#benvolio working

[thecomet-and-themeteor]

In which I insert some characters into an incorrect quotes generator because I'm bored and don't have access to my computer rn

[leluxiboi]

I was in a production of Romeo and Juliet in high school, and as a result, I am VERY protective of the play. Like overprotective. Like, whenever someone’s saying that Romeo and Juliet is a love story or that it’s stupid because of the events that happen in it, I’m just over here like, “No! It’s a tragedy because these two children were DESTINED to fall in love! Their love was decided in the stars themselves! They were destined to fall in love despite their families’ hatred of each other and the fate they would succumb to as a result of their relationship! It’s a tragedy because these kids didn’t have a CHOICE but to fall in love and die because of it!”

[wowwforever]

gonna do my own adaptation of Romeo and Juliet that's entirely the same except the poison scene goes on for a bit longer. Juliet drinks the poison that makes her go to sleep but Romeo drinks poison that supposedly kills him but it's actually a mislabeled vial of the first poison so Juliet wakes up and drinks some of that poison and then Romeo wakes up and is like "oh shit this poison doesn't work, here Juliet has some poison!" and he drinks that which is of course the go to sleep poison and then Juliet wakes up again and is like "What the fuck" and then Benvolio comes in and is like "My boy Romeo is poisoned! I'll join you bro." and now he's asleep, and then Juliet is like "I need some wine to process this" - Drinks out of the poisoned cup Romeo poured sleeping in and then Romeo wakes up again and is like "JULIET AND BENVOLIO?!" and he's so pissed but also confused and is like mentally 'well if drinking this poison twice brought my friends here i guess i'll drink it again and see what happens' and then Juliet wakes up again and she's like "Okay hold on. Let's see how this plays out" but she can't because then Fortinbras shows up and is like "I'm invading Verona! Fuck you!!!" but then Juliet splashes some sleeping poison in his face and he's out now and then Romeo wakes up and Benvolio dies because he was allergic to sleep poison and also the lion from Pyramus and Thisbe comes and kills them both The End

[7k9sinthee]

Relationship headcanons;

⌑ Nsfw/Sfw?: SFW

⌑ Reader?: Yes, GN!

⌑ Genre?: fluff, headcanons

⌑ Version?: Any, 1968 implied !

⌑ Editted?: Yes !

Characters: Tybalt, Benvolio, Mercutio

ㄨ Tybalt

ᶻz ALL SFW HEADCANONS, x reader!

⁺ This man is just the sweetest man ever.

⁺ Fight me, but I absolutely adore this man and see him as a sweet man.

⁺ He's so willing to help you out, whether it's with simple tasks or difficult, he has the strongest feeling to aid you.

⁺ Tybalt very often carries heavy items for you, which often varies from; books, baskets of food, boxes, and much more.

⁺ Oddly enough, he's dazed when he thinks of you. Like, he's just in another universe just imagining being with you

⁺ It scares everyone a bit to see the Tybalt completely dazed. (Prince blesses whatever/whoever shut Tybalt up and kept peace on the streets of Verona.)

⁺ He gets the urge to just pick you up like a princess, of course not in public for both of yours sake...

⁺ If you're related/close to the Prince, he often walks away to be with you and excuses it as being a "guard".

⁺ Which does work efficiently. No one dares to come near and bother you.

⁺ Actually, somewhat good a cooking... of course, he won't be cooking due to the era- but, a friendly reminder that you can trust him to cook for you.

⁺ If you have siblings, he teaches them how to use swords and how to fight... to a minimum, he doesn't want to get them hurt.

⁺ 100% an acts and service love language guy. He just has this deep feeling in his heart where he just needs to assist you.

⁺ He wants to help a majority of the time because he sees you as a little deer. Tybalt would be too ashamed to admit, but you're really just sweet to him.

⁺ Nurse actually somewhat knows quite alot about you... Tybalt doesn't necessarily shut up...

⁺ On with the topic of Tybalts' lack of ability to keep quiet, he rambles constantly. And I mean he loves to ramble about you, specifically.

⁺ He enjoys a lot of features about you, personality-wise or physically. He admires you a lot, considering you're a lot softer than he is.

⁺ Actually.. more about Tybalt's rough self, he has rough skin along with scars and very often enjoys you brushing over him with your much softer hands, even if your hands are also rough.

⁺ He's a sore loser for you. Absolute devotion to you.

⁺ This man is 100% your guard dog.

⁺ He's a much more aggressive man, so in comparison to when you resolved a problem pretty easily and... with less blood shed, he's kinda dumbfounded..?

⁺ Appreciates that you make things less difficult for Prince

⁺ He listens to you a bit more when it comes to behavior. Of course, he's 100% in denial, but he understands that some things just shouldn't go the way he makes them..

⁺ Random, but he enjoys randomly like rubbing his scent on you? Like he gets extremely close, and you start smelling like him (in which he stinks severely, so you'll need to shower as soon as you could in this era...)

⁺ Also, duels so much it gives you a heartattack everyday..

⁺ Sometimes, he just fights to be bandaged up for whatever reason.. (cough, cough, your touch cough, cough.)

⁺ Also, he's the type of guy to fight people to assert dominance.. and his love for you. He obviously won't confess.

⁺ Off topic, but he is 100% running off away with you when he sees a Montague... specifically, Benvolio.

⁺ He just despises Benvolio (peace his ass) and doesn't want a Montague near you.

ㄨ Benvolio

ᶻz ALL SFW HEADCANONS, x reader!

⁺ He's a sweet guy as well, always looking out for your well being.

⁺ Honestly, he constantly checks up on you and makes sure you took care of yourself.

⁺ Helps you carry things, though it's with far more difficult stuff- like extremely heavy boxes and such. But, he of course doesn't mind if you give him a basket of food or books to carry.

⁺ He's 100% your reading partner.

⁺ Benvolio enjoys sweeping you away and guiding you to a sweet and quiet reading spot he recently found.

⁺ He's your #1 supplier on new books to read... regardless if you already have a library full.

⁺ He's not entirely a fan of Tybalt... so he distracts you and walks away before Tybalt notices and makes a fuss about it...

⁺ Benvolio is the type to randomly pick up flowers and gift it to you. (Sometimes sticks)

⁺ Enjoys reading with you, and very often reads out loud to you.

⁺ If you have siblings, he very often watches after them for you.

⁺ He's been caught a few times by Tybalt, and the amount of teasing from Tybalt was just awful. Poor man hadn't stepped outside for the rest of the day for all that.

⁺ He picked up on writing little poems for you/relating to you. Sometimes, he forgets about those poems and leaves them laying around.

⁺ Kinda enjoys taking you out for picnics Little picnics for reading and eating little snacks... and maybe cuddling? (If the coast is clear and you're both comfortable enough.)

⁺ I feel like his love language is quality time. He just really enjoys basking in your presence.

⁺ Also, he really likes giving gifts rather than receiving gifts. But if you gift him anything, he's absolutely preserving it.

⁺ Honestly... he enjoys a bit of drama time to time- of course not getting involved but he enjoys to listen to it. He will absolutely report back to you.

⁺ Benvolio absolutely has inside jokes with you... that no one gets except for you and maybe Mercutio since Mercutio is extremely close.

⁺ On with friends, he only admits his relationship with you to Mercutio. Of course, he's going to need to ask Lord Montague to marry you one day but... just for now, he's going to bask in the thrill of a secret relationship.

⁺ You're a dove to him. He strongly believes you're the best thing to bless all of Verona

⁺ He very vaguely defends you, like he'll talk wonderfully of you if he hears something bad of you.

⁺ That kind of "drama" is something he won't bother to listen to because he knows they're always wrong.

⁺ Despite being one for peace... he sometimes enjoys breaking rules. So, don't be surprised if he shows up at your house at like... 2 in the morning...

⁺ If you're very close with the rest of the Montagues (but not being family), he's extremely fond of you and takes in the job of protecting you.

ㄨ Mercutio

ᶻz ALL SFW HEADCANONS, x reader!

⁺ He was definitely not one for love in the very beginning.

⁺ As in, he often teased others for falling in love. (Cut to Romeo...)

⁺ But, he honestly loves you. And leaving some little daisies for you is one of the ways he shows his love.

⁺ Since he knows the Prince extremely well, he could practically sneak out very often and take you away on little adventures.

⁺ The Prince is very fond of you and... well, like Nurse with Tybalt, knows a lot about you.

⁺ He's probably they type to pick up random things from the street stores and gift them to you.

⁺ Very, very often takes you out. (Ask the Prince to at least somewhat hold him back if you get tired.)

⁺ If you have siblings, he's teaching them to climb trees, how to do little things he picked up on.

⁺ Probably causes you a little heart attack when you see your 8 year old sibling on the highest branch.

⁺ Of course, he doesn't let them get hurt and watches them closely.

⁺ Would help you out with the siblings if you need help.

⁺ He enjoys music. He's the type to play extremely random string instruments.

⁺ So, if you play any instruments, he asks you to play random notes or music sheets he picked up.

⁺ Very silly guy, so he's constantly joking around with you.

⁺ But, he will take threats/jokes about you pretty seriously.

⁺ He's the type of guy to bring out sweet, wise little sayings for you, majority of the time its bs. But compliments you often.

⁺ Mercutio seems like the type to randomly take one of the Princes horses (some old one that Prince wouldn't mind being taken out- of course.) And go on small trails he found with you.

⁺ Honestly, he first met you from Benvolio, who spoke highly of you.

⁺ Mercutio was so confident he'd be able to tease you about love or something... he fails. Pretty badly too.

⁺ He doesn't seem like the type to believe in love at first sight though, so it might take a few tries before he really, really realizes.

⁺ Benvolio and Romeo know so much about you... to the point where THEY'RE SCARED... (they're just mortified by the amount of info that Mercutio somehow got from you???)

⁺ Mercutio is someone you can completely trust- he will never tell anyone anything you say, even if he was threatened. Anything between just of two of you, he will lock and seal his lips.

⁺ He definitely seems like the type to just ramble on about random things, and actually really appreciates when you argue back with him or even agree!

If anyone is OOC, I'm sorry. Will not be fixing any time soon as I just edited. (4/23/24)

[amor1st03]

Did My Heart Love Till Now? | Han Jisung

Han Jisung x fem!reader

friends to lovers, college au, fluff, little bit of angst

warnings: some suggestive jokes, alcohol consumption, teeny tiny bit of jealousy, like one swear word, think that's it let me know if I missed anything

word count: 10.8k (it's a long ik so buckle in lmao)

in which: your university puts on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and you're excited to be playing alongside your long time crush Hyunjin. Things get a bit complicated when Jisung is thrown in the mix

a/n: I swear I'm gonna start working on some fics for the others members soon I'm just obsessed with him rn tbh lmao but anyway this took me forever to write I just couldn't seem to sit down and write large chunks of it but I finally finished it so hope you enjoy :)

Skz masterlist

You couldn't believe how lucky you were to have been cast in the play.

You had pushed your way through the crowd of people to get to the bulletin board to look at the names on the casting sheet. Romeo, Hwang Hyunjin, of course. But then you looked at Juliet's casting and your jaw dropped. Your own name was beside it. You couldn't believe it, you had got the part! A large smile spread across your face. Not only did you get the main lead but you also would be playing love interests with the guy you had been obsessing over since you started university.

You looked at the other cast members to see who else you would be working with. You were pleased to see your best friends Felix and Jeongin were in the play too as Benvolio and Paris. Bangchan had been cast as Lord Capulet, Minho as Lord Montague, Seungmin as Friar Laurence, and Changbin as the villain, Tybalt. You also saw that Romeo's best friend, Mercutio, would be played by Han Jisung. How fitting.

Jisung and Hyunjin had been friends since high school so the two of them playing best friends in the play would require next to no acting. Mercutio also was a rather playful character which would fit Jisung well. You had only spoken to Jisung a handful of times. You majored in English and Drama combined while he studied music but you shared one class together that you had a few times a week about writing poetry. Jisung had decided to join this class because he thought it might help to understand language better and also help him write his songs. Songs after all were technically just poetry with music behind it.

You had shared nothing other than civil conversations but he was a nice enough guy. He was a bit of a class clown, trying to make people laugh but he was always nice to everyone and on top of that never let his 'class-clown-ing' get in the way of his grades.

You were excited about the play but a little bit nervous. But you knew you could do this, you had worked so hard at studying the play and had rehearsed for weeks for the audition. All you had to do was just focus on the play. And, hey, it also gave you the chance to get closer to a certain Hyunjin, right?

***

You avoided eye contact as you made your way into the theatre for the first script reading. You made your way onto the stage where the drama teacher had set out a circle of chairs with a script placed on each one. There were a few students already sat down and talked amongst themselves. You picked up a script and took a seat, away from everyone else, hoping Felix and Jeongin would get here soon.

When Han Jisung entered the room, you were the first person he spotted. He had spoken to you a few times but nothing other than small talk, really. But he knew he wanted to get closer to you for the play. He wasn't sure why he was so intrigued by you but he found it fascinating that, despite you being usually reserved and quiet, when you were on stage you were a different person. He put his intrigue down to the fact that he wanted to learn from you as it was his first time doing the show.

Every year your school did some play that everyone was allowed to audition for, not just the drama majors. In last year's play, you had played one of the secondary roles but Jisung had thought you stole the whole show. You were truly incredible. He was so glad when he read your name on the casting list next to Juliet because he knew you would be perfect. Especially alongside one of his best friends, Hyunjin. Hyunjin had always had a flare for dramatics and he believe that you and him would do a great job as the titular characters.

Jisung made his way across the room to you and up onto the stage. He took the seat next to you and smiled as you turned your head to face him.

"Hi, Jisung," You said with a soft smile.

"Hey, I don't know any of those guys is it alright if I sit with you?"

"Yeah of course it is, but aren't some of your friends in the play as well?"

"Oh yeah, they are but I'm sure they'll join us soon." Your stomach flipped, you knew Jisung was friends with Hyunjin and the thought of him sitting with you made your start to feel a little flustered and he wasn't even here yet.

Focus, Y/N. Be professional, you told yourself. That was when Hyunjin happened to walk into the theatre laughing along with some of his friends. You had a moment where your mind went blank as the boy beside you waved his friends over. As Hyunjin approached, you felt your heart race. Taking a deep breath, you tried to calm yourself, putting a small smile on your face as Hyunjin sat down beside Jisung.

You're playing his love interest, for god sake, you cannot, I repeat cannot act flustered around him, you kept telling yourself.

"Hey, guys this is Y/N, she is in a one of my classes." They all greeted you, introducing themselves. You already knew all of their names, of course, how could you not? You were living most of the people at your university's dream right now, surrounded by what most considered to be the hottest group of guys to ever come to this school.

"You were in the play with me last year, right?" Hyunjin spoke up looking over at you. You just simply nodded with a polite smile on your face. "You were one of the secondary characters but your monologue was truly amazing."

"Oh, thank you, you were amazing last year too."

"Thanks," Hyunjin replied, "I'm looking forward to working with you." You felt your cheeks warm up.

"I'm looking forward to working with you too. All of you." You looked around at the group of boys and smiled.

***

Rehearsals were going well as the weeks seemed to fly by. You had grown to like all of the boys, hanging out with the group even outside of rehearsals. Jisung and yourself had picked up a weekly routine of hanging out to practice, your characters never interacted in the show but you both enjoyed filling in to help each other learn your parts.

"I'm so glad you agreed to help me out with this, Y/N. I've never done any acting before this," He said, looking up at you from his seat on the floor, watching you perform one of Juliet's monologues. The two of you had booked out one of the drama rooms at your university for practice after your classes had finished for the day.

"Well, you're a natural," You said, sitting down next to him.

"So are you and you give really good advice too. After I saw you in last year's play and auditioned for this one I knew I wanted you to help me with it."

"Using me for my talents, are we?"

"Yes, absolutely."

"Jisung!" You hit his shoulder softly.

"I'm kidding. I enjoy hanging out with you sometimes. That is when you aren't hitting me."

"Shut up. Now come on, show me how you're getting along with the Queen Mab monologue."

He stood up and began his monologue. You watched in awe as he spoke with enthusiasm. When he had finished he was happy to hear your round of applause.

"Wow, like I said you're a natural. Almost on par with Hyunjin," You teased as you handed him his water bottle.

Hyunjin. That was something that was weighing on his mind. He knew that you were shy but now you were comfortable around all the guys but something was different about Hyunjin. Something twisted in his stomach, he wasn't sure why.

"You like him, right?" He asked after a moment of silence.

"Huh?"

"Hyunjin. You like him, don't you?"

"Oh my god, is it that obvious?" You asked, sounding a little flustered.

"A little, but I don't think anyone else has noticed. But I did." You put your hands in your face.

"I'm so embarrassed."

"Why? You can like whoever you want. You wanna talk about it? I won't tell anyone." You smiled softly.

"I don't know, I've liked him for a while, but it wasn't until this play that I really got to know him."

"Yeah, he's a really great guy. And you're a great girl. You'd look good together," He said sincerely but, for some reason, couldn't look you in the eye. You both sat in silence for a moment before Jisung cleared his throat. "Well, anyway, I'm going out to eat with the guys, um, do you wanna come?"

"I can't just intrude like that."

"You wouldn't be intruding, they all like you plus Changbin messaged me earlier to say Jeongin and Felix were invited and I know you are best friends with them. Look, I'll message the group chat and ask if you can come too just to make sure so you don't feel like you're intruding." You still looked hesitant. "Hyunjin will be there."

"Okay, I'll come." Jisung couldn't help feeling a little disappointed at how quickly you agreed at the mention of Hyunjin.

***

"What do you mean you've never watched it?"

"I just haven't!"

"We are literally performing the play and you haven't watched the 90s version?"

"Nope, never interested me before this."

"But a young Paul Rudd's in it."

"That's not a reason."

"I beg to differ." The other guys around the table laughed as you and Jisung bickered. Chan looked between the two of you with a strange look in his eye which didn't go unnoticed by Jisung but he decided to ignore it. "I'm going to force you to watch that film even if I have to tie you to a chair."

"He'd probably enjoy that," Minho piped up earning another wave of laughter while Jisung's eyes went wide in shock.

"Minho, you're disgusting," Jisung practically shouted.

"Jeez, Jisung, will you quieten down a little, you're gonna get us kicked out," Changbin said in between laughs.

"I hate you guys." He slumped down, putting on a dramatic pout.

"Aw, you love us really," Hyunjin threw an arm around him. "Isn't that right, Y/N?" Hyunjin smiled at you which you quickly returned.

"Of course it is." You leaned in on the other side of Jisung and pinched his cheeks teasingly. You missed the look Hyunjin sent Chan's way. Jisung swatted your hands away but a small smile graced his lips.

"Alright, alright, enough," He said with a soft laugh. "Let's order some food, I'm starving."

***

After you had all eaten the majority of you headed back to campus as most of you lived in the student accommodation, only Changbin and Bangchang broke off as they rented a place outside of the campus.

You reached the campus and the group started getting smaller and smaller as each person left for their own building. There were 3 student accomodation buildings, Seungmin and Lee Know left for the first one where they shared the room. Felix and Jeongin did the same thing when you reached the second building. That left you, Jisung, and Hyunjin to walk to the third building. Jisung had been so excited when he discovered that you lived in the same accommodation as him, even more so when he found out you were only on the floor above him. You were equally excited when he told you his roommate was Hyunjin.

"I'll walk you to your room."

"It's one floor, Ji, I'll be fine."

"Ugh, fine, don't say I never offer to do anything nice for you," He teases.

"See you later, Y/N," Hyunjin says with a smile as Jisung waves you goodbye, heading towards their room. You then make your way up to your own.

"Honey, I'm home," You joked as you walk through the door to find your roommate and friend, Lily sitting on the sofa watching a film.

"Did you have fun?"

"Yep, it was really nice to hang out with the guys."

"Next time invite me, I wanna ask Changbin for his number."

"First of all I wasn't originally invited, Jisung invited me, I don't know if a plus one can bring a plus one and secondly, just ask him he will 100% give you his number."

"You really think so?"

"I do."

"Alright, the next time I see him around I'll do it." You wish you were as brave as Lily and could just ask Hyunjin out like that but you knew if it went wrong rehearsals and the play would be awkward. You sighed, sitting down next to her on the couch.

"What are you watching?"

"Me Before You, I'm only five minutes in you wanna watch it with me?"

"Sure."

***

"Why did we decide to watch this?" You asked, tears streaming down your face, turning to your friend only to find her fast asleep. "Oh great, I get to cry about it alone." The movie was devasting, it truly broke your heart.

It's just a film, get yourself together, you told yourself. Once you had calmed down a little you headed to the bathroom to splash some water on your face to calm yourself down further. You had a love-hate relationship with sad films. They were masterpieces while at the same time the most soul-destroying, heart-crushing films ever.

You took a blanket from your room and placed it over Lily, not wanting to wake her before getting ready for bed. You were beginning to feel sleepy but the second your head hit the pillow you felt wide awake. You were awake for what felt like hours when you checked your phone to see the time. It was 1am, you knew you had to get up early but there was no way you were going to get to sleep anytime soon. You were too restless to sleep

You decided maybe some fresh air would do you some good so you slipped out of bed replacing your pajamas with a hoodie, sweatpants and some trainers. You quietly made your way out of your room, past Lily who was still fast asleep on the sofa, and out of the front door.

You reached the roof of your accommodation building to find someone was already up there. You recognised him instantly and silently moved towards him.

"Boo!" You shouted, grabbing his waist and making him jump. Jisung jumped and turned around to face you.

"Y/N, you gave me a heart attack, I thought I was about to get murdered!" He said clutching his chest and closing his eyes, trying to calm his racing heart. Not that it ever calmed that much whenever you were near him which he was beginning to find extremely strange.

"Oh, come on, it was a little funny." You said laughing. Your laughter died off as Jisung sighed.

"No, it wasn't."

"Was too."

"Was not." He said, but contradicting himself with a smile, opening his eyes to look at you.

"Was too." His smile dropped when he looked at you.

"Hey, are you alright? Have you been crying?" His hand reached out to rest on your shoulder.

"Crying?" You questioned. "Oh, yeah, don't worry about it, Lily and I were watching a sad movie earlier but she fell asleep leaving me to weep alone."

"Ugh, how dare she!" Jisung joked in a mocking voice.

"Exactly, how dare she. Anyway, why are you up at this time?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Just restless. Just thinking," You replied as you leaned on the railing of the roof. Jisung leaned next to you.

"About?"

Hyunjin.

"Just the play and stuff."

"Oh, right."

"Why aren't you sleeping?" You asked.

"Just thinking about stuff too."

"What stuff?"

You.

"Nothing in particular, just can't seem to shut my brain up."

"Ah, I see. You usually struggle to shut your mouth too."

"Hey, you're mean!" He said, his hand going to his chest again, over his heart.

"But honest," You reply, turning to him with a smile.

"Whatever, if you don't want my company I'll just leave," He said with a huff, turning to leave. You rolled your eyes with a smile grabbing his arm and pulling him back.

"Don't be silly, you know I like spending time with you." This earned you a smile from him.

"Well, how about we do something tomorrow? Maybe, uh, you know if you want to, you could show me Romeo and Juliet 'cause as I said earlier, I haven't seen it."

"Yeah, that sounds good. Is straight after rehearsals alright? We can walk back together and you can come over to mine. Lily will be at work so we can watch it without her pestering you for Changbin's number." He laughed at this a little.

"You have his phone number, why don't you just give it to her?"

"I don't know, I feel like we aren't close enough yet for me to just be giving out his number to anyone."

"You know he has a bit of a thing for your friend right?"

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Oh, I guess I will give it to her then. Look at us doing cupid's work and playing matchmaker." You nudged his shoulder with your own a little. He smiled softly at you.

"It's getting late and we need to sleep, we have rehearsals bright and early tomorrow," Jisung said, looking out at the view from the rooftop. You admired him for a moment before agreeing and you both turned to walk towards the door.

"Let's hope we can practice Juliet's death scene so I can just nap through it."

***

"Say something!" Jisung shouted at the TV screen as the two of you sat and watched Romeo an Juliet. He groaned as he watch Romeo drink the poison as Juliet, who was very clearly alive if only he looked down at her, watched him. "This film is so annoying! She could have stopped him!"

"Looks like someone is really invested."

"Juliet's an idiot!"

"Thanks," You replied dryly.

"Sorry but it's true."

"It's all pretty dumb when you think about it really though, they meet, fall in love, get married, and then die all in the space of about 5 days and on top of that, all this causes 4 more deaths, besides their own." Jisung looked at you for a minute, processing everything you just said.

"You're right but damn Shakespeare was talented to make such a stupid plot be that good."

"Yeah, I'll give him that."

When the end credits rolled you turned to the boy beside you with a smile.

"So, did you like it?" You asked him.

"I did, it was actually really good, I love how they still used the original script but the setting and stuff were modern, we so should have suggested doing a modernized version of it."

"Right? That would have been so cool. Plus I wanna see your version of Mercutio wearing a glittery bralette singing Young Hearts Run Free."

"Dream on," He laughed.

"Maybe I will," You teased.

"Are you flirting with me right now?" He replied, with a mischievous look on his face.

"Dream on," You replied, using his words from before.

"Oh, I see what this is. I'm practice, right? For Hyunjin."

"Shut up. No, I would never flirt with him, I'm too shy around him."

"True. Which is so dumb because I'm sure he would like you back if you just opened up to him a little."

"Felix said the same thing. But I've tried, I've made some progress, before I couldn't even make eye contact with him now I'm playing his love interest and actually talking to him."

"I'm sure it will happen. I just want you to be happy, Y/N."

"I want that for you too." You both sat there smiling at each other for a second. Jisung's eyes briefly flickered down to your lips. He'd hoped you wouldn't notice but you did. You felt a strange twist in your stomach. You continued gazing at each other for a moment longer before Jisung's phone pinged with a notification. He broke eye contact, clearing his throat slightly and reaching for his phone from his pocket.

"Speaking of Hyunjin, he just messaged me to see if I want some of the food he's made, do you wanna come too?"

"Ah, no, Lily will be back soon and I promised I would eat with her. You go ahead."

You walked him to the door, feeling a little disappointed he couldn't stay for longer.

"See you tomorrow."

"See you," You watched as he turned away from you and walked along the hallway before you shut your door. You thought back to your conversation about Hyunjin.

You realised that the entire time Jisung was with you, until he brought Hyunjin up, you hadn't even thought of him.

***

The months had flown by as the first performance of the play neared. Movie nights had become a weekly thing for you and Jisung, each week alternating between the two of you picking a film. As much as you were enjoying the rehearsals for the play, your movie nights were always the highlight of your week.

Speaking of the play, you were almost ready there was just one thing you needed to practice: the kisses.

You had practiced the scenes but every time it got up to the part where you and Hyunjin were meant to kiss you just awkwardly skipped over it and continue the scene. Hyunjin had spoken to you about it and you both agreed you would book a drama room and practice it.

You were a bundle of nerves as you worked your way through the first kiss scene. You had thought about kissing him millions of times and this would finally be it. You had dreamt of this moment. And yet, something felt off.

"Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged," Hyunjin said his line before leaning towards you. "Ready?" He asked quietly. You only nodded, looking into his eyes.

His lips met yours and they were soft. It was a good kiss. Gentle and sweet, enjoyable. But that was all. You felt nothing. You pulled away, feeling disappointed and annoyed. It wasn't him, you were certain, there was something wrong with you. All you had ever wanted was to be kissed by him and when it finally happened there was no butterflies, no fireworks. Not even a spark

"Was that alright?" He asked.

"Y-yeah, it was good," You replied with a small smile. He smiled back with a strange glint in his eye. "Um it's getting late and I've got plans with Jisung, it's our movie night. Why don't you practice the monologue you were talking about earlier that you said you wanted to practice?"

"Oh yeah, can't keep him waiting." He smiled again in a weird way but you couldn't understand it. "Do you want me to walk you back?"

"Oh, no, there's no need, it's not a long walk after all and there's no point you going back yet unless you are heading back to your place. You might as well use the room while nobody else is. See you later, Hyujin." He waved you goodbye as you quickly left.

When you finally arrived at your flat you found Jisung resting on your door, waiting for you. He heard the sound of your footsteps approaching and looked up from his phone.

"Hey."

"Hi, sorry I'm late, practice ran a bit late."

"No worries." You took your keys from your pocket to open your door, not noticing the way Jisung was studying your face.

"You wanna talk about it?" He asked.

"Talk about what?"

"Whatever it is that's up with you. I know you, Y/N, I can see something's bothering you." You sighed, looking at the boy next to you. He had a delicate smile on his face. Had he always been that handsome?

"I'll tell you inside." The two of you made your way through the door once you had unlocked it. You threw your bag on the counter before heading to the sofa and dropping down on it with a sigh. Jisung sat down next to you.

"So?" He asked you.

"We practiced the kiss." You weren't looking at him and he was grateful because he was certain you would have seen the way he frowned.

"And?"

"And it was good but I felt nothing. I think it's my fault though because I was just so nervous and in my head about it all that it was probably awkward. I've liked the guy for what feels like forever and I blew it because I was too scared to properly kiss him."

"So, you need to gain some confidence to kiss him properly then you think it will feel right?"

"I think so but I'm not sure how to gain confidence, I haven't kissed anybody before today in ages." That was when an idea sprang to your head. It was stupid you knew it. But it might just work, you told yourself. You turned to Jisung.

"I've got an idea. It's dumb and you can totally say no but what if we kissed?"

"What?!" His eyes widened.

"Like, just to practice so I can gain some confidence and then next time I kiss Hyunjin I'll be able to kiss him back and not just stand there awkwardly. Actually, it's stupid, sorry, I shouldn't have sugges-"

"Okay."

"What?"

"I'll do it. I'll kiss you. It doesn't mean anything anyway, right?" Jisung tried to ignore the way his heart dropped as those words left his lips. "If it'll help you, I'll do it."

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yep."

"Okay, alright." You both turned to face each other. Gently, he placed his hands on your arms, leaning in. He was hesitant, but the way his eyes flickered between your own and your lips made your heartbeat begin to race.

Your lips finally met his and your breathing hitched in your throat. You brought a hand up to cup his face, softly stroking your thumb over his cheek. His kiss was delicate but full of passion, his lips fit perfectly with your own as you kissed him back. A kaleidoscope of butterflies erupted in your stomach. This felt right. This is what it was meant to feel like when you kissed someone.

You both pulled away, gasping for air, with flushed cheeks and soft smiles. You remained close, your hand still cupping his face.

"That was really good, thank you." Jisung suddenly became aware of what had just happened. He pulled away, out of your reach.

"Yeah, no problem," He replied, trying to act nonchalant. He cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's my turn to pick the film right?" He asked as he grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. Your heart dropped at his dismissal of the moment you thought you had both shared.

"Yeah," You said quietly, turning to look at the TV as he picked a film. You weren't really sure of what he picked because the entire time you were watching your mind was elsewhere thinking about the fact that you and he had just kissed. You turned to look at him, his eyes fixed on the TV screen. Your hand came up to your mouth, replaying the kiss again and again.

That was what it was meant to feel like when you kissed someone. And you knew it.

***

Jisung regretted the kiss the second the two of you had pulled away from each other. Not that he hadn't enjoyed it. He certainly had. He had been waiting for ages to finally kiss you but he wished that the first time he kissed you would have been when you felt the same way that he did. Not as a practice to help you kiss his roommate, who you had liked for years.

The kiss had plagued his thoughts since then. It was now three weeks later and it was the final dress rehearsal before the first show.

It was the first scene where you and Hyunjin kissed. Jisung hadn't seen the kiss before as the two of you would avoid it but now he knew that you had been practicing it. He watched as your eyes flickered from Hyunjin's eyes to his lips when the two of you leaned in and your lips met a wave of jealousy washed over him. He tried to maintain a calm disposition but inside he wanted to scream.

Why him? Why not me? He wanted to ask you.

But he knew he wouldn't, for your sake. He wanted you to be happy. Even if that meant he had to watch you be with his best friend. He watched as you kissed Hyunjin. The kiss looked perfect.

But it wasn't. You could pretend there was love in that kiss, but it was just acting. You knew deep down that nothing could recreate the emotions you felt when you kissed Jisung.

You tried to imagine him instead of Hyunjin but your mind was not strong enough to fake that kind of emotion. Sure the kiss was good but it wasn't like the kiss you shared with Jisung.

As the scene ended, you wanted to cry. Everything was all messed up. You knew Jisung didn't feel that way about you. Hell, you had only just figured out you felt that way about him. He was helping you out in your pursuit of Hyunjin. He had no idea that you had in fact fallen for him a long time ago, it had just taken you a while to notice.

You wished it had been him from the beginning because the way you felt about him was different from the crush you had had on Hyunjin. That had been you, admiring from afar. This was so much more. You wished the kiss you shared with Jisung had meant something to him, because it meant a lot to you.

When you pulled away from Hyunjin, you looked over his shoulder, at Jisung in the wings. He had a soft smile on his face. He wanted to show he was happy for you, hoping you wouldn't take notice that the smile never reached his eyes.

You exited the stage at the end of the scene, coming face to face with Jisung.

"The kiss looked great," He said, avoiding eye contact.

"Yeah?" You asked rather sadly.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Jisung, I-"

"I'm on in the next scene so I better get ready to go on."

"Oh, right." You smiled softly, stepping aside.

You watched as he stepped out on the stage and performed. He really did have a natural talent for it. When the scene concluded he left the stage via the opposite wings. You were so busy watching as he walked away that you almost missed your cue. Luckily, Bangchan had been there to push you out on stage.

"Stop staring at Jisung and get on stage." He lightly nudged you, his words leaving you a flustered mess as you quickly composed yourself for the scene.

***

When the dress rehearsal was finished, you quickly packed your bag ready to leave.

"Hey, we're going to grab a coffee, you wanna come?" Felix asked you.

"No, thanks for the offer though. I'm really tired and just wanna get home but I'll see you tomorrow at the library, 11am."

"Yep, alright, we'll see you later," Jeongin said as he and Felix waved you goodbye.

You were about to leave when Hyunjin approached you.

"You were really great today, the show is gonna be perfect."

"You did a really good job too, Hyunjin." You noticed your sudden ease around the boy. Usually, you would become all flustered and your heart would be racing a mile a minute. Guess you really were over him.

You didn't see Hyunjin's glance at Jisung on the other side of the room, who was standing looking at the two of you sadly.

"So, what's going on with you and Jisung?"

"What? Nothing."

"Well, in that case, maybe after the first performance I could take you out on a date." A couple of months ago these words from Hyunjin probably would've made you faint. It had been all you ever wanted. But when you thought about the idea of going on a date with someone, the person you imagined wasn't Hyunjin, it was Jisung.

"Hyunjin, I'm flattered, really, I am. You know I used to like you, a lot, and I still think you're a really great guy but I just don't feel that way anymore, I'm sorry," You said to him, apologetically. He looked at you with a smirk.

"I knew it."

"Knew what?"

"You like Jisung."

"Well-"

"Oh my god, you don't just like him, you love him."

"Ah, don't say it out loud." Your hand came up to his mouth covering it. Across the room, Jisung watched the interaction between you and his best friend. His hand tightened around the strap of his bag as he felt jealousy swirling in the pit of his stomach.

"I knew you had feelings for him, I just had to get you to admit it," Hyunjin said more quietly now, as you removed your hand from his mouth, revealing his smile.

"Alright, I do love him, but it doesn't matter, nothing is ever going to happen between us. He still thinks I like you and is clearly not bothered by that."

"Y/N, are you blind? Is the way he is looking at us right now not a dead giveaway." You couldn't stop yourself from turning your head to look in Jisung's direction. He quickly looked away, glancing at anything other than you before heading towards the door and leaving the room.

"There goes your chance to tell him today, it's alright, you can try again tomorrow."

"I will not be telling him anything."

"Yes, you will."

"No, I will not. At least not yet anyway."

"Come on, Y/N. Just tell him because I don't know how long I can keep quiet about this."

"Give me until the last show."

"Alright, deal but if you don't tell him, I will."

"This is peer pressure!"

"It's for your own benefit."

"Hyunjin, you're so annoying."

"I may be annoying but I make one hell of a matchmaker."

"Alright, I'm leaving now."

"See you later, I'm gonna go find Chan and tell him you finally admitted your feelings."

"Chan knows about my feelings?"

"We've been talking about you and Jisung for months. We knew about your feelings before even you did."

***

"You kissed him?!" Jeongin said, in shock.

"Yes, but it wasn't like that. It didn't mean anything, not to him at least. He agreed to help me practice for my kiss scenes with Hyunjin." You explained as you and your two best friends left the library. You had been studying together for a few hours but were tired now and wanted to go to a cafe to relax for a little while instead.

"Okay, first of all, do you really think he agreed to kiss you just for practice? I highly doubt that, the guy is obviously smitten with you. And second of all why didn't you tell us any of this earlier?" Felix asked.

"I don't know, I had to find the right time. I didn't want to tell you at rehearsals. Honestly, I would've kept it to myself but I wanted to get it off my chest to someone, especially after Hyunjin made me admit it to him."

"Hyunjin knew before us?!" Jeongin said.

"Will you keep your voice down? This is why I couldn't tell the two of you at rehearsal, he can't keep quiet, I didn't want Jisung overhearing our conversation about him." You pointed accusingly at Jeongin.

"You know what, I knew something was up with you two." Felix smiled at you.

"Nothing is up with us. He doesn't feel that way. I won't be telling him. Hyunjin is trying to get me to confess but I'll find a way to keep him quiet."

"Find a way to keep him quiet? Jesus, you're gonna have to murder him, Y/N."

"If I must."

"You scare me sometimes." Jeongin looked at you with a concerned expression.

"I agree with Hyunjin. You should tell him, what could go wrong?" Felix asked.

"Are you insane? I ruin everything with him? I lay my heart out for him and he tears it to shreds?"

"Jisung's a nice guy, he wouldn't do that."

"Fine but he could still reject me and break my heart regardless of how softly he let me down."

"I think he feels the same way for you," Jeongin states simply.

"Yeah, well I don't."

"He's definitely in love with you, he can't seem to keep his eyes off of you in rehearsal."

"You're imaging things, Felix."

"You think I wouldn't notice when some guy is ogling my best friend?"

"Shut up, he does not love me."

***

Pretending things were fine between you and Jisung proved harder said than done. After realising your feelings for him you felt a lot shyer around him. But he still seemed to be his usual bubbly, chatty self. You would never know Jisung's struggle to maintain this facade.

"You nervous about the first show tomorrow?" He asked you as he sat down on the sofa next to you with a bowl of popcorn. You were over at his apartment as Lily had asked if she could have the apartment for a few hours. She and Changbin had gone on a few dates recently and she wanted to have her own movie night with him, but you knew from her tone, that they probably wouldn't end up watching whatever movie they picked. You didn't really fancy sticking around to find out. Instead, you asked Jisung and Hyunjin if you could crash at their place to which they agreed. Hyunjin was in his room, while you and Jisung had decided to watch a movie together.

"Yeah, a little," You replied. It was true you were anxious about it but right now you were more nervous at the close proximity between you and Jisung. Your heart fluttered as his leg nudged yours. "What about you?"

"Really nervous but excited as well."

"We'll be fine. The entire cast and crew have worked so hard for this, it'll be okay."

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll be great." He smiled at you before clearing his throat and turning his attention back to the TV. "Anyway, what do you wanna watch tonight?"

"I thought it was your turn to pick?"

"It is but I'm feeling nice."

"Alright, how about 10 Things I Hate About You?"

"Yeah, we can watch that before, I've never seen it."

"What? First Romeo and Juliet and now this? How have you never seen it before? It's so good, it's one of my favourite films of all time. It's fitting actually because it's based on the Shakespeare play The Taming of the Shrew. And there's this one scene where the male sings for the female lead in front of everyone. Oh and the poem scene near the end makes my heart ache every time. And I'm rambling and spoiling it for you, I'm sorry." Jisung doubted that he could keep the look of affection from his face and at that moment he didn't care. He loved the way you rambled on about things you liked, he found it the most adorable thing ever.

"No it's alright, I think it's cute." You felt your cheeks up at his words, noticing how close his face was to yours. You could just lean in and kiss him.

Just lean in, your heart told you, but your brain kept you from doing something so stupid.

"Well, yeah, my point is it's really good but if you want to watch something else we can, it is meant to be your night to pick."

"We'll watch that, it does sound good." 

***

You weren't even halfway through the film when you felt yourself grow tired and felt yourself drifting off. You hadn't been sleeping too well, thoughts and worries about Jisung keeping you up late at night. Even your dreams were filled with images of the boy beside you. Dreams where he cruelly broke your heart. You knew he wouldn't do that to you but it still hurt.

Jisung's body stiffened when he felt your head fall to his shoulder. He heard your steady breathing before realising you were asleep and relaxed a little, adjusting the blanket the two of you were sharing.

He continued to watch the movie, trying not to move too much so as to not wake you. You had been right about the movie, it really was great. He liked the scenes you had mentioned. He imagined himself serenading you with a marching band. Maybe one day he would sing to you one of the songs he had written about you. He would do it in a heartbeat if he was certain that you loved him too. Because it was love. It had taken him a long time to come to terms with the fact that like had turned into love. It, of course, hurt him to know you liked his best friend but he wouldn't change his feelings, even if he could. He quite liked the fall. Loved the way it felt to love you.

When the movie had finished you were still fast asleep. Jisung carefully maneuvered his way off of the sofa laying you down gently. He crouched beside you, looking at your peaceful face. It was the first time he had seen you look so peaceful in the last few days.

He had noticed something was up with you but when he asked you just dismissed him He hadn't wanted to pry so decided would wait until you came to talk to him first about it. He gently stroked your cheek and sighed. What was he going to do? He felt so helplessly in love with you. He knew was drowning but instead of saving himself, he was diving deeper and deeper.

He didn't want to leave you to sleep on his sofa so instead he gently picked you up in his arms and carried you to his bedroom, laying you down on his bed. He pulled the covers over you as you began to stir.

"Jisung?" You asked.

"It's alright, Y/N, you fell asleep so I carried you to my bed. I'll sleep on the sofa," He whispered softly. He turned to leave when he felt your hand grab his. He turned back to look at you.

"Please stay." Your eyes looked into his with a sense of pleading.

"Okay." You let go of his hand and he moved to the other side of the bed. He got under the covers, keeping a safe distance from you. But you turned onto your side to face him and moved closer. He turned to look at you. He wanted to reach out and touch you, kiss you, but he knew better. So instead he settled for admiring your features, his eyes tracing your soft smile and bright eyes.

"Goodnight, Jisung," You whispered, shutting your eyes.

"Goodnight, Y/N," He whispered back.

***

Jisung was the first to wake in the morning. The two of you had somehow moved even closer in your sleep. He wanted to start every day like this.

He knew you both needed to get ready for school but when he checked his phone there was still plenty of time so he decided to let you sleep for a little longer. He carefully moved away from you, getting out of bed. In the kitchen he found Hyunjin making himself some breakfast.

"Good morning."

"Morning Jisung, Y/N still asleep?"

"Yep. I'll wake her up in a bit but I can tell she's been really tired recently so I'll let her rest for now." He sat down at the breakfast table after getting some cereal for himself.

"That's so sweet of you, you guys are such a cute couple."

"It's not like that, Hyunjin."

"Not yet. But I have a good feeling about you two."

"Trust me, it'll never happen."

"Why? Because of her feelings for me." Jisung's head whipped up to look at Hyunjin.

"You know? If you know why not let her down easy instead of toying around with her? I swear to God if you hurt her, I-," He began to raise his voice. Hyunjin rolled his eyes.

"I thought you were smarter than that. I'm not playing around with her, I know that she used to have feelings for me, as in past tense."

"How do you know for certain she doesn't still like you?" He asked skeptically.

"Haven't you noticed her change in attitude toward me? She isn't as shy anymore. Besides I had my own theories about her feelings so I decided to put it to the test so I asked her out."

"You what?!"

"I asked her out. And guess what? She said no because she likes someone else and, well, I know who I'm putting my money on." Hyunjin had promised not to tell Jisung about your feelings for him but he wasn't telling Jisung that it was definitely him, he was just hinting, right? He was only trying to help. Watching you too pine after each other was becoming pretty unbearable.

"You think it's me? Yeah, right."

"Look, all I know is you were the one spooning with her all night, not anybody else."

"We weren't spooning!"

***

The first show went incredibly smoothly, of course, there was the usual stress of making sure you remember lines and cues, costume changes, etc but nothing went wrong. Jisung had managed to busy himself with neatening up his costume or being in his dressing room listening to the dialogue over the speakers during the kissing scenes. When it was time to gather on stage and do the final bow you stood next to Hyunjin and Jisung. Jisung was sure the whole audience could hear his heartbeat when you took his hand. You were sure the audience would notice how you were hesitant to pull your hand away from Jisung's. Part of you hoped he would notice too.

The curtain began to close as the cast celebrated and the audience continued to cheer. You turned to Jisung and threw your arms around him pulling him into an embrace. His own arms slid around your waist and you couldn't help but think that this felt right. Holding him like this.

After every show, this routine continued. When the final show came around you were feeling sad and scared. You feared now that the show was over you wouldn't see everyone you had grown close with as much anymore. Mostly, you feared you and Jisung would grow apart.

The curtain finally closed as the atmosphere on stage was still buzzing with energy. You smiled at Jisung who still had his arms around your waist from the hug the two of you once again shared.

"You did amazing!"

"Thank you, but you were just perfect, absolutely incredible." His words made you smile. You leaned forward and kissed his cheek, causing him to blush.

"Thank you." You looked into his eyes and everyone else on the stage seemed to disappear. You could have sworn he was leaning in but he stopped himself. You both pulled away a little awkwardly.

"So, uh-"

"Hey, you two are you coming to Chan's party tonight?" Hyunjin asked, seeming to appear out of nowhere.

"Yeah, I just need to go home and get changed."

"Okay, cool, I brought something to wear so I'm gonna head straight there and help set up. What about you, Jisung?"

"Yeah, I'm coming too but I'll go home with Y/N first, I forgot to bring something to change into as well." His mind flashed to the outfit he had carefully picked out last night and had in fact put in his bag. He just wanted an excuse to walk you home.

"Cool, I'll see you both there," Hyunjin said, before turning away from you both.

"See you," You and Jisung called after him, both replying in unison.

***

Your phone pinged while you were finishing up your makeup and you opened it to see a message from Hyunjin.

Hyunjin: Don't forget the deadline.

Y/N: What are you talking about?

Hyunjin: Your confession

Y/N: You were being serious about that?!

Hyunjin: Of course I was, you should do it tonight, at the party

Y/N: Okay fine, only because I really wanted to say something today after the final bow

You were interrupted by Jisung knocking on your door, ready to take you to the party. You quickly message Hyunjin to tell him Jisung was here before heading toward the door.

You had picked a nice dress, nothing too fancy but it looked amazing on you. As you opened the door, Jisung stared in awe.

"Wow." He blushed, realising he had said this out loud. "Sorry, I uh...you just look...wow."

"Thanks, Ji, you're looking pretty good yourself." And he was. But, to be quite frank, Jisung could be wearing a plastic bag and you'd still think he was hot.

"Ready to go?"

"Yep, come on." You locked your door, before taking his arm.

The walk from your accommodation to Changbin and Chan's apartment was only ten minutes long but it felt like time froze when you were with Jisung. You kept stealing glances at him as Hyunjin's messages on your phone kept popping up in your head.

"Jisung I..." You trailed off as he looked at you with those gorgeous eyes.

"What is it?" He asked softly. For him, the question was more of a plead for you to say the one thing he so desperately wanted you to say: I love you.

"Jisung, I..." Your mind flashed back to the nightmares you had been having about being rejected by him. In the dreams he was cruel, nothing like Jisung you knew. But just because he was kind didn't mean he wouldn't reject you. And it certainly didn't mean it wouldn't hurt all the same, even if he was nice about it. You couldn't confess what you really wanted to say so you confessed the next best thing. "I don't want us to stop being friends now that the show is over." It was bittersweet for Jisung. He was happy you didn't want to lose him but he wanted more than just friends.

"Of course, we'll still be friends, you can't get rid of me that easily." He smiled at you.

"Good. I don't wanna be rid of you anytime soon."

***

You had lost Jisung somewhere in the crowd of people.

The two of you had been dancing with Jeongin and Felix when Jeongin started to feel sick. You and Felix helped him to the bathroom. He never was a good drinker and you made a mental note to remind him of this tomorrow, as you gently patted his back as he was sick. Felix beside you was trying to be a supportive friend but you could see the way he was grimacing so you asked him to fetch a glass of water from the kitchen. When Jeongin was feeling a little better you both helped him up.

"I'll take him home, you stay here, go have fun."

"But-"

"No buts, go have fun with Jisung."

"Fine but text me if you need anything and message me when you both get home safe."

"I will, see you later."

Once they were out the door you turned back to the crowds of people. You wanted to find Jisung sooner rather than later because, honestly, he was almost as bad as Jeongin when it came to drinking. You were pretty tipsy but not drunk yet, Jisung on the other hand was one shot away from passing out the last time you saw him. You had been searching for what felt like forever when your phone pinged. You had hoped it was Jisung but it was Felix telling you himself and Jeongin were home safe.

"Well, two home safe, one to find," You murmured to yourself, continuing your search.

Struggling to find him because of the sheer mass of people, you headed to the kitchen to get yourself a drink instead when you met Hyunjin.

"Have you told him yet?"

"I tried to but I couldn't do it and now he's too drunk and I've lost him in the crowd of people. But please don't tell him, I promise I will tell him, eventually."

"Fine, I won't tell him, but I'm rooting for you."

"Y/N, I found you! My favourite person in the entire world!" Jisung had stumbled into the kitchen looking for you. He wrapped his arms around you from behind, pulling your back into his chest in a hug. He rested his chin on your shoulder, his warm, flushed cheek against yours.

"Speak of the devil," Hyunjin said with a smile.

"Oh, Hyunjin, you're here too." Jisung pulled away from you but came to stand next to you with an arm around your shoulder. "Sorry, was I interrupting something? I know you like him, Y/N," He whispered to you.

You don't know anything, Ji.

"Yeah we were just talking about you actually. But anyway, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go dance, leave you two be." He winked at you before moving away.

You turned to look at the boy beside you. He had a silly grin on his face as he engulfed you in another hug.

"You're drunk, come on, I'm taking you home, you've had enough." You were the only thing keeping him upright so you wrapped an arm around his waist and wrapped his around your shoulder before helping him out of the apartment. The 10-minute walk must have taken at least 30 with you practically having to drag Jisung.

"Where are your keys?" You held out your free hand that wasn't supporting Jisung.

"Not telling." He said with a giggle.

"I'll leave you out here in the corridor."

"You're mean," He said but reached into his pocket, pulling out his keys and handing them to you.

Once you had got him inside you managed to get him to his bedroom. You took his shoes and jacket off but knew it would be too much of a struggle to get him changed.

"I'll get you some water, stay here." He nodded, lying his head down. You quickly got a glass of water for him before returning to his room, pacing it on the cabinet beside his bed. "Here, now get some sleep, message me if you need anything. Goodnight, Ji."

"Please stay."

You smiled slightly.

"Deja vu," You said, thinking back to the time you had asked him to do the same thing. "Alright." You took off your own shoes and jacket before slipping into the bed, next to him. There were a few minutes of comfortable silence, you thought perhaps he had fallen asleep. You reached out and gently stroked his hair. Jisung's eyes remained closed but he spoke up.

"Why him?" He asked.

"What?"

"Why Hyunjin? Why can't you love me? Because I love you." Your breathing hitched in your throat.

"Jisung, you're drunk."

"Yes, I'm drunk, but that doesn't mean I can't be honest." You stayed silent for a moment. Do you confess? Do you tell him how you really feel? But what if he woke up in the morning and told you he never meant it, he was just drunk?

"Can't you kiss me? Just once. Not as practice for a play or to make kissing someone else feel better but as a real kiss. A kiss from a girl to a boy who's totally and utterly head over heels for her." And in that moment, you wanted to kiss him. More than anything. You cupped his face but didn't kiss him. You leaned your forehead against Jisung's.

"I don't like Hyunjin anymore," You whispered in the dark. "And I can't kiss you, not properly, it would be wrong of me because of how drunk you are right now." You laughed, thinking about how drunk he really was.

"But for now, I hope this will do." You leaned up and gave him a soft kiss on his forehead. "If you remember this, and mean what you say, Ji, tell me you love me again." He hummed in agreement as sleep overtook him. You sighed, looking at his peaceful face before finally closing your eyes.

***

You were the first to wake the next day. You smiled remembering last night and hoped that Jisung would remember too. It wasn't long after that Jisung began to stir.

"Good morning." He smiled at you as he stretched out.

"Morning, how are you feeling?"

"Everything's fuzzy." You laughed lightly.

"Have fun last night?"

"I'm assuming so and, by the looks of things, I'm guessing you had to help me home." Your smile faltered. Of course, he wouldn't remember. He probably didn't even mean it, you thought to yourself.

"You can't remember?" Jisung picked up on your sad tone.

"I remember playing beer pong with Changbin but everything's hazy after that. Why, did something bad happen?" You ignored his question, moving away from him.

"I've got to go," You said, quickly getting up and reaching for your shoes and jacket.

"What is it? What's wrong?" He asked, sitting up and watching as you frantically pulled on your jacket.

"Nothing's wrong, I've just got to go."

"Did I do something last night? Please, Y/N, tell me. Did something happen?"

"No... nothing happened. It was nothing." You quickly hurried out of the room as Jisung scrambled to get out of bed.

"Morning Y/N-Oookay," Hyunjin, who was sitting in the living room, said as you raced past him and out of the door without a word.

"Y/N!" Jisung called after you, rushing out of his room. He turned to look at Hyunjin. "What did I do last night? I can't remember but Y/N is upset about something."

"I don't know, but I'm sure it'll come back to you then you can sort out whatever is going on."

What am I not remembering?

***

All week you had been avoiding Jisung and he knew it. Other than the few classes you shared, he never saw you. Even in these classes, your conversations were short and awkward. If he asked you to hang out you would always apologise and say you already had plans. You even canceled your movie night that week saying you had to study for a quiz in one of your classes.

It was hurting Jisung and he became irritable, snapping at his friends.

"I'm not the one avoiding you, no need to snap at me!" Hyunjin said. "She's literally on the floor above, just go up there and ask her why she's avoiding you."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

Because I just can't." Hyunjin groaned.

"Whatever, I'm going to bed, I don't wanna deal with your grumpy ass right now."

Jisung turned back around to face the TV to watch the film he had put on. Alone. He had put on 10 Things I Hate About You again, thinking back to how cute you were when talking about it. But as he watched he found he couldn't focus and grew bored. It wasn't right without you. He turned it off before dragging himself to the bathroom hoping a nice shower would clear his mind. But it didn't. Eventually, he made his way to bed. He lay in the darkness, looking up at the ceiling, trying to think of something, anything, he could have done that had made you avoid him. He turned on his side looking at the side of the bed you had once laid on.

"What am I not remembering?" He asked himself, out loud.

He closed his eyes, trying to focus. A hazy image of you helping him home and into bed cleared in his mind. His words echoed in his head. Please stay.

He reached up and touched his hair as he remember you doing the same that night. But try as he might to remember more, he had exhausted his brain and he was beginning to get a headache. He sighed in defeat as he could remember no more, deciding to sleep instead.

***

You were in his dreams. There were words of love whispered in the dark and forehead kisses. Jisung sat up suddenly. He thought at first it was just a dream but it felt too familiar, too real.

He jumped out of bed and threw on the first pair of shoes he could find, running out the door and along the corridor. He just prayed that nobody was planning on attempting to break into his and Hyunjin's apartment that night because they would be greeted by an unlocked door. He raced up the stairs, running two at a time before he finally came face to face with your door. He frantically knocked. He heard shuffling inside.

"Who is it? I'll ring the police, I swear to god."

"Y/N, it's me?" He heard the door being unlocked.

"Jisung? What the hell are you doing here, it's like 4 in the morning?"

"I'm sorry but I really need to talk to you."

"Look-"

"No, please, it's important. Please, don't push me away," He pleaded with you.

"Fine, but be quiet, Lily's sleeping.," You sighed, allowing him into your apartment. You locked the front door and led him to your room, shutting the door. You sat down on your bed as he stood awkwardly fidgeting with his hands.

"What's up?"

"You've been avoiding me. It's been bugging me because I knew that something was wrong and it was to do with the party but I just couldn't remember. I was able to piece together small interactions last night before bed, like me asking you to stay but I just couldn't remember everything."

"Ji-"

"Please, just let me finish," He said as he sat down next to you on the bed, looking straight into your eyes. "But then I fell asleep and I had a dream but it wasn't just a dream it felt so familiar. I'm hoping it's not my mind messing with me but that night you asked me to repeat my words if I remembered that moment and truly felt that way. Well, guess what? I remembered. So I just came over to tell you, I love you, Y/N." You stared at him with a shocked expression. The hopeful glint in his eyes began to fade as you sat there, not saying a word. You felt the tears start streaming down your cheeks.

"Y/N, are you alright? I'm sorry. Shit, did I remember wrong? Oh god, and I just confessed."

"No, you remember everything just right. You did as I asked." You leaned forward, wrapping your arms around him. After a moment of shock, he hesitantly placed his own arms around your waist, pulling you closer to him.

"Does this mean you feel the same way?"

"I do, I love you, Ji, of course, I love you. I think I have since that first day when you sat next to me at the script read." You pulled back slightly to look at him. He smiled at you, brushing away your tears. "And the night of the party, when we were talking about the kiss, I wanted so badly to tell you that the kiss wasn't nothing, it was what made me realise I loved you. I was just scared to tell you in case you woke up and said it was just the alcohol talking." He smiled brightly at you again.

"I can't tell you how happy you've just made me. Does this mean I can take you out sometime?"

"Of course, you can." You leaned in to hug him again.

"Hey, Y/N?" You pulled back to look at him. "How about that kiss now?"

"Oh, you mean this one?" You kissed his forehead and looked back at him. He rolled his eyes playfully as you giggled lightly.

"Haha, very funny." Your soft laughter died away as you just looked at him. Admired the way the light from the moon landed on his skin, the way his eyes sparkled as he looked at you, the way his lips look just too kissable. Your hand cupped his cheek. "Come here," He whispered, barely audible, as he pulled you onto his lap. You leaned in to meet his lips.

And as you kissed him you thought back to everything that had happened in the past few months and just how lucky you were to have been cast in the play. As you kissed him the whole world faded away and you were just a girl kissing a boy who was totally and utterly head over heels for her.

[sailforvalinor]

In staying up until nearly five in the morning working on my final project about Romeo and Juliet, I somehow was not expecting emerge with a new favorite Shakespeare character

Anyway, unhinged thoughts about Benvolio incoming

[starbanmk]

"The Joys of Gossiping and Falling in Love Slowly"

Romeo falls in love in three days. It's been six years, and Benvolio is still just getting there. They don't quite see eye to eye.

Mercutio seems fine to wait, though.

—

highschool au, best friends to lovers

AKA: I ended up just writing the bencutio fic i couldn't find myself 💀💀

i am unspeakably proud of this OOPS

might be more come but maybe not!

[abcwordsurge]

Hii!! I read your intro post and you mentioned liking Ninjago and Romeo & Juliet :D Who are your favorite characters in both and why?

Thank you ☺️

oh! this was a delightful surprise. I just updated my intro post today (well, yesterday as of posting this), and I didn't think anyone would notice haha. thank you for reading it ^_^

I absolutely love both Ninjago and Romeo & Juliet, and honestly it's nice to have an excuse to talk about them on my blog. however, since you asked specifically about favorite characters, this will inevitably be a long one. I can never get myself to shut up about characters.

my favorite Ninjago characters are Nya and Jay (and honorary mention Kai). my favorite Romeo & Juliet characters are probably Mercutio and Benvolio (but I could make a good reason for any of them to be the best haha). very long rant under cut

--

so! let's start with Nya. first, I have to point out that she was horribly mistreated in canon. it was sort of inevitable- since she was "the girl," I feel like the creators felt like a lot of her arc had to be... being the girl? I'm just still a bit disappointed at her missed potential of just, y'know, being a ninja.

that being said, she's a flipping icon and I love her with all of my heart, and every time she's on the screen it makes me smile. granted, I totally project onto her (and her brother, our favorite Kai~), but even if you ignore my personal headcanons of her being aromantic and loveless, she's such a smart, stubborn, and creative character, and I love that for her.

also Jay. I love Jay. I feel like, as a fanfic writer, I treat him the exact opposite of how I treat Nya. every time I write about Nya, I write about her experiences with being aromantic, or her desperation to prove herself, things like that. when I write about Jay, it's like Jay's in love with Cole, or Jay's in love with Nya (actually unrequited love my beloved), or Jay's in love with Kai. (side note- I actually headcanon Kai as aromantic, too, but sometimes I put that headcanon on pause so I can ship him. because oh my god he has such cute ships.) anyway all this to say that Jay's an adorable goofy little guy and I like putting him in situations. (he also has massive angst potential but angst isn't really my forte.)

ok. Romeo & Juliet. before I get into specifics, I must say that the characterization in this play is criminally underrated. if it were released today, it would have leagues of fans obsessing over both Romeo and Juliet, and arguing over whether Romeo is a romantic or just an idiot, and getting into shipping wars (especially Benvolio/Mercutio vs Tybalt/Mercutio- though Bencutio is obviously superior). the fact that it only has 2000 fics on AO3 is a tragedy to rival, well, Romeo & Juliet.

(also- for my WttT followers and moots, if any of you have gotten this far, I have to say that we have very nearly surpassed Romeo & Juliet in number of fics on AO3. keep it up)

now if I was forced to pick favorites in Romeo & Juliet, I would have to say the aforementioned Benvolio and Mercutio- both as a duo and as individuals, they are so flipping wonderful. I saw a local production of Romeo & Juliet over the summer, and ever since then, I have been deathly defensive of them. I will fight over the fact that they're both so well written and well characterized. (I also super love them as a ship- in the production I saw, when Romeo and Juliet met for the first time, there were plenty of duos in the background, slow dancing, and Ben and Merc were dancing together, and I just... I have no words. they're perfect.)

anyway. Benvolio first. Ben is such a big cousin sort of character, iykwim. there's something so tragic about the fact that he tried from the very beginning to get everyone to stop fighting, but no matter what he did or said, he couldn't save them- not his cousin, not his best friend. (I've never seen Hamlet, but I'm told that Benvolio is the Horatio of R&J. Shakespeare knew which archetypes work, I guess.) he's so awesome. I love him

and Mercutio! Merc is just a kid you guys. he's a teenage boy. he's so funny and free spirited and every time I watch R&J, all I can think about is "he's here for a good time, not a long time." because it's so true! his recklessness and immaturity leads to his death! (another theme, perhaps- because while he did sort of bring it upon himself, I would never say it's his fault- but that's a rant for another day.) Merc is just so immediately lovable and his death hurts me the most. his death is the turning point between a mostly light hearted play to the tragedy that we associate with it, and that makes it hurt even more. (and Ben holds him when he dies and Ben is left all alone at the end, and oh my god Shakespeare is famous for a reason.)

so, yeah. this is very long and mostly unedited, sorry. you pushed the right buttons to keep me talking for hours. maybe I'll start posting more about my other fandoms, because this was a lot of fun. thank you so much for asking :D

[cowgremlin11]

Romeo and Juliet Vikdecai AU

So I'm seriously considering making a full Romeo and Juliet AU. I was having breakfast with my roommate and he helped me fit in a few gaps that were missing crucial characters, which then snowballed to me being bale to complete fitting in the character list.

I'm tempted to turn this into a large fic or (more realistically considering my schedule) a series of small comics. If I turned it into a fic: it would be very long. I'd either have each chapter be each scene, or 5 chapters revolved around each act (longer to write). It'd be true to the original play to the best of my abilities. If I turned it into a comic: It'd be quite scattered and all over the place.

I may do a mix of both? Write the fic and draw complementary scenes to post here. I'm mostly trying to think about my college schedule and everything I have to write for my creative writing courses. (Maybe I could talk to my short fiction prof about this!)

Here's what I have so far:

Missing characters: Zib, Wick, Lacy, Nina, Gracie, Zulie, Virgil, the pig farmers, rest of the band, Church, Kehoe, Ruby.

Not all of these missing characters need to be filled, and there's a few where I have an idea how to incorporate them (namely the band and Zulie, I have an idea that during the Act 1 Scene 5 party they could be there,) and there's a few that aren't relevant enough to truly be needed for this au (the pig farmers, Gracie, Church, Virgil.) In a perfect world I'd have a place for all of these characters and it would work out with no gaps, but this is a Romeo and Juliet Vikdecai AU. It was never meant to fit perfectly because obviously Tracy never wrote these characters with this sort of AU in mind..

Elaboration for why I cast other characters the way I did under the cut (LOTS OF WORDS):

Viktor as Romeo is... a little tricky. Same with Mordecai as Juliet.Obviously, they're not going to be changed fundamentally JUST to fit the au. I have the plan for Viktor to be more of a sad sack than a romantic, hence why Viktor's canon wife has been cast as the girl who rejected Romeo (also he's bisexual.) Viktor starts this AU in such a sad spot, but the hard part comes in when you remember that there is no war trauma. There is no PTSD. This is my biggest hurdle when writing most aus, not even just Vikdecai aus. (You should see the cowboy au!) Now Mordecai, I have a plan. He's very true to the Mordecai we see in canon, just without the Heller family (as they wouldn't exist here.) There's no Rose, no Esther, and no Mama Tzipporah. But when you think about it, that doesn't quite stop Mordecai from being the way he is! He's still this nerdy, rude, analytical twerp that Viktor grows attracted to. I am most excited to work out the party scene. Perhaps Mordecai catches Viktor's eye not because of his beauty, but because he's the 'brought a book to a club' trope. The other's can wait, why the hell is this guy reading at a party.

Atlas and Mitzi are the Montagues, because this idea revolves around Viktor being of the Montague house, but seeing how Mordecai is part of the Capulets in this AU, I felt the need for Atlas to be dead so it's more true to the canon story. It also saves me on writing Atlas, a character we don't know much about personality wise (we can only theorize and speculate.) Rocky as Mercutio WORKS TOO WELL. I know there are some people who would make this au with a RockyxMordecai focus (I hate that ship too much) BUT IT WOULDN'T WORK! ROCKY IS NO ROMEO, ROCKY IS A MERCUTIO. THE QUEEN MAB SPEECH PEOPLE! Freckle as Benvolio is just very funny to me, and very fitting with Rocky as Mercutio. I have ALWAYS read Benvolio as this nervous little guy following around Mercutio, and if I'm remembering this right Benvolio is good in a fight. This just works!!! Balthasar is Romeo's trusted friend, and the one who tells him of Juliet's "death." I didn't know where else to put Ivy, honestly, and this is the closest we'd get to 'Romeo's trusted friend.'

I don't know what to do about Lady Capulet? She's a very important character in the play, as she speaks with Juliet many times, but there is no canon character who would be Asa's wife, and I don't know if Asa even HAS a wife. Perhaps I could put Nina there, but that would be VERY awkward seeing how Rocky and Freckle are part of the other house. I may make an oc for that role? Someone stuck up and stiff to contrast Asa's dad vibes. THAT OR: since Juliet's gender swapped in this I could cut Lady Capulet altogether and have Asa be the one to come talk to Mordecai about the marriage and such. Might just do that... Mrs. Bapka as the nurse is an idea from my roommate that I love too much to not do. She wouldn't speak a word in english, obviously, and that can cause a lot of issues story-wise, but 1. who else would the nurse be, I'm struggling and 2. THE COMEDY OF IT ALL. And also-I like to think Mrs. Bapka does know Mordecai! He goes to visit Viktor and this tiny little grandma comes over without warning and they know each other! And she's a neutral party who could want the best for them both.

Dom as the Prince is purely because who else would go there, and the Prince is a character who keeps the peace. Almost like Dom is trying to keep the peace in St. Louis by putting an end to the criminal bootlegging? I think it's a good fit.

I think Serafine as Count Paris and Nico as Tybalt is the funniest option. I almost had those characters filled in as Wes and Fish (inspired by @melffen 's Beauty and the Beast fic having Wes be Gaston, and Count Paris is trying to marry Juliet, you can see where my thought process was) but then I realized,

Where do the savoys go

That doesn't QUITE fit the personalities I'm going for (works in the BatB au since Serafine's better as the witch! I loved the subtle casting of her as the with more than you'll ever know)

Wes and Fish as the two Capulet's who get into a fight at the start of the play is a much funnier outcome.

The Arbogasts as the clergy characters is too funny for me to not do. Originally I had the idea of Abelard as Friar Laurence, but I was hesitant due to 1. main couple is gay and 2. HELLFIRE, so I swapped him and Bobby when I remembered Friar John exists. Elsa is a good fit for the apothecary, since you know. Nurse. Quackenbush is a backup who's more like a stunt double just in case something goes wrong when writing her character.

Thank you for coming to my TEDtalk, if you have any ideas ANY AT ALL, please feel free to rb this with said ideas, or just come into my dms if you want to help me with this idea!

[jokeringcutio]

Fic authors self-rec! ✨ When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you’ve written, then pass on to at least five other writers.

<3 Wow, since I've been writing fanfics for years, I have so many to choose from. But let me stick to my reader-insert-focused darker fics that I post on this account.

1:

The Man Who Claimed To Be Yours – Fandom: Joker 2019, Pairing: Arthur Fleck/Joker x (Female) Reader. Explicit with lots of warnings. By far my proudest (and smuttiest?) work.

By far a number one position. Not only do you people seem to love it, I have received so many messages of readers going back to the story for the umpteenth time to reread it all. (And you have no diea how those little messages strengthened me when my health abandoned me). You devour it. And even I have been rereading my own tale several times and enjoyed it. So yes, I definitely want to write an ending to it. I also have plans to have the full story out before Joker 2 comes out.

Fun fact: The entire fic was inspired by the gif I added above)

2:

Pine Cone Child – Fandom: Enola Holmes, Pairing: Enola Holmes/Linthorn (one-sided & Noncon), Enola Holmes & Sherlock Holmes. Explicit with lots of warnings.

I got a big thrill sending these chapters out into the world and found myself on a roll with this fic. The idea came with one scene, of a boy meeting his biological father, and realizing that he had a far more gritty past than he always had assumed. But to get to that chapter, I had to write many more. In the end, that chapter was never posted online. And the chapters I had finished about Enola and her mother visiting Linthorn’s grave and the chapter that was to follow after got lost when my laptop crashed. I was also too ill and too tired to write, so it never reached its end. I am not sure if I will ever finish this one. I think, it is pretty okay as it is. Even if I never got to the ending the whole idea sprouted from in the first placed. For now, it is on hold.

3. Removed Fics/Or old account fics:

The first multi-chapter fic became a success, many years ago. I will not name the title, the quality is shite compared to what I write now (still shite, but different shite). One of the first fandoms I wrote fanfiction in was Inu Yasha. The much-explored ‘Inu Yasha scampers off with Kikyo and Kagome finds comfort in Sesshoumaru’s arms’ was still new, there were about 20 fics or so about this pairing in English. The encouragement I received made me want to keep posting my work. I still receive reviews for these fics.  

4. A deleted Sweeney Todd Smut fic, featuring Sweeney Todd x Lovett’s daughter. I might reupload this one day, perhaps as a reader insert.

But because I want to tag a tale: Have you tried reading my dark romance (aka, Reader let yourself be kidnapped by a slasher guy)  The Chance to Make A Change. Fandom: The Black Phone. Pairing: Albert Shaw ( The Grabber ) x (f) Reader. Explicit. Loads of warnings.

Shared 5:

His – Fandom: Moon Knight, Pairing: Dr. Arthur Harrow x (f) Reader. Mature with warnings.

I am surprised by how much feedback and likes I received on this, even if the numbers of hits and kudos on AO3 are low. But for the short tale it is, I like it. Because it shows a budding relationship over time, cut into short chapters, and has a little evil twist at the end of it. Also, I could totally live with this happening to me, if I were the reader.

Shared 5:

No Family Man – Fandom: Joker 2019, Pairing: Arthur Fleck/Joker x (afab) Reader. Mature with warnings.

Another one of my fics I love to return to, and that was generally received well. It started as two imagines which I then combined. It has lots of personal experience elements in it that to me, make it all the more special. What they are, I will leave for you to guess.

I would love to finish the Princess and the Clown - Joker 2019 fanfic of Arthur Fleck/Joker x Reader I once started. Perhaps rewrite it a little. Same for my Benvolio x Mercutio Hanahaki Story (you Shakespearean lovers might know me of my many Tybalt x Mercutio and Mercutio x basically anyone fics).

I have a few Star Wars Reader Inserts that were never finished but tickle my fancy. Mostly Reader x Kylo Ren or Reader x Hux (or both lol).

By far most of my proudest fanfics have been personal gifts to friends. It is how I started writing when in High School, and I still gift fics for people's birthdays. I especially like the Sherlock Holmes range I did for several friends, in which my friends always ended up being the evil masterminds who outsmarted Sherlock and Watson. But also, because I had illustrations to go along with these fics. <3

But first, I need to finish a whole list of unfinished works: starting with a Crimson Peak inspired modern reader au that has been pending for over 2 years, as well as the Joker fic mentioned on number one. Then there's a summery romantic Arthur Harrow x Reader tale I want to gift to someone on here, and a Harrow Patient x Reader fic that wants to be written in between.

ARGH!

Not to mention the many Arthur Fleck x Reader prompts I have pending. I LOVE YOU, KEEP SENDING ME STUFF <3

[devoraqs]

With Love's Light Wings

Summary:

"With love's light wings did I o'er-perch these walls; For stony limits cannot hold love out," - Romeo and Juliet, Act II scene ii Julian and Alexander make the most of a convenient gap in Julian's time onstage in the latest Goldgrave play (even if it means scaling too many flights of stairs)

Pairing: Ilyacha

Characters: Julian Devorak, Alexander MacRionnag

Word Count: 6,165 (full fic on AO3, link at the bottom)

Content Warnings: explicit smut

---

“ A plague o' both your houses! They have made worms' meat of me: I have it, And soundly too: your houses!”

His arm flung haphazardly around Mateusz, who was playing Benvolio’s neck, Julian staggered off stage into the stage left wing, his fist clenched around the reddening splotch in his shirt where Mercutio had been stabbed, and where Alexander knew was a little red pouch of reddened oil that burst on impact. Dryly he thought it didn’t look like what it actually looked like when one was stabbed, but for the purposes of the drama it worked well. Sitting in the aisle seat a few rows back from the stage, Alexander’s own fingers were curled round a scrap of paper that Julian had quickly pushed into his hands earlier, upon which was scribbled Meet me in the rafters after my death scene. Beside him, Caspian sniffed, completely engrossed and barely even noticing when Alexander quietly got to his feet and slipped away unnoticed through a series of doors, stairs, and ladders up to the fly loft.  

Continue on AO3

[rsbry-beret]

okay i just saw a shakespeare in the park romeo and juliet production and i’ve got THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS so

BUCKLE UP FOLKS

tybalt was hot because he had shaved sides and long hair and he was wearing a lot of dark leather

anyway this meant i was staring at him a lot and shout out to props! because his sword was like a fancy italian rapier instead of the short sword everyone else touted and you LOVE to see that attention to detail

romeo was so so obnoxious, as is his god given right

best actor goes to the guy who played friar lawrence / sir capulet and managed to make them very engaging characters

also good was the guy who played sir montague and that guy who can’t read forget his name

juliet SLAYED she SLAYED ugh AMAZING WORK ICON

nurse also slayed 😌

okay fav Choice they made was when nurse and the montague parents and paris find juliet “dead,” each person individually gave their lines and then they each REPEATED their lines over each other and it was like a cacophony of grief and it was spectacular and also when i started to cry

the dick jokes they chose to make obvious as dick jokes we’re NOT the ones i would have chosen, which i respect

benvolio treated every conversation between mercutio and romeo as if he was witnessing a rap battle

also mercurios whole queen mab bit, the first part was like exclusively to make benvolio giggle and the second was to fuck with romeo in particular which is perfect

benvolio and romeo thought mercutio was joking for most of his death monologue and then he collapsed and my. heart.

in general the BRO energy of ben+merc+romeo was SOOO strong it was slime middle school levels.

why did that guy have a leg injury

paris i hated. didn’t think i would hate him so much but i rly rly rly did. ugh

lady cap was only in like two secenes and so she played music the rest of it on the harp and theeeee thing. string instrument in trapezoid shape w hammers. it was MAD IMPRESSIVE

mercurios dance mask was plague-doctor-y

there was a point at the dance when i thought merc and ben were going to dance and they didn’t which is. which is fine.

OH SO IMPORTANT mercutio was wearing a HEINOUS amount of houndstooth and floral

the sex scene was interpretive dance. i don’t know what else to say about it.

also the actors didn’t play it that way but hearing the lines when mercutio and tybalt were about to fight was like. that meme when one guy shows up with a sword and the other guys shows up with a picnic basket and roses and candles like WOW mercutio was flirting

also bc it was outdoor everything got darker as it progressed and like. it’s the earth but narratively it WORKS

all this to say you should see if there’s a local theatre troupe or shakespeare in the park production and GOOOO and DONATE it was SICK

[spindlesaurus-rex]

@some-random-french-pastry wanted more thoughts on Benvolio and Mercutio because everyone does but I'm currently trying to compile a list of moments in Shakespeare where I think someone should get kissed on a cheek SO i can only offer to repost this stupid snippet I wrote. MORE THOUGHTS WILL FOLLOW POSSIBLY WITH METRICAL ANALYSIS BECAUSE I LOVE IT.

It isn’t until much later that he sees what Mercutio was trying to tell him. He doesn’t see it in the moment and in the terrible days that follow he is too broken by his own grief. He barely makes it to Romeo’s funeral and he can’t meet his uncle’s eyes when he does. 

Sunshine on marble. The white heat of August in the air. 

‘I’m tired,’ he’s trying not to sound like a whiny child pleading. It isn’t working, he fits his hand to the firm insistence of Mercutio’s wrist and halts him, tries again. ‘It’s hot. We’ll fight if we meet them here, you know you will. Please come away, please.’ 

How quick the pulse that jumps in that wrist then that now is lifeless and under the ground. It’s only a memory, now, preserved in the skin of his thumb now for whatever years are left to him. 

In memory, and only there, Mercutio is turning to him. He twists his wrist to evade Benvolio’s own loose grasp - if I had known, if I had known, damn the heat I would have held on harder -  but replaces it with his own palm on the smooth skin of Benvolio’s inner forearm, runs it up his shoulder, and settles it against his neck, thumb stroking against the two day scruff on his jaw. Then the tilt back of the head, the question in the gaze down the aquiline nose as Mercutio Escalus considers him in the middle of this square. 

A soft flare of breath huffs out of Mercutio’s nostrils. He feels it on his own nose. 

Benvolio has never seen anything as beautiful as the sight of Mercutio looking at him. 

Then, as though they did this all the time, as though it was normal for Mercutio to be standing there looking at him and cradling his face, as though the heat in his spine is from August in Verona and not from the fact that he can feel the breath that’s coming from his friend’s lungs on his own face, more gentle than any wind, then then Mercutio lowers his head, he presses their foreheads together. 

‘You’re a poor teacher for this lesson, Benvolio.’ Mercutio’s voice is soft, a hum barely audible even in the empty silence that comes with summer in this place. Benvolio doesn’t know if he can breathe. He closes his eyes. He only exists where Mercutio’s skin is against his, only exists in the meeting of their foreheads and the hands that are rough and warm and loved against his skin. Mercutio’s voice is slow to penetrate his brain, like honey dripping in the summer heat. ‘You’re a pretence, a mess of your own good intentions and your hot young blood and I can’t pretend that I don’t love it in you but you’re an idiot too.’ 

Benvolio keeps shut his eyes. Mercutio’s own body shades him from the sun. It is not August in Verona that makes his young blood hot. He swallows. 

“Am I such a fellow?” He hears himself croak. 

The forehead against his presses, pulses. It’s lightly slick with sweat and Benvolio’s mouth is watering. Mercutio speaks again. 

“You know you are, you know you are, what else was that mess in the square, what else this whole quarrel? Why do you think I stay, Benvolio, what do you imagine I guard, if you could truly manage your sword to keep the peace, what need would there be for me. When in the mood, you’ll move as rashly as the lightning there will surely be tonight. Don’t correct me, I have seen you do it.’ 

Looking back now, he realises here is where he should have understood that Mercutio was not saying he had seen it. He was saying he had watched it. He had been watching Benvolio. 

In the August heat, he tilts towards him, rises on his toes. His eyes are closed still, his heart is hammering. I am moved, he thinks, you move me. In all my moods and all of yours. 

Aloud, he responds: ‘and what do I move to, Mercutio?’ 

Mercutio’s lips move against his, his mouth opens, steals beloved breath into his own lungs, breath he would return now at any price that any prince could name. It might be hours before they part, or seconds. He doesn’t know. It is August in Verona and the sun is hot on white stone and Mercutio’s mouth is sweet on his like prayer. 

But they do part. His eyes open. Those same dark eyes are fierce on his. ‘I am glad there are not two of you,’ Mercutio whispers to him there in that square - had Tybalt seen them then, was he already rounding the corner? Does it matter? Romeo was married, the fucking idiot, and so Mercutio was already dead. He kissed Benvolio with dead man’s lips for all the blooded warmth of them. ‘I am glad there are not two of you,’ his heart repeats, ‘or there would be none of you shortly - the one would kill the other and then I would have no Benvolio - quarrelling or otherwise and -’ a pause, beloved eyes asses his own - ‘you’ve hazel eyes, you know?’ Then, whirling, the contact is done and Mercutio is all mockery and movement pushing ahead of him but turning back to spit accusation, sing song humour in his voice along with what might have been venom: 

‘You’ll kill a man for cracking nuts for the sake of such eyes -’ here a turn to grasp a pillar an dangle from it, eat your heart out Fred Astair, Gene Kelly, men of dance and rhyme, here comes Mercutio with mad blood stirring - ‘or a tailor for being too quick with a new doublet, or you’ll pull your sword against a child for old ribbons in new shoes. Benvolio the quareller, bad and bone headed, dangerous - I remember you squaring up to drunkards for coughing and waking that rag bag you call a dog, I remember you spitting mad when you couldn’t yet grow as good a beard as me and doubly so when Romeo couldn’t yet match yours.’ A wild laugh is loosed now and floats up towards the lonely blue of the sky. Another dancing step away and then the last salvo: ‘Your head is a lovely place, it’s peaceful there, you mean to be good. Good wishes, good intentions … you’re well named, Benvolio, I’ll give you that, but you’re scrambled same as the rest of us who’ve secret, jealous, vengeful, angry hearts. You’re just like us in action, what does it matter how sweet you think?” 

Grinning aiming for rakish and, he imagines, hitting crazed, he laughs and chases to catch up. ‘I’ll outlive you, though,’ he wags his finger with the words, laughing. Adds, ‘you’re much worse than me.’ 

Closing his eyes briefly, Mercutio turns his face to the sun. ‘You’ll outlive me,’ he parrots back, his voice sweet and dear and sad, ‘because I’m worse than you.’

[hyacinth-sims]

His grandfather only ever had one task for him at these events, no matter the occasion. It could be a wedding, a funeral, a Christmas party—and yet, Consort only ever asked him to do one thing throughout the night. 

Tybalt was to charm his business partners and clients, to get one foot into the door long before Consort ever retires. It was the only thing he’d inherit from his grandfather upon his death, which was hopefully far from happening. Juliette was the heiress, which meant she got just about everything that mattered—but the business was the one thing Consort promised to Tybalt. It was his duty to ensure that his grandfather’s promise did not go to waste, so Tybalt charmed Consort’s coworkers and clients as much as he could. 

But still, making connections and socializing got exhausting after a while. Tybalt barely had any time to breathe, or even think throughout the night. All he wanted was a moment of fresh air, and perhaps a sip of scotch before heading back to his grandfather’s side. He knew that most of the people his age hung out back anyways, doing god knows what. 

The young man swung open the back door, taking a deep breath shortly after. For a moment, he had a semblance of peace. However, that moment was quickly cut short by the presence of someone who was idiotic enough to show up to his territory. And speaking to his youngest sister, no less.

Tybalt thought Mercutio to be an idiot, but he somehow still shocked him with his sheer stupidity. What would even enable him to come to such an event where he clearly wasn’t invited? The question circled throughout his head—that was until he spotted Juliette with her boyfriend from enemy territory. So she invited Romeo, and of course he brought along Mercutio. There was a reason why Tybalt specifically requested she not bring him to Capp territory, it was like adding cubes of ice to a pot of boiling water. 

But his quarrels with Juliette’s rule breaking would have to wait, as there was clearly a bigger nuisance in the vicinity. Tybalt stared down at the glass in his hand, furrowing his brow as he quickly chose to chug down its contents. The scotch burned his throat, a scowl forming on his face as he slammed the glass down on the nearby table. Neither Mercutio nor Hermia seemed to notice his presence until he was stomping right towards them. 

Hermia ducked out of the way without saying a word, leaving it to be just him and Mercutio. The other man did not look terrified enough for his liking, he did not look even the least bit concerned. It angered him, especially as Mercutio shot him that usual smirk of him. “I was wondering when the lion would come out of his den,” Mercutio hummed, narrowing his brown eyes at Tybalt.

He could only let out a scoff in return, “There is no time for your one-sided banter that you attempt to have reciprocated, I want to know why exactly you’ve made the idiotic decision to come here tonight?” 

“For a guy with no time, you sure like to stretch out your sentences,” Mercutio retorted, crossing his arms as he leaned back against the brick of the house. “But I’m just here to party,” He commented before furrowing his brow, “Seems like you’re here to do the same, you smell like a liquor cabinet.” 

Clearly he was exaggerating, Tybalt had only had one drink the entire night. Granted, he’d chugged it only a few moments ago, but it was still only one. “And you’ve yet to come up with anything other than your usual scent of desperation and $2 deodorant that barely works,” Tybalt began before noticing a rather peculiar yet obvious smell, “And what seems to be notes of a dispensary, seems as though I’m not the only one indulging in particular vices.”

“Reusing insults?” Mercutio pointed out as he shook his head, clicking his tongue. “You’ve really lost your edge, so I guess I’ll throw you a bone,” He continued, “Romeo was invited by his little girlfriend, asked for me and Benvolio to tag along in case a certain someone decided to bring his claws out…”

So Juliette had broken the one rule that he’d made for her when it came to Romeo. He made it abundantly clear that any member of the Monty family at the Capp manor was unacceptable, for everyone’s safety. Juliette couldn’t even last a week without breaking that rule. It was no matter at that moment though, Tybalt would have to wait and scold her later. There were bigger fish to fry at that moment, and it was one with a horrifically cocky attitude. 

“Your stupidity is truly shocking,” Tybalt admitted with a small scowl, “Every time I have the displeasure of interacting with you, I always believe that you have reached the absolute peak of foolishness and yet you continue to prove me wrong every single time.” 

“Glad to hear I always keep you on your toes,” Mercutio quipped back, narrowing his eyes as he shot Tybalt a smirk, “Dear prince of cats.” What a horrifyingly stupid nickname, given to him against his will by Mercutio when they were children. “And I must say, you Capps throw a great party,” He continued, “I should visit this side of town more often—“

“You will do no such thing if you value having any unbroken bones in your body,” Tybalt snapped in response, crossing his arms as he shot a rather piercing glare at Mercutio. 

Mercutio pouted, attempting to wiggle his way out of Tybalt’s scrutiny with a pair of puppy dog eyes that only riled disgust within him. But just as quickly as he attempted to look apologetic, he reverted back to that mischievous and positively annoying look of his. “But—“ He began, “I always get such a warm welcome from the girls on this side of town.” 

It was as if Mercutio was purposefully trying to enrage him, by bringing up the women in his family in such a disrespectful manner. And unfortunately, it was working—because Tybalt could feel himself begin to boil over. “Are you aware of how young my little sister Hermia is?” Tybalt asked, “Or have all of the women your own age been positively turned off by your disgusting demeanor and annoying attitude?” 

“Of course I am,” Mercutio replied with a scoff, “I was talking about your dear cousin Miranda.” As angry as it made Tybalt, it wasn’t exactly surprising to him. Miranda seemed to do whatever she could to piss off her family, and an involvement with Mercutio wasn’t exactly too out of character for her. “And maybe your sister Juliette—“ Mercutio began, before being promptly cut off.

Cut off by a fist to the nose, Tybalt only seeing red in response to hearing his younger sister’s name. He did not even care about the people staring, watching as the blood ran from Mercutio’s nose. It did not matter, no one was allowed to talk about his younger sisters in such a way. He was free to gloat about Miranda if he so wanted, but Tybalt did not play around when it came to Juliette and Hermia. 

“For someone with such a big mouth, I expected you to at least give me somewhat of a challenge,” Tybalt scoffed as he watched Mercutio put a hand over his bleeding nose. And of course, he had the gall to smirk at him despite the blood dripping down to his chin. 

“Always a pleasure, Tybalt,” Mercutio said, the blood slightly seeping through his fingers. 

“And it’s yours entirely,” He answered with a scoff, turning on his heel to return to the party despite the stares from the others around. However, his face turned a ghostly white when he saw who stood in front of him. His grandfather, who looked completely enraged by what had just happened. 

“Boy,” Consort began with gritted teeth, “Inside now.” Tybalt quickly rushed towards the back door, hearing his grandfather bark another command at his younger sister. “Juliette…” He began before letting out a groan, “Deal with this!”

There were still chatters coming from behind him, but Tybalt didn’t care too much. Despite the commotion, part of him hoped that Mercutio learned a very valuable lesson. He hoped that he’d learned to not poke and prod at him until he exploded. But the logical part of Tybalt knew the truth…

This wasn’t the end of things, not by a long shot. 

[fluffyninja91]

An interview with Michał Sikorski (Jakub). And it's very interesting!

The summary of the interview in English for the international fans under the cut ⬇️

The first stage of a casting to 1670, was a test of a sense of humor.

After passing this test, Michał was invited to the casting for the role of Stanisław.

Michał really likes starring in the comedy roles. He really likes the fact that he may improve someone's mood with his acting.

He's a bit afraid that he'll be labeled as Jakub, but he believes it won't happen and he plans to work hard so that it won't happen.

Michał was a shy kid with a speech defect but in fifth grade he joined a theater group at his school, invited by his teacher. He played Benvolio in a comedy version of Romeo and Juliet. At that moment he realized he really likes it and wants to become an actor.

He has a 2 year old son. Michał jokes that his son leads a true life of an actor's kid because they have lived in 4 various places for these 2 years. Luckily, the situation now is more stable.

Michał says he's a happy man. He has some ambitions, plans and dreams to fulfill, but he's happy with the present time.

To sum up, Michał is such a pookie patootie and I love him so much! (Platonically) 😍

[swimthroughthefires]

Still Star Crossed | Rosaline/Benvolio | T | 1K

"If there is no place for Rosaline Capulet to travel with the army, I shall go as Rosaline Montague."