#She's more upfront than half the people i know. Amazing

[kitty-is-writing]

Pride Month short story #6!

This story is about Remlika, a demisexual lesbian currently questioning whether traditional dating is worth the trouble it brings. Luckily she has an amazing friend and roommate to talk things out with.

❤️🧡🤍🩷💜

Another disappointing - and disappointed - date. Remlika slammed the door shut on the rain, leaving a trail of damp footprints as she dragged herself up the stairs. All she wanted right now was a hot cup of tea and a fluffy towel, but unfortunately, her housemate was the nosiest man alive, and called out when she reached the landing.

“Don’t tell me you messed up another date,” he said, leaning back on his chair to look through the study doorway.

“I didn’t mess up, she just wanted to get all physical too quickly. Who asks to stay the night with someone on the first date?”

Braklarn shrugged. “Someone who’s really into you and wants to have a little fun? It’s not that big of a deal, a lot of people are okay with casual stuff on the first or second date.”

“Well, I’m not. And instead of respecting my choice, she got all pushy about it, then called me a frigid bitch and stormed off. Look, I’m not in the mood to talk right now. Give me half an hour to dry off and get a cup of tea, then we can analyse this date to the twelfth Hell and back.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

She headed for her own room, hung her wet clothes to dry and wrapped herself in the warm, oversized robe she kept for cold, damp nights like this. What was wrong with her? The woman had been attractive, and fun enough to spend an evening with before the expectations had come up, so why hadn’t she agreed to a little ‘casual stuff’, as Braklarn had put it? Neither of them had assumed it would be a long term commitment, so she couldn’t even say that was what put her off.

Right on cue, Braklarn knocked on her door the second she had sat back down with a steaming cup of tea. “So what happened? Was she ugly? Conceited? Spent the whole evening talking about her pet fish?” He paused for a fake, overly dramatic gasp. “Did she not like reading?”

“It was nothing like that,” she said, nudging her desk chair towards him so he could sit. “The date was fine, and she was okay, I just didn’t fancy her that much, you know?”

He sat backwards on the chair, resting his chin on the carved wood of the back rest. “And why was that?”

She shrugged, sipping at her tea. “I don’t know. There just wasn’t a spark for me, I guess. She was pretty, fun, and nice enough until I said I didn’t feel like sleeping with her, but I just didn’t get that connection.”

“Okay. I’d say you probably dodged a flaming arrow with this one, considering the way she reacted to you saying ‘no thanks’, but you’ve said this before about dates. Is it the people you’re going out with, or just that you’re not keen on anything after the date in general?”

“It’s more that I don’t want to move too quickly. I like the girls I date, I just don’t want to jump into bed with them. It takes time for me to get to that stage,” she said.

“What is it that makes you want to date them in the first place, if it’s not a desire to sleep with them?”

That was a question Remlika had spent hours thinking about herself, and still had no good answer. “I don’t know. Sometimes I like the way they look, but more in a ‘pretty picture’ way than a ‘let’s do things between the sheets’ way. Other times they seem like fun or interesting people that I’d like to get to know better, but there’s still no physical attraction.”

“So you just like to take things slowly? That’s pretty normal, you know. Just make sure you let your dates know upfront, then they’ll know what boundaries they need to respect,” Braklarn said.

“It’s not that, it’s more that I just don’t fancy someone until after I’ve got to know them. You know how you’ve always said things like ‘wow, they’re hot’ even if you don’t know the person? You wouldn’t just randomly go up to someone and ask for sex, but you still get that initial attraction by just looking at a stranger sometimes? I don’t get that. It’s not just about being shy or waiting to know if they’re the right person before doing anything, the attraction just isn’t there at all until I’ve known them a while.”

Braklarn looked thoughtful for a moment. “I guess that makes sense. If you’re more interested in the person than just their looks, it would take time for any attraction to come along? I mean, it’s outside my experience, so I can’t say I really understand, but it’s all good. Maybe give up on regular dating and just try making some friends first? See where that leads?”

“Hey, last time I tried making some friends I ended up with you,” Remlika teased.

“And that’s a bad thing? At least I put up with your magical experiments setting the place on fire every other week,” he replied.

Remlika smiled. “Speaking of setting things on fire, how are things with the Vice-Chief’s daughter? She still blowing hot and cold on you?”

“Ugh, don’t get me started. We were out last week, having a great time, then some messenger from her father showed up and she turned all formal and distant on me. It wasn’t even an important message, just a reminder to be home before dawn. What am I supposed to do when she gets like that?”

“You’re asking me? I’m usually the one going distant,” she said. “Maybe it's more to do with her family's expectations than anything wrong with you. She's the eldest, right? And since Goplar hasn't had any kids of his own, that puts Jindar as the next in line, with Jindara as his heir. Could her family be putting pressure on her to pick someone else?”

Braklarn sighed heavily. “Maybe. I would have thought they'd be happy to see her happy, you know? It's not like I'm a terrible prospect, most mages are pretty stable and well off,” he said. “Before you say it, I know money isn’t everything, but it does help. I’m not that bad-looking, am I?”

Remlika couldn’t help laughing at that. “You’re definitely asking the wrong person there. But, you’re not horribly disfigured or anything, so that’s a point in your favour looks-wise,” she said.

“Great. I’m not living in a gutter and my facial features are roughly where they should be. Thanks for the confidence boost,” he grumbled.

“Hey, it’s more than some people can say,” she told him. “Seriously though, if I was into men, I wouldn’t not date you. Can’t say much more than that, but you’re the guy asking an awkward tribade if you’re attractive.”

Braklarn smiled slightly. “I guess I’ll take that as a compliment, then. Maybe I’m just not Jindara’s type, or something. I have to admit I’ve done most of the chasing here, maybe she’s just too nice to tell me to bugger off.”

“That’s possible, or like I said before, it could be that she’s got other things to worry about and can’t give any kind of partner the attention they deserve right now. Or she wants to keep things casual, or needs time to get to know you first. You’d need to talk to her about that, if she lets you.”

“You’re probably right. Maybe I should just stop pestering her so much, give her some space. She’s too straightforward to be playing any silly games like some people do,” he said. “I’ll give it a week or two, then maybe see if she’ll meet up for a proper talk about things.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Remlika stared into the fire for a moment. “All this would have been so much easier if we were just into each other, wouldn’t it?”

Braklarn shrugged. “Maybe, but where’s the fun in things being easy? Besides, a good friendship can be just as good as a romantic relationship. Sometimes it’s better, even. You know where you stand with a friend.”

“Here’s to good friends, then,” Remlika said, raising her teacup. “May we always be here for each other when our dates go wrong.”

He lifted his own cup to tap against hers. “Always.”

[defendglobe]

anyway, jumping off that post i made the other day about odo being deanna's stepfather, here's some TNG/DS9 crew interaction headcanons:

-sisko and picard keep a respectful distance from each other. neither of them want to discuss what happened at wolf 359 but it's too big an issue to ignore. their interactions are limited to stuff like "congrats on your promotion to captain" or "sorry your ship was destroyed."

-since the TNG movies first contact and insurrection take place while worf is working on DS9, the TNG crew stay around for a few days when they bring worf back to talk about their latest adventure. after first contact, data scares the bejesus out of everyone by walking through the promenade with half his face ripped off.

-whenever geordi visits DS9 he ends up helping o'brien with repairs because something is always broken on DS9 and geordi is a workaholic. it's a good excuse to catch up and find out how keiko and molly are up to. he always leaves DS9 glad that he's the chief engineer of the enterprise and not station on fire trash can.

-riker sets up a poker table at quark's and invites julian and o'brien to play. julian gets all competitive is convinced that he can beat riker but o'brien (who regularly attended poker games on the enterprise and knows damn well that riker is an amazing player) tells him that he doesn't stand a chance. they play a game and riker absolutely wipes the floor with julian.

-data, geordi, and julian keep in touch after the events of TNG S6E16 because they're all autistic nerds who love infodumping. sometimes they'll try out each other's favorite holodeck programs together (sherlock holmes/james bond).

-also because of TNG S6E16, beverly keeps in regular contact with julian and lets him swing by the enterprise-E every now and then to use medical equipment that is more advanced than the stuff on DS9. she does still give him shit for literally breaking into sickbay that one time, though.

-sisko and beverly bond over being single parents and losing their partners because of their starfleet careers. beverly busts out some baby pictures of wesley and his ugly sweaters remind sisko of jake.

-jadzia and riker probably fucked at least once. they also swap weird sex stories in the middle of the bar. beverly walks by, says "by the way, i fucked a ghost once," and then walks away. jadzia hauls ass across the room to ask for context on that one.

-deanna goes to garak's shop looking for a new outfit and since she's a betazoid, she ends up telling him he really should consider therapy because his vibes are so off. garak does not appreciate that insight and has to resist the urge to go full obsidian order on her ass.

-picard and odo get along surprisingly well, since they both tend to hold people at arms length and are emotionally constipated as shit. if picard ever needs to pass on information to the DS9 crew, he usually goes through odo so he doesn't have to talk to sisko. also picard is super orderly most of the time, which odo appreciates.

-quark tries to ban data from the dabo wheel, saying that it's not fair for an android with superhuman abilities to gamble because he could easily rig the games. julian, o'brien, worf, and the entire enterprise crew threaten to beat the shit out of him for saying that. data explains to quark that his ethical program wouldn't allow him to cheat and quark ends up having to listen to data infodump about his programming.

-data occasionally joins in garak and bashir's gay little book club, because he appreciates hearing a cardassian perspective on human literature. since he's super direct/upfront all the time, he gets a bit confused by garak constantly talking in like fifty layers of euphemisms. bashir has to explain that no, this isn't a human social norm you're missing, garak is just Like That.

-the enterprise is out on an urgent mission when worf and jadzia get married, but the crew throws a hell of a party for them when they get back (riker and beverly were the masterminds here). likewise, the DS9 crew members who stayed around after "What You Leave Behind" are invited to deanna and riker's wedding. they're just off camera because they didn't want to be seen in such a bad movie, lol.

-guinan and quark get into a "who's the better bartender" type rivalry and compete by making a shitton of different drinks for people in the bar and having them vote. it ends in them getting arrested by odo for using romulan ale or some other illegal thing.

[mellow-worlds]

Yesterday I learned that D has scars on her wrist. She didn't specify but was pretty upfront about it. We were talking about scars in general (just like that scene in Jaws lmao) and she said she also has scars but that they were nothing she could really tell us anything cool about. She also said that they were from a long time ago, so yee. She's super cute honestly. And I think I noticed them before but kind of didn't think they were sh scars, because she also has these little skin swirls on her neck and I thought it was the same thing.... I'm a bad human being. Oh well. I'm just happy to hear that she can openly talk about them and not feel ashamed, and she even said she used to be embarrassed about them, but decided that people who judge her for that should go fuck themselves. Yeah so long story short, she's super sweet and the coolest. I'd like to be more like her.Yesterday was a lot of fun. We went to D (guy)s place and played games and talked and it was amazing. P was also there. I keep thinking maybe he'll like me if I'm skinny. I broke my fast today at 41 hours and ate over half a bar of chocolate and feel awful. At least I didn't eat anything yesterday. Something to be kinda happy about. But yeah....... I wish I hadn't eaten so much. I feel super bad and super full and uncomfortable. I only broke my fast because I kept feeling like I was going to barf despite having literally nothing in my stomach but water. It's somehow super easy for me to decline food from my friends but I somehow struggle more to stop myself once I started eating in private. Just something to remember.I keep imagining what it'd be like to finally have my friends find out. Maybe they'd talk to me about it? I keep imagining situations where I have to explain it to people, my history with eds and why I can't stop. Especially P. Pretty much only P. Yeah.... I'm less and less convinced he'd like me but I keep imagining how much I'd let him down should we actually be in a relationship.Like that'd ever happen and I already keep fatalizing. And I also think that my childishness is bot my best and worst feature. It's kind of my entire personality, but it makes it hard for people to take me seriously. Not that there'd be any reason to. Idk I feel so sad. Yesterday I didn't feel like killing myself but honestly... I feel so out of place and unworthy of my friends, especially P. I'm such a leech. I wish I could spend every single second with my friends. I just want to ve liked and impress people but I can't. And mostly I just want to spend time with my friends because I freaking don't know I love them so much and they give me the ability to feel happy. Like 2 days ago I was super happy for no reason, thinking about P and my suicide and my other friends and my ed and being skinny. I'm super grateful for my friends. But now I am sad again when I'm alone, I am sad and tired and kind of still feel like throwing up and I freaking ate so much.... idk what to do. I had a cocoa and almost an entire bar of chocolate and yogurt and a little piece of bread and I'll have another sandwich at uni. I should just eat more fruits and healthy things. I'll eat the sandwich and do maybe another 24 hour fast. I'll need to eat tomorrow because of debate club. I should just be happy about fasting for so long in the first place, shouldn't I? Longest fast I've ever made, by like 3 hours or sum. Better than nothing. See, I can't only focus on the good part. Gosh. I hate myself. I don't think I ever won't. I hate myself. I don't think I ever haven't. I want to die again :). At least something to look forward to. I told myself I'd kill myself at the latest on December 2nd. Kinda dangerous to make promises to myself like that. Last time I didn't kms either hahaha. Makes me feel stupid and bad.

[illuminatedquill]

Extracurricular, An Analysis

Oh Ji-soo and Bae Gyu-ri

“Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won’t adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is sign on as it’s accomplice.”  - Tom Robbins 

You know the story. You’ve heard it before, right? 

Boy meets girl. 

Girl finds out that boy is running a side protection business for prostitutes. 

Girl decides to blackmail boy into letting her join his business. 

Classic high school criminal shenanigans ensue leading them into more dangerous situations where they are forced to make desperate decisions to stay alive. 

Oh, and they fall in love along the way. 

Oh? You haven’t heard this one before? Then let me introduce you to this delightful kdrama called Extracurricular. 

I watched this one while waiting for the newest Hometown Cha Cha Cha episodes to drop and ended up binging the whole series in two days. There are many remarkable parts of this series: it’s a crime drama, first and foremost, that showcases high school teenagers caught in a cycle of violence and crime, abandoned by the society and adults that are supposed to be protecting them. There are no clear good guys and bad guys in this drama; everyone is cast in shades of grey. Our main leads, Oh Ji-soo and Bae Gyu-ri, run the prostitution business, and are both from broken family backgrounds. Their actions are morally questionable at best, but the top tier performances from Kim Dong Hee (you might remember him from Itaewon Class) and Park Ju Hyun make you cheer for them anyway. You want them to have a happy ending, despite the horrible things they do. The audience is always reminded that despite how clever they are in staying ahead, their actions have consequences, and they’re just high school kids. The drama never pulls it punches. 

But, weirdly enough, it’s also a love story. And that’s the part the really sticks with me until now. (The chemistry between the main leads is absolute dynamite and I could watch ten episodes of them just verbally sparring with each other. They don’t even kiss. They’re that fantastic when together on screen.)

I’m writing this because this is undoubtedly one of my all time favorite kdramas and I have a lot of feelings about our main pairing, Ji-soo and Gyu-ri. I can’t call them a couple (wait, didn’t I just say they fall in love) because their relationship can’t be labelled simply as that. Think of it as something similar to the main leads in My Ahjussi. Two people who should have become soulmates, yet met at the wrong time. 

This kdrama is not particularly happy, and while I do encourage people to watch this, I am warning that the subject matter is extremely dark. If you’re sensitive to scenes depicting sexual assault, graphic violence, or anything in that zip code you’ll want to steer clear. 

Also, I’ll be diving into spoiler territory in this analysis. So if you want to go in clean, then stop reading here. 

Still here? Awesome. Let’s dive deep into the messy, amazing pairing that is Oh Ji-soo and Bae Gyu-ri. First, let’s do a brief character background on our two main leads, starting with Ji-soo. 

Oh Ji-soo is one half of our main pairing and this story starts with him. He lives by himself and has been essentially abandoned by his only parents; his father is a failed businessman who gambles whatever money he acquires on scams and his mother ran away. His apartment is small, sparse, but functional. He owns only a few outfits aside from his school uniform. The only unique item he owns is a pet hermit crab that he takes care of. His life outside of school is non-existent; he has no friends, no one to hang out with and do typical high school teenager activities with. He takes care of himself and lives only for himself and his “dream”: to graduate, attend college, get married, and have kids like a normal person. 

But to do that, he needs a large amount of money. He has no other financial means to do so (his father is largely absent, as is his mother), so he decides, at some point, to start up this protection business for prostitutes. The drama doesn’t go into detail about the how and why he came to this conclusion that this was the best way to make a lot of money in a short amount of time, so you’ll have to suspend your disbelief from the get go. Considering the themes of the story (how youths abandoned by society tend to act out in extreme ways to make it in this world), it’s not hard to believe his desperation would drive him to make such a decision. 

Ji-soo, despite his shady business, is actually a decent person. There’s a streak of humanity that exists inside him that refuses to go out, despite the increasingly dark and bleak events that start to overtake his life. He’s attached to his hermit crab, cares for his “employees” outside of them being tools to make him money, and doesn’t want to see anyone get hurt. He goes above and beyond what’s required to help out people at the risk of his own life (in particular, Gyu-ri, and we’ll get into that shortly). 

What we learn from the first few episodes is that Oh Ji-soo is extremely smart and methodical in how he approaches his life. At school, he is known as a model student - quiet, top of the class in terms of grades, doesn’t draw any attention to himself, always follows along with what the teachers ask of him. Only his homeroom teacher, Mr. Cho, seems to consider his quiet style of existence to be concerning and tries to make him less socially awkward by pairing him up with another student in a new extracurricular club. This leads to the introduction of Bae Gyu-ri, Ji-soo’s longtime crush and future partner-in-crime. 

Meet Bae Gyu-ri, the other half of our dynamic duo. Her introduction into the story kickstarts the entire plot, as one of her earliest actions leads to a domino effect that spells increasing doom and tragedy for our main leads. She messes with Ji-soo’s operation at a critical moment and she spends the rest of the drama doing her best to make up for the consequences that follow. 

In my personal opinion, she is probably the best main female lead I’ve ever seen in a kdrama. Hands down, no other character exists (currently) that rivals her sheer cunning, wit, and badassery. Gyu-ri is Crazy, capital C, and is the chaos to Ji-soo’s control; the fire to his ice. Despite being the direct cause of half the events that happen to Ji-soo in the drama, he can’t help but need her because of what she offers. They make an incredible team. Her competitiveness, her need to win no matter the odds, helps them survive time and time again. 

Gyu-ri is from the opposite end of the spectrum of Ji-soo; he’s dirt poor and she’s insanely rich (always nice to see a reversal of typical kdrama tropes). Her mother and father run a successful entertainment company. Gyu-ri is popular at school, friends with seemingly everybody, pretty, cheerful and gets along well with her teachers. Ji-soo, and the audience, believe from the beginning that she has the perfect life. It’s not hard to believe that she’s just involving herself in Ji-soo’s business because she’s bored and needs an outlet, at first. 

We soon learn otherwise. Gyu-ri has more in common with Ji-soo than he initially realizes, in that they’re both trapped in circumstances beyond their control - it’s just that Gyu-ri’s cage is gilded, whereas his is not. Her parents are strict and have her life planned out for her, all without her consent or input, leaving her feeling frustrated and powerless despite her rich lifestyle. A suicide attempt hasn’t done much to change her parents attitude towards her, only serving to further their control over her life. 

So, when she learns of Ji-soo’s operation she immediately seeks to angle her way into it. First, she tries to rip him off, believing that he’s an evil “pimp” and thus deserves it. But after spending some time with him, she changes her mind last second and decides to help him out instead. 

And, now, let’s get into their relationship, which is one of the best (if not the best) aspect in the entire series. 

I need to be upfront about something: the relationship between Ji-soo and Gyu-ri is not exactly healthy. I wouldn’t describe it as toxic - the circumstances surrounding them aren’t exactly the best environment to encourage open and honest communication - but it’s definitely not what should be considered ideal, especially for young adults, and especially for young adults who are dabbling in crime instead of studying. 

So, why do I love them so much? If you’ve read some of my previous posts, you know that I loathe toxic relationships in kdramas, so I understand if you think I’m coming off as hypocritical here. Why do I like Oh Ji-soo and Bae Gyu-ri when I didn’t like, for example from recent history, (oh boy, here I go again on my Nevertheless BS) Park Jae-eon and Yu Na-bi?

First, Ji-soo and Gyu-ri are way cooler than Jae-eon and Na-bi ever could be. They run a criminal enterprise that involves having a high amount of intelligence, cunning, and daring to do so. Do Jae-eon and Na-bi run a criminal enterprise as a side business? No, they don’t, because they’re boring art students. 

Secondly, Ji-soo and Gyu-ri actually progress in their relationship and change their views as they learn from each other. Now, granted, that progress isn’t towards becoming better versions of each other - quite the opposite. But at least they have progress. Jae-eon and Na-bi stayed in the same stupid cycle for the whole series and then decided that it was better staying that way as opposed to trying for something else. 

Last, but certainly not least, Ji-soo and Gyu-ri are actually interesting to watch for me. The chemistry between Park Ju Hyun and Kim Dong Hee is explosive and they way they spar, exchange looks, and just generally exist around each other on screen is something I can watch forever. I’ve said this before but Han So Hee and Song Kang’s on screen chemistry, outside of their intimate scenes, really didn’t impress me. 

Okay, back to Extracurricular. This relationship, man. It’s all I can think about (other than HomeCha’s Du-sik and Hye-jin, but that’s another post). Ji-soo and Gyu-ri are so good together. 

I’ve noted before that Ji-soo is methodical in how he approaches his life; he plans out everything ahead, and rigs any situation as much as he can in his favor. It’s brilliant, but when a crisis happens, he doesn’t know how to deal with it effectively. He panics and flounders; becomes indecisive at a time when clear, decisive action is required. 

Enter Gyu-ri. She quickly becomes the partner he never knew he needed. When there’s a situation, she becomes invaluable in her quick thinking and wit, coming up with solutions on the fly. It’s not perfect, but it keeps them just one small step ahead of whatever is coming their way. 

The only thing preventing them from becoming unstoppable is the lack of communication and trust they have with each other. A lot of that has to do with how Gyu-ri entered Ji-soo’s business - she blackmailed him first, and, when that failed, she strong armed her way into getting him to accept her help. It’s implied in the drama that Ji-soo has had a crush on Gyu-ri for a while (since ninth grade, I believe) and in the first episode he actually gets the chance to spend time with her outside of school on a sort of quasi-date. 

It goes sideways pretty quickly because of some shenanigans from his business, but not before she gets to know him and says some pretty touching words regarding his situation. Poor guy is head over heels - even after finding out that she’s the one blackmailing him, his feelings are only dampened, not extinguished. When he catches a glimpse of her family’s situation, he gains a deeper understanding of her and why she acts the way she does. Even more importantly, Ji-soo treats her the same after finding out this information which, to someone like Gyu-ri, means more than if he comforted her about it. 

If you want to see a physical representation of how he feels, other than paying attention to his actions, you can see it in him keeping mementos from Gyu-ri. She has an interesting habit of folding bags into origami shapes and giving it to him. Even after the blackmail reveal, you can see that he continues to keep these in a container on his desk. It’s really cute that he keeps these, when it probably doesn’t even matter that much to Gyu-ri. 

Towards the end of the drama, Ji-soo prepares to turn himself in to prevent Gyu-ri from being implicated in the crimes they committed. And it costs him almost everything to protect her. Ji-soo, the quiet, nerdy kid, puts himself on the line time and time again to protect Gyu-ri, knowing that it puts his life and his dream at risk to do so. And all for what? For some girl that he thinks doesn’t even like him in return? 

Well, let’s talk about that. Because I’ve seen some comments that Gyu-ri was only using Ji-soo for her own selfish gain. And I can agree that was how it was at the beginning for her; she definitely was only interested in acquiring money, like Ji-soo was, in order to achieve her own goal of being free from her parents. 

But, oh man, that is not what is motivating her at the end. 

It’s actually pointed out relatively early by some of her friends that it’s obvious that she likes Ji-soo more than he likes her. Understandably Ji-soo is keeping her at arms length from him given the whole recent blackmailing, so it would make sense that it looks that way. 

Further questioning reveals what she likes the most about him: 

“It’s not like I’m crazy about him. He’s fun. And amusing. He’s smart. And there’s a certain charm he has. He also has a wolfish side to him. But he thinks he’s a puppy.” 

- Bae Gyu-ri

But, as she gets to know Ji-soo better, you can certainly see that she starts to fall hard for him. As a cover story for why they hang out so much together during and after school, Gyu-ri states to everyone that they’re dating. The reactions across the school definitely imply that this is a shocking development, which means that Gyu-ri hasn’t dated anyone before. So why Ji-soo other than the reasons she herself states? 

He challenges her, just as she challenges him. Gyu-ri may be the more dynamic, quick thinking of the pair but Ji-soo is every inch her intellectual equal - just in different ways. She doesn’t seem to be the type to be easily impressed, but you can tell that she’s definitely impressed by Ji-soo’s operation and how thoroughly set up it is. When Ji-soo is frustrated at the beginning by his setbacks, he blows up at another student (knocks him out in a crazy punch) and immediately walks over to Gyu-ri afterwards (who saw the whole thing) to inform her that she is now his partner in crime. 

The look in her eyes, and the small smirk she has speaks volumes about her attraction to him in that scene. Smoldering. 

And, oh yes, she’s prone to jealousy. Another classmate, Min-hee, gives Ji-soo a present out of the blue (it was supposed to be for her boyfriend, Ki-tae, but that’s another sub-plot) - all within view of Gyu-ri. It’s hilarious how she tries to brush it off. Later, for plot reasons, Ji-soo has to spend more time with Min-hee which only furthers Gyu-ri’s annoyance. 

And her motivations stop being entirely about the money and more towards helping preserve the dream that she and Ji-soo share about being free. There’s a scene in episode 8 where it’s revealed that, due to a business partnership with a local gang (set up by none other than Gyu-ri herself in a desperate move), Ji-soo would have to drop out of school permanently to work on their behalf. Gyu-ri overhears this and, despite badly needing the gang’s help in sustaining their own business, immediately terminates the partnership. 

All because it would interfere with Ji-soo’s dream. 

Man, if that isn’t love. 

In the following episode, Gyu-ri, and later on Ji-soo, is kidnapped by the same gang in retaliation for terminating their partnership. Ji-soo comes to her rescue but Gyu-ri is already almost free (again, she’s really, really badass) and is demanding that they bring Ji-soo to her instead of running for her life. 

Surviving this latest attempt puts the two in a reflective, vulnerable mood and Gyu-ri asks Ji-soo why he keeps saving her. Ji-soo asks later on why she keeps risking her life to be with him. They don’t say the answer in words but in an almost kiss (yeah, you read that right - almost). 

And then, if you aren’t already convinced, Ji-soo crosses his one last remaining line in an effort to keep Gyu-ri safe; he accidentally pushes a fellow classmate down some steps and, instead of helping her, leaves her to die after grabbing the evidence she has on him and Gyu-ri. 

Extracurricular pulls off quite the magic trick here, hiding this well done love story in the middle of a serious crime drama. 

The real tragedy is that Ji-soo thinks that Gyu-ri views this whole business, and by extension his life, as one big game. It’s something that she takes offense at, visibly becoming upset when he says that. 

But even if that were true, he should be assured since Gyu-ri doesn’t like to lose. 

As they hurtle towards the end and face up to the consequences of their actions, Ji-soo and Gyu-ri undoubtedly lose sight of their original goals and dreams. They do some fairly horrible things to stay alive and ahead of the police who are close on their trail. You can’t really blame them for doing what they did; in the face of a society that has abandoned them, what they’re doing is a logical outcome to gain what they want so desperately and deserve so much: the chance to be free to live like normal, care-free people. 

I can’t say for certain that they achieve that. The drama is serious in consequences and, at the end, the net around them is drawing tighter and tighter. I won’t spoil the ending scene for you, because I highly encourage you watch this drama yourself but I will say this: Ji-soo and Gyu-ri seem stuck in an impossible situation with nowhere to go, and no one to help them, with a clock ticking down towards either death or discovery by the police. 

But, all the same, I’m always the optimist. They’ve gotten through situations like this before and they can certainly do so again. Maybe not as bad as this one, but not too far out of their league. And, like I mentioned before, Gyu-ri doesn’t like to lose. Especially when it comes to Ji-soo. 

Their relationship is truly dangerous, as Ji-soo himself notes. Them being together is the source of their problems; they’re too much alike now, as opposed to the beginning of the drama where he stated that they’re too different. Their love is the kind of love where both of them are willing to burn the whole world down if it means keeping each other safe. 

I’m a real sucker for those kind of love stories. No one’s a hero here. They’re just kids in high school, doing the best with what they know. 

Who are we to judge what is right and wrong? Especially when the one committing the acts are high school kids who don’t know any better and just want to save each other? 

Do we have that right? 

Do they really deserve that punishment? Shouldn’t we be pointing fingers at the society that forced them to act this way? 

Extracurricular really makes you think about that. Is it really so outlandish and terrible what Ji-soo and Gyu-ri do to survive when the adults who are supposed to be protecting them, teaching them better, have failed in their duty? 

Maybe they really did win at the end. Not so much in succeeding in their goals but in gaining something that not even regular people are likely to find - a partner, a soulmate, someone who will stand by you no matter what. 

If you do watch the ending, and are not an optimist like I am, then all I can say is this: whatever happened, they were together at the end. 

They were together. 

[miraculousluvbug]

WINGLESS | Ch. 2

***WARNING: Season 4 Spoilers Ahead

***New to Wingless? Start at Chapter 1!

CH. SUMMARY: Of all the people Rena could let slip that she knows Ladybug's identity in front of . . . it had to be Chat Noir.

< < < THREE MONTHS AGO < < <

Ladybug swung from building to building, the exhilaration of a job well done fueling the fire in her veins. Traffic it would seem had resumed immediately, the sounds of wheels on pavement and cars obnoxiously honking ricocheting throughout the city’s architecture. This didn’t surprise Ladybug, seeing as the city had grown quite accustomed to akumas blocking the roads. Once the tips of her toes touched a rooftop, it wasn’t long before she was joined by another pair of boots.

“That went well,” commented Ladybug as she swiveled to face her teammate.

Rena Rouge folded her arms across her chest and popped a hip, lips puckered in a frown. “Are you kidding, girl?”

Ladybug’s face fell. No, she wasn’t kidding. She honestly had felt it went well. Was she missing something? Did a disaster strike while she was focused on her lucky charm? Had her Miraculous ladybugs not corrected all of the damage? Were there civilians hurt somewhere--

Abruptly, Rena clapped her hands on Ladybug’s shoulders and squealed, putting a halt to Ladybug’s internal meltdown. “That went amazing! We’re like a well-oiled machine, you and me. I still can’t believe I get to do superhero stuff!” At the sound of Alya’s impromptu shrieking, some pigeons nearby took flight, cooing what Ladybug imagined was a bird version of crotchety old people grumbling. Not even the least bit deterred, Rena leaned forward into Ladybug’s personal bubble, eyes wide with excitement. “But what I really can’t believe is that I’m doing it all with my best friend!”

Ladybug relaxed her posture and let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding. But she quickly regretted it when she got a nice, big whiff of crepes, urine, and cigarette smoke. Ah, Paris. Home, sweet home. However, noticing her thoughts were veering dangerously offtrack, Ladybug shook herself mentally.

So nothing had gone wrong. Rena was just being Rena and drawing out the suspense. Ladybug patted her friend’s right hand--which was still firmly squeezing her shoulder--and smiled sweetly.

“It sure is convenient that I don’t have to hide from you anymore,” the spotted-heroine remarked. “I think half the time I took so long to get to a battle because I always had to come up with excuses.”

Rena grinned with a knowing glint in her eye. “I might be impressed if your excuses were actually good.”

Rolling her eyes, Ladybug turned away from Rena, causing Rena’s hands to fall to her sides. “Hey, you try having to come up with five hundred different reasons you have to flake on your friends and see if you fare any better.”

Rena was about to sass her best friend some more, but the words caught in her throat at the sight of Ladybug hugging herself. She recognized this stance. Ladybug’s head was in what Rena deemed the “Guilt Grotto.”

Rena stepped forward to wrap Ladybug in a warm, girl-you-better-get-your-head-out-of-the-guilt-grotto-or-I’ll-tickle-you embrace when there was movement across the rooftops in her periphery. She craned her head to the right to find the familiar silhouette of Chat Noir vaulting his way over, a goofy grin clearly plastered across his face the closer he got.

In a matter of seconds, he landed squarely beside Ladybug, startling her. Ladybug, the epitome of grace that she was, did a series of awkward hand gestures before falling back on her bum, shrieking.

Chat Noir didn’t even look a teeny bit remorseful.

“Looks like I got here just in time!” he quipped, bowing and sliding his baton back into place on his suit.

Rena held out a hand for her friend as Ladybug voiced her question: “In time for what?”

Chat bounced on the balls of his feet. “Well, for the akuma, of course! You guys were having a quick team meeting, right?”

Rena and Ladybug shared a look. So that’s what he was so happy about. Ladybug opened her mouth to reply, but Rena beat her to it.

“Actually, we already took care of the akuma.”

Chat Noir visibly deflated. His ears drooped and his belt tail started to swish back and forth. “Oh.” He turned to the edge of the rooftop and hunkered down, letting his legs kick to and fro in an attempt to get rid of some of the adrenaline.

Ladybug winced. Chat did not sound happy. Hesitantly, she sat next to him. Rena then took a seat beside her, making her the middle. “Sorry, Chat. I know you like battling akumas more than I do.”

Chat nodded before murmuring, “Thirteen.”

“Hm?” Ladybug scooted closer to him to hear him better, their legs nearly touching. She leaned to her right to get a better look at his face and tilted her head innocently. If she were Marinette then, she might have fallen off the rooftop altogether, but she was Ladybug, and Ladybug had way more poise.

Chat didn’t answer immediately. Whatever it was that he was about to say, Ladybug knew it must be something important if he, the guy who was always upfront about his feelings, found it difficult to say. The guy who told her . . .

It’s precisely when something is important that it’s important to say it.

No matter what.

Ladybug gingerly rested a hand on his arm, hoping he understood what the gesture meant. It’s okay. Take your time. I’m ready to listen.

After a few more moments of staring at his feet, Chat Noir lifted his head so his eyes bore into Ladybug’s. They creased with . . . Was that worry? Sadness? Fear?

“Thirteen,” he repeated, a bit louder. “That makes it thirteen times you and Rena have battled an akuma without me. Since Montparnasse Tower.”

Ladybug was speechless. As she stared ahead, eyes unfocused, she tried her hardest to recall all the akuma battles. It was challenging as her memory loved to fail her when she needed it most. Had he really not been in any of those battles? Had it really been thirteen times?

Had he . . . had he really been keeping count?

Ladybug didn’t know what to say, but she knew she had to say something, anything. But what could she say? Was she sorry?

No, she couldn’t be sorry that the akumas had been defeated, that the victims had been rescued, that she had been able to do so quickly because Alya had been spending a record amount of hours by her side.

She couldn’t be sorry about any of that. She was only sad that he felt sidelined.

That was not her intention.

But she knew what the solution to that was.

And she would rather die before she let Chat Blanc see the light of day.

Somehow, knowing her identity had led to him being akumatized. Somehow, whether it was in an alternate timeline or when their memories had been wiped by Oblivio, she knew that what he said at Montparnasse Tower--that to know him was to love him--was truth. And Chat Blanc had told her what their love did.

Their love destroyed the world.

Their love had killed her.

Their love broke the moon, for crying out loud.

But, most importantly, their love hurt him.

Chat Noir had told her he loved her, many times, and she had even been considering giving his pun-spurting, jokes-at-the-worst-times self a chance. But being forced into combat with her akumatized partner had violently squashed any hope she had for them, for LadyNoir as Alya coined it on her blog. Ladybug would be damned if she allowed that to happen again. And if that meant encouraging him to move on even though it broke her heart . . .

Well, it wasn’t supposed to be easy being a hero.

Ladybug had this entire conversation with herself in a matter of seconds. She was careful not to let her face expose any of her innermost feelings, instead sporting an expression of neutrality. What she ultimately decided to do was tell him the only truth she had to offer. He hated secrets and she hated lying. What a pair they made.

“I wish it could be different,” she whispered.

And oh, how she did. She desperately yearned to tell him who she was, to know who he was, to tell him about Alya and Nino and all the other people she had entrusted with a Miraculous.

She wanted him to know how she grew up, what kinds of things she did at school, how she was utterly ridiculous when it came to her rotten luck (and she tried very hard to push a certain blue-eyed blonde out of her head the moment that phrase came to mind). She was sure he would snicker at all the times she made a fool of herself in front of Adrien, of all the ways she made her own life a living hell with her clumsiness.

Or perhaps he wouldn’t laugh. Perhaps he would pat her shoulder and uplift her with words of encouragement. She didn’t know. After the stunt he pulled with the balcony of candle-lit roses, the boy was a wild card, an enigma. He was complex.

And it thrilled her.

But no matter how she felt about him, they couldn’t know each other that way.

Sighing quietly, Ladybug brought her knees up to her chest and turned away from Chat Noir. If she had been watching him when she responded, she might have seen him look longingly at her, but she didn’t.

Rena Rouge did, though.

Wanting to make her friends feel better, Rena added, “Don’t you worry your pretty kitty head about it. I’m sure all those battles would have taken way longer if we weren’t already together.”

Ladybug and Chat Noir both stiffened. Chat’s gaze flicked from Rena to his partner over and over before they finally rested on Ladybug. “Uh, what does she mean by that?”

Ladybug shot a glare in Rena’s direction, but her eyes softened when she saw that Rena genuinely appeared surprised.

He didn’t know? Rena’s eyes asked Ladybug.

He didn’t know, Ladybug’s affirmed.

One would think Rena was Lady Luck because her pendant had decided that that moment was the best time to beep, and she couldn’t agree more. Now she had an escape route from this conversation. “Welp,” she clapped her hands together, “I’m gonna go chill in that fine-lookin’ alley over there.”

Before Ladybug could agree, Rena sprang from her spot and promptly disappeared. She was a regular magician, and her latest trick was leaving Ladybug with a rabbit to put back in the hat.

Or, er--a cat back in the bag. Whatever.

“What she meant by that . . . ” Ladybug began slowly, like she was addressing a wounded animal. Which, maybe she was but just, you know, emotionally wounded.

“Yeah . . . ” prompted Chat, signalling that he was not going to drop this.

Ladybug quickly jumped to her feet and began her ritual of frantic pacing. “Look, I’ve been wanting to tell you this for a while, but I didn’t know how to because I knew it would raise questions that I couldn’t answer--”

A blonde boy in white leather with somber blue eyes appeared in front of her and she dug her heels into the cement, skidding to a stop.

Chat Noir was behind Ladybug now, his voice soft and curious. “Bug?”

Ladybug was frozen in place for a few more seconds before she shook her head hard enough to give herself shaken-baby syndrome and nodded, satisfied that the aggressive head-shaking had rid her of he who shall not be named. She whipped around and started.

Chat Noir was incredibly close.

She didn’t know he had gotten this close.

Geez, his eyes were really cat-like.

He also had a really cute nose--

Ladybug, FOCUS!

Ladybug took a step back. She made it her mission to ogle his bell instead of looking into his dumb kitten eyes. “You--” she began, but Ladybug’s throat was suddenly dry. She gulped. “You know how much I hate secrets and lying. And I know how much you hate secrets and lying. So I’m not going to lie to you. But I may not be able to answer the questions I’m sure you’ll have, so please . . . ”

Ladybug grabbed one of his hands then and held it firmly between her own, pleading with every fiber of her being that this would communicate how much he meant to her even though she knew what she was about to tell him would make it seem like he didn’t mean anything.

Please forgive me, Ladybug’s heart supplied.

When he didn’t immediately take his hand back, she looked up at him. She looked into those dumb kitten eyes and knew without a shadow of a doubt--

She was a masochist.

This was going to hurt. He didn’t like when she was the only one to know Rena’s identity. He definitely wasn’t going to like that Rena knew hers. This would be so much easier if she wasn’t ogling those big, emerald green, beautiful, brazenly dumb kitten eyes.

But she was a masochist. And she needed to see them while they still held love for her.

“I told Rena Rouge who I am.”

There. She ripped off the band-aid. Straight to the point. Zero room for interpretation. After all, her worst arguments started because of her clumsy miscommunication.

Ladybug braced herself for an explosion. She had played this moment in her head a couple hundred times since exposing herself to Alya.

Yelling. There was always yelling.

Sometimes, he stomped away while doing that weird T pose where his fists didn’t connect to his hips . . . a pose she herself was guilty of, too.

Others, he chastised her about her thoughtlessness--to which she responded that she definitely thought about it long and hard that day.

Ladybug braced herself for an explosion because she was sure there was going to be one, especially after seeing him upset about her always running off to Master Fu. He hadn’t even known there was a Guardian for a while.

What she hadn’t braced herself for was the expression on his face.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

His head was bowed.

His eyes were closed.

A lone tear slid down his cheek.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

Her heart thudded against her ribcage, screaming at her to run because he wanted her Miracul--!

No! She refused to finish that thought.

Her head yelled back that he wasn’t akumatized right now, that she wasn’t back there, that she wasn’t with him. She desperately tried to shove the image from her mind. This was more than she could bear. She just--she couldn’t take it! She couldn’t take it because . . .

Because . . .

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

Because he looked just like him.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

He looked like Chat Blanc.

-----

Heya! Thanks for reading. ❤ Check out my Instagram for Wingless updates. I'm also posting pieces of a Wingless cover with each chapter update!

(2/?) Previous | Next

[multific]

Beyond Houses

Fred Weasley x Slytherin!Reader

Summary: You had enough of the labels! Why can’t your best friend be a Hufflepuff, and why can’t you be madly in love with a certain ginger Gryffindor? 

A/N: GIF’s not mine, credit goes to its owner.

When your studies at Hogwarts began, you actually quite liked the idea of the four houses. They gave a nice aesthetic and you were sure you were in the company of people whom were similar to you.

However as the years passed you began to notice a few things.

You made friends easily, one girl, Nora who was in Hufflepuff was very close to you. You and her always went to classes together and had a lot of fun.

However when other people in Slytherin noticed you hanging out with her, they behaved like she was the enemy. You couldn’t understand why.

“Slytherin are too good for Hufflepuff.” one of the boys said.

From that day on, you hated the group. They were worse than Malfoy. Thinking they were all mighty and great because of the colours they wore and house they were in.

Little do they know that in the outside word, Hogwarts houses mean nothing.

Of course, you continued being friends with Nora. You chose your friend and would do that again.

The group however didn’t like that you ignored their warnings. In just about a few days, every person in Slytherin treated you like an outsider.

But they didn’t break you.

You were proud to be a Slytherin, however you didn’t want to be like them, close-minded. 

But the biggest shock to you was when you realized that it wasn’t just that group, other houses were the same. Gryffindor didn’t like to hang out with Slytherin, a girl rejected a boy because he was in Slytherin while she was in Ravenclaw. 

Of course, there were people who didn’t care about that. Thankfully, those were the majority, however those other cases truly confused you.

And then, it happened to you.

Your eyes were caught by a certain red-head in the Great Hall. Both you and Fred were in year six at the time. The first spark, and it ignited a fire in you.

Nora was thrilled that you finally had a crush. She thought you might not be interested in dating, so when this happened, she already had five plans on how to get you and Fred together.

Especially since it was the Triwizard Tournament, the opportunities were endless.

The only real problem was his twin, George, who was always with him.

“My plan is bullet proof, Y/N. I bet by the end he will even ask you to the dance!” she said, clearly super excited. “All we need now is to get George out of the way. I will ask him to come with me and help me with something and in the meantime, you go over there and score! Now, which one is which?” Nora asked as she looked at you.

You looked over to the two guys who were talking on a bench.

“Fred is on the right, George is on the left.” you didn’t know how, but you could tell them apart, it was a skill you were proud of. You trusted Nora, and you were sitting on your crush for months now, so it was time to act.

Nora easily got George away. Although Fred did try and go with her, she refused. So, there he was sitting on the bench alone, waiting for his brother to come back. 

It was your time to shine.

You let out a long sigh and walked out from behind the pillar, making it look like you just came around the corner. You took the steps down, however slipped on the last.

You tried to keep your balance, but you ended up falling. You were more surprised and embarrassed than hurt. 

“Are you okay?” you head Fred’s voice as he grabbed your arm and helped you up.

“I’m fine, thank you. These damn stairs are so slippery.” you said looking up at him. He laughed a little and helped you to sit on a bench.

“Well, yeah. During our first year George fell too. Thankfully you weren’t hurt.”

“Yeah. Speaking of which, where is your other half?”

“Oh, he went to help Nora with something. She said something about needing someone tall.”

“I see. So, you are all alone? If you want to we could go and have something to eat?” you didn’t know where the courage came from to ask him, but you did.

However the grimace he made, told you everything you needed to know. He will make up an excuse.

“Sorry, but I rather wait for George, I said I would be here.”

“Oh, no problem. Maybe another time?” This is when you noticed people coming and he stood up very quickly.

“Another time.” he said to you before he rushed to sit two benches away from you.

You were completely rejected, and you knew why. It wasn’t you, it was your house.

“I though you would be different you know.” you said a bit louder as you looked at him once the people have passed. You didn’t want to give them a show. Fred looked at you with round eyes. “Everyone is so judgmental, I thought you would be better. You rejected my idea because I’m Slytherin right?” Fred’s mouth opened but no sound came out. “It’s okay, I know I’m the idiot here. Having a crush on a Gryffindor... I just...Ugh, forget it,” you said as you stood up and left. You rushed back to your room and stayed in bed all day.

***

The fact that you were rejected hurt.

It hurt more than you thought it would. You hoped that Fred would see more than just houses. You hoped that he would see you and not Slytherin. Unfortunately, you were wrong.

You didn’t want to leave your room the next day, but you knew better than to not attend Snape’s class.

The whole day went on normal, you ignored everyone especially Fred as you and Nora enjoyed the day.

“We should go shopping. A new store opened at Hogsmeade and I saw some amazing new scarf and thing!”

“Sounds fun.” you said as you two left. You were unaware of a certain boy’s eyes that followed you, filled with regret. 

***

You had an amazing afternoon with Nora.

“The Ball is tomorrow! Can you believe it! I still can’t believe Steve asked me!” Steve was a Ravenclaw, very smart guy, one of the people who didn’t care about houses and he obviously had a crush on Nora for a long time now.  Meanwhile you will go with a fellow Slytherin guy who asked you out just today. 

You decided that this Yule Ball was the worst possible thing you ever participated in.

As it turned out, the guy who asked you to go with him wanted you to go with him so his ex would get jealous, not because he liked you. And in addition, you got to see everyone having fun, while you sat in the corner of the room, mopping.

Well, at least Nora was having an amazing time. 

Just as you decided to go back to your room, your eyes locked with Fred’s. It was only a second before you looked away and stood up. Just as you did, Hermione rushed out of the room, sobbing. You looked back, but no one was following him.

You found her on the bottom of the stairs.

“Are you okay?” you asked, “Silly questions, sorry. Look, I don’t know who broke your heart. But, my grandma always told me not to cry over any man. They are not worth it, the only man who worth the tears is the one you will call, son.” you offered her a kind simple before heading up the stairs. 

“Y/N,” you heard your name being yelled. You recognized the voice and against your better judgement, you stopped and looked at Fred.

“Hi Fred,” you said looking right into his eyes.

“I realize I behaved like a bloody moron the last time we spoke. It was just like you said. But I should know better that to judge people like that. You opened my eyes, I would like to apologize and to ask you on a date.”

You weren’t expecting him to be so upfront about this. But you sure didn’t mind that he wasn’t wasting your time. 

“Umm. I don’t know if I should believe you. Is this a prank?” you asked looking around, trying to see if anyone was there but the hallway was empty besides you and Fred.

“No, no prank. I’m serious. And before you think I’m only doing this to help my guilt, yeah, partially, but I also do like you. I had a crush on you since second year.”

You squinted your eyes, trying to see if he was joking or not, but you decided to give him a chance.

“Fine. Tomorrow, meet me at the Great Hall, let’s have lunch together.”

“Perfect! Thank you so much.” he rushed and gave you a hug. He tried to pull back but you didn’t let him go. This is when you noticed just how much taller he was compared to you.

After a few minutes he started swaying the two of you, the music from the Ball could be heard faintly.

“You are beautiful in this dress.”

“You don’t look too bad either.” you said with a smile and a little blush, still swaying in his arms as you hugged his torso, listening to his heart beat.

This was the exact moment you could finally feel free, free of houses, free of labels and in love.

You just knew, finally your life can begin, with Fred Weasley.

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[horansqueen]

could u make one where y/n is Niall's assistant and they don't like each other but have common friends and they go to a club together with their friends and Niall get's jealous when a guy hits on y/n and she asks him why and he starts kissing her and ends with saying that's why lol

request from @cursedlover !!! FLUFF! with a bit of inappropriate touching at the end but nothing dirty. 2k. hope you enjoy!!

"You're so annoying, you're so fucking annoying!" I thought as I looked at my boss, squeezing my jaw to make sure the words wouldn't escape my lips.

I knew it was just a difference of personalities and that he wasn't really as annoying as I felt. After all, everyone seemed to love him except me and perhaps that proved I was wrong about him. I could just resign and get a job somewhere else, i knew it, but there was clearly no way I would find a job that paid that well. I was not sure it made out for the clash of personalities Niall and I went through but for money I desperately needed, I could manage to stay a couple more weeks, right?

"Yea, no problem, I'll do it." I replied with a smile, knowing perfectly it was hard for me to hide my irritation.

All my friends said I was like an open book and hiding my feelings was not an easy task but I tried very hard when I was around Niall. I sighed of relief as soon as I stepped foot out of his apartment as if I had been holding my breath the whole time. I started walking to my car just as my phone rang and I groaned of displeasure when I thought it could be him calling to ask me something else.

"Hello?"

"Y/N, you sound grumpy!" I heard my friend on the other line.

"I thought it was Niall." I explained, sitting in front of the wheel and leaning my head against the bench. "He's so annoying, Jay, I don't know how long I'll be able to handle it."

Jay was actually the link between Niall and I. He was the one who found me the job and I was really grateful to him, but I didn't know who Niall was and now I wish I didn't know.

"It's better than minimum wage in a retail store." Jay pointed out, making me raise my nose in a grimace. "Besides, Niall's an amazing guy, you're just being rude because he's exactly like you."

"Is that how you expect me to say yes to the favor you're about to ask?" I wondered, raising my eyebrows even if he couldn't see me.

"How do you-"

"I know you!" I cut him, my voice getting slightly louder. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm actually just calling to invite you tonight. We're going to a bar and you should come, I can hear in your voice that you need it."

I sighed again and closed my eyes, my head still leaned against the bench. "I was actually thinking about watching Netflix in bed."

"Oh come on!"

"No seriously, after spending the day with Niall Horan, I need to relax and clear my head."

---

I don't know how I ended up agreeing to it but when I entered the bar, I immediately regretted it. The music was loud and the lights hurt my eyes. I let my eyes roam around and my lips curled when I noticed Jay , standing up next to a table with a bunch of our friends. I walked up to the quickly, making my way through all the people in the bar, but when I was close enough, Jay moved slightly and my smile fell. Niall was there, laughing his head off, and something twisted in my stomach. It took him a few seconds to notice me since I had stopped moving and when our eyes met, his smile fell. I breathed in and turned quickly on my heels, ready to get out of this place as fast as I could until I felt two hands on my upper arms, holding me gently.

"Hey, you promised, remember?"

I sighed again, closing my eyes as Jay's hand slid down my arms. I had, indeed, promised to be there, and I was mad at myself for that. I turned around and shook my head, looking up in his eyes.

"You didn't mention he would be here."

"Oh come on, Y/N, get to know him okay? I swear he's a cool guy."

I glanced at the table behind my friend and noticed everyone was talking and laughing except Niall. He was staring at me and I licked my lips nervously.

"Okay."

I joined everyone at the table and ended up sitting right in front of my boss. It was not the kind of friday night I expected and I felt constantly checked. It scared me that if I did something that would bother him, he could just fire me for the sake of it, and I hated it. I could feel his eyes on me from time to time, burning the side of my face, and for some odd reason, it made my heart skip a few beats. If he was anyone but my boss, i would ask him what the fuck was his problem, but no one asks their boss that, no matter how much they stare, right?

After a while, I got up and walked to the bar to order a drink and leaned against it until someone did the same next to me, catching my attention. I glanced at them but realized I didn't know him and finally sent him a small and polite smile before grabbing my drink and leaving a bill on the counter. I turned around to go back to my friends but he followed me and I swallowed hard.

"Hey, I'm sorry for being so upfront but, would you want to dance?"

My eyes scanned the dance floor for a few seconds before meeting his again. "I'm not so much of a dancer."

It was sort of a lie, I actually liked to dance but not with someone I didn't know. He was cute and I could probably be interested, but I was too emotionally frustrated at the moment to start anything with anyone, even if only something that would last one night.

"Can I buy you a drink then?" he asked again as we stood next to my table.

"I mean..." My hand gripped the glass in my hand and I pressed my lips together. "I'll let you know when I finish this one?"

His lips curled and he nodded, pointing the table a bit further with his chin. "I'll be sitting there with friends, whenever you feel like it."

I nodded and sent him a small smile and he winked at me, turning his head back to look at me on his way to his own friends. I chuckled and tilted my head, remaining motionless for a few seconds and after a while, I sat back next to Jay.

"You're not gonna let that arsehole shag you, right?"

My heart jumped in my chest when I recognized Niall's voice and when our eyes met, I noticed he was frowning. I could have sworn he was angry and it surprised me more than I thought.

"I don't see how it's any of your business." I quickly replied, feeling suddenly slightly guilty for the way I was talking to my boss. After a few seconds, though, the guilt disappeared. Just because Niall was my boss didn't mean he could tell me who In can and can not have sex with. I was off at the moment and I was allowed to do anything I wanted. "You don't have a say in who I shag."

His lips parted and his eyebrows raised. Clearly, he was not used in the way I was talking to him and he scoffed low. It didn't seem rude though, just slightly surprised. He didn't expect me to be rough with him but I could swear I had seen a small smile on his lips for half a second.

"Please, don't tell me he's the kind of guy that turns you on."

"What if he is?" I asked daringly, raising my chin up. "What would you do about it?"

I glanced at his hands as he gripped his beer more and my lips parted. Was he mad? Pissed? Annoyed? I shook my head a bit, telling myself I shouldn't even care about what Niall Horan thought anyway, and got up again, taking quickly the direction of the bathroom.

"Wait, Y/N!"

I looked behind me and frowned when I noticed Niall following me and finally rolled my eyes, turning around in the deserted hall before crossing my arms on my chest.

"What?"

"I just don't think... I don't think this guy likes you for the good reasons."

"Look, Niall, I'm not expecting to date anyone I meet here. Sometimes, people just want to fuck, and it's okay too." I explained a bit condescendingly. "Why do you even care who I fuck?"

I held my breath when he suddenly bent down, crashing his mouth against mine. I thought I'd be tempted to push him away but the way his lips pressed on mine made me feel dizzy. He took a step closer and my back hit the wall gently as his lips parted mine. He tasted amazing and I couldn't help but let out a low whimper. He swallowed it, kissing me deeper and my hands found the front of his shirt, gripping it tight. When he broke the kiss, he brushed his lips gently on mine and a shiver crossed my back as my eyes fluttered open.

"That's why."

"Mm, no." I let out in a whisper, shaking my head lightly. "No, you get on my nerves, and I know I get on yours, too."

"You get on my nerves because I can't stop thinking about you." he admitted in a murmur. "That's so fucking annoying. I just can't fire you, and at the same time, I can't handle myself when you're near. So I try to be rude to you. I hoped it would make me like you less."

"And how's that working for you?"

This time, his lips curled and he chuckled, making me smile too. "Clearly not good." he confessed, moving his face away as his eyes roamed on mine. "I never thought I'd have feelings for my assistant. I guess it's useless to try and deny it, now."

I tilted my head, suddenly endeared by the man that annoyed me the most only a few minutes before. "Then embrace it."

Slowly, he moved closer and leaned his forehead against mine. "Okay."

My eyes fluttered close again when he got near me and I moved my chin up until my mouth reached his again. I never thought my heart could beat that hard inside my chest, so hard that it was threatening to jump out. His hands slid from my shoulders to my arms and when he gripped my waist, I held my breath.

"I really want you." he whispered, pressing his body against mine.

I had to swallow hard when I felt him push his half-hard cock against my thigh and let out a low "Fuck." under my breath.

"I just don't want to go too fast." he whispered as I felt one of his hand move up on my stomach and brush against one of my breasts. "I want to do this right. I want to bring you on a date, get to the who you really are, and take my time to fall so deeply in love with you that I can never fall out of it."

"You're doing very good."

He smiled more and chuckled, kissing my lips gently. "Do you want to try?"

I couldn't believe what was happening and at the same time, it was not really surprising that all this annoyance towards each other was hiding something else. It was so obvious now that I had liked him since day one and just didn't want to admit it to myself.

"Yes."

[regrettablewritings]

I’ve been in an Arthur Curry kind of mood lately so let’s see your take on Arthur for the General section of the headcanons

I think Big Boy’s been in our heads ever since Jason snapped the other day over WB’s bullshit 👀👀👀

Who initiated the relationship, and how did it go?: It didn’t exactly get initiated so much as you guys sort of . . . fell into it. Neither one really noticed when the talking turned into actual conversing with one another, or when the conversing began to include you two inching closer, or when that started to include the both of you meeting up at a bar or taking walks or going to the beach to relax and so on. Arthur’s kind of thick-headed in that regard, the realization hitting him one day that what the both of you were doing could technically be qualified as dating. Hell, it wasn’t even so much as a hit as it was a nudge in his brain that made him take a pause as he drank his beer, glance at you as your eyes skimmed the grill menu, and think to himself, Oh, shit. Guess we’re datin’ now. And then take another swig. You never corrected him when he referred to you as his significant other around other people, either, so it’s safe to assume it works for you two knuckleheads.

Did they have an official first date? If so, what was it like?: As stated before, you two kind of stumbled into dating the same way someone who keeps walking in New York will eventually stumble into a bodega. If you wanna play it loose, then the first time you guys went on what could be considered a date was when Arthur dragged you to a taco truck he and Barry had tried out the other day. To his credit, it was a pretty kickass taco, and you were more than happy to admit that as the two of you sat down and people-watched, with him occasionally working the water in the nearby fountain to take the form of random shapes or funny scenarios. When it finally clicked that the two of you were an item, there was more or less a feeling that you should probably do an official outing just to make sure you were “doing this right”, whatever that meant. It took a bit of “conversing”, but eventually Arthur pulled a few strings (read: Convinced Bruce to land him a reservation at one of the best restaurants in town) and, well . . . It definitely could’ve been worse. Arthur has definite home-training, but fancy establishments just aren’t his cup of tea. He honestly had more fun making the wine in everyone’s glasses make little whirlpools, or having the still-alive lobsters climb out of the tank and “mysteriously disappear.” Suffice to say, maybe the first “date” really was the date done right. It also suffices to say that Bruce never pulls a favor like that for Arthur again: the next time y’all want a date somewhere exclusive, you have to be the one to do the talking.

What was their first kiss like?: Hot. Passionate. Hard. Wet. (God this sounds pervy.) When I say “hot”, I mean temperature-wise: Arthur runs hot, so his lips can feel almost searing when he’s really feeling a mood. The passionate and hard are given traits, considering that that’s just how Arthur does this: Never half-assed, always a full and complete 110%. And as for wet . . . Don’t worry, it’s not because he’s a sloppy kisser. It was because the first kiss the both of you ever shared happened to be after he returned from a mission. It wasn’t an especially life-or-death type of experience, mind you, but that didn’t make it any less nerve-wrecking for you since it considered him pulling an entire cruise ship to port. But the thrill of seeing your boyfriend succeed and be a hero quickly filled you, to the point where it was quite evident in your features when the soggy boy came home. Maybe he felt the need to bathe in that praise before even bathing himself. Or maybe he thought you looked so puppy-like that he just had to plant one on you. But whatever the case was, you got your first kiss of the relationship in the living room of Aquaman’s place. With him smelling like the water and everything that was in it. . . . Well, at least he was hot dripping wet, no?

Were they each other’s first anything (kiss, relationship, etc.)?: Well, if you really want to stretch it, you’re the first human he’s dated since being revealed to the world as Aquaman. Things with Mera . . . didn’t work out, but she does unfortunately hold the title as first to date him period. But as an Atlantean, there are just some things the human world’s got her beat on: Like the fact that it has you.

What’s their height difference? Age difference?: Soooo . . . Arthur Curry is 6′4″. Make of that what you will. Do the same with the age he’s approximated to be if you’d like.

What’s their relationship with each other’s families?: If you still keep in contact wit your family, they’re both amazed and thrown off by the fact that you’re dating the Aquaman: He’s a superhero, he’s an underwater king, he’s a member of the Justice League, he knows Batman, and, oh yeah, he’s hella fine. If you ever bring Arthur around your family, they’re definitely going to want to take photos or have him show them feats of his strength. He’s more than happy to drink any drunkles or cousins under the table, and gleefully lets younger kids dangle from his arms like he’s a living jungle gym. (Frankly, he prefers interactions with younger members of your family since they’re innocent and generally more upfront yet less nosy.) Thomas and Atlanna adore you, being ever so proud of their son for finally being with someone who looks like they’ll stick around for the long haul. Thomas is more than happy to share with you silly stories of what Arthur used to do growing up, and Atlanna just pretty much wants to hear everything about you. Given that she’s missed out on most of her son’s love lives, she wants to be very aware of you and familiarize herself with you. They welcome you back to Amnesty Bay any time. If they think Arthur is shirking on his boyfriendly duties, they are not afraid to get on him about it.

Who takes the lead in social situations?: Arthur, most definitely. He’s not even the most confrontational person, he doesn’t necessarily seek out situations to take the lead on. But when you’re a 6′4″ wall of muscle and a fairly recognizable metahuman superhero, people sort of wind up looking to you for answers. He’s more than happy to let you take the lead, however.

Who gets jealous easier?: A little bit you, but honestly neither of you are particularly the jealous type. The only reason I could venture to say you is because you have yourself quite a catch, no pun intended: Tall, handsome, heroic, a literal king, smart, kind . . . Everyone wants a piece of the Aquaman, and you can’t fight them all off. The good news is that you don’t have to: In spite of his party boy image, Arthur knows about dedication and loyalty in a relationship. As messed up as their relationship was in some regards, Arthur very much respects his parents’ union and, deep down, hopes for something even half as good as what they had. And he already knows he’s not about to get it from just any old random person trying to cop a feel of his biceps. So it’s perfectly safe to say that Arthur’s ghostly eyes are only ever for you. Though . . . it couldn’t hurt just to hang on his arm. Just to let people know, y’know?

Thanks for sendin’ in this request, I forgot it can be fun to write for this rascal!

[indigosprite]

In another ask, you shared your thoughts on why you didn’t like 6996 etc. do you think 2795 share the same problem? I think while Tsuna and Kyoko doesn’t seem as weird as 6996 on the surface upon further speculation and reading works where Kyoko becomes this bamf vongola tenth wife who does anything for Tsuna, it sort of treads the same vibe as Chrome and Mukuro in some way. Idk I just want to hear your thoughts on maybe 2795 and maybe 2786 as well.

Hi hi

Had to search these because I literally did not have any ships for this show until I rewatched it and just merged my favorite characters into one pair that happened to be a ship. I  forget the others exist...With that being said, take this with a grain of salt because I honestly don’t even think about these ships a lot, forget they even exist. How KHR was written will always make the the very idea of Tsuna with any of the female characters feel weird or odd unless you’ve managed to read or create enough Fanon that changes your characterization of the original dynamic. I don’t think they share the same problem but maybe a similar one ? Tsuna and any female character compared to Mukuro and Chrome is very different in my opinion. (funnily enough it’s also because Mukuro isn’t a misogynist shsjsjsj) 6996 could work, they actually have a relationship that’s very personal to both parties and unlike 2795 they’re both aware of it and have a distinct unique connection with each other that consists of shared interests trust and mutual respect. it’s just odd to think about because chrome looks up to Mukuro and the power imbalance feels weird, he’s literally keeping her alive. (Which I know is disgustingly sweet I find it very heartwarming. )

2795 is this one sided crush with zero redeeming qualities. There was nothing remotely romantic or intriguing happening between Tsuna and Kyoko the entire series. If we took out Tsuna’s inner thoughts we honestly would’ve thought she was just this nice girl he knows from school. If we took out Tsuna’s thoughts in general and left it up to the fandom pulling this ship out of their butts it would honestly be 1000% cuter. All their interactions read like

“this girl is so lovely I really like her and she’s talking to me that’s amazing”

“Thanks for the pencil. Do your best on the test okay?”

I’m not swooning over the most lackluster interactions on the planet because he is over romanticizing it. Even the reason why he likes her is not that interesting or convincing. Which I mean I get it he’s only 14 he’s not thinking about all the small stuff like emotional support or validation or like not wanting to be alone etc. It’s still just you’re pretty let’s be happy all the time while you hold my hand forever. He deserves that he’s literally a kid. but even when i was younger i didn’t see it between them ever. On top of their interactions being boring they never give us things that make you go “oh wait she might actually like him hmmm” . they could have tried a little harder to make it a little more romantic? sometimes they show us Kyoko in a pink background hands clasped surrounded by hearts and I forget she’s supposed to be viewed in that light. I forget we’re supposed to actually consider her liking him too but what are we supposed to think Kyoko is looking for in a guy that makes Tsuna a possibility when she doesn't exist past eating cake and worrying about her brother and Tsuna. I think it’s also fair to note that they never imply that Tsuna actually thinks about her beyond his image of her but we see how caring he is with his friends to the point where he can point out their flaws and work through them anyways and accept them. Tsuna realizing Yamamoto was not himself during the Guardians trial is a perfect example of this, it establishes the relationship they built with one another. another example is Tsuna acknowledging that Gokudera is overwhelming and short tempered but he wouldn’t trade the guy for anyone because he is loyal and a good friend.  he cares for Kyoko as a person in general but he never reaches that depth when it comes to her. he doesn’t have to either because it’s just a crush, how you manage to take that through the next ten years of his life I honestly don’t know. 

TL;DR : My ONLY problem with 2795 is the fact that there is nothing to work off of but the implication that Tsuna likes this girl and that’s why they are endgame. she matters very little, just a figurehead of his normalcy. she’s written just as badly in fics, can I blame you? no you were probably like 14 writing them. do a lot of people still do this ? yeah so i’m just not interested until the fanon has changed her character for everyone. 

I know I sound super hypocritical because “Sprite what the fuck does 6918 have that’s soooo intriguing they actually canonically hate each other how is that any better.” the answer: Mukuro and Hibari have a more established relationship with mutual feelings than those two, even better they’re actually really strong feelings (of pure hatred). Bonus, despite being aloof both characters also have fully developed personalities and Opinions/Behaviors that we can mold however we please. they actually have a relationship to play around with that's what makes it fun and lets you have those “actually they’re pretty similar in this aspect” because you know shit about both of them individually. 

Now for 2786,,, as i sit here and think about it Haru and Tsuna make so much more sense for all the reasons him and kyoko don’t . 

Kyoko and Haru were already made solely to be Tsuna’s love interests (specifically Kyoko) , but then it went on to be something they didn’t even bother hiding when they reduced their characters and their interests to looking after kids and repeatedly worrying over Tsuna. The reason I don’t find it appealing is because there really wasn’t any dynamic there at all. This boy liked this girl and that’s literally all it was. She has no depth , and despite being written for him nothing about Kyoko screams you’re perfect for this kid. Nothing says, You’re compatible, You have common interests, you two can rely on each other. She was pretty and nice and polite and that’s all they shared along with half the cast. With Haru they went the completely opposite direction, this girl likes him and is upfront about it. she's not a better candidate just because she's not the typical pretty girl whos quiet and polite and caring,(She’s not the better written female character either, this is reborn. they all lose here.) she’s the better candidate because we actually have a personality to compare to Tuna's. she was purposely given this big personality because he was never going to be in love with her because she’s like all the other intruding figures of his life. Again we have this one sided crush, know he doesn’t like her at all but you can actually see where they do go right and wrong. she’s a complete person. 

Haru can handle a little wild in her life, she was the first one to know he would be a mafia boss and it didn’t phase her at all. Tsuna might need that later in life.

In the future when Tsuna finds her crying she tells him not to think her feelings have anything to do with him, completely different dynamic from kyoko whos emotions are always directly related to male characters and what they are doing. 

Haru and her cosplays are so perfectly absurd and she does not care how weird he finds them, she has this big embarrassing trait to her that Tsuna comically responds to but just grows to overlook and accept.  

she actually talks to Tsuna quite a lot and helps him out whenever she can, because he doesn't like her she's allowed to actually exist in his world and he sees her fully because of it. It makes sense to see his significant other who will be involved in the mafia as an asset who he wants to protect and not just...something he needs to protect bc they honestly don't want this.

she interviews the entire cast of the show because haru just fits there, in a yamamoto like way, she can just handle it. 

Tsuna and Haru could have been perfect friends or a couple. they had the grounds for it. it’s just not what he wanted but I can totally see them working out for each other later in life. they make so much sense! i’ll have to think about them more sometime soon. 

Hope I answered you questions, this got long.

[mshermia]

Hi! I really love your story if they knew all about you, and I think you’re an amazing writer! I really admire all the effort you’re putting in it. I recently read a story that is extremely similar to yours, the chapter when Peter gets stabbed and Tony has to stitch him up is basically the same. the name of the story is “a change in what we knew” if you want to check it up. your story is so original and complicated, it’s a shame that somebody is trying to copy your work. i hope you’ll sort it out :)

First of all, thank you so much for reading "If They Knew All About You" and your kind words. It's been really stunning to me with how much affection the story is being received, especially since it is the first one I wrote for the fandom.

Now on the subject of plagiarism

I hadn't heard about the story before, probably because while I still read a lot of IronDad stories, since I started writing my own Bio!Dad story, I rarely read other people's Bio!Dad anymore. (Though I'm sure that will change once I've completed my own.)

My first thought was that this is likely a story that used similar tropes as mine. So I went and checked it out and honestly went from a little irritated to throughly upset the further I read on.

And once I realized how much it riled me up, I got annoyed with myself. After all, this is fanfiction. Fandom is always a balancing act of fair use of someone else's copyrighted material. I didn't invent Tony and Peter or the MCU, or IronDad/Spiderson or Bio!Dad for that matter.

Nobody of us owns tropes and it's important as a fandom to remember that, because we all benefit from each other's creativity with the same characters and even the same settings a lot of the time.

Peter being Tony's biological son who gets kidnapped as an infant is not a trope I came up with. The first time I personally read it was Winterda's story Lost Boy which I'm sure most (if not everyone) who reads IronDad stories is familiar with.

However, that's not where the similarities of the story you mentioned and my own end. I didn't read the story, I only scrolled through it but what I found was the scene you pointed out, Tony stitching up Peter without anesthesia trying to distract him with a story and the connected panic attack when Tony takes Peter's hand and places it on his chest to pull him out of it. The flashback to when Peter was a baby and JARVIS tells Tony that his son is in distress and needs his attention, the argument between Pepper and Tony, when Tony is annoyed and angry asking Pepper if she thinks his reaction is inappropriate to losing his son. All with very similar wording to my own dialogue. Those all ticked me off a bit, but it's the part that Peter in this story is younger than Tony (and Peter) thinks he is, 13 not 15, which is the point where I closed the tab because I was properly upset.

Now, a day later (and after a few rounds of riling myself up and calming myself down again), I realize that the problem is not "stealing ideas". 10 people can use the same ideas and write 10 different stories and the story this person wrote is definitely not my story. This one is an 8 chapter seemingly abandoned take on the same ideas I used while mine is at 79 chapters, more than 420.000 words and 2 and a half years of work.

There's nothing I can do about other people using the same ideas I use and maybe this is a kid who is new to writing and wants to try this out and you know, good for them.

However, I want to use this opportunity to point out this:

Credit is important and goes a long way.

I personally credited Winterda and their story in my own because it was the inspiration for me to write my own take and because it's the right thing to do. It's not a bad thing to use someone else's idea and make it your own, but this is a community, so if you do that, be upfront about it.

There is no doubt in my mind that the person who wrote this story has read mine. There are too many clear similarities.

That's fine, just tell me about it! Hey, if my story made you want to write your own? I see that as an unlocked achievement. That's awesome. It's about lifting each other up and growing as a community.

The way this went, not so much. It has a vibe of doing it behind my back and maybe I'm just sensitive when it comes to this, but I just think it's common courtesy.

Thank you, @sikelyboo for pointing this out to me. I'm not sure if there is anything I can do to "sort this out", but I did want to address it.

[plush-anon]

You worked at joanns? 😍 dream job

In all fairness, a large part (and I do mean a LARGE part) of why I enjoyed working at Joanns were the managers.

The store manager was a guy named Richard, one of maybe two or three men who worked there total, and this man was practically a saint as far as retail goes.

This was a man who would, with no hesitation, get on the floor to help customers, or hop on the registers to check customers' purchases out, or pop on to the cutting counter to cut fabric. He remembered the names of regulars, would chat and smile while getting shit done, and was the type of guy to speak slowly and softly when we had shitstains explode at us measly peons for not giving them the full cost of an item back in a return (ex $200) when they used a coupon to purchase an item to begin with and only paid a portion of the cost (ex. $150). No joke, this actually happened to me on Black Friday with a man who stood at about 6 foot with a crewcut and a snarl (the military Karen, if you would)

Richard, of course, stood at about 6 foot 5 inches, and reminded me of a ginger grizzly bear in some ways. Very few customers continued to be assholes when they asked to speak to the manager and Richard came over, smiling wide. He encouraged us to chat with the customers while we worked the cutting counter - it was a good way to learn about what they were making, encouraged general conversation and lent itself to a better environment for everyone, worker and customer alike, so we weren't just awkwardly standing in silence the whole time.

The assistant store manager (aka his second in command - we had two other assistant managers, but she wielded more power than both of them) was Farrah, and she was basically Cool Wine Aunt, but with weed. She was open about smoking it (but not in a pressure-the-underlings kind of way, but more of a 'yeah, it calms me down' kind of way) but never on the clock, and was just really chill in general. She was also a 'jump on the registers' type of manager, and on occasion would take the closing staff out to get a drink from the texmex place next to us in the shopping center, and cover one for each of us - particularly during the Holiday Clusterfuck of October, November, and December (their Frozen Kahlua Mudlslide was my alcoholic drink of choice - they also had these spicy chicken strips that were amazing with it, but I digress).

Both of them were amazing people who would support and back us up without hesitation (if they weren't dealing with corporate or stock trucks coming in), and both routinely worked 15 to 20 hours UNPAID overtime during the Holiday Clusterfuck so that we the underlings could get more hours without Corporate jumping up our ass about going over budget.

They were also refreshingly upfront in our monthly meetings about profits and meeting them, as well as why company policy was the way it was, and how to work within the boundaries so we got more hours. One of my favorite moments was when they said the fabric sales essentially covered their own cost (production and delivery); the rest of the cheap crap in the store was what covered our paycheck and electricity, so hawk it as much as you can if you want extra in the bank (paraphrasing here, but that's not that far off what they actually said tbh).

With some Karen-y exceptions, the customers were honestly pretty chill. There were two women from a nearby church who bought well over 200 yards of cut fleece to make no-sew fleece blankets for children and the poor in December (it took forever to do, but they were so cheerful about it and told some funny anecdotes in between, kept the counter clear as soon as they were cut, etc. Took them three carts to haul everything to the register XD).

There was the slew of quilters making everything from baby blankets to anniversary gifts to quilts for their grandkids attending the local university that they could wear to football games in the colder weather, while still showing team pride. They always bought quarters and eighths and the end of the bolt for half price, digging thru our remnants bin for something they might have missed they could get for half price. They always talked about what they were working on, and spoke in great detail on their kids or cousins or niblings or grandkids. I saw so many pictures on phones, in wallets, and they loved them to absolute pieces.

There were cosplayers making their first costume to comicon, halloween goers trying their hand at making their own outfits, and a few furries making custom suits for order or just updating their own personal outfit. There were the usual school and church Christmas plays that needed costumes, and folks making custom table runners and place settings for family holiday meals.

One notable young man bought out 30+ yards of our 65" inch wide bolt felt for JEWELRY projects he was making as a part of his business and as a part of his art program (you can major in art with a concentration in jewelry making, and he was using it for that). He didn't leave a card, but the pictures he showed us were STUNNING.

We had a few elderly mothers come in with their daughters, to pick out fabrics so they could make their own wedding dresses, or quinceanera outfits, or veils; they showed us the patterns they had, or the pictures they were basing the designs off of, and all of them were STUNNING. (One came back in with the finished dress in the bag, this intricately beaded poofy dress that had to have taken days, hot pink and shiny).

We had local restaurant owners pop in for re-upholstery projects and curtains and vinyl; same with teachers and deck dads and furniture restoration workers that would gush about the design, what they had planned. Some would bicker with their spouses on the pattern, but it felt good-natured on the whole.

We had some elderly men come in to peer over our sewing machines - "How much it run for? My wife's birthday is coming up and her old machine's about done, and I want to surprise her. She had a Singer, but she hates the electronic screens on some of these newer ones, they hurt her eyes." - and moms coming in to sew some custom bed sheets for their kids - "My son really likes the new My Little Pony show, but he's a little shy about it. Do you think the blue's okay? Only he like yellow more, but they don't have any back there and he doesn't MIND blue really but - Actually scratch that, how wide is the fabric? My pattern says it needs to be at LEAST 22 inches wide, does it say on the box?" - and people coming up with some WILD craft ideas that were always a delight to hear them gush about - "So this MAY seem crazy, but I can turn these plastic pumpkin trick-or-treat pails into SNOWMEN heads with felt like this. We fill them with treats for the kids since we don't have a fireplace and they like it fine, but someone said I should sell these on Etsy and people really like them! But I've run out of pumpkins, and you have NO idea how happy I am that you guys still have some left."

The group we had to work with was also pretty crafty; a few were chronic call-outs, some a bit lazy, some perpetually done-with-this-nonsense, but we were mostly on the same page on shift, and all of us were crafty as heck. The employee discount was a blessing AND a curse, lemme tell you.

Stock was the best part, for me. Hours before the store opened at 9 AM, we would rip open the boxes and stuff everything onto the shelves, organizing anything the closing shift missed the night before along the way, updating new stickers or shuffling pegs over for new product arrangement, etc. We could listen to music or podcasts as we worked, and I ended up impressing some of them bc of how fast I tore through everything some mornings (the music definitely helped out there).

I was actually about to be promoted to assistant manager after 6 months, but then I got my job with the university, and they had federal health benefits AND dental, so... yeah, no contest there. Richard actually laughed when I told him I'd been hired at the university and was giving my two week notice, since it meant he didn't have to do the slew of paperwork that accompanied new assistant manager hires. He congratulated me on the job, especially the health benefits - he said that was a perk worth leaving any job here for. I nearly cried with relief that he wasn't mad.

He and Farrah chipped in and got me a small music box that plays Man of La Mancha's Dream the Impossible Dream on my last day. It still sits on my desk at work.

It was honestly my favorite retail job out of the bunch I've suffered through. Surprising at first, since I initially received a rejection email bare HOURS after my interview with Farrah, but about a month later (as I trawled endlessly through interview after interview, desperate for anything those first few months ), I got a call back from them asking if I was still interested (which I was, bc hey a job!). They remembered me specifically bc I had missed my bus to the interview, called ahead to let them know I would be late, then walked the whole way there in the rain to get there. (It was only about a mile and a half away, so not a terrible journey, but flooding is an issue in our flat-ass city; I looked like a drenched afghan hound holding a useless umbrella, so enjoy that imagery).

They were particularly impressed by the calling-ahead part.

Unfortunately, both of them ended up moving on to different paths over the year after I left - apparently they had been friends with benefits (? I say hesitantly, since I ran into one of my coworkers at an art show later on and she spilled the beans there - she was a bit flighty in nature though, and got caught up in gossip a LOT, so who knows. Lovely brocade custom projects though), and his ex girlfriend had called corporate on them and got both fired.

I think Farrah came back some time later, but the damage was done after that - the new manager came in and operated SOLELY to corporate policy. A LOT went to pieces in terms of store cleanliness, order, and general camaraderie after that - the new fabric counter folks look and sound dead inside, and barely interact with customers (not even a 'whatcha making' in passing, which is kind of sad - the stories I got helped to pass the time, and kept me from using up all of my Set Conversation Phrases for customers that actually WOULD leave us standing in silence). Corporate also stopped some of the smaller store policies that made our job easier and gave the customers a little something extra (the 'end-of-the-bolt' discount - if, after the customer orders say, 2 yards of fabric on the bolt, and there's say, a half yard "remnant" left on the bolt, we can sell them the remnant for half-price. A LOT of quilters LOVED this, and we did too, since it saved us from filling out the remnant tag and printing a sticker later on).

Just goes to show how important good management is in a business; especially when it can kick a store previously part of the top 50 stores in the NATION (while being a medium store at that - smaller place, NOT Hobby Lobby size like the Large stores) to something much less pleasant. I could be rose-goggling the situation thought - retail is still retail, no matter how nice some aspects are - but it still sticks with me as to how good he experience was even taking into account that it WAS minimum wage retail.

Food for thought, lads, food for thought.

[anepiphany]

okay wait everyone is doing these cute posts about their moots and so i’d like to write out what havoc a team of one of my mutuals and i would wreck if we were in the bau:

(this is me being dumb at 2 am and i’m definitely going to make some cute sort of post too but i felt like doing this)

((also this took me forever to do lmao so if there’s anyone i forgot i swear it is nothing against you i just did moots i felt like i knew well enough to explain this for))

@ellegreenawy : y’all celie and i would be an iconic team because we come up with so many good ideas but our best ideas are always in the middle of the night. so you best know if reid ain’t solving the case, celie and i crack it at 2 am. also, celie is definitely rossi’s favorite. she’s the only person he lets cook with him regularly, and i’m the one who definitely got distracted and forgot to put water in the pasta pot so i ended up setting the pasta on fire so i am banned from the kitchen most of the time (it’s not that i can’t cook, it’s that i got distracted that one time and rossi refuses to believe me). oh and her and i would definitely write a book together the way rossi did. and we’d guest lecture together too.

@babyblockcolorcat : fabs and i would def be in seasons 8-9 of cm together and we would get nothing done because this girl would not be able to function around alex blake. but also faby would rock a blazer. her and em definitely share a closet. faby around alex is like reid around practically any girl in the early seasons, and it’s kind of adorable but also the rest of us (me and the team) are standing around like “why the fuck is alex so oblivious” (of course this is an au where alex isn’t married). i mean the whole “good morning, faby!” from alex and then faby accidentally walks into a pole and spills her coffee

@reidsemily : bro bekah and i would be an elite partnership. we definitely spend our free time with penny and morgan because i feel like the four of us would be iconic together. also if we’re called in for a case in the middle of the night her and i are definitely the ones that show up and chug five cups of coffee before we can even say a word. and then someone (probably jj) is going to point out that my blazer is inside out and that bekah is wear two different shoes and we’re just going to drink another cup of coffee

@linguinereid : i would love to hear conversations between bee and reid because i’d probably learn more from them than my entire school life. bee is definitely a major part as to why we can solve all these cases, and i feel like her and i interrogating a suspect together would be interesting. i’d probably talk enough to bore the unsub to death, and then bee would just say things and psychoanalyze the suspect until they broke

@ssaemilyprentits : okay so i feel like steph and morgan have been in a prank war since she started working at the bau and somehow i got involved in it and now we’re just this chaotic mess of “ok ani wait you distract morgan and i’ll go mix salt into his coffee” and “steph keep derek busy so i can go and stick this sign that has his phone number and ‘call me for foot massages’ written on it on the back of his car”

@whiskey-fluent and @jenniferxprentiss : i wholeheartedly believe that h and ash would be the most sarcastic and upfront agents. like straight up would make the suspects tremble during interrogation. and they’d always be sent to do stuff together; they’d be the dream team. i know technically i don’t fit into this equation but like their energy together as fbi agents would be immaculate so i needed to talk about it. like that one episode where the unsub is morgan’s cousin’s husband who forced her to marry him and jj and emily walk into the interrogation room and are conversing about will and henry? yeah, that’s h and ash. i’d probably be penny in the trio.

@heat-waveee : ok i think lb and i would honestly be a very productive duo during work. like she’d def keep my procrastination in check on paperwork days and we’d be good at finding info together during cases. and lb would be great at talking to eyewitnesses and friends/family of the victim(s). but when the case is over? we’d be insane. like at dinner parties with the team, nights out at the bar- we’d be going crazy. oh also we’d be crushing on em so much

@apologetically-apologetic : so abbie and i would be great at coming up with theories because in the short amount of time i’ve talked to her we’ve had so many genius ideas. i think we’d observe crime scenes and just piggyback theories onto each other until we figure out a fairly solid one and then use evidence we find later and adjust or expand our theory and then we’d solve cases really well. also, i think if we ever got like trapped with an unsub or like taken together by an unsub we’d definitely come up with a good plan and there’s like an 85% chance that we’d be fine

@reidemandweep : roo and i would just be an organized mess tbh. our desks are for sure next to each other, and whoever comes in first makes coffee for themselves and the other person as well. we’d probably hold off on paperwork till the very last minute but turn it in right on time. i also think roo and i would make a great team when interrogating a suspect. like that one episode where jj and morgan pretend to be a couple and talk to that white supremacist guy? yeah roo and i would be the gay poc couple to annoy the unsub if they were bugged by that. also, we’d definitely be caught trash talking strauss. like “ugh she’s so annoying and messes stuff up for us a lot” and then everyone’s quiet and we’re like “she’s right behind us isn’t she”. we’d also tease rossi about dating her but in the end i don’t think we’d hate her completely because we’re nice enough to understand she’s doing her job but also we’d be like “no <3″ to most of the stuff she says

@eusuntgroot : hj and i would honestly be very nice people together i think. well, hj would be my better half. she’d be really good at talking to families of the victims, because she’s great at being empathetic and she’s so caring. the two of us would probably be sent to speak with victims and eyewitnesses because we’d be good together at calming them down and being there for them and trying to get information. also, hj and i would be great at talking an unsub down together if necessary 

@agenthotchner : honestly i feel like snow and i would be really badass undercover. like i get very “entropy” vibes from the two of us. like tara and morgan vibes in that episode. snow and i would most definitely find an unsub while undercover at a bar, lure him outside, and then threaten to hit him in the face with a pair of heels as we handcuff him and lead him to the cop car

@davidrossi-ismydad : sammy and i would have such chaotic energy during paperwork days- hanging out with penelope, locking jj and emily in a room until they got their sexual tension out of the way, sammy hanging out in hotch’s office doing god knows what. sammy and i would definitely make everyone laugh whenever they needed to but sammy would also come up with some of the most genius ideas that the others wouldn’t think of. he’d would definitely be the character that at the 30 minute mark of the episode is like “maybe we’re thinking this part of the profile wrong” and coming up with the correct profile and we’d be like “yes you’re onto something”

@cinnamon-rroll : okay jemma and i would be great at stakeouts. like we’d have the snacks ready and would have the most interesting conversations while watching our surroundings from the car with binoculars. i also think we’d be good undercover, too

@spideyspencer : listen avery would also be so good at interrogating suspects. like so amazing. she’d just be so good at intimidating them and not taking their shit whatsoever. and when we’d be chasing an unsub i’d definitely chase after them and she’d find an easier route and be standing there waiting for us. she’d be putting handcuffs on the unsub and i’d be wheezing and half out of breath like “how *wheeze* did you *wheeze* get here *wheeze* so *wheeze* fast?”

@prentiss-dinozzo : i feel like noelle and i would probably be like tara together: badass but also good critical thinkers and smart. and i think we’d do similar things to what reid did: go through case files, make geographic profiles, that sort of thing. and i also think we’d be good at guest lecturing together

(not me being dumb and forgetting caitlin because i did this at literally 2 am ugh!!)

@themetaphorgirl : okay caitlin gives me very much garcia vibes and i for sure think her and i in the bau would be best friends with penny. we’d be hosting parties/dinners and coming up with fun ways for all of us to hang out and we’d just have elite energy. we definitely convinced the bau to have a family bowling night and family game night and things like that. i think we’d also be good at talking unsubs down and definitely would be the ones talking to the friends/family of the victims. also, i have a feeling that caitlin would be good at making negotiations too! 

[anime-and-manga-rants]

The Problem with The Promised Neverland’s First Episode (Part 2 of 2)

Once again, let’s start with The Promised Neverland. This time, let’s move on from the opening scene and get further into the first episode (and chapter). 

In both the anime and the manga, we get Ray asking Emma: “How old are you again? Five?” 

It’s an embarrassingly obvious tactic to get Emma to reveal her age, along with the fact that she’s the same age as Ray and Norman, as she responds with: “I’m eleven! Just like the two of you!” 

This is especially stupid considering the fact that the manga already has Emma narrating certain information about the ‘orphanage.’ Here’s one example in the text framed by boxes rather than speech bubbles:

Now, this is more my opinion, but I think narrating basic information in this way is far superior to the awkward dialogue that’s produced when characters are info-dumping for the audience’s sake. At least, in the case of narration like the kind seen in the manga, there’s nothing disrupting the flow of the story. We’re still told rather than shown, which should be avoided in most cases (like this one), but it’s better than blatantly forcing the exposition and ruining the believability of the story. 

If the anime couldn’t have done any better, then at least just give us the narration. It wouldn’t interrupt the storytelling nearly as much, and while it’s still  undesirable, I think it’s better than telling through dialogue. With narration, the writer is being upfront about his telling, while telling through dialogue is a poor attempt to hide the fact that he’s telling. And it fails. Because everyone sees through it. Whether you’ve heard “show don’t tell” before or not, know how to use it in storytelling or not, it doesn’t matter. The dialogue’s still just... bad. 

And, of course, we can’t forget the testing scene:

If the test is going to tell us their ages anyway, why not just use that? It’d be a creative and effective way of showing the audience that Emma, Ray, and Norman are all eleven. All they’d have to do was have the robotic voice of the test say their names and ages while cutting to that person’s face. And, if the anime absolutely needed us to know that they were the oldest, why not have the test call out the names of the children whose character designs appear to be of a similar age? (We can merely look and see that characters like Conny or Phil aren’t as old as Emma, Norman, or Ray.) Or, at the very least, just add the narration that was a part of the manga’s first chapter? Even that would be better than what we get. 

Overall, Ray’s question — or rather Emma’s response, as the question itself isn’t unnatural — is just yet another way that TPN fails to follow one of the most basic writing rules in existence. Still, this is only a little grievance I wanted to bring up, solely because it felt wrong to leave it out. Now, however, let’s get into the main point of Part 2.

…

Back to the test scene in the anime. (In the manga, what I’m about to discuss occurs after they play their game of tag, but it’s nearly word-for-word, so this argument holds true for both.) 

After they take their test, and Isabella announces that Emma, Ray, and Norman had gotten perfect scores, the others express their amazement. This is all well and good — and the anime should’ve left it at that. It would demonstrate that the three were smarter than the rest, especially when highlighted by the fact that the other kids were impressed to hear Thoma say he might’ve gotten half right. (In the manga, a few of the test questions are shown, and some of them are just evil. Eleven-year-olds solving for a derived equation in 10 seconds? Getting full marks is insanely impressive when we’ve seen some of the questions, so why not show it in the anime?)

Yes, what I just mentioned would only demonstrate that they’re smart. But that’s all that this scene needs to demonstrate. It’s short enough that it doesn’t need to give us any more information, as we’ve still got plenty of time in the episode to learn other vital information necessary for understanding the plot. 

It’s when this scene continues, however, that we start to see a real problem.

After they hear their scores, the kids vocalize, solely for the sake of the audience, the basic character descriptions of Emma, Ray, and Norman. They say: “Those three are different, huh? Norman is a genius who has the best brains. And Ray, an intellect who can compete against Norman’s genius. Emma has amazing athletic skills, and her learning ability allows her to stay close to the other two.” 

It’s quite the way to take some of the fun out of learning about the characters, isn’t it?

It’s just… why does the anime (and manga) find it necessary to include this? Not only will we probably not remember half of it — which is for the best — but it lessens the impact of us learning about the characters ourselves. 

If the characters truly are these things, we’ll see that through their actions and dialogue (which would show their deductive reasoning skills). After all, they are the ones who come up with the escape plan despite all the trials thrown at them. When we see this, we can deduce for ourselves that these kids are not only book-smart (which we learn from their perfect scores) but street-smart, able to solve issues that most eleven-year-olds would never be capable of. Through this alone, we learn most of the information that was told to us during the test scene. And Emma’s athletic skills are demonstrated reasonably well during their game of tag. (If that scene were edited slightly, it would be obvious that Emma is superior to the others in terms of athletic ability. This is a fault in the author’s scene construction.) 

And we can’t forget the fact that their younger peers are saying this about them. Even if they knew these things subconsciously, what child would say something like this? They’re all smart, as they’re all high-grade meat, but they’re still kids. Kids don’t tend to break out into character analyses about their friends, especially not without any prompting. 

So what’s the point of this telling?  

Telling doesn’t serve any purpose, as we won’t believe it until we see it. If Emma, Ray, and Norman failed in their escape attempt because they weren’t smart enough, we wouldn’t believe the telling. But if their smarts are proven through their actions, than what point does the telling serve? Nothing. The only thing it accomplishes is forcing more unnatural dialogue that reminds the audience that they’re watching a show, not living in a story. And that sucks.

(Telling is often a sign of laziness or ineptitude, whether that ineptitude is truly there or the author simply believes they are inept at crafting a good scene. After all, it wouldn’t be needed if the author knew for certain that they had created situations to move the plot along while simultaneously demonstrating the characteristics of his three main characters. This telling could be a sign that TPN’s writer, Kaiu Shirai, didn’t trust himself to accurately portray his characters’ traits. Or maybe he just believed the audience was too unintelligent to understand his characters as he wanted them to be perceived.)

Let’s compare this scene to Attack on Titan’s first episode, where we learn quite a bit about Eren’s personality as Isayama introduces us to the story. All without telling anything about Eren, too. 

Let’s use this scene:

Isayama wrote this scene for a reason, and that reason was to reveal Eren’s core beliefs, and he does this through showing. (We’ll have to ignore the telling  about Eren’s father and his success as a doctor. Unfortunately, not even Isayama avoided convenient telling completely. But at least the information wasn’t particularly relevant to the story, so it didn’t ruin much other than the flow of the story.) 

You see, when Hannes asks why he would ever need to be prepared for a fight, Eren responds with: “If they breached the walls and entered the city!” When Hannes brushes Eren off, Eren yells, telling him to stop calling himself a part of the Garrison and become a member of the Wall Repair Corps. And when Hannes reasons that they’re slacking off is a good thing because it means everyone is safe, Eren says: “Even if we can never leave these walls for our entire lives, as long as we eat and sleep, we’ll survive… but that just makes us like cattle!” 

Not only do his words give us a little more information about what threat humanity is up against, but they also reveal so much about Eren’s personality, goals, and beliefs. We learn that he hates being caged in the walls, hates people who are satisfied with living in a cage, wants to go outside, and values living rather than just surviving. All through dialogue that flows and doesn’t slap the watcher in the face with its lack of tact. 

Now, this:

A little later, we learn that Eren’s willing to fight for his freedom, as he admits to wanting to join the Survey Corps. And he’s extremely dedicated, we learn, not because the show narrates to us that he’s dedicated (like TPN might do) but because he sees the horrors of the Survey Corps when they return from their mission and yet still wants to join them. After all, when Mikasa tells his parents that he wants to join their ranks, all Eren says is: “I told you not to tell them!” Throughout the rest of the episode, he makes absolutely no indication that he no longer wants to join them. In fact, he acts like he hasn’t been swayed in the slightest. 

Not a single thing I’ve just mentioned can be considered telling. No, it’s all showing through dialogue that isn’t forced in any way, shape, or form, and that’s what makes it work. From Eren’s anger to his dialogue to his attitude towards the world and people around him, we learn everything we need to know about our main character without Isayama needing to tell us. Because Isayama does tell us. He just does it through showing, unlike TPN. 

And that is the problem with the first episode of The Promised Neverland— while the episode could have been constructed to show everything that the audience needs to know, it wasn’t, and therefore it must rely on unrealistic, forced dialogue that ejects the audience out of the story it’s trying to submerse us in. 

[bookdork1]

okay, i’ll admit upfront that this episode was slow in the ship department. it happens. they have 2+ hours of content to write every week, which means sometimes that content can’t focus on just the same two people and their one storyline of accidentally falling in love with one another. that being said, it was still a very good episode for edser, even if they didn’t have a ton of screen time together. yes, they are both angry at each other (highlighted best when they talk to one another’s respective mother figures and defend their own side in the couple’s fight). but they are also both missing and pining after one another. they spend the majority of the episodes finding ways to accidentally run into one another and the other half finding ways to avoid one another. its frustratingly fun to watch, but definitely something that has a short shelf life. lucky for us, the writer knows this, meaning that we end the episode with the main conflict being resolved: eda finds out who stole the patent and goes to serkan to prove her innocence. serkan, very belatedly, tells eda he doesn’t need proof, he believes her. he admits he has serious trust issues but that he knows she was innocent of his charges regardless of proof. unfortunately for serkan, he forgets the most important words “i am sorry” and “i apologize for how i treated you.” since no apology was truly made, eda doesn’t accept it. instead, she hands back the ring and tells him they are finished. its a wonderfully angst filled cliffhanger. do i wish we had gotten to that point 45 minutes earlier? yes. but its an excellent setup for episode 9 in which i envision a serkan who grovels. a lot. 

additionally, since edser had such little actual forward progresssion until the last five minutes, all the side characters recevied amazing treatment this ep. usually i don’t care about the side characters in turkish dramas. often they are overwhelmingly flat and are only used as plot devices to keep the main couple apart. in SCK though we have a plethora of interesting side characters and friendship groups who i can’t help but like. 

i’ll start with seyfi, who served some stinging one liners this episode. i loved how he immediately sided with eda, refused to pack her things when serkan asked him to, and even went to eda’s house to check in with her that she was okay. overall, seyfi is amazing and we love seyfi. example a: ”seyfi, have you seen eda around?” “no, but i’ll tell you what i do see. a lonely man” yes keep on serving those truth bombs seyfi!

i also really liked the small progression with aydin and alptekin. alptekin dropping everythign at work and returning home proved that he does care about his wife and aydin is slowly working up to telling him about her progress with her agoraphobia. both characters were also excellent in their response to their son’s behavior towards eda. aydin firmly chastised her son, scolding him for yelling at not only his fiance but any woman and alptekin came in later telling his son that having no trust in otheres is a mistake. three cheers for the good parenting (even if its of their adult son). 

the piril/engin/jeren love triangle of sorts is also heating up. i think i’m piril/engin at the moment but i honestly don’t know which direction the drama will take with these two ships. i will say that i am firmly in love with the idea of jeren/engin just being best bros who give relationship advice to each other, it would be nice to see that kind of male/female friendship represented in a drama. also piril is ridiculously repressed with her feelings and therefore i strongly relate to her so that may be why i’m rooting for her. 

it was also interesting to see more about ferit and his relationship with selin. i really feel so bad for this guy. he loves his fiance a lot and has already put a lot of trust in their relationship watching her work, day in and day out, with her ex-boyfriend, a guy whom ferit knows she still has feelings for. it was so sad when he found that note “from serkan” in selin’s desk. i did not approve of his decision to follow her but the drama surprised me again. instead of having ferit go psycho with jealousy he and eda quietly listened to their respective fiances discuss their old relationship. things obviously went better for eda in that discussion (serkan’s “there is no logic to my being with eda” is 10000% better than selin saying logic is what keeps her with ferit) and i really felt so bad when he told eda that he always knew selin wasn’t with him because of love, but because of logic. i just really want selin to stop pining over what she never had with serkan and realize that a great love is sitting right there in front of her. 

and of course we must mention melo. ohh i was so worried about her reaction to finding kaan’s nefarious purposes but she handled it really well. i love that the drama didn’t waste uselss time with her not telling eda the truth for some stupid reason. instead as soon as melo realizes what happens, she tells eda and they piece together how kaan got his hands on the patent in the first place. the way all the girls immediately rallied around melo was heartwarming, to say the least. i love this friend group of four distinctly different but distinctly strong women. fifi’s decision to then chloroform kaan and get the truth out of his phone was kind of amazing, not gonna lie. also, i want to add a shout out to eda’s aunt. her immediately knowing that kaan was untrustworthy was epic. 

oh! one more side character to mention! sirius was honestly the mvp of this episode. his acting on the stairs when serkan was walking away but eda was just arriving? oscar worthy. that dog is tired of his parents fighitng and would just like everyone to make up with one another, please and thank you.

well, that was an essay, please let me know if you have any thoughts about the episode you want to discuss! while the episode wasn’t my favorite, i did enjoy it and i think it promises a great set up for episode 9.