#because it’s presented as obvious + a little childish + easy to resolve

[obstinaterixatrix]

lmao they’re so funny

[everythingsinred]

Let's Talk About NatsuMikan: Natsume (pt. 12)

Oof, the long-awaited Christmas Ball arc has finally arrived! Let's get into it!

What does it look like to see Natsume at his most selfish? One needs only to look at Chapter Fifty.

Chapter Forty-Eight

The Christmas Ball is finally here!

Natsume has to begin the ball just like he has to begin the festival, sitting on stage with the other Principal students, as if he’s some kind of representative. When he catches Mikan looking at him, he sticks his tongue out at her, and she’s taken aback and offended, but he’s trying to be cute. When Natsume is around Mikan, they always bicker and argue. She’s someone he can argue with, something he can’t do with most people. He can’t argue with the people in the DA class because he’ll get punished. He can’t argue with Ruka because he already causes him enough stress. With Mikan, none of the arguments are deep. She forgives and forgets easily, and he can act freely act like a little kid. In the last chapter, even, he smiles at her when they’re in the midst of an argument, because just the freedom of being able to bicker makes him happy.

He's trying to be cute, so go easy on him, Mikan.

He sticks his tongue out at her, acting silly and childish, because she’s special and he can act silly and childish around her.

For most of the ball, Natsume is content to sit in the tree, minding his own business and keeping away from the commotion. He does notice Mikan, though, because he always does, when she acts as Trash Santa to help Youichi play with Mr. Bear. He doesn’t say anything, and he’s only present for a couple panels, but it’s obvious she stands out to him.

Chapter Forty-Nine

Natsume is eating a good piece of cake when he meets with Ruka, who is overcome with guilt for kissing Mikan on the cheek a few minutes ago. Ruka knows that Natsume likes Mikan too, but he doesn’t understand that Natsume has jumped that ship before it could even leave the dock. Natsume gets that Ruka is conflicted about something, so he playfully squeezes Ruka’s nose to assure him in his own way. Natsume’s love language is physical touch even if it is awkward, whether it’s ruffling Ruka’s hair or squeezing his nose. That’s how he comforts people, particularly Ruka.

It apparently does make Ruka feel better, because when he next sees Mikan, he doesn’t freak out like she does. He’s calmed down a bit, isn’t quite as guilty. So he does his own version of what Natsume did for him at the alice festival closing dance. He gets Mikan to dance with Natsume. It’s his way of evening the score, giving Natsume the same chance he got. Either he doesn’t understand that Natsume isn’t playing the game at all, or he’s trying to convince him to start.

He walks away and Natsume and Mikan are left standing there without their masks. There’s a moment of awkwardness, where they stand around and don’t say anything, but Natsume has a moment of resolve. He takes her hand and pulls her close. It starts off proper and gentle, like a dance is supposed to be. They dance and Natsume notices that Mikan is not happy to be with him at all. She’s quiet and frowning. He’s seen her smile while dancing before, because she always catches his eye, so he knows she’s capable of it. She’s danced with Ruka, Tsubasa, Narumi, and all sorts of people, and she’s had a big grin on her face for all of it. For some reason, that smile is absent when her partner is Natsume.

Natsume got upset and hurt when Mikan said she would never want to dance the last dance with him. He’s hurt now that she seems so reluctant to dance with him in a zero-stakes dance at the Christmas Ball. He will be hurt in the future too, because he has a low self esteem. This girl that he likes may see him as a friend, but she gets so uneasy around him, and only him. Natsume thinks he cares so much more about her than she does about him, and it’s moments like these where he gets the feeling more than ever, and it hurts. He thinks it’s a given. He’s helped make it happen on purpose. But he still wishes deep down that it wasn’t that way.

He's doing everything right and she's still upset to dance with him! What's her deal? (heheheh)

And so he argues with her. Why isn’t she smiling with him, huh? He’s doing it all right, the way he’s supposed to. He’s dancing normally and she seems to hate it. He turns to insults because it’s his most reliable technique, and suddenly Mikan is energetic.

To avoid making a scene, they bicker and insult each other under their breaths, dancing just the same as they had before, but with a new aura around them. He twirls her and she’s smiling now. And his eyes get soft, because that’s all he wanted. One moment of selfishness for him to keep in his memories, where they danced and she actually liked it.

The moment ends when they get shoved and fall over, Mikan landing with her teeth on Natsume’s lip.

They’re both tense and uncomfortable with what just happened in front of so many people. Natsume hates that he tripped in front of everybody, so his mood has suddenly soured. If this had been a proper kiss, he wouldn’t have gotten so angry, and he won’t, spoiler alert. He was actually having a nice time, only for the moment to be so abruptly stolen from him. He fell down and now his lip is bleeding. Her teeth hitting his mouth also could be the closest he’ll ever get to a kiss with Mikan, and she looks horrified. Being under so many watchful eyes, all nervous about what’s about to happen. He has very few options, really. He can walk away, or he can cause upset. Natsume isn’t in the mood to run away, since he’s already embarrassed himself by tripping, so he tells her that she’s bad at dancing and kissing, even though he obviously very much likes dancing with her.

He is a problem child.

Chapter Fifty

Mikan is enraged that he had the audacity to call what happened a kiss. There’s also the trouble of Ruka, who had been nice and arranged for them to dance in the first place, only for this to happen.

Now it’s Natsume’s turn to feel guilty. It was an accident, of course, but Natsume already messed up by calling it a kiss, so now Ruka is upset. The only thing he can say to comfort his friend is to downplay it, acting as if everyone is making a big deal over nothing.

Don't worry about it, man. It's a whatever situation.

Natsume’s admirers take that as some sort of confirmation that he’s the man, probably going around kissing all the time. This really meant nothing, because it’s just one kiss of many. It’s far from the truth: Natsume has never kissed anybody before. This kiss doesn’t mean anything only because it was an accident.

Natsume escapes. He feels horrible for hurting Ruka, and probably let down that the teeth-kiss is the closest he’ll ever get to the real thing, least of all with Mikan. He stays in his tree, safe and isolated, alone with his thoughts. He has no intention of returning to the party.

In fact, it’s Mikan who finds him, when she climbs up the tree to find someone to comfort her. She’s looking for Tsubasa or Hotaru or Ruka or Iinchou. Not him. She admits that she’s just settling for him (or at least that’s the way it comes off in the TokyoPop version), and not being one of the people she can count on is something that he sadly resigns himself to.

Still, even if she’s only venting to him because there’s nobody else around, he listens to her whole story.

Just like with the Christmas Ball prep, he insults her and it somehow works. The worry leaves her face and she grins.

Forgive me. These scans leave much to be desired. Apologies.

Natsume is a bit preoccupied. He’s had some time to think and he has a lot on his mind, so he reminds her that she was angry at him just a bit ago, reviving her rage. It’s short-lived, though, because then he asks what happened between her and Ruka. Mikan shuts down, then tries to change the subject, mentioning all the gossip about his many kisses, suggesting Natsume talk about himself before demanding to know other people’s business, which leads him to the conclusion that she’d kissed Ruka.

They argue a bit more, but then she insists that the accident before didn’t count as a kiss, so he decides to fix that.

Natsume’s selfish acts are still in the single-digits, but this belongs on the shortest list in the world. Keep in mind that Natsume is convinced that Mikan and Ruka kissed already. They did, but that was a cheek kiss, and not on the same level. He has no idea. They’re arguing, so it won’t seem romantic or mushy at all, especially when compared to whatever Ruka surely did (though he did not do anything at all, in fact) and she won’t get the wrong (right) idea. It seems like a low-consequence move, like something he could do, so that he could have it for the rest of his life and then die with it. He doesn’t dare assume it’ll mean something to her.

He pulls her into a kiss, in any case.

She pushes him away, gasping for breath.

He explains that he did it because she said it wasn’t real before. An easy excuse. Then he muses, “So that’s what kissing is like…” and essentially answers her question from earlier, about all the rumors that he has plenty of experience kissing. He says it’s no big deal and then jumps from the tree.

"Wow! That sucked! Let's do more of this next year!"

To him, it is a big deal.

He says things aren’t a big deal when he wishes he could do them, like competing in the alice festival and now with kissing. Things are a big fuss over nothing when he can’t do them but wants to. Just like the alice festival, this is something he can’t look forward to. This is done, and it’ll probably--definitely--never happen again. Being selfish once is one thing. He wouldn’t do that to Ruka.

Downplaying it is supposed to comfort her. It’s no big deal after all, so she can just move on and keep kissing Ruka, which she probably prefers anyway. It obviously meant a lot to him, since in about a year he’d ask for more and more kisses, but for now, he’s content with one. It’s all he can ask for, and all he needs. Just one kiss, to know what it’s like to kiss the girl he loves. And now he’s done.

His post-kiss behavior is all for her sake, acting casual and blase about it so that she doesn’t catch on that it meant something more to him. “Huh, whatever,” is an easier kiss to get over than a romantic and sappy one, in his mind.

Besides, she’s not like him. It’s not like she’s never kissed somebody before.

Chapter Fifty-One

It’s post-Christmas cleaning day in Class B and the kids are gathering in a circle to tell scary stories on their lunch break. Koko calls Natsume over to make a demon fire for the atmosphere. Ruka and Natsume catch Mikan’s gaze and she runs to avoid them both.

She’s an anxious mess because of the Christmas Ball, unable to look either of them in the eye.

Natsume and Ruka both join the group anyway, and once Mikan is thoroughly spooked, Natsume scares her even more with Yo-chan’s help. It’s not that he wants her to suffer, but he wants to seem as unaffected as possible. See, he’s right back to normal, so there’s nothing to worry about. She doesn’t need to freak out about what happened, because ultimately, nothing happened. It was no big deal, a big fuss over nothing.

Jinno then separates the class into smaller cleaning groups, and Mikan is stuck with Natsume and Ruka. She’s awkward and anxious, Ruka’s embarrassed and doesn’t know what to say, and Natsume’s not the type to talk much anyway.

He isn’t really the kind of person who fixes things, but it’s on him now, because the other two sure as hell won’t. So first he teases Mikan by scaring her. She gets a little upset, so he tells her to quit ignoring Ruka. He makes it about Ruka, because he’s okay being the one ignored. Again, he’s never considered himself in the running for Mikan’s affections. He’s Team Ruka, all the way.

Ruka is touched, and there’s obviously no hard feelings about the accidental kiss at the ball. That doesn’t mean that they’re talking much, or that there’s no tension. They both know that something happened with the other in regards to Mikan, and broaching that topic is uncomfortable. They’ve been letting it sit for so long untouched--months even, since the very start of it all--and it’s only gotten bigger and bigger.

Before they can have an actual conversation, though, the lights go out.

They’re all sitting against the wall, Ruka and Natsume on either side of Mikan.

They’re both aware that Mikan is easily scared and that she’s particularly afraid of the dark, and so they both independently decide to hold her hand in an attempt to comfort her. Natsume remembers how afraid she’d been when they were trapped together in the haunted house, and how all she’d wanted at the time was to hold his hand, because if they’re touching, they’ll be warm and less scared.

Don't overthink it, Mikan. You might figure him out.

For now, it’s not about being selfish, just being helpful, because he wants to reassure her and comfort her. He’s learning ways that he can be comforting to Mikan, that don’t necessarily involve insults and getting her mad.

But then he looks up and he and Ruka notice each other, see what the other is doing, and after all this built-up tension and awkwardness and lack of conversation, it only makes sense that…

They start laughing. They start talking, suddenly so honest, because the hardest part is over. They got to skip over the confrontation and now they can just talk about it with each other. They’ve known the truth about each other all along, but now they don’t have to pretend to hide it anymore.

And Ruka feels free to tease Natsume, and Natsume can tease Ruka, and that’s amazing too. Even before Mikan came to the academy, Natsume and Ruka had a lot left unsaid. They didn’t communicate well, and their talks never involved bickering or friendly teasing. It’s like all the tension that had accrued between them for years has suddenly lifted, and they can laugh about it now.

There's so much honesty here now.

Natsume can tease that Ruka has terrible taste in women, Ruka can shoot back that that means Natsume does too, and Natsume can scold him for putting himself on his level.

If anything, this was good for their relationship. They’re in a place now where they can communicate about their feelings somewhat. Natsume is never really that emotionally open, even at his most communicative, and he’ll continue to keep his secrets, but the wall that has built between them has been more or less knocked down.

This moment doesn’t seem romantic at all to Mikan, but romance is intrinsic to their conversation. Ruka swears he won’t lose, and Natsume scoffs that he’d never intended to win in the first place.

And just like that, without even including Mikan in their conversation, everything is back to normal, or even better than normal. The Christmas Ball tensions have officially been eliminated. The feelings may still be there, but the problems are gone.

But it’s still dark and scary, and now it seems that a ghost has joined them in the hall, wielding scissors--so Ruka and Mikan run away. Natsume is not so easily spooked, so he sticks around long enough to see that the ghost in question is Nobara.

Chapter Fifty-Two

Natsume starts his conversation with Nobara by reminding her of an off-screen (off-page?) conversation, where he told her to stay away from Mikan. Nobara explains that she came to see him, because she was watching Mikan for the entire Christmas party and has something to tell him. Though it’s a bit creepy, the lengths Nobara went to in order to watch Mikan (including special opera glasses that catch sound), she says she saw something strange.

At first, Natsume thinks she’s going to mention the kiss, and he’s uncomfortable that Nobara probably knows about it. First, she’s still just as untrustworthy to him as before, because she’s loyal to Persona. That their kiss might get back to Persona could be potentially quite dangerous, and he might face serious punishment as a result. Secondly, he’s also capable of getting embarrassed, and the idea that this girl was watching when he had no idea at all, especially during such a vulnerable moment, is a little off-putting.

But Nobara isn’t talking about the kiss. She’s talking about the fact that the person who danced with Mikan and upset her by making her mask fall was probably the ESP. She tells Natsume because she’s seen the way he looks at her and she knows that he cares about her. She can even tell that Natsume forbidding her from talking to Mikan is his way of protecting her, even though she must not be a fan of such a rule. She’s a middle-schooler, and not as close to Mikan, but Natsume is in her class. He’s her partner and he cares about her, so he is the best person to have protecting her. Because he will, no questions asked.

Natsume remembers the warning he’s been given, that he should continue isolating himself or bad things will happen to his loved ones, so we can tell that he finds himself somewhat responsible for the ESP upsetting Mikan. More than that, he’s understandably concerned that this is merely the first move of many, and that the ESP will continue to antagonize her and even put her in danger, and that it would all be his fault.

In any case, Natsume is kind of stuck regarding his options.

He can go back to trying to avoid her. He was never that great at it in the first place, but it’s bound to be even harder now. But he also has to protect her, and that will be harder to do from a distance. Besides, the damage seems to have already been done. Whatever happens, he’s willing to take all the punishment in her stead, as long as she’s safe.

Conclusion

Natsume has done all he intends to do: he got a kiss from Mikan and now he'll more or less step aside. Or will he? The plot thickens! But in any case, he's up to face some serious repercussions for his actions so far, and his punishment will be any day now...

Also, sorry, I couldn't find full scans for Chapter Fifty-Two, so there's no pics. It's okay, I wouldn't have done much for it anyway, because Natsume's only around for a few pages.

Hope y'all are having a nice day! Thank you so much for reading this far!

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[rosecolouredash]

Duality ; Rival Hockey!Cashton

Pairing: Captain!Ashton x fem!OC x Captain!Calum

Summary: A tale of two captains and their childhood love.

Warnings: Ash being a grade A jerk™️ like serious big cocky flirt energy, Calum being a soft smoosh, me being an indecisive bitch.

Notes: When new tattoos fuel your creativity, you have to take advantage of it — which I did. Thanks to everyone who continuously loves on my lil hockey!au. I love YOU.

For as long as Liza Morales has known them, there was constant conflict between the two hockey captains — a war of emotions that diverged off of the ice they competed on. It was something deeper than the cheap shots to the boards and the harsh chirps they exchanged when meeting one another at the face-off circle. After all, their fight over athletic awards and hockey championship titles meant nothing compared to their fight over a childhood love.

Ashton Irwin, the captain of the Vipers, was alluring and cunning like the creature that represented his team. Whether it was during practice or an official game, he was always out for blood — a true believer in “no pain, no gain.” If he made an absurd play on the ice, as long as it benefited his team, he’d do it.

His school still fawned over him for it.

Calum Hood, on the other hand, was all dark stares and pouty lips as the leader of the neighbouring university hockey team — the Knights. He was naturally fair and encouraging on the ice but his brooding attitude deemed him as unapproachable and standoffish by most of the student body.

The former could flirt with an unsuspecting spectator at one of his games even after just coming out of a scuffle with a rival player — his knuckles bloodied and not a single hair out of place while the latter could strike complete and utter fear, without meaning to, in a teammate with a single narrowed glance.

They were two sides of the same coin.

Charming smiles and profound scowls.

Conspicuous behaviours and deep insecurity.

Bright eyes and dark curls and somehow, Liza found them vying for her love.

—

The three childhood friends lived next door to each other in the same cul-de-sac. Liza was closer in age to Calum so they shared many of the same classes growing up. Ashton, who was a couple of years older, took the advanced classes at their local school.

Even as children, the two boys bickered often.

Ashton reveled in antagonizing Calum, especially when it came to hockey. Ashton was a known prodigy at the sport and he was sure to remind Calum of that every chance that he could. The juvenile banter fueled the younger boy’s want to excel and surpass his friend and rival with pure finesse and raw skill in the rink.

There were days when, as the three would hang out together, that Ashton would feel particularly petty. He’d slink his arm around the black-haired beauty, drawing her body against his. He’d tut his tongue at Calum, complaining that he never got to hang out with Liza alone — that Calum took up too much of her precious time.

“You see each other in class all day but what about me?” Ashton would ask with a small pout, his tone at the borderline of joking and being dead serious.

As the coiffed brunet pulled her from the Hood’s front porch to his own, Liza missed the burning glare directed at the older boy and the wicked glint in Ashton’s eyes as he thanked Calum for his hospitality. At the time, the young teen still had the decency to stay tight-lipped; at the respect for his senior.

In the end, the dark-haired boy had the last laugh since Liza had decided to study medicine at Calum’s university rather than Ashton’s. What was worse, at least in the Viper captain’s eyes, was that she was also part of the enemy team — as the student physician — which meant she and Calum spent more time together, nowadays.

Sometimes, in intimate and close quarters.

—

Liza wasn’t blind to their advances. How Ashton’s flirty smiles always softened whenever they were directed at her. Or how at games at his university, he’d use his sharp tongue, that usually quipped at Calum and the Knights she stood behind, to compliment her with devilishly sweet words.

Calum too, made his feelings obvious through gentle conversations shared in the halls of their university — in-between seminars — and the way he seemed to keep the girl tucked by his side, his hand pressed at the small of her back, during crowded victory parties.

Liza’s mind often wandered to her two captain friends. There was no point in denying her attraction to both. They had so much history.

Childhood sleepovers where she was the last to fall asleep; her mind racing about the future. Even at a tender young age, she knew what she wanted in life and Ashton and Calum would listen to her rambles with expressions of complete endearment.

Pinky promises were made during those nights; claiming that they’d be together forever.

If only she knew of the war that would wage between the two boys over her affection.

Liza was so certain about many aspects of her life and for the first time: she was indecisive.

She doubted that she could ever choose between Ashton and Calum and so, she focused on what she could control. Liza put all of her energy in her studies and on being the Knights hockey team’s glorified healer — much to both the boys’ dismay.

They too, tried to busy themselves on honing their own skills as athletes. Frustrations caused by the matter were taken out on each other when they met on the ice.

Until one day, it wasn’t enough.

—

Liza received a text message from Calum, requesting her immediate presence at the university’s training rink. Fearing it was injury-related, she rushed over. Luckily, her classes were finished for the day.

She expected to find a crowd of rowdy Knights when in reality, Liza was only met by one — the captain and he was on the ice with the Snake King, himself.

Though they were older, they were still childish which was clear when Liza realized that the two boys thought that duking it out in a one-on-one hockey game could settle things.

If only wading through emotions was that simple.

They were clad in their respective uniforms — the letter “C” ever present on their chests.

Calum was calm; wrapped in black and silver. His every move was calculated.

From each glide of his skate to the flick of his wrist — hockey stick pointed at the Viper’s net. The dark-haired boy had the resolve but Ashton, clad in bright red, was simply the better athlete. The older captain was always two steps ahead and it made Calum furious.

It was easy to see that they wore their hearts on the sleeve of their hockey jerseys.

Liza watched, after making her way to the home team’s bench, as they etched into the ice. Their skates were heavy with every powerful stride they took on the frozen surface.

Since the rink was empty, safe for the three childhood friends, the boys’ conversation rang clear in Liza’s ears.

When he stole the puck, Ashton chirped, “you may as well give up now, Cal.”

As Calum skated after him, Ashton continued, “you’re a good player but that doesn’t mean you’d be a good boyfriend.”

Guiding his hockey stick, Calum tipped the puck out of Ashton’s possession. He sent the captain of the Vipers a mischievous grin as he pivoted away. “What do you know?”

They went back and forth for a while.

The frown on Liza’s face deepening with each quip they spat at each other. There was a time when she believed her boys could get along. She was sure they could be the best of friends — if only they tried.

The intensity of the match continued to grow as the boys physically crashed into one another. Liza was ready for one or the other to shatter on impact. It was one particular hit to the board — Calum to Ashton — that she was reminded how tough they could be. The older of the two kept his composure, even after being slammed hard. Without skipping a beat, Ashton continued to goad on the Knight who was beginning to lose his form on the ice.

It was with one final puck to Calum’s net that Ashton watched with a triumphant smirk as the captain of the Knights gripped at his hockey stick with such force that it snapped in half.

They had decided at the start: first to five would win their little match.

The score was 5-4, in favour of Ashton.

The Viper removed his helmet, his cocky demeanor now serious. “How many times will you have to lose to me, Calum?”

From where she stood at the bench, Liza could see the twitch of Calum’s upper lip — his expression darkening.

Calum fists were still clenched and his broken stick was long forgotten on the ice. He didn’t bother to reply and skated straight for the exit; never once sparing a glance towards Liza, as he passed the bench in shame.

Her heart broke to see Calum so dejected.

To Ashton’s surprise, Liza chased after the younger captain, almost slipping on the ice in doing so because of improper footwear.

She could hear Ashton’s desperate protests as they echoed from the rink but she didn’t stop.

—

Liza was halfway down the hall that led to the locker rooms when she caught up to Calum. She looked to the side to find his helmet lying on the cement floor, its visor cracked; most likely from being thrown away in frustration.

“Cal?”

He turned to face her, his grimace prominent. If Liza hadn’t grown up with the boy, she would have flinched at his expression.

Calum was still in his skates so he was a couple of inches taller than usual. He looked down at his childhood love.

She couldn’t read him. “What is it?”

Words were never his strong suit, whether he had to communicate or receive them. Knowing this, Liza reached out to embrace him — the only form of comfort that she could really offer at the moment. Almost immediately, he latched onto her frame. His face buried into the crook of her neck.

“I’ll—” he began.

His breath ghosted her skin.

“I’ll be better,” he finished, voice filled with determination.

Liza pulled back slightly, “but Calum, you’re great as you are.”

She’s seen his growth as a demure defenseman into a confident captain.

“You’ve worked so hard and you continue to work so hard—for yourself, for the team. It’s what I love about you.”

Love. Was it contradictory to offer such affection when she harboured the same feelings for his rival?

At that comment, his expression became contemplative. Calum’s gaze was suddenly fixated on her and only her. Her warm eyes. Her round cheeks. Her thin lips.

“Calum?”

His gloved hands moved to cup her face.

“I’m sorry.”

His apology was the last thing spoken before he dipped his head and Calum’s lips met hers. Though the contact was rushed, the action itself was gentle. A gratifying sigh escaped the two.

Aside from kisses to the cheek and her forehead exchanged with both, this was Liza’s first real kiss. Not even Ashton had made the move. Though he was self-assured that he’d know when the time was right.

But now he was too late.

The Viper captain watched as they broke apart — eyes wide. His pompous facade shattered in an instant as he made his way down the hall towards the two.

Glaring vengefully at Calum, he hissed out while giving the younger boy a shove. “How dare you?”

Ashton with his composure lost was a true force to be reckoned with. She recognized his state immediately and so Liza placed herself in-between the two boys. “Ash, please.”

With pleading eyes, she continued, “that’s enough.”

“So you’re just going to let him kiss you?” Ashton questioned in heartache. “Are you choosing him?”

Calum instinctively moved to her side, ready to defend her, if necessary. Liza shook her head at the older boy, “I haven’t chosen anybody.”

She then let out an exasperated sigh, “and it’s unfair of you to expect me to choose between you two.”

The boys would never intentionally force her to pick. They had too much respect and adoration for Liza to do so but maybe they had not thought their plan through.

Now visibly frustrated, Liza positioned herself so that she could address both captains at the same time, “or allow a stupid little hockey game to decide for me.”

The boys were left speechless and too surprised to stop her from walking away.

—

That was the first time they had directly confronted their odd circumstances of emotions. Liza had avoided the two boys since; even going as far as asking the head coach of the Knights if she could step down from her position as the team’s student physician for the time being. Coach Sveinson let her go, almost reluctantly but she reassured him that she just had some things to work through — he could only wish her the best.

It was sometime after that the three childhood friends would face their feelings, head on, once more.

Liza sat at the desk in her bedroom — notes and multi-coloured pens scattered across the wooden surface. She was home alone and deep into studying for exams when she noticed movement outside of her window. Curious, she looked through the glass to find Ashton and Calum having a conversation in front of her house.

When they reached the Morales’ front door, Ashton made the gesture to knock but Liza appeared at the entrance before he had the chance.

She let them in.

They stood in the foyer, in silence. Surprisingly, it was Calum who was the first to speak.

“We came to apologize,” he started, the sentiment written on his face. “What we did—it wasn’t fair to you and we’re sorry.”

Liza kept her stance with arms crossed. She didn’t know what to say so Ashton took the opportunity to continue.

“We really do love you, Liz—” her breath hitched at the pure honesty in Ashton’s voice. “—and love makes you do ridiculous things.”

She gave her boys a small smile. “I have to admit. What’s going on between us—it’s complicated, isn’t it?”

Even the two rival captains could agree on that.

“Yeah but, if it makes you want to avoid us than it’s not worth it.”

Calum let out a breath, “the boys miss you.”

Liza admitted she missed the Knights hockey team too.

“As do we.” Ashton gestured to himself and Calum. Her heart swelled at that since she most definitely missed her boys.

Liza Morales wasn’t sure what would happen now but it was a start and that’s all she really could hope for.

Tagged: @irwinkitten @calpops @rosecoloredash @lilbabycalum @gorgeouslygrace @rainingcalum @cashton-dolan @lockthisheartinchains @americanhorrorstudies @lovableah

BONUS: Her study notes were hard to recall at this point. Liza’s mind was in a blissful haze.

When they said they had a way of making it up to her she hadn’t expected this.

Ashton opened her bedroom window — the temperature in her room too high. When he looked back, he found Calum kneeling at the front of her bed — the tattoo of a dagger glaring back at him on his rival’s arm.

Ashton rejoined Liza on the mattress, placing himself behind her as she reached back to grip at his biceps. Her left hand caressed his snake tattoo.

“Hey Cal,” he started. Calum lifted his head from between her legs.

“First to get her to five, wins?”

Liza almost choked on air.

“You’re on.”

[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Episode 117: The Zoo

“Can you blame ‘em?”

Every Western story about a return journey can be compared to The Odyssey if you squint hard enough, and while Steven’s rescue of Greg has already featured poor decisions and a cyclops, The Zoo is our most obvious reference point to a trial of Odysseus: in this case, the Lotus Eaters. 

Does it make sense that such a small population could genetically reproduce this long? Let alone that distinct races would still be a thing in this inevitably incestuous family tree spanning millennia? Does it make sense that everyone here is roughly the same age, with barely any old people or children? Or that they’re speaking English, a language thousands of years younger than the last human abducted for the Zoo before Greg? Of course not, this is a nonsensical system. But if the choice was eleven minutes going over hyper-realistic minutia of how this system works (most likely, these folks are divided into small packs and we’re just seeing one of many groups) versus an interesting fable about free will and the conflict between hedonism and responsibility, I’m good ignoring the massive leaps required for the Zoo to hold logical water.

A thorny ethical question presents itself here: if the Zoomans are eternally happy and safe, to the point where they don’t understand the concept of “hurt,” is it such a bad thing that they lack free will? To us, freedom is such an obviously good thing that its value is taken as a given, but all choice does here is make the Zoomans unhappy for the first time since an incident long ago enough to be the stuff of legend. This is a group of people whose culture predates Ancient Greece and is still going strong, outlasting any human civilization that’s ever existed on Earth by an impossibly huge degree, so what right do we have to think our moral code is superior to theirs?

The Zoo is dystopia by way of Dora the Explorer, a perfect prison that has babied its inhabitants for so many lifespans that they can’t even fathom disrupting the system. A friendly voice tells them what actions to take to have fun (Smell the flowers! Go to bed! Swiper, no swiping!) and the Zoomans obey without hesitation; they are essentially to humans what modern dogs are to wolves, a domesticated and perpetually juvenile version of the original model. But they certainly aren’t a different species in that way (dogs diverged from wolves genetically tens of thousands of years ago, rather than a paltry 5,000); we see that the Zoomans are quickly capable of making choice when the idea is planted, but they choose to listen to the little voice. Is it ethical to give them the information to make a more informed choice? My gut says yes, but that’s based on a moral code developed by a society that, like English, is much younger than Zooman society.

The second question that arises from the first is the morality of Pink Diamond’s actions. From a Gem perspective, it’s a no-brainer: free will isn’t a societal good to them, so even if Earth wasn’t destroyed as originally planned when the Zoo was built, bringing people to a paradise whose only cost is freedom is an obvious win. This matters a lot for Blue Diamond, who’s still patronizing in her “saving” of Greg but clearly means well by her own alien metrics of good and bad. And in that way, on first viewing, Pink’s behavior becomes far less ambiguous than “evil alien kidnaps humans.” If she’s anything like Blue, she considered it a favor, and that alone characterizes her more than anything else we know at this point.

In retrospect, the Zoo is more clearly a half-measure taken when Pink was trying and failing to stop the colonization she began. This conflict wasn’t short, and it’s great to see evidence of Pink trying smaller ways to help humans before realizing that more drastic actions were necessary, rather than her just jumping straight to full revolution. The fact that the Zoo is still a thing after her permanent shift to Rose Quartz, however, is one of many indicators of Pink’s childish selfishness. She didn’t release the humans she abducted, just as she didn’t think of how her faked murder might have more violent consequences than a freed Earth. I call the selfishness childish because it comes not from malice, but seemingly not knowing any better. This is the self-centeredness of somebody who’s never had any reason to not be self-centered, which doesn’t absolve the harm she causes, but makes her more interesting than a true monster.

While the Gem perspective is clear, Steven provides an ardent opposition to the concept of paradise without choice. At no point is he tempted by a life free of worries, valuing his ties to an existing life despite its many warts. And while Greg shows a few hints of falling for the Lotus Eater trap in his more relaxed attitude towards captivity, it’s crucial that his support of Steven trumps the comfort of this new reality; an entire episode about Greg measuring an easy life versus his son’s happiness, while in keeping from the weird shitty version of Greg we met in House Guest, would’ve been ruinous to his actual character. He’s still chill, and encourages Steven to chill as well for his own well-being, but never goes further in trying to stay at the Zoo; we even know that he tried to escape before Steven arrived.

While their long-awaited reunion is sweet, my favorite Steven'n’Greg moment is the realization that amethysts will likely arrive in response to pain. Steven’s insistence that Greg hit him comes from both impatience and the knowledge that he can take a punch, but Tom Scharpling perfectly captures how insane this sounds to Greg. Even though he’s physically weaker than his superhumanly powerful son, Greg’s willing to get hurt in his kid’s place. And still, Steven hesitates, because neither of these people wants to hit the other despite the circumstances. Finally, after Steven’s punch sends Greg flying, I appreciate his idea to try punching him again; to me, it’s representative of how much Steven thinks of his dad, because he just assumes this middle aged dude is tough enough to shrug off such a blow.

The two lead Zooman representatives sorta blend together, but I think that’s the point: in a society where conformity is the only option, everyone’s bound to act similarly. They’re both portrayed well enough to avoid boring tropes associated with characters like this (we don’t get airy hippies or droning disciples): Cristina Vee’s Jay-Ten and Lamar Abrams’s Wy-Six are delightfully dopey and just a little bit self-superior when things they find obvious are a mystery to our heroes. Vee doubles as the Little Voice, which is correctly played without a hint of menace, and while Abrams has already proven himself as Buck Dewey, I’m impressed by his ability to play a fully different character just as well (he’s also Garbanzo, who also sounds distinct, but he only says his own name so there’s not much room to measure differences).

While I have no idea whether the pun is intentional, I am all about these people raised beyond the stars being spacier than our more grounded Earthlings. Still, their one-note nature means that my favorite Zooman moments are actually Steven’s reactions to them. His quick decision to escape after being told to do “the bits” bit is low key hilarious, as is his bewilderment at their tiny splashes. These aren’t people that are going to make jokes or clever observations on their own, at least in a way that can match what their terrestrial counterparts can accomplish, but at least I never feel bored with the routine in a way that detracts from the episode.

In contrast to the mundane hedonism of daily life, the Choosening is just the sort of cultish jargon that one might expect from a society like this, and I love the familiarity implied in Greg’s world-weary comment that there’s always a catch with this sort of thing. We have no way of knowing how arbitrary the Choosening is, but considering Greg gets chosen Choosened right after arriving, it certainly seems random. While arranged marriage is obviously a thing on Earth as well, the power dynamics on the Zoo are more akin to forced marriage. But even this is colored by an earthly glimpse at an alien culture, because we don’t have any societies with an all-powerful overclass and a genuinely content and cared-for underclass. Is it really forced marriage if the parties involved are happy about it? Even if this is due to them being happy about everything that happens in this society? Are they really capable of true happiness when they’ve experienced no alternate emotions?

This is where the theme of choice versus happiness comes to a head, and it’s so important that we don’t get a tidy ending where free will is presented as a liberating alternative to a peaceful life of following orders. Choices allow for more meaningful happiness, but can lead to sadness as well; while this might seem obvious, I’m always down for children’s media explaining why negative emotions can be okay sometimes (see: Inside Out) and that a life free of pain isn’t necessarily good. It would be disingenuous for real choice to be presented without backlash to a society without free will, and we don’t even get to see how the situation resolves in the original series.

The amethysts march in to help, and Michaela Dietz wonderfully captures gruff warriors helping with emotional wounds. But we end the episode with the Zoomans in turmoil, abandoned by our heroes without a second thought. Based on how the system works, all it takes to reject the Little Voice is just deciding not to listen, and it hadn’t been done before because the Zoomans wanted to listen; again, it’s a tricky situation, because perhaps they do have free will and have chosen obedience. .

As in the last few episodes, we get a cliffhanger ending, but The Zoo bounces back from Gem Heist by having an actual complete story within the chapter. Steven and Greg make a meaningful impact on the Zoomans, but whether it’s for better or worse is up in the air. Our heroes gain the option to eat lotuses in peace for the rest of their days, but choose freedom instead. And they reinforce their bond by sticking together through it all. Now they just have to escape a space station crawling with Gems and find their missing friends and fly home, and that will be all!

Future Vision!

The Zoomans finally return in Steven Universe Future, where their utopia has been expanded to include the Famethyst and Holly Blue. They may be running the station, but they choose to live the way they always have. They’re also petty as hell, which is an excellent development for their passive society.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

While I appreciate the moral questions prompted by The Zoo, and enjoy the episode itself, it’s not quite something that I’d say I love. There’s nothing I find wrong with it, but it lacks a certain amount of oomph that might make it worthy to stand alongside the likes of Alone at Sea or Maximum Capacity in my rankings; this is a high concept episode that has decent character work, but ratio of focus on concept to character doesn’t align with what I love about Steven Universe.

It’s weird to put it in the same category as Gem Heist, because I like The Zoo a lot more, but this is what I get for not having way too many categories. Enh, I can live with it.

Top Twenty

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

Last One Out of Beach City

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Mindful Education

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Earthlings

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Bismuth

Steven’s Dream

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Chille Tid

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Catch and Release

When It Rains

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Crack the Whip

Beta

Back to the Moon

Kindergarten Kid

Buddy’s Book

Gem Harvest

Three Gems and a Baby

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Greg the Babysitter

Gem Hunt

Steven vs. Amethyst

Bubbled

Adventures in Light Distortion

Gem Heist

The Zoo

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

Know Your Fusion

Future Boy Zoltron

No Thanks!

     6. Horror Club      5. Fusion Cuisine      4. House Guest      3. Onion Gang      2. Sadie’s Song      1. Island Adventure

[eserenityyyy]

LL Secret Santa ‘18 Present

Merriest Christmas @mackinmacki!! I’m your secret santa for @lovelivesecretsanta2018!!

I wrote you a fanfiction ft. NozoMaki :)) I hope you’d enjoy!

May you be blessed this Christmas and the coming year. Take care always! :>

You can also read it at ao3 here~

A SPECIAL BOND

A year had passed since the formation of the legendary school idol group Muse. The nine young women who were part of the said group had experienced many changes since they decided to end all their activities. The then third years especially, who were now on the path of finding themselves and pursuing their future, were adjusting to their college lives.

Still, they all remained close to each other and would get together from time to time. Their friendships were as tight as ever, but some even became closer than before.

Maki, for example, found herself seeking for Nozomi’s advice more often than she’d imagined.

She didn’t really know when she became this close to the older girl. It was surprising, at least to her, that Nozomi would be the one she would come to when she had problems. It wasn’t that she disliked her though. And she knew that Nozomi was great in listening to other people’s problems. But she thought their differences in attitude and interests would give them a hard time in dealing with each other.

Once, Maki was troubled about Rin and Hanayo.

She noticed that her two friends were spending more time with just each other than all three of them. She felt left out. Although she couldn’t really blame them since she knew that they were childhood best friends. It’s just that, with Honoka, Umi, and Kotori busy with student council matters, she had been left lonely without those two. And she was not the best in socializing.

As always, she found it hard to talk and open up her problem. She couldn’t just go and tell them “I’m lonely without you,” could she? She felt like she would just bother them with her childish attitude.

She told herself it would be alright eventually. She’d been more or less alone in her entire life after all. What’s new? And it’s not like they’d completely abandoned her too. There wasn’t even an argument or the sort.

At the very least, she told herself she should be happy since her days had been quieter and nicer without the constant energy around her that was Rin.

But then, when all nine of them met for a little gathering at her place, Nozomi noticed.

Maki was alone at her veranda, gazing at the stars shining above her. It was fun to be with all of them, and it had been a while. But she was somewhat overwhelmed with everything and she needed some time to breathe.

Then suddenly, she heard Nozomi’s voice ask her. “Care for some company?”

Maki looked at the older girl and the latter gave a waiting look. She considered refusing but she didn’t want to be disrespectful and turn out as cold or unwelcoming. Nozomi wasn’t that noisy if she chose not to be too. So she nodded and said, “sure.”

For a while they just minded their own businesses. They both enjoyed the night breeze and its calming aura. Then Nozomi casually asked, “what’s wrong, Maki-chan?” She continued to watch the sky instead of Maki.

Taken aback, Maki turned to Nozomi incredulously. “N-Nothing.” She started twirling her hair with her fingers as she looked away.

“Has it got something to do with Rin-chan and Hanayo-chan?” Nozomi asked again.

Maki’s eyes widened as she looked at Nozomi again. “Wha-? How did you-?”

Nozomi giggled. “I was just guessing. But it turns out I’m right!”

“I didn’t say it was them-” then Maki saw Nozomi’s victorious playful smirk. She sighed, “fine.”

“So what’s going on with them?” Nozomi asked, although she might already have an idea why. “Did you have a fight?”

Maki paused before answering, “not really. It’s just...”

“Hm? Just what?” Nozomi urged.

“I... feel like they’re avoiding me?” said Maki. She too was unsure of the ideas she jumped onto.

“How can you say so?” Nozomi asked.

“Well,” Maki said, “they just greet me in the morning when they come to class and then in the afternoon before going home. Sometimes at lunch they disappear immediately. They used to stick with me and nag me all the time.” Even Maki herself was surprised at how much she was saying.

“Oh?” Nozomi said with a teasing smile. “I thought you don’t like noisy people who’s all over you all the time?”

Maki opened her mouth to retort but she was left speechless as heat crept up her face in embarrassment.

Nozomi let out a small laugh. “I’m just joking,” she said, “tell me more about it?”

And so Maki told Nozomi the details of her trouble. It was surprisingly easy to talk about it with the older girl. Although she was often teased by her, the embarrassment soon lifted off and she was able to talk smoothly. Maki realized she was enjoying the evening with Nozomi. They were just there together, talking about how to resolve Maki’s problem, all night until Honoka decided they should play some games.

A week passed by and Maki knew why she was being avoided.

It was her birthday and the girls all planned a surprise for her. There were tomato soup, cake, juice, and some of her other favorite food. It was held at the music room of their school and Nozomi, Eli, and Nico all came over. They all played games, sang, and danced together.

Rin and Hanayo were the ones in charge of arranging things, that’s why they were so busy and ended up seeming like they’re avoiding her. When Maki found that out, she turned to Nozomi who gave her a knowing grin before she hugged her two best friends.

Rin was so delighted with the redhead’s unusual action so she reciprocated so tightly and excitedly. “Maki-chan hugged us nyaaa! Happy birthday Maki-chan!”

Hanayo prayed she wouldn’t faint from suffocation. “Someone save meee!”

--

Weeks passed by and Maki found herself consulting Nozomi about her problems. It’s not that she had something against Rin nor Hanayo though. It was just so easy to talk to Nozomi. It’s like she could be all whiny and complain a lot and Nozomi wouldn’t mind listening at all. Nozomi’s teases and laughter comforted her too, for a reason she didn’t know. Maki’s secrets were securely safe with the older girl and she knew that.

They spent a lot of time together when Nozomi was free from university. Sometimes, they would go out to the park and stargaze. Oftentimes, they were just at Nozomi’s apartment or at a cafe. Maki was truly happy being with the older girl. She often found herself giving in to the prankster’s antics. Nozomi even convinced her to call her “Non-chan,” albeit it took a lot of pleads and washi washi threats.

It’s like they formed a special bond of their own, different from the rest of their friends.

Rin questioned it once, “why do you talk about Nozomi-chan a lot these days nya?” There wasn’t really anything wrong with what she asked. Even with them, it was unusual for Maki to talk a lot and about someone who wasn’t even there anymore for the past months.

At first, Hanayo thought nothing much about it since Nozomi was one of their closest friends. But then, sometimes, Maki would mention the older girl out of nowhere; so she became curious as well. She and Rin looked at the redhead expectantly.

“Eh?” Maki froze. Then she twirled her hair. “N-No reason! Nothing! She’s our f-friend, isn’t she? Isn’t it fine to talk about her?” She looked away, avoiding their sights.

Rin leaned closer to Maki. “Is that so nya?”

Maki nodded. “You talk about Non-cha-” She coughed. “I mean, N-Nozomi too, don’t you? And Eli, and Nico-chan, and Hono--”

“Non-chan!?” Hanayo exclaimed with eagerness.

“Oh! Maki-chan’s got a nickname for Nozomi-chan nya!” Rin followed up.

“Bueghh! Wh-What’s wrong with that?” Maki’s face reddened with embarrassment.

“Nothing nya!” Rin answered, imitating Maki.

“What’s that? I don’t get it at all!”

--

December was approaching and Maki was troubled yet again. And as usual, her feet brought her outside of Nozomi’s apartment door. Her breathing was ragged because of her rush. She knocked at the door and Nozomi came short after.

When Nozomi opened the door, a worried expression flashed on her face. “Maki-chan?”

Maki was looking down and didn’t respond. She continued breathing rapidly. She was frowning.

“Maki-chan, come in! It’s cold out here!” Nozomi ushered the younger girl into her apartment. “Are you alright?”

There was still no answer from Maki. She took off her shoes and stood in front of Nozomi.

“Maki-chan, what’s wrong?” Nozomi asked, worried about the redhead’s uneasiness and obvious... sadness. Was she pouting?

“Non-chan,” Maki finally said, looking at Nozomi’s eyes like a lost little puppy. “Tell me, is it true that Santa-san is not real?” she asked with tainted innocence. She looked so... heartbroken.

Nozomi paused and stared at her, a little surprised at the question. Then she held Maki’s hand. “Maki-chan, dear, who told you that?” She gave her a smile that she hoped could warm her up.

“Th-That’s not important,” said Maki, “just tell me if it’s true or not.” There was a hint of desperation in her voice. Her brows furrowed as if saying, ‘please tell me it’s not.’

Nozomi gave yet another smile. She squeezed Maki’s hand and said, “it is true...” She figured beating around the bush wouldn’t be effective in handling Maki and it might just worsen the situation.

The look of realization and sorrow that Maki wore broke Nozomi’s heart too. It hurt to see the sweet innocence of the younger girl being crushed. It made Nozomi want to take back her words, but that just wouldn’t do any good.

Tears threatened to burst out of Maki’s eyes as she looked down. “Oh,” was all she could utter.

“But it’s alright, isn’t it?” Nozomi suddenly asked. Maki brought her attention back to the older girl with confused eyes. Nozomi smiled and continued, “it means that someone really loves and cares for you that they’d give you a gift every year. Even though they write Santa-san’s name instead of theirs. In your case, it’s your parents who stand up as Santa-san. They love you so much.”

“But why did they lie to me?” Maki asked with a little irritation.

Nozomi paused to think of the right answer. “You see, Maki-chan,” she started, “it’s not that they really wanted to lie to you. They just didn’t want to hurt you. They knew that if you find out the truth about him, then you would be hurt so much. Just like now. They didn’t want your hopes to be crushed.”

“Didn’t they think I would realize it someday...” Maki uttered. She knew that maybe she was being immature and childish, but who could blame her? For 16 years she believed that every year someone besides her parents cared for her. Santa-san was her first friend. Even though she never really met him, she always appreciated the gifts she received and the letters that came with them. “Now I’m looking stupid, believing that some old man comes through our chimney every year.” Her voice was starting to waver. She pulled her hand from Nozomi’s as she looked away with sadness and pain.

“Hey, it’s alright,” Nozomi assured, “you’re not stupid.” She watched as Maki stomped off to sit on the couch of her living room. She followed after and sat beside her, making sure to keep a certain distance so as not to startle the younger girl. “Maki-chan,” she called. But Maki refused to even look at her. “Maki-chan?” Nozomi repeated.

“...ven you...” Maki eventually whispered. She bit her lip to contain her emotions. She was still staring down, not meeting Nozomi’s eyes.

But Nozomi didn’t hear what she said clearly so she asked, “hm? what is it?” She kept her voice soft and gentle, hoping that Maki would open up to her more.

There was a short silence as Maki contemplated whether to talk or not. Then she said, “I said, even you girls lied to me.” She clenched her skirt, bottling her feelings.

“What?” Nozomi asked, confused. “When?”

“Last year,” Maki answered, “on our Christmas party. You gave me another gift and said it was from... Santa-san.” Her voice cracked and a tear trickled down her face. “I’m sure Nico-chan and Rin, heck even Honoka, were making fun of me for believing such a stupid thing.”

Nozomi frowned. “That’s not true,” she replied. “Sure, Nicochi let out a laugh,” she admitted. No use lying now, right? “But that’s just because she found your innocence cute.” She giggled. “Those three were even the most excited ones when we made your present!”

Maki’s eyebrows raised in shock. “R-Really?” Ever the tsundere, she tried not to show the delight in her eyes.

Nozomi nodded with a smile. “Yup! So don’t ever think that we see you as dumb, or stupid, or an idiot, okay? We love you the way you are. Your innocence despite you being smart is one of your charms!” She gave a grin that was so genuine and full of love.

“O-Of course I’m not stupid!” Maki looked away while twirling her hair with her fingers. And her cheeks were painted red. Now there’s the Maki Nozomi knew.

Nozomi chuckled and wrapped her arms around Maki. “Yup!”

Now all that’s left was for Nozomi to find out who told Maki the sacred truth and give that person a washi washi of a lifetime.

[lxveille]

confidante

platonic jun & reader | the8 x reader

word count: ~ 6000 a/n: warnings for very brief mentions of vomiting, weird pride issues & insecurities leading to misunderstandings, and the fact that the platonic relationship is focused on more than the romance ! Jun knows you and Minghao would be perfect for each other. Getting both of you to realize the same thing would be easier if everyone wasn’t already convinced you and Jun were friends with benefits.

From across the room, Jun watches you and Minghao play some hand game together. Your hands hover palm-down over his palms as you try not to flinch and predict when he’ll make the quick move to try to flip his hands over to slap the backs of yours in time to pull away at the same time. Jun doesn’t know how the two of you ended up settling on this as a way to pass the time. It’s silly. It’s childish. And it would be easy to flip into a perfect situation to make a move on you. All Minghao would have to do is grab your hands instead of slapping them and pull you in just a little closer.

Jun knows this won’t happen. Primarily because Minghao is categorically a good friend. And good friends usually don’t go out of their way to flirt with the girl their friend is sleeping with.

The problem is that Jun is not sleeping with you. Letting everyone go on thinking that he was just happened to seem like an easier explanation for how you’d come into his life so suddenly. Or at least a less embarrassing one than the truth.

Five months ago, when the two of you first met in a crowded bar, there actually had been intents to have sex. There had been flirtatious banter, a messy makeout in the back of a cab, and plenty of feeling each other up as soon as your apartment door had been closed. Only moments after you had straddled him, Jun had shoved you frantically off and thrown up on your sheets and bedroom floor.

By the rules of one night stands that Jun was familiar with, you should have just kicked him out and cursed your bad luck. But you hadn’t. You’d sat him down in your bathroom with a glass of water and a promise he could brush his teeth once he felt up to it. You’d cleaned up the mess he’d made without giving him hell for it and let him stay the night.

In his less-than-sober state, he’d rambled on to you about nearly everything that crossed his mind. Jun should have regretted opening up so much to someone he hardly knew by the time morning came. Instead, he woke up feeling like some great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. The two of you agreed over breakfast that the sexual attraction was gone, but you still said he was free to call you anytime as a friend.

“Does it bother you that everyone thinks we’re fucking?” he asked you three weeks later when you had become a regular visitor around the dorm. You’d shrugged, laughed, and declared that you’d just take it as a compliment.

Your friendship is your own, no need to explain it to anyone else. People will think whatever they want.

But now this mindset has Jun in a tricky situation because there’s no subtle way for him to tell Minghao that you’re available. At least not without stumbling into some horrible feeling embarrassment himself. Usually, the thought alone of trying to clear the air about his relationship with you would be enough to make Jun feel some newly discovered category of idiot.

“Are you ready to go?” he asks, finally interrupting you and Minghao’s borderline flirtatious game.

“You’re asking me? I was the one waiting for you!” you exclaim with an overdramatic flair of shock in your voice as you cross the living room over to him.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry,” he almost coos. He looks beyond you to where Minghao is still standing by the window. “You want to come get coffee with us?” he offers, hopeful that he’ll accept. Maybe he just needs to give you two enough time face-to-face and everything will unfold naturally.

“I’m okay,” he declines with a polite smile, “But I hope you two have a nice time.” Not for the first time, Jun thinks about how horribly obvious it is that Minghao likes you.

He’d known from the beginning that Minghao at least found you attractive. That much was clear from the teasing skepticism he presented to Jun after the first time you were introduced as ‘the girl I’ve been hanging out with lately’. It didn’t become clear that it was anything more than physical attraction until you came down with a severe cold and stayed tucked away in bed as much as you could for two weeks straight. Minghao hadn’t said much at first, but gradually started asking more about where you were and how you were recovering.

Out of exasperation at the questioning, Jun had eventually just grabbed his phone and entered your number into his contacts with the demand that he just check in on you directly. Minghao had stammered something about it being unnecessary. All the same, he gave himself away as he drafted, erased, and drafted again several times over before the first time he actually managed to hit send a text to you.

You had been a tougher case to crack. The suspicion began when you’d frantically texted Jun several variations of the question ‘why did you give Minghao my number?’ Still, that hadn’t been enough. After all, you had admitted early on that you didn’t consider yourself particularly good at talking to people. That is was one of the things that made you glad Jun had decided to keep you in his life as a friend since there was virtually no conversational barrier between the two of you. It was an inexplicable, natural phenomenon of your platonic energy together.

It had been during a movie night over at the dorms that Jun had officially decided you’d developed a crush. While you’d been curled up on Jun’s side and sharing a blanket with him, he couldn’t help notice that your line of sight wasn’t exactly set on the screen most of the night. Instead, he caught you several times staring at Minghao, who was sitting across the room seeming entirely oblivious to the longing gaze.

Two days later, when Jun was over at your place for the night, he hovered by your bathroom door as you were brushing your teeth and asked, “Are you into Minghao?”

Immediately, you had choked on air and spat out an unflattering glob. “What?” you admonished as you wiped toothpaste from your chin, “Where did you even get that idea?”

“It was a working theory,” Jun smirked, “But thanks for the confirmation.”

“Hold up, Jun!” You pointed your toothbrush at him in a way that was much further from menacing than you’d hoped. “Minghao is your friend. And your colleague, technically. And I am ---”

“Hoping to get intimate with him?” He interrupted with his own suggestion.

You groaned and turned back to your bathroom mirror. “No. And if you have to be that way, couldn’t you have at least put it in some less lame way?” You turned the faucet back on to wet the brush and tried to notice the pink stains on your cheekbones.

“And which direction should I go with it? You’re… madly in love him, or, is it just a sexual thing?”

“If I say ‘just sexual’ will you drop it so you don’t have to disrespect Hao like that?”

“So, he’s just Hao now?”

You rolled your eyes and went back to brushing your teeth.

So Jun really should have known he’d get a similar reaction when he brings the subject up again over coffee.

“I told you, I’m not,” you insist once more as Jun takes a sip from his cup, eyebrows raised.

“Not very convincing,” he tells you once he sets the coffee down. It’s the lack of urgency in his tone that irks you the most. There’s no rush to make a point when you’re perfectly confident in it.

“Do you think it’s healthy to try to tell other people how they feel?” You fire back, hoping to steer the direction into something more theoretical.

“I’m not trying to tell you how to feel. I’m just observant,” he refutes, “Why are you so against the idea of even admitting you maybe like him?”

You shake your head, latte tipping casually towards him in your hand as you shrug.

“Aren’t we friends?” he pleads, leaning forward with his forearms on the table. From outside the window the two of you are sat in front of, a passerby might assume he’s coming in for a kiss rather than just giving you puppy dog eyes.

“Yeah. And aren’t you and Minghao?”

“What does that have to do with it?”

“You can’t say anything to him. Promise me.”

“Does that mean you are admitting it?” The corners of his lips twitch up, the very small start of a self-satisfied grin that doesn’t fully emerge until you sigh in surrender.

“I mean it, Junhui. If you even give him a funny look about it, I’ll post every unflattering picture I have of you and never talk to you again.”

“Okay, okay, I get it.”

“Promise.”

“I promise,” he agrees, nodding several times over.

And truly, Jun has every intention of keeping his promise. But it’s difficult with exactly how lovesick Minghao is acting lately. It seems that every time you come over, Minghao sticks around in the peripheral only to slink away and spend the rest of the day being quieter than usual once you’ve gone. He’s staring out windows more than the uninfatuated do. He still treats Jun more or else the same, but he stiffens at least a fraction whenever you’re brought up in conversation.

What Jun really needs at this point is some kind of contract setting out the exact terms of the promise he’d made you. Even without asking, though, he can guess you wouldn’t approve at this point of Jun using ‘hey, she’s just a friend’ as means of cheering up Hao. And as always, any casual way of clearing up the whole situation never presents itself to him.

It isn’t until the next night you come over that an idea for resolving the whole thing occurs to him. Sitting at one end of the couch as everyone settles in to watch some comedy special, it isn’t a surprise that you settle in next to him. What catches Jun’s attention is when Minghao actually sits down on the other side of you.

Minghao gives you a smile that’s somewhere between apologetic and curious when his shoulder brushes yours. Jun doesn’t see what exact expression you give back in return, but it must have been something calming, if not encouraging, given the way Hao let himself relax into his seat next to you.

There are moments when a joke doesn’t land right with either of you, and Jun only notices because you share some quick glance of mutual understanding. It’s even less subtle when you’re both laughing, looking between the television and each other appreciatively. He swears you’re leaning just a little bit more towards Minghao than him. Jun couldn’t stop the grin on his face if tried.

It seems to Jun that you two are right on the tipping point. Like it would only take just a few careful nudges to have you toppling over the edge and confessing to each other of your own volition.

He decides the best way of doing this is by trying to Minghao overwhelmingly jealous. Or else, maybe, cross some mild line that will have you making it abundantly clear that you aren’t sexually attracted to Jun in front of everyone. The opportunity comes when a group decision is made to play some drinking card game after the movie. Jun starts off with things that aren’t too obvious. He situates himself next to you, leans into you heavily on and off, steals sips out of your cup, and lets an arm fall around your shoulders a few times.

Nothing happens, except that everyone starts to get a little drunk from the game.

In place of your shoulders, Jun slips his arm about your waist. It doesn’t feel right at all, but he lets a hand settle intimately on your hip. You shrug him off before anyone can really notice. Although Jun’s fairly certain Minghao stares enough to have seen it.

He’s several drinks in when he decides the teasing, suggestive comments have any place in this scheme of his. Mostly, you stick to rolling your eyes or giving him inquisitive looks. Minghao is frowning, and Jun doesn’t notice that he’s not the only one. He’s too determined in this to realize that this plan is making him appear belligerent more than anything else.

Jihoon gives some off-hand, half-mocking advice to Seungkwan about how the shots are easier to get down if they’re swallowed in one go. Jun decides this is the perfect opportunity to pull you a bit closer and slide in a comment about how anyone looking for tips on swallowing should ask you.

Almost instantaneously, you’re up from the circle on the floor that had formed for the game’s sake. “I don’t know what is up with you tonight, but can you call me when you’re not being weird as fuck?” you snap at him, tossing your cards down in his direction before storming out of the room. You pause only momentarily to grab your jacket and bag, and all the while the upbeat pop music playing in the background has never felt more out of pace.

It takes Jun a couple staring moments to realize that this has all backfired horribly. He scrambles to his feet and doesn’t bother getting a coat as he chases you out into the cold. “Wait! Hey, I’m sorry!” he calls.

You round on him, arms thrown out in dismay. “You’re sorry? For saying totally unnecessary shit about me and making me out like some fuck toy in front of literally all your closest friends?”

“Yes!” Junhui answers impulsively. “But that -- it makes it sound worse than it is. I wasn’t trying to upset you! I wanted to help you--”

“Help? With fucking what?!” you exclaim, running your hand through your hair in frustration.

“With, you know, you finally getting together with Hao.”

Your jaw drops, your arms cross, and Jun knows that this intention was not the right thing to admit to. For several moments, there are no words at all, but your glare is too heated for Jun to keep explaining himself or try to start taking it back. “You made me a promise. That goddamn show in there pretty much broke it if you ask me.”

“Look, I get that maybe it was kinda extreme but I just want to see you get what you want.”

“Are you kidding me? You don’t know what I want, Jun! You don’t know what I need! And I cannot believe you actually thought you could manipulate me into being in some relationship!”

“I wasn’t ---!”

“Don’t!” you cut off his attempt at a denial. “Just don’t. I need some space. Don’t text me.”

Slack-jawed, he watches you storm off down the sidewalk.

When he goes back inside, he’s shocked all over again to find none other than Xu Minghao standing just inside the doorway, staring at his feet awkwardly.

“I didn’t mean to overhear. Really, I just wanted to see if things were okay and I…” Minghao feels guilty for having seen the argument.

“...How much did you hear?” Jun asks, dreading that this might only make things work.

“Just the very end, before she left,” he answers immediately, like he hopes that will help. “I’m sorry she turned you down.”

Jun blinks and thinks back to what you said before leaving. Without the full context, he supposes it would sound like the tail end of a lovers’ quarrel. Or rather a fuck buddies’ quarrel, in this case.

“That’s… not exactly what happened,” Jun says quietly.

Minghao doesn’t ask for clarification.

Everyone treats Jun like he’s heartbroken over the next few days.

In a way, he is. At least, he feels the same way every song and movie said he would when he got his heart broken. He misses you terribly, and has only just now realized exactly how many times he thinks of you throughout the day. His fingers itch to send a text your way; he has story upon story stockpiled already, waiting for the chance to be told to you. He wonders how you’re doing. He spends a lot of time replaying exactly what went wrong in his head and imagining what he could have said that might have stopped it all before you’d stormed away.  He hopes you’ll forgive him.

It only takes three days before Soonyoung says something well-meaning that causes Jun to snap with the truth in a manner that brings everyone in the practice room to a standstill. Because yeah, sure, there are other girls but Jun barely even cares that you’re a girl. You were just a good person, a person he liked having to talk to, and a friend he was going to kick himself if he’d really lost you for good.

It’s the first time “we were never sleeping together!” has brought on such a pregnant silence amongst the boys. A great number of confessions have surfaced in this room under stress. But when it involved anything resembling love lives, well -- it was usually something actually tied to romantic feelings that were being poured out in the heat of a moment.

“But you… wanted to be?” Seungkwan is the first to break the silence, trying to piece this new information into what he thinks he already knows in some logical way.  

Jun wants to cry because it all feels unfair and overcomplicated. The worst part is that he understands by now that it never had to be. Still, he can’t quite put a name to whatever stupid instinct told him he couldn’t be straightforward about it all from the beginning.

A week later, you text him. It’s simple, straightforward, almost out of place given the utter silence he’d been enduring from you. You text him a simple request asking him to come over to your place.

He tells you yes because feels no other option in his heart. As soon as he can, he’s buzzing into your building and making his way up to your place.

The door opens almost at the same moment that he knocks on it. You look tired and a little nervous as you hold the knob from the inside. There’s no invitation to come in, so Junhui remains in your hallway, patient enough to provide whatever time you need.

You’re still standing at the threshold when you tell him softly, earnestly, “I shouldn’t have closed you out like that.” The words come with a shake of your head and a lump in your throat at you promptly swallow back.

An impulse tells Jun to start hugging you and shushing away your concerns, but he isn’t sure if you’re in a place where you’re ready for him to be that kind of friend again. So he shifts his shoulder blades and tells you the realization he’d had during all his circular thinking. “I shouldn't have tried to force your hand. In your love life least of all.”

“I don’t like being mad at you,” you confess next, a frown settling in on the lines of your face.

“I don’t like you being mad at me,” he concurs with a faint, broken kind of laugh.

In that sentiment, you must have found what you needed to drop what was left of your defenses. Then in a second, you went from feeling much further away than you were in real life to having your arms wrapped around his middle in a hug that feels long overdue.

The embrace lingers a good while in your hallway before either of you are ready to let go and move your reunion properly into the apartment. But it does, eventually, end up with the two of you cuddled up on your sorry excuse for a couch with some old movie neither of you are really watching on TV. The film is just there to fill the silences that happen between your alternating admissions and brief but deep events at clearing the air of everything that ever threatened your friendship.

The movie must be almost halfway over when you finally find the words for exactly what lies at the crux of it all.  

“I don’t wanna lose you, Junhui,” you tell him with your head on his shoulder, “You’re too good a friend to risk it by getting involved with a friend of yours.”

“Why are you so afraid you’d lose me if you actually get a love life?”

You sigh and shake your head without lifting it from his side. “Any number of ways. I could get too caught up in the whole relationship thing and suddenly I’m only ever coming over to see him instead of you. I don’t want that.”

“Not to diss Hao, I mean, he’s great, but I don’t think he’d replace hanging out with me,” Jun says lightheartedly, poking at your side playfully.

“Please be serious,” you request, sitting more upright now to mark just how much you take this matter to heart.

“I’m sorry,” Jun says, head dipping forward for a moment, “I am. It just still seems to me like you’ve overthought all of this instead of pursuing something that could be great.”

“Yeah, it could be. That’s the thing.” You gesture wildly with one hand, waving at some point you haven’t yet made clear. “Maybe it’d be great. But I already know that you’re great and that I love being your friend. And, like… the world makes it out like the possibility of romantic love should seem more appealing than just the reality of a really good friendship but I don’t buy it.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t pursue the other just cause you already have one,” he reasons with you, gentler now. On your television, the heroine is yelling at the protagonist after some great misunderstanding the viewer was in on from the beginning has finally been revealed.

“So say I did. And then it doesn’t work out between me and Minghao? I know how that’d go. You’ve known him longer, you live with him. You’d choose his side, and you’d choose him, and I’d lose you because I broke your friend’s heart.”

“See, you’re overthinking again,” Jun comes back around to his main thesis of the night. “It might be a pain to navigate but… It’s not like you and Minghao’s relationship would just be some extension of ours or vice versa. They’re separate things. I mean first of all, only one even actually exists right now.” At that, you finally manage a small laugh. “And I can tell you right now I have no interest in going without talking to you for more than a day for any foreseeable reason in the future.”

“That’s easy to say now,” you point out under your breath.

“You think so?” Jun proves that he didn’t miss hearing it. “Because for all your talk of not wanting to lose me, you know you’re the one who stopped talking to me for over a week.”

“I said I wished I hadn’t.”

“It’s not exactly an apology.”

The words settle heavy in the space between the two of you. Jun nearly regrets them, but he’s only just realized himself that some form of sorry is probably needed in the scenario.

“I was mad at you,” you say in place of anything more substantial.

“You had reason to be. And I am sorry for the way I acted.” It’s easier for him to the be first to provide those words, perhaps because he’d been the first to act in the wrong as well.  “But… cutting ties was never going to solve any of this.”  

“You’re right.” You acknowledge this fact in just above a whisper. “I get what you’re saying, that I sound like a hypocrite or something. But, I just -- it didn’t feel like you even knew where I was coming from that night.”

“I don’t think I did.” Jun shakes his head. “That’s part of why I’m sorry.”

You take a deep breath with your eyes closed. “That’s probably on me, in part. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you everything I was feeling about this whole… fear of fucking up our friendship in some vain pursuit of a date thing.” You chew at the inside of your cheek for a moment, contemplating exactly why you’d held out on these facts for so long. “I thought it’d make things weird, to talk about how much I love you when it’s only as a friend.”

The silence that follows threatens to confirm your fears until Jun shoots you a small smile and says, “Like things weren’t weird from day one?”

“Jun--” You want to complain that he’s being silly again.

He cuts you off before you can. “I love you too. I think that’s why I got so ahead of myself when I thought I’d noticed something that would make you happier.”

That strikes a chord inside of you. You’ve been there with friends before, urging friends to approach their high school crushes and getting into arguments over exactly how qualified they were for their dream jobs. It can be fierce, loving someone without the added veil of romantic affection; the kind of love that allows you to see someone and think you see them clearer than they see themselves. Well-intentioned, but such things can always lead to trouble.

“You make me happy, Jun. Please don’t forget that.”

“I won’t,” he nods softly, pulling you into another warm hug. “Promise me you won’t stop yourself from having something just because of me. You’ll have me no matter what.”

“You have to promise to let me take things at my own pace, if at all, first.”

“Okay, I promise.”

“Then I do, too.”

Things return to the way they were before the whole ordeal after that. The only difference is that now that the other guys know you and Jun aren’t having a sex-fueled fling, they’re a bit less hesitant about getting to be friends with you themselves. It doesn’t change much, but the impact is still something Jun finds himself noticing in small moments. If it had been like this from the beginning, it never would have gotten so out of hand, Jun finds himself thinking every so often. But that is the benefit of hindsight.

When the vocal unit takes Joshua out for the day, leaving the rest of boys behind to set u for his surprise party, you’re already in the loop. You’d texted Seokmin to ask if everything was going as planned. That never would have happened before. But Junhui’s glad that it does happen. It’s nice to have you more fully woven into his life, able to speak comfortably with his friends. It’s better.

Another new phenomenon is that Soonyoung is the first to remember that you like baking when catastrophe strikes in the party set up. A beautifully decorated cake had been ordered no less than two weeks in advance. Said cake only lasted about six minutes in the dorm before it was knocked off a table and utterly destroyed upon impact with the floor.

Jun’s SOS text to you, backed by similar ones sent from Soonyoung and Chan, is answered with a simple checklist of the supplies you’d need to pull a cake together in their kitchen.

You were over and at work less than forty minutes later. Your arrival is met with almost excessive thanks from the members left behind to organize the whole event.

Jun is helping Seungcheol and Chan with blowing up various brightly colored balloons while Mingyu and Wonwoo are busy taping streamers and fairy lights to the ceiling. Soonyoung, Vernon, and Minghao are doing their best to clean the dorm up. A clean home is meant to be part of the surprise for Jisoo, but it’s also an effort to make the post-party clean up easier since there are no illusions that it won’t look like a disaster area come tomorrow morning. Their task isn’t made easier by the collection of balloons being added to the floor, as Soonyoung makes no small ordeal pointing out as he comes into the living room with the vacuum cleaner.

“Then move them into the hall for now!” Minghao suggests from where he’s wiping down the windows.

“My lungs are gonna give out,” Chan complains as he pinches closed a purple balloon to trap the air inside. “Do we really need this many?”

“Yes!” A chorus comes from several of the members.

“Guys,” your voice comes chiming in from the kitchen, “Can someone come give a hand in here?”

“What’s wrong?” Jun asks, gaze focused on where he’s looping rubber around on itself to tie off the balloon.

“Nothing’s wrong.” You appear in the doorway between kitchen and living room, a washrag still drying your hands. Jun glances briefly over to Minghao, unsurprised to find that he’s paused his task as well to let his gaze settle on you. “I’m trying to make the frosting but you guys don’t have an electric mixer so, uh, I’d appreciate a hand with the actual whisking of it.”

“That sounds tiring too,” Chan forlorns, slouching further into the couch.

“Hey, you volunteered to help set up!” Seungcheol reprimands the youngest.

“You can take over here,” Minghao offers some reprieve, holding cleaner and the roll of paper towels out in Chan’s direction. “It’s not that bad.”

“You go whisk frosting then, Hao,” the eldest directs quickly. Jun looks back over to you, asking with a single look if that arrangement is okay with you. You smile assuredly and nod subtly.

“Ah… Okay,” Minghao complies easily, setting down his cleaning supplies and heading in your direction.

“It’s pretty foolproof,” you tell him, “It’s just gonna take longer by hand.” With that, the two of you disappear into the kitchen.

As it turns out, everyone underestimates exactly how long whisking together frosting should take, because Jun is being sent to check on how much longer Hao will be out of commission for any other party-prep tasks only a couple minutes alone.

“You’re really gonna need to be a bit more aggressive if it’s ever going to fluff up properly.”

Jun pauses in the doorframe as he hears you giving this advice to Minghao, spotting you leaning into his side slightly as you look down into the bowl on the counter. Hao gives a quiet apology. Then the light sound of metal clinking about ceramic becomes much faster, briefly, as he tries to follow your instructions to whisk with a bit more gusto.

It comes to a total stop just as abruptly as it begins as both of you let out yelps of surprise. Jun almost chuckles as you jolt back from the counter a few inches.

“Oh my god!” you exclaim in surprise, wiping a bit of sugary gloop from your cheek with laughter.

“You said to be more aggressive,” Minghao defends,  pushing the bowl further back on the counter like he wants to deny any association with this ordeal.

“I did, I did,” you admit, stepping closer again to investigate the state of the frosting. “I didn’t think you’d go quite that extreme.”

You turn yourself to face him and let out a slight giggle. “You’ve got… Ah,” you don’t finish the phrase as you point towards his forehead. Instead, you reach forward and pick a small bit of pre-frosting out of his hair. Hao gives you an embarrassed smile and reaches beyond you to the counter to hand you a paper towel. You thank him softly, wiping sugar and butter off your fingers with an unintended smile pulling on your lips. Minghao stands right in front of you, his gaze fixed carefully on your features as he curls his fingers into his palms anxiously, visibly longing.

“You’re supposed to be asking Hao--” Soonyoung starts, but Jun is quick to grab him back and slap a hand over his mouth. Soonyong gives him a puzzled look and starts to tug himself free. Jun puts a finger to his own lips, urging the other to stay quiet before pointing into the kitchen.

And so two of them are witnesses to the moment when you finish cleaning your hands and look back up only to be caught off guard when you meet Minghao’s eyes. Smiles falter questioningly on both of your faces and return as gazes roam blatantly down to one another’s lips and back again.

Jun feels Soonyoung’s small squeak of surprise against his palm when you and Minghao both move forward in nearly the same instant, meeting in the middle in a kiss that looks soft and picture-perfect. Jun only sticks around for two seconds, just long enough to really confirm that his eyes aren’t playing tricks on him, before dragging Soonyoung away from the kitchen door with him.

“Where’s Minghao?” Chan asks first, “You were supposed to go ask how long he needs to be in there for.”

“He needs a little while longer,” Jun answers vaguely, though he’s certain he’s wearing a smile that might give away a bit more than he intends.

By the time the vocal team comes back, the cake is frosted and the dorm has been transformed into practical a maze of party decor. If parts of the floor were still dirty, it’d be hard to tell through all the balloons and the dim lighting of strung up lights.

“Ah, look how red Shua’s face got when he first came in!” Minghao points out as he watches the video back on Jun’s phone of the exact moment when he’d opened the front door only to be greeted by the bang of party poppers and a unified cry of ‘surprise!’

“Yeah, we actually pulled this off,” Jun agrees with a smile. He looks up to scan the room, happy with the work the group had put in to decorate and fill the dorm with friendly faces. His sight catches on you, changed out of practical baking wear and into a dress fitting the atmosphere, laughing in conversation with a handful of guests.

When he glances over his shoulder, he finds Minghao’s gaze in the same direction his had just been. It may be a bad idea to say anything at all, but with what he’d seen in earlier that evening, Junhui can’t find the will the bite his tongue. “You need to ask her out soon.”

Hao turns red and redirects his sights quickly.

“You have my blessing you know,” Jun half-teases, slinging an arm over the younger’s shoulders.

“Don’t embarrass yourself,” Minghao tries to shrug the subject off along with Jun’s arm, though the flush on at the tips of his ears is proof of something else.

“I mean it,” Junhui’s tone takes a turn. “You two have danced around each other too long to start some kind of messy, unclear thing where you just kiss when you think no one’s looking.” Revelation flashes across Minghao’s face, followed by a mix of dread and embarrassment. “Give yourselves an actual chance or I’ll be annoyed at both of you.”

Two days later, Minghao comes home from his first official date with you and collapses onto the couch with a dazed look of adoration on his face.

“You alright?” Jun asks from an armchair.

“She’s… Just, ah,” he might as well be speechless from how little he managed to get out.

“So things went well I take it?” he asks while typing a message with a similar question in a text to you.

“Very,” Minghao answers with a smitten sigh.

You were right. He reads your reply a few moments later and grins to himself. Thanks, Jun.

So after far too long, Wen Junhui finally gets to congratulate himself on a job well done. Or at least a mission accomplished. His phone buzzes once more in his hand. He glances over the message and lets of a short laugh.

Also, you’re still my favorite.

[monicaparker93]

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But you must immediately change your views.Shelter, renovation, transportation, survival and many other things.It's something that you guys are really great together, whatever comes to personal preferences but never when it comes day by day, for better or for worse.No matter what your partner to react to situations that fit in certain situations.Are you facing some issues with people residing in any relationship must experience a sad, cold death in a marriage.

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[akhan12storyboarding-blog]

DDA-514, Storyboarding & Storytelling                              Prof. Michael O’Rourke

As an aid to developing your story, answer the following questions about your story.

1) Who is the main character? Give a brief description.

The main character of my short animation is a caramel colored mouse girl from 18 century france (I have added a very rough/early concept sketch above). She will be presented as light hearted, clumsy, day-dreamy (kind of absent minded, think dopey but in a cute way), and adventurous. She will generally be shown as having little regard for personal safety and as having a natural curiosity to explore/observe. The short will open mid action, which is why information about the main character will be revealed as the story progresses. It will be revealed that she is from a wealthy family settled in Paris, and that she ran away during her late teens to escape constraints of her boring ‘regular’ lifestyle. In the short she will be introduced as a pirate sneaking onto a ship, insinuating that after running away she seems to have adopted a pirate-like mode of life.

2) Who, if any, are the other principle characters? Give brief descriptions.

The animation will essentially have two main characters, but because the short is presented from the point of view/journey of the female mouse, she is the more important character. The other main character is a creamy colored mouse boy with black swirly hair. It will be revealed that he is a childhood friend of the protagonist, from her more ‘bougie’ life back in Paris. He, much like her, has left home to explore/travel, except instead of running away he seems to have informed his family of his intentions, the success of which can be attributed mostly to his being a male and of age. It will also be revealed that during his journeys he intended to look around for her a little bit (which is why he had her letters, to look for clues), but got sidetracked due to his bad planning skills.  

3) What does the main character want?

This is a little complex in my story, because it changes as the story progresses. The more obvious thing that the main character wants, which is what causes her to sneak onto the fancy looking ship in the first place, is the prospective ‘treasure’ or ‘loot’ that it may hold. As she continues to explore the ship, she stumbles upon a small treasure chest which looks familiar to her. She opens it to find that is her her very own treasure chest from when she was younger, and that it houses old letters from her friends. Special attention is given to the one that she received from mouse boy. At this point, the protagonist will start to daydream about her past, after which her prime motive will change to taking the treasure chest back with her, although she will definitely try to sneak some other things in her bag. At a later point in the short, she will have an encounter with her friend from the past, and it will become obvious that she wants to stay and spend time with him (which will not be possible due to certain circumstances). The story will end with her last ‘want’ being that.

4) What is getting in the way of what he/she/it wants?

The first ‘conflict’ that the mouse girl will face is during the daydream scene. She will be knocked out of her daydream by someone screaming a warning outside. She will look out the window (with her spyglass) and see a ship of frightening looking english navy soldiers getting closer and closer. She will hurry to leave (she’s done her fair share of illegal things), gathering a few expensive looking things and stuffing the chest under her arm. At the same time, I will show scenes of the mouse boy to introduce him, with him moving closer to the room she's in. They will both move towards centre of screen in different scenes (like the Godfather scene), and open the door at the same time. So the thing getting in the way of her escaping (which is what she wants), is her childhood friend. This is ironic because towards the end, what she will want is to stay and spend time with him, in which case the conflict will be the navy officers.

5) What is the central conflict of the story?

The central conflict of the story is Wide Angle internal conflict; as a result of the ‘events’ the protagonist will have an encounter with an old friend. The conversation will lead to some confessions, unresolved problems, and a newfound appreciation for friendship/love. The more obvious ‘external’ conflict is the presence of the navy in the situation.

6) Where does the story take place?  Describe the environment.

The story will take place on a large, fancy ship (I have not as yet decided what kind of ship).

7) When does the story take place?

Early 18 century time period, during the daytime.

8) Over what timeframe does the story take place?

Around a couple of hours

9) Why will the audience care about your main character(s)?

In the beginning, I think the female mouse’s dopey, clumsy and ‘whimsy’ antics will be endearing. Similarly, the male mouse’s sarcasm/humor and affected personality will be endearing. Because the protagonists are old friends, their jargon will be casual and easy to empathize with. The relationship between the characters will also naturally interest the audience, simply because moving away and losing touch with someone you once held dear is quite common.

10) Why will the audience care about the conflict your main character faces?

At a deeper level, I believe that the things they talk about will resonate with the audience. Mouse girl will deal with things like feeling ‘trapped’, and feeling distant from her friends, running away from problems, regret, coming to terms with wanting something her new lifestyle doesn’t necessarily allow, sacrifices, etc.

11) Does your main character change in any significant ways over the course of the story?

The last shot of the animation is of her drifting in a boat in the mist in a vast and open sea, with a pipe in her mouth with her hunched over and little bubbles floating out of it. I think the biggest change will be of her changing from being flippant and childish to her being a little more quiet and accepting. She will also admit/come to terms with some things she seems to have been avoiding in the past (such as needing friends). This is kind of to represent the very typical explorer/warrior/adventurer gone soft trope but in a more subtle, and small scale way.

12) If your story follows the Classical story structure, describe which portions constitute the Exposition, Complication, and Resolution.

Exposition- scenes where she climbs onto the ship, exploring (establishes setting and basic characterization)

Complication 1- treasure chest scene, daydream (daydream will also allow for a deeper insight into character)

Complication 2- navy officers pursuing her, running into old friend (it’s his ship) which prevents her from escaping in time

Complication 3- unresolved stuff with friend/past

Complication 4- not being able to stay w friend because officers won’t leave her alone/her offences are too serious/ she must leave him behind in order to escape to safety

Resolution- she gets away safely on one of her friend’s smaller boats with the treasure chest and some loot, however the story will only be half resolved because it is uncertain if they will be able to find each other again.

13) If your story deviates from the Classical story structure, explain how it does so.

I think it deviates in how there’s more than one complication, and its hard to tell which is the ‘big’ one and which ones are the ‘small’ ones. The Resolution is also incomplete, to create a sense of prolonged interest/suspense. It's like a snippet into the life of the protagonist.