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havethetimeofyourstyles · 3 years

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Chapter One.

a/n: welcome to the first chapter of wtsgd! i’m so excited for you all to read this story and for what’s to come. please please please support content creators bc we’re doing this for free and it takes up a lot of energy to put out stories. so reblog, leave feedback, and send a message to motivate and support them. happy reading everyone <3

SERIES MASTERLIST | word count: 6.4k

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March 4, 2017

The trunk was filled with heavy boxes that were labeled with thick black sharpie, which didn’t seem to leave Luciana’s senses; and one too many suitcases filled with her many articles of clothing that she couldn’t get rid of—no matter how hard she tried—since she was too much of a hoarder and every piece of clothing seemed to have a lost memory in them that she tried very hard to think of, which only meant that it was worth keeping.

A droplet of sweat leaked down the side of her face due to her nonstop packing and heavy-lifting from her childhood room upstairs to her dad’s car in the driveway. It didn’t help that the sun was beaming down at her with every move like she was on center stage, in front of the spotlight, but it made much more sense for the sun to do that because that’s where she belonged: on stage.

Moving to Brooklyn, New York from Cambridge, Massachusetts during, what felt like, the coldest but the sunniest day of March wasn’t the smartest move—to be fair, Luciana was never one to make a smart move, anyways—but it was one that needed to be done. Plus, all the lifting seemed to have warmed her up.

Her destination, or now, home, in New York was one that she’d been anticipating for a while now. She had auditioned for the role as Kim in Miss Saigon on Broadway in November, and she’d gotten a callback in January for the role as the second Kim, meaning she would be on rotation to perform every week or two weeks, so the main Kim could rest. But she would still have to go to rehearsals and be on the side of the stage watching the show just in case she needed to jump in at the last minute.

It wasn’t her ideal way of playing the main lead, but nonetheless, she was grateful for the opportunity, and she would take any chance that was thrown at her to not only take another step towards her dream, but also another learning opportunity to make her a better actress.

Little Luci would’ve been so proud of the present Luci because it’d been her dream ever since she was younger, to be on stage and eventually, be on the big screen. Although she was far from completing her dream of being a face in Hollywood, this was a step that would take her to where she wanted to be in the future, and for that, she was proud of herself.

As a child, Luci had been in various commercials; from being the kid that played with slime and had no lines but to just put on a big smile while the sticky substance ran through her small hands, to being the daughter in a car commercial with one line that said “Are we there yet?” with a groan and a face of exhaustion as if she were the one driving the car. She hoped that these commercials would have someone recognize her talent, to cast her as a Disney star, but that would require moving to California, which her parents were wary of.

The commercials stopped when she reached middle school. Her early adolescent years consisted of an abundance of attitude and mood swings; Luci was a very tough and determined kid. Her love for acting had grown into a big balloon that was let go and on its way into the galaxy where no one could reach it—where no one could mess with her achieving her dream.

She would always stand in front of her white wooden framed mirror—with delicately painted colorful flowers around the border—reciting lines that she heard from a television series or the films that she watched, and she would write them down in her blue notebook. Sometimes, her parents would let her search the script up if it was available online. But oftentimes, she would test and challenge her memorization, and listen to it by ear; testing her mind, and eventually, her memorization skills were immaculate by the age of eleven.

It was perfect timing because by the time she was in middle school, she was able to snatch the roles she wanted when her school’s drama department held school plays. Her family thought that she would start to hate being on stage since school plays always ran until late evening, but being part of the productions had only enhanced her love for her talent, and it only prepared her for a quarter of what her future may look like.

All in all, from a very young age, she always knew that she wanted to become an actress. The spotlight or the center of the camera was where she always craved to be.

And she was finally making that dream come true.

A black Toyota Camry pulled into the space behind the car that was filled with her belongings. Ren and Beatrice, Luci’s lovely parents, both get out of the car with a pink box of donuts—a snack for the road and for when she gets to her new apartment.

“Ready, Lucky?” Beatrice asked, rubbing her daughter’s back. She was quite bummed to see Luci leave her childhood home, but she’s proud to see Lucky Luci chase her dreams. She was, after all, twenty-five and was bound to move out at some point, but to see it actually happen made Beatrice quite emotional.

“Ma, please, don’t cry…” Luci frowned as Beatrice pressed her fingertips to the corners of her eyes. She wrapped her arm around her mother’s shoulder, comforting her. “You’re all coming to New York in a month, right? To watch me on stage?” Luci asked, reassuring herself that she would see her family in a different state to rescue her from her loneliness.

Luci was an independent woman. She could do tasks by herself, go places alone, and she wouldn’t have a problem with it; she enjoyed the company of herself. But to know that at some point she might be alone—that everyone had left her behind or forgotten about her—was what scared her. She needed to know that the people who loved her unconditionally wouldn’t forget about her.

“Of course we’re going!” Ren exclaimed with a smile that Luci was going to miss seeing everyday. “We can’t miss our baby on the Broadway stage. If we could, we’d go to every damn show that you’re in, but that would be a lot of gas, no?”

She chuckled, nodding her head. She felt tears pricking her eyes at how supportive her parents were—they’ve always been. If she could, she would take them with her to New York, but her one bedroom apartment and their work said otherwise.

“Now, Lucky, don’t cry.” It was Beatrice’s turn to comfort her daughter. Like any parent, when they see their child cry, it breaks their heart and they cry too. “We’re gonna see you real soon. You can always come back anytime you want. We’re just a phone call away and we’ll pick you up,” Beatrice said between sniffles. The mother and daughter were embracing so tenderly and comfortingly—enjoying every last moment together until they got to see each other again.

“Jeez, you’re both the same—always crying!” Ren interrupted, making the two women laugh; and he was glad they found what he said amusing because he couldn’t handle the sad moment. “C’mon here, my Lulu.” Luci settled into her father’s arms, hugging him tightly. She’s always been her dad’s girl, despite having a close relationship with her mother, her relationship with her father was something that felt like home; he always knew what to say and when to say it. It helped that she was the female version of him. “You’re gonna be the best star out there, I’m sure of it. Now, I want you to have fun, alright? The fame, the fortune, the big city…it doesn’t amount to anything if you’re not having the time of your life” He comfortingly rubbed Luci’s back, holding her in a warm and tight squeeze.

Luci smiled at her father’s words. She was always a bit hard on herself when she would mess up or forget a line or a movement that correlates to a specific line in her script. When she was younger, she would beat herself up for a sliver of a moment; she would cry into her pillow—sobs loud enough that they were heard from downstairs. Luci would think that she wouldn’t become a well-known actress just because of the minor forgetfulness her mind had presented. But Ren would gently tap on her ocean blue door, letting himself in because he knew his daughter didn’t have the energy to get up and let him in, and he would sit beside her, gently urging her to sit up with him. Once she complied, after many groans of refusals, she would be glad she did because her father looked deeply into her eyes—and it was like looking into the reflection of clear and clean water—and told her she was a star. It was only three words, but those three words reminded her to never give up and get up when she would hit the pavement of what she felt like were her fallen hopes and dreams.

Ren would then end it with a statement of advice that had always lingered in her mind, resonating to the silent and harshful words that she tells herself. ‘Nothing will amount to anything if you’re not having the time of your life.’

A rush of gratitude settled upon her as her eyes became glossier by the seconds she was in Ren’s arms. Beatrice looked at her greatest treasures fondly, a smile appeared on her face only for it to be replaced by a look of confusion.

“Where is that damn brother of yours? He said he was going to be here at ten!” Beatrice interrupted the sweet moment she was having with her father, making them disconnect from the hug—just as Ren did with Luci and Beatrice.

Speaking of the devil, her dear brother was making his way towards home on the side of the street, wearing a grey sweatshirt that was stained with his sweat as his earphones were nestled in his ears, loudly playing music. He loudly sang along to some rap song, breath staggered as he rapped along with his hands.

Nathan smiled once he stepped foot onto the driveway as he took out his earphones, seeing his family look at him vigilantly. Luci laughed, shaking her head.

“Hey, there’s our superstar, little Ana!” Nathan opened his arms, ready to hug you but she quickly stopped him, curving her spine backwards to deny his hug. Ana had been one of the many nicknames her family had called her when she was growing up from the second half of her name, but Ana seemed to have stuck with Nathan as no one else really called her that, so it was his own personal nickname for her.

“Ew, please, do not hug me.” Her face wrinkled in disgust from the spell of her brother’s sweat from his run. Nathan chuckled, playfully rolling his eyes before turning towards his parents.

“Ooh, donuts-”

Beatrice slapped the back of his hand before he even got a chance to open the pink donut box. “Not until you shower and change. Lulu needs to be in Brooklyn by three!”

“Ow, mother!” Nathan whipped his hand away from Beatrice’s burning slap, although he was just playing around and being dramatic. “But fine, alright. The star always gets what she wants, am I right?” He dropped his head towards Luci, sighing before he hurried inside the house to take a quick shower and change.

Luci giggled, telling her parents that she would be right back to go up to her room to check if she’d gotten everything, even though she knew that she had everything, she just needed to reminisce alone for a moment.

Her feet took her up the wooden stairs, where she, for some unknown reason, always spent her time sitting on as she leaned her back against the wall and read or drew. Nathan always found it weird of her when they were doing homework when they were younger, but it was just one of the many fun anecdotes he could tell reporters if he’s asked about their childhood.

Pushing open her ocean blue door that she never changed because she loved the color, she was met with the emptiness of what was once her sanctuary. Despite the paint on the wall changing, the replacement of furniture, and rearrangement of her childhood room, Luci could still see the baby pink walls where she hung up various posters of her celebrity crushes when she was eight. She could still see herself walking over to her Cinderella white wooden dresser as she pulled out an inflatable microphone from her drawer before she walked over to her bed to sing her heart out with her cousin. In the corner of her room was her mirror that she painted colorful flowers along the border when she was younger, and she definitely did not want to change or get rid of it; it wasn’t difficult to stir up a memory when she was in front of that mirror because up until now, she was always reciting her lines to her own reflection until the late night.

All of these memories that Luci held within her heart would help her ground herself—remind her where she came from. No matter where her career took her, she would always be the girl that was firstly known in her room, crying, laughing, and acting within the four baby pink walls until she was sixteen, and then it changed to an ecru white. The feeling of nostalgia clutched her chest, and for the second time today—not even noon, yet—she found herself crying.

She silently sobbed in her sanctuary. Her chest felt tight, like her heart was grasping onto the memories, begging her to not leave, to not move on. But moving on would mean being stuck, and she didn’t want to feel stuck—she just never wanted to be in one place where the walls would slowly feel like they were closing in on her. She didn’t want to be in one place and eventually hated it, so for that, she had to move on.

A soft knock was heard from the outside of her bedroom, making Luci turn around hastily. She found Beatrice standing in the doorway, warmly smiling at her daughter, and keeping the tears at bay because she needed the comfort of her mother more than her mother’s tears.

“My Lucky Star…” Beatrice walked into the room, welcoming Luci into her arms. “You okay?”

Luci deeply inhaled and exhaled as she calmed herself down from her cries. “I’m alright. It’s just hard saying goodbye to this place—to my room.”’

“Oh, Lulu. You don’t need to say goodbye. I know you’ll be coming back here soon, anyways. I know you love home too much to completely stay away.” Beatrice was subtly trying to remind Luci about her love for her hometown, for her home, but her words also were trying to remind her about that certain love for her home and to never forget that love so she doesn’t stray away because Beatrice was simply afraid Luci would never want to come back once she discovered the luxury of her career. And even though she knew her Lulu wasn’t one to forget about her family, Beatrice would never admit her fear.

Luci sniffled, wiping her tears away as she pulled away from her mother’s embrace. “Yeah, I know. Just…doesn’t feel real that I’m leaving.”

“Sure, you’re leaving, but you’re going off to do bigger and better things. You were never one to stay in one place, physically and mentally—you were always moving, always loved learning more. And I’ve always been so intrigued and interested in how your mind works.”

“Ma…” The waterworks seemed to be the highlight of the move.

“I’m serious! I’m so genuinely proud of you. You’ve been keeping your talent—and I don’t mean ‘high school plays’ talent. I mean your Broadway, Hollywood, Academy winning talent. Now, you get to showcase your light in front of thousands of people.” Beatrice always had a way of boosting Luci’s self-esteem, making her ego a tad bit more bigger than it already was. She didn’t mind if her self-esteem had skyrocketed into the galaxy of her dreams, but she always reminded Luci that being humble and kind always outweighed being obnoxious and arrogant. “Now, enough with these tears. You’ve got a road trip to New York. C’mon, now.”

They made their way downstairs and out the door where Ren and Nathan were talking about the latest basketball game of the Celtics. The trunk was closed, and the only thing waiting was Luci herself.

“There she is! Ready?”

Luci took a deep breath, turning her head to look back at the pastel yellow house that had kept her safe for the past twenty-five years. From here, she knew everything was going to change. Whether it’d be for the good or if things would go downhill from here? She didn’t know; all she knew was that she was going to be doing what she loved and she was going to have the time of her life doing it.

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

The state of Connecticut seemed to pass by quickly from the car as Nathan drove at a decent seventy miles per hour; the state vanished just as quickly as when they entered.

Luci mindlessly looked out the window, thinking about everything and nothing at once as she drowned out the music playing through the speakers of the car and Nathan’s voice singing along.

The cars passing by, the bystanders, and the locals filled the streets and highways, making her wonder what all of these people’s stories were—wondering if they lived in this city or if they were just stopping by to visit, or if they’re just going through the state to get to the one next door just as she was. Maybe she’s had an encounter or simply passed by them on the street in a world that seemed too large but small at the same time. She always pondered on whether everyone else thought the way she thought—if they wondered what her story was or the people around them.

The world is an interesting place and there were so many intriguing people out there, making her more excited by the minute as she takes on this new adventure in her life that would be completely life changing. Luci’s going to be meeting so many new people that, she would hope, have an impact on her personal life or career.

“Nervous?” Nathan broke the comfortable silence between them.

Luci raised her brows and curled her lips into her mouth. “A bit.”

He nodded, thinking for a moment. Nathan was always one to think before he spoke, and it was a quality that some people needed to learn how to do. He quickly learned that lesson when he was in high school; one of his friends, Johnny, and him were going back and forth joking around with one another. And for some odd reason, teenage boys liked to joke around about fucking everything, so Nathan had said “Yeah, I fucked your mom, what about it?” without thinking. Johnny stayed silent, the rest of their friends were waiting for his comeback, but they only received tears that glossed over his eyes before he ran off to a different part of campus, away from the lunch tables. Nathan found him behind the orchestra building with his face pressed on his kneecaps, crying. Later, he found out that Johnny’s mother had passed away before their sophomore year started and he hadn’t told anyone, which left Nathan quite speechless, but it was a lesson that he learned: to think before anything comes out of his mouth.

“I know you’ll do great. You were born to do this, born to be on stage. Everything you do is to greater your experience and opportunities. All the mistakes you’re gonna make, which we both know you’re gonna make, they’re gonna be learning lessons for you to continue doing what you’re good at doing; the mistakes are there so you can better yourself,” he reassured, occasionally glancing at you briefly before averting his eyes back onto the highway.

Luci smiled, never taking her eyes off her older brother. She leaned closer to the middle console, where his right arm was resting on the padded console. Hugging his arm tightly and resting her cheek on his shoulder, she accepted and appreciated his advice, his words. They made her heart fill up with so much gratitude and love, insanely grateful and happy that she had such an amazing and supportive family who always knew the right things to say when they could sense her nerves and anxieties powering through the roof.

“You’re gonna kill it out there. This is just a step towards where you wanna go, where you actually wanna be.”

She nodded, looking to her right as they quickly passed the ‘Welcome to New York’ sign from the state line of Connecticut and New York, and it was the sign indicating her new home.

Nathan pulled into the apartment’s parking garage, entering in with the code that the complex gave Luci on the silver keypad as the two watched the automatic gate arm swing up to the side, and Nathan entered the parking structure, parking in one of the many spaces available.

Luci excitedly got out of the car, rushing to the trunk where Nathan had opened it from inside the car. Unfortunately, she had forgotten to bring the hand dolly to help carry the boxes, which meant that the siblings were going to have to carry the many boxes she packed by her own hand and strength. But luckily, some of them weren’t that heavy; most of the items in the brown boxes were kitchenware and she figured she could just drag those.

One by one, they took one box each and headed for the elevator, where it took them to her apartment floor—floor four. Luci grabbed the keys from her purse that contained two copper keys hanging on one single silver loop and a small keyless sensor, and she unlocked her navy blue door, revealing her new apartment.

When she entered, she was met with a door across the entrance that she would use for her coats and shoes, things that she would need when she’s rushing out the door. Going through the small hallway in from the entrance, it led her to another small hallway to her left where her bedroom and guest bathroom was; and to her right, it would take her to the kitchen and living space. With four big windows with black window frames, the natural light really came in, making her place brighter for saving electricity.

Walking in and putting the boxes against the black cabinets in the kitchen, she immediately fell in love with the space, her space. Despite already taking a tour of the apartment a few months prior to her official move in day, it felt different being there for the second time because she now knew that this place was hers. She saw it in a different light, and she was already anticipating the memories she was going to make in her new home. The place was empty; and with every step and every noise from her mouth, the room would echo, and she loved it. There was something satisfying about the echo in an empty space that was hers, like she wanted to furnish the hell out of it, but at the same time, she didn’t mind the echo.

“This is your new home.” Nathan put an arm around Luci’s shoulder. He got a bit emotional seeing his baby sister grow up and move away from home, but he was excited for all of the experiences and memories she was going to make. Luci looked up at him, not saying anything but smiling as she was speechless. Nathan could practically feel the excitement run through her and all he did was chuckle at her speechlessness. “C’mon, let’s go get the rest of the boxes.”

For the next fifteen minutes, Luci and Nathan hauled the boxes from the car, to the elevator, and down the hallway to her apartment. There were about four more boxes left in the trunk, and they would’ve been finished by now if they hadn’t been taking breaks.

Nathan’s phone rang as he was sitting on the floor, leaning against the cabinets of the kitchen across from Luci who was sitting in the corner where her dining table would be.

“Hello?” Answered Nathan. “What? Tonight? I’m in New York. I’m helping my little sister move here. Uh, okay. Sure. Bye.” He groaned, standing up.

“Who was that?” Luci asked, nosy as she was.

“That was one of the board members at Mass General Hospital.” Luci’s eyes widened. “They just asked me if I could come in tonight to teach and supervise the new residents.” Nathan was a general doctor working in the Emergency Room as Mass General back in Boston. He’s always wanted to teach with all the knowledge he’s stored in his brain—always wanting someone to learn a thing or two when they spoke to him, and this was his chance.

“Holy shit, that’s amazing, Nate!” Luci stood up, excited for him.

He started to breathe a bit heavily and Luci immediately took notice; she could practically feel the nerves coming out of him, the same nerves she felt while going in for an audition. “Yeah, I actually have to leave, like, right now.”

“Hey, hey.” She quickly stopped him from running out of the building and out of his mind. “Come here—breathe with me for a second.” She held onto his wrists gently.

“Luci, I have to-”

He pulled away, but she tugged him back. “You’re going to drive yourself through the highway, and who knows what will happen, you might get pulled over and you won’t make it to the hospital. So, just take sixty seconds to breathe with me.”

For the remainder of the time that they had together, they took some deep breaths. She spoke encouraging and uplifting words to him to calm down his nerves and anxieties that he seemed to drive himself over a cliff for, and it seemed to work as Nathan’s shoulder’s weren’t so tense and the grip on her hands had loosened.

The two of them walked down to the parking garage where Nathan took down the last four boxes and placed them by the entrance of the complex. He was adamant on helping her get the last few boxes up to her apartment, but she shrugged it off, telling him that she was able to carry them and that he needed to leave because he’s most likely going to hit traffic during rush hour.

“Call me if you need anything, okay? I mean it. I will drive here in a heartbeat.”

“I will, I will-”

“Just not tonight,” he joked. “This is the highlight of my career.” His smile was so bright that it was like he was a little kid on Christmas again who just received a Hot Speed set from Santa.

Luci laughed, hugging him goodbye. “And call me if you need anything too. I’ll miss seeing you everyday,” she admitted, a slight frown on her face. She thought she’d have the entire day with Nathan, but it was cut short due to his work but she wasn’t mad about that at all because she knew there'd be plenty of times when he would drive down to walk along the New York streets and see her perform.

“I’m gonna miss you too, Ana. But I love you and I’ll see you next month!” He hurried into his car, and Luci watched him as he pulled out of the driveway, waving at the rear view mirror to say one last ‘see you later’ to his little sister.

Walking back to the curb where all of the boxes were set, Luci picked one up to test how heavy it was and she barely made it upright without almost hurting her back, so she put the box down to take a proper breather. She decided to drag the box closer to the door of the complex—which saved her a few steps without completely dropping the box that was labeled ‘glass plates’—and pulled the handle of the door, only to find it completely locked. There was a slight panic that flew through her until she realized that she needed her keyless tag that she had to press against the pad on the wall to get inside the complex, so she blew out a sigh of relief before reaching down to her pocket for her key, and with just her luck, her keys weren’t in her pocket or with her at all. Then she started to panic again.

Luci quickly walked out of the parking garage and to the front of the building where the leasing office was to find them closed, which was odd because it was Saturday, but apparently their servers were down so they just decided to take the entire day off. She rolled her eyes annoyingly, walking back to the garage in a fast manner because she didn’t want anyone to take her boxes, and so she figured that she could just wait until someone left the complex or arrived. She even left her phone at her place, so it wasn’t like she could call anyone to help her, but some sort of entertainment would help the time go by quicker.

Sitting on the curb in the garage, pacing back and forth on the sidewalk, and humming the melody from the Miss Saigon soundtrack, an hour goes by until she sees someone walk past the automatic gate barrier, heading towards the entrance where he opened the door with his tag. Luci sprinted towards the door, calling out for help.

“Wait, wait!” The man turned around confusingly, taking his AirPod out of one ear. She caught up, taking deep breaths as she waved at the man. “Sorry, I’ve been out here for an hour and I completely forgot my key.” He didn’t say anything but stared at her, wondering why he’s never seen this woman before. The apartment complex really only had four floors, and he’s sure that he’s seen everyone who’s lived here. She noticed that he looked down at the boxes and back at her. “Oh, I just moved in.” He nodded more understandingly. “Do you mind holding the door for me?”

“Sure.” Was the first thing he told her before stepping aside to hold the door. She took another deep breath, getting into the correct form so she doesn’t throw her back out, and began to lift the heavy box. He noticed her struggling, and he felt foolish for not offering his help in the first place when he noticed the four boxes on the cement. “Here, sorry, let me help with that. Get the door, yeah?” Luci’s heart flipped once she heard his deep, accented voice before she gratefully thanked him and he grabbed the box from her, replacing her hands with his and the slightest brush of their fingers made her flustered; he held the box tightly to his chest without much struggle.

“Yeah, let me just get this one.” Luci grabbed a much lighter box that had all of her shoes, and held the door for him with her foot as he made his way inside of the building and to the elevator. He pressed the button with the arrow pointing up, and luckily, they didn’t have to wait for more than five seconds before the bell at the top chimed and the stainless steel doors opened.

With the heavy box in his hands, he still let Luci walk in first, which made her smile and he followed in as she pressed with the bold ‘4’ printed on it. He held the box in between his chest and the other end of the bar on the wall as they waited in silence as the elevator lifted them up to her apartment floor, and she brushed past him when he lifted his arm, gesturing her to go first.

Her front door was closed but it was unlocked, which only made sense, so she opened her door, putting the box next to the entrance and politely asking the man to put it next to the one you put down.

“Thank you so much, really. You have no idea how much I appreciate your help.”

“It’s no problem. I was the same when I moved here too—forgot my keys and was locked out.” He related to make her feel lighter about the situation since it was an honest mishap.

“Did you go to the leasing office?” She asked curiously.

“Yeah, but they were closed.”

“They’re closed today too! It’s like they do that on purpose whenever someone new moves in.” The man chuckled, scratching the back of his neck.

She hadn’t gotten a proper look at him since she was too distracted by trying to get into her building, but just by one real look at him, he was very attractive—probably too attractive to where she couldn’t think straight. He was wearing a pastel yellow and white striped button down that was a bit flowy and open, showing his white tank underneath that was tucked into his black skinny jeans. His tank top was low enough, exposing a patch of chest hair and his necklace that rested against his skin, in between his swallow tattoos just below his collarbones. Rings hugged his long fingers on both hands as he held two brown paper bags from Trader Joes. He was handsome, that’s for sure, and she felt like she was going to compare his beauty to all the other men that she was going to encounter in the future.

“They’re not very good at going into work, but if you give them a call then it’s like they’re a 24/7 help center.”

Luci nodded, chuckling. “Good to know. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I’ll help you with the last boxes.” Before she was about to protest and tell him that he didn’t have to help her anymore because she was sure the last ones were light, he made his way towards the elevator and she quickly followed.

To her surprise, one of the boxes was heavier than the other and she was glad that the man was able to carry it for her. They took the boxes up to her apartment, stacking it on top of the ones that were set down before she thanked him gratefully again.

“I really appreciate all your help.” She smiled, leaning against the doorframe.

“Not that I’m doubting your strength or anything, but how were you supposed to get those boxes up to your apartment?” He asked softly, not wanting to offend her by his words.

“Oh, my brother was supposed to help me, but he had to go back home for an emergency at work.” The man nodded, seeming that was the most acceptable answer, not like he was searching if she was lying. “But thank you for your help. You’re a true lifesaver,” she said with a soft smile on her face. Her tone was a bit flirty than she wanted it to be, but it naturally came out.

“It’s not a problem. I’ll see you around.” Luci hadn’t closed her door yet, but she found out that he was literally her neighbor on the opposite side of the wall. He didn’t even have to take two steps to get to his place—all he had to do was turn around and he was home. She smiled at the thought of that, glad that her neighbor was already so kind to her.

As he was fumbling with his keys, he eventually got his door unlocked, and Luci was itching to ask what his name was—maybe make her first friend during her first day living in the big city. The man felt his neighbor's eyes on him, burning through the back of his head, so he turned around at the same time she spoke.

“Uh, hey,” Luci called out. He was looking over his shoulder, pursing his lips as he raised his brows. “I was wondering if…you’d like to have dinner with me tonight? Y’know, to thank you for all your help and practically saving me while I was stranded.” She chuckled, playing with the tips of her fingers as she looked at him with hope.

He thought the invitation was nice, but…“It’s okay, really. I, uh, have plans already tonight,” he admitted honestly because he doesn’t make a habit of being dishonest.

Luci had some thick skin—she grew it throughout the years, and she had always been pretty confident. So many people would think that she could handle rejection well because she’s auditioned for many roles in her lifetime, and had been rejected for most of those roles. But the rejection that her neighbor handed to her so respectfully and politely was one that hit her the most, and she didn't know why.

Curling her lips into her mouth as she felt the pang of her heart sinking into her chest, she nodded and placed a small smile onto her face.

“Have fun tonight, then. I’ll see you around.” She grinned, hiding the slight bit of pain that she felt. He nodded, walking inside his apartment as she was in her doorway as well. “Oh, I’m Luci, by the way.” She introduced herself, feeling like she should have done that ten minutes ago, but it had slipped her mind.

The corner of the man’s mouth turned up into a sly smirk, and she nearly felt herself fall as she gripped the door handle tightly. It was enough to make the pain in her chest disappear, and all thoughts of the rejection that she would think about for the rest of the night vanished.

“Nice to meet you, Luci. I’m Harry.”

With that, Harry closed his door, putting a barrier between him and Luci, who was still standing in her doorway. She let out the longest sigh of her life, feeling like she’d been constricting herself from breathing properly for the last ten minutes.

Luci closed her door and leaned against it, looking down at the boxes that were resting by her feet. She softly smiled, her cheeks were starting to get warm, and she was fully aware that Harry was the cause of it.

come talk to me about your thoughts and feelings! hope you all enjoyed the first chapter, thank you for reading <3

ty to @sunflowers-styles for beta reading!

#harry styles fanfiction #harry styles angst #harry styles series #harry styles x oc #harry styles fic #harry styles ff #harry styles smut #harry styles fluff #harry styles au #boyfriend!harry #harry styles writing #harry styles solo #actress!oc

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minisoysquares · 3 years

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As fun as the events and ideas you posted about 19days would be, wouldn’t it also just bring in more negative stuff - like fandom in general has become a field of land mines and I fear that something that’s supposed to fun will turn into some sort of battle. Like how some people get extremely heated over any other ships outside of their fave ship and they cannot possibly have other ships except theirs, etc. The last thing anyone wants is for content creators to be targeted simply for making something they thought would be fun

(This ask and answer is about this post.)

First of all thank you so much for addressing such a big and valid concern. I agree that that has indeed happened in certain fandoms - I can say I've been in the thick of it and witnessed quite the warfare - but in others it has also brought fans and readers and content creators together even closer and tighter in a wonderful thriving community.

I have the feeling this'll get quite long so please proceed under the cut with that in mind.

I believe all things are potential harbingers of both discord and harmony. There will always be people who feel entitled and who want - even demand! the audacity! - authors and artists to create for their ships and their ships alone. And there will also always be people who can appreciate the writing and the art without judgemental treatment regarding the pairings/characters depicted, no matter their preferences.

All of that happens and will continue to happen, whether we go forward with these events or not. And yet authors will still write what they want to write, artists will still draw what they want to draw, graphic designers will still make the edits they want to make as well. What we could do, in this small and close knit fandom, is take in our hands this powerful rich opportunity and try our best to make a model of positivity out of it.

In these events, there would be no bashing or shaming allowed. The content created would be to be enjoyed by those who are attracted to it, and those who do not have a taste for that fanwork in particular would be asked to remain respectful. (As it should always be.) There would be no ship wars in these spaces. Discourse, hate-speech or anti-behaviour would not be tolerated by the moderators of the event.

Creators who indulged in it would be immediately disqualified. Any unnecessary commentary or complaints from the audience would be deleted and reported as spam. Anyone instigating conflict would be only painting a target on their back, really. Because most of us - I dare say - are only here to appreciate the brilliant artwork and fanfiction woven and crafted by the talented people who share it with us.

If it came to it and it escalated, this hellsite has several tools that can be put to use to that regard. Accounts could be blocked and/or even reported. They wouldn't be able to interact with the blogs created to run these events from then on. We would be able to create a black list and post it publicly so everyone else who wished to could simply block those unruly pesky accounts and remain at peace and free to enjoy themselves to their utmost.

Let us not forget that this is all fiction and it's all for fun. Everyone's allowed to have their own opinion, likes and dislikes. There simply is no need to step on anyone else and their interests to elevate them.

Let's exemplify, for the sake of clarity:

Do I personally ship A with B? Imagine I do not. I do not search for it. If I come across it? I scroll past it. Once or twice, I may even like - and even reblog - if it happens to catch my attention and it's well written/drawn! (I have tags along the lines of 'I don't ship it but' and 'look at this beautiful art' or 'drown in the power of these words.')

It's so easy to interact amongst ourselves without coming with pitchforks at one another. Know what actually needs effort? Being a meanie and a party popper! Who in their right mind wastes their time on things they don't care for? Dum dums, that's who! Of course, we're all dummies at times... and that's okay! Let's just not harass people or crash their fun while we're at it!

If nothing else: you wouldn't like if others did this or that to you, therefore don't do it to others. It's a simple concept to grasp.

Very important: in these events, every single piece would be explicitly and properly tagged and warned for right at the very top of each post, so there would be absolutely no excuses for anyone being nasty.

We would just have to be open to the experience. Enjoy our ships and let other enjoy theirs. We do not have to all like the same thing. That would be just boring. But we can cohabitate devoid of trouble in fandom. Each one of us just has to be respectful. No need to even be nice. No one has to compliment something they don't like. They also don't have to step on what others do.

Don't like a ship/character/theme? Don't read stories focused on it. Don't put down authors who write it or readers who enjoy it. Same for art. No need to shout about how awful it is just for the simple reason that it does not fit into your personal shipping preferences. It can still be still be a tasty and wonderfully baked cake, it's just that you're not fond of vanilla or strawberries. It's okay. There are all kinds of cake for everyone's tastes!

Further examples: If a ship happens to be a NOTP for me or I don't care for the character(s)? I filter the tags. All of them. Any and every tag I can think of. It's very easy to protect ourselves on Tumblr from content we do not wish to see. (My own list is huge and just as effective.) Filtering is incredibly important.

So go ahead and filter out the ships you can do without! Filter out porte-manteaux like Tianshan, Zhanyi, Qiucheng, Tianxi, Tianyi, Lishan, Litian, Liyi, Shantou, Polydays, (...) Filter out any ship tag that doesn't strike your fancy like Q x MGS, HC x JY's mom, (...) Filter out characters that aren't your cuppa tea like HT, HT's dad, SL, JY's mom, XH, (...)

Make it safe for yourself and for others. That way you won't rage at the sight of your NOTP, won't feel the compulsive need to trash the people who ship it, no one is hurt and everyone is happy!

There are many steps we could follow to prevent rotten eggs in our coop. And many more actions we could take to throw them out if need be. I firmly believe, however, that if we're all of the same mind everything would go well and with very few bumps along the way.

If we only ever feared the possible negative consequences of our actions, never taking the risk for the possible positive ones, we'd never get anything done. I say let's not let our beloved fandom stagnate or dry out. Let's incentivate and motivate and inspire! Let's share! Let's have fun!

Think of it in these terms: it wouldn't be a competition at all but rather a charity event. Performers and spectators coming together for a common good, raising content and spreading joy! There would be no winners or losers or prizes. What would matter would be good old-fashioned participation, both by providing content and/or consuming it.

It could also a good way to get people to express themselves more. Many content consumers tend to lurk or keep to themselves even if they like the content posts. (I used to be one myself and only a couple months ago started to come out of my shell.) I myself advocate for reblogging instead of liking - if you have to choose one or the other, I mean, why not do both? - and leaving a word on every single post I like and/or reblog. Sometimes I go nuts commenting, sometimes I leave a small note in the tags.

It doesn't matter how. Even if you're shy or introverted (*raises hand*) or don't know what to say I guarantee a single emoticon or a string of disordered letters symbolising incoherence will make the creator's day all the same. Getting feedback is so important and motivational for creators and also a great way for fandom members to keep in touch and support each other.

Additionally, if a person would like more of a certain type of content here are some healthy actions they could take: a) commission a creator and pay for it if they can; b) politely make a suggestion to a creator with an open ask box; c) post a prompt publicly for possible interested creators to use; d) do it yourself and share it with others!

This turned out into more of a "behavioural guidelines" thing than I'd have liked. I am not in any way whatsoever telling anyone what to do. This is what I do, and it works wonders for me. I stay completely out of toxic arguments and in on all the goodies. I'm able to fully enjoy my fandoms. And isn't that what we all want?

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with me. And I apologise for the long rant!

Of course, this is only my personal stance on the issue. I did go for a survey first exactly for this end, to get their opinions on the subject and see if it would be worth a shot. I shall hope many other people will think as I do, but I will wholly respect those who don't.

#answered asks #19 tian #19天 #19 days #old先 #old xian #zhanyi #qiucheng #tianshan #jian yi #zhan zheng xi #he cheng #qiu #brother qiu #he tian #mo guan shan #she li #cun tou #xiao hui

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gb-patch · 3 years

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Ask Answers: January 28th, 2021 (Part 2)

Here we’ve got asks that aren’t to ask a question but are just really nice messages. Thank you all for sending us such kind comments ;v;. It’s seriously heartwarming to see so many people having good experiences with the game. I don’t even know what to say to such sweet responses.

We’ll keep doing our best and thank you again to each and every one of you for giving Our Life a chance ❤!

Hello! I've been following this account and have been following the development of 'Our Life' for a few months now, and I just wanted to say thank you for all your hard work and dedication you have put into the game. It astonishes me how much choice you have during the sequence of Our Life and am excited to play the full version now, I am downloading it as I write this message. I've had a great time seeing the demo transition into to the full game and just wanted to write two words. Thank you.

Anhhhhffbgdfbhujk!!! Congratulations on the release, I’m playing the game right now! Thank you all for your hard work and I can’t wait for the Step 3 DLC to come out, I’ll probably wait for the Step 3 DLC to come out to experience everything, but until then, I still have a lot to play. Thank you once again!

finished my first playthrough just now. it just felt so wholesome ??? 100/10 would do it again. i laughed. i cried. i got angry. i felt second-hand embrassment— i got so into it i was left in literal tears after getting my first ending. the art, the storyline, the music, and COVE HOLDEN– UGH IT WAS LITERAL PERFECTION ❤ THE WAIT WAS WORTH IT. THANK YOU FOR MAKING SUCH AN AMAZING GAME 🥺😭 this made my 2020 better, i can't wait for step 4 in 2021 ❤❤

So I was following you guys on itchio for years and uhh did I stay up til 6 am on a school night to finish the game? Yes. Did I sob my eyes out during step 3 as a 20 year old having doubts about life and adulthood? Absolutely. I can't form proper sentences right now due to lack of sleep but just wanted to say thank you for making it. I honestly feel lighter and I feel like it changed my views on future to be more optimistic... I can't wait to replay it! Thanks again!

I love how Our Life turned out!! I keep replaying it and can't stop squeaking and giggling!! Thank You for creating it ♥

okay i have actually fallen in love with cove and cannot WAIT to marry him 😭

Hi! I played through 'Our Life' yesterday and I just wanna say how refreshing it was to be able to have Cove be 'high initiative' and also have so many opportunities to initiate affection from the player character! As a pretty flirtatious/affectionate person myself, I notice that a lot of VNs don't give players that agency, and affection can be kinda 'carrot on a stick' if that makes sense. You guys did an awesome job! I look forward to seeing if there are more of those moments in Step 3 & 4 :)

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the option to choose Cove's level of initiative in step 3! As much I love the option to choose I personally enjoy have the romanced character take the lead without my input so when I got to step 3 and had to option to make it so that Cove initiated affection without as much input from me I was really happy! You guys seriously added so much freedom in terms of choices, it's almost baffling that the only thing you have to pay for is optional DLC!

I absolutely loved everything about the game and I really want congratulate the team for making the game such a satisfying experience.

I look forward to step 4

❤️❤️❤️❤️

* and sorry for my bad English

Just finished my first play through and I loved it! I've been looking forward to the game and it definitely was worth the wait. Thank you all for your hard work and can't wait for the extra dlc!

Till then, hope you guys gets some well deserved rest🤗

Love you guys, thank you so much for your hard work. :)

Ok, so I just finished Our Life and, wow. I have never cried at a video game before, ever. Thank you so, so much! Its one of my favorites.

this isn't a question, but i just wanted to say how much i enjoyed our life 🥺 i've been patiently looking forward to the full game for a few months now, and i couldn't be happier with it! i've only played through it once so far but the outcomes of the choices i made were all so soft and wholesome 💗 i can tell that everyone who was involved really worked hard and you all did an incredible job! i can't wait to see what else is in store 👍

i’d just like to say how addictive our life is!!! i constantly played it during quarantine and now playing the full release is so amazing to me!! i love that i’m still discovering dialogue bits with different personalities and actions!!! i have to admit that i’ve been wishing the day to pass faster all day during school so i could go home and play again. mentally i’m not the healthiest and our life being released has boosted it up so much, thank you for creating such an amazing game!!!!!

Hey, I just wanna say I played our life two times and it still give me the same feelings. I was really looking forward to this game before it came out and I kept on replaying the demo. This game is such an amazing experience and I feel so happy playing it. I am not really a person good with words unfortunately but I do honestly love this more than anything in the world. Thank you for making it and I hope that you will continue to make more games like our life. This game really makes me happy and I can't thank you enough

Just wanted to say that Our Life really made me feel seen as an 18 year old trans man who's been struggling with change as of late and I can't thank you guys enough for it. I just finished the main story and currently released DLC's and gosh, I can really only say... woah. Just, woah. The messages are somehow exactly what I needed to hear right now, and they brought me a lot of comfort in this really weird and confusing time in my life. Can't wait to see what comes next in this lovely story <3

I am honestly in love with Our Life. The graphics, the soundtrack its just *chef's kiss* It was so worth the wait for it. I can't wait for step 4. Keep up the good work GB Patch!

good people i have just finished Our Life and let me say, it was beautiful. rarely have such non-fantastical moments (and even some fantastical moments) brought me to tears like this game has, and i don't even have the dlc (yet). i don't know how you did it but it felt like i was playing a slice of life anime. i had waited with baited breath to play this since i played the demo and my expectations were not just met but surpassed. from the bottom of my heart thank you for this game

I found the game by chance and I am so so glad I did. It’s so inclusive and made me feel so incredibly seen. Seeing that my gender identity and sexuality were possible just meant the absolute world to me. I’ve never seen something like this and it just made me so incredibly happy. Thank you for the absolutely amazing game and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Hello! I downloaded Our life earlier this week and I'm only now getting the chance to play it (Very busy and stressful week) I'm so excited to play and I wanna say thank you for making this adorable game!

I just finished my first playthrough of Our Life and I can't even express how much I love it. Cove is absolutely precious and has killed me several times, and the art and soundtrack is beautiful. I love all the small different choices. I'm very interested in the Derek and Baxter DLCs and the rest, can't wait!!!!!!

thank you for "Our Life Beginnings & Always" it has to be one of the best visual novels i ever have played and i just dont want it to end (i know it will, but damn it! i want to have a wedding night, have children and die of old age with cole! XD) when i play it it always makes me tear up (in a good way) and i am most definetly going to buy all the dlc that you make! thank you for this lovely game and all the work that went into it! (ps: i also loved "lake of voices" )

You guys are incredibly talented and im very proud of you all! You've really outdone yourselves w/ OL and i cant wait to see whats next to come for you all :)

i really love that you can be trans in Our Life! not a lot of games do that so i just wanted to say thank you!

Guuyyss!! I just wanna say! Thank you sm for the headscarf option in the MC creator! I especially loved that little detail where MC quickly slips the headscarf on before greeting Cove, I've never felt so immersed :'D Not that the rest of the game wasn't immersive btw, but since I wear my hijab most of the time that little addition really felt like something I would do! So thank you for that <3

I've been watching "Our Life: Beginnings & Always" development for quite some time, and I gotta say its wild to see it finally release. Its so unique in the way relationships work- even character creation. I've cried multiple times over this game while playing. I can't thank y'all enough for a game with these kind of mechanics, and representation. its rare I get to feel im really playing as myself in games like these. Everyones outdone themselves. this'll certainly be one I keep coming back to.

I've been following the development of Our Life from way back when the first demo dropped and it still blows my mind how many choices and customizations there are (love that update for the MC's bedroom btw!) and the fact that the game remembers them - it really feels like your very own coming of age story! I was so immersed I cried at the end :') Can't believe I experienced this game for free lol. I can't wait for future DLCs and Step 4! Good luck with all your upcoming projects dev team!!

Just wanted to say I love Our Life and I'm thankful it exists. Thank you so much! I love the little world you created and all the people in it. Especially Cove! This game makes me so happy!

Just poping in to say hi and that ilu guys ^^, remember to take care of yourselves!

Hi!! I just wanna thank you for creating such an amazing game. Our Life is one of the few dating sims I’ve found that let’s me be a male mc, it’s really hard to find dating sims that let me be gay. Our Life is my new favorite dating sim to just sit down and playthrough whenever I’m having a bad day so I just wanted to let y’all know how much I appreciate all you’ve done. 🤍

Fan from australia here

Just wanted to reach out and let you know how important this game has been to me. I came across it at a really rough time ( that I’m still going through ) and it’s been one of the things that’s driven me to get up and out of bed sometimes.

This game and cove both hold a very special place in my heart and I can’t wait to see more of him in the DLC and Step 4

Much love ♥️

I know this isnt exactly the main focus of the game, but i really love how we can customise the mc personality wise! This is the first time i've played a game like this where the mc actually does and says exactly what I would do and say in certain situations and its such a breath of fresh air!! It's also so cool how the other characters can pick up on it!!

Cove Holden saved 2020 (my 2020 anyways) I would die for him

Sorry for this being out of the blue, but after playing through Our Life I wanted to thank you for the experience. I don’t know if I’ve ever played a game that has made me cry happy tears TWICE lol. It’s beautiful, scenic, inclusive, and absolutely amazing..have a great rest of 2020 and I honestly cannot wait for the rest of it :,) (ps. The ending song is stuck in my head)

I think you guys might've ruined visual novels for me forever. I'm not sure I'll be able to play another without comparing it to Our Life and I know if I do that I'll be disappointed every time because of how amazing it is. I bought the DLCs before playing the base game it's one of the best impulsive purchases I've ever made

Thank you so much for making our life! It's my favorite visual novel ever and I just can't articulate how much being able to just be honest with my responses instead of going for whatever would make the love interest happy means to me? I reccomended it to evry friend I have that plays visual novels because this is the best one I've ever played!

Just wanted to say that I absolutely adore this game! The childhood friends tropes is my favorite thing and this game delivers! Cove is the sweetest thing, infact all the boys are good boys. Super excited for all upcoming dlcs!

Hi, I just want to thank you for making such an amazing game like Our Life. Tbh, I was following the game’s development for a while, but me and my family moved away from my childhood town just a few days before release, so I really connected to this game. You all did amazing!

hey just wanted to know that i completely loved ol: b&a and it was so good and love cove more than i’ve liked any fictional character, it’s now my comfort media. thank you so much

hi i just wanna say i really enjoyed all of the representation in our life b&a! there were characters with a lot of different body shapes, pic characters, lgbtq+ characters, and you get to choose your own pronouns and sexuality!!! so tysm!!

This isn't a question, I just wanted to say that Our Life is incredible. Ever since I finished it, I've been looking for other visual novels to play so I don't play OL so often that I start memorizing the lines before all the DLC comes out, but I keep coming back to it. It's really one of a kind, I think you all ruined other visual novels for me because I haven't enjoyed another VN like I have this one since I read it ❤.

i think our life b&a is the first game where i felt like cove loved me, not the character i play as which is really nice for someone with kinda low self esteem so THANK YOU

I’ve been playing Our Life practically nonstop since yesterday. I just want everyone who worked on it to know how much the LGBTQ inclusivity means to me. As a closeted trans ace guy in an unsupportive household, I can’t emphasize how much of a comfort this game has been to me. Everything about it is so wholesome and heartfelt. I’m excited to see what other games you make in the future 💙

- A demibiromantic ace transgender man who may or may not have cried over the option to be myself in a game for the first time ever

Csn i just say i really appreciate how you handled MC deciding to use they/them at different stages. Mainly because alot of games don't pay much attention to the body the mc was assigned at birth if they player chooses nonbinary like it does with male/female. And it was just nice to be able to play an mc who just thought gender was kinda 'meh' for them but still felt good about the body they were born with (like myself). I guesd it boils down I'm really appreciative of the hard work it must've taken for you to make all those options possible & still have them matter.

I just wanted to thank you all for Our Life. My mental health hasn't been in a good place recently and it has become my favorite form of escapism/way to cheer up. It's idyllic setting and fantastic characters are such a good way to wind down, I love it. Also, I've been dreading 2021 due to classes starting and general stress, but the DLC and your next project have given me something to actually look forward to :). I'm so excited for them and now I actually have a reason to be happy that it's 2021. Sorry if this message is a bit weird, I just wanted to thank the team for their hard work and for creating something so incredible <3

I've gotta say this is one of the most repayable games I've ever played, if not the most. Usually after i do a playthrough or two of a game i have to wait awhile before playing again otherwise it feels stale. But i haven't had that problem with our life because of the sheer ammount of player agency. Everyone who works on tbe game should feel incredibly proud of themselves because you've created something amazing.

I just wanted to say thank you for Our Life. I'm sure you get this a lot, but it really pulled me out of a mentally tough spot in my life. So thank you.

who needs therapy when you have our life: beginnings and always? haha no but seriously this game is my comfort game, and even though i can’t join your patreon at the moment please know i am always supporting you and i am so excited to see everything you have in store! everyone who works on the games is so so talented

All DLCs have nice content. 😡😡

And I love them all!!💗💗💗💖💖💖💕💕💕

#our life #Our Life Beginnings & Always #ourlifeba #ask #gb patch #gb patch games

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freelancearsonist · 3 years

Text

February Fic Recs!

Hi everyone! I’ve realized that part of the problem with interaction within the fic community is that not as many larger creators are doing their part to reblog and recommend fics like they used to when I first joined Tumblr. And while I wouldn’t really consider myself a “large” blog, I still want to do my part to help boost my fellow creators :) So here’s a list of what I read this month!

02.01 // “a letter addressed to the manager of the letter room” by @propertyofabelmorales (Richard Alsonso-Munoz) // I’ve read this at least three times omg because it’s currently the only Richard content we have and it’s wonderfully written and the letter format is unique but really interesting and so fitting given the character so yeah 10/10 please keep ‘em coming Vic 😂

02.02 // “Walls that Come Down” by @houseofthirst (Nathan Bateman) // this made me horny and made me cry at the same time and I think it’s really unfair that you have the power to do that to me tbh 😂 This is so wonderfully written and such a beautiful take on Nathan’s character and ugh lemme go cry in my corner

02.03 // “Meet Me on Endor” by @autumnleaves1991-blog (Poe Dameron) // “You are so beautiful, all the time” made me tear up a little bit because it’s so distinctly Poe and I also horny cried because god I’d give anything for this man

02.04 // “In the Night” by @jawabear (Santiago “Pope” Garcia) // this was emotional and beautiful and sexy all at once and it made me cry a lil bit in bed at 2am and honestly I thank you for it

02.05 // “Something About You And I” by @sacklerscumrag (Poe Dameron) // This was beautifully written and also so so so sexy and I realized I might have a bit of unresolved bondage kink while reading this so thanks for that 😂

02.06 // “The Night That Follows” by @roanniom (Poe Dameron) // I found this kind of by accident and then it turned out to be one of the most beautiful fics I’ve ever read in my life??? I’m seriously like trembling how can someone pack so much talent into one sexy fic I’m—

02.07 // “The Punishment” by @mandorush (Santiago “Pope” Garcia) // This is so fucking sexy what the fuck and then I found out it’s a whole series??? Yeah so needless to say my 2am binge was entirely worth it omg 🤤

02.08 // “Dessert is on the Counter” by @nathan-bateman (Abel Morales) // I read this before you posted to make the moodboard but I’ve legit reread like seven times since then omg. A quality fic in every way. 10/10

02.09 // “Affection” by @wasicskosgirl (Llewyn Davis) // This is one of my all-time favorite fics for my favorite man 😭 everything about this is so cute and I would literally die to snuggle with this sweet boy 😭

02.10 // “Tell Me” by @rebellou (Poe Dameron) // I don’t even know what to say omfg this is one of the hottest things I’ve ever read in my life and I’d like this fic chiseled onto my gravestone so I have something nice to take with me into the afterlife

02.11 // “Romantic Dreams” by @witchyavenger (Santiago “Pope” Garcia) // Yeah I want this holy hell this was so spectacularly written and so sexy and 😩 god I can’t even have kids but I wish he would breed me omg

02.12 // “Pressing Camera Questions” by @youvebeenlivingfictional (Nathan Bateman) // Omg this is so wonderfully constructed, even as something of an introductory piece to this series. I’m so excited to see what comes!

02.13 // “Free Fall” by @michaelperry (Mikael Boghosian) // There’s so little fic for Mikael on this site and so finding this kinda felt like striking gold 😂 especially because it’s so wonderfully writing and so sexy and 🤤

02.14 // #valentines fic tag by @propertyofabelmorales (Literally every Oscar Isaac character) // I got to read so many amazing fics today because of the Valentine’s fic exchange but shit dude you went above and beyond!! I wanted to only plug each author once on this fic rec calendar but there’s no way I couldn’t give you a shout out for this. Even in addition to your piece for the fic exchange you wrote so much incredible fic for literally every character I can think of (including Marcus!!!!!!!!! As I’m writing this you haven’t even posted his yet but I saw his name on the list and I’ve been having heart palpitations ever since) so yeah explore this tag because there’s fic for literally everyone and it’s all so wonderfully written and *chef’s kiss*

02.15 // “ghosts” by @unstoppableforcce (Javier Peña) // This one gave me CHILLS omfg this is just the first part and I was rolling on the ground. Everything about this is so beautifully constructed and haunting and UGH this is amazing 😭

02.16 // “Pretty” by @waatermelon-sugaar (Blue Jones) // Holy shit this unlocked like seven kinks that I didn’t even know I had 🤤 this was so wonderfully written and so sexy and realistic? Idk if that’s a good descriptor but like I could feel everything you were describing sdkfdkfjdkfj I LOVED THIS

02.17 // “home.” By @pascal-isaac (Llewyn Davis) // Look I wish I was kidding when I say that I’ve read this fic upwards of seven times sdkjskdjskd this is one of my all-time favorite fics and it only gets hotter with age 😩 this fic is like a fine wine and I would like to have it inscribed on my tombstone when I inevitably escape from this plane of existence

02.18 // “Turning to the Dark...” by @mylifeisactuallyamess (First Order!Poe Dameron) // If I’m being honest I’m not usually a fan of darker fics but this one worked for me. It was so sexy and honestly kind of beautiful in the way you describe the interrogation and later Poe’s willful turning. I really enjoyed this and will probably read again 🥺

02.19 // “My Best Decision” by @knivesareout (Javier Peña) // Fuck guys I’ve had baby fever like a motherfucker this month and this made it so much worse 😂 Dad!Javi is so fucking cute omg and this fic was SO SEXY and it really hit all of my bases 😩

02.20 // “my sweet baby” by @writingletterstothefire (Santiago “Pope” Garcia) // Look I’ve read this fic 293394 times and it’s good EVERY TIME. Dirty Dancing is the good kush and this fic made my obsession with that movie like 1000 times worse omfg. I read this every time I’m in a bad mood and it just puts a smile on my face so fast omg I would literally beg for a longer version

02.21 // “Sounds of Silence” by @veuliee2 (Orestes) // This fic? This fic right here? Lives rent free in my mind. To the truest capacity of the statement. I wish I was kidding when I say that not a single day goes by where I don’t think about this. I don’t even really know what to call this? Maybe Something along the lines of associates to lovers? Whatever this qualifies as it’s literally one of my absolute favorite fics of all time and I will never forget the way you shattered and mended my heart with one story

02.22 // “Mr. & Mrs. Cooper” by @aellynera (Bud Cooper) // THIS IS BRILLIANT THE ENTIRE WAY THROUGH ok first of all that this is like one of two fics for this character 😂 but also this is the most beautifully, ironically constructed fic ever? Everything about this is entirely grasping and there’s THREE PARTS that are all just as good as the rest and 😩 I literally couldn’t ask for a more perfect fic

02.23 // “Catch” by @ollypopp (Poe Dameron) // This is a short drabble but I had to include it because DAMN this is so sexy and wonderful for such a short piece and I’ll be thinking about this for the next month so thank you 😂

02.24 // “Blooming most recklessly” by @writefightandflightclub (Evgeni Kolpakov) // This is so beautifully written while simultaneously being so sexy???? How do you do it Luna I am forever in awe of your talent 😭 I can just visualize everything he says and does so clearly and I’m so in love with this piece 😭💛

02.25 // “falling for you” by @luminouspoes (Poe Dameron) // This is the cutest thing ever wtf 😭😭 The pining is so strong even though it’s short and it’s just all around so wonderfully written and I must go cry in my corner now

02.26 // “Liability” by @honeymandos (Nathan Bateman) // THIS WAS GORGEOUS WTF I’m crying over some soft Nathan in this house tonight 😭 I was legit so worried for a while that he’d send reader away but then he CAVED and my heart sang hallelujah—

02.27 // “electric spark” by @woakiees (Duke Leto Atreides) // Hi I need everyone to read this please so it can destroy your body and live in your mind and occupy all of your waking thoughts like it does for me k thanks

02.28 // “The Child” by @starryeyedstories (Poe Dameron) // This was the sweetest thing ever what the heck 😭😭😭 I am eternally sobbing over this lil found family-ish vibe and dad!Poe is literally everything I’ve ever wanted and UGH I have to go cry for the next month

#fic rec #february fic recs #poe dameron x reader #santiago garcia x reader #nathan bateman x reader #richard alsonso-munoz x reader #mikael boghosian x reader #javier peña x reader #blue jones x reader #orestes x reader #bud cooper x reader #evgeni kolpakov x reader #leto atreides x reader

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inkedtae · 4 years

Text

bring the pain ⇾ jjk. [M]

𝓅𝒶𝒾𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 ⇾ ON!jungkook x dancer!reader (f.)

𝑔𝑒𝓃𝓇𝑒 ⇾ requested, s2l, secret lovers, fluff, smut, a dash of angst for good measure

𝓈𝓊𝓂𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓎 ⇾ innocent glances and sweet smiles turned into secret meet-ups and dirty desires. you’re in love with the man, not his fame. is this love really worth the hate?

𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓃𝓉 ⇾ 10.3k

𝓌𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 ⇾ dom!jungkook, bigdick!jungkook, unprotected sex (wrap it to tap it), slight degradation, dirty talk, bondage, oral (f. receiving), bodyworshipping kink, daddy kink, hair pulling, spanking, pussy slapping, begging, lowkey filth, mentions of threats near the end

𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇'𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝑒 ⇾ thank you to the kind anon that requested this; never knew i needed to write ON!jungkook until your ask. i might have gotten carried away with the the smut part… oh well. i might have rewritten the entire plot at the last second. if you have any requests, please send’em my way. enjoy!

It was the way you pushed yourself, he had told you. The way you didn’t quit when the others thought that you couldn’t keep up. The way that you became the lead dancer within three days despite the otherwise badgering doubts that surrounded you. That’s what drew him to you, what made him curious for more.

Doubt and hate were two different levels of insecurity, within and without alike. Doubt was a little voice. That voice’s impact was only as effective as your mind would let it be. Hate was different. It was not a nagging of the mind, but a breaking of the heart, reaching for your soul next. Hate consumed and used, battered and beat all affection from an already wounded heart. Hate didn’t smell blood; it drew it. He did not see that yet. But, then again, neither did you.

The day you met him was the morning of a full dance rehearsal. Management needed to see the full moving picture. They needed proof of progress and what better way to retrieve it than by organizing it themselves. It was a busy morning, filled with three different kinds of production crews: concept creators, filming directors and assistants, and video and sound recorders. The members of Bangtan were said to arrive later, once they had gone through hair and makeup and the rehearsal room was prepped for filming.

You weren’t very sure why management needed to do a full rehearsal so soon. Usually, these kinds of rehearsals were scheduled three months before scheduled performances. This one had been pushed up to six months. And you knew that management already had a good grasp on how all the background dancers were progressing throughout practises. You had caught one or two managers, who you didn’t really recognize, sitting in one on your early morning or late night practises many times before. They always had masks on and hoods up. They wore clothes that were all too baggy to make out a proper frame and their faces remained too covered to make out proper features of any kind. When you had asked one of the choreographers about it, they just said that it was management’s way of being discreet. You thought it only made them that much more painstakingly obvious, but you didn’t push the topic any further and returned to your place to practise the motions once more.

“Ow,” Harin muttered under her breath. She scooted closer to you, pulling her legs into her chest as the camera crew got their wires in order.

You turned to her, assessing the damage on her fingers as she rubbed them. “You alright?”

She nodded. “That’s the fourth time,” she huffed, glaring at one of the men holding a camera.

You bit the inside of your cheeks, resisting the urge to tell her that if she had followed the rules the moment they were given, then she wouldn’t have been stepped on at all. Everyone was told to remain around the centre of the room, letting the crews do what they had to on the sidelines. Her failure to comply couldn’t have led to anything less.

“I’m sorry about that,” you mumbled, avoiding her eye. The statement wasn’t a complete lie. You really didn’t want to see her, or anyone for that matter, hurt at all. But all you could hear when you saw her were those backhanded compliments she gave you when you first started rehearsing about three months ago.

That’s pretty good for a beginner, she told you. Skilled footwork would have played that slip-up off without anyone even noticing, she said as she stared down at you when you had tripped over her slip-up. She helped you up that day, only to push you back down again.

A loud clap drew you out of your thoughts. You redirected your attention to the front. Mijin stood before all the dancers, gesturing them to stand up. You smiled at her and she returned it while others wrapped up their conversations. You were really for Mijin. Had she not believed in you, you probably would’ve been cut a while ago and replaced. She was the only choreographer that stood up for you when you first started.

“Remember,” Mijin repeated for what felt like the thousandth. “Do not speak unless spoken to. This is not an opportunity to ask for photos or autographs. Please maintain professional conduct at all times.” She’d been telling everyone this for the past week, urging everyone to adhere to the NDA contracts they signed.

You could feel Harin shiver with excitement beside you. She fixed her hair one last time in the mirror before for trying to calm herself down. You couldn’t really blame her. You were really excited too. You’ve been following Bangtan’s journey for a while, their struggle to be heard and taken seriously resonating with you on levels you couldn’t bear to recall. But, your nerves took over your excitement by a long shot. You were too nervous to expel your excitement like Harin did, or any other dancer for that matter. While they whispered to themselves about the member’s arrival and shifted about in their places, you stood perfectly still. Your entire body stiffened, out of fear or panic, you weren��t really sure. All you knew was that you were probably going to have to stretch again to not risk pulling any muscles during practise.

The chatter amongst the dancers died out as the members entered. Your breath hitched at their tall, perfectly sculpted figures. You knew they were beautiful, but this was simply another degree of beauty you had ever witnessed. You realized in that moment that not a single camera could properly capture the beauty that was them. Those pictures you had seen, gifs you’ve stared at and videos you’ve replayed so many times you couldn’t count, only held a fraction of them. Looking into their eyes in person was enough to tell you that they were not entirely the same people they advertised themselves to be as well. They were more. They were flawed and flawless all at once, smiles hiding the exhaustion of the industry. You supposed that was the price for reinventing art.

As you scanned down the line, your eyes caught a doe-like gaze. Jungkook flashed you half a smile that only just met the dazed look in his eye. You felt your cheek heat up a bit as you returned it. You never really had a distinctive bais; they all kind of stuck out to you in their own way. You knew that if you had met them under different circumstances than you might have all been friends. However, that was a fantasy you didn’t dwell on too much. The reality was before you. They are famous; you were not. This was their show; not yours. You were only a moving piece of the puzzle that was this very concept; nothing more, nothing less.

But Jungkook’s eyes told you a different story. You didn’t regret listening to them, getting lost in the wonders that they were. You didn’t regret anything, besides the consequences of your colliding worlds.

“Two, three,” Namjoon started before they all joined in, “Hello! We are BTS!”

They bowed and you returned it, just as you were instructed. Mijin wasted no time ushering everyone to their places. She told the members to do as they practised themselves and move around us as they had done without us in their private sessions.

You took your place in the front, practically centred. From your position, you could still feel Jungkook’s eyes on you. No other member had spared you another glance, here to do their work and carry on with their day. Jungkook, however, hadn’t let himself break away from your figure once. You dared a look over at him through your lashes. He must have interpreted your stolen glance as something more than it was. Maybe he was right and you just didn’t fully process your actions before doing them. Whatever the case may be, he still raised a brow at you and you still blushed.

The music began and you moved with it, following the beat, remaining in sync, nailing every sharp turn or bang of drum. You were able to ignore his eyes until you looked up, the drum you were holding hovering above your head and Jungkook staring down at you as he danced. And fuck, did he dance well. You already knew this about him, but seeing it in person only further proved his talent. He smiled, not missing a single beat then handed you back the sticks, rough fingers brushing yours.

You had to practise for three hours, going through the same motions over and over again. He would always smile when he caught your eye, brush his hands against yours, and stare at you when he thought you weren’t looking. By the time everyone was allowed a break, you were exhausted. You sat on the floor, chugging down your water and trying to catch your breath. You knew that sitting down after such an intense workout would only stiffen your muscles and make you have to stretch all over again, but you just really felt like you couldn’t stay standing for the life of you.

Jungkook still had his attention on you, you could tell from his reflection in the mirror. You blushed a bit, growing embarrassed by the fact that you were extremely sweaty to the point that any hair that had fallen on your face, clung to your forehead. In an attempt to fix it, you took your hair out of the high ponytail it was in and began to pull it all back once more. You were so focused on your task that you didn’t notice Jungkook’s reflection make its way to yours.

“Hi,” he smiled, and bowed.

You tightened your hair as you looked up at him. Somehow, within the panic coursing through you, you managed a small smile and nodded your head at him. “Hello,” you whispered, dropping your hands down to your lap.

Jungkook gestured to the floor asking, “can I?”

His request shocked you a bit. You had thought all this staring was in your head, that maybe he was just zoning out or looking at the cameras behind you. The thought that he actually might be interested in getting to know you at all was flattering, but still extremely confusing. You were simply some back-up dancer, a common face lost between others in the background.

His eyes searched yours as you stared up at him. You hadn’t realized you didn’t reply yet until one of his brows shot up. Blinking repeatedly, you pulled yourself back to reality and you nodded. A little blush tinted your cheeks as he beamed at you again. He had the cutest smile, the kind of cute that melted and filled your heart all at once.

“You’re a great dancer,” he started after seating himself across from you. You opened your mouth to mumble a quiet thank you, but he continued, “I was just talking to some of the guys about it.” The tips of his ears reddened as your brows shot up at him. He opened his lips to speak, but his words seemed to fall short.

You weren’t really sure what to say. Was he flustered, or hurt? The panicked look in his eyes could be applied to either, only confusing you even more. Why would he be flustered around you though? Yes, you had been exchanging glances the entire time, but that could hold countless meaning. You felt your stomach recoil with disappointment at the thought that he might not be as into you as you were into him. But, you needed to ground yourself, to remind yourself of the reality of the situation; you were just another face in the crowd.

He gaped at you, trying to find his words, as you slightly tilted your head at him. “You okay?” you asked. You tugged your bottom lip with your teeth, nervously chewing on it as his face suddenly lost all readable expressions. You could only assume, based on his relaxed jaw and wide eyes, that he was lost in some sort of trance.

“Jungkook?” you asked, searching his eyes for an answer.

A quiet sigh escaped him and he suddenly stood up. “Uh,” he started, glancing back at his friends.

You leaned over a bit, sneaking a look at Jin and Jimin silently giggling to themselves while looking over at the two of you. Was all this just some sort of joke? Heart slightly shattering, you scolded yourself for indulging in your delusional thoughts about his actions. You looked back up at him, eyes reflecting a disappointment you didn’t have the strength to hide.

Jungkook must’ve picked up on your thoughts because he suddenly squatted back down to your eye level. You watched him carefully. You wanted to be sure that whatever conclusions you drew from his next words were accurate and not just wishing thinking on your part. His adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed thickly. The sudden urge to lean over and pepper his neck with kisses hit you and you had to remind yourself that you were in a huge room filled with lots of people and that you needed to pull yourself together.

“I’m sorry. I just- I um, the thing is that I-,”

You never got to hear the rest of that sentence as he was cut off by Mijin. She towered over both your frames, glaring down at you in particular. Fear overtook your mind, your heart beating so loud in your chest, you could hear the pounding in your ears. One look at her was enough to tell you that she won’t believe a thing you have to say about him talking to you first.

Slowly tearing her warning stare from you, she looked to Jungkook and began to apologize. “I promise you we spoke to all the dancers about not bothering you. I thoroughly apologize for her behaviour.”

“No, no,” he quickly replied, standing back up to his full height. “I was the one that approached her.”

Mijin raised her brow at you, confirming your thoughts. You weren’t really sure what the consequences were exactly, but knew that they weren’t going to be the best. “Thank you for understanding,” she smiled at Jungkook, all but dismissing him from the conversation.

You stood up, clasping your hands behind you as Jungkook stared between you and Mijin. He seemed to finally get the hint that he was not needed in this conversation anymore and muttered one last apology to each of you, eyes lingering on you as he backpedaled back to his members.

Mijin muttered for you to follow her and led you out of the rehearsal space. You walked behind her like the guiltless person you were. You did not technically break any of her rules. She told you not to speak unless spoken to and that was exactly what you did.

She didn’t seem very happy with your attitude when you finally reached the hall. “I didn’t expect this from you, (Y/N),” Mijin whispered, the disappointment clear in her voice.

You lowered your head down as she spoke, accepting the scolding without a word. You weren’t going to challenge her or correct her knowing how well that attempt worked for Jungkook. You knew the best thing for you to do was silently receive this lecture and promise not to let it happen again.

“You are the last person I thought I’d have this conversation with. Their team is very adamant on not having them be distrubed. I really do not want to have this conversation with you again.” She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed, “look at me.”

You silently met her unimpressed gaze.

“You’re a valued dancer so I can’t reposition to the back like I’ve done to the others who tried to pull the same thing you did. But, I need to make sure you don’t do this again so you’re in charge of cleaning up the rehearsal room after practise tonight. I’ll have one of the janitors leave you everything you need. The moment everyone is out of there and you’re done changing, I want that room cleaned.”

You supposed she was being as lenient as she could. It wasn't exactly the best outcome, knowing how gross that room gets after a hard rehearsal, but you were thankful that you didn’t get pushed to the back. You had really worked hard and to have it all be taken away from you like that would’ve really been a big blow to your ego.

“I understand. I’m sorry about it all and I promise it won’t happen again,” you reassured.

She gave you a close-lipped smile, the same kind your mother gives you when she can’t help but forgive whatever stupid thing you did that set her off. After patting your shoulder, she nodded for you to return back into the room.

Jungkook continued to watch you all through rehearsal and, though you promised not to interact with him or any of the guys, you still met his eye and shared a smile. Your heart simply couldn’t deny him whatever attention he wanted.

The practise fully ended three and a half hours later. Your body was completely torn with exhaustion and all you really wanted was to go home and take a long, hot bath to soothe your aching muscles. Your punishment still hung over your head though. Mijin reminded you about getting it done while you were leaving to change. She said that a list of what to clean will be left for you as well.

You didn’t really take your time changing. You just wanted to go back in there and finish everything you needed to quickly so you could go home and shower the entire practise off. You swapped your sweaty t-shirt and sweatpants for a lavender patterned dress that ended just around your mid-thigh. It hugged your waist nicely, but flowed out beneath it. You found it very breathable and it was one of your favourites.

The reek of the practise room didn’t really hit you until you reentered it. It was the hearty proof of a whole team’s hard work but it still overwhelmed you. You made your way to the windows position high up on the wall to crack it open and air out the room a bit. Standing on your toes, you reached and reached for the handle to turn it open but continuously fell short. A frustrated sigh escaped you as you began to look around the room for some leverage to stand on.

“Need some help?”

Your entire body froze as his sweet voice met your ears. He wouldn’t actually come back, would he? You turned to find Jungkook leaning against the doorframe, wearing an oversized black shirt and some baggy black pants. The sight was nothing short of breathtaking. He seemed more collected now than he did before, smiling lazily at you.

Your brows came together as you watched him carefully. “Yes, please,” you replied before stepping aside as he made his way over to you.

Jungkook held your gaze, nodding at you like he was greeting you all over again. You gave him a nod back and resisted the urge to laugh. It was clear he was trying to play it cool, acting indifferent as to whether or not you even gave him your attention. It was only later in your relationship when he told you Jin had given him that advice and even walked him through it a couple of times while waiting for you to finish changing.

His shirt rode up a bit, making you blush, as he reached for the handle, failing the first time as well. His face briefly tilted to the side as he realized how much of a challenge it really was. He reached up again, able to hold onto the windowsill and hoist himself up just enough that his toes only just brushed the floor. In the quickest motions you’d ever seen, he turned the window open, letting the cool spring breeze air the room out.

“Thank you so much,” you smiled as he hopped back down.

He offered only a little shrug as he tongued his cheek. His eyes then fell on the cleaning supplies and all previous nonchalant attitude left him, concern and guilt taking its place instead. “Is that because of me?” He questioned as he walked towards them.

You followed him, having to somewhat jog just to keep up with his fast strides.“Uh, not exactly,” you said, not really wanting to lie to him but also not wanting him to feel bad about it either. He turned to raise a brow at you before picking up the list of things that need to be done. “It’s really not that big a deal,” you shrugged.

Jungkook didn’t react to your words. He seemed all too immersed in the list that you questioned if he even heard you. You took a step forward, leaning a bit to meet his gaze but he didn’t acknowledge it, probably still not noticing you had moved at all. You took a quick step back when he suddenly looked up and began to grab a spray and cloth. “I’ll clean the mirrors and you could sweep the floor then we can mop it together later,” he said, making his way to the mirrors before you even had a chance to fully register his words.

Your eyes followed his frame to the other end of the room as you froze in place. Confusion took over your features and you were slightly concerned by his behaviour. “Um, what are you doing?” You met his gaze in the mirror.

He gave you a small smile and replied, “Cleaning the mirror like I told you I would.”

“Yes, but why?”

His hands dropped to his side and he turned to face you. “I got you into this mess. It’s only fair I help you out a bit. And I know you’re probably tired from practise anyway so the sooner we get this done, the sooner you can go,” he explained then turned back to the mirror.

It was clear that he had already made up his mind and, with the innocent look in his eyes, you really couldn’t find it in you to refuse him once more. A sigh escaped you as you took the broom and carried out your punishment. Every so often, you’d look over at him expecting to find him looking at you. His concentration latched onto the task he assigned himself, mouth slightly agape and brow furrowed as he rubbed the mirror clean. It was rather endearing, watching him give his full to such a normal task. It wasn’t like he was asked to build a mirror, yet he cleaned it with the same effort he probably would’ve applied to building it.

Jungkook met your gaze and you snapped your head down to the ground, sweeping around you once more. A little chuckle echoed in the quiet room. You snuck a glance back up at him to find him still looking, a little smirk playing on his lips now. “You okay?” he asked, the cockiness in his voice not at all lost on you.

You offered him a little nod, nothing more. You didn’t trust yourself to speak, knowing your voice would betray you. He was a very hard guy to read as he switched between demeanours easily. You weren’t used to that, used to having to figure out guys. Usually, you’d be able to tell if a guy was interested or not within the first two minutes of your interaction. But Jungkook confused you more than you wanted to admit. He’d stutter and fluster then stride with confidence and flash smug smiles only to revert back to his quiet, shy attitude as he simply stared at you.

You thought that maybe finding out what exactly he wanted to talk to you about might help you figure him out. You had been thinking about his almost-words all day, wondering if he was sent there to mess with you or if he really had something he wanted to share. He squatted down to get the last of the mirror done as you cleared your throat. You wanted to make sure you didn’t sound all breathy and out of it when you spoke to him. His attention snapped back up at you, brows raised as if to ask you what it was you needed.

“Um,” you started, before leaning against the broom. “What was it that you wanted to tell me?”

His neck grew a bit pink as he ceased all actions and stared at you. After a moment of silence, he stood up and turned to you, but kept his gaze on the floor. “Oh, that,” he said as he scratched the nape of his neck. He walked towards the cleaning supplies and set the things he was using down as he continued, “well, I wanted to let you know that I think you’re really talented.”

Your jaw went slack, eyes wide and brows rose in disbelief. “I- really?” you asked, searching for signs of possible lies.

He nodded, walking back over to you with a small smile playing on his lips. “Yeah, I’ve seen how you’ve improved since the first month and I gotta say that not a lot could really do that. You’re a natural.”

This was all too much at once. You knew you were a pretty good dancer, but coming from Jungkook it all seemed too good to be true. And when had he even seen you dance in the first month to know you had improved. You didn’t remember any cameras being there, documenting the group’s progress. The only people outside of the choreographers who have watched all practised were the few members of upper management.

Your eyes fell back on his all black outfit, that shirt seeming all too familiar. The growing smile on his face only further confirmed your suspicions.

“You were pretending to be management?” you asked. He shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged as he smiled knowingly at you. “I- well, thank you, I guess,” you finally breathed, growing more and more flustered as he looked at you.

He nodded, reverting his gaze to the ground. “And, um, I kind uh, well, here’s the thing,” he restarted, looking back up at you. His eyes met yours but no words followed. He just stared at you with a slightly panicked look in his eye while his mouth remained open. You parted your lips to ask if he was alright when he finally found his voice again. “I was wondering if I could get your number,” he quickly asked.

“Me?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you sure?”

Jungkook looked around the room with a small smile playing on his lips as he nodded again. “Who else would I be talking to?”

You breathed a giggle, rolling your eyes at his words. He redirected his grin to the ground, pleased with himself no doubt. It brought a similiar smile to your lips and you held your hand out to him, silently asking for his phone.

However, Jungkook completely misinterpreted the gesture. His smile widened and he slipped his large hand into your small one, rubbing his thumb over your knuckles. Your breath got caught in your throat by the action, but he didn’t seem to catch onto that either. He swung your joined hands a bit, an innocent grin on his face.

“This is very nice,” you started, “but, I was actually wanting your phone, so I could type in my number.”

His cheeks redden as he immediately let go of your hand. You giggled a bit at his flustered state. He quickly patted his pockets for his phone. “I’m really sorry,” he laughed a bit with you, before pulling his phone out of his back pocket. He fiddled around with it before handing it to you.

Your hands brushed as you took it and he redirected his gaze to something behind you. You knew he was just trying to avoid your gaze so you didn’t bother to follow his line of sight. Your mind was way too absorbed by what he had written in the contacts name. He had your initials with a little pink heart beside it, making you blush. You spared him a glance, wondering how the hell he knew your last name when you remembered that he sat in for quite a lot of classes and most likely heard Mijin call on you by it.

Jungkook met your gaze for a second, nervously shifting in place. It was then that you knew you could really fall for him. And that fact didn’t worry you in the slightest.

“You’re late,” you greeted as you opened the door.

Jungkook smiled widely, hoping it was enough to make up for the fact that he didn’t text or call to tell you so. It was working, but you didn’t want him know to that. You wanted to make him pay a little for making you wait so long. After casting him your best unimpressed expression, you turned around and walked back into the kitchen to check on your ramen.

“We weren’t allowed to leave until we got the shot right,” he explained after shutting the door and kicking off his shoes. “And you know how the guys get when they’re tired.” He walked into the kitchen to find the spread you promised to make him this time all laid out. An excited smile graced his lips as he took it all in. “Is this a preview of what I’d be coming home to?” he asked.

You hummed in response, keeping your back to him as you portioned out the noodles. Little kisses peppered the nape of your neck and moved up your jawline as muscular arms wrapped around your body. You blushed, turning your face away from him so he won’t see. It only made him tighten his grip, his body now pressed against yours. A giggle escaped you as you tried to fight off his hold. He laughed into the kisses, keeping you in place without much effort.

“Okay, okay,” you laughed, finally turning to face him.

A soft smile greeted you before you were pulled into a sweet kiss. You could never get tired of his kisses, not realizing how much you needed them in your life until you had them. A little whine left you when he pulled away.

Jungkook leaned his forehead against yours, whispering, “I’m sorry; I should’ve let you know.”

You shrugged, fighting off a smile. “It’s fine, I knew you’d be late so the food’s not that cold anyway.”

Jungkook tilted his head at you, tightening his grip once more. You laughed as he attacked your neck with kisses again.

“If you wanted my attention, you should’ve just asked, babe,” he smirked against your jaw. His lips trailed up your chin, placing teasing little pecks around your lips too.

You tried to fight off a smile and catch his lips with yours but he skillful dodged them, too keen on teasing you. “Jungkook,” you exclaimed in frustration. You parted your lips to tell him off when he finally gave into your request, pressing his lips to yours. His tongue gently nudged yours and you quietly moaned onto the kiss, feeling a blush spread across your chest.

He pulled away with a smile, those cute teeth on full display. He didn’t say anything for a while, just stood and gazed back. “I love you,” he murmured, brushing the tip of his nose on yours.

You’ve only been dating for about five months, spending every free second you had together and he’d already confessed his love for you multiple times. You’ve always returned it, mirroring his smile and shy eyes. You knew you loved him, and meant it every time you said it, but this time you felt it with every ounce of your being. Every part of you melted into his frame, drowning in everything that was him. Your lips sweetly latched onto his again, a softer take on the kiss you previously shared. “I love you too,” you smiled.

“Good,” he smirked. He gave you one last peck before reaching behind you and grabbing the two bowls of noodles. “Now, let’s go eat before the food gets cold.”

You let out a little sigh as you watched him walk away, already missing his warmth. You knew that if you called him back, he’d gladly agree to heat the food up later and humour every one of your desires right now. But, you could tell from the tired look in his eyes, that he was trying hard to fight off, that he really needed to relax. You turned to the rest of the plates instead and took them to the table.

Jungkook had set your plates beside each other rather than across, making you furrow your brows. He usually liked his own space when he was eating to be able to move freely, and you never really took offence to that, knowing that sometimes you wanted that same courtesy. You searched around for him to find his broad back. He was hunched over the bluetooth speaker in the living room, looking between the speaker and his phone to probably try to connect them. You thought that maybe he was excited to put some music on, seeing as he usually always is, and didn’t think to set the plates properly. You took the liberty of doing that yourself, placing the kimchi and beef plates down in the middle and resetting the bowls of noodles across from each other.

As you walked back into the kitchen, you heard Jungkook call over the music he chose, “Babe!” You grabbed the wine glasses and bottle before walking back to the table, humming your concern. “You don’t wanna sit next to me?” He asked with a playful smile, resetting all the plates so that they were easier to reach from one side of the table.

“You do?” You raised a brow at him as you set down the glasses.

He took the bottle from you and nodded. “Maybe I missed you today,” he shrugged as he poured some into the glasses. You sat down, taking a sip of your drink as he continued. “Didn't you miss me?” The smug tone in his voice made you roll your eyes at him.

You kissed his cheek when he sat down beside you, slightly staining his red from the wine. You brushed your thumb over the area, wiping the colour away. He took a bite of his food, groaning out his approval as you pushed his fringe back a bit. A blush coloured your cheeks at his reaction.

“You’re not overreacting, are you?” you questioned with a smile playing on your lips.

“Oh my god,” he mumbled around his food. “You can’t fake this,” he insisted, shoving another piece of meat in his mouth.

You giggled and began digging in as well. “Who’s covering for you this time?” you asked before taking another bite.

“Jin,” he replied before chugging the last bit of his wine. “I promised to buy him lunch tomorrow in exchange for his help,” he sat back, looking at the wine bottle as if wondering if he should have another glass.

You chuckled at his spaced out expression, knowing he was serious debating how badly he wanted another glass. He looked at you, a small smile dancing on his lips. “Want another?” he asked, leaning his arm on the back of your chair. You took your last bite before shaking your head at him. He seemed to use that as his own deciding factor, nodding along.

His hand slid from your chair to your thigh as he smiled fondly at you. “You look so cute with your cheeks filled with food like that,” he laughed, pulling out his phone to take a picture.

You held your hand up at the camera, trying to chew on your food faster. His hand held yours down easily, repeated the action when you used your other hand to block your face. The way he was able to easily hold down both your hands in one of his own made you blush. You rolled your eyes as he took the phone, making his giggle into his screen. He let go of your hands and began fiddling around with the picture.

You finally finished eating before saying, “you better not be saying that to anyone.”

He furrowed his brows at you, immediately shaking his head. “Nah, this gem is mine,” he winked at you.

You nudged his shoulder, laughing at his cuteness. He barely moved, and didn’t make an effort to even fake the effects, all too busy gazing down at his phone. You playfully exaggerated a sigh and began picking up the plates in front of you. “So obsessed,” you said, feigning annoyance in your tone as you walked back to the kitchen.

“Obsessed?” he questioned behind you. You jumped, dropping the plates in the sink. You hadn’t heard him even stand up, let alone follow you back into the kitchen. You turned around to face him to find his body towering yours. He took a step forward, closing whatever space was left between you as his hand caressed your cheek. “I think I’m just in love, babygirl,” he whispered as he hovered his lips over yours.

You smiled, leaning up and pressing your lips against his tenderly. Your hands, previously clutching onto the counter’s edge behind you, moving up his sides to his shoulders. “I know you are, daddy,” you replied when he pulled away a bit, watching his smirk widen and eyes darken.

He ran a gentle hand through your hair only to roughly grip onto it. A tiny whine left you but he didn’t pay much mind to it. He pulled your head back, forcing your gaze to lower to get a better look at him. His head lowered a bit as his tongue darted out and swiped a lick over your lips, earning a quiet moan from you. “What did I say about being bratty, babygirl?” he asked, voice dropping an octave.

You gulped, pressing your thighs together as you felt yourself getting wetter. “Are you saying I’m wrong, daddy? Are you not in lov- Ah!” you gasped as his strong hand came down on your ass. You opened your mouth to apologize but it only earned you another spank, jolting your body against his.

“Did I or did I not ask a question?” He looked down at you, a smug smirk playing on his lips. He was definitely having too much fun with this and if you weren’t starting to get needy, you probably would’ve kept talking back.

You bit your lip and nodded, easily complying. He raised a brow, silently ordering you to answer the first question he asked you. It was all part of his game, a lesson you learned the hard way when you two were still exploring the other’s likes and dislikes when it came to the other’s body. He liked seeing you so openly compliant, melting into his every word and touch, as if you didn’t do that already. But when he was in this role, he wanted to see the desperate plea of your eyes, and feel the way you quivered and whined for him. And from the hard bulge pressed against your abdomen, you could tell that he was getting exactly what he wanted.

“You’ll punish me if I’m bratty, daddy,” you finally answered. He must’ve been satisfied because he released his hold on your hair, patting it down gently.

He nudged his nose against yours, slightly leaning away from your lips when you’ve puckered them for a kiss. “I don’t think you’ve fully learned that lesson yet, baby,” he said as he curled a loose strand of your hair behind your ear.

You hummed, the sound somewhere between a moan and chuckle. You were way too eager to see what he had in mind and it was all too clear to him. You could tell by the way his eyes flashed with amusement that he was enjoying seeing you so excited about it. However, he quickly recovered, eyes darkening once again as he gripped your ass with both hands. You gasped, giggling against his neck as your hands slid down to his chest.

“You’re having way too much fun,” Jungkook laughed, leaning back to look at you.

You raised a brow, trying to fight off a blush and asked, “And you’re not, daddy?”

His lips quirked up in a mocking smile before he reached his hands to the back of your dress, tearing it apart in one swift motion. The thin straps fell off your shoulders, his chest against yours the only thing keeping it up. “Kookie,” you whined, reaching a hand back to feel the ripped seams. “This was one of my favourites.”

Jungkook chuckled, smirk widening as he rolled his eyes. Your skin prickled with goosebumps at the sight then from the cold as he moved back enough to let the dress fall. “I’ll buy you another, baby,” he promised, eyes shamelessly wandering down.

“I don’t another,” you pouted as he gazed at your breasts. You weren’t wearing a bra, the dress not necessarily calling for one so your nipples instantly hardened from the sudden cold.

He dragged his eyes back up to yours, looking less than impressed. “You walked around all day without a bra, baby?” he questioned before circling around your naked frame.

You instantly felt small with him somewhere behind you. You could only just feel the faint fan of his breath over your shoulders. He placed both hands on your hips and gently guided you to the counter. You weren’t really sure what he had in mind. Usually, at this point, Jungkook would have carried you somewhere more comfortable, somewhere he could press your face into as he fucked you relentlessly.

He stopped you the moment your hips were pressed against the edge of the counter. The clatter of his belt filled the room, making you wet with anticipation. He was really drawing this out more than he normally did. Before you could even think to question his actions, both your hands were pulled back behind you. His belt wrapped around them, tightening the restraint to ensure you couldn’t break the hold.

“Daddy?” you asked, looking back at him over your shoulder.

Jungkook froze at the tone of your voice. He pushed your hair out of your face, leaning towards you and placing a sweet kiss to your cheek. “You remember the safe word, baby?” he murmured, that loving tone of his returning as he stroked your hair.

You nodded, replying, “gold.”

He softly smiled and nodded. “Do you wanna use it?”

You shook your head, biting your lip.

The switch flicked back on, eyes darkening once again. “Then shut the fuck up, babygirl.” He pushed you down over the counter.

You were on your toes, ass propped up as you whined at the coldness of the marble beneath your naked torso. You squirmed, trying to look over your shoulder at him. He was in the middle of stripping, taking his layers off starting with his plaid shirt then his white t-shirt. You drank in the sight of his chest, pressing your thighs together as a little moan left you.

He must’ve noticed the action, looking up to meet your helpless gaze with his lust-filled one. He smirked and ran a hand down your spine, making your shiver and nervously giggle. “You’re too fucking sexy,” he sighed. He was most definitely horny, but the sincerity in his voice couldn’t be missed. You leaned your head back on the counter, blushing to yourself like you weren’t naked and bent over, ready for him to fuck and play with.

His hands rested on your hips, pulling down your panties. He remained on his knees, spreading your cheeks to lick at your pussy. You helped him get better access, spreading your legs for him. His tongue flicked at your clit a few times before his lips latched onto it, sucking and licking all too erotically for you to handle. Your thighs began to tremble and he laughed.

“I barely started, babe. Don’t ruin all my fun,” he teased against your folds then lapped at them. He shook his head between your thighs, lips rubbing against your pussy.

“Daddy,” you mewled, moving your hips against his face for more. You were so close, voice getting higher as your walls clenched around his tongue, making him laugh again. “Yes, fuck yes, daddy. Ye- fuck!” you cried out getting up to turn around only to have him push you back down. You huffed, pushing your ass back on him in defiance. How the hell did he even get back on his feet that fast?

He kissed your back, trailing open mouth kisses up and down your spine and around your shoulders. “Were you about to cum without permission, babygirl?” he questioned, smacking your pussy this time. The wet slap echoed in your ears, pulling a pornographic gasp from your lips. He groaned in response, smacking your sensitive pussy again just to hear you whimper, “daddy please.”

“Please what, slut?” he chuckled, his cock now sliding between your pussy lips. When the fuck did he get his pants off? You hadn’t even heard the little thump of his pants hitting the floor. Did he even take them off or did he just pull his cock out, too eager to fuck you to properly undress like he preferred to do? When you felt the warmth of his legs against your thighs, you got your answer.

You squirmed, rolling your hips to move his cock against your clit. He stood up straight, removing his lips from your back. One of his strong hands held your hips in place while the other slapped his cock up on your pussy. You squealed into the marble surface, moaning his name then correcting it to his role title when he’d smack your ass again.

“Fuck, just ruin me already,” you begged. “Please daddy, please.”

He leaned down to bite your shoulder and whispered, “Has my baby learned her lesson?” You nodded immediately, moaning quietly as he licked the shell of your ear. He stood back to his full height, pumping himself a bit before aligning himself to your entrance. He gave in all too quickly, but you figure he was getting pretty needy himself. He slowly pushed in, groaning with his whole chest as he gripped each asscheek of yours. “Shit, baby,” he hissed.

Your eyes were already rolling to the back of your head. He was so big, like huge, as if he grew further while he was in you even though he was already rock hard. He was stretching your walls so delightfully, it made your mouth water for him to push his cock against the walls of your throat too.

The moment he bottomed out, he didn’t even wait for you to adjust. He began his harsh thrusts, using the grip he had on your ass as leverage. Your moans stuttered with each snap of his hips, voice catching each time he hit or even brushed your g-spot. It always surprised you how easily he found it, like he already knew the way around your pussy. He really took the idea of ruining you to the next level, your mind already foggy with lust.

“Ah, fuck,” Jungkook whispered, groaning with you every time your moans would peak. “Is this what you wanted, babygirl?” he questioned.

You didn’t have it in your to reply but he didn’t care, smacking your ass to ensure you’d answer. “Yes, daddy,” you mewled. Little sobs bubbled out of your throat and he bent over your frame while his hips still slammed against your ass. In this new position, you could fully feel his balls smack against your pussy. The weighty sack pounded as harshly against your clit as his cock did to your walls.

It didn’t help your case at all that Jungkook began to kiss the nape of your neck and your head. “Shit, how the fuck are you this tight?” he whispered, his husky voice tickling your skin.

Your tears began to surface at the conflicting rough and soft actions, your body unsure what to soak up first. Everything he did just hit you at once. “Look at you, baby,” he whispered. “Look at how good you take me. You know, I honestly believe this tight little hole of yours was made for me, babygirl, don’t you?”

You only cried out in response. He chuckled and stood back up, starting to feel your pussy tighten around him. “Ah, my babygirl wants to cum, hmm?” he moaned, sounding pretty close himself.

“Y-yes please, da-ddy,” you whimpered through your tears. Fuck, he was way to good at this, ruining more than your pussy. Your heart would tremble every time he called on you as his babygirl or kissed you tenderly. He was fucking with more than just your pussy and knew it all too well, only making him that much more sexy and your mind that much more blown.

“Fuck, Jungkook just let me cum!” you screamed, when he didn’t answer your pleads. You looked back at him, loose strands of your hair sticking to your tear-stained cheeks.

Jungkook smiled, pushing your hair back. “Go on, baby,” he winked. You screamed, as you finally let yourself release your high, gushing all over him. Your legs were quaking now, along with your body and you tried to fight the hold of his belt around your wrist but he tightened all too well. The sounds of your pussy got drenched with wet slouches and sploshes of your orgasm.

He felt himself about to unravel too but knew you still needed to ride out your orgasm, still having lots left to give him. He pulled out as one of his hands reached down to rub your clit. His other hand pumped his cock, aiming to shoot all over your ass. He underestimated the power of his shot, cum flying all over your back and arms instead, reaching as far as the nape of your neck and getting in your hair. “Fuck,” he hissed, hoping you wouldn’t be too mad about it.

You were too consumed by the ongoing overstimulation as his fingers were still rubbing harshly at your clit. He hadn’t noticed you’ve been crying and squirming, pressing your legs together until he couldn’t move his hand anymore. “Okay, okay,” you sighed desperately. Even knowing his hand was still down there made your body tremble.

Jungkook pulled his hand away, resting his hands on either side of you as you both tried to catch your breath. “There’s cum in your hair,” he muttered after a while.

“I know,” you breathed. He fell silently, unclasping the belt around your wrist. You let out a sigh of relief, moving your hands to your sides to push yourself up.

“Careful,” he whispered, watching his cum drip down your back and to your ass. He smirked to himself as he admired his work. Your pussy was all but throbbing, looking more precious than ever, and your body was covered in sweat, tears or his cum. You were a mess to say the least; a mess he made, his mess.

You turned back to him, face flushed as you reached out to hold onto him. “You okay, baby?” he murmured against your forehead. You wrapped your arms around his neck and he steadied you by placing his hands on your hips.

“Just fine, kookie,” you smiled. “A bit fucked out, but I’m okay.” You giggled at your own words, making him smile down at you.

He placed a gentle kiss on your forehead, walking your backwards towards the bathroom. “How about we clean you up, then fix the mess we made in there?” he suggested, nodding back to the kitchen.

“You’re washing the dishes,” you said as you scratched the short hair at the nape of his neck.

He hummed a half-hearted agreement, rolling his eyes a bit. “We’ll see,” he shrugged.

“We will,” you insisted as you entered the backroom. “Hey!” you giggled after his hand came down on your ass again. This smack was lighter than the others, made to tease you and nothing more.

“I love you,” he smiled, all annoyance in your face disappearing. You hated how easily he could fix everything with those three words.

“I love you too.”

The pictures surfaced a month or so after the release of the official music video. Someone had caught you too getting bubble tea late at night. Over fifty photos were taken, each one a different angle of every part of your conversation, capturing flattering and unflattering shots of you alike.

The first wave of hate was mainly targeted to the way you looked, or didn’t look. “Nothing like his past crushes,” they’d note in multiple different languages, dragging everything you didn’t have through mud with your pride in tow.

The second wave of hate was dedicated to how unfit you were for someone like Jungkook, as if they knew him like you did. He didn’t put much of a persona in front of the cameras, but there was a small part of him reserved for you, the guys, and his family. They talked about him like he belonged to them only and you simply didn’t fit the equation because you didn’t know him like they did.

The first two waves were bearable. Hard to manage, but bearable. The third wave was the most nerve-wracking. You were too scared to leave your house, missing dance practises at other companies because of all the messages you’ve got sent to your address. You didn’t tell Jungkook about it at first, wanting to handle it on your own. Management told you this would be a risk, but you didn’t want to believe that anyone could hate a stranger that much.

You spent the first month after receiving the letters not making any unnecessary trips out, like attending parties or lunch dates. You asked Jungkook to meet you at your house and would fake feeling sick to get him to agree to stay in. The next couple of months were all too scary to even think about leaving the house at all, even to go to work. You’d only leave every now and then to stock up on massive amounts of ramen. You talked to your agent for hours on end, explaining that you wanted to take a semi-hiatus from all practises and events as you weren’t feeling well. She pushed you on it for a while, asking if there was anything else going on behind the scenes that you weren’t sharing. You always denied it, regretting it now.

“I just want to go out tonight,” Jungkook shrugged. “I thought you didn’t mind too much about going public after the photos.” He stroked your hair back as you rested your head on his chest. “I wanna treat you to the date you deserve.”

The smile on his face broke your heart. He looked so in love, entranced by whatever beauty he saw in you. It made him that much more ignorant to your pain and fear, to the erratic thumping of your heart at just the thought of going out.

You avoided his gaze, nuzzling against his chest. “I rather just stay in,” you muttered.

He huffed, ceasing all affectionate actions. His hand fell off your body, somewhere behind you as his other tucked under his head. You looked up to find him glaring at the ceiling, a scowl taking over his features.

“Are you embarrassed to be seen with him or something?” he asked after a moment of you staring at him. He met your gaze, the hurt so evident in his eyes it was enough to swell tears in your own. He furrowed his brows, sitting up and pulling you with him. “What is it?”

You turned away from him, giving him your back as you wiped your tears away. “Nothing,” you squeaked, internally cursing at the tone of your voice. His hand rubbed up and down your back soothingly. You knew it was meant to calm you down, but it only made you want to cry even more.

He shifted closer to you upon hearing your sniffles and wrapped his arms around your waist. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

“Maybe I don’t want your help,” you snapped, pushing yourself out of his grasp.

Jungkook held onto your wrist, pulling you back to him. You turned back, regretting meeting his gaze because the confusion and pain mixed within his doe-like eyes completely shattered you. You began sobbing uncontrollably. He gasped, crawling over to you and pulling you into a strong embrace. Your body shook as more sobs left you and he rubbed your back, whispering reassurances that you couldn’t quite fully register since his voice was much deeper in a whisper than his normal tone and volume.

“You’re really scaring me, (Y/N),” he confessed, voice slightly breaking too. “Just please tell me what’s wrong, baby.” He was practically begging you for an answer, any answer would do just as long as you talked to him about it.

After a few more minutes of crying and him lulling you back to stuttered hiccups and ragged breathing, you finally confessed everything. You pulled the letters out, showing them to him and explained all that you have done to keep yourself safe and why you felt like you never wanted to leave your house again. You even had to switch on your privacy settings for all your social media accounts a few months back. You hadn’t been on them in months though so you weren’t really sure how that was going over.

Jungkook read through each one silently, pausing every so often to sigh or run a hand through his hair. “Why didn't you tell me earlier?” he asked. He couldn’t even meet your gaze, too disappointed with himself for not noticing all this before. “I could’ve protected you.”

“I don’t know,” you confessed, leaning back against the headboard. “I didn’t want to bother you with it.”

He furrowed his brows. “You never bother me, you know that. I told you that I don’t care what they say. They’re not the real fans, (Y/N). You’ve been so focused on all the bullshit you haven’t once looked at any of the support.”

“What support? Do you not see what’s in your hand?” You questioned. “I’m being threatened daily, Jungkook.”

He shook his head at you. You scoffed, tears pooling once more. You couldn’t believe he was brushing you off like this.

Jungkook looked down at the notes again, muttering, “If you had told me sooner, none of this would’ve happened. We have the best guards. I would’ve personally paid for twenty-four hour surveillance.” He tossed the notes to the side, looking back at you. He wiped your tears as he continued, “If you had logged in like I've been telling you to do for weeks, you would’ve known that all your social media accounts have filtered out all the hate. You would’ve seen the overwhelming support that I do. You have no idea who the true fans even are anymore, do you?”

You sighed, pulling your legs into your chest. You couldn’t believe how fucking stupid you were being. Everything just happened so fast, the initial leak of one of your dates already feeling like a violation of privacy. You took every cruel word to heart, deeming it the epitome of a fandom you, yourself were a part of. Why you tried to seek comfort in the hate all the trolls offered was just as backwards to you as it was to Jungkook.

“I’m so sorry,” you croaked, trying to blink back another round of tears. “I was just scared.” You let him pull you into his lap, crawling over his legs to seat yourself comfortable.

Jungkook hugged you tightly, scattering tiny kisses on your head. “I’m sorry I didn’t see all this sooner. I’m gonna fix this, baby,” he promised, already going to reach for his phone.

You looked up at him through the tears as he frantically texted his manager all the details of your last few months. Your hand covered his phone, pushing it out of his view. He shot you a confused gaze. You didn’t explain, only leaned up to press your lips against his. “You already did,” you whispered.

“I love you,” Jungkook smiled, “and so do they.”

You nodded. “I love you,” you pecked his lips once more, “and I’m starting to love them too.”

----

note; please do not leave hate towards me or any other readers. please do not copy, repost, or translate any of my work without my permission.

#jeon jungkook #jeon jungkook smut #jeon jungkook fluff #goldenclosetnet #jungkook smut #jungkook fluff #bts fanfic #bts jeon jungkook #bts smut #bts fluff #inkedxclouds requests

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ifyouwereamelodymeg · 3 years

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Rec List Saturday

Alright alright alright, I know I said I was done for ZFAW, but I lied because it’s REC LIST SATURDAY.

I honestly think this final day of the week embodies what the whole thing is about -- with only so many hours in the day to actually create fanwork inspired content, it’s our chance to pull together lists of all the works/creators that we didn’t have the opportunity to pay tribute to across the rest of the week and show them some love. So with that in mind I’m actually going to be reccing people rather than individual works, because so many folk have contributed loads of wonderful pieces. @rideboldlyride - my first friend in the fandom, and a double/triple/quadruple threat with awesome contributions across multiple media (writer, artist, tech whizz, and podcast host), is there anything this gal can’t do?? @formerlygoldilocks - coming in hot with a newly-made fandom blog but active on AO3 for a number of months now with a mixture of angst and fluff, one-shots and long-form, and one truly hilarious and bizarrely heartwarming crack piece under her belt.

@all-thewaydown - someone else who’s nailing both the long- and short-form work on AO3! In particular I have to recommend her Zutara Fluff Exchange piece, ‘of rules and traditions’

@cablesscutie - a brilliant writer with truly fantastic comedic skill chops who literally never fails to impress me no matter what she writes (if you’re 18+ and okay with reading E-rated material, please check out her Katara Has a Cat series, you won’t regret it).

@theadamantdaughter - my first bookmark on AO3 was Adamant’s collab with @atomicpen, Perfect Places. I believe it’s been discontinued now, and Adamant is not currently active on AO3, but there is an absolute stack of ATLA fanfiction on her profile as it is. Even aside from writing, her tumblr account is full of Zutara content and it’s one of the things that fed me when I was first coming into the fandom last year, so I owe her a lot.

@my-bated-breath - not only is this seventeen-year-old writing well beyond her years, but she has so much incredible analysis and insight to give in her amazing ATLA/Zutara metas. 100% worth both reading and following.

@antarcticasx - another even younger person at sixteen (oh my god, just make me feel old, why don’t you), here we have a total writing machine whose AO3 is packed with Zutara content. Her blog is also super active so if ATLA/Zutara chat is what you’re looking for then look no further.

@doodleladi - a wonderful, wonderful artist who has tackled both in-universe and AU artworks alike (this is a particular favourite of mine). Another member of the @jdteahour crew along with Ride and @bulletproofteacup!

@amourinette - another beautiful artist who created one of my favourite ATLA artworks (steamy, so beware if you’re full of youth). Like seriously I have this picture bookmarked on my laptop ‘cause I love it so much.

@hayleynfoster - I mean, I’d be remiss if I didn’t tag her, but if you don’t know who she is and the incredible stuff that she produces then where have you been?? Get your butt over to her profile and educate yourself in the ways of Zutara art and animatics.

@iwritevictuuri - known as LittleLostStar on AO3, offers incredible characterisation and storytelling prowess, although beware that almost all her work for ATLA is either M- or E-rated!

Finally, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge someone whose writing pushes me to be better myself and never fails to amaze me. If you want exquisite description and insanely beautiful world-building/-expanding, your search begins and ends with @fictionissocialinquiry. My idol, my dream, my mad Aussie fandom-wife, this woman has so much talent it’s crazy and please just read her work (again, beware multiple mature-rated fics, check ratings before reading). She’s gonna be a best-selling author one day, so check her out now so you can say you liked her work before she was famous.

And that’s me done. Hope everyone has enjoyed this week, and thank you so much to @hinaoyamas/ @zkfanworkweek for putting it together!

Love to all!

#zutara #zutara fanfiction #zutara fanart #zutara fanwork appreciation week #rec list saturday #so much talent here I can't even deal with it

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jenanigans1207 · 3 years

Text

Tender Melody

Honestly, they’re making a bigger deal out of this than they need to.

Reki is fine. He might have a few bandages and a long list of things he’s not supposed to do, delivered to him with a stern stare from the doctor who is getting to know him far too well, but he’s fine . He lost to Adam, but barely , and he had the time of his life doing it. The adrenaline is still pumping through his veins, all this time later, and he feels like he could do it all over again. He remembers the sight he was treated to from that jump and knows in that unshakeable sort of way that he has to see it again. And if he feels that way, if he went through all of that and feels no fear about stepping on his skateboard, he's absolutely fine in the grand scheme of things.

So there’s really no reason for the fuss as the doors open to the waiting room and he limps out to meet the group of people waiting for him.

They rush to him at once, Langa making it to his side before anyone else even comes close. Reki doesn’t even have a chance to say that he’s okay before Langa’s hand is on his shoulder and he’s meeting Reki’s gaze with an earnest question that he doesn’t even have to ask because Reki can read it in his expression. There's worry, there, creased between his brows, but pride, too, in the look in his eyes. Miya is the next to make it to him, barely scrambling to a stop before he runs into Reki, all pretenses that he dislikes Reki abandoned for the time being. It takes another second for Joe to make it next to him with Cherry still in his wheelchair but they’re still there in just a matter of moments.

And suddenly Reki is standing there, bandage around his head, crutch under his arm, and all the people that meant the most to him surrounding him like there’s nowhere else they’d rather be.

Well, okay, Reki assumes that all of them would rather be anywhere but at a hospital. But they want to be with him, wherever that may be, and that thought practically paralyzes him in his spot. Because it's one thing to know them casually, it's another thing entirely to have all of them here, scanning him over and waiting with bated breath to hear the status of his injuries.

“I’m alright.” Reki says after a moment, his throat suspiciously tight as he glances away from all of their gazes. “No injuries that I haven’t had before.”

“That’s not a good thing, Reki.” Langa chides, but he sags in relief next to Reki. And even though he's lecturing Reki, there's a smile at the edge of his lips that's more fond than almost anything else Reki has ever seen. "You need to be more careful."

"Skating's a dangerous sport." Reki raises his one arm in a shrug, the other bearing his weight through his crutch.

There's a small chorus of laughter at his comment and Reki knows that everyone here understands. Something about that realization is almost too much for Reki to bear and he swears he feels his lower lip wobble.

For a moment, Reki just takes a second to look at all of these people— all of these people that he idolizes, that he looks up to. He looks at them as they stand in the hospital waiting room, all still dressed in their clothes from S. They had come straight from the track to the hospital, following Langa as he’d raced around town with Reki on the back of his bike. They’d all come here no matter how many times Reki had insisted that they didn’t need to, that he was perfectly okay and could handle all of this alone. After about the third time of saying it, Joe had all but shoved him on the bike and sent him off with a firm and non negotiable, we'll see you when the doctor's done with you. And that really had been that.

And it wasn’t that they didn’t believe he could handle it alone— Reki was absolutely certain of that. Nobody was here because they needed to hear what the doctor said, because they didn’t trust Reki to be honest with them. They were here to support him, to let him know that they cared. They were here because that's what people did when they cared for someone, they looked after them, they shared the hard times with them as much as the good times. They were here because Reki mattered to them enough to be here.

And that— that was one of the most unrealistic things Reki had ever experienced.

“Tell us the truth, Reki. What’s the damage?” Joe asks, snapping Reki back into the moment as he leans his weight onto the handles of Cherry’s wheelchair and surveys Reki. Cherry doesn't even glance up at Joe as he shifts his weight, his full attention on Reki as they all wait for an answer.

“Ah,” Reki glances down at the crutch under his arm, the bandage wrapping around his wrist. It actually goes up to his elbow but with his hoodie on, the rest of it can’t be seen. “Just a few bumps and bruises mostly.”

“Mostly?” Cherry presses, his gaze stern on Reki. Reki can feel it, even if he’s not meeting it. It's not unkind, though, not even a little bit. The weight of it feels similar to the gazes Reki's mom gives him when she's exasperated with him. It comes from a place of concern, and that concern is laced into every syllable.

“And okay, maybe a few breaks.” Reki mumbles into the collar of his hoodie, hoping the fabric will stop the words from going any further.

It doesn’t.

“You really are something, kid.” Joe’s smile is audible in his voice, each word dripping with the sort of fondness that Reki didn't expect to ever hear from someone so superior to him, and this time Joe lets go of the wheelchair and moves around Cherry to come stand in front of Reki directly. “I’m proud of you.”

And there is the lump Reki was feeling in his throat earlier, only now it’s about three times larger than it had been then. He tries to swallow around it. “Thanks.”

Joe claps a hand on Reki’s good shoulder, his hand dislodging Langa's that had been firmly there the whole time, and there’s something about it that’s so comforting, even if Reki can’t put it into words. It feels like the pride of a close friend, the pride of a father. It feels like the kind of pride Reki has never been able to feel in himself. “Now c’mon. Let’s go celebrate. I’ll cook whatever you want.”

“Celebrate?” Reki echoes, glancing up into Joe’s smiling face. “I lost.”

“Barely.” Langa says immediately. And something about Langa defending him, something about Langa seeing the good in him that he's never been able to see before that makes Reki feel his heart clenching in his chest. “If your board hadn’t broken—”

He tries desperately, valiantly to keep his knees underneath him and his voice steady, to not drown in the overwhelming amount of gratefulness he feels in this moment. “But it did .”

“You came back.” This time it’s Miya who speaks up and Reki feels his heart squeeze even tighter in his chest as he looks over at Miya— Miya, who isn’t looking at him. Miya, who has done nothing but call him a slime. Miya, who rightfully yelled at Reki for quitting skateboarding when he did. Miya, who accepted Reki back, despite it all, who held onto the promise Reki had made him like it was the most precious thing he had.

“Exactly.” Cherry wheels a little bit forward on his own, completing the circle. And then they're all there, a family standing together in the hospital waiting room, bound together by choice. Bound together because they want to be. Nobody in this circle is burdened by the others— nobody in this circle is burdened by Reki and recklessness. “And that is worth celebrating.”

Of all the things Reki would’ve ever expected in his life, this would’ve never been on the list. At no point in his life would he have even dreamed that he could end up in a situation like this.

Reki has looked up to Joe and Cherry for as long as he can remember. From the first moment he had heard about S, the first time he had learned of the creators of it and their skills, he had dreamed about someday meeting them. That was as far as he had ever imagined it was possible for it to go. Even childhood Reki and his wild imagination hadn't ever pictured something more than just meeting them in passing. And then he had met them— and then he’d done so much more than that. He’d become friends with them— he’d become family with them. Because here they were, in the middle of the night, in a hospital waiting room, worried about him. It was a redundant point and he knew that, but his mind was still snagging on it, over and over again as each new wave of gratefulness overcame him.

And when he’d crossed that finish line earlier, they had been there, too. They had been there ready to cheer with him if he’d won, ready to cheer him up if he’d lost. He’d crossed that line and Cherry and Joe had showed up at his side before he’d even gotten off the ground, telling him how worried they had been for him, how impressed they were with his guts and his talents. These people who had skills he could never even dream of not only considered him worthy, they considered him equal . These people who had impressed him for years upon years were now looking back at him and telling him that they were equally impressed.

If that wasn’t enough to leave Reki wondering how he got here— and it certainly was— he also had Miya at his side. The young Japanese National hopeful, the guy who had a reputation of not having time for other people. Miya was here and he was worried, he was here and he was glad Reki was alright. He had joined Reki’s side and become a part of the family, no matter how much he had insisted that was something he would never want. It warmed Reki’s heart more than he could possibly express to have Miya here, checking in on him. And no amount of fuss Miya could put up would ever change that.

And then, somehow, on top of all those amazing things, Langa was next to him. After everything they had been through, after all the times Reki had felt like Langa was miles away from him, they had found their way back to each other. After feeling like he was staring at Langa's back for so long, he was once again at Langa's side, in sync with him again. And somehow, more than anything else, that was the thing that mattered the most to Reki.

“So?” Joe squeezes Reki’s shoulder before taking his hand back. There's a knowing edge to the way he catches Reki's eye, like he might have some idea what it is Reki's thinking about, like he might feel the same way about this ragtag bunch of people that have somehow come together. “What do you say? Celebratory dinner?”

Reki glances at everyone’s faces for a minute, his eyes lingering on Langa and the way the corner of his lips are tilted up into one of those proud smiles that Reki is starting to recognize. “Yeah, I could go for some food.”

-- x

For the fact that it’s only the five of them in the restaurant after hours, there’s plenty of noise. Joe and Cherry are arguing good naturedly over some story from their past, both of them trying to embarrass the other. Their bickering has more of a casual edge now, tucked away from the rest of the world like they are. There's something gentle in the way they poke at each other, like they both know where the lines are, know that nothing they're saying now comes even close to crossing them. There's something intimate about it, and Reki feels lucky to be trusted enough to witness it. Miya sits across from him at the table, head ducked in a desperate attempt to hide his own laughter. It doesn’t work, because Reki can see the way his shoulders are shaking.

And for a moment, Reki just feels warm . For a moment, all of the pain of his injuries, the sting of his loss, the fear of what’s going to happen when Langa has to face Adam again— all of it is just gone. For a moment, it’s just Reki, eating his favorite food, sitting with his favorite people, laughing as if this is the sort of normal thing that they all do together.

And the truth is that it could be. It sort of already is. This is the kind of thing Reki gets to do with these incredible people.

Because Reki knows with that sort of certainty that sits in the center of his bones, pumps through his body with every beat of his heart, that this could happen whenever he wanted. He knows that he could show up at Joe's restaurant after closing any night of the week and Joe would let him in with nothing more than an exasperated shake of the head. If Reki called any of them now— and that's something he could do because he has their numbers, incredibly— he knew they would answer. They would come to him if he needed them. These people were his unfailing support system now.

Reki thinks back to when he was a child, thinks back to the way he used to dream of just being in the same location as his idols. He thinks about the first time he saw Cherry and Joe arrive to S, the way he stood in the crowd and just stared at them, completely in awe like the rest of the people there. He thinks back to when Miya walked into the shop and Reki’s jaw had nearly hit the ground because he’d seen so many videos of Miya skating. He thinks back to the first time he watched Langa tape his feet to the skateboard and take on Shadow. And even Shadow, Reki thinks fondly as he watches Cherry snatch a glass out of Joe’s hands. Even Shadow who had been perhaps his worst enemy was now a part of this family that he had found himself in. All of these people that he had admired from afar were now the closest people he'd ever had in his life.

“And then, later that night—” Joe is somewhere in the middle of a sentence when Cherry’s foot lands on top of his and whatever words he’s about to say next are cut off through a series of low curses that he at least tries to keep under his breath since the room is filled with children. Something about it draws Reki back to the moment as he watches with a deep-seated joy.

“The way you remember it,” Cherry cuts in smoothly, taking a pointed sip of his water. “Is far from the truth, you oaf.”

“Oh, far from the truth, huh?” Joe challenges, but he’s smiling warmly and there’s not an ounce of malicious intent in anything either of them are saying. There never is, Reki thinks fondly, but it's especially obvious now.

Joe and Cherry resume their bickering, a bunch of half-thoughts that somehow they understand well enough to keep going, despite neither one of them making much of a point. Reki can’t stop the smile that fits to his lips as he takes another bite of his food.

“You look happy,” Langa murmurs from next to him, leaning in so Reki can hear him over the arguing on the other side of the table.

Reki glances over and feels his breath catch in his throat at the sight of Langa smiling back at him, cheeks flushed with the same happiness that Reki feels coursing through his own veins. “I am.” He says after a minute. “Aren’t you?”

Langa’s arm finds its way over Reki’s shoulders and Reki leans into it as much as he can. “Of course I am.”

And just like that, Reki relaxes into Langa’s touch, letting the sounds of his found family echo around him like a tender melody, a sound he never wants to forget. He may have been through a lot, but all of it led him here. And in this moment. There isn’t anywhere else on Earth Reki would rather be. No matter what comes next, he knows that he’ll get through it because the bonds he has with the people surrounding him at this table are stronger than anything else in the world.

#found family #I just have a lot of feelings about them #and I know they're all taking care of their boy tonight #they are all there for him regardless #and I just wanted to let reki know that #sk8 #sk8 the infinity #sk8 spoilers #sk8 the infinity spoilers #spoilers

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snowspryte15 · 3 years

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Thoughts on Cruella

Let me ask you a question:Have you noticed the increase in stories about making villains more relatable to us, and even giving them something that seemed to be lacking in all the fairytales we all know so well?

Something like humanity?

Here’s the thing: no one is truly born evil, and to quote a line from Once Upon A Time, “Evil isn’t born; it’s made.” Perhaps the baddies were actually good people who were capable of being happy, finding love, and living their best lives. But unfortunately, a chain of events or even people who wronged them would lead them down a dark path that is often very hard to come back from. In other words, the stories and characters we know isn’t always black and white. (See what I did there?) You can say whatever you want about making villains relatable or even showing sympathy to them, but I stand by my humble opinion that the updated version of the fairytales and stories we grew up not only gives us a glimpse into the heroes and making them more like us, but also the villains because their more than just the 2D stock characters we grew up with over the years. In other words, it gives everyone more DEPTH. The same is true for Cruella. I realize many of you are starting to (if you aren’t already) get tired of films making the villains more relatable or even giving us a villain to show sympathy for. And I get that. But let me ask you this: is the world we see today always black and white to you? Should it always has to be good vs. evil when there are layers underneath the goodness and the evil that’s in this world? Should we automatically assume that all of the bad things that happen on the news are caused by bad people? I think you know the answer to this: no. We’re all capable of being good people, no matter what society tells us. But the fact that we’re all born to be originals and not copies of another individual but being told that we have to be “perfect” or “thin” or “beautiful” or “handsome” or any of those labels is what draws people to the dark side, and that includes giving into power, greed, malice, and hatred. And here’s something else to think about - we’re always told by those around us, whether that’s our loved ones or complete strangers, to hide what makes us unique or even brilliant because it may not sit well with everyone. That’s another reason why some people go towards the dark side. And on another level, they use what makes them unique to stand out in not-so pleasant ways, instilling fear into others by what they say and do. Both cases aren’t right, not by a long shot. Now do you see why not everything is black and white? It’s hard to take the animated films we grew up and breathe new life into them while keeping these thoughts in mind. Especially if we were taught at an early age who’s good and who’s evil, and that the baddies aren’t deserving of our sympathy or even redemption. I don’t know who exactly started this tradition of taking the fairytales, animated classics, and other stories we all grew up with and add more dimension and humanity to each of the characters, including the villains. But I’m glad they did. It gives us something to think about and makes us see that we have a little bit of evil inside of us. I may be in the minority when I say this, but movies and shows like Once Upon A Time, Maleficent, Ever After High, Descendants, and Cruella fascinate me because it allows me the chance to see how capable the villains are to being good people and their external and internal struggles to keep the goodness in their lives while navigating through all of the bad things and people that come into their lives which sets a course towards their villainous nature.

At least take into consideration the hard work the authors, screenwriters, and creators put into formulating the question “what if...” and how much fun they have breathing new life into these characters we grew up with and how much of ourselves we can see in the villains, no matter how much we try to deny it. There, I said it. I may once again be in the minority when I say this (it seems to be a theme lately on Tumbr, which is quite sad), but I enjoyed Cruella immensely. The acting, the costume designs, the hair and makeup, the songs... It was just bloody brilliant. Both Emmas - Emma Stone and Emma Thompson - played their parts extremely well. Ms. Stone navigating through her internal battle to be a good person while facing a conflict with the bad side was a wonderful site to see. And Ms. Thompson, I mean, come on. She’s just fantastic all the way around. To play a narcissist isn’t easy, but she makes it look so simple and enjoyable. I commend both of their performances in this film. And let’s not forget the rest of the cast - Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beechan, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Mark Strong, Kayvan Novak, Jamie Demetriou, Andrew Leung, and John McCrea - such an outstanding ensemble! In the theatre, you know a show is fantastic because of its ensemble. The same applies in the movies as well. They may not get recognized as much as Emma Stone or Emma Thompson, but it was such a joy seeing these talented performers play their parts well, and the depth they played at was a joy to watch. Let’s talk about the costumes, hair, and makeup. This film better get awards for all of those areas (or at least nominations) because the designs and styles were truly epic. It’s hard to get the fashion of the times right without extensive research and a little bit of creativity and imagination thrown in for good measure. But Jenny Beavan and Nadia Stacey deserve all of the praise and accolades for rocking out the 1970s with boldness and some pretty wicked designs. I’ve noticed skimming on here the discontent many of you have for portraying Cruella as being a villain we should have sympathy for, especially since she wanted to skin Dalmatians for a coat. That alone should be cause for her to not be worth an ounce of sympathy, and I understand that. As an animal lover myself, I’m inclined to agree with you. But I’m going to let you in on one spoiler that I ask you take into consideration: no Dalmatian dogs were killed or skinned in this movie. I repeat: no Dalmatian dogs were killed or skinned in this movie. And here’s something else I want you to be on the lookout for should you decide to watch this film. During the end credits, there is a special message out there for those of you who are thinking about owning a dog: “Every dog deserves a loving home. If you’re ready for the commitment of pet ownership, please consider visiting your local animal rescue to find the right pet for you.” That message alone speaks as to how far we’ve come in society, and here’s why. Whenever we see movies or TV shows that feature dogs and cats, particularly puppies and kittens, we tend to rush out right away and getting them because they’re so adorable. But when they grow up, we tend to let them go and leave them in some unpleasant places. And organizations like PETA beseeched the film and the company to take a stand and use their voice to encourage adoption of pets in shelters and rescue centers and not pet stores. Apparently, the film and the company listened because they put this message during the end credits. Well done. I may not be able to convince you to go see this movie or give it another chance if you already saw it, nor should I try. But I do want you to take into consideration the amount of updated versions of the stories we all know and love, and how much the authors, screenwriters, and other creative types are bringing in humanity and depth to these characters. We’re not 2D characters like the heroes, heroines, and villains are often seen as in the original stories, so why should they be treated and seen as such for generations to come? We’re more complex and layered than seen in fairytales and animated movies. Also, I don’t think these stories where the authors give villains a chance to experience goodness before they became bad or even blurring the lines between good and evil are going away. It allows us as human beings to see and try understand that we’re all capable of being good, but it’s the events and people who come into our lives that shake things up and even brings questions of whether we’re truly good or evil that sets us down a path we alone can walk. And more importantly, it gives us as the audience a chance to see a little bit of ourselves in these characters, even if you don’t relate to the villains at all. I suggest you stop griping about the rise in updated versions of the films, TV series, and book series of the original classics and accept that they are here to stay. I’m not saying you should read or watch them if they’re not your cup of tea, but at least try to understand that things were NEVER always black and white, especially where fairytales, animated films, and even more stories are concerned. At least try to understand that part, okay? Is that too much to ask? I’m not here to change your mind. I realize I can’t do that. So many of you are so set in your ways and opinions, and all I can do is pray for you. But I am here to share with you my thoughts on Cruella and how the updated versions of these stories are here to stay, whether you like it or not. And I’m also here to try to help you see that these stories allow us to see a little bit of ourselves in these characters we grew up with, even if it’s through a new set of eyes. You are welcome to disagree with me, or even not say anything at all. But all I ask is that you be respectful of my opinions and what I have to say. I will not tolerate any hate speech or disrespectful language. You do that, and I will block you. If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything. It’s that simple, and yet it’s so hard, especially on Tumblr. I hope I didn’t take up too much of your time.

#disney cruella #emma stone #emma thompson #jenny beavan #nadia stacey #what if #villains #brilliant #bad #a little bit mad #opinion #bekind #be respectful #costumes #hairandmakeup #101 dalmatians #dalmatian #something to think about

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wntersfire · 3 years

Text

GET TO KNOW ME TAG GAME

Before I start I would just like to say (tw alcohol for now and question 19) sorry for any spelling mistakes or if I ramble a little. To cut a long fuckin story short I mis read the measurements of my shot glasses and so instead of having two cocktails I’ve had the equivalent of four in the space of an hour and a half. Being british, im not gonna let a good drink go to waste either so im onto my third/sixth now.

Tagged by @clints-lucky-arrow (an actual goddess among us mortals)

1. Why did you choose your URL?

So this reason is two-fold. One, I didn’t watch star wars growing up because I was dumb and didn’t understand the politics (it wasn’t until my boyfriend sat me down and explained it literally in January of this year that I actually got it) but I loved Sci-fi and space so the next best thing was Treasure Planet (2003 film, Available on didney+) My favourite scene is the ending when Long John Silver (spoilers) is about leave before he can be arrested and Jim confronts him. Seeing how much his character has grown, Silver says to Jim, “Look at you, glowing like a silver fire. You’re something special, Jim. You’re gonna rattle the stars, you are.” It literally makes me tear up every single time I watch it and its one of my favourite lines of all time. Second, this was actually quoted in one of my favourite book series ‘Throne of glass’ by Sarah J Maas. I adore the character of Celeana and again one of my favourite quotes from TOG is when Queen Elena says to Celeana“ You could rattle the stars. You could do anything, if only you dared.” Every time I read that line I literally get chills and I actually have plans to get this tattooed on me lmao

2. Any side blogs?

Yes my fanfic blog @second-stars-totheright (I like puns and I used to love peter pan)

3. How long have you been on tumblr?

I joined when I was 13 for the fanfiction and lurked for a very long time, just reblogging and liking things until I deleted it when I was 17. Re downloaded the app and got my account back back around February of this year (when I was 19, now 20) and since then I’ve found it much friendlier and actually interacted with people this time around, and actually started posting my work on here!

4. Do you have a queueue tag?

No. This is my general postings blog so I just kind of stick anything funny or worth keeping here, but I probably should make one!

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place?

As I said to read fanfiction (anyone wondering it was 5 seconds of summer fanfiction. Anyone who judges me in the comments its fair game 🥺) but I re-downloaded it this year because I noticed with my work on Wattpad, while I had some do really well (one has gotten 130k+ views) its very difficult to actually interact with readers and get feedback. I’ve only accumulated that high of a number after 5 years of it being on there, and so tumblr is just so much more personal!

6. Why did you choose your icon/pfp?

I did it this morning as I was getting tagged in this lmao. I wanted a cartoon girl who looked like me but because I had a specific colouring (ie my hair is black with a blonde streak at the front & my eyes have both blue and green segments because I have heterochromia) I couldn’t find any that looked like me so I recoloured a cartoon girl I found on pinterest.

7. Why did you choose you header?

The white clouds fit the stars theme and it looks pretty with the purple. ✨💜

8. Whats your post with the most notes?

“That girl is a problem | Javier Pena x Agent!Reader part 1” with 105 notes on my fanfic blog.

9. How many mutuals do you have?

I am still a little tumblr idiot when it comes to this so if someone could tell me how to find out I'll edit this

10. How many followers do you have?

72 on here, 107 on my fanfic blog (AND I LOVE ALL OF YOU ACROSS BOTH OF THEM MWAH, MWAH KISSES FOR YOU ALL 💜💜💜)

11. How many people do you follow?

165 (it was 700+ but the other day I unfollowed a bunch of accounts that haven’t been active since I followed them when I was 13. There were LOTS)

12. Have you ever made a shit post?

I mean all you have to do is look at the Nomad memes I make (UNAPOLOGETICALLY I might add 😤) for @clints-lucky-arrow to know I absolutely have. That series has a hold over me im telling you. I black out when I start reading and I awake with a bunch of meme editing apps open and my feelings tugged at from her amazing writing.

13. How often do you use Tumblr each day?

If I’m with my boyfriend which is like two days a week, rarely, but now I’ve finished uni, I’m on here all the god damn time. I feel so comfy and safe interacting with you all, not to mention some of you guys are funny as hell.

14. Did you have a fight with a blog once?

Not really on here, I haven’t received any hate luckily but I prefer not to spoil how comfy I am here with arguing.

15. How do you feel about ‘you need to re-blog this’ posts?

I’m a little confused by this I dunno whether I’ve just never come across any like this or if Stars is being a bimbo on the tl again. However, I only reblog things I’d like to keep for future reference or if something deserves to be shared to everyone else like a fic rec or a piece of art. (As Mack said, I’ve re-blogged so many in the past promising me money or luck and I am still broke as shit so what does that tell you).

16. Do you like tag games?

Yes!! I love reading everyone elses and getting to know my mutals better!

17. Do you like ask games?

Again yesss because it means I get to send love to my mutuals and get to know them better! I tend to not participate though just read their responses because I sometimes feel like I’m bugging people clogging their inboxes even though I know that’s the point idk I’m a hell of an over thinker sometimes 🥳

18. Which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

It’s been said before but @clints-lucky-arrow (wow you rlly owning this post bby girl) but I just remember lurking on Nomad early February and liking and reblogging her chapters so I could keep them to re-read cause that’s how much I instantly loved it and when she followed me I realised who she was and lowkey had a starstruck moment bcus id been ciaght up in her work for weeks and too nervous to make contact. Also @arduadastra, I saw her work all over the pedro tags for so long and now I’ve gotten to know her she is the sweetest girl!! We usually fan over Javier Pena gifs together, she’s solely responsible for ‘That girl is a problem’ bcus of her gif sending at 1am giving me Javi thots and now it’s my most successful one on my blog. And most recently @pedrosgirlx followed me this morning and her work is genuinely some of the best I've seen on here, as I said this morning it is the Sistine Chapel ceiling of Mando art it is actually jaw dropping!! I cant believe all these creators are rlly giving us this content for free and yet being so talented AND the nicest people I’ve ever met!!

19. Do you have a crush on a mutual?

No, although I hold a lot of them dearly as friends. 15/10 would treat you lovelies to a drink of your choice if we ever met (any of you from the uk who drink I’d get you a pitcher from Whetherspoons)

20. Absolutely no pressure tags:

anyone who wants to join! a lot of people I would have tagged have already posted theirs so go for it if you like the look of it!

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hikari-writes · 4 years

Text

❅A Love Letter I Have to My Lovely and Beloved Friends❅

(I just know that 30 july was a national friendship day and today is like 31 july already at where I am but,,, just pretend that this is also for National Friendship Day 🤡🔫)

As you all know, it's been confirmed that I'll be going on a hiatus two days from now that I really don't know how long it will go on. So, with that in mind, I wished to leave this message to all the wonderful friends I've made while I was active here on Tumblr during quarantine.

I've started this writing blog a few months ago, to be precise, on May where life in quarantine was starting to become a norm. In the few months until now, I did my best to start writing and drawing more using all the free times that I have.

I wouldn't have expected this blog to grow so much in such a short time. To me, it was really mind blowing, seeing that there's a lot of other great content creators here on Tumblr. Yet, the 300+ people who stumbled upon my blog still decided to follow me.

I was really happy to have made many contents that I'm actually proud of posting. And I still can't believe there are people out there who love them. Seeing every one of your comments and reblogs and likes really, really, squeezed my heart and I couldn't be more thankful for your support.

And during these fun times, I was able to make friends with many amazing, talented, fantastic and all the good words I could find in the dictionary people on here. You all are a real gift to me and I hold you guys close to my heart.

I still can't believe I was able to befriend you guys though, like, y'all are so amazing and I was just here like squeaking my name to you like a shy mice lmao. =///= Anyways, thank you for all the good and fun times. Thank you for being with me and helping me with lots of things. Just, thank you for everything. (I'm writing this at 1am like it's sad hours yall I'm crying :')))

If you are ever feeling down, do not ever forget that, even if it's only me, I'll support you to the end of the world because you're just so amazing and fantastic. I love you and never let any hate that's thrown at you let you down because they aren't worth your time.

The people I'll be mentioning below are my dear friends or just people that I have been interacting with during the times I was online, little or not, I still consider you guys to be my friends (very self-proclaimed here sorry)and I'm still honoured by that fact.

@your-local-bnha-writer -Bean, you and your posts are always so wholesome and cute and I love them. Keep being amazing, and we may not interact much, but I still appreciate every little convos we had. Also, wish you luck on tpn, that shit hurted :')

@identifybby -Liaaaa, omg im so v v grateful we became friends. You've helped me with a tons of things and I can't thank you enough for everything you've done to me. You're just so amazing and thank you for always putting up with me, i love you sm.

@minteasketches -Mintea! You're such an amazing artist and I rlly enjoyed our conversations! You might not see this since you're off socmed but just wanna let u know that thank u for being my friends.

@yandere-of-your-dreams -Heyyy sis,, you're always such a sweet bean to me and showering me w love and i appreciate them, stay amazing and I'm sure you'll become an amazing writer.

@shotobabe -Ren, wifey, ilysm thank u for always being with me. You're such an awesome person and keep on being yourself. You're perfect and talented, don't let others tell you otherwise. AND while I'm gone, don't forget to drink lots of water okay? I won't be able to remind you while I'm on a hiatus, but please always remember to drink water. That'd be the first thing I'll ask you once I'm able to be online. And please try to eat more okay bb? I love u.

@takumipineapplexd -Taku! Amazing writer and amazing editor, yes I'm talking about you. You're amazing and keep on making cursed content and being crackhead, i love them.

@bnhabadass -We might not talk much, but I just want to let you know that you're so amazing and I look up to u v much. Literally had a heart attack when u commented on angel wings lmao.

@tomomoni -Mon, love, soft bean, I LOVE U. You've always been so wholesome and cute to every one of your followers and seeing ur interactions literally heals my heart. Your art is amazing so continue being amazing ilysm thank u for being an amazing advisor and listener, I'm v grateful for that. You have no idea how blessed I am to have you as a friend. Meeting you through turn on your airdrop's fanart was F A T E.

@kamabukokompachiro -First time u asked my permission to read my fanfic, I legit teared up. Thank u sm for asking, I couldn't be happier to know that my fic is worthy to be read over for a yt channel. Keep on being amazing and ily.

@kaminii -Kamiiiii, sweet child, you're always so matured and calm and I really adore and respect that part of you (unlike me im v childish and rash) You're an amazing writer and editor and ur aesthetic? 100/10. Love it. You're so talented despite being so young and I'm just, WOW. Ily and thank u for being friends w me. And please fix your sleeping schedule bb. It's rlly not good for your health, like please? Ily.

@katsucutie -I love you and your writing so v much, and I rlly enjoyed talking to you, discussing about Burn Book was rlly fun. I might not be able to know the ending since im gonna go on a hiatus but I'll be sure to catch up to it once im back. Keep being amazing and awesome.

@isolshi -CHERIE, I LOVE YOU AND YOU'RE AMAZING. Don't be so insecure about your writing. They're amazing. And you're also one of the sweetest and cute person I've met here. I always love teasing you cause your reaction is always so funny and cute. Keep being awesome. And please, please, please get enough sleep and drink LOTS of water. I legit would cry if you don't drink more water cher.

@mirakeul -BIANCAAAAA LOVE YOU'RE SO AMAZING AND SWEET LiKE--- please, I love talking to you and thank you so much for always reminding me to eat. Your calligraphy and handwriting are awesome, shshh i don't take criticism. Never stop writing, I love them. And please never forget I love you and you're my best friend okay?

@roxybefab -You've always been the first to ask me to be on my taglist and I'm so v happy because of that. Thank you for everything, and keep on being awesome. You can do this, ily.

@princessofdawn718 -Talking to you about Hamefura has been so fun! I haven't talked w many ppl about isekai so im rlly glad I could talk about them w you. Katarina x nicol ftw! Thanks for talking to me, it was such a pleasure rlly.

@softkodzuken -Maam your writing is A M A Z I N G. I love anon sm and you're rlly so sweet for always replying to every single comment on them. Don't be so insecure about them, they're amazing and i will always stand by that point. Wishing you the best of luck for Undercover!

@lolitsleia -Your art is *chef's kiss* i love them so much, I still can't believe you hadn't had more recognition like why?? Ur oc alex is the cutest thing ever and i love her. Thank you again for drawing Yuki. She looked really beautiful and cute in your drawing.

@samanthaa-leanne -We may not talk much, but when you first followed me back, my heart goes B O O M. You're so amazing and keep being like that. And uh,, good luck with Violet Evergarden if you ever plan to watch it. Prepare a couple of tissue boxes....or dozens.

@miyumtwins -Fellow android users! I first saw you through Bean's post about a tag game and i was like *gasp* another androiders..! I swear that one time i was interacting w you, I didn't actually meant to go off anon,, yes im dumb lmao. Anyways, you're rlly amazing and I'm rlly honoured to be followed by you.

@kawasuno -Your smau? 100/10. Your sense of humour 100/10. They're just so perfect *chef's kiss* I love every one of your updates and they always managed to put a smile on my face, i was like, how did you do that? My sense of humour is nonexistant, teach me your ways sensei. But anyways, you're rlly amazing and awesome. Keep up w that.

@kukusbabe -Tsu, I've never said this, but it's you. It's always been you all along. What i mean is, I've followed you first (i knew u through zara's flopping server yeah!) And when i looked at my dash and saw all your interactions w your moots, despite me haven't legally started haikyuu yet, i decided to follow all of them, soooo if it's not for you, we may not have met each other. Everyone in the kita family, Tsu is the MVP here muah. Also your aesthethic and writing and everything is so kajsjhendnd amazing i LOvE---

@iwaixiumi -King Nami, you're so awesome and amazing,, and I'm really glad to be able to interact w you. All those songs you recommend? Yeah, I'm going to listen and love all of them, thank u so much for the recs. Keep being amazing and to everyone reading this, PLEASE INTERACT WITH KING NAMI MORE SHE DOESN'T BITE---

@shoutodoki -Hello, you're so amazing and talented and im just,,, kekkdjfjdj when you followed me--- and when u figured out i was the anon talking about oboro i was OAKSJEJDDJ please, i was so honoured u know, like ???? Anyways, keep on writing what you love and your art maam? THEY'RE AMAZING LIKE BOTH YOUR ART AND WRITING IS SO KAJSJDJDN pliS im so v honoured to be able to talk to you.

@lisarillia -Please excuse me while I go shout in the corner of how much i LOVE your arts. They're amazing and being able to talk to you was a real pleasure. Keep on doing what you love. They'll be amazing no matter what i swear.

@cutiedrawsbnha -Cutie, honey, you're amazing and your art is so cute! Don't let what haters said get to you. You're going to grow into an amazing artist. If you give in and listen to what they said, you're going to end up like what they said so ignore them honey! I believe in you so keep shipping izuocha, todomomo, and kamijirou and making arts. Lotsa love!

@lilikags -Heeyyyy you sweet cute innocent bean! Don't ever stop writing what you love, you'll grow into a big blog soon enough, before you know it. Just keep making what you love, and as time pass by, I'm sure there will be many people who will find appreciate everything you do. I'm always supporting you.

@baeshijima -SOPHHHHH YOU SWEET CUTE CINNAMON ROLL WAKATOSHI'S WIFE EYE--- You have NO idea how much i love you,, you're so sweet and I honestly don't know what did i do to deserve you. Srsly you're a blessing to me. Thank you for the sweet daily reminder in my inbox, i love each and every one of them. Keep being so cute and wholesome, love you.

@shinsuque -ANAAAAA Thanks again for the Bakugou's memes! I may not be able to do it before i go on a hiatus though *sobbing* Keep being so awesome! I love seeing all your interactions and you're so amazing i honestly don't know why you followed me----

@semiluvr -LYDIA *SOBBING* THANK YOU SO SO MUCH FOR INVITING ME TO THE KITA FAMILY. Even though we've known each other in less than a week, it already felt like I had known you guys for so long like whotttt. Keep being an amazing and sweet person ily muah

@dumbass-lev -MOMMY, MUI, ILY THANK U FOR ALWAYS BEING SO SWEET YOU'RE AMAZING,,, u have no idea how happy (and also flustered) I am when i saw you asking you want to adopt me like,,, whot I've never been asked to be adopted online b4 so you asking that was a big surprise to me and just,,, remember that i love you and you're an amazing mommy. Hope i wasn't too much too handle as your child lol and thank u, for asking to invite me to the server. It has been a real pleasure to me to be there.

@pudding-head-kenma -DANIE!! We haven't talked much and I've only known you for a short time but I really love your detailed analysis. They're amazing and you're amazing. Thank you for being so sweet and cute. Ily.

@/🦋 nonoi -🦋 NONOIIII!!! IF YOU'RE SEEING THIS, I JUST WANNA TELL YOU THANK YOU FOR BEING MY EMOJI ANON! I love you you're so sweet and bb please please please don't forget me id cry,,,

@astereim -Rein!!! I know we just talked and all but you seem to be a reaally cool and amazing person,, we might not be able to interact much since I need to go prepare things b4 i go on my hiatus though, but just wanna let u know that ily!

@tokoyamis-luv -please don't come for my neck i haven't been active on the server Lol but anyways, zara, you're amazing and your simping for Kurapika is always fun to watxh. Also all the lin manuel edits are *chef's kiss* we may not talk much but i was rlly honoured to be able to interact w you, even a little bit.

@engel-hageshii - YOU, MAAM are a literal angel, and your comments on my fics always managed to make me smile so much. I love you, please never stop being such a sweetheart.

@laylahoran -I've always loved and appreciate every comments you make. I'm v happy I was able to create a content that you can love. You and engel has been some of my firsts followers and I'm really blessed to have you two.

@oyasenpai -Diemmy! You're so sweet and cute and seeing your interaction w my moots (kami) was what made me follow you. Don't let what others said bring you down, okay? Just do what you want because there're always many people supporting you for it.

Special message to the kita family server;

Meanwhile while you guys were talking about me there, I was just innocently scrolling through Tumblr, not knowing what kind of fate I'll be receiving 👁👄👁 No wonder I was sneezing so much 🤧🤧🤧

So, I was just scrolling through the pinned messages and I saw tsu said "mui: can we invite hikari? Everyone here: kakskejdjdjdn" and i was just like,,, ??????? I wasn't expecting u guys to have that kind of reaction i--- yall have no idea how much i was grinning while I scroll through those messages. Thank you so much for inviting and accepting me, it's really fun to be with you guys and your crackhead energy 🥰🥰 Thank you to mui for suggesting you had no idea I was really really happy. 😭 Y'all are so amazing and sweet and cute and beautiful kakjdjdd

To all of my dear friends that I've mentioned above, I LOVE YOU LOTS YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW GRATEFUL I AM TO MET YOU GUYS. Quarantine time has been stressful for a lot of people, and Tumblr can sometimes (a lot of times) be kinda whack but I was really happy to met you guys during my time here. Our time together may have been short, but i feel like we've known each other for more than a year, no caps. I love you all very very much. Thank you for talking to me and befriending me. Remember to get enough sleep, drink lots of water, stay safe and healthy, eat enough meals and, take care of yourself. I love you guys.

And lastly, to everyone reading this, whether i know you or not, or interacted with you or not, or follow you or not, or you follow me or not, just REMEMBER that you are worth it and I love you. Keep on being awesome, and always remember to smile, laugh and live. Don't forget to always DRINK LOTS OF WATER, GET ENOUGH SLEEP, and EAT ENOUGH MEALS.

Signing off,

Hikari.

#amazing talented people #sweet nice people 💕#a message #my dear friends

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the-panwitch · 3 years

Note

Heylo! I saw that you were asking for requests, and I have one if you want to write it! What if the reader is always drawing on the boards after school, and students don’t know who does it, and one day Peter catches her drawing? Idk, I kinda liked the idea! I love your writing hun!!🥰💕❤️

Peter Parker and The Dry Erase Board Artist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: And here it is! Almost a whole month after I said I would have it done! I am so so so sorry for how long this took and also sorry for how shitty it also is. I hope you enjoy this trash fire that I just spent almost 4 hours on and finished at 1 am. Oh, I also made this gender neutral using they/them pronouns.

Warnings: uh language, slight death threat?, stupid teachers, numbers, fluff ig, idrk

Word Count: 2279

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: There’s a new mystery in Midtown, and it’s the creator of the dry erase board drawings. Peter is desperate to find out who it is even if it means losing sleep and missing assignments. What will it take to find out who this secret artist is?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter knew all about mysteries. He used to stay up too late reading those mystery novels by flashlight when he should have been sleeping. He grew up loving them. The amount of times May would walk into the living room to see him once again binge watching Scooby Doo was uncountable. Even now, he prided himself on being one of the biggest mysteries in New York: Spider-Man. He had to hold back a grin whenever he heard people discuss who the masked hero could possibly be. The craziest one so far was that Spider-Man was actually an alien being used by the government. He wasn’t sure who came up with that one, but props to them for their creativity.

He just absolutely loved mysteries of all shapes and sizes, and now, he had a new one to solve: the drawings. He called it Operation Dry Erase Board, and yes, the name did need improvement. Both MJ and Ned made sure to tell him that every single time he brought it up. Ned had suggested The Search for the Hidden Artist, which MJ just said sounded even worse.

It had started a couple weeks ago. He had walked into his first period calculus class to see everyone whispering and taking pictures of the board. His first reaction was panic － his teacher was prone to surprise pop quizzes － but it soon turned to awe as he stared at the array of color across the board. It was a beautifully detailed portrait of the sea. He gazed upon the scene of manta rays and fish and even the silhouette of a shark. There was coral and shells of every color, and the lines and swirls of blue captivated him.There was no signature. Nobody knew who had done it.

At first, Peter just tried to brush it off. There was somebody in the school who was skilled with dry erase board markers and was very artistically gifted. Not the biggest deal, but good for them. It became a bigger deal when the next day a gorgeous rendition of Starry Night was covering the board of the biology classroom. Once again, no signature. That’s when Peter started to become invested.

He questioned MJ first. She was one of the only artists he knew, but she just scoffed. “I’m good, but dry erase markers are shit for me to work with.”

He started paying more attention in art class, looking for anyone with a similar style. Nothing. Everyone was your typical high school artist who was just there for the credits, meaning people like him. Don’t ask about how designing the first spidey suit went.

The drawings just kept coming. He soon saw space, dinosaurs, a jungle, The Mona Lisa, even each of the Avengers all spread across the dry erase boards. Each one of these was so beautiful and so alluring that it made his eyes sting and shouts of protest to erupt from the students when the teachers had to erase them. Even if they didn’t erase them, they were gone the next day. Whether it was the Hidden Artist or the janitor, Peter didn’t know. It was just another part in the mystery.

A lot of the drawings weren’t done in any classrooms that Peter had, meaning he would have to take field trips during his lunch period to go and find them. Most of the time he already knew where he was going. There was now a whole Instagram page dedicated to the art. It was run by Daphne, who was in both Yearbook and the Art Club. He had asked her if it was her, but she had just giggled and said she was a fan. Honestly, Peter was too.

He would stare at the art for as long as he could each time he saw it, and he stared at the pictures he took of them even longer. He was consumed by the art, by his love for it. He needed to find out who the artist was, but unfortunately for him it would have to wait. He was so preoccupied with being Spider-Man and now also being a shitty detective that he was falling behind on both his work and his sleep. He had now fallen asleep a total of five times over the course of a week and a half, and he was close to failing both AP Government and Spanish, simply because he wasn’t catching up on his workload.

Now, he was passed out in AP Lang, the one class that everyone knew not to fall asleep in. He couldn’t help it. He was running on a total of 4 hours for the week, and it was a Thursday. Not even his spidey sense could have prepared him for the crash of a ruler against a metal trash can right next to his ear. After nearly falling out of his chair and almost decking his teacher, Peter was given two weeks’ worth of detentions.

“Hopefully that’ll teach young Mr. Parker here to pay attention instead of dozing off in the middle of class. Maybe he’ll catch up on his missing assignments, too. Speaking of, would you like to tell the class which rhetorical devices you’ll be utilizing in your essay, Mr. Parker?” All Peter could do is stare back at his teacher, horror written over his face.

————————

It was 3:30 on a Wednesday, and Peter was losing his mind. Each of his detentions were an hour and a half long, lasting from 3:15 to 4:45. He had managed to catch himself up on his work and raise his grades a bit, but that didn’t change his predicament. He couldn’t go home or skip detention, meaning he was stuck at school for another hour and fifteen minutes. When he asked if he could do something, he was told he could go help the janitor. With a sigh, he got up and went in search of the janitor’s closet.

During the time spanning over his punishment, he had nearly forgotten about his obsession with the Hidden Artist. Of course he still saw and heard about the drawings and he would still stare when he saw them, but now with the need to focus on his assignments being drilled into his brain every day on top of trying to stop bad guys each night, he was forced to move on. He didn’t want to. God, if he had the chance he’d stare at those drawings for hours on end, but he didn’t have that chance. It fucking sucked.

After a couple minutes of searching, he finally found the closet. He grabbed a broom and looked around, and to his left, there was a classroom with the door slightly open. With a heavy sigh, he walked towards the room and pushed the door open, only to stop dead. There, across the room, was a brand new drawing, and it was a drawing of him. Not him him, of course, but a drawing of Spider-Man. It was a drawing of an event he recognized from yesterday when he had walked a lost kid back to their parents. The drawing showed him crouched down in front of the kid who was crying, and he had his hand out as an offer for the child to take it.

Upon closer inspection, the drawing seemed incomplete. There were too many white spaces which wasn’t the artist's style. As he stepped closer to it, he heard the door creak and a gasp behind him. He spun around, nearly falling over in the process, and looked up wildly. His eyebrows furrowed when he saw Y/n L/n, a student in his grade. They stared back at him with wide eyes.

“Did...did you do this?” Peter asked slowly. Y/n hesitantly nodded.

“If you tell anyone about this, Parker, you’re dead.”

He was slightly taken aback by this. Not the death threat, necessarily, he got those all the time, but it was a bit of a surprise coming from Y/n.

“I won’t. I promise,” he said softly.

Y/n nodded slightly before striding towards the board and taking out a marker, beginning to fill in all of the white spaces Peter had noticed earlier.

After a moment, Peter asked, “How do you do it?”

Y/n turned towards him, black marker clutched in their hand. “What?”

“The drawings. They’re so beautiful...I didn’t even know you could draw like that.”

“Everyone has their secrets, Parker. I’m sure you have yours.”

Peter almost laughed at that, because yeah, he did, and Y/n was drawing it across the Physics dry erase board. But he didn’t laugh. He just smiled a little and kept watching, forgetting all about the broom that was now leaning against a desk.

“So...Spider-Man huh?”

Y/n sighed and turned to him. “Why are you still here? Shouldn’t you be sweeping or something?”

Peter shrugged. “Or something. Look, this is probably gonna sound super weird, but I’ve been trying to figure out who you were for weeks. Your art is super amazing and cool and I just wanted to know so badly who was talented enough to pull it off. And now I know.”

“Are you disappointed?” It wasn’t a question out of fear, but more out of curiosity. Y/n sat themselves on a desk and waited for the answer.

“I don’t think so,” Peter said. “This was just unexpected, I guess. I didn’t even consider you for a suspect.” Y/n chuckled at this.

“Nobody suspects me. That’s the fun part of all of this, actually. Did you know people actually thought that it was Ms. Rosemary for a while?”

“The crazy teacher’s aid?”

“Yup. The theory, I think, was that she was so crazy that art became like her therapy or escape or whatever. I mean, it can be like therapy, but I think Rosemary needs a little more than some doodles in order to help her.”

“These aren’t just ‘some doodles,’ Y/n. They’re-”

“Beautiful. Yeah, you’ve said.” They shrugged. “It’s just scribbles on a board, Parker. Scribbles that, for whatever reason, make our brains happy.”

Peter didn’t really have a response to that, so instead he just watched as Y/n went back to work.

————————

That was how he would spend his detentions. He would offer to go help the janitor, and then he would run around the school trying to find Y/n. Eventually, on the days where the drawings took less time to create, Y/n started to try to teach him how to draw. Basic things at first, like flowers or trying to break things down into their simpler shapes. He could barely do either of those things, but he enjoyed trying anyways. On other days, Peter would just sit and watch in silence as they drew. It was mesmerizing, and only he got to witness it.

It became their thing. Even after detentions ended, Peter would stay after school for an hour or so just to go hang out with Y/n. They would have snacks and play music and have a good time. Peter learned that Y/n stayed after school since their parents were never home until the late evenings, so they stayed back just for the hell of it. He also learned that they were good friends with the janitor and that his name was Roger. He was the reason that they were even able to stay for as long as they did. It was pretty cool.

It was a Friday, and Peter was spinning around in the teacher’s chair while Y/n drew a forest scene. Peter watched them for a while, a small smile on his face. They were also so concentrated when they worked, their eyes narrowing and jaw tightening as they drew the different lines and curves that made up the masterpiece. Unbeknownst to Y/n, Peter had a surprise for them.

“Hey, N/n?” Peter asked. All he got was a hum in response. He rolled his eyes. “Come here.”

Y/n sighed and got off of the stool that they had been sitting on. “What do you want, Pete?” they asked as they strolled over, leaning over the desk when they got close enough. In response, Peter held up a small, wrapped up bundle. Y/n’s eyebrows furrowed as they picked it up.

“What-”

“Shhhh!” Peter said with a soft giggle. “Just open it.”

Y/n narrowed their eyes at him before slowly tearing the paper away. They smiled softly as they stared at the multipack of dry erase markers, enough colors to make practically any drawing that happened to cross their mind.

“Why?”

“A simple thank you would have sufficed. It’s an appreciation gift for all of your art. I figured by now you’ve probably killed most of the markers in the school, so I got you some new ones.”

Y/n chuckled a little and looked at him. “Thank you.”

“Of course. You deserve it.”

“I literally just make colored lines one a board.”

“And I appreciate those colored lines! They give me serotonin as do you.”

“I give you serotonin?”

“Yes.”

Y/n blinked in surprise. “Alright then...you also give me serotonin.”

“Really? Awesome.”

They both laughed for a moment, Y/n glancing back down at the markers as Peter continued to look at them.

“Hey, Pete?” Y/n asked as they looked back up at him. “What?”

“Would you...would you like to continue to provide me with serotonin and go out with me?”

Peter’s eyes widened in surprise, but soon it was his smile that was widening instead.

“Absolutely.”

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Tagging: @tommysparker @bebbeb @stixnstripesworld @orowit @dreamerinthesun @ididntseeurbag @bruhelpimgay @yikes-n-bikes @becausewhatiam-iswhatimnot @thespydersargon @in-a-lot-of-fandoms-tbh @th0ttie4tommy

#peterparker #peter parker x reader #Spider-Man #spider man x reader #marvel #peter Parker #my fics

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