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closer-stars · 4 years

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Silence - Seonghwa

Member: Seonghwa Genre: Comfort, Fluff, mild angst? Requested: Yes Word count: 3.7k Content: Insecurities when it comes to picking at skin and lips. Seonghwa wants to help you. Food mention. The rest of the boys are touchy as heck. Stress. Note: This thing is long winded cause a close friend requested this so I wanted to make this something that they can read whenever it hits them especially when their stress is high. Also since this is comfort fic that they requested, I won’t tag for their privacy. The same goes for any comfort fic that might be requested in the future.

There was something about you today that Seonghwa couldn’t help but notice. He knows how stressed you’ve been lately. Too many things are happening at once in your life, and while you could manage a smile that reaches your eyes whenever someone asks if you were okay, the spark you put in your eyes dims once when they look away. Whenever you look at anything, your focus just isn't there. It was one thing to look at something and focus on it but it was another to look at it and look as if there was nothing.

This goes on for the next few days as he notices more things. You did say you didn’t mind physical affection and to an extent it was true. The moments where the boys come up to you with a hug, you welcome it, the moments where they lean their head against your shoulder, you welcome it. But when one of them try to reach for your hand, you find ways to slip away from doing so, sometimes opting to fiddle with your phone or with the zipper of your hoodie, just anything to give yourself an excuse to not hold hands with them.

A part of him wants to think it was because of how your exams were making you stressed and fidgety. He remembers how clammy you can get when you’re overwhelmed with your workload in the past. Yet another part of him counters that claim, even when you aren’t occupied with your responsibilities, you still slip away. You were a sneaky one in his books. For now, he’d support you quietly as you tackle each and every exam that lay ahead of your week.

On the late night study sessions you pull in living room, he would put a bottle of water by you and some snacks to help keep you alert and awake. After Hongjoong came into his life, he knew better than to argue with someone hardheaded. “Don’t forget to drink water too okay? You’ve been focused on that subject since this afternoon.” He says while his fingers thread through your hair, gently massaging your scalp.

“I just want to do well, Seonghwa.” You admit with a tired sigh. You lean back into his touch and somehow Seonghwa couldn’t help but think of you as a kitten who found relief with scratches on their head.

“And you will. Pace yourself okay?” He lets go of your head gently, pressing a quick peck on the top of your head. “I’m going to bed already, get some sleep also after that.” He advises while he stretches his back.

Your eyes graze at the amount of notes you’ve had spread across the table. “I’ll try.” You say, and even to yourself, it doesn’t sound promising. The stern look he gives you was enough for you to retract your statement. “Okay, okay. I will. Just wake me up when you do please?” Even if the exam is in two days and you’ve already covered a good percentage of the coverage, you just didn’t feel like it’s enough yet.

A sigh slips through the male’s lips and he nods. He can’t win with two stubborn heads in his life. “Fine. Good night..” Thus leaving you on your own with your notes.

So you continue to study, until you raise the white flag. You pack your notes in between the textbook, put away the bowl then head to bed.

The sleep you had feels more like a nap as Seonghwa gently shakes you awake. “Morning.. I made you breakfast.” He whispers, waiting for you to get up. At least you weren’t as difficult as San to wake up in the morning. Those words are enough to get you up from your still sleepy haze. The older male couldn’t help but chuckle softly at your excitement over his cooking, letting you get ready as he prepares your first meal of the day.

If you weren’t in school, you were with the boys but even then, you were reviewing. Your fingers constantly fidgeting against your own skin as you try to focus. Sometimes one of them would attach themselves to you, a welcomed distraction before more concepts melt your brain. But whenever you find yourself relaxing from their touch, their fingers would always brush upon yours and it always wakes you up, pulling away from them a little more. Even if Seonghwa had to do damage control with Wooyoung and San bickering, he easily notices your discomfort along with Yunho’s pout when you pull away. Before he could say anything, Wooyoung and San were back to bickering about what to play, causing him to turn his attention back to the two.

It’s clockwork from then on. Seonghwa preparing your meals day in and day out throughout the week. You getting next to no sleep as you prepare for each exam but as the week progresses, your mental state declines. You were starting to get impatient easily, you were berating yourself over the smallest errors, you even shy away from any sort of physical contact even if it was your love language. It was clear that you were on tunnel vision now. The stress was starting to take a toll on you and Seonghwa had to do something about it before you break.

The stress peaks when you are holding your head in your hands. Your nails dig into your skin as you try to keep your composure. Nothing in your notes was making sense anymore. Everything just seemed like jargon. He had your usual bottle of water and snacks in hand when he entered the room and saw your current disposition. He sets them down quietly and slips himself next to you.

He quietly calms you down: arms around you, hushing you like a parent would to their child when they were crying uncontrollably. You weren’t. You couldn’t get yourself to cry. The only thing in your system were the equations, theories, definitions, and the connections of one topic to another. “I’m here. Hey, talk to me..” He gently urges as he moves himself into your line of vision. You turn your teary face away from his line of sight as you try to regain your composure. Your fingers find themselves threaded through your now messy hair as you try to train your blurry eyes at your notes. Holy fuck why is nothing getting into your brain?

With a sigh, Seonghwa gently turns you to him, letting you cry against his chest. It’s obvious that you aren’t in the right state to talk so he whispers reassuring promises. “You’ll be okay.” He says softly into your ear as he rubs your back up and down. You were still shaking from the stress and how you were pretty much going through a breakdown. “Can you follow my breathing?” He asks softly as he brushes your hair delicately away from your face. Though you don’t reply, you try to focus your attention on his breathing, a feeble attempt to get your heart to slow down. Your tears and whimpers eventually stop and you still in his arms. “Do you want to sleep in my bed tonight?” His voice never raises in pitch or volume. You nod at his offer. He asks once more if you would rather be carried to bed or stand on your own. You opt for the latter, not that it surprises him. You were a strong one after all. But the strong ones sometimes had their down days.

He walks you to his bed and almost immediately you plop yourself onto it. He tries to remember how your schedule would go tomorrow. Saturday. Rest day. He sighs in relief. He brings a bottle of water for you when you wake up. For tonight, your solace was in his bed and in his arms.

You wake up with a pounding headache. The thin sunlight telling you that it was morning. A dry groan as you try to push away the headache as you shift. Your hands feel the material beneath you and it hits you that this isn’t your bed. You look to your side and you're greeted by Seonghwa’s sleeping face. That’s when you remember what went on last night. “Shit.” You mutter, sitting up immediately. “What day is it?” You groan out, disoriented by the sudden rush of blood.

“Saturday. Your rest day.” Seonghwa returns, his voice raspy from having just woken up. You turn to the male who rubs his eyes awake then reaches for the bottle of water. “Drink. I’ll make us breakfast.” Glad to know it wasn’t only San who seems to go straight to the point when they wake up. You take the bottle and watch him stagger to the kitchen.

After freshening up, you see that your notes lay untouched. Some of the notes had tear stains, a reminder of what happened. Considering what had went on last night, you figured it was better to keep these out of your sight for the rest of the day. By the time the male calls for you to eat, you’ve put your notes on your table.

“Eat.” he says almost as an order. It was a hearty meal: rice, egg, meat, oatmeal and fruits.

“Did you just make an entire course?”

“Considering how you’ve worked your ass off the past few days leading to exam week. I have to step it up for you.” Seonghwa says as he slides onto his seat across yours, digging into his own meal. You look at your share in guilt but you start to eat as thanks. “You know..” He starts as his eyes stay on his meal. “Working hard is one thing but working yourself senseless is another thing.” He continues. “Getting good grades is important, sure but at the price of your own health?” His frustration was built from concern for your welfare and your recent habits. “Maybe that exam is important sure but really... Your health is more important.” He goes on.

No wonder his members found him scary when he was angry. He means well but you can’t help but be focused on your academics. That’s the environment you grew up in, unlearning that mentality was going to be hard. “I’m sorry.” You say softly as you eat quietly. You looked like a sad kitten that just got into a fight with their sibling.

He sighs. “Don’t be. I know how hard headed and driven you are. It’s like juggling two Hongjoongs.” It was a joke just to make you smile even a bit. “I’m just really worried for you.”

“If it helps, I kept my notes for the day.”

“Thank god.”

That makes you laugh. Feeling light for the first time in a while, you finish the food in a better disposition. The rest of the day goes by quietly and for the first time in a while, you find yourself completely relaxed. Seonghwa notices this before you do. Your fingers weren’t fidgety and you just look like you were at peace with your surroundings. He smiles to himself and slides next to you.

“Wanna play Overcooked?”

The following week goes by almost like a breeze. While you reviewed, you’d talk about it to Seonghwa to test yourself. Even if he didn’t understand any of these concepts you speak of, if it helps you then so be it. He asks you questions on certain topics, making sure you’ve covered everything. It does help you. Sure there were some topics that were tricky but you managed to get through the tests with a little more confidence than before. You had to thank Seonghwa after your exams. By the time you were done with your final exam, you felt a little dazed. A huge weight was off your shoulders and quite frankly, you couldn’t believe it. In your dazed state, you don’t realize your fingers against your lips, unconsciously playing with the skin. It was only when you tasted the iron on your lips that you realize the extent. So you suck on your lip, as you walk home.

On the way home, you couldn’t help but stop by a few shops to buy some snacks for yourself and Seonghwa. In one shop, you find yourself with front row seats to a couple’s PDA. On normal days, this wouldn’t have affected you but considering how you are now and your nervous ticks have affected you, it hits you harder than usual. You tear your eyes away from them, opting to look at your phone, thinking if there was anything else you think Seonghwa would like. It was a good distraction but it still lingers in your mind.

“I’m home.” You say as you put the snacks you bought on the counter. Seonghwa manages to welcome you with a proud smile. “Bought you some snacks too.” You add, gesturing to his strawberry milk tea among other things. While he was happy with your purchases, he catches the exhaustion in your eyes.

“You look like you need rest..” He takes the food you bought for him and also ushers you gently to the living room. He has you sit down on the couch, before he does as well. The way you just drop yourself onto the couch, your eyes trained up on the ceiling as your body practically melts onto the material has the male sighing.

“What?”

His eyes are trained at you. His gaze heavy with emotions that he had to keep at the back burner for your sake. “You know, I’ve been worried about you since you’ve been preparing for your exams.” He explains and you already know where this was going. Already defensive, you keep your hands in your pockets as you continue to keep your eyes up. The corner of your bottom lip is caught in between your teeth and it makes your dear friend tread carefully. “The boys asked me the other day,” he says slowly. “If you didn’t like holding hands with people.. I meant like, is it something you really don’t like to do with just us or really anyone..?” God why is it now that his speaking skills were going down the drain?

You had to admit, hearing him flounder for the right words was a little endearing. How were you going to tell him though that your evasion to holding hands was due to insecurities? The insecurities only rising when someone’s hand brushes against yours, when someone’s eyes flit to your bitten lips, when you see couples on the streets express their love to each other. Quite frankly, you found it so shallow and stupid to be this conscious but you couldn’t help it. The amount of times you wonder how it would be to be with someone, that question leads you to the imagery of being physically affectionate with them too.

“I just don’t like the idea of having anyone hold my hands that have been roughened by stress, I guess.” Even to you, you didn’t sound that convincing. You look at your hand, lit by the lamp near you. You could see the picked skin: some healing, some freshly picked at. They feel rough and downright uncomfortable. With the boys, they were already mere friends but they want to hold your hand, what more with a potential lover?

“What do you mean?” Seonghwa never really expected this type of answer from you. His eyes drift from your tired features to the digits that are up against the light.

“Don’t you think it’s gross, Seonghwa? The idea of holding someone’s hand that’s been picked at from stress or unconsciously? Cause I’m looking at my hands right now and I can even feel the unevenness from my lips too and even I don’t want anyone touching these.” You admit with a dry laugh.

It hurts him to know you see yourself like such. The way he sees you was far from it. He admired everything about you. Especially how you’re able to create things with your hands. How deft and agile you can be with your hands to get things done. How your lips were always expressive of your emotions. He realized how seeing your lips curve into a smile or how they let you laugh without a care in the world was his favorite. While others do say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, he wanted you to change that mindset one way or another. The boys saw you in an amazing light and for you to not see yourself as such, it sucks.

“Look at me..” Seonghwa says after a moment. You do, you drop your hand and you had a hard time reading his expression. “Do you trust me?” He asks.

“Seonghwa, if you’re going to give me some sort of gag gift from Wooyoung I swear--”

“I’m being serious, do you trust me?”

They weren’t joking when they say Seonghwa’s scary so you nod. “Yeah, I trust you.” You answer. So he pats the space in between you and him, gesturing for you to come closer. So you do. Your knees touching his from how close the two of you were sitting. He takes a deep breath, his heart racing but there weren’t any thoughts in his head except to reassure you. To reassure you that these perceived flaws will not be a big deal to the ones that love you unconditionally. His hands reach up to your cheeks, thumbs running gently against your cheeks. He brings his lips to gently graze against your forehead, to your cheeks, for a split moment you thought you would feel his lips against yours by how close he was to you but he presses a final kiss on your chin. He respects you so much to go past the boundaries of your friendship so he settles to end the kisses with one on your chin.

“We don’t mind your imperfections. I’m sure as hell that I don’t. Holding hands, to the boys and to me, is a way we show our appreciation.” His hands drop to his lap. “While yes, hugs, snuggles, nuzzling against you do express those. Have you ever understood why holding hands have been a little different?”

You shake your head. You always thought that such action would be for couples, always opting to link arms instead with your peers. His hands are then facing up, asking for your hands in his. You hesitate but slowly, you let your guard down, you let your hand rest on top of his. “Holding hands..” He trails off slowly as his hand slowly slips into yours. He doesn’t let your hands come into your line of sight. The insecurity of seeing how your hand looks was already understood in the first mention. “Is intimate. A soft way of saying, ‘I care about you. I don’t want to lose you. I want you by my side. Be with me in this situation.’ A reassurance. A sign of support. A sign of hope.” As he lists these various reasons, his hand would eventually shift around your hand, holding your hand in his in different ways. In one moment, his hand held yours tenderly, then his fingers interlaced with yours, then he’s linking his pinky with yours. He goes on to give your hand a gentle squeeze.

“If you’re worried about how someone will think of kissing these lips of yours.” he adds, making you look at him with a gentle nudge of his free hand. “You really shouldn’t worry about it.” He explains with a light chuckle. “The first kiss is rarely an ideal kiss.” Well, he had a point. “The succeeding kisses? They’re still an act of love. Though more intimate, I should say as compared to holding hands.” His eyes flit to your lips for a moment. He does understand your insecurities. He’s been there too; could barely look at his own face on any reflective surface. He didn’t see himself as someone visually appealing. It takes time and he knows that. “Will you let me help you? Help you through these habits and insecurities?” he asks, pulling back from you but still not letting go of your hand. You look at him, feeling oddly naked and vulnerable under his gaze but you nod. A glimmer of his usual bright self peeks through afterwards.

Without being able to see your hand in his, you bore your watery eyes onto the folds of his shirt. You couldn’t get yourself to look at his eyes, at his face, right now you felt so vulnerable, so naked and only because he had pressed kisses and held your hand. You didn’t see how he smiles warmly at you.

The next few days were calmer. Your skin is still healing from the picking you’ve done before that talk. It was the days after that proved to be a challenge. You were so focused with your readings that you don’t realize your fingers moving against your skin, trying to remove the uneven bumps that form as it heals. Seonghwa notices though so he brings a book with him and sits next to you. He even brought you a bottle of water with your favorite cake. The movement causes you to stutter in your mindless movement, bringing you momentarily out of your focus. Your eyes sparkle at the snack near you but you manage to focus on your work again with no problem. Seonghwa continues to look as if he was reading, thoroughly interested in what Thomas More thought of what a Utopian society could be. Without missing a beat, his hand slips into the hand that picks and fidgets. He pretends to not notice you looking at him with pink cheeks as he continues to read, pretending as if the book piqued his interest. His fingers intertwined with yours stops you from picking your skin and you reach for the bottle of water that he had already uncapped. It was only then that you realized how much you needed water. The beverage provides cool relief to your body and your lips.

You don’t notice how your lips have healed from the water he reminds you to drink, from the lip balms he suggests you try, but he does. He sees the improvement, one step at a time.

As thanks, you squeeze his hand gently. A silent thank you.

He squeezes your hand in return. A silent reassurance and a silent declaration of his love for you.

#ateez scenarios #ateez x reader #ateez seonghwa #seonghwa scenarios #ateez comfort #seonghwa comfort #my writings #i'm really not joking when 1-4am is my peak for these kinds of writings #anyways!#will fix any errors when i wake up

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jisungsmochi · 4 years

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partners - lee jeno

Jeno x Reader (female)

Genre: highschool!au / writing partner!jeno / kind of a bad boy but not really / fluff / some angst + also slow burn ish

word count: 6.5k

note: this will be split into parts, i’m most likely only doing two parts so look out for it soon hehe <3 i also am considering doing a spin off with another member...you’ll see who hehe

summary: being enrolled into an extension writing class had its perks. you got to write about more mature topics, and associate with upperclassmen. but when your teacher pairs you with lee jeno, an unexpectedly brilliant writer, he had you second guessing everything. after all, he was just meant to be your partner, nothing more.

“new semester! i’m so excited” your best friend, jisung cheers as you both walk past the school gates.

“me too! i cant believe they let me into the extension writing class. they’re all upper class men” you slowly begin to get nervous. jisung rests his hand to your shoulder,

“don’t be like that, you are a good writer okay? they will be so impressed with your work” he attempted to cheer you up. you slowly nodded in agreement, it couldn’t be that bad right?

“and y/n, i thought we were going to try and find you a boyfriend this semester! that peach sweater is not doing you any justice” he teased, poking at your sweater.

“what? i think it’s cute! you just don’t have taste” you roll your eyes at his comment, not noticing that you were walking backwards. and before you knew it, you had tripped. you closed your eyes, knowing that whatever the outcome was, it was going to be embarrassing as hell. but you didn’t feel your body smack to the ground, instead there was a steady pair of arms, holding you up. you kept your eyes closed, unsure of how to proceed. the mysterious figure slightly coughed, signalling they were a lot closer than you thought. you opened your eyes cautiously, turning to face the person who had saved you from an embarrassing fall.

“i-i’m so sorry, my friend and i were just arg-“

“yeah i heard, don’t stress about it” the deep voice gave you a small shiver. lee jeno stood in front of you, in all his glory. he was dressed head to toe in black, as usual. but today, he wore a plain white shirt under his large jacket. he stared back at you, waiting for you to respond.

“ah well, thanks for catching me” you blurted, he just nodded before speaking,

“anytime. and by the way, i think the sweater is cute, peaches” he smirked before heading into school. you were left stunned. you turned back to jisung, who had the same reaction.

what just happened?

despite the fact that your strong point was writing, you couldn’t say you were doing particularly well in your other subjects. in conclusion, you were borderline average in everything else, mainly because you didn’t bother putting effort into your other subjects. jisung would badger you about your grades, non stop. he would send you some of his work as an example as well as constantly remind you of due dates. you were satisfied with just passing everything, it didn’t bother you so much.

“jisung! y/n!” you heard a familiar voice shriek through the halls. your other friend, sumi, ran up to you both, encompassing you in her embrace.

“i missed you guys” she pouted, as you and jisung just rolled your eyes.

“you literally saw us like last friday?” jisung teased, you softly nod along with the conversation, zoning out from time to time.

“anything happen before school? i’m sorry i couldn’t walk in with you guys” sumi sighed, as jisung smirked.

“yeah y/n fell on lee jeno” the boy began chuckling, sumi following in suit. your eyes widen, as you smacked jisung’s shoulder.

“i wish i was there, i live for clumsy y/n moments” sumi continues to mock as jisung ruffles your hair.

“thank you for always providing us with quality entertainment” jisung finally jabs before heading off to his next class. sumi ended up walking with you to your first lesson of extension writing. you cautiously stepped into the classroom, observing the students around you. the class divided, half seniors and half juniors. there weren’t that many people who qualified for the class in general, hence the handful of quote on quote ‘gifted’ students. you quickly took your seat, hoping that someone else hadn’t claimed it before you did. your thoughts were interrupted by someone slamming their bag on the desk behind you. you jolted up quickly, startled by their actions. you turned slowly to see who it was,

you have got to be kidding me.

“oh hey peaches” jeno greeted before taking his seat behind you. you didn’t know he was going to be in this class, heck you knew nothing about him.

“i have a name you know, it’s y/n” you respond, watching as his mouth turns up into a small smile.

“i’m jeno. and nice name, but i think i prefer peaches.” he smirked, before you could respond your teacher had just walked in.

“goodmorning class, what an exciting semester we will be having! now, i have read through your papers you all handed to me before the break. please take my criticism seriously if you want to succeed in this class” she sternly announced, beginning to walk around the room. you nervously started fidgeting, your lack of confidence overpowering you.

“y/n, i was quite disappointed with this piece of yours. it lacked a lot of emotion, i couldn’t really figure out what you were saying. i know you are a talented writer” your teacher, mrs kim, explained. you just nodded along, not feeling like anything you could say, would have made a difference.

“i-i’ll try harder” you quickly respond, looking over your paper intensely.

“i hope you will, that’s why i’m giving you a writing partner” you look up at her in confusion, as she diverts her eyes to the boy behind you.

“h-him?” you mumble, as she nods with her arms folded.

“me?” jeno raises his eyebrows before flicking his eyes to you.

“yes! jeno did the best on this task, and you both could learn some things from eachother” mrs kim smiled before walking over to another helpless student. you looked back at the boy, unsure of what else to say.

“i guess we’re partners then?” he mutters, looking over at you.

“i guess we are” you softly nod.

after class ended you practically sprinted to find your friends to inform them of your predicament.

“woah what is with you girls and wanting to see me so bad?” jisung mocks once again, resulting in another slap from you and a forehead flick from sumi.

“i got news” you begin, as you all walked to your usual lunch spot. you all sat, huddled together,

“okay spill” sumi demands, as she began eating her food.

“mrs kim made jeno my writing partner” you dropped, as your friends stared at you in shock.

“holy shit it must be like fate or something” jisung’s mouth was wide open.

“no guys please don’t joke! i’m already embarrassed as is! he won’t let go of the peaches joke and it honestly makes me wanna rip off this sweater” you pout, as your friends gently comfort you.

“y/n, don’t you think you’re being a tad dramatic? there must have been a reason that mrs kim paired you guys up! just take a deep breath and focus on the bright side” sumi lets you rest your head on her shoulder and you gently nod.

“thanks guys, i’ll let you know how it all goes” you sigh, moving to another topic.

you were seated on the steps out the front of school. students had all dispersed, rushing to get home. you were trying to get in contact with sumi and jisung but your bet was that they had probably caught the last bus. you let out a small sigh, why did your locker have to be so far from your last class?

just as you were about to call your mum to pick you up, you heard someone walk up to you, their figure blocking the ray of sun hitting you.

“hey peaches” jeno greeted, watching as you stood up to face him. he stood on some steps below you, making his face level to yours. he really didn’t want to leave you alone today did he?

“hey jeno” you responded, trying to slyly send a text to your mum.

“why are you here alone?” he questioned, stopping your actions.

“uh my friends caught the last bus without me” you explained, as he just nodded along with your words,

“so what are you going to do now?” you weren’t sure why he was so full of questions, but it did keep you intrigued,

“actually i was going to check out the new cafe in town, wanna come along?” you suggested, watching as he looked at you, confused.

“we can uh start our writing partner thing?” you blurted, now looking at his feet. jeno let out a soft chuckle before pulling you along with him.

“show me the way, peaches” he teased once more as you shrugged his hand off you and continued to walk.

as you both walked side by side, you were discussing the details of your paper.

“so what? i have to rewrite the whole thing?” you softly groaned, arms folded.

“pretty much. here’s a start, what annoys you?” jeno started questioning, leaving you a few moments to think.

“other than my writing partner?” you joked, as jeno rolled his eyes,

“you’re hurting me here” he clutched his chest while laughing. you both reach the cafe, making your way to one of the smaller booths near the back.

“okay to be honest, i don’t really like coffee that much” you admitted,

“why are we even here then?” jeno gave you a puzzled look,

“i don’t know, maybe it will give me some inspiration” you shrugged, jeno just shook his head before heading to the counter to order his own coffee. he spotted a blueberry muffin, opting to buy it incase you were hungry. he made his way back to the table, sliding the plate with the muffin, over to you. you were fixated on your paper, you didn’t notice at first until he let out a small cough.

“how’d you know i liked blueberry muffins?” you smiled, quickly taking a bite,

“i didn’t, i took a guess. seemed like you would like it” he softly smiled before sipping his coffee. you nodded at him before allowing him to read over your paper. he was actually quite helpful to your surprise. he didn’t completely cross out every single line, much like mrs kim. jeno had a way with words, thus making him a valuable partner. you couldn’t wait to work with him again.

[two days later]

you were woken up by the ringing of your phone. you rolled over to answer,

“get up sleepy head, we’re all walking to school today. jisung made us late so we missed the bus” sumi’s voice echoed through your phone. you slowly nodded, knowing she wouldn’t see you. you could hear jisung in the background, trying to defend himself,

“will we even make it in time?” you mutter, hopping out of bed and to your bathroom.

“all depends on you, we’re waiting outside now” sumi chuckled, as you quickly hung up. you rushed over to your window and there they were.

god they’re crazy.

you hurriedly attempted to pack whatever you needed, and changed out of your pyjamas. you opted to skipping breakfast that day, knowing that you could steal one of jisung’s random fruit snacks in his bag.

“finally!! the princess is ready” jisung mocks, as he begins to walk.

“what’s his problem today?” you mumble to sumi, trailing behind the taller boy, as he slipped in his earphones.

“he’s just mad at me because i got mad at him for missing the bus” sumi sighs, linking her arm with yours. sumi and jisung were best friends long before you had met both of them. they pretty much ‘adopted’ you into the group when they saw you sitting alone one day in P.E. they always bickered, so you just assumed this was one of their smaller arguments.

“why did you wake up so late anyway?” she changed the subject.

“parents were fighting again. i couldn’t sleep” you sighed as sumi soothingly pats your back. you often chose not to open up much about your parents, but it always felt nice to just finally let out some frustration. sumi and jisung understood you well, they always comforted you when it just got too much.

you pushed aside the feelings, and tried to continue on with your day.

you walked into school, noticing jeno seated near the steps. part of you wanted to go up and say hello, but you weren’t sure if you should. but it didn’t stop jeno from taking notice. he watched as you walked right past him with sumi linked to your side. jeno wanted to continue your conversations for the assignment, but he didn’t feel comfortable pulling you away from your friends. so he waited until you were alone, which coincidentally happened to be after your history class, which was located right next to his locker. he saw you leaving the classroom before he rushes to you. you weren’t aware he was approaching so you both ended up colliding, your butt falling straight to the ground.

“we have to stop meeting like this, peaches” jeno teases, helping you stand. you glare at him playfully,

“you bumped into me! i know i’m not that clumsy”

“it’s okay, it can be our thing” he bit the inside of his cheek softly as you both began to walk together.

“what? us constantly body slamming into eachother?” you raise an eyebrow, as the boy pouts.

“it doesn’t matter! we just gotta have a thing. after all we are partners” he walked with you until you both reached your locker.

“i don’t see that as an obligation, but also don’t take it as a rejection either. we’ll have a thing soon, we just have to get to know eachother better” you smile, opening up your locker to place you books inside. jeno leans against the wall, eyes fixed on you.

“you move fast, peaches. i like it” he chuckled as you softly hit his shoulder.

“you’re overdoing it, you can buy me another blueberry muffin at the cafe today” you smiled up at him, he couldn’t help but smile back.

“don’t you think you owe me for the muffins?”

“but jeno! that can be our thing” you gave him a small pat on the back before walking off to meet with your friends. jeno was left stunned. why were you able to make him speechless?

luckily, you and jeno were able to be seated at the same table from last time. he bought another blueberry muffin for you, and another coffee for him. this time you split the muffin, offering him the other half. jeno gladly accepted, munching on the delicious treat.

“have you decided how you want to restart your paper?” jeno begins, sipping on his coffee.

“not really, i’m still quite stuck” you sigh, poking the fork at your muffin.

“hmm okay, let’s start small. how about family?” he suggests, causing you to look to him.

“well i live with my parents, and i have an older brother, but he’s overseas studying” you reluctantly told him,

“is it hard? not having your brother around?” jeno continues, intrigued by the dynamics.

“kind of. i just miss him a lot, he calls me often just to check up on me. but it’s not the same as having him in the house, you know?” you look back down to your muffin. jeno can sense you were getting uncomfortable. he opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when you started ranting,

“you know what’s the funniest part? my parents have pretty much forgotten he exists. i’m over here, missing the hell out of him and they just pretend he was never here” your stomach felt uneasy, holding back all the pain you felt for the past few months. jeno gave you a solemn look, unsure of what to say.

“but he’s their child? they can’t just not care for him” the boy across from you looked concerned. you shook your head,

“they love him. i know they do. they’ve just been so caught up in their arguments and constantly working. the stress has taken a toll on them, and unfortunately, me” you let out. you weren’t so sure why you were spilling your entire month’s worth of journal entries to jeno. but you were glad you had someone to listen to you.

“i-i’m sorry for putting this all on you-“ jeno interrupts you,

“you shouldn’t apologise. use this emotion. use it to write your new piece” he encouraged, placing his hand on your forearm. it was just a small gesture, yet it made you feel warm inside.

“i think you’re into something” you cracked him a small smile before hitting down the suggestion.

“see, i’m a great partner” jeno chuckles,

“ehh still debatable” you retort, watching as his smile turns into a pout.

“but in all honestly, whatever happens at this table, stays at this table” jeno comforts, making eye contact with you. you nodded slowly, feeling more comfortable with his presence. he was a good listener, someone who didn’t talk back much. but nonetheless, you made a new friend.

it was the following weekend. you were sitting at your desk, brainstorming ideas for your new piece. you weren’t sure where to start, so you ended up scribbling down random words on a piece of paper to explain how you felt. you rolled your eyes at how hopeless this process was, opting to just clock off for the day. you called sumi, in hopes she would help take your mind off things.

“what’s up?” sumi greets through the phone,

“are you busy? is anything on tonight? i’m trying to get my mind off this stupid paper” you complain, as she giggles in response.

“i think one of jisung’s dance friends is having a party, i can ask him to pick us up?” she offers, as you nod your head.

“see you soon then” you hang up the call, rushing to your closet to throw on a plain white top and some ripped jeans. finally, chucking on a random coat, you made your way down stairs. you caught your dad, sitting alone, watching the television. you felt sorry for him, it seemed like he was doing everything to make things work. you approached him slowly, bidding him a farewell, telling him not to worry about you much. he just nodded, giving you a small wave as you exited the front door. you saw jisung’s car approach your driveway, you quickly settled into the back seat, greeting your friends.

“jisung, important question” sumi starts the conversation, as jisung pulls out of your driveway. the boy just huffs in response,

“is your friend, jaemin, hot?” she starts to giggle as jisung rolls his eyes.

“why are you asking?” he grumbled, as you just sat back to watch the bickering unfold.

“because if he is, i’m gonna go for it” sumi nonchalantly announces, leaving you with your mouth agape.

“don’t even think about it, jaemin is a hardcore player” jisung tries to divert sumi’s interest.

“screw you jisung!” sumi folds her arms, visibly annoyed at the boy’s remarks. you just let out a soft sigh, it was going to be a long night.

as the three of you entered the house, sumi pushed right past jisung, leaving you alone with him. he just looks over at you,

“what’s her problem?” he grunts, dusting off the sleeves of his jacket.

“you were being a bit of the dick to her in the car, maybe you should, i don’t know, be nice to her. she’s your best friend” you shove the clueless boy softly.

“but she keeps trying to talk to all these guys! like they can never treat her well like i-“ jisung stops himself as his eyes widen. you copy his expression.

“park jisung! do you have a crush on sumi?” you tease, poking his cheeks.

“ugh please don’t say anything. i want to get her to like me on her own”

he pouts as you nod. you appreciated how respectful he was.

jisung led you to the kitchen, where a lot of people had gathered surprisingly.

“that’s jaemin over there” jisung points out, strolling over to his friend. you straggle behind, trying not to squish between too many people.

“hey man! glad you could make it” jaemin pulls jisung in for a hug, his eyes now turning to you.

“this is y/n” jisung introduces as you leant to shake jaemin’s hand, but the boy didn’t take the hint, instead pulling you to his side.

“hi there” he smirks, as you just nodded. his attention was yet diverted again,

“jeno!! my boy” jaemin practically yells in your ear, causing you to spring away from

his grasp. you watched as jeno approached the group, greeting jaemin first before giving jisung a small nod. he walks over to you and stands by your side.

“hey peaches” he spoke, leaning down to your ear. you smiled up at him, saying a quick hello. jisung started smirking at the both of you, teasingly raising his eyebrows. you give him a quick death stare before he turns away to find sumi.

throughout the night, you had conversed with many new people, a lot more than you anticipated. you saw jisung and sumi sitting outside, hoping they were resolving whatever disagreements they had been having. you were seated the bottom of jaemin’s staircase, sipping on a glass of water. you were just about ready to leave, feeling tiredness wash over you. until, you heard an all too familiar voice,

“hello again” jeno looks down on you, leaning against the wall. you couldn’t help but smile,

“hey jeno” you dramatically rolled your eyes, he slowly pouted once again.

“did you really have to say my name like that? am i really that repulsive?” he acted fake hurt, followed by a soft chuckle.

“fortunately, you are one of the least repulsive people i’ve encountered tonight” you respond,

“i know i’m just a catch” he attempted to wink, but just ended up crinkling one side of his face. your head fell back in laughter, your hands clapping whilst doing so. jeno found the sight quite amusing. there you were again, doing the tiniest gestures, yet he found them completely and utterly endearing.

“moving on! why are you sitting alone, peaches? where’s your gang at?” he asks, taking a sip from his cup, which you assumed had alcohol in it.

you motioned for him to sit down next to you, in which he gladly complied.

“don’t tell anyone, but i’m really tired and i just want to get out of this party already” you leant close to his ear to whisper.

“yeah me too” he whispered back to your ear, causing both of you to giggle.

“my friends are over there somewhere sorting out their drama” you continued to whisper,

“wait why are we whispering? i can’t hear you too well” jeno pointed out, looking over at you. you paused for a second. it was the first time you had properly seen his features up close. there was no denying he was incredibly handsome. when you looked at him, you saw his glistening eyes, his plump lips and his full cheeks. you weren’t sure why you were only starting to notice this about him. you shook the thoughts out of your head, noticing how he was staring at you, confused.

“u-uh i don’t know actually” you felt a blush creep to your cheers, hoping the dark lighting in the room would hide it. jeno decided to take matters in his own hands, quite literally. he gently latched onto your hand, leading you out of the house and to the front yard. there was a small bench located on jaemin’s porch. jeno waited for you to sit before situating himself next to you, leaving a fair amount of space between you two.

“is this a better place to talk?” he asked, looking over to you. you just nodded in response.

“have you progressed with the paper?” jeno brought up, trying to continue the flow for conversation.

“uh i was trying today. but everything kept getting clogged up in here” you pointed to your head, causing him to give you another solemn look. he really wanted you to do well, and get this assignment done.

after all, that’s what he was meant to be doing.

“don’t be so hard on yourself, it will come to you when it’s ready. i’m here to help, remember?” he comforted, giving you a soft pat on the back. part of you had wished he embraced you, but it was too early in your friendship to initiate any intimacy.

and just like that, you and jeno talked about whatever came to the tops of your heads, for what seemed like hours. you saw sumi and jisung exit the party, relieved to have found you.

“you okay with taking her home?” jisung asked jeno, your eyes immediately flicking to the boy next to you. jeno has situated himself a little closer to you than before, his arm now placed over your shoulders slightly.

“yeah of course” jeno kindly responded.

“don’t try anything! or we are coming for you!” sumi points at jeno in a playful manner before pulling jisung to his car. you wondered what they were going to get up to.

“thanks for driving me” you smiled at jeno, before standing up. he followed your actions, leading you to his car.

“it’s no problem, we just have to get you home safely” you nodded, before pointing out,

“wait did you drink tonight?” you immediately remembered that you’d seen him drink from a few red cups that night.

“no no, i only drink sprite, i swear!” he puts his hands up in defence, you chuckle softly, feeling embarrassed for accusing him.

“ah sorry for accusing you” you apologised while getting into the passenger side.

“it’s fine, i understand that you would have been concerned, but i don’t drink alcohol” he assures you before placing his seatbelt on and starting the car. jeno had a way of speaking that made you feel instantly comfortable. if you had told yourself a year ago that you’d be going home from a random party with a guy you didn’t know that well, you’d probably slap yourself. but something was different about him. he was inviting, intriguing and a pleasure to be around. you didn’t want this night to end.

jaemin’s party had brought both highs and lows for those around you. you and jeno were conversing a lot more often, mainly online and at the cafe. but you had noticed that jisung and sumi were starting to be distant. you didn’t want to pry too much, especially since it was none of your business. they would eventually come to you when they were ready, as you fully believed in that.

[text message]

peaches: jenoooOoo

jenojam: peachessSss

peaches: yeah just wanted to talk, wanna meet at the cafe?

jenojam: yeah okay i’ll race ya

peaches: no fair, you have a car

jenojam: better start running peaches

you rolled your eyes before hurriedly putting on your shoes. you practically ran down the stairs, not noticing your mother waiting at the door.

“and where do you think you’re going?” she sternly questions, you stop in your tracks.

“seeing a friend” you bluntly explained, trying to walk past her.

“which friend?” she continued to interrogate, usually your dad would just send you off and tell you to get home safely, but your mum needed every little detail.

“his name is jeno, he’s from my writing class” you try to explain once again, hoping she’d just take it and leave you alone.

“you’ve never mentioned him before” your mother just didn’t know when to stop asking questions, you eventually opted to opening the front door yourself.

“and you’ve never really been interested in my life before this so let’s both pretend this didn’t happen” with that, you slammed the door a little too harshly for your liking. you took a deep breath before strutting off to the cafe. sometimes you wondered what it would be like if your parents weren’t together. you knew it was such a dark thought, but they weren’t as happy as you had always known them to be. to say you were worried was an understatement. so you went to one of the only people who didn’t make you feel so worried anymore.

you entered the cafe, eyes scanning each table until they landed at the back of jeno’s head. you took a deep breath, preparing yourself to not completely unravel in front of him. jeno had already ordered his usual coffee as well as another blueberry muffin, split in half. you took a seat across from him, stopping his movements.

“finally! thought you got lost or something” he playfully teased, pushing your half of the muffin towards you.

“ooo you’re being all concerned about me now huh?” you took a bite of the muffin as jeno almost choked on his coffee.

“lets not get ahead of ourselves, peaches” he responded, cracking a small smile at you. “you didn’t even thank me for the muffin! i guess our thing is ruined now” he softly pouted, which made you instantly smile, how was he doing that?

“ah i’m so sorry! thank you for the muffin, jeno” you rest your hand over his for barely a second before pulling away. it left the both of you speechless for a moment, until jeno awkwardly coughed, trying to change the subject.

“so um how have you been? did you want to talk about anything in particular?” he started, you were pleased he was able to divert the conversation well.

“um well i’m not giving you a full tmi, but my parents have been arguing quite a lot. it makes it hard for me to concentrate. and my brother has finals at the moment, plus the time zones don’t match up well for us to talk. so i can’t really go to anyone about it. and before you point out jisung and sumi, i think they’re being distant with eachother hence my inevitable distancing from them” you groaned after you finished your rant, putting your head in your hands. jeno didn’t know how to comfort you, or what else to say, as a matter of fact. he’d usually just try and crack a joke with you but it seemed like you weren’t in the mood for one at the moment.

“peaches, stop being hard on yourself okay? these things are out of your control. maybe you should tell atleast one of those people how you truly feel. it will give you closure so you can start to feel a bit better” jeno suggested. you listened along to every word, trying to think of the first person who came to mind.

“that’s good advice. thank you again for always listening to me, i really appreciate it. everything is just all foggy at the moment and i’m having trouble staying focused” you sigh, pulling out your journal where you jotted down ideas for your writing.

“how about this, write a creative piece about a child who is experiencing changes in their life that are out of their control? it’s not too far fetched. it’s relatable and you can really dig deep into your emotions, if you’re comfortable” you looked over at the boy across from you, your eyes softening at his expression. he spoke with such eloquence, his eyes practically smiling at you. you felt a small tear form, running down your cheek. jeno’s face turned into a concerned expression,

“oh i didn’t mean to make you upset, i’m sorry, peaches” he frowned as you shook your head.

“no no, you’ve helped me so much, jeno. i don’t know how i can ever repay you for being such a good partner, and friend” you pout at him. he found it completely adorable that you were considering how he was feeling about your partnership. it made him warm inside to know that you thought about his feelings.

“you can thank me by writing the best paper ever and then i’ll take you to celebrate” he shoots you another assuring smile. all jeno knew at this moment was that he never wanted to see you sad or hurt ever again. as long as he saw you smiling, he too felt like everything would be okay. it was silly to put something such as his happiness, onto you. but jeno didn’t care, there was just something about you, he couldn’t get enough of.

you spent the following weekend writing, feeling inspiration flood over you. jeno’s idea just clicked so well in your head, it was pretty much impossible for anything to stop the flow at the moment. well, there was one thing. the constant bickering from your parents, tonight’s topic, was about your brother, taeyong. you let out a short sigh, stepping away from your laptop. you reached for your phone, swiping the notification from jeno, aside. you let the phone ring, waiting for taeyong to answer. you were about to end it, until your brother’s tired voice echoed through the phone. you could tell he had just woken up,

“what’s up?” he starts, as you hear shuffling around his end.

“is it possible for you to come home, yes or no” you get straight to the point. taeyong is speechless, fully awake now due to your concerned tone.

“you know it’s not possible. i still have another semester here before i graduate” taeyong sighs, sitting up against his headboard. you roll your eyes, frustrated at him,

“that’s what you said during your finals. that’s what you keep saying. i need you here. mum and dad are driving eachother insane and it’s only a matter of time, that i only end up living with one of them” you rant, as taeyong remains silent. jeno has told you to let out how you felt to atleast one person. why not start with your brother?

“calm down okay? mum and dad aren’t going to get a divorce. they love eachother too much. you’re just being angsty” your brother practically scoffs through the phone. you felt even more frustrated that he refused to listen to you.

“just because you got a chance to move away from all this family drama, doesn’t mean you can leave me behind? i’m your sister, taeyong. don’t you get that? you might not see it as a big deal, but this family is falling apart. and you’re not even here to witness it” you let out a final cry, hoping he would finally understand how you feel. but it was just radio silent. your big brother, who had always been there for you as a child, was now off living his so called ‘best life’, leaving you to deal with everything alone. you didn’t want to converse with him anymore. you hung up the call, about to toss it to the side, before you got a facetime call from jeno. you felt some tears that were stained on your cheeks, quickly wiping them away before answering his call.

“hey there you are! i was just checking up, because mrs kim emailed me, saying the assignment has to be handed in my friday- wait were you crying?” jeno immediately halts himself. you just shake your head, wanting to deny the fact that you were. jeno frowned, knowing you were lying.

“don’t lie to me, peaches” he sighs as you end up nodding. jeno doesn’t tell you stop crying or pry to know why you were upset. he just simply asks,

“do you feel like talking about it?”

you weren’t sure how to answer. on one hand you would have loved to let it all out to him, but on the other hand, you didn’t want to burden him with your never-ending drama. you felt bad for him, actually. that he had to sit and watch you suffer in silence. but that’s who jeno was. he always put others before himself. he cared about you like no other person he had met at the school. you were a light in his life that he never wanted to stop shining. he wanted to protect you, and have you let him in. but he knew it took patience and time for you to fully emerge yourself into being more than friends, and he respected that.

“i don’t really want to talk about it. and i’ll have the piece done by friday, it’s okay” you assure him, watching as he just bites the bottom of his lip.

“cafe after school tomorrow?” he offers, trying to change the topic. you give him a small smile before nodding,

“of course”

that’s the end of part one!! i’ll be uploading part 2 as soon as i can! please enjoy this for now 🥺 i’m really proud of it!!

#nct #nct imagine #nct dream #nct dream imagine #nct fluff #nct angst #nct fic #nct jeno #jeno imagine #jeno fluff #jisungsmochi masterlist #jisungsmochiimagines

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theymakemegayer · 4 years

Text

Reputation: Chapter 2

author’s note: In a few hours we will have another QB update, and I have so many mixed emotions about the next chapter... Here’s something I hope can make you guys feel better.

PLEASE TAG POEPLE WHO WANTS TO READ POPPY X MC FICS. I know today’s update will mess up the tags for Poppy.

TW: for a little cursing, I tried to censored it tho

Chapter 1

********************************************************

After parting ways with Zoey, I enter my classroom for my first subject. My eyes scan the vacant seats. I had just put my laptop down when someone spoke behind me.

"Well, isn't this very exciting. Bea Hughes." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, turning around I was met with Chloe frowning at me.

"You've got to be kidding me. You again?"

"You think I enjoy seeing your face early in the morning? You must be still asleep and dreaming newbie." She crossed her arms in front of her.

I laughed humorlessly, "Don't try to be funny."

Her lips tugged into a smirk, "You know what would be funny right now?"

I raised my eyebrow, a part of me starting to get nervous. This was definitely bad news. Plastering a smile, she casually dumped her coffee on my laptop. My eyes grew wide. She laughed at my reaction.

I scowled at her, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

A voice interrupted us. "What is going on here?"

I turned around and my eyes landed on Ina standing at the top aisle, a briefcase in hand. Holy Shi-?

Chloe smiled at her, "Nothing Professor Kingsley. I'm just helping Bea clean up the coffee she spilled in her laptop. She is so clumsy."

My mind blacked out for a moment, all I can think about was Chloe calling her Professor. Like falling down on the ground and being slapped by reality, realization hit me.

"Y-you're my professor?" I managed to voice out.

Ina cleared her throat then plastered her professional smile. "If you're in my Behavioral Science in practice course then yes." Then she proceed on the podium ready to start the class.

I sat weakly trying not to look at Ina. I took a couple of breaths calming my racing mind and heart.

This should be some kind of joke right? I cast a look at her surprisingly she also looked at me at that moment. I avoided her gaze. I groaned internally. God this is so awkward and messed up.

After my grueling and awkward first period I rushed out of the classroom calling Zoey and wanting to meet her in our dorm.

I was already in our dorm building when someone called me out.

"Bea! Wait up!" I turned around and saw this random guy power walking towards me.

"That clapback against Poppy yesterday was all over my social media. It was epic!" He said once he was in front of me.

"Oh... thanks?"

"You don't know how much it means to me that someone is finally standing up towards Poppy. I'm totally on your side."

"Thanks. I'm happy to stand up too towards people like that."

He grinned, "I'm Benji by the way. Your residence advisor. If you ever need anything, I'll be here."

"Thanks Benji, but I need to go already." I glance at my wrist watch. "I need to meet up with a friend. It was nice meeting you Benji."

"Sure! it was nice talking to you, Bea." He said waving goodbye to me.

Once I arrived at our shared dorm memories of my dilemma and stress came back into me in full swing. I was pacing back and fort in our living room area when Zoey arrived.

"Hey you okay?" She slouched on the couch facing me.

"Zoey..." I pouted.

"What happened? It's sounded like some kind of emergency when you called."

I sighed and plopped down beside her. "It is." I huffed before telling her what happened.

"Okay you what now?" She exclaimed looking me dead in the eye.

"Ina... Professor Kingsley she was the one I met at the speakeasy last night." I groaned hiding my face on my hands.

"You guys kissed?"

"We made out to be exact. Thank God you called me last night Zo. I don't know how messed up it will be if I happen to sleep with her." I groaned again.

"You sure you don't like her Bea? Almost everyone in Belvoire has a crush on her. And you happen to even made out with her. Heck you were so close with sleeping with her too."

I groaned removing my hands on my face I looked at her in the eye, "Please don't remind me and Zo having a crush is different with practically making out with her."

"Oh then let me add that apart from having a crush I'm sure some of the students thirst for her."

I sighed, "Well yes Ina is attractive, but knowing that she's my professor. I just can't Zoey. Seeing her a while ago became so awkward to me."

Zoey wrapped me in her embrace. "Sorry I should have known you're really different from the people around here Bea."

"This scholarship I have is really important to me Zo. I can't afford to be this careless and lose this." My voice was muffled in her shoulders.

She caressed my back soothingly, "I'm sure you won't lose this. Have you talked to Professor Kingsley yet?"

Sighing I withdrew from our hug, "Not yet. I was so shock seeing her a while ago. I can't talk to her yet nor be left alone with her."

Zoey frowned, "You seem really stressed about this Bea. Wanna go out again tonight?"

I raised an eyebrow, "What's on your mind?"

She grinned, "Let's crush the Alpha House's Welcome Week Bash tonight! It'll help with your ranking, you'll have a good time and maybe will bump into Poppy there and piss her off."

The moment she mentioned Poppy, I swear I was already sold to crush this party, but of course I won't admit that to anyone specially not to Zoey. She'll get mad if she knew.

I beamed, "Okay you had me sold with pissing Poppy off. " A little lie won't hurt right?

**********************

We arrived at the party an hour ago. The only 'almost' mishaps we had was getting inside - which was an easy job if you had me and Zoey; with the right charm and words Michael let us in. The music was blasting loudly, the people occupied with different games and drinks, and the frat boys diving once in a while in the jello pool - the party was in full swing.

"Bea! Bea! Bea! Bea! Bea!" People chanted as I won another game. I grinned at them when a clap suddenly cut through the cheers.

"How lovely. Luis and his brothers already done with their charity work for this semester. Don't mistake it for kindness Farmsville."

I turn around at the sound of that voice and came face to face with Poppy. She's with Chloe and I think that was Veronica who was busy with her phone.

I rolled my eyes, "I was starting to think when you will show up and grace us with your presence, Poppy."

She rolled her eyes, "I must say hanging out with the boys is definitely a step up from this another nobody." She gestured dismissively towards Zoey without taking her eyes off me. "You know I think we can be friends Farmsville. You clearly learned how to dress up too." Her eyes roamed at me. Oh God. Please this is torture. I tried to school my expression even though my mind was about to explode. Her eyes finally landed on my face a smirk ghosting on her lips. Bea focus.

"And why would I want to be friends with a bully like you?" I crossed my arms staring at her hard.

"Because I ran this school. You have two options here, I can make your stay here like a living hell or..." She grinned sweetly, "I can make it heaven. All you have to do is leave the dead weight here." She smirked at Zoey who was glaring at her.

I frowned not liking how she addressed Zoey, "You know what Poppy? Zoey is better than you in every way." I step closer at her standing in my full height. "If you wanna be friends with me" I smirked, "Here is a little tip." I leaned closer and I swear did her breath hitched? I whispered, my breath tickling on her ears making sure she was the only one who can hear it, "I just need you to be Poppy, not Poppy Min-Sinclair or any of these masks you wear, just you." I leaned back and plastered my sweet, sweet smile as I watch Poppy's dumbfounded reaction - and something I can't name flickered in her eyes.

Not even a second passed when she scowled at me, "You wish Farsmville. We ran by my rules not yours."

I sighed dramatically, "Well it's your lost then." I stepped back and smirked at her.

She was about to speak again when Ford interrupted us , "Hold that thought." He ran towards the pool and dived.

Poppy shrieked darting away from the spraying jello. Carter - which I found out to be Poppy's boyfriend slung his arm around Poppy. "It's just a little jello babe. C'mon let's jump too! It'll be fun."

Wriggling free from Carter she glared at him, "Do I look like I am dressed for a swim on that colored sugar?"

"But -"

"Hang on!" Luis suddenly interrupted. "Sorry bro. I'm just thinking, Bea seems really cool I bet she'll love to join the fun and swim in the jello pool. What do you think?"

"I mean, I'm always up for new experiences." I stated with a grin.

"See! Come on Bea!" Luis cheered.

Grinning as an idea popped in my head I yelled, "Poppy hold your breath!"

Shocked she spoke, "Why would-"

But before she can even finished her sentence I was running towards her and pushed her towards the pool. She shrieked, "BEA HUGHES!"

"Can't let her have all the fun." As I leaped in the jello pool I can hear people cheering, a bubble of happiness surged through me.

When I finally got up I saw Poppy completely mufunctioning, "There's like jello... in every crevice of my body."

I inched closer to her, "Was jello pool that bad?" I laughed when she threw me a glare.

"This is your fault Farmsville."

I raised my hands in mock surrender, "Hey I just wanted you to let lose a little."

"Stop talking to me." She growled. Oops is she really pissed off now?

"Cannon ball!" Luis yelled only dressed in his underwear as he dove spluttering more jello towards Poppy and me.

Poppy shrieked again. I can hear Chloe desperately saying, "Somebody help her. She has a jello phobia." While Michael laughed, "Nice look Pops! The green really brings out your eyes."

Poppy screamed finally reaching her limit. Carter finally helped her out of the pool bringing her some towel.

"I AM GOING TO KILL YOU ALL." She yelled one last time before sprinting inside, while Chloe and Veronica followed her.

Feeling a little guilty I decided to get out from the pool to dry myself up.

"Bea!" Zoey called out for me. I sat at the edge of the pool and she swam closer to me. She smirked, "Love how you pissed off Poppy."

I smiled at her trying to bury the feeling of heaviness inside of my chest. "And I love how pretty you look right now."

Zoey laughed, "Flutterer."

At the corner of my eyes I saw Veronica and Chloe entering again. Okay, where's Poppy? It was probably not helping at all that Carter just dove passed us towards the jello pool. Oh damn it.

"Hey Zoey. I just need a little bathroom break." I stood up carrying the towel with me. "I'll be back." I winked at her before power walking inside the house.

I almost gave up on finding where Poppy might be when I stumbled on the garage. She was standing - her back facing me and mumbling to herself. "I hate that Farmsville." She groaned.

I suppressed my smile before speaking, "Don't you think hate is a strong word to use?"

She whipped her head around so fast and threw a glare at me once she saw me. "What are you doing here Farmsville?" She said through gritted teeth.

"I can be anywhere I want you know. You don't own this." I gesture on the garage where we are.

"Didn't you pissed me enough today? Do you really want a death sentence so bad?" She glared at me.

I laughed and raised my hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. I'll stop teasing. I just stumbled here, I swear."

She raised an eyebrow, "Then get lost. I don't want to talk nor see your face."

I crossed my arms, "What are you even doing here alone though?"

"I'm waiting for my driver. I'm going home since I feel so grossed out thanks to you. Now will you leave me alone."

Instead of following what she said, I stepped closer towards her.

"Are you deaf? I said get lost."

I lifted my hand holding out the towel I had in me and ignored her as I wiped out some jello remains on her hair. She flinched the first time the towel touched her hair.

"Relax. I swear I was just cleaning a jello out of your hair." I mumbled.

She remained silent which was surprising, so I look at her and that was when I realized I was standing too close to her. My hand stopped wiping her hair in mid-air and my eyes grew wide at the realization. Poppy was looking at me intently. Her eyes wasn't glaring at me, but it was searching for something in me. I can feel the heat creeping on my cheeks because of the way she looked at me.

"W-What?" I stuttered stupidly.

"Why are you doing this Newbie?" She whispered like her question itself was not meant to be heard by anyone, but I heard it - I heard her. The tone of her voice was softer and clearer than her usual tone.

I gulped, "I'm doing nothing. What do you mean?"

"You..." She was still looking at me before sighing and averting her eyes from me. "Whatever. Forget I asked anything."

She took a step back and turned her back towards me. "Just answer this one thing."

"Yeah?" I spoke my voice quivered a little as I fidgeted with the towel in my hands.

"Did you mean what you said earlier? That tip. You only need me to be Poppy and you will be my friend?"

I grinned as warmth blossomed in my chest, "Yeah."

At that moment Poppy's car arrived. A man opened the door for her. Before stepping inside Poppy halted like she wanted to say something. She shook her head a little before finally entering the car. What were you gonna say? I tried to bury that curiosity as I watch her car leave. I finally let out the breath I wasn't aware I was holding back.

"Today had been weird." I mumbled as I started walking back inside.

#poppy x mc #queen b poppy #poppy min sinclair #makepoppyali2020 #fanfic #queen b

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fizzingwizard · 4 years

Text

Alright and now for episode 23! Which was a lot more interesting. Still lacking in pertinent ways but at least it got some stuff moving, and there were a few small but very nice character moments.

I took a LOT of Taichi spam this week you guys. The animation was slightly better than normal and my boy was just so good.

At parkour. He’s good at parkour.

More below!

We pick up where we left off last week, with Devimon arriving in his true form and picking a fight over Poyomon. He’s so threatened by a wad of jelly.

He does seem a bit weird though. More on that later.

The quintessential Taichi picture.

And just a cute one.

So okay, Devimon makes mincemeat of MetalGreymon and WereGarurumon. Like he wipes the floor with them. Even though they should be a level above him. I was like what’s going on. Clearly dark powers are giving him extra strength, but this still seemed like too much...

Yamato yells for Takeru to go hide. Taichi then yells for Yamato to go hide xD However Devimon has no trouble destroying all their possible hiding spots and attacking them.

Takeru worries about his brother :’<

Taichi quickly tries to think of a strategy but yup “Hide” is all he can come up with.

They communicate via digivice and Yamato has something of a better strategy but... it still just amounts to hiding.

Meanwhile their partners continue to get their butts kicked.

MetalGreymon: Hey watch it I just got this painted!

WereGaurumon: My nails! I just had them done!

Taichi: Would you two stop fussing, you’re so vain!

Taichi: We’ve got more important things to worry about! Like my hair!

Meanwhile in the real world... the four are together and Koushirou updates Jou and Mimi on the situation, which boils down to Not Good. The tank ships are still on a collision course. On top of that, Koushirou notices that the data being absorbed by Calmaramon’s... idk what to call it, data collection tower? thing, is being sent directly to the digital world. He guesses it’s going to be used to power the creature whose name I forgot they fought before.

This guy.

Koushirou also guesses this probably means Taichi and Yamato are in some deep shit rn.

Taichi is pretty smart too... he’s able to tell that Devimon is able to manipulate the dark mists and that’s how he’s able to find their hiding spots and attack them so easily.

Here’s the evil crystal that I would have thought was from Sailor Moon. Ahhh evil is so beautiful. And purple. Hmmm, the Crest of Knowledge is also purple, and absorption of data is converted to power.... GUYS KOUSHIROU’S GOING TO GO DARK.

Kidding, kidding. I would totally watch it though.

So the others go to fight Calmaramon and destroy the tower to help Taichi and Yamato. But, uh, they didn’t count on Calamaramon’s tentaclesx ;D

Kabuterimon makes the classic amateur mistake of DRAMATICALLY ANNOUNCING HIMSELF when he swerves in to rescue the girls...

... and he gets his just desserts. :P

Meanwhile Taichi and Yamato... are still losing. So who steps up to the plate but...

Takeru and Poyomon! Lol!

No seriously, this scene SCREAMED of the one in 99 where Hikari sacrifices herself to protect Yamato and Sora. I was really expecting Takeru to do the same thing here. “Leave my brother alone! Take me instead!”

But, I guess, since he’s a boy, he’s less self-sacrificial and more just... irrationally strong...

His conviction results in evolution!

Poyomon becomes Tokomon! THANK GOODNESS. I could not handle another “poyo, poyo!”

Devimon takes one look at this pink-cheeked thing and FREEEEEEAKS OUUUUUT.

“You remind me... of someone I once knew... you have... the same eyes... GRRRRRRRRR!!!!”

he didn’t say that but he totally should have lol. Now someone please make an edit of Angemon where he takes off his helmet and he has Tokomon eyes underneath x’D

Data readings on Koushirou’s computer start going haywire! The data is being sent somewhere fast!

I was expecting some kind of power up but I wasn’t expecting full on evolution. Because yup. That’s what goes down. Devimon evolves.

And here’s where he gets weird. His evolution seems painful. Unnatural. He doesn’t seem exactly pleased with it, to be frank. He’s really agitated by Tokomon but he doesn’t do much in the way of monologuing and it’s not even clear that the evolution is by his own design. It just kind of seems to happen. Then, once he does evolve, he’s much less talkative. This is generally not the sign of sanity or even sentience. It’s like Devimon is imprisoned by his evolution, which goes on a rampage.

Neodevimon. Actually, original Devimon is scarier but :P

Lol and then Tokomon gets blown out of Takeru’s arms and goes for a tumble while Takeru runs frantically after him xD Great moment.

Rollin rollin rollin, though the streams are swollen...

NeoDevimon is very powerful but y’know... WereGarurumon just STOOD there. This... this is totally his fault that he gets hurt here x’D

Taichi is displeased with this development, and yet, still cute in his displeasure.

Finally Koushirou manages to get through! Taichi is too preoccupied to jump for joy or anything but you can see that he’s excited. “Koushirouuuuu please save us!!!” basically that’s what’s going on

However he’s right away blown over and his digivice scatters and the signal drops...

Yamato is very Stressed.

However, contact with Koushirou has rejuvenated Taichi.

LIKE THE PHOENIX HE RISES FROM THE ASHES

Taichi: “FUCK THIS SHIIIIIIIIIT!”

His renewed conviction becomes power. Yeah, that’s a thing, we know.

Meanwhile, in the human world, the others have worked out that Taichi and Yamato are fighting and need help, and they combine the powers of their own passionate hearts in a classic shonen anime trope.

Koushirou gets a special moment all to himself! It’s really fast but still, the episode makes a point of focusing on Koushirou’s desire to connect with his friends and help them. I choose to believe this a nod to Koushirou’s significant role in the show and a way of saying “Sorry they’re not all together right now but they will be soon and characters other than Taichi and Yamato will get to do cool things in the not so distant future!”

Their partners are then able to defeat Calmaramon and destroy the data collection tower.

BOOM, baby.

Meanwhile our heroes who never sleep manage to defeat Devimon. Which, I figured, meant he’d retreat for now, but...

He freaking dies! Yup, that’s right! Disintegrates!! I was like what the heck?? This was a Boss Battle???? It had none of the signs of being a boss battle other than the boss being present and it wasn’t even that hard...

However, it’s not over till it’s over...

... Tokomon looks on NeoDevimon’s death kind of creepily. Like, the episode makes a point of showing us Tokomon’s reaction, not just the group’s. So... I feel like this is gonna be relevant. I COULD BE WRONG. But I just personally wouldn’t stick this bit in without it meaning something. But that something could be pretty much anything so we still don’t know much.

The sailors aboard the tankers whose control systems are restored at the last second are pretty darn relieved anyway.

This was my favorite moment in epiosde, Mimi flinging herself over Koushirou and knocking Jou out of the way to hug Sora in her enthusiasm over their victory xD awww Mimi

Yamato wants to know what’s with Taichi. Taichi’s like, “The others helped us from afar, I just know it...” AND THAT’S WHY HE’S BEST BOY.

Yamato gives Takeru an adorable pat on the head and tells him good job. Only thing that could have made this moment cuter would have been if he also patted Tokomon’s head. BECAUSE HELLO. KID JUST EVOLVED. SAY HI AND TELL HIM YOUR NAMES AT LEAST.

But then! Darknightmon uses the dark crystal thingy and...!

Le gasp! NeoDevimon’s corpse emerges from the ground...

Taichi has a flashback to another time they thought they won only for their defeated opponent to be infused with dark energy and resurrect...

... uh I forgot this guy’s name too >_>

Taichi: “Wow I never saw this coming!”

Well, I did. :P Due to being over ten years old...

We end with NeoDevimon’s mask cracking off!

Creepy!

Final thoughts... it now kind of looks like Darknightmon is the one pulling Devimon’s strings rather than the other way around. But my guess is that’s not the case. It could also be that Devimon told Darknightmon to do this - after all, Devimon used the stone’s power to evolve Darknightmon before, and this is just the reverse of that. Or it could be they are equals and in cahoots with each other. I definitely think there’s an even greater, bigger Bad out there that they either work for or are afraid of etc something like that, I think we probably all feel sure of that at least. But Devimon in this episode really surprised me in the ways he seems to lack agency. He seemed like a pawn of evil rather than the chessmaster himself.

So next week! Looks lit!

Devimon’s new evolution? or power up? whatever is creepier than NeoDevimon so that’s a relief.

BUT THIS IS EVEN CREEPIER HOLY CRAP TAICHI! Get some sleep, your eyes are all red! (And he’s injured. His hand is where he got hurt two weeks ago fighting Splashmon right? He got hit with miasma. I wonder if this is the same wound and if it’s somehow controlling him due to the dark energy getting into his system... But everyone’s more or less been hit with the dark energy at this point so maybe not. Anyway, CREEPY EYES, CREEPY CREEPY EYES.)

Also Yamato DIES. He DIES y’all. *funeral march plays* Hmm, Tokomon looks hungry...

Then we got this bit which in case you can’t tell is Takeru being awesome. So I figured, ahh, THIS is the boss battle, and we’re gonna see Angemon again already... weird as that sounds :P

HOW-E-VER

We also get this???? Taichi silhouetted against a brilliant light????? What does it mean? I mean we know Takeru has healing powers so I’m fully expecting that to happen but uhh are we also going to canonize Taichi next week? lol. Saint Taichi. I love him the best but I will be a bit miffed if next week IS the big boss battle and Takeru’s role is “power up Taichi so he can kill it” and that’s it... But I guess we’ll have to see.

It does rather look like they saved the animation budget for next week, the preview was nuts x’D Can’t wait.

#digimon adventure:#digimon adventure 2020 #digimon adventure reboot #fizz watches digimon 2020 #digimon

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tackyink · 4 years

Text

Why do I do this to myself, I ask, as I post the next chapter two weeks after the first one, which took four years, thus defeating the entire point of extensive editing and risking a huge tone shift. Then again, I’ve been whining about it so much that it would be odd not to share.

Chapter 1

— — — — — — — —

Chapter 2

The sun pounds down with criminal intent as Alex and her friend run across the terrace of Mrs. Isabel’s monumental house. They are adventurers this time, or maybe pirates. It doesn’t matter. The reflection of the light on the colorful tiles and whitewashed buildings is blinding, and her friend’s blonde hair makes her glow like she’s wearing a crown woven with sunlight. They are wearing matching pendants of stone that she picked for them while she was on a trip.

Laughing, her friend turns to Alex with a toy chest between her hands, but Alex can’t hear the sounds coming from her mouth and her face is a featureless blur that she can’t make sense of. Who’s this person? The stress of not being able to focus on her face makes the image vanish into white, then black, then...

When Alex woke up, she vaguely remembered dreaming about home, so she didn’t give it much thought. She very rarely remembered dreams, and dreams related to the past were the worst because they were filled with people she hadn’t seen in years, so she wasn’t going to make an effort to recall only to feel bad.

Getting up with a lot effort, she remembered she had gone straight to bed as soon as she got home the day before and she needed a shower. She groaned as she undressed and dropped on the nightstand the seastone pendant she usually wore under her clothes. It was a small, useless thing that may have at some point been used as a bullet and repurposed, but it was a gift from a family friend, and she liked how it looked. A good luck charm of sorts that clearly wasn’t doing its job.

The shower seemed to stretch to infinity as she reviewed the events of the previous day and what she needed to do from then on. She wished that had been a dream. If only things were always that easy.

True to word, the pirates had left with the rising sun. Alex didn’t get to see their ship, even though the first thing she did that morning was go to the port to sneak a glance and contemplate the fish-shaped submarine in its entire tacky splendor. She’d always liked watching ships, ever since she was a kid and sat down at the beach or near the shipyard to see them from up close.

The following weeks were a haze of bureaucracy and preparations to leave her post at the library. She booked a ticket for a passenger ship to the city-island of St. Poplar with the intention of catching another ship from there that could sail her to the Sabaody Archipelago. Then she’d need to request permission to cross the Red Line, and once she was there, well, it wasn’t like she was in a big hurry to return home. But if she didn’t enter the New World soon, there was a chance that once the Poneglyph was be discovered and she’d be held up as soon as she set foot on holy land.

Nearly a month and a half had passed by the time she was able to get all her ducks in a row: training her replacement at work, sending letters to friends and family telling them she was moving, as well as shipping a couple of boxes to the Sabaody Archipelago. When that was done, Alex spent the longest three weeks of her life inside that passenger ship, trapped in a vessel wondering where the heck was her life going, but after several stops along the way, in a very early morning, she arrived to Saint Poplar. She had about a month to go until the renovations started and she became officially a fugitive. Probably. The fact that she wouldn’t be able to know if she was overreacting unless shit hit the fan didn’t help her feel secure in any decision she took, but hey, if she was wrong and nothing happened in the end, she could always go back to Duster Town.

The first thing she did upon arrival was consult the ship schedules at the port. Several pages with timetables were tacked to a board with a glass cover. It was better kept than most information boards she had come across, but it was to be expected, since Saint Poplar and the surrounding islands were popular tourist spots.

By the looks of it, she had missed the last direct ship to Marineford by two days, and the next one wasn’t scheduled yet because there was an Aqua Laguna alert. Joy. She had to explain her predicament to a few locals until one of the women working at the port gave her something useful to work with.

“There should still be a liner leaving Water 7 in a few days. They usually wait until the last day so as many people as possible can leave the island before the sea gets too rough.”

Alex took this information as well as one would take a knee to the solar plexus. Another trip meant more money wasted. It was becoming increasingly evident that she’d have to pick up a job somewhere before she was able to cross the Red Line, because safe passage required money. Lots of it. And unless she robbed a bank, she didn’t think she’d be able to get it before the archive renovation started. She had a gun. And she entertained the idea for the entirety of two seconds before coming back to reality.

“Okay,” she said. If nothing else, she’d be able to sightsee. That was an island she had wanted to visit for a long time. “Do you know where can I take a ship to Water 7?”

“There are no ships to Water 7,” the lady replied, amused. “There’s the Sea Train.”

“Oh! I forgot.” It was very much like her to know the Sea Train was a thing and not remember that it had an actual purpose, besides making a city famous. “Is the station far from here, or…?”

“No, it’s…” She looked below the ship schedules in front of them. There was a faded map of the city behind the glass. She pointed one spot, on the opposite side of the city. It was mostly a straight line from where she was if she followed the main streets. “Here. It’s easy to find.”

She had to resist the temptation to pull out of her backpack a fountain pen and draw the map on the back of her hand, since she didn’t trust her memory all that much, and instead she said, “Thank you very much!”

The woman smiled at her, lifted a crate bigger than Alex without breaking a sweat, and went on her merry way. Meanwhile, she spent the following minutes staring intensely at the map to make completely sure that she wasn’t going to take a wrong turn even though there were absolutely no turns to make. Anxiety was a wonderful condition.

By the time she started moving, she was looking at the next hours in a different light. As inconvenient as this detour was, Alex felt more excited than anything else at the idea of riding a Sea Train and going to the city where it originated. She’d seen the pictures, and it was supposed to be all canals that the locals navigated with little boats instead of wheeled vehicles. May as well enjoy the trip as much as she could, right?

Humming as she went, the trek across the St. Poplar brought her through streets of stone lined with tall buildings, some made of that same stone, but most of them in a more polished classical style. The pediments she saw suggested fifteenth century, so not too old. The less ostentatious houses were brick painted in light tones, with planters hanging from balconies that added little splashes of color to the otherwise muted palette and, in the case of those that were more worn out, provided the exciting possibility of said planters falling on a passerby’s head. Better to stay away from some of those cornices, too.

The atmosphere more than made up for the stoning risk, though. The city was as lively as it could be, and she found herself wishing that she had an excuse to remain in it for a little longer, but it was not to be. Come to think of it, wasn’t there a huge carnival going on in San Faldo around those dates? That explained the people walking around in costumes and elaborate masks. If she ever got to go on vacation again, she was making this area of Paradise her priority.

But if an Aqua Laguna was approaching, she needed to be out of its range as soon as possible, or she risked getting stranded in a place highly frequented by government employees where she could be spotted without backup. Moving swiftly was a priority until she could settle down and lay low to see how the situation unfolded.

She took longer to get to her destination than if she hadn’t kept getting distracted with every little thing that caught her attention, but eventually she was greeted by a platform and a white-gray building with a sign that identified it as Spring Station. She looked out to the sea, unable to see anything at first, until she noticed a shadow beneath the water. Railways swayed back and forth with the waves, a feat of engineering that she wouldn’t have believed had the train not been functional for over ten years. It even connected directly with Enies Lobby, so it had to be reliable. The government wouldn’t be using it to routinely transport their own people otherwise.

She walked into the station and headed straight to the timetable next to the ticket window. There were people sitting inside with bags, and many of them in costume. She wished she could spare the money and the time to join in, or at least run her hands over the velvety fabrics and intricate embroidery. She had done her fair share of sewing and the construction and materials of the costumes were seamstress porn.

The train was scheduled for departure in two hours. Better not to wander too far.

❦

There were many people inside Alex’s car, some dressed in regular clothes, some in costume. She would have liked to sit next to the window, but she was stuck in an aisle seat, and though she wasn’t uncomfortable by any means, she lamented having to spend the trip looking at her feet instead of the sea.

The seats were really nice, though. She wondered how luxurious first class had to be, if her butt was already on velvet and her feet on fluffy carpet. That was where the government agents must go, since when they stopped at Enies Lobby, nobody entered her car or the adjacent ones, judging by the lack of noise.

About an hour passed without incident until she noticed a faint smell, like smoke, and soon after, someone spoke through the PA system.

“Dear passengers, we inform you that the Sea Train is going to make an unscheduled stop at Shift Station for maintenance. The new hour of arrival to Water 7 will be 12 PM. We are sorry for the inconvenience. You may leave your seats until it’s time to resume the voyage.”

Varying degrees of protests filled the car, but Alex couldn’t say she minded. The train was starting to get stuffy with so many people, and she sensed an incoming headache from the nonstop chatter of the group across the aisle.

A scarce minute later, the train reduced its speed until it came to a halt, and immediately after, a stewardess appeared to unlock the doors. Alex decided to get up, find out in what kind of place this Shift Station was, and stretch her legs, because the seat may have been velvet, but the cushion under it was long flattened. First class was hoarding the good ones for sure.

The smell of saltwater hit her in the face with the subtlety of a Buster Call. She was very confused at how much water she was seeing until she realized that the station was little more than a platform on each side of the rails, a lighthouse, and a house in the middle of the ocean.

There wasn’t much to see once the first impression wore off, though she could have easily spent hours just watching the hypnotic swaying of the waves. There had always been something drawing her to it. She thought about how terrifying it had to be getting caught there during a storm, and how solid the little house on the platform must have been to still be standing there for a decade. The station master, if there was one, had to have nerves of steel.

Since she had nothing else to do, she stretched and began to pace around the platform, watching the passengers who had also gotten off the train. Not too many, considering the amount of people that were travelling in it, but she had to admit the platform amidst the waves was not for the faint of heart. She was certainly not going to get close to the edge. She saw mostly the same types of people she had been sitting with, but from the first car appeared a group dressed in expensive clothing and another of men in black suits.

She did a double take when she saw a familiar World Government insignia on the lapels of their jackets. Embroidery work was wasted on those people. They were Cipher Pol agents, and while their presence was more than reasonable, they still put her on edge. Best not to get close. How did one try their hardest to not look guilty without looking even guiltier?

Faced with this unsolvable conundrum, she diverted her gaze to look anywhere but at them, and out of the corner of her eye she noticed one of them look in her direction for a moment before going back to their conversation. Slowly and innocently, if steps could be walked in such a way, she ducked into the building and decided to keep to the shadows until the train was ready to go. Out of sight, out of mind, they said, and in case she actually became a fugitive, she didn’t need to be remembered by a member of an intelligence agency.

The fresh air was nice, though. Definitely worth sharing her vital space with government agents for a few minutes.

“Chimney got clogged again, didn’t it?”

Alex wanted to jump out of her skin when she suddenly heard a voice behind her, but the upside of being in a constant state of mild anxiety was that she just tensed up very hard when she got spooked. Shoulders squared and butt firmly clenched, she turned around to see an old woman with a grin so wide that it dipped into the uncanny valley. She was stocky, with lime green hair tied in braids, and wore a hat with Water 7’s initials that probably meant she worked there.

This was not how Alex had expected the station master to look, and if she had had it in her to worry about complete strangers, she would have been concerned about the woman’s safety.

A small girl with lips and hair conspicuously similar to the woman’s spoke up from behind her, annoyed. “I didn’t! I’ve been going every day!”

The older woman laughed loudly. “I meant the train, not you!”

The girl huffed and left, but the older woman stayed.

Now that she was facing her, her breath hit Alex, and it reeked of alcohol. Oh dear. She hoped the woman didn’t have a terribly important job there. She didn’t get what was so funny about the exchange, but she didn’t want to ask, either.

“I don’t know,” she replied with hesitation, realizing she had been asked a question. “They just told us we were going to stop for a while.”

“It happens sometimes.” She said. The grin was perpetually etched in her face. “They made the chimney too long, but Tom always said it looked nicer that way. You’d think Iceburg would have more sense once he took over, but he says he doesn’t want to change it.”

As soon as those names were dropped, Alex’s brain began to try and make connections like a madman with a wall covered in papers trying to make sense of a conspiracy theory. She didn’t know if the woman was assuming she knew who those people were or she was so drunk that she didn’t care.

Fortunately for Alex, she did know, marginally, who she was referring to – Iceburg, Water 7’s current mayor, was famous worldwide thanks to the Galley-La Company, and by Tom she assumed she meant the man who designed the original sea train. That name would have escaped her, had not a number of coincidences engraved it in her mind.

She couldn’t say if Tom had been forgotten as a relic of a past era or forcibly ejected from public memory as a result of being connected to Gold Roger and ever-present racism. He was a genius inventor, the one who put Water 7 on the world map by building the Sea Train, and the world returned the favor by executing him.

Most executions relating to the Pirate King had happened when Alex was still very young and didn’t pay much attention to anything that went on outside of her immediate vicinity, but Tom’s happened much later, when she was twenty and being aware of the world’s geopolitics was an indispensable part of her studies. They granted him a few more years to finish the Sea Train, and everybody back then had been convinced that his service would be repaid with a pardon, but that wasn’t how the World Government worked.

Unstoppable in their mission to purge every little thing that remained of Roger, they eliminated the man who built the Oro Jackson. Alex’s friend opened a bottle of his wife’s good whiskey, and then another, and suddenly it was four in the morning with him slurring and sobbing on the table, and his wife was halfway through the second pack of cigarettes of the night and Alex was so drunk in solidarity too that it was a good thing that her chair had a sturdy back and armrests, because otherwise she was pretty sure she’d have slid to the sticky floor and stayed there listening to old stories. He had a killer hangover the next day and Alex was just sleepy because young bodies were capable of amazing things, and then everything seemed to return to normal.

That had been a bad year, and a combination of everything happening at once and managing to torpedo her own academic career meant that putting it behind wasn’t an easy thing to do. Aside from Tom’s execution bringing down the mood considerably and her own personal problems, passage through the Red Line was also shut for months after queen Otohime’s assassination, meaning that Alex couldn’t return home at the time the country was going through the worst political unrest in centuries, and even if she had been free to go, the long absence would have made her flunk the year and lose her scholarship. Alex remembered that year like one remembered a fever nightmare: fuzzy, never ending, with huge gaps in the middle, yet sinking its claws so deep within that it was just a mention or reminder away from resurfacing. Sabaody got worse around that time, too, due to Doflamingo’s rise to Shichibukai and king status. His auction house started operating in the archipelago while Marines looked the other way, and kidnapping crews grew in number and activity.

All in all, not the best time of her life. In fact, current technically-not-on-the-run Alex was still faring so much better than past Alex that the thought wrapped around from depressing to funny.

She looked at the Sea Train, trying to imagine it with a shorter chimney. Two men were at the top of the smokebox with big brushes. “I can see their point. The proportions would be off.”

The woman must have been in a very good mood, because she chuckled. “I’m not an engineer or an artist, so I can’t say. Why are you here, anyway? Do you need anything?”

“Oh, no, sorry, it’s just—” She thought about the Cipher Pol agents out there. “There’s a lot of people on the platform.”

“And it’s windy, too,” she said, looking at the sky. “People have gotten blown away before, you know.”

“…Oh. That’s good to know, thanks,” she said, timidly taking a step back into the house so she wasn’t being hit by the wind anymore. Alex still had some time to kill and was curious about the woman, and talkative as she was, she assumed she wouldn’t mind a bit of prodding. “You mentioned Iceburg and Tom. Do you know them?”

The laugh that came next didn’t sound as happy as the other ones, somehow. “Know them? I’ve known Iceburg since he was a little brat. Tom was a good friend. Did you know that Iceburg was his apprentice? Not that these people care,” she nudged her head towards the Cipher Pol agents and Alex sank even deeper into the little house. “Tom died so they could save face, but they won’t touch Iceburg because he’s useful. That’s all they mean to them.”

Alex didn’t know very well how to respond, but she felt the need to say something. “I have a friend who said the same. He sailed on one of Tom’s ships years ago.”

The woman looked at Alex, and beyond the drunken stupor, some clarity shined behind her eyes. “Oh? And what did he think about it? Was it smooth sailing?”

Alex smiled just a little bit. “Not really, but he says it was the best ship in the world.”

The woman cackled, happily this time. “Of course it was! He made the best ships! Not even Iceburg or…” She trailed off, and Alex couldn’t tell if she had forgotten where she was going or she had done it on purpose. “Say, are you headed to Water 7?”

“Yes, why?”

“I need you to do me a favor. All this talk’s gotten me nostalgic and the Aqua Laguna will be here any day, so…” The woman walked to a counter, pulled out a notebook, wrote something, tore out the page and kissed it before folding it twice. She waddled back to Alex and gave her the paper. “Give this to Iceburg.”

Alex’s hand froze with the paper already in it. “I… don’t think I can do that. Isn’t he famous? How am I supposed to meet him?”

The woman brushed her concerns off like nothing, and Alex’s nerves didn’t appreciate that. “Nah, it’s not a problem. Go to Dock 1 in the afternoon, he’s usually there avoiding official duty. Tell them Kokoro sent you. That should be enough.”

“Okay…?” She said, still unsure. “I won’t promise anything, though.”

“No need for promises, just deliver it. I need a drinking buddy.” And she added, “You should go to Blueno’s bar while you’re there. The booze is cheap and the food is good, and that isn’t something you can’t say about many places in the city.”

“Oh?” This new topic was interesting. “Is it very expensive?”

Kokoro laughed. “You’ll see when you get there.”

That sounded ominous for her budget, and Alex didn’t feel too good about this ordeal she had been roped into because the last thing she wanted to do was enable an alcoholic lady. But maybe Iceburg would look after her…? They were longtime friends, according to her.

At any rate, there wasn’t much point in refusing the errand. If delivering the note happened to be too complicated, she could pass and no one would be none the wiser. Her priority was to find a ship and get to Sabaody the sooner, the better.

And when she was there, maybe tell her friends that she had met a friend of a friend.

❦

When Alex arrived to Blue station, she had to remind herself that she had several objectives in mind and sightseeing came second. She put on her sunglasses to block out the glare of the sun and its reflection on the water, and looked up.

In front of her stood a colossal city built upwards and turned fountain, with five different levels of construction that culminated in an upwards surge of water. It was collected by a series of canalizations that crossed the city from the top to sea level and divided the second tier in smaller areas.

Water 7 was one of the many independent state-islands in the area, and though not affiliated with the World Government – it hadn’t been a notable location at all, before the Sea Train that ironically connected it to Enies Lobby was put in motion – its globally renowned shipyards often worked on Marine ships and other vessels for people with important positions in the government. It was said that nowhere else in the world could you find better shipwrights than in Water 7, and the man famously acclaimed for it was Iceburg, current mayor and owner of the aforementioned shipyards. He had founded the Galley-La company a few years ago, recruiting the best shipwrights he could find for his behemoth of an enterprise, and it worked. Alex was actually excited to see firsthand what all the fuss was about.

But first things first, and before taking the mysterious note to the mayor, she needed to find the ship that would take her to the Sabaody Archipelago.

She got unnecessarily lost several times inside the labyrinth of canals and side streets because she refused to walk up to people and ask, but eventually, she found the Grand Canal of the island and the harbor where most ships docked.

It didn’t take her long to mind a means of transport, thankfully. The passenger ship departed the next day in the morning, and with a lot of pain, Alex had to fork over a good chunk of her remaining savings to secure a ticket on such short notice. It wasn’t the end of the world, since, she already counted on having to stay in Sabaody for a while to rebuild her budget, but it stung.

After the more pressing issue was dealt with, she took a walk around the area to find somewhere to eat, maybe try some local specialty, but she felt her hunger vanish when she looked at the prices of the menus outside. Kokoro had been right. What was the place she had mentioned… Bruno’s? Blueno’s? Yeah, that sounded familiar.

Unfortunately, a cursory glance didn’t reveal its location. If it was cheaper, it was probably somewhere less central, and if that was the case, she’d have more luck crossing the bridge to Green Bit unscathed than finding it without assistance.

Face with the unavoidable fact that she had to ask someone if she had any hopes of finding the place, she took a look around and decided she might as well procrastinate on it for as long as she could. She started to walk towards the upper part of the city, the Shipbuilding Island, where the docks were located, or so multiple signposts said. It really drove home that they were the main attraction of the city, more than the canals of the amazing architecture.

Getting there was going to take a while. She could have rented one of those cute Yagara boats, but she was cheap as hell, and, not less importantly, the critters seemed a little overenthusiastic. After the trip, all the walking she had done and the lack of food, she wasn’t in the mood to be social with anybody, human or not.

Maybe she would be lucky and come across Blueno’s place as she went to the shipyards. Yeah. That was a hopeful lie she could hang onto while she forced her body to walk way more than it was used to.

She hummed on her way up, singing to herself when she went through empty streets. As it turned out, the difficulty of reaching the shipyards by foot wasn’t finding the way up, but rather being in the proper sidewalk when she happened upon the next bridge or set of stairs, and after an hour she had lost count of the amount of times she had reached a dead end and had to turn back to the nearest bridge to cross the street and ascend, from the third instance onwards accompanied by a cranky ‘GAAAAH’ as she ran in the right direction. One would have thought this wouldn’t have won her any points with the locals, but she heard a few snickering at her and saying something in a language she didn’t speak but universally translated as ‘hahaha, tourists.’

She’d be the first to admit that going up that monumental city while carrying a backpack wasn’t her brightest idea, but she was damned if she was going to cave in at that point and rent the Yagara. She’d wash downstream on the way back if it came to that, but she had to get to the top now by her own means.

The moment she set foot on Shipbuilding island, she walked a few steps away from the staircase to not block it, dropped her backpack, and then her ass next to it to catch her breath.

When she recovered enough to raise her head instead of thinking how miserably sore she was going to be in the morning, she was greeted by an even better view than when she arrived to the Blue Station, and she pushed her glasses up for a moment to better see the colors of the city.

The lowest level of Water 7 extended below her, clusters of white houses and orange roofs covering the entire expanse of the island that wasn’t occupied by the canals. The wind blew harder at that level, too, with less obstacles in its path, since that part of the city was built on a steep incline, and it carried with it the spray of the central fountain, painting a timid rainbow across the sky. She imagined the view at night being just as stunning.

She chose to view this as the reward for her efforts, and then snorted at her the consolation prize of her own making.

As nice as it was to stare at the city and the sky and sea beyond, she was there with a double mission of getting the note to Iceburg and being a little nosy, so she looked at the monumental stone door she had just crossed with the number three painted on it. She was willing to go out on a limb and assume that that wasn’t Dock 1, so she began to circle around the area to find the next one, and once again she had to go the way she had come when she saw the next door had a four. Alex would be the first to agree that the most powerful force in the universe was cosmic irony, but after the sidewalk business while she made her way up there, this seemed a little excessive.

At least the circular shape of the area and the conveniently located bridges allowed her to cross over the canals with ease, saving her from getting lost again, and in a matter of minutes door number one, wide open, came into view.

At first she didn’t know where to go, since each dock could have easily been a town on their own. She began to walk upwards, wondering how was she supposed to find Iceburg and with little intent to go out of her way to find him if she didn’t have luck. A couple of minutes later, she noticed a group of townspeople standing in a half circle and staring at something. Alex decided to approach them and see what was going on. There was a good chance that the mayor himself was attracting the crowd, if he really was as popular as the rumors said.

Standing at a safe distance from the group, she realized that it was composed mostly by women, and she looked at whatever had them so interested. A man with his torso covered in tattoos was carrying a couple of long planks over his shoulder with surprising ease, and another one, farther away, was sawing a tree trunk so big that it couldn’t be for anything but a mast. He caught Alex’s attention because for some reason he was wearing a top hat that clashed horribly with the rest of his outfit and there was a pigeon sitting on a nearby pile of crates and watching him work with surprising focus. None of them, obviously, looked like mayor material.

Alex wasn’t sure what the crowd was doing there until she heard a hushed comment about the shipwright’s arms and being able to break concrete with those. Oh, God, they were there to ogle at the shipwrights? Alex wasn’t nearly straight enough for this. How was that even allowed? She took a step away from them, but by then a cheerful man wearing a tracksuit of questionable taste had noticed the group and acknowledged them with a wave and a smile. One of the girls swooned, and Alex died a little inside, then died some more because she had worked hard on leaving behind her ‘not like the other girls phase’ but the circumstances weren’t helping matters.

The other workers were busy, but the new face seemed to be free at the moment, he looked friendly, and she had come to the conclusion that she’d have to communicate with strangers if Kokoro’s note was to be delivered. She waved back at the man with the paper in her hand and something that resembled urgency on her face. She wasn’t hopeful, but to her surprise, he started to walk towards her. At the same time, the man with the top hat finished the cut he was making and the white pigeon stood up, cooed at tracksuit guy, and flew to rest on the shoulder of his coworker.

“Hattori is so cute,” one of the women said.

Alex didn’t know anymore who of the three was Hattori. She was even more confused when top hat guy passed near his colleague and the pigeon said, “I’ll take care of it.”

“Lucci’s coming our way!” One of the younger girls said, excited.

“Do you think he’ll pick another fight with Paulie today?”

“I hope so! Did you see what his fingers did to the—”

Alright, time to unplug from the conversation. She could guess that Lucci was the name of the man, because she didn’t think a pigeon, no matter how articulate, could inspire so much passion.

The name gave her pause.

Where had she heard it before? It sounded familiar, but she couldn’t place it. Maybe she had heard someone talk about him at some point. He had to be a renowned shipwright if he was working in Dock 1 of Water 7, of all places.

Lucci was tall, but she didn’t realize just how much until he was right in front of her, staring her down in a way that, in any other context, she’d have assumed meant that he was about to snap her neck. Was he taller than Trafalgar Law, or did the top hat made him look like he was? She only knew that if she ever had the back luck of bumping into the guy, she would likely split her forehead against his pectoral muscles. The man was built like a classical marble statue with facial hair, tattoos, and a serious case of resting bitchface. She could empathize with him on the latter.

“Can I help you?”

Alex didn’t know whether to look at the pigeon or the man, and in a panic, she settled on the man because it felt wiser to not lose sight of him than a bird.

And what a bird. That pigeon was easily the size of her head.

“I met a woman named Kokoro at Shift Station. She asked me to give this note to mayor Iceburg,” she said, showing the folded note to him.

He extended a hand for her to pass the paper, and she wasn’t sure how ethical it was to let another person read a clearly personal note with a kiss stamped on it, but to be quite frank, she didn’t care and he and the close attention his group of fans was making her anxious.

A pair of strangely-shaped eyebrows lifted when he read the message.

“Kokoro?” The bird repeated. There had to be a trick there. That was a pigeon, not a parrot, they weren’t supposed be able to enunciate like humans. It was probably unreasonable of her to revoke her suspension of disbelief due to that when she knew there were so many strange creatures living in the Grand Line, but she had to draw the line somewhere. “Mayor Iceburg is doing his rounds right now. He should be here in a few minutes. You can wait for him over there,” he said, gesturing with a wing at a pile of neatly stacked timber across from where his owner had been working, and Lucci returned the note to her. “Don’t be noisy.”

“I wasn’t going to,” she retorted with a mix of indignation and embarrassment, reflexively taking a step away from him and the group she had just been associated with. The movement telegraphed against her will that she found him intimidating, which only served to embarrass her more. “Thank you.”

There really was no way anybody with functioning eyes could mistake her for one of the group. The ladies looked nice, and Alex looked like… well, she couldn’t tell, but she was glad she didn’t have a mirror on hand, because if she looked as sweaty as she felt, she wasn’t a pretty sight. The boots and big backpack on her back were also clear signs that she wasn’t from around there.

Wordlessly, Lucci returned to his job while Alex was left with the impression that she had just been made fun of, not that anybody could tell by the shipwright’s stony face. She relaxed a little when he left her alone, not in small part due to the attention of the group being lifted from her.

That place was nothing like the shipyards she was used to. Canals ran through it, same as in the city below, and led to other slide-like canalizations that connected to the lower levels. There were a lot of those all around the city, she had noticed, acting as roads for the Yagaras, and, she guessed in the case of the larger ones, to help transport the newly built or repaired ships from the docks to sea level.

Some time had passed when she caught sight of a blue-haired man in a striped suit walking in her general direction, closely followed by a blonde woman with a strict expression, and while he was busy inspecting the work of a shipwright, she noticed Alex was away from the crowd and made a beeline for her.

“Excuse me.” The tone of the pleasantry suggested that it was actually her who was excusing Alex’s presence. “Do you have any business here?”

Alex didn’t enjoy being talked down to, so the reply came out harsher that she meant. “As a matter of fact, I do.” When she realized how snappy she had sounded, she explained quickly, “I was told by Kokoro to deliver a message to mayor Iceburg, and he,” she gestured at Lucci, who was busy with his job and not paying them any mind, with the note, “said I could wait for him here.”

“Did he, now,” she replied, sending a skeptical glance at the man, and she extended her hand towards Alex. Someone must have pissed in her coffee that morning. “Let me see.”

That note was going to places, she thought, but the woman must have found its contents acceptable, because she returned it to Alex and told her, “Wait here.”

Alex was about to start having flashbacks of all the bureaucratic mess involved with her recent move out of Duster Town. The woman went to the man in the suit and directed him towards Alex while she walked over to Lucci to tell him something she wasn’t able to hear because she now had to pay attention to the mayor of the city.

“Hello,” he said, sounding much politer than the woman. “Kalifa tells me you have a message for me.”

It was curious, comparing the old descriptions she had heard of the man with his current appearance. He wouldn’t have been caught dead in a suit twenty years ago, for instance.

“Yes, from Kokoro. Here,” she said, finally giving the note to its intended recipient and feeling like she was set free from a curse.

“Hm?” He opened he note, and after just a split second his face turned into a grimace. “Ugh, gross!”

“Uh, what?” The note had already passed two filters, so she couldn’t imagine what could warrant that reaction.

He showed her the note and Alex read it for the first time. Same place, same time? It said. The lipstick imprint of the kiss was smudged and stained the whole page. Iceburg didn’t waste any time in crumpling the paper and tossing it over his shoulder.

“Thank you for delivering the message.”

“Mr. Iceburg! No littering!” The woman from before warned, but someone else replied to her.

“Don’t speak like that to Mr. Iceburg, you wretched woman! And show some property while you’re in the docks!”

The woman didn’t reply, but she sent a death glare to the man who had spoken up, and Alex could have sworn that she pulled down the zipper of her jacket lower than it already was, drawing an even bigger reaction from him.

“Nmaa, don’t mind them,” Iceburg said, sounding bored. WYou don’t seem from around here. Are you visiting?”

“Just passing by before the Aqua Laguna comes,” she replied. “But I wish I could stay longer.”

He smiled with something akin to pride. “It’s a good city, isn’t it? What have you seen so far?”

“Oh, well, I walked around the Grand Canal and the shopping district earlier, and I saw a bit of the city while I walked up here, but—”

“You walked here?”

Oh, this was so awkward. She should have tossed that note into the sea. “I’m a historian,” she replied, because that was an excuse that always curbed people’s curiosity. “I wanted to take my time exploring.”

“If that’s the case, have you seen the maritime museum yet? It’s near the Grand Canal, and there’s a showcase about the origins of the city right now.”

She wasn’t a big fan of museums, truth be told, but professional habit compelled her to go anyway. The list of places she had to visit didn’t seem to shrink. “No, but I’ll be sure to—Oh, that reminds me!” Might as well ask while she had his attention, she thought. “Kokoro recommended going to Blueno’s bar while I was here. Where can I find it?”

“Ah, good idea!” Iceburg’s face lit up. “Let’s see, what can we do… Since you don’t have a Yagara, let me ask Kalifa if she has a map of—”

“No need, Mr. Iceburg.” Someone else piped up. “It’s time for my break, so I can show her.”

The guy in the tracksuit from before was walking up to them, showing a warm smile.

“That would be perfect,” Iceburg replied, and the said to Alex. “This is one of our foremen, Kaku.”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Kaku looked young and sounded old at once. “Likewise,” Alex replied. “I’m Alex.”

“Well then, Alex,” he said in a suspiciously cheerful tone. “I don’t have long, so we’ll have to get there in a jiffy. Are you ready?”

As ready as she was ever going to be until she had a good night’s sleep. “Sure. Whenever you…”

A not so inoffensive grin spread on Kaku’s face and he broke into a sprint in Alex’s direction, so fast that she couldn’t duck from his path before he threw an arm around her, easily lifting her from the floor, extra weight from the backpack and all, and he kept running toward the edge of the level and jumped.

She thought she yelled, but she couldn’t hear her own voice against the roar of the wind in her ears and her blood pressure rising at the absolute certainty that she was going to become a pancake, the only doubt being whether she’d be dry or wet at the bottom of a canal.

On reflex, she grabbed tightly onto the only thing available, which was Kaku’s arm firmly wrapped around her torso, and her grip was met with stone hard muscle. What was up with these shipwrights?

She saw Dock 1 get smaller and smaller at breakneck speed as she fell backwards, and she braced for impact and shut her eyes as the first rooftop approached, but they didn’t crash against it because Kaku did something before he hit it. She felt it in the shift of his body, like he had bounced off the surface.

Alex paid more attention to his feet after she realized she wasn’t going to die splattered against a rooftop, and the second time she saw it: right before his shoes touched the roof tiles, he jumped again, stepping on air, effectively creating the illusion that he was jumping from building to building.

The adrenaline-fueled fear of impending doom was suddenly replaced by cold dread.

She had seen that before. She knew what that was.

A civilian couldn’t possibly know how to do that.

So who was the man carrying her right now? The only thing separating her from certain death? Could he have learned to do that anywhere else or could it be a different technique? There was always a chance that he was retired, but he was so young, and already so skilled, and she knew for a fact that the Marines didn’t like letting go of those.

…Marines?

Where… where had she heard the name Lucci, again…?

She had to be imagining things, for sure, but she also had a strong feeling that she needed to take her leave from the island as soon as possible. She was sleeping with a gun under her pillow that night.

With a few last hops, Kaku landed on firm ground and Alex thanked her lucky stars when he put her down safely. She felt lightheaded, and wasn’t sure if it was because of the sudden freefall or that her all-consuming paranoia had her doubting the intentions of one of Galley-La’s foremen, which sounded increasingly stupid the longer her feet where in contact with solid stone.

“Here we are,” he said, gesturing at something behind Alex’s back.

Her reaction was slow, but when she turned around, she saw a door with a big red sign above that said Blueno’s.

She felt a pang of guilt for being afraid of the guy when he had done her a huge favor, albeit in a kind of dickish way. Dock 1 was a good ways away, and she would have given up if she had had to walk there. She looked at him and admitted, “That was pretty cool once I got over the heart attack.”

She still sounded kind of breathless and didn’t know if asking how he had learned to extreme parkour was a good idea.

Kaku laughed with joy that rang true. “My apologies about that. I rarely ever have company on the way down.”

She tried to picture Kaku grabbing Lucci the same way he had done to her and jumping down, and her brain broke during the attempt. “Yeah, I can’t imagine that colleague of yours with the top hat jumping down the…” She trailed off, interrupted by her own thoughts and questions about that other guy, and the pause became awkward. “Anyway—”

“You can ask,” he said, smiling.

She jumped at the opportunity. “Is he a ventriloquist?”

“It’s a hobby,” Kaku replied, amused, as he pushed the door open. “Ladies first.”

Alex didn’t know what it was with every strange man he came across lately that their courtesies sounded vaguely threatening, but she entered the venue, nonetheless.

It was much nicer than she had expected. The bartender was a wide man with a circle beard and hair sticking out like horns, and he was appropriately wiping a set of glasses behind the counter, like every barman should during their first introduction.

“Good afternoon, Blueno!” Kaku greeted him before Alex could say anything, going inside after her.

“Same as always?”

“Please.” He leaned against the bar. Alex sat on a barstool near him and tried to be emotionally ready to be the third wheel in two strangers’ interaction. “Oh, and something for the others, too. Whatever it is. We’re finishing a big repair today and you know how it goes.”

“Is it the Marine warship?”

“A windjammer for a private client. Working metal is a pain, and they want it yesterday.” He sounded displeased for the first time since they had met. “You can’t rush a good job.”

“The customer is never right,” Blueno agreed.

Kaku raised an eyebrow at him. “I hope that wasn’t directed at me.”

“Of course not,” Blueno’s reply sounded paternalistic. Alex could sense the history behind these two. “It’s odd to see you with someone else.”

Kaku put aside his mild annoyance to introduce her. “She’s Alex. She was visiting the shipyards and I brought her along on my way down.”

“Hi,” she said, looking for any other words she had learned during the course of her life and drawing a blank. Someone kill her, please.

“I see. I thought the landing sounded heavier than usual,” Blueno observed.

“Attentive as always.” Kaku commended him. “But what an awful thing to say to a young lady. She’s light as a two-by-four.”

“No offense meant,” Blueno said to her in good humor. “It’s part of the job.”

“None taken, I’m at least a four-by-four.”

There was a hint of a smile, on his face when he asked, “What will you have?”

“Whatever you recommend. I haven’t eaten since I woke up.”

“Can you believe she walked all the way to Dock 1 to sightsee?” Kaku chuckled. “I didn’t think historians were the sporty types.”

“You heard that?”

“I have pretty good hearing, too.”

“I can’t imagine what type of madman wouldn’t ride a Yagara to make that trip,” Blueno replied. No doubts about who he had in mind this time. “A historian, huh? I suppose this city’s fairly old.”

“The architecture’s really interesting.” She replied, finally reaching a topic that she could talk about. Though she was a bit concerned that they knew what she was because Suspicious Foreman was suspicious, she didn’t see what harm could come of it. “It’s impressive to think this is all supported by wood pillars.”

“They keep sinking year by year, though. At this rate, there won’t be a city in a few decades,” Kaku said, surprisingly grim.

“Thanks for showing me the rooftops while they’re still visible, then,” Alex joked in a weak attempt to bring his good mood back.

It worked. He had such a cute smile. “You’re more than welcome.” He turned to the bartender. “Now then, Blueno…”

“Right away,” the man replied, going into the kitchen and leaving Alex and Kaku alone for a few minutes.

A companionable silence, until Kaku broke it and his question put Alex on edge again. “Where do historians in the making study nowadays, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Marineford, mostly. There aren’t many places left.” The same people offering the current curriculum had made sure of it.

“And what drives someone so young to be so interested in history?”

She had been asked that question so many times, and the real answer was always curiosity. To learn the truths that shaped the present. She had the folder with the Poneglyph transcript in her backpack to account for that.

But even partial truths could be dangerous given her current situation, so she replied, “I could ask the same of you. How does someone so young get so good at building ships?”

There was a flash of surprise in his face at the question being turned against him. It was quickly substituted by one of his smiles, but Alex had the impression that he was very aware that she was deflecting on purpose. “I’ve liked them since I was a kid,” he said. “I couldn’t tell you why.”

She shrugged, mirroring his smile. “There’s your answer.”

He laughed lightly and turned to look at the bottles behind the bar with an amused expression. He didn’t insist or say anything else, and the more at ease he looked, the more anxious Alex grew.

It wasn’t long until Blueno showed up again with a bag full of sandwiches wrapped in paper in one hand and a towering plate of pasta with black sauce on the other that she set in front of Alex.

“Thanks,” Kaku said, putting the money on the counter and grabbing the bag. “See you later.” And he faced Alex one last time, lifting his cap a little in a polite gesture and revealing a blonde mass of curls. “It’s been a pleasure. Good luck on your travels.”

“Thank you!”

He left the bar, and his departure added to the leaning tower of pasta made her think that her day was starting to look up until she remembered that she had only mentioned she was leaving soon to Iceburg.

How long had he been listening in?

❦

She couldn’t sleep.

Despite her misgivings, the rest of the day had passed without incident. She booked a room for the night at an inn off the beaten path that Blueno had recommended, checked out the maritime museum, and nearly fallen asleep after half an hour because that was the effect that, sadly, most museums had on her. But she did see an old picture next to a Sea Train model of Tom, his two apprentices, and the master of Shift Station.

Time didn’t wait for anybody, she thought as she flexed her aching hands.

She ended up walking around again, this time only through the lowest district, rejecting even the mere sight of stairs, and saw a cape where someone had built the weirdest and most colorful house of the city. Near it was a scrapyard, and though she had no intentions of going close to either, a couple of locals told her to watch her belongings while she was there. It was a bit nostalgic.

It was difficult to believe, she thought as she stared at the ceiling of her room, that such a vibrant city was sinking under its own weight, and that as soon as the sea swallowed it, there would be nothing but stories being told about it. Maybe that was how those legends of ancient islands that disappeared came to be. Maybe Water 7 would become a legend to, a few centuries down the line.

She fidgeted with the stone around her neck, a nervous habit had for as long as she’d been wearing it. It was better than biting her nails, at least, but it looked weird when she wore it inside her clothes and unconsciously reached for it, so she did her best to avoid it.

She was very tired and sore from all that walking, but try as she might, she couldn’t turn off her thoughts. After way too much tossing and turning, she decided she would rather see more of the city than waste her time in bed. She could catch up on sleep when she boarded the ship to Sabaody, anyway.

She picked up the same pair of jeans she had been wearing all day, the black tank top she usually wore under her sweaters, and tossed around her shoulders the same red shawl she used to wear like a scarf in Harlun. It wasn’t cold outside, but the night breeze was somewhat chilly. Better safe than sorry.

She debated whether to pick up the gun in her backpack or leave it there, and she decided on the former. A present from her father when she came of age for the sake of her safety, and one she had never liked.

It wasn’t too late yet, only a few minutes past 10 PM, and there was still a healthy flow of people on the streets. Alex made her way to one of the many Yagara rental shops still open and paid for one of the small ones. There she went, defeating her own purpose like the hypocrite she was.

“One question,” she told the shop owner as she settled on the boat, “Are the docks open at this hour?”

“They usually leave the doors open, yeah. Sometimes there’s people working at night.” He replied. “Why, you want to go now?”

“I was thinking of checking out the view from the highest part of the city.”

“That so? Then you just need to go up one of the main canals in the Shipbuilding Island.”

“Thanks!” She said, and then patted the Yagara on the head. It was cold, wet and scaly. “Can you bring me to Dock 1? There’s no hurry.” She had seen one of them speeding through a canal early and she was not ready for that.

The Yagara uttered a high-pitched guttural sound that no fishlike creature had any business doing and started to swim at a relaxed pace.

Alex didn’t know how long it took them to get to their destination, distracted as she was watching the city from a different viewpoint, but the higher they went, the less people that seemed to be out. By the time they reached Dock 1, the area was devoid of human presence, and all the ship parts and materials Alex had seen in the morning had been either moved somewhere safer or covered by tarps to protect them from the weather.

The Yagara continued its slow ascent through the canal that separated Dock 1 and 2, and the base of the fountain wasn’t too far when she heard hammering sounds. Someone was still working.

Curiosity, as was usual, got the best of her and she told the Yagara to slow down. Whoever was there also noticed her presence, because the hammering stopped.

A man stepped under the light of a streetlight, hammer in hand, to check out the canal, and Alex realized with surprise that he was none other than Water 7’s mayor, though he had shed the jacket and shirt. He was wearing only an undershirt with those awful striped pants from before and business shoes.

“Who’s there?” He asked.

Alex realized the light didn’t reach her, so he was probably just seeing a shadow, and in the deserted dock it had to be more than a little unnerving. She nudged the Yagara towards the light and replied, “It’s me from before! Sorry to interrupt, I was just passing by!”

Iceburg looked at her with interest and approached her, so she thought it was only polite to step out of the boat.

“Where are you going at this hour?” He asked, stopping at arm’s length of her.

“I was trying to get to the top of the city.” She smiled apologetically. “I’m sightseeing.”

He relaxed upon hearing the explanation, and with a smile, he said, “Glad to see that the scare from earlier didn’t kill you.”

It was official, everybody in Dock 1 had decided to pick on her. “It could have!” She replied. “Does he do that often?”

“Jumping? Yes, but most of the time he doesn’t take people with him. He did it to Paulie once and he was foaming at the mouth when they landed. Never heard the end of it for a week." The fondness with which he spoke betrayed that he hadn’t minded the aftermath as much as the words suggested.

She didn’t know who Paulie was, but he was justified in being upset. She also thought that it was nice to meet a boss that seemed to appreciate his workers. “I don’t see other shipwrights around. Are you working here alone?”

“Nmaa…” he started lazily, “I sent them home. The heavy lifting was done; I can finish it myself.”

Iceburg may have been a shipwright before becoming president of the company, but Alex hadn’t expected him to do manual labor when he had paid other people for it. “The windjammer?”

“Kaku told you?” He sounded pleased, and he answered the unspoken question from before. She assumed he got it a lot. “My day job is meetings, papers and ass kissing all day long. I prefer this.”

This was much easier to reconcile with the stories she had heard of Water 7. “I can’t say I’d mind the papers, but the rest sounds exhausting.”

“Bodies need to move. Weren’t you doing field research today?”

“By accident.” She couldn’t help the smile that appeared on her face. He was easy to talk to, and seeing this side of him, she didn’t feel like she had to watch her words so much. “I’m trying to find a way home. Train and ship schedules brought me here.”

“You chose a difficult time of the year to sail. Is it far away?”

She nodded lightly. “It’s still a ways away.” Nonetheless, she was glad for this detour. Maybe that was why she found the courage to say, “I have a friend who came to this city about twenty years ago. He said you worked on his ship.”

Maybe it was because she lost filters when she was tired.

“Is that so?” He said, curious. “I’ve worked in many ships. Things were very different back then.” He glanced away, at the district that had only taken this shape a few years ago, thanks to him. “Did the ship do its job?”

She wondered what to say. Nothing that could do it justice, for sure. “Brought them to the end of the world, in fact.”

She wished she had been there to see it.

Iceburg’s eyes widened with surprise, and after a short, contemplative silence, he said, “That ship took much from us.” There was hurt in his voice. “I think Tom knew it would be one of his last, so he put his everything in it. He would have done anything for his friends.”

It was easy to forget that every great story had real people behind it. “Sorry for bringing it up.”

He shook his head. “We never regretted it, so… don’t. It was a magnificent ship. Tom’s best work, after the Sea Train.” He paused. “Is your friend okay?”

“Doing alright for sure. He’d be all over the papers if something happened to him.”

“That’s good to hear.” A smile that reached his eyes came back only to morph into a sigh in an instant. “Well, I need to go back to…”

“Of course!” She said very quickly. “Sorry for holding you up. It was a pleasure to meet you.” And to put a face to the stories, too.

“I should say the same,” he said, and it didn’t sound like an empty pleasantry. “Fair winds on the way back home.”

“Thank you.”

As he started to walk away, Alex hopped back on the boat and pulled the shawl tighter around her. Perhaps she should have put on a jacket, after all.

The view from the top of the district was as spectacular as she had hoped.

❦

She wasn’t sure how she got up from bed the next morning. Must have been the fairies that pushed her upright, because everything hurt and she was so exhausted that she couldn’t even open her eyes after a thorough face wash. Somehow, she managed to drag her feet to the dining room and have a light breakfast. Bless the laziness that had prevented her from changing into her pajamas again before she dropped on the bed when she returned from the docks, because she didn’t think she’d have been able to stick her legs in the right holes of the jeans.

She returned to her room, triple checked to make sure she wasn’t leaving anything behind, and checked out of the inn.

Despite the brief but intense stay, and the uneasy feeling she had since she had met Kaku, she didn’t really want to go, but she had done the right thing booking passage for the ship to Sabaody. Imagine getting stuck in a city next to one of the government’s main islands because of a high tide. No, thanks, she hadn’t come this far to fail when she was a week away from her destination.

So it was with a bit of regret that Alex boarded the passenger ship that would carry her to the archipelago, but she had always been good at ignoring what she felt like doing in favor of what had to be done, and this was going to be no exception.

From the deck, she saw a pirate ship sail past them, black flag with a straw hat billowing in the wind.

#what are tags even and what are titles #degrees of separation

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3laxx · 6 years

Text

Confession training

Older Oneshot I wrote about 2 years ago and never uploaded because... Don't ask me. Have fun reading!

After a long and cold analysis, Alya comes to terms with having a crush on her best friend Marinette. And as the right moment comes, Alya acts as we know her - not hesitating to take actions into her hand.

Ao3 / FF.net

Alya didn’t know what hit her when she stared after her best friend.

It had been a normal school day, Marinette had talked normally to her, Alya had been doing the exercises – everything had been normal.

But then her best friend, her bluenette, had waved her goodbye and walked down the stairs in front of the school. She knew the bakery was right over the street, as was, of course, Marinette’s home.

Alya’s way back home was always in the opposite direction and normally they would have said goodbye at the end of the stairs, but today Marinette was in a hurry.

Mumbling something about a big order in the bakery and she had to help her parents, softly hugging Alya and waving, then storming off.

Something had caught Alya’s interest.

Was it her deep-night-blue hair? Her adorable pigtails?

Alya honestly didn’t know. She shook her head and headed home without a second look after her best friend.

The next day she was even more confused.

Something about Marinette had kept her restless the night before and she couldn’t, she couldn’t figure out what it was. It drove her insane.

She was a reporter, kept the Ladyblog updated with news only minutes after an akuma attack shook the city once again. Holy, she even made a live blog of literally every. Single. Akuma. Attack.

It was her job to figure things out.

It was her freaking job to know what’s going on.

But her own behavior was a mystery to her. Her own feelings made her question her talent of reporting. She was confused.

Coming to school, being near to Marinette, talking like everything was normal, this day it was a mess. Just sitting next to the bluenette made her hands act weird, sweating and trembling. She was constantly adjusting her glasses, tensed up when the girl turned to her, stuttered when her best friend talked, breathed heavier when the bluenette laughed and felt her stomach flutter when Marinette touched her.

At lunchbreak, Alya was a mess. Not visibly, she was quite capable of holding her poker face, but on the inside, everything screamed at her in high alert. Something kept her being tense at any minute and she didn’t know, what it was, she didn’t. Freaking. KNOW!

As Marinette and she walked to the bakery of her parents to eat there, Alya thought of everything she could to explain her sudden jumpiness around Marinette.

Maybe she had forgotten a bet? Maybe she still had debts to pay off? Maybe she was pissed at her best friend but had forgotten why? Or maybe she was going through a weird phase in puberty?

No, there had to be something else… Maybe she was jealous of Adrien for spending more time with Marinette?

In an instant, Alya shook her head, denying her thoughts.

Her? Jealous?

The brunette almost laughed.

Jealous at Adrien? Yeah, right. Nobody spent as much time with Marinette as she did, because obviously they were best friends! Adrien had Nino, after all, and a pretty packed schedule because of his father. He kept him busy with fencing, Chinese and piano lessons and on top of that modelling. After all, his father was a famous designer and so his son had to model for him.

Poor Adrien, Alya thought.

Marinette and she walked through the side door, climbing up the stairs to the flat of the Dupain-Cheng Household right after greeting the parents of the bluenette.

Upstairs they prepared a few sandwiches which they would eat in Marinette’s room while discussing the homework for their lessons after lunch.

After being alone in Marinette’s room for almost an hour now, Alya felt like a nervous wreck.

Finally, finally she had been able to understand what has been going on with her.

She had a crush.

A totally awkward crush on her best friend.

And being alone with her that long did nothing to make Alya feel better because her stomach gave her a hard time. Even eating was stressful, because oh holy shit Marinette looked so damn cute as she nibbled at her sandwich looking at her notes taken in class.

Alya looked away, almost throwing up because of the many, _many_ butterflies in her stomach.

A distraction, a distraction… Quickly!

She pulled out her phone, laughed at a cute kitten Nino had sent her and checked their classes for the afternoon. She raised her eyebrows at the surprise the internet held for her.

“Hey, did you know our afternoon classes were canceled?”

Marinette looked up, pretty surprised herself, and went to sit directly next to Alya and holy mother of god her scent-

“No, I didn’t!”

“Hold on, I’ll text someone and ask if they knew.”

She quickly got an answer of Nino who was with Adrien and Kim at a café at that time. They apparently knew.

“Huh, weird. How could we miss this?”

“Hm, dunno…”, Alya shrugged, “But they’re cancelled and we got free time, that’s for sure.”

They smiled at each other and Alya thought she might go crazy because oh my freaking god Marinette looked at her and holy she had butterflies in her throat by now-

“Alya, you alright?”, Marinette, naive and young Marinette asked her.

“Uh-… Huh-… Yeah. No worries.”, she grinned.

The bluenette repeated her grin and then looked down to her sketchbook. There was a short silence between them but Alya made sure she soon broke it.

“Hey, Marinette?”

Her best friend looked up and Alya grimaced on the inside, praying not to fall unconscious.

“Yeah, Alya?”

“I-… Uh-… You like Adrien.”, she could’ve slapped herself. Way to go, Alya…

Marinette thought about that for a while. Alya almost died as the bluenette spoke again.

“Uh, yeah. I mean, he’s a great friend and all… But I’m over the crush I had on him. Why would you ask?”

“Haha, uh… Nothing. I mean-… I noticed…”, the brunette suddenly found a great interest in her fingernails.

“What?”

“No, it’s nothing. I just-… I think you still like Adrien.”

“As a friend, Alya.”, Marinette slightly touched her hand, making her jump, “You seem weird lately. Haven’t seen you that strained before…”

Alya laughed too loudly at that, too hysterical, too long. But as she shook her head, Marinette was beside her once again.

“You sure? ‘Cuz I’m worried…”

“Ah, no need to be worried. I just-… I noticed I like somebody.”

Marinette’s shoulders slumped a bit at that but Alya hadn’t seen it.

“Oh, okay then… Who is it?”

Suddenly, Alya had an idea. Quickly she straightened her back and found the gaze of her best friend, even though she totally died while doing so!

“I wanna tell her that I love her, Marinette.”

“Well, then… Just tell her.”

“Just like that? No, I’m too unsure of how to tell her. I need practice first.”

Marinette laughed at that, being a bit uncertain at what Alya wanted to do.

“Well then…”

“Can I practice with you?”

“Uh-… Yeah? Of course…”

“I love you!”

“Good god, you’re just gonna blurt it out like this? Heck no. Do it a little softer.”

Alya tried again.

And again.

Until Marinette looked satisfied.

“Now you got it. I think that’s perfect.”, she laughed, “So now, go on and tell her!”

Alya leaned in.

Now was the time and even though she was nervous as hell, she had to do it now.

Carefully she took Marinette’s hand from her knee, interlocking their fingers, just as her best friend had instructed her to do while practicing.

“Marinette…”, she began, her eyes as wide of excitement as the eyes of the girl in front of her of surprise.

“Marinette, I love you.”

She slowly leaned forwards and brought her other hand to Marinette’s chin to guide her to where she wanted her to be. The bluenette’s eyes fluttered lightly before they closed, giving Alya the permission to continue to lean in.

Their lips lightly touched, as if it were only a little blow of summer wind, but soon Alya claimed her best friend’s half open mouth as hers, with newfound confidence in Marinette’ silent agreement.

The bluenette’s lips were soft as a pillow and tasted like her strawberry lipstick that Alya had bought her just the week before. Breathless, they parted, but held their gaze as they gasped for air.

“I just did.”

“What?”

“I just told her.”

Marinette seemed to need a little moment before she realized what Alya was aiming at.

“Oh you-…”, she threw a light punch at Alyas arm, before grinning like crazy.

“You planned that!”

Alya laughed but shook her head.

“I’m sorry to pop your bubble but no, that was 100% spontaneous.”

Her best friend, no, girlfriend, laughed and kissed her once more.

“You are unbelievable!”

“And you are unbelievably cute.”

Marinette blushed but laid her hand over Alyas.

“Glad you think so.”

Alya smiled as they shared another kiss.

Without her noticing, between sweet kisses, Marinette winked at a little Kwami hiding at her desk, with one thumb held high up.

And the Kwami cheered in silence as she watched the girls enjoying their free time.

Let me know if you liked it?

#miraculous ladybug #fanfic #oneshot #just some fluff #cute fluff #kisses #confessions #i love yous #lesbian confusion #help them #smooth af alya #freckles writes #marinette dupain-cheng #alya cesaire #alyanette

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blossom-hwa · 7 years

Text

The Adventures of Cecia Seo |1| - ALL

If you guys actually like this absolute bullshit then tell me and I’ll do a part two or even more parts

It was actually a lot of fun to write as a stress reliever

Pairing: none (fem!reader, though)

Genre: just stupidity, texting!au

Word Count: 1.8k

Meeting NCT, your older brother’s boyband, was a great experience and you wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

NCT Masterlist

You, June 10, 12:02 am

guESS WHO GOT THE EXCHANGE PROGRAM TO GO TO SEOUL

THAT’S RIGHT YOUR LIL SIS DID

CONGRATULATE ME BRO

John Suh, June 10, 12:02 am

oh lord

i can’t believe you’re coming all the way to seoul to annoy me now

congrats tho lil sis!

also why are you up rn

it’s midnight over there

You, June 10, 12:03 am

I LITERALLY JUST GOT THE NEWS AT MIDNIGHT

ASKDLJGHKWGQHKHWG

I’M SO EXCITED

John Suh, June 10, 12:04 am

when are you coming????

You, June 10, 12:04 am

lemme check the email

um i get to seoul on August 28 and then school in SNU actually starts on September 1

John Suh, June 10, 12:06 am

and now it’s time for the inevitable question

‘when do i get to meet nct????’

You, June 10, 12:07 am

fuck off john suh

that’s still your contact name btw

and it’s not my fault that they’re all talented amazing people

i can’t help my wanting to meet them and tell them they deserve the world

John Suh, June 10, 12:07 am

okay rude first of all

also do i not deserve the world either

You, June 10, 12:08 am

John Suh, June 10, 12:08 am

i’m

okay whatever

go study your chemistry or computer science or whatever

nerd

You, June 10, 12:09 am

jock

John Suh, June 10, 12:09 am

jocks are better than nerds

You, June 10, 12:09 am

at least nerds actually get somewhere

i seem to remember you spending nine years in SM’s basement

John Suh, June 10, 12:10 am

b l o c k e d

~~~

You, June 12, 7:05 am

okay but i’m serious this time johnny

are you okay with me meeting nct?

i’m not joking, i really admire them and their hard work and i’d love to make friends with them but if you don’t want to it’s okay

John Suh, June 12, 7:05 am

lmao i was joking last time

i’m cool with you meeting them

they don’t know about you tho lol

i never told them i have a sister

You, June 12, 7:07 am

what the fuck seo youngho

John Suh, June 12, 7:08 am

lol

You, June 12, 7:09 am

are you fucking kidding me

yah

john seo

where are you

answer your phone

are you dead

ANSWER YOUR FUCKIN PHONE

ISTG

I’M GOING TO TELL MOM THAT YOU’RE DEAD

WHAT THE FUCK

WHERE ARE YOU

John Suh, June 12, 7:20 am

sorry Jaehyun saw our messages and he grabbed my phone and started yelling to the dorm that i had a sister

You, June 12, 7:23 am

ffs i thought you died

oh of course an English speaker got hold of your phone

i’ll leave you to deal with your bandmates rn

i’ve got an internship to go to

John Suh, June 12, 7:23 am

have fun

~~~

TY Trek, June 12, 8:25 pm

Seo Youngho why did you never tell us you had a sister

Moon Tail, June 12, 8:25 pm

yea i thought u trusted us

You, June 12, 8:26 pm

it just never came up sorry

ding dong hyuck, June 12, 8:26 pm

how old is she????

what’s her name???

what’s she like???

You, June 12, 8:27 pm

okay first of all why so many question marks

second

soon to turn nineteen, Cecia, and annoying

absolutely fully capable, June 12, 8:28 pm

when can we meet her??

You, June 12, 8:29 pm

surprisingly soon

she’s coming to seoul for an exchange program

she arrives on August 28

jaeffrey, June 12, 8:30 pm

where is she coming from?

like what school i mean

You, June 12, 8:30 pm

MIT

here she’ll be going to SNU

jisung pwark, June 12, 8:31 pm

isn’t MIT that really good school in Massachusetts you told me about hyung

ding dong hyuck, June 12, 8:31 pm

M I T

WHAT-

HYUNG YOUR SISTER IS A GENIUS

You, June 12, 8:32 pm

kinda??? i guess

do bunny, June 12, 8:33 pm

hyung can you tell us more about her?

like her majors and interests and stuff like that

i’m curious

10, June 12, 8:33 pm

yea i’m curious too

can’t believe the fans ship us as johnten because we’re best friends but i never even knew you had a sister

You, June 12, 8:34 pm

jesus calm yourself ten

okay so she’s double majoring in computer science and chemistry

TY Trek, June 12, 8:34 pm

WHAT THE HECK JOHNNY

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND CHEMISTRY

WHAT

You, June 12, 8:34 pm

she’s actually adopted

jeez taeyong calm down

Moon Tail, June 12, 8:35 pm

taeyong’s literally staring at his phone in disbelief rn

absolutely fully capable, June 12, 8:35 pm

do you think she can help me with my chemistry homework

wait what she’s adopted

You, June 12, 8:36 pm

ethnically Chinese

still is pretty fluent in mandarin

learned Korean after getting sick of not being able to understand what my family was talking about half the time

winwin situation, June 12, 8:37 pm

oh yay she speaks Chinese

You, June 12, 8:37 pm

idk Mark you have to ask her but she’ll probably say yes

oh she’s a fan of NCT

chen-dolphin, June 12, 8:38 pm

does she play piano like you hyung

You, June 12, 8:38 pm

yeah

and violin

do bunny, June 12, 8:39 pm

lmao i should log off before my ego takes another hit

10, June 12, 8:40 pm

no stay on hyung

your ego needs to deflate a bit

do bunny, June 12, 8:40 pm

uncalled for

bye

~~~

You, July 30, 11:01 pm

mom says she wants you to pick me up from the airport when i get there

John Suh, August 1, 3:10 am

ugh fine

You, August 1, 3:15 am

you woke me up fuck you

John Suh, August 1, 3:16 am

sor-RY i was in an interview earlier

you sure you weren’t finishing a procrastinated-on paper

You, August 1, 3:20 am

i don’t procrastinate you know me Johnathon

John Suh, August 1, 3:21 am

thats not my name

You, August 1, 3:22 am

idc i’m going back to sleep

~~~

You, August 28, 9:34 pm

where are you

John Suh, August 28, 9:38 pm

hold on Ten nearly got recognized just now

You, August 28, 9:38 pm

okay

WAIT HOLD UP

WHY IS TEN WITH YOU

John Suh, August 28, 9:39 pm

he insisted on getting to meet you first bc ‘i’m your best friend’

doyoung’s here too

you can meet two of your biases at once how handy

You, August 28, 9:39 pm

oh my god i look like a mess why would you do this to me

hold up i can see you

John Suh, August 28, 9:40 pm

wait what

how

i still can’t see you

You, August 28, 9:41 pm

you’re a fucking tree johnny seo

why did your tall-ass family decide to adopt a short person like me

oh holy shit it’s actually ten and doyoung

two of my biases in nct

oh my god

alsdjghlg

i can’t do this oh my god

John Suh, August 28, 9:43 pm

you wanted to meet them gdi

they’re just people calm yourself

and i see you now i’m coming to get you

You, August 28, 9:44 pm

yes please save me from this sea of people i need to sleep

~~~

10, August 29, 8:30 am

your sister’s very pretty hyung

You, August 29, 8:31 am

thanks i think?

do bunny, August 29, 8:31 am

she is

who’s her third bias you mentioned she had three

You, August 29, 8:32 am

taeil

do bunny, August 29, 8:33 am

why though

10, August 29, 8:33 am

yeah why

You, August 29, 8:34 am

‘his vocals are heavenly’

‘oh my god his voice is like an angel’s’

‘i can die in peace now’

do bunny, August 29, 8:35 am

okay but what does she say about my vocals

You, August 29, 8:35 am

‘okay how rude’

‘i don’t deserve this shit’

‘he’s not allowed to look so hot while singing and dancing i look like a hippo when i try’

‘what is this madness’

10, August 29, 8:36 am

does she talk about my heavenly dancing

You, August 29, 8:36 am

but if it makes you feel better

she screams because you’re too good looking while you dance

look

‘OKAY HOW DARE HE’

‘WHAT THE FUCK TEN CHITTAPHON’

‘I HATE YOU’

‘I DON’T DESERVE THIS DISRESPECT’

‘WHO ALLOWED HIM TO DO THIS WHAT THE FUCK HOW DOES ONE LOOK SO GOOD WHILE DANCING’

‘IS HE A DANCE GOD’

10, August 29, 8:37 am

i feel much better now hyung thanks

~~~

You, August 29, 10:30 am

ten and doyoung are very sweet and nice make sure you tell them i said that

also where are you i’m in the practice room already

the staff here are very nice

oop hold up taeyong is here

John Suh, August 29, 10:40 am

sorry some of us are running late

You, August 29, 10:41 am

HOW DO YOU LIVE WITH THIS ANGEL EVERY DAY

HE’S SO SWEET AND NICE AND HE IS E T H E R E A L

HE LOOKS LIKE A FAIRY????

John Suh, August 29, 10:42 am

lmao those were my thoughts when i first met him too

You, August 29, 10:45 am

THE DREAMIES ARE HERE

OHMIGOD THEY’RE SO CUTE

John Suh, August 29, 10:46 am

lord jesus help me

are you going to spam about each nct member you meet

i’m coming to the practice room rn

~~~

- 10 has added Cesium to the chat! -

You, August 29, 9:31 pm

what is the meaning of this ten chittaphon leechaiyapornkul

Cesium, August 29, 9:32 pm

hi!

do bunny, August 29, 9:33 pm

hi cecia!

winwin situation, August 29, 9:33 pm

hello cecia~

TY Trek, August 29, 9:33 pm

so on behalf of all of nct i welcome you to the group chat Cecia! so we don’t have to deal with lik 20 hellos in the chat

10, August 29, 9:34 pm

why does Johnny hyung have your name saved as Cesium cecia

Cesium, August 29, 9:35 pm

i would curse but the dreamies are in the chat so i’ll refrain

probably because cecia sounds like cesium and cesium is an element in the periodic table and i’m studying chemistry so he thinks it’s ‘clever’

You, August 29, 9:35 pm

it IS clever

fight me

Cesium, August 29, 9:36 pm

johnathon seo you haven’t been clever since the day you got knocked out by a baseball in third grade.

i can deck you

try me

do bunny, August 29, 9:37 pm

i can hear the dreamies laughing

i think chenle is dying

Cesium, August 29, 9:37 pm

for the record i have johnny’s name saved as ‘John Suh’

TY Trek, August 29: 9:38 pm

is Jaehyun choking?

Cesium, August 29, 9:38 pm

oh it’s jeffrey

don’t die please

or else my friend who’s jaehyun-biased won’t have anything to live for

jaeffrey, August 29, 9:39 pm

i’m not dying lol

johnny is though

he’s getting wrecked

#reckt

absolutely fully capable, August 29, 9:40 pm

oh my god hyung please stop

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serendipetite · 4 years

Note

def relate to feeling closer to a decade ago than now. my life wasnt any better but life was still going. it wasn't stopped. i could see a show if i wanted. go out without having to worry about my health constantly and those around me. its been so draining and bts is the only thing that keeps me going truly. silly me when this all started i thought 'oh we can just quarantine for a few months and we'd be fine' now it seems like its going to take another yr from our lives before it gets 'normal'

right?? i think it’s because all the days are all the same. there’s no excitement or variation. my excitement is now going to the grocery store once a week. even stressful things like having an exam or something, it was still getting out and going somewhere and being able to do something. now all the days feel the same and even though moments like graduating back in 2009 are far away, they feel so much closer than things that were just a year ago.

i’m so, so thankful you have bts! they are truly what gets me through too. idk where i’d be without the promise of new run episodes to watch once a week, or the occasional vlive or weverse check-in.

i remember back in april, thinking that maybe once summer hit, things would be better. being in the us, we’ve never really had anything like this to compare it to in our lifetimes. one of the podcasts i watch/listen to was talking about what the world may be like once we come out the other side of this, what will change. simple things like being handed a menu to touch and look at at a restaurant will probably now remain completely obsolete, etc. it’s just so wild to me thinking about last january. last march always gets brought up, but for me what’s really hitting right now is last year’s months just prior to march, back when no one had any idea and everything was just, so different. it feels so surreal.

last year, my grandfather was still alive. between january and april, he moved like four times to different care facilities. last year, i was going to school, taking public transportation and riding just inches away from another human being. people were drinking out of water fountains....all i keep thinking is how surreal it is. one of my professors said something to watch for will be how media changes, the books we write, the movies that get made, the tv shows we watch, the lyrics of our songs, how all that will reflect this time in our lives. and i remember our class just kind of shrugging it off but now, holy heck.

keep your head up love. we’ll get through this together. if you need someone to talk to, i am always here <3

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ignot0 · 5 years

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Elephants in the Sky ((A Story About Timbuktu)(Reedited and Revised 7-2008))

[1980s, Lee Evens in Mali, Timbuktu/Africa]

This story was initially one of only a handful scarcely any chose to be viewed as put into the San Francisco, Magazine of Literature, as an honor winning story, fall period of 2006.

Advance: Lee was released from the Army in 1980, whereupon, he ventured to the far corners of the planet, one of those areas was in Mali, by the unbelievable city of Timbuktu; whereupon he wound up in the center of a plague, a plague of grasshopper chat with sugar daddy online [Diary-review] There were swarms of beetle over the highest point of my vehicle, before me, swarms, a dim shadow covering the sky, plunging onto the street before me, behind me, it was insects, grasshoppers, beetles grasshoppers all over: so thick, impervious, layers upon layers overflowed the sky, that my vehicle was slipping and sliding as though on ice. My radiator was being blocked, stopped by these finger-sized cadavers. I needed to head over to the roadside. It was nevertheless a minute from that point when I saw a few youths not far off a piece, not very far down-not very far to state, a disconnected separation, only a little ways, three of them attempting to beat them off with their belts, pants belts, lower arms, caps, and hands as wave, after influx of them came. At that point one turned to a stick, a stick I state, OK utilize a stick? Under ordinary conditions impossible, yet truly, exactly when something like this is occurring, anything in ones hands that can connect and swat the little brutes, gets conceivable, authentic, so I learned! To be completely forthright, I'd run I think damnation; in any case, he took a stick to beating them off, while the others utilized their caps, hands, kicking them, trampling them, turning again and again attempting to kill them; they were dropping down like hail onto them from all sides; down and sideways: barraging them like animals from space, as in the holy book, where it notices such things occurring back in the days Moses: the diseases God pass on upon the pharaoh. This was that way; they were in their hair, noses, ears, ascending their jeans legs, flying straight for their mouths.

The entire zone was turning out to be plagued with them [them: being, those insect animals, the little beasts]. They were turning out to be as thick as the Great Walls of Troy, - twenty-feet thick. I quickened the motor of my leased vehicle to keep it running, it needed to stop-it nearly did, I turned the way to prop it up, to begin it once more, it spit and sputtered somewhat, at that point arrived at a total dead stop, a burping stop. I was unable to see the young men, just a casing of these animals a few inches thick around them-like mummies; they currently moved about on the ground like biting the dust lions, shouting in misery, I think they realized they were dead, or on a par with dead.

For a hundred miles around I had heard they were gobbling up the harvests before anybody had the opportunity to reap them; calamitous harm to the yield, as the new age of hatchlings showed up accordingly, enlarging the elements of the one-hundred mile span to perhaps 200 miles or something like that.

What's more, they, these hosts from heck, were currently over my vehicle: truly, gracious, indeed, my heart pulsating 200 blasts per minute, while they stayed there getting thicker constantly like crazy little brutes with beady eyes, and stomping on little feet; and under the vehicle they were, occupied with making disgusting sounds, hints of tapping from their wiry radio wires, a humming sounds from their wings, and in the fields adjacent to me they came, onto the street, any place you looked they were there or coming, a gather from damnation. I was nevertheless twenty-five miles outside of Timbuktu. Ok! What would I be able to do, I asked myself?

Apparently, there was no methods for splashing accessible to murder them, nor whatever other treatment, why that happened to me, is past me, I mean who gives a hoot, I'm in it; indeed, truly, no gear as provisions were of a base and vehicles were rare I was fortunate to have protected an arrangement with this jeep.

In the not so far separation, I was seeing ranchers beating the beetle into channels; what more might they be able to do (so I asked myself)? Swatting them from all sides, and running, I mean running, similar to the young men ought to have done, searching for a sanctuary.

Presently I'm taking in the tourist in the jeep, it appears to me I'm reusing my own air. In the five-mile zone they, the little brutes secured most everything; there were in any event, more likely than not been at any rate, couldn't be under 250-million grasshopper I figured (creepy crawlies); containers, yellow winged containers insane and hyper containers, as though they were on a sugar rush, as though they were hyper, or had taken some high vitality tranquilize.

As I stayed there in the vehicle, fairly numb from this whole goings on, I determined (in my mind that is) the weight volume of these bugs, which found the middle value of out to be 5000-elephants dropping from the sky. I had a great deal of time to make sense of that, generally, suppose hours viewing these containers fly and slip, attempting to eat my tires-attempting to get into the jeep and eat me.

'Attempt, attempt, attempt,' I murmured, said to them (trusting they couldn't yet it was my solitary method for challenging them and it caused me to feel better): 'Damn all of you to hell!...' I cussed them.

[Entry]

I was in Timbuktu a couple of days prior, on my way back to Timbuktu now, I had been in the wide open truly, here where propositions animals were reproducing, I don't know where it was specifically, however it was in Mali where they had breed I do accept initially, from the outset before they arrived, somewhere in Mali. I was doing what I love to do, looking at some old parchments, old works that were found in one of the old mud houses in Timbuktu; acknowledging at one time Timbuktu was a Mecca for learning for the Muslims, or better put, Islamic culture; on the old Silk Road you could state.

I was excited in speculation the marvel would move east, away from me, to Sudan or Chad, or right to Egypt; move away to wherever, yet out of Mali and without a doubt, away from Timbuktu specifically. I was astounded there was not a helpful emergency alert, or if there was it didn't seem as though it; where was the United Nation's vehicles? Somewhere protected avoiding the looming fate they carry with them, these little containers.

Try to murder them before another ages create breeds, that is, subsequently leaving them speechless from breaking into different spots nations, and another cycle beginning. The harvests I knew would be gone soon in the south and now right now well, in the event that they were not yet, and should they go east-well, let them stress over that."

They jumped, these containers, similar to little elephants on the hood now, the hood of my vehicle that is; they looked, gazed into my windows, profound into my opening, nose against the glass, as though I was consumable, some way or another I got the sense (Note: they had the fragrance I assume) they realized I was caught in the vehicle, encased as in a tomb, for I was without a doubt in all regards at their benevolence should they discover a path through that opening. Be that as it may, I recall what Solomon let me know in Egypt, Cairo a couple of months back, should something like this happen so it was to some degree determined and it was currently growing: in any case he stated, "('should this happen?') Try to make it till morning, when everything chills off.

I calculated the wingless 'containers' the new breed, were growing now in the fields around me as the grown-up yellow ones could be seen flying about eating, and slaughtering whomever got in their way (the ranchers and gosh, anything relaxing).

[The Big Hopper: journal entry]

One major container looked through my glass window, must be the size of a sparrow (I'm recording this as he's taking a gander at me). At its sight I can see its smooth eyes, they tail me, I sense it is to some degree daze, I mean, its eyes give out a smooth yellowness to them, as though it has waterfalls, its lips trembled from mature age, it murmured something, as though conversing with itself, or me-now it stands aside to give the more youthful ones companion access on me.

"Come? súh!"

((Note: the creator interprets for the bug) the large one said)(smiling an agreeable smile)).

Along these lines, with apprehensiveness my eyebrows were shuddering with my sensory system was wacky. Gasping like a canine, I was. I was so dazed... I wound up peering out the window for a very long time? vacantly; at that point turning my head shyly to check whether any of those containers where toward the rear of me-sneaking up on me; verifying whether they were getting inside the jeep. My eyes couldn't unwind from this tricky attacking power, on the off chance that anything it was very incapacitating?

This was a type of kicking the bucket gradually softening of the heart you may state until you couldn't inhale, yet then what might you expect I assume, most likely not agreement in a tremor? In these alleged, untouchable occasions I ended up floating on occasion, yet I realized I was unable to rest. I mean who could?

There I sat in the driver's seat, hunkered forward to peer through the blinding tempest of grasshopper; these containers resembled downpour sheets hitting the windshield snappier than the wipers could fan it clean. My palm and temple had polished dampness to it, my body was smelling with a passing aroma, my skin transforming into waxiness.

It was currently mid-evening, and they were sweltering, those containers were bubbling, and it was out and out sweltering inside and outside the vehicle, I was sweltering inside my body too, everything was rankling, to incorporate the: glass, the metallic components in the vehicle, even the texture in the vehicle, the tires on the vehicle were sizzling, the entire part was blistering, and thusly it was not going to get cooler this evening, nor tomorrow around lunchtime, it was just going to get more sweltering, so early morning would be my best time to make my turn, when they, the little mammoths would be chilled off, down in the yields around me, down around the vehicle, since now they were beginning to calm down a few, - that is the reason, I had killed my vehicle and I figured I'd leave my vehicle off, the tension would come toward the beginning of the day when I would need to attempt to begin it once more.

- [2:00 AM] I should had nodded off, and an auto

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evenstevensranked · 8 years

Text

#48: Season 2, Episode 8 - “Head Games”

Twitty becomes the star pitcher of LJH’s baseball team! He’s loving it until Louis starts to put pressure on him to win all the time. Elsewhere, Ren tries to sit next to Bobby Deaver on the bus come hell or high water.

But, I’m pretty sure the one thing everyone remembers from this episode is:

(^ I cannot find the source of that gif for the life of me. So, if it’s yours... I’m sorry. Tell me and I’ll credit you!)

This one opens at the baseball field! Kinda refreshing. And guess who the announcer is?! It’s ARTIE RYAN!!! Played by Jerry Messing from Freaks and Geeks. This marks his first appearance in my countdown! He’s basically this overweight and sort of apathetic character, who dishes out some hilariously dry humor. He’s unfortunately only in five episodes over the course of the series. Then again, maybe that’s a good thing. It’s never fun when a character actor is overused and subsequently goes stale... (*cough* Beans *cough*)

What a guy!

LJH isn’t doing too hot with the current pitcher they have out on the mound. Louis is there with a radar gun, checking the pitcher’s speed and hanging around Coach Tugnut. When Tugnut asks where he got the radar gun Louis says: “Got it at a police auction. I would’ve got the jaws of life, it just didn’t fit on my bike.” He also rags on the pitcher saying “My grandma can throw a ball of yarn faster.” Idk why, but I kind of like these lines. They’re clearly pre-written and therefore feel a little cheesy as opposed to some gems we get from Shia improvising. But, there aren’t many other stand-out lines in this one. So, they’ll have to suffice. This pitcher really is doing a crap job though, so they switch him out for Twitty. Something that stands out to me is that Twitty is chilling in the dugout prior to this reading some giant book? Like? Is that supposed to be a joke? It just seems out of character. He should be sitting there — not paying attention, listening to music on his headphones and playing air-guitar or something. Not reading freaking War and Peace.

So... I looked closely. That is a fictional book called “The Brains of Men and Women.” What the heck.

Twitty gets up to pitch for the first time that season and rox everyone’s sox off. (Yeah, I said that.) His stellar performance helps lead LJH to a victory! Artie initially introduced him by saying “Alan throws right, bats left, and lives around the corner from Del’s Pizzeria” which is fantastic. Fun fact: Just because I’m weird, I decided to look up Del’s Pizzeria… and it’s a real family owned and operated restaurant that opened in 1973! AND it’s actually in California! Granted, it’s 4 hours outside of Sacramento… so, if we’re thinking within the shows universe - that’d be a bit of a commute every day for a middle schooler lol. BUT STILL!!! I bet one of the writers or someone involved actually lived around there. Little things like that make me happy.

Ren and Bobby talk in the hallway and it’s extremely awkward. Ren brings up Canada and how their system of government is similar to America’s. I can’t. To be fair, they haven’t become “official” yet. That actually happens in the following episode! But, I honestly think Ren and Bobby are so uncomfortable to watch sometimes because they simply don’t belong togetherrrrr! (I think I’ve made it clear who I prefer for her.) Well.. that, and they’re in Junior High. Everything about middle school relationships is awkward and I gotta admit again that the Ren/Bobby stuff portrays that pretty accurately. Ruby tells Ren to not say a word the next time they talk and let Bobby take control. Kinda awful advice and gives me Poor Unfortunate Souls vibes… but ok. It works, though! Bobby invites Ren to sit next to him on the bus for their upcoming field trip. Something that bothered me: Ren’s so excited about the invitation that she moves a guy away from his locker to scream into it. The only issue is that it’s HER LOCKER. There’s a crapton of other lockers the extra could’ve used!!

Her locker seen in Season 1.

The “random guy’s” locker she screamed into.

Twitty’s super happy about pitching so well. He’s the new star player! Tawny asks “Twitty, how does it feel to be the new sports hero? I mean, not that I’m into sports or anything. I actually find it to be a waste of the human spirit.” I relate to that so much, tbh. But, yeah. It’s all fine and dandy until Louis starts telling Twitty that everything’s different now. That the entire school is counting on him to win all of their games. And here we get one of the most iconic lines of the whole series. Louis explains, “You’re the closer, the man! THE BIG POPPA WITH THE BIG MOPPA!!!!!” (the first gif.) I was so unsure of where to rank this episode, solely because of how memorable this line is. But, one great line doesn’t exactly save this episode from being a little flat otherwise. I had my mom watch it with me today for an outside opinion and she was like “Dang, this one is boring.” Sooo. Yeah.

Anyway, Louis really gets inside Twitty’s head and he starts freaking out during their next game. He’s sweating like a pig and can’t think straight. We see Twitty imagine Louis’ face on the baseball he’s holding, repeating the Big Poppa line. It’s honestly so hilarious seeing Shia’s face on a baseball like that I really cannot handle it. It’s something else that made me want to rank this higher.

Twitty took drugs before this game, right?

Twitty pitches terribly and throws the ball pretty much everywhere but over the plate. He hits the peanut guy and Artie yells, “Oh! Right in the peanuts! That’s gotta hurt.” — A little cringy. But, Artie said it.. so, it’s ok. He also exclaims “Holy cow! Someone get me a hard hat!” when one of Twitty’s awful pitches knocks over the announcement speakers. I love it. LJH loses 29 to 2. Twitty blames Louis. After this, he starts choking at everyday things! Like pouring milk and putting on deodorant. Tawny and Louis go over to Twitty’s and try to snap him out of it. This is the one time ever in all 65 episodes that we get to see Twitty’s room! It’s on-point with his character, too. Kinda stoner-y, sporty, music-y, but also messy like a slightly neater version of Louis’ room. I like that they actually put thought into how it should look. When Tawny and Louis walk in, Twitty is lying on his bed all depressed. Louis tries to motivate him by screaming and clapping “Ya gotta get up! You got a game this afternoon. UP AND AT ‘EM! Up, up, up! Come on! Let’s get UP!” As if that’s gonna help someone who’s depressed. I love Shia so much.

The two try to help Twitty by giving him jellybeans when he thinks positively about pitching, and forcing him to smell Louis’ dirty socks when he has negative thoughts. At one point Tawny refers to the mound as “that stupid hill thingy.” I relate to her so much this episode. Their plan doesn’t work, so they call in Donnie for help. I really like Donnie. They bring him to Twitty’s room blindfolded and when they take it off he asks “…..where’s the surprise party?!” He’s so innocently dumb. It’s great. Once they fill him in on the situation, he recommends that Twitty relaxes at Big Al’s Spa — a place that once helped relieve him of sport-related stress.

Twitty’s room! (Guitars and surfboards not pictured, lol.)

There’s a 5 second bit I always liked where Louis grabs and eats a jellybean from Tawny and she just gives him this side eye. They’re so cute.

Nelson once again starts screwing things up for Ren. He sits next to her on the bus because according to his mother (and his hypochondria) that seat is the safest and he wants to live. He refuses to move. Wow. But, Ruby ain’t having it. She rearranges the ENTIRE BUS SEAT SCHEDULE in an elaborate plan just to ensure that Ren and Bobby sit together.

What an inconvenience.

The first time, something goes wrong and Ruby ends up next to Ren. This pisses me off. WHY COULDN’T SHE JUST SWITCH SEATS WITH BOBBY AFTER THAT?! It’s a very obvious and simple solution. But, no.. they just sit there looking at each other across the bus like “ugh, this is so difficult!1! This is like an impossible algebra problem… how will we ever solve it?! We’re worlds apart! :(“

So, instead of switching with Bobby.. She makes the entire bus swap seats again. Oh my god. This time Nelson ends up next to Ren, and Ruby ends up next to Bobby! SHE COULD EASILY JUST SWITCH SEATS WITH REN THIS TIME! But, they just helplessly stare at each other again. Seriously, how difficult is this?! Why couldn’t Ruby get it correct?!

Thankfully, Nelson actually does something right and gets the brilliant idea to switch seats with Bobby! Wow! Genius! You could’ve done that the first time and saved everyone all the trouble. Jesus. So, yeah. Bobby and Ren get to sit together and they both admit that they get nervous around each other. Which is kind of cute I guess. Then Bobby says he “feels like a little kid again” because he used to get carsick when he was young. He proceeds to throw up into a backpack, lol. This guy is seriously not ~all that.~ Idk what Ren sees in him. He is literally so strange. Classically good looking, maybe. But there’s something off about his character. That’s the end of the subplot.

Twitty, Louis, Tawny and Donnie roll up to Big Al’s Spa and discover that it’s run down now and literally just a mud pit. You’re supposed to relax in the mud as if it’s a hot tub. No, thanks. Twitty really does not want to bathe in dirt either. But Louis says “Twitty, Donnie drove 50 miles… I’m spending $15… YOU’RE GETTIN’ IN THE STINKIN’ MUD!” I just love Shia’s shouty voice. Twitty gets in and they leave him there for an hour. He ends up taking a nap and wakes up super relaxed and refreshed… unfortunately, the mud hardened and he’s stuck.

I love Tawny’s outfit. I would wear that, honestly. I live in my Docs. Tawny is just me today.

When Louis, Tawny and Donnie come back for him.. Twitty freaks out. He starts screaming “I’m trapped! I’m gonna be trapped here forever! And then I’m never gonna get to see my grandchildren!” Uh, Twitty… I’d be worried about not having your own kids first. It’s pretty funny, though. Twitty takes his anger and frustration out at Louis and yells “I swear to Bob, when I get out of here I’m gonna beat you up for a week!” …Excuse me? “I swear to Bob?!” Who is Bob??? Bob Marley? Bob the Builder? Bob Saget?!?! I mean really, “SWEAR TO BOB”?!?!?! Clearly, I’m assuming Disney can’t say “swear to god.” But, wow. They should’ve had him say something else in that case, because “swear to Bob” just sounds stupid.

Obviously, they’re able to dig Twitty out! As soon as he’s free, he starts throwing mud balls at Louis who hides behind a barrel that just so happens to have a target on it. Without noticing, Twitty hits the bullseye every time. In order to focus that anger during games, they put a picture of Louis inside the Catcher’s glove, haha. Hey, it works though! And according to Artie Ryan, “The Twitty-meister is back.”

It ends with Coach Tugnut relaxing at Big Al’s Spa, per Louis’ recommendation… Except he’s stuck in the hardened mud with no one to dig him out. Oops.

The end!

Like I said last week.. Season 2 is just kinda there. Episodes like this and the other Season 2 episodes that I’ve ranked already are examples of what I mean. There’s just a strange amount of slower, more forgettable episodes imo. Although “The big poppa with the big moppa” definitely helps this one stand out in people’s memories, I think. This one is also a Twitty plot basically! Which is kinda cool! But, ya know.. The show is called Even Stevens and he’s not a Stevens. So the episode as a whole feels a little off because of that. And Ren’s subplot is okay here. I definitely relate to wanting to sit next to your crush on the bus. Again, a very realistic Junior High situation. But, I swear to Bob… (whoever he is) the unnecessary seat rearranging gets on my last nerve!!!

Thanks again for reading! If you didn’t notice.. the blog is now evenstevensranked.com! Yay! :D

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