#HI JEN THANK U FOR THE QUESTION I HAD FUN MAKING THESE

[qbdream]

@jensrs asked: 8. best look that one each of them has sported

[kpopluvrsblog]

I got you princess

Requested: may i please request for a jealous bsf mark where he sees y/n getting wasted in the club (because she saw mark getting close with the popular girl) and she's with yeonjun so he drags her out and they fight but end up confessing to each other.. i hope that isn't confusing haha thanks !

Genre: angst + fluff, smut!

Pairing: mark x fem!reader

Warnings: SMUT! Dom!mark x sub!fem!reader, unprotected sex ( uak the drill ), reader goes somewhat into subspace at the end, creampie , kind of rough sex, slight masturbation suggestive dancing, swearing, use of the word slut

A/n: this is so long,,, SORRY I ADDED SMUT i cant help myself when it comes to mark... if anyone doesn’t want to read that part it is at the end!!

You slam your locker shut, sighing loudly as “those two” pass by murmuring amongst themselves. By “those two” you mean mark and little miss popular. It’s not that you were popular but of course everyone loves miss perfect aka Jen and they can’t see through her facade. “Me and mark used to be like that..” you whispered to yourself.

“HEY Y/N” someome suddenly screamed in your ear. “YEONJUN!! oh my,,, you scared me!” You whined and smacked his arm lightly, making him chuckle to himself. “ Mmm sooo how’s your little crush on mark going? He seems to be all over jen today...” yeonjun asked with a face of concern.

“ oh a little?” Your eyebrows shot up with sarcasm. “Honestly, its... ever since they’ve gotten closer, she’s got him wrapped around her finger. Its as if me and mark had never been friends.” You look off to the side and scoffed at how whiny you sounded.

“No no no y/n... thats it!! I am not letting you sulk over this loser. He doesn’t understand anything.” He rolled his eyes before continuing “ we need to go out!!” He said happily. “ go where exactly?” You questioned as you grabbed his hand and started to walk to the exit of the school. “ go clubbing!!” Yeonjun said excitedly.

‘Clubbing huh... that doesn’t sound too bad!’ You thought in your head. “ alright clubbing it is!!”

That leads to where you are now. Looking at yourself in the mirror, wearing a burgundy fitting dress which made all of your curves stand out and matched it with burgundy heels as well. You have done light makeup with a black winged liner and added diamond jewelry pieces.

“DAMN y/n... baby you look GREAT!! wow you look so good i-“ yeonjun cut himself off when he reached up to his mouth and wiped off his drool, his actions making you laugh. “Stop!! Lets just go!” You said while laughing. You noticed his attire matches yours. He was wearing a burgundy suit as well which complimented him so well. “You look really good too though...” you smiled brightly at him as he grabbed your hand, thanking you with a blush on his face and brought you to his car.

The drive to the club was around 30 minutes. Yeonjun had found a club or as he called it “ the best club you’ll ever go to” and insisted that you both go there for the night. He said he wouldn’t drink so he could be your DD ( designated driver).

——————————————————————————

Your mouth dropped open when he pulled into the private parking lot for the club. “Yeonjun this is..” you trailed off in awe. “Amazing. I know.” He finished the sentence for you. “alright, in we go!!” He jumped excitedly.

As you walked to the large glass double doors. The bright lights and blaring music became clearer. You could see the many people that were occupied inside. Yeonjun said something to the security man standing outside, which u didn’t understand since you were too busy admiring the place, but before you knew it he was leading you inside.

“ALRIGHT, drinks first baby we gotta get you to loosen up before we get started.” He shouted over the music and the yells of the other people as he brought you to the bar. When he talked to the barista you started to scan the crowd of unfamiliar faces, smiling at the sight of everyone having fun. Suddenly you furrowed your eyebrows... ‘was that mark?? What was he doing here... wait, jen is... dancing on him.. woah, okay.’ Your thoughts ended as yeonjun poked your side and handed the shot glass to you “ thanks” you smiled at him and chugged the drink, feeling the hot liquid slide down your throat, leaving a slight burn.

“Agh” you winced at the flavor causing yeonjun to chuckle. “Its good huh?” He smirked. You turned back to the barista, “excuse me!! Can you give me the strongest shot you got?!” You questioned with a smirk. “Challenge accepted” the barista laughed and went to mix you up a drink. If mark can have fun why can’t you?? It’s time to get over him.. he’s obviously taken. “Is that mark here??! What the fuck man!!” Yeonjun shouted with a look of pure disgust when he saw who was attached to him.

“Y/n lets go! We’re going to go dance and show him what he’s missing!!” He looked back over to you just in time to see you take the mystery shot. “Damn that shits strong” you croaked and laughed when you saw yeonjun smiling at you.

He pulled your hand through the crowd of bodies and brought you to an open spot. Already feeling the alcohol take its place you started to dance with yeonjun wrapping your hands around his neck as he placed his hands on your hips. You smiled up at him and turned around in his grip, bending fowards slightly, now grinding your ass up against his bulge with his hands still groping your hips as he grinds into you.

You stood back up, still moving your hips and reached your arms over your shoulders to hold onto the back of his neck lightly. You looked up and met a gaze of who you completely forgot about. Jen was no where to be seen and mark was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, biting his lip harshly and glaring at the man groping you. Yeonjun leaned down slightly to press a light kiss to your neck and thats when mark broke.

One second you were dancing with jun and the next someone was leading you to a secluded place of this club. “WHAT the fuck are you doing mark!!! Let me go!!” You shouted as he pulled you into one of the empty backrooms. “Shut up.” Is all he said while he went to block you from leaving the room. “Shut up?!! What do you mean shut up!! Ive been shutting up since you decided to ignore me for the schools slut!!” You shouted at him trying to push him out of your way.

“HEY!! She is not a slut first of all-“ you cut him off with a slap to his face making him stare at you in shock. “Not a slut?? Mark where do you think she ran off to huh?! You think you were the only guy shes been talking too?! What a dumbass... im leaving now.” You declared waiting for him to move out of your way.

“Y/n... listen-” Mark started. “No!! I don’t want some pity apology to leave your mouth! I want to leave and never see you again.” You stated with your arms crossed until mark suddenly pulled you into his chest, arms wrapped tightly around you, as if he let go it would cause you to disappear. “ what the- Let me go!!” You mumbled into his suit.

You heard him sniffle and now realized that he was crying... a lot. Even though he is a dumbass you can’t help your feelings for him. “Listen y/n... im so so sorry that i pushed you away. I just- oh my gosh. I love you y/n... so very much that I unintentionally pushed you away and when i noticed how close you were to yeonjun, i thought that i could never treat you like how he does, i could never make you happy and i KNEW THAT. When jen started to pay attention to me, i thought i could take my mind off of you and that you would have a better life without me in it. I know how she is y/n... but my jealousy got the better of me. The reason why she left just now is because I wasn’t paying attention to her. How could i when you were standing so beautifully in front of me... and thats when i noticed that i couldn’t get over you, especially with yeonjun touching all over you when that could’ve been me if i tried and i- hmmph“

He was talking too much... his words making tears rolls down your face, soaking up into his suit. You leaned up to press your lips tightly against his. His body stiffened when your lips touched his... they were so soft. He quickly loosened up and hugged you tighter, his lips now moving with yours as you continued to make out. After a few minutes you pulled apart, a string connected between you both, chests heaving. You knew you looked like a mess but mark still looked down at you with so much love.

“First of all your still a dumbass...” you whispered, causing mark to giggle. “ I’ve never stopped loving you, me and yeonjun are just friends and he knows about my crush on you. But when you started ignoring me.. wow it hurt so bad and it pains me to admit that. I was so jealous that I couldn’t be with you-“ mark cut you off with another peck. “Mark let me finish!!” You blushed trying to pry him off of you.

“No i already know where this is going... im sorry for being a fucking idiot but i really do love you and i hope you can forgive me.” He said while letting a few more tears out.

“Okay no more crying!! Of course i forgive you and I obviously still love you too... you’re lucky you only ignored me for around a month though...” you trailed off into a fit of giggles. “Lets leave this place y/n, ill tell yeonjun whats going on and ill take you to my place to get you cleaned up okay??” Mark said while caressing your hair lovingly. “Mhm lets go!”

——————————————————————————

《smut starts》

After some time, you and mark had finally arrived at his house. “Ahhh okay here we are.” He sighed when he pulled into his driveway. “ okay lets get you cleaned up hmm?” He questioned when you both entered his house. Too tired to answer you hummed an answer back hoping he would understand, of course he did. Having already been here many times before, you remember where everything is which made it easier to navigate through his home. “Lets take off these shoes first, i bet your feet hurt so bad right now.” He pouted and sat you down on his couch, leaning down to take off each heel and lightly massaging your sore feet. “ it’s alright you can close your eyes baby ill take care of you.” Mark then leaned up to peck your lips one last time to hear you mumble “ thanks baby i lovveee you hmm” you then closed your eyes and felt him pick you up, bridal style and bring you into his bathroom. He took off your jewelry and placed them safely in the cabinet. He then proceeded to remove any excess of makeup that you had left on your face.

He was debating whether or not he should bathe you, as you probably feel gross. Since you had not fallen asleep yet, you decided that you wanted to be clean. “Baby you can bathe me its okay. I trust you.” You said softly, making mark smile at your cuteness. “Alright, im going to undress you now, lift your arms up for me.” You did as you were told, he took the snug dress off of your body, leaving you in your matching lace bra and panties... he couldnt help but get turned on. He thought your body was outstanding. Mark shook his head lightly trying to get out of his thoughts, you, now with your eyes open, noticed his actions and smirked. “Whatcha looking at?” You questioned innocently while looking down at your body.

“I uh- uhm oh yeah ill start the bath” he blushed and moved to the tub, now filling it up with hot water. The alcohol had mostly wore off now, since you hadn’t drank a lot. You started to unclip your bra and pull off your panties. “Mark can you help me in the tub please” you asked. You both knew you were capable of getting in yourself but nonetheless he grabbed your hips and set you softly into the tub.

“Dont you want to get clean too?” You asked and pulled lightly on the bottom of his tie. He smirked at your request and pecked your cheek. “Let me go get clothes for us to change into and ill be right back.” When he walked out you couldn’t help but notice his hard on. God he was so hot.

You knew you had some time. Whats the harm in just touching yourself a little? You fingers slowly trailed down to your clit and you slowly rubbed circles on the sensitive nub, letting your head fall back and small moans pour out from your mouth. “Having fun without me?” Mark asked with his clothes off and standing in the doorway, his hard dick on display. Where did this Confidence come from? He came up to the tub and lifted you out now patting you dry and emptying the tub.

“Do you really want this?” He looked you in the eyes as he asked this. “Yes i really want this please” you answered and bit your lip. “We’ll bathe after this then okay?” He didnt give you time to answer as he picked you up and brought you out of the bathroom straight into his room. He placed you gently on top of his bed sheets, luckily there was a thick blanket on top that he had layed out, so now the sheets won’t be dirty.

You pulled him on top of you and trapped him between your legs as you made out with him, lightly sucking and pulling on his lips, with your hand running through his soft disheveled hair. He groaned into your mouth as the tip of his dick brushed against your slick entrance. “Just put it in im wet enough and i really need you i cant wait please please please- OH” you moaned aloud as he followed your requests. His thick dick now stretching out your tiny pussy. 

“Fuck baby your so tight for me, damn you feel so good. Does it feel good for you baby?” He whimpered into the crook of your neck as he pushed your thighs apart farther, his hips now pressed tightly against yours. “It- um.. mmh” you already couldn’t form a sentence...

He chuckled and put his hand under your head, now holding you even closer. “Fuck.. m- mm move please” you whimpered. You were so sensitive and felt so full with him pressing against your cervix. He slowly pulled out and pushed back in, which made you gasp and clench even more, making it hard for him to move. “Loosen up for me hm? Let me fuck you properly. Show you how its done baby” you followed his orders and let him keep hitting that spongy spot deep inside of you. “A- ah keep going” you let out gasps and moans as he was now pounding into you. Mark was breathing heavily as he sucked marks onto your pretty delicate skin.

He snaked a hand down to rub on the nub you were playing with earlier. “Feel good?” He questioned and got a moan in response. He knew you were close by how you started to clench uncontrollably. “Im gonna cum shit im going to-“ you stopped your rant when he went even harder than before, you could feel him in your stomach. “I know baby. Cum. Cum all over me and make a mess. I got you.”

“FU-“ your orgasm was so hard that you went silent as your eyes rolled back, nails leaving streaks on his back. “Fuck y/n im cumming” he came inside of you with long hot ropes shooting into the deepest parts of your body, filling you up to the brim with warmth. You both came down together... only mark came down actually. “You’re okay princess. You did so good. Come back down to me, im waiting” mark whispered to you as he pulled out of you slowly, watching a white mess come gushing out of you. “Mmhm i did good?” You asked with a whimper while holding onto your stomach, feeling full. “Yes princess, so so good for me. Im going to bathe you and change you now okay? You can sleep, i know you’re tired.” After hearing his words you fell into a deep sleep knowing that he would take care of you.

——————————————————————————

You woke up with the feeling of being wrapped in warmth. You groaned as you turned around in marks hold, now facing his angelic sleeping face...’ he looks so at peace’ you thought. You also noticed that he dressed you in an oversized sweatshirt of his and gave you a pair of his boxers to wear. He really did clean and take care of you last night huh...his grip tightened around you and you left a soft kiss to his lips as you fell back into your slumber with a smile, knowing that you were definitely going to spend your life with this man.

[theyarebothgunshot]

ok gunshot i want to thank u for making me curious abt the hand gesture too bc i have spent my afternoon doing some investigative journalism watching straddlegate to try and figure it out with context. SO honestly it’s still baffling bc jensen is clearly drunk and whilst someone was asking a question a few minutes before straddlegate he clearly indicates with the same gestures that he has a bigger dick than misha rather than listening to the question (he asks ‘what?’ afterwards and the person repeats their question, the audience laugh, it’s all in good fun) but after straddlegate with the addition of Jared things get WEIRD and kinda tense. jared says to misha ‘the episode where I was mounting you’ and Jensen mouths ‘oh no’. misha’s kinda vaguely reluctantly like ‘yea.. yea.’ and Jared goes ‘you didn’t fight very hard’ and Jensen.... makes almost the same dick length gesture as earlier? ? ? is he drunk enough to be implying that misha had a boner??? that misha is a ‘grower not a shower’? that’s where my mind goes but like why would he do that? it’s very strange. context has not made it any more clear - 🦟

but then right after jen’s mysterious hand gesture Jared FULLY annoys me bc misha deflects, joking ‘I heard in those situations you’re supposed to play dead’ and very quickly changes the subject by asking someone else for another question. The person says hi but Jared won’t take the hint and shut up. he speaks over them like ‘you’re a good roleplayer. i was like “shut up you little bitch” and he was like “ough yeah hit me”’ at which point Jensen is actively like ‘dude shh!!!’ but Jared still doesn’t completely stop. ??? like? wtf. also a little earlier in the same con is the story misha tells about Jared pinching him really hard repeatedly on his inner thigh (travelling upwards towards his crotch) as he’s trying to film which is of course played off as a joke but it is actually very worrying. what is wrong with that man???? - 🦟

first of all: thank you for doing the investigation, you really took one for the team today nonnie <3 second of all: there are a lot of things wrong with that man, let’s not get into it. 

okay so yeah i also thought that jensen was gesturing about dick sizes (and........ i mean.................. i would not be surprised if he was right is all that i am gonna say on the matter) but it just makes NO sense in the context unless, like you said, misha got a boner??? hmm. i mean. it’s possible of course. but i rather hope he would not seeing as it was. j*red. 

anyways once again thank you so much my darling, you’re the realest <3

[silverlightqueen]

Tia and Tamera... and Nicole

fratboy and best friend!namjoon x reader, university!au, comedy, fluff, angst (and making out, if that counts as something idk lol) ft. twice nayeon, got7 jackson & skz hyunjin

For btswriterscollective’s 1 year anniversary contest!

Summary: y/n decides to make a big fashion change and, all of a sudden, is the object of attraction of every male within a hundred metre radius of her. Namjoon, her best friend, isn’t too impressed about it.

Rating: 15 (mature themes, explicit discussion of sex, strong language)

Word Count: 9.9k+

Warnings: lots of sexism/misogyny, the typical she-has-a-makeover-and-suddenly-every-boy-wants-to-date-her-trope, lots of gross frat boys, strong language, explicit discussion of sex, alcohol and drug consumption, making out, Namjoon is trash and doesn’t know how to text. I think that’s it but lmk if you noticed that I missed something!

a/n: hey guys ! it’s silverlightqueen back with another university au lmao i’m sorry :( thank you to the loml @silverlightprincess​ for proofreading, you’re the best and I love youuu !! I hope you guys enjoy this bc it was really fun to write !!

silverlightqueen masterlist

I got the divider off google (it has no relevance to the story but it kinda matches the colour scheme so we move lmao) so credit to whoever made it lol

joon: u up

y/n: don’t fuckboy text me

joon: so thats a yes

y/n: what do you want ?

joon: u free tmrw

y/n: it’s Monday tomorrow

joon: what about it

y/n: I got a lecture in the morning, but I’m free after 11

joon: ill pick u up nd take u 4 food

y/n: look at you, any excuse to drop in that you can drive now

joon: do u want food yes or no

y/n: what food ?

joon: mexican indian chinese whateva u want

y/n: yeah, sounds good

joon: rnt u gonna tell me what food u want

y/n: I’ll sleep on it

y/n: anyway go to bed, idiot, why are you even awake at 2.30 on a Sunday night ?

joon: y r u

y/n: questioning my existence

y/n: duh

y/n: now tell me why you are

joon: i just left jens lol

y/n: nvm forget I asked

joon: sure u dont want the deets

y/n: positive

y/n: goodnight you demon

joon: gn angel

‘Took you long enough,’ Namjoon exclaims as I open the front door of his car and climb into the passenger seat. ‘Wait, whoa. Hold on. What is this?’ Namjoon demands as I shut the door behind me, and I quickly turn to look at him. ‘What?’ I ask worriedly, and he shakes his hand in my general direction. ‘This. Your outfit. I’m confused,’ he says, and I relax, rolling my eyes, trying to ignore the way my cheeks are heating up and hoping he doesn’t notice it. ‘Why are you confused, Namjoon?’ I ask as though I’m speaking to a child, and he laughs, starting up the car.

‘I’m confused because I’ve never seen you wear anything other than clothes that are way too big for you,’ he says, and I make an indignant noise as he speeds down the road like the devil driver he is. ‘Don’t even deny it, you know it’s true. I started to wonder if you had something you were trying to hide. A growth on your stomach. A hunchback. A pregnancy. Or worse; no boobs!’ he says, gasping dramatically, and I hit his shoulder, holding back a laugh. ‘I wasn’t hiding anything,’ I say, and he glances over at me, eyeing my chest, before his tongue darts out to wet his lip. ‘You were. I always assumed you had small tits – a B cup, max – but obviously not. I can’t believe you hid them so well. They’ve gotta be at least a D,’ he says, and I roll my eyes, not bothering to disclose that I’m actually an E. He’d probably pop a boner. ‘And your legs,’ he says, and I look down at them self-consciously. ‘What about them?’ I ask, and he blinks before looking down at my freshly shaved limbs. ‘I’ve never seen them before. They’re nice. Smooth. And curved, with some fat on them. I’m glad you don’t have stick legs,’ he jokes, and I sigh. ‘Stop body-shaming,’ I say, and he lets out a little chuckle. ‘Am I not allowed to have preferences?’ he smirks, eyes on the road as he overtakes cars left, right and centre. ‘No,’ I reply, and he bursts out laughing.

‘So what’s with the new look? What prompted this reinvention? Because, I’m either still tripping from last night, or you’re actually wearing makeup too,’ he says, and I shift embarrassedly in the seat. ‘I just felt like it was time for a change. I wanted to experiment, try something new,’ I say, and he nods, face blank. ‘Okay. Now, do you wanna tell me the real reason?’ he asks, and I laugh, annoyed that he knows me so well. ‘I was getting changed in my room-’ ‘Okay, hang on, let me picture it,’ Namjoon says, and I hit him again, ignoring his chuckles. ‘So, I was getting changed, and Nayeon barged in and had a meltdown over… my body. She said that she was really annoyed with me for hiding my body so much, because if she had my body, she’d walk around naked. Or whatever. Something like that. I’d never really… looked at my body like that, but once she said it, I realised that maybe I could start branching out, fashion-wise. So she took me shopping, and this is the trial of new outfit number one,’ I say, and he listens intently, nodding in all the right places.

‘So how have people reacted today?’ he asks, and I get a little embarrassed thinking about it. ‘Some of the girls in my class started screaming when they saw me, and Taehyung asked if I was new here, and if he could get my number. Oh, and our lecturer asked me to stay behind to ask if I was okay, because I didn’t seem to be myself today,’ I explain, and Namjoon bursts out laughing. ‘You’re kidding.’ ‘Not at all.’ ‘Wow. All I’ll say is to ignore Taehyung. I think all that weed has caused permanent damage to his brain,’ he says, and I can’t help but agree, wondering how that boy can even breathe right anymore. ‘Well, anyway. Why did you used to cover up so much?’ he asks, and I laugh. ‘Are you just gonna keep quizzing me?’ I ask, and he nods instantly, grinning. ‘I’m intrigued, y/n. You have to understand that this is a lot for me to process. My best friend has transformed into someone else since I last saw her. My mind’s going into meltdown mode,’ he says dramatically, and I roll my eyes at him. ‘Drama queen.’ ‘I learn from the best. You. Now, anyway. Can you answer my question?’

‘I don’t know.’ ‘You don’t know if you can answer my question?’ ‘No, moron, I don’t know why I used to cover up so much,’ I say exasperatedly, and he raises an eyebrow. ‘I find that slightly hard to believe.’ ‘Fine. I wasn’t the most confident in my body. It’s hard, seeing all these super slim tiktok girls, petite and slight, and seeing them dress the way I wanted to. It’s like… I felt stupid wearing the same clothes they wear because they look so different to me. The way the media glorifies slim women… it’s hard for not-so-slim women like me. So I just hid my body in loose clothes for so long that it was what I was comfortable in,’ I explain, Namjoon still listening attentively. That’s one of the best things about him; he may be an idiot, but he always listens to what I have to say.

‘That’s… kinda sad, actually. Because – don’t get me wrong, your old look did suit you – but this new look? It’s great. You look really good, y/n, regardless of the fact that you’re not a super slim tiktok girl,’ he says matter-of-factly, and I smile shyly. ‘Thanks. So it’s a yes to the black and white check mini skirt and blazer set?’ I ask, and he nods instantly with a grin. ‘I can’t wait to see the rest of your outfits,’ he says, turning into the car park at the shopping centre. ‘There’s… quite a few to come. I’m a bit nervous about a couple of them,’ I say as he pulls into a parking space, and he gives me a greasy smirk. ‘I’m even more excited now,’ he says, and I swat at him, the boy chuckling as he ducks away from my hand. ‘I’ve just driven you to buy you food, and this is what I get in return?’ ‘Yes. You’re lucky I’m not beating the shit out of you.’ He sighs, checking his blond hair in the mirror before climbing out of the car, and I reach into the back and grab my bag before getting out too.

‘Oh, my God,’ he says, sounding shocked, and I instantly panic. ‘What?’ ‘What are those?’ he shouts, throwing his hands down to point at my feet, and everyone within a hundred metre radius turns to look at us. ‘Joon!’ I exclaim, embarrassed at him grabbing so much attention. ‘Sorry. But seriously? What are those?’ he asks, and I look down at my shoes. ‘They’re sock boots. What’s wrong with them?’ I ask, and he stares at them before taking a step back and looking me up and down. ‘Nothing. They look great. I’m just shocked to see you in shoes other than trainers. And is that a handbag I see instead of the usual backpacks?’ he teases, and I roll my eyes. We walk towards the entrance, and I struggle to keep up with him (I always struggle when walking next to him, but even more so in these boots). ‘Wait,’ I say, hooking my arm through his so I can slow him down, and he laughs. ‘Aww, struggling in your boots?’ he teases, and I huff. ‘Shut up,’ I pout, and he laughs again, looking at me with an affectionate gaze and an amused smile.

But the affection and amusement soon disappears. ‘y/n. You’re literally killing me here. Hurry up,’ he says impatiently. ‘Sorry, Joon. It’s my first time wearing heels though, cut me some slack. At least I haven’t fallen over,’ I say brightly, trying to put a positive spin on it, and he scowls. He’s been trying his best to walk slow but he’s now struggling not to walk at his normal pace – his legs are so much longer than mine. ‘Yet,’ he says venomously, and I gasp. ‘Was that a threat?’ I demand, feigning indignance, and he side-eyes me. ‘Maybe it was. I could stick my foot out right now and no one would ever know,’ he says in a wistful tone, and I shoot him a dirty look. ‘I’ll step on your foot if you try it. Then who’ll be laughing when my boots ruin your Balenciagas?’ ‘Me, because you’ll be buying me new ones.’ ‘With what money? I ain’t got money like that.’ ‘Oh, but you got money for clothes?’ ‘I always got money for clothes.’ ‘Get a sugar daddy.’ ‘You are my sugar daddy.’ ‘Huh?’ ‘Who takes me out for food at least twice a week? And buys me things out of the blue?’ ‘Damn. I really am your sugar daddy. This isn’t a good deal for me at all. You’re getting the daddy, but I’m not getting any sugar.’ ‘I’m not sure that that means exactly what you intended it to mean.’ ‘You know what I meant. I want my sugar, bitch.’ ‘Jen can give you sugar instead.’ ‘Okay, but Jen isn’t getting the daddy. You are.’ ‘She was getting the daddy last night.’ ‘Did you really just refer to my dick as ‘the daddy’?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Never do that again.’

‘Where are we eating?’ I ask, and he grins. ‘Wang and Nayeon are waiting for us at Red Velvet,’ he says, and I gasp. ‘Yes! It’s been so long since we’ve been to Red Velvet!’ I exclaim, and he laughs amusedly. ‘I know. I was worried you might start getting withdrawal symptoms.’ ‘I thought we’d never go back. Does Seulgi still work there?’ I ask, raising an eyebrow, and he pulls a face. ‘Yep,’ he says, and I feel my eyes widen. ‘And we’re still gonna go?’ ‘Yes, because I’m a great person and make sacrifices for you even though all you do is abuse me and threaten to ruin my Balenciagas,’ he says, and I pout. ‘Sorry, Joonie,’ I say, putting on a baby voice as I give him puppy dog eyes, and he refuses to look at me, fighting a smile off his face. ‘Apology accepted. Now stop being the real-life version of that emoji.’ ‘Which one?’ ‘Don’t play dumb, you know exactly which one I mean.’

We round the corner to where Red Velvet is, tucked away from the rest of the shopping centre, and Nayeon and Jackson are sat in the window booth, watching a video on Nayeon’s phone together. When Namjoon and I enter, the little bell above the door rings, and both of them look up at us. Nayeon grins so wide I’m worried her face is going to split, and Jackson does a double take, eyes wider than an anime girl’s. ‘y/n?’ he exclaims, loud enough to catch the attention of everyone in the restaurant, and I shoot him a look, shushing him. ‘Oh, my God. What’s happened to you? Who’s this sexy thing?’ Jackson says as I slide into the booth opposite him and Nayeon, shuddering at the thought of my bare legs on the worn (and most likely, germ-carrying) leather of the seat as Namjoon slides in beside me. ‘Don’t refer to me as a ‘thing’, I’m not an object,’ I mutter, but my comment is ignored when Namjoon says, ‘literally my exact reaction.’ ‘No, it wasn’t. You did not call me sexy,’ I frown, and he blinks at me, looking surprised. ‘Did I not?’ he asks, and I shake my head. ‘Well, I thought you would’ve gathered that I thought that anyway. Based on the way I had to pick my tongue up from the floor when I saw you,’ he says, Jackson and Nayeon laughing as I roll my eyes.

‘You look good. Really good, y/n. I didn’t know you had boobs,’ Jackson says, inspecting me, and I try not to squirm under his scrutinising gaze. ‘Neither did I! Until I walked in on her naked!’ Nayeon says, Jackson’s eyes nearly falling out of his head. ‘I was in my underwear,’ I say defensively, and Nayeon rolls her eyes. ‘Details. But, yeah, after I saw her hot bod, I told her to stop wearing Billie Eilish’s hand-me-downs.’ ‘And gave her your hand-me-downs instead?’ ‘Excuse me, these are brand new,’ I point out, and Nayeon nods. ‘Yeah. You should know me better. I could never pull off an outfit like that.’ ‘I could pull it off you,’ Jackson jokes, Namjoon fist-bumping him as they laugh, Nayeon and I exchanging an exasperated glance. ‘I could pull it off you too, y/n,’ Jackson says with a little quirk of his eyebrow, and I roll my eyes, willing myself not to blush. ‘Jackson! y/n’s our baby, and we’ve gotta protect her from fuckboys, so stop being one,’ Nayeon says with a slap to his shoulder. ‘There won’t be any… fuckboys,’ I say, and all three of them raise their eyebrows at me. ‘You’re delusional if you think that. Just wait ‘til a frat boy sees you,’ Jackson says, and I frown. ‘Okay. That sounds fake, but, okay,’ I say, just as Seulgi appears to take our order.

‘Hi, and welcome to Red Velvet. What can I get for you?’ she says in the most bored tone I’ve ever heard. She must really hate her job. Even more with this moron sat beside me in here. ‘Can I get the Ice Cream Cake freakshake please?’ Nayeon asks, Seulgi gracing her with a rare smile as she writes down her order. ‘Can I get the Power Up brownie with Red Flavour ice cream please? And just water?’ Jackson asks, also getting a smile. ‘Can I get the Cookie Jar freakshake? And she’ll have Mojito cheesecake with Blue Lemonade. Thanks,’ Namjoon says, ordering for me too, but, unsurprisingly, he doesn’t get a smile. ‘Will you all be paying together?’ ‘I’m paying for mine and his,’ Nayeon says, pointing at herself and Jackson (she lost a bet with him a couple weeks ago, and owes him a meal). ‘And I’m paying for mine and hers,’ Namjoon says, Seulgi fixing him with a dirty look. ‘So this is who you’ve moved on to now?’ she demands, Nayeon and Jackson wincing. ‘Sis, you can have him,’ I say, unable to resist, and Namjoon shoots me evils as Seulgi looks bewildered. ‘Pardon?’ ‘I’m good, luv. Enjoy,’ I say, but she’s still staring at me, her mouth suddenly falling open. ‘y/n?’ she asks, and I nod, slightly confused. ‘OMG, I didn’t even recognise you. Girl, you look so good! I didn’t know you had boobs!’ she exclaims, and I have to stop myself from facepalming. ‘Thanks, Seulgi,’ I force out between gritted teeth, embarrassed as hell, but she doesn’t seem to notice, grinning away obliviously. ‘No problem. I’ll just get your orders put through and then I’ll come back for payments,’ she says, visibly perkier (nothing like seeing one of your friends unrecognisable after a makeover to cure a bad mood – apparently), before disappearing.

‘That was awkward,’ Namjoon says nonchalantly, all three of us fixing him with hard stares. ‘It wouldn’t have been so awkward if you weren’t such a dick,’ I say blithely, and he gasps dramatically. ‘Excuse me?’ ‘Don’t play innocent, dumbass. If you hadn’t had slept with Joy and Seulgi on the same day, we wouldn’t be in this situation. We’d actually have avoided a lot of situations if you weren’t such a dog,’ Nayeon says, brutally honest as ever. ‘Hey, I never made any kind of commitment to either of them!’ Namjoon defends himself, both Nayeon and I shaking our heads at him. ‘It’s common courtesy, douchebag,’ I reply, Namjoon sticking his tongue out at me. ‘I’d like to know what situations you’re referring to. I don’t get us into awkward situations,’ he says, all three of us giving him a ‘really?’ look.

‘Remember when we went out to that bar – what was it called again? Oh, yeah, Playing With Fire – and Jisoo threw that drink at you for blocking her on socials after you slept together?’ Jackson reminds us, Namjoon nodding slightly embarrassedly. ‘Oh, and when we went to Breakthrough, that club, and Sana got us kicked out by pretending we smuggled drugs in because you ghosted her after telling her you felt ‘something real’ for her?’ Nayeon brings up, all of us looking pointedly at Namjoon who nods sheepishly. ‘And that fight you got into with Daniel after you went ‘round telling people that Jihyo’s your sloppy seconds?’ I say, and he gasps indignantly. ‘I didn’t say that once!’ ‘Still. If you hadn’t had slept with her, that fake rumour wouldn’t have gone around,’ I say, and he pouts. ‘We could name several girls you’ve gotten us into awkward situations with. Chaeyoung, Hyejin, Wendy, Dahyun-’ ‘Okay, okay, damn. I get the picture,’ he says, the three of us exchanging looks.

‘Anyway, I need to go toilet. Come with me, y/n?’ Nayeon asks, and I nod. Namjoon sighs, reluctantly getting out of the booth to let me out. ‘Whoa, hold on,’ Jackson says, and I turn around to face him. ‘y/n… what you doing out here with all this ass?’ he asks, voice far too loud for my liking, and the few people in the restaurant turn to look at us disapprovingly. ‘Double cheeked up on a Thursday afternoon!’ Namjoon exclaims, before they chorus, ‘Hella ass!’ They burst into laughter, and my face is on fire, everybody in the restaurant staring at us (or, more specifically, my ass). ‘y/n, you dumb thicc, sis,’ Jackson says, and I take a deep breath before saying, ‘I’m going to go to the toilet now.’ ‘Take some ass pics while you’re there!’

joon: hey sexc

y/n: hey, what’s up ?

joon: wang wants 2 know if u nd nayeon r up 4 wing wednesday @ KPN

y/n: what time ?

joon: weneva imma get there 6.30

y/n: are there gonna be any other girls there?

joon: idk prolly the boys gfs

joon: y u asking so many qs u dnt have 2 come if u dnt wanna

y/n: I just don’t wanna be one of the only girls at a frat house with loads of stupid frat boys

joon: ill protect u bby

joon: me nd wang got u

y/n: much appreciated

y/n: we’ll come, but I’ll text you when we get there and you need to meet us at the door

y/n: I’ll feel awkward just walking in

joon: ok but call dnt text

y/n: you never answer your phone

joon: ill take it off silent 4 u angel ;)

y/n: thank youuu

joon: ofc see u tmrw

y/n: see youuu, goodnight joonie

joon: gn stupid

‘Wrong number,’ he says when he answers the phone, and I roll my eyes. ‘We’re at the door, come get us,’ I say, and he lets out a loud sigh. ‘I’m gonna lose my seat,’ he complains, and I huff. ‘Joon, please come get us. Do you know what it’s like being a girl around dozens of frat boys? You need to look after us,’ I plead, and he sighs again. ‘Give me a minute,’ he replies before the line clicks off. ‘Is he coming?’ Nayeon asks, and I nod. ‘Good, because it’s freezing,’ she says, clutching at her bare arms. ‘That’s what you get for wearing a t-shirt,’ I say, and she rolls her eyes. ‘It’s not like you’re dressed warmly either,’ she says pointedly, and I raise an eyebrow. ‘I’m not complaining about the cold.’ ‘Yeah, which I’m surprised about, because that top is thin as hell.’ ‘It’s not that thin.’ ‘Sis, I borrowed that top yesterday – it’s thin.’

I’m dressed in a black long-sleeve top tucked into a pair of greyish-whiteish joggers, with white trainers on my feet, a simple gold necklace around my neck with an initial pendant, a couple gold bracelets on my wrist and gold rings on my fingers. Nayeon’s in a pair of blue mom jeans and a black t-shirt, a cross body bag with both of our things inside it on her shoulder. Neither of us have bothered with full faces or pretty hairstyles – we’ve both got on basic makeup with our hair out and natural. It isn’t really that cold; it’s 8, and the air is starting to get crisp and cool, but the sun’s only just beginning to set, so there’s still a little warmth. Nayeon’s just a drama queen.

The door opens after a few seconds, Namjoon glowering at us, before he looks me up and down, his frown being replaced with a smirk. ‘Have I told you I love this new y/n? Like… this is a look,’ he says, and I grin at him, feeling a little more confident now. ‘I’m stood right here,’ Nayeon says with a half-hearted scowl, and Namjoon grins, grabbing her hand and pulling her into a side hug. ‘Nayeon, me complimenting you is like complimenting Mona Lisa. She already knew she was sexy as hell so what’s the point?’ he says easily, Nayeon preening as I roll my eyes. ‘You think Mona Lisa’s sexy?’ ‘Not as sexy as you.’ ‘Can we go inside? I’m cold,’ Nayeon says, not waiting for either of us to reply before she slips past Namjoon into the house. ‘Come on,’ Namjoon says, grabbing my hand and pulling me along behind him.

The second we step into the living room, the smell of strong cologne, alcohol and weed hits me and all eyes flit from Nayeon – who’s hugging Jinyoung and squealing – to me and Joon. Well, more me than Joon. ‘Woah. Who’s this? Surely not y/n,’ I hear Hoseok say, and I shoot him a dirty look, the boy grinning in return. ‘Shut it, stupid,’ I say, Namjoon continuing to walk towards the kitchen, dragging me along behind him. When we step into the kitchen, the smell of spicy wings hits me, and my eyes are instantly drawn to the takeout bags covering the countertop. But when I realise none of the bags are unopened, meaning frat boys have already been at them, it puts me off a little – I’d rather not eat food that might have been tampered with.

‘Look. My seat’s taken,’ Namjoon says pointedly, motioning to where Kai sits on a stool, beside Taemin and Seokwoo, the three of them laughing at whatever story Jaehyun’s telling them. ‘You’ll survive. What’s the point of having such long legs if you don’t stand on them?’ ‘There’s no logic in that. Go get my seat back,’ he says, and I side-eye him, wondering if he’s being serious or not. ‘How am I supposed to get your seat back?’ ‘Go flirt with him.’ ‘No! Him and Krystal have got a thing,’ I say, and Namjoon rolls his eyes. ‘That won’t stop him from flirting back,’ he says, and I glare at him. ‘I cannot stress this enough. Men are trash,’ I say before turning away from him, heading towards where there’s a couple dozen drink bottles and cups covering the countertop. I carefully pour myself a lemonade, making sure the cup’s clean and the bottle hasn’t been tampered with (I know Wing Wednesday is ‘for the boys’ so it’s unlikely it’s spiked, but it never hurts to take precautions).

‘y/n!’ I hear Mina exclaim, and I turn to see her stood there, smiling widely. ‘Mina!’ I squeal, pulling the girl into a hug. Mina’s one of Nayeon’s friends (they’re on the same course) but because Nayeon and I are inseparable, Nayeon’s friends are my friends too. Mina’s here because she’s dating Bambam, a KPN frat boy, and it makes me realise my privilege; Nayeon and I are only here because of our connections. If we weren’t best friends with Jackson and Namjoon, we’d have missed out on so many amazing memories. ‘How have you been? I haven’t seen you for ages!’ she says as we break apart, and I grin widely. ‘I’ve been good. Really good.’ ‘You look it. This style is, like, amazing! Is this new style permanent?’ she asks, and I smile shyly. ‘I think so. I actually… really like my new style,’ I say, and before Mina can speak, I hear Baekhyun say, ‘I like it too.’ Mina and I both turn to look at him, his stupid grin making me roll my eyes amusedly. ‘Hey, Baek,’ I say, the boy opening his arms for a hug, which I give (reluctantly). Baekhyun is Nayeon’s ex. They’re still friends – they’re actually on really good terms – but I’m still… cautious around him. He’s funny, and we get along, but I can never see him the same after hearing all the drama from Nayeon.

I clear myself a space on the countertop and boost myself up, sitting on the hard wood surface and Mina joins me, Baekhyun standing in front of us. ‘Have you had any wings?’ Baekhyun asks, and Mina and I exchange a glance, obviously thinking the same thing. ‘No, I’m… not really feeling wings,’ I say, Mina nodding in agreement, letting out little giggles behind her hand. ‘Aren’t you hungry?’ he asks, and, to be honest, I’m starving. But I am not about to eat those… frat boy wings, and neither is Mina. ‘Yeah, I could eat.’ ‘Let’s order some pizza then,’ he grins, and I gasp. ‘Pizza? On Wings Wednesday? Isn’t that against frat laws?’ I tease, and he rolls his eyes, pulling out his phone. ‘What toppings do you have?’ ‘Just get margherita.’ ‘Shall I get two larges?’ ‘Yeah, Nayeon will want some too,’ I say, and he rolls his eyes again, an amused smile on his face. ‘I’m not ordering pizza for Nayeon – I’m ordering it for us.’ ‘I’ll transfer you the money.’ ‘y/n… it’s pizza. You don’t need to transfer me money for it.’ ‘Why not? I don’t mind paying.’ ‘Yeah, but what kind of gentleman would I be if I made you pay’ ‘You’re not a gentleman,’ I reply amusedly, and he clutches his heart, pretending to be hurt. ‘I am.’ ‘You’re not. And you’ve made me pay for food before. Remember the Chinese we ordered after the LSG party, and you made me answer the door, so I had to pay?’ I say, and he winces. ‘Well… the pizza makes up for it,’ he says, and I just raise an eyebrow, amused.

It’s so… wrong that he’s only willing to pay for food for me now that he finds me attractive, but I won’t complain aloud; it’s free food after all. And then it gets me thinking. Maybe I should… take advantage of the effect my new look’s having. I mean, frat boys aren’t the… smartest, are they? Namjoon may be an exception when it comes to his education, but his common sense? He has next to none, demonstrated by the stupid situations his whore behaviour has gotten us into. And the rest of them are even stupider than him. I’ve always been a master of manipulation, and it’ll be even easier now they think I’m hot.

It isn’t long until the pizzas arrive and the second Baekhyun leaves to collect them at the door, Mina turns to me with a grin. ‘Girl, if you don’t take advantage of all these boys thirsting over you, I swear, I’ll be so disappointed,’ she says, making me burst into laughter. ‘I was literally just thinking about doing it!’ I exclaim, both of us laughing. ‘No, but for real. You should, like, make the most of it while it lasts. Not to sound nasty, but you know it won’t be long until there’s another girl they’re all into. You should exploit this opportunity whilst you’re still the… object of the affections,’ she says, making me laugh. ‘Exploit this opportunity?’ I repeat, and she nods with a grin. ‘Their generosity will only go to a certain extent,’ I say, and she raises an eyebrow. ‘Wanna test that?’ she asks, a challenging glint in her eye, and I grin, nodding. ‘Go look in the fridge, and when you’re asked what you’re looking for, say… Vanilla Coke.’ ‘Vanilla Coke?’ ‘Mmhmm.’ ‘Okay.’

I head over to the drinks fridge (they keep their food in the mini fridge and their drinks in the big fridge – their priorities are so fucked up) and open the door. I scan the bottles, seeing mainly lemonade and coke with a couple alcoholic bottles, but no Vanilla Coke. ‘y/n!’ I hear from behind me, and I turn to see Donghyuck stood there, a big grin on his face. ‘Hyuck! Hey!’ I exclaim, throwing my arms around him. Donghyuck and I did extra credit classes together last year, and I’ve barely seen him since. ‘You look so different!’ he says, holding me away to inspect me, hands light on my shoulders, and I grin, bending one leg at the knee and striking a pose, making him laugh. ‘It’s weird to see you in clothes that fit,’ he teases, and I roll my eyes. ‘Don’t even. Everyone’s making such a big deal of it.’ ‘Yeah, because you look hot.’ ‘Whatever.’

I turn back to the fridge, and he comes to stand beside me. ‘Whatcha looking for?’ ‘Vanilla Coke. I’m, like craving it,’ I lie, and he raises an eyebrow. ‘You’re lucky we’ve got lemonade and coke. KPN stick to basics,’ he says, and I roll my eyes. ‘Well, maybe you shouldn’t. Vanilla Coke is amazing.’ ‘Well, the corner shop down the road might have some. Shall we go get some?’ he suggests, and I’m shocked. Mina was right. He’s willing the leave Wings Wednesday with his frat brothers to go get Vanilla Coke from the shop with me. ‘You sure?’ I ask, and he nods. ‘It’s only a two-minute walk.’ ‘Okay. Let’s g-’ ‘y/n!’ I hear Mina call before materialising next to me. ‘Hey, Mina,’ I say, Donghyuck greeting the girl too. ‘Hey, Hyuck. I’m need to steal y/n. Emergency,’ she says, and my eyes widen. I’ve literally left her alone for a minute. What emergency does she have? ‘You okay?’ ‘Yeah, it’s just… I started. Do you have a pad?’ she whispers, loud enough for Donghyuck to hear, the boy wrinkling his nose in disgust, making me roll my eyes. Why boys are so grossed out about periods, I don’t know. It took two entire years of friendship with Namjoon to get him to buy me some pads. ‘Yeah, I do.’ ‘Will you come to the toilet with me?’ she asks, and I nod, apologising to Donghyuck before Mina drags me out of the kitchen, through the living room and upstairs.

‘Oh, shit! My pads are in Nayeon’s bag,’ I say when we reach the top of the stairs, and Mina lets out an annoyed noise. ‘I don’t actually need a pad, stupid! I was just getting you away from him,’ she whispers before pulling me into the bathroom. ‘What? Why?’ ‘Because now he’ll go get your Vanilla Coke from the shop and you won’t have to go with him,’ she says, and I raise an eyebrow. ‘Are you kidding? He’s not gonna go.’ ‘Yes, he will,’ she says, before letting out an exasperated sigh. ‘Remember when I stayed home for a few months, because I wasn’t well?’ she asks, and I nod – Nayeon was heartbroken that she didn’t have Mina to gossip with in her lectures. ‘When I came back, all the boys were fussing over me. Trust me; he will go and get that coke.’

We spend a couple minutes in the bathroom, reapplying our lipgloss and fixing our hair, before we head back downstairs, quickly grabbing two of the empty stools in the kitchen, Bambam sat next to Mina and Namjoon sat next to me, chatting with Minho about football strategy for their next match. ‘y/n!’ I hear Donghyuck’s voice after a few minutes, making me stop mid-conversation with Yugyeom about dessert on Monday at Red Velvet (it was so good, I can’t stop thinking about it – I might have to drag Namjoon back there this weekend). I turn to see him stood at the door, holding up a bottle of Vanilla Coke, and I have to stifle a laugh, pushing down guilt. ‘Oh, my God, thank you, Hyuck! You’re the best!’ I exclaim, giving the boy a hug before he disappears to find me a clean cup. ‘I was right,’ Mina says with a grin. ‘I feel bad.’ ‘Don’t. You didn’t make him get it.’ ‘Yeah, but I’m not even gonna drink it. I don’t like Vanilla Coke.’ ‘Well, it’s a good thing I do.’

joon: u got a lecture tmrw

y/n: it’s Friday tomorrow right ?

joon: um ye how do u not know

joon: r u still drunk from last night

y/n: I wasn’t drunk! I didn’t even touch any alcohol !

joon; then y were u letting johnny touch u up

y/n: I wasn’t! there was fluff on my boob and he took it off for me !

joon: ur so naive

joon: n e ways, do u have a lecture tmrw

y/n: yeah, 1-3

joon: wanna go 4 coffee after ill pick u up

y/n: sounds good

y/n: I’ll pay

joon: no

y/n: you paid for dessert !

joon: idc, ill pay 4 coffee

joon: u save ur money 4 clothes ;)

y/n: ew

joon: bitch do u want coffee or no

y/n: yes :)))

joon: ill b there @ 3, dnt b late like monday

y/n: okayyy see you at three joonie

joon: yep, night sexc

y/n: ew

joon: fine u can walk 2 starbucks

y/n: NO I’M SORRY

y/n: joon pls answer

y/n: stop leaving me on read !

y/n: fine, you can go to starbucks by yourself

joon: sorry

joon: y/n

joon: r u there

joon: bitch answer me

joon: ignore me if u wanna fuck

y/n: you’re such an idiot

joon: gn y/nie

y/n: night stupid, ilyyyy

joon: luv u 2 dummy

‘Hi, welcome to Starbucks! What can I get you?’ the barista asks, smiling widely. He’s handsome, with dirty blond hair pulled back into a ponytail and sparkling brown eyes, and I can’t help but smile back. ‘Hi, can I get two large iced vanilla lattes please?’ I ask, the boy nodding as he clicks away at the register. My eyes flit to his little name tag. His name is Hyunjin. Cute. ‘What name shall I put on the cups?’ he asks, eyes sparkling when he looks back up at me, and I smile shyly when I say, ‘y/n.’ ‘Pretty name for a pretty girl,’ he replies, not giving me a moment to process the compliment before he says, ‘that’ll be £7.40. Cash or card?’ ‘Card,’ a voice behind me says, and I turn to see Jaemin stood there, smiling. ‘Can I add a large iced americano to that too?’ he says, holding up his card, and Hyunjin nods, tapping at the register. ‘Jaemin, don’t. I’ll pay,’ I say, though it’s Namjoon’s money in my hand, not my own. ‘It’s fine, y/n. I don’t mind,’ he says with a grin, and I smile back, touched.

Jaemin moves around me to pay for the three drinks, and I feel a little awkward, stood behind him, waiting. ‘How have you been, y/n?’ he asks once he’s paid, and I smile. ‘I’ve been really good, thanks. How about you?’ ‘Yeah, great. You look… different since the last time I saw you,’ he says with a little smirk, and I roll my eyes, an amused smile playing at my lips. ‘I’m assuming that was a compliment.’ ‘Of course. How could it be anything other than a compliment when the ‘different’ I’m talking about is this?’ he says with a flirty grin, motioning to my outfit (a pair of tight black cargo trousers and a long-sleeved black top, big black stomper boots on my feet and silver jewellery).

Jaemin flirts with me for a little while, but his americano is ready before mine and Joon’s lattes and he has a lecture at 3.30, so he leaves with the promise of continuing our conversation at the ASP party tomorrow, which I had no idea about. ‘y/n!’ Hyunjin calls and I go over to grab the lattes. I notice a caramel shortbread on a plate beside the cups, and I look up at him questioningly, the boy grinning back. ‘It’s on the house,’ he says, and I can’t help but let out a giggle, flattered. ‘Thank you.’ ‘No problem… y/n. I’m a student, at the university, and I heard your… friend talking about the party tomorrow. I’ll be there, and it’d be nice to see you,’ he says, smiling as he leans against the counter casually, my heart jumping. He’s hot, he’s confident and he’s sweet – I could definitely see myself getting to know him. ‘Yeah, it’d be nice to see you too,’ I reply shyly, breaking off our eye contact after a few seconds. ‘See you tomorrow then,’ he grins before turning to deal with the next customer.

I carefully take the lattes and the shortbread over to mine and Joon’s table in the corner, the boy instantly biting into the shortbread. ‘That is mine.’ ‘I paid for your coffee, so I can have a bite of your shortbread,’ he says, mouth full of food, and I scrunch my nose up in disgust, sitting down opposite him. ‘No, actually, you didn’t.  Jaemin did,’ I say, dropping Joon’s money on the table in front of him, and he frowns. ‘Who’s Jaemin? The cute barista you were just flirting with?’ he asks drily as he picks up one of the coffees, taking a sip. ‘No, his name’s Hyunjin. And I wasn’t flirting with him,’ I say, embarrassed, and he raises an eyebrow. ‘Then what’s this?’ he asks, holding his cup out to me. I can’t hold back my smile when I see that Hyunjin’s written his number on the label with a smiley face beside it. ‘Exactly what I thought. Anyway… who’s Jaemin?’ ‘KPN Jaemin. He was behind me in the queue and he paid for our drinks. And then Hyunjin gave me the shortbread for free,’ I say, and Joon narrows his eyes at me.

‘I can’t believe you’re making these boys do all these things for you.’ ‘They’re doing it voluntarily – I’m not making them do anything!’ ‘So you didn’t make Donghyuck get your Vanilla Coke on Wednesday?’ ‘No, he choose to go get it!’ ‘Well, you’re putting Tia and Tamera to good use.’ ‘Tia and Tamera?’ I ask, confused, and he points at my chest. ‘Tia… and Tamera,’ he says, naming each boob, ‘don’t you listen to Doja Cat?’ ‘Not religiously – Say So’s the only song of hers on my Spotify.’ ‘Tasteless.’ ‘You’re tasteless for accusing me of using my boobs to manipulate boys,’ I hiss, and he rolls his eyes. ‘Did I lie?’ ‘Yes!’ ‘Okay, maybe I did. It’s not just Tia and Tamera. It’s Tia and Tamera and… Nicole!’ he says, and I blink in confusion. ‘Nicole?’ ‘Use your brain.’ ‘Did you just name my ass Nicole?’ I ask incredulously, and he nods, seemingly proud of himself. ‘People look at it more than they look at your face, so I think it deserves naming,’ he says bitterly, and I gasp. ‘That was low. People look at my face. I’m not just my body. My face is pretty too,’ I say coldly, a little hurt, and he looks guilty. ‘Well, of course your face is pretty, I just-’ ‘You just what? Judged me, even though you’ve slept with more girls than I’ve ever been friends with? Just remember that there’s a lot you’ve done that I could judge you on, but I don’t, because we’re best friends.’

The air is tense after I finish speaking, and I feel sick. Joon and I have never argued. Our friendship has always been so laidback, so chill, so easy. I’ve never had any downs in my friendship with him because we get along so well. But I’m surprised at him being so judgmental, and so… douchey about me getting some male attention for the first time in… well, forever. ‘Sorry, y/n. I’m being a dick,’ he says softly, and I can see that he feels guilty. I decide it’s best to end our argument here, because this isn’t a nice feeling. ‘Whatever, it’s fine, Joon. Anyway… you didn’t tell me ASP are having a party tomorrow! Am I not invited?’ I tease, and he grins, the tension between us gone. ‘No, you’re not. I’m tired of you being so dependent on me.’ ‘Shut it. You’d be lost without me.’ ‘Whatever. I was supposed to tell you about it at KPN, but I barely got to speak to you. You were… popular that night,’ he says quietly, not meeting my eyes, and suddenly, I can feel the awkwardness making a reappearance. ‘Ah, well, I guess there’s no point asking you to take me to Red Velvet then,’ I say wistfully, trying to change the subject, and he rolls his eyes. ‘Ask Wang, he’ll take you.’ ‘No, it’s fine. I don’t wanna be bloated at the party. We can reschedule to Sunday – order some for a hangover cure. Can I sleep over?’ I ask, and he nods, smiling to himself. ‘You and Nayeon are always welcome. There’s enough bed space for the three of us.’ ‘You say that, and yet, you end up on the floor with us two in your bed every time.’ ‘I’ll climb in with you while you’re asleep.’ ‘Isn’t that illegal?’ ‘Shut up and eat your shortbread. Or do you not wanna be bloated?’ ‘Matter of fact, you’re right. These cargo trousers are already tight.’ ‘That’s because you’ve got a fat ass.’

y/n: hey, is this hyunjin ? from Starbucks ?

hyunjin: yeah, and is this y/n ? the pretty cargo trousers girl ?

y/n: the one and only ☺️

hyunjin: I was worried you wouldn’t reach out to me after I saw you go and sit with that boy

hyunjin: I felt terrible bc I didn’t even ask if you had a boyfriend

y/n: oh no, he isn’t my boyfriend

y/n: he’s my best friend, namjoon

hyunjin: as in kim namjoon ?

y/n: yep, you’ve probably heard of him lol

hyunjin: I have lmao he has quite a reputation

hyunjin: I didn’t recognise him

hyunjin: I just saw you go and sit with a handsome boy and I felt awful

y/n: well, you don’t have to feel bad

y/n: and he’s not that handsome lmao

y/n: he’s just… namjoon

hyunjin: well, I’ll have to thank him when I see him

hyunjin: if he hadn’t given you my number from his cup, I’d have felt like an idiot

y/n: it’s a good thing he pointed it out to me lol

hyunjin: yeah, I’m relieved

hyunjin: I know it’s forward of me and I hope you don’t think I’m out of line

hyunjin; but I just thought you were really cute and I didn’t want to waste the opportunity

hyunjin: especially after jaemin paid for your drinks and flirted with you

hyunjin: I know it sounds silly but I was debating whether or not it was worth competing with him

y/n: jaemin’s not really interested, he flirts with anything that has a pulse

y/n: but I’m glad you didn’t waste the opportunity

y/n: I thought you were cute too, and I love your hair

hyunjin: ah thank you! I was a little nervous about growing it out

y/n: it’s unique, and it really suits you

hyunjin: thanks y/n :)

hyunjin: it’s late so I’m gonna head to bed but I’m glad you texted me, and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow !

y/n: okay, hyunjin, goodnight ! see you tomorrow :)

hyunjin: goodnight ! :)

joon: do u need a lift tmrw

y/n: no, jackson said he’s gonna pick us up

y/n: but thank you for offering anywayyy

joon: ok

joon: why did it take you 30 mins 2 reply its lit rally 2am, what else r u busy with

y/n: I was texting

joon: who

y/n: oh, just the, um, the girls groupchat, to talk about what we’re gonna wear tomorrow

joon: ok

y/n: I’m gonna go to bed, I’ll speak to you tomorrow

joon: aight gn dum dum

y/n: night joonie, sweet dreamsss

joon: ill dream of u in ur crop tops

y/n: pervert

joon: luv u ;)

y/n: love you more dumbass

‘y/n! y/n! y/n!’ ‘Oh, my God, Nayeon, you’re like a child! I’m mid-conversation!’ ‘I know, but this is important!’ she says, tugging on the strap of my top, her force nearly making me spill my drink down my outfit. I thought I’d dress simple, in just a black strappy lowcut crop top and a pair of ripped blue jeans, fluffy black slides on my feet and simple gold jewellery to accessorise. ‘Sorry, Dahyun,’ I sigh with a roll of my eyes, the girl grinning back. ‘It’s fine – go deal with your important business,’ she laughs, and Nayeon takes this as a signal to drag me into the kitchen, leaving Dahyun alone in the back garden. ‘What is it?’ I ask, and she grins. ‘I found your cute barista boy! Well, I think so, anyway. Not many boys have dirty blond ponytails.’ ‘Oh… okay.’ ‘Aren’t you excited?’ ‘I think you’re excited enough for both of us.’ ‘I’m serious, y/n! I saw him, and he’s really hot! You’ve been texting all day, and you said he’s really sweet. He could be your first boyfriend!’ ‘Nayeon, you’re getting ahead of yourself – I’ve literally known him for… 32 hours. And I don’t even know him, really. All I know is his name and that he works at Starbucks.’ ‘Well… this is your chance to get to know him. He’s with his friends in the living room – go,’ she says, not giving me a chance to reply before she pushes me through the open door.

He spots me instantly, calling my name, and I scan the room until my eyes meet his, smiles breaking across our faces as he waves me over. I head around the edges of the room, not wanting to get caught in the group of people dancing, until I reach him and his friends in the corner. ‘Hey, y/n! You look nice!’ he exclaims, smiling widely, and I feel butterflies; he really is so handsome. ‘Thanks, Hyunjin. You do, too,’ I say honestly, looking him up and down; his black jeans, loose blue and white striped shirt only buttoned halfway with a black t-shirt beneath are a chic and stylish contrast to the Starbucks apron he was wearing yesterday. Half of his hair is up in a ponytail with a few loose strands framing his face and his ears are adorned with earrings, sparkling in the low light. He introduces me to his friends, who all seem nice (I think I’ve seen a few of them before – I’m sure a couple of them are KPN frat brothers). As soon as the introductions are done, he asks if I’ll go with him to get a drink. He takes my hand gently – a shock running up my arm at the contact – and leads me into the kitchen, getting himself a bottle of Soju from the fridge. ‘Do you want one?’ he asks, and I scrunch up my nose – I find Soju absolutely disgusting. ‘Thanks, but I’ll stick to my vodka coke for now,’ I say, holding up my cup, the boy laughing as he nods, shutting the fridge after him.

We stand in one corner of the kitchen, chatting, and our conversation flows so easily. He’s an architecture and design major, but he does dance on the side too, with some of his friends. I ask him to tell me the basic things about him and I find out that he has a dog called Kkami, he loves autumn, he’s allergic to cat fur, his favourite food is sushi and his least favourite foods are onion, carrot and eggplant. Even though he’s so handsome (like intimidatingly handsome), he’s so modest, down-to-earth, and just so sweet. He’s like a breath of fresh air in comparison to the boys I spend time with on a daily basis (no shade to Jackson and Joon, but they’re nowhere near as gentlemanly as Hyunjin – he gets me two refills before I even realise that my cup is empty, and he gets me two slices of pizza as soon as it arrives because I mentioned I hadn’t eaten). I can already feel myself crushing on him; every time he compliments me, I get so flustered and all I can do is giggle – two weeks ago me would have hated now me.

After what could be hours (I’m having the time of my life chatting away to him), he asks me to dance with him, and I’m filled with an inexplicable fear. Actually, no. It’s explicable; I have never danced at a party before. Ever. ‘It’s okay… I won’t bite,’ he teases, and I take a deep breath, smiling as I nod. He takes my hand again, his touch so light and gentle, and instead of pulling me along behind him, he lets me go first, standing just a few inches behind me as we head into the living room. We mould into the group of our peers dancing, and I feel a little awkward at first, but I soon loosen up into the rhythm of the Rihanna and Bryson Tiller song pulsing out into the room. He’s really the perfect gentleman; he doesn’t lay a hand on me other than to move me out of the way when someone drunk stumbles past. It’s a nice change from the boys that don’t hesitate to just come up behind a girl and grab onto her waist, forcing himself onto her.

But after a while, I can feel the several vodka cokes starting to take effect, my mind a little hazy, and a tipsy y/n mixed with the RnB baselines floating out from the speakers isn’t a good combination. Hyunjin’s tan skin glows in the low light, his eyes sparkling, and he looks so fucking handsome, his plump lips stretching up into a flawless grin when I hook my arms around his neck loosely, moving closer. We dance a little more… intimately, our bodies pressed together after a few minutes, and his hands rest on my lower back, not venturing any lower, and his eyes stay on my face, even though my cleavage is right there. His gentlemanliness just makes him even sexier to me.

I look up at him, and notice that some of his hair in his face, and so I reach to brush it back behind his ear. His hair is so soft, the locks just gliding between my fingers, and I can’t help but run my fingers through the loose hair that he hasn’t pulled up into a ponytail, my nails gently scraping against the back of his neck. He shivers a little, his neck obviously sensitive, and it makes me look him in the eyes, practically getting lost in them. And before my brain can even register it, he leans towards me and my eyes flutter shut, his lips softly brushing against mine a few moments later. My first kiss.

He moves away, almost to check if I’m okay with it, and I just lean towards him, pressing our lips together again, making him let out a chuckle against my mouth. My mind numbs a little when he parts my lips with his, his tongue sliding into my mouth, and I really didn’t know that kissing was this good. His hands press into my back, holding me against him, and I grip onto his strong shoulders, his scent of lemony shampoo and expensive aftershave flooding my senses as our lips move against each other. ‘y/n, get a room!’ I hear Jin, one of Joon’s stupid friends, shout, followed by laughter, making me break away from Hyunjin, blinking as though I’ve just woken up, Hyunjin just smiling back at me. I turn to Jin, shooting him a dirty look and telling him to fuck off before turning back to Hyunjin. I feel braver than usual due to the alcohol and the fact that I’ve just kissed a boy I met yesterday in the middle of a frat party, and so I ask, ‘do you… want to get a room?’ ‘Um… what?’ he asks, blinking, and I feel the humiliation setting in already. ‘I mean, we don’t have to… but I thought you might want t-’ ‘Yes. I do want to.’

We’re both laughing drunkenly as we head up the stairs (it seems the several bottles of Soju he’s had have made him a little tipsy), our hands clasped together. ‘Whose room are we using?’ ‘Um, we can use Namjoon’s. I’m sure he won’t mind – he’ll be proud I’ve finally kissed a boy,’ I say, leading him into Joon’s room. The second we enter, he shuts the door, pushing me up against it and pressing our lips together again, his body against mine and our hands still intertwined against the door. I tangle my free hand into his soft locks, his free hand gently roaming up and down my side, and it’s bliss, the way he touches me. He’s such a good kisser – though it’s not like I have much experience anyway. ‘Did you say I’m your first kiss?’ he asks, lips moving against mine, and I let out a little noise of affirmation, the boy grinning. ‘Good,’ he murmurs, the word making my stomach turn with butterflies.

But it’s like I’m not allowed good things. There’s a loud hammering against the other side of the door, making both of us jump, and I manage to move out of the way just before it flies open, Namjoon storming in, anger all over his face. ‘y/n,’ he says, voice shaking, and I look at him in concern, wondering what’s happened. ‘Joon, are you okay?’ ‘No, I’m not,’ he says, teeth gritted, and it’s then that I realise; he’s angry at me. ‘Oh, did you… should I have asked you if I could use your room? I didn’t think you’d mind, I’m so-’ ‘God, you’re so fucking dense!’ he shouts, making me flinch, and Hyunjin looks between us before saying, ‘y/n, I’m gonna go, you guys speak in private. I’ll… be downstairs.’ I nod, too shocked to speak, and even more shocked at the way Namjoon stares daggers at Hyunjin as he slips past him.

‘What’s your problem? There’s no need to be such a dick to me, or to Hyunjin.’ ‘Oh, so you do know his name? I’m surprised, since you only met him yesterday.’ ‘Stop being so fucking judgy! You’re allowed to fuck anything with a vagina, but I kiss a boy I met yesterday and the world’s ending!’ ‘I’m not judgy, y/n, I’m jealous! Can’t you fucking tell?’ he practically screams, and the words don’t register with me for a moment. ‘Jealous?’ I echo, and he lets out a humourless laugh, sinking down onto his bed. ‘Yes, y/n, jealous. I’ve only been in love with you for two fucking years,’ he mutters, the words hitting me like a ton of bricks. He’s in love with me. My best friend is in love with me. ‘Joon, I-’ ‘You what, y/n?’ he asks angrily, and I’m filled with such rage, I want to slap him.

‘I didn’t know! If you’d told me, I’d understand why you’re so angry! But you didn’t, so stop fucking shouting at me, and being such a dick, and making me feel guilty when I shouldn’t!’ ‘There was no point telling you, because you don’t love me back!’ he shouts, and now I feel even more guilty. ‘I love you, Joon, but as my best frie-’ ‘And that’s why I didn’t tell you! I could deal before, when I was still getting to spend time with you every day, but now that you’re getting all this attention from all these boys, it’s so… difficult.’ ‘You still should have told me,’ I say quietly, and he scoffs. ‘There was no point! It doesn’t change anything! You still don’t like me!’ ‘No, I don’t, but you shouldn’t be angry at me about it.’ ‘I think I have a right to be angry!’ he shouts, and my eyes fill with tears. ‘Well, you don’t! Forgive me, Namjoon, but you’re not exactly a gentleman. Why would I fall for a boy that has a different girl in his bed every day, who plays girls like it’s his job, who’s misogynistic and vulgar and a dog? You don’t get to be such a dick to women and have your best friend fall in love with you, because it doesn’t work that way!’

‘Oh, and Hyunjin isn’t a dick?’ ‘No! He’s sweet, and he’s kind, an-’ ‘You’ve known him for one day, and you’re already rushing upstairs to lose your fucking virginity to him! I thought you’d care more about your first time!’ he shouts, still so judgmental, and I feel myself practically shaking with rage. How dare he behave the way he does and judge me, even though he’s supposedly in love with me? ‘Why do you care who I lose my virginity to?’ ‘Because I’m in love with you! Aren’t you fucking keeping up?’ ‘No, Namjoon, you’re not in love with me. If you were, you’d be happy that I’m happy. Instead you’re possessive and judgemental and douchey!’ We’re shouting at each other now, and anyone outside will be able to hear, but I don’t care. Let them hear how much of a dick he is. ‘I loved who you were, when-’ ‘When what? When boys didn’t talk to me? When you and Jackson were the only boys I spoke to at parties? When I was pure, untouched, innocent? Now, you’re annoyed, because I’m not who you thought I was. I don’t owe you anything, Namjoon, because you can’t expect me to have just known.’

‘Just go, y/n,’ he says, all of the anger in him disappearing, and he sounds so tired, looks so tired. And, as always, I feel guilty. ‘Joon-’ ‘No. Please, just go,’ he says, and when he looks up at me, my heart breaks. His eyes are full of tears, sadness, hurt, but the second they land on mine, they’re filled with love, too. Love that I can’t reciprocate because, he might be my best friend, but he is disgusting to girls. And I can’t love that. I can’t love him. ‘Okay. I’ll go,’ I whisper, turning away and leaving his room before I burst into tears.

[dantelionwishes]

I WANNA HEAR D'S THOUGHTS ON JEN'S QUESTION Spill the beans! You've even got me curious now!

“Do you think Rose is a good person?”

I’ll answer not just Jen’s question, but generally thoughts surrounding D and Rose’s relationship!! It’s gonna be long because I think about this a WHOOOOOOLE lot, and I seriously mean a whole lot,,, so read ahead!

btw, if you think Rose is a bad person and D hates him, that’s where you’re mistaken! IT’S MY STORY MY HEADCANONS SO IF U DONT WANNA READ THIS THEN DONT BRO HJASGJHASHJ

PRE-ETERNATUS, CHALLENGER ARC

Ive mentioned before, but D and the chairman had a fairly good relationship!!

In-game, rose is very interested in the player and talks to you a lot, so honestly not much changes here

D, in his challenger phase, is forcibly very loud and flamboyant. being overly animated and confident, he’s able to keep up with rose who likes to chat and banter with him 

When d talks to people, he KNOWS he’s being over-the-top, which is why he feels very awkward doing it (when people point it out, it makes it painfully awkward and embarrassing for them. Point in case: bede and Marnie!)

Rose finds him a very interesting trainer and observes D a lot. Its not hard to notice how hard he’s trying, but rose doesn’t point this out and genuinely moves along with what D’s vibes are as to not make him feel any more humiliated 

D is aware that Rose is playing along with his act, and thanks to this it really builds up trust like!! Oh the chairman isn’t making fun of me and genuinely finds me interesting and strong!!!! the chairman!! What a morale boost!!!!!! 

Again, its genuinely (funny and) awkward when D is being his over-the-top animated self, and its easy to point this out (which most people do, from his rivals to other trainers, to even gym leaders) but the only people who dont actively point it out AND act along would be his mom, hop, Leon, and rose! 

in addition, D has a pretty high-pitched voice so its easy to tell he’s trans?? He was worried he was going to be misgendered by such an all-important person like the chairman, but was surprised when rose immediately was just comfortable with calling him a “young man”

Another cute trivia thing during this stage was that they both are wearing shades for their “incognito mode” and D even gives the chairman some fashion tips for the next time he goes out!

It actually pisses off bede with how much rose and d talk;;;;;;  def one of the reasons why d and bede fight hhhh

The part of the plot where they head to rose tower, D was actually very against it in the beginning, saying that he could actually just try and call up the chairman if he wanted to! He tries and tries, but then starts to panic once he does in fact realise that something isnt right 

Even after storming thru rose tower and defeating oleana, d eVEN TRIES TO INVITE ROSE TO THEIR DINNER (MY BOY IS THINKIN: A DINNER WITH HIS FAV PPL!! HOP, LEON, AND ROSE!! the only one missing would be his mom) ……….but r-rose dismisses it with a smile, saying maybe next time…………..

D is a meek, insecure person who is easily broken down, so he really needs a lot of support to keep moving sO JUST IMAGINE this baby boy who puts trust in someone suddenly goes batshit and you have to defeat them with ur own hands????? Wowza. 

POST-ETERNATUS, NEWLY APPOINTED CHAMPION

OH BOY EVERYONE KNOWS HOW THIS FUCKIN GOES IF THEY REMEMBER MY FIRST POSTS JHASGJHHJAS

Ive already shown this via an illustration + a short Drabble, but its only after the eternatus battle that their father-son relationship is revealed

The game really doesnt show how serious the eternatus battle was, but for me: Leon was hospitalised for quite some time and wasn’t allowed to battle D until he healed up. At the same time, this gave D a lot of time to think about wHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED

I dont mention it, but this is where his gym leader au starts off from the canon timeline!! At this point, D is calling his mom or talking to hop or just locking himself up and is just generally in a panicked state where he feels like dropping out of the challenge, feeling overwhelmed with what just happened

ANYWAY IM HERE TO TALK ABT ROSE AND D but lets just say his Pokemon convince him to continue!!   

at the same time of his win, gossip went around quick and not only is D now very popular for suddenly defeating the unbeatable champion Leon, but is actually the “villainous” chairman rose’s son!??!?!?!??!! 

POOR SON BOY IS OVERWHELMED ONCE MORE, HELP HIM.

He actually escapes to the isle of armour + crown tundra as a way to give him time to think about this more (isle of armour: personal time for himself to think alone, crown tundra: chance to spend time with relatives he didn’t know he had) 

OK GENUINE RELATIONSHIP ANALYZATION TIME:

After becoming champion, he really didnt go see rose at all, feeling a plenty mix of frustration, sadness, anger, betrayal, but!! his feelings dont simply surround the “oh the adult I trusted was actually bad and lied to me“ or “wtf hes the dad who wasn’t there for me and is the reason why mom is alone how dare he” IT REALLY WAS A MIX OF BOTH HGHHGHH

But its BECAUSE he was close to him in the first place that he knows rose wasn’t just….straight up a bad person or a villain

The important part here was that rose and D were close during the challenger part, and our lad had a lot of time to think about how he was simply a good, misguided man

rose is very passionate about the things he cares about, to the point of doing anything and everything for them (ex. Awakening eternatus for Galar’s sake to the point of accidentally getting darkest day, or even working hard for Miriam’s sake to the point of accidentally never being there for her anymore) 

Yeah, d talked to a whole lot of people to think this over. He learned what happened between rose and his mom while talking to her, and D also learned what happened between peony and rose to further understand what’s up!!

In the process, I like to think both Miriam and peony dont hate rose! D was also an important factor in helping the both of them realise and clear up a few things, and at least, in their minds, stay on good terms with rose 

During both DLC arcs, D is silent at first but slowly n surely starts sending small letters to Rose :’))

YAY ACTUAL INTERACTION????

After a lot of thought on his self-journey, its safe to say that D had felt a lot more comfortable, finally talking to rose after the galarian star tournament arc !!

Ive mentioned before, but its not like D has to start from scratch since they had a good relationship as challenger and chairman beforehand anyway

D wants a dad! He does want to meet his dad, and at the same time rose regrets not making time for his lover and future family, so I’d say after pushing away the initial negative awkwardness they do both have the same, genuine goal in mind to talk to each other and build a good relationship with each other!!!!!!

Ive also said before but like ONE OF D’S FEARS IS…..”WHAT IF I MEET MY DAD AND HES TRANSPHOBIC” YKNO???? So knowing that rose already thinks hes already perfect in his eyes, IT REALLY DOES WONDERS TO A YOUNG BOY YKN O ?? ? ? ? ?? 

Uhhhhh honestly I really dont know how jail works and shit sO LETS JUST SAY D VISITS REGULARLY IF HES NOT BUSY WITH CHAMPION DUTIES!!!

Also I have nO idea what oleana means by “WHERE IS CHAIRMAN ROSE” cos like….iSNT HE JUST VIBIN IN JAIL??????? Lets just say he is sdghjjhsdhj

TL;DR

D had a lot, and I mean A LOT, of time to think about Rose. He does not have any ill intentions or feelings towards him, and the two have a hopeful, slowly budding father-and-son relationship. 

[everyotherworm]

Heyyy! I found your blog shortly after The Arena got its big makeover and I didn’t pay too much attention to the other wizards descriptions, so do you have any info/headcanons on them? (determinedowl23)

!!!! You have no idea I have so many headcanons! First tho if u want info: scroll down to the list of arena npcs and you can click on them to get their old in game appearance, name, title, and description (the descriptions are like 1-2 sentences long.)

As for headcanons I have a bunch in the 'arena wizard blogging tag' on here already (so far I've done a headcanon post for Gina, Cameron, Bannard, Flora, Nick, Lillian, and George, but I also have a bunch of other random headcanons in the tag) but to answer your ask here's a quick long highlight reel of my favorite headcanon(s) about each wizard! Some of these are things I've shared before, but some r about people I've never talked about before :) there are 20 characters and I'm bad at being succinct, so strap in folks

Gina has bad luck, or she tends to end up as the target of every spell or piece of machinery that goes awry and she can't do anything about it because she sucks at magic too much to levitate it away lmao

Crios didn't want to be friends with Cameron, cameron just followed him around until he was worn down and just got used to having him around all the time. Now he's so used to him that despite his constant complaining about cameron, he will be even more annoyed if he doesn't have him there to be annoying and do errands for crios.

Bonus cameron one because he's my favorite: his hair is naturally curly and black, he just dyed it to look more like crios. Funnily enough, crios's hair isn't actually naturally orange either.

Mila tends to hang around young wizards more than the wizards at her level, she thinks they're more open minded (which is kind of because they don't have common sense, but she considers that helpful to 'thinking outside the box') and she has a lot of fun mentoring them.

Benjamyn is best friends with fuschia, because thanks to growing up with sisters he's always gotten along better with the girls at school than the boys. Also that leather apparel is hot as heck, but he doesn't take it off because he's just a cold lad man

Fuschia has an eye for small details and is especially good at judging whether people are kind/genuine or not. Some rumor that her pet mystyyk can sense that she has a pure heart and that that's why it chose her, but in reality it's just because she lured it I with lots of treats :3

I've said this one before but bannard is hard of hearing and has no idea what is going on half the time. He's fairly magically gifted and VERY good at scaring away monsters (it's because he never stops yelling) but he's kind of held back by not getting enough accommodations. He doesn't seem to care tho, he's just here to have a good time :)

I know the reason leena is called the metal head is because she likes rocks not metal music, but you can tear electric guitar playing leena from my cold dead hands <3

Finneas is a terrible influence on everyone he meets, he skips like half his classes lmao </3

The lunar wand was made for a werewolf, is it that farfetched to believe another type of shapeshifter might use it? Why are djinnas pets all fish based instead of ghost based if she's a spirit? Why would someone need to leave back and forth from the academy if they could get all their needs from land? DJINNAS A MERMAID PEOPLE WAKE UP-

Jess has an inferiority complex, seriously dude how's it feel to spend your whole life in the shadow of a twin who's just like you but way better and who's already finished school /lh

Flora sleeps upside down

I'm a Nick = Young Santa Claus truther but that's more of a theory than a headcanon, so other than that I think he's autistic and has a special interest in Christmas and thats why he involves it in a lot of things :) also he gives everyone gifts year round and uses Christmas decorations as fidget/stim toys

Not to do to autistic/special interest headcanons in a row buuut Lillian is also autistic and has a special interest in pets and you can fight me on that. Also Lillian lives with professor scoog (he's her uncle, don't question how that works) and they both loooove rambling about old and new pets to each other

Korathius is one of the only students who's lived on prodigy island his whole life, and him being raised by magic pets is the reason he's in the higher level ranking.

Jen has had several near death experiences.

On George's first day on the island he exploded half his hair and shirt, took apart the wheel of wonder (he tried to put it back together but it ended up falling onto gina when she leaned on it because he did a bad job), and accidentally caused a minor eruption in bonfire spire (he just wanted to see what would happen if you cast spells from underneath the lava, he thought they weren't working so he casted a LOT of light waves.)

Aurora is so mean <3 she will stab u with an icicle if you try to prank you or sneak into her house (which is a small ice castle she built on the iceberg she floated over on.)

I dont have a lot of nova headcanons, shes just a nice gal, u know? She makes really good cookies if its worth anything

Crios is a sore ass loser, he probably decided to start dueling out of spite. Also, he's the one who beat the dark tower the canon where your wizard isn't there.

So yeah! I love them, arena wizards my beloved <33 if u want more headcanons about specific characters or topics feel free to ask, although I'd guess after reading all that you'd be ready for a break LOL. Thanks for the ask!!

[bobbystompy]

My Top 88 Songs Of 2020

Previously: 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

Though we couldn’t get as trim as last year’s 75, still very happy to keep this under 100 for the second year in a row. This was a very difficult year in many ways, but music helped make it more bearable.

As always, criteria and info:

This is a list of what I personally like, not ones I’m saying are the “best” from the year; more subjective than objective

No artist is featured more than once

If it comes down to choosing between two songs, I try to give more weight to a single or featured track

Each song on the list is linked in the title if you wanna check them out for yourself; there is also a Spotify playlist at the bottom that includes the majority of the songs

Usually a pump up video goes here, but 2020 had a different energy, so Michael, take us in.

88) Katy Perry - “Smile”

Even Katy Perry’s good songs are a swirling spiral of maxed out auto-tune. This one is just fine. It’s... fine.

87) All Time Low - “Trouble Is...”

Is All Time Low the Katy Perry of pop punk?

86) Tee Grizzley f/ Payroll Giovanni - “Payroll”

I have never heard of Payroll Giovanni, but I have two questions:

1) Is this his song, and he got Tee to jump on it?

2) Or, did Tee write a song called “Payroll” and think to himself “You know who would be great on this? Payroll Giovanni!”

Favorite stretch:

Listen, we is not the same, you say "door", I say "dough" You say "floor", I say "flow", you say "for sure", I say "fa'sho"

85) Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande - “Rain On Me”

Coming out in 2020 probably hurt this song, because I have no, like, out of the house memories with it. You can only have so much fun with Big Singers Singing over a pulsing beat when it’s coming from the phone in your kitchen as you’re indifferently scrambling eggs.

84) Benjamin Gibbard - “Life In Quarantine”

Now this is a song you can do nothing to; almost feels like it’s reluctant to even exist. It got released in March of 2020, so the outro (“No one is going anywhere soon”) served as a too sad reminder/mantra for what the year was about to be. Second shout out to Gibbard for the many YouTube sets he put together during the early stages of the pandemic (when so many of his peers were trying to figure out the next move).

83) Cardi B f/ Megan Thee Stallion - “WAP”

This felt less like a song and more of a “whoa, did you see the music video?!” and/or a means to relitigate the eternal question “What is the sexual line in music?” And while it was fun to watch people freak the fuck out... the quality itself really needed to be better.

(Note: YouTube video is the edited chorus; explicit version here)

82) McKayla Maroney - “Wake Up Call”

Former Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney -- of medals and memes fame -- dips her toe into the music waters. It’s inside-the-box modern pop music. One thing that’s hard to escape: it doesn’t really sound like her.

81) Chelsea Cutler - “Sad Tonight”

He vocals really remind me of Alessia Cara.

80) blink-182 - “Quarantine”

Blink doing a Bad Religion impression. Docked a few points for the very weak chorus lyrics (“Quarantine, fuck this disease”). That said, as serious as the song comes off, there are some clever punchlines to be found.

79) Dave Hause & Brian Fallon - “Long Ride Home”

This is kind of a nothing song, but it’s easy listening. Also, if your guitar leads can’t clear the “Could Bobby have written or performed this?” bar, then said leads are probably pretty weak.

78) Travis Scott & Kid Cudi - “THE SCOTTS”

Two artists who pair so well together, it’s hard to tell who exudes more influence on the track (eh, that’s not true, it’s Travis Scott, but Kid Cudi is more of a roommate than guest). They want you to be high by the time the instrumental outro hits.

77) The Strokes - “Bad Decisions”

The beginning sound feels somewhat evolved, but by the time Julian Casablancas croons “Making bad decisions”, the song feels like it could be on their debut album “Is This It?”. And it goes in and out like that from there.

76) Thundercat - “Dragonball Durag”

Thundercat is one of those artists I wish I liked more, but when the occasional track does hit, it’s a momentary glimpse into what real fans seem to always see.

75) TI f/ Lil Baby - “Pardon”

Standard fare. Lil Baby’s cameo is very meh.

74) Porches - “Do U Wanna”

For a song that repeatedly asks “Do you want to dance?”, it sure makes you feel like you’re moving in slow motion.

73) NOFX - “Thatcher Fucked The Kids” 

On the best-named album of the year (“West Coast vs. Wessex”), Frank Turner and NOFX cover each other’s material. To start us off, the legends take a song from 12 years ago about British politics from 40 years ago and, well, very easily apply it to right god damn now in America.

72) The Bombpops - “Dearly Departed”

Ahh, my year’s first cancelled concert. The listed names in V1 always make me want to skip this song -- but patience, grasshopper. Chorus is aight.

71) Ratboys - “Alien With A Sleep Mask On”

This band name will never match what the music sounds like.

70) Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - “She’s There”

The vocals in this song channel, like, four completely different singers for me, ranging from Bob Dylan to Cloud Nothings.

69) NOBRO - “Don’t Die”

An anthemic chorus meant to be belted in a room with sweaty strangers.

68) Oliver Tree f/ blink-182 - “Let Me Down”

The original solo version of this song is 1:52, and though the blink cameo pushes it over the dreaded two minute mark, it adds enough diversity to justify the choice (keep an eye out for the quick Green Day lyrical nod in the back half).

67) AJJ - “Normalization Blues”

This dropped in January, and if you thought the year was bad then. Punk News:

I'll admit I do want the album to age badly because I really don't want to have to listen to it years later and still say this is the world we're living in.

Said album being titled “Good Luck Everybody” is straight cryptic.

66) Selena Gomez - “Rare”

Very chill for big pop; triplet rhythm singing in the chorus gets me erry time.

65) Kid Cudi & Eminem - “The Adventures Of Moon Man & Slim Shady”

Cudi’s second split collab yields bigger results than his Travis Scott joint (admittedly with a worse beat here). It rarely ever hurts to let Eminem do the heavy lifting.

64) Alkaline Trio - “Smokestack”

A little cheerier than the average Alk3 song, but Dan Andriano seems like he’s been in a great place for a long time now; confident and in control. For me, the whole song builds up to the “You changed my life” chorus.

63) Frank Turner - “Scavenger Type”

Here, Frank takes on the acoustic closer to NOFX’s legendary 1994 album “Punk In Drublic”. Though the energy boost is most noticeable, my favorite part is how you can hear how much Turner loves this song as his melody bursts on the verses.

62) Mike Posner - “Alone In A Mansion”

Mike Posner, an artist I have a very soft spot for, released a storytelling concept album in 2020. From the intro track:

This album was written, recorded, and produced over a period of two weeks in Detroit, Michigan in my parents' basement. It's meant to be listened to all the way through. At least on the first listen. And it's about 36 minutes long. If you can't devote 36 minutes of undivided attention to this album, I again politely ask that you turn it off and return at a later time. I love you and I thank you for taking the time to listen in the first place. Also, it's important to note that the characters and the stories in this album are completely fictional. In addition, anyone struggling with a mental illness - depression, schizophrenia - should not listen to this album. Turn it off.

So those are the stakes. Pulling this song -- the record’s closer -- feels unfair void of context, but them’s the breaks.

61) Nada Surf - “Just Wait”

Heavy hitting chorus without having to be heavy; this could really work in a movie.

60) Matt Pond PA - “Wild Heart”

This having only 805 views on YouTube is criminal.

59) Liquid Death - “Unnecessary And Unimpressive”

Liquid Death -- in this iteration -- is a punk rock supergroup with members of Rise Against, Anti-Flag, The Lawrence Arms, and The Bombpops. If that didn’t interest you enough, all lyrics in the project (which, I believe, is for charity) come from hateful comments or negative reviews. Of the four artists involved, this sounds most like a Bombpops song, with Jen on lead vocals as others chime in.

58) PUP - “Rot”

Off my silver medalist for album name of the year (“This Place Sucks Ass”), PUP doesn’t do anything new here, but it was relieving to see them still going in 2020 when so many others got roadblocked, both physically and creatively.

57) Paul Harrold and the Nuclear Bandits - “Massanutten”

This reminds me of local Chicago artist Al Scorch. So much earnestness in the vocals, but a little more prairie for Harrold compared to speakeasy for Scorch. This would be a good road trip song. And I’m not talking about singalong... more for the stretch where you want to sit in silence and look out at the sun-kissed land blazing by. The song’s greatest victory is getting me to like something that cracks 6:00.

Note to future me: Massanutten is in Virginia (saved you a Google).

56) Kesha f/ Sturgill Simpson, Brian Wilson & Wrabel - “Resentment”

Kesha has been vulnerable in the past but never this stripped down sonically; the chorus would feel right at home on a country radio station. Love a good bridge, too.

55) Megan Thee Stallion f/ Beyoncé - “Savage (Remix)”

An up-and-comer pairing with a legend rarely lets down when both sides are this locked in. Bey wins. Fav line: “If you don't jump to put jeans on, baby, you don't feel my pain”.

She matches flows with Megan but also brings melody. Her blessing takes this song from pretty damn good to undeniably great.

That beat, too.

54) Red City Radio - “Baby Of The Year”

If all you want to do right now is grab a drink in a bar, here is a video built to troll.

(Also: a Liquid Death cameo?!)

53) Nathaniel Rateliff - “And It’s Still Alright”

The last time Mr. Rateliff had our attention, he just wanted a drink. That hit had a chorus with the very-sad-when-removed-from-the-song “If I can't get clean, I'm gonna drink my life away” lyric. Well, our man got sober since. And when the party is over, the introspection comes.

52) Direct Hit! - “HAVE YOU SEEN IT?”

Listening to slowed down Direct Hit! is like watching Usain Bolt lightly jog. It kinda makes sense because the core action is there, but it also feels sort of incorrect.

51) Hayley Williams - “Dead Horse”

Solo Hayley songs have this feel like they could do anything at any time... but then don’t. This one does the same until a very fun chorus breaks it up.

50) Kid Cudi f/ Phoebe Bridgers - “Lovin’ Me”

Probably the most improbable collab on this list (if 2020 hadn’t repeatedly taught us to not be surprised by anything).

49) The Homeless Gospel Choir - “Don’t Compare”

Listening to The Homeless Gospel Choir is kind of like getting a dedicated pep talk from a good friend... while fire rains down from the sky.

48) Carly Rae Jepsen - “Let’s Sort The Whole Thing Out”

Queen vocals with one prince of a tempo; this chorus is Sour Patch Kids riding Twix logs down a soda pop waterfall -- and it’s a b-side.

47) Green Day - “Meet Me On The Roof”

I like this song because it reminds me of summer and because it doesn’t really sound like Green Day (but still totally does).

46) Broadway Calls - “Meet Me On The Moon”

Promise -- swear -- I was gonna compare this Broadway Calls song to Green Day before realizing they both had titles about meeting in an escalated location. That said, I did put them next together on purpose to more coherently make this point.

45) David Rokos - “Building Bridges”

My buddy Dave wrote this song, and I think I’ve asked him three times what “burning sugar” meant (he says it’s a reference to absinthe). This song will make you want to travel to enjoy not only the places but the people around you.

44) Charli XCX - “claws”

Charli XCX keeps it futuristic in a video that could be described as sexy, cheesy, goofy, and playful-yet-serious.

43) Brian Fallon - “Lonely For You Only”

This is too easy and should not work (and maybe doesn’t). But that chorus... that circular phrasing... it still takes me all the way out. But I’m the same cat who proposed while a Gaslight Anthem cover was playing.

42) Waxahatchee - “Fire”

This song could be in a different language and hit just as hard.

41) Harry Styles - “Adore You”

Purifying pop.

40) Local H - “Hold That Thought”

Hardest rock song thus far. Local H was one of the first artists to play “live” once the lockdown hit (on a simultaneous YouTube/Facebook stream), and watching them attack music in their Chicago practice bunker felt a little bit like taking in the end of the world. New songs, old songs, covers -- it didn’t matter; their cool, unmatched apathy fits a pandemic or peacetime.

Ironically, was able to see them live in 2020, as they played a socially distanced, outdoor drive up concert in a minor league baseball parking lot. It wasn’t the same, but it was still something.

39) Crazy & The Brains - “I Don’t Deliver Pizza Anymore”

This song is just cool*. The verses feel tense and crucial, it starts to unspool in the pre-chorus, and the chorus itself feels like a light comedown more than anything else.

(* -  though the lyric video is docked some points for spelling y’all as “ya’ll”)

38) Drake f/ Fivio Foreign & Sosa Geek - “Demons”

Menacing Drizzy can be very fun from time to time. Also more than happy to keep “Toosie Slide” very far away from this list.

37) Hey Dad!!! - “Life’s Alright”

Small band, big song; though summer feels light-years away.

36) insignificant other - “i’m so glad i feel this way about you”

This song lands a big haymaker in the first few seconds, so it was probably a good call to pull back some for the chorus and, eventually, outro.

35) BTS - “Dynamite”

Heard they made the lyrics bad on purpose for their English hit, which makes sense, because they’re bad. That said, if you listen knowing they’re supposed to be bad, it kinda makes them... good? Listen, 771 million views would have me singing nursery rhymes in Pig Latin.

34) DaBaby f/ RODDY RICCH - “ROCKSTAR”

Someone said this could be the song of the summer, but, because there wasn’t really a summer, I feel like I only heard it once all year. Also, are we really pretending Post Malone* didn’t just do a “like a rockstar” song three years ago?

(* - and N.E.R.D. before that and Cypress Hill before that... though N.E.R.D. only waiting a year after Cypress, so maybe DaBaby actually was patient)

33) The Front Bottoms - “the hard way”

Don’t take it easy on the animal / I am the animal

Not quite sure what this line means, but I fixate on the phrasing every single time. This song sounds resigned in a very self-aware way.

32) The 1975 - “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)”

For a band called The 1975, they sure sound like they’re on their ‘80s shit here. Also, a real thing that happened:

Me: Is he coercing her to get naked?! I thought this band was woke.

/scans lyrics

/notices “She said” before the “Maybe I would like you better if you took off your clothes” line

Me: Ahh.

Sax solo, take us out.

31) Charly Bliss & PUP - “It’s Christmas And I Fucking Miss You”

A song that is already a forever staple on all my future Xmas playlists.

30) 2 Chainz f/ Ty Dolla $ign & Lil Duval - “Can’t Go For That”

Shorty said she love me / I said “I love me back”

This is a real genre blur; rap at its core, but also soulful, funky, and very danceable. Damn creative.

29) Billie Eilish - “Therefore I Am”

Billie's 2020 gave a few singles -- but no new album -- and a body shaming scandal where the backlash to the backlash probably caused more headlines than the tweet that started it all. Still, she stays on cruise control above the clouds; can all eyes be on you if they can’t even make you out?

Video for this is fun, too. Not sure if her running amok in an empty mall is more of a COVID necessity or commentary on the dying retail industry. As always with her, fill in your own blanks for now.

28) Future f/ Drake - “Life Is Good”

This was my most listened to rap song in the first half of the year, and bumping again now, almost forgot how good it is. Drake just chasing one-liner Instagram captions in the first half:

- “Haven’t done my taxes, I’m too turnt up”

- “N****s caught me slipping once, OK, so what?”

- “B****, this is fame not clout, I don’t even know what that’s about”

And, of course, “Workin’ on the weekend like usual”. The man could make anything glamorous. Let’s hit that H&R Block, bro!

Future’s back half is a totally different song and feels mostly like noise, but the vibe is cool, so I don’t even totally mean that in a bad way. You can even make out a “Got Promethazine in my blood and Percocet” lyric to mark your Future bingo card and immediately move on.

27) I’m Glad It’s You - “The Silver Cord”

This song feels like cold air blowing on the back of your neck.

(Sidebar: thought this band was called The Silver Cord until literally right now)

26) The Spill Canvas - “Mercy”

A dreamy, distorted, at-home version of whatever you remember The Spill Canvas sounding like. This song is confessional and at peace, with the Grade A self-loathing we’ve come to love from this band.

25) 100 gecs f/ Charli XCX, Rico Nasty & Kero Kero Bonito - “ringtone (remix)”

100 gecs first hit my radar with the explosively obnoxious “money machine”, but that’s a 2019er, so this remix to “ringtone” will have to do. It’s catchy like a younger sibling persistently singing a song you’re sick of hearing*.

(* - /only child trying to work in sibling analogies)

24) iann dior f/ Machine Gun Kelly & Travis Barker - “Sick And Tired”

Iann Dior -- ...yeah -- channels Juice WRLD on the hook, and MGK/Travis Barker buoy a track that, honestly, doesn’t really even need the help.

23) Nick Lutsko - “Unleash Your Spirit”

Lutsko hit my radar on Twitter with some legendary political anthems (word to the RNC and Dan Bongino + his Dashboard Trump parody). “Unleash Your Spirit” is the song I most fear hearing (or even thinking of) within a few minutes of going to bed. Not because it’s Halloween theme is scary -- because it’s that god damn catchy. It permeates your brain. True story: a week ago, I woke up in the middle of the night with “Bobbing for apples with the boys” so ingrained in my head, it felt like someone was standing there yelling it through a megaphone.

22) Dogleg - “Kawasaki Backflip”

Bad 2020 robbed many concerts from us, and not getting to see this band live might take the cake. I end the year liking them but could have been *all in* with the right performance and the right venue. Also, Song Title of the Year until further notice.

21) Eminem f/ Juice WRLD - “Godzilla”

Eminem has all of the words and all of the lyrical dexterity, but sometimes it feels like there isn’t anything to ground him. Enter: one of the best beats he’s ever spit on and a Juice WRLD hook to give it pop angle. But let’s not put Slim in the corner -- when he starts accelerating at the end, it’s is a true “holy fuck” moment. It sounds faster than if you actually fast forwarded.

The video ends with a touching audio message from Juice WRLD.

20) Soccer Mommy - “circle the drain”

This song is so gloriously ‘90s; it leans in and does not care.

19) Sam Russo - “Always Lost”

The first time I met you, we were on the last bus You passed me a bottle, and I knew you were one of us

Took 25 words to hook me; I was txting friends before the first chorus even hit.

18) Sincere Engineer - “Trust Me”

Deanna Belos pushes her vocals in this one. I asked about the performance, and she said it was one of the first ones they recorded in the studio, but when they were done and listening back to everything, she re-did this track because her throat was much more used to what the song required.

“That’s why it sounds like I’m on roids lol,” she added.

17) Jay Electronica f/ JAY-Z - “Flux Capacitor”

Jay Electronica signed to Roc Nation in November of 2010. At of the start of 2020, he had still -- STILL HOW FUCKING STILL -- not released a debut album. When he announced it was finally dropping in February, it was met with skeptic eyes. He’d “announced” before. Shit, he’d even posted track lists of albums that never saw the light of day. He was a tease’s tease. It ended up getting a release date of March 12. As the pandemic got really bad in the March 11 zone, he finally had an actual reason to delay the proceedings (the plan: a studio live stream listening party*).

But no -- this is Jay Electronica. Why wouldn’t he drop as the world was ending? The same reason why his costar wouldn’t not have a watch like a Saudi prince. It had to end for it to happen. I wish I saved the memes, because they were fantastic. All I have is my own Twitter memory to prove it happened:

I love this song entirely: the “get the gat” hook (soooo New Orleans), Hov calling out the NFL/acquaintances clout chasing his potential death/rapping forever bars, Jay Elect’s ham-fisted and awkward ass Farrakhan line. Everything is exactly where it should be.

Final verdict on the full album: I don’t know, a B or B+? It had a lot more Jay-Z than expected (wooo), but -- and I rarely say this -- it could have actually been longer.

16) New Found Glory - “Greatest Of All Time”

NFG with a song referencing the Jordan-Rodman-Pippen Bulls only a few months before “The Last Dance” aired. Dare we call it marketing genius? The punk beat does not care; the punk beat is too busy taking souls.

15) Dave Hause f/ Amythyst Kiah & Kam Franklin - “Your Ghost”

“I can’t breathe”

On the heels of the George Floyd/BLM protests came Dave Hause’s somber attempt to capture the moment, desperation, and hurt. On a podcast, he said he was aware he might not ever lead the movement but still wanted to contribute something in an effort to use his platform as a white artist to change someone, anyone’s mind going forward.

14) Taylor Swift - “this me trying”

The chorus makes me feel like the crowd is parting like the Red Sea on a high school -- shit, no, middle school -- dance floor; smoke machine and all. Your crush is waiting for you on the other side. What are you going to say?

13) Phoebe Bridgers - “Kyoto”

Phoebe is one of the best lyricists out because of her specificity, but even though this song is about her dad, you can really fit it to your own narrative.

12) The Lawrence Arms - “Last, Last Words”

The Lawrence Arms wrote their new record (which singer Chris McCaughan described as “this end of the world outpost”) prior to the pandemic, but once you start to process album themes -- and research its namesake -- you do wonder. All of this, combined with some “Catcher In The Rye” references, and we’ve got ourselves a winning formula.

Dressed to kill for oblivion 

11) New Lenox - “Fairytale Of Gary, Indiana”

Your boy plays drums and is on the cover art for this one. Dave Rokos wrote the tune, which references The Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York”. Good news: no slurs in the Gary version. We’ll have you in and out in 90 seconds. Also: say hello to the recording debut of Alisa Caruso (some backup vox at the end). 

10) Beach Slang - “Tommy In The 80s”

My most played song of 2020, but it really was more of a byproduct of how early in the year the album dropped. I’m still such a sucker for it, though. Other than forced nostalgia, not totally sure what the track is about. Did learn Beach Slang recruited former Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson to play on their LP, which was named -- /deepest of breaths -- “The Deadbeat Bang of Heartbreak City” (so maybe it has something to do with that).

9) Juice WRLD f/ Mashmello - “Come & Go”

The :55 mark. Wait until the :55 mark. When the guitar kicks in and tempo doubles, we have a real “oh, shit!” moment. I knew who Juice was when he passed but only “Liquid Dreams”. His 2020 album (“Legends Never Die”) showed us of what could have been; 55 minutes, loaded with cameos and creativity and experimentation. This song had me in its gravitational pull immediately. By the end of the year, they were using it on sports broadcasts, and it felt like a ubiquitous part of the culture.

One of my favorite days of 2020 was visiting the Juice mural in Chicago with my wife. We went impulsively during the day after someone posted a picture on Twitter.

I snapped one of my own and posted to IG with the Signals Midwest lyric “There is such quiet grace in private moments in public spaces”. The band responded with “RIP JUICE”; the perfect online exchange.

Shortly after, I was out with a different group of friends, and we went back at night. This time, it was protected by a fence you had to squeeze past. When we got through, there were kids in there smoking, taking pictures, just hanging out; empty liquor bottles lined the bottom of the mural. Even though it didn’t take all that long to make it there, it still felt like a journey and total ‘movie moment in real life’; a complete rarity in a year like 2020.

8) Mac Miller - “Good News”

Maybe I’ll lay down for a little...

Sadly continuing the theme of artists gone too soon, we have this reflective Mac Miller single, which feels more like self-eulogy than traditional rap. You feel it the entire time. The song crests with “There’s a whole lot more for me waitin’ on the other side”, and it conveys a readiness for whatever happens next.

7) The Dirty Nil - “Done With Drugs”

I don’t pray to Jesus or even own a suit

We lost the creators of our last two songs to substances, and, if we are to take this song at face value, The Dirty Nil don’t want to go down the same path. Drying out never sounded so cool and defiant... until the IKEA suggestion.

6) The Weeknd - “Blinding Lights”

Uptempo Abel is undefeated. My favorite pop song of 2020 has you feeling like you’re speeding through the empty streets of nighttime Las Vegas in a stolen car; indifferent to your environment, only tuned in to your personal desire.

And, on the lamer side of the spectrum, it spawned a catchy TikTok dance.

5) Spanish Love Songs - “Self-Destruction (As A Sensible Career Choice)”

It won’t be this bleak forever... yeah, right.

SLS has always been over-the-top with their lyrics spotlighting the hopelessness of the human condition -- so it was the *perfect* combo to being locked inside with nothing looking to forward to. Bonus: fun cake video.

Though the song’s core is uncut despair, a random moment I remember from 2020 was my wife telling me “I can hear you smiling as you’re singing” from another room as I belted the despondent chorus.

4) Worst Party Ever - “False Teeth”

This song sounds like The Front Bottoms; insecure yet so full.

3) Run The Jewels - “the ground below”

There were a lot of songs *about* 2020, but I’m not sure any artist soundtracked what being alive now is like more than RTJ. My favorite rap song and rap record of 2020.

Fav Killer Mike line: “Not a holy man, but I'm moral in my perversiveness / So I support the sex workers unionizing their services”

Fav El-P line: “I'll slap a dying child he don't pronounce my name correct”

2) The Menzingers - “America Pt. 2″

The Menzingers unexpectedly released an acoustic, re-done version of 2019′s “America (You’re Freaking Me Out)” single. It dropped on my birthday -- June 5th, 2020 -- as the rage in this country boiled over and protesters took to the streets. Though some of the lyrics remained the same, the new ones were changed with true purpose:

Well George Floyd was murdered by a cop The whole world saw the video and watched Now justice is long overdue Grab your pitchforks, we’re heading to Pennsylvania Avenue

I had nothing left when the first pre-chorus hit: “I hope the Devil and Donald and Mitch McConnell rot in hell for all tomorrows”. Tattoo this on my fucking soul.

All funds from the song were donated to Community Bail Funds (via Act Blue) & Campaign Zero. I purchased the track before hearing a note.

1) Machine Gun Kelly - “My Bloody Valentine”

Going into the year, I couldn’t tell you the difference between Machine Gun Kelly and Mac Miller -- now they’re both fixtures in this Top 10. All I really knew about MGK involved tattoos and a rap battle lost to Eminem (not that anyone ever beats Eminem).

In 2020, he took a punk/emo turn, with the services of GOAT drummer Travis Barker and new squeeze Megan Fox at his side. This song’s lyrics could potentially be cheesy but aren’t -- they all land. From the simulation going bad to not wanting “fake love” to all the damn second guessing and the earnestness that just won’t let you off the mat.

Every piece to the puzzle adds something: the messy hair, the Ken doll build, the forced iconic pink guitar that now feels actually iconic. It was almost like no one had any fun this year so he could have all of it on our behalf. There’s a half second shot of him sticking his tongue our during the pre-chorus, a joy 99.99% of us never got to feel.

The album itself was just as fantastic*; a 2000′s pop punk throwback with a Halsey duet, horrible skits (hi, Pete Davidson FaceTime), OpIvy lyrical nod (complete with a royalty check), a warp speed punk track that doesn’t even crack the minute mark, your token 6/8 ballad, acoustic closer (about his daughter), and some experimentation that leaves the new genre but still stays nearby; shades of Lil Peep, if he had Blink-182 as his backing band. Speaking of, please do not miss Travis’ fill at the 2:30 mark.

(* - named “Tickets To My Downfall”... woof)

MGK could get cancelled tomorrow, but we’ll always have this year in a bottle. The acoustic version of the song (sung in a lower resister), the 10 minute making of video (that I watched, uh, twice)... shit, he even turned it into a medley at the start of 2021.

It might be cliche to say “stay winning”, but when someone stacks this many W’s with no end in sight, what the fuck else do you call it? Real love.

* * *

Thank you so much for reading. Here is the Spotify playlist (includes 87 of the 88 songs).

[lgchunji]

✧ .・゜゜hello, lgc admods!

     chwe hunji and jin eunji’s leaf wants to say: “hey admods! i know this may look a little sudden and a little weird but by the time you see this, i’ve been going around asking all the members what they want to say to you guys to show their appreciation! i know admin e probably already told you, but i used to do theater for about two years and i volunteered my time. i probably worked fifteen-thirty hours a week at a theater and i did not get paid and barely was thanked but i always put in effort. i gave them one hundred percent of myself and, if i was lucky, i would get a five dollar starbucks gift card in return. i was so exhausted and even stopped writing because i could not handle how much of myself i was losing every day. i gave a hundred percent of myself away and got five percent back. now, though, with legacy, everything has been flipped! you guys put a hundred ten percent of yourselves into this amazingly fun and honestly complicated place and i feel like i never get to give back. i know the joy of it all is in watching people write together but for me, just having fun was not enough, i wanted to compile something together for you guys! you do so much for us so i thought it was time i give just a sliver of myself back to you. so! under the cut is a lot of people’s messages that i’ve gathered. a lot of members were unable to send in something in time so i do apologize that not everyone is here, but i added a space in the bottom for anyone and everyone who wants to add something at a later date, so admins and members, be sure to check that often! in the meantime, though, you guys are so amazing and this place already means so much to me, i really hope legacy can continue to grow and flourish beyond your guys’ dreams because you really deserve it! p.s. the below notes are not in any particular order of length or alphabetized, they’re just random C:”

     han insoo’s al wants to say: “thank you for your kindness and dedication. you guys are troopers. i’m not very vocal about things publicly out of shyness but also bad experiences. i hope you guys know i appreciate to be here and that you guys have kept this up for so long despite the setbacks. it’s been a while since i felt comfy in a directory. much hugs and kithes!! thank you for being so open and welcoming!”      kang yonghwa and choi daehyung’s muffin wants to say- "thank you so much for all of the hard work! legacy is not an easy rp to run with all these career branches and events going on. i appreciate all of the mods for making this rp extra special by celebrating birthdays, holidays and other occasions. I love you all muahhhhhh~"      liu jiao and ok miyoung’s faye wants to say- “i disappeared from the rp scene for awhile and was kind of lost when it came to fitting back into everything. but joining legacy helped me along and i am so glad i decided to put my muse here. thank you to all the mods and for all of their hard word. i felt so welcomed by not only them, but the other members of the directory as well. so thank you for the lovely community you’ve brought together here. i am happy to say that legacy holds a special place in my heart.”      yoon shinha and pongsak, tee's simone wants to say: “when i first joined legacy it was because i had some friends here and i had read about it a lot on twitter. i was nervous and scared, which is how i usually feel when joining a new place. working on my own points page from scratch was a first but i was proud of myself and i felt accomplished when i finished it. i joined as a connection and it gave me a boost when it came to plotting. everyone was so nice and welcoming and i honestly love that when joining a new directory. the events were many and i was both excited and scared at how many there were. even if i couldn't understand something i knew i could ask an admin or mod and would get a quick reply. i love how kind and supportive the staff is. i've been here for a few months now and i always recommend it to others. i know that no matter what, i can go to a staff member with a question and i don't need to feel stupid for asking something bc the staff are so helpful and understanding. the thought that goes into this roleplay and the events are amazing and i am honestly so amazed every time a new event gets posted. they give sufficient time frames for events and i know they try to make it as fair as possible. i honestly love it here and i love the hard work and the time that is put into legacy.”      park taekyung and heo jane’s bobbi wants to say: “thank you for taking the time to create this awesome community! the time and effort you put into this rp is what makes it such a fun place and i hope that this post brings you just as much joy as you bring us! <3"      mayura nana’s cc wants to say: “i’ve been on and off in the group, seeing the first time it opened and how hard working the admins were to coming back and seeing the amount of growth in just a few months. i truly appreciate all that you guys have done for your members, the patience and love you put into every little thing you do so everyone can develop and enjoy themselves. you guys make this rp fun and safe and i’m forever grateful to have found a true home for my muse. keep up the good work and i can’t wait to continue being here and witnessing even more love and growth from the team ❤️”       park seojin, im hana and kang seyoon’s sara wants to say: “hello lovely team. it's been a great ride thus far and i'm so happy to have been here from the beginning to see the community grow. you've built a really nice and wholesome place here and it's been one of the best roleplays i've been in so far. it's hard running things but always remember that people love and respect you and so many of us are rooting for good things every day. you're human too and if you make a mistake, never beat yourself up over it. you keep things so much fun. truly nothing more i could ask of from a team. i’ve sent other messages in the past but there's really no limit to the praises and support i can offer to you guys. keep up the good work!! ♡♡”      wu aaron and kim alex’s em (aka the awkward cookie) wants to say - "to the amazing admins of this rp, i haven't been here nearly as long as others but i really enjoy having my muses here! i love lgc so much and you're all amazing admins who work very hard to keep this place running with amazing events! keep up the great work and i can't wait to see what else you all have planned! (please torture alex as much as you can. xD) i don't think i've really talked to the admins here much but still, i love you all and everything you do! <3 please don't let any negative comments or reviews get to ya'll and just know you're all doing great!"       choi jongsuk, son jieun, and kim jinah‘s jen wants to say -  "@ the mod team from your resident meme! you guys know how much i love lgc. i'm not shy annoying y'all with compliments and praise. every sunday is a highlight because there is always something exciting being posted- be it just a date lottery update or new events; you never fail to surprise and spoil us all with fun and creative ideas! also the way you manage to keep things as fair as possible for everyone and still manage to not make anyone feel left out or left behind. the quick replies to any kind of questions are just so nice to see and it makes me personally not scared ever to ask anything at all no matter how stupid the question may be! i probably annoy y'all with how often i said this already but i love this rp. i love the graphics, the concept and the execution of it all. thank you for creating this amazing space for all of us to write and hopefully to many more years! true to my name i shall exit on a meme~"      hwang subin and han allie’s nic wants to say - “hello admins!!! it's me, a nic. i know that i've said a lot of this in the past but to sum it all up, i love you guys!! thanks for giving me a place to feel a bit more comfortable when i don't feel that way in rp a lot lately. i love that you guys are always gracious and accepting of criticisms, questions, and critiques and i hope you continue to always be that way because i think it's important for rps to listen to their members. i also want you to know that you don't have to stand for rudely stated words just because you do that, either!! i appreciate the time you take to answer my questions, whether it be through the manager blog or through discord and for all the opportunities you've given my muses ( even if ONE of them might not be so grateful. i'm lookin at u subin ) so yeah ;u; i hope u all are having a lovely day, pls take care!!!”      tsai sunisa, park sarang, and jung jihye’s the ghost rper wants to say - “number one, thank you for making legacy an rp! i'm having a lot of fun with all of muses! especially since it's given me a chance to bring muses i've played before alive in another rp. two, they're [the admins] awesome for all of the stuff they've managed to do for the group and how many options you have to be apart of the industry and do more background related stuff! third, just stay awesome and remember to put yourself before rp! since without ya'll we wouldn't be here!”      min soyoun and kim jinseo‘s clara wants to say - "hi mods! thank you for making lgc a fun and safe haven for us. i appreciate the love, thought, and effort you all put in every single mission/event that happens in the roleplay. you guys are doing amazing!"      kwon sihyun‘s shinobi wants to say - “thank you for making me feel welcome!”      park iseul and ahn dohyun’s nine wants to say - “thank you so much for all your hard work! over the months i've been at lgc i've always felt like the admods have kept every single muse in mind when creating events and moulding the rp to fit the members. i've never felt as in love with an rp as i do now. keep up the good work, i can't wait to see the rp grow more and more!”      choi max and im nari‘s jada wants to say - “hi there mods !!! i didn't want this whole appreciation to go by without saying some words of my own, so here i go ! when i joined legacy a few months back i was hesitant to even join, doubting that i'd want to stay to make it even past the next activity check. it was an act of pure impulse, but perhaps the best thing i could've done ! alongside the many great friends i've made along the way, if it was not for all the hard work you do, the roleplay would not be nearly as lively of a universe as we've all made it to be ! i always compliment legacy for the dedication you all clearly have to making it enjoyable - from events going on all the time, to in-character posts that liven the spectrum of our creativity, to your speedy responses and patience whenever we have trouble ! i think me and the rest of the members can agree that what you do makes us enjoy the roleplay even more, and we always will be appreciative of that !! i think you guys run the roleplay SO smoothly at times that we forget the hard work you put in and the bumps you might encounter along the way, but it's times like this that make me realize how much more we should thank you. because of the team behind it all, i've once again found my place in a roleplay that's made me feel at home, and always ready to write and have fun !! i'm extremely grateful for the passion you've shown us and i hope that i too can do my best to make sure your hard work pays off and give thanks ! i'm looking forward to writing with all of you and giving a voice to our muses for as long as i'm able to type, haha ! <33 “      ahn yeoreum’s kay wants to say - "my first experience with krp wasn't exactly the best. i didn't land myself in the most welcoming environment and was planning to never join another krp. but i took a chance in lgc and didn’t regret it. since day one, everyone has been so welcoming and i loved playing yeoreum here. the admods have worked so hard to make this such a nice environment to rp in and i love how well thought-out all the events and activities are. thank you so much, admods !! we are super lucky to have such a talented and hard-working team. <3″      ji haneul’s maddy wants to say - “to legacy admods uwu, thank you for your endless hard work! seeing how the community has grown over the last few months, as well as the tons of opportunities for character development has made my time here absolutely amazing. i just want to say how much i love the rp, and how inspiring it can be in churning my writing muses. keep up the good work, and i hope you guys would also be able to have as much fun as the work you've put in in maintaining the rp! take care, stay safe, and stay awesome >:D *flings plushies in your directions* ♡"      lee seungjae’s fifi wants to say - "hello admods!!! i just wanted to say thank you for everything that you've done for lgc! i haven't been here long but everything about it is great and i can tell you've put in so much work to make it the great place that it is!"      kang dana‘s jay wants to say - “thank you so much for working so hard on this roleplay and allowing all of our characters to develop however we like! i have never enjoyed a rp as much as this one <3"      hwang jaerim and im hyunjin’s jia wants to say - "hello admod team, yall know im always here to bother u all with my weirdness and you guys are all great to talk to. i've been lucky enough to have been here since day 1 and to see this place flourish and see all the efforts you put into the rp, makes me glad to be here. thank you!!"      oh max and park viggo’s lyn wants to say -  "as one of those muns that has been in legacy from the very beginning, i've witnessed this rp grow and i can’t help but to feel extremely proud and happy for the admod team who works tirelessly to make sure that the progress isn’t only with the rp but genuinely with the muses within it. the admins take it into their own hands to celebrate the achievements that muses have obtained and put them on the spotlight, personally i've experienced screaming and getting emotionally overwhelmed with some of the mods at how happy and ecstatic i felt with some of the results for my muses. with that said i want to make it clear that my muses don’t always get what they want, when it happens, i do share some down time with said mods as well- not to complain but to just talk. the same happens vice versa, when the mods' muses don’t get a spot in future dreams or didn’t get the center of a group, or when they land a cf spot or has made progress by moving on a different path, i'm able to witness their reactions as muns as well- which quite frankly is humbling considering that it reminds me that their muns too and not just mods. essentially what i'm trying to say is that based on my experience and mine alone although i have no doubt i'm not the only one who feels this, clearly this post proves it, that the admod team is not just there to provide us with countless numbers of events or answer our endless amount of questions and woes with admirable patience or guide us in the right direction when we misplace a point or two in our submits, but rather to present us muns with a safe and progressive platform to comfortably establish and allow our muses to flourish in a highly entertaining environment. so thank you legacy team for your heartwarming and admirable work, i know this hasn’t been easy for you guys but hang in there, a lot of us got your backs ♡"

these are the folks who wanted to add something after this post was first published:

no one at the moment! if you want to say something to our lovely admins please either message them through the lgckrp askbox or, if you’re more shy, send me an IM or send it to lgchunji’s askbox with your message in quotations, which blogs you run, and your name/alias!

[dreamiesdotcom]

[10:34] He sees a cute cat passing by and he chokes on his food because it's just so adorable he can't stop cooing. He forgets to swim halfway through the race and drowns. He doesn't back away from a stupid dare Jaemin bets him on. There are multiple dumb reasons Lee Jeno could die of, but he's convinced that Y/N is gonna be the death of him. Literally.

You ever just feel that random butterflies stucked in your stomach and weak knees? Like you wanna crush someone into a hug, and cry and tell them how adorable they are even if you met just now? Yeah. That kind of vibe — all in one person, craddled in Huang Renjun's arms. Trouble came in Jeno's life in the form of the hurricane that is Y/N during first year. Suddenly he wishes that Jaemin is here — he's the one in charge for socializing, for God's sake.

"Hey, Jeno. This is Y/N, the reason I'm always unavailable to hang out during free time," Renjun greets him with a warm smile, playfully glaring at the other. The other boy is someone he knows for long, so long that he doesn't remember not knowing each other, and even though rumors around the school suggest that you best be leaving Renjun alone, Jeno still hangs around him. He's not that bad — in fact, Renjun is absolutely harmless even if he's aggressively affectionate sometimes, "I was in a hurry that I didn't get to tell you guys about it, but she just moved back in town and I'm touring her around the campus since she's gonna study here for quite a while."

"Oh...", there's a lingering bitterness on the back of his throat but he still sports an accommodating smile. She's a nice girl, "Your girlfriend?"

"Common mistake, but no", he almost feels guilty for wanting to sigh in relief and gratefulness for Renjun's words, "She's my —"

"Soulmate.", you shrug with a grin and Renjun just pulls you in closer. You heartily laugh and push him away gently, the other sending you a sweet smile, and you know deep in you that he would've snapped your neck if he isn't that happy that you're finally, finally staying for good.

"Babe, please it's not that deep," he rolls his eyes and faces Jeno again. Jeno doesn't even seem uncomfortable in the slightest. Maybe it's because he's really not — that or he's a great actor. Renjun smiles apologetically to Jeno, "She's my bestfriend."

"He denies it but he swore we were soulmates when he was drunk and drunk people are honest, I tell you!" you pout and moves away from him, crossing your arms as Renjun pulls you back closer with a chuckle. People are staring and you know it, probably because one, you're too pretty, and two, Renjun doesn't always smile and he probably seems possessed in their eyes, "This is exactly why I prefer Donghyuck. Hyuck lets me call him everything. He's the best."

"Y/N, don't stretch it," was Renjun's comment with a fond roll of his eyes and Jeno almost wants to retreat now, but your eyes meets his with an eye smile equally as bright as before as you mutter, "Whatever. Hi, it's Y/N! nice meeting you!"

"It's nice meeting you, too," Jeno smiles and he doesn't know where he got the strength to even come up with proper words, "And you know Donghyuck? I'm not being nosy… it's just that you seem close judging that he lets you call him Hyuck when he normally goes for Haechan, even in his past relationships."

"They're close, really really close," Renjun supplies for you, not wanting to hear your speech of how sunshines and rainbows run in Donghyuck's blood, "Hyuck makes sure to visit Y/N every two days. I don't know how he does it but to be honest, I feel like me visiting her every week is too troublesome so I dragged her here with me."

Jeno just shakes his head as you say 'You didn't drag me here, I came willingly!' as Renjun leads you to the cafeteria because of your forgotten dilemma of hunger exactly thirty minutes ago before you bumped into Jeno.

"She's great at Math, Jen," Renjun sips his drink, "She should totally tutor you."

Jeno momentarily chokes on his drink and you nod, pleased with the idea, "Oh, I like helping people!" you nod to yourself and Renjun fondly replies with 'Yes, you do' before you continue speaking, "I could totally help you… what's your name again?"

Both boys burst out laughing at your question, looking at you disbelievingly, "It's Jeno," he smiles, "Lee Jeno."

And while Jeno has been kind, Renjun takes it to him to poke fun of you , "You didn't listen?"

"Nope!" you wave your fingers, as if to say that's not what I mean, "I know him. I remember his name. I just wanted to hear him say his name — you say your name so prettily, I like it."

Jeno seems flustered, his shy nature not going unnoticed and if you weren't friends with Renjun, you're quite sure that Jeno wouldn't even dare cross paths with you. His cheeks are beet red as he mutters, "Uh. Thanks. It's my name."

Your eyes close dreamily and your hands fly up to your cheeks gently, as if you're about to coo to a baby, "So cute!", you squeal before leaning one hand on the table and resting your chin there, meeting Jeno's eyes, "Now that I think about it, maybe I just like you overall that's why I like the way you said your name."

"Please don't flirt with my friends on your very first day, Y/N," Renjun warns, and Jeno almost thanks him until he notices the pout you are sporting — it makes him wanna die a little more, "What did I tell you about doing this, Y/N-ah?"

"Never took you for the jealous type, Injun-ah, but well..." you huff, "You did tell me not to do so."

And so, the day ends with a very blushy Jeno, a happy Y/N, a Renjun who is stressed from having to babysit a whole adult, and a deal of Jeno looking after Y/N whenever Renjun can't watch over her because of their different schedules, and Y/N will tutor him in Math in exchange. Sounds like a plan — sounds like a perfect plan for chaos.

Jeno confirmed his suspicions when all these events leads the both of you to the present, three years later after that eventful afternoon, sitting in the living rooms with all the materials laid down in front of the two of you. Somewhere around an hour ago you two have finished the session, but neither of you actually want to leave, and so you stay like this, sitting silently.

Lee Jeno. Swimming Captain. Really popular among literally everyone but somehow doesn't know how to human, just wants to live his life, hates Math with a burning passion, and reminds you of playgrounds and kindergartens and nostalgic pictures — that's just some of the information you knew about him the past three years you have been friends. Jeno is tall, handsome and definitely adorable. You kind of just like seeing the red decorating his cheeks.

"Jeno-ah…" you whine to get the attention of the other boy who's sitting across you. Another thing you knew about him is that his definition of hanging out is way too far from Renjun's and the world's, sitting far from you and minding his own business, "How come you're so pretty?"

"U-uh. Thank you," he scoots closer, offering you the bowl of chocolates which you politely shake off, "Are you getting bored? I'm sure Renjun will come around a bit later,"

"I don't really mind. Renjun is not the most punctual person in the world, mostly because he's busy, so I'm just lucky he still puts up with me. Hey, why are you so far? Come close," you tilt your head to the side as Jeno moves to your side, a dust of red seemingly permanent on his cheeks, "Oh? I like your lipbalm. What do you use, Jeno-ah?"

Jeno seems petrified on where he's sitting, and you lean closer causing him to chuckle nervously and places a hand on your back to help you find your balance so you don't end up falling on him.

You're close. So, so close.

"Oh my God!" the door slams close, and you hear someone shout from outside, "I'm sorry!"

"Jaemin for God's sake, I gave you an emergency for emergencies and you still should ring the doorbell when it's not one!", Jeno settles you down with an apology, and a giggle bursts out from your lips. Whoever this Jaemin person is, he thought wrong — really, really wrong, "I'm sorry. He just came back in town, and you never met him before because he already left when you arrived."

Jeno moves up to open the door, and the new-comer, his friend, assuming because he has an emergency key to Jeno's apartment, waves at you apologetically before gasping in shock, "You! You're the girl!"

"Oh?" you asked, confused, "Thank you?"

"No, I mean you're the girl in the pictures — at Hyuckie's and Renjun's!" Jaemin says, almost excitedly and you shake your head. He's adorable, "Every corner of their apartment has a picture of you, oh my God? It's nice to finally meet you, Y/N!"

You stand up to meet him with a smile, meeting each other halfway and you're quite flustered when he goes for a hug instead of a handshake, "Yes… it's nice to meet you too, Jaemin-ssi. Our mutual friends have talked your ears out about me?"

"Believe me, they do. I've never heard Renjun talk so much," he slings an arm at you, leading you to the couch and leaving Jeno disbelievingly staring at the two of you, 'How come they're already this close? I can barely hold a conversation with her when it's not her starting, or about a question in a topic, not to mention they just met for minutes and I've been with her for three? Three years?' he asks in his mind, "Wow, I'm feeling left out now. Hey, Nana!"

Jeno crashes next to Jaemin who is still talking about how magical you sounded whenever the other guys talked about you and how it's actually an understatement, and you've never felt so flustered. Maybe it's because you only met him today, or maybe it's just because he's Jaemin and he's handsome — the third guy that actually had your knees wobbling like jelly from compliments, the first being Renjun, second being Donghyuck. As you're about to reply, a knock cuts out your trance and Jeno takes it up to him to open the door again, "Who's it?"

The door revealed Renjun, but Renjun is quickly shoved to the side and you gasp, running to Donghyuck who has his arms wide open, ever so excited to meet even despite having seen each other a while ago in school, "Oh my, Hyuck!!"

"How's my princess?" he hugs you equally as tight, and you laugh when he peppers your face with kisses, "I missed you, baby."

You would've replied. Fuck, you would've, if only Lee Jeno's gaze isn't burning your skin.

You part from Donghyuck with a happy sigh, deciding it's best for you to continue your little reunion later, "Seems like my ride is here, eh?"

"He's your boyfriend?" Jaemin's eyes widen in surprise, "Y/N, you're a great girl, but should we put your standards up a bit higher?"

"So funny, Nana," Donghyuck puts you to his side closer and someone makes an almost offended noise, "She's the love of my life."

"We're best friends, I'm sorry for that," you say, making Renjun laugh. This is exactly what you did to Renjun when you first met Jeno several years ago, "Yah, Lee, Don't stretch it."

"She denies it but she swears she can't live without me," Hyuck just shrugs, finally dragging you away seeing that Renjun has placed all your stuff in your abandoned bag and is carrying it to your direction, "My princess's gotta leave now because I haven't seen her in years," 'In hours, but okay' Renjun adds, "Bye, Jeno! Bye, Jaemin!"

"Hold up, Hyuck, wait! Jeno, I'm sorry it got a bit messy, but bye! I don't think I could formally say my goodbyes like this, but uh… " you smile and lean on your tiptoes, pressing a soft kiss on his cheeks, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Jeno backs up a step before clearing his throat and waving awkwardly, "Uh. Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow. Please take care, Y/N."

"I will," you say, finally letting Donghyuck drag you out of the place and you hear a boisterous laughter behind the two of you.

"Well, that's interesting," Renjun smirks once you and Donghyuck finally places your seatbelts on, ready to blast out of the place, "Oh, Lee Jeno, you're so fucked."

"What are you saying?" you pout, "Don't say bad things about Jeno, he's beautiful and lovely and adorable and he's a baby."

"Not with that look he's not," Renjun shrugs, but before either one of you and Donghyuck decides to go against his words, he's already starting the car.

"He seems interesting, don't you think?" you say as Renjun drives to your home, deciding an impromptu sleep over which is a completely bad idea since there's still school tomorrow. Haechan laughs heartily, "With how you kissed his cheeks he sure better be."

"I do that to everyone, don't worry I'll give you one later too if you're that bother by it," you rolled your eyes, "I'm just gonna talk to Injun since he's the one who has actual braincells."

"Not really, y'all are just dumb," Renjun says nonchalantly, "Jeno is awesome. He's really cool, and everyone likes him, but he's so anti-social he's gonna be scared of the crowd on his very own funeral and resurrect to life just to hide away. That's just who he is, and also kind of an exaggeration, but it's kinda cute. And yah, you knew him for years and only figured that out now?"

You don't reply and just mumble an answer, the familiar turn his car took to your house still making your heart beat faster, and Renjun offers your hand a gentle squeeze while Haechan smiles it you, "It's alright. You're with us, Y/N."

"Yes, yes I am," you nod with a smile, and the rest of the night was spent inside your bedroom, a mess of pillows and blankets and snacks, tight cuddles and catching up.

The next day was nothing eventful, just you sitting down on your usual library table and Jeno comes in, hair still damp, catching his breath, "Hey, Y/N, I'm sorry I'm late."

You let him make himself comfortable before speaking, "It's fine, I just arrived, actually," like thirty minutes ago, "Practice taking a toll on you, baby?"

"Y-yeah," he stutters, a shade of red decorating the apples of his cheeks and you lay down the materials you're gonna be studying today. Not even ten minutes through the whole thing, Jeno is grunting in annoyance, "Man, I hate math."

"Why?" you ask, nonchalant as you continue to drag lines from one corner to another, sketching roughly on your paper as you wait for Jeno to finish his worksheet, "Why do you hate math?"

"I can't understand it," your eyes snap and you have to cover your mouth because of the loud laugh that escapes your throat, not wanting to get kicked out of your beloved library, "Well, obviously. How would you understand something you despise? To love is to understand, Jeno. You have to learn to love it to completely understand it — you can't hate something just because you refuse to take the long route. That applies to life, the most basic and the most difficult parts of life — and yes, it includes math."

Jeno gapes at you, and right now he really looks like a fish. Swimming Team finally transforming him to scales and fins? He makes this adorable face he does whenever he's confused, "You're really deep."

"I've seen things, baby," you mutter with a smile, and before he could continue, other people are crashing your table with their own textbooks while some just immidiately closes their eyes — some being Na Jaemin and Lee Donghyuck — and you greet them with a smile.

Renjun smiles at you back, fond, placing your favorite snack in front of you and you melt when he takes your hand. Renjun thinks that these are more intimate than cuddles, and often does it with you and Hyuck and no one else. You smile back at him, not minding the other's stares one bit.

Time flies when you're together. More often than not, you find yourself confused with how one time you're sandwiched between your best friends, studying for upcoming tests in the library all together, and the next, you're looking at a calendar two weeks into the present, jamming loudly to fun songs to celebrate living through all the exams.

Renjun and Jeno takes the place in front, leaving the rest of you in the back. Jisung and Chenle are on either side of you, both of them having their arms to hold you down protectively — despite being the youngests of the group, they still have protective instincts and honestly, it's adorable. In front of you, Donghyuck and Jaemin are bickering about something useless, and Mark is strumming his guitar to the song you're all screaming your lungs to.

The cold air meets your skin and you lean your head on Jisung's shoulder, eyes closed, and a solemn smile on your face before trying to finally open your them. Somewhere along the blur of dark, empty roads and shining city lights, your eyes meets Jeno's from the rear view mirror, his gaze settled on you, and you greet him with an even wider smile that flusters him but doesn't make him move his gaze. Stubborn.

Lee Jeno is indeed interesting, you figure. For the past years you've been hanging around each other, Jeno has marked himself in your brain as the boy who prefers being in the library and chatting about your plans for the rest of the day than actually doing said plans, working on your tutorial sessions silently other than the occasional explanations, taking you to his swimming practices and meets, comparing your schedules to see what time is appropriate for the two of you to visit the cat Cafe near the school, even if you have to make sure to bring his allergy pills because the dummy is actually allergic to cats. He's also someone who you often find yourself talking to, flirting with, just for the sake of seeing him back down a few steps or scatch his nape or basically just see him flustered out of this world. Lee Jeno has a way of making himself stand out, despite his shy nature, and somehow he's taken you way in too deep and now you have to face the outcome of your actions.

Huang Renjun told you before, and you should've listens to Huang Renjun because well, he has a brain and mildly actually knows how to use it. You really should have, because you already have way too many issues, is already too stressed, and if there's one thing you really want to not deal with, it's consequences, especially if said consequences is called tension. Tension.

Lee Jeno is a complex human being, and so are each and every addition to your friend circle. It amuses you how all of you are pretending to be so normal, so typical, when all of you have your own colors — something insanely interesting hiding behind a boring facade, but you figure it's a conversation to hold for another time.

"Wah, Jeno looks so cute in the mirror!" you decide to break your stare with a coo and a squeal, making Jeno blush. The other boys just make fun of you, Mark saying something about how weird your definition of 'cute' is, and you just brush them off. For the rest of the trip, you make it seem like you really don't take this to heart, but you wish it could stay all like this. You wish this is just how life is, you wish that this is how things will be, forever.

You wish you could just not go back to your house, because in the midst of nowhere with them, you're at home.

"Hm, can you drop me by at Jeno's? I think I left my phone there," you say to Hyuck when he's asking if he should drop you home first, because well, you really did leave it there. Donghyuck sends you a skeptical look, "Should we wait for you?"

"And what? Have your parents scold you more because you went home later than the late you would arrive at home if you don't wait for me? You still have to send the young ones home, you know?", you remember smiling at Donghyuck and kissing his cheeks gently for assurance.

God, you hate lying. One, because dishonesty feels like shit, and two, because with the looks Renjun and Hyuck are sending you, they obviously know that you're not telling the truth.

Still, that doesn't stop you and it all leads to this, years of what was supposed to be harmless flirting ends up with you pinned down on the wall of his apartment's bedroom, eyes that you can feel glaring at you despite having your own closed, and all of it feels like playing with fire; burning, red and dangerous.

And fuck, why is this making your heart race to lanes it shouldn't take?

"God, you're a nightmare," Jeno mutters, lips so gentle around yours it actually feels so rough. Even his kisses are unique, starting from shy to careless, so very like Jeno but somehow isn't like the Jeno you know.

"How many times do you have bad dreams then, baby?" you say and in spite, he tries to muffle you by kissing you much harder, and you almost laugh. Kissing Jeno reminds you of paper planes, lemonades, playgrounds and old pictures, you note. Threading your hands on his hair feels like something so oddly familiar, like you've done it before, but this is the closest you've been to Jeno and somehow, this thought leads you to wonder what Renjun and Hyuck would think of you, doing this, making out with a close friend. The kiss falters at your thought, and the last things you remember for that night is the tear that falls down your face, Jeno kissing your forehead lightly, and laying you down on his bed before he whispers 'Goodnight, angel,' after turning off the lights, settling himself to the couch outside and you're way too overwhelmed to ask him to stay, to tell him you don't want to be alone.

Nothing is bound to ever be the same after that, and you knew it. You and Jeno still meet because you like tutoring him, and Jeno still brings you to his practice like he's been doing since first year, somehow settled with something but it isn't clear what is it exactly that you've established. Now, you're stuck with this — college, mental breakdowns, complicated boys, and how to not punch someone (that someone being yourself, occasionally Donghyuck) in the fac

"I have a boyfriend," your breath gets knocked out from your throat one typical Saturday where your group went to the amusement park for a change instead of the typical roadtrip. Renjun is smiling so wide and tears are springing up your eyes, "Hey, baby, don't cry now!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm too happy for you. Fuck, where?" they all laugh at you, saying how adorable you are but you make a comment on how you saw Donghyuck wipe a tear too, making them laugh harder.

When Renjun announced that he's dating, it's like you shut down and you're so happy, but something inside you calls to be acknowledged. A boy, all sweet smiles and fond eyes and very familiar — Jisung, adorable and awkward and dorky and exactly Renjun's type, you can't help but feel unsettled, but you force it out of you for the whole day because this is the celebration of their relationship, welcoming it into the group, and if letting them enjoy their day means you keeping it low-key, you're absolutely willing to do so.

Renjun has always wanted to feel this, unconditional love. He has always struggled with the lack of love growing up, and always wanted someone other than you and Donghyuck to love him without exceptions, possibly his parents. Now, someone would finally love him for who he is more than as a friend, and Park Jisung is that someone. He deserves this. Huang Renjun deserves Park Jisung. So, so, very much.

It doesn't mean that it doesn't tear you apart, just a little bit.

Like always, fate leads you to Jeno since Jaemin is too very fond of Jisung, Chenle is Jisung's best friend, Hyuck will totally tell this to Renjun if you called him, and Jeno… Jeno is someone you find so very comforting after Hyuck and Renjun. You sit still, silent, a tub of ice cream and Jeno staring at you blankly, "What happened?"

Renjun has been there for you ever since. Renjun knows you and Donghyuck, the three of you never holding back one bit of information when it comes to things but you do kind of understand why he didn't immidiately tell you about the relationship — because Jisung is a factor to the equation too. That's not really the issue here, you're glad that Renjun told you all about it. It's really not what's haunting you so bad.

Renjun knows all your issues and feelings and every shit you keep inside your pockets the same way he knows Hyuck's, and vice versa. Renjun has been there since day one, the three of your parents being best of friends, and even if none of you actually have some sort of connection to them, you've grown up so fond of each other. Renjun is someone who protects the two of you, Renjun who you have known since forever, Renjun who holds you down to Earth alongside Hyuck when you have breakdowns — Renjun has found someone and so far everyone who already found another person that isn't you has left, and it hurts like fuck to think of Renjun doing that, "Nothing. I just want a sleep over, but Renjun doesn't wanna come."

"Nonsense, Renjun would drop anything, even Jisung, for you," Jeno rolls his eyes and you almost don't recognize the way he's so not shy, but you're in too deep with your issues you can't bring it up, "If you ring their phones one time both of them would come to this place in a speed faster than light."

"Alright. That's true," you shove a spoonful inside your mouth aggressively, and Jeno reminds you to slow down, "I didn't actually call him or Hyuck on purpose. I just feel sad."

"Aight, what's the issue?" Jeno takes away the tub of ice cream from you before so you could finally meet his eyes. You sense the conversation being heavier and you almost wanna back out, but his next words proves you that you don't have any chance now, "Jisung? Renjun?"

"Both." you say with finalization, and a wave of emotion finally comes to crumble you down. You let it all wash over you, Jeno silently taking the move to go closer, and you continue, "I know I'm being just too dependent but a thought inside my head just makes it seem like Renjun is gonna leave — and I’m always stuck between wanting to take the option that wants to improve me and the other option that wants to ruin me."

"Uh... are you sure you're not in love with Renjun?" Jeno asks you, and you look at him like he just said something scandalous. You hit him with a pillow, "No! I'm not! I'm not! I'm not!!"

"How do you know?" Jeno hits you back with the pillow gently, "What if this is like the K-Drama stuff you know… you realized you're in love with Injun when it's already too late… how are you sure that you're not in love with him?"

You forcefully hit him with a pillow, "Are you nuts, Jen?! Renjun and I are best friends since literal birth, and that means we were together as children, as teenagers and now! I've kissed him and stuff and it's totally out of boredom and it isn't even close to romantic. It doesn't feel like I'm in love with him," it doesn't feel like what I felt when I did it with you.

Jeno makes a confused noise and he shields himself, "Uh... TMI?"

"You asked for it, what do you mean TMI?" you nag at him, and you have to admit it made you smile. and you have to admit it made you smile. The silliness of it all makes you forget. Lee Jeno helps you forget, but you're not with him just because of that.

Still, you can't run away from your problems and with all the amount of crying you did, you feel like you're already tired tomorrow. It doesn't take long for the atmosphere to grow heavier again.

"Why does it bother you so much? You know Renjun loves you," Jeno presses his lips in a thin line after minutes of awkward silence, "Renjun loves you and Hyuck way too much, and even Jisung knows that."

Your smile fades and a tear finally falls from your face. You shy away from his glance, bits of your hair sticking to your damp face, "I don't know… It hurts me. Maybe it does hurt more than what I want to admit."

"Why?" Jeno's voice is hoarse. He tucks pieces of your hair away from your face, and he cups your cheeks, "Why does it hurt, Y/N?"

"Renjun…" you gasp, "Renjun is the only thing I have," and Hyuck, you want to add, but with the tears bursting uncontrollably and the thoughts overfilling your head, you couldn't get a hold of yourself and you just want to thank the Gods that Lee Jeno is here, late at night, hugging you so tight you don't feel alone.

As usual, the night passes in a haze of a memory you will remember only faintly the day after, but Jeno's words makes sure they are remembered before he your leaves your house, into the night, "You have me too."

You find yourself awake two hours later after a nap, unable to sleep soundly that night, remembering the way Jeno's presence desperately calls for the child inside you, bringing you back to playgrounds and the feeling tasting so similar to candies. Against your will, you find yourself dialing Renjun and Donghyuck's name in a call.

"Hey, how're you baby?" Hyuck's voice rings from the other side, clearly having woken up by your call, "Hi, sunshine. I'm sorry, I just wanted to call Injun and I think it's only appropriate I include you too."

"Hm, sure, proceed," Renjun doesn't speak but the annoyed sound he lets out is a given cue for you to continue, that he is listening. You clear your throat, "Hey, Injun-ah."

"Renjun!", Donghyuck yells from the other line, and you flinch. Renjun groans in annoyance, "It's 3 am, for the love of God please breathe less loudly."

Despite his words, you choose to continue, "Did Jeno go to kindergarten with you back then?", you ask, worried and nervous about what he would say. Hyuck mutters a little 'OMG' for you to suspicions, but you need Renjun to confirm too.

"Yes but please, who cares about what kindergarten he went?" he rants, the sound of thrashing in his bed clear to all of you, "It's 3 am and I wanna sleep."

"You're such an asshole," Donghyuck replies, "I don't like where this is going."

You finally break into a fit of scream, "The three of us, we went to kindergarten together, Renjun! and if you're saying he went to kindergarten with you, it means he was also classmates with Hyuck, and that means he also went to it with me, thus, leading us to the possibility that Lee Jeno is Lee Jeno who brings me candies, who I always takes pictures of, meaning that Lee Jeno is the Lee Jeno!"

Donghyuck drops out of the call, and you know he's about to come in your front door in several minutes to apologize for not telling you, but Renjun seemed to be shaked awake just now, "You didn't know?"

"You knew?!", you gasp in surprise, facepalming. Renjun's voice is now louder, and you feel kind of silly screaming to each other over the phone, "I HAVEN'T TOLD YOU?!"

" What the hell, Renjun!? I have been flirting with the boy for as long as we thought we knew each other and literally made out with him once! Do you think I'd flirt with Lee Jeno knowing I have the biggest puppy crush on him?!", you cry. Oh God. Your life is now ruined, "Do you mean I fell in love with Jeno, twice, in the very same lifetime, unknowingly?!"

"What do you mean you're in love with Lee Jeno?! What do you mean you've made out with Lee Jeno?", Renjun yells at you and you can hear footsteps and keys being moved, "Y/N you better have an explanation, I'm literally on my way."

And with that, he ends the call. As promised, the boys came along after several minutes, your mixed feelings about Renjun's newfound relationship and the revelation of Jeno's identity long forgotten the moment they stepped a foot inside the house because of the snacks Donghyuck brought— for now, you could live like this.

"Uhm. That's nice that you made up with Renjun and Hyuck," Jeno mutters, looking at you heplessly, "… but why do you think they locked us up here?"

"Dude, I told them something I shouldn't have and now we're stuck in here. We already established that," you sigh. Of course, nothing is ever that simple and even if the confession you said to them was moved at the back of their heads, neither Renjun or Hyuck let go of the words, and they even deviced a plan with the others to lock you and Jeno in the rooftop — that way, there's no escape, and you're forced to talk. Jokes on them, "What do you say we jump down and die?"

"Let's not." Jeno tugs you down, "Maybe we can just talk instead? I have a swim meet and I can't fracture my bones."

"I swear you have a swimming pool shaped heart," you roll your eyes at his confused 'how can I have a swimming pool shaped heart if swimming pools could come in any shapes, including a heart?', "Yeah. We made up. I was crying over something stupid, anyway."

Silence coats the two of you the same way the dark night sky is enveloped by lively stars, and you sit down to where Jeno is resting, "We never really talked about that."

"What 'that'? We have a shit ton to talk about, you have to specify which," Jeno laughs heartily. Jeno always seems out of character when it's night time, almost as if he has a newfound confidence, and maybe you envy that, "We do need to talk."

"Okay, I need you to not freak out," you look at Jeno dead in the eye, and he messes with the hem of his shirt, "If you're trying to calm me down it's really not working, so just go straight to the poi—"

"I love you and I've been in love with you since first year!" you say with your eyes closed, heart pounding inside your chest and you feel like you really just wanna jump right now. Jeno whines, making you open your eyes. He doesn't want to meet your gaze, "Oh wow, can I take back my words? Can you go a little gentler?"

"W-why?" you say in nervousness. Jeno moves a little further from you, moving an inch or two away, "Because right now my heart is beating really fast and I don't think I'll make it to the moment where I would tell you that I love you too."

Your nervousness is less forgotten when he speaks these words, and the next thing you know, you're leaning closer to Jeno, "You love me too?" you ask, to which Jeno nods, too overwhelmed to even speak. You skim your fingers over his arms to rest on his shoulder, a mad smile tight in your lips, "So you wouldn't mind... if I do this, right?"

The way the world burst with colors when you kissed was unfamiliar, but not unwelcomed. It was nothing wild, just a chaste touch of the lips enough that he feels the grin spreading in your face, the distance close enough that you swear you could feel the beating of his heart. Jeno seemed gone when you parted, and you chuckle, but it is quickly cut off when you notice that he has been staring for the past minute, "Why are you staring?"

"I'm sorry... I can't help it," the crimson laid on top of his cheeks is even darker now, and that says a lot judging how you can still see it despite the darkness of the place, only several lights from other buildings, the city lights afar, and the night sky illuminating the moment. Somehow, a shiver runs down your spine and you ask him, 'Why?' with a gasp. Taken aback is the best way to describe the way you reacted when he replied, "Uh... You... You're pretty."

Pretty.

"Oh..." you try your best to look uplifted, "Thank you."

Jeno tilts your head up, "Why do you look so sad?"

"Hm…" you look at Jeno. He's pretty. He's gorgeous, he's beautiful. Lee Jeno is a walking piece of art, and Lee Jeno called you pretty. You take his hands away from your face, "That sounded so easy to say, that is."

"I... I mean it!" Jeno hissed, squeezing your hands. You smile at him, pressing your other hand to where his hands is linked to yours, and you whisper, "I know... You're very genuine, Jeno, and I appreciate that. It's just that... it sounded so easy, and I always hear parents call their child too... but never from mine. My mother never once called me pretty."

Jeno made a noise similar to an affronted one, and you don't even want to meet his gaze. Issues. They're back haunting you again, these damned issues sticking to you like an unhelpful seventh sense, "I'm sorry," he says, "I understand now… why you're like that."

Why you're so dependent, why you're so sensitive, why you try to be confident even if you're not, Jeno adds in his brain, Why you try to seem like you don't need anyone and immediately think that people are gonna leave when they find someone else.

The wind blows coldly and you feel like a pinwheel spinning around aimlessly. Do you really know each other? Do you even really know anyone? You've confessed to each other, you've established that you feel the same, it's been years since you knew each other, and yet, you're still quite unsure if you actually know each other.

"Why I'm like this? It's fine, Jeno, you can say it," you smile sadly, "I'm not ashamed of who I am even if I would gladly change the way things happened for me," his gaze burns your skin, and suddenly you forget that your friends just locked you up with Jeno and you feel like you just voluntarily talked, "My parents said they raised me like this so that I don't depend on others... and although that might be true, to my young self, it just sounded like they wanted to not take care of me and to my older self, it is actually that."

"You don't have t—", you cut of Jeno with a no, and he lets you proceed, "I raised myself to be this way so that I don't feel sad about not having them around… I grew up like this... so that I'm strong enough to not go through that. I don't need anyone to protect me, but just because I don't need it, doesn't mean I don't yearn for it... so thank you, Jeno. Thank you for letting me lean on you. You and our friends."

The way he stares at you with equally as blurry eyes felt new, and the way you could finally breathe without the lingering thought of being closer to death was refreshing. The way Jeno pulls you in back to a full kiss under the moonlight above this building felt like a huge cliche but you don't even mind — that night, Jeno proves to himself that just like how we are not always who we wanna be, we are also not always all that we show.

The wait for the boys to let the two of you out was a very long time, you can't count how long you two have kissed and cuddled and talked, and you just pout when you received Renjun's reply that 'We went out to get food because you two have been talking for four hours and we got hungry. We're on our way back, we got you food'. You scroll through the researched questions on your phone, laughing loudly at particular questions that gets Jeno flustered as if you weren't crying a few minutes ago. This one is interesting, "What would you change if you could change anything at all?"

"Wow, this is gonna make the atmosphere heavy again but… to be honest?" Jeno chuckles, eyes closed, "The way the world sees me. The way the world thinks it's okay to leave me when they realize I'm not big, bad, strong, confident Jeno."

A pang inside your heart makes its presence known, but you don't speak. He listened to you before, and so you want to be here for him too, so he continues, "The way people leave when it's them who went ahead, created an illusion of me inside their brains, fell in love with it, and eventually left when they learned I'm not who they want me to be — I want to change the way they think it's my responsibility to bend to the dumb assumptions of who I really am. You?"

"You're right," you smile fondly at him. It must've been hard for Jeno, and you know it still is. In the duration of three years Jeno has had multiple partners, all of them loving him for the idea of him and not who he really is — the worst thing that happened is that he fell in love with all of them. Jeno is so full of love for him to still have some of them left to give out, and you just can't help but admire the boy. Strong. He's stronger than he'd like to admit. "You're not theirs to change."

"I know. That's why I left them," he smiles at you, "I asked you a question though, Y/N."

"I want people to see me," you inhale sharply, eyes looking far ahead to the city of stars above you, silently hoping that they'd align straight to your wishes. Jeno was taken aback by your quick reply, "Even if I have our friends… I still… I want someone who would ask me what I think, what I wanna do, who I wanna be… what I am. In a world that falls in love with beauty and brain, I want someone who falls in love with my heart and soul… and that someone... came in the form of you."

A smile traces up his lips and you're quite unsure if he's really the shy, baby-like Jeno you meet everyday — is he some kind of weird creature influenced by the moon? No, you're pretty sure he's human, but with how ethereal he seems, maybe… he's not? He clears his throat, "I see you, Y/N. I see who you are."

The instense gaze he holds pulls the strings inside your heart, and your breathing shakes. You felt something crumbling down — losing the walls you built around yourself was something that screamed nightmare for you. It felt like you're stripped, naked, it felt like you lost to a game of hearts, but somehow it felt so close to winning. You won Lee Jeno's heart, you gained unconditional love, and you've completed your equation for now — no more what if's, no more doubts; just you, Jeno, foreheads pressed against each other.

"And I…" you whisper, "I love you for who you are, Jen. Not the weird popular guy facade you made," the way his lips curl until even his eyes are smiling makes your heart beat faster, and you want to tell him just how many times you fell in love with him because of that smile.

You want to tell him you love him again. You want to tell him that he's beautiful. You want to tell him so many things, but you hold it for now, hearing the clinking of the gate and the noisy boys coming to infiltrate the rooftop — Renjun pulls you close into a hug with a whispered 'You did well, baby' — and you decide that you indeed have to wait for the perfect time to tell him these things, and maybe then, you'll tell Jeno that you're his kindergarten girlfriend back then too, but maybe that's a surprise for another time.

The other boys laughs loudly, ganging up on Jeno but is quickly stopped by Donghyuck having a crisis, "I'm the only single one in the three of us!"

"That's because you're a coward who is too scared to say that he wants to date Mark." Jaemin spills the beans, and all of you holler in laughter with Chenle's being the loudest, Mark's scandalized expression the opposite to the way his arms encircle to Donghyuck's waist, leaning the silly boy to him where he just continues to cry, successfully making a mess of Mark's probably pricey hoodie, "Oops, I didn't mean to say that I swear!"

His follow-up makes Chenle double in laughter and you can't help but fall in a fit of laughter too, thanking God that Renjun is currently holding you so you didn't lose balance. Renjun pulls you up, even closer and nuzzles his head on your neck. You know that he knows what you have felt before about his relationship with Jisung, and you know there's plenty to talk about with everyone, especially him and Hyuck, after this.

You look at Jisung who's trying to calm Chenle down, and he meets your gaze with a kind smile, "Thank you," you mouth at him and he replies to you with an even wider smile and a nod, a silent 'It's alright, I understand, you're welcome.'

In Renjun's hold, you sense Jeno looking at you, but this time he isn't jealous. He's sending you a knowing smile, mouthing a playful 'I love you'. Your eyes scan the place, Mark is looking at everyone as fondly as you while patting Donghyuck's back before the other boy crashes to you and Renjun, the three of you craddled in a group hug. Chenle and Jisung are still giggling, Jeno and Jaemin leaning against each other while looking around equally as fond.

You've never been in a place so full of love, and you can't help but cry one more time. The youngest ones are the one who first ran to join the group hug, Jeno and Jaemin coming after and Mark was the last. Jeno was behind you, an arm on your shoulders and the other resting on Jaemin's back. You look back at him, "I love you too."

All of you part when Renjun complains about Jaemin being too heavy and that he can't breathe anymore, laughing loudly. You sit back on the floor. Time flies when you're with Renjun and Hyuck, but now it's even faster with the other boys added to the equation and you're dumbfounded that the sun is almost rising. Jeno's hands intertwine with yours and you share a look and a fond smile.

There's a lot to talk about after this, indeed, but as you lean your head on his shoulders, you're sure that it can wait. The world can wait. Right now, you just want to actually live in the moment, make it last as long as possible and love him until the chandeliers shining in your eyes tears themselves into little blizzards of shattered glass — the liquid of your emotions flowing through the window of your soul — and even til then, you want to love him more, and so you do.

[justlarried]

Kim’s Hot Takes on Harry’s Song Titles (1000% truth no jokes)

Golden: golden by zayn is defintiely about 1d and all bittersweet, and golden by harry is harry's petty fucking answer, like, yeah you know what zayn?? it WAS golden as soon as you left!! 2015 time of our lives!! the most fun!!

Watermelon Sugar: louis's come, next

Adore You: amsterdam, next

Lights Up: fame and showbiz, next

Cherry: louis's ass OR about how red louis's mouth is after he rims harry. either way ass eating, more references to tasting each other

Falling: tripping on stage in front of thousands of people

To Be So Lonely: the easy answer would be ftdt pt. 2, but instead i'm gonna go with a london boy-esque parody song about his own image! like, woe is me, can u imagine what it's like to be so lonely that i had to sleep on people's couches all through 2013.. to be so lonely that my most profound love song is about my sister.. to be so lonely because i never in my life had a relationship that lasted over a year and we all know that as a fact

She: she and like i would by zayn are both @ louis about how harry's never gonna touch him like zayn did, but how harry also just wants to be loved, she by harry is harry saying hell yeah she (harry) fucking does lol, like the whole zourry love triangle where they were all into each other and it was a messssss. this definitely happened irl for sure i was there and everyone stood up and clapped

Sunflower, Volume 6: the big misconception among fans is that louis is the sunflower BUT HE'S NOT and idk how everyone missed this (or maybe i just didn't see it on my dash) but louis is the sun, and harry is the sunflower who follows him around and would happily just sit and admire what he's like all day long!! vol. 6 means it’s about a six year relationship. larries are gonna hate it because they refuse to consider that they broke up once in 2013/14 and everyone else is gonna dispair because it doesn't fit any of his stunts. he did this specifically to find out how far he can go and how obvious he has to make it that it’s incompatible with anne or gemma. a few very annoying people will make it about jeff or xander and i will be mad about it

Canyon Moon: wrote specifically about the character malia tate from teen wolf who is a were coyote no i won't be taking any questions at this time

TPWK: bdsm and proper dom etiquette that he expects from his partners

Fine Line: all about the beautiful delicate line work of camille's pineapple ass tattoo or whatever the hell that whole thing is about, i'm honestly just guessing from people's vague outrage posts

and there you have it! we can all stop guessing what the songs will be about, i figured it out. thanks jen for typing this all up from my incoherent whatsapp messages, you’re the best

[mischiefandspirits]

Iron Legion (13/?)

Never let it be said that Tony Stark ever does things by half. He might have grown up with little family, but he wasn’t about to keep it that way.

Tony Stark was seventeen when his first child was born, and that was just the beginning.

For Masterpost, AO3, and Fanfiction

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

Cerberus, Part 1

Tony Stark was thirty-eight when his eighth, ninth, and tenth children were born.

“What about making it so it could set itself on fire?”

Bruce frowned and looked over at Peter. “Why would we want Ultron to set itself on fire?”

“I think that one was for me,” Tony chuckled over the phone.

“Yessir, Mr. Stark,” Peter agreed, looking up from his homework. “Although Ultron being able to set itself on fire would be cool too.”

“I don’t know if Pepsi would like a suit that sets itself on fire. I’ll think about it, though. Now Ultron on the other hand -”

“How about we figure out how to make it work before giving it pyromaniac tendencies,” Bruce interjected.

“Jolly Green, the kid ruins you. You never let me have fun when he’s there. I just wanna blow things up with you!” Tony pouted.

Bruce couldn’t see him -- he’d turned down the phone Tony had offered him -- but he knew the billionaire was pouting.

“I wanna blow things up too,” Peter said, looking excited.

“No, to both of you. Tony, he’s barely twelve.”

“Exactly! He’s right at that age when kids love blowing things up!”

“We need to be good examples or Jen’s word won’t be enough for his parents to let him keep coming.”

“Dad likes you. He won’t make me stop coming,” Peter disagreed. “And Mom trusts Jen’s judgment.”

“See, we’re good.”

“I’d rather hear that from his parents firsthand,” Bruce snorted.

“We need to make up permission slips. Fri, make Peter a slip so Bruce will stop being a wet blanket.”

“On it, Boss.”

“Tony,” Bruce sighed. He’d have to explain to Jen. Hopefully, Peter’s parents could take a joke.

“So, have you heard from the others?” he asked, deciding it was probably best to get the billionaire’s mind on something else.

“Nothing from Arendelle, but I checked in on Capsicle and Fury’s kids. Bird-boy’s off the grid, taking some time to himself. After what happened, I can’t blame him. Cap and Romanoff have been running missions for S.H.I.E.L.D. Last I heard, they were in Rome to -”

“Pretty sure we shouldn’t be talking about S.H.I.E.L.D. around the kid,” Bruce pointed out.

“They’re jerks,” Peter said, turning back to his tablet. “They bug Dad a lot.”

Bruce frowned. “Peter, what does your dad do?”

He shrugged. “Mechanic.”

“Ominous,” Tony hummed. “I agree, though. S.H.I.E.L.D. are jerks.”

“Still not giving Fury that assist he asked for?” Bruce asked. He supposed the kid heard plenty of other classified information in the lab, what was a little more?

“Make one joke about how my repulsor tech could prevent further engine issues and suddenly I’m on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s payroll? Yeah, no. I finally got him to back off two months ago, and that was only because Fri went and transferred him to legal. They explained to him that the company would sue him if he kept it up. The tech patents are company property after all. If S.H.I.E.L.D. wants the tech, they’ll have to buy it and have us install the engines as is company policy.”

“I bet Fury didn’t take that well.”

“Wouldn’t know, but someone did try hacking in. Can’t prove it was them, but it’s quite a coincidence if it wasn’t.”

“They get anything?”

“Nope,” Tony said, popping the p. “Jay detected them immediately and they cut their losses when he started to return the favor.”

“Jerks,” Peter muttered.

“Yup. Legal slapped a ban on them when they heard. They’re still angry with Romanoff so they don’t care what we can or can’t prove. One of the girls told Fury that if it wasn’t them, then he should put his spies to use and figure out who it actually was. Only then will they lift the ban. Until then he could, in her words, take a flying leap into a spiked pit. I tried to talk Pepper into giving her a raise, but she said it gave the wrong impression.”

Bruce shook his head while Peter snickered.

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

“Hey Jay, how’re the kids doing?” Tony asked, collapsing onto the couch. God, it was good to be home. Maybe he’d go down and visit Bruce later. They hadn’t hung out much since setting Ultron aside.

“Miss Nebula is busy with work. Dum-E, U, and Master Peter are playing with Peter’s LEGOs in his room. F.R.I.D.A.Y. is going through your emails. J.O.C.A.S.T.A., P.L.A.T.O., and H.O.M.E.R. started bickering again and as such have thirteen minutes remaining in time out. Would you like me to check in on Master Harley as well?”

“I’ll call him later. Remind Peter and the twins that those two need to be back in the lab before bed. No sleepovers.

“Of course, Sir.”

“Boss, I’ve got something you might want to see.”

“What is it?” he asked and an email appeared on the TV screen.

“I’m not sure.”

All that was in the email was an IP address and one word: Hill.

“Jay, trace the email. Fri, check the IP,” Tony said, getting to his feet.

Both agreed as Tony walked over to the bar, pulling out his phone.

“Stark, how did you get this number?” Agent Hill asked as soon as she picked up.

“I could ask you how you knew it was me, but those are both stupid questions.” Tony grabbed a bottle of whiskey and poured out a measure. “What’s up with the IP?”

“I -”

“Hill?”

Tony’s eyebrows rose in curiosity at the Captain’s call and he took a sip.

“I have to go. Just keep an eye on the IP. You’ll understand soon enough.”

Tony frowned when she hung up on him. “Did you guys get anything?”

“The email was sent from a coffee shop in Washington, D.C.,” J.A.R.V.I.S. said. “I didn’t have time to trace the call completely, but it came from the same general area.”

“I didn’t get anything from the IP either. It’s completely inactive,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. added.

“Keep watching it, just in case. I don’t know what’s going on with Hill, but I don’t want to be caught off guard. Jay, keep an eye on our firewalls to make sure S.H.I.E.L.D.’s not trying to sneak in again.”

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

“BOSS!” F.R.I.D.A.Y. shouted and Tony jerked into a sitting position, his phone falling to the ground.

“Sweetie, Dad’s got a heart condition remember?” Tony breathed, grabbing his chest dramatically.

“Sorry, but the IP has suddenly gone active and… Boss, all of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s files have been posted online.”

Tony froze. “By all, please tell me you don’t mean -”

“All of them. Every single one.”

“Jay, Fri, grab them all. Scoop them up and encrypt everything!”

“I don’t think even the two of us could take all of it on, Sir.”

“Do what you can. The triplets aren’t ready for this kind of stuff yet. I’ll help as soon as I can get to the lab,” he said, snatching up his phone and running to the elevator. As he stepped inside, he unlocked his phone and paused when he saw the excessive amount of texts Bruce had sent him during the short time the phone had been on the ground. He hit the call button. “Bruce -”

“Have you seen the news?”

“News?”

“The S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in D.C. just blew up. They’re not calling it that, obviously, but I recognize the building.”

“I guess that explains why all their files are suddenly on the net,” Tony said, slipping through the elevator doors before they were fully open and rushing to his desk.

“WHAT!?”

“Yeah, so I’ve got a lot to do. Jay and Fri can only do so much on their own.” He scowled as he brought up the file dump, seeing some copies already being made. “Do me a favor and call Pepper,” he said, getting to work. “Have her send a group from the Stark Relief Foundation to help out in D.C. and get her to tell Nebula and Happy what’s up. I’m sending them a link to the files. He and Rhodey need to set up some teams with a few friends I’ve got in the CIA and FBI and Nebula can set up some of the cybersecurity team on sorting through the files. There is going to be a lot of spies in need of immediate exfils.”

“On it,” Bruce said. “I’ll also tell Jen in case she can help. I’d offer to come, but think I’m probably better off where I am.”

“Yeah, until we figure out what’s going on here, stick to Cali. Rhodey or Haps will give you a call if they think they need the big guy,” Tony said distractedly.

“I’ll leave you to it, then.”

Tony ended the call, not looking away from the screen.

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

“You’re getting a call,” Peter said, rolling up to Tony atop U.

“Who is it? And get off your sibling. They’re not built to hold you like that,” Tony said, barely taking his focus off the screen.

He, J.A.R.V.I.S., and F.R.I.D.A.Y. had grabbed everything they could after hours of work, but he knew a lot of files had been copied before they could finish. Now they were helping Nebula’s team sort through the files. There were operatives that needed to be rescued before their covers were blown, S.H.I.E.L.D. facilities that needed to be cleared out before they could be ransacked, HYDRA operations that needed to be brought down before they could go to ground (because HYDRA had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., thanks for the update, Cap), and so much more. With all of that excluding any files that could have been destroyed before they could get to them.

“It’s legal.”

Tony sighed and took the phone. He put a finger to his lips to remind his kids to keep quiet then answered the phone on speaker. “If this doesn’t concern the HYDRA/S.H.I.E.L.D. lovechild, then I’m hanging up.”

“It does, in a sense. We just got a flag from Human Resources. Someone with S.H.I.E.L.D. on both their resume and background check just sat down for an interview.”

“Didn’t think we were watching HR,” Tony muttered, sending a file to Rhodey’s team.

“It had been set up before, when we thought they were hacking us.”

“Was probably HYDRA,” Tony noted.

“Same thing,” the unnamed legal person growled and Tony snorted. “We were going to inform HR to toss the resume, but Walters said she recognized the name so we figured it was best to check in first. HR’s pretty excited about her.”

“Name?”

“Maria Hill.”

Tony rolled his eyes. Did she think he’d take pity on her since she’d given him that joke of a heads up? “Toss it.”

“You got it, Boss.”

“Pepper’s the boss; I’m just the idea machine. You guys keep up the good work, tell Jen thanks for the help again, and remind the others they’re doing great. Now if you don’t mind, I’m trying to keep the world from blowing up.”

“Of course, Sir. Sorry,” legal said breathlessly and Tony assumed he was trying not to laugh, judging by Peter’s muffled snickers.

Tony hung up and gave Peter a gentle shove. “Didn’t I tell you to get off them?”

“U can carry five times my weight!”

“Get out of here, you monkey.”

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

“They showed up here?” Rhodey asked.

“Had Birdbrain with them, too.” Tony opened his eyes to see his friend’s surprised face.

“They wanted a place to stay for a bit,” Pepper tisked, voice cold as she ran her fingers through Tony’s hair. They were curled up on the couch with his head in her lap while Rhodey sat in an armchair next to them.

“After that mess they dropped in your lap a couple months ago?” Rhodey huffed. “Please tell me you kicked them right back out the door.”

“I did.”

“Only because they’d find out about Peter,” Pepper pointed out with a glare.

“They wanted to stay in the Penthouse?”

“There’s nowhere else for them to stay,” Tony said, waving it off. “I’m not shoving them in a staff apartment and Bruce only has one guest room on his floor. Even if he agreed to share, there’s no way those three would bunk together in a single room.”

Rhodey chuckled at the idea. “Where’d they go then?”

“I took pity on them and booked them a suite at a nearby hotel that’s good for keeping quiet about their clientele. They really just needed a place to crash for a bit. Romanoff and Barton have decided to join Cap on his hunt for his old war buddy so they’re just tracking down a new lead.”

“There wasn’t anything in the data dump about the Winter Soldier, we checked,” Nebula said and the three turned to see her sitting at the bar, working on a tablet.

“When did you get here?” Pepper asked, looking around to be sure no one else had snuck up on them.

“Just now,” Nebula said. “I heard about those three showing up, but more importantly, so did legal. I figured I should warn you that they’re moving to bar all three of them from the premises. There’s still some debate on Roger’s behalf, but most of them have lumped him in with S.H.I.E.L.D. since he’s worked solely with them since his return.”

“I’ll talk to them,” Pepper said.

“Do you have to?” Rhodey hummed.

Pepper blinked, thinking. “They shouldn’t be banned, but having security keep eyes on them whenever they’re here couldn’t hurt,” she allowed. “They haven’t exactly proven themselves to be trustworthy.”

“They’re not that bad,” Tony muttered and Pepper patted his head condescendingly.

“Is that why we’re not putting them to use?” Nebula asked, ignoring his comment and gesturing to her tablet. “If they’ve hit a roadblock then they should help clean up their mess.”

“I considered that, and Ross agreed, but his Europol buddy we’re working with shares legal’s distrust. Apparently, she had a bit of a grudge against S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA even before the reveal. She doesn’t want them brought in without someone there to make sure they don’t pull a D.C. again,” Tony explained.

“I could manage them,” Rhodey offered.

“We need you on the airforce team,” Nebula argued. “You’re our only military contact.”

“Actually, I’ve been thinking about taking them out to a couple of the more dangerous bunkers now that we’ve got the files reasonably managed,” Tony said. “I called Foster and Thor agreed to help out. They haven’t had any better luck tracking down the glow stick then we have.”

“That will make Ellis happy. His people keep asking when the Avengers are going to get involved with taking down HYDRA,” Pepper said with an eye-roll. “As if you, Thor, and Bruce haven’t been doing everything you can.”

“Is Bruce going to join in?” Rhodey asked.

“I haven’t asked, but if he does, he’ll only get involved on an as-needed basis. He’s been getting better thanks to Jen and the Breakroom, but he’s still nervous about Hulking out around others,” Tony said.

“You think Agents Ross and Drew will be okay with him in the field?” Rhodey asked.

“Veronica’s been well tested by both Hulk and She-Hulk and he’s on backup duty, so hopefully. Hulk proved himself against the Chitauri. If Bruce wants to help, he should be allowed.”

“Is Mom going to help too?” Peter asked, popping up from behind the couch.

All four adults jumped in surprise.

“You little sneak, get out of here!” Nebula hissed.

“No eavesdropping,” Tony said, sitting up. “What are you even doing up? Jay, why didn’t you tell me Peter got up?”

“He was thirsty. As he was heading right to you, I didn’t feel the need.”

“Next time one of the kids are eavesdropping, tell me,” he huffed then pointed towards the kitchen. “Drink then straight back to bed, Monkey.”

“Should I tell you that F.R.I.D.A.Y., J.O.C.A.S.T.A., P.L.A.T.O., and H.O.M.E.R. are all eavesdropping?” J.A.R.V.I.S. asked as Peter left.

“Fri is always eavesdropping. Have the babies finished their homework?”

“P.L.A.T.O. and H.O.M.E.R. have.”

“Joe, get back to work. P, Mer, good job, but don’t spy on Dad.”

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

You know what I realized? I don't think anyone's coined onto the theming behind the names for Harley's sector of the family. I've had comments about Teresa being Peter's sister in the comics, but nothing on where I got the names for Harley, Tori, Valeria, or Frank. Aside from the obvious Harley and Keener, the rest of there names are all references, and even a bit of a hint in Harley's case.

If anyone's curious, here's the timeline I'm working with for this story (only including what's been posted. No spoilers)

[bastardnev]

That Guy Next Door -- Ch. 12

me last night, after reading that ao3 was gonna be down in the morning: huh, that’s not a problem!!

me now, after trying to upload this chapter to ao3 during the Known About Down Time: what the F U C K

tagging: @tylerblacks @joonhobi @rivela @aliciasfox @sailor-slam-dunk @kidvoodoo @smolsammichu @simulated-heat @douglas-leon-michael @1dluver13xx (lemme kno if you wanna be added to my taglist!!)

Prev.: Ch. 1 ♡ Ch. 2 ♡ Ch. 3 ♡ Ch. 4 ♡ Ch. 5 ♡ Ch. 6 ♡ Ch. 7 ♡ Ch. 8 ♡ Ch. 9 ♡ Ch. 10 ♡ Ch. 11 ♡

Neville had initially thought that Wade getting together with Austin would be a good thing for him -- and it definitely was. Wade was notably happier as of late, and in general his life seemed to be improving, especially now that he had a partner by his side. (Of course, having a job for the first time in so long was definitely contributing to his mood, but it was clear that Austin had a more profound effect on him). Neville hadn’t seen Wade in such high spirits since they were both in college. It made him feel good seeing his best friend putting himself out there again.

There was one downside to the whole thing, though, as Neville learned one Friday afternoon -- Wade being in a relationship meant that his availability to babysit was greatly reduced.

“Since when did the two of you have plans for today?” Neville asked, feeling only a little panicked as he watched Wade put his jacket on.

“Uh, since two weeks ago?” Wade replied, as if it were obvious. “I’ve been telling you about today’s date for days.”

“I thought you said it was next week. Didn’t you?”

“No. No I did not. Have you been paying attention? Come on, Nev, keep up.”

“I-- Hm.” Neville wanted to argue back, but he knew that Wade was right -- he’d been mentioning the date here and there for some time now. Hell, he’d even brought it up during dinner the night before (though Neville was tired from a long day of work, so he hadn’t really been paying much attention to what he was saying). It made no sense for him to be fretting this much over something he already knew all about.

But of course, he was. Not only because it was more or less in his nature to be worrying all the time, but because Wade and Austin’s day out only made things even more complicated for him.

The problem was that Neville also had something planned for that day -- he was supposed to go into the office and help out with a meeting (meaning that he would most likely be standing around in the corner the whole time bored out of his mind, which was about par for the course any time he was asked to lend the bigwigs a hand). Neville wanted to back out, and in a way he could since he had a legitimate excuse (Fridays were his work-from-home days, after all) but he knew it wouldn’t look good. The last thing he wanted was to be on the receiving end of a lecture. Like it or not, he had to go.

This meant that he would need someone to watch the girls, who were still at school (and also needed to be picked up, now that that he thought about it), but without Wade he didn’t have anybody. He hadn’t thought to call a sitter at any point since his friend was always available, but today was different. He truly was in a tough spot.

“Can’t you just leave them by themselves?” Wade asked, leaning back against the wall. “I mean, Jen’s the big one-oh. I dunno if you knew that or not.”

“She’s only been going on about it for close to four months now.”

“I think she’s old enough to take care of herself and Daze for a few hours.”

“She is, but…” Neville hesitated. “I don’t know, I don’t feel very comfortable doing that just yet. I’d rather wait until she’s a bit older to start leaving her in charge.”

“Aww, come on. I remember that my parents let me stay home alone when I was her age, and look at how I turned out!”

“Yes, because you’re a stellar role model.”

“Damn straight. And, since I’m so great, your children’ll end up just as amazing as me if they follow in my footsteps. I repeat, Jen’s capable of holding down the fort for a little while.”

“Wade, no offense, but if I raise my kids to be like you then we’re going to be in a world of trouble.” Neville crossed his arms. “If I’m being honest, I’m not sure I’ll ever be fully ready to accept that she’s actually old enough for certain things. It just feels… weird admitting that.”

“Aww, she’s always gonna be your li’l girl, huh?” Wade teased. “Just wait until she starts dating.”

“Oh, Christ, don’t even bring that up… I don’t think I’ll be able to handle it.” Neville shook his head. “To get back on topic -- I’d rather not leave them here by themselves. And besides, how are they gonna get home from school? Neither of them have money for the bus, and it’s too far to walk.”

“Good point.” Wade scratched the back of his head. “God, I feel bad about leaving them… I mean, I can see if Austin is willing to reschedule.”

“No, no, don’t do that. You’ve been looking forward to today. I don’t wanna ruin your fun.” As inconvenient as it was, Neville hated interfering in plans that had been in the works for weeks. He wasn’t that much of a killjoy.

Wade pursed his lips before suddenly snapping his fingers. “Wait, why don’t you ask Mustafa to take care of them?”

“Moose?”

“Yeah! He’s done it before, hasn’t he?”

“He has.”

“And didn’t you say something about him being off today because of a school event?”

“Yeah, he told me he’d be able to leave early.” Mustafa had been reminding him (see: gloating) about this fact for almost the entire week.

“So why not see if he can watch ‘em?”

“Well…” Neville had to admit that it was a good idea. Mustafa had made a promise to Neville that he would always help him when it came to Jen and Daisy, be it babysitting or otherwise. Since then he’d proven that he meant what he said -- on mornings when Neville had to leave earlier than usual, Mustafa would take the time to drop them off at school, and he would even drive them to friends’ houses every now and again. Neville was lucky to have him.

But… “I’m not so sure about that, to be honest,” he said.

“Why not?”

“I’ve already asked him to help me a few times this week. I’d feel weird asking him to do me another favor. Don’t want him getting fed up or thinkin’ that I’m taking advantage of him. And it’s his day off, too. He’s not gonna be in any mood to leave the house.”

“You really think he’d get mad at you over this? That doesn’t sound like the Mustafa you’re constantly raving about. I think he would have told you by now if you were getting to be too much.”

“That’s true…”

“And this is something that you really need help with, too. You need a last minute babysitter, and he’s available. He said he’d lend you a hand when you needed it -- and, well, you need it. Simple as that. All you’re doing is taking him up on his offer. Nothing wrong with that.”

“This is also true.”

“I have a tendency to tell the truth a lot.”

Neville felt around in his pockets for his phone, pulling it out. “I guess I’ll try texting him and see what he says.”

“Trust me, he’ll say yes.”

 Me: Hey, what are you up to?

 A few minutes passed, and Neville still hadn’t received a response. “Why’s it taking him so long to reply?” He huffed under his breath, checking the time. He still had about a half hour until he had to go, so it wasn’t like he was in any rush, but he would prefer not to be left hanging until the last minute.

“Neville, it’s been three minutes at most.” Wade rolled his eyes. “God, you really need to chill.”

“You know damn well that word isn’t in my vocabulary.” As Neville finished saying this, his phone went off.

 Guy Who Likes Getting His Hair Pulled: Well I WAS napping.

Guy Who Likes Getting His Hair Pulled: Key word: was.

Guy Who Likes Getting His Hair Pulled: >:(

Me: Oops. Sorry about that, love.

Guy Who Likes Getting His Hair Pulled: It’s fine, I’m only teasing you. ;) So, what’s up?

Me: Are you by any chance able to watch the girls for me today? I gotta go into work for this dumb meeting, and Wade has a date, so I’ve got no one to pick them up from school or keep an eye on them afterwards.

 Neville didn’t receive a reply to his last message, and he chewed his lower lip. Over ten minutes had already passed -- maybe he really was bugging him.

“Has he said anything yet?” Wade asked, looking over Neville’s shoulder at their conversation. Neville shook his head, and he decided to send off another text.

 Me: I’m really sorry to ask you for another favor. It’s okay if you don’t

 That was as far as Neville got before both he and Wade heard a knock on the door. Raising an eyebrow, Neville went and opened it, finding Mustafa standing on his front porch. “What are you--”

“I absolutely can do that.” Mustafa interrupted him before he could inquire any further. He was panting, like he’d rushed over. Neville was about to tease him for being in such a hurry only to get right next door, but he was too preoccupied thinking about something else -- Mustafa had agreed to help him.

“Oh, thank God,” Neville breathed a sigh of relief, throwing his arms around him and pulling him into a tight hug. “Thanks so much, Moose.”

“Hold on a minute,” Wade said. “I don’t mean to interrupt this tender moment, but I’ve got a few questions?”

Pulling back, Mustafa asked, “What?”

“First of all, why are you so out of breath? Did you really have to run all the way over here when you could’ve just responded to the text?”

“Uh...”

“And doesn’t it make more sense to come over here after you’ve already picked the kids up? What are you doing here now?” Wade rubbed his temples. “My head hurts.”

“Well, Wade,” Mustafa started. “If you must know, I came early because I needed to do this.” After saying that, Mustafa leaned in and planted a kiss on Neville’s lips, which Neville eagerly responded to. Neville could hear the unmistakable sound of Wade smacking his forehead coming from behind him, followed by a sigh.

After pulling apart, Mustafa said, “It’s been way too long since I had a chance to do that.” He gave Neville a little pat on the cheek. “I’ll catch you later.”

After parting ways, Neville shut the door, facing Wade again. “What’s with you?” He asked.

“Neville, I want you to be honest with me for a second. You realize that you and Mustafa have totally become that couple, right?”

“What?!”

“God, six months ago I didn’t think that was the kinda shit I’d be exposed to. If only I could go back in time…”

“You’re so full of it. We have not!”

They have.

Unsurprisingly, the meeting was about as boring as Neville expected it to be.

He hadn’t been paying attention at all to what was being said -- something something budget, something something sales. They hyped up this meeting as being this huge deal, with Neville’s attendance being absolutely mandatory, but it was clear that this was out of his realm of expertise. If anything, he was there to be a warm body in a swivel chair -- one that had been left empty because one of the executives had mysteriously ‘called out sick’ on one of the nicest spring days of the year. Yep, this place sucks.

At one point he had been able to go to the bathroom, where he saw that he had a text from Mustafa -- it was a selfie of him in the car, both Jen and Daisy smiling happily in the backseat behind him. A cute image such as this was the only thing that had been able to make him smile in the last few hours, and he didn’t waste any time in saving it and setting it as his phone background. His happiness was short lived, however, once he remembered that he couldn’t stay in there forever. After shoving his phone away, Neville dragged himself back to the conference room, fully prepared to daydream away the next few hours.

He couldn’t get out of there fast enough once the day was over, hurrying through the parking lot over to his car. He was so grateful that it was finally the weekend and that he didn’t have to return until the following week -- hopefully with no more pointless meetings taking away his work-from-home day. It was the only day when he actually enjoyed working, primarily due to being on his own couch and away from obnoxious co-workers.

And of course, being dragged out to the office for the fifth day that week also means that Neville would be stuck in rush hour traffic for the fifth time. Interestingly enough, he recognized the van in front of him -- it was the same one he’d seen months ago with the stick figure family on the back. He noticed that there was a little baby figure at the end of it. Congrats, I guess. Happy as he may be for these complete strangers, that didn’t make him think that the stickers were any less tacky.

He found himself taking a closer look at the surrounding area, taking quick glances at some of the shops he was (very slowly) passing. None of them were particularly interesting, though one in the distance caught his eye. It was one of those 24 hour convenience stores. Neville passed by many of them during his trips to and from work, and he never paid much attention to them. Every one of them looked the same, in his opinion.

He felt differently about this one, however. It was a Friday evening, and everyone would be home for the next few days because of it being the weekend. Certainly there wouldn’t be anything wrong with stopping inside of this store and getting some candy for the kids, would there? The school week being over plus Neville’s abysmal work day coming to an end deserved to be celebrated. While there was a part of him that felt like he’d regret doing so, what with his paternal instincts telling him that the two of them would definitely spoil their appetites, he also felt that he would regret it if he didn’t. He loved seeing his children happy, and candy was an easy way to get them in a good mood.

...Why the fuck not? With a shrug, Neville switched on his turn signal, prepping to turn into the store’s lot.

“Here’s to hoping that Moose isn’t pissed at me for coming home late…” Neville muttered under his breath as he pulled into the driveway of his house. Mustafa had been under the impression that he would watch them until after the meeting, and needless to say it was well past that time -- Neville had spent just a little bit too long inside of the convenience store debating which candy would cause the least amounts of fighting. (If it was a #1 favorite for both girls, there would be a brawl over the last piece. Neville was all too familiar with ridiculous arguments over food.)

Neville grabbed the plastic bag with the candy from the passenger’s seat and climbed out of the car, hurrying up to the front step and stepping inside. Immediately he was greeted with the sound of Jen complaining about something, and he let out a little sigh, making a mental note to apologize to Mustafa for her behavior.

“This isn’t fair!” As he approached the living room and took a peek inside, he saw that her and Mustafa were playing video games -- Mario Kart. A very excited Daisy sitting next to him and watching intently, bouncing up and down in her seat. Neville saw that they were on the final lap, and he also saw that Mustafa had just sped ahead of her. I’d be mad too if fucking Toad just zoomed past me. Amused, he leaned against the doorframe, not bothering to announce his presence as he watched the rest of the race.

And then, one appropriately timed banana peel later, Mustafa crossed the finish line.

“Daddy, you won!!” Daisy yelled excitedly, Jen dramatically falling on the floor as a result of her brutal defeat.

Neville was confused, seeing as he hadn’t done anything to deserve such praise, and he was about to speak up to ask what she meant when he realized.

She’d been talking to Mustafa.

She leaped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him tightly as her way of congratulating him. There was a look in his eyes that Neville recognized as as combination of shock and happiness.

And, if he had to wager a guess, the happiness wasn’t because of him winning.

“Uh, hello?” Neville finally spoke up, clearing his throat. “Don’t mean to interrupt.”

“Oh, hi daddy!” Daisy let go of Mustafa and ran over to give Neville a hug, Jen opting to raise her hand in acknowledgement while still very much on the floor. “Jen lost!”

“I can see that,” he chuckled. “You good down there, kid?”

At Jen’s grunt, Mustafa said, “She told me on the ride home about how she was the champ at Mario Kart. I had to see that for myself to believe it.”

“Fluke!!” Jen yelled, muffled by the carpet. She suddenly climbed to her feet, making to storm out of the room. “He cheated!”

The three of them watched her go, with Daisy following along after her singing a little tune about how her sister lost. “Hey, be nice, Daze,” Neville commented. He sighed when he heard the door their room slam shut, looking to Mustafa again. “I’m… sorry about that. She gets being a sore loser from me, I suppose.”

“You? A sore loser?” Mustafa stood up, crossing the room and kissing Neville’s cheek. “I find that very difficult to believe.”

Mustafa started to tell Neville about the day they had had, but he was too busy thinking about Daisy’s little comment to pay much attention. Mustafa didn’t seem to mind what she said on the surface, but what did he really think? The two of them had only been together for around six months or so -- Neville hadn’t even thought to ask him how he felt with regards to that subject. He assumed that Mustafa was okay with potentially being their father, seeing as he was dating Neville and was fine with watching them, but did he ever see himself raising them?

That was the question that Neville was sure would bother him for weeks.

“Hey,” Mustafa said, snapping Neville from his thoughts. “So I was thinking -- I wanna make dinner for you guys tonight.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that…” Neville tried to protest, but Mustafa waved his hand.

“I want to. You had a rough day and don’t seem to be in any mood to cook, and I wanna treat you guys.”

“How do you know I’m not in the mood?”

Mustafa pursed his lips, raising an eyebrow. “Neville, I know you. You are clearly not in any mood to do any work in the kitchen.”

“...Maybe you’re right.” When he admitted this, Mustafa laughed, kissing him. “Alright, go ahead. Surprise me with what you make.”

“You can go fetch Ms. Grumpy Pants from upstairs, and I’ll get started.” Just as Mustafa began to walk towards the kitchen, he stopped, looking to Neville again. “And maybe once we’re done we can play another round of Mario Kart. If I can beat one of your kids, surely I can beat you too, hm?”

“We’ll see about that.” With that, Neville watched him walk away, the question that he asked himself earlier predictably haunting him.

After all this time, did he really find someone who he wanted to raise his children with?

[shyanlibrary]

do you know of any fics where shane is something other than a demon or an alien?????? like a different type of monster? thank you so much! i love your blog u are doing the lord's work!!

Hi! This is an updated version of this list. This one includes newer fics, others I didn’t knew fit in here, and also includes Angel!Shane, Vampire!Shane and SuperPowered!Shane.

be all my sins remembered by spoopyy

Summary: In every lifetime, they find each other.

Rated: E

Commentary: Boy, I don’t even know what else to say about this fic that I’ve recommended so many times by now. So I will say what I always say about it: It’s perfect. The worldbuilding and characterization, Shane’s POV is delicious. And also, he’s a vampire here.

skeptics and true believers by cooliohoolio 

Summary: The hot new kid that frustrates Ryan on a daily basis may or may not be a werewolf.

Ryan Bergara is in his junior year and president of Buzzfeed High School’s supernatural club; Shane Madej is the new kid that’s started showing up to meetings only to shit on Ryan’s belief in the paranormal. Normally, he would be annoyed with such a skeptical asshole– except, said asshole is also really fucking attractive, leading to a weird mixture of frustration and attraction Ryan has no idea how to deal with.

Then Ryan notes that there’s one subject that Shane doesn’t have anything to say about: werewolves. His discomfort at the mention of the subject and consistent absences on full moons is more than enough to pique Ryan’s curiosity. Whatever’s going on, Ryan is going to get to the bottom of it…even if it kills him.

Rated: T

Chapters: 7/?

Commentary: Werewolve AU. High School AU. I haven’t finished this fic but so far so good, it’s a lot of fun.

May I Say I Loved You More by Luntian

Summary: He felt Ryan’s warm palm on his shoulder. By then he knew he couldn’t lie anymore.“I—well, uh…” Shane inhaled deeply, “Promise me you’ll believe.”

Ryan was puzzled, but he nodded almost immediately.

After a long pause, Shane finally continued, “I’m not human.”

“What?” Ryan whispered. His eyebrows furrowed.

“Well, I was human, then—and then I died.” Ryan stared. Shane realized he was making no sense. He sighed, “Okay, listen. I am an angel.” Shane glanced at Ryan, trying to see his reaction but he saw no expression on his face. “I was sent on Earth to, uh, complete some mission.”

“You’re an alien?!”

“I’m an angel!“

/or/

Shane is an angel with a time limit. And a boyfriend.

Rated: Not Rated.

Commentary: Oh, man. This fanfic is so sad– I’m not gonna ruin the ending for you, but it’s a good story with great characterization. It broke my heart, but it also made me laugh and feel all warm. Shane is an angel here.

Late Night by juniperProse

Summary: “This was it. This was how he would die. A wolf broke into his home and ate him. Or, at the very least, chewed on his bones until it got bored and moved on to its next victim. Fuck.

A small voice told him the wolf didn’t break in, you basically LET IT IN, idiot, and hey wait how the fuck did a wolf manage to get up to his apartment when it was on the /third floor/, and as he was distracted with his thoughts, he tripped on his rug and fell on his ass, hard.”

—

Or: A wolf forcibly stays the night at Ryan’s house. Ryan is scared. Lamps are broken. “Buddies” are made.

Rated: T

Commentary: Werewolve AU. This one… is in another level. Shane pretends he doesn’t know and Ryan just– loses his shit for a night. It’s awesome and deserves much more love. 

Blood Buddies (with benefits) by Squeakyshroom

Summary: Ryan thought they were just friends, but one night and one bite has him questioning everything.

OR: Shane’s a fledgling vampire. Ryan’s an idiot.

Rated: E

Commentary: Look– this author? I love her. She has a very unique style and the way she writes their dynamic is something else. This fanfic in particular is a lot of fun, and I hate the fact that I know one and every damn Twilight reference in it. Shane is a vampire.

It also has one of my favorite mental images/scenes in a fanfic ever. If you guess which one is, come tell me about it, lmao.

au contraire by cactsu

Summary: Shane is a bored deity with a sardonic sense of humor. Ryan is a demon who’s a tad too jumpy for someone of his kind.

Certainly not a match made in heaven, but they sure as hell make it work like it is.

Rated: G

Commentary: In this one, Shane is a Deity and encounters a young Demon Ryan. I love this fic! It’s such a great story with a good plot, and original AU ideas. It was posted when no one else had wrote Demon!Ryan and boooy, if it’s good. It’s amazing, actually.

Oblivion by InkStainsOnMyHands

Summary: Tragic consequences typically follow when a god falls in love with a human. Typically…

Based on the comment:

“My theory is that Shane is the devil and was just super bored. Then one day he chanced upon a poor scared Ryan and thought “this is pretty fun” and now follows him to supernatural sights to have a giggle at his expense. But that’s also why they never capture anything on video, because the evil spirits and demons know Shane for who he really is and are too afraid to mess with him.”

Rated: E

Commentary: Deity Shane falls for mortal Ryan and things may have gone wrong at some point… but it has happy ending, I promise. God, I love this story to no end! It was one of the first fics I read and I love it, it’s wonderful!

Lost in Limbo  by americanchemicals

Summary: Series. As Ryan Bergara’s guardian angel, it was Shane’s sole duty to make sure that no harm ever came to the human, while also making sure that he didn’t discover his true identity.

Rated: T & M

Contains:  All the Angels &  Longer than Forever

Commentary: Both these fics are very good. I love how serious it takes itself and how good the characterization is. The second fic is my favorite of the two.In here, Shane is an Angel.

The Non-Believers by Delayedresponse

Summary: All because you don’t believe in something, does not mean it doesn’t exist.

Shane Madej learns this the hard way.

Rated: G

Stories: 3/?

Commentary: In this series, Shane dies and comes back as a ghost– until he realizes he is not just a ghost. He is a Banshee. I love this series a lot and I wish the author would finish it. I’ll wait forever for it, too.

Bloody Hell by AussieBookworm

Summary: One of the gifts of being bitten by a vampire, Shane supposed, was his improved hearing. For example, he could hear Jen quietly humming a song she claimed she hated, Quinta having a conversation with her mother about her father’s surprise birthday party, and Ryan leaving a meeting room and walking over to him.

***

Shane is a vampire and Ryan starts getting a bit too close to the truth, completely by accident

Rated: T

Commentary: In which Shane and Ryan visit an actual Vampire Hunter for an episode, and Shane wants to destroy something. In this one, Shane and Sara are vampires and good friends, and Ryan doesn’t know his pal is exactly what he is looking for.

The Supernatural’s Not Out to Get You by kathakoito

Summary: Shane is cthulhu. Ryan’s a skeptic.

Rated: G

Commentary: Listen, I bookmarked this fic at AO3 as “WHEN TENTACLES ARE CUTE��� and that’s all you need to know about it. Shane is a Lovecraft God and everything is amazing.

The fairy man won’t hold for you (the hollow). by boogara (Alexander_Slamilton)

Summary:

Rated: T

Commentary: I haven’t finished reading this fic so I don’t exactly know what creature Shane is, but he’s not a demon and that’s why I’m adding it here. Once I finish it, I will come back and edit. But the point here is that this is a very good fic so far, I’m loving it.

Wings  by americanchemicals

Summary: Series. When Ryan Bergara found out that Shane Madej was an angel, his life suddenly became very interesting.

Rated: M.

Contains:  Angel with a Shotgun (not the same as the one up) & Sunday Dinner

Commentary: By the same author of Lost in Limbo, this series is also pretty good for the same reasons. I prefer Lost in Limbo, but this one counts with wonderful fluff that will make you melt. Especially the second one. Shane is an Angel.

the night goes on by pinned_eye

Summary: ryan is lonely at a masquerade ball, until a handsome man asks for a dance

Rated: G

Commentary: Little, very cute thingy. Vampire Shane. It’s very pretty.

[unfoldingdaydreams]

starstruck on the red carpet - part 1

Pairing:  Tom Holland x Reader

Featuring: Every Avengers: Infinity War Actor

Summary: As a journalist, you’ve been assigned to interview the actors of Avengers: Infinity War for your first job and on the red carpet you realize someone couldn’t help but stare at you the whole time.

Warning: This story has a slow progression, which means it will be more focused more on feelings and character developments, I like to keep my stories detailed and imaginable as much as possible. I used the prons ‘’she’’-‘’her’’ in the story but you can imagine it in every way you like! Thank you!!

Words long: 1075 

Chapters: 1/13

Completed: Yes

PART 1 - PART 2  -  PART 3 - PART 4 - PART 5 - PART 6 - PART 7 - PART 8 - PART 9 - PART 10 - PART 11 - PART 12 - PART 13

Sequel:

PART 1 - PART 2 

--

“This place is amazing,” you say, with almost teary eyes. Indeed it was beautiful. “And it’s your home for this week.” Nathalie cheered, with a smile on her face. She was your moms best friend and was working in one of the best magazine company as a journalist. Even thinking about her made you happy, she was always so kind to you and she always found a way to make you smile.. and when you said your dream was to become a journalist just like her, she got you this internship the next day. Right now, you just couldn’t help but smile.  “Nathalie..” you started, “I don’t even-this is just..i’m so lucky. Thanks.” You said, failing to find the right words.. “Always for you, darling. Come, I’ll show you around.”

It was 2 hours of walking around, meeting cool people, eating, learning and finally sitting next to Nathalie, talking about how interviews worked, when a woman rushed into the building. Her face was still calm but you could see the rush of her movements. “Where is Rich?” she asked, fixing her half formal suit. “On a ‘case’.” A woman in a distance replied. “What about you, El? For tonight I’ve got the best opp- ” she was cut by the same woman, “No way, Kate. Did you forget about the dinner night? Well, it’s the best way for us to get free food and a promotion… Nobody is going to cancel it for an interview..” she stated, looking at her computer screen. The woman wearing a suit sighed, “Alri-uhm..Jen! Jen will do it! She even watches the movies!” the woman gulped. A quick reply from the same woman came shortly, “Nope.. she already left to get her dress for the dinner.. And no one is just going to get ready for an interview in a night.” The woman responded, making Nathalie silently laugh. “How did we even hire you again?” she asked, “Oh Nath! You don’t even come to the dinner nights, so you’re free, right?’’ she asked while coming closer to Nath and me, Nathalie raised her hands, “Poker night dear, sorry.” She explained, making a fake cry while smiling. “Oh.” Kate spoke, “Great. Our department finally got a proper job and everyone cares for free food.” While rolling her eyes.

“However..” Nathalie smirked, making you raise an eyebrow, “..she is free.” She added, pointing at you.

It took you a solid minute to realize what Nathalie said. “huh?” were the only words that came out from your mouth, you blinked a couple of time while getting up, “Huh?” you said, louder this time, you could see Nathalie’s face shaping a smile while the other woman.. with pure confusion, but.. “I-i mean..” you started, what? “no, no, I’m just-“ you looked at Nathalie, “I’m..” Help. Me. “Who is this?” the woman asked, more polite than you imagined, “O-oh..I’m” it would be a great help if your brain didn’t freeze and stop working at this exact moment, and that if you could just- “she is an intern..just got here” Nathalie explained, yes. Thank you! You should confirm her, “Thanks!” you spoke, “i-i mean, yes, i am.” Great. “Oh. Hi then.” She greeted quickly, returning to the subject. “Dear, i would love to, but this might be a bit too much for an intern.” She replied, quickly smiling, “Oh no no it’s perfectly fine.” You responded, returning back to your sense. Thank. God.

“But you know everyone else is busy. Do you want Clara’s department to take this offer?” Nathalie asked, half paying attention to her. The woman paused, “That Clara b-” she hissed and closed her eyes for a bit.

“What are your experiences?” she asked. It again took you a while to realize she asked this question.. to you. “U-hm..” Think. Think woman. But you didn’t have any! Would a teacher for a homework count..? Wh-”

“Oh yeah she does, she once interviewed the Ceo of this company who owns..” Nathalie paused, thinking.. “..the one who owns that new car brand.” She pointed at you, “What was his name..?” Nath asked. That. Never happened. “Chris Bryford?” the other woman suggested, “Oh yes! That one!” Nathalie confirmed, smiling at you. “Really?” she raised an eyebrow, “Are you sure”

You were going to ask the same question but you decided to shut up for that moment. Nathalie smiled, “Of course, I was there too. She took it like a champ.” She cheered.. You.. took it like a champ? But for a split second, you saw the woman’s eyes glow, oh.. she was actually buying this, wasn’t she?  

“That’s awesome!” she said smiling, filling the room with positivity in a matter of seconds, “Why didn’t you tell me that Nath?!” she asked while patting my shoulder, “I didn’t know you had the confirmation of Nath!” she smiled. Huh? Huh?! No. No. You were- you planned you’d just serve tea or something to others.. not to go on an interview.. and. For tonight?! Whaat.. What.

“Haha” you fake smiled, hoping it didn’t sound fake at all. “Thanks.” You managed to say.

“Alright, what was your name again?” she asked. It was.. “Y/N.” You replied. Thank god you got that right. “And I’m Kate. The person who is in control of this department.” She laughed, cheerfully shaking your hand. “Give me your email.” She asked, pulling a paper and a pen, “O-oh. Alright.” You said.

It was fast flashbacks of you giving your email, thanking her, trying to smile as much as possible, She started leaving out smiling, Nathalie.. looked really proud though.

“Oh by the way.. Who is she going to interview?” Nathalie asked.. right.. you forgot that. “Oh.” Kate smiled, “She has the permission to choose on the red carpet. She is going to the premiere of that movie Infinity War.” She stated.

..like it is the most casual sentence on the existence.

Wait.. Infinity war..? The Infinity War?!

You were %95 sure that your mouth was fully open for a second. Huh?!

“Really?” Nathalie asked. Why. Was. Everyone so calm about this.

This.. This was way ahead of your head. And a dinner was more important than this..?

“They are fun people, you got it good y/n!” Nathalie said smiling.

“I’ll send the sample questions to you. Bye-Bye!” Kate laughed, “Oh and by the way..” she looked at you, you managed to look at her back, “Yes..?” You asked.

“Wear something nice and look stunning.”

–

I can create a tag list for this story if anyone wants, thanks for staying until this far!

[hongbubs]

so I was tagged by the sweetest @possumel <333333333333333 thanks so much, love ;)) These are so fun OuO also reading yours was super nice DONT chew dem nails yo ;*

Rules: answer the questions and tag 10 blogs you want to know better

A) age: 27 B) birthplace: random small city in the west part of Hungary C) current time: 11:15 A.M. D) last drink you had: coffee. which is p.much ALL i drink before noon E) easiest person to talk to: huhh @retrogyu @ythurielle @cinnamonsnow aka My Main Binches <333 F) favourite song atm: IT IS LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO ANSWER THIS but lets go with Strawberres and Cigarettes by Troye Sivan G) grossestmemory: ohh boy, i have the approximate memory capacity of a tired goldfish, so... i swear im not avoiding this on purpose! in fact imma go have a cig right now to think back on it.  Okay I’m back. So I remembered like one random pretty gross thing? Back in high school, I was out with friends (dunt remember where or who with exactly XD) and we were drinking like only stupid teenagers with a curfew do, and I got super wasted, naturally, and on my way back home I had a 45 minute train ride and while waiting, I threw up on the tracks? Like, I don’t get sick from drinking much, and even if I ocassionally do, I’m okay enough to find the nearest bathroom or something, but apparently, not that time :”””””””””D. Thats about as much as I recall, lame as it is... I) in love: on my good days J) jealous: nope, not the type K) killed someone: I shot a sparrow once. not very proud of it. and i did some fishing, but strangely that didn’t make me feel so bad? prolly because we actually ate the fish. L) love at first sight: strong attraction, definitely. M) Middle name: dont actually have one! :) N) number of siblings: one younger sis, little shit, i love her even though we couldn’t be more different :D O) one wish: so, so many. but as of this exact moment, for this pup i’m dogsitting not be be quiet because he’s in the middle of making trouble somewhere in the house. R) reasons to smile: also so, so many. as of this exact moment, also the pup i’m dogsitting. he’s a 9-10 weeks old golden retriever. he’s the cutest pupper in existence. I want to cuddle him till i die. sadly, he’s more in his chewing phase than cuddling phase, so blood sacrifice is sometimes required. S) song you last listened to: Uhhhh most likely the new VIXX album. Like, on loop. So I’d say the whole album. T) time you woke up:  7:40something. (see also: pup i’m dogsitting) U) underwear color: tired pink V) vacation destination: we’ve been looking into hostels in Rome with my sis and mom for October just this afternoon OuO W) worst habit: quite some, but the worst is def the smoking. X) x-rays: like, chest x-rays? I’ve had a few of them for work and for scholarship medical check-up... other than that, my knee, once, when I fucked it up skiing.  Y) favourite food: waaaaaaay too many. today my sister made guacamole and it was PERFECT, so atm i’ll say its my sister’s guacamole. in general tho I might have a decisiveness problem????? like, did you see me pick a decisive, one exact answer to any of these?? Z) zodiac sign: Saggitarius. (good thing I don’t have to pick here, uggh xd)

tagging (not 10 blogs but some) @cinnamonsnow (because binch be mad at me if i dont <3) @jen-10 and  @la-feline-noire because I see them in my notifs all the time, @exychamp because she’s back again <3 @asriantrash  because he’s one of my new fave blogs, and anyone else that feels like doing this?

[getreadytosmash]

The Past that Smashed

Chapter 17

She Hulk’s POV

I was getting ready to go to the movies with Carla and I was trying to see what to wear.

Carla went into another room to straighten her hair because it takes a really long time to do if you have really big curly hair.

I was kind of excited because it’s been long that I went out but not go fight or train like I normally do. Finally, a day that I can take a break.

I had Skaar with me to help pick out my out for because he wanted to be involved with something. He had Mattie on the bed too, since he really liked the snake and sometimes asked questions about the clothes.

“Mattie told Skaar that Jen should use purple.”

“Use purple, huh?”

I mean I don’t look bad in it so maybe I can find something.

I finally found an electric purple blouse with black lines. I picked up a black pants with a silver belt with a silver necklace because Skaar likes how my sparkling silver shoes looked and wanted me to try them on so I had to find anything silver to use it with. Not bad for a guy to actually help in clothing.

I decided that I could curl my hair, but I couldn’t help but wondered how Carla’s hair looks like.

When I got out I saw her coming out of Red’s room but her hair was completely straight. She had a peach blouse with white pants and white shoes. She also a brown belt with a brown necklace too and pink tinted sunglasses with the temples being white. Turns out that she used Red’s heat to straighten her hair. When he was in his overheat mode, he carefully grabbed bits of her hair and straighten it that was. Smart.

We were on our way to the theater, hoping that nothing goes wrong.

Red’s POV

Jones and I was at the concert waiting for that DJ to start playing. Can’t they hurry up with this already?

We were at the back since we were too tall and we didn’t want people to complain about us. Jones went to buy some churros for me since he promised that he would buy me any food I want. Finally Jones came in with my churros when the DJ finally came in.

He was a brunette with his hair that almost touched his shoulders. He had a black tan top on with a rainbow paint splat on it and in the middle was a music note. He had a black jacket with silver lines and black pants. That’s weird, he even had combat boots but I think he just like the style. He also had a chain that hung to his pants on the right side and golden necklace that said DJ JD. He put on his silver and black headphones and started the music.

It wasn’t that bad, but man, the people here was a crazy in the front. Sadly Jones was one of those people who hollered and waved his arms like an idiot. God, what a kid. I noticed that some people were in the back like me, away from the crowd. I don’t blamed them. I tried to look for Jones to buy me something else since I finished my churro.

The song changed after that and he announced that ‘In the Name of Love’ was next.

Oh for fuck sake! I had it with that song ever since Jones, Albizu, and even Leader started to sing this crap!

I noticed someone was moving very quick when the first part came on. I looked to my right and saw that it was a man that looked like he was getting ready to dance. That would have not been really damn weird if he wasn’t dressed like how he was. He has wavy medium length black hair that looked a unwashed. A black leather jacket with , again seriously people, black combat boots. A grey shirt with black writing on it saying “Does it look like I care?” and rings under his eyes like he hasn’t slept in weeks. He had a chain on his dark jeans on the left side of the pants and black sunglasses with orange around where the lens were. Why the hell does he bring sunglasses in the middle of the night? Jesus Christ, with these people.

‘If I told you-’

He slide to his right.

‘-this was only gonna hurt’

He came back to his spot with small quick steps while he waved his right arm.

‘If I warned you-’

He did it again but slid to his left.

‘-that the fire’s gonna burn’

And again with the same movement.

‘Would you walk in?’

He slide forward with his right hand reaching out.

‘Would you let me do it first?’

He walked slowly back with his hand turning him to a ball and pulled in.

‘Do it all in the-’

He put his right hand up at ‘all’ and the left in ‘the.”

‘-name of love’

He put them on his chest making a heart out of them.

‘Would you let me lead you even when you’re blind?’

He slid to his right and did the same movements.

‘In the darkness, in the middle of the night’

Then moved to the left and did that the same as well.

‘In the silence, when there’s no one by your side’

He went forward and came back the same way as he did before.

‘Would you call in the-’

He puts his hands up but making an X this time.

‘-name of love?’

He lower his arms down and separate them in the middle but it came back as a X again on his chest.

‘In the name of love,’

He leaned and reached out to his right but without moving from his spot and leaned back while his hands made a finger roll as he pulled it in so that he had his head down, legs apart, and hands down into a fist.

‘name of love’

Did the same but to the left.

‘In the name of love,’

This time he reached to the sky and came back with the same pose.

‘name of love’

He reach to the ground.

‘In the name of-”

Oh sweet Jesus! He is actually dance really well. He did a look of impressive moves like flipping, handstands, twirling, and even ‘fell’ into a ground into an uncomfortable position but came back up like nothing happened. The way he spun reminded me of a ballerina….ballerina huh?

‘If I told you we could bathe in all the lights’

He did the same moves as before but he move with more passion. I don’t me like exaggerate or anything. He dances like no one was watching, or I don’t know what his mentality was but it was actually…fun to watch I guess?

I don’t know why but I positioned myself in what ballerina are usually seen as, but it just felt natural doing it. I actually know ballet. I was on my toes with my hands were down making a U with my arms.

‘In the name of love,’

The guy did the same move, reaching out and pulling back in. However I slowly moved my right hand up and back down slowly.

I noticed that he looked at me.

‘name of love’

He did the same move on his left. I however swayed my hand to the left without it going above my waist.

He smirked at me.

‘In the name of love,’

He moved forward while my right hand did the same move but forward and towards the sky.

‘name of love’

He went back so my left hand swayed back.

‘In the name of-’

So I might have bust out my old ballet moves but I didn’t care. I was just twirling like there was no tomorrow. As I leaped, a crowd gather around me and the other guy. He moved closer to where I was.

“Yeah, let’s give it out to the guys in the back dancing! Give them a round of applause for giving this concert more life!” yelled the DJ.

Everyone screamed and clapped.

I actually was enjoying myself for once. No worry about Hulk going back. No worry about Devil boy burying me in the goddamn morning. Nothing. Well, maybe I did wondered if Hulk even left. But nothing could stop me now.

“WOO! Go Red!”

“Shut it, Jones!”

\I know that I said that I was going to show how Sammy and Ennui met but I got too into the whole describing the clothes and the dance so I got carried away. I didn’t want to put it so it would be as long as the other one. Sorry if you were waiting on how they met! But on the next chapter I will say it! Ahhhh! I feel bad. Hope you enjoy this one.\

(Buddy. The fact you made Red do ballet is enough to make me happy until the day I die. I can't believe you remembered that about him! Thanks! And I like the outfits Jen and Carla wore, having Skaar help while being cute with Mattie. Sweetie Red helping out with hair makes me melt every time and I'm glad he could relax and be happy for once, even if it's dancing with his enemy's boyfriend(?). A great chapter featuring my favourite smasher and second favourite character! Nobody can replace Leader after all ;D)