#anyway they argue a lot and bicker and are secretly good friends

[moeblob]

I'm suffering Fates Brain Rot so I drew OCs? Logical!

Nytis (blondie) is a demon cleric who hates feeling any form of pain but lives to cause others pain (he does indeed see the irony of becoming a cleric). In order to help protect himself he forms a pact with Elnae (red gal) and she basically fights in his place if there is a threat of injury. She also does little errands like info-getting and sneaking around for him.

The thing is, while he can hurt others no problem and it's satisfying, he was granted the ability to heal others after he swore allegiance to a deity he holds no respect nor regard for. He honestly doesn't care about whatever gods exist. HOWEVER. As a demon, simply using holy magic actually hurts him so he's a pretty stingy healer and has a sword "just in case" he has to fight.

That said, he does actually have one thing he refuses to let go unpunished: a kid being injured/cursed. He might be a messed up demon but he draws the lines at letting kids suffer. When El asks about it and is like "haha what, did you have a bad childhood too, buddy?" he's like "???? How else would I end up like this? As a cleric? Hurting myself to heal? What the hell is wrong with you YES I had a bad childhood."

[resident-gay-bitch]

Too Late - Twelve

summary: You’ve always secretly pined over Eddie Munson, your best friend, but when you find out he’s dating Chrissy Cunningham, you reach your breaking point. you seek comfort from Gareth, your second best friend. you figure out he’s got a crush, but you don’t know who, you were determined to figure it out though. but he was determined to keep his feelings for you locked away forever. but plans change, right?

too late masterlist - find next chapter there :)

Thursday went by in a rush. You accidentally walked face first into the back of Chrissy when she was bouncing off to class with Carver. You offered her your most sincere apology, and she grabbed your shoulder sweetly and told you it wasn’t a bother. That made you melt. You were Chrissy starved to say the least. At lunch, you and Gareth stopped by the Hellfire table whilst Eddie wasn’t there to have a quick chat with the guys. 

“No, no way.” Dustin shook his head. 

“Yes way.” Lucas pressed, a firm finger tapping at the table. 

“You guys are both wrong.” Mike insisted. 

You didn’t even know what they were arguing about, but Steve Harrington’s name came up a lot, which you found both amusing and concerning. Jeff and Gareth ended up in a heated argument of their own, over the debate on which song was the best in Megadeaths latest album. And you and Grant were torn between the two, trying to figure out which would be more amusing to eavesdrop on. 

“I see the happy couples making themselves at home.” Eddie’s voice was harsh and loud and full of spite as he sat himself down at the head of the table. Both you and Gareth tried to stifle an irritated groan, rolling your eyes. 

“Always a pleasure, Eddie.” you scoffed back, and he sent you a deathly glare, but you could see the hurt behind those big puppy dog eyes. Good. you thought. Let him hurt. 

“Jovi and I,” Gareth sat back in his chair, hand reaching out to grab the bottom of yours and he dragged you closer, your face turned red and your eyes went wide, what the fuck, “were just catching up. What’s it to you?” 

You heard some mumbling between the freshmen, their eyes were all fixed on you three, trying to predict what was gonna happen next. 

“I thought you wanted nothing to do with me?” He snapped back. 

And you gave him a disbelieving smile, “And you think the entire world revolves around you? Oh wait, I forgot who I was talking to… of course it does, I’m sorry, my liege.” 

You heard some snickers from the freshman and saw Lucas covering his mouth to stop his laugh as he turned away. Gareth slapped his hand down on your thigh and squeezed it as a little ‘your awesome’ gesture. He didn’t even mean for Eddie to see that, but he did. His eyes fixed on Gareth's hand that sat just below the short hem of your skirt, his pinkie threatening to slip under, and he poked his tongue into his cheek before slowly bringing his eyes to meet yours again. 

“Ha ha.” he forced, head tilting with each of his words in a mocking manner. 

You glared at him before turning to Gareth with a sweet smile, “Were clearly getting in the way of King Eddie’s lunchtime here, and we all know how grumpy he gets if he doesn’t eat his nom noms in peace-”

“Shut the fuck up, Y/N.” He rolled his eyes, no princess, you had finally gotten through to him… somewhat anyway, “I thought my displeasure brought you joy.” 

“Oh it does.” You smiled at him with bright eyes, “A large amount of it, actually. I just feel bad for your little munchkins getting caught in the crossfire of our crude bickering and your sour mood.”

“Mhm,” He nodded, “leave then.” 

Gareth sighed, “Such a gentleman, you really know how to woo a lady.” He rolled his eyes and looked at you, your flustered manor from about thirty seconds ago had not gone unnoticed to him, “How about we skip lunch and go…” his eyes flickered to the freshman, “listen to music in my car.” 

Jeff and Grant were the ones to snicker now, and Eddie’s already sour expression just got worse. 

“Oh,” you smirked, “I do love listening to music.” 

“Subtle.” Eddie mumbled. You were really getting to him. 

Gareth stood, reaching his hand out to help you up too, and you did, “Thank you, handsome.” 

He smiled, “Anytime, darling.” 

You offered the boys a little wave before skipping off hand in hand with Gareth. 

“Okay,” He turned to you slightly as you walked with a big grin, “that was brilliant. He was mad.” 

“So mad.” you nodded, “And that chair thing… great touch.” 

“Chair thing?” He turned to face his car, pulling his keys out of his pocket. 

“You know, where you dragged my chair over to you.” You smiled, reaching for the handle to the backseat of his car. 

He spun you around so you were facing him, back pressed against the door, your hands still holding the handle behind you, “I didn’t even mean to do that.” 

“Well,” You inhaled deeply, “it was very, very nice.” 

He grinned, his hands finding purchase on the hood of the car beside your shoulders, “Oh yeah?” 

You nodded slowly, your eyes fluttering shut, “Oh yeah.” 

“Well,” He leant in closer, lips brushing over the warm flesh along your jaw, “I’ll just have to show you just how much nicer I can be.” 

He smirked and grabbed the handle from behind you, pulling the car door open and climbing inside. You glared at him through the open door, and he pumped his eyebrows at you, reaching his hands out as he settled in against the opposite door. You rolled your eyes with a smirk and hopped in, closing the door behind you. 

“You're lucky I like nice.” 

—————————————————————————

Thursday ended even faster than it started, and ever since yesterday afternoon, you had a plan. You weren’t telling anyone this plan, in case it got back to Gareth because you knew he’d get mad and tell you not to go through with it. But you just had to goddamnit. You had too. So, when Gareth met you in the hallway by your locker, ready to drive you home, you lied and told him Ms. O’Donnel wanted to meet with you after class to talk about your last assignment. He insisted on waiting for you, but you told him you had already called you mum asking for a ride. He was reluctant to leave you so soon in the day, but he did anyway. And then you were off. You started your walk down Denver, then Maple, then Whitacter and onto Miller, and finally you were stepping onto the artificial road that was Coral Drive. You were walking over that patch of grass you would always lay on as a kid that the van was now parked over, and hopping up the steps to the Munson trailer. You didn’t knock, you never did, why should you change your ways now? You busted through the door, slamming it shut behind you. Once your eyes adjusted to the lower light of the room, you had a sudden wave of sorrow wash over you. You didn’t even know how many days and nights you spent in this trailer, all so special, all so meaningful… and now, well now this was probably the last time you were ever going to be here. You sighed deeply, eyes fluttering shut as you took in the feel of it all, the smell… beer, cigarette smoke, weed, stale pizza from a week ago… yup, you were gonna miss this. You didn’t even notice Wayne in the kitchen, he was mid sip of his beer when you walked in. He was in shock, really, you were the last person he had thought would walk through his door on a random Thursday afternoon, but here you were. You took a deep breath, letting the rage take back over, and then you were yelling. 

“Edward fucking Munson!” You slammed your hands againt the front door to make a ruckus so he would hear you over his music, but if you were bing honest, you were yelling loud enough for the entire trailer park to hear, “Get your fucking ass out here right now.”

Eddie tensed the second he heard your voice, eyes squinting shut as he dropped his pen into his campaign notebook. Shit. He thought you were there to put him in his place about lunch today. 

“Edward!” you only ever called him that when you were playing silly, or if you were really fucking mad… and there was no way he was mistaking this for silly, you stormed into the centre of the room, feet stomping along the carpet trying to elicit a sound, “I know your home… Your ‘little whore’ wants to talk.” 

Oh shit. This was worse. He gritted his teeth and took a few breaths, “Gareth, you little shit.” he mumbled to himself before he was getting up and stumbling towards his door. 

Your words, however, had Wayne spitting out his beer, “Excuse me?” 

You turned your head towards him, a spike of fear, and then you were shaking your head, “Sorry, didn’t see you there.” 

He shook his head, reaching for a cloth to wipe his beer covered front, “No, don’t worry about it.” He looked back up at you, “Why are you calling yourself his… uhm-”

“Oh, yeah…” you sighed with a whole lot of sass, “Your nephew-” 

Eddie emerged from his room, rather sheepishly, “Y/N.” 

“Speak of the devil.” You smiled, “Wayne, feel free to stick around and learn what your beloved little nephew has been getting up to in his spare time… you know, other than dealing drugs and cheating on his girlfriend.” 

Eddie groaned, and Wayne stuck his hands up as if to say, ‘I want no part in this’. And so, he was grabbing his beer and walking out of the trailer… though, he stood by the open window to liten. 

“Why are you here?” Eddie asked, arms folded over his chest after Wayne had departed. 

You smiled at him, and it was terrifying… it was that angry sort of smile that girls did when they were raging out of their fucking minds… like… psychotic almost. He had received that smile too many times from his mother, and one time from you… when you were fifteen and he cheated on his first girlfriend at a party… funny how things circle around. 

“Oh, I don’t know Eddie…” you pretended to think, “Maybe it’s because you decided to fuck me over countless times… no… not that one. Hmm, maybe because you cheated on your girlfriend who was my best friend…. Hmm, not that one either. Oh, wait! I know… it's because you went and told my boyfriend that I’m a lying little whore who likes to beg you to let me suck your cock on the regular, and you let me.” 

“Shit.” He was rigid. 

“Yeah, shit.” you seethed, “Care to explain?” 

“Uh,” He swallowed, “You just- i know it’s shitty-”

“Oh, you do, do you?” You shook your head, arms folded over your chest as you tapped your foot on the floor, “Big whoop.” 

He gritted his teeth, looking at you for a moment with mean eyes, until he softened and sighed, “I fuckin love you.”

You pressed your lips together and looked away, entirely over everything, “Apparently.” you looked back at him, “If you really did, wouldn’t you just want me to be happy?” 

“I-”

“I sure as shit did.” You shrugged, pointing to yourself, “Whenever you ended up with some new girl, I would go home and cry myself to sleep, but I never tried to get in the way. And they never bothered me that much because I knew it wouldn’t last more than a week. But then you found Chrissy, and you were just so infatuated with her, and had been for months- remember, you would never fucking shut up about her. And everytime, I just wanted to scream and cry and tell you to forget her and love me instead, because I was right fucking there the whole time. Every time you told me that you thought she would never love you, that you were just no good trailer trash… a freak… I always thought, ‘shit, I love you’. And I tried to show you, I did show you. And then you got with her anyway and you two were just, so… ah! I don’t even know but it sent me over the edge and I was fucking distraught. Because Eddie, you are so fucking hard to love. So hard! You just ruin everything in your path to get what you fucking want, and you use people so freely. You used me, for everything you could. You milked me dry and then still made me love you… somehow. And then you were with her, and… but I never once tried to get in the way of that. In my head, I hated her. I hated her because she wasn’t me… because I wasn’t her and I could never be her… you only liked perfect girls and that tore me up, Eddie. But not once did I try to get in the way.” 

You hadn’t even noticed your crying until you saw him turn his head away in shame, wiping at a tear, and then you were wiping at yours. You sighed, a little sniffle following, and you flung your arms out, trying to get through to him, one way or another. 

“God- I tried to be as happy as I could for you. I listened to you… when nobody wanted to listen to your hundredth Chrissy ramble of the day, I did… and it hurt me the most. I made nice with her, I became her friend so that she would have no reason to hate me, so that I wouldn’t get in the way of your relationship. I wanted nothing more than your happiness even though you were the reason I couldn’t have my own. And then the one fucking time I turn my attention to someone new, right when you decided to neglect me all together, you get the shits. You can't fucking take it. It’s not allowed because all of a sudden I’m like… yours to possess, or something. Your personal little fuck doll to use at your disposal, whos always begging, apparently. And you tell that to my boyfri- no… you told that to your best friend. Your best friend, Eddie. You put those filthy images in his head because why? Because you can’t put anyones happiness above yours. It's all about you. Eddie fucking Munson, King of the world.” You forced a laugh and shook your head, “It didn’t work. Nothing you said to him worked. He still loves me, I still love him. Yeah, you fucked with his head, and we didn’t get sexual for-”

Eddie grimaced, glaring up at you for a second. 

“What? You don’t like the thought of me having sex with Gareth?” 

He grimaced again, shooting you a dirty look. It was almost threatening, though, everything was softer behind thos wet fucking pathetic dog eyes of his. He looked like a stray mutt, kicked to the curb after being thrown out for getting too violent with his owner's kid. 

You laughed, for real this time, “Oh thats fucking gold.” you clapped your hands together, taking a little step closer to him, “You can go tell him about these fucked up sex fantasies you have about me, but the minuet I even mention the words ‘sex’ and ‘Gareth’ in the same sentance, you wanna cry for mummy?” 

“Just stop.” He whispered, but his words were still harsh. 

“What?” You shook your head, “Don’t like the thought of your best friend feeling me up? Hmm? Don’t like the thought of him putting his hands all over me? Of me liking it? Begging him for more-”

He turned away, but you grabbed him, holding his face to look at you as you pulled down the collar of your shirt to show him a big purple bruise above your breast, “Don’t like the sight of that?” 

“Jesus-” he pulled away from your grasp in a huff, walking over to the couch where he sat, “Your fucking insane-”

“Oh, I’m insane? Oh, okay… so we're just telling lies today?” 

He shook his head. 

You thought for a moment, “Your little lies didn’t ruin us, is all I’m trying to say. Yeah, they made him feel so insecure- fuck you for that, by the way. For all of that shit. But, when he eventually told me what you did, all I had to do was tell him it wasn’t true and he was fine again. He didn’t believe it was true in the first place, just that little fucking voice in his head you put there was telling him otherwise. You know… because you fucked him up so much. Because that’s what you do, you fuck people up.” 

“M’sorry-”

“Save it.” you scoffed, “I know you're not. You couldn’t fucking care less, you like the thought that it got to you. But-”

“If you just came here to yell at me, cool. Please leave, I’m getting a fucking headache.” 

You gave him a look of disbelief, “Oh sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?” you scoffed, “Welcome to the fucking club.” 

He rolled his eyes and leant back on the couch, “What? You’ve got more to say then? I thought you wanted nothing to do with me, Y/N. Or can you just not stay away from me?” he leant forward again, a smug smirk on his face, “Realised you do love me afterall, hmm, princess? Gar Bear can’t satisfy you?” 

You quirked an eyebrow, arms folding over your chest again and you blinked slowly, “Oh, he can satisfy me plenty. Yeah, no, I particularly like it when he-”

“God.” He stood again, “Can you please shut up?” 

“But you asked if he could satisfy me.” you played dumb, “I was just telling you exactly how he can.” 

He gritted his teeth, but he didn’t answer. 

“I didn’t come here for me.” you finally said, “I came here, becasse you're going to apologise to Gareth… right now.” 

“No, I'm not.” 

“Yes, you are.” you shoved at him, pusing him towards the door, “You are going to go tell him, how your a fucked up asshole who likes to see his friends and family fall apart, and how we never layed a hand on one another.” 

“He’s not going to want to see me.” Eddie protested, slamming a hand on the door as you reached to open it. 

“Oh, trust me, I know.” You sighed and snatched his van keys from the table by the door, dropping them down your cleavage so he couldn’t steal them back, “You're coming with me, or say bye bye to your ride.” 

“No-”

“Eddie.” You pressed, hand on the door now and he finally let you open it, “You're apologising and then you're getting out of his life, for good. Your going to leave him the fuck alone, okay? I’m sick of your fucking bullshit. I’m sick of all of this fucking bullshit. Now go get in the van, I’m driving.” 

“What are you going to do if I don’t?” 

You glared at him, “There's nothing I can do.” you shrugged, “But I thought you might at least wanna try being a decent fucking human for once. Have a cleaner conscience.” 

He sighed, blinking a few times before deciding to speak, “I don’t think one apology is gonna do much for that.” 

You thought for a moment, you thought about being kind, like you usually would, but this was Eddie, and he didn’t deserve your kindness, “No, it’s not. But I love my boyfriend, and I would endure your bullshit every second of every day if it meant he didn’t have another dreaded thought about you calling him lesser, or useless, or unloveable.” 

“You really do love him?” Eddie asked, and those pleading eyes came into play again. 

“Yes.” you sighed, “With my whole heart.” 

He nodded slowly and walked past you through the door. You pulled it shut behind you, stopping to talk to Wayne for a moment. 

“He hasn’t learnt.” 

“No.” you shook your head, “He hasn’t.” 

“Sorry that he said those things about you, kid.” Wayne sighed, “I thought I’d be able to raise him right, after his parents fucked off.” 

“You did the best you could, Wayne.” you placed your hand on his shoulder lightly, “I’m sorry you got stuck with him.” 

He sighed, “He’s gonna be the death of me one day, but I’ll always love him like my own.” 

You nodded. 

“Doesn’t mean I can’t take my old room back though.” 

You laughed softly, “Hmm, he’d hate that.” 

“Very true.” He smiled, offering you a little wave as you left towards the van. 

The ride to Gareth's was quiet. You didn’t have the energy for music, quickly turning it off every time he tried to turn it on. No, too many memories of singing your heart out in this van. Once pulled up, you both sat there for a little while, neither of you really wanting to move, though, for vastly different reasons. You looked out the window to Gareth's front door, and sighed. Fuck it. You berated Eddie until he clambered out of the van and walked up to the front door. You assured him he wasn’t getting his keys back until he gave a sincere and honest apology. You felt like a mother. He knocked on the door sheepishly, and you stood behind him, leaving a fair bit of distance between yourselves, arms folded over your chest. There was a long wait until Gareth opened the door, pulling his shirt down over his head, your eyes immediately caught his lower stomach- nope, that’s not why you were here, this is serious. He froze when he saw Eddie. 

“Hello?” 

Eddie looked back at you, and you widened your eyes, shaking your head forward with a mean glare, making him jump back a little. He looked back at Gareth and fiddled with his rings, “I came to apologise.” 

Gareth looked over at you, and you shrugged, you would explain later. But for now, now you needed to kick the back of Eddie’s leg to get him to talk. 

“I-” he sighed, “I’m sorry.”

“Wow.” you tapped your foot on the stone path beneath you, “What a sincere apology. Congratulations.” 

He glared back at you before turning to Gareth again, “I’m sorry for what I said about, Y/N. None of it was true… as far as I’m concerned she is actually a virgin- well, not anymore obviously. But before you.” he sighed, refusing to look Gareth or you in the eye, “We never-  we never did any of the shit I said we did. I made it up- some… some of it was from my head, some of it I did with Chrissy-”

“Dude.” Gareth grimaced, “Your fucking unbelieveable.” 

Eddie hung his head in shame, “M’sorry.” 

“Yeah, whatever man.” He shook his head and took a little step back, “Is that all?”

Eddie looked back at you, and you waved your hands out angrily. He rolled his eyes and turned back to Gareth, “No. I- I’m sorry for… calling her a whore in-”

“Enough about me, jesus.” you sighed and stepped closer, grabbing him by the shoulder and spinning him, “Have you never heard of an apology?” 

“I’m sorry-”

“Don’t tell me! Tell him!” 

Eddie groaned, throwing his head back before finally meeting Gareth's eye, “I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry I made you feel worthless, I’m sorry I made you feel like shit. I’m sorry about all of it.” 

You stared at him, encouraging him to continue. You heard a little commotion inside, and you took a little step back so you were standing beside Gareth in the doorway, where you saw Liz quietly standing in the doorway of the first room, listening. You decided to not draw her any attention, and you looked back at Eddie who was trying to think what to say. 

“I just- you… gah- you need… I-” he seethed, a new rage bursting in him, he was sick of this, sick of being treated like a little kid he thought, “It’s not my fucking fault you were too shy to go after the girl you wanted!” 

You gave him a mean glare, “Are you fucking kidding me?” 

“He’s just a little bit-”

“Don’t you dare,” Lizzie pushed though you two and out to Eddie, she was shoving at his chest, making him walk backwards, “Don’t you dare say another thing so horrible about my boy. I treated you like my own, took you in when Wayne couldn’t. Gave you food, a home, a fucking family, and you just abused that. You abused my kindness and you abused my trust and you abused our fucking love! You are no better than your father!” 

“Wh-” Eddi stumbled back, trying to escape her fire. 

“Mum!” Gareth snapped, running out after her, “Mum, stop.”

“No.” she turned to her son, pure rage in her eyes, “No, enough is en-fucking-nough.” 

You grabbed Gareth gently by the arm, and tugged him back, holding him close as Lizzie open fired. 

“You know how many times I have wiped away the tears off of his cheeks that you caused? Because I don’t. I stopped counting after the fifteenth fucking time! You treat my boy like scum, and he gives you nothing but love, nothing but kindness, nothing but brotherly fucking love. All of his time was wasted over you. You have done nothing for him! I watched you, all these years I have watched you shove him to the ground, tell him he could never be loved. And I’d sit there, drying his eyes and telling him he could be, and he never once believed me. He never believed me because you would always say the meanest things, whilst flirting with the girl you knew he loved. Years and years I watched him pine over her whilst you just took her love for granted. Time and time again I tried my best to change her path, to show her just how pathetic you really were without damaging your friendship, but god! I should have just torn it to shreds because you don’t deserve them, you don’t deserve either of them, Eddie. Jesus, boy, I love you like my own. I do, I really do. The thought of losing you in that hospital a couple months ago had me losing sleep, not eating, I was already grieving the loss of a son. And I will always think of you like that, you know that? But I will always put my own kid first, I will always put him first, and I will always put her first. Because at least they have respect. Get your fucking act together, Eddie. I don’t want another word until you do.” she shook her head, walking back towards the house now, “Don’t go near my son again.” 

He stood still, frozen, holding his breath, tears prickling in his eyes. You tossed him his keys, and they landed on the grass in front of him. He didn’t even look at them. You shook your head before pulling Gareth back inside, and closing the door. You sighed, leaning back against it as you looked at Gareth. 

“I’m sorry, I thought that would go better.” 

He shook his head, “Yeah. I didn’t.” he was angry, “Why’d you fucking do that?” 

You looked down at your feet, a little unsure of yourself, “You deserve an apology.” 

“And you don’t?” He shook his head, teeth gritted, “We both deserve an apology, but we're never gonna get one.” 

You began to cry now, just a few tears slipping down your cheeks, but you didn’t let either of them see, “I just wanted to help you move on. You know, be assured that all his words were just out of spite and jealousy-”

“Come on, Jovi.” He scoffed, “You really thought he’d just comply?” 

Turned your head further away, feeling quite dumb now, “I don’t know.” 

“Course he wouldn���t.” Lizzie spoke up, “He’s a fucking sociopath or something. Doesn’t care about anyone's feelings but his own.” 

“I know I’m never gonna get an apology from him. That doesn’t mean-”

“I just wanted you to be happy.” you tried.

“I am happy.” he stepped forward, taking your chin in his hand, making you look up at him now as he noticed your tears, “Hey, hey… c’mon.” 

“I’m sorry.” you blubbered, more tears spilling as he tried to wipe them away, “I just thought, maybe, you’d start to heal better if he apologised.” 

He sighed, holding your cheeks softly, “Well, thankyou for thinking of me like that, trying to help me. But, Jovi, I just want him gone.” he nodded, “You get that, right? Just…” 

“Don’t wanna look at him anymore?” You offered. 

He nodded, “Exactly.

“I’m sorry.” 

He shook his head, “Don’t apologise, baby.” he leant in to kiss the tip of your nose, “You tried to do something nice, and it backfired… So what. You're nice enough as is.” 

You smiled softly, leaning into his touch, “No more Eddie. I promise.” 

“Me too.” 

“Sorry he said those things about you, darlin’.” Lizzie smiled, taking a few steps over to stoke your hair, “You're none of them, okay?” she thought for a moment, “Well, maybe you're a bit of a princess… but none of the other things.” 

You all laughed a little. Gareth tugged you into his arms, and Lizzie wrapped her arms around the both of you, all of you just taking a moment to breathe in the fact that that was the last time you were dealing with Eddie Munson for a very long time. 

Part 13 - completed 

Friday. 

Friday, the day you planned on losing your virginity with Gareth. 

Friday, a day you both wished moved a lot faster, and a day you dreaded. 

You didn’t dread it in a bad way, not really. You were more so just… anxious. Really fucking anxious and desperate to properly please one another. And you both had no idea how to do that. Not really. Sure, Gareth had consumed his fair share of porn, but that was all planned out and over dramatic and very advanced. You were both sure as shit it was gonna be awkward, but you were prepared for that. It was new territory. Awkwardness was a given. You both just managed to get so trapped in your own heads with the thought of possibly disappointing the other, you were dreading it. But you were also so, so excited. 

But Friday moved so slow. 

You woke up pretty early with the nerves. You dressed yourself, had your breakfast, brushed your teeth, etcetera etcetera. But then you packed yourself a little overnight bag for Gareths tonight with the essentials. Toothbrush, spare change of underwear, a change of clothes for tomorrow, a fresh pair of socks, hairbrush, deodorant, perfume, makeup case, that green set you had brought months ago that Gareth still hadn’t seen. You didn’t need pyjamas because you were either sleeping naked or ending up in his clothes. The essentials. You grabbed that bag and your school bag and then bounced outside to your boyfriend's car with a nervous smile. 

“Hi.”

“Hi.” He smiled back, cheeks pink and adorable, “That’s your stuff for tonight?” 

“Mhm,” You nodded and tossed it into the backseat, “all set on my end.” 

He laughed nervously, “Good.” 

You turned the radio on, loading up one of his mixtapes, “Sleep okay?”

He nodded as he pulled back out onto the road, the air was a little tense, but that was expected, “Yeah, not too bad. Would have been better with you though.” 

You smiled to yourself, settling back into your car seat, “Guess you’ll be sleeping real good tonight then.” 

“Guaranteed, my love.” 

“I like that one.” You smiled. 

“What?” He glanced at you quickly. 

“My love. I like the way it sounds when you call me it.”

“Oh.” He chuckled softly, “Well, my love, I’m glad you do.” 

You drummed your fingers on your thighs softly, looking out at the houses passing by, “What time is your mum leaving tonight?” 

“Not till after dinner.” He shrugged, “She was meant to head to his before, but he now has a work function or something. Whatever that could be for a middle school science teacher.” 

You snorted at his comment, rolling your head over to look at him again, “He’s probably sitting in a last minute parent teacher interview, dealing with another lot of kids like us.” 

He laughed, “Jesus. That poor man.” He shook his head, “I empathise with him, I really do.” 

You giggled, “At least he’s got a good looking lady to go home too now.” 

Gareth scoffed, “Yeah.” 

“So, you started calling him daddy yet?” You teased. 

He grimaced, scrunching his face up and giving you an evil glare, “Please never say such a thing again.” 

You laughed, “No promises.” 

“Okay, but jokes aside, I actually like him for my mum.” 

“He’s sweet.” You nodded, “And she likes him a lot.”

“She really does.” He laughed, “Last night she was asking me for fashion advice for tonight. I have no idea which pyjamas she should wear to her boyfriend's house.” 

You laughed. 

“No kidding. And then she had the nerve to ask me what kind of pyjamas you wore when you sleep over.” 

Your face turned red, “Oh lord. Does she not see me sporting your old gym shorts the next morning?” 

He shrugged, “Apparently not.” 

“Lord.” 

—————————————————————————

The day went by slowly. 

Really fucking slowly. 

You made awkward eye contact with Eddie about three times, and it was three times too many. You were shocked he even showed up today. You half expected him to run off and sulk for another week or so. By the time you got back to Gareths, you had decided to get some weekend study done whilst Liz prepped dinner. 

“No, it’s B.”

“What?” You scratched your head, leaning over the bed to look at Gareth's notebook on the floor, “Shit.” 

He laughed, “It’s a confusing question.” 

“Still.” You sighed, “I’ll be surprised if I pass this year.” 

Gareth looked up at you and reached for your hand, “You will pass.”

You shrugged, “I haven’t got a single question right on this mock quiz yet.” 

“You’ll get there, c’mon. I’ll help.” 

You sighed again and chewed on the end of your pencil as Gareth started to read the next question out to you. There was a little knock at the door. 

“Come in.” Gareth called out, looking at your page as you weighed out the answers, “Yeah… you got this.”

“A?” You furrowed your brow as Lizzie slipped into the room. 

“Yes!” Gareth shouted and held his hand up for a high five. 

You circled the answer and highfived him away, “Fucking finally.” 

“Good job, darlin.” Lizzie smiled, and you both turned to her, “I just wanted your opinion on some things, Jovi?” 

Gareth looked up at you with a little smirk, mouthing the word, ‘pyjamas’, and you giggled a little, “Course.” 

She pulled her hands out from behind her back, two sets of pyjamas, as Gareth had predicted, “Which ones?”

“You really like this guy, don’t you?” You giggled, “Why are you so pressed about pjs? Your not even gonna be wearing them-”

“Ew!” Gareth slapped your arm, “That’s my mum!” 

You laughed some more, “And your mother is coming to me for relationship advice, so either suck it up or leave the room.” 

He groaned and Lizzie wiggled the clothes in her hands. You inspected the options for a moment. 

“I thought the black satin set was nice, you know, shows elegance. But the grey ones are just so much more cosy.” 

“Well…” You tipped your head, “Depends what you have planned for the night.” 

Gareth grimaced again. 

“But, you’ve been going out for like, a month or something now, right?” 

“A little longer.” She nodded. 

“I’d say go cosy. Show him you feel comfortable in his space and you can still be sexy and woo him in comfy, non sexy elegant clothes. Has that more domestic feel. It will drive him mad.” 

Gareth scoffed, “How do you know it will drive him mad?”

“Drives all guys mad.” You smiled. 

“I doubt that.” 

You raised your eyebrows, “Truth.” 

He squinted his eyes at you, disbelief behind them. 

“No,” Lizzie chimed in, “what she’s saying is right I think. I just haven't really had to think about it for years, I was wondering what the dating scene is like these days.” 

You giggled, “Trust me, guys that are looking for a relationship prefer the messy, cosy, nonchalant looks over the effort to look sexy all the time. Though… It is still appreciated. You know, when you toss it in every once in a while they go mad.” You glanced at Gareth subtly, “Like rabid dogs.” 

He looked up at you before dropping his eyes back to his page. 

“Thank you very much.” She nodded to you, “And, one more question.”

“Sure.” You smiled. 

She bit her lip nervously, “Is one month still too early to say ‘I love you’?” 

You and Gareth both gasped at her, he gave her a concerned glare, “You sure?”

She nodded, “I think he’s the one for me, Gar Bear.” 

You clapped your hands together excitedly, “Absolutely it’s not. You should tell him tonight!”

“But I want to make it romantic.” 

“It's better when it’s not too romantic.” Gareth sighed, turning his head back to his page where he continued to solve one of the equations in his notebook. 

“Oh?” Lizzie quirked an eyebrow, glancing between the two of you. 

He nodded, still concentrated on his notebook, “Yeah, just say it. Like you would any other time deeper into the relationship. Don’t make a big deal out of it.” He sighed, scribbling something down, “It’s nicer like that.” 

You squinted your eyes at him and so did Lizzie. 

“And you think this because…?” Lizzie shook her head slowly. 

He still didn’t look up, too focused on the equation to help you solve it faster, “Yeah, when Jovi said it we were just lying in bed and it was normal and that’s what made it better. She knew I already loved her too, because I already told her before we started going out.” He sighed, “Most girls - well, in movies and stuff anyway - make a big deal out of saying it back. You know, flowers and candles or dinners and shit and they are like ‘oh I love you’, but it’s just a couple of words, and it’s nicer when it's just peaceful and it's just said. And you can just appreciate it.” 

You smiled to yourself, playing with your pencil, a warmth spreading in your chest. Lizzie pressed her hand over her heart and pouted her lip, “Oh, that’s so sweet.” 

He looked up now, staring disapprovingly at her, “You done now? Can I please help my girlfriend study?” 

“Yes, yes, sorry.” She smiled, creeping back out of the room, “Dinner will be ready in about an hour, okay?” 

“Thanks Liz!” You called out, and once she was gone, you nudged Gareth’s shoulder, “That was sweet.” 

He looked up at you and shook his head, “What was?”

“What you said about our I love yous.” You bit your lip. 

He sighed, tipping his head back to rest against the mattress he was leaning against to look at you better, “It’s true. I’m glad you didn’t make a big deal about it. Makes it more meaningful I think. And I’m glad you didn’t say it mid argument.” 

You smiled, “I didn’t think it would be nice to attach the first time you heard it to an argument.” 

“Fair enough.” 

“Though, the first time I said it was in an argument.” 

He furrowed his eyebrows, “What?” 

“You know, just about everybody knew I loved you before you did.” 

His jaw dropped comically low, “Come on.” 

“Yup,” You grinned, “I think first I yelled it at Eddie when he was throwing himself at me. Then I told Chrissy at some point probably. I told Grant when I was looking for you after you hitched a ride with Wheeler, and Grant was getting his flirt on with some rando, and he probably told Jeff. And then I told your mum, and then you.” 

“My mum knew before me?” He practically shouted. 

You laughed, “Sorry!” You tapped your pencil lightly on the tip of his nose, “But I promise I said it to you the sweetest.”

“Good.” He smiled, “And, doubling back…”

“Yes?” 

“What's that about guys going animalistic?”

You giggled, “Just something I read in a magazine.” 

He nodded slowly, “Do you do that?” 

You grinned, “What do you think?”

“No?” He raised an eyebrow, “You don’t do the cosy look, ever really… Do you?”

You just stared at him with a grin.

“But you're always so… hot?” He squinted his eyes at you.

“Is that a question?” 

“No. I mean.” He cleared his throat and shrugged. 

You sighed, “Okay, tell me if you think this is sexy or not.”

“Okay.” He nodded. 

You sat up and took your shirt off, revealing a light blue cotton bralette with white polka dots on it. 

“Sexy.” He was very quick to answer. 

You giggled, “You think this is sexy?”

“Am I not supposed to?” He looked concerned. 

“Well, it’s not a sexy piece of underwear. But it just proves my point. You still think I look great when I don't try at all because you're in it for me and for the relationship. Get me?” 

“Ahh…”

You nodded, “If I were to wear this, say… on a first date with a guy on the basketball team, it wouldn’t land too well. You know? They're not looking for a commitment, they're looking for some fun… generally anyway. But you're looking for commitment, to one specific girl. Me. Ultimately, you're just really attracted to me and basically anything I do or wear is gonna appeal to you because you're only interested in pursuing me.” He nodded along slowly, and you smiled at him, continuing, “If I were to wear sexy underwear… like that black one-”

He smirked, “That was so fuckin hot.” 

“See.” You smiled, “Like, it’s just normal hot. Normal sexy. But because you're that much more attracted to me, and don't see me in underwear like that, or even clothes like that, all the time, it’s just that much better when I do.” 

“Oh.” He nodded, “Yeah, no. That makes a lot of sense. It’s like a little reward.” 

You snickered, “Sure, if you wanna think of it like that.” You shrugged, “Guys like sexy underwear and pretty little dresses on a girl, boyfriends like cosy clothes and cotton panties because it’s equally as attractive-”

“Because we like you, not just your body.” He finished. 

“Exactly.” You smiled, “So I told your mum to go with those because from my understanding this is not a special event tonight… other than her maybe confessing her love, but-”

“But, the cosies work because she won't be treating it like a big deal!” He grinned. 

“Exactly.” You smiled and ran your fingers through his hair.

“We’ve really got this whole relationship thing figured out, baby.” 

You giggled and leant down to kiss his forehead, “Yup.” 

He went back to working, and so did you. Silence lingered in the air for a while, save the scratching of pens on paper and the faint sound of Black Sabbath playing in the background. He clicked his tongue in his cheek and looked up at you, and then he shook his head and looked back down at his book. He sighed, and then looked up at you again, letting his gaze linger. You sighed, 

“If you're wondering if I bought those black lace undies to wear tonight, stop.” You looked at him, “I didn’t.” 

He gave you a little smile, cheeks pink, “I- I wasn’t…” 

“Hmm.” You nodded, turning back to your page, “Right.” 

He sighed, “I don’t expect you too. But you just said… you said special occasions…” He played with his fingers, “Just… made me think about you wearing them.” 

You grinned to yourself knowing damn well you had something better than that black set for him tonight, “Well, I’m flattered, really. But I didn’t bring them.” 

“That's okay.” He smiled, and his words were genuine, “I like that blue one anyway.” He tapped his pen on your bra strap, “It’s cute.” 

You shook your head a little, smiling, “I didn’t wear the matching undies.” 

He giggled, “That makes it even cuter.” He reached up over the bed and pulled the waistline of your shorts to see what panties you did have on before snapping it back into place, “Green polka dots, very cute.” 

“I try my best.” You smiled and then looked over to him, layering up your lies, “I just didn’t want to make it a bigger deal than it already was.” man was he gonna be surprised tonight. 

“Yeah.” He smiled softly, “That makes sense, I like that. I love you, Jovi, no matter what underwear you have on.” 

You giggled, “Wow, you're really stepping up.” 

“I know right?” 

You shook your head with a little smirk, “I love you too, Gar Bear.” 

[mytragedyperson]

tsukikage headcanons

-i've actually mentioned some of these before but i love enemies/rivals to friends to lovers, especially when it's not overly toxic, which i don't think tsukikage is

there will be no order or reasoning to this. this is just what my silly little brain thinks they'll be like.

first, they don't start dating until at least third year, though they do start to become friends in second year.

i feel like by the end of first year they're more like friendly rivals than actual enemies or rivals anyway so them becoming friends in second year doesn't seem like stretch to me

however, kageyama actually starts to see tsukishima as physically attractive and gain a crush on him either during or right after the shiratorizawa match because kageyama is and always will be sexually attracted to good volleyball players (i'm not saying they have to be professional players, but i feel they do have to like volleyball and be able to play it at least slightly to even get his attention.)

i don't think he'd realise it straight away, and if he did there's a good chance he'll be in denial

as for tsukishima, i actually can't think of a moment where he'd get feelings specifically. it would probably be a gradual thing as they both mature and sort out their issues

tsukishima definitely notices but ignores it and refuses to accept it

this would probably be a slowburn because they're both quite bad at emotions

i've mentioned before that i think these two would be a power couple both on and off the court and if i haven't explicitly siad it, it was definitely implied but i wholeheartedly believe it

they trash talk anyone who talks bad about their team, tsukishima has lots of blackmail. and kageyama secretly loves gossip and is friends with yamaguchi, yachi, suga, asahi, kiyoko, maybe oikawa later. suffice to say he has ways of getting gossip. in other words they're constantly judging other people and kageyama has a fair amount of blackmail himself.

between them they know pretty much every embarrassing thing everyone in karasuno and every high school volleyball player has done and will use it against them if they have to

also, yes, of course they still bicker and argue but it is more teasing. also tsukishima calling kageyama my king, instead of just king, yes. also i heard somewher that kishi means knight? i'm not sure if that's true but if it is kageyama calling tsukishima his knight

i can't remember where it was i posted this but tsukishima is definitely the type of person who will insult and tease and make fun of the other karasuno people, especially those in the same year as him, but will verbally destroy anyone else who tries to do that. he's probably the most protective out of the first years but he hides it well.

now one thing i do think would be hard for them is any actual fighting. they're both very prideful, they're both bad at emotions and neither of them are really good at expressing their emotions. they hide under anger and disdain respectfully but i think, eventually, after a discussion with their friends and voices of reason, they will talk things out

also tsukishima loves that yamaguchi and kageyama are friends but won't admit it out loud. whenever tsukishima, kageyama and yamaguchi are hanging out (whether in agroup or just the three of them) tsukishima will jokingly complain about being jealous or third wheeling but the whole time he just feels fond (though he hides it well).

these have also been posted on my ao3

[weirdthinkingdragon]

Welcome To The Family (6/???)

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / here

Yandere EraserMic household x reader

Fun fact- Tadao was a sudden decision I made up on the spot after chapter 3 and wasn’t expecting to really make him a character other than a mentioned person with a mold/fungus quirk. I did though, and already love him as an OC more than I should. Oops. 

It might be a long while before the next chapter. I think I may have drained myself a bit from focusing on this story so much. 

Warnings- swearing, slight coercion I think? Not really sure but better safe than sorry. 

I promise the darker stuff is coming soon. 

------------------------------------

I wake up to someone calling me. Hitoshi? Why is he calling me at… 9 in the morning? Come on dude, I want to sleep more for dinner tonight. My fault for hanging out with Tadao a bit later last night than usual. He’s started walking with me to our apartment for the past few days. I wonder why we haven’t hung out until now. Meanwhile, Ryo and I seemed to drift apart. They refuse to even look at me now when I saw them last night. 

Ugh, might as well answer it. “Hey, Hitoshi. You need something?” I tiredly slur from just waking up. 

“Sorry for waking you…” Apologized the familiar voice of Eri. Wait, Eri? Why does she have Hitoshi’s phone? The wonder why she has his phone wakes me up a bit more. 

“Oh, hey, Eri. Is something wrong?” A slight panic enters me in the possibility something bad could have happened to one of the guys. “Wait, is everyone okay?” 

“We’re good. Just wanted to talk a bit with you before tonight.” Pipes up the familiar voice of Hitoshi in the background. 

Relief floods me. “That’s good. What about?” 

“Our dads!” Eri cheerfully informs. 

My eyes narrow in confusion. “What about them?” 

“What do you think of them?” Hitoshi asks. Huh? Why does this need to be talked about now? Maybe because more likely than not the two adults are asleep, and won’t hear the conversation? 

I’m too tired to be filtered right now, so whatever comes to mind is whatever is going to be said. “They’re… An interesting two, to say the least. Hizashi seems like someone I can rely on to cheer me up pretty easily if I’m ever down, and after that day Shouta was sick, I realize Shouta’s secretly a lot more caring than he lets on. Still wouldn’t want to pi- anger him.” Ugh, it’s too early. I nearly just swore with Eri there! Well, saying “piss him off” wouldn’t have been that bad, but she needs to keep that innocence at least for a while yet. 

Hitoshi laughs, probably catching on with what I almost said. “Seen it first-hand with his class. Can’t say I recommend it either.”

“What about looks?” Eri suddenly asks, catching me off-guard. What do their looks have to do with anything? They’re also a married couple, so whatever I think is invalid anyways. 

“Well, had this weird thought of wondering what Hizashi would look like with his hair fully down when we went to the festival, but that’s really not something that I need to tell him. It’s something I probably shouldn’t be wondering in the first place.”

“What’s the problem in wondering that? It’s just hair.” 

“Says the one who always looks like he stuck his head out a car window and hair decided to stay that way.” 

“Can’t argue with that.” 

I go back onto the topic. “Otherwise, I’m not really sure what to talk about with them. It’s their choices of what they wear. Though it IS pretty funny imagining Hizashi forcing Shouta to wear something he normally wouldn’t.”

“It’s happened more than once before.” 

I tiredly let out a laugh. “I believe it.”  

“Daddy made him wear a dress!” 

An almost inhuman sound comes out of me at the thought of Shouta deeply frowning with a strapless hot pink dress forced onto him, and the only reason he does it is Hizashi would probably keep pestering him otherwise. 

“Maybe sometime we could get him to do it again with you here. It’s quite a thing to see.” 

“Oh, really? How did he not kill you for laughing?”

“He almost did,” he replies jokingly. 

“If he tries to attack me when I’m there, you’re taking the blow.” I joke back. 

He goes silent for a moment. “He wouldn’t dare. If he did, he’d have an angry little girl scolding him.”

“Toooshiiii!”

“What? You know I’m right.” 

“Hmph.” 

“Anyway, want to tell them what you’ll wear?”

“No! It’s a surprise!”

“Right back at you two,” I inform the slightly bickering duo.

----------------------------

We both hung up after a bit more of talking about tonight. I could swear there was someone talking in the background for a second, but I brushed it off as the T.V. Eri was probably watching something earlier and forgot to lower the volume. 

After playing on my computer for a while since it’s close to my bed, I decided to just get up and get ready. There are not many fancy things I have, so it’s quite limited on what to wear. Hopefully, they don’t mind if it’s a bit more casual than fancy. There’s plenty of time to shop for something, but I’m honestly too lazy to go anywhere. Just something of my favorite color and slightly more fancy than my daily clothes should work. 

I have to dig much deeper into my closet to find said clothing from not wearing it too often. 

One of my favorite color is grabbed. Nope, that’s not it. 

I move a few more. Wait, there it is! I move a few more pieces of clothing and grab it, pulling it out. Hopefully, it still fits. Welp, time to try. I take off my pajamas. 

.

.

.

.

Like a glove. Perfect! 

Just to make sure there are no new forgotten holes or something, I look at myself in my body mirror. Huh, I actually look pretty good in this! I might have to wear it more often. Something feels like it’s missing though. Maybe a ring or something would help? 

I look over to the select few rings I have, including the forgotten one Ryo gave me. My heart slightly twinges at remembering they gave it as a best friends type of ring years ago. A ring with real blue topaz fitting my middle finger. 

Might as well wear it. I slip it on and decide to leave my room, though they won’t be here for a while yet. Maybe Tadao will be around. 

My body instinctively starts looking around for the familiar- oh, not again. Does he LIKE sleeping on the floor in the hall or something? I walk up to his sleeping form. I gently nudge him to move with my foot. 

He groans, and curls his head deeper onto his arm, also bringing his legs up so he’s a ball. “Come on dude, I know your quirk is related to mold and all, but you’re not supposed to BECOME it.” 

“I am one with the floor… I shall be the floor…” He mumbles, probably sleep talking.  

I nudge him harder, making him open his eyes to look up at me. “Heyyy Y/N. What time is it?” He sluggishly asks. 

I check my phone. “Already half-past noon.” 

That got his attention. Both of his eyes snapped open as he shot to sit up. He grabs his rather cracked phone and looks at it. There are a few messages on the screen without him unlocking it. They’re impossible to read as he seems frantic after looking at them. “Already!? Man, I gotta get ready! I’ll be late for work!” 

I don’t even get the chance to ask him anything since he gets to his feet and sprints off past my door, probably to his. 

Glancing at Ryo’s door, the thought of checking on them arises. No, they’re deciding on acting out like this. Crawling to them could only continue this childish way again at some point. Ugh, what to do now though? It will be boring to just sit around for the next few hours. The park could be good for a few hours. 

The villains around though? Nah. Welp, more computer time.

Familiar brown hair in the corner of my eye catches my attention before returning to my door. It’s the woman that glared at me with Hizashi at the studio. What’s she doing around here? Never saw her around before, and she doesn’t exactly strike me as the type to like parties. Funny if she’s attracted to Hizashi like he told me. 

She keeps her glare on me as she… Knocks on Ryo’s door? Oh hell no. There’s no way Ryo is hanging out with someone like that. I’m proven wrong though as Ryo opens the door and pulls them in without looking at me. 

I- What? What’s going on lately?

Also, okay, what the ever-loving fuck Ryo!? 

Calm down, give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the woman hasn’t told Ryo anything about my work, and maybe it can just be a sudden meeting they did at one point, and it’s an opposites attract type of friendship. After all, I haven’t really been around. They were bound to try to find someone else to hang out with I suppose. Should this be a concern to bring up with Hizashi and Shouta though? 

I stand there still staring at Ryo’s door and blink confusedly. They couldn’t have found anyone better to hang out with? Even a villain would have been better than her in my opinion. Sure, more trouble from me being around two- basically three- heroes could arise, but I’d be willing to keep that kind of secret for them. But this? This gives me a bad feeling.

What if she’s the reason Ryo is acting so odd? 

Next Sunday will be the day to get some answers from them. If they will talk to me, that is. 

------------------------------------------------------------

Time seems to slip by while being on my computer. My phone notifies me of a text message. I look at it to see it’s from Hizashi. 

“Hitoshi’s coming in to get ya! We’re waiting!” My eyes widen noticing it’s already past six at night. 

I try to text him ASAP to not let Hitoshi come in. They won’t be happy with my living place. “That will be fine, call him off. I’ll be out shortly.” 

“Too late! Sorry!” 

I sigh. He doesn’t even know which one mine is! I put my computer away and quickly left. Looking left and right, there’s familiar purple hair far down on the right. Obviously, it’s Hitoshi. He is staring with great disgust at the peeling walls and ripped-up flooring.  Oh boy, it’s probably a disaster with what is about to happen in the vehicle now. 

The hallway is rather dimly lit now, making it slightly hard to see, but it’s easy to tell he’s wearing a suit matching his eye color. I’m feeling pretty underdressed now. 

“Hey, Hitoshi. You could have waited outside. Uh… You probably should have no offense.” 

He glares at a piece of wall that falls off onto the floor. “How do you live in this?” 

I shrug. “Eh, you get used to it,” I noticed his frustrated expression. He’s about to ask me why I don’t move or something since I clearly could with my pay. “And before you say anything, I rather like it here. It’s where a lot of my closest friends are.”   

His eyes narrow at me. “You could still visit instead of living here.” 

Someone jumps upstairs, making the place shake, and a piece of the ceiling on this level chips off and falls next to the wall piece on the floor. 

“That’s new,” I comment. It’s true, the ceiling has never fallen before. Makes me wonder when this whole building is going to collapse. Bit worried for my friends here now.

Hitoshi looks at me like I just told him the world is going to end tomorrow. 

I start walking to the exit, having Hitoshi follow behind me too closely for my taste. Makes sense if he’s doing it for my protection, but he obviously doesn’t know these people as I do. He almost could be felt against my back. “You mind standing back a bit? You’re rather close.”

He does, but just barely. 

It doesn't take long for us to get to the vehicle. Just like before, I get in the center and hug Eri. The slight light in the car makes it hard to see her dress, but I'm pretty sure it's a bright silverish blue. The light wasn't on long enough to notice the two up front. 

They do seem to notice Hitoshi in a slightly on edge type of way. For the moment the light was on. 

"What's wrong, little hypno-man?" 

"Their apartment is not fitting to live in."

"What?" Hizashi's tone almost drastically changes. I'm glad I can't see them right now. I focus on the scenery past Hitoshi to try ignoring the growing unease of him whistleblowing to them. 

"It's falling apart. A part of the wall fell to the floor. The inside is much worse than the outside." 

"Why are you still living there? You can easily move with the money we give you." Shouta pipes up. 

"Because I like living there. It's a walking distance from your place, and all my friends are there."

"You could visit them some other time if you moved. We'd pay a bus for you if needed." 

"Exactly! Or I could drive ya to our place! It wouldn't be a problem, and it would give me a little somethin' to do while the grump wakes up in the morning!" 

I don't feel comfortable at the thought of having to rely on them like that. They're already so busy themselves, it really wouldn't be fair to them despite what they say. 

“Uh… no. Thanks for the offer, but my place is good for now.”

The air is rather tense, telling me that they want to push more on the subject, but decide not to for now. 

I decided to bring up what happened earlier.  “Remember that bad woman from before?”

“You mean Chiyo?” Shouta spits her name with such hate, someone would think he’d murder her if he could. Hizashi must have told him about our meeting in his studio. Wait, Isn’t that a first name?

As if reading my mind, Hizashi answers for Shouta. “She doesn’t deserve the respect of last name. What about her?” 

“I discovered today she might be hanging out with one of my closest friends that doesn’t seem to be too happy with me lately. Isn’t it a bit of a concern she might tell them that I babysit for you guys?” 

“That’s confidential information. Like it was said to you before you started, you can’t tell anyone our identities. They can get into serious trouble if they do, and they signed a contract accepting they wouldn’t.” Shouta replies. 

“That’s good to know.” I say, sounding relieved. They could be told how Ryo thinks they’re bad parents for me babysitting so often, but that’s something that probably doesn’t need to be brought up. Especially if she can’t tell Ryo about it. 

Hizashi pulls up and parks in front of the restaurant we must be dining in. wait- fuck, I’ve heard of this place. It’s one of the most expensive restaurants around here! We exit and enter the restaurant. The first thing I noticed was how well-dressed the two men were. Shouta was wearing a navy blue suit, white undershirt, and a light brown tie. Oddly, he’s also wearing glasses. When did he need glasses? 

Hizashi was wearing a cream-colored suit with a dark grey undershirt and a tie matching his eye color. Looking at the four of them and the others around, I am… severely underdressed. Doesn’t feel much better with everyone that stares at me from their tables for a moment. 

Wait- Hizashi’s. Hair. Is. Fully. Down. I whip my head towards Hitoshi and glare in betrayal. 

He notices with a smirk, and puts his hands in front of himself in mock-defense. “Don’t look at me. He was there then, just didn’t speak.” 

My eyes narrow. “So it really WASN’T the T.V.” Seriously though!? That’s so embarrassing! He must have heard everything! 

Him and Hizashi chuckle at me, making me feel worse.

A woman comes up from the counter. “Please tell me the name of your reservation.” 

“The Aizawa’s.” Um… I’m not exactly a part of this family? Well, it does make sense though I guess just to do a last name. Hizashi smirks at Shouta while he glares in return. 

“Right this way please.” She starts to lead the five of us to a table farther in the back. The enormous chandeliers overhead from the really tall ceiling are slightly intimidating if I’m to be honest. Each crystal is taller than Hizashi from the top of his hair in his hero costume to his feet. 

The white and gold walls of the place give a surprisingly calming type of effect. It’s rather cool in here as well. Probably to help combat the ones who wear layers of clothes to be more fancy or something.  

“You couldn’t have chosen anything else?” Shouta hisses quietly enough for the woman not to hear, but I’m close enough that I can. I’m right between them from behind while Hitoshi and Eri are behind me. I can swear Hitoshi keeps trying to nudge me forward closer to them. 

“Aw, don’t worry ‘bout it babe! Besides, you and I both know you’re known much less than me! This way they won’t know us!” He leans even closer to Shouta. “And don’t deny it, you know you like the thought of me bein’ called an Aizawa~” 

I can see red start to cover the side of Shouta’s face even though he tries his best to hide and prevent it. Ha! Now he’s the one to be embarrassed! 

I let out a chuckle, making Hizashi turn and give me a toothy grin. 

We get to a table with booth seats. The color of them is surprisingly similar to Eri’s dress. 

I go to sit with Hitoshi and Eri, but like before, Hizashi grabs my wrist and has me sit between him and Shouta. Why do you keep doing this to me dude!? Shouta is on my right by the wall with Hizashi on my left by the opening. 

Eri is sitting by the wall with Hitoshi by the opening in front of us. I didn’t notice before, but her dress has some candy apple red jewels the shape of diamonds, adorning the dress even more than it already was. Must be new since it’s never been seen by me before.  

… I don’t like the closeness of the two men beside me again. Saying it is uncomfortable is an understatement. A difference than before is the heat of their thighs radiating through their pants onto mine. 

The woman hands us menus. “Someone will be here to take your orders shortly.” 

I try to brush them off while looking at the menu. 

“Hey Y/N, are ya datin’ anyone?” 

“Maybe.” They don’t need to know I’m not. 

“That’s a yes or no question.” Shouta states with slight annoyance. He must have forgotten I told him I’m not the day he was sick.  

“They better not be a villain. We’d hate to have to do something to you and them. Better be honest, you’re not looking the best right now.” Hitoshi accuses. 

What the heck Hitoshi!? You’re just going to turn on me like this!? Why I ought to come over there and smack the back of your head myself! 

My saving grace as the waiter comes- Tadao!? This is where he works!? He comes up to our table with a notepad in front of him. "Hello, I’m Ito, and I’ll be your waiter for tonight. What can I get you started with?” 

“Tadao, you work here?” 

His head snaps up from the notepad, and looks at me. “Oh hey, Y/N!” His face becomes a smirk. “What happened to calling me glowstick?” 

“Well, you’re not really glowing right now in this light, are you?”

“Ha, you got me there.” 

The three men look between us with some look I don’t really understand. 

“Ya know each other?” 

“You could say we’re close.” Tadao informs. They grow rather deep frowns at the news.

He clears his throat and brings his notepad up. “What drinks could I start you guys with?” We each tell him our drinks and he writes them down. “All right, drinks coming right up!” He leaves to go get them. 

“He’s one of the reasons I don’t move out of my apartment. Especially now. We’ve become really close recently.” 

“You should stay away from him. He seems like bad news.” Hitoshi informs. 

??? huh? “Why, do you know he has a villain record or something?” 

“He could be using you. Stay away from him or we might have to make sure he doesn’t do anything.” 

Okay, THAT pisses me off. “First of all, you guys can’t tell me who I can and can’t hang out with outside of babysitting hours. Second of all, I’d really appreciate it if you guys could be less judging of him, because he has never done anything even slightly villainous whenever we met.” My slightly edged tone makes them back off the topic. I wanted to add third of all being he walks with me at night to our apartment place, but that seems like a bad idea if their reaction is this so far. 

It grows awkwardly silent between us all for a moment. Maybe I should have kept the others to myself too, but damn it, they need to have more respect for my decisions they were never a part of, and have no need to be a part of. 

Tadao comes with our drinks. He places them down, and Hizashi immediately takes a big drink of his.

“Here you guys go, and one drink for one special person.” He jokingly winks at me. 

I roll my eyes in response. “Sometimes I truly wonder if I hate you.” I tease.

He rolls his eyes in return. “Admit it, you know you love me.”

Hizashi chokes on his drink. I don’t help him from still being a bit upset. He should be fine anyways after a bit. 

He does, and is able to manage keeping his quirk down as well. 

“Do I?” I question teasingly. 

The three men glare at him. Sheesh, what’s their problem? 

He seems rather uncomfortable by it and leaves in a rush immediately after taking our orders. After I almost had a heart attack from the beyond insane prices, of course. Even the cheapest thing is over half the money I’m given a day for babysitting. 

I’m getting pretty upset with these guys right now. Starting to wonder if they got hit with some odd quirk again or something. 

That calms me down a bit since it would kind of make sense that’s why they’re acting odd. How long will it last though? Better not be long. I don’t know if I can handle them like this without losing my mind. 

“Hey, Y/N. We have something for you,” Hitoshi pipes up, and nods towards Hizashi. 

“Right!” He reaches into one of his pockets and pulls out a… necklace? It has my favorite type of jewel in it, encased behind and around the edges with what looks like real gold. A different shine is on it, like something is covering the gold to prevent it from easily being destroyed by weather or wear. The shape is in a rather large teardrop. It looks custom-made as well. Never seen anything even close to what this looks like before. 

“It’s a gift!” Eri cheerfully chimes in.

“That she helped us pick for you.” Shouta informs. 

Please don’t tell me it’s authentic. It looks real though. I can’t even begin to imagine the price of what it must have cost to create it if it is real. “I’m sorry, but I can’t accept this! It feels too much like I’m just using you guys if I do!” 

The three of them frown. Even Eri seems a bit disappointed. 

Eri asking me my favorite jewel kind of makes sense now, but why would they want to give this to me? 

“C’mon, let’s put it on ya!” He hands it over to Hitoshi and stands up, pulling me to stand up with him. Hitoshi stands as well. 

“Did you guys not hear me? I- I can’t accept it!” 

Hizashi shakes his head. “Don’t be so worried, dear little lovesong! We want you to have it! Ya can’t just say no, we spent too much for it to go to waste now!” 

Hitoshi goes behind me with the necklace and is able to put it on while I’m still rather reluctant to accept such a gift.

Eri’s eyes almost seem to sparkle when the clasp gets shut on it. “You look amazing!”  

I freeze in my tracks to notice everyone is staring at us yet again. This time with slightly different reactions. A couple of them seem to be with envy, making me want to shrivel up and hide in a hole, and others seem to be appreciative I have something more expensive than my clothes now or something.  

At least Shouta seems to give me mercy by pulling me back down in the booth and glaring at them all in such a way that they all stop staring. I’m feeling a bit like a ragdoll at this point. 

Hitoshi joins him, making sure they truly stop. The glare combined of those two could probably curdle the blood of All Might himself. 

The restaurant seems to grow quiet between all of us. 

I decide to escape by using the bathroom. Hizashi didn’t have time to sit back down before it was necessary. “Stay here, it won’t take me long.” They still seem reluctant to let me go alone. 

Getting to the bathrooms, I didn’t have to go, just wanted to get out of the stares and whispers for a little bit. Despite the men’s glares, of course there was still going to be gossip of someone in here who looks so out of place. 

“Hey, Y/N, be careful around them, alright? They’re pretty strange.” Pipes up the familiar voice of Tadao behind me. 

I play dumb. He probably shouldn’t know I know they must have been hit with some kind of quirk. “How do you know? They could just be being cautious since their children are with.”

“I admit, I did watch you a bit at the festival. More so the men you were with when they came. Something about them isn’t... “ He seems to be struggling with figuring out how to explain it. “It’s wrong. I just can’t quite put my finger on what it is. Again, just be careful, alright?” 

I just nod and enter the bathroom. 

A bit after cooling off, I go back to the dinner table, them all still waiting and chatting about school. Well, Shouta being nearly silent as usual. Hizashi quickly stands up to let me sit between them again. Ugh, I really don’t want to. 

Yet I do, just to be kind. The least I can do is sit through this since they went through the effort of such a gift, even though to me it seems highly unnecessary. 

Tadao comes with our food not much later with a secret frown on his face. He’s smiling, but I’ve learned him well enough by now it’s worry he has instead of a cheerful personality. It slightly drops to reveal his true emotions when he notices the guys glaring at him yet again. He doesn’t say a word, just drops all of the food off and leaves. 

This feels like a really ruined dinner, even though this food is incredibly good. The atmosphere has definitely become shit. I seem to be the only one to notice. Hizashi looks over towards me and gives me another grin, not giving much comfort. What’s worse is every time I stop for a moment and rest my hand on my lap, Shouta seems to try to grab it. It led me to just keeping the utensil for my dinner in my hand. 

I’ll have to apologize to Tadao for their behavior tomorrow. Easier said than done since I still can’t exactly tell him who they are. Cursed contract. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

taglist-

@dabi-s-whore, @angelicblackwolf, @fuegy-fuegy   

Double fun fact- Did you know slapping someone’s back if they’re choking is actually worse than letting them try to get it out themselves, especially if it’s food? The food can actually get lodged deeper in their throat at the impact. Huh, First Aid is quite interesting.

[aquamoonchaii]

•• genre: fluff, angst

•• warning: mentions of alcohol

•• pairing: xiaojun x fem! reader

•• wc: 1.4k

•• collab: Resonance Beach by @amorajae

•• charlie's notes: enjoy this cheesy piece <3

•• summary: you two choose the worst time to argue and separate each other for a while so xiaojun is now a party pooper and he is a sappy drunk asshole. did he even understand what you said that night?

“He is the luckiest asshole in the whole resort.”

“Not as lucky as me, remember I won the tickets to get here in the first place.” YangYang brags and a couple of mocking “thank you sir” echo the room.

“But really, who the fuck brings this alcoholic to his room?” Hendery questions and the man in question scoffs, sitting up just to find all the idiots gathered around him.

"Are you really talking about me….around me?" SiCheng, without a word, grabs his face like searching for something then proceeds to grab his hands and puts them up as he is shirtless. "He is complete, no organs removed or bruises. This guy right here is indeed lucky." Xiaojun furrows his eyebrows as SiCheng gives him a slap on the back, stands up and leaves as everyone follows him talking about what they should have for breakfast but the only rational one stays.

Kun rolls his eyes at his hungover friend when handing him a glass of water with pills he got there. "You know this resort masters at wild parties and strong liquor so why are you drinking so much? The blackout thing and being lightheaded are not sexy nor a good combination."

"I'm a grown man, it's fine."

" I know, that's why no one follows you."

"Don't lie, I heard the bartender calling you."

"...maybe. But that's not the point, how do you even get here?" XiaoJun groans because it's too early for this and he is hungry, thinking how he wants to go home and be at peace. "Whatever, just don't die DeJun. Do you have any news?"

He lowers his head and shakes it, no one really mentions it as they promised to shut up about it hoping he shuts up and enjoy.

Xiaojun indeed has been quiet but drinks one beer and he is sobbing about Y/N once again. Goddamnit. It's been a week of him drowning in his tears and three days of him drowning in alcohol, his friend is really heartbroken and he secretly wonders if this type of codependency is actually good for him.

Kun bites his hand to not call you and ask what happened because XiaoJun won't talk about the whole stuff. You two were basically glued to each other since you started dating and it was a bit awkward but XiaoJun looked happier and you were really nice to everyone.

He wonders if his probably now single friend is going to be alright. For now, he just listens to him talk for a bit and forces him to swallow a lot of healthy snacks so his liver doesn't collapse.

……….

It's been two long days at the resort and everyone is having fun except XiaoJun. He has been basically brought here as another suitcase anyways, one night he has been slurring words about Y/N and how the guys would have to kill him to make him accept the invitation to the resort and the next day he woke up at lunch time with a huge hangover at a king sized bed... at the Resort.

Fuck them all.

Until Kun made some sense because well, they didn't do it to mess with him. Actually, yes but also because XiaoJun was one of the most excited when Yangyang played a stupid lottery and won tickets to a luxury resort for a week. He helped Kun to organize everything for the other chaotic asshats, it was gonna be an unforgettable summer vacation.

Yangyang and the guys approved Y/N so they invited her but no one asked anything, maybe it was because he arrived late at the dorms looking like garbage after meeting you. He remembers reaching them and opening his hand to show them both of your rings, how embarrassing but at least that stopped the questions.

After Kun leaves, he slurs a thank you because he knows he is making this trip a nightmare for him. But a question keeps running through his head, does he actually reach his own dorm by himself?

DeJun can't even stand on his feet when frick an he acts wild almost screaming what he feels because the alcohol softs his vocal chords and makes him rant about his feelings he prefers no to talk about sober.

He doesn't stand up but leans to the little table at his left to search for his wallet and grab a lot of cash, he'll search the person and tip him extra because it's probably one of the service people that looks the worst side of him.

Let's give us some time. It would be good for both of us, DeJun.

Honestly, fuck you.

How is this good?

It was a silly argument that turned into something big as stress and miscommunication clashed, you both hurt each other with harsh words and stormed out in opposite directions. The next day he met you to talk things out and you forgave each other but it had turned awfully when you returned the promise ring to him.

You are not coming back, he can feel it.

Honestly, he wants to run to you and do something for you to get him back. But what if you end things right away? You said something about giving him a week to enjoy himself as the most repetitive thing of him at the argument was you being everywhere and he couldn't breathe.

He sighs, how stupid of him.

Basically, DeJun is the clingy one so that didn't make sense. He was the one expecting for you to come and cuddle him as you bicker with Yangyang as he tried to roast him, you caressing his hair as he played the guitar and sing for you, the little kisses on his cheek when he felts sad, how you didn't leave his hand even when you were paying for the snacks. He loved it, he was the one to search for your hand so you can hold him a bit more.

If you are taking your revenge now, it's working and he wishes once again being at the dorm so the wondering and the waiting eats him alive.

You are not coming back but he is hoping you do somehow.

…….

"DeJun! Are you drunk?" He shakes his head as he arrives at the fun stuff to do, maybe doing something would make him stop thinking about you for a bit. Everyone pats their back as he probably looks like crap and make him go to beach and learn surf.

...it doesn't work but he feels less miserable at least.

No headaches are cool too as night arrives and they are invited to a party. SiCheng bet him 100 dollars he couldn't pass the night without a single shot and he raises an eyebrow.

"I'll be the one who takes you to the dorm, I won't clean anything tho."

"Deal."

The variety of cocktails makes everyone drunk as hell and XiaoJun actually has fun watching Kun dancing on the table as everyone cheers for him. Hendery breaks empty glasses as he tries to do a house of cards with them, he is the one in charge of apologies tonight. SiCheng literally passes out on his lap and he can't move.

Luckily, the staff helps him and takes each asshat to their room and he gets the chance to ask who is the person who takes him to his own room.

"No staff was needed, sir. A lady came the first night and handed me her number so I could call her when you were passed out."

"Uh, what?"

"We allowed it as he addressed herself as your girlfriend. The friend who slept over you confirmed to us she made you arrive safely."

WHAT.

"Can you call her please?"

And there you are coming hurriedly from another side of the resort, waving at the bartender. "Where is he?"

He lifts his hand and nervously waves, you approach him awkwardly and waved too. "So you caught me."

"Why didn't you tell me you were here?"

"Well, you weren't in conditions for it."

"And what's the best condition?" He doesn't know how to feel, but being embarrassed is the first thing that gets the best of him as you saw it all.

"Maybe sober?" You shrugged your shoulders and sat down in front of him, his cheeks heated because he remembers talking to someone about how sorry he feels for the woman he loves. "You really don't know how to listen to me, huh?" He looks at you utterly confused but his heart flutters when you extend your hand to him. DeJun carefully grabs yours and lets out a shaky sigh like he has been holding his breath since you left.

"Y/N…"

"There's no need to explain further, I heard it all with hiccups and everything." You chuckle and caress his hand. "It was too extreme for me to return the ring, I'm so sorry for that. But I really thought a week alone would make us think if this relationship was going well and… I felt awful. I literally made you cookies twice and kept forgetting we were on a break. I am not sure how to ask this but, how did your week go?"

"I literally can't see because of how swollen my eyes are. Never do this again please I'm so annoyed I'm going to cry again."

"I won't I promise, I also can't see." You laugh and he looks at you, your sweet eyes lighten up as he stands up and kisses them both over the table as he mutters apologies again.

"Can you keep it as a secret what I did hen drunk?"

"You screamed my name but I loved it." XiaoJun groans and covers his ears as you laugh, he searches his pocket and give shou the ring.

He is never going to drink again but he makes you write on a napkin a promise to wear the ring everywhere.

[jazzythursday]

My Take on The Loki Series, And All The Things I Would Change About/Add To It If I Could (in vaguely chronological order)

Small disclaimer: This is just a compilation of all the ideas I had for ways the Loki Series could have gone, expanding on the main premise. It doesn’t cover everything, simply the aspects of the plot that I felt compelled to diverge from specifically. It’s not meant as an overly harsh critique of the show, just alternate possibilities. A… variant of the show if you will (It’s also egregiously long and yet I had to stop myself from saying more).

The series opens in the TVA with a display of the branching timeline that Loki created. We don’t meet any characters yet or see anyone’s faces, only hearing readings of codes and tracking of the Loki ‘variant’ before switching to Loki.

After traveling with the Tesseract, he takes in his surroundings (it can be the Gobi Desert but the thing with the Mongolians does not happen) but before he can get too far the TVA shows up.

I think it would be interesting to have a sequence of Loki evading them in different environments. Teleporting to different areas/planets and using different forms/disguises (maybe we see a Lady Loki in a restaurant, our Loki, and a few other outfits), however the TVA finds him every time no matter where or what form.

Eventually he gets fed up of running and confronts them directly. This should be an actual fight, i.e. magic and a Loki who is committed to not being taken down again. Ultimately through use of magic dampening technology or other means (but for the love of god not whatever that punch was), he is apprehended and taken into the TVA.

I think the TVA should have been a lot more crowded. They control/ monitor all of time, so we should have seen tons of variants of all shapes/colors/styles/species, maybe even a few characters we recognize (like in the concept art for the show). Show us that Loki is not special here, he is just another variant to be processed and done with, like all the others.

Loki will have already noticed and felt a lack of magic at the TVA, maybe he tried to use it already so by the time we get to the judge his main concern is talking his way out—Putting his ‘silver tongue’ to use. (Lack of magic in the TVA would be referenced later as well when Loki goes to summon a knife or use magic, only to remember that he can’t there).

This is a very small point but if the TVA knows him as Laufeyson, he absolutely would take offense to that. It’s been one year since he found out about and killed his birth father, I’d assume wants nothing to do with the title. Of course the TVA wouldn’t care, and we’d probably get something like:

“I am Loki, of Asgard, and you will address me as such.”

“I think you’ll find out things work a little differently here at the TVA, Mr. Laufeyson.”

Before he’s able to be pruned we have Mobius step in and plead his case.

If the show wants to portray Mobius as a friend we’ll see him have sympathy and conflicts about the TVA from the beginning. He doesn’t quite fit in, he’s bored of the monotony of the place and he has remorse for what they’re doing, but knows it’s not his place to question it. I like the idea of him being somewhat of a fan of Loki (they did mention this in the show but then proceeded to have him belittle Loki every time he opened his mouth which is uh… a choice). Mobius needs Loki’s help but he also has the desire to help Loki. He’s seen how his life plays out and understands that there’s more in him than his worst decisions. I think that Mobius secretly/ subconscious wants a bit of chaos, that he’s intrigued by Loki and as an analyst has an interest in understanding him.

Loki vs B15 would ideally happen before Loki returns to the time theater with the Tesseract instead of after. It would not be so easy for her to physically overpower him as even without magic he still has enhanced strength. (The minutemen show no signs of being genetically much stronger than humans, so arguably without use of their technology it’s obvious he could take one in a fight.

Back in the time theater after Loki’s watched the reel of his life, much of the conversation happens the same albeit with a greater emphasis on Loki’s true motivations and his feelings of powerlessness in his role. A bit about Thanos too (realistically vague). Perhaps he thought at the time he was doing what he wanted, but is starting to realize he doesn’t know anymore. Then we see a version of:

“I can’t promise you salvation, but maybe I can offer you something better.”

“A proposition, I see you have done your research. So tell me, agent, what would you have me do?”

Mobius explains why they need him to track down a variant of himself, and they shake on it. It’s clear that neither of them trust each other yet, but there is a mutual understanding that they will work together anyway.

Their friendship should grow naturally, slowly gaining each other’s trust until they see each other as true allies. In this there are more episodes than in the actual show (I’ll say 8 instead of 6). Give them a few more adventures and a bit more time for splitting up to hurt.

In Roxxcart, we see more use of magic. He dries himself off, maybe shape shifts into/imitates B15 or a minuteman. Loki uses illusions in the fight against the variant. He tries to reason with and understand what they are doing and why. The fight is somewhat matched although Loki is still holding back, fighting with misdirection as the variant fights using possession. Neither of them are showing themselves, and in an attempt to make the variant stop hiding, Loki disperses all the doubles and asks them to do the same. He takes a chance and this is how the variant gets the upper hand, setting off the branches and then revealing herself as Sylvie.

(Side note: In the concept art for the show, Loki changes into his Asgardian outfit by the time he and Sylvie are on Lementis. I definitely could see that working either when the fight begins/during it, or when he goes through the time door. In either case I think it would be somewhat of a gesture to Sylvie that he is not truly aligned with the TVA, thus setting them both apart/ in opposition to it.)

Instead of romance, Sylvie and Loki forge a bond through seeing themselves in each other throughout the series. They talk about the differences in their past and how they got there. They bicker and make each other laugh and rather than Sylvie just insulting Loki, it’s a mutual rapport. Loki gives just as good as he gets and they find they can work better together than apart.

On Lementis, Loki easily gets them into the train by impersonating a guard (or by conjuring tickets).

They talk about magic. How Sylvie is untrained but self taught and doesn’t understand hers very well. Loki can talk about how he views magic/his magic (we can maybe pull a few things from Norse beliefs about seiðr here). Does he view it as a part of himself? Something honed and precise? I want magic to be portrayed as an artful practice, and I want him to help Sylvie understand hers.

Loki gets drunk and they’re kicked out of the train. This reads as funny because Loki will have been sharp and competent throughout the show so far, so him losing his cool and failing the plan is unexpected.

Instead of the Tempad breaking for absolutely no reason, they argue over where to go/ how to use it. This leads to them both having a hand at accidentally destroying it because of self interest and refusing to work together. It illustrates again that they are stronger together but in conflict they are their own worst enemy (much like Loki in general which ties into a bigger metaphor for all his shortcomings).

Expanding on the magic thing, Sylvie and Loki through the series learn from each other. Loki can teach her some of his magic, and Slyvie can teach him enchantment (which he’s read about but never really mastered, although he approaches learning it like any other spell).

Loki could show her an illusion of Asgard as he remembers it. And in doing so we see that both of them long for it. Because for all Loki has claimed to renounce it, he misses home, and he and the audience see the same thing in Sylvie.

I think it would be interesting for Sylvie to let him enchant her, and we can see one of her memories. Maybe it’s when she was taken, maybe it’s on the run, maybe it’s a happy place, but it gives us insight into her character and past. I’m on the fence if Slyvie should enchant Loki, but if she did I’d pick them accidentally going back to the day Odin took him (which is how we deal with the icy blue elephant in the room that the writers refuse to tackle). Let Loki be conflicted and angry and unsure how he feels about it. This could once again be a moment where Loki and Sylvie connect because it’s (I’m assuming) where both their stories began. It’s a mirror of both of their origins, and she helps him see some good in that.

In the void (which is renamed something else so as to not get confused with the void™ that Loki fell into in Thor 2011) Loki learns from and connects with his other variants. They all have a point to being there, and he starts to reflect on what makes him him and what role he wants to play now.

When Sylvie and Mobius show up they agree on the plan to kill Aliyoth, either because it will stop anyone else from being killed by the TVA, or because they think he is guarding the entrance to whoever is behind everything.

Loki later asks Sylvie if she had a Thor. She did but probably doesn’t remember him much. What she does remember, she tells him. Through talking to both Classic Loki and Sylvie it’s recognized that he does miss his brother, that all Loki’s do, and that they are constants meant to aid each other and fight and suffer but always be brothers in any universe.

When they finally fight Aliyoth Loki summons new armor/his helm. Along with Kid Loki giving him Laevateinn, each Loki also gives him something to remember them or aid in their quest (yay Loki solidarity!). When I say this I mean daggers! Daggers dear gods have one of them give him daggers, boy needs some knives.

When they realize they can’t kill him, Sylvie has the idea to use enchantment. Like in the show, Sylvie can’t do it on her own and so they join hands and combine their powers together, revealing the Citadel beyond. They look at each other and agree that they have to move forward.

“Do we trust each other?”

“We do.”

Inside the Citadel we have Kang himself make the offer to give them what they wish. Sylvie can get the life that was stolen from her. Loki could be offered a Throne, he could be offered to be the first born, or to be a true Æsir, or kill Thanos, but ultimately he denies. He’s realized throughout the show that he’d rather be different, he’d rather be him, and he won’t settle for a fantasy world that isn’t real.

The message is about choice, about free will, chaos. Every choice you make directly results in who you become, every action changes how your story goes, and Loki understands that no one has the right to limit that.

In this it is Sylvie though, who is tempted. She has been on a quest for revenge her whole life, she never had a home, doesn’t remember feeling loved, and in the end it is a fight against temptation, and Loki knows all about that.

They fight each other, and break their vow of trust because ultimately they are each other but they are also different. They clash until Loki is able to talk her down, to relate to her, to show that he “just wants her to be okay” and reaffirms her goal. Kang of course continues to be self assured in his predictions. I’d imagine here is where we could get a declarative sort of speech like “I am Loki, God of Mischief,” They join hands “and no one tells our story” or… something to that affect.

Loki and Sylvie fight to destroy Kang together, and here we discover that if he is killed the multiverse opens, and the war of his variants will begin anew. We see flashbacks of Kang’s past and variants played out, and how he came to be at the citadel. Sylvie can talk about why it’s better to have chaos than to sanitize history and kill in the name of the greater good.

The show ends with the death of Kang and the splintering of the timelines. With Sylvie and Loki looking out the window into the fracturing strands of time.

Other changes and thoughts

Tone: the tone I’d imagine this would take on is possibly a bit more serious than the canon show. While it’s still comedy, it would be much less cartoonish, and generally fit in with the rest of the MCU a little easier.

In relation to Mobius:

Mobius’s crisis of faith would be a long time coming. Throughout the show we see him hesitate more and more to do as the TVA asks, and have an increasingly harder time justifying their actions. Learning that the whole thing is a lie is simply the tipping point that drives him to act.

In his confrontation with Renslayer he’d be a lot more driven/succinct. If he wants the TVA to burn then he wants the TVA to burn. He sees the wrongness in it’s entirety and attempts to convince Renslayer the same thing. When it’s clear that she is unreachable/ still sure of her mission, they come to an impasse. They each threaten to prune the other, parallel and matched on opposite sides of their belief. Ultimately though, neither can go through with it, and (if we’re sticking mostly with the canon ending) she leaves through a time door to who knows when to search for who knows what and Mobius and B15 regroup.

In relation to the other Loki’s:

I’m still on the fence how many Loki’s would be played by Tom, but I think the answer is, if not almost all, then at least more than we got.

Each Loki should read as distinctly Loki in essence. Less comic easter eggs and more focus on understanding the established canon character. Even greater in this scene though is the focus on the theme of choice. If there’s time we could learn what choices led up to each variant being apprehended, and see just a bit of how they feel about it. It’s about how our choices dictate who we become, rather than pre-set paths of completely separate realities and lives to our Loki’s.

I love Classic Loki’s speech about how it’s their destiny to play a certain part and if they try and change it the TVA stops them. I’d like our Loki, while conflicted about if he can truly change, to be motivated to try and finally brake the chains that have always restricted him (first his father, then Thanos, now the TVA). I also think here is where we could talk about how abrupt their end is ‘meant’ to be. That he was working on being better, that he had apparently helped his people and reconciled with his brother. That not only was his life cut short, but that the finality of that conclusion wasn’t truly the only way, but simply decided for him.

In relation to themes:

“What makes a Loki a Loki?” Is a question that should loom in the background of the whole series. Starting with Mobius’s interrogation when he’ll begin questioning his place in the universe and his understanding of himself, and ending with the finale confrontation with Kang where he’ll answer it.

“No one bad is ever truly bad, and no one good is ever truly good.” Is similarly something I think should have been a continued focus. Loki is considered a morally grey character and a chaos god, and thus none of his actions are black and white. Others may try and decide who he is at his core, but fundamentally the conclusion is not about deciding to be a hero, but deciding to be true to yourself and doing better.

“The banality of evil” in relation to the TVA. It’s clear from the first ten minutes of the actual show that the TVA is corrupt, unjust, and unnatural in their cleansing of the multiverse… so lean into it! I’m not necessary talking about changing much here, just that the narrative framing displays their actions as deplorable as they are.

“Glorious Purpose” is um… not something I think needed to be the main focus here. I might be biased because I buy into the theory that “you were made to be ruled” “freedom is life’s greatest lie” and “I am burdened with glorious purpose” are messages that have been somewhat impressed upon him rather than beliefs he came to realize on his own, but I do think it was somewhat oversimplified and overused in the series.

You are the writer of your own story. This is the message I expected the show to end with, and it’s what I’m personally trying to convey through these musings. This story ends with Loki taking back his destiny, forging a new one, connecting with himself and others and helping to free the timelines. He’s not the worst things he’s ever done, he’s not a villain, he’s not a benevolent hero. Loki is just Loki, Sylvie is just Sylvie, and you are just you, whoever we decide to be (that was cheesy I’m sorry).

[ryuichirou]

Could you share some of your erejean headcanons? 👀

Oh could I 👀 I’m glad you asked, anon! Because we do have some headcanons about EreJean…

 As I already mentioned, we have a headcanon that they used to fool around together when they were cadets. Chemistry + intense arguing + stress + horniness did their thing. Even if they intended to keep it masturbation-only at first, it quickly became something more.

Jean was very horny back then, and Eren was helping him out. Jean was the first one to come with this type of problem.  Jean really had no one else to turn to but Eren with this, he really needed him. He couldn’t ask Connie because Connie was an idiot and Jean was barely friends with anyone else. He maintained a rivals-friends relationship with Eren and it helped. It was just that one moment when Jean realised jerking off wasn’t enough and he wanted something else... That’s how it happened first. When Eren got horny, Jean would help him out too of course, that happened often too.

At some point they did it every time when they got an opportunity to be alone for like 5 minutes. If they were alone in a shower, it was the best case scenario.

Although there were a lot of situations when the rest of cadets would enter the showers at the worst possible moment. And the right thing to do would be to stop whatever they were doing, go to different corners of the room and make it seem like they were just showering before anyone noticed anything. But Eren got stubborn sometimes, so they had to continue having sex stealthily, which is almost impossible when the room is filled with loud guys. Reiner noticed that and helped them to avoid unnecessary attention at least once.

Technically Eren and Jean were just helping each other out, but still there are some feelings here. We have a headcanon that Jean has a crush on Eren, both in the canonverse and in the AUs where there are EreJean interactions.

After their cadet years they were too busy to continue their thing as often as they used to, but they still do it from time to time. Not enough for Jean’s taste, but he’d rather bite his own leg off than say that to Eren.

It also became more difficult for Jean to provoke Eren, this is why Jean complains so much about the fact that Eren is too moody now and always just mumbles something to himself while looking at his own hand. And this is why he was so shocked when Eren replied to his snarky comment back then before the Shiganshina Battle when they were having meat for dinner. He was extremely happy.

Their kisses were very awkward at first. They don’t kiss very often in general, but at first it was almost funny, because Eren was too aggressive and he basically attacked Jean’s mouth with his own. And Jean kind of wanted to take the process into more of a sensual territory, but he didn’t want to lose to Eren, and it ended up being just a straight-up fighting with tongues (and maybe bites). As a result, after about 15 minutes both of them were an exhausted drooling mess.

Jean tried to argue with Eren for the right to top at least once, but they both kind of knew that Jean didn’t really want that. Less than 3 minutes after Jean’s statement about the matter, he bottomed once again and his heart and body were satisfied.

Jean has conflicted feelings about him enjoying being pushed around by Eren as much as he does. He can act all offended and angry at Eren for treating him too aggressively or being rude to him, but it still makes him weak at the knees. The amount of times he moaned quietly when Eren said something mean to him during the process… a lot.

Jean also likes it when Eren is all mad and shouting, he provokes him a lot. Of course he’s sure that he just enjoys the fact that Eren is too emotional and is easy to provoke, it’s fun to poke a bear when the bear is this entertaining when mad. But there is a part of Jean that genuinely just likes it when Eren is grabbing him roughly after they had a fight in front of everyone.

This isn’t a headcanon per-se, it’s something that Isayama mention in the SnK Encyclopedia, but I still love this fact, so I’m gonna put it here anyway: Eren and Jean are very comfortable with each other physically.

Which makes me think that there is a lot of shoving, pushing, grabbing, slapping, headbutting and other stuff going on when these two are in the same room together. A lot of it happens unconsciously, Eren can just kick Jean’s leg out of nowhere while they’re sitting next to each other talking to someone. And Jean will likely kick him back.

I’ve been thinking about it since Anon mentioned it the other day, and I accept this headcanon with my whole heart: Jean grew out his hair because it feels good when Eren pulls it. Of course he wouldn’t admit it, even to himself.

Jean secretly thinks that Eren is very handsome and cool. He’d never compliment him of course, but he might comment on how freakishly big Eren’s eyes are. Eren, however, talks a lot about how stupidly tall Jean is and how stupidly long and heavy his legs are. It ends up with another bickering, but Jean gets very obviously shy anyway.

Jean’s stupidly long legs are always super shaky after sex, Eren scoffs at it and compares Jean to a newborn baby horse every time.

Jean blushes A LOT. His entire body turns red when he’s turned on, his ears are very red, his face is red. His eyes get teary and he sweats a lot. He also breathes heavily and moans a lot (of course he’s trying to hold back, but Eren is too intense for him)

Jean is very loud and he doesn’t notice that a lot of times, he thinks that Eren exaggerates when he complains about it.

For that reason, Eren loves putting his hand over Jean’s mouth sometimes. But a lot of times he’s doing it just because he likes that.

Jean loves being manhandled and having sort of a rough sex just in general.

If we’re talking about an AU where both Erejean and Ereri are a thing, Eren would definitely notice how loud, whimpery and sensitive Jean is compared to Levi. He might even comment on how slutty and obvious Jean is, which would only make Jean even hornier.

 Ghh I love EreJean very much and have a huge soft spot for Jean in general. Thanks for your question, Anon, it’s fun talking about them.

[soukoku-brainrot]

Soukoku celebrities AU

Yeah yeah, it’s probably nothing new but I’m adding to it anyway. It was originally a YouTuber au but that didn’t really make sense so here we are

Simply put, in this au, everyone knows of the Dazai-Chuuya situation (autocorrect’s a bitch) and quite frankly, it’d be more concerning if you were somehow unaware of it because it’s that well known.

They were both childhood actors and worked for the same agency for quite a while and their on screen presence was phenomenal. Though anyone who has ever worked with them would know that as amazing as they can act, when the camera isn’t rolling, they argue and bicker endlessly. They work well together and have a certain presence that can’t quite be described together and it’s hard to find it anywhere else and it’s part of what makes and performance and interaction they have on screen incredible but that doesn’t stop their bickering off screen. Most people who meet them together first question if they really are the same actors as the pair whose reputation speaks for itself. But then something happened, no one really knows what, there are a million and one rumours but the company hasn’t really confirmed anything and neither has Dazai or Chuuya. But all the media knows is that the two of them suddenly stopped working together entirely and Dazai transferred to another rival agency.

Bla bla bla, more things happen, they get social media accounts, both go out of their way to bicker over social media because for some reason that’s a priority? And everyone knows about it. Their “sessions” always send their fans crazy. (And can you blame them?) Kunikida always complains about Dazai doing it but every time one of their sessions occur, well, it’s good for the agency business wise so he honestly can’t say that much about it and same with Chuuya’s side. They’re reminded to not overdo it though but anyway, well, they’re generally left alone with their sessions.

Quite predictably, there are people who ship them. There are also fics written about them. Both are horrified when they first find out and their reactions are everything.

Anyway, onto the actual plot because yes, surprisingly I started writing this with an actual plan in mind so here we go. It’s a little like the fox-Disney situation and another company acquires rights of a show based off a series of novels and this company also owns the currently unnamed port mafia agency and the also currently unnamed ADA agency. It’s a pretty big company that took over the two agencies but it’s a deal that benefits all of them and they don’t really have to change all that much either and all’s good.

Then, auditions for the show go up. It’s a pretty big deal and it’ll be a big step for anyone who manages to lend the role. So obviously most of them would go for the auditions. Including Dazai and he posts about it and out of sheer pettiness, Chuuya decides to audition for the same role. Time rolls on and the roles are eventually decided and turns out Dazai got the role, the directors thought Chuuya would be better fitted for the love rival.

It’s the first time they’ve had to work together in years and obviously the both of them have their multiple complaints but well, the company technically owns them and in this case they don’t really have a choice either cause everyone is going crazy over who will get the role so they decided to give them both roles in the show and it’d be highly beneficial to both their careers to listen and just suck it up so well, very reluctantly, they do.

The show requires them to travel overseas too so again, no choice and off they go to some far away land to do filming. They dive right back into acting like nothing ever happened and they work together just as well as they did before, it’s amazing honestly. They continue being their usual bickering selves and one of their co actors filmed one of those sessions and posted it online with a caption of “yeah, this is what I have to deal with every single day on set” and there are a couple of comments that go along the lines of “they should kiss already” and “they’re not fooling anyone” and both of them comment on the post too which ends up in another squabble.

Anyway, they continue posting updates on the filming and what not and the other always comments and they almost always reference what happened on set and it’s basically a never ending cycle.

They continue with their bickering as usual but after a certain point, they admit (internally) that yes, they’ve actually missed the other. Neither of them are willing to actually admit it out loud, jokingly tease the other about “aww, Chuuya, did you actually miss me? Come on admit it already! You missed me, didn’t you?” Yeah sure but actually seriously say it, nope. Not there yet. Everyone is confused about their relationship because they tease each other like friends, bicker and argue like enemies and there’s a certain ...atmosphere that can’t quite be described ;)

But they do start going out for lunch or dinner after filming willingly though it started out in a very them way where they act like it’s not a big deal and just for their convenience but eventually, they come to admit that their time spent outside of filming means a lot to them too. (I’ve thought of a scene where fans find them having their dinner and after spending way too long there, they sorta sneak out together and with each other’s help)

Anyway, it’s like slow relationship developments, more fans speculating if they’re secretly dating and them eventually coming to the realisation that they like each other. Though that happens at the end of the filming, when they’re almost done and despite the fact that they’ll probably have a season two, they’re both a little scared about what will happen to them when they return back home, if they’ll reverse back to the old them and what they’ll do from there, bla bla bla, point is, neither of them confess.

They return back home and return to their individual sides of the company and neither of them really talk after that either, the show debuts with no problem and it’s amazingly received. Then, Dazai finally watches the first episode after putting it off for a long time and realised how much he’ll miss Chuuya and impulsively posts a photo of either a selfie they took together during the filming or a selfie of himself in front of his tv paused at a scene with the two of them with the additional caption of “as much as I hate this, I’ll admit, you’re like fungus, you’ve grown on me and I’ll actually miss filming with you”

Then Chuuya comes by his literal door and demands for a clarification on what he meant by that. Dazai takes a sorta step I guess and “exactly what it says. I will miss filming with you. Won’t you?” Comes out. The last part comes out more seriously than it should have but it sends Chuuya into a sorta silence and he reluctantly admits that yes, he would miss him, it snowballs into a confession and they get together and Chuuya sleeps over. And the internet finds out when Chuuya comments on one of Dazai’s posts saying how idiotic it is and Dazai goes on with a “maybe. But you’re still with me, aren’t you” and it’s responded with a “fuck you” and a kiss because well, they were both lying in bed when that interaction happened. The internet crashes.

(Not proof read, I really need to go to sleep soon, I don’t know what I was doing with this but here we are now)

[mostlycompetentwriter]

Sunshine

F/M Pairing: Y/N x Han Jisung (Stray Kids)

Word Count: 12K

Genre: Married Life AU

Warnings: Smut and Language

Summary: Y/N has loved Jisung for her entire life and she would never dream of marrying anyone else. Of course, their life together isn’t always perfect, but they’ve always managed to overcome every obstacle standing in their way.

Note: Feeling soft for Jisung these days...

I was only 8-years-old when my parents divorced. 

My mother, thinking herself circumspect, blamed it on my father’s long hours at work. But she wasn’t there the night I decided to wait for my father, watching him come home in the dead of night to quietly clean the lipstick painting the side of his cheek. I remember catching his eyes from the bottom of the staircase and the guilt in his eyes was impossible to dismiss.

Those kinds of unfortunate secrets are difficult to hide because they demand to be seen. 

Thereafter, I can recall memories of sitting in different offices, listening to my parents bicker while their lawyers did their best to satisfy bitter clients, especially when it came to their daughter. I was a particularly harsh point of contention, but full childhood custody was granted to my mother who did everything in her power to push my father out of our lives, even packing up our belongings to move to the opposite side of the country. And New York City was just as intimidating as my childish imagination had perceived it to be. My first impression was unforgettable, a city that was large and confusing, constantly streaked with traffic and heavy with the low-set of smog in the mornings when the sun could barely filter through the landscape of skyscrapers.

My mother and I moved to the suburbs and started renting a modest home with the idyllic front yard and friendly neighbors who greeted us with dishes containing different foods upon our arrival. I had always been shy and introverted, choosing the comfort of my mother’s legs whenever a stranger would knock on our door, occasionally offering my mother a flirtatious smile. Like the older man who lived across the street who often made a habit of coming over to talk to my mother in the living room while I hid away upstairs, listening to the sound of their laughter.

Eventually, I could no longer pretend that something strange wasn’t happening, especially when my mother’s new friend brought over his two sons. They were both around my age, sporting thick accents that reminded me of the man on television who liked to wrestle with crocodiles. My mother’s friend introduced them as Chan and Felix, encouraging the three of us to get along because we would be spending a lot of time with each other. My childish innocence didn’t quite understand what that meant, but I wanted to do the very best for my mother.

Even so, I was still hesitant at first because Felix seemed to dislike the idea, ignoring me in exchange for his video games when I would come over to their house. Thankfully, Chan was more willing to comply, sharing his books with me since we both liked to read and the couch in his bedroom was extremely comfortable. He had a wide variety of mysteries and thrillers and my impressionable mind would latch onto those exotic stories and themes, picturing myself in the place of the heroine who somehow managed to always know exactly what to do in the most formidable of situations.

Eventually, Chan invited me to accompany him and Felix to the park to meet their other friends since I was having trouble making them on my own. Felix, of course, remained opposed, very nearly throwing a fit had it not been for his father who scolded his son for being so inconsiderate. Not that I was necessarily excited at the idea of meeting their friends since I would have preferred staying inside to read. Nevertheless, my mother was insistent that we get along, so I reluctantly followed Chan and Felix who were talking about some sort of new comic book that they were both reading. It was all very decidedly boyish things and I had no interest in superheroes who ran around in capes when the real heroes were the common female protagonists of my books.

“Everyone, meet Y/N,” Chan had introduced me, pushing me forward to greet the seven other boys who were all looking at me like I was some sort of extraterrestrial specimen.

One of their older friends, with a messy head of black hair, immediately crossed his arms. “No way, Chan,” he protested, glaring at me with intimidating dark eyes.

“Girls aren’t allowed,” another boy agreed, nodding his head with enough force to send his bangs flying into his eyes.

I retreated into myself with each subsequent insult and dismissal thrown my way. It was enough to ostracise even the most outgoing of individuals, but I was quite frustrated because I had tried to resist coming along from the moment Chan first proposed the idea. “I didn’t want to come anyway,” I snapped at the boys, surprising each and every one of them as I stormed away to plant myself down on one of the park benches.

I could hear Chan calling my name but I had decidedly had enough of those boys, including Chan despite the inherent kindness he had previously shown me. In fact, they could have fun without me doing whatever it is that nasty little boys liked to do in the park. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have enjoyed it anyway, even if they had opened their arms and begged me to play along. Of course, I was still deeply hurt that they had dismissed me so quickly, but I had always been a prideful child, which is why my first instinct was to lash out when I noticed a shadow had fallen over my wilted form. “You don’t have to be nice anymore, Chan,” I said, turning away from the approaching boy.

“I’m really sorry.” 

I glanced up in surprise when I realized that the voice was much brighter than Chan’s gravelly tone. Instead, I met a pair of unfamiliar brown eyes from beneath a fringe of blonde-colored hair. The boy held out a flower, a wilted dandelion that had nearly lost its pappus, as if in a gesture of appeasement.

I accepted it from him hesitantly. “Thank you.”

“They shouldn’t be so mean,” the boy continued, waving at his friends who were busy arguing over a silly football. “You’re really tall so you might be able to catch Minho’s long passes.”

I paused at his comment. “Do you want me to play?”

“Of course,” the boy grinned, smiling as brilliantly as the sun bearing down on the two of us. “My name’s Jisung.”

I returned his smile. “It’s nice to meet you Jisung.” He offered me his hand which I gratefully accepted, holding on to him with an unrelenting grip because I had a feeling that I would never want to let go.

This might explain why, years later, I was still waking up next to him in bed with an expensive ring on my finger courtesy of dozens of saved paychecks back when Jisung worked overtime in college. On this morning, in particular, the sound of my alarm might have been enough to wake me up, but the unexpected presence of my husband’s hand groping my chest provided the necessary catalyst to blindly reach out for my cell phone. I silenced the unwelcome disturbance, allowing a low groan when I reached down for his hand because leave it to Han Jisung to feel me up even when we were both sleeping. “What are you doing?” Jisung asked when I tightened my fingers around his wrist, loudly protesting when he squeezed my breast in return. 

“It’s too early for that,” I whined, especially when he started to rub his hard cock against my ass.

“Just let me put it inside for five minutes,” Jisung pleaded, his other hand roaming down to tug on my panties. 

“What good will that do?” I asked him, slowly wriggling away from his arms despite the show of childish outrage from my immature husband who still sometimes forgot that he was an adult.

“You’re gonna make me show up to work like this?” Jisung pouted, expression painted with his betrayal as he watched me walk around our bedroom. 

“Take a cold shower,” I said, tossing a towel in his direction. 

“Y/N,” Jisung said. “Let’s think about the practicalities of the situation. We haven’t had sex in a week and my dick feels like it might fall off at any moment.”

“And if we look at this situation scientifically,” I added. “I doubt your dick will fall off because that’s assuredly impossible.”

“Why are you doing this to me?” Jisung asked in an exaggerated fashion, burying his face into our nicest set of pillows.

“Because I’m meeting Seungmin and Jeongin for lunch and you have a field trip to chaperone. Plus, I don’t want to listen to Changbin complain to me on the phone tonight when you show up to work late again.”

“Seungmin and Jeongin are more important than me?”

“Lunch is more important than you,” I corrected him with a smirk, reaching for my bag. “Have a nice day at work, babe.”

“No kiss goodbye?” Jisung questioned even as the door to our bedroom shut soundly behind me.

Being amongst the youngest, me, Seungmin, and Jeongin frequently made a habit of eating lunch together on Saturday afternoons. It was a traditional affair, primarily allowing the three of us to gossip about the others without fear of reprimand. And ever since our Freshman year writing lecture, we’ve enjoyed greasy fast food while commenting on everything from Chan and Changbin’s sudden obsession with the gym to our theories that Minho was secretly married to a rich aristocrat who supplied him with the endless amount of money he spent on his cats.

“Hey!” Jeongin protested when I reached over to steal a piece of his steak.

“It looks better than mine,” I attempted to justify, speaking over a mouthful of food which my mother would normally offer criticism.

“Felix has been acting weird lately,” Seungmin randomly commented, a frown confusing his features as he scrolled through his phone.

I chewed the stolen beef before asking, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, he only ever gets like this when she’s back in town.”

I let out a heavy exhale, understanding exactly why Seungmin was concerned. “How long?”

“A week or so,” Seungmin said. “He never comes out with us anymore.”

“Does Changbin know?” I asked, sliding my plate aside in exchange for this piece of juicy gossip.

Changbin’s sister, better known as the object of Felix’s most intimate desires, has managed to whole-heartedly capture Felix in some sort of deadly trance. My step-brother, notoriously known for being a playboy in college, became whipped around Changbin’s sister, following her around like a lost puppy begging for attention. “Of course he does,” Seungmin replied. “But he says that Kara hasn’t tried to contact Felix at all.”

“Obviously,” I snorted. “Changbin thinks Kara is the epitome of perfection. His little sister can’t possibly do wrong in his eyes.”

“I think Felix shares his opinion,” Jeongin commented, trying to sound perfectly serious while he sipped on his chocolate milk.

“We’re having a family dinner tomorrow night,” I said with a sigh. “It’s a good opportunity to interrogate my step-brother.”

“Please, Y/N,” Seungmin said, eyes round and soft. “Felix always tells you everything.”

“And you can immediately tell us in the group chat,” Jeongin chirped happily.

“Of course!” I agreed, reaching over to ruffle Jeongin’s hair until my phone abruptly started ringing. “Yes, Hyunjin?” I sighed into the other end.

“Y/N! We have an emergency!”

I rolled my eyes at his theatrics. “It can’t be that bad.”

“We don’t have straws! I repeat, the cafe has no straws and people are asking for straws, Y/N.”

“Jesus, Hyunjin,” I groaned. “Just go next door and buy some straws.”

“Y/N,” Hyujin huffed impatiently. “There is a bigger problem here and you don’t even realize! That kid you hired last week? I think he’s out to sabotage the cafe. I put him in charge of ordering supplies and guess what isn’t supplied?”

“The damn straws,” I muttered, suddenly having a million regrets for agreeing to open the cafe with Hyunjin in the first place.

“Now you finally understand.”

I carefully lowered the phone from my ear, cupping the receiver to look at Seungmin. “Do you mind coming with me to the cafe? I’m supposed to have the day off but Hyunjin’s losing his shit over straws.”

“Sounds like Hyunjin,” Seungmin smirked. “I don’t have anything better to do.”

“Hyujin,” I repeated into the phone. “Please don’t scream at that poor kid, I’ll be there in five minutes.”

The cafe was originally supposed to be an independent endeavor until Hwang Hyunjin found out about my plans and demanded some sort of involvement. Despite our friendship, I was still hesitant to consider Hyunjin as a business partner, especially considering his performances in the lectures we shared in college. Hyunjin was the type of student to arrive to class five minutes before the professor, desperation clinging to him persistently while he begged me to explain the homework assignment. Nevertheless, Hyunjin somehow graduated from the business school at the same time as I did, albeit without the honor’s recognition, proving himself despite the doubts of nearly everyone in our friend circle with the exception of Jisung who always managed to see the good in everyone.

Shortly after graduation, Hyunjin and I took out a small loan from the bank to open our cafe in a very strategic location close to a nearby university. From the beginning, I had primarily handled the more elaborate side of our business ranging from accounting and point of sales to ordering supplies and handling employees. Hyunjin, on the other hand, took care of the creative aspects including designing what he deemed an “elegant” menu while also trying out new recipes that our mostly college-aged clientele greatly enjoyed in the form of free samples. 

“Y/N!” Hyujin gasped as soon as I walked in the door with Seungmin and Jeongin. “Well?”

I held up a grocery bag full of the straws I had just purchased. “It’s fine, Hyunjin.”

“It’s not fine,” Hyunjin protested, walking over to yank the bag free from my grasp. “I’ll have you know that one of our usual customers left us 4 instead of 5 stars for satisfaction.”

“What will we do?” I deadpanned. “Where’s the new kid? Did you scold him thoroughly?”

“Of course I did,” Hyunjin said, pointing to the kitchen. “I sent him to wash dishes.”

“He’s a cashier.”

“It’s punishment, Y/N,” Hyunjin said. “We can’t have him thinking he can get away with potentially damaging our public image.”

“These kids will still get their morning coffee,” I said. “They don’t care if we’re out of straws as long as they have somewhere to loiter around all day to finish their essays.”

“That’s another thing,” Hyunjin said. “I think we definitely need a bigger place and I know the owner next door said something about moving out.”

“Renovations are expensive,” I said. “And you don’t know if the landlord would be okay with us tearing out the wall to expand.”

“What if I found out?”

“Talk to Seungmin instead,” I suggested, tugging the younger boy forward. “I’ll see about this new guy you’ve decided to torture.”

“Punishment, Y/N!”

I rolled my eyes because I was still frustrated that I had to come into the cafe because of the worst excuse for an emergency in the history of mankind. But what else did I expect from Hyunjin? “Remember to breathe, Y/N,” I whispered to myself. 

Back in the kitchen, our newest employee, donned in his decorative jacket courtesy of Hyunjin’s obsession with bright uniforms, was currently bent over the sink with thick gloves pulled up to his elbows. I felt bad for the guy because it was obvious that he wasn’t used to doing something like this. “Hey, kid,” I said, surprising the younger boy who immediately dropped one of the cups back into the sudsy water. “You don’t have to do that anymore.”

“I-I don’t mind,” he stuttered, eyes wide as he held tightly to a sponge.

“It’s not your job,” I insisted, carefully taking the sponge from him like he was a deer that might dart away at any sudden movement. “I’m sorry Hyunjin told you to come back here. To be honest, he was probably trying to avoid this work himself.”

“But I messed up the order,” he said, hanging his head. “It’s my fault.”

“Not it’s not and don’t let Hyunjin tell you otherwise,” I said. “Next time, call me if you’re having trouble with the order.”

I reached into my bag to pull out my business card, holding it out for his reluctant hand which was still slightly damp from his unexpected dish duty. “You’re not mad?” he asked reluctantly.

“No way,” I reassured him. “I used to work during college too, you know. I kinda get it, kid, so don’t worry about anything.”

His smile was sincere, looking at my card like it was the key to the world. “Thank you, ma’am.”

“Get back on register,” I encouraged him. “That’s what I hired you for, and next time Hyunjin gives you any shit, you just let me know.”

He nodded enthusiastically, vacating the kitchen as if he was actually thrilled by the idea of returning to the register. I knew all was well when I could hear Hyunjin’s shrill voice from the other room: “Y/N!”

Jisung managed to beat me home and I walked inside to find my husband laid out on the couch with a glass of orange juice in one hand. “Headache,” Jisung pouted at me.

“Take some Advil,” I said with a smirk, ignoring the way his hands reached out for me in exchange for the possibility of a snack from the kitchen.

“Y/N!” I heard him groan my name. 

“Sungie,” I returned his call. “I hope this isn’t some sort of elaborate set-up because we have dinner with my mother tomorrow night.”

Jisung was silent in the next room and I shook my head while dumping a sample of chips into one of our plastic bowls. I came back out into the living room to find Jisung rolled over onto his stomach, face buried into the cushions of our sectional. “Baby,” I cooed, trying to lure him out from his hiding place.

“I forgot about the dinner,” Jisung said, voice muffled against the furniture.

“I figured that,” I said, somewhat sympathetic to his plight. For as long as I could remember, Jisung had always feared our family dinners mainly because my mother had a personal vendetta against him. Ever since he first stepped foot on the porch wearing a rented suit for Junior year prom, my mother had deemed him unworthy of my time. Her feelings only worsened when she found out that Jisung was majoring in elementary education. “A teacher, Y/N! That boy isn’t going to be able to support the two of you!”

Subsequently, every visit to my mother’s house meant that Jisung had to listen to my mother read statistics on how poor and destitute teachers were in the city. Meanwhile, Felix also received the same treatment from his father who was absolutely horrified when he found out that his youngest son wanted to open a dance studio with Minho. It didn’t help that my step-father loathed Minho because he found him and Felix in the back of Minho’s corvette smoking enough weed to satisfy the entirety of our high school. 

It was a complete contradiction because while Jisung and Felix were constantly reprimanded, Chan and I were bathed in compliments and adoration. “Channie,” my mother would smile. “How are your cases?” Chan was some kind of small claims lawyer in the upper Bronx which meant he made enough money to buy a Rolex for every day of the week while driving an expensive Tesla. 

“And Y/N,” my mother would address me. “How’s the cafe?”

“We always do well around Finals season,” I told her.

“That’s wonderful darling!” she would always say while glaring in Jisung’s direction who would visibly falter under my mother’s judgemental stare. “How are your...kids, Jisung?”

“They’re great,” Jisung would laugh nervously. “I had to stop one of them from eating a bottle of glue the other day.”

I would laugh and affectionately run my fingers through Jisung’s hair while my mother remained statuesque-still. “How amusing.”

The pattern persisted to this day and I knew Jisung tolerated the dinners for my sake, but he always protested in different ways. For example, last month Jisung agreed to babysit our neighbor’s Pomeranian because he thought I might allow him to stay at home. And I almost let him get away with his impromptu plans when I remembered that Jisung would have to make dinner on his own and I was horrified by the idea of Han Jisung anywhere near my kitchen.

“Tell your mother I’m dying,” Jisung said, pulling me from my thoughts. “That should make her happy.”

“Han Jisung,” I scolded him, reaching down to gently massage his leg. “I’m not leaving you home alone. You’re prone to more kitchen fires than anyone else I’ve ever seen.”

“I’ll order takeout,” Jisung said, kicking his foot out against my thigh. 

“If you’re gonna act like a child, then I’ll have to treat you like one,” I said, giving his ass a firm smack before rising from the sectional.

Jisung jolted at the unexpected contact, raising his head to briefly consider me. “What was that?”

“Do you not want to play?” I returned, grinning when Jisung immediately sat upright from his position on the sofa, leaning forward in expectation. “Does this mean what I think it does?”

“Perhaps if you decide to stop being so stubborn about the dinner,” I said, dropping to my knees in front of him.

Jisung’s eyes grew wide with lust, hands reaching out to pull my head closer to his crotch. “I’ll go to as many dinners as you want, babe.”

“That’s better,” I smirked, efficiently undoing his belt. “It’s only for a few hours.”

Jisung was ecstatic, pulling down his jeans and underwear. “I’ll just sit with Felix in the dining room alone.”

“Is that so?” I asked, curling my fingers around his hardening cock. 

Jisung nodded, hair falling into his eyes as he watched me with rapt attention. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to him recently.”

“What a good sport,” I teased, jerking his cock a few times because I liked the way Jisung’s eyelids would flutter with his pleasure. But he was being remarkably good, so I decided he had earned an end to his apparent sexual frustrations. I took in the tip of his cock, running my tongue along the slit dripping with milky white pre-cum. 

“Please,” Jisung begged, grip unrelenting on my hair as he encouraged me to swallow more of his cock, slowly taking him in until I could feel him at the back of my throat. “Can I do it?” Jisung asked with desperate eyes and I nodded once, giving him the permission he desired to move my head up and down the length of his erection, warm and rigid against my tongue. I made sure to moan around him because I knew the resulting vibrations felt really good, enjoying the sounds of Jisung’s grunts as he fucked my mouth.

While Jisung did a majority of the work, I tried to amplify his pleasure when I could like running my tongue along the prominent vein on his cock or using my teeth to drag against the fleshy part of him. My fingernails dug into his thighs, leaving behind marks that would probably vanish after a warm shower. Tears were steadily streaking down my cheeks courtesy of an instinctual reaction to Jisung’s cock repeatedly sliding in and out, hollowing my cheeks to accommodate him. “It feels so good,” Jisung said, palms clammy as one hand came to fan against my cheek, wiping away the smeared streaks of my mascara. 

Throughout our years together, I had learned a lot about Jisung including his apparent oral fixation when it came to sex. Jisung loved when I gave him a blowjob as I discovered for the very first time locked away in the Janitor’s closet, tasting Jisung on my tongue for a few seconds before he was cumming down my throat, apologizing incessantly for not being able to last longer. As if I really cared because I was quite proud of myself for breaking him down so quickly. But as much as Jisung liked to receive, he also loved to give and feeling his tongue on my pussy was a guilty pleasure, watching Jisung eat me out like he belonged between my thighs. 

“Cumming,” Jisung warned me, grip tightening as his hips stuttered, pubic hair brushing against my nose while the bitter taste of his cum was swallowed down with effort because my throat was now incredibly sore.

Jisung fell back against the couch, fingers pushing my hair back from where it had fallen messily into my face. I shakily climbed into his lap, kissing him greedily because there was no better sight than Jisung completely spent after a good orgasm, especially when it was because of me. “Is that better, baby?” I asked, pecking him on the nose.

“I love you,” post-orgasm Jisung told me entreatingly, eyes swimming with tears as he proceeded to plant dozens of soft kisses against the exposed skin of my collarbones.

Jisung pulled into the driveway of my mother’s house with a morbid expression. “It’s not too late to cancel, right?”

I ignored his comment, opening the door to step out into the bitterly cold evening. “Babe, I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”

“No need to pretend,” Jisung grumbled, reluctantly following me to the porch where I hit the doorbell, smoothing down my skirt because my mother always liked it when we dressed up for these dinners.

But the last thing I expected to see on the other side of the door was Kara, especially a version of Kara dressed in an appropriately sized skirt. “Y/N!”

I’m sure my expression of shock matched the one present on my husband’s face as we both took in the sight of Changbin’s little sister. “Kara?” I questioned stupidly, holding tighter to Jisung’s sweater because I needed something to ground me in the reality of this unanticipated situation.

“You guys look great!” she declared. “Come inside!”

“Of course,” I said softly, pulling Jisung behind me as I stepped into the foyer, shrugging off my coat which Kara took from me to hang in the closet like she had been doing it for years. 

“Y/N!” my mother squealed, interrupting the unanswered “why are you here?” hanging between the three of us.

“Mom,” I said, accepting her hug with a wince because my mother was never gentle in her affections.

“And Jisung,” my mother frowned, eyeing my husband up and down. “What the hell are you wearing.”

Jisung looked down at his corduroy pants which I had warned him repeatedly to destroy. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Oh nevermind with you,” my mother said dismissively, reaching out for Kara. “Look, Y/N, Felix brought home a very nice friend. Are the two of you acquainted?”

“She’s Changbin’s sister,” I told my mother. “Why would I not know her?”

“Oh don’t give me that attitude,” my mother said. “Kara was just telling me about the marketing firm she works for! Isn’t that impressive?”

“My brother’s jealous,” Kara said. “He’s stuck working with kids all day, isn’t that the worst?”

My mother giggled at Kara’s comment while I reached behind me to give Jisung’s hand a reassuring squeeze. I didn’t even need to see my husband’s face to know that he would be fuming over Kara’s words. “I think you can do Felix some good too,” my mother said, now leading Kara towards the kitchen. “That boy is an absolute mess sometimes.”

I found Chan in the living room, eating his way through most of my mother’s groceries. “Channie,” I said, hurrying Jisung along despite the way his feet drug against the carpet. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

Chan barely glanced up from his food. “What is it?”

“In private?”

Chan offered me a blank look to which I grabbed his hand, forcing him to the opposite side of the room and away from any potential eavesdroppers. “Why the hell is Kara here?”

“Beats me,” Chan shrugged. “Felix said they’re just friends.”

“Just friends my ass!” I hissed at him. “Chan, you know how stupid Felix gets around her! Since when has Felix brought any of his ‘friends’ to one of these dinners?”

“I don’t want to get involved, Y/N,” Chan said. “It’s really none of our business.”

“But does Changbin know she’s here?”

Chan shrugged helplessly. “How should I know? I don’t see Changbin much these days.”

“Ah, you’re useless,” I declared. “There’s a potentially catastrophic disaster unfolding right in front of your eyes and yet food is more concerning to you.”

“Of course it is,” Chan nodded solemnly. “Why do you think I sacrifice a Sunday night at home to drive an hour over here?”

“What a good son you are,” I said, pinching one of his cheeks. “I’m sure your father would be pleased to hear that.”

“Y/N, I seriously don’t know anything about Felix and Kara,” Chan said, smacking my hand away. 

“Listen to me, Chan-”

I broke off when my mother suddenly entered the room with Kara on her heels, holding out a tray of cheese and crackers. “Appetizers!” my mother exclaimed, immediately chastising Jisung when he accidentally dropped one on my mother’s coffee table.

“Leave it alone,” Chan warned me, sparing me no further attention as he joined the others in the living room. I followed him to the couch where I planted myself between my step-brother and Jisung, eyeing Kara suspiciously as she sat herself directly on Felix’s lap, arms wrapped around his neck. 

“I think your mother likes me the least tonight,” Jisung whispered anxiously into my ear.

“That’s because Felix has something shiny and new for her to mess with,” I said, patting his thigh soothingly. 

“Everyone, help yourselves!” my mother announced, ushering my step-father into the room with a glass of wine in hand.

I handed Jisung a plate. “Do me a favor and keep the food where it belongs.”

Jisung pouted at me. “You act like I’m clumsy on purpose.”

“I don’t need to feed you, do I?” I asked him, ignoring the way he reached down to pinch my waist in warning.

The remainder of our dinner progressed slowly, more so than usual because my mother seemed to have hundreds of questions for Kara. In fact, as opposed to Jisung and Felix being the objects of my mother’s contempt, that title seemed to belong to everyone excluding Kara. Chan and I were rarely spoken to, and Jisung was only addressed when my mother complained that he was chewing too loudly. “Do you see my son-in-law?” she complained to Kara like they were old friends. “He’s never had good table manners.”

I held tightly to Jisung’s hand when I felt him tense next to me. “Jisung’s always been that way,” Kara replied with far too much affection for my liking.

Her comment forced me to recall the very first time I ever met Kara back during my third year of high school. She was a year younger than Jeongin, so she came into our high school as a shy Freshman with only Changbin as an ally. And Changbin loved to brag about how smart his sister was, claiming that she didn’t even need to study because she could memorize everything the teacher said in class. But Changbin hadn’t been exaggerating and I had been slightly jealous of Kara’s easygoing nature, seamlessly inserting herself into our lives as if she had always belonged there. The truth of the matter was that Kara had been attending a private school for most of her life because of her higher intelligence. The school was located hours away from where we lived so we never saw Kara except in brief passing when she came home on the weekends. However, Kara insisted that she wanted a normal high school life, so she enrolled at our local public institution with the goal of making new friends and getting a taste of what her brother always talked about in their long phone conversations.

At first, Kara stuck tightly to Changbin’s side, but it didn’t take long for her to open up to the rest of our group, including Felix whose crush started the moment Kara first walked through the doors. My poor step-brother was enamored, jealous when Kara would start dating some of the older Seniors. Of course, it didn’t help that Changbin remained adamant that Kara never dated any of his friends because they were, in his words, completely unworthy. So, with the exception of the unfortunate incident of Junior prom, Kara obeyed her brother and only showed the other guys affection in the form of a pat on the head or a gentle shove when they said something funny.

By the time I graduated with Hyunjin, Seungmin, Felix, and Jisung, Kara had become another pillar in our dynamic, even appealing to the older ones like Chan and Minho. Yet, when Jeongin finally entered university with the rest of us, something changed with Kara and she no longer hung out with us as much as she had before. Then, there was the matter of her attending college in an entirely different state, only coming to visit sporadically when Felix would bend over backward to make sure she attended one of his fraternity parties. By the time I graduated from college, Kara was more or less nothing but a distant memory, only coming into fruition on rare occasions. Thus, seeing her here today was definitely disorienting, especially since it was only because of Felix that she was here in the first place.

“Kara, you’re such a wonderful girl,” my mother said. “I can’t believe we haven’t met before.”

I rolled my eyes because my mother seemed to forget my Junior year of high school almost as much as I did. “You’ve been such a gracious host,” Kara said to my mother.

“It’s getting late,” my mother sighed, glancing at my step-father who was moments away from passing out on the couch. “We should get to bed, but the rest of you are more than welcome to stay and chat. I know I took up a lot of the conversation.”

“That’s an understatement,” Jisung muttered.

“Anyways, I’ll call you later on this week, Y/N,” my mother said, offering me a lazy wave before collecting Kara into one of the tightest embraces I had ever seen.

Once my mother and step-father had wandered up the steps, Kara came back into the room with mischievous eyes. “Let’s play a game,” Kara suggested, urging us all around the coffee table. I groaned when Jisung pulled me back into his arms, burying his face into the side of my neck like he was prone to do when he was the slightest bit tipsy. 

“No more alcohol for you,” I said, swiping the bottle away from my husband who protested half-heartedly.

“What do you suggest?” Felix asked, looking at Kara with starstruck eyes.

“Maybe truth or dare?” Kara said, squealing like she had forgotten that everyone around the table now had a full-time job.

“Why not,” Felix said, reaching for his discarded bottle of Corona. “Would you like to go first?”

Kara giggled when Felix leaned in closer, lips teasing her exposed collarbones. “Keep it PG,” I requested, glaring at Felix.

“Okay,” Kara said, taking the bottle and placing it onto the table. 

“If someone can dare me to get laid, that would be nice,” Jisung said and I reached around to elbow my husband in the side for his smart comment.

I watched as the bottle spun around in its defined circumference before landing on Chan who groaned loudly. “Truth or Dare, Chan!”

“Truth,” Chan said, picking up his bottle of beer. “Knowing you’d guys, I’d be forced to drink the rest of this on a dare and I have to be at the office at six.”

“Are you seeing anyone, Chan?” Kara asked, leaning in close like she was about to hear a juicy secret. Of course, I knew better than anyone because I was often the recipient of Chan’s late-night phone calls when my step-brother would complain to me about his sadly lacking love life.

“No,” Chan huffed, reaching out to give the bottle a powerful spin. “I’m always single.”

I reached across to pat him tenderly on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Channie, there’s a girl out there waiting for you!”

Felix let out a drunken squeak, turning to look at Kara with a smile. “Truth or dare, Felix?”

“Dare,” Felix said, bouncing up and down from his spot on the floor like a loose spring.

“I dare you to...

“...call Changbin,” I spoke over Kara, enjoying the identical looks of matching horror on their countenances.

“What?” Felix questioned, intoxicated brain undoubtedly having trouble keeping up with the flow of our conversation.

“Call. Changbin.” I repeated, much slower this time to leave no room for a potential misunderstanding. Unsurprisingly, Kara hesitantly shook her head at Felix as if asking him to ignore my request. “Those are the rules,” I informed her smugly, watching Felix as he took out his phone with a shaky hand. He dialed Changbin’s number and we all sat forward in profound expectation of what was about to happen.

That is until Changbin’s voicemail picked up.

Kara snatched Felix’s phone and quickly hung up the call. “He’s not answering, so let’s move on to something else.”

I frowned as I sat back against Jisung’s chest, frustrated because Changbin had probably chosen an early night’s sleep in exchange for answering a friend’s important phone call. “Truth or Dare, Y/N.”

“Truth,” I muttered, folding my arms across my chest even as Jisung started to rub gentle circles into my hips as if picking up on my irritation.

Kara’s eyes narrowed. “Were you jealous when I kissed Jisung at prom?”

The room was dead silent following her vengeful question. My cheeks flushed at the reminder, feeling Jisung squirm uncomfortably behind me. It was a horrible thing to ask me, especially considering the circumstances surrounding the unholy night that Minho had silently termed “the worst day of Y/N’s life.” But I suppose that Kara felt warranted to ask me considering the fact that I had just tried to expose her to Changbin. “Of course I was,” I snapped at her, twisting the bottle while maintaining a penetrative staring contest with Felix’s love interest.

My shoulders relaxed when the bottle landed on Kara, and I quickly intervened before Felix could give Kara an easy way out of what was rapidly becoming a terrible mistake. “Are you dating Felix again?” I asked, watching as her eyes narrowed from my choice of words.

“It’s truth or dare, Y/N.”

“Are you afraid to answer the question?” I asked her. “Or are you just using Felix like always?”

Another long silence enveloped our gathered group. 

“I guess I don’t get a turn?” Jisung whispered into the tense silence of the room.

“Holy shit!” Hyunjin exhaled when I finally finished explaining everything that had happened at my mother’s house the previous evening.

“She’s a total bitch,” I said. “Everyone knows that we don’t talk about that night.”

Hyunjin nodded in agreement. “Do you remember the ugly suit I wore?”

I glared at my friend. “You’re not helping and we have customers.”

Hyunjin offered me a salute, returning to the register to accept another order while I aggressively wiped down our counters. One of our waitresses watched me with a gaping mouth until I turned to glare at her. She quickly picked up her tray to retreat back into the crowd of college students. 

Now, let me start by saying that Junior year prom was never something I was looking forward to attending. The only reason I even went was because Han Jisung asked me to go and my attraction for him had skyrocketed by this time, to the point where I found myself staring at his ass whenever we had gym together and he decided to demonstrate the correct technique for a pull-up. Our friends deemed our relationship inevitable, the romanticized soulmates who met as kids and grew up together with agreeable personalities. Of course, it also helped when puberty hit and suddenly Han Jisung looked less like the little boy I played with on the playground and more like a man whose dick I really wanted to taste. 

For a lot of my classmates, Prom meant an unsanctioned night away from the school where they could lose their inhibitions when someone inevitably spiked the punch bowl. There were no school officials present at the event, only volunteers, and since it didn’t take place on school grounds (but inside of a nearby YMCA) everyone could basically do whatever they wanted without consequence. Thus, the next day’s rumor mill was spinning with tales of romance and deceptions, break-ups and hook-ups, and even the occasional wild story of someone stealing from the radio store next door.

“Do you want anything to drink?” Jisung asked me nervously the moment we first walked inside.

“Sure,” I told him, affectionately adjusting the cute bowtie he had chosen for the occasion, cheeks rosy red as he hurried away.

“Y/N!” Hyunjin said, taking Jisung’s place in front of me. “You look great!”

“So do you,” I told him honestly, appraising his suit which likely cost a thousand dollars just to rent for this one occasion. “Where’s your girl?”

“Who knows, she was just meant to be arm candy,” Hyunjin said dismissively and I snorted at his explanation. “I only came here for the drama and the alcohol.”

“Anything interesting so far?” I asked, grinning when I saw Jisung accidentally knock the punch ladle into the floor.

“Changbin came with a Freshman,” Hyunjin said. “I talked to them earlier and he’s definitely only interested in her ass.”

“How crude,” I remarked. “What about the others?”

“I guess Seungmin and Jeongin came with each other,” Hyunjin snickered. “And I haven’t seen Felix yet.”

I paused. “Felix is coming?”

“It was a last-minute thing,” Hyunjin explained. “Apparently, Felix is bringing someone he really likes.”

“I didn’t know Felix was interested in anyone,” I said, with the exception of Changbin’s little sister, of course.

“It’s getting late,” Hyunjin remarked. “He might have been lying.”

“He wasn’t dressed when I left the house,” I said, remembering the sight of my step-brother teasing Jisung and I from behind our parents while they took an endless amount of pictures while relentlessly questioning Jisung about his appearance.

Speaking of which, I graciously accepted the punch Jisung offered me, taking a sip before wincing. “I think someone added way too much.”

Hyunjin reached for my drink, sniffing the rim before downing the rest. “Not too bad.”

Jisung watched him with wide eyes. “Isn’t that strong?”

“Not strong enough,” Hyunjin complained. “I’m going to find something better. Have fun you two, make sure you use a condom if you’re gonna fuck.”

I glared at Hyunjin’s back as he disappeared into the crowd.

Yes, Prom might not have been high on my list of priorities, but the way Jisung was currently kissing me definitely made it more appealing. After ingesting an appropriate amount of alcohol, a tipsy Jisung had latched himself to my side, whispering rather inappropriate things into my ear before I inevitably found a place where we could be alone, safely tucked away inside the locker room. I drug Jisung to a bench where I immediately straddled his thighs, kissing him with enough force to throw him off balance, hand splayed across my hip as he forced his tongue inside my mouth tasting strongly of alcohol. I struggled to pull in enough oxygen to counter the dizziness threatening to send me falling into the floor. Jisung certainly wasn’t helping matters, squeezing my breasts spilling over the neckline of my dress while pressing sloppy kisses to my throat, erection hard through his dress pants and I had never felt hornier in my entire life. And that includes the time Minho bought me a vibrator for my birthday as a joke but I still tried to use it and ended up masturbating to the thought of Jisung fucking me on my mattress. 

“You feel so good,” Jisung whispered to me now, rolling his hips into mine as he sought additional friction. I held tightly to the lapels of his jacket because it felt really nice through the thin fabric of my dress when he would move just right, pressing against my clit with a wonderful pressure that nearly made me cum before he could even put it inside.

“Sungie,” I panted into his ear, tasting every inch of his beautiful honey-golden skin. “Please fuck me.”

“Can I?” Jisung asked, thrusts growing erratic as if affected by just the thought of his cock hot and heavy between my thighs. “Yes, of course, baby. I’ll do that for you.”

“Condom?” I managed, reconnecting our lips because I was quickly coming to the realization that Jisung was a wonderful kisser. 

“Shit,” he cursed against my mouth. “I left them in the car.”

“I’ll get them,” I said, reaching deep into the pocket of his suit pants for the key, inadvertently brushing against his cock. 

Jisung moaned loudly. “Hurry back, baby.”

“And this!” I said, standing up from his lap to reach into my cleavage to pull out a piece of fabric.

“That was in there the whole time?”

“Not important,” I said, shoving the fabric at him. “Put this on?”

“What is it?” Jisung asked, unraveling the cloth.

“A blindfold,” I said and he looked up at me with evident surprise.

“Why do you want me to wear a blindfold?”

“Just put it on, please,” I begged him.

“Why?” Jisung whined, a complete contradiction to the mess he looked with an erection still prominent in his pants. 

“I don’t want you to see me,” I said, blushing at the thought of Han Jisung seeing me naked because I was certainly nothing like those busty girls in the porn magazines I found under his mattress.

“Okay,” Jisung grumbled, probably because he was just as aroused as I was even if that meant doing something that might seem utterly ridiculous to anybody else.

“Don’t take it off,” I warned him, glancing over my shoulder to see Jisung tying the blindfold in place. 

Satisfied, I silently rushed back into the gym, making my way to the exit despite the obscene displays taking place all around me courtesy of several pairings of passionate couples. I did my best to ignore them, even though I was pretty sure I saw Hwang Hyunjin in the center of the dance floor, shirt unbuttoned and chest exposed for everyone to see. But Hyunjin loved to be at the center of attention, so I left him to entertain the majority of the women flanking to him like a magnet while I jerked open the door to Jisung’s Sudan, finding the condoms across the dirty backseat of his car. 

I grew even more excited just by looking at them, hiding them carefully in my hand as I rushed through the parking lot in my haste to find Jisung again. At this point, the party was in full swing, music loud and pounding, testing the acoustics of the YMCA which probably never hosted anything else this insane and chaotic before. But I was on cloud nine, ready to finally have sex with someone I had been crushing on ever since Jisung had shown off his abs to a doubtful Changbin. However, when I re-opened the doors to the locker room, I stumbled in my heels as I was greeted with an unfortunate visual. An unforgettable image of Kara on top of Jisung, kissing him passionately while she practically forced him to grope her chest. “Y/N,” Jisung moaned, apparently completely unaware of who was actually grinding on his dick.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing,” I finally shrieked, completely horrified at the display that would forever engrain itself into my subconscious.

Jisung immediately pulled off his blindfold, eyes widening in shock when he unceremoniously dumped Kara into the floor who loudly protested. “Y/N?”

“Jisung,” I said, looking back between him and Kara with panicked eyes and a broken heart. I had never felt so betrayed before in my entire life, and there had been moments when I felt downright disgusted with my poor choice in men. But Jisung was more important to me than the casual flings from my past, which probably explains my sudden desire to escape the situation that was forcing messy tears through the mascara clumping my eyelashes together. I left Jisung behind in that nasty locker room before losing myself to the crowd of my classmates.

There was only one person I wanted to see, and I found Hyunjin now re-clothed, talking to some other girls when he first saw me approach. He greeted me cheerfully, only realizing my condition once he stopped to notice the tears falling freely from my tired eyes. “Y/N,” Hyunjin said, expression falling as he pulled me into his arms tightly. “Why are you crying?”

“I saw her with Jisung,” was all I managed to get out before Hyunjin’s eyes were practically blazing with fury.

“That little shit,” Hyunjin cursed, grabbing my hand and leading me through the partygoers who were too busy drunkenly grinding on one another to notice the two of us. “Changbin,” Hyunjin said, interrupting the older boy who was currently fingering the edges of a freshman girl’s panties, practically dry humping through their clothes. 

“What is it?” Changbin snapped at Hyunjin, eyes narrowed until they landed on me. “Y/N,” Changbin said, tone much softer as he abruptly dismissed his date who whined about their loss of contact. “What happened?”

“Jisung needs his ass kicked,” Hyunjin said and Changbin needed no further encouragement.

“Where the hell is he?”

It was frigidly cold in the parking lot and there was way too much going on around me. I could barely handle the yelling between Changbin and Felix, my step-brother having found us outside with Jisung trailing behind him, but Hyunjin was arguing with Seungmin and Jeongin, refusing to let Jisung close to me. This night was rapidly becoming one of the worst of my entire life and that says a lot because I had once watched my own father walk out of the house without so much as a goodbye.

“Get out of the way, Felix,” Changbin suddenly growled, fists balled at his sides.

“It’s not his fault,” Felix tried to explain. 

“Why is Y/N upset, then?” Changbin demanded, shouldering his way through Seungmin and Jeongin who were certainly no match for a physically stronger Changbin.

“He didn’t do anything wrong,” Felix said. “It’s Kara’s fault! She didn’t need to take things that far-”

“Kara!” Changbin interrupted, now even more furious than he was before. “Did you do something to my sister?”

“Not him,” Seungmin suddenly interfered. “Kara and Felix got into a fight and Kara snuck into the locker room to get back at him.”

Changbin took a step back, suspicion bright in his dark eyes. “What did you say?”

“I thought it was Y/N,” Jisung finally spoke up, eyes wet with tears. “She didn’t say anything to me. She just came over and I was waiting for Y/N!”

“What happened to my sister!” Changbin growled.

“She kissed me,” Jisung said, flinching a little when Changbin tried to charge at him, intercepted by Seungmin and Jeongin who held him back by his with as much force as they could manage together. Jisung turned to look at me, gaze entreating as he reached out a hand. “I’m sorry, Y/N. I thought it was you.”

I shook my head, refusing to even look at Han Jisung because my heart was hurting in my chest and the night just continued to grow more and more confusing. “I’ll take care of Y/N,” Hyunjin finally said, sending Jisung a nasty glare before guiding me further and further away from the source of my pain.

But don’t ever let anyone tell you that Seo Changbin didn’t have a soft spot for Han Jisung because, at the drop of a hat, the older boy would immediately be at my husband’s side. And I thoroughly took advantage of this when I asked Jisung to invite Changbin over to our house for dinner one night, the two of them arriving together with Changbin clutching tightly to his sleeping bag. “I guess you’re spending the night,” I remarked.

“Why wouldn’t I? We work at the same place,” came Changbin’s usual response, tossing his bag onto the couch while he followed Jisung into our bedroom, complaining about something to do with the air conditioning. “Your apartment is so much nicer than mine!”

I finished cooking in relative peace, making sure to keep Changbin’s wine glass constantly full because a tipsy Changbin was much easier to deal with than the serious version who would likely explode when he heard my story. “So nice of you Y/N,” Changbin said as he slurped his spaghetti. He and Jisung were always messy when it came to pasta so I tried to ignore their nasty habits. 

“Changbin,” I said, studying the older carefully. “I heard Kara was visiting.”

Changbin shrugged, shoving more food into his impossibly small mouth. “She’s been staying at my place.”

“Really?” I asked. “Why haven’t we had a chance to meet her again.”

Changbin glanced up at me. “You don’t even like, Kara, so why would I bother?”

I rolled my eyes at him. “She’s your sister, of course, I would be interested.”

“She stays busy a lot,” Changbin said.

“With who?”

“With work,” Changbin said, taking another long drink of the expensive wine I bought just for this occasion. 

“She could have come tonight,” I said carefully, but I had been apparently pushing too far because now Changbin was suspicious.

“What are you getting at, Y/N?”

I took a deep breath, sensing Jisung watching the two of us over a mouthful of noodles. “I saw Kara the other day at my mother’s dinner.”

Changbin paused, considering me with a scowl. “What?”

“She came to our dinner,” I repeated. “With Felix.”

And with the exception of Jisung’s chewing, the room had grown relatively silent. “Why am I just now hearing about this?”

Changbin turned an accusatory gaze at Jisung who just rapidly shook his head and drank more wine. “Probably because she didn’t want anyone to know,” I said. “I think your sister might be trying to start something with Felix again and we both know how badly that turned out last time.”

Changbin dropped his fork, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “So nice of everyone to keep me informed.”

I relaxed a little because Changbin wasn’t reacting as violently as I thought he might. “I wanted to be sure and I got the information I needed today.”

Changbin sighed. “What information?”

“Minho looked through Felix’s phone at their dance practice,” I said. “He saw some messages with Kara. Apparently, they’re going to dinner tomorrow night. Isn’t that nice?”

Changbin’s jaw clenched as he took in this news. “And I’m assuming you have something planned?”

“Maybe,” I said with an innocent shrug. “It could be that Minho, Hyunjin, and I happened to make a reservation at the same place.”

“You’re gonna spy on them?”

“Would you rather us not?”

Changbin scoffed, dark hair falling into his eyes. “Are you asking me to come?”

“Only if you want to.”

“Well of course I do,” Changbin grunted impatiently, reaching down for another forkful of spaghetti while I sat back in my chair with satisfaction.

“This is surprisingly classy of Felix,” Hyunjin remarked, rolling down the window of Minho’s SUV to perch a pair of binoculars on the end of his nose.

“Aren’t you taking this too far?” Minho asked his friend.

“These?” Hyunjin asked, adjusting the lenses. “How else am I supposed to see what’s going on?”

“This is my sister we’re talking about,” Changbin spoke up, tugging at the frayed sleeves of his borrowed jacket.

“And Y/N’s stepbrother,” Minho added.

“I don’t claim him by blood,” I said, reaching over to slap Changbin’s hands. “Stop messing with that, you’re gonna ruin it, and this is Jisung’s nicest coat!”

My husband in question had opted to stay at home since he was probably the smartest out of all of us when it came to potential confrontations. “You’re rich enough to buy him another,” Changbin grumbled.

“He doesn’t wear them,” I said. “I buy him all sorts of clothes, but they always sit in his closet.”

“Who’s he trying to impress at an Elementary school?” Hyunjin snorted.

“Can’t we just go inside already?” I asked, slowly massaging my throbbing temples.

“Yeah, but can you shimmy the lock on your door?” Minho requested. “I’m pretty sure it’s broken.”

I accommodated his request before the four of us walked into the restaurant with an air of nonchalance. Nothing but four friends since childhood deciding to eat out together for a gourmet meal. It reminded me of college when the four of us shared the same lecture, a one-time occurrence because Minho forgot a general education course, and we always ate together because it ended in the early evening. 

Of course, there was always the matter of the other three using me to find the answers to our homework assignment because they didn’t feel like completing the calculations.

The hostess inside the restaurant greeted us, checking Hyunjin’s reservation before leading us to our table. “Do you see them?” Hyunjin asked, deciding not to be so discreet in the distracting way he moved his head around, surveying the restaurant landscape with a sharp eye.

“This is so stupid,” Changbin grimaced. 

“Are you too cool to eat with us?” Minho joked, gasping when he noticed the free wine samples menu.

“I’ll look around,” I said. “Give me five minutes.”

“And then what?” Hyunjin asked even as I was already moving away, sticking to the outskirts of the finely decorated tables. According to Minho, Felix and Kara should have already been at the restaurant for half an hour, probably weighing the consequences of keeping their new affair a secret from the rest of us. But I had no intention of letting them sneak away with anything, determined to get to the bottom of whatever relationship Felix was attempting with Changbin’s little sister, the same person who had openly scorned and rejected Felix in the past. This really demonstrates just how powerful a crush can be when it involves someone as determined as Felix.

“Aha!” I murmured quietly, discovering the couple together near the private dining room at the back. Reaching for my cell phone, I sent Minho a quick text message, waiting for a moment or so before I could see the three boys carefully making their way to my hiding spot. 

“Ridiculous,” Changbin muttered, but he let out a disappointed sigh when he saw his sister and Felix together. “I guess you were right.”

Changbin was squatting down in front of the display of plants, peeling back the branches to find a better view. “Damn, Changbin,” I said, reaching down to give his ass an appreciative slap. “Who are you trying to impress?”

“Keep your hands to yourself,” Changbin snapped at me. “It’s not my fault that Han’s flatter than his vocal pitch.”

“Burn,” Hyunjin remarked while I scoffed in response.

“Jisung is a great singer.”

“Yeah, the kids are so impressed,” Minho giggled, ignoring the glare I sent him over my shoulder.

“They can’t be dating,” Changbin said. “I would have known about this. Kara would have told me!”

“That definitely looks like a date to me,” Minho teased Changbin.

“Unless friends share five-star meals now,” Hyunjin commented, glancing at me. “Interested in eating out again tomorrow, Y/N?”

“Only if you pay,” I replied dryly, watching Felix and Kara with intent.

“I can’t stand this,” Changbin declared, attempting to blow our cover by rising to his full height. 

I desperately tugged on his shirt. “They’ll see us!”

“I don’t care,” Changbin grunted, pulling away from me only to march down the staircase to where Felix and Kara were laughing together over a meal of what appeared to be filet mignon and cabernet.

“Should we watch or get involved?” I asked, grinning when Felix finally realized that Changbin had spotted them. The all-consuming look of existential dread passing across his features was well worth the price of admission, including an outrageous gratuity fee.

“Definitely watch,” Minho nodded, tossing an arm around my shoulders. “You did good, Y/N.”

“Unless Changbin causes a scene,” Hyunjin remarked.

“I hope he does because I can record it for Jisung later,” I said, letting out a satisfied grin when Changbin stopped at their table.

Minho was one step ahead of me, pressing the record button at the top of his phone. “Maybe we’ll become YouTube famous!”

“I can’t believe you told him,” Felix snapped at me later. The six of us were outside the restaurant, having decided to pull Changbin and Kara away from the reproachful eyes of the upper elite who wanted to dine in peace. 

“Why wouldn’t I? I’m looking out for you.”

“By outing me to Changbin?”

“Of course,” I nodded, watching as Kara received a stern lecture from her older brother. “You can’t honestly be considering a relationship with Kara?”

“Is there something wrong with that?” Felix asked. 

“You must have a selective memory,” I said. “Or did you forget what happened in high school?”

“That was a long time ago!”

“She also used you during college. Don’t tell me you think she came around campus just for your company?”

Hyunjin, from somewhere to my right, let out a low whistle. Minho stood next to him, taking in the drama unfolding around him with eager eyes. “I don’t care about any of that!” Felix protested. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

“Felix,” I said, lowering my tone. “I just want you to be happy.”

“Well you’re doing a really bad job with that,” Felix snapped.

“It’s not because I don’t want things to work out,” I said. “I just know who she is and what she’s capable of.”

“Is that so?”

“You were too, Felix! Everything she ever did to you was always in an effort to hurt you. That’s why I have to interfere, to make sure that she doesn’t do anything like that!”

“Yeah? Well, I don’t care. You aren’t my real sister, so stop trying to act like it!”

His words were crushing and I suddenly felt equivalent to the world’s smallest person as I watched Felix walk away into the haze of city lights.

Jisung was sunshine and he once told me that he would do everything in his power to make me happy, even getting down on one knee to propose at our college graduation ceremony, nervous hands sliding a beautiful ring onto my finger. Jisung always knew when I was feeling sad or angry, dropping everything that he had been working on to make me feel better. Like in instances such as this, when my step-brother publicly disowns me, walking away without looking back once to assess the damage he had made of my fragile heart. “I deserved it,” I told Jisung, closing my eyes against his chest as I enjoyed the soothing water of the bath he prepared for me. 

“No, you didn’t,” Jisung countered, wrapping his arms tightly around my middle. “You thought you were helping him.”

“I guess I have no right to interfere,” I said. “Even if I’m worried that Kara will only hurt him again.”

“And she might,” Jisung agreed. “But I think Felix can handle it. Sometimes, you forget that he’s all grown up.”

“I ruined our relationship,” I said. “Felix won’t ever talk to me again and Kara is probably mad at Changbin.”

“Felix can’t avoid you,” Jisung said. “You have the same friends.”

“Ha,” I snorted. “You don’t know Felix very well. If he sets his mind to something, then there’s nothing that can stop him.”

“Actually, I do know Felix, and that’s why I’m pretty sure he’ll call you any day now and ask to talk.”

I turned around in his arms, trying to see any hint of teasing in Jisung’s brown eyes. “Why do you think that?”

“Because Felix respects you, even if you make him mad,” Jisung said, surprising me with a gentle kiss. “He told me all the time when we were younger that he thinks you’re one of the coolest people he’s ever met.”

“Felix said that?”

“Yeah,” Jisung nodded. “And I completely agree.”

“You’re obligated to say that,” I said. “Marriage and shit.”

“But I’ve always meant it, Y/N,” Jisung insisted. “You have a really good heart and you always have our best intentions in mind, even if that means you feel the need to spy on your step-brother.”

“Now it sounds creepy,” I complained.

“I can’t imagine you dragging around Changbin, Minho, and Hyunjin, hiding behind tables in the middle of an expensive restaurant.”

“That’s funny because I can’t imagine you in an expensive restaurant at all.”

“Really?” Jisung grinned, digging his fingers into my sides. “Try saying that again.”

I squealed in his arms, pleading for mercy. “I thought you wanted to relax?”

“This was all for you,” Jisung said, pulling me onto his lap. “I think we should go to bed early.”

“I am tired,” I smirked.

His cock was hard against my lower back. “What if I let you ride my face?”

“Then you’ll be the best husband in the world.”

The following Saturday, Jisung’s prediction came true when Felix’s name flashed across my phone screen while I enjoyed lunch with Seungmin and Jeongin. “It’s Felix,” I hissed at them before taking the call. “Hello?”

“Y/N,” Felix’s deep voice greeted me on the other end. “I hope you’re not busy.”

“I’m just having lunch,” I said, waving my hand at Seungmin who was attempting to mouth imperceptible words at me from across the table.

“I want to apologize for the other night with Kara,” Felix said. “At dad’s house and at the restaurant.”

“I’m sorry too, Felix,” I said. “I shouldn’t have told Changbin about his sister.”

“No,” Felix sighed. “But Changbin deserves to know the truth. He called me the other day and told me that Kara had left the next morning. She didn’t even bother telling him where she was going.”

I felt my heartbreak for my step-brother. “I didn’t think she would do that.”

“You don’t have to be nice, Y/N,” Felix said. “Everything you said about Kara was true and I should’ve listened.”

“I never did any of that to teach you a lesson, Felix.”

“Yeah,” Felix murmured into the phone. “It doesn't matter anymore. Kara’s gone and I’ll have to move on.”

“But I still feel really bad,” I said. “Maybe we could all hang out tonight? Like we did before we had adult things to worry about.”

Felix chuckled. “I think that sounds nice.”

“Keep your hands away from the food,” I scolded Jisung, giving his ass a firm slap before directing him out of the kitchen. “This is for the party tonight!”

“But it smells good,” Jisung complained.

“You can have as much as you want later,” I said, frowning at Changbin from across the room. “Are you trying to break my mother’s vase?”

The older boy scowled at me. “I can’t reach, alright? You were the one who asked me to decorate.”

“Please help him,” I said, sending Jisung rushing to hang up the streamers before Changbin could possibly sabotage our apartment. The others were due to arrive at any moment and I was already unprepared, food still cooking and my husband and his friend proving to be completely inept at decorating. I wanted everything to be nice for Felix, but honestly? He shouldn’t expect much from this crew.

Graciously, the arrival of Hyunjin brought about an extra few inches of height, allowing the streamers to hang gracefully from the mantlepiece. “What would you do without me, Y/N?” he inquired innocently, handing me the cake he had brought from our cafe.

“I’d need to buy a step ladder,” I teased him, rushing back into the safety of the kitchen to avoid his retaliation. In the meantime, Jisung happily answered the door for our other guests, ushering them inside to crowd our living room. Sadly, our apartment was never meant to be large enough to accommodate this many guests, but it was strangely cozy with all of us together. 

“It’s been a while,” Chan remarked to Changbin. “Why don’t we do this sort of thing anymore?”

“Beats me,” Changbin replied. “But Y/N has a nice selection of wine.”

“I’m glad that’s the reason you come around,” I remarked, bringing out the final tray of food to fill out the rest of the table. “Whenever Felix gets here we can eat.”

“He shouldn’t be so late,” Minho said, trying his best to sneak a cube of cheese from the corner.

“Patience my friend,” I said. “It will make everything taste so much better.”

“Not with your cooking,” Minho teased, protesting when I threw my oven mitt at him over the counter separating the kitchen from the dining room.

“You’ll never change,” I remarked.

“Why would you want me to?” Minho asked, ignoring my glare when he grabbed a handful of popcorn.

“Do you want to be suspended from my house?”

“Jisung would never allow it,” he said, whining at my husband. “Right, Sungie?”

Jisung looked back and forth between the two of us. “You two are sometimes worse than my kids at school.”

Before I could offer a compelling comeback, the ringing of our doorbell paused our conversation. The sound indicated Felix’s arrival and Seungmin was the first to greet him, holding him close as they entered the dining room. “Nice of you to join us,” I said, handing my step-brother a plate. “This is all for you.”

“I’m honored,” Felix said, accent thick as he abruptly pulled me into a vice-like grip that nearly knocked me off my feet.

“Too much,” I choked out.

“Don’t kill my wife,” Jisung joked, intervening before Felix could possibly squeeze any more oxygen from my lungs.

The remainder of the evening passed by with a nostalgic tone, the nine of us gathered together in the living room to watch anime on TV while Hyunjin complained about our newest hiree again. “Hey,” he said, snapping his fingers in my direction. “He already had two strikes. One more mess-up and he’s gone.”

“He’s just a kid, Hyunjin,” I said. “Remember when you used to work at Starbucks? I’m surprised you even managed to stay on for an entire year!”

Hyunjin protested loudly over the laughter of 8 other people who clearly remembered sitting in Starbucks on Campus just to watch Hyunjin mess-up orders while whining at the customers to slow down when he was in charge of the register. “He gave me a macchiato when I asked for an Americano,” Minho said. 

“One time, Hyunjin closed the store an hour early because he forgot about our project,” Seungmin interjected much to Hyunjin’s chagrin who was now very much embarrassed.

Jisung pulled me closer to him on the chair next to the fireplace, watching our friends talk with obvious affection. “I think Felix is happy.”

I nodded my agreement, observing him from afar. “We did a good job.”

“You did a good job,” Jisung corrected, leaning in closer to whisper directly into my ear. “I love you, Y/N.”

“Love you more,” I said, gripping tightly to Jisung’s hand with no intention of ever letting go because our hold on another had never lessened from the very first day we met as kids, unaware that we would be sharing the rest of our forever together.

[imagine-loki]

The Arrangement

TITLE: The Arrangement CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 17 AUTHOR: the-resal10 ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine you are marrying Loki. It was an arranged marriage and you are not too happy about it. Loki is quite happy as he has always secretly liked you. But he sees how unhappy you are and plays along.

Imagine being in an arranged marriage with Loki. You aren’t too unhappy about it, but he is and is at times rude to you. You two argue and bicker a lot before you both begin to fall in love. RATING: M - WARNINGS NOTES/WARNINGS: There is a warning for the following chapter. As you can tell from how the previous chapter ended, there are mentions of physical abuse in this chapter. Please be aware! Also, the next chapter will be the last chapter. Thank you to those who are still reading/commenting this fic.

Chapter 17: Getting Justice

Loki was ready to leave his office room, he had to welcome some noblemen who were arriving soon. Just as he got up to leave, Rosalind slowly entered the room, crying with bruises on her face and arms and her hair a mess.

He quickly went to her side, holding her as she cried into his chest. “Rosalind. What’s wrong? What happened?” He pulled away, cupping her face, worried.

“Oh, Loki…” she cried.

“What, Rosalind? What is it?”

“Mika…”

“What, Mika did this to you?” She nodded through tears. “He hurt you?” He clenched his jaw, angered.

He pulled away from her, heading for the door. Rosalind gripped his arm, stopping him. “No, Loki!”

He looked back at her. “Rosalind, he hit you, my wife! I’m going to kill him.”

“Please don’t leave me!” She begged. “Please! I’m so scared.”

Loki hugged her again, rubbing her back and kissing her hair as she cried.

X

Loki took her to their chambers through the hidden halls as she requested so no one could see her. He sat her on their bed, rubbing slow circles on her back as she tried to stop crying.

When she was ready, he questioned her in a gentle voice. “Now, can you tell me what happened, Rosalind?”

She sighed, wiping her tears away. “I, uh, went to see Mika. I know I said I wouldn’t see him anymore but I ran into him yesterday when I was on my way to see you. I told him I would see him today because we had to talk about us. I was planning to break things off with him but then I found out I was pregnant and I had to tell him.”

“Rosalind…”

“I know! I’m so stupid for not telling you and going alone.” She sniffled, swallowing her sobs. “I told him about my pregnancy and he got angry because I told him he wasn’t the father. He grabbed my hair and had a good grip, I couldn’t escape. Then he…” tears blurred her vision again as she remembered.

Loki rubbed her back again. “It’s okay.” He said softly.

She let out a sob, “He… hit me. He slapped me, punched me and yelled at me for lying to him. Then he tried to… he tried to force himself on me. I managed to push him off of me and I ran back here.” She cried.

Loki wrapped his arms around her, holding her with tears in his eyes. “Norns. What have I done?”

She looked up at him, “What? You did nothing, Loki.”

“Exactly. I should’ve stopped him a long time ago. I should’ve talked to Odin or Thor, they would’ve helped us.”

“You would’ve lost the throne.”

“So? If I had known Mika would do this to you, I would’ve gotten rid of him a long time ago.”

“I’m sorry.” She cried.

“No. This is not your fault.” He kissed her hair. “I swear to you, Rose, I will do something about this. You don’t need to worry.”

She quietly cried in his arms, feeling stupid for ever loving Mika and not knowing he would do such a thing to someone he loves.

When she got all the tears out, she fixed herself, applying makeup to cover her bruises and fixing her hair. Loki walked her to the healers room where Eir took a look at Rosalind. She had a headache and some pain in her arms, but nothing below. Thankful, no harm came to or around the baby.

After they left the healers room, they made their way to Odin’s chambers. Loki told Rosalind he would explain everything to his parents and she didn’t have to do any talking if she didn’t want to.

They entered the chambers and stood before the king and queen. “There’s something Rosalind and I must tell you.” Loki said.

“Yes?” Odin questioned.

Loki sighed before beginning. “As you both know, I did not like the arrangement between myself and Rosalind, she didn’t like it either. We never told you because we knew what the consequences would be and we did not want that, so we pretended to be happy together.”

He paused for a moment then continued. “Unbeknownst to me, she did not like the arrangement because she was in love with someone else. Well, one night I found out about their relationship and I told her I wouldn’t tell you both as long as we married by the end of the week.

I then told her that she could meet her lover behind my back as long as they kept it a secret. It took the tour around Asgard for us to open up to each other, it was like when we were children, we patched the hole in our friendship and I slowly fell for her.”

He and Rosalind looked at each other, smiling small.

“What is the lover’s name?” Frigga asked.

“Michael.” Loki answered. “He had been close friends with Rosalind soon after her last stay in Asgard as a child. He moved here to be with her just after we were married. I’m finally telling you all about this because… he hurt my wife. Just today, she told him of her pregnancy and that he wasn’t the father, so he physically took his anger out on her.”

Frigga covered her mouth, gasping. “Oh, my poor dear.” She approached Rosalind, “Are you alright?”

Tears came to her eyes as she shook her head. “No.”

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Odin asked Loki.

“We were planning to divorce right after you announce who would be the future king, but when you said it would be Loki, I had already fallen for your son and stopped seeing Michael.” Rosalind answered for her husband. 

“And who is the real father of your unborn child?” He asked.

“Loki, my husband.” She answered.

Odin looked over at Loki who nodded, saying. “She’s not lying.”

“I see.”

“Father, I understand that if something like this got out to the people it could ruin our image as future rulers, that’s why if you wish to give the throne to Thor, I’ll accept your decision. As long as I’m with my wife and child, I could care less about my position in Asgard. Just promise me that you will punish Michael for hurting my pregnant wife.”

Odin looked at Frigga then sighed, “No. Yes, you’ve kept this from me and it does upset me, but I will get over it soon. I chose you for a reason. If you and Rosalind really do love each other then that is all that matters. As for Michael, he will be punished.”

“Thank you, father.” Loki said, bowing his head. He looked to his wife after then pulled her in for a hug.

X

Mika stood at the sink in his bathroom, staring at his reflection in the mirror. He pulled the collar of his shirt down, eyeing the scratch marks Rosalind left on his neck and chest in the mirror.

He heard a loud pounding on the front door. He covered the scratches then went downstairs and opened the door.

Two guards stepped in and grabbed his arms, holding on with a tight grip.

“What are you doing?” he asked them. He tried to pull them off. “Unhand me!” Thor stepped in front of him. “Prince Thor.” he said.

“You are under arrest, Michael, for assaulting the princess of Asgard, Princess Rosalind.”

“What? I would never…”

“Take him.” Thor told the guards.

Frigga and Loki helped Odin as he slowly ascended the stairs to the throne. They held tightly to his arm as he sat on the throne. Frigga smiled at him, kissing his cheek before leaving the throne room.

Loki descended the stairs just as the guards brought in Mika with Thor following behind. They stopped at the foot of the stairs, Mika kept his eyes on Loki who did the same.

“Leave us.” Odin said to the guards.

They bowed and left the room, closing the doors behind them. Odin looked over Mika, he remembered seeing him stand guard around the palace before and he remembered seeing him talking to Rosalind outside the throne room before.

Mika looked back at Thor who kept his eyes on him and a tight grip on Mjölnir. He looked at Odin then returned his gaze to Loki again.

He chuckled, “I can’t believe that lying bitch told you.”

“You hurt her, why would she not…?!” Loki said, angered.

“Then you had to bring your brother and father into this.” Mika said over him.

“Enough!” Odin shouted. The two stopped and gave their attention to the Allfather. “Michael, is it? You have been brought in for your assault against Princess Rosalind. How do you plead?”

Mika flashed a smile. “Allfather, I am not guilty.” Loki scoffed but he ignored him. “I’m afraid Princess Rosalind has misinformed the royal family.”

“Why would the princess lie about something as serious as this?”

“Possibly because she and I were once in a relationship during her engagement to your son and future king, Loki, and I ended things with her once she returned from her honeymoon.” He looked at Odin with empathy. “Poor dear was so upset and heartbroken. She found out I was with another woman not long after I left her, and this obviously angered her.”

“Are you saying the princess lied about the assault because you stopped seeing her?”

“Yes. I’m assuming she told you about our past relationship. I only moved here to be with her but I was too late. Anyway, when she found out about me and the other woman, she vowed she’d get revenge.” He stepped closer and Thor followed him. “Allfather, this is all a misunderstanding. If you release me I will happily leave Asgard and return to my realm, so that nothing like this ever happens again.”

Odin sighed and turned to Loki, raising a brow.

“He’s lying.” Loki said, glaring at Mika. “He did not end things with Rosalind. She tried to and he took out his anger on her when she did.”

Mika scoffed. “How could you know? You weren’t even there to see what happened!”

“You seem to forget that I am the god of lies. I could catch a lie in a heartbeat. And you’re right I wasn’t there, but she was. When she was telling me what happened, I knew she wasn’t lying.”

“And how do we know you’re both not lying?”

“Why would we want to lie about something like this?”

“Because you want to get rid of me.”

Loki stepped closer to him, clenching his fists. “There are other ways I could’ve gotten rid of you without bringing the Allfather and Thor into this.”

“That’s enough!” Odin stood from the throne. “I trust what Rosalind has told me. Michael, for your crime you will be sentenced to the axe. Guards!”

Thor grabbed Mika’s shoulder tightly as the guards entered the room.

Mika took a step back, surprised. “I can’t believe you’re going to accuse an innocent man of such a horrible act.”

“You are no innocent man.” Loki said, stepping in front of him. “You deserve what’s going to happen to you for hurting my wife.”

The guards placed chains around Mika’s wrists then grabbed his arms, taking him out of the throne room as he yelled at the guards to unhand him.

Loki and Thor helped Odin descend the stairs. He looked at both of them when they reached the bottom. “My sons, I have decided that this will be the last thing I do as Allfather.”

“You’re saying…” Thor said.

Odin nodded. “Yes. Loki, since I have decided that you be the next Allfather, the coronation will be within the next few weeks. We shall have a more detailed discussion later. For now, go to your wife. Comfort her.”

Loki nodded. “Thank you, father.”

[incorrectenhypenquotes]

headcanon - jungwon; enemies to friends to lover

here’s the thing, Jungwon’s good at everything

here’s the other thing - so are you.

You’re both in junior year now, and you’ve been battling out for the top spot at school since the 5th grade. You’re determined to score higher than him at next week’s bio test and he’s sure he’s got you beat when it comes to the english exam you guys just gave

Your friends all tell you he’s a sweetheart, “how can you hate you Yang Jungwon?” They say, “he’s so cute and sweet”

well, he’s not cute

and he’s definitely not sweet

and they can all quote you on that

either way things continue as always until it hits you - you kinda only got another year and a half of school left, and you don’t wanna spend it battling it out with Yang Jungwon of all people.

so you put your pride aside after a lot of internal conflict and approach the guy at school

he’s surprised at first, but then he breaks into a smirk and goes “awe i always knew you secretly didn’t hate me”

you’ve never noticed but he kinda looks like a spider monkey

it’s cute

(no one can know you said that)

anyway, so you two kinda maybe become friends?

you’re a stubborn person okay this is hard to admit - but well he IS sweet and cute okay, he’s funny too he makes you laugh okay ugh whatever 

you two end up having a lot more in common than your competitiveness and intellect so well fuck it you guys kinda vibe together

your friends make fun of you because of it

but it’s fine cos you know jungwon’s friends make fun of him too

and well yeah you guys are doing great!

you come over to his house a lot and you cry over bts together (Jungwon’s bias is Jungkook and he has a bigass poster of him in his room, you make sure you make fun of it omg)

anyway so junior year is a blur and now you’re a senior - time flies when your not arguing incessantly with Yang Jungwon

and thank god ur not anymore cos the guy is kind of your best friend now?? Like you bicker all the time but it’s like friendly bickering okay

JUST friendly bickering

no u don’t like him

your friends are WRONG

it’s not like you two flirt or anything, or go on dates together - you just catch dinners and movies together occasionally, and he has an apple tv so you guys can watch movies together in his room and he’s really cute when he get’s invested in the plot -

okay so maybe you kinda have a bit of a crush on him

he’s cute okay and sweet and yeah you’ve  been wrong all of your life shut up

anyways

things continue

senior year is hard and also sad but it’s fine cos you have your friends and you’re all at least planning on keeping touch after you leave for college.

also you and Jungwon are both running SNU because ur overachievers and your both probably gonna get in so yay

anyway, before u know it it’s prom season

jungwon is popular and like 3 girls have asked him already but the guy’s said no all three times and honestly ur getting kinda suspicious. 

“how come you keep rejecting them?”

“idk, none of them are the right one.”

“well, who is the right one?”

“that’s for me to know and you to find out.”

“as if i even care”

“why’d you ask then, huh?”

“I-uh-SHUT UP!”

(you definitely do want to find out btw, like really badly, its not u ur sure but u still wanna know okay?)

no one’s asked you yet, it’s fine there’s still almost a whole month left. Someone’ll ask you, you’ve been hearing rumors anyway. 

anyway one day you come to school and your lockers full of your favorite candy. Like, there are three whole boxes of it and a note telling you to come to the roof after lunch.

you’re a sucker for candy so fuck yeah you listen, and after lunch you go up there and - um Jungwon?

“hey man, what’s up?”

“go to prom with me?”

“huh-”

you’re caught off guard, cause it’s blunt and sudden and so very unlike the jungwon you’ve gotten to know. At then you see that his face is as bright red as  the roses he’s holding and he looks like he’s going to burst at any second and - yeah, that’s definitely you’re Jungwon.

“Let me think about it-”

“uh-okay um-”

“I’m kidding dummy of course I’ll go with you!”

you hug each other on the roof for like 20 minutes. It’s a little cliché and very 90s shoujo anime but, eh, it’s cute, you have fun.

(after everything’s settled you guys argue over what color to match for ur prom outfits - he says red and you say blue and it’s a whole thing but it’s fine cos you guys set on purple)

[teddybear-yn]

[txt as school rivals]

yeonjun

it always irked you how the playful and carefree guy somehow was always at the top of the rankings with you

here you were wasting your HS life, studying every night

and all he seemed to do was fool around?

you made it known that you didn’t like him though

and yeonjun was smart, so even though you only glared at him in the hallways, he would know you weren’t in a good mood again

“Come on, Y/N. Someday I’ll definitely put a smile on that pretty face.”

oh and did I mention how incredibly flirty he is?

that personality you hate so much only because it throws you off every time, but you wouldn’t admit that was exactly how he became all of teacher’s pet

yes, all of them

but despite that happy go lucky annoying facade of his, he always had your back

without you knowing

when you were sick, he was the one that payed attention to class more closely and took more detailed notes to give you

he made sure your group members’ did their tasks and didn’t dump it all on you

the whole school probably knew about his crush on you, but to you, you guys were only rivals

he knows he can (and will) change it someday though

soobin

unlike yeonjun, soobin was more of a quiet character

which maybe was what gave him the Prince Charming image

he was just perfect

girls wanted to date him while guys wanted to be him

meanwhile there was you

you were always 2nd place, sometimes 1st but all the attention goes to soobin anyways

nobody really knows who you are

yes, technically, you’re rivals but people don’t really consider that

not known to the public though, is that soobin adores you

how you finish writing notes the fastest in class, how you would gaze out the window once you’re done

how you would be busy doodling but would still get the answer right if you were called, even how you use a pink pen for important parts of your notes

but despite that he knows how much of a silent but hard worker you are so he never fails to lend you his notes when you shyly ask for them

and he can’t help but tease you for them sometimes

“Tsk tsk, someday I’ll want something back for all the times I’ve helped you, you know?” he would playfully threat

“But, don’t worry. Never something that would upset you.”

even so, soobin and you had that quiet relationship behind the scenes of his huge popularity, you support him, he supports you, despite anything

beomgyu

beomgyu was captain of the soccer team

you were the volleyball’s

every year, the principal would get a headache from you two arguing on who should get more fundings

you argue how volleyball is an indoor sport unlike soccer, so you’re maintenance fees were higher

beomgyu argues how the soccer team has more members, meaning more mouths to feed and bodies to clothe

but because of your rivalry, your school has been both soccer and volleyball champions for years now

one reason why the principal puts up with you two

but your teams though were a different story

almost every one of them were paired with one another in a relationship

which might be why they would always neverendingly tease and pair you two

for example

if you just so happen to want to take a lap on the field with your team because the weather was nice, they would insist it was because you wanted to see beomgyu

“Come on, you guys clearly like each other with all the bickering??” they’re argument every time

unlike you, beomgyu takes the teasing though

when you go to their games, he would always throw you one of his clean jerseys to wear and would tell you to cheer him

“Only you can wear my jersey and only mine, okay?” he would shout across the field

with a wink if I might add

and on your games he would always come, saying he just wanted to assess the enemy, but then as the heat of the game starts rising you’ll see him jumping off his seat to cheer you

in the end, you could say your rivalry was more of a healthy and friendly one

despite both your teams teasing and all the arguing (sexual tension?)

taehyun

ahhh tsundere taehyun

your relationship with taehyun, you could say was the opposite of yeonjun’s

he was the quiet, studious, sometimes (most times) strict one

while you were the dean’s daughter that somehow always gets top grades despite being in trouble all the time

you had a lot of enemies, not so many real friends

taehyun was always the one to scold you and reminded you of school projects

secretly you think your mom put him up to that and promised him extra credit for it

so he and you spent a lot of time bickering

its fine he knew to apologize when he fets too far, you too

“Look, causing a ruckus isn’t gonna get you any good attention from your mom.”

after seeing your tears, he’d be apologizing with sweets almost everyday for a month

“I know what I said was out of line and hirt your feelings. Know that I won’t ever do that again.” he would say with a somewhat grumpy tone because tsundere!!

you know the saying true friends talk bad about you up front, but talk good about you behind your back

while all you “real” friends did was kiss your ass, taehyun was the only one to defend you when things got bad

basically, tashyun was more of like your little secret bodyguard, always there to save and protect you

huening kai

the only time you’d see school rivals being best friends

sure you guys bicker a lot, but always in a playful tone

you guys were #bffgoals with how you both conquer sports and academics

sadly, because of that fact teachers would always assign groups/partners instead of letting students choose

why? because you two paired up and no one came close to how perfect your guys’ work was

it was a good thing too because being with just each other all the time would make you guys a bit too dependent on each and maybe antisocial

so being separate on groups helped you two interact with students more

ultimately it only made your guys’ reputations way better

you two were It Girl and Top Dog

lots of rumors circulate about how you two were dating but whenever theyd ask you reassured you two were only friends

at least for now :)

[purplesurveys]

1036

survey by tickticktmr

How many...

How many times have you skipped class? I skipped one day a year back in high school, and that cut was always for this day-long event that the school would arrange to serve as a break from academic classes; for example, for those days we had like themed classes like knitting and it was also usually a themed costume day. I didn’t see the point in it, so I always skipped.

I cut a lot of classes in college that it’s impossible to count because, welp, it’s college lol.

How many times have you kissed the last person you kissed? Hundreds.

How many years have you known your second closest friend? 10 years.

How many alarm clocks are in the house? We don’t have any alarm clocks, but we have alarms built into our phones. If those count, then we have five.

How many people have you argued with?  I don’t think I can count this. I’ve had arguments with various people ranging from mild bickering to full-blown fights.

How many times have you watched your favorite movie? I watched it every day for a certain period several years ago and I go back to it at least once every year. It’s probably been a little more than a hundred times.

How many people do you live with? Four, my parents and two siblings.

How many pairs of boots do you own? Zero.

How many people have told you they're in love with you? Just the one.

How many times have you cried over the opposite sex? A handful, but all have been in the non-romantic sense. I used to cry all the time when we’d drop my dad off at the airport, and I’ve cried over my grandpa’s and Nacho’s death as well.

How many people have been in your house at one time? Do you mean what’s the most number of people that’s stayed at our house at one given time? Not sure...maybe it was the time the entire executive board of my org came over for a meeting before the official start of the sem? It was only a little over 10 people, but then again my mom doesn’t appreciate too many visitors.

How many stuffed animals are in your room? There are a couple of plushies, but not anything bigger than that.

How many cellphones have you went through? Tons. I was my parents’ nightmare. I’ve gone through 8 so far.

How many pets do you have? We have two living ones, both dogs.

What would you do if...

What would you do if you could never listen to music again? I’d be really distraught over never being able to listen to my favorites anymore. Even if I don’t really listen to music when I’m depressed, i.e. now, I still like having the option to tune in when I feel like it. So even if it won’t be the end of the world, I’d still feel pretty damn lonely.

What would you do if your current bf/gf cheated on you? I don’t have one anymore but I’d be really puzzled and be betrayed if she had, given how much she hates cheaters and the act of cheating.

What would you do if you could never wear jeans again? Rejoice for the most part, but also be sad over mom jeans because they’re the only comfy kind of jeans and that’s the one type I genuinely enjoy wearing.

What would you do if your dad became president? Expect him to tap me for help almost immediately. I think he’d make a good leader considering he’s already one at his work, at least a far better one than my mom ever could be.

What would you do if you lost your most important possession? Right now that’s my laptop. If I lost that, I’d mostly be scared of the possibility of my parents whooping my ass; but at the same time my company just gave me a company laptop anyway so it’ll be easy to start over.

What would you do if your house burned down? Stop taking this survey, obviously. Then I’d grab my phone and Kimi, since he’s here with me in my room.

What would you do if your best friend didn't want to be friends anymore? I’d be devastated and start thinking if I’m the problem.

What would you do if you had to move do a different state/province? Thank fuck. I’d be relieved to have the chance to start from scratch, and I’d be all for it.

What would you do if someone shaved your head? Be furious, especially if they did it while I was asleep or otherwise unaware.

What would you do if Jesus came to your front door? Think that it’s probably an act and ask them to leave.

What would you do if your house was robbed? Check if my parents, sister, and dogs are unharmed.

What would you do if your sister/brother got married? Puzzled because 1) they are both single, 2) we are still in a pandemic and why would either of them want to get married right now, and 3) they are 20 and 17.

What would you do if dogs became extinct? Idk, be upset.

What would you do if the last person you kissed proposed to you? I’d be conflicted and a mix of emotions. I’m not sure I would take it well now, even if that’s all I wanted in the end.

Have you ever...

Have you ever broke a body part? I’ve mildly sprained an ankle, but I’ve never broken a bone or had an organ severely malfunction.

Have you ever broke someone else's body part? I don’t think so. 

Have you ever changed for a guy/girl? I’ve adjusted a lot. Idk about change.

Tried to jump on a celebrity but been stopped by the security guards? Kind of? Greyson Chance walked into the mall right when I was exiting and my first instinct as a 14/15 year old was to grab my phone and start taking photos, even though I wasn’t even a fan and could not name any song of his and was just excited to see a Hollywood person in such a mundane circumstance lol. But it wasn’t the smartest move, obviously. I got to be a little too close just because we were crossing paths; I wasn’t trying to be near him, but that’s what his bodyguard interpreted so he asked me to back off.

Have you ever complained about the last person you spoke to? I don’t think there was ever anything to complain about Hans. We’ve always been on amazing terms and he’s one of the funniest people I know.

Have you ever cried on your mom's shoulder? As an infant.

Have you ever dialed 911 as a prank? No. I’m not a jerk.

Have you ever won a talent show? I don’t have anything to show off, so I never joined those.

Have you ever spilled a drink on a expensive electronic item and ruined it? Nah. As clumsy as I can be, I’m always careful with liquids and gadgets.

Have you ever fainted when someone told you shocking news? Nope. I’ve only fainted because I was extremely hungry.

Have you ever swooned over the Jonas Brothers? In 4th grade. I still like them, but I haven’t swooned over them in a while.

Have you ever bought a piece of makeup that cost over $100? No, I don’t buy makeup period.

Have you ever been cheated on by someone who claimed to love you? I haven’t.

Have you ever got food free because the waiter thought you were hot? No, and ew.

Do you...

Do you have someone who will always be there for you? Yeah, I’m lucky I have friends who remind me all the time.

Do you have a membership at a gym? No, was never interested.

Do you act dumb to get guys/girls to like you? No. Hasn’t this been debunked a million times?

Do you know anyone who smokes a pack of cigarettes a day? Possibly more, yes.

Do you follow the rules? As much as possible, yeah.

Do you have a friend who secretly really annoys you? Eh, kind of, but I don’t count her as a friend per se.

Do you always have Pepsi at your house? I don’t think my parents buy Pepsi whenever they get softdrinks. I’ve only ever seen Coca-Cola bottles.

Do you flirt with anything that moves? No.

Do you watch Sponge Bob? I watched it regularly as a kid; as an adult, I’ll watch the older episodes from time to time.

Do you count sheep when you can't sleep? No.

Do you sweat easily? Nah. I’ve been told I rarely look like I sweat, actually.

Do you like pineapple? Not at all.

Do you refuse to wear something that's out of style? If it’s something that’s recently gone out of style, like culottes, then yeah. But if you mean like 90s stuff like fanny packs and mom jeans, I believe those things are back in style all over again.

Do you type 'u' or 'you'? I type both, depending on what I feel like using and who I’m talking to.

What is...

What is your best friend's name? Angela. Maybe Gabie? But mainly Angela.

What is your first girlfriend/boyfriend's name? See second name above.

What is your neighbour's name? I have no clue what any of their names are other than the director who lives two houses away; his name is Mac.

What is your least favorite swear word? Faggot.

What is the best and most romantic way to propose to someone? I think it will always be different per couple, and if a given couple wants a romantic proposal in the first place.

What is something that always makes you laugh? The show Friends.

What is the name of your hometown? That’ll stay a secret.

What is the most gentle way to turn someone down? Idk...haven’t really had to do this before, and the one time I did wasn’t the nicest way.

What is the ugliest girl name? 1) Can’t think of any, and 2) that’s just mean.

What is the most boring thing to do? Technically, waiting. Especially if it’s for something mundane, like lining up for a government service.

What is the funnest kind of question to answer? On surveys? I appreciate random questions the most.

What is the most useless thing you know? I’ve read a lot of ‘useless’ trivia on Reddit that I’ll probably never have to use or bring up in this lifetime.

What is your favorite pair of pants? My mom jeans, which I always mention when asked this.

What is the best flavour of ice cream? I personally root for cookies and cream.

[neshabeingchildish]

Hensley & Char: Friends or Whatever || Part 6

I have to warn y’all, this chapter has some sadness in it. I tapped into 15 year old me and how I was trying to navigate what I thought back then was me being bi, which IF someone calls me bi, I am not opposed to the able, even being technically ace, but for that time and for my feelings/experience and the language I had access to, that’s what I was considering myself as, but nobody knew that (though I was rumored gay by several people in high school, despite never seeing me in any relationships and me only ever speaking about male crushes to others) LOL, yes, Mama used to have male crushes irl, when I was a kid. But, I tapped into some of myself, but made it more Charlotte-like and leaned on the gay. Idk how well it will or won’t resonate, but I hope that I at least did Charlotte justice in her experience with looking inward, though her results may be disappointing, I hope that they at least come across as realistic, if not relatable or understandable. @just-a-j-reallly @junknstu1f @henryharts I’m not in a rush for feedback, as I know everybody has things going on. Hopefully my tags work out. A lot of people never get notified of them.

Also, as a heads up, the next chapter, whenever that might come, might also be sad too. I’m so sorry. 

The Jasper Juxtaposition

They had been trying to get Jasper into the fold of their outfit for a while. Ray wasn’t having it. Even whenever Charlotte basically throw her pride into a burning bin, seeping with trash juice, to pretend that she was secretly dating Hensley, but that they couldn’t tell anyone because, “Charlotte’s not out of the closet.” At this point, Charlotte was very heavily debating this ruse. 

There was an element of “people shouldn’t lie/joke about being in the closet,” which she strongly and firmly believed in… But… She went along with it anyway, because as she did her backstory for this test on Jasper, she found that she comfortably created the guise. 

“I can say that I’ve been curious about my sexuality for a while, and seeing you out of the closet, living your best gay life inspired me to come to you for advice on how to navigate figuring it out and in the process, we fell for each other and started dating secretly.”

Hensley laughed in her face and said, “It’s Jasper, Char. You don’t have to say all of that. Just be like, “We’re gay together, Dude.” He’s gonna accept it and be super chill about it. I’m not convinced there’s a pile of homo rattling around in him, if we’re being honest. PLUS, he thinks we’re both hot. He’s gonna get a kick out of us kissing and stuff.”

“I’m not kissing you!” Charlotte squealed.

Hensley turned up her nose, “What? Ew. No! Of course not. Ugh. This incites disgust, to think of it.” She shook her head, “Kissing a straight girl… in the mouth? I don’t know where your mouth has been. On boys, probably. I don’t want boy kiss transfer.”

“You kissed Chloe all the time!” Charlotte argued, unsure of why that was her response instead of arguing that she didn’t want to kiss Hensley (and hadn’t been kissing any boys, unless you counted kissing Jack Swagawitz at camp… which… she didn’t), and furthermore…

“Chloe was different, though. I really liked her,” Hensley said.

“You went out with Bianca as soon as you had a window,” Charlotte muttered.

“You told me to go for it! What? Now, I gotta stop listening to my smarter half?”

They bickered up until the moment that Jasper came over for them to feed him the lie. Whoa, were they bad at lying together… Fortunately, it was Jasper. Who, Charlotte was very disturbed by his fascination with the thought of them kissing. “Jasper is fetishing us, and I don’t like it,” she told Hensley.

“He’s not fetishizing you. He’s fetishizing fake lesbian you. It’s different.”

“Yeah, but… He’s… fetishizing lesbians!”

“He’s a dude. Dudes do that,” Hensley said, waving a hand. Charlotte didn’t like that explanation and it was often Hensley’s excuse for a number of sexist and problematic things that happened on her watch. Maybe it was for the best that Jasper didn’t pass the test. Then she’d have a problematic Hensley, and ANOTHER problematic guy at work. Ray was alright. He was nice, enough, but he said stuff sometimes that made her uncomfortable and he didn’t really listen whenever she pointed these things out. (Something that she had no idea would get worse over time, but that’s another subject.

Currently, the subject is Jasper. 

It took a while before Jasper came on board with the team. It took a while before he was ready for this secret. From the time that Hensley and Charlotte “broke up” until then, there were a lot of adventures that Hensley and Char saw together that made them really close in a way that Charlotte and Jasper were not, and even that Jasper and Henry were not. And in a way, for Charlotte, it was a lot like the fabricated story that she had spun - their secret involvement and the connecting together that nobody knew about… Also, since then, she had really been thinking about how easy it was for her to think of that, and how… relatable it felt, how natural it was to even imagine herself, keeping that sort of secret because she couldn’t tell people that she maybe… well… she didn’t really think it was so much a maybe these days… liked girls. 

More specifically, she maybe (and this WAS still a maybe), liked Hensley. Her hopeless heroine who she helped on a daily basis, and loved being so close to, even when she complained and fussed at her about the things that she deserved to be fussed at about. She would probably NEVER let her live down almost getting killed by Jasper’s crazy ex girlfriend, and she was so tired of Hensley always coming to her to get her out of stuff that she warned her about prior to the decision - like when she tried to go to the dance with Chloe as Kid Danger and Bianca as herself… STUPID HENSLEY! Charlotte decided, right around Jasper Dunlop Day that she wasn’t doing this anymore. She was going to explore her options and see what felt right. 

She bought a project board, some cards, and a science journal and she set up, literally in her closet, a little experiment center. She decorated the board, and across the top, had lettered, “Am I Gay?” Her hypothesis?: “I might be gay.” Procedure: Well, she supposed, she had to talk to some people, go on some dates, maybe kiss somebody? She shuddered. The amount of germs in saliva was terrifying to her. In fact, whenever she kissed Jack, she had threatened, “If you slip me any tongue, I’ll slip my fist right into your ribcage!” Needless to say, he slipped her no tongue.

But, her “experimentation phase” generally was not very successful for a number of reasons. 

First and foremost… meeting people? She wasn’t a fan. She joined the Student Council as a means to help her with a bit of self diagnosed social anxiety, but cared a lot about issues, so that she genuinely stayed in it to do community stuff and be a helpful member of the club. She met cool people, too! It was one of her things away from Hensley and away from Jasper, and wasn’t primarily academic, so she held it close to her heart as something for herself and decided against using it, and the fine people she met in it as lab rats for her orientation exploration.

Then, there was the little problem of personal space and unnecessary touching. There were very few people that she allowed into her bubble. Her parents, Uncle Roscoe, Hensley, Jasper, Piper, and Ray, and even with Ray, she tensed up for the longest time whenever he entered her bubble without warning. Even with that select amount of people who could be in her bubble, the only people that could casually touch her were her parents and Hensley. Sometimes Piper, but Piper had the respect to not touch her for no good reason. Unlike Hensley, who she simply had to get used to the fact that the girl was simply GOING TO just stand close, throw her arm around her, hug her, pick her up, play with her hair, tug on her backpack, or whatever she felt like doing at the time, and saying, “You should get permission before touching people,” just became background noise for Hensley, after a while, so Charlotte simply stopped saying it and adjusted. 

Jasper still sometimes got elbowed. It just wasn’t the same thing when a dude just touched you casually, she had initially thought. Maybe that wasn’t it at all and she just didn’t mind girls touching her as much, because she liked them? But… in order to figure that out, she’d have to let people in her bubble and let people casually touch her and see how she felt about it. 

So often, when it looked like somebody was getting too close, she stepped away, creating the distance of comfort for her and also, very clearly letting them see where it was. To the point that everybody who knew her knew not to get too close and everybody in her extracurriculars always did stuff like, “Hey Charlotte, I’m gonna take this lint off of you, okay?” (to which, she’d tell them to show her where it was and get it herself) or “Hi, Charlotte, do you mind if I sit here, or is that too close for you?”(To which she’d tell them to go ahead, but she’d move over more). She’d have to start telling people that being near her was okay, if she wanted to see her reactions to boys and girls and others in her proximity… And nowadays, they didn’t even ask anymore.

Even Mitch Bilsky would take one look at her and say, “UGH. The only space is by the queen of “don’t stand so close to me?” He’d then still do it, and even purposefully make her squirm, but she would resolve to ignore him and he’d get bored and move along.

But, she didn’t have very many times to test this out, and had to eventually rule out trying to get close to people (or let them get close to her) to see if she might feel a little flutter or not. 

Lastly, in addition to not being a people person and not wanting anybody in her personal space, The Man Cave was a whole ass full time job to maintain. She began to wonder what happened to people who previously worked for Ray/Captain Man? Even the ones that were there when she got there, and ones that would pop in and out for little assignments… after a while, she just didn’t see them, and she either was assigned their jobs, or took it upon herself to do them for worry of things going terribly wrong if she didn’t. Things went wrong in general, and she often felt like if she didn’t step in whenever she did, they could be downright disastrous. This job basically became her life. She never signed up for another marathon after dropping out whenever she thought the Super Volcano would kill them. She still had StuCo, but that was school related and when push came to shove, she only forsook the Man Cave for educational purposes, unless it was an extreme emergency.

In fact, she completely gave up on testing it all out and just let it bother her beneath the surface. Her conclusion: I’m more confused than ever, but technically… going to consider myself in the closet.

Imagine if I was as comfortable with myself as Jasper is…

You couldn’t tell that boy nothing. He protested stupid Swellview laws, jumped into hero mode to get his own hero day, wore belly shirts to everyone’s chagrin, was willing to go to tremendous lengths - sometimes extremely embarrassing ones - to get girls, and he overshared weird facts about his body with great excitement that just let you know that he adored these things about himself… 

She couldn’t even with certainty say that she MIGHT like girls, which, she was sure that she absolutely did, but she could hardly admit it to herself, much less out loud. What if it hurt her? What if it affected how she was seen by people on college boards or in the job field, once she left Swellview. Sure… there were YEARS before this happened, but Charlotte had been thinking ahead since she was small, and the moment she felt an inkling that her feelings may be… counterculture, she began to research related laws and statistics. 

Swellview didn’t have a big Black population. In fact, the demographics indicated that there were a lot more lgbt citizens than there were people who weren’t white, period. So, in Swellview, perhaps it wouldn’t be anything to be open about her sexuality… but… what if it was different for her, like a lot of things were. It was often different for her as a girl to be accepted in some spaces, to be listened to, to be respected. And it was frequently double different for her as a Black girl. Even the “good” people made her feel things that she often didn’t want to complain about, because they ALREADY thought she was an angry girl, when she couldn’t think of very many instances in which her anger was not justified. Research told her that was a common issue for Black girls and women. She didn’t have enough around her to touch base with, and was frustrated that she had to consider all of these intersections to even consider whether she would be free enough to have a sexual identity. 

Even with her academic record, immaculate articulation, and non-threatening appearance, Charlotte didn’t have many friends and didn’t have the best reputation. She was a nerd, but also, unfriendly. A Black girl in a male dominant world, in a white dominant city, and to possibly also be gay… she just… she couldn’t just toss that out there and have it attached to her name without knowing, and she felt like a coward for feeling like that. 

What would be the big deal, Charlotte? If that’s who you are… what would be so wrong about that? People be gay all over Swellview… but then again… everyday, she would see people be able to freely do things that she previously thought she WOULD never do, but as she got older realized that she wouldn’t do certain things, because she COULD never do them… not without possibly losing something. Chances? Respect? Heck, in certain areas of the world, her life. But, thinking this hard about it and not coming up with anything to push her to believe that she was indeed a straight girl, despite all of the reasons that it would be SO easy, and she loved easy things, despite her knack for tackling hard things. Why wouldn’t she just accept that she was straight, if that would make all of this anguish and confusion go away? She could just tell herself that she was straight and get it over with and move on… IF she was indeed straight. And if she wasn’t, no matter how much “experimentation” and hypothesizing she did, nothing would make her feel those feelings that she sometimes felt around Hensley, for some boy. 

So… She just sat with it. In her closet. She didn’t experiment and she didn’t hypothesize. But, in her science journal that she had previously been writing all of these things in, she scratched out her conclusion and wrote. 

Conclusion: I’m gay. 

But, she tore the page out and wadded it up. Then, she felt bad, straightened it back out, and slid it back into it's space. She tucked her cards into it and stuffed it into a lock box where she kept keepsakes and stuff, locked it in and got rid of her project board in the Junk n Stuff dumpster. 

She had been handling Kid Danger’s secret for a couple of years now and planned to hold on to it forever. She had time to figure out what to do with her own.

Besides… by the time Jasper got in on the secret… Things changed a lot, anyway.

[maatryoshkaa]

Stray Kids as Roommates | Thread

some roommates-to-lovers fluff coming at you!

Bang Chan

You guys are the pair that n e v e r sleep

Turned his room into a home studio; probably would have thrown out his bed and turned his room into an office if you hadn’t stopped him

You often fall asleep to the sound of his humming and tracks muffled through your bedroom wall

You see the most of him during exam season, while pulling all nighters

He’s always in the kitchen making his 14th cup of coffee when you get up to go to the bathroom at 3 am

Lots of deep, meaningful conversations over late night snacks

You swear you’ve heard him talking to his Goku figurines during the unearthly hours of the morning

You’re the only one Chan lets ruffle his fluffy dandelion bedhead in the morning

Takes care of you more than he takes care of himself

Always asks you how your day went when you get home and insists on listening even when he’s been awake for over 48 hours

Always there to give you advice and comfort you when you’re feeling down! A living breathing mental health hotline

Walked into your room when you were studying for finals at 2am

You were in your pajamas, hair a mess and eyes barely open

And that was when Bang Chan decided he was in love with you

Ah, the couple with matching bags under their eyes.

☽ Read the rest of the boys under this cut! 

Woojin

Fried chicken takeout for dinner is a big Friday night thing

Kind of like a big moral support teddy bear, his hugs are the greatest

You steal half his closet in the winter because his hoodies are the comfiest

Literally the dad of your household

Checks up on your health and how you’re doing every now and then

Pushes you to finish your work and makes sure you’re not procrastinating

Honestly, your grades are soaring thanks to him

Helps you with homework

Your parents love him

Always saves and brings you good things to eat

Tucks you in at night when you can’t sleep nyahh i’m soft

And a couple times, when you wake up shaking from nightmares, homesickness or stress, he’s always there to comfort you, lying there until you fall asleep again.

“Woojin?”

“Yeah? Shh, don’t worry, I’m here.”

You always sit outside the bathroom and listen to him sing in the shower

Until he suddenly opened the door in nothing but a towel and you couldn’t face him for weeks

He thought your furiously blushing face was the cutest thing he’d ever seen and teased you about it, 

Until you finally kissed him to make him shut up

Hint: it worked wonders.

Minho

Saturday night dance battles are a t h i n g

Doesn’t do any chores unless he notices you’re feeling tired

Tried to cook once and probably accidentally gave the both of you food poisoning

Remember when he cooked rice cakes in the unwashed metal pan I’m--

Likes you a lot more than he lets on

Like, you’d mention craving a certain food or not having saved up enough money for something, and voila, the next day it’d be sitting on the kitchen table.

“What? It was on sale, just lying around. Don’t think too much of it.”

Clowns you for every little thing, but the moment he hears someone make fun of you, it’s on sight

Bicker like an old married couple, lots of back and forth catfights

Evenings falling asleep on the sofa, both tipsy and giggling while his two cats snuggle up around you

Arguing over who the cats love more

Endless crackhead antics; the neighbours probably hate you

Insists on walking his cats around the apartment complex, when in reality he just wants to spend more time with you

Everyone already knows you’re basically dating but you’re both too stubborn to admit it

Probably hooked up once or twice, or more than once or twice ;)

Changbin

Honestly when you first got him as your roommate, you were terrified

Because this 5’6 ball of dark is intimidating as frick

Realized how soft he really was when he whipped out his Munchlax plushie

Petty arguments with him are impossible because he speaks so fast

So you just let him win

Makes you kill the spider

Always manages to convince you to watch horror movies at 1 am

Probably as an excuse to have you in his arms if you get scared ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) he thinks he’s slick

Perfected the “stretch and put his arm around your shoulder” move

Made a special playlist for everything you do together: good vibes for breakfast, upbeat jams when doing the chores together, chill indie mixes for cozy evenings in doing work

Insists on helping you around the house

Bringing you fresh ice coffee, cookies, and convenience store hauls whenever he gets off work

“B-but the Peperos were on a buy one get one free sale 👉👈”

Suggests playing the pocky/pepero kiss game to which you smack him in response

But you end up giving him a quick peck anyways, and he freezes, stunned

You run off, face red, Changbin chasing after to you with a wicked grin

“What was that? Is that buy one get one, too, because I want another oneeee!”

Hyunjin

The chillest roommate, but when he gets hyper oh m y

I ain’t gettin no sleep cos of y’all, y’all not gettin sleep cos of me

You have to wake him on the weekends because this boy would sleep until the evening

You want to let him rest, though, since he’s always out and working so late ;(

Secretly takes so many candid, soft pictures of you and saves them as his wallpaper

Loves to take you shopping and dress the both of you in matching #OOTDs

Hypes you the heck up

“She’s sister snatched today! Skin glowing, outfit on point -- oh look at that SMILE! Do the thing again -- oh my gosh. You’re killing it, y/n!”

Gives you fashion advice and beauty tips, although you keep bugging him for his skincare routine cuz damn

Probably share skincare products

Always do face masks together but fail at keeping them on because the two of you keep laughing at the stupidest things

Sometimes he has to put you to bed when he comes home late, and you’ve fallen asleep on the couch waiting for him to get back

Can’t resist kissing your forehead sometimes when tucking you in

At moments like these, he finds himself wishing for a sliver of a chance that you might feel the same way he has

He’s honestly so damn obvious though, getting you matching “roommate” things when he goes out -- plushies that remind him of you, little snacks when you’re down, cute accessories, you name it

This boy also forgets that he talks in his sleep -- and is very hard to wake up

So one morning, you’re leaning over his bed, about to shake him awake, and hear him mumble

“y/n, y/n, y/n...i like you sooo much...what do i do?”

You nearly choke on your toast, effectively waking the boy up, and he stares at you, half-awake and mortified.

“What? Did I--did I say something in my sleep?”

The smug, blushing smile spreading over your face is enough to send him diving back under the covers as you begin to tease him

Jisung

So comfortable to be around, he’s basically your best friend from day 1

Except for the fact that he’s so. Damn. LOUD

Noise complaints filed from the neighbours, the landlord, the neighbour’s dog, you name it

Another soft bean whose bedhead you love to ruffle

I mean have you seen My Pace dance practice? That boys mane has a mind of its own--

Brings you lots of cakes and pastries from cute bakeries when you’re stressed

A responsible boi™ ! always helps you out around the house.

Grocery shopping together? What a concept

Except he piles the cart with chips and snacks when he thinks you’re not looking

Lots of late nights binging movies on Netflix

This boy loves moves

But he loves them even more when he watches them with you ;D

Afterwards, you’re both too lazy and comfortable to move, so you end up falling asleep cuddled up against each other

Always runs away and hides when you ask to see his songs

You find scraps of hastily scribbled lyrics and ideas strewn around the house all the time

Little phrases like “i think i love you” and “my heart beats impossibly fast when i’m with you”

So you manage to collect enough to bring them to him and tease him about it

Jisung gets all quiet, though, instead of whining like he usually does, and you quickly apologise, thinking you’ve gone too far

You reassure him his writing is amazing

“It’s not that.”

He finally looks you in the eye, the intensity of his stare making your heart stop for a moment.

“They’re about you.”

Oh, how the turn tables.

Felix

i hate him sm, blease

Why did you even agree to room with him

Rooming with Felix is a one way trip to insanity -- we going ✈️✈️ acid trip

You can hear him yelling yeets and yeehaws when he plays Fortnite while you do your homework, and you swear you’re t h i s close to putting his head straight through his screen

Video game marathons when you’re not busy though, you have to admit, are the bomb

Probably convinced you to make TikToks with him

Makes you do all the viral challenges, including the couple trends

Honestly the most fun guy to be around ever

Your daily dose of memes and sugar

Knows when to be down to earth and serious, though!

Gives the best massages when you’re overworked and runs you a bath, promptly ordering your favourite takeout and making sure to feed you

Building pillow forts together on rainy days and snow days, and having sleepovers!

Binging vine compilations together during said sleepovers

Sending each other memes at 1 am when you’re both simultaneously procrastinating on homework

You basically became a couple without really going through the confession stage; it just sort of happened

“Hey, ‘lix?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“I think I kinda like you.”

A sideways smirk. “Well, yeah, you’ve dealt with me for this long.”

The best-friends couple: soulmates, and, more importantly, partners in crime vine

Seungmin

Sweetest roommate!! Honestly you feel bad for even asking him to do chores

Has a bit of an evil side, though

One second he’s flashing you an angelic smile, the next he’s roasting you for your selfie skills on your recent Instagram post

You make one (1) complaint about the living room being messy, next thing you know you wake up and it’s spick and span

Cooks?? Really hecking well?

Sometimes you wonder if you signed up for a roommate or a housekeeper

Your apartment is so clean

Taking evening strolls together after dinner and taking pictures at the park

Walks you to and from work/school like a little puppy, and gets anxious if you’re late coming home

Doesn’t know how to show how much he cares about you and gets frustrated with himself

So he indulges in the little things, like packing you cute little lunches with sticky notes on the containers

Little notes around the house on days he stays out working late, like make sure you’re eating! And don’t sleep too late!

Honestly, you fell for him the moment he first smiled at you

Once, he was working overtime nonstop, and you didn’t get to see him for over two weeks

When he finally came home on time, you couldn’t help tackling him in a big bear hug

After he got over his initial heartbeat racing a thousand miles per hour, he dropped his head into the crook of your neck, hugging you back tightly

No words were needed, you missed each other’s presence so much, it seemed to say itself

I love you, and I missed you.

Jeongin

Is this boy even old enough to rent out a room? He is babie

So incredibly shy when he first meets you, but warms up quickly

Owns animal-printed pajamas and onesies

You both had a mini celebration when he got his braces off, complete with banana milk and animal crackers

You are both babie

An early bird, always wakes up before you

You wake up to him shaking you and laughing at your scrunched up face

“Wake uuppp, y/n, you’re going to be so late!”

“Ergghhhh.”

Can’t clean to save his life; always ends up breaking something or knocking things over

So he’s in charge of doing the laundry

Had a fat mental breakdown when he realised that meant your underwear

Your apartment is littered with figurines and plushies that both of you collect and don’t have the heart to clean out

“Jeongin, where are y----” you stop. “Why are you lying face down on the ground?”

“...we’re out of banana milk.”

Another hidden evil bean who clowns you for everything you do once he warms up to you

Baby boy!Jeongin switches to Savage!Jeongin in a matter of seconds

Also makes you kill the spider

Helps you cook, but only if you tell him how to do everything or he’ll freak out

Putting mukbang channels on the TV while eating together and watching in comfortable silence

Loves watching you eat and has a million derpy pictures of you saved on his phone

Poor boy has no idea how to tell you he’s falling head over heels with you

Accidentally blurts out “I like you” during a screaming contest

Lots, I mean LOTS of awkward laughing as Jeongin feels his face heat up, watching yours do the same

The longest moment passes, and Jeongin is getting ready to disassociate when you’re finally able to open your mouth and scream back,

“I like you, too!”

Baby boy found his soulmate.

[longroadstonowhere]

yeah, okay, so what if rwby was still rwby but ruby’s partner was blake and weiss’s partner was yang

(this is ridiculously long and also really just barely touches on what i’ve been thinking about, but it’s been sitting in my drafts without being touched for at least a few days now so i might as well publish now)

obviously everything up to initiation is the same, but when we get into the forest, blake ends up closer to ruby than yang, so she decides to follow the girl whose optimism seems more motivated by grief than naivety, but she’s not able to sneak up on ruby at the end of a fight - instead, a grimm forces her out of hiding and she has to fight alongside ruby for a few monsters

they meet eyes and ruby waffles between rambling and telling herself to shut up, which prompts blake to laugh a little and tell her to relax, she doesn’t bite before walking off all cool-like - ruby just sorta sighs because she feels like she’s already messed up

meanwhile, weiss is facing off against her own group of grimm, who she’s actually doing pretty okay against, only to have her perfect form set off course by a grimm thrown through the woods by yang, who apologizes but calls her princess or ice queen or what have you in the process, which gets weiss mad but the middle of a grimm fight is not the time to argue with someone else so she just blows way too much dust to freeze the remaining enemies

yang’s kinda impressed, but in a ‘i didn’t think you could actually fight’ sorta way, which just pisses weiss off more, so she tries to leave yang behind, only for yang to mention she’s going the wrong way, and they get into a fight about it that gets interrupted by jaune’s scream (because yeah, all the jnpr stuff would still go like normal)

blake and ruby make their way to the temple no problem, but also no talking - ruby tries to start a few conversations but they’re all shallow enough for blake to give single word responses (maybe a short sentence here or there), so when they get to the temple ruby zips ahead excitedly to grab an artifact, only to get beaned by jaune as he falls from the sky

weiss and yang end up meeting pyrrha getting hunted by the death stalker and they try to help her take it out, but their styles keep getting in each other’s way and all three of them just run a fighting retreat in the direction pyrrha saw jaune fly

everyone meets up at the temple, where they’re able to temporarily halt the death stalker long enough for everyone who didn’t have one yet to get an artifact, but weiss and yang are still pissed off at each other and they attract the nevermore

ruby kicks into leader mode, directing jnpr to handle the death stalker while rwby takes down the nevermore, a fight which basically goes the same as canon probably, except i might would have blake give a shocked look at how capable ruby is under pressure, which yang would see and just be like ‘hey, if you’re her partner, you better make sure you appreciate her skills’

anyway, team creation ceremony happens, ruby is named leader, they go through their first day of classes, and weiss is still pissed at how unleaderly she sees ruby being, but instead of complaining to a teacher about it, yang pulls her aside for a sparring session

they have a fight-talk about giving people chances, weiss complains that ruby’s still a child, yang reveals summer’s death and says she’s happy ruby can still be so child-like because everything in the world says she shouldn’t be, she wins the sparring session against weiss and is like ‘don’t think everyone else has had an easy life just because you have’, to which weiss is like ‘that is not true but i understand the point you’re making, i’ll try to be nicer’

meanwhile after her chat with ozpin ruby goes to the library to try and cram knowledge into her brain to be a better leader, where she finds blake, who assumes ruby’s there to find some comics or novels or whatever, but ruby reveals her plan and asks for blake’s help

blake is actually surprised by this request, but she asks what kind of leader ruby wants to be, when ruby’s confused she explains ‘do you want to be someone fearless and strong, who’s followed by those with the utmost faith in your infallibility? do you want to be the wisest, followed because your words can move even stone? or-’

and ruby just says ‘i want to be the kind of leader you can trust to have your back no matter what’, which blake didn’t actually expect to hear because she still thinks ruby would only have immature concepts of leadership, but she rallies herself and says ‘you’re well on your way, then’

i think weiss and ruby still have their nighttime reconciliation as well, just maybe a little different based on the circumstances leading up to it

all the jaune stuff is basically the same, nothing interesting to change there

and you know, i think blake’s identity reveal mostly goes the same as well - pretty much the only difference i can imagine is when penny’s asking about blake, ruby mentions she’s her partner as well as her friend, and maybe blake’s dialogue with sun changes a bit as well

the fight against roman goes as before, but after the fight you get more of a scene between ruby and blake where blake tries to start explaining but ruby just hugs her and is like i don’t care about any of that you are my partner so i am ride or die for you and i’m so glad you’re safe, which blake takes a second to like compute being hugged? but then she accepts it, and that’s when weiss shows up and they get their moment of reconciliation

i think in second season, the only thing i’d really change is burning the candle (as much as it pains me to change it because it’s such a good episode as is)

so while weiss and yang are focusing on the dance, ruby sits by worrying about blake, yang offers to try and talk some sense into her but ruby says ‘she’s my partner, i’ll take care of it’

so instead of the laser pointer bit, ruby just puppy dog eyes blake into a private conversation, and i think we get more of how ruby felt after her mom died - ‘yang thinks i was too young to remember or understand, but i remember dad shutting down for a long time, yang having to take care of me, qrow poking his head in but he never stayed for long’, moral of the story is sometimes people leave your life long before you expect it so do your best to enjoy the time you have? something like that

that hits blake hard because she’s the one who’s done the leaving thus far, she tries to hold onto the outrage but ruby just holds onto her hands and says please, and blake gives in

so yeah, the rest of second season goes as canon, the campfire conversation might have some minor differences but the heart of it is the same - big thing is raven still saves yang, but i don’t think we’d have a conversation with yang before this time where she reveals that raven was her birth mom, so it’s more of a mystery who she is

so we swing into the third season, which again i think would stay mostly the same - like if it was getting animated the fights might be different because the partners are different and so their strategies might change, but the big events still happen as they did in canon mostly

when winter arrives, i think yang might be with weiss instead of ruby because, you know, partners, and besides weren’t they going to talk about their second round strategy.... weiss where are you going

so when qrow and winter’s fight gets stopped, yang greets qrow happily but mentions ‘i have to talk to you when you’re done’, which like he doesn’t understand but oz is still waiting for him so he goes ‘okay firecracker’, weiss rolls up like ‘he explains so much about you two’ and yang is just all ‘you’re just mad cuz he was wiping the floor with your sister’, and they bicker happily

so while ruby and yang are hanging out with qrow playing video games, yang convinces ruby to leave for a second (grab snacks?) and she mentions ‘i think i saw my mom’, so now we get qrow and yang talking about raven (which yang still hasn’t actually told ruby about, so she thinks ruby doesn’t know, whereas qrow suspects she’s aware but isn’t sure and it’s not something ruby needs to know really? there’s something there in that regard at least) (ruby totally knows, she found the same photo yang did and realized just how similar raven and yang look, and she’d picked up on a lot of half-sentences the others had all been using around her, but she didn’t want to pry)

so things continue apace, yang has her fight against mercury that gets sabotaged by emerald, and afterwards blake still says ‘i want to believe you’, but it doesn’t hurt yang as much as canon because this is ruby’s partner, not hers, weiss has her back one thousand percent so yang is more confused than anything else, blake still gets yang to swear to her face what she saw, but before she accepts it she gives ruby a quick glance because blake trusts ruby’s judgment more than her own at this point probably

so then we have the fall of beacon, and i think everything still goes as canon - ruby goes after pyrrha on the roof, yang goes after blake in the cafeteria, but this is more a factor of who is where when locations get reported, because yang hears from weiss that blake disappeared into the school grounds before ruby makes it off the ship, so she tasks weiss with protecting her sister while she collects their lost teammate

so yang loses her arm for her sister’s partner, and ruby’s ascent is aided by a teammate, and she wakes up at home and learns about silver eyes

so here’s where the fun part starts happening - i don’t know if blake would run to menagerie at this point

i think she would feel guilty about causing yang’s injury (because of course she would still blame herself for that), but she would also feel guilty about not having ruby’s back when she needed it, and i don’t know if she could have left while ruby was still comatose

so i think, in this universe, blake secretly follows the family to patch, and the night after ruby wakes up, she sneaks into ruby’s room to make sure she’s okay, she thinks ruby is asleep so she just whispers an apology and turns to leave but ruby stops her, they have a long chat going back and forth about how much of what happened is blake’s fault and how much power they have over the world (blake thinks very little positive power, ruby thinks just enough), ruby ekes a promise out of blake that she’ll stay in touch before blake escapes, now determined to go home and rest

or maybe she wouldn’t - maybe ruby would be able to guilt her into staying, or at least into coming with her when she decides to leave for mistral; i’m really intrigued by the long break between the fall of beacon and the beginning of rnjr’s journey in canon, and it’d be interesting to examine that time period in closer detail

(side note, i just realized rnjr leaves patch in winter and we see them in mistral in spring - is the entire winter season spent in crossing the sanus continent? how have i never thought about this time period before? anyway)

the only other strong thought i have about this is that yang’s attitude toward blake would be way more simplistically antagonistic i think - she would be more likely to blame blake for adam being there in the first place (or at least, she would entertain the thought, as opposed to canon yang who couldn’t even imagine blaming blake for adam’s actions i think), but what would she feel about weiss being kidnapped? i’m not sure, honestly

okay, this is long enough for now i think - we’ll see if i have more specific post volume three thoughts later