#also because its my favorite thing he falls apart a lot more when he gets frustrated or angry | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

a-libra-writes · 2 months

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can I please request for a Mordecai Heller x female reader? like reader is a showgirl who sings on stage like Mitzi one and tends to attract a lot of attention but backs out when they feel this murdercat plotting their death lmao. thank you 😁

heyo! I decided to do a looot of the cats for this one, since its p similar to my Peaky Blinders Jazz Singer post that I was fond of. GN Reader.

Being a Jazz Singer & Performer!

Rocky - When he was hired and met you for the first time, it was absolutely an "infatuation at first sight" situation. Pros!: He's unfailingly polite and sweet, he seems to play with even more energy when you two share a stage, his grin is very off-putting to creeps who shout up at the stage and harass you. Cons: He can get quite distracted when you two share a stage. Many times Zib has had to pull him back with the rest of the band, because he keeps unintentionally scooting closer to you.

The worst part of the Lackadaisy falling onto hard times is the fact you rarely worked there now - you had to sing at other clubs to make ends meet. One of Rocky's big motivators for getting the club back to its old self is you'd come back! Forever this time! (Probably). Rocky doesn't exactly have the time or money to visit the other clubs you work at, so he wants all of your attention during your infrequent visits to the Lackdaisy.

Freckle - Look, he's a shy kid, and the whole 'sneaking out under cover of night to do bootlegging/torpedo shenanigans' is still new. He doesn't have a lot of experience or frame of reference for what a good club singer is like, but Freckle thinks you've got to be one of the best. You have to be, right? Your voice is wonderful and you look positively celestial under the stage lights - wait, that's weird to think, right? Thank God he didn't say it out loud. ... He didn't, right?

Freckle hasn't the slightest idea of how to approach you, so it's up to Ivy and his cousin to drag him over and attempt conversation. It's... a little pitiable, but he's trying. That said, he's surprisingly outspoken and a little scary if someone tried to mess with you while you performed. You're used to the heckles and catcalls, but it's shocking to see that shy tabby jump up from his seat and raise his voice at them.

Ivy - She liked you from the moment she first saw you perform at the Lackdaisy, and that crush hasn't dulled over the months. She maaaay have kept a few posters that advertised the clubs you sang at, and may or may not have cajoled her way into those clubs so she could watch the show. She could easily sweet talk her way to backstage, too - seems you've got a fan.

When the Lackadaisy goes downhill, it's Ivy who wants to sweet talk you into returning. You'll bring in a crowd! The acoustics are great! Pretty pleeease? Her dad Ivy will pay you and not get in trouble until months later when the family accountant goes over the finances. Obviously she cares about the club's wellbeing, but she also wants to spend time with you! Though she's bold enough to just ask you outright. She's also bold enough to outright shout and fight anyone whose heckling you - throwing a heel is a favorite tactic.

Viktor - You're someone he saw often in the olden days, back when the club could afford to have you perform several times a week rather than once a month. Viktor never cared much for the cacophony the crowd and music made, though he knew objectively you were an excellent performer. Rather than endure the crowd, he'd listen to your voice drift across the caves backstage, rehearsing with the band or just by yourself. It was pleasant to listen to, and he could do so in private, either coming back from a job or about to go on one.

Once things began to fall apart, it's not as though he went around to clubs ... or anywhere, really. So if you stopped performing at the Lackadaisy, you might never see each other again. Choosing to stay (or at least do a few pity gigs) would lead to the surprising sight of the big, morose Slav working behind the bar and watching from there, rather than his previous hideouts. It's a little intense to be under that stare... but not all unpleasant? And given how sparse the crowd is, anyone making trouble and catcalling will get dealt with so promptly, they won't even have time to finish their wolf whistle.

Zib - Well, obviously he's going to be drawn in by an attractive singer. Come on. Zib can be smooth when he wants, chainsmoker-scent and rumpled clothes aside. The band likes to tease him mercilessly about it, but that doesn't stop him from cozying up while you two perform together and shooting his shot backstage after every show. Back when the Lackadaisy was thriving, he could afford to hang out at the other clubs you performed at; nowadays, though, that's not so likely.

Even so, starting up a friendship or even fling wouldn't be difficult. He's attracted to and interested in creative spirits, doubly so if you two had very different taste (so there's more to discuss!) and you got on well with the rest of the band. Late-night debates about this musician or that show over a game of cards and several bottles of wine, either together or with the rest of the boys, and waking up half-dressed and seriously hungover come sunrise. Opportunities for visiting would dwindle as the Lackadaisy's business dried up, though if you stayed on ... No, he wouldn't want that for you. If anything you'd be mentioning to him and the band that there's other places to perform to pay the bills. Well, it'd be food for thought.

Wick - Wick wouldn't call himself a music aficionado, especially what's listened to at these rowdy speakeasies, but he won't deny how hard it was to focus on his business associates when you were on stage. So when he discovered you often performed at his favorite club, it was a pleasant surprise. He really wanted to speak with you at some point, at least compliment the performance, but didn't want to come off as those typical entitled wealthy guys who get too fresh with ""lower"" class performers ... so sometimes you'd find flowers in the dressing room and an anonymous note of appreciation.

He finally gets a conversation when you're a guest at a posh party he's attending, or when you continue to perform at the Lackadaisy in spite of the dwindling crowd. It's a shame your large audience is missing, but at least it's way less awkward for him to strike up conversation when you come to the bar? He probably won't bring up the flowers. Oh god, what if you think that's weird. You probably assumed the flowers were some freak fan. Is he a freak fan? He's not, right? (It will take him like months of dating to finally admit to the flowers thing)

Serafine - A good-looking cat with a nice set of pipes is certainly someone she'd notice, especially if they were a regular performer at the Marigold Room and other places she frequented before that. If it was the former, she'd have plenty of chances to wink when you met eyes, "chancing" across you backstage or just being forward and chatting you up after the show. She certainly isn't shy about expressing her interest, and it could be a fun fling.

You do look adorable swinging your hips and swaying your tail along to the beat, not to mention the different get-ups you have to dress in. Serafine maaaay or may not have wanted to help pick a suit out, or help with make-up, or give you some of her jewelry to wear... It's half marking her territory and half she loves to lounge around your dressing room and be a pest. You'd never kick her out and she knows it. She'll do it in other clubs, too, though you have no idea how she keeps getting past security.

Nico - Like his sister, he has no qualms nor shame about trying to get your attention on stage. Unlike Serafine, though, he'd start doing it immediately and be a general pest after the show. The difference between his attention seeking and the other men's in the audience is he actually has some charisma when you two meet backstage, so you're only slightly inclined to tell him to buzz off. He wasn't much of a music expert, and he still isn't ... But he likes hearing you rehearse and hum to yourself, and it's endearing when he requests songs.

He's pleased when you get gigs at the Marigold Room, as it's easier to hang around before and after the show - and bonus, he gets to be extra aggressive with throwing creeps out to impress you! But if you're performing elsewhere then Nico will stop by. He might be bruised and/or bloody because he just left a job, but don't worry! Sometimes he'll even bring flowers or whatever - though without Serafine knowing, she'd never let him live it down.

Mordecai - He wouldn't approach you any differently from others - he'd still be his usual prickly, anti-social, often awkward self - in fact, he might avoid an avid performer, simply because they often have fans around them or at least people recognizing them. What could get his notice was someone whose real persona is very different from their ostentatious self on stage - more quiet and pensive, perhaps. Like any attempt at friendship, let alone romance, it's slow going with him.

That said, he's the type to admire professionalism in a performance. A well put together outfit, thoughtful musical arrangement (as if he's an expert ...). He wouldn't like a femme presenting singer have to wear skimpy clothes or tolerate a rowdy audience. If there was a questionable manager or creepy fan bothering them, Mordecai can deal with that, at least, not that he'd tell his friend/partner. Mordecai would generally glare down any touchy fans and annoying admirers like a jealous terrier. This amuses Mitzi to no end.

Asa - Simply put, he saw you performing at a ritzy party he was invited to and reached out to your manager so you might perform on a weekly basis at the Marigold Room. Very professional! He'd send flowers with his name to the dressing room afterward, would make sure you're finding everything to your liking and not being bothered by anyone. Requests to continue performing would bypass your manager to being nice, short handwritten notes.

Eventually he'd pay you extra and treat you to a nice dinner afterward, if you were comfortable with it. If you let the older man down, he's not too bothered. He'd continue the friendly business relationship and would still send flowers and so on. He'd rather keep you as a good business associate and continue to enjoy the performances than let his silly feelings get in the way. Alas, he is hopeless at discussions of your music. My guy called a ukelele a tiny guitar.

Wes - He never hung around the Marigold Room after hours - it's his workplace, and not really his vibe - but it's very hard to resist not sitting by for an hour (or three) with a drink while you finish your set. Sometimes you two will meet eyes, or he thinks you are, and he considers dropping backstage to say ... hello? He's an 'employee', so isn't checking up on you a normal thing to do? Make sure you're satisfied with the Marigold Room and all that. Right.

Ironically that's how he's finally able to meet the singer he's been mooning over for months. A drunk patron was getting too cozy on your way out, and Wes happened to be there. His face and ... charming demeanor is good for scaring off upper class wimps. So there's that. He's not so bad, though - clumsy, and prooobably realizes you're out of his league. You get to see more of his earnest side when you two meet outside of the Marigold Room, where his fellow murderous gangsters coworkers aren't watching yalls every move with popcorn in hand.

#posting 1 year later lets go lmao #lackadaisy x reader #rocky rickaby x reader #calvin mcmurray x reader #ivy pepper x reader #viktor vasko x reader #zib zibowski x reader #wick sable x reader #serafine savoy x reader #nico savoy x reader #mordecai heller x reader #asa sweet x reader #wes clyde x reader #also lmao sorry mordecai would not take a singer/semi famous partner well. too much attention #its funny to think abt tho like. cannot imagine this man has taste in upbeat jazz #cant even pretend to dance at least calvin tries!

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kyufessions · 8 months

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target run

synopsis: shopping with chenle can be exhausting, especially for your first apartment together

genre: fluff + angst with a happy ending

word count: 1.2k

pairings: non-idol, boyfriend! chenle x g.n. reader

a/n: falling down the chenle rabbit hole lately. sigh.

general taglist: @jwnghyuns • @eaudenana • @soobin-chois

One hour in and you were already growing a bit irritated with your boyfriend. Although you loved shopping, shopping with chenle was nearly impossible at times. When it came to where to shop, chenle liked more expensive stores while you like stores like target, ikea, places where everyone automatically thinks of when shopping for clothes or even furniture. Chenle prefers the luxury stores that are long out of the way; normally you would agree to go out of curiosity since you didn't grow up around that type of lifestyle, but today you insisted on taking him to target. And you were already regretting it. Sure, shopping for your first apartment together wasn't going to be easy but oh my gosh you didn't expect so much back and forth.

“How about this desk? I think it’d be great for the at-home office.” you suggested, eyeing a wooden desk with bottom drawers on each side that could fit a bunch of files from both of your jobs. Squatting down, you point out the bottom drawers and how wide the surface seems to be. “I think it could fit under the windowsill perfectly, too. And there seems to be a lot of space-”

“No, not enough space.” he says, not even giving it a glance. His eyes stayed glued to his phone as he scrolled doing whatever he was doing, eyes focused on his screen. “How about this one? It has drawer space on the top and is a two tiered one- each of us can have our own tier on the desk.”

Standing up with a sigh, you peak over his shoulder and look at the expensive desk. It was cherry wood and even though it was really nice, it was also really expensive- almost one thousand for it. “It's nice but-”

“Then let's buy it instead of this thing.” he starts pointing to the desk you were just referencing. “Or any of these,” his fingers starting pointing to each of the desks that target had to offer.

You just rolled your eyes and looked at the other desks, making a mental note of your favorite ones before moving onto the next aisle.

Hour two and Chenle was following behind you, continuing to scroll on his phone and finding bookshelves online he preferred and were more expensive. It's not that chenle liked buying expensive things just because he could, he just thought more expensive = better quality; he's stuck by that all his life.

“Babe, what about this one?” chenle asks, turning his phone to face you.

You turned to look at him with hope, thinking he had found a shelf he actually liked in this store. When you were met with his phone inches from your face, you just groaned and started walking away as you spoke, “you’re unbelieve, chenle.”

He grabs the shopping cart filled with nothing but hangers and bed liners, following behind you. “It's not that serious.”

Turning on your heel, you stop the cart with your hand and lean forward with annoyance steaming off of you. “You’re right, its not. But I just asked for one thing: to pick some furniture out at target. That's all I wanted. And you can’t even agree with me on one thing for our first apartment. It might not seem important right now, but how you are reacting now could be a potential prediction of the future when it comes to other situations-”

“Woah woah, y/n.” chenle interrupted, quickly being interrupted himself.

“And stop interrupting me, I hate that. Just,” pausing, you took a quick harsh breath in. “Just let me be by myself for a bit.”

Hour three and you sat at the starbucks by yourself, reading a book you bought in the entertainment section just to pass the time. Normally you don't tend to get upset by such things, but with your last semester creeping up, your job overworking you before the semester starts, and this move-in with your long time boyfriend it’s all starting to pile on top of each other and mix together. You had asked chenle for one thing: to pick out some furniture from target. Not all, of course. But some stuff for the second bedroom in your apartment you were going to turn into an at home office for you both to use when needed. Chenle was hesitant at first but after explaining it would only be for that one room, he agreed.

In your relationship with him, everything was always equal- everything was quite lovely. Not in the past three years have you ever had a huge argument like this, especially in public. Communication has always been you and chenle’s strongest suit, so arguments were minimal and worked out right away.

When the forty minute mark almost hit, chenle got in line at the starbucks and ordered himself a refresher and bought you your favorite flavored cake pop. once he retrieved both, he sat down across from you as he slid the cake pop in your direction. Startled, you looked up cautiously and saw your boyfriend with a shy grin- unsure of how to start the conversation. For a few seconds you just stare at one another, not a word being said or any specific facial expressions being shared.

“I’m sorry.” was all you heard from him as you took the cake pop out of the bag. looking up, you motioned for him to continue as you took a bite from the ear of the so-called ‘bee’. he cleared his throat, pushing back his hair out of nervousness. “I just like giving you what you didn’t have growing up; I want to give you everything I'm able to.”

Nodding, you quickly swallow a small piece of your cake pop before responding. “I appreciate the chenle, but i still feel bad when you pay for things. And now that I have a somewhat decent paying job, I want to pay you back for everything you've done for me these past three years.” gradually reaching for his hand, you begin rubbing small circles into the back of it. Neither of you were one for any extent of PDA, but in this moment it just felt right to do. “I appreciate you looking out for me, baby. But next time can you explain that to me instead of being an asshole? I was about to fight you in the home goods aisle of target of all places. I, unfortunately, do not want to be known as the couple who fought in the middle of the target.”

Chenle chuckles, his heart warming smile causing your heart to skip a beat. Three years and you never got sick of seeing it- you hope to see that smile for the rest of your life. “What couple do you want to be known as?” He follows you to the garbage and grabs your book, putting it in the top part of the shopping cart he had with him.

Playfully thinking as you throw your garbage away and start walking towards the forbidden home goods section, you turn to him with a small grin. “The annoying, crazy couple with three cats and two dogs.”

He nods, following behind you with the cart and that same smile. “I'd like that.”

#kyufessions nct #nct #nct dream #nct chenle #nct dream chenle #zhong chenle #chenle #chenle fluff #chenle angst

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kisstuals · 11 months

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if blue could be happiness

PAIRING. na jaemin x female!reader WORD COUNT. 2.4k CONTAINS. angst, romance, actor!au WARNINGS. implied smut, just the reader being sad and in her head a lot, pretty reflective and retrospective, not much plot more emotions and vibes PLAYLIST. if blue could be happiness - florist | never goodbye - nct dream | liability - lorde NOTE. turns out i love complex female characters and depressing stories and men who fall harder… who is sensing a theme in my works? also im kinda back hahahaha hope everyone has been well xx. i’d say i’ll be more active now but i have a bad track record. that being said, please do give this some love and interact and let me know ur thoughts bc that will motivate me to be more active and post more things!!! would love to chat with you all <3

All you have ever known is being alone, so you can’t help but pull away when Jaemin comes into your life. Too bad he’s here to stay.

NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU LOVE TRAVELING, there is a wave of relief that hits you when the plane finally makes its descent in New York City. The tall buildings shimmer against the twilight sky, and even from so far away, you can sense the hustle and bustle of the always-busy city. You can imagine people getting off work after staying late, going into bars for happy hour. They laugh and giggle with their friends with a drink in their hands. New York City is always alive, and that’s why you love being there, as the fervor and excitement almost allows you to forget about how empty you feel all the time.

Despite that, there is a blue stillness around. A cloud of comfort, broken by a brief anticipation.

Your fingers curl around your seatbelt, waiting for the indication that you could finally take it off and leave the plane. It had been a month since you were last home, as you had been in Paris for the shoot of your upcoming movie. There is no doubt that your time there had been lovely, for you participated in every cliche there was for a Parisian tourist… eating too many croissants every day, visiting the Eiffel Tower, getting lost in the Louvre. The actual work you had gone to Paris for also concluded smoothly, but film shoots were never a problem for someone like you who actually enjoys their job.

None of that mattered though. You were aching to finally be home. It’s difficult to ignore your heart that is practically beating out of your chest, but that may be for reasons other than simply arriving back in your favorite city.

Reasons that are called Na Jaemin.

You wonder if he thought about you nearly as much as you did over the past month. And why would you, consider that you were the one who pushed him away. But you keep on wondering this as you leave the plane. He plagues your mind at the baggage claim, when you get into the car waiting for you, and the entire ride home. The buzz of your phone on the leather seat next to you is the only thing that pulls you out of your daze, eyes blindly following whatever buildings you could see in the distance. It was getting late, but New York never slept.

It buzzes again, and you finally blink before reaching for your phone. It’s a text from your sister, who had been house-sitting for you (or, more of an excuse to hang out in the city).

sister: he just showed up.

Your eyebrows furrow. The texts keep coming in

sister: (name). sister: JAEMIN IS HERE sister: when are you getting back?

Movements growing frantic, you quickly look outside for a landmark, realizing you were still pretty far from your apartment. And with the city traffic, it would at least be another hour.

you: WDYM HE’S HERE? you: i won’t be home for a while you: tell him to go wait in my room

She sends you a thumbs up and you sigh, leaning back into your seat to close your eyes in hopes of getting some rest. Your efforts prove to be futile, of course, because he’s all you can think about.

The first time you met him, you were drunk out of your mind. It was Ryujin’s party for actors to gather and mingle if you remembered correctly, but truthfully your memories of that night were pretty foggy. Everyone was dressed nicely and there was expensive liquor lining the countertops, but you ungracefully stumbled into Jaemin, a new and rising actor whose name was everywhere on the tabloids, in a corner somewhere. See, you were normally always on your best behavior, with perfectly styled hair, manicured nails, and hands folded politely. You never tripped over your own feet. You never spoke out of turn. You never did what you weren’t supposed to do, which was a long list considering you were an A-list actress with an image pristine like glass. People looked up to you.

So you had really no explanation for how Jaemin’s hands ended up around your waist, his lips chasing your own. Your body was hot against his, aching for his touch, and when you finally gave in, there was no stopping either of you. His lips moved ferociously against yours, lighting your skin on fire wherever they touched you.

It was no surprise you ended up in his bed later that night, but it was equally less of a surprise that you left the next morning before he could even wake up.

Yet, that was only the beginning. You seemed to run into him everywhere. At parties of mutual friends, you didn’t even realize you shared. At dress fittings, because the stylist for your next movie also happened to be his personal stylist. At the new coffee shop you decided to try out, and then realized was his favorite.

Suddenly, you couldn’t run away anymore. He was going to be in your life, whether you willed for it or not, so you entertained it for a brief minute. So you kissed him at parties and showed up at dress fittings with your hand in his. Every Sunday, you went to his favorite coffee shop together. You went to sleep in his bed and woke up in his arms. His name was linked to yours, and everyone talked about it, but you didn’t care. You had relinquished all control of your life.

It was great, until it wasn’t. Until he got too close, and you went too far.

That night, there was a downpour in New York City and you retreated back into the comforts of your home. Of the perfect, orderly life you built for yourself.

And the next morning, you left for Paris.

There is a tremble in your fingers as you enter the code to your apartment. Why was he here? You pushed him away, and then he was meant to stay away. People don’t usually try so hard to remain in your life. Probably because of how distant you keep your heart from them. Or maybe that’s why you began doing it in the first place. It’s been so long, you cannot even remember what came first.

Your sister greets you with a worried smile as you enter. She takes your coat from you and you take a moment to set down your belongings, including the large suitcase you had been hauling behind you. The longer you take to go into your room, the longer you have to prepare for whatever is about to happen.

“(Name). He’s been waiting.” Your sister says, looking pointedly at your room door. You’ve dug your toes so far into black boots that you are afraid they may appear at the other end. There is a fleeting touch of comfort on your shoulder before she walks away. With a sigh, you take off your shoes and arrange them neatly on the shoe rack.

In an apartment as big as yours, the walk to your room is shorter than you remember, but you know you cannot delay this any further. Jaemin is definitely aware of your presence, no matter how softly your clothed feet hit the wooden floor of your apartment, so you finally open the door.

Your heart stills when you see him. He’s sitting at the foot of your bed, wearing a fluffy brown jacket and a hat to match. It’s pretty obvious how he looks out of place against your cold, blue walls.

“Hi.” His smile is cautious like you might run away upon seeing him. His worries are not entirely absurd though, as you do consider backing away. But his eyes are warm, and you remember how much you are aching for his touch. You can’t help but take another step towards him.

“Hi.” Your voice cracks and he notices, but you both choose to ignore it.

“How was Paris?”

“It was good.” The temperature of your room must be near freezing, but somehow your words are colder. Jaemin winces, subtle yet noticeable, and stands up, rubbing his hands on his jeans. You pray that he doesn’t move any closer to you, as then you might actually run away, and somehow, he listens.

The heart is a silly little thing, because you find yourself disappointed at the distance between Jaemin and you, even though this ruin was your doing.

“(Name)...” You’re not sure what he’s going to say, but the deep breath he takes before speaking lets you know that you are not ready to hear it. Not yet.

“Sorry for making you wait. Got stuck in traffic.” You begin moving around the room to straighten up a few things that suddenly looked out of order, even though no one had entered your room while you were gone.

“Oh, uh, it’s okay.” His gaze follows your every move. “I hope your sister wasn’t uncomfortable with me just showing up.”

“No, not uncomfortable. Just surprised that you’re here.” Arranging your lipsticks from the darkest red to the lightest nude seemed like the perfect task at this moment, so you stand in the corner of your room farthest from Jaemin, hovering over your vanity.

He sighs. “Me too.”

This makes you glance back at him, eyebrows raised. “You are… also surprised that you’re here?”

“Yeah, considering how you just left me, why would I want to be here?” Jaemin is always honest, and you appreciate him for that, but you can’t ignore the guilt that pools in your stomach as you finally meet his eyes.

Your lips purse, and if you’re feeling anything, you don’t let it show. “Why are you here, then?”

This is the question that ultimately pushes him over the edge. Jaemin’s expression darkens as he finally closes the distance between you two, stopping just close enough so you could feel his breath against yours.

“You’re seriously asking me this? After everything?” He asks incredulously, his eyes searching for answers in your own

“I told you it was over.”

“Okay, but why?” You don’t answer, but you also don’t step away. “What are you afraid of?” Your lip quivers.

“Stop,” you whisper, as you feel your resolve starting to break. Jaemin takes a step back but keeps going.

“That I’ll break your heart? That I’ll leave you and go away?” He lets out an empty, pained laugh. “Well, isn’t that what you’ve done?”

“Jaemin, I–” You begin to speak, but now it’s his turn to cut you off.

“But despite all that, I still love you.” Your eyes widen, and an unknown, indescribable feeling overtakes your entire being. A single tear escapes you, of guilt, and fear, of love and longing.

The room is silent for a minute, and then another.

You are unsure of what the proper response to his confession should be, but whatever it is, you have messed it up already by waiting so long. You owe him an answer, because of everything you’ve put him through. Because you walked into his life, and then walked out, doing it first as you were afraid he would soon enough. But above all, because you loved him too, despite everything you had tried to convince yourself of.

“I’m sorry.” You aren’t sure how to put all your thoughts in words, so you decide to apologize first, instead. And even though it may be a deflection, you hope he realizes that it’s sincere.

But there’s disbelief in his eyes, and you hate that he doubts you, even though you’ve given him every reason to. “That’s it?”

“You’re right. I left because I wanted to do it before you could.” You continue, providing him with the honesty he deserved from day one. “I was so sure you would, because people always leave anyway, you know? They come into my life, I get used to them, then they leave, and I have to get used to life without them. There’s only so many times you can do that before you simply cannot anymore.”

Jaemin’s expression is unreadable as he considers what you said. “So, the solution was to push me away, even though I told you I wasn’t going anywhere that night?” Now his tone is neutral, and you are unable to figure out if he is mad, upset, or disappointed by your explanation.

“Do you know how many times I’ve been told that?”

You had always known that the film world was a lonely one. Your dad was a producer and your mom was an actress. They fell in love when they were twenty and fell out of love when they were twenty-five, with affairs and scandals galore. That left you and your sister, mere toddlers, stuck in the middle, as they threatened to leave each other. Eventually, they just left you. Despite all that, you chose to go down the same path, as the film world was the only world you knew. And then you went through it all over it again, as friends, boyfriends, managers, and mentors all came into your life, only to leave again. The only person who had stuck around was your sister, but because she had to.

Jaemin was the first person who ever wanted to be in your life, by choice.

“I should’ve been more clear then. If I had told you I loved you that night, would you have stayed?” He asks, his voice breaking.

“I don’t think anything would’ve stopped me that night,” you say quietly, remembering how quickly you booked a flight to Paris, and leaving one week earlier than you were originally supposed to for your shoot.

“And how about now?”

You look into Jaemin’s eyes and see only a love for yourself, despite everything, just as he said. And in that moment, the heaviness that you had been carrying around in your heart for as long as you can remember finally settles.

“I want to stay.” You admit.

“So what’s stopping you?”

The question that has plagued you forever now rises to your lips, in a bout of vulnerability you never saw for yourself. “Please don’t leave me.”

At that, Jaemin is immediately reaching for you, the touch that you had yearned for finally engulfing you. He gently cups your face, pressing his forehead against yours. “I’m here, aren’t I? And, I always will be. I won’t give up on us.” You nod, and return his touch, tugging on the collar of his jacket to pull him closer. “And if you leave, I’ll come after you, again and again, like I did today. I just needed to know that you want this as much as I do.”

“I love you.”

And then you kiss him like you never have before, like blue water in the forests of love. Because if blue could be happiness, that is all you ever want.

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emojellyace08 · 5 months

Note

Hola its me Daniel's simp! Am sorry if am annoying u or anything!! Can we just have Daniel reaction of..reader just being down bad for him. Like When I say down bad I mean it like Xufdfiodpiydoy HOW CAN WE NOT BE DOWN BAD FOR THIS MAN 😭 LIKE SOMETIMES HE'S THE REASON I GET UP EVERY MORNING DIYODIPYIDYDIY..sorry about that. Idk wtf am saying nor doing sorry if am being weird! Also gave a nice day/afternoon/evening or night! ❤

Daniel Park x Reader (Being a simp for him)

𝐀/𝐍: 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐢𝐝𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐇𝐀𝐇𝐀𝐇𝐀𝐇𝐀𝐇𝐇𝐀𝐇𝐀 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞!: 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐭, 𝐬𝐨 𝐈 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐥. (𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐥. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈'𝐦 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝. 𝐓𝐲! :)

If you ever met this man on middle school when he's being bullied. You're lucky. Y'know that Daniel has lots of trust issues and anxiety especially in this era. So you gotta be nice to him ;).

I don't know, but at first he just seemed to be REALLY hesitant at making friends at first and warming up because of his past trauma. But once you accepted each other's strengths and flaws he'll definitely become more open about what makes him happy and upset.

(Maybe it's just me that I love the friends to lovers trope more than enemies to lovers trope? HAHAHAHHA). But he's such a gentleman. He's often polite, respectful, yet have that fun and chaotic side of him that will make you MELT. If you like softie guys while still having that balance of masculinity you will like him a lot.

I think Daniel knows and loves to ride a bike. And if you don't know how to (like me), he'll happy to teach you out! Y'know those cheesy romantic scenes in love stories? That's what I am talking about he'll definitely push you to learn (but if you're uncomfortable he will stop of course) and once you mastered it he'll ask you out for a biking race at the sunset as long as it's safe and there's not many vehicles moving on the road.

Jamming in his apartment while his mom is out, listening to your favorite music while dancing around like idiots, eating at your favorite food places while comically arguing who's going to pay the bill, doing other silly things, and opening up to him are the most fun activities to do with him in my opinion. You know this guy is very empathetic and a very good listener since he's been through tough challenges in his life. Being friends with him is not just about spending your time and creating fun memories. It's about opening up to him as he does to you since you trust each other. I think that's one out of the many factors you're going down bad for him man. If you tell a sad story in your life, he'll cry. If you tell about an embarrassing and cringy memory on your school, he'll laugh his ass out yet with a gentle giggle. Same goes to his second body. The taller male is so similar to him that you almost feel like he's Little Daniel. They're both so humble yet so fun to hang out with. I don't know I'm word spilling rn but I just love him so much.

He may not realize it but he also dresses well in any fashion like KL:HDLK:HLAHSLA:. He might ask for help for fashion advices!

This man used to have those issues about opening up so be prepared when he's gatekeeping so if you are helping him out whole-heartedly in his issues he'll definitely fall in love with you.

He's really surprised and GETS REALLY NERVOUS when you suddenly jump on his back for a piggy-back or when you hug him from behind. And he would hide his face with his hand while he's blushing (especially when you compliment him not only about his looks but when he does a great job at something). He really also likes your company so once his feelings developed more into something deeper, he'll be more awkward around you (in a good way he's so anxious that he'll mess up lol).

He may be the type to ask your friends that knows that you're crushing on both Daniels. He may have that 0_0 face all the time because of how thick and weird the atmosphere is while your friends have that ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) face because they can see how nervous you are around him. It may take a while for the both of you to confess but you'll be both blushing once you both found out that you're crushing on each other the whole time. Once he's courting you he'll give you your favorite flowers and chocolates before going out on a movie or cafe date or just plain cuddling at your or his place. Or if that sounds too cliché for you, he'll luckily listen and accept your date ideas as long as both of you are safe, it's affordable, and both of you will have fun. And the rest is history.

Bonus!

𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐲-𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲.

"𝐆𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬." 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. "𝐘𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚." 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲. "𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬." 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐣𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭. "𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐜𝐞𝐥." 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

"𝐎𝐢 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥!" 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐤, 𝐙𝐨𝐞, 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚, 𝐉𝐚𝐲, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡. 𝐓𝐇𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝟑-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫-𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬.

"𝐇𝐞𝐲, 𝐘/𝐍." 𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐛𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬. 𝐇𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 (𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲) 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥.

"𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬? 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲?" 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐲-𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐙𝐨𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚.

"𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥, 𝐘/𝐍 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠!" 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐠𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐙𝐨𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚 𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐚𝐲 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥.

"𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?!" 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤. 𝐇𝐢𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬. "𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡. 𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐠𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞."

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲. "𝐒𝐨, 𝐡𝐨𝐰'𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲?" 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. "𝐈-𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝. 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬, 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐧𝐠." 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞. "𝐈 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫- 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤. 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬!" 𝐡𝐞 𝐞��𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐬𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐇𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥. "𝐍𝐨! 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐛𝐮𝐭… 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞." 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝. "𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩! 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈'𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐨…" 𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐡𝐢𝐦. "𝐎𝐤𝐚𝐲. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐬." 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟-𝐣𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮. "𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠…" 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲. "𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰? 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐟 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝." 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲. "𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡." "𝐇𝐮𝐡?" "𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨'𝐬 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐨 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐛𝐲 𝐢𝐭. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐬𝐨 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞." 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬. "𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫? 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥? 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?" 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. "𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐈'𝐦 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥, 𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬, 𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫-𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭-𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐦 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈'𝐦 𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬, 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈'𝐦 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐮𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐲, 𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞. 𝐈𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞-𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐈 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬. 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫."

"𝐀𝐡, 𝐈'𝐌 𝐒𝐎 𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐘!" 𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐳𝐳𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟-𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭. "𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐧, 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬." 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰-𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫. "𝐈'𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰." 𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. "𝐈'𝐦 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠! 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞-𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭, 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐈 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥?" 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. "𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚?" "𝐔𝐡𝐡𝐡 𝐧𝐨, 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧." "𝐎𝐡 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡… 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭." 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐩 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐱𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭-𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 (𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡). 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬. "𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐙𝐨𝐞!" "𝐍𝐨! 𝐒𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝." "𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘, 𝐈𝐓 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐁𝐄 𝐙𝐎𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐑𝐄 𝐋𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐄!" "𝐈 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞." "𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲?" "𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞…" "𝐉𝐨𝐲?!" "𝐒𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞, 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐲, 𝐚��𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞." "𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥?" "𝐌𝐞𝐡, 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬." "𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭?" "𝐔𝐡, 𝐧𝐨. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲'𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞."

𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 (𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬) 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐲, 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. "𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭?!" 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐲𝐞𝐭. "𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈'𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈'𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡!" 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐡𝐨'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧. "𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡." 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧. "𝐘𝐞𝐩. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬." 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐲𝐞-𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫. "𝐈𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐙𝐨𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥." "𝐈 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦." "𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐰𝐡𝐨?"

𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞 (𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥) 𝐚𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬. "𝐘/𝐍! 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥! 𝐖𝐞'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦!" 𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝. "𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐃𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐒!" "𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊 𝐓𝐎 𝐕𝐀𝐒𝐂𝐎 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓!" "𝐒𝐡, 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬." 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐬. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐲 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐛𝐲𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬. "𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬, 𝐈 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞." "𝐍𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚." 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭. "𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞-" "𝐘/𝐍!" 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬' 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞. "𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝, 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞? 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞." 𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. "𝐘/𝐍 𝐖𝐄'𝐑𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐌𝐘 𝐌𝐎𝐌 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐘 𝐀𝐒𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐈 𝐃𝐈𝐃𝐍'𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐒!" 𝐙𝐨𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝, "𝐕𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐨! 𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭! 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐊𝐧𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬!" 𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐲 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐤, 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐠𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫.

𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

"𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩. 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥." 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬, 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟/𝐜 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐮𝐳𝐳𝐥𝐞𝐝. 𝐇𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬. "𝐈-𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐭. 𝐈-" "𝐎𝐢, 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭?" 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐛𝐲𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲."

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭/𝐬 (𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧/𝐬) 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚, 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝?!

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭, 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥'𝐬 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐲𝐞.

"𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨 𝐘/𝐍, 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈'𝐦 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬.

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭, 𝐘/𝐍. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲. 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝. 𝐀𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈'𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐫. 𝐓𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲. 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.

𝐘𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐀𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐬. 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥, 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐨! 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐘/𝐍, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭."

-𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲, 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 :)

Feedbacks would be appreciated!

Other requests will be done! (I'll make a smut version of this and the other Gojo Fem! reader)

𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 @𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐲𝐚𝐜𝐞𝟎𝟖. 𝐑𝐞-𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐓𝐲!

#lookism x reader #lookism x y/n #lookism x you #daniel park x reader #lookism fic #park hyungseok x reader

79 notes · View notes

ccscocoapuffs · 3 months

Text

Randy Meeks NSFW Alphabet

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex) Randy is a big cuddler, he loves being wrapped up with you. It's honestly probably his favorite part of the entire experience of sex. He for sure is the type to get you a wet rag and clean you up and pamper you with kisses.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s) Randy loves his eyes, i mean come on he has puppy dog eyes. Who wouldn't love them. Randy is a thigh guy, he loves seeing your thighs in a short skirt or in thigh highs. He loves to keep his hand on your thigh when you two sit next to each other as well.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically) He's messy, though he doesn't mean to be. He just cums ALOT. He loves when you let him cum inside though, that's is favorite. His next favorite is definitely your tits.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs) Panty stealer CHANGE MY MIND. Randy will steal a few of your thongs and use them to wrap around himself when he wants to jerk off.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?) It's Randy.....its safe to say you're his first. He's eager to learn though, you'll just have to walk him through it the first time.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying) Randy likes missionary or cowgirl. In missionary he loves being able to see your face and kiss you. In Cowgirl he completely falls apart, he throws his head back and lets out the loudest ass moans, he loves keeping his hands on your hips while you ride him till he cant take anymore.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.) Randy can be in the middle. He usually stays on the goofy side though unless he's really into like he is when you ride him. He keeps a smile on both yours and his face and will make you giggle while he relishes in the feeling of you clenching around him.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.) Randy has kinda stubble like pubes. They match his hair but he likes to keep it shaved decently short down there to keep from you choking on it when you go down on him.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect) Randy is an excited wreck. He gets so excited at just the thought you wanna have sex with him. He tends to be kinda handsy at first because he doesn't really know how to start things. So it's safe to say you'll kinda be in charge.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon) He jerks off alot. As mentioned earlier he loves to wrap your panties around him and cum in them. He gets off at the thought of you finding them one day in his room.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks) Randy is kinda vanilla, though as mention before he is eager to learn. If there's something you are into he is more than willing to try it out with you.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do) His bed and his car. Randy loves being able to take his time with you and lay you out on his bed and enjoy the moment. In his car he likes the riskiness of it and the sexiness of having you climb into his lap and ride him in the car.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going) The thought of you actually liking him. We all know Randy is a nerd, there's not really a whole lot of girls running up to him wanting to date him let alone fuck him. That's why he loves it when you make people know he's yours in public, it turns him on so much to know you aren't embarrassed to kiss him in front of everyone.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs) Share you with someone. Randy already gets alot of shit and teasing from Stu when it comes to you. The thought of sharing you with someone like Stu and you liking him better is just to much for him.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.) Randy prefers receiving, Considering you were most likely his first, he damn near past out when you sucked him off for the first time. He can't get enough of the feeling of your lips wrapped around him. As for giving if you teach him he will actually start to get pretty good, he relies alot on his fingers while he eats you out though.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.) In the middle, Randy isn't to fat but he isn't to slow. He likes to cherish the moment with you but also keep it fun.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.) Randy is 100% down for a quickie. Randy has this secret thrill of maybe getting caught, so he will ask you to suck hm off in the bathroom at one of Stu's parties or to let him finger you in the janitors closet at college.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.) Like I said before Randy has the thrill of getting caught so he for sure likes the risk. He is also down to experiment with you, he has a particular interest in you edging him one day.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?) Randy is a one round kinds guy, now this doesn't mean he's bad, it means that he truly gives you all his energy in one round. He does everything he can to please you as much as possible.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?) Randy actually kinda likes toys, he likes to keep it simple though. He is down to let you use a vibrator on him and a cock ring. He also likes the idea of fucking you while he uses a vibrator on your clit and maybe letting you peg him one day.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease) Randy only teases a little bit, He likes to get you wound up just a little bit to let you know he's in the mood. He secretly hopes you'll get mad at him for his teasing and take him upstairs and rail him.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.) He's VERY loud. If you guys ae trying to be sneaky, you're gonna have to cover his mouth. If you have sex in his dorm at college you FOR SURE are gonna get noise complaints.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character) Randy likes to try stuff he's seen in movies with you. God forbid you let this boy watch 50 shades of gray or something, he's not ready for all that.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes) Randy is about 6 inches, he has a slight curve upwards and he's on the thinner side. Though don't let that fool you, he knows how to use it.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?) Surprisingly high, Randy loves fucking you and you fucking him. Once he gets that first taste he can't get enough, he wants you all the time.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards) Decently quick, He gets you cleaned up and gives you plenty of kisses and cuddles before he lays down on your chest and falls asleep. Yes, Randy lays on your chest. He's Baby.

#scream #scream 2 #randy meeks #randy meeks smut #randy meeks x reader #horror #alphabet

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spaceorphan18 · 4 months

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My Season 3 Diatribe

for @wowbright who gave me a platform that I really didn't need but took anyway. ;)

The thing about Glee was that it started with a woman being fake pregnant for thirteen episodes and then ended the season with a baby being born while Bohemian Rhapsody blared in the background. It was weird and crazy and insane and just edgy enough that it was being talked about but not too niche that it couldn't find an audience. It also hit in the sweet spot of the Obama years when, as a nation, we could get on board with being a little different and a little crazy.

Ryan Murphy is both a genius and insane at the same time. I'm not really fond of him, and I think his tendency for going big sometimes obscures the nuances of really good storytelling. But he knows how to make a loud statement. And Glee was that loud statement.

And then it got big. Too big. It got more money, an awards, and the national stage, and then all eyes were on it. And Ryan Murphy got tired because that's also Ryan Murphy - being distracted by American Horror Story where he could be abstract in the way his brain really wanted to go. And so, new writers were brought in, but having all eyes on it meant you had to dial it back, and the new writers didn't jive the same way, nor could they really juggle all of the new network notes, ballooning cast, mandates of the Glee project and responsibility for now having to be a 'role model' for all the new outsiders who were hanging on.

The show was once about being an awkward kid in the 80s. And then it was forced into becoming a mouthpiece for the changing times of the 2010s.

And that... doesn't work.

The funniest thing is way back when... after I had stopped watching the show for a while, Season 3 is what brought me back. I did think, for a moment in time, that I liked it better than Seasons 1 or 2. I can't exactly tell you why. But The First Time is when I fell in love, and maybe you feel connected to something when you fall in love with it that you can't really discribe.

And I hated Season 4. and I was listening to a podcast of the day (Those of you who remember Lima Heights Adjacent?) and the group of people were talking about how, with all of its faults, Season 4 was at least NOT Season 3. And I was confused because at the time - I much preferred Season 3. Because my favorite couple was at least a couple back then -- because the cast was people I liked. Because the episodes were easy to digest and the structure of it, while being bland and predictable, fit into a nice, uniform way of storytelling.

And then time moved on, and I left my twenties, and digested the entire story (the second half, with all of its faults, does not get the recognition it deserves -- despite it falling apart at all times) and got a lot better at critical analysis and media analysis and being open to the ideas of others and just... shake my head.

When you look at the whole, Season 3 isn't AS bad as I make it seem sometimes. There's a good chunk of it, right in the middle, that is... more watchable than what's at the beginning and end.

There is, however, a laundry list of reasons why it's not good -- from questionable story telling choices to dulling the edge of a more biting comedy to just not being able to service all the characters it has in a satisfactory way. They botched Santana's story, which had been set up nicely in season 2. They threw in guest stars and special episodes to throw off that they didn't really know what to do with the story other than praise Rachel Berry and get those kids winning nationals and graduated. They took Kurt and completely neutered him in a way that went against everything they had built him up to be in the first two seasons. And so on and so on and so on.

But I suppose most egregiously -- they played it safe and it was no longer interesting.

I don't fully understand why people love it so much. But I will say - part of the reason might be why I liked it at the time. There's a huge influx of newer fans always coming to the show. And like Klaine, Brittana (which has a following unlike it ever did when it aired) remains together and having the most screen time in Season 3. All the original characters are around, and the story structure, if nothing else, is secure and sound and plays out exactly as its supposed to. Rachel Berry gets the crown, Will gets the teacher of the year, and they all win nationals - hell, even Sue gets a baby. Cue the music and roll credits.

To each their own.

Season 4 comes next with its awkward new characters and its break ups and its wild ups and downs. And then season 5 with its grief and queer in a way that's not accessible but fuck it who cares and season 6 that just wants to go back to the beginning and end it all like the weird creation it was when it started. And as complicated as all of that is -- it's not as digestible as Season 3. I like the afterwards better. But I understand that some people won't. It has, after all, taken me years to get to this level of appreciation.

Who knows how people are going to look at it in ten, fifteen, fifty years. I'm sure, as streaming shows continue to go on and on and on and nothing dies any more, it'll take on different tones and different meanings.

Maybe this time around - those people just need that comfort.

I can't tell you.

But it won't ever be my favorite. And that's fine. As always, ymmv.

#that's how s.o. sees it #feeling reflective tonight #if you want specifics hit me up #though i'm sure most of you have been around long enough to know and understand #maybe you just had to live through it #or maybe you just need to be in a different place #or maybe none of it was good to begin with #glee history i suppose #as i sit in my rocking chair on my porch and talk about yesteryere

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honeybunniii333 · 1 month

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(SORRY I'VE BEEN DEAD! Also i just realized I never see content for Dez and Ed. Like they have a sibling like relationship (even tho they're cousins), and they're supposedly really close in Canon! But I never saw anything for them, and I decided that needed to be fixed. SO! Here ya go!)

Again, her dad was in the hospital again. It had gotten to where he was there more than home, and that was scary and awful in its own right. But now, because of the sudden dip in his health. He can't take her to their yearly concert! They've gone to one every year since she was four, and it was her favorite part of the summer. They'd already bought their tickets and everything... and then he started getting sick again. Bad enough to land him in the hospital two days before they were supposed to leave... Dez was angry, to say the least. NOT at her dad. She knew better than anyone that the last thing the man ever wanted was to break his little girl's heart. She was mad at life for making this happen. Mad at the cancer for making her poor dad so sick and weak. He didn't deserve this. She felt so lost, so out of control. She didn't know what to do, she had to do something. She was SO tired of feeling powerless. She didn't even think about it as she grabbed the scissors from the counter.

Horror, she felt true horror as she looked in the mirror. Her hair, her pretty hair, was all over the floor and the sink. Oh god, what had she done... her knees buckled, and she sank to the ground, scissors long abandoned on the counter as she cried and wiped at her face. Her eyes were sore, and her throat was raw. She wanted her dad, but he was not there. And someday, probably soon, he'd never be there again, and that thought just made her cry harder. Dez was an independent person generally. She didn't like being genuinely reliant on anyone, but right now, she'd throw her pride aside for some comfort. Her head shot up at the sound of the almost totally open door, creaking the rest of the way open and a startled gasp following it. Someone stood in the doorway, eyes wide, and God did that make her crumble even further. But this time, there were arms wrapping around her, pulling her close and nails, raking through what remained of her hair. She buried her face into their chest and just let herself cry. She cried and cried until she couldn't seem to muster any more tears.

"Dez..." Ed's quiet response came after a moment or two of prolonged silence. "Desiree, talk to me." he insisted when he got nothing but a sniffle in response, pulling her back by the shoulders to get a good look at her. He frowned a bit and brushed some hair off of her cheek. "I..." She choked out. "Oh god, what did I do... my hair..." She sniffled, trying not to cry again. "Hey, hey..." he hushed "Cmon tell me what's up." he reminded as he pulled her with him to rest against the sink cabnit. Still supporting her with an arm around the shoulder. "I... Dad is sick again." She whispered, and he seemed to understand almost immediately. "Yeah..he is..." he nodded solemly.

"I miss him.." She added, closing her eyes and resting against the strong weight beside her. "I know ya do... he misses ya, too." he reminded, and she couldn't help but smile sadly at that. "He's not coming home anytime soon... and this week was.. supposed to be our concert week." She struggled to get her words out with that feeling bubbling up in her throat again. The feeling that everything was falling apart, Edward just squeezed her shoulder in response. "Yeah Tiá was talking about that earlier this week... you guys go every year..."

"Yeah... and now we can't... " she choked harshly but pushed on. "I know it's dumb. I know he can't help it. It's not that big a deal it just.. it kinda made me realize that there's a good chance that we won't get to do a lot of stuff together, and I don't know... I just cracked, and now my hair is a mess, and I'm a mess.. everything's a mess..." She wiped at her eyes furiously as she spoke. "That's alright." He seemed to have decided. "It's okay to be a little bit of a mess sometimes..." And Dez briefly caught herself thinking about how Ed should probably take that sentiment to heart as well. "And I wouldn't say your hair is a mess..." he laughed a little, moving a bit to get a better look. "it's a bit choppy, yeah... but I don't think it looks bad on ya!" she seemed rather skeptical as she glanced up at the older boy. "Really?"

"Yeah! Just needs a bit of touch up, here..." he insisted, pulling her up and directing her to the mirror as he grabbed the scissors that had been discarded on the counter and immediately started cutting away. "Hey!" she tensed a bit, "Just trust me, Dez." he sighed with a roll of his eyes, and soon he set them back down. "See..?" she was a bit scared to look up at first but slowly she opened her eyes (which she hadn't really registered squeezing shut until now) and... he was right... it wasn't awful. "It'll take a little gettin used to, it is a big change." he hummed, fluffing her hair up a bit to check the length. "But I think you might end up liking it... and if you don't... it's just hair. It'll grow back."

She wasn't sure how to feel, standing there with a boy she'd for some reason expected to be mean when first meeting him.. it was a funny thought now. She stood there studying his work, his hands resting comfortingly on her shoulder... She didn't know how to feel, but another gentle squeeze cleared her mind. "Hey..." his voice was soft. "It'll be okay... I know it doesn't feel like it right now... everything's a bit hectic, and it's hard to see it, but... You'll be okay." And somehow, when Edward said it, it sounded a lot more believable. She couldn't help but feel better with the reminder that even when her Dad was gone. Ed would still be there... he was always there... whether she wanted or not... "Hey Eddie?" She whispered after another long pause. Ed had already gotten to cleaning up the mess she'd made. He seemed to do that a lot... "Yeah?" He hummed, not looking up from his task of sweeping up hair. "Would you wanna go to a concert this weekend?" He seemed a bit confused for a moment, but the confusion was short-lived, and he seemed to understand. He smiled fondly to himself and nodded.

"Yeah, I would."

Dez had a feeling that she'd be okay...

#ibvs #ibvs posts #isaac beamer versus the supernatural #edward quinton #dez gonzalez #Its never stated what exactly is wrong with Dez's dad from what i recall #but anytime i think of a sick parent my brain immediately goes to cancer #so thats what i went with #i love them dearly!

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momotonescreaming · 5 months

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Your posts and fics about Steve not being a pushover are some of my favorite in this fandom! I was wondering if you had any thoughts or headcanons about how Steve would deal with other members of the older party, instead of the younger party? This is more so in fanon than canon, but people mocking his intelligence or being surprised he's not a douche? Thanks!

Oh!! Thank you so much!!! That really means a lot! I'm always a little nervous when I make another post about Steve's boundaries and how fanon sometimes treats him, so it's a relief to hear people like them haha.

You raise an interesting question! And one I will admit I haven't thought about too much, actually. Most of my posts have been about Steve and Dustin, as that's what I've been thinking about lately, but you're so right that the older teens do it too. LOTS to think about. So fair disclaimer that I'm thinking and writing by the seat of my pants here.

I do just want to start off by saying that fanon is fun! Taking canon apart and disecting it, taking out its parts and figuring out how it works is fun! Diving deep and analysing and comparing what the writers intended vs what they ended up portraying vs what the fans thought. Media analysis baby! But fanon (like canon), can't cater to everyone. I'm just a Steve girlie with a lot of feelings. Not to say canon's exempt, of course. These ideas had to have come from somewhere. And I swear that each season gets a little bit worse at turning Steve into a verbal punching bag. A joke. He was supposed to be Nancy's jerk boyfriend who died, but everyone loved Joe Keery so much they kept him alive. And now they thank him by boiling his character down to a dumb jock who was an asshole. It's tiring.

I remember ages ago there was a post (that I cannot find for the life of me) that pointed out that in season 1 Steve says the word connoisseurs (in the scene with the camera smashing) but if they made him say that in season 4 they would have made Dustin make a comment how he didn't know Steve knew a word with that many syllables or something.

All this insulting Steve, all the canon jokes and fanon characterisation shitting on his interests and his personality and the fact that he decided to be a better person 3 years ago by the time S4 rolls around? Just feels like an excuse to shit on the jock. Revenge of the nerds. But it just makes the nerds look like bullies. Like the Duffers got bullied by jocks when they were kids and now they're making it everyone else's problem.

But to the actual point of this ask! The older party! Below the cut because this got long.

First up is Eddie! With canon Eddie a part of me doesn't think he would make fun of Steve's intelligence or call him a douche post season 4. A big part of Eddie's journey was him getting his whole world turned upside down (pun not intended). With the whole monsters thing, but also with his worldview! He thought he was confident and tough, but realised that he panicked when things got real (which I mean, fair, but that's not what we're talking about). And that he was making assumptions about people based on his own unfair biases! He canonically admits to Steve that he couldn't accept the fact that Steve is a Good Dude and the only reasons he thought he was a douche was that he has rich parents, was popular, and chicks love him. Nothing based on Steve's actions. Him turning around after all that to comment about Steve's intelligence, or bringing up his non existent assholery again just feels like a huge backslide. Doing both their characters a real disservice.

But you mentioned fanon more than canon, and there are absolutely fanon Eddie's out there who would insult Steve like that. And I gotta be honest - I don't think that Steve would take that lying down. Steve absolutely has an angry knee jerk reaction to things during this show. Back in S1, but also in S4 - when he says to Dustin that he was going to punch him so hard his teeth would fall back out. If Eddie, the new dude, decided he was going to be a jerk and insult Steve's intelligence? Steve would absolutely retort that it was fucking rich coming from the guy who failed senior year twice. Which is harsh, but I'd be angry too if I saved this guy's life and he turns around and calls me stupid for it. He'd call Eddie a hypocrite.

One thing I like about Steddie (both platonically, and romantically) is how they're on equal footing. The get along. They respect each other. Stop making Eddie a jerk to Steve for no good reason.

Eddie bringing up he thought Steve was a douche feels better than the other instances because he admits he was wrong!! Willingly! To Steve's face! But any times after? Steve would drop Eddie like a hot potato. He's not going to hang around with someone who's a dick to him for no reason. The fact that they went through the Upside Down together isn't going to make him suffer through it. Like, there's no way Steve hung out with Nancy and Jon after the breakup. No Upside Down monsters could make that less awkward.

Speaking of other instances - Robin. Stobin, my beloved. Sometimes I wonder if people actually like Steve, or if they just put up with him because him and Robin are a special deal. My thoughts on her are a little more all over the place, so bare with.

Is she a jerk to him in Season 3? Yes. But she's also a lonely, angry, teen, holding a grudge against him for no good reason. The only 2 things she says she hated him for were - he ate bagels messily in class, and that he didn't pay attention to the girl she had a crush on. Once again, nothing substantial.

But then they get tortured together, they become best friends. They get a job together again and he drives her to school. Robin canonically is the one to bring up what if they could combine into one person. She cares about Steve! She loves him so much she wants to merge with him!! And yet so much fanon has her acting like Steve is a bad rash she can't get rid of. Insulting him at every chance she gets. I get that friendships have gentle ribbing, teasing and jokes, because you know them and you know where their line in the sand is. But a lot of fanon feels like Robin rubbing salt into the wound. Taking it too far.

How many times does Steve have to apologise for being an asshole when he really wasn't that bad in the first place?

Steve reinforcing his boundaries with aggressive fanon Robin would be more chill than Eddie, I think. More like a conversation. Like, hey, you're my best friend and what you're saying is actually really hurting me? Could you please stop because it really doesn't feel like you want to be my friend since you won't stop insulting my intelligence? Robin isn't just an angry teen on her own anymore, she has a friend and the things she says has an effect. I can see him being more conservative with it than him telling Tommy & Carol that they're assholes. If he loses Robin, he goes back to his only friend being Dustin. But he'd still bring it up. He wouldn't just roll over and take it.

If she didn't listen when he talked to her like an adult? That's when he'd call her out like he did Tommy and Carol. If he can call out his best friends before, he'd do it again. It'd suck, but he needs to put himself first.

Nancy and Jon I'm still thinking about.

Jon doesn't like Steve, doesn't respect him, and canonically says mean things about Steve still, after Steve's done so much to atone, to save and help everyone. That mean joke he makes at the end of S4 about Steve being in charge? Oof.

A part of me can see Steve being like 'who cares what that guy thinks, I know myself'. But I'm afraid I just don't have a lot more on Jon. He's just not a character I'm a big fan of so I'm not as confident with his characterisation.

Nancy however? Nancy would hurt. Steve loved her, cared for her, she was there when he was trying to be better, when he was atoning. (I know that Steve says that Nancy was the bump on the head he needed, but he's wrong. He did it himself. But that's besides the point.). He went with her to the Hollands, he saved her little brother's life, him and all the party. With Billy and then in the tunnels. He opened up to her, she helped him with his college essays. She broke his heart and for her to turn around and comment on his intelligence? to call him a douche? would fucking hurt. Not at the same level as the S2 drunk bathroom bullshit convo, but it would hurt.

A part of me can see Steve doing the whole - pinch the bridge of your nose to hold back the tears and leave - thing like in S2 after the party. But a part of me could see Steve having had the time away from her to say something. But IDK. I'm not too sure on this. If she wasn't going to be mature about their breakup, about the things he told her, wasn't going to respect him and not insult him after all the things she's done? I'd say leave her behind, but I don't know if Steve would. He has a big heart. It might just be easier to take the bittersweet option and quietly let her go. Don't interact.

ANYWAY. OOF. Sorry this got so long, I was thinking and then my brain kind of ran away with me. Hopefully this was the sort of thing you were thinking? It was a fun thought experiment either way!!

#ask #anonymous #momo.txt #Stranger Things #Steve Harrington #Eddie Munson #Robin Buckley #Jonathan Byers #Nancy Wheeler #meta #headcanon #fandom wank (to be safe)#this just all came out of me in a flood #hopefully it makes sense?#it really feels like the duffers are pushing a Jock VS Nerd agenda #(on the side of the nerd)#and some fans are eating it up

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lurkingshan · 7 months

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If you could rant about one thing in BL, what would it be? (This could be either a complaint or a soapbox)

Thank you for the invitation to climb on my soapbox, I love it up here. Something that’s been on my mind recently is bl second seasons, so I will take this opportunity to talk about why I both anticipate and dread them in equal measure, and what makes for a strong second season in a romance narrative. I would apologize for this being so long but it's you, Emperor of the Long Post, so I don't even feel bad.

First of all, let me just say that part of the reason I love Asian dramas in the first place is because they don’t have multiple seasons. Unlike American TV, you don’t have to invest literal years in a show only to have it blow up in your face when it (nearly always) goes off the rails for one reason or another. The vast majority of Asian dramas are one and done–they tell a complete story in one limited run, and afterwards you just get to move on to the next story. As a result they tend to have a higher hit rate because they’re not trying to stretch their story beyond its limits to keep it going and going, and even when they fail you only spent a few days or weeks on it so it doesn’t feel like you wasted a lot of time. There are a few exceptions of course (lately kdramas on Netflix have started splitting into two “seasons” that are really just one standard kdrama episode count split in two and airing a few months apart–high key annoying IMO), but by and large that’s how it goes.

So the bl genre’s propensity for second seasons already goes a bit against the grain of what I love about dramas, and add to that the very nature of bls—they are romances, which typically end at the point that the romantic conflict has been addressed and the characters decide to stay together. So in general, I am primed to be suspicious of second seasons in this genre. Many second seasons are clearly driven by capitalism more than anything else–the pairing is popular and so the production company is looking to cash in while their commodity is hot, and whether or not they actually have any more story to tell is a secondary concern. So my first questions when approaching a second season is why was this made and what is it trying to accomplish?

I think there are a few buckets here:

Continuing the narrative season 2s: These are the shows where the story was not complete at the end of season 1, and season 2 is actually necessary to provide some resolution. Love Sick 2 and Make it Right 2 are prime examples; those narratives were incomplete after the first season and season 2 finished them. What Did You Eat Yesterday? 2 also falls in this category but for a different reason: it’s a slice of life show and the narrative never really ends. They could make 10 seasons of that show and it would make perfect sense (not that I am begging or anything).

Cash grab season 2s: These are the ones with little or no real narrative purpose. They’re more like long specials, and their purpose is primarily to provide additional fluff for the audience while they sell products (including the actors, they are also products here). Cutie Pie 2 You, Still 2gether, TharnType 2 are all good examples of this. Now I am not saying these shows are inherently worthless–they gave Aof the reins for 2SG, for instance, and he managed to make something of it and even repair some damage from the first season–but they are definitely inessential.

What happens after the HEA season 2s: My favorite kind, these are the ones that move into the next phase of the romance, once the characters have decided to be together, and take a look at what their relationship would actually be like. Their purpose is to deepen the relationship and character development and examine the types of conflicts that would naturally come up between the two personalities. Gameboys 2, I Promised You the Moon, Minato’s Laundromat 2, SOTUS: S, Together With Me: The Next Chapter, To My Star 2, and Utsukushii Kare 2 all fall under this category. Some of these are more successful than others, which I will unpack below.

Something like Our Skyy and Our Skyy 2 runs the gamut between these three types, with each installment fitting into different categories. The Eclipse OS2 is a great example of category 3, whereas My School President OS2 is more of a category 2, and you could make a case that SOTUS OS is really a category 1, since it puts a nice cap on the narrative of that whole series.

So, with that said, what I actually want to talk about is category 3, because these are the shows I am most interested in and where the decisions made in the writing are most crucial. Because this type of second season has real potential to either strengthen or damage the couple and how we see their relationship. The best second seasons of this type build on the established characteristics of the characters and take us through some natural conflicts that would arise as they continue their relationship. For instance, in Gameboys 2 we see Cairo and Gavreel spend prolonged time together in person for the first time after maintaining a long distance relationship and work through what physical intimacy looks like for them as well as how they intend to keep their relationship strong despite distance. I Promised You the Moon, SOTUS: S, To My Star 2, and Utsukushii Kare 2 all build on their characters’ well-established flaws from the first season to explore how that would manifest in conflict as these relationships continue and offer plausible scenarios for how the couples might make it through those issues (and it ain’t always pretty!). All of these are very successful second seasons, because they build naturally from what came before and directly address the doubts we had when those shows first ended about whether the couple can actually make it long-term.

Where this type of second season goes really wrong is when the writing violates character or the established patterns of the relationship in order to create conflict. In Together With Me: The Next Chapter, the show uses cheating as a plot device, having Korn cheat on Knock in a one-off hookup with a shitty villain character, and to add insult to injury, they juxtaposed it against Knock finally coming out in a poor attempt at dramatic irony. The reason this sucked was not just because it hurt our feelings; it sucked because that behavior was contra everything we knew about Korn, his devotion to Knock, and his well-established patience with Knock’s internalized homophobia. Now, don’t get it twisted: I do not believe cheating is an inherently bad plot device. It was actually used very well in I Promised You the Moon, a decision I will defend to the death (in fact, you can tune in to the conversation pod in a couple weeks to hear me do just that!). But its use in TWM:TNC did not make sense for the characters, and thus rather than deepening their relationship development, it irreparably harmed it.

Another way a second season of this type can go wrong is when the writing is not committed to the narrative or leans too hard on first season nostalgia rather than dealing with the current iteration of the characters. Minato’s Laundromat 2 just did both of these things, which was especially frustrating because for nine weeks it was on track to be a very successful version of this type.The show started out tracking the painstaking and slow process of Minato dealing with his internalized homophobia and becoming a decent partner to Shin, but for reasons I can only speculate about, the show balked in the final act, backing away from finishing its narrative in favor of an amnesia plot and several episodes of first season nostalgia bait, ending with a happy resolution that felt wholly unearned and thus deeply unsatisfying. This was especially infuriating because the show got us invested in the growth arc before failing to complete it.

So what is my point here? Second seasons can be very worthwhile, but only if there is a clear vision for what the story wants to explore about the relationship that is rooted in what we already know about the characters. There are rumors about other second seasons coming our way from shows like Big Dragon, Blueming, and The Eighth Sense, some of which have more potential to add to the original story than others (T8S is particularly primed for a solid second season IMO, because it left so much character development and natural conflict for the next stage of the relationship on the table). But regardless of where they decide to go with the plot of these additional seasons, the thing that will be most crucial is whether they keep fidelity to who the characters are and how their relationships work. That is how you successfully build from an origin romance in a way that feels meaningful and worthwhile.

#bl genre #second seasons #long post #shan answers

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artheresy · 4 months

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I have not forgotten the draft regarding "How I would write Clouds Leave No Trace", it still lingers its still there

Im still thinking about how my least favorite parts are Yanqing's characterization, The way the world around Jingliu treats her like she's normal when clearly she's not, The way there's such an effort into putting Yingxing and Dan Feng on the same level of guilt for every single thing that it makes Blade's desire for revenge feel nonsensical and out of no where when he has good reason for it, The way that they don't do more to play up the HCQ's dynamic especially in the normal areas thus making caring about their tragedy a struggle if you haven't done all the "prerequisite reading" (even tho the quest should make the players care more and want to read instead of requiring the opposite), The way that they literally mention Bailu and Blade crossed paths but never show us that scene DESPITE all of the importance placed upon Baiheng and Yingxing's friendship, Did I mention My Massive Problems with my boy Yanqing's characterization in this quest versus what we see of how he's affected both before and after it?

Oh and of course, to mention Jing Yuan not really feeling like he has as much significance being in this quest despite being apart of the HCQ and Jingliu's disciple because yet again, they especially don't do enough to develop on screen (but also not enough in the readable text too) his connections to the rest of the HCQ (which in general if you ask me, makes it a lot harder to be that sad at the moments they clearly want us to feel sad for him over the HCQ)

I could go on and on about the problems of Hyv not fully giving the audience a reason to care for the HCQ's tragedy by the way they are barely shown on screen, shoving it all in readables and character stories and relic lore. Even their legends get barely any screen time to build up to when we hear about the fall out.

Also again, not kidding about Jingliu and the world's perception around her. She is described solely in the beginning as bringing a chill to the room, but she's clearly very intimidating, if you ask me she seems very clearly unstable as well and yet when they waltz around in a populated area with no attention getting drawn to them or suspicion or anything. I also call Massive Bullshit on Bailu being like "Wow but she seems so normal and kind, there's nothing about her at all that could make me think she's marastruck 😲!!" When if you ask me, that whole scene could have been used in a much more meaningful way to make a connection between Bailu and her resemblance to Baiheng Specifically in a way I will further elaborate on in my full post about it BUT YEAH Jingliu deserved so much better with this quest, so so much better

And even just small details get me like Jingliu leaving first from Scalegorge Waterscale, then Jing Yuan, Yanqing and Ren leaving? Like if you ask me, let Jingliu leave with Jing Yuan and Yanqing like they're escorting her (idc about any "She was already turning herself in!" There are a number of reasons to be cautious, not solely of her, and keep her in their view) and then talk to and have Ren leave last.

I am still thinking about it, that post still haunts me daily, I have grown to like the quest but my problems with it are so strong and so clear that it's like AHA I CANT STOP THINKING ABOUT IT

#I have so many opinions on this quest #And a clear vision in my mind #I still don't know why it exists in its own little bubble #Why is Yanqing acting so odd in this quest but then goes right back to his normal consistent point of character regarding his failures afte #Also even with the argument of it being Jinglius biased words #Having NO mention of Dan Feng while talking about Yingxing's fate at all is wild and weird #Not even a “His stupidity and loyalty to you got him turned into a monster” kind of thing #Where it doesn't even have to be explicitly all the fault on Dan Feng but treating it like he wasn't at all involved in that transformation #It's crazy to me #But yeah uh #I bet if I wasn't obsessed with Blade and the HCQ #To the point of going through the readables and little quests with any mentions of them and their character stories #That I wouldn't be as emotional as I was during Clouds Leave No Trace because they really don't do enough to give reasons to care #The reason I cried for Blade when I played it is bc I read VotU knew what Baiheng meant to him & the ChrStr to know what they meant to him #The game should do more to tell us those kinds of things upfront if they want us to be more likely to have the reaction they seek #ALSO #NOT ENOUGH FLASHBACKS #SERIOUSLY ADD SOME MORE !!!#Even just snippets and add little lines and moments or views of the past overlaid on the prescent?#Hsr #Honkai star rail #Jingliu #Baiheng #Dan heng #Dan feng #Yanqing #Jing yuan #Yingxing #Hsr blade #high cloud quintet

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away-ward · 2 months

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Ello! How do you think the girls will react and take care of their respective others when they are down sick and vice versa. Its always cute when one of the mcs is sick and the other is worried and takes care of them

Aww. This is a really cute idea. And they have such different dynamics that there's a lot to look at here.

Here are my headcanons!

First and foremost, all of the guys hire private caretakers. They could handle things like making sure their partner is taking their meds and staying hydrated (Kai being the most capable). At the same time, they would need help with cooking, childcare, making sure they're not missing any symptoms of something more serious.

Will is a huuuuge baby when he's sick. The kind that sneezes and cries, "babe, I'm dying!" It's a joke... mostly. He does exaggerate his symptoms, but he genuinely feels awful. Fortunately, Emmy is used to the role of caretaker because of her grandma. Remember meds and when they need to be taken, fluids, preparing good meals, etc. She's probably fine with the more disgusting parts of being sick, and can power through them without complaint. Doesn't mean she rolls over for him. "Babe, I need my pillows fluffed," would be met with a flat expression and a middle finger as she left the room. However, she's attentive to his (actual) needs.

When Emmy gets sick, the house doesn't fall apart but Will thinks it will. He is reminded just how much Emmy takes care of. He's likely to have a nurse come in to check on her, making sure she's not getting worse, and explain each of the medications to him. He'd also need some help with preparing healthy meals for her, but as for childcare he'd be fine. He's got good kids that understand their mom needs. II is also a big help, making sure his mom has everything she needs from water to tissues to blankets. He would absolutely fluff her pillows.

Their days are filled with watching bad reality TV and eating soup when the other isn't resting.

Damon would refuse to accept he's sick until he's literally bedridden. The entire time, Winter would know he's getting sick. "You're voice sounds different. Are you sure you're not getting congested?" Does Damon listen? No. He's fine. Until he wakes up one morning with a fever and can't move without being in pain. Winter would need help. She can't handle the kids and Damon, and keep track of everything in the house. The nanny day drinks, so they wouldn't be much help beyond keeping the kids. I think Winter hires a caretaker, but that also has it's own issues. Damon hates any other woman coming into his lair room, touching him, touching his things. He also doesn't want some random man doing it either. He's mean and snappy, and Winter would worry about the caretaker's safety if it wasn't for the fact that he couldn't lift himself from the bed.

When Winter gets sick, she's low maintenance... or tries to be. Damon forces a team of very confused nurses and doctors to attend to her needs. Winter eventually gets him to let them leave, letting him know she trusts him to be enough.

They don't really leave their room, and fully attend to each other needs with all of their attention. When Damon is sick, all he really wants is to hold Winter. Or be held. Or have her close. He wants comfort and Winter is happy to be that. I don't think she likes to be held too much, but she likes to hear him breathing as she comes in and out of rest.

Kai rarely gets sick. He keeps such a healthy routine and pays attention to his immune system and if something feels slightly off, he cuts it off as quickly as possible. But every once in a while, even he gets taken down. I see him not wanting anyone to attend to him, and Banks is patient with him as he tries to pretend he doesn't need help. Still, she knows his favorite tea and what he likes to eat when he's feeling under the weather. Each time Kai is struggling get out of the bed, and Banks appears with soup and meds telling him to get his ass back in bed and rest, he's so incredibly humbled and grateful for her.

Banks, like her brother, doesn't find it easy to admit that she's getting sick. She doesn't want to be taken care of. But Kai, more than the others, knows what to do. He's confident in his ability to manage the house, kids, business, and Banks being down. He's good at delegating his other duties to prioritize her, and if he calls in any help, it's a doctor that makes house calls so she doesn't have to go to the doctor, and a house keeper to help with laundry and things.

They both try to push their limits when sick and the other has to check them. They'll spend their time making sure the sick person is actually resting.

Michael is pretty simple when he's sick. He tries to fight it off, but when he's sick, he goes to the doctor, gets his meds, and follows directions. He doesn't whine too much, but he's extremely grumpy. Rika finds it funny, and laughs as she helps, poking fun of him in his helpless state a little bit, since he can't really do anything. It's much better that helping her sick mom from the bathroom to the bedroom and then cleaning up the vomit so she's not embarrassed later.

Rika hates getting sick, but she can feel it coming. She tries to be low maintenance but in actuality she loves be doted on by Michael. Loves it when he takes care of her himself, but even seeing the way he watches over the doctor is sweet to her. She can sense how important it is to him that she get the best care. However, she knows she doesn't need all that fuss and takes care of herself pretty well, despite Michael's protest.

Overall, they're both high maintenance but pretend not to be.

Not confident in their accuracy, but I think these are cute little scenarios for them. Let me know what you think or what your headcanons are!

-Ko

#asked and answered 251 #asked and answered #devil's night series stuff #emory scott #will grayson iii #damon torrance #winter ashby #kai mori #nikova banks #rika fane #michael crist #devils night #ko's headcanons

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stevie-petey · 3 months

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SPEAKING OF SEASON FOUR

I'm so worried that the duffer brothers are gonna fuck up jancy. That flirting with Steve and Nancy in season four was not cute. Like jancy isn't my favorite ship in the series (because I'm in love with Jonathan but that's not the point) but we've established that Nancy DOESN'T love Steve. Did you see Jonathan's face when Nancy started talking about how Steve's grown up? You could tell it made him insecure, It's foreshadowing the love triangle all over again and there's no point in keeping it. It doesn't add to the story it's just another stupid plot for drama, which we don't really need!

It also takes away from Nancy's character!! She's not the kind of girl to just go from guy to guy. She's also not the kind of girl to flirt with her ex who's clearly still got feelings for her while she has a boyfriend!! Even if it was unintentional, like subconsciously, still she's smarter than that and she cares about Jonathan and Steve's feelings she wouldn't risk hurting the both of them at once.

I mean if we're talking about come home it could work as something for bug and Steve to work through I guess ( I don't wanna talk about it too much because it's so far away and there's a lot more we have to go through to get to that point) but it's so outside of Nancy's character. Maybe she's just confused cause she almost died and saw Steve get seriously hurt? But still Nancy isn't a homewrecker and she's not a super jealous or promiscuous person. Even if she didn't know about how close bug and Steve have grown she wouldn't go after him. But strictly speaking of stranger things now. She hardly interacted with Steve in season four, which is fair she's still in highschool and Steve has a job. They have their own shit going on. It's understandable. I feel like Nancy's character gets misconstrued a lot, partially because she keeps getting reduced to a love interest. I just hope Nancy and Jonathan don't fall apart because of how much they've changed during their time away. I love Steve but he's not right for Nancy and she's not right for Steve. I hope they Don't ruin such a great relationship with so much potential. Like I see the problems in jancy but I can see how well it could work if given the chance.

honestly it just feels like the writers dont KNOW what to do with nancy anymore or even jancy. i adore them and think theyre so sweet together but the writers are just ,,,, pissing me off. bringing back steves feelings for her and nancys weird feelings for him was just ??? unnecessary and NO ONE was asking for it

i will say however i do see the vision for stancy. i think they did have a good shot at being in love and happy, theyre right person wrong time, but if that was the plan since season 1 then ,,,, it shouldve been touched on earlier ?!?!!? we dont see nancys feelings for steve at ALL until season 4 like even WHILE THEY WERE DATING. its stupid. and like u said: nancy isnt like that !! she’d never directly hurt anyone :( shes so kind and loyal and the writers are mean

and jancy ,,, ugh they have sm potential if the writers would just figure them out. they keep having the same argument of jon wanting to care for his family and nancy wanting to uncover and explore shit its just. ugh.

for season 4 i will DEF be retconning some shit because yeah. im not dealing with a repeat love square that will be resolved literally THIS SEASON in season 2. feels so dumb to be so repetitive. i will however bring in some elements in that love triangle back in 4 but not in any definitive or dramatic way. smh

#ask #anon #m speaks #m rants technically #nancy wheeler i will defend u with my life

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abstract-crossverse · 1 year

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Because no one asks for him, I'll just do it myself, this is mainly because I keep associating him with someone and need to fix him in my brain, so bear with me, 'kay?

Also its a bit long, got carried away <3

Cw: loosely described violence, but aside that, nothing

===========================

Hofnarr x Reader Headcanons

→ Hofnarr is... Quite the character if I'm honest, he's way less bad than other grunts, that's for sure, he tries his best not to anger the Director or get himself in stressful situations due to.. well, I'm sure you've seen that one short

→ when you both met, it was while Phobos put him in charge of one of his Lesser Important projects, you were one of the lower-grade scientists who were passing him while he carried one ungodly amount of books and files and a cup in his arms

→ of course everyone knew he was gonna fall with that eventually, and he did, he tripped one of the wires on the ground as he tried to balance the workload Phobos dumped on him

→ you waited a moment while he grumbled to himself and gathered his things, waiting if anyone would help, but no one did, of course, most of these people were just there on autopilot. So you decided to help, crouching to help him gather everything- thankfully the mugs from the Tower aren't porcelain-

→ he kept quiet, giving you slight glances from time to time as you focused on helping him gather the workload up, you felt like he didn't trust you, but that wasn't much of a problem, people barely trusted each other anyway so you didn't take it to heart.

→ after you gathered the paperwork and mug, you offered to help him get all of this to his office. He reluctantly agreed, usually, he'd say no need but by the amount of paperwork, Phobos gave him today... It was bound he'd have an accident by not being able to fuckin see where he was going, it'd be a matter of time until he'd fall down a flight of stairs that way and he would rather not end up in medbay

→ and so you two were on your way, you made small talk by asking how the projects going, or what he thought of his coworkers. To which you were slightly surprised to learn he didn't really like or wasn't that acquainted with most scientists that weren't the other two Head Scientists, or at least ones who didn't work under the Projects he was in charge of. You noticed he had a slight stutter to his speech, something you hadn't heard before when you heard him talk about the projects with the Director or others, maybe stress or anxiety related?

→ after that day, you two talked a lot more, becoming closer and closer, he lost most of his stutters as he didn't feel as anxious around you anymore, only stammering over his words when he was going on about some of his passions, such as Slaughter Time! The way he excitedly talked about the traps and plots for every episode had you both stunned and a little terrified if you'd be honest-

→ he's expressed many times how he wanted to one day participate in an episode with his clown persona, Tricky the Clown. He showed you his costume when you both were hanging out in his apartment, he even put up a small show for you with juggling and acrobatics, you were impressed with his balance and flexibility, and agility even with being on the heavier side. he told you he's been working out, and that about 40-50% of his figure was muscle. he looked very proud of himself with that, flexing a little to show off, it got an amused laugh out of you

→ you suggested he sign up to be part of one of the episodes, though he was hesitant about it- doubting himself if he would be able to take the waves, it scared you a bit too, you didn't want him to walk into his favorite show and straight up die-. Though after a while of him brainstorming with you about how to go about the traps and most possibilities of enemies, he was confident he'd survive, and so, you helped him get him into the show, sending letters to Goyle's studio with the request and recommendation, even with video proof in a pen drive of his abilities

→ while you waited for a callback, he introduced you to Dr. Christoff and Dr. Crackpot- who was a bonus due to finding both of them bickering. The older Scientist was quite serious and distant, though he seemed to approve of you, with how he mentioned Hofnarr would ramble about you sometimes, only good things he assured, much to Hofnarr's embarrassment. It got a small blush out of you too as you chuckled

→ "sometimes? He would mention you every opening he got!-" Crackpot butted in before Hofnarr shoved his mask to the side, cutting him off with a small 'ack!-', face red. Your blush increased at that- making you laugh a bit more in embarrassment, Christoff glared at Crackpot, you felt like Christoff and Crackpot didn't like each other very much

→ you noticed after that day, Hofnarr would initiate interaction a bit more than usual, wanting to be close to you and help in any way he could if you had to fix some system or were struggling with some code you couldn't figure out what you mistyped. He lightened up at your gratefulness when he helped, dare you say you saw a bit of a pink tint to his cheeks when you did, he felt useful as he soon continued on his own work. He'd call for your input on small theories he'd brainstorm as well, or ask for you and Christoff to listen to his presentation practice before he had to show something to the Director, Christoff even mentioned how he seemed to be putting even more effort into his work lately

→ it wasn't long before Hofnarr came running to you as you entered the Tower saying he got a letter back from Goyel, he said wanted to read the letter with you so he waited for you to punch in before running at you, you grew excited and nervous for him as you both rushed off to his office to see what it said. after some back and forth of excitement and him being scared he was denied, he opened the letter and read it, you waited patiently as he read, seeing the light in his eyes grow more and more as he read, and soon, he jumped from his chair happily, exclaiming he was accepted! You cheered for him and celebrated, he hugged you and thanked you multiple times for the help, and you hugged him back, though you still dreaded this wouldn't end as planned, you hid that fear for his sake

→ he told Christoff the news later that day, and as much as Christoff wasn't the biggest fan of the show, he was happy for his friend, you managed to get you and Christoff tickets to see the Episode live with some of your savings, the taller scientist was hesitant but he caved in after you and Hofnarr gave him puppy eyes. Jump cut to the day or the episode, Hofnarr showed up in his full costume, nervous as ever, you and Christoff hyped him up before you were escorted to the crowd

→ Hofnarr- or should I say, Tricky, was amazing, the way he moved around precisely and calculated through the arena was incredible, as much as you and Christoff winced at each gory death, you cheered him on. though there was a time his movements were no longer calculated, feeling a lot more sudden and sporadic, he smiled like a madman.. you almost didn't recognize him as Hofnarr, but you still cheered him on, as much as he seemed to shake with every life he took. you looked at Christoff, he looked concerned, which scared you a bit, something's wrong, you can feel it..

→ at the end, he won. The ratings were through the roof, Goyel thanked him for coming and they said their goodbyes, he met you two outside, greeting you both with a rib-crushing hug, surprising you and Christoff as he squished you. "How'd I do?! Amazing, right?! Did you see the spin I did when I cracked the Brute's neck?!!" He spoke, quickly and louder than normal, he was still shaking as he put you both on the ground, smiling widely. You shrugged it off as him still riding off the adrenaline, he didn't even look tired-

→ "y-yea! You did great, Hof! But- are you okay?-" he cut you off "Okay?? I've never felt more alive!! I wanna go again!!!" He exclaimed, you gave him a nervous smile and glanced at Christoff, he had a knowing look on his face. "Hofnarr, my friend, I believe you need to wind down a little, come on, I'll get you home." He said, placing a hand on Hofnarr's shaking form, the same nodding his head slightly. Hofnarr looked back at you, having a crazy look in his eyes as he hugged you tightly again, you winced and hugged him back "See ya soon, [Y/N]!! Byeee!!!" He let go of you and began heading off, almost too quick for his usual pace, you gave Christoff a concerned look, he returned the same look, mouthing an 'I'll tell you later.' before heading off after Hofnarr, leaving you confused and worried in front of Goyel's studio

→ the next day, Hofnarr was back to his usual self again, apologizing for hugging you so tightly the other day, you said it was nothing even though it bruised your sides. Chritoff pulled you aside at lunch as Hofnarr was getting his food, Christoff vaguely explained that Hofnarr had some issues due to working with Dissonance a lot, very vaguely saying that what happened the day prior with Hofnarr's attitude and shaking was a result of those issues. You felt like he wasn't telling the whole truth but as soon as you were going to ask more about it, Hofnarr came back, asking what you were talking about, Christoff simply stated that it was some boring work stuff, and you rolled with it, especially because Christoff isn't one to lie without a reason, you knew that.

→ you tried asking Crackpot about it but he seemed clueless, as was anyone else that worked with Hofnarr, and asking the Director was off limits so you just resorted to patience, maybe he'd tell you what that's about eventually

→ sometime later, Hofnarr nervously pulled you aside, face red with blush you almost thought he came to work with a fever. He revealed he had feelings for you, listing emotions you made him feel and how special your cheering made him feel back at Slaughter Time, your face grew red with every word, listening intently to his stammering speech, he asked you if you'd be his partner at the end, you smiled fondly at him, saying you felt the same and accepting his request, he was ecstatic, pulling you into a hug again, gently leaning his forehead on yours

→ now that you were dating, you would both walk around the halls of the Tower holding hands or with looped arms, sometimes just hooking pinkies due if the Director was walking around the halls, talking either about life or work as you always did, cracking jokes or anything that could make you smile

→ sometimes when he gets to work earlier than usual and you're not there, he leaves a lil gift at your desk, be it some snacks, lil trinkets he made himself, or whatever he knows you like

→ he puts up small clown performances to try and cheer you up, if it's at work he'll do little juggles with paper balls or just do silly things that could get a laugh out of you, if it's in private he whips out the whole Tricky fit for you and goes as extra as your comfortable with!

→ to him his partner's happiness is his happiness, as long as you're okay and safe he doesn't care what happens to him, which worries you since he's been taking the blows of whatever mistake you accidentally make so Phobos doesn't kill you- since he has a higher chance of being kept alive due to being one of his head scientists and more important to Phobos, with scientists in your grade- Phobos deems you replaceable. You have to give him a light bonk upside the head for him to stop that or else he'll get either demoted or fired and let you deal with the consequences yourself

→ he's a huge cuddle bug, a switch between a little and big spoon, while he likes being held, he loves having you snuggled up to his side/holding you

→ adding onto that, he's a big fan of PDA, likes holding your hand when you're walking together, and just randomly giving you kisses as you pass by each other

→ he has weird ideas sometimes- of course he does- but sometimes you'll be sleeping over at his apartment or him at yours and while you both are about to doze off he just pitches something like "yknow those catgirls from anime? What if they were real?.." "..." You lifted your head up from its place on his shoulder, giving him a look ".. I swear it's not for any of those weird reasons, just wondering how the anatomy and nature would work, yknow? Like would they have the agility of a cat and night vision and stuff? Or would they just be normal grunts with weird ears and a tail?" You hummed, snuggling back into him, a muffled hum leaving your lips

→ kisses with him are very gentle, kisses soft and gentle you can feel all the love he has for you, he has a very soft touch as if you'd break if he's any rougher

→ eventually a few months into your relationship he got the courage to tell you about his.. issue

→ explaining how sometimes he needs to directly inject a substance he found into his bloodstream to keep from going insane because of the dissonance, how he'd need you to run to get the syringes once he showed signs of insanity prominently

→ and like that it was, whenever he began to shake more often and smile more eerily than normal you'd run to get a syringe, even if it wasn't on the point he instructed you to inject it was good to have one on you so you didn't have to run back and forth. Once you forgot to keep one in your pocket and came back with the syringe, he was scratching hard at his jaw, he sighed in relief once he calmed from the 'antidote', giving you kisses and generally being very lovey while you disinfected the scratches. Thankfully you were already at his apartment when he started shaking so the rest of the day you just cuddled, you comforted him as he snuggled up to you

→ as much as it's not his fault his mind is deteriorating slowly, he apologizes every time you or Christoff have to help him keep from harming himself or others, and apologizes for giving you both such stress/anxiety spikes when it happens, you both assure him its okay, he still feels guilty

→ he has humor much like Brandon from the Youtube channel Imbrandonfarris. It's weird but weirdly funny or ridiculous enough it's funny, something like that. He has indeed filled his room with Ballpit balls and you both have indeed gotten lost in it once, then Christoff showed up and was confused about it- even Phobos emerged from the ball pit, none of you know how he got there since Hof didn't let him in, nor did he leave the ball pit since he set it up- Phobos doesn't know either, one second he's in his office, he closes his eye and then he's here-

→ either way, you're always by his side, you help him and he helps you. Through better or worse times.. Hofnarr told you about his and Christoff's plans to take down Phobos, at least to a degree he said he had a hiding place set for you to stay safe while they recked havoc

→ and so when that was to happen, he led you to the hiding place, telling you to lock the door and only open it when you hear the specific knock he made up for you to know it's him, it looked like a small storage room with bed and rations set up for you, as well as some clown equipment, guess that's where he kept his stuff for Tricky, it was also outside of Nexus City, thankfully a good distance from it in an abandoned neighborhood. He said he'd come back soon, you trusted him, giving him a goodbye kiss and wishing him luck as he left, you locked the door after he left.

→ and he did stand for his word, he came back! He was fine, if not a little shakey, he claimed it wasn't the insanity and just adrenaline, believing him- you were still weary about it, he said Christoff told him to look over the city while he needed to resolve some things out of the city. so the weeks past you both(you insisted to go with him) would be gearing up and protecting the city, helping any survivors to stay hidden or fend off any threats you need to kill

→ eventually, Hofnarr was hired by the AAHW to help with the Sheriff's cause as Tricky, which this time Hofnarr insisted you stay home after Hank started fucking around and finding out. He wants you safe, and he won the argument this time, and so you did, Hofnarr sometimes wouldn't come home too late at night, you understood the agent job took a lot of time but it didn't make you worry less for him

→ until one day he didn't come home for a while, leaving you to worry, you were almost going out to find him, mid-gearing up until you felt a shock through your body straight to your head, making you lose balance and hold your head in pain with a groan, hearing loud static in your head and red words flashing in front of your eyes

→ "WHO DIS?" "FRESH MEAT??" "IN CLOWN'S HIDEOUT?!" "INCOMPATIBLE"

→ you heard a small poof to your left and some green glitter float when you looked over, your eyes widened at the zed in front of you, smeared blue and white facepaint, scratched jaw and crazy red eyes, a bleeding gaping hole on its chest and bleeding bullet wounds tainting the so familiar jumpsuit with red shades, the red hair in shape resembling devil horns as it held a stop sign in its hands, it wouldn't. Stop. Shaking.

→ your first instinct was to crawl away a bit until you recognized the clown, "... Hofnarr?..." Your voice is barely a whisper, the clown seemed to pause for a moment, still shaking violently, it blinked, trying to recognize you, you felt familiar... Until it clicked, it perked up, squinting its eyes in a smile as it dropped the sign

→ "[Y/N]!!!" it teleported in front of you with the same green glitter as before, hugging you tight, the static screaming in your head lowered enough that you could think clearly but not enough you wouldn't know its still there, happy words flashing in front of your eyes, all affectionate, but it made your eyes sting, or was that the tears welling up in your eyes? You buried your head on his shaking shoulder, wrapping your arms around him just as tight...

→ it's shaking subsided as it felt your shakey breaths and choked sobs on its shoulder, resorting to changing positions and having you lean against him as he sat against the wall, glitchy purrs and gentle circles on your back with his hand as you cried away, trying to soothe you as much as he's confused as to why you're crying, he just knew to let your get it out before asking what's wrong..

→ nothing hurt more than learning your lover was gone, not only to being a zed but to the insanity too, and you've run out of the antidote recently. You cant get him back, but at least what's left of him is here.. and it seems to remember you so maybe... You lifted your head to look at the clown, he looked back at you, lifting a shaky hand to wipe your tears, giving you a smile with what was left of his lips, speaking of that- he peppered your face with kisses quickly, making you let out a weak giggle before he landed a kiss on your lips, long and loving as he pulled your head with a hand to deepen your kiss, this was still your lover, just- not the ex-scientist you knew before, but he's still there

→ once you separated he leaned his forehead with yours, and you let out another sob, apologizing, "For what? Ya have nothin' to apologize for! I got a little carried away-" he spoke with an inside, not yelling like before, knowing being so close to him with yelling would hurt your ears. he chuckled, placing your head on his chest, thankfully the bloody hole was more down than up.. though the lack of heartbeat and warmth made you tear up again, his green hand playing your hair gently. You let out a shakey sigh and let your eyes close, hoping this would just be a nightmare and you'd wake up with Hofnarr snoring beside you in the morning

→ though deep inside, you knew this was real... this was your new reality, but it's still him... at least he's not completely gone, you'll adapt.. Im sure you will.

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