#((started talking about romeo and juliet with a friend and UGH I HATE IT

[derflugeldesengels]

“People site Romeo and Juliet as one of the greatest love story ever, but it’s not. Shakespeare was trash and most of his works are trash.”

[kaypeace21]

I believe that byler is an endgame

but why would they spend 3 seasons winding up with mileven?

People REALLY need to pay attention to the shows the Duffers cited as huge inspirations to them. Cheers,dawsons creek, freak &geeks did exactly what the Duffers are doing (and the Duffers said these shows inspired them)

. Cheers for over 5 seasons built up the pairing of sam and Dianne- had them break up in the s5 finale and then in the last 2 eps of the 11th season have them get back together and once again break up explaining for the 100th time they were wrong for each other and brought out the worst in eachother . Cheers would build up multiple pairings (Frasier /Lilith (s4-11/broke up in s11) , sam/Dianne (s 1-11, broke up in s11 permanently) , rebecca /sam (s8-10) Rebecca/robin (s8-9) -these pairings lasted for multiple seasons and they all broke up! They built pairings up for multiple seasons but showed throughout the show why those pairing in cheers could never work out in the long term. The same Thing happened with almost every pairing in Dawson’s creek (they’d build up multiple pairings up -sometimes for multiple seasons- sprinkle in good but also dysfunctional aspects of those relationships- and then break them apart for good ).

Also in Dawson’s creek 2 characters (a rich girl and poor guy with daddy issues) date and breakup- but both of their gay brothers get together and are endgame instead of them (cough jancy vs byler). One of the gay guys (the rich one with the book smart sis) even dated the main girl (Joey) for a while before admitting he was gay and that he was in denial (while dating the main girl for more than a season ). In D.C even the main guy(Dawson) / girl (Joey) don’t end up being endgame (despite teasing it for all 5 seasons) . They did this with a lot of couples in the show. Honestly, the Duffers pretty much borrowed this idea of showing pairings with issues and breaking them up -but toned down how long they’d bait them . Like 11seasons of showing dysfunctional couples date -ick. And Dawson’s creek ... my god it had a literal love octogon/ love webs (so many love squares/pentagons/ and on and off relationships). The 1 adult couple broke up and I’m not exaggeration 4 times, and Dawson got back with 2 of his girlfriends like so many times. And ugh I’d say each (of the 4-5) main characters dated at least 4 people -and each of those relationships lasted for like 20+ eps each... and then after all that build up -break up ). That’s not even including the people the main 5 or so characters would date for like 5-6 eps . Thank god it was toned down compared to Dawson’s creek or cheers. i can’t imagine the frustration watching those shows during its airing 😂

Freaks & geeks (set in the 80s)was also inspo.14 y old Sam who is bullied and called “homo” “queer” etc throughout the whole series - he also obsesses over a cheerleader girl for the whole series and in the second to last ep of the series- they finally start dating  and he realizes they have nothing in common and says “it’s boring. all we ever do is makeout.She likes nothing i like. We can’t talk to eachother. We never have fun.” And he admits he only keeps dating her cause everyone would call him “crazy” to not date her. sam and her are also said to be “from different planets” and “different species”  just like mileven in s3 lol.  The gf of  sam also says before they dated she saw him ‘like a sister’ (like El asking mike if he’d be her brother in s1, before they date). And after this sibling comment various characters -encouraged the couple and said they would be good together (before they dated-like what we’ve seen in st with mileven and other ships ).Sam eventually decides to not cave to peer pressure- and breaks up with her. Meanwhile sam’s sis (is a straight A student, who is initially into a popular guy and starts hanging with the cool kids).  After getting over the first (popular) guy, she later dates another guy- a music-obsessed-stoner-guy  with a cruddy dad...and she breaks up with him (like jancy?). That couple was even called ‘romeo & juliet’ before they broke up-similar to mileven being called “romeo & juliet’ before their breakup. plus r&j were never in love... just like mileven.

All 3 shows had the main guy/girl date but not end up with eachother in the end . And both shows -would build up several pairings that looked like endgame but would show faults in those relationships and would have them breakup (because those pairings were never that healthy together). Which I believe is what they’re doing with jancy, jopper, mileven and lumax (explained in my analysis here all the evidence for why I don’t think they don’t end up together). I mean there’s many reasons I listed in the analysis but you think it’s a coincidence - jancy, lumax, mileven , and Steve/rando girl who rejected him in s3-all incorportated spying on their love interest ? you think the duffers think that’s good to have all these romantic pairings spy on eachother? When in the show they canonically have the us gov (villains) spy via phone taps, and hidden recorders, and cameras? Brenner used El as a spy for his own gain ? they even call the mf a ‘spy’ (which the characters perceive as the  main villain)... i don’t think the mf is  actually villainous but that’s off topic).The point is narratively equating spying as something ‘wrong’ by characters our main cast of heroes is against. But having that same cast of heroes partaking in spying themselves … specifically on to their romantic partners- and not also showing it as a negative. But romanticizing it? Would be quite hypocritical. And a HUGE narrative oversight.

Also build up?

S1- mileven kiss right after el asks if he’ll be her “friend” or “brother”. Has others compare el to mike’s sibling /cousin. Hint Will is gay . Have hints mike is queer too/ and cares deeply about Will. Constantly mention how el physically resembles Will/a boy. Parallel mileven to ted/Karen who were “never in love”. Have Nancy and mike verbally compare the jancy/stancy love triangle to mileven/byler . And at the end of the season mike writes a story for Will that likens the 2 to han/leia. Flo says about jancy/Jon “ only love makes you that crazy and that damn stupid”. (Which flo wasn’t entirely right about since jon punched Steve for insulting his family- for Jon it was familial love -not romantic love. But put a pin in that phrase)

S2- was pretty much byler season (and mileven barely interact that season). Byler say they’d go “crazy together”. But el’s new catchphrase is she’s “not stupid.” They Compare mileven to luke/leia (siblings that kissed) . Ref ghostbusters and parallel byler to the romantic pairing of Dana /venkman (but have el just be a ghost and mike a ghost buster which isn’t romantic but the opposite) .parallel mileven to hopper/el. Have el spy on mike, el hurt a stranger cause of unhealthy jealousy, have mileven dance to a song about a possessive spying/Stalking ex gf . Throw in mileven burns like “they’re not in love they’re not even from the same planet.” (El being et ref) . Have mike say annoyed “a bond ?! (Scoff) cause you shared nougat?! “ (egos like s1 ) “. Mike saying after knowing max for a week “hate you? I don’t even know you?” (He knew el for a week too so no way he loves her -cause he doesn’t know el , just like max ) . mike even criticizes his friends’ instant attraction to max saying “you haven’t even spoken a word to her.”Dustin saying “ I don’t have to . I mean -look at her.” Which makes it even more suspicious that mike was into a girl who multiple characters said looked like a boy (specifically Will) in s1. Have El watch a soap opera (all my children) and mimic the scene of  erica kane and her love interest michael. Which in the soap opera-isn’t endgame, and ended with some stalking after their breakup.

S3- mileven is finally dating : multiple characters (lucas, Will, Hopper, dustin,Max, etc) in the show dislike and verbally complain about them together . In cheers all of sam’s friends hated him dating Dianne and would vocally complain about it (similar to joyce they even clapped/cheered after 1 of their many breakups) . Mike is horrified by the spying(that mileven fans romanticized in s2) , el is happier single and neither is heartbroken over the breakup. They date for 2 eps and then breakup . Mileven being together inhibits El’s character arc from s2 (aka she went from wanting to explore the world and leave the cabin in s2 to see her friends, to ignoring her friends and cutting herself off from the world in order to stay in the cabin all day to make out with mike for 6 months - she would literally lie to her friends about curfew to return to the cabin and kiss mike -going against her ‘friends don’t lie’ mantra from the past 2 seasons too ). Mike canonically doesn’t trust her / doesn’t believe in her ability to make decisions and lies to her and never apologizes for lying. And el doesn’t apologize for spying . They throw in more gay hints of mike & Will. Mileven is called “bullshit” like s2 stancy . And Both pairings in the show kissed a bunch and said “I love you” (but they weren’t endgame). They also contrast s3 mileven scenes to s2 byler scenes and have byler win out. And once again parallel mileven to hopper/el and Karen/ted. As well as paralleling and likening Mileven to stancy in numerous other ways (besides the “bullshit “ line) . They also parallel mileven to stobin (both are straight baits) .They parallel the stobin confession to the mileven one -both confessions have them sitting on the floor, both girls have bandages on their legs, and both confessions are interrupted by dustin. Also both Steve/mike use the terms “crazy & stupid ” to confess to robin/el. But unlike Will who agrees to be “crazy “ with mike .El confused , asks “ what makes you crazy?” And robin says she didn’t have a crush on his “stupid hair”. el even says in reference to mike “there’s more to life than stupid boys.” Showing how el/robin don’t have romantic feelings for the boys-like the flo phrase of s1. Unlike Will who after fighting with mike calls himself “stupid” over and over and rips up the photo of him and mike where they promised to go “crazy together.” Even Steve says in s2 stancy should should “pretend to be stupid teenagers” in love. Emphasis on “pretend”. And when el says she loves mike “the first I love you” plays -the only other time that song plays in s3 is when robin rejects Steve (cause she’s gay.) cough cause mike is gay too.

There’s a lot more in each season (that illustrates mileven was built up -but not as a positive couple but a problematic one that was never was in love to begin with ). But I’m trying to keep this short . You can read this post here where I go in more depth about all of this .

S1-2 builds up the problematic ships (but showed good and bad aspects of their dynamic) . like the spying of jancy, lumax, and mileven or the jealousy. of Hopper in s2. In the s2 finalie they have them kiss or hug/exchange romantic glances. And in S3 we see the after math of this with all the couples officially dating - and they show all the couples issues at the forefront . I already talked about mileven. But, Lumax broke up 6 times (they dated for 6 months- and every month they dated max dumped him ). Jancy fight in the opening of ep 1 and don’t understand each others issues (sexism/poverty-and Jon’s issues with his dad) . And neither supports the other in their passions of journalism & photography.Nancy is also called “nancy drew” who in 1986 (year of s4) before going to college dumps her long term highschool bf (who helped her in many of her past mysteries/novels ). Their relationship was also shown as complex and somewhat dysfunctional because of both parties -before nancy drew dumps him. And (even if not dating like the other pairings) jopper almost go on a date in s3. Joyce was trying to hide the fact she was moving, Hopper was horribly jealous, and all they did was yell and argue.Murray says to joyce regarding hopper “he’s a brute... probably reminds you of a bad relationship” (aka lonnie/Joyce) . They even have Joyce watch a cheers ep- which directly compares jopper to (dianne/Frasier) who weren’t endgame in cheers but a rebound .  Hopper /fraiser both drink chianti . Fraiser asks dianne to marry him/Hopper asks Joyce on a date-both women stand them up. Or when Joyce asks Hopper out she calls her self ‘detective byers ‘and Hopper name drops miami vice. Which had an on and off again relationship for several seasons- of the male /female detectives.The relationship faded out as Gina realized they mainly got together when one or both needed someone. Crockett was very protective of Gina, and had some jealousy when Gina was involved in relationships , but was the first one to be there for her when things went wrong. And they realized it was better to not be together romantically. Heck seems like all these couples have negative film/tv parallels... lucas in s2 mentions not liking winston in ghost busters cause he came ‘super late’ (like Max). in s1 disses michael myers (which Max dressed as). And at the end of s3- lumax dress identically to eric/donna from a ep of that 70s shows (in the ep  eric/donna were broken up).

 (s3 was marketed as the “summer of love” and “summer love” is a euphemism for flings that don’t last.) s4-5 Will probably show good healthy ships/break up the problematic ones from past seasons .

So first 2 seasons focus on the unhealthy ships / and the last 2 seasons focus on healthy ships. S3 the middle season would be considered the turning point -and why none of the popular ships (assumed to be endgame) came off looking that great (compared to how they were presented in s1-2) .

[kpophours]

Haven

➵ Stray Kids: Jisung x fem. reader / one shot, college AU, frenemies to lovers AU / fluff

➵ warnings: slight cursing, mentions of alcohol/drinking, a teeny tiny bit sexual suggestiveness (nothing explicit)

➵ word count: 6k

It’s not even 8am, and your eyes feel as dry as sandpaper while your head is pounding with a slight migraine. You’re currently getting everything ready for the crowd of caffeine addicts that will soon arrive at the café you work at. It’s way too early to deal with the horde of zombies called students, but you got stuck with the worst shift of the day - starting at 7.30am which, in your opinion, is just inhuman. Stupid Minho and his stupid luck whenever it comes to drawing straws. For some reason, you always end up getting the shortest one. At least you’ll be done with work before most people your age have even made it out of bed. Still, right now you’d give almost everything to be back in your blanket burrito. Earning money is hard and annoying. If you’ve ever wondered if working at a café could ruin the beauty of coffee… the answer is yes. Because capitalism destroys everything, leaving no survivors.  

“Good morning, Y/N!”, your co-worker and the other unlucky one having drawn one of the shorter straws chirps when she enters the café, and you grimace - Sana’s voice is way too cheerful so early in the morning. You only give her a curt nod of your head, not in the mood to talk right now. You’re not really in the mood to do anything, if you’re being honest. Ugh, you hate the morning shift. You’re currently 80% tired, but 20% also tired - you don’t even remember what it’s like to not be tired anymore. College is great! 

Sana doesn’t seem to mind your grumpiness though, being the sweetheart that she simply is, and begins to wipe the counter while humming a cheery song under her breath. It’s only her second week at work, but so far she’s proven to be a better and more reliable part-timer than the last three who had worked here. Jun is usually a nice and caring boss, but he has some strict rules - always be on time, no drinking coffee while you’re working, don’t take more breaks than necessary, and don’t give out free drinks to your friends. The last three part-timers had broken at least one of these rules, so Jun had let them go again. Sana is doing well so far, and you think that Jun has maybe even taken a liking to her - not that you can blame him, she’s not only super nice and a general sunshine, but also incredibly beautiful and funny. You’re always happy whenever you work a shift with her. She’s a student like yourself, and wants to become a kindergarten teacher. You’d never let your children near her though, too scared they’d like her more than you - not that you could actually blame them. “Shall I put on some music?”, Sana asks after she’s finished with wiping everything down, and you just nod, finally being done with prepping the giant coffee machines. Just seconds later, smooth lounge music fills the cozy space of the café, and you inhale deeply. 

Maybe you lied earlier. Capitalism did not destroy coffee for you, you still very much love the scent, taste, and especially the effect of it. You check the time, noticing you still have about 15 minutes left before you have to open the café - meaning you have more than enough time to enjoy a nice cup of coffee with Sana. She immediately agrees to drink a cappuccino with you, and just minutes later, you bask in the fresh scent of grounded coffee beans. Sana sighs deeply after having taken the first sip, and gives you a bright smile. “Heavenly. You truly make the best coffee out of all of us, Y/N!”, she compliments you, and you tilt your head to one side. Thanks to the caffeine in your system, you’re finally ready to talk to her now. “Well, if my academic brilliance proves futile, I can always become the best barista in the world, I guess. And by the way, don’t let Minho hear you say that, or he’ll force you to taste all the coffee he makes, resulting in you overdosing on caffeine. You know what he‘s like.”, you answer, and Sana giggles. “Well, I stand with what I said, and I’ll even say it to his face. He needs to learn that he can’t always be the best at everything.” You raise one eyebrow, lips twitching. “No offense, but I don’t think he’s ever been the best at anything so far, he’s just very good at pretending. He basically invented the phrase “fake it till you make it”.” 

Before Sana can reply, there’s a knock against one of the café’s windows. Surprised, you look up, and groan when you see a familiar face staring back at you. “What is he doing here?!”, you grumble, and place your mug on the counter, not moving a single muscle. But Sana, being her nice and angelic self, is already walking towards the door of the café, and before you can protest, she’s already unlocked it. Jisung jumps over the threshold, sporting a bright grin. He greets Sana with a hug, before sliding his giant headphones off his ears. “Moooorning.”, he says, with at least five Os. You’re already annoyed. You’ve known Jisung for… well. For a long time. Too long, some would say (you, for example). Your moms have been close friends since their own college years, and while they thankfully didn’t move into the same neighborhood, they ended up living quite close to each other. Meaning Jisung had been there for pretty much you entire childhood and teenage years - at every single one of your birthday parties, at most Christmases, and sometimes even at Easter (even though neither of your families really celebrated Easter). You’ve also gone on hiking trips together, and on wildlife expeditions, and on holidays by the seaside… In almost all your memories, there’s Jisung. 

“Ugh, why are you so obsessed with me?”, you whine when he leans over the counter to grab your mug and take a sip of your coffee, “There are literally hundreds of colleges and you had to go choose the one I’m attending?!” He grins, puffing out his stupidly adorable hamster cheeks. “I’d never be so cruel and rid you of my pleasant company, my dearest Y/N.”, he answers, dark eyes sparkling with humor. You just huff and turn around. “The usual?”, you ask in a flat voice, and he hums in confirmation. To say you hate Jisung would be a severe overstatement, you just often strongly... dislike him. And feel annoyed whenever he’s around. Mostly because he’s a walking disaster, who kinda thinks the world revolves around him (you blame him being an only child for that). One of your most vivid and probably also traumatic childhood memories is of your sixth birthday party: you had gotten a brand new, soft green bicycle, falling in love with it as soon as you laid eyes on it. Naturally, you had wanted to take it around the block for a little test drive, but all of the sudden, Jisung had thrown a big tantrum until your mom had made you give him the bike first. And being the clumsy child that he simply was (and kinda still is), he had crashed your beautiful new bike into a tree. The tree had won that battle, the handle bar completely bent, same with the front wheel. So you and your bike had been a very short love story with a tragic ending. Romeo and Juliet had nothing on you. And this instance has only been one of many - Jisung had also accidentally sat on your birthday cake once (till this day, you have no idea how he’d even managed to do that). He had also ruined one of your favorite jumpers by dumping ink all over it, had tipped over the canoe when you’d been happily paddling on a lake one summer day, and had given you a black eye when you went mini golfing for your eleventh birthday.

So Han Jisung has always been - and probably will always be - a walking disaster. Being his friend means you have a “Why is he like that” moment at least five times a day. Your biggest fear at the moment is that he’s accidentally going to sit on your brand new laptop and break it, the one you had been saving up for for over two years. And then you’ll just have to kill him which will probably make his very nice mom very sad. But as the bible clearly states: an eye for an eye, a life for a laptop. Or maybe he’s just going to set your whole apartment on fire - he’s truly a mess inside the kitchen, you sadly know that from experience (note to self: never try to bake cookies with Jisung ever again). Your old dorm kitchen will probably never recover from that one particular incident that ended with half the building having to be evacuated. This is one of the reasons why Jisung hasn’t been at your new place yet. The second one being that you also only just moved into it a few weeks ago. Ever since moving, he’s been pestering you though, asking you to have a movie night with him at your new place. Like you said, he’s kinda obsessed with you. He also literally spends every morning at the café you work at - or well, you just assume it’s every morning. As you’re a part timer, you don’t actually have to work every single morning, but he’s definitely always here when you have drawn one of the short straws again.

You quickly busy yourself with making a flat white for Jisung, his preferred drink of choice, while he continues to chat with Sana. They know each other thanks to a mutual friend of theirs, Chan - he’s one of Jisung’s roommates as well as Sana’s best friend. Everyone on campus knows Chan: he’s on the student council, he plays for the baseball team, and he’s one of the most promising music majors you’ve ever seen (or well, heard), already being scouted by different labels even though he’s not even a senior yet. And he’s also just so nice and down to earth, truly a prime example of a man. Jisung should really take a leaf out of Chan’s book. 

“Here you go.”, you say while sliding Jisung’s finished order his way, taking your own mug out of his hands while doing so. You quickly shake your head when he wants to hand you his credit card, and he shoots you a happy smile. Jun would probably fire you instantly if he knew about this, but not once have you let Jisung pay for his coffee - and you’ve been working here for almost four months now. You try to ignore the way your stomach jolts when Jisung locks eyes with you, but fail miserably. So maybe he has the most beautiful smile in the whole world, and maybe his eyes hold entire galaxies in them, but what about it? It’s not like you even really like him, right?

You turn around and pretend to wipe down the coffee machine, but in reality, you just don’t want to look at Jisung’s cute hamster cheeks anymore, because they just make you want to squish them. And you have a reputation to lose. “Well, I’m off to my lecture now - I hope your day will be pleasant, ladies!”, Jisung finally says, and you turn around, catching him giving you a mock salute and mischievous wink. You just wave at him, while Sana wishes him a good day as well. As soon as the door falls close behind him again, you exhale. You really need to get a grip on yourself.

It’s Friday night, and there’s a party at Jisung’s frat house. At first, you don’t want to go, but your roommate Amber basically drags you with her. You know she’s only going because she has the biggest crush on Chan, and you honestly can’t even blame her - half the girls on campus have a crush on him after all, and at least a third of the guys. But while Amber and Chan are good friends, nothing more has ever been going on between them - not yet, that is. Who knows, maybe tonight’s finally the night.

You’re currently sipping on some stale beer Seungmin - one of Jisung’s roommates - had handed you the second you stepped over the threshold of the frat house, scanning the room for people you know. Amber is off to greet some friends from her architecture class, so you’re on your own for now. Which is fine, you don’t really mind just standing in the corner to observe the other guests, it’s actually highly entertaining. For example, there’s one guy twerking like crazy to some Beyoncé song. You think his name is Kevin and he’s in your calc class. A friend of his is currently hyping him up like crazy, while another one with green dyed hair is clearly wishing he was somewhere entirely else. You honestly can’t blame him, the secondhand-embarrassment way too real. A few seconds later, Sana enters the room with a group of girls, and she happily waves at you as soon as she spots you. You simply return her smile, before continuing to watch Kevin. 

“Enjoying the show?”, someone beside you suddenly asks, and you jump, dumping some of your beer over your shirt. “Oh fuck you!”, you yelp, and turn around to glare at Minho’s shit-eating grin, “You definitely scared me on purpose!” “Fuck... me? Absolutely, just name the time and place, babe.”, he answers, and you smack his chest. “Not even in your wildest dreams, Lee.”, you reply, and narrow your eyes at him. He pouts playfully. “I just think we’d make a really great couple.”, he argues, and you shake your head. “Well, society should be able to limit what some people are allowed to think, then.”, you retort, voice flat, and he ruffles your hair. “You know what I love about you? You’re kinda mean and annoying, but unapologetically so.”, he says, and you raise one eyebrow. “I might be kinda mean and annoying, but at least my lock screen isn’t a selfie.” At this, Minho gasps dramatically, and protectively clutches his phone to his chest. “I mean, I could always change it to one of your selfies, you know?”, he then suggests, making you groan. He’s clearly drunk already or else he wouldn’t be flirting like this. If this sad attempt can even be considered flirting, it’s probably just him being his annoying and arrogant Scorpio self. Minho sighs deeply. “When will you finally accept my eternal love for you, Y/N?”, he asks, and tries to grab one of your hands, but you just smack him again. “Maybe when you finally stop cheating at drawing straws! I have the Monday morning shift again!”, you hiss, and he smirks. “You’ll never know my secret.”, he says smugly, and empties his cup in one single gulp. 

You begin to pout and take a sip from your own cup, eyes wandering towards where Kevin is still throwing it back on the dance floor. “If I ever do something remotely like that, just take me out, and instantly.”, you say, an exasperated expression on your face. “On a date or with a sniper?”, a familiar voice on your other side suddenly asks, and you sigh internally. “Han.”, you greet your favorite frenemy, and Jisung grins while wrapping one arm around your shoulder. “Nice to see you accepted my invite.”, he says, and you quickly duck out of his embrace, trying to ignore your racing heart. Minho just wiggles his eyebrows at you, before flashing you a shit-eating grin and disappearing from view. Traitor. 

“I only came because Amber asked me to.”, you explain, and stand on your tiptoes to look for your friend. Seriously, where did she even go?! It’s been at least 15 minutes since she left you on your own. “You can just admit that you missed my handsome face, you know.”, Jisung says, and you snort. “Yeah, whatever you say, hamster boy.” He groans, ruffling his hair with one hand and making it stand on end. You desperately suppress the need to flatten it again, and quickly take another sip of your beer. “Don’t you get tired of using that old nickname? Plus, my cheeks aren’t as chubby anymore! I have finally lost all my baby fat, the glow up we’ve all been desperately waiting for!”, he says, and you suppress a smile, looking him up and down. “I guess some people would agree that you don’t look bad.”, you finally reply, and ignore the way your heart flutters when he shoots you a wide grin. “Aww, you old softie, I knew you actually liked me.”, he says, lovingly punching your shoulder. You grimace, rubbing the spot he hit - you know he and Chan have started to work out recently, and apparently, Jisung doesn’t know his own strength anymore. “Now don’t get all sappy on me, just because I might have erased your name out of my death note.”, you reply, quickly draining your cup to hide your blush, and mumble something about getting a new drink before basically running away from him. When you enter the kitchen, you exhale deeply. Your hands are shaking, your heart is racing and you know the blush is still very prominent on your cheeks. 

So yeah, maybe you’re kinda a bit in love with Han Jisung. He might be a complete mess, but he’s also funny, hard-working, intelligent and something close to a musical genius. And yeah, maybe you absolutely adore his stupid hamster cheeks, bright smile and beautiful dark chocolate eyes. You close your eyes for a few seconds, groaning internally. You don’t want to be in love with Han Jisung! There is literally no other person you want to be less in love with. Okay, except for Lee Minho, simply because you just couldn’t bring yourself to ever date a Scorpio, no offense. But Han Jisung is at least a close second! 

You can’t even say when you first began to develop these kinds of feelings for him. After graduating high school, you had finally realized how much you’d actually miss Jisung’s constant presence once you had to go off to different colleges. You’re almost embarrassed to admit how your heart had leaped when he told you he’d actually be going to the same college as you. Maybe you had truly just always kind of loved him - him and his weird antics. He’s always been himself, and unapologetically so. In the modern world of snapchat filters, snow apps and facetune, he’s always felt real to you.

You shake your head, trying to get rid of these thoughts, and groan again. After you’ve refilled your red party cup, you drown it in a few gulps, repeating the process a few times. Drowning your feelings might not be the responsible thing to do just now, but well, you’re only in your early twenties, so you still have lots of time to become a more responsible adult in the future.

Half an hour later, you have probably drunk way too much beer and are also still trying to figure out where Amber has gone. So you finally decide to go search for her, noticing that for some reason, the floor seems to tilt a bit with every step you take. “Weeeeird.”, you mumble, squinting your eyes, “That’s new.” Just then, you manage to walk into someone, soaking their entire backside with your beer. The person yelps loudly, before turning around to glare at you. Your brain needs a few seconds to recognizes the handsome face, and when it finally does, you give him a bright smile while slurring “Hyunjiiiiiin.”, squishing his face between your hands. The boy turns from annoyed to alarmed, and pries your hands from his face while narrowing his eyes at you. “Okay, what and how much did you drink, Y/N?!” Your smile gets even wider. “Only the best kind of alcohol, which is a lot!” Hyunjin just groans and begins to look around for someone. “Where is Han when you need him?!” With that, he wraps one arm around your waist to pull you with him and through the crowd. You hold onto him like your life depends on it - and the way the floor is swaying from side to side right now, it truly just might. You make a disgusted sound when your hand touches Hyunjin’s soaked shirt. “You’re wet, do you know that?”, you mumble, head lulling around until Hyunjin gently guides it to rest against his shoulder. “Yeah, surprisingly I do.”, he says, but in your current state, his sarcasm gets totally lost on you. “You should change, it’s freezing outside, and we don’t want you to catch a cold!”, you tell him off, and he groans, half amused, half exasperated. “I promise I will change as soon as I’ve found Han.” 

You raise both eyebrows at that. “Why do you need to find Jisung? Does he have clothes for you?” Just then, Hyunjin seems to find the desired person, sighing in relief. “Hey, Han! I think your girlfriend has had a little bit too much to drink tonight.”, he yells over the music, and you frown. “His girlfriend? Since when does Jisung have a girlfriend?! And why hasn’t he told me about her?! I’m his oldest friend! Like, not old in the sense of actually being old, but in the sense of time spent toge-”, before you can ramble on, Hyunjin basically shoves you into Jisung’s outstretched arms. “Here, she’s your responsibility now! Take her home or whatever. I’m gonna go change.”, he says curtly, before turning around and marching off. You wave at his retreating backside, before you look up at Jisung, who sports a very confused expression. “Uh, what exactly happened?”, he asks, taking in your glossy eyes, flushed cheeks and lopsided smile, “Shit, are you drunk?! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drunk!” He actually looks amazed, and you can’t help but ruffle his dark hair. It feels silky when it slips through your fingers, and you giggle to yourself. “Nice.”, you murmur, before you glare at him, “So, you have a girlfriend and didn’t tell me about her?! That’s rather rude, you know? We’re friends, after all! The oldest friends ever! I tell you almost everything.” Jisung just blinks a few times, before he shakes his head in disbelief. “Uh, okay, maybe I should bring you home.”, he murmurs, and wraps his arms even tighter around your waist, “Where’s your stuff?” You shrug while snuggling closer to him to bury your face in the crook of his neck. He yelps, and freezes for a few seconds, before he sighs and drags you towards one of the sofas. “Wait here, okay? I’ll be back in a second.”, he murmurs softly, and tugs some of you hair behind your ear. You lean into his touch, and close your eyes while nodding. The last thing you hear is his low chuckle.

Bright sunlight greets you the second you try to open your eyes. You groan and decide it’s better to just close them again. Seeing is overrated anyway, especially when your head is pounding like crazy. Mh, maybe you did drink a little bit too much yesterday.

“Are you alive? Groan once for yes, twice for no.”

You truly love your roommate, but right now, you’re prepared to throw her out the window as her voice cuts through your hazy state like a knife. Still, you manage to groan once.

“Okay, good. There’s water on your bedside table, and some aspirin. Take it.” 

For the second time this morning (or midday, you honestly have no idea what time it is), you try to open your eyes, just a teeny tiny bit. Still half blind, you carefully fumble for said things on your bedside table. After taking the aspirin and drinking some water, you sigh in relief and fall back into your pillows. “You were really out of it yesterday, huh? Any reason for drinking for at least three people?”, Amber asks, her voice laced with quiet humor. You just grumble something unintelligible, and she chuckles. “Do you remember who brought you home?”

You finally turn around to look at her, raising one eyebrow. “... You?”, you guess, and she presses her lips together to try and stifle her shit-eating grin - she fails though. “Nope. I was kinda busy.”, she just answers, a smug expression on her face. You finally manage to sit up, ruffling your messy bed hair. “Busy doing what? Now that I think of it, I remember you were gone from my side the second we stepped foot inside the frat house. Talk about loyalty.” You try not to sound too offended, but while you don’t remember much from last night, you do remember that you spent some time looking for it, but in vain. “Chan.”, Amber just answers, and you squeal - regretting it a split second later when a sharp pain shoots through your head. “Remind me to never make that noise again while I’m nursing a hangover.”, you say, holding your head between your hands, and Amber giggles. “Noted. But yeah, Chan and I… well. Let’s just say we had a good night.” She wiggles her eyebrows at you, and you return her grin. “Well, congrats, then! You snatched the Bang Chan, props to you.” Her smile softens, and she sighs dreamily. “He even asked me on a date afterwards. So we’re going out to get some pasta tonight.”, she tells you, and your smile gets even bigger. “I’m so happy for you, Amber. He’s a really great guy, and you deserve a really great guy.”, you say gently, and she nods. “Damn right I do. But speaking of a really great guy - Jisung was actually the one to bring you home last night.”, she explains, grinning smugly when she sees your shocked expression. “He did what now?!”, you ask, not ready to believe her, at least not yet. Amber leans back on her elbows, obviously enjoying this way too much. “Well, after you drank about half the alcohol the boys bought for the party, you decided to give Hyunjin a beer shower, who immediately realized it was definitely time to get you home, so he went searching for Jisung who then brought you to our apartment. No idea what happened after you left the frat house though, I only got to know about this because Hyunjin told Chan who told me.”

You bury your face in your pillow and let out a long, miserable noise. You sound a bit like a dying whale which makes Amber laugh. “Ah, come on, it’s not that bad. You and Jisung are friends after all, I’m sure he saw you drunk lots of times already!”

You shake your head.

“Wait, he hasn’t?!”

“Nope. I very rarely get drunk, and it’s not like Jisung and I are actual friends like that - friends who take care of each other and so on, you know?”, you try to explain, and Amber frowns. “What do you mean? Y/N, you and Jisung have known each other since forever, you hang out constantly, and you always talk about him with endless adoration - well, and a bit of annoyance too, to be fair. But what do you mean you’re not friends “like that”?!” You blink at her, surprise written all over your face. “I don’t talk about him with endless adoration!”, you disagree. Amber just gives you a very long, hard look, and you begin gnawing at your lip. “I… do?”, you ask in a small voice, and she nods. “You talk to him every day, Y/N, and you talk about him even more. It would be annoying if it weren’t also extremely cute.”, she replies, and begins filing her nails, lips twitching while she watches you trying to digest what she’s just told you. “I guess… I should at least message him to thank him for bringing me home.”

“And for tucking you into bed.”

You groan and throw your pillow at Amber. She catches it and laughs. “What, you looked very cozy and all snuggled up when I came home! And I doubt you yourself did that, at least if Hyunjin told the truth about the amount of alcohol you consumed yesterday.”

You look yourself up and down, noticing that you’re not wearing your clothes from last night anymore, but your favorite pj’s, the ones with little succulents on it. “Does this mean…”, you whisper, but shake your head, “Nope, not even going there. I’m way too sleep-deprived and hangover to deal with any of that right now.” Amber grins and shrugs. “Just go ask Jisung, I’m sure he can fill you in on everything.” You groan again, and fall back onto your bed. “I’ll have to take a shower first.”, you mumble, and close your eyes again. “Yes, please do, you reek of stale beer.” And with that, your roommate throws your pillow back at you.

It’s already about to get dark again when you arrive at the frat house, nervously bouncing on your feet for a few seconds before you finally gather the courage to knock on the front door. You quickly stuff your hands back into the pockets of your leather jacket, gnawing at your lower lip while waiting for someone to open the door. Just a few minutes later, Hyunjin’s tired face greets you. He raises both eyebrows when he lays eyes on you, immediately noticing your nervous expression. “Hi.”, you say, and give him a small smile. He leans against the doorframe, and crosses both arms over his chest. “Hi yourself. You actually look less zombie-like than expected.” You roll your eyes. “Thanks, today’s look is inspired by sleep deprivation and a mean hangover. Water and aspirin helped though, or else I could have auditioned for The Walking Dead.”, you grumble, “And uh… Thanks for yesterday, by the way. I’m really sorry about your shirt, I heard I dumped beer all over it.” Hyunjin cracks a smile at that, and shrugs. “Yeah, but it’s fine. The washing machine will take care of that. Wanna come in?”, he asks, and you nod, quickly following him inside the warmth of the parlor. 

Surprisingly, the house looks clean and tidy again - the guys must have spent the entire day getting rid of last night’s mess. You’re actually impressed. “Han is in his room.”, Hyunjin says, before you even have the chance to ask, and you gulp nervously. “O-okay…”, you mumble, and are just about to walk up the stairs, when Hyunjin tugs on your sleeve. You turn around to face him again, expression questioning. The boy gnaws at his lip, looking nervous. “Just… Finally tell him, okay? I’m like, literally begging you.”, he then says, and you narrow your eyes at him. “Tell him what, exactly?”, you inquire, but Hyunjin only gives you an exasperated gaze. “You know exactly what. We’re all tired of you guys pining after each other but not actually doing anything about your feelings. Quick reminder: this is not a cheesy rom-com where you have to wait until one of you guys leaves the country so you can finally declare your love at the airport or some big, stupid gesture like that. Just do it now, in his stuffy frat room and get it over with.” Before you’re able to reply, he gives you a mock salute and retreats into the kitchen. You huff, surprised at the audacity of his words, and turn around to finally go up the stairs and towards Jisung’s room. 

You take in a few deep breaths before knocking on his door, trying to steady yourself. Then, you wait - but after a few seconds have passed and the door has not yet been opened, you simply turn the doorknob and let yourself in. Jisung sits at his desk, giant headphones covering his ears while he hums along to the music he’s listening to. Well, that explains why he didn’t hear you knocking. You quickly cross the room, and tap his shoulder. He screams, and whips around, almost ripping his headphones off in the process. You giggle at his shocked expression, dark eyes almost comically big in his face. “When did you arrive!?”, he almost yells, and you slide the headphones off his ears, brushing some of his hair back while doing so. His eyelids flutter for a few seconds, before he raises one eyebrow. “You don’t look that shitty, which is surprising considering the amount of beer you drank last night.”, he says after looking you up and down, and you defensively cross your arms over your chest. “Wow, thanks. Always the charmer, huh?”, you huff in mock offense, and he grins up at you. “No need to charm when I know your heart is already mine.” You almost choke on your own spit, and beg the blush creeping on your cheeks to just not do that right now. Truly not the time nor place. “I came to thank you, actually. For last night - I heard you were the one to bring me home.”, you finally admit, nervously shifting from one foot to the other. 

Jisung just stares at you for a few seconds, before giving you a soft smile. “Well, yeah. I couldn’t just let anyone take you home - and Amber was kinda busy, I heard.” You nod. “True, I’m glad you didn’t interrupt whatever she was doing. So, uh, yeah, thanks, you’re… a good friend, I guess.” Almost immediately, embarrassment washes over you, and you groan at your own words. Jisung’s lips begin to twitch. “A good friend, huh?”, he repeats and crosses both hands behind his head, still looking at you with an unreadable expression on his face. You blink a few times, before slowly beginning to nod. “Y-yeah…?” “For someone so smart, you’re really fucking oblivious sometimes, you know that?”, Jisung suddenly states, and you huff. “Excuse me?! Who do you call obliv-” But before you can tell him off, he pulls you onto his lap and then, his lips are on yours. You yelp, freezing for a few seconds, before basically melting against him. He hums appreciatively, and wraps both arms around you to pull you even closer towards him, deepening the kiss. You bury your hands in his soft hair, gently tugging on it, and he groans against your lips. You use the chance to slide your tongue into his mouth while his hands wander lower to grab your ass. You shift on top of him, and he moans when you brush against his crotch. 

When you draw back to catch your breaths, you simply stare at each other, cheeks flushed and lips swollen. Then, Jisung begins to smile at you, and your heart flutters. Twenty years of seeing his smile, but you’ll apparently never get used to it. “About fucking time.”, he then murmurs against your lips, voice pleased, and you roll your eyes at him. “I’m not oblivious, by the way! You’re the oblivious one - I never give anyone free coffee, because it could literally cost me my job, and yet you always get a flat white on the house!”, you tell him, and he smirks. “Oh, baby, the oblivious one is definitely you - or do you really think I just happen to have a lecture every morning you got the early shift again?”, he replies, a smug expression on his face. You just stare at him. “You-”, but before you can say anything else, Jisung quickly presses his lips against yours again. You immediately lean into his embrace, and close your eyes, losing yourself to his touch - so familiar, yet also so new and exciting.

Yes, maybe you’ve truly always been in love with Han Jisung - but at least he seems to feel the exact same way. 

[masterlist] | [requests] 

[nothingbutimagines]

Frenemies (Peter Parker)

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Warning: Cursing 

Summary: Peter and Y/n are friends...kinda. Peter thinks they’re friends, even though Y/n picks on him and they’re constantly bickering or competing for the top spot in their classes. Peter thinks they’re friends while Y/n sees them more as frenemies, but the two are confronted with their feelings towards one another when they get roped into playing Romeo and Juliet in the school play. 

Author: Dizzy

A/N: Just a little something I whipped up while procrastinating on my finals. Senior year is too hard, ugh. Just a heads up, starting Dec 13th, tomorrow, I will be starting 12 Days of Ficmas with another Peter fic, so keep your eyes peeled!

Masterlist Request Any Of These Peter Parker/Tom Holland Masterlist

__________________

“Any volunteers to act out the next scene?” Your Drama teacher, Ms. Newman, asked the class, a bright smile on her face as hands flew into the air. “Everyone has to read at least once, since we’re using this class to decide on who will be Romeo and who will be Juliet.”

You rolled your eyes, resting your chin in your hand as you watched other students wave their hands around wildly. 

Of course everyone wanted to act out the next scene, one of the most romantic scenes of the play, you thought to yourself. While everyone either loved or hated Romeo and Juliet, you found yourself indifferent to it all. You liked the play just fine, but you wouldn’t say you loved it nor would you say you hated it. It was all just okay in your mind and you sure as hell didn’t want to be Juliet, or be in the play at all. 

Unlike everyone who had their hands up, waving them like mad, you didn’t quite care for romance if you were going to be honest. Perhaps it was that you’d never connected with someone in such a way that caused you to like it or you just hadn’t found the perfect Nicholas Sparks movie to cry to, but you hated romance, almost dreading it. 

“Y/n?” 

You looked up to see an extended finger pointing right at her and a smile on Ms. Newman’s face. 

“Come on up, dear. You can read for Juliet and Peter here can read for Romeo.” She waved you up onto the stage, directing you onto a higher platform to read. 

“I don’t know if I can do this.” Peter mumbled from beneath you.

You bent down to his level, a hand on his shoulder as you gazed into his eyes. 

“You can do this. And you know you can trust me. Because I don’t care enough about you to lie.” 

Peter rolled his eyes as you straightened back up. 

“Gee, thanks. I totally feel better now.”

“You’re welcome. I’m a very helpful person.” You chuckled, turning your attention back to Ms. Newman.

“Alright, Peter, you are Romeo, talking about Juliet and unbeknownst to you, she is right up there on the balcony, speaking about you. Y/n, stand up straight and give us your best performance, don’t look so down. Now, ready, set, action!”

You looked over at Peter, who gave you a small smile before breaking eye contact to look down at his script, his brown hair falling in his face before looking back up at you again.

You could barely act as it is, and looking at the brown haired boy looking at you, you sure as hell couldn’t act like you were in love with Peter Parker, the kid you couldn’t help but tease and pick on even though you were kind of friends and kind of enemies with. 

“But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?

It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.

Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,

Who is already sick and pale with grief,

That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.

Be not her maid since she is envious.

Her vestal livery is but sick and green,

And none but fools do wear it. Cast it off!

It is my lady. Oh, it is my love.

Oh, that she knew she were!” Peter spoke, acting as if his life depended on it, his eyes gazing into yours.

You bit your lip, unsure of what the sudden warmth in your chest and cheeks was from as you watched him gesture to you, speaking boldly like the character he was pretending to be. 

You looked away, breaking the eye contact for a moment to look into the small group of students in the class, your breathing slow as the warmth dissipated and you brought a hand to your cheek. 

“... Her eye in heaven

Would through the airy region stream so bright

That birds would sing and think it were not night.

See how she leans her cheek upon her hand.

Oh, that I were a glove upon that hand

That I might touch that cheek!”

You brought your hand from your cheek to your heart. “Ay, me!” 

Peter glanced up at you once more, before turning to the group. 

“She speaks.

O, speak again, bright angel! For thou art

As glorious to this night, being o'er my head,

As is a wingèd messenger of heaven

Unto the white, upturnèd, wondering eyes

Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him

When he bestrides the lazy-puffing clouds

And sails upon the bosom of the air.” 

You couldn’t help but chuckle at the boy standing not that far below you, the way he gave you a funny look as he turned back to you and the way he so seriously taking his part. You couldn’t help but wonder what was going on in his mind, what had him acting his little heart out. 

“O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?

Deny thy father and refuse thy name.

Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,

And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.” You cried out, mustering up as much passion as you could, realizing halfway through your lines you had more than you thought. 

“Cut, cut!” Ms. Newman cried out, waving her arms at you. “I think we’ve heard enough from you two, let’s let someone else have a chance at this scene. Rebecca, Trevor, why don’t you two go next?”

You hopped down from the platform you had been standing on and followed Peter off of the small stage, taking a seat beside him. 

“Good job.” He nodded to you, a shy smile on his lips. 

“Oh, uh, thanks. You weren’t so bad either.”

“Not so bad? You think I’m a shitty actor, Y/n?” Peter teased, giving you a slight nudge.

“I didn’t say that,” you rolled your eyes, “I just didn’t realize you had such passion and gusto. it was very impressive.”

“Yeah, well that was all me since your pep talk wasn’t much help.” 

“I’d like to think it was pretty good. Very honest. Honesty is what makes pep talks great.”

“Isn’t the point of a pep talk to lie to a person so they can do something they think they can’t?”

You rolled your eyes and smiled. “Well, duh, but you could do it so I didn’t have to lie. It was a kinda anti-pep talk.”

“You’re kinda anti-everything aren’t you?”

“I like to think of myself less as ‘anti-everything’ and more of a rebel outcast.”

“You’re the co-captain of the cheer squad.” Peter replied very matter-of-factly as you fell silent, leaving him without a response. “You hear that?”

“Oh, I hear you.” You replied, crossing your arms over your chest, “I wish I didn’t.”

Peter opened his mouth to speak, but shut it as Ms. Newman began talking.

“Alright, class! We are at the end of time, so I will announce who I have picked as our leading man and lady. Can I get a drum roll, please?”

The class erupted in hands rapping and drumming on tables and legs as you crossed your fingers, eyes shut. 

“Please, don’t let it be me. Please, don’t let it be me.” You mumbled to yourself as the noise began to dial down.

“Romeo will be played by Peter Parker-”

“Yes!” Peter gasped, punching the air beside you. 

“-and Juliet will be played by Y/n L/n.”

“Fuck!” You hissed softly, groaning as you put a hand to your face. 

“Thank you all for your time today, the rest of the roles ad castings will be on the board if you’d like to look at them, otherwise, have a great lunch! We will be leaving the theater open for you to go over your lines and learn them together.”

You gripped your bag as you stood up, slinging one strap over your shoulder as you made your way out of the classroom, Peter trailing close behind.

“Holy shit, Y/n! Can you believe it? We got the lead roles!” 

“Oh, goody!” You gasped, mocking his happy demeanor as he made it beside you. 

“You know, you’d be a better actress if you could at least act excited about this.” 

"Ugh, sometimes I can’t stand you.”

“Speak for yourself.”

Peter chuckled as you gave him a playful push, pushing you back while you both entered the cafeteria. 

You couldn’t stand him sometimes, but there were moments, mostly when you thought he had a sense of humor and you could laugh together, that you thought Peter Parker wasn’t so bad. Sure, he was a know-it-all and a goody two shoes, but he wasn’t that bad once you got to know him, even if he was annoying at times. 

Peter handed you a lunch tray as you both scurried into the lunch line, knocking your trays together as you picked out your lunches. 

“Do you ever wonder how we’re friends?” Peter asked after moments of silence.

It was as if he read your mind. You handed the lunch lady the change for your lunch and guided Peter to your usual table with Ned and MJ. 

You shrugged. “Nah, I don’t really like to question myself on the things I do. Act, don’t think. It’s better that way.” 

You took a seat beside MJ on one side of the table as Peter took a seat besides Ned. 

“Are you okay?” MJ asked, looking over at you with a concerned look on her face. 

“Why? Did that pimple I popped this morning not go away?”

MJ shook her head. “No, not that. You look flushed.”

“Y/n and I just found out we’re gonna be Romeo and Juliet for the spring play.” Peter stated simply, taking a bit out of his pizza. 

MJ burst out laughing, clutching her stomach. 

“Oh, my god, that’s a great joke, Parker. A fucking riot.” 

“I’m, uh, I’m not kidding.” 

“No, you’ve got to be joking, Y/n would never agree to that.” 

“Uh, actually...” You cut in. 

“Holy shit, you’re not kidding.” MJ’s smile fell slightly as she looked at you, grabbing you by the arm and pulling you out of your chair.  “Y/n, I have to go to the bathroom, come with me.”

“Oh, okay.” You agreed awkwardly, allowing her to begin dragging you from the table.

“That was weird.” Peter stated as you followed MJ out of the cafeteria. 

“Agreed.” Ned muttered, watching MJ and you interact from the doorway. 

“Why the hell would you agree to being in the spring play?” MJ questioned, her arms crossed over her chest as she glanced back into the open doorway of the cafeteria. 

You groaned. “Ugh, I-I really don’t know! I panicked! Newman announced it and I just accepted my fate.”

“Did you accept your fate or play along with the fact that you get to be up close and personal with Peter?” 

“Don’t you dare insinuate the fact that I-”

“That you what? Have feelings for Peter?” MJ asked, giving you a smirk as you felt the same warmth in your cheeks as you had in class. “You act like I don’t know you, that we haven’t been friends since first grade. I know when you like a boy.”

“I don’t like Peter. He annoys me to death. Quite frankly, he sucks.” 

“Tell that to the blush on your face.” 

“You bitch.” 

MJ shrugged. “I don’t know why you’re mad at me for telling the truth.” 

You tore your gaze away from her and looked into the doorway to the cafeteria, your attention now on Peter and Ned as you could see them talking to one another before Peter looked away and over at you, your eyes making contact. You quickly looked away, turning your attention back at MJ. 

“What do you think I should do?”

__________________

You walked down the hallway towards the theater, slipping past students as you made your way through the crowd, gripping your backpack tightly. You ran through the little plan MJ and you had concocted, repeating affirmations to yourself as you approached the door.

After admitting that you didn’t hate Peter as much as you led on, MJ walked you through the plan she had been secretly putting together the moment she had figured out you had feelings for Peter. 

The plan, as MJ illustrated, was simple. You told Peter how you felt. 

You went through about one hundred different ways to tell Peter how you felt, each one making you sick to your stomach with anxiety. 

As you entered the theater, you could feel that anxiety bubble up with every step and every thought as you got closer and closer to where Peter had decided to set himself up on the stage. 

“Hey.” Peter greeted, looking up from his script as you set your bag down on the ground beside his. “So, I’ve been going over the script since study hall and I think we should just start with the scenes that we’re in together and then on our own, go over our separate scenes.” 

“Uh,” You cleared your throat, “yeah, yeah. That sounds like a good idea.” 

Peter raised a brow at you. “You okay? Normally you try to fight me when I tell you what to do.”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just stressed since I have cheer practice after this.” You lied. 

“It’s Wednesday, you never have cheer practice on Wednesdays.” 

“Maybe I do, how would you know? Do you stalk me or something, Parker?” You snapped. 

“No, God, never mind.” Peter cleared his throat. “No need to yell. Let’s just go over act one, scene five.”

You nodded, letting out a relieved sigh as silence fell between the two of you as you looked for your lines in the scene. You could feel your chest grow warm as you held your breath, awaiting Peter’s next instruction, pretending to read your script as your mind wandered. 

You couldn’t stop thinking about how wrong MJ was about Peter. It was clear he didn’t like you in any way other than a friend. And why would he? You bullied him constantly and bickered over trivial things with him. Hell, you’d even once gave him all the wrong answers on a test when you’d realized he was copying you and then went back to fix your own, making him get a 40% while you had gotten a 90%. 

“Y/n, did you hear me?” Peter’s hand on your arm forced you out of your own head. 

You shrugged his arm off and nodded. 

“Alright. I’m ready when you are.” 

“I’m ready. Go on.”

Peter reached out towards you, taking your hand in his before you pulled away quickly.

“What are you doing?” You snapped, holding your hand away from him.

“I was acting, you know, as the script tells me to.”

“You don’t have to touch me.”

“It literally says that I have to take your hand.” Peter argued, reaching out for you again. “Just give me your hand, okay?”

You held your hand out for him to take with a confused look on your face before he took your hand, a shy smile on his face as he pulled you closer too him. 

You stumbled over your own feet as he pulled you closer, tripping and falling into him.

“Shit, I’m sorry!” You gasped, looking up at him, his hands still firm on your hips. 

“It’s, it’s fine.” Peter replied, gazing down at you.

“You can, uh, let go of me now.” 

“Oh, right! Right.”

Peter let go of you as you stood up straight, fixing your hair as you looked at him. 

“Maybe we should go over lines now?” Peter asked awkwardly, hand on the back of his neck. 

“I have a confession to make.” You blurted out, immediately regretting saying it. 

“What is it?”

“Peter, I just need to tell you this. I think I like you, and I know you don’t feel the same--.” 

“Y/n, I really like you too.” 

You fell silent, staring at him blankly before responding, “I don’t know what to do with that information.”

“Oh, shut up and let us have our moment.” Peter chuckled, grabbing your hand and pulling you towards him again before kissing you softly.

[gerberbabey]

talk to me about sarah cameron

I hope I don’t get like...fandom backlash for this. A short disclaimer, this is entirely just an analysis on a character and the writing of this character. I literally will not bring up Madelyn Cline at all because that’s not what this is about. 

This is essentially about (at least what I think is) lazy writing of a female character.

So going into it, if I’m being completely honest, if I hadn’t read fanfics I feel like I really would not have cared that much about Sarah. Not even in a sense of “I don’t like Sarah I think she’s annoying” but more like “I don’t mind her character, I’m just not as invested or interested as I wish I could be.” I wanna love Sarah so bad. Like really really bad. Because I don’t dislike her. I just...really don’t care as much.

And a major reason for that is her relationship with John B.

So stick with me here. I hate that my argument has to talk about the involvement of a male character but this is just how it is. To bring up the obvious, you don’t “fall in love” with someone in a day. You just don’t. Sarah crying over John B, and going “Don’t leave me, I need you” or whatever after he fell off that tower thing was just...an experience.

From the context I will definitely assume that they barely talked to each other for longer than a few minutes until that day they went to the mainland together. They’ve obviously had interactions before because of John B working for Ward, and he even mentioned that “he’d seen her around” but obviously never had any life changing interactions with her.

From episode 1-4(?), the on screen interactions they had were:

1. the kegger- where they barely spoke to each other and Topper beat the fuck out of John B 2. when John b was fuckin around with the scuba gear   3. when john b...yelled at her...and smacked her chips.... 4. “Did you just yeet over that chain?” 

Then...they really spent not even a full day together, kissed in the rain, and decided they were in love??? I just??? What??? 

I understand the route that the writers are going with. Like I really do. The whole two different sides, Romeo and Juliet story. Sarah and John B have got a whole lot of emotions going. I get it. But like...c’mon. 

Like the show itself is (I’m pretty sure) set to be in 2019-2020, and the story itself was I’ll say written in maybe 2017-2018, and I think I’m just past that type of love story. Is there a lot of media that still shows this type of abrupt love story anymore??? (aside from like I don’t know...Hallmark movies)???

The point is I wish they had pushed Sarah in a different direction. But it’s so painfully obvious that they wrote Sarah to be John B’s girlfriend. They gave her no major development and like...half a personality that they never really delved into! Because the second we start getting to know Sarah, it turns into Sarah... but with John B, like...do you know what I mean?  A majority of the conflict they wrote wouldn’t have even happened if they hadn’t written Sarah to be John B’s girlfriend. 

Not only that, don’t get me started on her beef with Kie (dont even get me started on how this was bad writing for Kie just as much as it was bad writing for sarah). I feel like they had started off okay with that storyline but then couldn’t figure out how to end it. Like I feel like it wasn’t on brand for Kie to have just...forgiven Sarah after a night with her. Kie literally said that she was ready to start self-harming before Sarah became her friend. If you’re going to write it to be that serious, then Kie and Sarah’s relationship definitely should’ve been fixed over a period of time and not just a single night. 

This is all probably sounding rambly and annoying but ugh it’s just so frustrating.

Sarah was written to be the support of a male character and as a source of drama. And that, in my opinion is lazy ass writing. It wouldn’t be too frustrating if she wasn’t made out to be a main character. 

If Sarah wasn’t established as obviously being a main character with the Pogues, then maybe it would’ve made more sense that she was added to do a specific job in the story. But no, she’s a main character, but she lacks depth in comparison to the other main characters because her focus relies solely on being with John B. 

I like Sarah but I wish I could love Sarah. I want to be invested in her story but she doesn’t even really have one! (at least not yet).

Outer Banks as a whole could’ve been so different if they hadn’t decided to pick a romance to be the other major plot point of the show. Because seriously, why not integrate Sarah in a different way? Why not show us how she herself could’ve added into the dynamic of the group without John B as a catalyst? Why not show Sarah and Kie coming together on their own terms? And Sarah building up a relationship and a trust with JJ and/or Pope? 

Writers should also never underestimate the effects of a good slow burn (case and point JJ and Kie). Cause really, sometimes it’s just the little interactions.  

I hope that with time they properly flesh Sarah out to be her own character. I would love to see it. 

I feel like this was really confusing, but lmk what ya’ll think ❤️

[365days365movies]

February 6, 2021: Romeo + Juliet (1996)

From the top!

Two households, both alike in dignity In Fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross’d lover take their life; Whose misadventured, piteous overthrows Do, with their death, bury their parents’ strife The fearful passage of the death-mark’d love, And the continuance of their parents’ rage Which, but their children’s end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage; The which, if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strike to mend.

I mean, c’mon. It’s Shakespeare, I practically had to.

Which is why it may come as a surprise to hear that I think this play is overrated, far too overexposed, and honestly stars two of the most obnoxiously immature protagonists that Shakespeare ever wrote. Which is not to say that I don’t like it, but it is to say that it isn’t my favorite. Which one is my favorite, you ask? Eh, I vacillate between a few, but I might get into it, we’ll see.

Weirdly fitting, though, since this film is directed by a director who also isn’t my favorite. Can’t say I have a definitive favorite director either, but Baz Luhrmann ain’t it. To be fair, I haven’t seen Moulin Rouge (probably should, huh?), but his turn on The Great Gatsby...wasn’t my favorite, I’ll just leave it at that.

And while we’re into it, lemme just address Romeo and Juliet adaptations on film real quick. To be completely transparent, before today...I’ve only seen one adaptation of the play: Franco Zeffirelli’s excellent 1968 turn on it, and it’s a fantastic adaptation at that. Sone of you, however, may now be realizing that, if I’ve only seen one adaptation of the play...there’s an extremely glaring omission to my film repertoire.

Yeaaaaaaaaah...we’ll get there, I promise.

But, of course, the adaptations only scratch the surface of this plays influence. See, the whole point of the rivalry between the Montagues and the Capulets is that it’s SO OLD, that nobody truly remembers why it started in the first place. Because of that, other romance films have sought to supply a reason for that rivalry.

In other words, the two protagonists destined to fall in love often come from two backgrounds, if not families, that class. And, yes, only ONE FILM that I’ve watched this month doesn’t do that. Dirty Dancing and The Notebook make their “ancient grudge” class-based; low-class vs. upper-class. Even You’ve Got Mail makes it about money, although that one’s a little more of a stretch. In any case, versions of this trope have lasted for centuries, and it’s...maybe poisoned romantic cinema? I mean, there’s a reason they all seem similar. They’re all taking from a classic. And, yeah, more of them than you’d think use this formula. I mean...

Hell, if you think about it, both of them are technically dead by the end.

Anyway, jumping right smack dab into the ‘90s, where teen heartthrob of the decade, Leo DiCaprio himself, is cast to play the titular teen boy, and sort-of popular at the time Claire Danes is cast as the titular teen girl. Put them together, and you have a hatred that will last for centuries. Because yeah, they HATED each other apparently. Let’s watch! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

...Look, here’s a quick recap of a story that EVERYBODY KNOWS.

Two families hate each other, and each has a teenage kid; a boy named Romeo and a girl named Juliet. They see each other at a party, they IMMEDIATELY get those teenage hormones a flowing and fall in love at first sight. They talk a few times, then decide to get married. Romeo’s friends say, “Dude, her family’s all dicks,” and Romeo says “naw, dude, she’s hawt,” They hook up, and they get secret-married. But, since they can’t be together in life, and since Juliet’s supposed to marry a whole other dude, Juliet runs to the priest and says, “hey, fake my death real quick?” He gives her a potion, she pretends to be dead, Romeo finds out (after one of his friends is killed by Juliet’s cousin), and runs to her side. Dude then ACTUALLY kills himself with poison, only for Juliet to wake up, see his dead body, and then kill HERSELF with a KNIFE, and then the families find out, and the Prince comes by and just says, “Goddamn, you guys are dicks. So much so that you killed your kids, congrats.” And that’s the end.

Yeah. Two hours of play and movie (nice touch, by the way, Luhrman) compressed into a paragraph. And yet...I’m still gonna recap this movie. Glutton for punishment, I guess. And with that said...

It all starts with a newscaster, speaking the lines of the Prologue in the guise of a newscast, which is...very neat, actually! That’s followed by...Pete Postlethwaite saying the whole thing over again, backed by a hell of a lot of fast cut editing.

...Oh God, it’s a Luhrmann movie. I forgot. Also, uh...really trying to stretch out that runtime to make that 2-hour mark, huh, Bazzie? I admire that you’re trying to stick to that “two hour-stage” quote from the Prologue, really I do...but you had to repeat the Prologue TWICE to do that?

As the lines flash on screen, we’re also introduced to out major players, whom I’ll just introduce as they come up. After a little montage of the movie to come, and a confirmation that the ancient grudge has broken out into a gang war on the streets of Verona Beach (clever), we jump in the car of a few Montagues: Sampson (Jaime Kennedy), Benvolio (Dash Mihok), and Gregory (Zak Orth).

At a gas station, they meet some Capulets, specifically Abra (Vincent Laresca) and a few others. After some thumb-biting, they all draw their swords. Which are guns that have sword written on them. Well, that’s just silly.

This standoff is interrupted by the arrival of another Capulet: Tybalt (John Leguizamo). This, of course, leads to a swordfight (ugh), during which all players are, just...REAL dramatic with their movements, holy shit. In the process, Sampson’s shot (or...stabbed, I dunno), and the gas station explodes.

It’s war in the streets now, as Tybalt and Benvolio are eventually intercepted by Captain Prince (Vondie Curtis-Hall), the chief of police for Verona Beach. He reads out his rage upon the heads of the families. For the Montagues, these heads are Ted (Brian Dennehy) and Caroline (Christina Pickles); and for the Capulets, they’re Fulgencio (Paul Sorvino) and Gloria (Diane Venora). Is...is the grudge taking place because one of them is named “Ted,” and the other is FUCKING “FULGENCIO”? Because that’s one hell of a dichotomy.

Captain Prince lets them all off with a warning (I mean, no, they should ALL be arrested), and Caroline and Ted question the whereabouts of their melodramatic emo son. That son is, of course, Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio), who laments poetically about how fucked up his family is.

Hanging out at a decrepit carnival (because of course he is), he’s soon found by Benvolio, and he laments on the lack of love between their two families. They bond over talk of women, and decide to secretly go to a party held by the Capulets that night to check out some girls.

Meanwhile, Fulgencio is speaking about this whole mess to Dave Paris (Paul Rudd). D...Dave? Really? We’re keepin’ fuckin’ Benvolio and Balthasar, but we had to name Paris DAVE? Guys, a little consistency with the name shit, PLEASE! Anyway, Dave (uuuuugh) is the governor’s son, and very wealthy, while also being a suitor for Fulgencio’s daughter.

That daughter is, of course, Juliet (Claire Danes), who’s being attended by her vain mother and kindly Nurse (Miriam Margoyles). As her mother’s preparing for the party, she talks up Paris as a suitor, although Juliet doesn’t seem SUPER into it. And s the Nurse tells her to “seek happy nights to happy days,” we go to Sycamore Grove, and to another party.

And this is where we meet my favorite character (everybody’s favorite character, let’s be honest): Mercutio (Harold Perrineau). Mercutio has been invited to the Capulet’s party, and invites Romeo to come along, in disguise. In the process, he gives one of the play’s most famous monologues: Queen Mab’s Speech. It’s truncated here, ad to be frank, Perrineau’s performance is a bit...over the top. But, it ends up to be fairly effective.

Also, Queen Mab is ecstasy. Yeah, that kinda dulled by enthusiasm for the whole enterprise, I ain’t gonna lie. But Romeo lies with Queen La, and they head to the Capulet’s party. And we’re about to hit PEAK LUHRMANN, people.

Look, I’m lame, I’ve never really done drugs, ecstasy included...but it FEELS like I’ve taken something now. And Romeo’s now trying to sober-up a bit. He dunks his head into a sink in the bathroom, and looks at a tropical aquarium that’s in there. And through that aquarium...

However, Juliet’s quickly spirited away by Nurse, and brought to dance with Dave. Romeo, meanwhile, gives his “Did my heart love till now” speech, and DOESN’T SAY THAT SHE DOTH TEACH THE TORCHES TO BURN BRIGHT??? Seriously, the beginning of that speech is completely deleted. That line, in and of itself, should’ve been left in.

Anyway, Romeo and Juliet speak, and the teenagers kiss...a lot. And yeah, they do kiss in this scene in the ply, but not that much. Immediately afterwards, they discover their family alliances, and Romeo and Mercutio flee the party. Romeo heads back soon after, and, well...you know the line. But soft...

This movie...LOVES water, huh? We see both Romeo and Juliet from underwater at separate points, they see each other for the first time through an aquarium, they’re making out in a pool right now. I mean, I’m sure there’s some symbolism to that, but I’m not sure what it is yet.

Anyway, the two starcross’d lover come just short of crossing stars, and they IMMEDIATELY get engaged to marry.

After a bit of ‘90s music whiplash, we meet Father Laurence (Pete Postlethwaite), a botany-loving priest, and soon-to-be ally to the young couple. Romeo asks Laurence to wed them, despite the fact that Romeo actually was in love with a woman named Rosaline. But, yeah, she’s one of the unseen casualties of this play, only sometimes making it into adaptations. As Romeo speaks to the Priest, I think this is a great time to mention that there is a FUCKTON of Jesus and Christian imagery in this movie. Water and Jesus, goddamn.

The Priest agrees, believing that a marriage between the two could bring peace to Verona Beach at last. We also get a bunch of quick edits showing various parts of the Luhrmann Shakespeare Cinematic Universe, all backed by a choir boy singing “When Doves Cry.” This is an...unusual movie.

It also seems that Tybalt has issued a challenge against Romeo, which Mercutio and Benvolio muse upon. They meet with Romeo on the beach, and as they hang around, their revelry is interrupted by the arrival of the Nurse. She gives him a warning not to fuck with Juliet’s heart, which he says that he won’t, as they’re planning on marrying. She appears to approve, but Mercutio seems not to. Definitely going with a more superficially mercurial take on the character, which fits. But that’ll be more apparent later.

Nurse goes to Juliet, and...OK, is she supposed to be Italian or Hispanic? Because I feel like I’m supposed to be mildly offended, but I don’t even know what she’s going for here. Anyway, the wedding time approaches, and the two get wed in secret. But on the beach, Tybalt has come to go after Romeo. Romeo tries to make amends, even giving up his “sword” to him, much to Mercutio’s anger. Which, uh...he’s not gonna stand for.

And, of course, Mercutio’s fatally stabbed while defending Romeo’s honor. He lays A PLAGUE O’ BOTH THEIR HOUSES, and dies. Romeo’s PISSED, and immediately goes to kill Tybalt. That leads to Romeo’s banishment, although they consummate their marriage before he takes off. Also, Juliet KNOWS that he KILLED HER COUSIN...but it’s Leo, I guess, and...hormones.

Romeo’s banished and goes to Mantua, AKA a trailer park in the middle of the desert. Juliet, meanwhile, is commanded by her father to marry Paris, although she REALLY isn’t into it now! She goes to Laurence and, yeah, threatens to kill him AND herself if he doesn’t have an idea. Hormones, man. They’ll fuck you UP.

Laurence’s solution, of course, is to have Juliet pretend to have killed herself by drinking a potion. No idea why he comes up with this idea, or has the skill to make the potion, but some questions aren’t meant to be asked or answered. He also says to that he’ll send a litter to Romeo, to let him know what the deal is.

Juliet pretends to kill herself, and it interred with her relatives. Meanwhile, Romeo’s cousin Balthasar (Jesse Bradford) comes by the desert, having just gone to Juliet’s funeral, and tells him that Juliet’s dead. And since Romeo never got the goddamn letter, he’s decided, “Well! Guess I’m gonna kill myself.”

He gets some poison, then goes to Juliet’s tomb, which is...decked in neon crosses. I mean, it looks nice, even it’s very, uh...over the top. Goddamn.

And, at this point, you know how this goes. Romeo drinks the poison and dies, Juliet wakes up JUST after, then kills herself as well, and the parents of both parties arrive to see them both dead, along with the Prince, who says “Y’ALL ARE DICKS,” and bounces.

That’s Luhrman’s Romeo + Juliet. And it’s a movie. Yeah, that I’ll give you. What did I think? What rating does it get? Well...I’ll elucidate in the Review.

[psycho-slytherin]

Sinner

In which Romeo hates Juliet, but not as much as Juliet hates Romeo.

Pairing: Actor!Jimin x Reader

Genre: fluff; drama; enemies to idiots to lovers

Warnings: Swearing, Old English

WC: this was gonna be a drabble 5k

A/N: A happy, happy, happy birthday to my most beautifullest darlingest @chimchimsauce. Congrats! I hope you have a fantastic day and ily!!! <3

|mlist|

“But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief. See how she leans her cheek upon her hand– Oh, that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!”

You look out into the darkness, sighing. “Ay, me.”’

“She speaks. Oh, speak again, bright angel!”

“Romeo, Romeo…” you wring your hands. “Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father, and refuse thy name. Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love–” your voice catches. “And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.”

~~~

“Some shall be pardoned, and some shall be punished. For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”

You hold your breath, waiting in the wings. There’s a pause, silence, before…

Thunderous applause rings through the theater. You peek around the curtain and see some audience members already on their feet. Yes! The applause rises in volume by the end of curtain call, when you and your Romeo step back onstage to bow once, twice, give credit to the orchestra, bow again, and done. 

“Did you see that?” Hoseok, who plays Mercutio, whoops before chugging the rest of his beer. “Standing ovation, bitches, for a touring production! That’s what I’m talkin’ about!”

You smile from the corner of the green room. You’re happy onstage, but you can’t help but let your natural shyness come into play when you’re back to playing… well, yourself.

“Let’s hear it for the stars of our show– Juliet and Romeo!” Momo, the costume designer and your best friend on tour, nudges you forward. Across the room, Hoseok is doing the same to your Romeo. Oy vey.

You press your lips together. “Hello, Jimin.”

“Y/n.” 

“Damn, not even a greeting?”

“I’d rather save my breath for the stage.”

You feel the deep, familiar coil of rage in your stomach begin to tighten. This guy… “I’m sure pretending you have a heart saps most of of your strength.”

“At least I can pretend decently, since it’s my job. What’s yours?”

“Hey, hey, let’s keep it civil.” Hoseok moves in between you two. “Alike in dignity, right? It’s Friday night, there’s no matinee tomorrow… let’s party like it’s 1391!”

The cast and crew cheer as they load into multiple SUVs, surely headed for the nearest bar.

“You sure you don’t want to go?” Momo asks, poking your arm as the cars leave. 

“And spend more time than I have to with a certain coworker?” You wrinkle your nose, grabbing your things from your locker. You’ve already changed back into your civilian outfit, a longsleeved shirt tucked into loose pants. “I’ll pass.” 

“Don’t let him ruin your night, y/n. He’s the devil, and he’s got an ego as big as his dick is small.”

You snort. “Classy.”

“Like, okay, let’s be honest, he is hot.”

That, you can’t deny. “But he knows it, which makes him more of an annoyance. Ever since I landed this role he’s been so rude and entitled!”

“It’s ‘cause he thinks he’s such a panty-dropper, and how dare you not sleep with him.” Momo giggles. “I’ll bet you money that he doesn’t spend tonight alone.”

You feel a pang in your chest at the idea of Jimin spending the night with some faceless beauty. God, you hate him. “How come Casanova Montague is getting more action than me?”

“I’ll tell you how– he’s at the bar right now, meeting and seducing people. He’s playing Romeo, the flirt that makes the first move. Now stop being shy little Juliet, go out, and get some!” Momo strides to the costume closet and pulls out a leather… thing.

“What’s that?”

Your friend huffs. “It’s a dress. And it’s your ticket to showing up Park Jimin tonight.”

You laugh, examining the outfit. “Not only did I say I wasn’t going out, this probably doesn’t fit me, and who says I care about showing up Jimin?”

“Not only are you friends with the resident fashion guru, but you also deserve a fun night out! All you’ve done this tour is get through the show and head to the hotel. Which means the only guy you’ve kissed for two months is a prettyboi with his head so far up his ass that his headvoice is his belt.” Momo thrusts the leather number at you. “Now go change. I don’t care what demons I have to summon to have this dress fit you, we’ll make it happen.”

~~~

“Why did I agree to this?” You say through a forced smile, your back to the wall. You tug at the hem of the dress, attempting to cover more of your thighs. You’ve worn revealing costumes onstage before, sure, but that’s not you.

“You never really agreed, actually, you’re just too weak to fight me.”

“You said a bar, Momo, this is a club. People are dancing! I can’t dance!”

“I can’t believe I need to tell a professional actress to let loose and have fun. I hear wild stories about your cast parties all the time!” Momo looks effortlessly flawless in a loose red top and shorts, and she actually seems comfortable in the loud, warm, energetic setting.

“Y/n’s never been to our troupe’s cast parties,” Yoongi, the cast’s Benvolio, approaches and slings an arm around you. You and Yoongi have always had good banter, and at first you mistook his wisecracking for flirting. Now you know better.

“Because I want to be able to walk the next day, maybe?” You laugh, stealing his beanie. Or because Jimin is there.

“It’s an important bonding ritual!”

“Getting drunk and high with Park Jimin is the last thing I’d ever want to do,” you announce dryly. 

“Don’t worry, Sunshine.” Even with the blaring music, you hear his voice clearly. “It’s not on my list of priorities either.”

You jump, seeing your costar approach. “Jimin!”

Jimin rolls his eyes. “No, please, go back to talking about me. I was so invested.”

You clench your jaw in frustration and Yoongi chuckles nervously. “That’s my cue, ladies and gents. Momo, care to get a drink?”

Momo looks from you to Jimin with worried eyes and you nod at her– you’ve never needed help dealing with Park Jimin. 

The two leave and, despite the crowded club, it feels as though you and Jimin are alone. You hate to admit it, but in his civilian clothes he looks really, really hot. 

“Complaining about me behind my back? That’s really mature, y/n.” Jimin runs his hands through shiny black hair, his tight shirt straining to accommodate muscles that you’ve never noticed through the Romeo costume.

“Would you rather I complain to your face? Because that I wouldn’t mind.”

“I’d rather you keep your pretty mouth shut offstage– maybe onstage too, so I don’t have to spend half my performance making up for yours.”

The familiar fury that Jimin always manages to trigger tinges your vision red. You stomp closer to him, your heeled boots bringing you to eye level with Jimin, your blood boiling beneath your skin. “Why do you hate me so much? I earned this role. I do the work. I get results. You don’t do anything besides stand there and look good. You barely deserve to be an understudy!”

Jimin mirrors your movement, drawing closer to you before smirking. You’re almost nose to nose, so close you can feel his breath on your lips, and you almost shiver when he speaks. “You think I look good?”

“You– ugh!” You’re so tempted to wind up and punch the guy but you can’t afford to get in trouble. “The only one who thinks you’re good-looking is you, Jimin, and given that your personality archetype is ‘Entitled Swine’ you’re goddamn lucky you’ve got that going for you.”

“Ooh, perfect Juliet can swear.”

“Dumbass Romeo can leave.”

“At least this dumbass can dance.” With that, Jimin turns on his heel and makes his way to the crowded dance floor before stopping and looking back at you over his shoulder. “Admiring the view? Or you just hate to admit that you can’t dance?”

A very small voice in your psyche pipes up: Is he trying to reverse-psychology me into dancing in order to make fun of me?

Nah, he wouldn’t be that conniving or immature. You’re sure Jimin is happy just rubbing your nose in your skills… or lack thereof.

Hey, just because you said you can’t dance doesn’t give him the right to make fun of you. You’re half tempted to follow him onto the dance floor, join the mass of sweaty, tipsy, hormonal bodies… and just act like you belong.

But that’s not you. You glare at Jimin before moving to find Momo. You encounter her at the bar, along with Yoongi and Hoseok. Namjoon, who plays Lord Capulet, is there as well, and his eyes light up when he sees you. “Hey, our star decided to join us for once!”

“Y’all are making me feel like I live under a rock,” you complain. “I just like sleep.” Or, you’re just trying to avoid Jimin as much as possible.

“Then girl, you picked the wrong career. Why do you even do stage plays if you’re so uptight?” Hoseok is clearly well on his way to drunk, not that he needs alcohol to speak his mind.

“I-I-” You look down, embarrassed. “It’s different when I’m acting. I’m not uptight on stage. I just get nervous when I’m being myself, I guess.”

Momo slams back a shot. “That’s it!” she gasps, her face contorting as the liquor sears her throat. “That’s how you can loosen up tonight. Act!”

You look down at the foreign leather dress. It does feel like you’re already wearing a costume. 

“Hey, I can get behind that! Y/n, be someone else for the night!” Yoongi winks. “Someone confident!”

“Someone exciting!” Namjoon chimes in.

Momo grins. “I’d say someone sexy, but you’ve got that down. Go, channel Romeo for a bit.”

“But, uh… how do I start?”

Yoongi gets a mischievous gleam in his eye. “By dancing.”

You look over. The dance floor is dimly lit, save for a multicolored pulsing light show. Jimin is somewhere on that floor, probably looking as comfortable as he does onstage.

“Momo, come with me?” You ask desperately. You’ll do this, but you don’t want to be without backup.

“Of course! But first, a round of shots. And two for my girl here! A toast to y/n, and whoever she’ll become!”

“Oh, I don’t like drinking,” you say.

“Yeah, but your new persona does!” Momo replies, and you laugh. Surrounded by your coworkers, your friends, you feel more comfortable than before. As you relent, downing shots in quick succession, you feel… different. Confident. The alcohol wouldn’t affect you so quickly, right? When you rise, you stand straighter, at last at home in the tight leather. Whoever you are now, she likes feeling sexy. She doesn’t mind attention. And she doesn’t care if Park Jimin says she can’t dance.

“Let’s go, Momo.”

Your friend whoops. “Bye, boys! We’re gonna have ourselves some fun!”

Together, you join the crowd on the dance floor. The DJ is playing some electronic music you don’t recognize– but it’s got a strong beat, and that’s all you need. Momo is a fantastic dancer and you follow her lead: you jump, shimmy, and spin. The real you would feel awkward as hell, your body would seem clunky and unfamiliar. But now, with the lights down low and the music blaring, all you feel is adrenaline.

“That guy is making eyes at you!” You shout in Momo’s ear to be heard over the music. She turns and checks out the man who’s been looking her way the past two songs. “Ooh, he’s cute. But I’m here with you, y/n!”

You flash her a smile. “Who’s y/n? I can handle myself fine, darling. Talk to him if you want!”

“You sure you won’t mind?”

What are you doing? This isn’t you. It’s not even drunk you. It’s different. You wouldn’t want to be this girl every day, but for right now… you’re relishing in the feeling. You love it. This is acting.

“I’m sure.” You wink. “And have fun!”

Momo dances her way over to the guy, who breaks into a grin when he sees her headed towards him. You turn your attention back to the music, the melodies you don’t recognize, the beat you feel in your bones. You’re not y/n, you’re just one messy soul among dozens swaying to the same song.

The spell is broken when you feel a hand on your ass.

“Hey beautiful…” a husky voice growls in your ear, his chest pressing into your back. You want to yell, hit him, anything, but terror floods you and you feel frozen to the spot. “That dress looks great on you. It’d look better on my bedroom fl– oof!”

You turn just in time to see the man double over, and standing above him is Jimin, looking angrier than you’ve ever seen him.

“You don’t get to touch her,” he growls, “ever.”

“J-Jimin?”

He glances at you, eyes softening. “Are you okay?”

“I- yeah.” You feel nervous again, your new persona having slipped for a second.

“I’m gonna get security to throw this scumbag out. I’ll see you later, y/n, okay?” He nods at you and melts into the crowd, dragging the creep with him.

“Y/n? Oh my god, what happened?” Momo asks, appearing beside you.

You stare after Jimin. “I don’t know.”

~~~

You silently pretend to have a conversation, yet you feel his eyes burning into you. 

“Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.”

You’re oblivious, you can’t hear him, you’re super engaged in this fake conversation.

As Lord Capulet argues with Tybalt, played by your friend Taehyung, you allow yourself to sneak a glance at Jimin. It’s your first performance together since Friday night at the club– your understudy took on Saturday’s show, and Jimin’s played on Sunday. The whole weekend has passed and even now, Monday, you can’t stop thinking about that night. Why should Jimin care if you were getting harassed? Sure, it was probably him feeling protective of a fellow cast member, or just being a decent human being for once. Still, that raw fury in his voice... before you know it, it’s time for your first scene with your Romeo.

Jimin takes your hand. He really is handsome with stage makeup on, not that you notice or care. Though his body is angled towards the audience, his eyes bore into yours. “If I profane with my unworthiest hand, this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.”

And, still staring at you, he presses his lips to your hand. His gaze is so intense that if you didn’t utterly despise him, you might have felt flustered.

The scene continues, and before you know it…

“Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake,” you say your line teasingly. Your characters are young, and flirting. Despite your and Jimin’s true feelings for each other, you both agreed to leave your rivalry in the dressing room.

“Then move not, while my prayer’s effect I take.” Jimin draws you in, like he’s done a hundred times in a dozen cities, and lightly touches his lips to yours. “Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged.”

“Then have my lips the sin that they have took,” you manage, breathless. You turn away, hiding your face, before Jimin takes your hand and whirls you around. You end up pressed against him, much closer than the blocking you had rehearsed, but it does make the scene more intimate.

“Sin from thy lips?” Jimin cups your cheek– his hand seems extra soft today– and tilts your chin up. “Oh, trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again.” And this kiss is nothing like the first, no, it’s desperate, messy, hormonal, secret, his plush lips move against yours hungrily and his tongue–

Eventually you pull away, almost lightheaded. You hate him, and you hate to admit it, but… “You kiss by the book.” Especially tonight.

After curtain call, you’re changing in the dressing room when Momo pokes her head in. “Yoo-hoo! How’s my favorite Juliet?”

“Hey!” Hyuna, your understudy, complains good-naturedly. 

“I heard the kiss scene today was intense,” Momo continues, helping you out of your costume. “Do I sense underlying sexual tension?”

You roll your eyes, swatting your friend. “As if, darling. My standards have yet to fall low enough for Park Jimin.”

A knock at the door startles you. “Who is it?”

The voice makes your heart drop into your stomach. “The walls aren’t soundproof, darling, and you’re right next to the men’s dressing room,” says… shit. Jimin.

“Oh damn, he heard that?”

Momo flaps her hand dismissively. “Since when have you cared about speaking your mind around Jimin?”

“I…” You shake your head. “You’re right, I don’t.” Right?

Once you’ve changed, you shoulder your bag and head down the hall. You’re almost to the door when Jimin steps out of the green room. “Well, if it isn’t Miss High Standards.”

You sigh inwardly. You haven’t spoken face to face with him since Friday, and you’re too tired to fight Jimin right now. “I’m sorry you had to hear that.”

“Wow, y/n apologizing? Let me mark the date on my calendar, we’ll call it a holiday.”

“Whatever, Jimin.” You’re so tired of arguing with him every single day.

“No comeback? What’s gotten into you?” Underneath the snark in his tone, he almost sounds concerned… or so you’d think, if you didn’t know him better.

“Y/n, a bunch of us are going out tonight, want to come?” Taehyung calls behind Jimin.

You nearly laugh. Given how Friday went? “No thanks, I’m just gonna go back to the hotel.” With a curt nod to Jimin, you continue to the back door.

“Alright, good performance tonight,” Tae replies.

“You too.” You call a taxi and head to the hotel. You’re rooming with Hyuna, but if you know her at all you know she won’t be sleeping in her own bed tonight.

After brushing your teeth and hair, you take a breath and finally relax. Even when you’re offstage, at work it feels as though you have to be ��on’ all the time. And with Park Jimin around, you can never let your guard down. It’s nice to have this time alone and finally wind down. You pull your sudoku book from your purse and curl up in bed to work on the puzzles. You like reading, but ever since high school you felt most at peace when you were able to channel your focus into problem-solving. Back home, that meant doing puzzles. On tour, your sudoku book is much more portable. It’s nearing midnight when you hear a knock on your door.

That’s weird. “Hyuna?” You call, padding to the door and pulling it open. “Did you lose your key ag-”

“Hi,” Jimin says.

What.

Your mind goes through about nine stages of panic, and for lack of a better plan you swing the door closed, with Jimin still on the other side.

“Uh… y/n?”

Your mind a whirling dervish, you can do nothing more than stare at the door. What is he doing here? Why is Jimin, of all people, outside your door? Sure, the whole cast is rooming on the same floor, but that doesn’t explain why he’s here. Is he hooking up with Hyuna? Does he need to borrow some toothpaste? Did he lose the revised blocking script?

Does he… want to talk to you? A rush of guilt nearly topples you. Did you really just close the door on him?

Wait, it’s Park Jimin. You hate Park Jimin. You should slam a door in his face, as regularly as possible. 

“W-what do you want?” you squeak, inwardly cursing. Get a hold of yourself. You’ve dealt with Jimin ever since the first table read, so why are you nervous now?

Jimin’s reply, though muffled through the door, sounds almost...sheepish. “I just want to talk.”

“Since when do you ‘just want to talk’ to me?”

“Can you just open the door, y/n? My ego is hurting enough as it is.”

What does he mean by that? Your curiosity alone is enough to make you open the door. Jimin is standing there, his cheeks tinged red, holding out a bottle.

“What’s this?” You take the bottle from his outstretched hand. It’s cold.

“Call it… a peace offering.”

“Champagne?”

“Sparkling apple cider. I noticed you don’t like to drink.”

“Oh.” You can think of nothing else to say– what is going on? “Uh, thanks. Do you want to come in, or…?”

“Actually…” Jimin shifts from side to side. “Do you want to go for a walk? The walls in the rooms are pretty thin.”

Befuddled, you follow him into the elevator, watching as he presses the R button.

“Roof, huh?” You finally have your voice back. “Is this it? Are you at last gonna murder me?”

“Yep, that’s definitely what’s going on here,” Jimin replies sarcastically, taking the bottle from your hand. “And apple cider is my weapon of choice.”

“Seriously, Jimin, what’s this about?” you ask as the elevator stops and you step out. “I mean, it’s not like you to– woah.”

Stars. Hundreds, thousands of stars blanketing the night sky, more than you’ve ever seen in your two months on tour. Spending all your time in big cities meant light pollution got in the way of stargazing but here, above the busy city streets…

“So pretty,” you whisper. “And the moon is so bright!” So much for being a snarky force of nature– you really, really missed the stars.

“Stars, in your multitudes…” you sing under your breath, forgetting who you’re with, where you are. 

“Scarce to be counted, filling the darkness with order and light.” Jimin’s rich tenor voice chimes in behind you. “Always a sucker for Les Miz. Apple cider?”

“There aren’t any cups.”

Jimin pries off the bottlecap and takes a swig directly from the bottle. “Who needs ‘em?”

“Really, Jimin, where’s all this coming from? Why are you being… well, nice?”

“Who says I’m being nice?”

You stare at him, unamused, although it’s too dark to tell if he’s noticed.

“Alright, alright. Look, I just…” Jimin’s words turn soft, and he sits down. You settle next to him. “I wanted to apologize for how I’ve behaved lately. You’re right, I’ve been an utter cock. My behavior, the shit I’ve said to you… it’s probably unforgivable. I wouldn’t blame you for getting up and leaving. I acted completely unprofessional, and created a bad working and social environment for you. I’m–” he pauses, takes a breath. “Y/n, I’m really, truly sorry.”

Well. He sounds genuine. But how can you trust Park Jimin? “Why were you always so hard on me?”

Jimin sighs. “I’m not going to try to justify my behavior. I’m not always the friendliest guy at work, but, uh…” he takes another swig of the cider. “Damn, now I wish this was alcoholic.”

You steal the bottle and take a drink yourself. “You were saying?”

“This sounds childish, god. The last troupe I was in, before I joined this production… my girlfr- ex-girlfriend at the time was an actress too. She wanted to do screen work but she wasn’t finding opportunities, and I introduced her to our director. She made a good impression and joined the troupe– we toured with In The Heights, I was Usnavi and she got Vanessa.”

“So you played love interests onstage? Neat.”

“It was, yeah… until we broke up. She’d been sleeping with the director, of all people.” The hurt and betrayal in Jimin’s voice is so potent you feel an urge to comfort him. But it’s Park Jimin, how do you know he’s telling the truth?

“There were still two months left in the tour– so even after we broke up, even after she cheated on me, I still had to kiss her and act like I was in love.”

“Jimin, I’m sorry…” you murmur. You want to reach out and touch his shoulder, but would that be inappropriate?

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be dumping this on you. The truth is, when I first saw you, and saw you were cast as Juliet, I got nervous. You’re smart, funny, talented, beautiful…”

“I’m sorry, did you just compliment me?”

“And I was honestly scared of falling for you. I didn’t want to go through that again. But how I acted was awful– Momo told me Friday that the reason you didn’t join our cast parties or nights out was because you wanted to avoid me. I didn’t realize what a toxic environment I was making it for you.”

“Oh, I mean…” dammit, Momo.

“When I first met you, I figured you’d be meek, a pushover. You were so nervous! I didn’t expect you to bite back,” Jimin laughs. “I never should have messed with you. You can fend for yourself better than anyone.”

“I guess you weren’t alone in escalating things,” you admit. “It’s not like I was nice to you either. I’m sorry for talking behind your back– and to your face.”

There’s a moment of thoughtful silence. You feel more relaxed than before, which is nice.

“Did you listen to the new Mean Girls musical?” Jimin asks suddenly.

“A few times, yeah. Why?”

Jimin lays back and points at the sky. “I see stars, so many stars tonight, you could make diamonds dull, you are so beautiful~”

You suddenly regret that your troupe is performing Shakespeare and not a musical. How you’d love to hear that clear, emotional tone every night. “You sound great.”

“Oh, ah…” Jimin’s voice rises in pitch. “Thanks.”

“Y’know, I never thanked you for helping me out on Friday with that dude.”

“Anyone would do the same.”

“But you’re the only one that did. I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome. That guy is part of the reason I came here tonight, actually.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Obviously you’re a human being and also a troupe member, so those are two good reasons I didn’t want him to harass you. Later, though… jeez, this makes me sound like such a yandere… I dunno. I got so mad at that asshole, and I realized it’s because I care about you as more than just a troupe member.”

“What? J-Jimin?”

“And the show today. I feel like such an idiot, but I have to know: did the kiss scene today… did it feel different to you?”

Is that a tremor you hear in his voice? Is Park Jimin, with his endless confidence, nervous? Because of you?

“It… yeah, it did. I thought you changed the blocking.”

“I thought you did.”

You laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. “What is going on?”

Your costar joins in, chuckling mirthfully. “I have no clue. But I like it.”

What’s it? Does it mean you? This? The two of you together? Because if so, you’re starting to like it too.

“I’m supposed to hate your guts, man. You can’t come here, acting all adorable, bringing me apple cider, and still expect me to hate you.”

“So you think I’m adorable?”

“That is not what I said. The only person who thinks you’re adorable is you.”

“How narcissistic do you think I am?”

“I never realized you had enough room in your heart for more than you, to be honest.”

“There’s enough room for you too,” Jimin whispers, contrasting with his fast-paced quips. 

What does he mean by that?

You sit back up, and Jimin joins you. You stare at the night sky shoulder to shoulder for a moment before you speak. 

“Y’know, Momo always said you were the devil,” you say, keeping your voice light. “But I thought the devil was too high-class. There’s only one Satan, you know. You’re just a regular sinner.”

“Oh, so I’m a sinner? Then give me my sin again.” And Jimin is right there, leaning forward, a thousand questions in his eyes and you answer every one by pressing your lips to his.

Suddenly you’re kissing Park Jimin, which you’ve done a thousand times, but this time it’s different. Jimin makes a happy little “mmph!” noise when you kiss him before snaking his hand into your hair and gently pulling you closer. You’re finally kissing him like no one’s watching– it feels so familiar, and yet entirely new. 

After not-long-enough, you pull away. “Should I say you kiss by the book or is that too cliche?”

“Well, I did fall for my beautiful costar who I specifically didn’t want to fall for– so I think we’re past cliches at this point.”

You laugh, a clear, genuine sound you thought Jimin would never hear. “I can’t believe this. Should I ask what happens now, or…?”

Jimin quiets. “I’m scared,” he admits. “I don’t want…”

Right, his ex. “The tour ends next month. Do you want to maybe… see where things go from there? Once we don’t have to be Romeo and Juliet?”

“Call me but love, and henceforth I will never be Romeo,” Jimin quotes. 

You swat him. “Nerd.”

“No, but that sounds good. Yeah, that sounds…” you can hear his grin, it sounds like sunshine and sugar. “That sounds really, really, good, y/n.”

“Good. So… now what?”

Jimin chuckles mischievously. “Give me my sin again?”

A/N: Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed, please don’t forget to like, reblog and/or comment. I really appreciate it! <3

[bella-spil]

2 Romeos & 1 Juliet- Part 3

Part 3 of the 2 Romeos and 1 Juliet series

Fem reader.

Warnings- a little bit of fluff, I think, attempted kiss, a little bit of cursing, idk if there's anything else.

Word Count: 3.5k

Taglist: @angrythingstarlight​ @kmuir1​ @sea040561​ @wednesday-add-em​ (Lmk if you wanna join!  The more the merrier!)

A/N: sorry this took a while!  I haven't had enough time lately, and ik this is a lameass excuse, but its true.  Idk when the next post will be, but hopefully soon.  Enjoy!

Finally, after an hour, you were ready for your date with Loki.  You left your hair down, naturally curly and wavy and full of life.  Bucky had told you where you would be going for your date, just to piss Loki off, so you put on a Billie Eilish T-shirt and jean shorts.  You wore a Billie beanie and white Air Force Ones.  Also, you had on a silver choker and a few of your favorite bracelets.  Your makeup was simple as well.  A small amount of foundation, blush and highlighter, as well as a neon eyeliner you found online and pink lipstick.

As you met Loki in the doorway, you thought he looked nice, compared to what he normally wore.  He wasn't in Asgardian leather like normal.  Loki was in a pair of black Levi pants and a faded black t-shirt.  His favorite color was black, so you didn't mind if he looked like a gothic teenager right now.  His hair wasn't as greasy as it always is.  He had it down, like yours, and little curls flowed through his hair.      

When you met Loki at the doorway, he marveled at the sight of you.  Even though you weren't dressed up, you looked just as beautiful, if not more.  Loki took in your appearance for quite a while, to the point where you had to clap to get him to refocus again. 

"Sorry about that," Loki apologized.  "Shall we be on our way, m'lady?"

"Yes sir," you grinned, and you followed him out to the car. 

After you left, Bucky was in the room as well.  He saw you go with Loki, and a small amount of jealousy boiled inside of him.  He wished he would be with you tonight.  He wished you were already falling for him.  He wished Loki wasn't in love with you and that he could have you all to himself. 

But, he also loved how you looked.  Everything from your hair to your shoes, you looked like a streetwear model.  Your clothes hugged your curves just right, your makeup was flawless and you were in such a good mood.  Bucky wanted to hold you close to him and not have to wait for a couple more weeks.  But he knew he would make you fall for him, sooner or later.  He would impress you even more than Loki.  And he knew just how to make you feel at the right time, something the God of Mischief wasn't the best at.  He would make you fall for him sooner or later, he knew it.  He depended on it.   

~~~

As you were in the car you and Loki talked about everything, from what you were expecting at the concert to what food you would be getting.  But Loki was the God of Mischief, so he always had a surprise up his sleeve.

"So do you know where the concert is?" you asked, as you saw a sign on the highway.  The sign said "New York City" so you had a few ideas for where it might be.

"Madison Square Garden," Loki answered, eyes still on the road.

"Cool!  I've always wanted to go there!" you smiled.

"Well, I'm glad I was able to make that happen." Loki grinned.

"Do you know what songs Billie is going to perform?" you asked

"As a matter of fact, I do," Loki said.  He handed you a list with all the songs she was going to be performing tonight.

 Billie Eilish 2020 tour 

Khalid will be performing first and with Billie.

 Khalid songs

"Eleven"

"Know your worth"

"Outta my head"

"Talk"

"Young, Dumb and Broke"

 Billie songs

"lovely"(with Khalid)

"bad guy"

"bellyache"

"bury a friend"

"COPYCAT"

"everything i wanted"

"hostage"

"idontwannabeyouanymore"

"i love you"

"my future"

"my strange addiction"

"ocean eyes"

"time to die"

"when the party's over"

"wish you were gay"

"xanny"

"youshouldseemeinacrown”

 "OMG!!!" you shrieked.  "Khalid is performing? Yes!!!"

"Yeah, he’ll be there," he said, clutching his head since your sudden scream had rattled something in his head. 

"I thought you didn't like Billie," you said.  "And sorry about the shout."

"First of all," Loki began.  "I accept your apology.  Second, I'll handle 3 hours of her music.  This is a date, and I want you to be happy.  When you're happy, I'm happy."

"Aww, you're being nice and stuff," you gushed, and he rolled his eyes at you.  You chuckle and pull a piece of his hair back behind his ear.  Loki was startled at the sudden contact, but he found himself trying to lean into your touch.  Your hands felt so good on him, and he wanted more touching than just pulling hair back.  

Loki took his right hand off of the steering wheel and placed it on your thigh.  He normally did this when you were going out for drives, but since it was a date, you felt a little tense.  But you didn't want to be rude and say anything.  So you just acted how you normally did when he did this, you placed your left hand on top of his.  Loki's heart always melted whenever you did this, but since he was taking you out, he felt his heart go from 0-100 in less than a second. 

"What time is the concert?" you asked, breaking the silence. 

"The concert starts at 8:00, but I figured we should get there about an hour earlier," Loki responded. 

“Why do we have to be there an HOUR early?” you groaned, rolling your head back into the seat, whining like a toddler.

"Because, we have to meet someone," Loki said, waiting for you to catch on.  After a few minutes of trying to process Loki’s words, you had an “aha” moment.

“No you didn't,” you realised.  You head shot back up from leaning on the seat to facing Loki. 

“Surprise,” Loki said.

 “Holy shit, you did.  THANK YOU SO MUCH!” you practically shouted, leaning into him for a side hug. 

“Anything for you," Loki blushed.  

“I have two more questions, then I'll let you have your peace and quiet." you said.

"Ugh, two more questions?" Loki teased and you hit him in the arm.

"First, where are we going to eat?” you asked.  You guys had been on the road for two hours.  Normally it takes an hour to get there, but because of the traffic, it was taking longer than normal.  You both assumed it was because of the concert, but there might be other events going on.

“There's this pizza place across the street if you wanna go there," Loki said, eyes still on the road.  “Or if you don't want that there's a chinese restaurant next to it."

“Chinese,” you answered almost automatically.   You liked pizza better, since it was NY pizza, the best pizza ever.  But you knew Loki's favorite food was chinese, so to make his day better, you were polite and let him get his food.

“Thanks, I know you are being polite,” Loki said.

“Hey, I'm trying to be nice,” you chuckled.  “Next question, where are you going to park?

Loki froze for a moment.  He didn't think of how jam packed the streets would be, so this might be a problem.  But, since he was the God of Mischief, he knew how to avoid a problem like the back of his hand.

“Don't worry, I'm just gonna use my magic to shrink the car to the size of a toy car,” Loki answered confidently.

“Like Antman?” you asked, letting your small, nerdy side come through.  Loki sighed and rolled his eyes at you.  You giggled like a fangirl at your stupid joke and let Loki continue driving.  

After another half an hour on the road, Loki stopped in front of Madison Square Garden.  You looked at the billboards, sparkling and flashing with different ads and products.  The streets were flooded with tourists and people waiting for the upcoming concert.  You loved how vibrant the city was and how full of life it seemed..  They didn't call New York City “The city that never sleeps” for nothing. 

“Ok, it's 5:30.” Lokin announced.

“Yeah that's pretty obvious,” you sighed.

“Do you want to eat now or-” Loki started but you cut him off.

“We.  Are.  Eating,” you stated.

“Ok then, lets go.” Loki said, taking your arm.  

He led you across the street of busy and honking cars to a Chinese restaurant.  The line was long, but since it was NYC, it took 5 minutes to wait and get your food.  The people who worked at the place knew how to serve people in lighting speed.  You were a little taken aback by how fast they were, but that quickly went away when you had food right in front of you.  

You got tons of General Chow's and Sesame chicken, lo mein, a small tub of soup and noodles, and three dumplings.  Loki got lo mein, General Chows chicken, rice with duck sauce, one dumpling and vegetables.  

As you sat down with Loki on the steps in front of Madison Square, you gagged when you saw the vegetables on his plate.  You hated vegetables with your life.  Since you lived in the mountains and were a wolf, you practically ate meat all the time.  You didn't understand how people could eat a weird looking plant.  It baffled you.  Loki laughed at your suffering and started eating his vegetables, looking you dead in the eyes, mocking you.

“Loki, I swear to god if you don't fucking stop that,” you said, giving him the death glare.

“First I am a God, sweetie,” he said.  “Second, that look your giving me reminds me of how Odin got when Thor flung Mjolnir out the window when we were kids.”

You laughed at his story and continued eating your food.  You ate the soup first, since you didn't want it to get cold, and you finished it in less than five minutes.  You ate your lo mein and chicken in another five minutes and you shoved your dumplings into your mouth in less than 2 minutes.  As you were eating you kept looking at all the flashing lights, busy streets and all the people.  It was so vibrant and different than what you were used to, so it was a nice change.

Loki wasn't as fast of an eater as you, so as he was eating, you stole some of his lo mein and chicken since he was taking so long.  He gave you a sad yet shocked look, but then he made a piece of chicken appear out of thin air and popped it into his mouth.

“So dramatic,” you rolled your eyes.  

Loki gave you a satisfied grin and continued eating.  After another 10 minutes, Loki finished eating, to your relief and cheers, and you both walked around Times Square together.  You passed the famous Macys store, Penn Station, The Empire State Building and a ton of other national monuments.  Before you knew it, it was 6:50, so you and Loki hurried to get back to Madison Square Garden to meet her.  

As you entered, it was already full of anxious fans, waiting for the show to begin.  Loki showed the people your tickets and they gave you both necklaces with a pass on it that said “Meeting Billie”.

As you made your way to Billie, tons of other fans were in front of you.  You didn't care because in the end, you would still meet her anyway.  Mostly, the fans were teenage girls, or girls that looked super depressed.  But when they met Billie, happiness surged through their bodies and they seemed like completely different people once they left.

When it was your turn, you took a deep breath, and made your way to your favorite artist.  

“Hey, whats up?” Billie asked you, and already you felt the butterflies soar in your stomach.

“Hi,” you answered calmly, not wanting to embarrass yourself.  “I love all of your music, by the way.  I love how they all mean something and how they tell a story in minutes, it's amazing!”

“Thanks, that means a lot,” Billie said, giving you a rare smile.  “I love your outfit by the way.  Your eyeliner will look sick in the lights.” 

“Thanks!” you gushed.  Loki gave an eye roll as he stood, watching you and Billie talk.  But it didn't slip past Billie.    

“Is that your boyfriend?” she asked, just loud enough for him to hear.

“Uhh..” Loki froze.  He looked at you, for help, but you just stood there, smirking at him.

“Whatever,” Billie smiled.  She leaned closer to your ear to whisper something to you.

“He looks so fucking emo, like a greasy raven,” she whispered, making you laugh.  You never knew Billie could pick on someone so easily, so you laughed hard enough to get Loki suspicious, but quiet enough to not be awkward.

“Let's take a photo, I have a feeling that i'm gonna get yelled at if we keep talking,” Billie sighed, not wanting this to end.  “Stick you tongue out.”

“Ok,” you agreed.  Then the cameraman counted down to one, and you and Billie posed for your photo.  As it came out, she signed it for you.  Then she saw Loki trying to read what she wrote.

“Don't let Greasy over there read this,” she smirked.

“Got it,” you smiled back.  She finished writing and handed it to you quickly so that Loki didn't catch it.  You folded it into the pocket of your shorts and waved Billie goodbye.

Then, you and Loki made your way to your seats.  They had an extremely good view.  You weren't standing, thankfully, but you were sitting close enough so that you could see what was going on.  You and Loki waited for less than an hour, and then the lights started to dim.  It was about to begin. 

Then, you saw someone rising out from underneath the stage, the lights flashed right on them, revealing the person as Khalid.  He turned around to face the crowd, receiving a ton of cheers and screams.

“What's up New York?” he asked, and the crowd shouted in response.  “Are you ready for tonight?” 

The crowd responded in claps and applause again, and Khalid got ready to perform his first song.  You recognized the music playing before he started singing.  

“Eleven” started playing and everyone cheered at the song.  Khalid started singing and everyone in the audience vibed along with him.  You were swaying your hands and hips with the beat and Loki tried hardest not to grab them and lean in for a kiss.  He was leaning back and forth with the rhythm too, but not as much as you.  Then, he started his next song, “Know your worth.”  Everyone was much more pumped for this one, since the song itself was a lot more upbeat.  Everyone in the crowd was dancing as Khalid kept singing, or trying to sing along with him.  Khalid was moving around the stage, high-fiving fans and just walking around to face others.  Then, before you knew it, that last song he performed, “Young, Dumb and Broke,” was over, but everyone knew what was coming next.  

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced, and the stage around him darker to the point where there was only one light shining down on him.  “It is my pleasure to introduce..”

Everyone literally couldn't wait anymore and just erupted in cheers and screams.  

“The one.  The only… BILLIE EILISH!!!” he screamed, just as excited as the crowd.  You and Loki cheered as the screen at the back of the stage turned on.  Smoke filled the stage and Billie appeared in a bright neon green look, matching her signature hair.  The screen showed animation of songs and bright colors. 

“Hey New York!!!” Billie shouted into the mic.  

Everyone got even louder than before and cheered till they couldn't anymore.  You cheered as loud as your throat allowed.  Then the music started playing, and Khalid and Billie were about to perform “lovely” one of your favorites songs.  Both artists stood next to each other, getting fueled by the fans cheering for them.  Billie cleared her throat and began singing, and the audience joined in with her.  Then Billie and Khalid performed their harmony, which made you soar to cloud nine.  The way their voices melted together was angelic.  Then Billie sang her high note and all the fans tried to do it, but it sounded like birds being electrocuted.  Khalid started singing his parts, with Billie cheering for him and then joining in on their second harmony.  Then, they got up to your favorite part of the song, the part where they do the “oohs” and “eheheeeah”.  As they started, everyone got quiet because they wanted to hear them singing.  They sang the parts and everyone cheered once they finished.  Loki even applauded, but not like a fangirl, just loud enough for you to hear. 

After they finished, they took a quick bow, and everyone clapped and screamed like crazy.  You thanked god that you had your phone, so you recorded the entire time they sang “lovely”.  You knew you would cherish that moment forever.  Even calmed down and Khalid exited the stage, leaving the show to the 18 year old.  

She talked about different things as she got breaks for water.  She performed your favorites, “my future”, “i love you”, “xanny”, “hostage”, “ocean eyes”, “COPYCAT” and a bunch of others that you loved.  Loki liked a few of the songs.  But not all of them, which you didn't understand since they were all killer.        

The rest of the night carried on in a haze.  You recorded most of the show, but when she was just talking, you stopped.  But Billie kept you entertained, she changed her outfits a couple of times, danced to the songs, interacting with the crowd and just having a good time like she always did.  Then she performed “youshouldseemeinacrown”, her final song of the night.  You got sad that it was ending, but Loki placed a comforting arm around you, just to remind you that he was there.  You hugged him back and then enjoyed the rest of Billie's performance.  After she finished, she thanked her fans and New York and then she left the stage, the cheers of the crowd following her.

The next few moments went by very quickly.  Loki grabbed your arm, trying to get out of there before you got slowed down by everyone else.  His actions worked and you avoided the slow goers.  Then you stood in front of Madison Square Garden and Loki got his car, or “toy car” as you called it, and transformed it into a normal sized car.  He beckoned you to the car, bowing and opening the door for you, but before you got in, you took one last look at the bright lights and busy streets of New York.

“I'll be back,” you whispered, before getting into the car.  Then Loki drove off, trying to avoid traffic, but also trying to get back to the Compound in one piece.

“So, how did you like it Y/N?” Loki asked as you pulled into the driveway of the Compound.

“Everything and more,” you answered, smiling at him.

“I'm glad you enjoyed it.  I love seeing you happy,” he said, giving you a look he never gave you before.  Something new flashed in his eyes, but you couldn't tell what it was.  You could feel a shift in the air, something that got you nervous and you didn't like it at all.  You smiled back at him, not wanting to show how uncomfortable you were.

Then Loki did something unexpected.  He leaned into you for a kiss.  You didn't know what to do, but you knew you weren't going to kiss him.  As he was getting closer, you backed away from him.

“Uh Loki, I.. uh” you started, trying to get him to stop. He backed off immediately, realizing he played the wrong cards at that moment.  He wanted to smack himself or send himself off to live with Hela, but he couldn't.

“I am so sorry,” he apologized.  “I thought that's what people did on the first date.”

“I am more of “a one step at a time” person,” you said, trying to come up with an excuse. 

“I understand, it's ok.” Loki said, regretting everything in the last two minutes.  “Let me just walk you to your room and we can end it there, ok?”

“Sure reindeer games,” you said, trying to clear the moment from your mind.  Loki and you got out of the car, and he led you back to your room.  He bade goodnight to you and left to go back to his room.  

Loki left your room in a hurry, still embarrassed from the little stunt he pulled earlier.  He thought before that you would kiss him back, like how it was in the movies.  Even though it didn't go according to plan, his feelings for you stayed the same.  He knew he liked you very much, and would do anything to win you over.  He thought he might love you, but that might be a little quick.  He was waiting for your date with Bucky, to see if anything changed.  He hoped not because something might happen then.

When he left you closed the door and headed to the bathroom.  You processed everything that happened tonight while taking a shower.  Everything happened so quickly that you took an even longer shower than normal to make sure everything that happened happened.  So far, your feelings for Loki haven't changed.  You never liked him how he liked you.  You only saw him as a friend.  

And same with Barnes.  But something inside you saw Bucky in a different light, not a close friend, but something more.  You brushed it off, like it never happened.  But you knew if this happened again, it would be for a reason.  You have never saw him like that.  But time would tell as your date with the Winter Soldier drew nearer.

[typicalmidnightsoul]

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓒𝓻𝓸𝔀𝓷 𝓟𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓼𝓼- Chapter 6

ℍ𝕒𝕝𝕗 𝕓𝕝𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕗 𝕤𝕚𝕝𝕜

I was made heavy half blade and half silk, difficult to forget but not easy for the mind to follow- Rupi Kaur

Chapter  1, 2, 3, 4 5 <- here

The dinner went fine. Elain was rigid next to Feyre watching as the others tried to mix with the people of Rask. Cassian had…words with Leona. Whether it was regarding Nesta or their shared experiences of being generals then royalty, Feyre did not know.  The Rask royal family was not that sociable, but how could they be when Nesta’s relationship with the court of dreams was jagged. Luna had taken a particular liking to Azriel who in turn blushed at her… advances, but for most of the time Audrey and Luna remained quiet their eyes on the door. Nesta had not shown up and just as they were about to leave without doing any alliance negations Nesta sent a note saying to start without her and that she would be there as soon as she could.

Amren sipped from the wine glass saying, “You would think being a Princess would make her punctual.”

Luna’s head snapped toward her, she lowered her eyebrows glancing at Jonah who in turn bared his teeth and said to Amren, “She is not just any odd person, she is the crown princess, and she has territories and people more important than the likes of you and your court of dreams to attend to.”

Amren gave a snake-like smile, “Tell me, did Nesta force you to be here?”

He looked her up and down, “Every single person you see here is here out of their own choice those who didn’t want to come didn’t.” He mock looked around, “Do you see Clare or Eris here?”

Amren was about to answer back-

“Enough.” Audrey spoke up, her eyes venomous, “We should discuss the matter holding up the treaty negotiations before Nesta gets here.”

“Wait before Nesta-”

Audrey nodded at Luna who cut Feyre off saying, “For this alliance to proceed all the territories of Rask will need to sign, if even one of them don’t the alliance will not go forward. My territory, Jonah’s and Leona’s refuse to sign until you agree to one condition.” She lifted her chin.

Rhys and Feyre exchanged a look,

“We would like to hear it first.” Feyre was sure that Rhys would give them whatever they wanted if only to assure the safety of the humans.

They all braced themselves eyes on Luna but it was Jonah who said,

“We would like you to accept this cheque of 20,000 gold marks.”

They all froze and stared with wide eyes.

“Accept?” Feyre asked in shock.

“Why would you want us to accept it?” Rhys asked his tone suspicious.

Leona looked at him eyes lit with a raging fire, “because we want to go into this relationship without any debts with you. We wouldn’t want to give you another opportunity to demean us or our other family members.”

“What debt?” Cassian ground out.

“The debt that my older sister has to you. The debt that you taunt Nesta with whenever an opportunity presents itself.” Jonah replied.

Cassian and Jonah stared each other down.

Until Jonah dragged his head to Rhys, “Will you accept?”

Rhys had that far-away look in his eyes that suggested he was conversing with his inner circle. A long time after he replied, “Nesta Archeron‘s expenses weren’t that much when she was in our care therefore we will accept half of what you are offering.”

Audrey gave them all a soft smile, “We will look forward to our alliance with you.”

“Is that it then?” Cassian asked leaning back into his chair, “Are we allies now?”

“There will obviously be a formal ceremony, but yes since all territories will have signed by tonight… we are, I guess, allies.”

Heels clicked into the restaurant, “That quick and without me?”

Nesta’s family beamed at her, a grin splitting on Jonah’s face. One that had to been there even when his mate had held his hand.

Caroline gesture for a waiter to get another chair but Nesta shook her head.

“I thought I would be needed for alliance negotiations but since I am not then it would be best for me to leave with Luna and Auj.”

Luna and Audrey raised a brow.

“We seem to have to solve a blood feud or we’ll have another Romeo and Juliet on our hands. Clare’s already there.” She went to walk out, Luna and Audrey getting up when Feyre stopped them.

“I would like to speak with Nesta.”

Luna sized up the space between them.

Audrey asked, “alone?”

Feyre froze, what did they think she would do to her sister? Kidnap her?

“Not alone but not publicly either.”

Audrey nodded and jerked her chin at Luna, “You go.” Feyre nodded at Elain to come as well.

Confusion ruffled Nesta’s beautiful face, but nonetheless she led them out to the garden below.

Luna gestured for Elain to sit with her at a nearby table and ordered tea and coffee.

Nesta leaned against the post of the gazebo that gave shelter to the diners outside, which there were none of as all the customers chose to dine on the roof for the view.

“So, what’s this about?”

Feyre knew Nesta would hate it if she beat around the bush. So she just said, “I am obviously mad at you for leaving. And I know that I must have instigated it but… let bygones be bygones. Let’s start over.”

Feyre stepped closer to her. Nesta stepped back.

“No I don’t think we should.”

Feyre flinched, “Why?”

She turned back, leaning back onto the fencing of the gazebo looking at the small, quiet little town before them.

“Do you know what you’re asking me to do? You’re asking me for the sake of your own guilt to forget the bitter behaviour I have experienced from you and your family. To forget Clare’s grieving face” Feyre opened her mouth but Nesta turned and held up a finger. “I know you think you avenged her but stabbing the attor will not bring back the Beddor family or ease Clare’s torment no matter how much conciliation it gives you.”

“Nesta I admit I may have unknowingly hurt you-”

“Well then Feyre you must be really nave and foolish because the amount of people you have unknowingly hurt? Lucien for starters has been ‘unknowingly’”-she made quotation marks with her fingers-“mocked for getting close to new people. Mocked for giving themselves the name of ‘the band of exiles’, I mean come on hypocrisy at its finest, Feyre how much better is The Court of dreams?”

“Lucien, Nesta? You hate him!” Feyre exclaimed.

“Stop trying to change the subject.” She flicked a lock over her shoulder, “Do you not think you and your friends have a god complex? Even when it came to me. Your own sister. You thought that because Love healed you it would heal me. You made my decision for me. What if I died from it? Would come to my grave and ask me to start over.”

Nesta’s face was now scrunched up tears trying to force tares back her back to Feyre,

“You acted like it was a choice. Like my depression, PTSD, anorexia was all a choice like I could just,”-She snapped her fingers-“turn it off.”

Feyre started to shake her head profusely.

“Well I couldn’t. And worst of all I blamed myself. But not anymore.” She wiped her tears away and faced her, “From now on you are accountable for your own decisions. I am no longer holding myself responsible for your mistakes. I am done second guessing myself. I have learnt to live with my mistakes, so maybe instead of trying to ‘start over’ you should as well.”

Nesta walked out of the wards of the restaurant and winnowed away. Leaving a cold Feyre with tears slipping down her face. Luna came to her.

“Feyre the document has not been signed yet. If, after this you do not want to go ahead with the alliance then you have to tell me now.”

Feyre turned to her.

“That’s why Audrey sent you. Because she knew the Nesta would blow and you had to make sure I still agreed to the alliance.”

Luna offered no explanation.

“Well I still consent to this alliance. So you can save your breath.”

Luna nodded, “If you go back in please tell Audrey, Nesta and I have left.” Feyre nodded and went up to the roof with Elain.

 -----

Two weeks after the dinner, Feyre was readying her gallery for classes when a flying letter burst in through the window. Before she could grab it the letter folded itself and spoke,

“To the high lady of Night,” a posh voice said, then Caroline’s voice started playing,

“Hello Feyre, I wondered if you would like to join me for a drink before I open my restaurant now. There is something I would like to discuss. If you do just touch the letter after my message if you don’t just tell the letter to leave.

Yours truly Caroline.”

 Feyre looked taken aback.

“Ah, the talking transportation letters. They are apparently a habit of Raskians.” Ressina came out of the back room and put a hand on Feyre’s shoulder chuckling at her shocked face, “You should go. We have another hour till we open.”

Feyre considered glancing at the clock.  Then nodded.

She touched the letter. In what seemed like a mist travelling through the folds of the world, a sound much like a deafening howling wind Feyre was transported and now standing on the street in front of the restaurant.

She looked around, the letter was nowhere to be seen. People were busy in the street market behind her. She gathered herself and walked up to the rooftop part.

Caroline was there admiring the view. She stood up to greet her.

“Hello.”

Feyre smiled and said, “I am really sorry Caroline but this must be quick I have to open my gallery for classes soon.”

She gestured for her to sit, “Of course, I also have to open, and this will only take a few minutes.” She looked at Feyre’s face, “You have something on your mind.”

She bit her lip, “It was just… Jonah, your mate, he’s my brother and Clare’s alive… this is all so confusing. It’s just that when I find out how they… how do you think I will feel?”

Feyre winced, “Ugh, I sound so pathetic.”

Caroline smiled, “No, it’s fine. I am sorry though Feyre. I don’t really know how you will feel. I can tell you though that Clare’s story is much less complicated than Jonah’s, funnily enough. He is very protective of Nesta. So I do apologize for his behaviour.”

Feyre shook her head, “He loves her deeply. And I hurt her, his behaviour is normal. Anyway what would you like to discuss.”

Feyre sipped from the glass of coffee.

Caroline glanced at the clock, “Um, there is little time so,” She pulled a gold invite towards her and handed it to Feyre, “It is mine and Jonah’s anniversary next week. So I would like to invite you to the party we’re holding.”

Feyre accepted it, “Do you think Nesta will want me there?”

She waved a hand, “Nesta will not mind, just don’t mention any of the words you exchanged and Nesta won’t get triggered.”

“You all seem really close.”

“Oh we are. All of us. Leona, Clare, Luna and Audrey stick with her, Nesta’s mine and my brother’s partner in crime. Ollie and Ash love her like crazy, they have shopping sprees together. Honestly we are a really big group. You will meet the whole family next week if you come. Are you… planning to?”

Feyre nodded, “Yes. I intend on making the relationship with my sister stronger.”

Caroline smiled and then stood up, “Sorry Feyre I have to get to the kitchen. Feel free to stay here and finish your coffee.” She downed her own. Then stopped and turned back.

“Just a heads up, Nesta and Leo…Leona, Luna and Audrey will be coming in the next few days.”

“Why?” Feyre asked tearing her eyes away from the invitation.

“It’s tradition for Rask to give a gift to you after the alliance has been finalized.

“Do we give-”

“No, no. Just a heads-up, anyway bye see you next week.”

“You too.” She sipped from her cup admiring the place Nesta now called home. She glanced at the clock. She had to go back in the next five minutes if she wanted to be on time. She didn’t know if she should be dreading or celebrating the invitation she was now holding.

--------

This was such a long one. Sorry for the lateness, life got in the way. Up next: The party, an introduction the first love in Nesta's life and a distraught Nesta seeking Azriel's help.

Tags:@mis-lil-red @wannawriteyouabook​ @my-fan-side​

[purplebyul]

Sunshine and clouds.

teacher AU. Prompt: “the nice one who everybody loves with the grumpy one. and their student are just like???? how??? what the fuck???”

Or : “Mr.Demaury teaches a class of very noisy third years.” (ao3)

September, a new school year begins. Lea and her friends are in their last year of high school and, like every start of the year, they’re all motivated. For now. This year is the last, I’m gonna make it the best one, with a perfect score on all my exams and tests, be nice to everyone, etc. Every student says that, but, like their new year’s resolutions, they won’t keep it. 

The first hour on the first day, they’re all seated in a classroom looking at their schedule while the teacher goes on about god knows what. Because the most important thing is between their hands right now: their schedule. Suddenly, she’s hit by her friend Amalie, whisper-shouting her name.

«Lea! Looks who’s our literature teacher !» 

« Oh my god yes! I can’t wait to have classes again with him !»

« And we all know why, hmm girl?» Adds Jérôme, one of her friends too.

« Shut it Jéjé, as if you’re not drooling all over the guy too, you useless gay.» And that’s Anthony for you.

They’re still bickering when Emma, a nice girl who joined their little group recently, takes a grave voice «Oh no…»

« What is it, Emma?»

« Look at our bio teacher…»

And if it isn’t the most terrifying sentence they’ve ever heard. Because, in this beautiful Parisian school, there is only one teacher that can make your skin crawl just by seeing their name on your timetable. 

« We’re fucked.»

*

Today is supposed to be a good day. No bio class, only literature, math, and English. All the teachers in this course are nice, so it’s good. And it’s sunny, which is very rare for Paris in September - thanks to climate change - so really, what could go wrong? 

When Lea gets inside her literature classroom, she is so not ready to see her most hated teacher here, talking to her favourite teacher of all time. Mr. Demaury, known as Sunshine, is sitting on his desk, smiling brightly - real-life sunshine, they’re not joking - while looking at Mr. Lallemant, or the worst teacher ever. 

Well, he’s not the worst teacher, quite the contrary actually. His classes are never boring, he teaches them well and gives good explanations, taking the time to explain when they don’t understand. But it always comes with a snarky remark. And he’s always grumpy, smiles rarely and he is not very patient. Yes, he explains when you don’t understand, but not before sighing for two minutes straight. Ok maybe not two minutes, but he never tries to hide how judging he is of his class. 

They both turn their heads towards Lea when she enters and Mr. Demaury’s smile dim a little. Mr. Lallemant clears his throat, throwing a «See you later.» to the other teacher before going out. Mr. Demaury looks after him, always smiling, before turning his head toward Lea when she sits down. He sits back at his desk, opening a little notebook while every other student comes in, one by one. Emma sits next to her and soon enough, the whole room is full but it’s not like in Mr. Lallemant’s class, oh no. Here, everybody is waiting for Mr. Demaury to say something because, well. He has a nice voice. And he is nice. And pretty. And smiley. And pretty.

« Good morning everyone !»

A chorus of good mornings answers him and if it’s possible, Mr. Demaury’s smile gets bigger. Not quite as big as the one he had when Mr. Lallemant was here though. Which makes Lea wonders a little: what could her bio teacher have said to make the other one smile so bright? She doesn’t have time to dwell on it because soon enough, Mr. Demaury’s voice rings clear as a bell in the classroom.

« First of all, I hope you all had a good summer vacation. And-»

« We hope your vacation was nice too, sir!»

«Oh, thank you. It was nice, I had a lot of fun.»

« What did you do for your vacation, Mr. Demaury?»

« Yes, what did you do ?»

A nice blush colours their teacher’s cheeks at this moment and he rubs his fingertips on his lips. It's a nervous habit he has that makes everybody fall more in love with him. 

« Hm, well. I went to my partner’s family in the south of France, so we had a nice beach vacation. And then we went to visit some friends in Oslo.»

If you listen close enough, half of the students in this room had their hearts broken by a single word in this sentence.

« Wait, you’re in a relationship ?!» 

Lea is too shocked to say something, while Emma is shaking her like she’s trying to get gold coins out of her. Soon, they’re whispering.

« Did you know he had someone?»

«I’m making the same fish out of its tank face as you! Of course, I didn’t know!»

«Of course he’s not single, have you seen his face?»

« Shut up Anthony, a girl can dream!»

« Ugh, gross. He’s ten whole years older than you.»

«Perfect opportunity to call him daddy.»

«Jérôme!!» Anthony says before hitting him upside the head. 

Their bickering stops when they hear Mr. Demaury clearing his throat. He’s still as red as he was a minute ago when Jérôme asked if he was in a relationship. 

« It’s none of your business but yes, I am in a relationship. Have been since I was your age, actually.»

At that, the whole class gasps and some aww-ed out loud. 

« But that’s not what this class is about!» Mr. Demaury says, trying to regain composure. But everybody in the room can see that a smile is making his lips twitch and the blush on his face. «Anyway, back to what I first wanted to say!»

And even though they try to get back to the subject of their favourite teacher’s relationship, Mr. Demaury doesn’t let them do it. After twenty minutes, they stop trying. Mostly because he threatened to give them a paper to do for next week if they didn’t stop.

*

The first week of their new high school year has gone by smoothly, until now. It’s 7.40 a.m and their first class is with Mr. Lallemant. To say that everyone is scared of what will happen is an understatement. 

 When they arrived, Mr. Lallemant was already here, going over a huge pile of papers while drinking his morning coffee. Nobody greeted him when they entered, but neither did he, keeping his eyes focused on his lesson. 

But once the clock hit exactly 8a.m, Mr. Lallemant stands up and everyone sucks in a breath.

« Good morning everyone.» Nobody answers. « I know you don’t like bio, even though you enrolled in the scientific course for your last year, too bad for you. But please, do take part in class, get your homework done and study for the tests, because many are coming your way. If you do that, everything will go smoothly and you’ll hopefully go to college or do whatever it is you wanna do. I don’t care as long as you’re out of this class. Science is something you have to know by heart, so that's not as complicated as literature, where you have to invent some bullshit to have a passing grade. Is it clear?» Nobody answers, a couple of them mumbling a little «yes» but not looking up from their desks. Mr. Lallemant sighs and seems tired of his students' silence. « Great. Let’s get to it then.»

*

« Oh my god, how is it that you can forget something so easy in only two months? Come on man, it’s not that hard. Think.» 

« Ok, since you can’t answer, does anybody here can help her? Anybody that isn’t me, I’m the teacher here I shouldn’t have to answer.»

« When you can’t fucking throw something from your chair into the bin, you pick your ass up and go to the bin to throw it in, Anthony. It’s not a hard concept for god’s sake.»

« You know what? You all seem so eager to leave so please do, I’m tired of seeing your faces for today.»

To say their first class of three hours with Mr. Lallemant was hell is, as usual, an understatement. 

*

After learning that their favourite teacher is in a happy relationship, and has been for a long time, they all decided to make a deal. Every time they’ll have a class with Mr. Demaury. They’ll ask him a question about his relationship before the class starts. And so, when the second class of the trimester arrived, they all are a nervous mess. 

 Mr. Demaury arrives in class and everybody is already seated. He greets them with a beautiful smile and a cheerful «Hello you all!» before losing his jacket - making a few girls giggle behind Lea, which in turn makes Emma roll her eyes at them. 

Nobody dares to be the first one to ask the question. So, once Mr. Demaury is about to speak again and start their lesson, Lea doesn’t think twice before raising her hand. Mr. Demaury stops in his tracks and looks at her, raising an eyebrow in question. 

« Yes, Lea ?»

« Sir, I was wondering,» she takes in a big breath while Jérôme whispers encouraging words to her, « where did you meet your lover ?»

It says on Mr. Demaury's face that he wasn’t ready for this kind of question. An adorable blush is making its way on his face, up to his ears. He clears his throat, before grabbing his book and turning towards the board. 

« That’s not class-related Lea, I’m sorry I can’t answer.»

They all groans but before they can say anything, Mr. Demaury raises his voice and starts the lesson of the day.

 They’ll get more info one day. 

*

The next time they try it, it was with an innocent question. A simple « Where was your first date ?». It earned them a « That’s not in the theme of our lesson here, Anthony.».

« But sir we’re talking about Romeo & Juliet here, we’re talking about love!»

« Anyway, back to Romeo & Juliet and the meaning behind their first time as lovers.»

And after that, every time they tried asking something, Mr. Demaury would straight up ignore them or answer with something else: « So this summer you met their parents? » « The beach was nice, if you have to visit the south of France, I recommend Nice. » 

« Are they romantic with you? Do they treat you right? » « Yes, my lunch was good, thank you for asking. »

« Is it a he or a she ? » which earned Jérôme another slap to the back of his head from Anthony. And earned them a « My sexuality is none of your business. », said with the most beautiful smile, which threw them out of a loop. 

Then the questions got a bit more personal, they were trying hard to guess the identity of this person. But again, Mr. Demaury never answered any of them. « Do we know them, is that why you don’t want to tell us?»; « Are they taller or smaller than you? »; « What’s the first letter of their name, please!»; « Or at least their last name? » 

They would have stopped if Mr. Demaury seemed bothered by it. But every time they asked something, a smile etched itself on his face. Probably because he was thinking about his lover. But damn, he would never give them even a hint and they were frustrated. And thus was born the plan: stalk Mr. Demaury between classes. 

*

« I don’t get why we have to follow him during his lunch break! He’s just going to eat!»

« Shut up Jérôme!»

« But it’s not gonna give us any clue on who his lover is!»

«You don’t know that! Maybe he’ll talk about his lover with someone!»

« Shhh !! He’s right here !»

They all quiet down at that. Hiding behind a wall next to the teacher’s lounge, they have a full view inside it. And here he is, Mr. Demaury, sitting in front of Mr. Lallemant. It startles them at first. Because how can a ray of sunshine like Mr. Demaury talk to a person like Mr. Lallemant? They’re the total opposite of each other!

Mr. Demaury is talking animatedly while Mr. Lallemant stuffs pasta in his mouth when his eyes make direct contact with Lea’s one.

« Shit!! We made eye contact!»

All of a sudden, Mr. Demaury isn’t speaking anymore. He puts his forks down and turns his face toward where the little group is. His face hardens and he gives them the most murderous stare they’ve ever seen on someone. A second later, they’re all running the opposite way.

« I told you it was no use! We didn’t learn anything! 

« And now he hates us !»

« Shut up! I didn’t know that's how boring his lunch break was! »

Let’s say that their afternoon class with Mr. Demaury was the worst one they had. Every time he looked at them, his stare would be cold. Fortunately, it lasted only for a day. Next week, he was back in his sunshine mode.

*

It’s now the beginning of December and in two weeks, their winter holidays start. Since the start of the year, they kept asking Mr. Demaury questions about his lover, but to no avail. Still, they try. With no luck. 

They were hyped, their heads full of new ideas to get Mr. Demaury to confess at least the first letter of his lover’s name. But that was before their class with Mr. Lallemant. He was in a particularly foul mood today, has been for the whole year really, but today was worse than anything they’ve ever experienced. Usually, he makes snarky remarks, says something rude and in general, he’s just mean to them. But nothing they can’t handle. But today, when they entered the room, Mr. Lallemant was staring out of the window, as if…empty. 

Once everyone was at their desks, he stood up and spoke with the deadliest voice they’ve ever heard. 

« So, I graded your test and I don’t get how you can fail so much on something we’ve spent two months on.»

They all winced, but Mr. Lallemant was not finished.

« No, really. I’m impressed by your stupidity. You chose the S course, but you make no effort to work for it. I know bio isn’t the most interesting for you, maybe you’re more into math or geometry or whatever, but do you think you’re gonna get your Bac with grades like the one I have here? Guess what, you won’t. The higher-grade? Twelve. Freaking twelve. I’ve never had third years like you before. You’re all gonna fail, but I did my job. I really don’t get how you can fail like that.»

After that whole speech, let’s say that their spirits were crushed. Lea was the highest score of the class, but she didn’t feel proud. She was mostly angry about what Mr. Lallemant said as if they were stupid. Like a typical student feel when a teacher tells them to work more, really.

So, when Mr. Lallemant dismissed the class and they headed towards Mr. Demaury’s one, nobody was in a happy mood. But at least, they were about to see his sunshine smile and maybe, that would make their day a little bit brighter.

When they entered the room, Mr. Demaury was already writing something on the board. He turned to greet them but quickly stopped when he saw their faces. He waited until everyone was at their desk, sitting on top of his, before speaking.

« What’s happening, guys? Looks like everybody’s pet just died.»

« No, we just got out of one of Mr. Lallemant’s class.»

« … And ?»

« We don’t like him. He’s always so mean to us. It was worse today.» A chorus of «yes», «that’s true» echoes in the room and Mr. Demaury looks pained. Perhaps even shocked. 

« Why was it worse ?»

« He basically told us we were stupid because of our new grades.»

«Yes! He said we were gonna fail and that he’s never seen third years as stupid as us.»

Mr. Demaury crosses his arms and sighs, rubbing his face quickly.

« Ok guys. I’m going to talk to you about something personal, so listen up.»

They were all complaining about Mr. Lallemant, some of them calling him names, but they stopped after what their teacher said, now giving him their full attention.

« First of all, we’re humans, like you. Us too, we get our bad day. And sometimes we don’t want to get out of bed to teach a bunch of children who couldn’t care less about what we say.»

« But your class is always good sir! We always listen to you!»

« Yes, but not to Mr. Lallemant.» they’re now all silent, some of them even looking down at their feet. « You know, Mr. Lallemant and I have been friends for a very long time. He tells me stuff. About how you act in his class. About how you stay quiet and never participate. You never answer his questions and not even to his good mornings. Imagine, working somewhere for many years and none of your students greeting you? Would you like that if I came in and never answered your hellos ?»

Nobody dares to look at Mr. Demaury now. Mostly because of what he’s saying and that they’re ashamed of themselves. But also because it sounds like Mr. Demaury is disgusted by their attitude. 

« Why are you all ignoring him when he’s the one to get you to pass your bac?»

« Well, he’s mean with us. And scary. It feels like he’s always judging us. Like he doesn’t like us.»

Mr. Demaury lets out a little laugh, before sighting. « I know Mr. Lallemant can be a little shit, and he has no tact, I know. But do you know why he’s like that ?»

They all shake their heads «no».

« Because being a teacher as always been his dream job. When I met him, he was always telling me about how he was gonna be the best bio teacher in Paris. And how every student will pile up in front of his class to listen to him. How big professors were going to ask him to do lectures in their college. How he was gonna publish a book about his biologic discoveries. », he smiles a little while retelling this story, before sighing again. That’s the first time they’ve heard Mr. Demaury sighs so much.

« He put a lot of pressure on himself to be the best because everyone was encouraging him to be it, I included. And then, his first day came around and he was so stressed and anxious, he started talking to his student like he talks with his friends. He’s rude, he doesn’t have a filter but it’s only because of his anxiety and this desire to be loved. And here you are, telling me you hate him.»

It would have hurt less if Mr. Demaury went and slapped them one by one.

« Try to be nice to him. Answers, when he says hello, tries to participate. He’s not mean on purpose, he’s just stressed. He’s a huge nerd about biology, he only wants to find students that will be as hyped to talk about freaking cells as him. Do this for me, please guys.»

« Can you tell Mr. Lallemant we’re sorry, sir? We didn’t know we made him feel so bad.»

«You don’t know what someone goes through daily, so always try to be nice to them. And no, if you want to apologize, you’ll do it yourself. Now, let’s get back to our lesson.»

The atmosphere in the room stays cold after that little discussion. And even Mr. Demaury’s energy seems to have left the room. He’s as empty as Mr. Lallemant was this morning and it makes them feel even more bad about themselves.

 Emma leans over to whispers into Lea’s ear. « We should do something for Mr. Lallemant.»

« Yes, we’ll come up with something.»

*

They never came up with something. Or at least, not directly. Mr. Lallemant was colder than ever after their last class. He seemed tired, with big bags under his eyes and no will to even make snarky comments. Plus, Mr. Demaury was sick the whole week so they didn’t attend any of his classes. And to be honest, he was the only one to give them the courage to go to Mr. Lallemant’s class. 

So now, it was like this: nobody dared try to say something to Mr. Lallemant. But they at least now answered when he greeted them at the beginning of their class. The first time they did, he looked shocked and everybody was happy to see him looking at them with wide eyes. But he said nothing of it and just started his lecture like it was another normal day. So it didn’t encourage them, and some of the students stopped trying to be nice to him and kept their bad attitude. 

But this time, it looked like Mr. Lallemant wanted to be anywhere but here. His voice was small, and he looked kind of lifeless. So, Lea decided that it was time they came up with something.

« Who can tell me what is inside a DNA structure? I suppose no one will try to answer, I don’t even know why I ask anymore. So, a DNA-

« Hm, sir ?» 

« Yes, Lea ?»

« DNA structure is made out of molecules, but I don’t remember the name of it.»

Mr. Lallemant seems surprised and he stays silent for a minute, before shaking himself out of it.

« Yes, you’re right. And the molecules are called nucleotides. Do you know what’s inside a nucleotides ?»

« Isn’t it phosphate? Or is it the four nitrogen bases ?» Asks Anthony. 

« It’s phosphate. But there’s also something inside phosphate. DNA is like a Russian doll but with different types of molecules that each have a purpose.»

When Mr. Lallemant gets out of class after their lesson, he seems less tired, and almost like he’s fighting a small smile while looking at his phone. Outside the classroom, Lea high five Anthony. They made their teacher kind-of happy, and it feels good.

*

A week to go and then, their winter vacation starts. But before that, their school is throwing a little party. Well, ''party'' is a big word. It’s an after-school get together for the whole school, teachers included, from 5p.m to 10p.m. Kind of like prom, in fact. It’s a way to say «you’re almost done, good luck for your finals after you get back from your holidays!». 

And so, when they heard teachers could bring a plus one thanks to Mrs. Lecomte, their bubbly french teacher, the whole class was excited. Of course, Mr. Demaury is going to bring his lover as a plus one! Finally, the mystery is gonna be lifted! They can’t wait and at 5p.m sharp, they’re already in the gymnasium, waiting for all their teachers to arrive. For the moment, only the Bakhellals, Mrs. Lecomte and Mr. Lallemant are here. 

« Have you seen him somewhere inside the school ?»

« No, no sign of him. Maybe he’s late ?»

« He’s never been late, that’s unusual.»

« Maybe he was horny before coming so he’s banging.»

« For fuck’s sake Anthony you hang out too much with Jérôme !»

*

Almost everybody is here now, it’s 6p.m but still no sign of Mr. Demaury. Every other professor is here, joking around together. And the little gang is sitting at a table, looking at Mr. Lallemant. They sure as hell aren’t going to miss Mr. Demaury if they keep looking at Mr. Lallemant since they’re such best friends. They still can’t figure out why.

He’s rolling his eyes at what Mrs. Lecomte just said. He still hasn’t smiled since he arrived and they wonder how can he have so many friends when he barely smiles. 

« How can he crave to be loved when he never smiles ?»

« Maybe he's self-conscious about his teeth ?»

«Ugh, shut up Emma, it isn’t because of his teeth. Mr. Demaury said he's a nervous person, he must not feel comfortable enough.»

« Speaking of Mr. Demaury, he just arrived !»

« Oh my god, look how good he looks !»

« Wait, why is he alone ?»

« Don’t tell me he didn’t bring his plus one or I’m gonna cry !»

They see him literally skips until he reaches Mrs. Bakhellal and Mr. Lallemant. As soon as Mr. Lallemant sees him, his face hardens and he crosses his arms.

« What the fuck, did they fight ?»

« No way !»

« Let’s move to a table closer to them, I can’t hear what they’re saying !»

As subtly as they can, they try to move closer to where the teachers are. They don’t see that Mr. Demaury spotted them, but he only smiles in answer of them trying to be spies - and failing miserably.

When they reach their target, which is a small table next to the big buffet, they can kind of hear what their teachers are talking about. The music isn’t too loud for the moment to cover their conversation.

« You’re late. Again. »

« What do you mean, again ?! »

« Please Eliott, don’t play dumb. You’re always late! »

« But I was cuddling Marie! »

They don’t have time to get excited about what they just heard, because Marie might be the mysterious lover they kept pestering Eliott about, that Mr. Lallemant ruins it. 

« You have an unhealthy relationship with that cat, Eliott. »

« She’s the one who wouldn’t let me leave! That’s why I’m all covered in cat hair. »

« Don’t you dare put your shirt in the hamper only because of that. You’re going to break the washing man, dude. »

« You did not just call me dude! »

And the next sight they see is what make them pause for a moment. Because Eliott squished Mr. Lallemant into his side with his arm around his neck, while one of his hand is holding Mr. Lallemant’s cheeks, making him do a fish face. And their bio teacher is only looking fondly at Mr. Demaury. At that, they all look at each other, a bit perplexed. Well, except Jérôme, who « tsk » loudly at them.

« Friends can be close, you all are just used to toxic masculinity. »

« Yeah, that’s my man,» says Anthony, kissing Jérôme’s cheek right after.

« We’re probably reading too much into this since we’re desperate to see who he’s dating. »

« You’re right, Lea. »

« And I don’t really get any gay vibes from Mr. Demaury. »

« Stop with the stereotypes Jérôme. »

« No, but look at him, no gay vibes at all! »

But when they turn their attention back to where Mr. Demaury - who they finally learned his name - and Mr. Lallemant are supposed to be, there’s only Mrs. Bakhellal and Mrs. Lecomte standing there. They sigh. 

« Ok, we need to investigate though. I don’t care if he doesn’t have any gay vibes, maybe he really is with Mr. Lallemant. »

« Why would he? It’s Mr. Lallemant! »

« Oh my god guys I just thought of something ! » Emma gasps while hitting all of them on their shoulders.

« What the fuck Emma ?! »

« Stop hitting us every time you have something to tell us! »

« I bruise like a peach girl, and you know it! »

« Shut up, you all! Remember when Mr. Demaury told us about why Mr. Lallemant is the way he is ? » when they all nod, she continues, « He said they’ve been friends for a very long time! And he also told us that he’s been with his lover since high school! »

They look at her blankly, because they don’t really get it.

« Ugh, you’re all so stupid. Mr. Demaury told us how Mr. Lallemant always wanted to be a teacher, right? So obviously, they knew each other before going to college so…Probably since high school! »

And now, they get it. They all gasp, Jérôme exclaiming « Emma, you are the only straight I’ll ever call a genius, I love you ! » while hugging her before Lea speaks a bit louder to be heard over their excited squeals.

« Ok, we need to investigate! We have to keep an eye on them the whole night, got it? »

« Got it, chef! »

*

The party is in full swing now, and the little spies are only moving from one table to another, in hope of keeping an eye on their teachers. 

Right now, Lea and Emma are next to the buffet, each with a drink in their hand, making small talk while checking behind them to see what their teachers are doing. Anthony and Jérôme are a few tables away, not too close to be spotted but not too far away either. Every one of them has a clear view of their targets, who are sitting facing each other. They're close, whispering in each other’s ear to talk - but they don’t take that as evidence since they all have to do that to be able to hear anything, thanks to the pop music playing loudly in the background. 

The first thing they noticed is: they always stay close to each other. The only time they were apart was to get some food or drinks…for the other one. The spies are growing more and more suspicious as time pass, never leaving for too long to be sure to not miss anything. 

The second thing they noticed is: Mr. Lallemant does know how to smile. And fuck if he’s not beautiful when he does. In the span of an hour, they’ve seen him smile and laugh more than during their previous year. Sometime, Mr. Demaury will say something that makes him laugh so much he’ll rock back and forth on his chair, before leaning his head on the other’s shoulder. And Mr. Demaury will smile so bright he could illuminate the whole room. Sometime they’ll start a silly game of thumb war, which are often lost by Mr. Demaury, and it’ll end with Mr. Lallemant doing a silly victory dance. And then Mr. Demaury will grab him by his shirt and make him sit back down before ruffling his hair to mess with him. For the whole night, it’s been like that, but nothing to confirm if they’re in a relationship or not. Which is very frustrating.

Mr. Demaury is looking around him, as if he’s assessing the situation going on around them, before turning his attention back to Mr. Lallemant. And he says something that makes Mr. Lallemant bite his bottom lip and look at the floor. The little group all look at each other with their brows furrowed, because it seems like their teachers are having an important conversation. For the next five minutes, they speak and look around them and the atmosphere around them seems to have changed. It looks like Mr. Lallemant is thinking about something like he’s trying to decide on something. 

After a short while, he shrugs and turns back to Mr. Demaury with a small smile on his face. Mr. Demaury is asking him something else and after Mr. Lallemant nods, a smile appears on his face and they’re both standing up. 

A slow song has come on now, and a lot of couples are already on the dance floor. Except for Mr. Bakhellal, who’s dancing with his sister, the cutest sight right now. In the next minute, Emma, Lea, Anthony, and Jérôme open their mouths so wide their jaws are closed to hitting the floor. Mr. Demaury is guiding Mr. Lallemant under the lights and, once they’ve giggled like kids for a few seconds, he throws his arms around Mr. Lallemant's neck, slowly moving them to the rhythm of the music. 

The next thing they see is Mr. Demaury leaning his forehead against Mr. Lallemant’s, gently rubbing their noses together and this time, their relationship can not be mistaken for something else now.

Emma and Lea are suddenly running to join Anthony and Jérôme on their little table, which gives them a nice view of their teachers.

« Omg guys, they’re making my teeth rot. How sweet can they get? »

« I wanna have a boyfriend like that. » Sighs Jérôme.

« We all do man,» answers Anthony, while looking dreamily onto the beautiful couple slow dancing and looking so in love, the little group truly don’t get how they didn’t see it earlier. Mr. Lallemant and Demaury are holding each other as if scared to let go. But at the same time, they seem so comfortable, like they’re in their own bubble, whispering closely and smiling every few seconds. 

But soon this little bubble is burst when the song ends and, the DJ should be fired for cutting this moment short. A new song comes on and it’s freaking dubstep. The group groans at the choice of song...how can you dance to something like that? 

« I hate dubstep. It’s so lame. »

« Do the DJ think we’re back in 2010 or what? »

« Guys please stop arguing about dubstep and look at Mr. Demaury, what the fuck is he doing ?! »

What a sight to see. Because very handsome, smiley and nice Mr. Demaury is now jumping around, throwing his arms in all directions, certainly trying to « dance » while Mr. Lallemant is hiding his face in his hand, crouching on the floor. Which do not seem to bother Mr. Demaury, who keeps on jumping around, jamming to the blasting music?

« … They’re so adorable. I want to be them. »

« They make me hope I’ll find my soulmate too. »

«Soulmates? »

« Please Anthony, you can’t tell me that they don’t look like they’re soulmate! »

« You’re right. They’ll spend their life together, you can feel it. »

*

Their first-class after winter break is with Mr. Demaury and there's this charged energy in the whole classroom. Because they can’t wait. They’re impatient. They’re all seated at their desks, their legs bouncing up and down while waiting for their teacher to come in. Which he does, a minute after the bell rang. 

« Good morning everyone! »

« Good morning! »

« So, how was your winter break? I hope you all had fun. »

« Yes we did! »

« Ok, good! Then let’s start, shall we? »

And so, their class starts. They’re all very distracted during the whole period and it must shows, because, after only twenty minutes of trying to talk about literature, Mr. Demaury gives up, puts his book down on his desk before leaning against it. 

« Ok guys, what’s going on? I know you just came back to school and it’s your last year so it’s stressful, but you’re a lot more dissipated today than usual. »

They all stay silent, nobody dares speak up. Until Jérôme raises his hand, making everyone groans. 

« Yes, Jérôme? »

« So… we saw you and Mr. Lallemant at the school party before winter break. »

« Yes. » his voice immediately turned cold. « What about it? »

«Nothing! We’re really happy for you! »

« Oh… » he all a sudden seems shy about being so cold. « OK. But why are you all acting weird, if you don’t have a problem with it? »

« We’re teenagers, sir. We’re curious. I mean, two of our teachers are dating, we wanna know stuff! »

Mr. Demaury laughs at that, smacking lightly his thigh at the same time before rubbing his face and sighing loudly.

« Ok. Ask away. You’re allowed three questions. »

Everyone starts whispering before Jérôme tells them to «pick a fucking question guys we don’t have all day!» and then, Jérôme is turning back toward their teacher.

« Ok, first question: do you plan on getting married to Mr. Lallemant? »

« Yes, actually, I bought a ring. »

Everybody cheers and claps in the room, making Mr. Demaury blush even harder than he already was while answering the question.

« Ok, ok, shh! He doesn’t know guys so quiet down, his classroom is not that far. »

« Ok, second question: how did you get together ?»

« Wow, ok. So, eum..» he squares his shoulder a little, clear his throat before talking again, « You know how sometimes I don’t come for a whole week ? » they all nods, waiting, « Well, it’s because of eum.. some mental health problems, I have. » he exhales, shaking himself a little, « I’m bipolar. » he marks a pause, but nobody knows how to react. So Jérôme, being Jérôme, answers simply: 

« Ok. We don’t know what to say but thank you for sharing this with us, I guess? »

Mr. Demaury laughs a little at that, before wiping his eyes slowly. « You’re welcome, I guess. Anyway, that wasn’t your question. » he takes a breath, crossing his arms in front of him, « So, we flirted for two, three weeks after we met and then we started dating. But we were young and I got scared because of something he said and then I fucked up. So, I tried to win him back and when it finally happened, I had an episode. When it passed, I tried to end thing with him, but he didn’t let me do it. He said that we’ll make it work, and we’ve been together since. So, yeah. Here’s your very personal answer. »

Jérôme doesn’t take another minute before asking his new questions, while everyone protests because he didn’t consult them.

« You said you met each other in high school, right? How did you two meet? »

A smile spread Mr. Demaury’s lips, while he looks fondly to his feet as if remembering how it went down years ago. 

« I had just transferred school, I was walking in on my first day when I bumped into him. I saw him with his friends, laughing about something. Lucas didn’t see me. But I saw him. He was all I could see actually. »

[2018shawn]

Tom giving his kids the sex talk would be a shitshow😂

lmao can you IMAGINE like having a boy as the eldest who's like 16 and in England kids are well on their way to acting 21 round about then and yno, tom being a youngish parent, he’s not completely oblivious he’s knows the kids these days!!!! so his son would be ready to go to a party and tom has let him take a 4 pack of beers (even peroni - the gd stuff) but even then his son moaned because daaAadDd Mikey is allowed to take vodkaaaaaaaa and tom would be like YIKES that’s 30 minutes earlier I'm coming to pick you up now which takes it down to 11.30 

and his son would be like wtf you’re so uncOOL !!! jess is not going to think I'm fit if I turn up with 4 beers and everyone else is getting her drinks of proper stuff 

so tom would be like ooOOOoOOoOoOoo jess huhhhhh?????? full on prodding his ribs and taking the mick out of him because he remembers his first love and how important it was to look the fucking bomb dot com 

then you would come in and get the gist of the conversation and raise your eyebrows at tom because he shouldn’t be taking the absolute piss out of his son he should be supporting his ROMANCE so then tom’s like no ok listen here u lil shit Romeo and Juliet up in this bitch

you’re having 4 beers

and 4 beers only

if you come home and you’re spewing because you’ve had VODKA you’re not seeing your friends AKA jess??? for the foreseeable future so mini holland would be like huff fine 

then when tom looks over his mini me’s shoulder and see’s his conversation on his phone with his friends - which he couldn’t help but look at - but in their “pure lads” group chat they’d be like have u seen jess’ snapchat!!!! she is fit bro!!!! holl’s not gonna be able to get her into bed no WAY!!! even with a famous dad he’s proper punching!!!! and tom’s like WTF NO YOU WILL NOT BE GETTING HER INTO BED THATS CORRECTAMONDO 

and mini holland flips his head round and is like wtF you looked at my phone??!?!!!

and tom’s like DONT SWEAR AT ME AND I’M GLAD I DID so then mini holl would storm off and slam his room door shut and you would be stood there like well done tom parenting skills 13/10 whilst trying to cover your younger daughters ears who was literally just laughing the whole time because her brother finally got into trouble instead of her

so then when tom calms down and comes around he’s like ite, I’m gonna go tackle this and talk about the birds and the bee’s bzz bzz and plod up to his teenegers bedroom and knock twice before walking in to find him actually CRYIN on his bed and he’d be like OH SHIT and run over and give him the manliest parent hug possible because he knew his son hated PDA but technically its not PDA if they’re in the privacy of their own home

he’d be like “I'm sorry I didn’t mean to upset u ... but ... u should NOT talk about girls like that .. they are not objects.” and teenage holl be like “ugh I know dad for fuck sake...” and toms interrupting like “LANGUAGE” and then he carries on anyway like “I've told them that but they just took the piss and said I was a virgin... which I mean I am . but everyone’s starting to do .... bits” BOTH OF THEM FULL ON CRINGING. “and, y’no, they just say I'm that rich kid who couldn’t even pay for it if I wanted to”

tom sighs, reliving his youth and remembering how mentally straining it was growing the fuck UP but he’d try lighten the mood like “first of all... you’re not rich. ur parents are...” so mini holland would punch dad holland in the arm and it would not hurt in the SLIGHTEST bc tom’s always been fond of arm day. “BUT Seriously, do not do anything you’re going to regret and definitely definitely definitely do not treat that girl with no respect if u like her, u work for it because u only make love to someone when it means something... and if you think the time is right and it DOES mean something, you do NOT be doing it at a party where there’s vodka !!! you will bring her here and we will meet her and probably pop and walk the dog or summin...”

“Dad did u just say ‘make love’??????” 

[leggomylino]

I saw someone else do one of these about a week ago, and it’s been on my mind to do one as well. It’s a very sweet gesture and I want to let all my mutuals know that not only do I see them and care about them, but I also really appreciate y’all as well! So without further ado, here’s my shoutout to each and every one of you! ->

@lovesickmark​ -> I’m pretty sure you’re like, the first person I really connected with on here? If not THE first then definitely one of the first. I know you’ve been going through a lot and I respect that; I’m cheering for you from the sidelines tho, just remember that! It’s been wonderful having you around so I hope you’re doing well and that you keep moving forward. <3

@jisungx2​ -> JOSIIIIIIIE >A< My INFP sister. I’m sure things have been kind of annoying and rough for you too, what with the holidays here and having to work Black Friday and most the rest of the season (holy cow I salute you and I’m really glad you didn’t die. Ily man.) It makes me so happy when you leave cute asks in my box like “hope you have a great day!” or “[enter cute chain mail here]”. You’re just very cute 😞😞 and I really wish you all the best this holiday season! I hope you’re taking care of yourself and remembering to take breaks when you need it. Remember the storage room excuse. Ily bro man.

@iiasha​ -> We haven’t been talking for very long but like, omgosh I love talking to you oops. 😂😅 Idk sis, I guess because most of my mutuals are a bit younger than me it’s nice to have someone who’s the same age I can relate to? And also someone to guide me through the confusing but quite entertaining world of the Seventeen fandom 💍 (I’m on my laptop and I couldn’t find the giant diamond emoji don’t @ me). ALSO! YOUR WRITING!! IS SO GOOD!!! Ugh I STILL gotta get to that Jimin alt. ending 😫😓 But I’ve been very invested in working and my language studies as of late while procrastinating on my other works rip. ANYWAY! I APPRECIATE YOU!! LET’S TALK MORE!!! YEEHAW!!!!

@joully​ -> You and I are still going to take over the kpop industry with our band, right? Shoot, what was the name of it again?? 😂😂 I don’t remember RIP...anyway, we don’t talk hardly as much but, I still see a lot of your posts and think about you! You’re really talented and I’m totally jelly of your piano skills 🥺🥺 Like dang I wish I could play half as good sis. Also, I’d really like to visit Germany one day! My dad’s best friend lives there, they met while he was travelling Europe in the army. He said we may go there one day and if we do, or if I just have to make my own adventure, I’d love to meet at a coffee shop and say hello. <3 Please continue taking care of yourself and come talk to me sometime! If you don’t, I will!! Lol 💕

@minniewoos​ -> 😎😎 <- SEE I REMEMBERED ❤️ I really hope your anatomy final went well! I bet it did <3 And if you haven’t taken it yet, you’re going to do great, I know! ^^ We haven’t talked for long but, I enjoy talking to you a lot. It’s always nice and appreciated to have another stay to bond with and just chat about how dumb boys can be but wow they sure are cute while doing it. Sigh. Anywho, I’m looking forward to talking with you more, and if you ever get a chance, I’m excited about getting to maybe study Korean together!  천천히 해 💓

@kpoptrashx2​ -> Luisa!!! We don’t really speak as often either 🤔 But I really appreciate that you’re always there to help me with my writing and give me pointers when I need it. Thank you so much for that! It’s truly very helpful because as a writer I have no idea how something is going to sound to others who have no idea what’s going on inside my head. ^^” Not only that but it’s a joy getting to chat with you as well. 💓 I hope you’re doing well and that we’ll get to catch up soon!

@hanniesunshine​ -> Omgosh sis I cannot wait for your story to come out! You know the one I’m talking about so I won’t accidentally spoil anything lol. But anyway! I hope you’re well and that you’re doing alright. We haven’t talked for very long but I had so much fun talking about your story with you, and I’m looking forward to chatting about even more stuff! 🥰

@bopping-to-my-kpop​ -> Sis you betta talk to me more or imma come after you 😤😤 Don’t test me I’ll dang sure hold another court case if I have to! And it’ll be totally rigged because I’ll be in charge of everything! The judge? It’s me. The jury? Also me~ Any outside opinions? I have influence in all of them! 💞 ...Nevertheless, I really hope that you’re well, and please know that you can come to me for anything :c Even if it’s just to take your mind off of something negative and you need a laugh. I’ll see what ridiculous shenanigans I can cook up for you, okay? You’re never a burden, I love helping people (esp. people I care about!) so please stop by anytime!! #westanemmainthishouse 🥀

@xxsanshinexx​ -> I haven’t talked to you in forever but I really hope you’re doing well! I haven’t seen many posts from you recently :(( Idk if you’re just busy or if I’m blind, but if you ever get a chance I’d love to catch up! Whatever you got going on please keep doing your best and remember to take your time as well. <3

@spuds-potato​ -> 🌟🌟🌟 B)) What’s poppin little sis? I hope you’re doing well as well, and I’m still waiting for my story 😤😤 Remember if Celi dies she’s dragging her bf down with her okay?! Okay. Some Romeo and Juliet action going on 😂😂 Aaaaaaanywho, I’ll have to pop in soon on Insta and you can tell me about your day! Remember boys are dumb and drink plenty of water~ 💗💗

@chanscoffee​ -> I know you’re super busy but I totally miss talking to you 😭😭 and I hope you’re well. I rarely use Snap but I need to hop on there sometime and maybe we can chat! Or on Insta. Idk we’ll see. Whatever you have going on just know I’m still supporting you and I’m here if ever you need someone. 💖

@daydream-jwoo​ -> Okay I’m telling you now imma be texting you soon! Seriously sis how have you been?! We have so much to catch up on! 😩😩 The holidays have managed to be both crazy and slow at the same time some how? Like time has been completely nonexistent and a total paradox lately. 🗿🗿 It’s wild. Anyway imma keep this one short bc it’s been so long and I’ll text you soon!! 💝💝

@thevampywarlock​ -> Give me a minute.........okay. *deep breath* AAAAH I THINK YOU’RE REALLY CUTE!?!?! ...Aaaaaanyway uwu” The stories you write are so cute and just, small wholesome things that you manage to extend and expand upon? Does that make sense? I really admire that. It’s like subtle but I definitely see it and eventually I’m going to come around to going on a reblogging spree \o7o/ But until then I hope you’ll consider stopping by and talking with me more? You’re a wonderful author and I think you have a kind heart. ^^ <3

@jisungsjheekies​ -> Oh sis. We gotta chat more too! Your stories are also very cute and well written and idk why but, I feel very compelled to support both you and @backhugsforhyunjin​ and whole squad. It’s very strange and I don’t mean to alarm anyone 😂😅 I just...can’t really explain it other than I feel like y’all are good people and I’d love to get to know you better. Anyway I’ll cut this short to avoid making anything unnecessarily weird, but, I’d really love to talk with you more! And I def support and appreciate you!!

@backhugsforhyunjin​ -> Sis you too, we def gotta chat more 😤 If you ever need anyone to talk to, I understand we aren’t close at all but I’m available to listen or give advice if you need it? 😅 Also, you’re a wonderful author as well. I really wish the best for you and hope to hear from you more in the future. If anything, please remember to take your time and know that there are people cheering for you! You got this, whatever it may be!!

@gaiyofanfiction​ -> Asdfghjkl now that we’re buds ofc I had to make you a part of this too 🤪🥳 I think we could use a team name, what do you think about #TurkeyDragons?  Bc the NCT float?? 😂😂 I like it honestly...but if you hate it lmk lmao. I hope we get to talk more soon and I’m really looking forward to an update of Twisted Karnival! One of the greatest fanfics I’ve ever read on here 😞✊ Of course with the Holiday season here updating isn’t super important, y’all pls take care of yourselves first and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season! (p.s. if anyone else is reading I wish this for y’all as well!) ❤️🎄

~~~

. . . That was a lot. If I’ve forgotten anyone I sincerely apologize and I love and appreciate you as well! Please don’t be mad at me 😩😩 At the end of the day I really do love and appreciate all my followers and mutuals, y’all are all fantastic and I’m always rooting and cheering for you like the Mom in every Pokemon rpg ;-;-;-; Keep going and become the Pokemon Champion okay? And I mean really go kick Gary’s ass, because he’s an ass and needs his ass whooped after all the crap he puts you through in Red/Green. I can’t wait for a reboot to come up on Switch so I can kick his butt all over again 😤🤭🥴 Anyway x9,000, thanks for coming to my Appreciation Ted Talks and I sincerely hope you all have a wonderful day and rest of 2019, as well as a happy New Year and an amazing 2020! ...Dear son of a biscuit it’s gonna be 2020. Wow. Letting that sink in. Where’s the rewind button? Actually I’m not sure if I wanna go back maybe it’s best if we bury this year for the most part and start over 👀💧

OKAY THAT BEING SAID EVERYONE GO OUT AND TAKE DOWN GARY!!! ILY ALL WOO 화이팅!! LET’S GET THIS 2020 BREAD after a cup of eggnog and some holiday celebrations uwu Peace out and again I love y’all! 💝

[thesaltyoceanwaves]

Nice Guy Adrien the Musical Outline - ACT II

@lenoreofraven

→ The second half of this act from “Meant to Be Yours” to “Breathin” has been adapted into my fic “Bewitched,” for those who want a better idea of how things would play out.

→ In “Bewitched,” Viperion has a hypnosis power, which I refer to as “Snake Eyes” in my other work “The One to Make It Stay.” This was because this was written prior to “Party Crasher” airing, so we didn’t know what the snake’s power would be. I think “Second Chance” could still be used in this scenario, but I’ll leave it vague for the time being.

→ Like I said before, I’m going to write Act II with Marinette being akumatized into Bewitched in mind. Now, it should be possible to akumatize Marinette into something else and have roughly the same outcome, depending on the powers that you give her. Anyway, Bewitched’s outfit is a slightly altered version of this one that NS Yoon G wears in the music video: 

However, I changed the bottom half of the outfit to be more appropriate for a fourteen year old girl, so instead, she’s either wearing a black tulle mini skirt (which would fall just above her knees) or black biker shorts of the same length. Underneath them, she’s wearing black and white striped leggings similar to this outfit:

As well as black boots and lots of chunky, spiked jewelry, and a black witch’s hat on top. She hides her akumatized object in her blouse pocket. So, yes, her akumatized form is essentially cosplay of NS Yoon G, but toned down for a fourteen year old girl.

Act II opens with the students having returned to school after break (either for All Saints or Christmas, depending on how much time has passed since the beginning of school), and classes in session. Adrien has been none stop trying to text Marinette and get her attention, but to no avail. She has blocked his number by this point, and he’s resorted to contacting her through other social media sites and apps. Despite trying to flaunt his relationship with Lila in Marinette’s face, it seems to have entirely backfired, and at some point, Adrien broke things off with her. Alya continues to play cheerleader for Team Adrinette, but we see signs of wariness from Nino. Bustier’s class is going to discuss Romeo and Juliet, but everyone seems more interested in the status of Ladybug and Chat Noir. A fan sent in a video of Chat confessing his love to Ladybug and sent it in to the Ladyblog, where it was immediately posted. Adrien decides that this is his opportunity to make big romantic gestures to Marinette and win her over. However, Marinette has decided to move seats by this point to keep Adrien away from her, and is now in the back. He doesn’t have as many opportunities to talk to her. As class begins, Ms. Bustier calls for everyone to return to their seats so they can start discussing the reading. Alix makes a comment about how Romeo and Juliet has the lamest, most nonsensical plot she’s ever read. Everyone gasps, clearly offended and asks how she could say something like that. (I Hate Shakespeare)

The school day comes and goes, and once again, we find ourselves at Chloe’s hotel. She is relaxed upstairs, turning her bedroom into a summer simulation of sorts. She’s being waited on by Sabrina and Jean, while complaining about the events of the day (“Ugh, Adrikins has been so weird lately! First, he said he liked Dupain-Cheng, of all people! Then, he decided to date that girl with the sausage hair just to make her jealous. And now he’s pretending it didn’t even happen?” “That discussion we had about the play today was utterly ridiculous!”) To wash away the events of the day, Chloe has ordered a full day of pampering for herself, including a trip to the spa. She’s even nice enough to arrange a package for Sabrina and Jean. After all, she needs them in tip-top shape. (Fabulous)

Gabriel has been noticing an increase in negative energy lately. He thinks it’s his chance to evilize someone into his most powerful akuma yet. Adrien returns home from school in a rather snappy mood, complaining about a girl. This makes Gabriel pause for a moment. He’s a bit worried that his akuma might end up picking the girl that rejected Adrien and going after him. However, he can’t afford to just give up on saving his wife, either. He won’t let anything stand in the way of reuniting with her, not even his own feelings. Surely, Adrien would understand someday. (Standing)

Adrien is frustrated about how things aren’t going his way. He’s messaged Marinette about 273 times in the past week, and hasn’t gotten a single response or reaction from her. He even had to give up on Operation: Jealousy, because it made her less interested in him. How is that even possible, he wonders to himself. Plagg points out that if Adrien continues this behavior, the Master might decide to pull his miraculous away, but Adrien isn’t convinced. How else are they going to defeat Hawkmoth? And speaking of his power, he decides it’s time to pay Marinette a visit. Plagg is against using Chat to get close to Marinette/Ladybug, but he doesn’t listen and uses his freedom and mobility to find her. (Macavity Part 2)

Marinette, tired of the influx of messages and how Adrien won’t leave her alone, decides she can no longer handle being Ladybug. She heads over to Fu’s and lets him know that she can’t afford to be Ladybug, since she’s at such high risk of being akumatized. She’s returned the earrings to Kagami, and told her to meet Fu, because she can’t handle it anymore. Fu tries to convince her otherwise, but Marinette won’t change her mind. Running out of the room in tears, Marinette laments how everything could have gone so wrong. Maybe Lila was right. Maybe she was cursed. What an irony, she thinks to herself. (No Good Deed)

As Marinette is running home, she ends up stopping in front of a store with some mirrors. An image flashes in her head - her as Ladybug. She tries to go for a quick change to get rid of it, and takes out her hair ribbons, stuffing them into her pocket. Before she can get any closer to home, Chat pops in, and after her avoiding him all day. Once again, he proclaims his love for her, reminding her that he’s dumped Lila, so there’s nothing standing in their way now. Then he realizes she’s been crying. Marinette snaps and tells him he’s the problem. There’s back and forth arguing until Kagami appears as Ryukōun, and tells Chat to back off. The two of them get into a fight as Marinette runs off, not sure where to go. Hawkmoth akumatizes her into Bewitched (not shown on stage/screen until next scene) and she promises him that by morning, neither Chat nor Ladybug will be a problem. (Meant to Be Yours)

The next day at school, everyone is gathered outside to share gossip, with quite a few people surrounding Lila as she launches her next story. Adrien quickly finds Nino and Alya and relays what happened the previous evening. Alya assures Adrien that things will turn out alright, but Nino points out his concerns with Adrien’s behavior. Before a full fight can escalate, Bewitched enters the scene and blasts Lila with her curse beam and frightens everyone around her. Bewitched forces Lila to tell the truth, lest she get hurt by her own words. Lila ends up revealing that she and Ladybug were never friends and that the interview she did for Alya when she first arrived was a lie. Bewitched then goes on to curse Alya to always or do the wrong thing, and turns Nino into her familiar. As the scene goes on, more and more students get either cursed or familiarized (Nino and Juleka are absolutely spared; Nino because he defended Marinette’s honor and Juleka because Bewitched doesn’t want to upset Luka). Adrien, Kagami, Felix and Chloe all manage to escape prior to getting hit by Bewitched. (Reason to Become a Witch)

Managing to get far away enough from Bewitched, both Kagami and Felix berate Adrien for his actions. If he just left Marinette alone after the rejection, things wouldn’t have turned out like this. Kagami points out that he doesn’t deserve the ring, completely outing Adrien as Chat Noir. Luka arrives on the scene and is caught up by everyone. He is not pleased and calls Adrien out for being so selfish. He’s even less pleased when it’s revealed that Adrien only became interested in Marinette after it was revealed that she was Ladybug. Before the fighting can escalate, Kagami decides to split up the group. She gives the snake miraculous to Luka and Felix, telling them to go after Bewitched, while she and Adrien go and give Chloe the bee. (Congratulations)

Kagami and Adrien arrive to give Chloe the bee. However, a bit of arguing causes the cat to be let out of the bag, and now Chloe is in on the secret identities (both Ladybug and Chat). She is infuriated by Adrien and how ugly his attitude has gotten. And disappointed in herself after realizing that doing nothing didn’t stop any akuma victims. That was the wrong thing to do in this case, she realizes. Instead, she needs to work on standing up to people like that and use the power that she has to her advantage. She’s going to be the hero that Ladybug, no, Dupain-Cheng, believed she could be. (Ugly Heart)

Luka and Felix run into Bewitched. Felix saves Luka from getting hit, but becomes a familiar. Queen Bee, Ryukōun and Chat Noir arrive on the scene, but Chat’s ego quickly causes him to lose the cat miraculous to Felix after Bewitched turns Queen Bee’s power against them. Luka transforms into Viperion while Alya arrives on the scene to apologize. Satisfied, Bewitched familiarizes her. Using his power, Viperion is able to calm down Bewitched and convince her to give up the akuma. After Kagami purifies it, she, Luka and Felix all take Marinette home. After the long day, Marinette tries to find ways to make herself fall asleep, but the events of the day weigh heavy on her mind, and she’s anxious as to what comes next. (Breathin)

[thekpopcloud]

Write to love

Stray Kids Seungmin soulmate AU

Seungmin x reader, non-idol!AU 

requests are open!!

Soulmate Sign: You and your soulmate can communicate by writing on your skin, whatever you write on your skin will appear on the other person’s skin and vice versa.

(gif not mine! credit to owner!)

You were one if the luckier people in the world, you and your soulmate had a simple way of connection, through writing on your skin. The first time the connection showed up was on a weird day. You’d been at school when a you felt weird sensation on your arm, you looked down and almost screamed. 

There was a sentence scribbled down across your arm, one you certainly didn’t write, and it was barely readable.

You were prepared to roll down your sleeve and hide it when your friend looked over, she was just as shocked as you were, except she was a lot more vocal about it. 

“Y/N GOT THEIR SOULMATE MARK!!” She’d screamed to almost the whole class and suddenly, everyone’s attention was on you. 

That was simultaneously the best and worst day of your life. 

“I hate this damn thing!” 

Looking up from your revision book, you watched as Hyunjin tugged on the dark red ribbon wrapped tightly around his wrist. He was your best friend, since the day your were born. 

But he hated the idea of soulmates, absolutely despised them. He’d grown to hate the ribbon locked around his wrist, the ribbon that only his soulmate would be able to untie. 

You rolled your eyes at him, placing the pen down. “You say that everyday Hyunjin, maybe if you stop complaining you’ll meet our soulmate and they’ll take it off” 

The familiar sensation shot through your arm and you looked, a smile crawling onto your lips as you watched the words appear on your arm. It was your soulmate, Seungmin was his name. 

‘I’m starting at a new school today, help :(’

“You’ve practically got hearts pouring from your eyes...” He mumbled, clearly annoyed. 

Picking the pen back up, you scribbled a reply onto your arm. ‘Aww don’t worry Min, you’ll be fine :)’

“At least i care about my soulmate..” you spoke, shooting him a glare. Though you both seemed angry at each other the smiles on your faces said otherwise.

Before he could shoot a comment back, two people came barreling through the the library door and towards you and Hyunjin but not before giving the head librarian guilty glances. 

“What’s got you two in a rush this early in the morning?” You asked the tow boys, glancing between them and the clock on your phone. 

Felix crashed onto the chair beside you while Jisung crashed next to- almost on top of- Hyunjin.

“There’s gonna be a new kid in our class, I've gotta show him around” Jisung replied, folding his arms on the table and resting his chin against them. 

You mumbled a reply, not really too stoked about another kids joining your class. The feeling returned to your arm and you looked down, diverting your full attention to your soulmate.

Instead of a comment or anything, there was a somewhat detailed drawing of a sunflower on your arm. You bit back a giggle and scribbled down onto your arm. 

‘Did you get bored?’ 

Seconds later words began appearing underneath your own.

‘Yep :(’ 

“Y/N...are you paying attention to anything i’m saying?” Jisung asked, reaching over and tapping your arm. 

When you didn’t reply, he took a hold of the pen in your hand and pulled it away, you jumped in surprise and looked up. 

“Hey! I’m mid conversation! Give it back” You tried to reach for the pen but he leaned back in his chair and held it far from you. 

An idea popped into Jisung’s head and he smirked, sitting normally again. 

“Let me write something on your arm and i’ll give it back” He suggested, raising an eyebrow. 

Felix piped in. “Ooh me too!”

“And me” Hyunjin joined, his voice had an evil tone to it.

You sat back in your chair, genuinely thinking about it for a moment. “Ugh okay fine, if i see one inappropriate thing I’m replacing all of your’s shampoo with bleach” 

“You wouldn’t dare..” Jisung muttered as he grabbed your other arm and rolled up the sleeve, immediately starting to scribble down something. 

10 minutes and one aching arm later, you’d finally gotten your arm and pen back. The first thing you did was look down, eyes widening when you saw the amount of things on your arm. 

“How..what the...since when did any of you know how to draw so well?” You asked and admired the weirdly cool pattern on your arm. 

Felix, who looked very offended, slapped your arm lightly. “Hey! I’ve always been able to draw!”

“Your work in art class tells a different story” Hyunjin scoffed, resting his chin on his hand. 

The three of you started to laugh, minus Felix who crossed his arms over his chest and pouted, looking like a child.

Words slowly appeared on your other arm, making you look back down. 

‘How did you draw all that so quickly?’ 

‘I didn’t, my three friends did :)’ You wrote back.

The school bell rang, catching the attention of all of you. You quickly packed up your stuff and slid it all into your bag, swinging it over your shoulder. 

As the four of you left the library, Hyunjin appeared by your side and swung his arm over your shoulder, pulling you into his side. 

“You alright, Hyunie?” 

He forced a smile onto his lips. “Perfect” 

The teacher came into the class, her arms stacked high with papers and a boy trailing behind her like a lost puppy. 

He was a handsome boy, there was no doubt about it, his brown hair parted down the middle. Okay he was very handsome. 

You adverted your eyes, choosing to glance around the class. The fact that every desk was taken, the only free seat being beside you, seemed so cliche. 

“Class, listen up” The teacher spoke as she dropped the papers onto her desk rather aggressively, silencing the whole class. Even the new kid beside her jumped. 

“We have a new student joining us today, please make him feel welcome, care to introduce yourself?” She directed the last part to the boy. 

He nodded and bowed to the class. “Hello, my name is Seungmin, pleased to meet you all” 

Seungmin? no way... it can’t be...

You shook the thought away and propped your arm up onto the desk, resting your chin flat against your palm. 

“You may sit...over there!” The teacher smiled, pointing over at the seat next to you. 

As he walked over you looked behind you, shooting Hyunjin a look that screamed ‘save me!’ but he only laughed and shook his head. 

“Hello...” Seungmin greeted you as he sat down, you smiled and mumbled back a hello and shuffled your chair over. 

The teacher took out a folder labelled ‘PROJECTS’ and the class collectively groaned. 

“It’s projects or recreating scenes from Romeo And Juliet...consider yourselves lucky!” She stated, but still some of the class complained.

Opening the folder, she took out a sheet of paper and read over it. “For this topic, you and your partner must research a mythical creature and do a small paper on it, this will be 30 percent of your final grade” 

Mythical creatures...this will be fun

One the students called out. “Can we choose our partners?” 

“No, you will be working with the person beside you, and no it is not up for discussion”   

You glanced at Seungmin in the corner of your eye. He was slumped in his chair, toying with the hem of his shirt, upon a closer inspection you caught glimpse of a what looked like a drawing poking out from his sleeve. 

There’s no way he’s that Seungmin...no way..

The teacher was still speaking but you were paying no attention to her, too focused on the boy beside you, trying to subtly stare at him. 

Eventually, the teacher stopped talking and everyone was given time to discuss their projects. You felt a tap on your shoulder and turned in your chair, now facing Hyunjin. 

The first thing you noticed was the frown on his lips, he looked beyond annoyed. “What’s wrong?” You asked, leaning back in your chair. 

He motioned towards the person beside him, rolling his eyes. 

“Ha, you’re screwed” You laughed, speaking just loud enough for Hyunjin to hear you. 

He huffed and crossed his arms. The person he sat with was the worst person to work with during projects, she never did any work and did nothing but party. 

“Well good luck Jinnie, you’re gonna need all the help you can get” You commented, patting the top of his head before turning around. 

As you turned to Seungmin, he was already looking at you, making you jump. “Hi...” 

He giggled. “Hi, so erm...what should we do for the project?” 

“I don’t know, the teacher said mythical creatures so maybe...vampires?” You suggested, shrugging. 

Seungmin hummed and nodded his head. “Good idea, should we...do the work in the library?” 

“Yes, i don’t feel like doing work anywhere else..”

It seems like me and him are gonna get along..

“You can join us for lunch if you want to!” Jisung suggested enthusiastically, his arms swinging by his sides as he walked.

Seungmin held a rather large textbook close to his chest. “If it isn’t a problem...”  

Jisung shook his head. “Of course not!”

He walked ahead while Seungmin trailed beside you, walking slowly. You gently nudged his shoulder, catching his attention, and smiled. 

“Stick by me and you’ll be fine, I’m the only normal one left out of the four of us...” You stated, laughing a small bit. 

Seungmin snickered and nodded his head. 

The three of you rounded the corner to lunch hall and headed towards your usual table. Hyunjin saw you first and jumped from his seat, jogging over and practically launching himself at you. 

“That lesson is going to be the death of me! All my partner did was try and get me to come to a party on Saturday” He complained, putting all of his weight onto you. 

With him still basically attached to you, you stumbled over towards the table and let him fall into his heat before grabbing the last free seat. 

“So Y/N...any more messages from Mr.Soulmate?” Felix asked, his lips pulled into a smirk. 

Out of the group, Felix was the only one that had found his soulmate. It was one of the Baristas that worked in the schools coffee shop, his name was Changbin. 

You shook your head, reaching over to take a fry from his plate. Felix whined and smacked your hand away from his plate. 

The conversation quickly switched to something else and you slumped back in the chair, glancing down at your sleeve. An idea popped into your head, reaching into your coat pocket for a pen. 

Uncapping the pen, you stretched out your palm and brought the pen down. As it touched your skin you felt someone flinch beside you. 

Seungmin silently watched you scribbling on your hand, his attention was drawn to you until someone called his name, snapping him back to reality. 

He absentmindedly replied to what Hyunjin was asking him, glancing at you out of the corner of his eye. 

It couldn’t be.... 

Seungminnie: My house @ 12?

You looked down at you phone, a smile grazing over your lips upon seeing the text. Seungmin had been at the school for a few weeks and you closer than ever. 

Quickly texting him back, you got changed and made yourself look somewhat presentable. You’d never put this much effort to look nice for someone else, but it was different with Seungmin, it wasn’t like you had a crush on him but it was something else. 

You rushed out of the house with your jacket half on and your bag swinging on your arm. Rushing down the stairs, you almost tripped and fell, if it wasn’t for the banister you would’ve landed on your face. 

As you speed walked down the road, your phone rang in your pocket. You fumbled around and looked at the screen before answering. 

“Hello?” You asked. 

“Y/N! What are you doing today?” Felix asked down the phone. 

“I’m going to get the final bit of this project done at Minnie’s house, why?” 

You could hear him shuffling around on the other end. “Binnie hyung wanted to know if you could come round and help him with a track. 

“Hmm maybe, we’ll see what time we finish working” You hummed.

“Are you gonna tell him? Oh please tell me you are!” He pleaded, you shook your head. 

“Tell him that i think he’s my soulmate? No way! Cause if he isn’t then it’ll make things hella awkward!” 

Felix sighed, you could picture him shaking his head with a disappointing look on his face. “Y/N...”

“No lix, i’m not telling him! Now go spend so time with your boyfriend, but don’t do anything i wouldn’t!”

He laughed. “Haha, alright then, bye!” 

You put the phone down as you got to Seungmin’s house, knocking on the door twice. 

The door swung open to reveal Seungmin. His hair was messy and he was dressed in a casual pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, a pair of glasses sat on his nose.

“Y/N-ie!!” He smiled, opening the door fully, You walked in and took you shoes off. Before you could speak Seungmin pulled you into a tight hug and rested his head against yours . 

You ignored the hammering in your chest, snuggling against him. “Seungminnie~ how are you?” 

“Good, better now that you’re here” He pulled back, looked down at you and winked. 

Shaking your head, you pulled back and patted his chest. “Whatever you say Seungmin. Now, should we get started on this work?” 

Two hours later....

“I swear if we don’t get a good mark on this i’m gonna have words with the teacher” You ranted, tapping away on your laptop. 

Seungmin laughed, looking over at you. “Now that is an argument i would like to see!” 

“Well...” you started, clapping your hands together once. “Arguments later, this must be finished first!” 

“Actually...i’m kinda hungry...” Seungmin trailed off, pushing his laptop onto the coffee table beside you. 

You hummed in agreement, taking your hands off the laptop. “Should we go and make food? or nah?” 

He shook his head. “Let’s order something, what d’you want?” 

“Let’s get pizza, give me the number of that pizza place down the road!” You said as you picked up a pen, a little idea popping into your head.

Seungmin started to say the number and you scribbled it on the back of your hand, when he stopped speaking you looked up at him and raised an eyebrow at him. 

“You alright min-”

“I had a feeling it was you, the minute i heard Felix say your name” He mumbled, looking down at the back of his hand. 

I was right 

He’s my soulmate

You jumped from your seat and wrapped your arms around Seungmin as tight as you could, he slowly wrapped his arms around you and held you against him. 

“I knew i wasn’t stupid, i knew it wasn’t just a coincidence” You mumbled against him. 

Seungmin pulled back and looked at you with confusion written all over his face. “What do you mean?”

“The fact that you joined my school the day my soulmate tells me he’s starting a new school? And the fact that there’s probably not a lot of people in the world called Seungmin? It had to be you” 

A comfortable silence fell over the two of you, staring at each other. The two of you slowly leaned in until your faces were inches apart. 

You took the opportunity and closed the gap, pressing your lips to his. Seungmin could feel his heart speeding up in his chest as he kissed back, his eyes fluttering closed. 

The kiss was short and sweet, still managing to leave you breathless as you pulled away. Seungmin pressed his forehead against yours as his eyes slowly opened. 

“As first kisses go, that wasn’t too bad” You smiled, looking up at him. 

Seungmin smiled, full of happiness at that exact moment in time. 

He’d found his soulmate, and his soulmate happened to be the person he was developing a crush on.

“We need a break from work, a date?” He asked, unable to stop the smile.

You nodded, retracting your arms from him and standing up. “A date it is” 

This was now the happiest day of your life.

[punkscowardschampions]

Sick Kids Group Chat

sonmychest: 🤗 tigerbalm: 👋🧡 tigerbalm: it's been so long! 🙀 how are you?? sonmychest: I know! I suck sonmychest: don't want to be the youtuber spending ten minutes apologizing for not being here though sonmychest: I'm doing pretty good right now, how are you? 😚 tigerbalm: it's a bad day, not a bad life...is what I would caption if I was an instagram influencer or something 😸😸 brainpain: 🦸 speaking for me when I haven't streamed in days LOL sonmychest: 🤭🤭 sonmychest: at least we have reasons for being that #extra that aren't the vague notion of NEEDING a break from taking pictures of our ☕ brainpain: I do spend LOTS of time in a dark room but not for 📸 no flash photography PLEASE 😵 inandout: your feed just updated, Lo brainpain: 👮🚓🚨 sonmychest: stalking or hacking? sonmychest: either way I might need those expertise brainpain: I had a 🌈✨🧁 FIGHT ME, Zachary tigerbalm: it is pretty tbh inandout: friend request, but it's not as if I don't have zero hacking or stalking skills sonmychest: wait, what happened to the anonymity rules??? sonmychest: where's @gotspoons and what have you done with her?! inandout: you missed the overthrowing of a tyrant inandout: not really, but the rule book is gone gotspoons: going to pretend I was summoned by mention, not notification gotspoons: say how you really feel, Zach! 😔 inandout: I said not really, rowboat gotspoons: I have 👀 and 👂 everywhere so you better be nice 😏🤭 gotspoons: but no, hi again, @sonmychest! we missed you! gotspoons: it seemed the whole no names no real life details thing was more of a hindrance than a help to the whole goal of this group, so we came to the conclusion by majority, and the higher ups were all okay with it, providing everyone under a certain age got their parents to sign off and we all used the same common sense we use on other areas of the web gotspoons: so feel free to introduce yourself by real name if you would like, but it's not necessary if you would not 😊 gotspoons: reintroduce, I should say tigerbalm: we shared selfies & everyone was 😻😻😻 brainpain: learned what a sex god @tooexhaustedtolivevicariously aka Rich is sonmychest: 😱😱😱 sonmychest: can't believe I've missed so much sonmychest: need to get better at socialization, my mammy is right 😂 brainpain: an unrivalled love story brainpain: not that he's here to back me up on that inandout: Paris and Helen who? Romeo and Juliet who? Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII who? tigerbalm: wait, those are all 💔😿!! brainpain: he's being a brainpain: insert a swear word of your choice sonmychest: *stage whispers* it's not jealousy though, is it? sonmychest: clearly, fill me in on all the nuances whilst I frantically try to find a picture of myself that's even one 😻 brainpain: he's a 👶 you already know brainpain: but Rich will be leaving me for some uni girl 🤓 so he's not wrong about the doomed part sonmychest: face that launched a thousand ships is a really great insta bio though sonmychest: right, so we have Rich, Zach...who else? gotspoons: Rosie here 🤗 brainpain: Lauren tigerbalm: & me, Robyn inandout: the new girl who started the revolution is Zelda inandout: @ihatemyguts sonmychest: no way sonmychest: a fellow nerd, or at least child-of-a-nerd sonmychest: 'cos I'm Kara and I don't totally hate this photo [selfie] tigerbalm: 😻😻 tigerbalm: you look so like I imagined you, except I thought maybe you'd be 👼 tigerbalm: should we all send new pics? brainpain: [does because any excuse] brainpain: they'll be buried tigerbalm: [a selfie that's even shyer than the first one she sent] gotspoons: [the same photo as before] inandout: if I must [some ridiculous selfie] tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: This is a nice welcome back tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: and I've only been to physio brainpain: NOT ready for another selfie drop from you, boy brainpain: I'll be on my fainting couch brainpain: also hi tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: Perhaps I should save your 🦴s and my pride when poor Kara, hello again btw, has to pretend to swoon too brainpain: 🦸 has great taste brainpain: we all love a shy boy tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: My teachers undoubtedly wish I were shy, make their lives a lot easier tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: [a photo] here we are anyway, I hope you found a soft surface suitable for you, Lauren brainpain: ☁ tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: Ah, so you're the 👼 brainpain: LMAO 😈 brainpain: but you're looking angelic sir sonmychest: how are you ALL so cute sonmychest: this keeps happening, omg tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: 👼 face hides a multitude of 😈 sins apparently inandout: but reading between the lines, who else is making you swoon/stalk/hack inandout: that's my question tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: Well spotted, Zachary 🔎 sonmychest: 🙈 ugh, I'm so embarrassing sonmychest: but we can pretend it's all spilling out now because I played it SO cool in the actual conversation, right 😬😅 inandout: that's the official story, everyone'll confirm sonmychest: thanks, I need the backup so I can also pretend I have lots of friends and a normal social life gotspoons: we are your friends, Kara! gotspoons: though are normal is different from most tigerbalm: & you're coming to my birthday party & even though you have to stand on the other side of the room to Zach, it's still social tigerbalm: OH & we were talking about potentially meeting up!! All of us brainpain: keep it 6ft, children inandout: I'll be in the garden with my date, you can have the indoors with yours inandout: collectively, because we're all speed dating here now inandout: proud of you for picking someone outside this circle sonmychest: GAH so much exciting information today!!! sonmychest: 😁 sonmychest: obviously, I figured no one needed the drama of me falling for you, Zach sonmychest: 💀 not cute inandout: there's already a book and film about it, the chance has been thoroughly missed brainpain: Ignore him, Zelda's nothing but thrilled to find someone else in her age bracket brainpain: 👶👶 brainpain: hit us with your 💞 please sonmychest: well, I didn't just re-log into this chat today, I went on all my old forums because well, boredom, we can all relate, right? sonmychest: what I thought would be the least promising one was the sonmychest: not a dating site, I'm not 100 but you know the kind sonmychest: anyway, the CUTEST boy starts talking to me and he's also really funny and nice ??? tigerbalm: OMG! Did you swap selfies there too? sonmychest: not yet sonmychest: because he sounds so 😻😻 sonmychest: and he wants to talk to me again and he might not if we do tigerbalm: you're 😻😻😻 Kara brainpain: what she said brainpain: + if he's as funny, nice, all of that, as you said brainpain: I doubt he's a shallow jerk inandout: are you a good judge of character or not? inandout: what it comes down to sonmychest: oh, thank you guys! sonmychest: I don't know sonmychest: I think I am sonmychest: he didn't immediately come out with weird requests or weird 📸 of his own and that's a massive start on that site, I was honestly there to 🗑 my account but he changed my mind brainpain: I'll PM you the spooky stories my sister sends me about guys, it'll make you feel better brainpain: you'd know if he was one sonmychest: 🤭 do, can compare notes sonmychest: we honestly just talked about totally normal, nerdy things, it wasn't even a little sketch brainpain: ✉️ + 100000000s brainpain: hold up tigerbalm: that sounds 🧡 & so does this boy tigerbalm: awwhhh sonmychest: [sends the description he sent her slow your roll gal lol] sonmychest: assuming he isn't the archetypal internet weirdo from the 90s scare tactics tigerbalm: WOW inandout: tall, dark and handsome inandout: original sonmychest: okay, I know that covers a lot of bases sonmychest: but someone has to be brainpain: continuing to ignore you, Zach sonmychest: I get it though sonmychest: it's not like I even care what he looks like though, so even if the pics aren't exactly that description brainpain: not every man can be my Rich but doesn't make them 👹/🤡/👻/👽/👥 brainpain: trust your gut, it's not that body part that's failing you tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: 👹 is a solid representation but the hair needs to be longer tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: at the risk of making myself or Zachary appear like overly protective boys, I think as long as you're as sensible as you surely are with this, then there's no harm in the back and forth tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: so if you were going to meet this person IRL, he could perhaps come to the group meet-up, that would be a good way to do it? brainpain: *🧝🏻 that's what needs to be said about your representation tigerbalm: Great idea, Rich! 😺 tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: when the beard comes in I'll look more Gimli than Elrond but I'll take the compliment 👽 babe from outerspace brainpain: who's watching the LoTRs with me? gotspoons: count me out, I'm the worst film buddy ever 😴 ihatemyguts: how many naps could you have in 20hr28mins assuming we're watching everything extended release 'cos duh ihatemyguts: 🥳 go hard or go home 🥳 brainpain: that's you in ihatemyguts: of course ihatemyguts: long since stopped asking for a pause every time I gotta 💩 ihatemyguts: adept at catching up with the plot is a life skill I didn't expect to gain like this but 🙌 gotspoons: 😅 I could do the whole 20hr28mins and that not be a record for how many hours I've slept consecutively brainpain: I'll act it out for you, I can get the 🧝🏼🏹 costume together during the pauses brainpain: dressing up box runneth over sonmychest: 🙋 dibs Arwen sonmychest: my old Katniss cosplay can be repurposed with some bedsheets and a 👸 vibe to it brainpain: that makes Rich your daddy 👀 you, babe sonmychest: 😖😳 nooooooooooo brainpain: I'll be Galadriel if only so I can speak to my man telepathically 💕 brainpain: swerving off book for that love connection ihatemyguts: obviously eye of sauron ihatemyguts: jokes write themselves inandout: hair of a hobbit wig so likewise inandout: and you know, a jew, gonna be the one to handle the 💎 tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: How hairy are your feet, a pickup line that doesn't get thrown about enough inandout: not sending you free feet pics inandout: PM for prices though tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: Respect the hustle, Zachary tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: but I have clearly pledged myself and my allegiance to an e-girl already 🧝🏼🏹 brainpain: changed my Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim name to Galadriel for you, Richard, you've officially made me basic brainpain: will cite it in the divorce tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: as long as I can proudly produce said divorce to every mouthbreather that calls me a freak, I am okay with that tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: devastated, naturally 💔 but okay brainpain: hit me up for multiple re-marriages at your convenience, I like that for us tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: Make a solid livestream 👰💒🤵 gotspoons: I'll get officiated! tigerbalm: imagine if any of us actually did get together cos of this forum gotspoons: You never know, Robyn gotspoons: it would be so adorable 😊 tigerbalm: Kara is giving me hope that online dating doesn't have to be a minefield sonmychest: don't give up yet! sonmychest: you're so lovely, a total catch tigerbalm: there still isn't a blushing 😸 emoji & I NEED it ihatemyguts: a travesty ihatemyguts: who do we need to @ for that brainpain: @fibrofog brainpain: he was a BIG DEAL ihatemyguts: 😏 hoping he comes back and I can 👰💒🤵 him obvs brainpain: 🔺 between me/him/Rich was prime in my life ihatemyguts: glory dayz brainpain: if he doesn't show up to stop our first wedding ihatemyguts: Zach won't even properly date me until we're confirmed #foreveralone at 18 inandout: you don't call this properly dating? inandout: @Kara you've got yourself a hater before your romance has fully taken off ihatemyguts: oi, don't drag me in to your 🧂 behaviour ihatemyguts: I'm very nice, I swear inandout: that's just how I taste inandout: she knows brainpain: if I didn't know my CF facts I'd be calling for a ban brainpain: that sounds filthy sonmychest: first declaring Rich my daddy, now 👅 Zach 😲😲😲 sonmychest: I'm also quite nice but not that kind of nice, I 🤞 tigerbalm: I don't think I wanna know.... inandout: But I'll tell you inandout: when we sweat, we lose too much salt, one of our many flaws inandout: on a hot day, you could lick us and taste it, if we like you enough to let you sonmychest: maybe that can be enough of a selling point? sonmychest: if crush boy talks to me again and it invariably comes up inandout: he might get to see it crystallise on your skin, not 💎 or ✨ but hey sonmychest: such a sexy condition, when you leave out all the mucus inandout: ZZ top is feeling it, she wants to properly date me ihatemyguts: 🧂 is a flavour I can enjoy pretty unrestricted ihatemyguts: let me have some pleasure tigerbalm: do the normies flirt like this too? tigerbalm: Kara you'll have to tell us, when you go further undercover ihatemyguts: don't know how lucky you are to have that pickup line in your back pocket ihatemyguts: just add tequila and a lemon and you've got a good time sonmychest: I'll 100% report back, providing he doesn't go 👻 brainpain: you need a drink when a boy lovingly strokes your hair only to feel the dent in your 💀 sonmychest: but also, to work out if your amazing hair is real or nah brainpain: I have too many split ends to be asked if it's a wig sonmychest: I ✂ my own sonmychest: and not often enough 😅 brainpain: don't reach for the bleach cos Robbie sees you as a blonde, there's my sisterly/old lady advice sonmychest: oh God, with these brows? sonmychest: I can swear I won't do that, along with meet up with internet randos alone brainpain: I'd volunteer to come along but I don't do disappearing into the background brainpain: would wear a trenchcoat for the right 💸💸 gotspoons: Normies definitely TRY to use our disabilities as a way to flirt with us, with varying success gotspoons: the amount of time I spend in bed is nothing to be 😏 about, honestly gotspoons: even if I was also chiming in to confirm blondes do have more fun, when they've had all their vitamins, a perfect amount of sleep, the stars have aligned JUST right... 🤭 tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: as resident ♿ user, they most ask if IT 'works', which is a bizarre level of care for people who aren't concerned about how me getting into their establishment really 'works' tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: and, my dear, you are a terrible third wheel tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: 🔻 suits you better than obscurity 😎 brainpain: but I am a fun time with the TBI having increased the impulsiveness + removing the few inhibitions I did have 😉 brainpain: inappropriate sexual activity is a listed symptom 🤞 boys ihatemyguts: definitely a case of 'okay when I point it out to embolden myself, creepy if you do it' ihatemyguts: think some normies point out their flaws to be endearing but idk, is low-key a disability superpower guys, + 1 for us brainpain: like, what does that mean? Inappropriate for who? Answers on a ✉️ please ihatemyguts: could range from, science, you're being a prude to calling you a master criminal on the low brainpain: so many of my symptoms could describe anyone in their teens or early 20s brainpain: Rich, write a smart boy uni essay on it tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: depending on the bit that gets damaged, could be the same part that isn't yet fully developed in young people tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: checks out 🧠 brainpain: you're SO clever brainpain: you'll be fighting off more than one 🤓 girl tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: I'm not sure about that, on either count tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: though the chair is a useful battering ram when it needs to be brainpain: I'm into it tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: then you can hitch a ride, of course brainpain: reserved™ tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: the parking is unparalleled brainpain: not allowed to drive, you are my transport now, no pressure gotspoons: Me either, who can? gotspoons: need to work out the carpool situation brainpain: my housemate will, she owes me 10000s of favours inandout: + my parents tigerbalm: mine too but they're a lot to inflict upon anyone sonmychest: ^^hard same tigerbalm: maybe we get ourselves there unless someone can't? tigerbalm: & those people speak up sonmychest: That makes sense to me brainpain: ok, is there anyone who needs a lift? ihatemyguts: I'm good tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: likewise gotspoons: I'll make a permanent post where people can register interest in the meet-up, as well as need for a lift gotspoons: so anyone who can offer a lift, can respond there too, sound good guys? 😊 inandout: cool inandout: very un-tyrant like gotspoons: thank you, Zach 😏

[sophoreads]

Annotation notes for Wicked Saints

Attached under the cut are my word-for-word annotation notes pulled straight from my copy of Wicked Saints. Check out my previous post and goodreads review before reading the annotation notes.

I only decided to start annotating this book 115 pages in, because I realized that there were so many problems I was complaining about to my friend Sophie over text that I thought “Hey, I’d better write this shit down so I have receipts/can easily reference my thoughts.” I’d never really done annotations before, so I pulled out a new pack of sticky notes and color tabs that someone gave to me for free when I was in college and got to work. I ran out of sticky notes (started a new pad) and yellow tabs (borrowed last few from a weird tab/highlighter I found at the bottom of my college study stuff bin). I also got so frustrated I had to put the book down several times, because I’d paid eighteen dollars to pre-order this fucking garbage.

Pg 115 Pink tab – Character note --Bitch do you want to kill him or not? This is like bad Reylo fic— (Nadya being ~~inexplicably~~ held back from killing Mal, because she really wants to kill Mal, but just CANT for SOME REASON)

pg 123 Yellow tab – writing/literacy/grammar note --no note written— “He braced himself for the inevitable summons from his father. It arrived immediately by way of servant wearing a plain brown mask that left only his eyes visible. One of his father’s personal servants.”

Pg 137 Yellow tab – writing/literacy/grammar note --WTF is “it commanded attention”?! This whole throne bit is needlessly over-explanatory and could be fixed by adhering to golden rule “show, don’t tell”—

pg 139 Yellow tab --you don’t have to repeat the same thing twice!— “…Serefin paused, swallowing down the anxiety threatening to choke him. He was suddenly unspeakably nervous.”

Pg 140 Yellow tab --you just said they didn’t know who it was and now, not even a page later, you’re literally describing Mal and saying you DO know who it was?! WHO TF EDITED THIS SHIT— (Izak telling Serefin that they don’t know the vulture who escaped, then the vulture lurking behind him describing the backstory of the vulture who escaped)

pg 145 pink tab --what, is she Canadian now?— “You’ve realized your father isn’t so good a father to you, eh?” she [Pelayega] asked.

Pg 146 Yellow tab --For all that Duncan over-explains things in this story I still don’t fucking understand the High/Low prince thing??? Not once has she gone into it. And what the fuck is a slavhka?— (in reference to the first mention of there being “low princes”)

pg 148 Blue tab – Plot note --Why is the church still standing they LITERALLY TORE IT DOWN! THIS PART OF IT COLLAPSED!!!— (in reference to parijahan lying on top of pillows in the church Mal and Nadya just destroyed to get rid of the Vultures)

pg 153 Yellow tab --Are we really still saying “invalid” in the year of our unbridled insanity 2019?— “…Your mother, Estera, is an invalid…” (Mal making up a fake background for Nadya)

pg 153 Blue tab --SINCE WHEN DOES HE HAVE TATTOOS ON HIS HANDS— (in reference to the very first mention of Mal having tattoos on his hands, 153 pages into the story)

pg 155 Pink tab --Anna is so flat a character she could be removed from the whole book and not one thing would change— (in reference to Anna deciding to leave the group to re-join Kalyazi forces. I hold by this statement because Anna had no fucking role in the end of the book, and was therefore a useless character throughout)

pg 157 Pink tab --I’m sorry are we ETHNIC CLEANSING?! IS THIS WHAT WE ARE ENDORSING?! WTF?— “…then we can cleanse Kalyazin of the heretics entirely”

pg 163 Blue tab --this is the first we are hearing about any hierarchy in the vultures, which we should have read many chapters ago, not just when convenient for the author/plot— (in reference to first mention of Crimson Vulture)

pg 164 Yellow tab/Blue tab (overlapping domains) --Inches? FRACTIONS? IN THIS ECONOMY?!— (what is math in medieval Poland)

pg 167 Yellow tab --Still have not defined nobility and what makes a family “noble” or slavhka or whatever “low prince/royalty” or some shit— (In reference to yet another mention of low princes/royalty and somehow differentiating them from slavhka)

pg 168 Blue tab --I am more interested in gay Romeo/Juliet in a blood mage society than I am the entire plot of Wicked Saints— --Also this interaction feels cringey and thrown in for…no real reason?— “You’ve missed so much! Did you know that Nikodem Stachowicz was caught in the palace archives with the youngest Osadik boy?” (Zaneta)

pg 170 Yellow tab --FIRE YOUR COPY EDITOR— He shrugged, burying his tattooed hands in his pockets. “It binds over time, magic does. Especially blood magic. It’s so accessible. You don’t have to have a true affinity for it…” (Mostly I got furious over the fact that we’re only just getting Mal’s tattoo hands, which was obviously written in as an afterthought for his character partway through the writing process and not retconned into the story. I also just hate the sentence “it binds over time, magic does.”)

Pg 170 Yellow tab --Page 170: “walked on” Page 177: on horseback. WHAT IS THE TRUTH?— “Malachiasz stopped to wait for Nadya while the others walked on ahead” (this note coincides with a future note)

pg 173 Orange tab – blatant parallels to and lifts from Dragon Age franchise --you get a special shame-color for copying Dragon Age (also WHAT IS YOUR MAGIC STRUCTURE HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE) (it’s just bad writing)— “He was referring to witches—apostate magic users outside the gods’ approval—but there had been no witches in Kalyazin for decades. Their route of magic was considered just as heretical as blood magic…”

pg 176 yellow tab --Emily A Duncan focuses [more] on the little actions of Malacheezit than she does for any other character and it hurts the story— (specific reference to line “He fidgeted, fingers picking at a hang nail” interjected in dialogue. This action-dialogue tag does no service to the story at all.)

Pg 177 Pink tab --What the fuck? Is this about Holy War or is this a romance fantasy? (note the order: not “fantasy romance”)— “In a flash, his hand was underneath her chin, thumb brushing against her jaw…If Nadya hadn’t been sitting down she suspected her knees would have given out on her.”

Pg 177 Yellow tab --SINCE WHEN DO THEY HAVE FUCKING HORSES?! FIRE ALL YOUR EDITORS FIRE THE PUBLISHER— “Nadya let her horse wander instead of tying it up, sending a short prayer up to Vaclav to keep an eye on the animal so it didn’t stray too far.” (These horses were never mentioned before (note connects to a prev. note) and were never mentioned again after this. I literally cannot fathom how or why this book made it to final printing in this state.)

Pg 183 Pink tab --All this romance shit seems so forced for both Nadya and mal. I see no actual attraction on either party?— (I’m not recording the second note as it is a crude remark against the author, a remark of which I still stand by, but would be damaging to both her and myself. However, the emotion of the second note follows the concept of “anyone who knew what they were talking about wouldn’t write this kind of bullshit.”)

Pg 185 Yellow tab --“Per se”? I’m sorry is there LATIN in this world? (it’s bad writing)— “He wasn’t putting it off per se, he…”

pg 186 yellow tab --“It was fitting THAT assassins…” ugh— “It was fitting assassins chose to strike that same evening” (Doesn’t the author have a masters degree? And works in a library? How is her writing this chopped and sloppy, omitting crucial subject/action markers?)

Pg 198 Blue tab --Jesus, are prostitutes of war a NORMAL THING? WE SHOULD BE SAVING THESE POOR WOMEN— “The girl is…” He faltered, convincingly. “Well, you understand.” He winked at the soldier. (the soldier doesn’t even remark on Nadya’s sex slave status) (Also I realize that “prostitutes of war” is not the correct vernacular, however I’m committed to giving you my direct and exact notes. I know that they are slaves of war, sex slaves specifically, and do not receive true compensation or reparation for their suffering.)

Pg 201 Pink tab --HOW THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT NOBLES? YOU LIVED YOUR WHOLE LIFE IN A MONASTERY!— “Nobles are nobles,” she [Nadya] said waving a hand. “Regardless of where they come from. The pettiness of court transcends all cultural boundaries.”

Pg 202 Blue tab --WHAT THE FUCK? EXPLAIN YOUR MAGIC/MYTHS— (referencing the blasé and brief mention of Wolf Changers, which we never hear about again)

pg 203 blue tab --WHAT NECKLACE? WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?— --Oh, that necklace, that was mentioned in the first chapter, forgotten, reintroduced the following chapter, then COMPLETELY forgotten again! Bad writing. Bad props.— “Her prayer beads were safely in her pocket, so she clutched at the necklace Kostya had given her.”

Pg 205 Blue tab --Is her accent suddenly better?— (reference to previous statements of Nadya having a terrible travanian accent, hence the sex slave thing to the border guard so she doesn’t have to talk, but now she’s talking and there was no reference to her improving her accent at all or even working on it.)

pg 207 yellow tab --I can see Emily has a kink for masks + chin grabbing— “He [Serefin] reached out and took her chin in his hand, lifting her face up to his” (Mal has also done this to Nadya countless times and she orgasms almost every time.)

Pg 209 Orange tab --The veil, yet another stolen Dragon Age concept!— “…closed her eyes, letting herself feel the invisible wall separating gods from men. She felt it the moment they had stepped into Tranavia, the weight of the veil pressing down against her, choking off her only access to the divine.” (This is also the very first reference to any such veil being in place. It took 209 pages for this to be mentioned, in a book chock full of a girl talking to gods in her head. Also, they’ve been in Tranavia for awhile. Why wasn’t this mentioned when they first stepped foot inside? (because it’s bad writing))

Pg 209 Pink tab --Nadya’s powers seem almost limitless at this point— “Holy speech whispered through her head and she moved to disassemble the spells woven through the walls. She couldn’t take them apart completely— someone would notice, precautions in place—she was just making them fuzzy, bleeding them out. She dulled them so any information imparted back to the mages who set them would appear mundane.” (If Nadya’s powers (at this point in the book) are tied to the gods, there is no mention of which god provides these powers. If this is meant to foreshadow that Nadya has her own powers, it’s a lazy job. It’s simply overpowered and oversimplified. )

Pg 210 [no tab just a sticky] --oh FINALLY we hear how they met!— “I’ve known him [Rashid] my whole life. And we crashed into Malachiasz about six months ago after getting into trouble with some off-duty Kalyazi soldiers.”

Pg 214 [no tab just a sticky] --also can we acknowledge the whole “brown girl serves a white girl” thing because WOW— (in reference to Parijahan playing handmaiden to Nadya at the palace)

pg 215 Pink tab --“Couldn’t worry about the prince”? wasn’t HE the one she wanted to kill in revenge for Kostya? (IS THAT ALL FORGOTTEN NOW?)

pg 216 Pink tab --First Zaneta is Indian [coded] and now she’s black [coded]? WHAT?— “…a tall girl with luminous skin like onyx threaded with gold…her spiral curls fanned out around her head like a halo.”

Pg 217 Orange tab --The game? Court intrigue? Masks? This all reeks of Orlais and direct theft from Dragon Age— (in reference to basically the whole castle competition, masks, etc)

pg 217 Yellow tab --And now we’re switching perspectives mid-chapter? Just start a new chapter!— (in reference to the very first mid-chapter perspective switch, which will occur more from here on out)

pg 232 yellow tab --I am so sick of these italicized words without any translation or description— (in reference to szitelka which I still DON’T KNOW WHAT IT IS)

pg 233 pink tab --what the fuck is Nadya’s perspective? Does she want to kill all Tranavians or not? Emily make up your fucking mind— (in reference to Nadya getting pissed at Mal for killing the other blood mage girl in Nadya’s duel, so that Nadya wouldn’t die and the duel would end)

pg 234 pink tab --literally when has Nadya worried about his safety, esp. when she’s the one always threatening to kill him?— “She hadn’t forgotten, not even while she found herself worrying about his safety and wanting him by her side.”

Pg 235 Pink tab --oh FINALLY we get a description of his tattoos! 235 PAGES IN!!!! BULLSHIT YOU HACK WRITER!— “She found her eyes drawn to the tattoos on his long, elegant fingers. They were simple, straight lines: two on either side of each finger and one down the back that started at the bed of each fingernail and ended at his wrist in a single black bar.” (I literally vomited in my mouth when I read this)

Pg 238 Pink tab --Oh so Mal can’t murder to save you but you can murder Tranavians and its fucking justified? Nadya is such a bad Nazi char.— “It’s not an apology for murdering that girl, she noted. But it was a start. It was something from this boy who obviously had no morals and no regard for anything that didn’t serve his own interests.” (Nadya is the worst hypocrite and I want to punch her in the face)

Pg 239 Yellow tab --Hanged? Since when? Has hanging? Been a threat? Ever? In this world?— “…or else this whole mess of a plan will go up in smoke and we’ll all be hanged for it.”

Pg 240 Pink tab (this is another omitted note because it is a crude comment in part against the author, but the other half does say that Nadya is such a virgin and that I am second-hand embarrassed because this book and the “romance” scenes are so bad)

pg 242 blue tab --If Nadya used blood magic, why don’t the gods cut off her powers for her heresy? It would only make sense— (this is just a general comment on the chapter and how, after the duel and Nadya used blood magic, her gods were still talking to her. This is also before we find out that Nadya has her own powers)

pg 247 yellow tab --the way this is lazily written we’re supposed to assume it’s Ostiya at the door. Could be written much better (all of this could be written much better)— “Serefin hastily wrapped his still-bleeding hand with cloth while Kacper got the door. Ostiya blinked her single eye at the sight of both of them.”

Pg 248 Blue tab --“delicate gov[ernmen]t? we don’t even know how  the gov’t is even structured!— “This was too far. It would crumble Travania’s already delicate government.”

Pg 259 Blue tab --Oh good, a love triangle. Good to know Nadya’s type is “blood mage  tortured/charming boy” that grabs chin + kisses hands— “…and wasn’t sure what to do with this charmingly awkward boy. That he was one of the most powerful blood mages in Tranavia...She wavered too much already; she couldn’t allow herself to feel any more.”

Pg 260 Pink tab --Literally all that Parijahan does is be soft + comforting? That is literally all she does to Mal + Nadya + Rashid?— “Nadya usually didn’t see this side of Parijahan. It relieved her to see there was a warm softness to Parijahan’s flinty gaze.”

Pg 270 Blue tab --What do you mean? When did you mention that the gods had withdrawn their power from Nadya?— “She had no magic. She had nothing. She had no hope without her gods.”

Pg 275 Blue tab --But they would abandon her for using blood magic you dumbass— “The gods wouldn’t have abandoned her. Not for a few doubts, not for kissing a heretic—not even that.”

Pg 278 Blue tab --Okay this is actually a really cool scene— (when Nadya is first using blood with the pendant to see her way out of the room the rogue Vultures locked her in)

pg 280 blue tab --Calls her “little bird” is this Mal?— (referencing this unnamed god that Nadya is talking to via Kostya’s necklace)

pg 287 yellow tab --sloppy transition makes it seem as though a new person is talking— (Basically for the next two pages Emily incorrectly punctuates her paragraph breaks while Pelayega is talking.)

Pg 294 Orange tab --Velyos=Solas=Mal? Oh my god is this whole plot a regurgitation of DA:Inquisition/Trespasser?— “Have you heard of him? I suppose not. The veil went up, Velyos broke away. Your gods were probably relieved, but here he is once more...”

pg 298 blue tab --fucking called it (“acted like he was dead”? Literally said before that he was “sent to the country”)— (in reference to Serefin seeing Mal and discovering that his cousin is the Black Vulture. Previously, a not so subtle mention of a nameless male cousin of Serefin’s was “sent to the country” when he was young. I immediately pegged it as being Mal. But now it is written that Serefin was led to believe that his cousin died? The inconsistencies are rife.)

pg 308 pink tab --Does Nadya literally have no self control or sense of morality (for her own morals)? What the fuck is this?— “Then her traitorous, heretical hands betrayed her as she reached up and wove them into his hair, pulling his face down to hers and kissing him. Because she was angry with him, furious with his lies, but not even her anger was enough to cool the burning she felt when he was near; the heat that spread through her nerves when he touched her.”

Pg 308 Pink tab --ooh power shift, she’s doing the chin-grabbing now!— “She took his chin in her hand, directing his gaze down to hers.”

Pg 309 Blue tab --except for the vultures that kidnapped her? What about them?!— “Go to the cathedral when you’re finished here,” he said. “None of the Vultures will give you any trouble.”

Pg 313 Pink tab --Didn’t want the fate of nations? She LITERALLY came here to topple the monarchy and uproot Tranavia and start a mass ethinic cleansing— “She was only one girl; she didn’t want the fate of nations resting on her decisions.”

Pg 314 Pink tab --YOU CAN’T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS YOU DUMB BITCH— [the dumb bitch being Nadya] “The war took something important to me,” she said, fingering Kostya’s necklace unconsciously. She couldn’t think about how it had been Serefin who had led that attack. (Nadya literally forgets and completely forgives Serefin for what she believes is Kostya’s murder (we know that Kostya wasn’t killed by Serefin but his BABY BRO WAS). Like, wasn’t Kostya super important to her? And she tried to kill Serefin in revenge but Mal stopped her? And in literally less than a week she totally forgets about it?)

Pg 318 Pink tab --Honestly, Mal deserves better than Nadya. He’s clearly doing his best and she’s just being racist and unwavering.— He opened his mouth, at a loss for words. Finally, he asked, “Will it always be like this?” Would it? She couldn’t say. Would she ever be comfortable with what he was? Or would it always be this constant hot and cold, friends one second and enemies the next? “I don’t know.” (Nadya is so abusive in this whole relationship I feel bad for Mal)

pg 321 yellow tab --He literally said he only told her the truth?! Mal has literally not told one lie?— “He was a liar and she wanted his truths”

pg 322 yellow tab --The whole order of this scene description + the characters is clunky and wrong— (no further comment really, that pretty much explains it)

pg 326 pink tab --Did she literally forget about Kostya? Did Nadya literally just forgive Serefin b/c she thinks he’s cute and tortured? LITERALLY? WHY?— “Serefin. He’s good,” She nuzzled his chest. “I like him. He should live.”

Pg 327 Blue tab --Can Serefin suddenly write his own spells now?! I thought only Mal could do that— “As he sat down at his desk with spells sprawled out in front of him, blood still drying on the pages, he couldn’t shake the feeling…”

pg 335 pink tab --That’s right, bitch! You’re damn nigh abusive to him and for some reason he keeps coming back! I don’t know why since you have the personality of a Nazi but for some reason Mal just really wants to fuck you!— “How could she be the only good thing to happen to him? She had almost slit his throat, had hung him off a railing. She didn’t even trust him, not really.”

Pg 351 Blue tab --since when have we seen a fucking calendar system?— “…turned the tide of a battle in 625 when…” (this is a “Vasiliev’s Book of Saints” entry for chapter 33. There is one more reference to a year in an earlier codex entry (tsk another Dragon Age ripoff) for something like 15XX. We don’t know what year it is, nor do we know when/why they started counting. Maybe it’s not critical for the story but it IS critical if you’re bringing it up.)

pg 357 orange tab --Literally Solas’s plot in Trespasser— “She bit back a cry of pain and shoved her magic harder up at the veil. If this was when she died, then fine. Fine. She would tear this veil down first and bring the gods back to Tranavia with her dying breath.”

Pg 360 Blue tab --How did she get here? Already? These scenes are so lazy, show me Nadya scrambling up the dais to Mal’s waiting neck— “He idly spun a chalice on the armrest and Serefin watched as the cleric stood and darted for a dagger that reseted a few steps away. It was time to test just what he could do with this power. (now it’s Nadya’s POV) Malachiasz’s eyes closed. He tilted his head back, baring his throat to Nadya’s blade.”

Pg 363 Yellow tab --Did we just miss Serefin fighting his father for Nadya’s sexy threatening? Was that really a real choice the author made?— (Nadya looks over at Serefin) “Serefin was on his knees, hunched over in pain, blood oozing from his head, one hand white-knuckled on the ground holding him up. Dead moths littered the floor around him. The stars around his head began to flicker out.”

Pg 368 Yellow tab --you CANNOT call it an “Adam’s apple” when there is no “Adam” or Christianity in this fantasy world! Lazy writing indeed!— “His head tilted back, Adam’s apple bobbing, as he swallowed hard.”

Pg 376 Yellow tab --this line is so cliché and fucking bad why the fuck is it even in here?— “The king is dead, long live the king,” she said, handing it [the crown] to him [Serefin].

Pg 376 Yellow tab --And why didn’t you write that the other vultures disappeared? There is so much missing here— “Where are all the Vultures?” Ostiya asked “Most probably fled with their king,” Serefin said.

Pg 378 Yellow tab --Is what enough? Power? Crown? What the fuck? This is so sloppy— “Will this be enough?” she asked him [Serefin]. “To stop the war?” … [Serefin:] “It will”

pg 380 yellow tab --No clear description of where Mal is. Is this physical or ethereal? What the fuck is happening?— (Mal’s whole epilogue)