be a bad boy,” you whispered before kissing his cheek softly, “おやすみ、ユタ.” (Good night, Yuta.) You whispered, patting his hair.
“Unnie, I’ll be away for a few days in Busan looking
for inspiration to my art project, I’ll be back soon.”
Chaeng🍓 (My strawBae)
Chaeyoung: “Take care of yourself & don’t skip any meals”
Chaeyoung: ”Call me if need anything💖”
“A lot of people are here - it’s so nice!” Irene giggled, fixing her Hanbok. “So we’ll start with the Chinese Lunar New Year at 5:45 PM, next is the Korean autumn festival at 6:15 PM, and lastly the Japanese tea ceremony at 6:45 featuring a special guest…” you hummed, checking the event list. “Right, could you please hang these flyers around the area?” She said, handing you a stack of them.
You climbed the ladder, to add some origami on top of the bookshelves as time went by. “Alright, good evening ladies and gentlemen,” Irene held the microphone and spoke. “We warmly welcome you all to the National Library of Korea’s cultural event, I’m your host, Ms. Bae,” she added and bowed as the crowd applauded. “We’ll start the Chinese Lunar New Year in 5 minutes, please go and look around in the meantime.”
You were in the wardrobe putting on a red Cheongsam, “ah, Ms. Park, should I have my hair done in Chinese space buns or just a simple bun?” You looked at your reflection as she chewed on bubblegum, “Y/N-Unnie, you can call me Sooyoung, no need to be so formal,” Sooyoung giggled, brushing your long silky light brown hair. “You’re so pretty with your hair down, Unnie~”
“Thank you, Sooyoung-ah,” you smiled as she started to style your hair, “have you gotten yourself a new boyfriend now?” She asked, “ah no. It’s still Bryce,” you answered as she sighed heavily, “yah, Unnie you’re too pretty for a loser like him,” Sooyoung clicked her tongue.
“I didn’t know this dress would be tight and this short.” You turned around, checking yourself in the mirror, “no, you look just fine, Unnie~” Sooyoung added, patting your back. “Thanks, Sooyoung-ah.”
“晚上好大家,” (Good evening everyone,) You spoke into your earpiece, smiling softly. “Yah. Sooyoung, you need to put this on Tik Tok live,” Irene murmured to her, “okay, okay Eomma,” she scoffed and started to film before giggling. “Today’s event is about the Chinese Lunar Year, we’ll start introducing the traditional clothes.” You said, walking and pulling the curtain to reveal other women wearing the Hanfu and Cheongsam. “This is Hanfu, which literally translates to ‘Han Chinese’s attire’ and consists of a robe, jacket, and a skirt.” You explained as the model turned around to showcase the Hanfu.
“–That woman in the red dress is unbelievably hot,” one guy mumbled, “she has beautiful long legs,” a girl added. “–She looks foreign, I bet she’s not Korean,” a couple whispered.
Heh, it seems like Y/N’s a real crowd-pleaser.
Yuta chuckled, fixing his clothes. I won’t get beaten by you either, Princess. “Are you ready for your event, Mr. Nakamoto?” Irene asked and looked at him, checking the list.
“And now to the Cheongsam which means ‘long garment’. Also known as Qipao, they can be sleeveless like this red one I’m wearing. But they can also be long and have different shapes of the neckline.” You added, opening your fan and walking onto the stage. “Now to finish off, please enjoy some tea and some delicious mooncakes,” you smiled, bowing your head.
“谢谢大家,” (Thanks everyone,) you walked off the stage as Irene smiled, “well done, you were shining up there Miyoshi,” you nodded, “thank you, Ms. Irene.”
You sat down by the table when you noticed one of Chaeng’s familiar friends in the distance, “Annyeong Y/N-Unnie,” two women greeted and sat with you, “Dahyun-ah and Tzuyu-ya, long time no see!” You exclaimed and smiled. “What brings you two here?” You asked, serving them Oolong tea and a plate with mooncakes, “Chaeng really wanted to be here for you but couldn’t - so we came here instead of her,” Tzuyu smiled as Dahyun nodded, taking a bite of the mooncake.
“Aw that’s so sweet of you two, I hope that you enjoy the event so far,” you bowed, smiling softly. “The Cheongsam you’re wearing is so gorgeous,” Tzuyu said, smoothing the red silk fabric as Dahyun took a picture of you with her camera, “thanks Tzuyu-ah, it’s such an honor to wear this attire.” Ms. Irene began speaking again, “and now for our final event is the Japanese tea ceremony and our special guest Mr. Nakamoto!” Yuta walked on the stage, bowing while wearing a beautiful black Kimono.
“こんにちは、みんなさん,” (Hello everyone,) he smiled and waved, a woman wearing an orange Kimono as she began pouring tea into the cups.
What’s Nakamoto Yuta even doing here…?
“Wow, he’s super handsome,” Tzuyu whispered to Dahyun as she agreed. “Don’t you think so, Y/N-ah?” She elbowed you as you were slightly annoyed, “he’s alright, I guess…” You mumbled in frustration.
“Alright please give a round of applause for Ms. Yabuki’s Kimono showcase and Nakamoto’s Kanji reading,” Irene smiled as the crowd applauded and cheered. “If you’d like, Mr. Nakamoto will do free henna tattoos on table number 26,” she added and pointed.
“Ms. Irene you never told me about this special guest…” You whispered to her, taking a quick glance at Yuta, “well, to be fair Nakamoto insisted it to be a surprise since he knew you after all,” she chuckled, sipping her white wine glass. “You should head over to Mr. Nakamoto and get a henna tattoo, Y/Nssi,” she giggled.
“You look incredibly pretty tonight, Princess,” Yuta cooed, drawing a black henna flower on your forearm, “why are you here?” You asked all confused and flustered by his cool and collected presence, “I was the special guest for the Japanese event, remember?” He chuckled, looking at you deeply.
“これは好きですか?” (You like this?) You looked at him and then at the tattoo, it resembled your favorite flower, “mmh it’s so beautiful, it’s a ‘Forget-me-not’ right?” You smiled as he nodded before whispering into your ear, “but do you know the Japanese meaning behind the flower?” He smiled as you blushed red when he leaned closer. “I– don’t…” You mumbled shyly as he took a bite of a mooncake. “I’ll tell you later, Princess.”
You leaned against a bookshelf. “I’m here because I want to know how you feel,” Yuta mumbled, looking at you as you fluttered your eyes. “I don’t know what kind of person you truly are,” you replied as he pinned his arm next to your face. “I can be whatever person you need me to be,” he smirked, caressing your cheek as you felt your heartbeat race. “What time are you off?” He whispered, “7:00 PM,” you replied, blushing red.
“Sweet, I’ll wait for you.” Yuta chuckled, walking off, “wait! You don’t have to,” you insisted, pulling his sleeve. “It’s rather dangerous this late at night, besides I can drive you home,” he smiled. “Just stay here, let me just get changed,” you said to him as he nodded, you turned around to release your hair from the tight buns and walked to the changing room.
You finished changing as you were wearing a knee-length beige skirt and a white shirt underneath your black coat, “should we go, Princess?” Yuta smirked, fixing his black leather jacket and holding his hand out to you. “Thank you, Yuta-san,” you mumbled, taking his hand as you went down, exiting the library.
“Where are we going…?” You asked, sitting on the back of his motorcycle as he gave you a helmet and stood in front of you, “to my place, Princess~” Yuta whispered into your ear as your eyes widened, he started the engine and drove off quickly.
🦋✨🐢🦋✨🐢🦋✨🐢🦋✨🐢🦋✨🐢🦋✨🐢🦋✨🐢
A/N’s note: The Cheongsam Y/N’s wearing is shorter (around knee length but I couldn’t find any pictures) Thank you so much for supporting and reading my fanfics, hope you don’t mind the many languages and pictures ehehe. ^^"
– Author L. out
< Previous part – Next part >
🦋✨🐢🦋✨🐢🦋✨🐢🦋✨🐢🦋✨🐢🦋✨🐢🦋✨🐢
#Yuta Fanfic: Like a butterfly#Nakamoto Yuta#Yuta#Y/N x Yuta#Nakamoto Yuta Imagines#Nakamoto Yuta Fanfic#Yuta Fanfic#NCT Yuta#NCT x Reader#NCT 127#NCT Fanfic#NCT#NCT Imagines#NCT 127 Fanfic#NCT U#NCT127 Fanfic#NCT Scenarios#NCT Writing#NCT Writers#Johnny Suh#Johnny#Ten Lee#Ten#Son Chaeyoung#Chaeyoung#Jeon Somi#Somi#Girl Groups#Kpop#Kpop Fanfiction
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LAST TIME ON RANGER ACADEMY: It's our contractually obligated school dance portion of the Magic School plot Parent Weekend, but Sage and Tula can't enjoy it due to The Horrors. Regardless of crazy social anxiety and cover-up conspiracy theories, we got some cool reveals, like how MATHIS'S MOM IS NADIRA!!!!!
oh and Tula had an older sister who was a Green Ranger or something.
It's Ranger Academy #7!
Tula: this is where my older sister died, Sage
Sage: cowabummer!
= So I guess something worth noting here is Ranger Academy is indeed intentionally covering up Green and it's definitely framed as bad that they did that (yay, the system I hate is corrupted and we have to knock it down!!!!) but we're ONLY focusing on Green and not other colors. Part of me feels like we're going to stay focused on Green for simplicity's sake but it would be a shame if we never followed up on the possibility of other colors being wiped from everyone's awareness. Ranger Academy you have one fucking chance to prove to everyone this isn't just MMPR worship
= girl I get it if the 999 happy haunts of an abandoned school campus invited me to be the 1,000th tenant I'd want to get tf out of there too!!!!!!!
= mysterious floating head wants in on the friendship breakup, I get it
= also there's been some parts of the fandom turning on Sage for this, which on the one hand, she really is putting more blame on Tula than is deserved (like her grief about how Tula was using their friendship to get evidence? Tula was honestly trying to stay away from Sage a majority of the time before this. And as Tula rightfully points out after this, she didn't want Sage to come here in the first place, making the whole "you took me from my home!" thing moot. And in general I really can't blame Tula for being opportunistic once she realized Sage got Green powers. Is it somewhat selfish? Yeah, but not to the extent that I can fully side with Sage's breakdown here.) But on the other hand, people in the fandom insulting Sage and calling her selfish, a pick-me, unworthy of being a ranger, etc. have made me extra protective of her because she's fucking 14 years old in a fucked up situation so! Maybe you guys just hate girls
= So I guess right now one of the questions that hasn't been explained enough to the point where you can kind of get an idea as to where they're going with it (don't you love drawn-out mysteries?) is Tula's connection to Rhianth. I guess it could be as simple as she just found his name (or "Rye", as she called him in the first issue) while researching the Green Campus, as we know he had a Green on his team, but she still seems overly fixated on him. Especially when you consider their literal LIBRARIAN knew Rhianth too, and would be far easier to investigate
= Kartyr you should know the lesbian breakups are always the most dramatic
= hey look it's the panel that launched a thousand haters
= You guys already know my problems with the suits and everything so I won't get into them here, but I do wish the fandom people yelling about how generic the suits are would realize it's a symptom of why the concept of a Ranger school in general rather than the problem just being their designs. The designs themselves are fine. And yeah, I wish the cadets could personalize their morphers/suits, but like......why would they be able to in a school environment. They're basically uniforms. And throwing in more lore and rules about how they would work with multiple themes would just get overly complicated; especially when we don't know yet how the process of choosing a team works. This is unfortunately what makes the most sense for a Ranger school. I saw someone call it a "mass-produced Ranger army" which is probably the most accurate way to describe it.
And the reason I'm saying this is because it's what i've been PREACHING and SAYING since THE FIRST ISSUE CAME OUT!!!!!!!!!
= does it have any games on it or what
= Anyway I'll say it again: whatever this is, Dark Specter, some evolved version of Dark Specter, Dark Specter's child, whatever; it's a way more intimidating design than Evil Radiant Red
= god I wish the ghostly green echo of my dead dad (????????) could show up whenever I needed inspiration
= LESBIANS GET BEHIND ME
= And I'll give them credit: at least her weapon isn't a dagger or sword
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What’s love got to do with it?
Steve Harrington x Babysitter!Reader
Desc: You're barely a friend to Steve Harrington- if anything, you're maybe slightly more then acquaintances. But it turns out, if you help a guy save a small town, he tends to stick around more then you like. And now? He's making you go to Prom with him. It's strictly platonic- because that's the only reason you finally broke down and said yes. And it's going to stay that way.
Right?
Notes: (sorry haha) I found some time to write again! This just a set up/introduction for this quick story, as well as babysitter reader! So nothing crazy, but it’ll get there. Let me know if you like it, and I can actually make some more interesting chapters!! Thanks for reading :)
warnings: none ( for now )
(set between season 2 and 3!)
Part 2 Part 3
Or read the whole thing on ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/39508407
“(F/n). As a friend, I am asking you to do me a favor.” Steve Harrington pleaded, following close behind as you rolled the library cart down the aisle, looking for the familiar sign for C. When you didn’t immediately respond, he let out a loud whine- one loud enough to warrant attention.
“Steve. Shut up!” You hissed, stopping the cart in front of the desired aisle.
“Well, if you want me to whisper, then you need to pay attention.” Steve explained slowly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“I am.” You said, beginning to pick up a long list of books that belonged back in their section. Steve watched as you deliberately focused on your growing stack, fabric and binding creating soft, rhythmic echoes down the quiet corridor. “I just don’t care to entertain stupid questions.”
Letting out an inaudible, albeit offended gasp, Steve watched as you stacked up your last book and promptly walked away from him. You were determined to not give him the time of day. Even with a job as boring as this one, you were hellbent on ignoring him and refused to even entertain his proposal. Thinking back on it, he wished you were still babysitting Dustin and the kids. At least that way he was able to actually talk. You’d still make most of the decisions anyway, but it would've been better then having to obey whatever rules your head librarian dictated. He watched as you wobbled on unsteady, pinching heels, the giant stack of books threatening to topple over with every movement. Despite your discomfort and obstacles, you straightened, as if more focused on your work ordered shoes than him. Steve raised an eyebrow at that.
If you weren’t going to talk to him- he might as well help out.
Pushing past your cart quicker than you were moving, he slid up next to you and reached for your books.
“Hey! What are you-”
“Didn’t you say we needed to be quiet?” Steve interrupted, cutting off your harsh bark of surprise with a smug, open mouth smile. Your brows furrowed tight over the dusty stack, manicured hands slipping over thick pages as you tried to shift the pile away from him. Catching the first five books easily, he slipped them from the pile, smirking as you wordlessly pinned him with a wide-eyed glare, lips revolving open and shut.
“Where does this one go?” He asked, trying to sound as polite as possible as he held one of the books, smiling helpfully. He would be a good librarians assistant- he knew it in his gut.
“'A Clockwork Orange'?” You almost sneered at him, nose wrinkling as you snatched at the book with one hand, as if unafraid of your toppling book tower. “I think the system would be a little too much for you.”
Steve shrugged as he lifted the book into the air, easily escaping your reach. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. The library organizing system probably would be too much for me to handle.” He admitted, watching you lose interest in his teasing and move on to the next book in your possession. “Do you wanna teach me?”
You didn’t give him an answer.
Expecting this, Steve slowly followed you down the aisle, eyes trained on the back of your head. He watched as you would stop, backtrack slightly and then strain to put a book away, sometimes too low, but most of the time it was just too high. And that precarious method of carrying books wasn’t helping anything.
You were stubborn- he could give you that. But you were his only option- the only one that made sense. So he was going to convince you- whether you liked it or not.
“How about this:” Steve began, putting his part of the stack on the floor and grabbing your most recent book, placing it in the spot you had been vying for. This close, he could feel your annoyed sigh brush across his collarbone, the smell minty. It was probably the brand of toothpaste you used- because he never saw you chewing gum. At least, that’s the only thing that made sense when he felt the smell linger. He shook his head, nose wrinkling as he decided to get back on track. “You teach me about your book system or whatever- and I teach you how to buy a prom dress.”
“No, Steve.” You replied, seriously deadpan.
“What’s wrong with that? Book system for a ticket to prom? Sound’s like a pretty good deal.” He explained proudly, leaning against the bookcase as one of his hands found his hip. Maybe if he played it off a little cooler, you wouldn’t be so embarrassed- and finally just say yes.
“I’m not going to go to prom with you!” You contradicted, sending what felt like a sucker punch into his gut.
Throat dry, he barely kept himself from stammering. “Why not?”
“You know why not Harrington.” You said, shoving the last book into place with a loud ‘thunk’, perfectly timed to your glance his way. “I’m not going to prom with you, because it’s a waste of time. I don’t want to go.”
“Yeah you do. Come on- it’s senior prom, and you’re telling me you don’t want to go?”
You shrugged dismissively, focused solely on the library cart as if avoiding his eyes.
“(F/n), everybody wants to go to prom. Just come with me- it’ll be fun.” Steve begged, starting to feel much less hopeful when he had first gotten the idea. It had made sense- the two of you going together.
“And how is that again? Steve- we don’t like each other like that.”
“Yeah!” He exclaimed, almost clapping his hands together before remembering he was in a library. You were finally starting to catch his drift. “It’ll be a fun way to hang out, two buddies who totally don’t like each other- getting dinner and then dancing the night away.”
The next look you leveled at him could’ve curdled blood, lids low over entirely unimpressed eyes. “Steve. I thought you said we weren’t doing the bullshit thing anymore.”
Ouch.
He frowned, arms immediately folding as he shifted to lean a little harder against the shelves, heart heavy. You… you knew what that word meant to him. And he knew about the conversation you were referring to. Halloween night- the night he had lost Nancy. His car had been boxed in, but you hadn't left yet. And whether unfortunate or not, you had seen enough to understand. You had given him a ride home and he had vented about all of it to you.
You… you had explained what Nancy meant about bullshit. You had been right on most accounts- except for the part about Nancy not actually wanting to break up. If you had been right, he wouldn’t have been pestering you now.
He stared at you for a second, brows furrowing as he looked you over. Once again, you were apparently more focused on books than him, picking up and flipping over paper fossils like they were videotapes. But more than that, there was an underlying tension in your shoulders, a slight hunch that wasn’t there when you were at ease.
Oh.
The ‘bullshit’ thing meant you thought he was lying- or at least, not being honest with you. Steve felt the burn of guilt in the base of his throat, pushing off of the shelves with a sigh. He needed to fix this.
“I… I’m not. I want to go with you.” He assured, trying to lead you away from the ‘bullshit’ train of thought. “Why would I ask you if I didn’t?”
Letting out a huff, you put away 'Carrie' with a particularly vicious shove. “Well, then you’re lying about something else then. Or just not telling me the whole truth.” When you met his eyes, he saw it. You didn’t really hide anything from him- everything you said was what he saw there, in your eyes. If you were mad, you acted like it. Sad? You were going to be crying. That’s how you treated everyone- and he was realizing that honesty was what you liked. Not whatever showboating he was trying to pull to save his own ass. If Steve wanted you to go with him, he just needed to tell you the truth.
You were lucky he liked you.
Sighing, Steve grabbed his stack of books from off of the ground, standing next to you quietly. He held out 'Clockwork Orange'. Noticing him, you performed an almost imperceptible doubletake, and then promptly took the book from his hand, as if showing acceptance. Steve watched as you scanned the shelves and took a readying breath. “I want to have fun with you. I do. But I also just… I don’t want to show up alone- not when Nancy and Jonathan are going to be there.”
You stopped mid-motion, up on your tiptoes. You looked at him over your shoulder, wide eyes the only visible piece of your face over a pressed white sleeve. Obviously, you hadn’t been expecting that. Steve would’ve smiled if he'd known you wouldn’t have minded. But he couldn’t risk pissing you off again.
You recovered from your shock fairly quickly, pushing the book between its siblings and falling back to your heels, more pensive than before. For a moment Steve thought you were going to say yes. And then you shook your head. “Then take some other girl. I’m sure there are a few dozen who would love it if you did, and would definitely ‘make your night’.”
“I’m not ready for that kind of thing.” Steve admitted quickly, knowing if he had said that around any of his old friends, they would’ve ribbed him for days. You were different. You cared. He knew by the way your fake smile dissolved when he admitted his inability to move on. “I want to go with you. You actually… you know what’s going on already, and I don’t feel like explaining it to anyone else.”
Lips pressed together, you looked down at the few remaining books in your arms, sifting through them slowly. He knew you knew each book in that stack- but he gave you some time to think anyway. You glanced up at him through thick lashes, eyes narrow and brow furrowed. It looked like you were really thinking it over.
“Come on (F/n).” Steve almost begged, “I just need a friend.”
Then your nose did that little wrinkle- a little twitch that let him know everything he needed to before you said it. You let out a quiet groan, turning away from Steve quickly as he began to smile. You were pretending to look for another shelf to avoid him- but he already knew what you had decided, anticipation swooping through his stomach as he let that stupid grin creep up across his face.
You turned to face him and almost let out another groan, eyes flickering across his smug face. “On one condition.”
Steve nodded, sticking his tongue in his cheek. "Name it."
"I'm not slow dancing with you." You decreed, lips tight and cheeks slightly flushed. You nodded at him- he nodded back with a smile. Your flat, neutral expression twitched, mouth turning up slightly and Steve laughed, pointing at you in a show of victory. You just rolled your eyes at him, walking away to finish your job. He watched you go, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"It's a deal then?"
#steve harrington#x reader#steve x reader#steve harrington x you#steve harrington x reader#reader insert#stranger things x you#stranger things x y/n#y/n#babysitter!reader#stranger things fic#fanfiction
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total eclipse of the heart | 3
Pairing: anakin skywalker x reader
Note: fem!reader, jedi librarian!reader
Summary: Love is the death of duty, and duty is the death of love. This is the story of you and your fellow Jedi Anakin Skywalker orbiting around each other in this never-ending, all-consuming cycle.
Warning(s): self-deprecating thoughts, my out of practice writing, english is not my first language
Word Count: 2239
1 | 2 | 3
The next time you saw Anakin after the rescue of Senator Amidala was back at the temple. You weren’t one of the official keepers anymore, but being ripped apart from your duties didn’t mean solace would leave its home between the shelves, this would be your safe place no matter how much time had passed and you weren’t about to desert it because Master Nu had (forcefully) 'relieved you of your responsibilities' for a while.
You just needed to settle. Go back to your roots.
Dissolve the ugly away inside of you.
Face the shame on your own and move on.
Nobody needed to witness that, it was something you needed to work on on your own.
Anakin must have smelled the shame all the way from his quarters, because he found you tucked away, a record someone else had hidden away to come back to later, sitting on the polished cream floor with your back to the wall between the stacks of an isolated corner and blending into the shadows.
You heard a hitch of a breath first. “Hey,” he called, and you raised your head to find his tall figure shined on with the blue-white glows coming from the shelves as if he were a phantom straight out from your longing mind. “What are you doing down there?”
The question was what he was doing here. Anakin wasn’t a local resident of the archives and rarely ever visited. For him to venture out even for one or two stacks was unheard of, and you were pretty much in the farthest corner of the place.
Once the initial shock was gone, you shifted in your place to sit up more properly. “Reading?”
You sounded unsure of yourself.
“Yes, I have eyes,” he said, you couldn't see his face clearly but he did have a slight smile to his tone. “Any particular reason why you stashed yourself away like a book? You don’t want to be found maybe?”
“Maybe.” His prying made you uncomfortable. He had begun to ask a lot of questions lately, always curious about something. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing, of course. We all need some time to ourselves once in a while.” He took a couple steps toward you. “Mind if I sit next to you?”
Your heart jumped to your throat and your spine straightened even more. He didn’t exactly mean peace and quiet, it was always something with Anakin Skywalker and him bringing winds to wherever he went. But you quietly said, “Sure,” anyway, some part of you happy with getting to spend time with him after not seeing him for quite some time.
You found that melting feeling scary.
Every muscle in your body tightened, limbs violin strings tuned one by one by his settling presence beside you, and not a look was spared to him, only in the corner of your eye did you see him stretch out his strong lean legs in front of him. Anakin’s body heat was suddenly a furnace and it was ridiculous of you to react overly conscious like this.
“So what was that all about? You never told me.”
Focus on his words were slippery between your fingers, and the only thing that mattered was how close his voice was. “What are we talking about?”
“Batonn system.”
Huh.
So Anakin Skywalker had a memory that could rival Tridoan elephants. He conveniently forgot orders and acted like he didn’t hear something when it inconvenienced him, but remembered your less than stellar performance from one standard month ago?
A bitter taste coated your mouth, sticky and dry at the same time. “Ah, yes, that.”
Anakin’s voice lowered into gentle worry that tickled your heart. “You didn’t look okay.”
“We all have our ups and downs, no?” You swallowed, forcing some mirth out. “I did come rushing from another situation, I wasn’t at my best but it’s okay now. Don’t worry about it.”
“Well that’s a load of Bantha poodoo if I’ve ever heard one,” he said, without holding back and almost glaring you right in the eye — this was confrontational now, out of nowhere, too.
He could never be subtle, could he?
In return, you got defensive. “Okay, what is your problem?”
“What is your problem?” He shifted sharply in his place, turning to you fully and rearranging his legs to cross. “You were just off back then. I saw you shaking, and— You can't let it take over you in the middle of battle like that.”
As if you didn’t know. “So is that what this is? You’re treating me like a padawan now?”
The bitterness was something he apparently hadn’t expected. “I don’t follow.”
“You don’t need to lecture me, I already know how I am, drop it.”
“You’re angry,” he murmured, a discovery’s shine in his face, but you didn’t get it.
“I’m not angry.”
Anakin slowly took his gloved hand’s index finger at the level of your furrowed eyebrows. “That’s telling otherwise.”
You automatically relaxed your face and in return, now you were too conscious of what kind of expression you were making. “It’s just how my face is.”
“Hey come on, talk to me. I want to understand, I want to help, so let’s have it.” So, here was the surprise white flag. From Anakin Skywalker. “Don’t say it’s nothing. You’re supposed to be wise, Miss Madame Librarian, so you should know bottling whatever this is will only make it worse.”
It managed to wrangle a small smile from you, a mischievous warmth settled on your shoulders. “Master of healthy communication now, aren’t you?”
“Have always been,” Anakin declared, proud of himself as always.
“If Master Kenobi was in grave, his bones would be rattling at that.”
Scandalous. “You don’t think I’m good at communicating?”
You raised your hands at that. “You are infamous for it.”
His eyebrows dipped in from their inner corners as Anakin shoved his hand right in front of your face in mock offense. “I’m perfectly capable of getting my point across at all times.”
“Sure.” Why not play along? Forget he was interrogating you for a while and indulge his humor, that helped your nerves as well. “Because communication is, of course, supposed to be one-sided in nature.”
“Listen—” Something between a scoff and a laugh left him, but in the end, Anakin stifled it by summoning his seriousness after giving it some real physical effort. “No, stop, I know what you’re doing, stop, this isn’t about me right now.”
It was unseemly and impertinent of you to smile the way you did, to which Master Nu would gasp if she were here because you were soft at your core and would never make fun of people usually— banter wasn’t your strong suit, you were polite if no other adjective ever. Anakin’s maliciousness had rubbed off on you the more you had spent time with him, it seemed. “Unfortunate isn’t it.”
“Stop.” He pursed his plush lips together and you knew he was trying not to smile and it embarrassed you to even momentarily look down at the gesture. “Stop it.” His voice dropped down to a more earnest hum. “Tell me. What’s really going on? We’ve talked before, you and I. How’s this different? You know I won’t judge.”
How would he not? You judged yourself.
Not only had the green, suffocating angry monster you’ve only met the day Senator Amidala was introduced to you came back as overwhelming shame once you had gotten out of Batonn System; how incompetent you were as a Jedi General was beating down on you with the weight of a planet as well.
No matter how you looked at the situation, you were a lost cause. Were you a good Jedi at all? You thought you were wise and capable confined to the grounds of the Archive — no doubts clouded your mind, ever. It was request after request to be pulled back to the temple sent to Master Nu and the council by you and each and every time they refused, all-knowing and meaningful serene smiles on their hologram counterparts.
You had never felt this alone in your entire life.
This small and inept.
It was nothing but disgraceful right in the face of someone who was the best of you all — palms sweaty and heart trembling, the devastating desire to hide your face away climbed up your throat step by step.
“I’m sorry, this is just. . .” You covered your face and rubbed it with your fingers. “You’re sweet, and here I am embarrassing—”
A hesitant hand pat your shoulder, careful and light. “Hey, it’s okay, take it easy.”
“I’m not made for this.”
You noticed he was whispering now, like you were a cat that was frightened by noise. “For what, exactly?”
“War. Battling.”
Anakin let out a small sound. “Hm.”
It urged you to continue. “It’s a constant struggle for me. I can’t do anything right. I keep getting clones killed and when I’m supposed to aid someone I just can’t do it right. I shake, I freeze. Senator Amidala was of more help than me and she’s just a civilian, it’s not supposed to be that way. I don’t even know why Master Nu sent me away. I just get in the way. I’m not a fighter.”
“None of the Jedi are.”
Your face soured. “Yeah, I know—”
“No, you don’t, because you’re being too hard on yourself for it.”
“Why should I not be? We are at war, I should be better. I should know how to protect.”
Anakin had a blank, haunted dulling to his eyes at your words and a strand of wavy hair obscured his face from your point of view when he hung his head, zoning off in silence, his fingers twitched in their clasp.
“That’s what I thought,” you said, half-whispering. No matter how weirdly considerate he was of your feelings, nobody could disagree with that.
Still, he was working on solutions for you. “Why don’t you train, then? That could help you get some experience.”
“Our schedule is too unpredictable for that.”
He looked like he wanted to say something, but had done a reverse gear on it the moment he opened his mouth. “Just take a droid with you.”
“You mean a training droid?”
“Yeah.”
“You think the Order would give away one like that?”
“I could always repurpose a scrapped one for you.”
“Really?” He would do that? But why? “That’s too much work and you barely even have a moment to yourself at times. It’s not necessary, don’t spend your time on me.”
Anakin was genuinely offended. “Who do you think I am? That’s literally child’s play. Won’t even take me a day.”
Your palm was on the side of your neck as you scratched the back of it. “But still— I’d feel bad. It’s not your problem.”
He nudged you with his knee. “Let me do this for you, I don’t mind at all.”
But why? “Don’t you have better things to do?”
“Do you not want a training droid?”
“No—I would love one, it’s not like I’m complaining for venting’s sakes, but—”
“So leave it to me.”
“I don’t want to trouble you. Most of the war’s weight is on you already, you’re occupied enough as it is.”
Suddenly, a child’s smirk was plastered on his mouth. “So you think I’m carrying the Republic on my back?”
You stuttered, not because of embarrassment of your words but because of how mesmerizing he was with that teasing edge. “I did not— You know what I meant.”
He leaned forward just a bit, to be noticed by you. “That I’m the best. It’s okay, you can be honest with yourself..”
The flush was on its way and you wanted nothing more than to suppress the warming of your blood. “I meant you shouldn’t be wasting your energy on trivial personal matters of others.”
And just like that, the playfulness was gone and the concern was back.“You’re not trivial, stop saying things like that. When else am I supposed to help?”
Just how kind was he?
You knew how bravehearted he was, that was common knowledge. He was considerate with his clone troops and considered them in a different way than most Jedi did, too. Anakin was just wired differently.
This was new to you. The softness and him going out of his way to help. He wouldn’t get anything out of it and yet here he was, giving you hope — baseless, hollow hope.
“It’s okay if you don’t at all,” you said, forlorn.
“I want to,” Anakin insisted. “Leave it to me, okay? Sit back, relax and wait for your delivery from Skywalker Industries.”
A real laugh escaped you and you dipped your head, fueled by frantic butterfly emotions. “Alright, fine. What do I owe you for your services?”
Anakin pretended to think about it for a bit, blue eyes darting around him from place to place in search of focus, then focused on you. “I’ll hold you to that debt. Can’t waste it yet.”
“I don’t like that.”
“Good,” he hopped back on his feet with the agility and the grace of a feline. “I’m all for being thought about in worry and anticipation.”
He started stepping backwards slowly while facing you, and your body automatically leaned forward as if it was chasing him. “Anakin!”
“Catch you later, don’t ever leave without telling me!”
#anakin skywalker x reader#anakin skywalker x you#anakin x reader#anakin skywalker imagine#anakin skywalker#anakin skywalker fanfiction#star wars imagine#star wars x reader#story: total eclipse of the heart#im slowly getting back into writing#and teoth is one of the easiest ones to write so#shai's writings
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While I’m on a bit of an insomnia fueled posting spree, might as well say that I do like the thematic difference between what it takes to be a successful adept in cultist sim (and ultimately a Long or Name) vs what it takes to be a successful librarian in book of hours.
Fundamentally, the difference between the two aspirations is one of relation to the system of power as it currently exists; the hierarchy which privileges some acts and powers above others, in much the same way that the mortal world is a mess of privileges and unearned advantage and conventions with unclear merits. The cultist is a pragmatist, if you want to be generous; power-hungry, certainly. At the risk of being insulting, I’d say a successful cultist (one that becomes a Know or Long, at the very least) has strong middle manager potential. Not necessarily in terms of temperament, interests, or skills, but rather the tendency to simply do what works, and to climb ladders without asking why the rungs are placed as they are.
This lack of examination is crucial; there is a reason why the alternate victories seem a tad tacked-on, or hollow, and that is because you don’t get half as far along the path to immortality if you possess any instinct to truly question power. Anything other than the fulfillment of your unspoken yearning is, ultimately, a failure, be it catastrophic or merely boring. But as an outside observer, my opinion after many hours of cultist simulator was that the correct response to an understanding of the Mansus and the invisible arts in general is to simply not get involved in that mess. Perhaps reap the benefits of knowing a few tricks, but don’t aspire to become part of the machine, as it were.
The librarian, by luck or merit, is in a rarer position than that. They are (literally, in some cases) a revolutionary. And this has its drawbacks. One cannot reap the benefits of a system they intend to topple, not on a permanent basis anyway. The outcome is not assured. But by deeper, more considered understanding, it is possible to move beyond thoughtlessly aping the rituals of the current modes of power. A “history”, as the librarian records it, isn’t really a factual or objective accounting (whatever that may be). Clearly, the determinations made are matters of opinion. Who is the oldest living hour? (the Horned Axe, obviously) What is the origin of humanity? (harder to place. I bet on the Carapace Cross) But the important thing is that it is not a “right answer”. The librarian doesn’t merely seek to understand history, but makes it their object to change it. They might die before seeing results. But unlike the cultist, they try.
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▪︎Some LEGO Monkie Kid Headcanons!▪︎
It took me long enough to get around to making one of these considering how fiercely I got attached to this series, but here we finally go!
Part 1 Part 2
~
• Tang works part-time at one of Megapolis' libraries.
• Before he actually got the job, he used to spend ALL of his time there (bouncing between there and Pigsy's Noodles as his regular hangouts) and was notoriously a menace to the staff. Think, holding up the front desk for ages to prattle on to the librarian about the books he was checking out, reorganizing entire shelves based on his own "educated" opinion of how they should be arranged and waiting outside the doors for them to open only have to be asked to leave when it was time to close.
• Unfortunately, it was a classic case of the regular who thinks they're beloved, while in reality, the librarians would play rock-paper-scissors to decide who had to check him out. Even those assigned to reshelving returned books when he was there would do so stealthily because as soon as he caught sight of one of them he'd stop whatever he was doing to stroll up and talk for hours.
• And you, of course, can bet he had all of their first names memorized and referred to them as such exclusively.
• The staff had a love-hate relationship with him for the longest time because while he was infamously annoying most of the time, he also did an unnecessary amount of work when he was there. This included putting books back that were left out by other patrons, properly reorganizing shelves, picking up trash, and even beating the librarians themselves to shushing and lecturing unruly patrons
• Tang is far from motivated to actually work and has little to no desire to hold a job at all but when a spot opened up, he applied quickly and got the job because he was literally the first and only person to actually apply. It is only part-time, and he puts in very few hours, probably just working weekends, but it works well with his lifestyle, and he's very content. He was unemployed before, so at least he makes rent now. When he does come into extra cash he spends it all eating out, so he never has a lot of money for anything, but it doesn't seem to bother him because the bulk of his hobbies (I.e reading) don't cost him anything with the library at his disposal anyway.
• Tang is principally incapable of throwing away or watching people throw away books, even ones he would never have any interest in reading, so whenever the library has to get rid of any, whether to make room for new editions or simple replace old copies, he ends up taking them home. For this reason, his apartment is a cluttered mess, with stacks of old books that line his walls and reach the ceiling.
• I'm going to project a little here and die on the hill that MK was homeschooled. He just gives that vibe and I'm living for it. It was by Pigsy and Tang, of course, and that's actually how Tang ended up becoming more involved in MK's life.
• For the longest time, Pigsy was extremely protective of MK, keeping him close to home and determined to provide everything for the kid himself. But when MK was old enough to start needing an education, he began to realize how out of his element he actually was. Pigsy is good at a lot of things, but teaching isn't one of them and it was even harder for him to find time to just sit down with the kid and go over anything while he had his shop to run.
• That's when he finally opened up more to Tang about the whole situation. Tang was more than eager to help, having wanted an excuse to interact more with young MK for the longest time anyway. So they set up a routine, and the better part of MK's "school days" were spent at the counter of Pigsy's Noodles, learning with Tang while Pigsy worked.
• And as you can expect, that's exactly where MK inherited his obsession with the Monkey King. Tang has a bias for history and mythology and taught MK more about those than almost anything else.
• Mei was private schooled, and ironically enough, when her and MK first met and started hanging out, Pigsy thought she was a bad influence. That was until one day when he witnessed young Mei fiercely jumping to young MK's defense, and he's been fond of her ever since.
• Personality wise, I think MK and Mei can both fall into the category of "violently" extroverted.
• Mei's the kind of extroverted that thrives on getting out of the house, meeting new people, and spending time in high-energy environments. She gets bored easily when she's alone, and she hates being bored more than almost anything else. However, she isn't completely opposed to alone time every now if she's upset or needs time to decompress.
• MK, on the other hand, while also extremely extroverted, is extroverted in a much more personal sphere. He thrives on the time he spends with his friends, and playing quite literally to the term extrovert, becomes rather low energy and restless when he has to spend any significant amount of time alone. In other words, he gets lonely fast and easily, and he's extremely clingy, but having at least one other person around that he's close to is enough to keep his spirits up.
• Besides Red Son and Macaque, there's not a single solid introvert in the whole main cast. Pigsy's the only ambivert and Wukong only secludes himself from others out of guilt, he's actually extroverted in the exact same way as MK.
#lego monkie kid#lmk#mk lego monkie kid#mei dragon#tang lego monkie kid#pigsy lego monkie kid#The grip this series has on me right now#You can bet there's gonna be another one of these#I wanna talk about Macaque so bad#but I have a lot to say so it must wait until my next post
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Hello hello! This is the writeblr library's librarian with some questions. You can choose to do question one, question two, or both! (and there's no time limit btw <3) Have fun!
~will be reblogged onto the writeblr library~
What inspired your WIP? Was it another piece of media? Multiple pieces of media? A certain genre? Tropes? Parts of your life? A hyper-specific random thing
What environment gives you the best ideas for your WIP? Do you have a playlist? Do you go for a walk? Do you get ideas at 3am and have to write them down NOW otherwise they disappear? Do you write anywhere and anywhere? What gets you in the mood to write?
Hi!! (and thank you!)
1- wow I actually don’t remember! While it’s changed entirely all ship of Theseus-like, I’m pretty sure I actually came up with the original plot of this WIP when I was 11-13 years old (god. So I entered and will exit my teenage years with it). (I put it under the cut if anyone’s curious, haha. It’s very different.)
And 2- I actually really don’t get ideas unless I make room for them. I really have to sit down and write out everything that’s happened up until this point and then write out everything that COULD happen brainstorm and choose. I don’t really get inspiration naturally 🤷♂️ it’s all forced, lol. I WISH I was the type of person who got ideas from walking or music or stuff so they didn’t seem so forced sometimes, but I suppose consistency is good too.
Thank you for the ask!! Cool idea and yeah just… thank you >:]
Since it was so long ago I have no clue where I came up with it, but I still remember the super basic idea; a young teenage boy from the normal world gets caught in a forest fire, dies? and wakes up in a high fantasy world (no I’d LITERALLY NEVER read or even heard of a portal fantasy, this was my original idea and I was gutted when I found out it was an already established thing) in a kingdom where royals and nebulously Important People have the power to control fire. He gets sort of taken-in-stray-cat-adopted by the similarly aged not-in-line (so not very important) prince who does have the power. Because he just appeared and has no abilities and no life here.
They’re trying to work out how to get him home when he suddenly starts (oh no!!) making sparks and stuff but he hides it because (Oh No!!) he’s in love with the prince (or something idk I was like 12.) Somehow some confrontation exposes fully fledged fire powers like only a master from this world should have and for some reason this makes the king super flip out. He and the prince flee. It ends there.
- My current plot, in contrast, has a (different) older teenage guy (closer to my age now) as the main character but it doesn’t really start with him. I don’t want to describe it too deeply but the main characters all attend a sort of community boarding school because they live in a society where education and knowledge and ability are really highly valued, more than really any material or object or anything?
(So basically not because they’re rich or important, it’s normal, and the boarding aspect is because everyone lives very communally in general, and higher education doesn’t really exist because of the level of societal development. So this is the only stage in life where they get any real independence from their parents, because as adults usually people return and live in family groups again so this is how they learn to be self sufficient away from parents, I suppose?)
Anyway there is a younger kid about 10 in the junior school who is having weird stuff happen to him and it’s sort of related to the ghosts, which are a normal aspect of the world which is where time is wearing kind of thin and you can see echoes of people from the past or future through, and something happens that makes main character, friend group, and child need to leave school to try to work out what’s happening.
There is a bunch of weird time stuff in the middle like things happening and unhappening, and time loops but short, and it’s got the same sort of beats because it’s overall a sort of coming-of-age romance between main character and his best friend, and it was originally an adventure romance between main character and new wow prince.
…there were a bunch of middle iterations between this with the characters from current iteration in the current world but with a similar plot to original story (basically some people have fire powers, some people have healing powers, main character is supposed to have healing powers but then he randomly has fire too, this makes people flip out, he runs away with love interest (roommate) and then I never knew what happened after that…) but this final iteration is the first one to have an ending.
In 2019 it briefly went through a real-world (not fantasy) post-apocalyptic phase in the aftermath of a plague where they had been on a school trip on one side of America (a distant and exotic place!) when everyone had died or become evil and now they were trying to get back home in a stolen van when none of them could drive because they were underage teens. So road trip across America to the other side after plague. Scrapped shortly before Covid, actually.
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“The girl from the library” - Chapter 1
Summary: Spencer has been going to a specific library for a specific reason, and it may not be for the books.
Pairings: Spencer Reid x Reader, Spencer Reid x Reader x OC!Frank (platonic)
Genre: fluff, like fluff to root teeth, like I have diabetes now, and angst if you squint
Warnings: canon type violence (I started working on this a long time ago, so I don't remember some things. If see something, please let me know)
Word count: 3.3k
A/N: hi guys! I'm back with something completely different. I loved writing this, so I hope you've enjoyed reading this much. Please take in to a count that English is not my native language, so all mistakes made are mine. If you see any, let me know Lots of love <3
Series Masterlist
———————————
Every Saturday morning, Spencer goes to the library. It’s become a routine. Whenever he’s not on a case, from 10AM to 01PM, he sits on the same chair tucked again in a corner. Every week, for only 3 hours, he gets to have peace. He hides away from the world and its monsters. He finds solace in stories and gentle silence. The library is not the one closest to his apartment, yet he takes the not-so-short walk. Why does he go out of his way to a library when there’s a perfectly good one closer to home, you might ask. Well, as he likes to tell himself, it’s purely because of the natural enchantment of it. The way he noticed, nearly six months when this all started, how it always smells like coffee, and vanilla, and cinnamon, and lavender and home. How it’s all decorated like it belongs to a different time or a different world. How it’s quiet but not deadly silent. That’s what he tells himself, those are definitely the reasons, only those, absolutely not the pretty girl that sits right out the corner of his eye.
Because, why would Dr. Spencer Reid go to a library for a pretty girl instead of books? Not because she brings her own books so she can annotate them instead of the ones in the library. Not because she pauses her reading to help the old couple using the library computers to learn about the new world and its changing technology, and he can hear her sweet honey-like voice. Not because she reacts so intensely to every word she reads. Not because of how fast she can read, not as fast as himself, but fast nonetheless provided how many pauses she makes for annotations, tech support and even recommendations. Not because her literature knowledge is so extensive the librarian sometimes redirects patrons to her because she can find the perfect thing to read for everyone. Not because he’s practically in love with her and he’s never even gathered the courage to speak to her. Yeah, you hear me right. Mr Genius himself is in love with the pretty girl from the library.
That’s not even the best part. The best part is how on Friday afternoons he finishes his paperwork on record time because he accidentally found out she volunteers at the library on Friday afternoons and he doesn’t want to miss the opportunity of seeing her. And, as expected, the team is starting to notice. It’s not usual for Reid to leave the first, even if he’s always the first to finish everything and be free to go. He’s so ahead the actual paperwork only takes a small fraction of his work day, which leaves the rest of his time to reading, learning and sometimes Rubik’s cubes. But lately, he turns in his paperwork not long after lunch and asks Hotch if he can leave now, to which his boss has no excuse for refusing. He’s never had to stay late, but he’s always done it anyway. You must understand, changes are not like Reid. He has a routine, he sticks to it. Leaving work early is a big change for him. Of course everyone notices. Even Anderson knows something’s up.
He gets to his destination just to see the normally simple library is half decorated with Alice in wonderland theme. He stops by the desk to talk to the librarian. The guy is what you would least expect a librarian to be. Tall, muscular, tattooed, only the cardigan fits the traditional attire.
“Hey Frank” he waves, drawing his attention. “Hey man. Spencer, right?” “Yeah, correct” he nods “Um, Spencer, we have a children’s circle coming today, so it’s going to be pretty much a giggling hurricane in here. Just telling you ahead” “Oh, so that’s what decorations are for” he chuckles. When Frank’s about to turn around leaving him to go to his usual seat, he speaks again “I know you like Y/N” of course he knows, he’s friends with Y/N, but if he knows, Y/N must do as well. But why is he bringing that up now? Wait, could they be dating or something? It would make perfect sense for a girl as beautiful as Y/N to be with a guy that looks taken from a flashing magazine “For the record, I think you should ask her out” he adds bringing the brunette out of his thoughts “Look, I’ve know Y/N since forever, and she’s a great girl with a complicated personality that not everyone can handle, but i happen to think you’d do a great job. You’re a good man, who just might be the definition of her type, but that’s not for me to determine” Frank concludes, making an intense blush creep up Spencer’s face, and neck and ears, for that matter. “I- uh, um , eh… I just- I- I’m” he stutters, just to be interrupted by the very subject of the conversation.
“Hey guys” Y/N says walking in with a box she settles on the counter. She’s wearing a plaid puffy dress with cream, brown and green colors. The oversized tan carding she has on reminds him of something he would wear. To Spencer, she not just looks beautiful as always, but radiant as sunshine and soft as moonlight. Everything, from the doc martens to the loose y/h/c hair, without forgetting the shrinking y/e/c orbs, captures Spencer in a way not many people have before. “What’s up?” she looks between Spencer and Frank. Something tells the genius that the smug in the librarians face in contrast with his astonished red one means no good “Oh, nothing, y’know, the kids comin’ in today and the decorations still to be put” the smug turns into a smirk before continuing “I think my guy Spencer, here present, just mentioned wanting to help” he finished diverting the girl’s attention to his blushing face, that somehow is getting redder, if humanly possible. “You sure? I can get real bossy real quick sometimes” she chuckles, giving Spencer the moment to decide that making her laugh is his new life purpose. “Ye- yeah, I- I- I’d love to help” “Great” she beams “grab the box, I’m gonna go get the stepladder”
Spencer follows her with the box in his hands. She sets up the ladder right where the decorations cease to exist. She climbs frealess, and it’s when it starts to sway that he gets so worried that it overcomes anxiety. “Tha- That’s not very safe for you. Y- Y- You should get down from there and let me do it. I can reach, I’m tall” “Why? You don’t think I can manage it on my own?” “N- No. Yes, I mean yes, I’m sure can do manage it perfectly, b- but there are more than 164,000 emergency room-treated injuries and 300 deaths per year just in the U.S.” he rambled, anxiously until she chuckled “Spencer, I’m 5’2, I’ve been climbing ladders and much more dangerous places my whole life. If a harmless stepladder can win me the battle of life, then maybe I had it coming” her soft spoken answer relaxes Spencer, although he still worries for her safety “can you pass me the red garland?” she requests leaving him no option but to suppress his worries. As she keeps placing the decorations from Spencer’s hands, he can’t help but get lost in her light. How active and bright she is, how she finishes like a master in what to him seems like record time. “If i may ask” he interjects when it’s nearly done “why Alice's Adventures in Wonderland?” “Well it wasn’t my choice. Frankie wanted a children’s classic book, with an attributed author, that was adapted to a Disney movie, so the kids would know the basics of the story, but we could also show them books. I could understand where this is coming from, but I happen to know that it just happens that Frank loves the story. Still, it’s a pretty good point, if it had been something like Cinderella where the story is folklore and passed down by generations, books don’t make that much sense, whereas with a classic like Oliver Twist, most kids don’t know the story and they'd be bored in no time. It makes sense, even if I don’t particularly enjoy this decision given the life the author led and how it reflects-“ she cuts herself blushing intensely, and Spencer who was hanging onto every word almost couldn't stop the disappointed look in his face “sorry, I’m rambling, I tent to do that” “Me too” Spencer smiles, he’s so used to being cut off, but he never thought it happened to others, especially not when they’re as sweet as Y/N. She smiles back and as she’s going to continue, giggles start to echo in their ears making her divert her attention. The kids are there and Spencer considers regretting staying, but talking with her made it absolutely worth it.
The hurricane Frank predicted moved to the center of the room where Y/N receives them. She introduced herself and explained the different activities. Just like Spencer had hung on to her words, the children do as well, fascinated by her tone, movements and kindness. Honestly, the genius couldn’t blame them, they’re all in the same boat here. He guesses few things could be less interesting to normal people, and especially children, but not with her. She makes everything fascinating, an adventure. He always saw the library as a haven, filled with portals to other worlds as well as knowledge. But now, he is a kid again, just like the small guests, like if he had entered a library for the first time. He knows the library won’t ever feel the same. She keeps going with the activities, from reading passages from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to coloring printouts of the Chessire, the Red Queen, the White Rabbit and all the characters he already knew. He limits himself to sit close to the counter, peek over his book, pretending to be engrossed in reading when he actually couldn’t do anything but watch. In his mind, he thinks is he being so slick, a bit creepy if he thinks too hard, but then she catches him, he wishes the earth would open up and swallow him whole until she flashes him a sweet smile and a playful wink, and instead of being swallowed he feels he is being melted.
Frank, of course, always so perceptive and willing to play matchmaker (Penny would love him if they knew each other), sees the whole thing unravel until it gets boring and it’s time for an intervention. “Spencer, my man, I have a new book recommendation for ya” he diverts the genius attention from the “reading”, if you could call it that “so, it’s not what you usually read, but I think you just might like it” a copy with green, golden and brown tones that she knew well flashes at the corner of Y/N’s eyes as Frank pulls it from behind the counter, and thank god Spencer was to invested in the book recommendation to see her intense blushing “you see, it’s got magic, it’s got mystery, it happens in an old university with a secret library. And I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s pretty interesting and new” that’s when Spencer notices Y/N’s blushing face side eyeing the book while simultaneously keeping the kids engaged in the activities. Every time a side glance is thrown at the golden printed title, she seems to get even more nervous, and to his surprise this makes him even more curious about the novel.
“Okay, I’ll take it. I’ll probably be back tomorrow and tell you what I thought” Spencer does not miss the smug side smirk the librarian has on his face, as if everything is going according to plan. Frank has only checked the book out and Spencer doesn’t even get time to start this new story when it’s announced that the time with the children is done and they must get going. Y/N sweetly bids the little ones goodbye before going to take down the decorations.
“Hey, leave them” Frank starts with an exasperated sigh “But- But” “No buts, go home, it’s been a long day, I’ll take ‘em down tomorrow” “Okay” she defeats gathering her things. “I should get going too” the doctor interjected, this is his chance and if he didn’t take it, he doesn’t take it, he doesn’t know when will be his next “Where are you headed?” she steals his thunder while putting her trench coat on “I- um just down the street” “Great! Me too, I gotta catch the metro over there” she finishes nearly reaching the door, while Spencer is standing still over the counter, unable to move “Are you gonna walk with me or what?” the tilt in her head and playful smile told Spencer he ought not to make her wait.
“Bye Frank!” she waves energetically “Bye kiddos” he winks. She walks down the stairs of the building slowly, Spencer can’t help but clutch tightly the strap of his satchel as he walks just a few steps behind. He wonders, even with her right there, his mind wanders if this is what it would be like if they were together, walking back home from a cute date at the library, if they would hold hands, if her hands would be warm or if he would warm them with his own, and in between all this wandering, the only certainty Spencer has, is that he wouldn’t think twice about germs. “So, Spencer,” Y/N has said his name up to this point a total of 2 times, which means Frank has said it more often than her. It’s not like he’s keeping count or anything, it’s just that the way her cute little accent pops up when she says it makes him want to hear his own name from her lips until he loses count, knowing that can’t happen “I hear Frankie gave you a new book” “Yeah, Golden hands, Silver tears. Why? Have you read it?” “Not excatly, no. But i’ve heard good things about it, I think you’ll enjoy it” her sweet smile Spencer can’t get enough of tells him there is something else there he isn’t able to place quite yet. Still, seeing the common interest they both have in books Spencer doesn’t think twice before stammering some statistics about books. “Usually I don’t read young adult, but did you know that one out of every three teenagers has not read a book for pleasure in a year? Which isn’t a lot, but it means that two of every three has, so contrary to popular belief, kids actually still read nowadays” he finishes biting his lip to wait for her response, she takes a sweet second that kills him, but god, she has him hanging “Actually I did know that. But the thing is, it’s not that teenagers don’t read anymore, it’s just that they don’t read the same things or the same way. They share everything online so there is a huge community whereas in the old times there used to be a book club, for example. Another thing is online reading, yeah, they might not have picked up a book in a year, but millions of them prefer online sites where they can read in real time, anywhere as well as interact with the author. And the best part is that anyone can write, better or worse, more or less, one way or another, there are hundreds of ways for everyone to be able to enjoy reading and writing. Times are changing but the human need for art doesn’t” as her rant finishes, Spencer stops in his tracks, his jaw had been slacked the whole time, more than likely believing he’s found his soulmate. She fears for a second she’s scared him or screwed up somehow, but as the blush creeps up his face and a grin fills his lips, she relaxes. He’s nearly in shock, his brain short circuiting, and his brain is never short of anything, but it might be the first time in a long time someone has rambled more than him on the topic he started.
He can’t wait anymore. He timidly holds out his hand as an offering for her, but looking at the floor he misses her wide smile and goes to lower the hand he understands that holding hands on a walk when you’ve just met (officially) is weird, but still he did it, because he just needed it so much. Before his hand goes completely back to his side she takes it in hers, interlocking their fingers. The air seems to shift, as what Spencer felt like was going to be an absolute failure and uncomfortable silence, turns into the warmth of her tiny hand in his huge one and a comfortable, cozy, calm silence. She nods her head to the side to urge him to walk. she’s right, it’s getting late and they don’t seem to need words to communicate anymore. Spencer and Y/N, two of the most word people ever, just in silence, nothing else needed.
Spencer sees the door of his building while walking with her, and deliberately ignores it, he’d walk back any distance necessary as long as he can spend a few more minutes with her. He didn’t know he needed that kind por silence. With all of his words constantly splurging out, and all the questions he has for her, and all he wants to tell her, he finds it hard to respect the silence, but at the same time, he’s not sure when he is going to get this kind of peace again. Before he even notices, time has flown by and they are now stopped in front of a subway stop. He takes notice of his surroundings and is glad to see how the walk from his home is shorter than he expected. It is in fact, shorter than his place to the library, and he hopes and prays, to something he’s not sure exists, that he’ll be able to use this to his advantage in a sooner rather than later future. She’s just a ride away.
“So” her honey-like voice breaks the silence “this is my stop” Spencer realizes now that her words mean farewell, much to his dismay. He looks down to his interlocked hand and squeezes just a little, greedily not wanting to let her go “thanks for walking me here” “Oh, you don’t have to thank me, I enjoyed it” “I enjoyed it too. It was really nice” she smiles softly and the young man feels like his heart is going to beat out of his chest “Will I see you tomorrow at the library? So you can tell me what you thought of the book” “Yes” in the daze of the moment he forgets everything, from his weird schedules to asking for her number, he will regret that “Great!” She bites her lip for a second before deciding on something, and there’s nothing he can do but stand there and hold her hand. With her free hand, she grabs the side of his face gently, turning him into putty on her hand. She gets on her tiptoes to place a feather-like kiss on his cheek. Spencer could’ve died now and be happy about it, he already feels in heaven. Disappointment flashes across both of their young faces as the moment ends. She steps away from him slowly, not letting his hand go until absolutely necessary. She waves at him right before going down the stairs of the station and the sweet smile she offers him again will accompany him for the rest of the night. He can’t help but thank his eidetic memory for letting him remember her in detail. He also can’t help the wide smile on his face the whole walk back home. Bubbling with excitement to read the book and tell her all about it the next morning.
But, as fate will not have it, his plan gets twisted by a simple call from Hotch like many others he has received before.
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#spencer reid#spencer reid x reader#spencer reid x y/n#spencer reid fic#spencer reid fluff#spencer reid fanfiction#criminal minds#criminal minds x reader#criminal minds fanfic#criminal minds x y/n#criminal minds fanfiction#criminal minds fic#criminal minds fluff
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Going to drag myself to the only local library that is actually open on a Sunday (alas, tragically not one I can walk to) to trick myself into studying, which happens to be the same one I went to yesterday to pick up the first Lockwood & Co book. This was my old library before I moved, but because I mostly lived in the old house during covid restrictions, I'd never had much of a chance to explore - certainly hadn't gone upstairs to the children's floor. Which turned out to be absolutely awesome, gosh, I would have LIVED there as a kid! Anyway, when I went to check out my book and made small talk with the children's librarian about how cool the upstairs was, she took at look at The Screaming Staircase and excitedly asked, "Have you seen the show?" "Yes! And now I have to go read the books immediately." "I did the same! Wasn't it so good? I don't know how I'd never really come across the series before, it's wonderful!" "See, a lot of my friends were obsessed with the books, and their enthusiasm is what prompted me to check out the show..." So y'all got a little library shoutout, is what I'm saying.
Anyway, I'm going to need some supernatural self-deception to convince myself that my laptop can only access school things, so I don't spend my study time on Tumblr (trawling the besties' Lockwood & Co tags, most likely). It doesn't exactly help being surrounded by books, either - which is part of why I never studied in the library in undergrad (that, and the fact that I worked there, so I always felt the need to organize the shelves anytime I walked in). Considering enticing myself with a promise that if I get a couple solid hours of studying in, I can go visit my parents tonight. Which may or may not be because I want to convince them to watch L&C so I have an excuse to rewatch it, but that's neither here nor there, right?
Hmm. For all the many reasons I don't care for living in such an urban area, I will emphatically add libraries to my list of pros. I could walk to the library when I lived in central PA, too, but only the one, and it was very small, so I usually had to order books on interlibrary loan. Now I can walk to three or so, of varying degrees of "likely to already have the book I'm looking for on the shelf," all within a reasonable 20 minutes. If I'm going to drive, I can get to multiple library systems in the same time. It's a significant perk.
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I try to be as easy going as I can as a teacher. Because most of the time the kids just want the attention anyway. But I drew the line today I finally had to call a parent. This one kid:
Chased girls with scissors in his hand acting like he was going to stab them,
Flipped me off
Made fun of the librarian behind her back as she was trying to give instructions
Had a "fake vape" in glass that was realistic enough that three different kids reported it to the principal.
Laughed when you got a 47 on an assignment and refused to do it over.
Is and has been continuously rude to me --- demanding things and then jerking them away once I give them to him . When I told him he was rude he rubbed his hand over my arm and shirt sleeved I'm pretty sure he rubbed something on me--glue? Snot? Spit?
Laughed when he made a 46 on an assignment and refused to correct it or do it over again
Made fun of an English language learner who actually takes pride in her work and probably reads just as well as he does even though she read absolutely no English at the first of this school year. But still laughed and kept yelling Spanish words at her as she read.
This lovely child is in my last class of the day and is part of the reason why most of those kids do not learn a damn thing.
The mom did seem appalled and swore that they would take care of it. But that kid is such a bad seed I don't know if anything is going to change or not. Probably not.
It starts out as a good day most days and then by the end of my spirit is broken.
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i think a lot about the difference between getting paid time off and taking days off--in my position, i feel like i take fewer days off than i would if my schedule and pto weren't so regimented. also, i just restrict my time off kind of pathologically because of the austerity of it all. puts you in a head space! my hours are really capped, so i can't make more subbing or something like i could at the public library. but at four days (esp. while in school) i don't really feel like i can get a second (regular) job (although i'm entering gig archives career period lol so that'll be happening next year). i mean i personally can't really work over 35 hours health and transportwise but i just mean even hypothetically. i couldn't really get second regular part time library job, office job, or retail job because of the hour demands of this one (although i do really look for local weekend-only library jobs, they never go up, and many of the sub jobs are overt scabbing [please watch out for this in libraries]). eta: i guess i should say, when i worked in public libraries, and i don't know if it's still like this, the part time clerk condition was thought of in 20-25 hour blocks and was a bit more.. modular. a lot of us may work 20 hours here, 20 hours at another library, 10 or 15 hours as a page. but because of the fake-professional nature of ts/circ at the academic library it doesn't feel designed to do that (but doesn't compensate enough to make itself livable on its own.) (also i should say, back in the day at least, as i started in clerkship really at peak post-recession library industry austerity, librarians lived like that too.)
anyway we talk a lot in society about how many days we 'get' off but i want to know more about how many days we 'take' off regardless of if they're paid, and also this is fundamentally a different thing than how many hours someone works.
another thing that i'm kind of pilled on, and i don't mean this to sound haterish but. i was really shocked to discover that the chain food service workers i organize with, their companies are calling them "full time" when they are not full time. i guess i knew that this was happening but the legality escapes me. when i was a barista at not-really a chain, the practice of scheduling someone less than 40 hours to deny them benefits was hugely agitating to my coworkers. (an interesting dynamic was that we viewed it as what they did to the service workers--shop and cafe--in the museum, when the professionals got a better deal.) so it would make sense that starbucks in particular would have a rhetorical strategy to anticipate that, and (as i understand) extend their so-called benefits to less-than forties. in all the cases i'm referring to, workers say (and this makes perfect sense) is that they are called "full time" because they are allowed to work up to 40 hours, but never more, and their managers basically schedule them so that they can last-minute schedule them more hours. so they'll be on the schedule at 28-30 hours but may last minute work 38. and everywhere that's unionizing right now, especially starbucks, is using underscheduling as a tactic.
QUICK pitch for a union. if you go to a job every day in order to collect a wage from somebody, the "somebody" you collect wages from has every particular of their dumb ass little business or service provision enterprise planned out for decades. this is the economy. there is NO reason, unless you're saving lives, or choosing to be a freelance little art dork working on your own time, or whatever, and even then tbh but setting that aside, there is no reason why you should not have a guarantee about how many hours you will work on this pay period, and how many dollars will be on your next paycheck. perhaps even your next few! any deviation from that expectation should only really be determined by your personal decision (or perhaps negotiation with a coworker) to work more or less than than that. there is no reason you should be working at a god damn drive through coffee business in a shopping center and not know whether you're going to work 56 or 80 hours this month. absolutely none and this one thing is what a union is for, in my opinion. almost everybody in a union can say with some certainty exactly what they will be working (or exchanging pto for) and receiving for the next, say, 30-90 days. that itself is what it's worth.
anyway here's what's driving me crazy, and i can't decide how i feel about it. all of these people who work 28-35 hour weeks call themselves "full time" because that's what their boss says they are. i am curious if there is a potential strategy in doing this, but i'm haterish because i ROUTINELY get told i work less than the service workers when they work fewer or the same amount of hours. not naming names but a certain someone has often been working 25 hour weeks but saying they're full time and i'm part time :|.
i personally choose to organize around "part time work" because of a political strategy and identification i see within it, right, especially in my fields (libraries and higher ed.) my impulse is that these heaux have false consciousness... girl you are a part timer. part time work is queer you should lean into it
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