#everyone probably thinks im like over exaggerating how good looking he is I swear im not

[thursdayg1rl]

tomorrow is a surprisingly good day

[sonianvmd]

thh characters with a crush on you

warnings: none, maybe some swearing but otherwise nothing major

oH and mentions of murder and death but this is danganronpa so im going to assume u expected as much

a/n: so we kickin this blog off with a bang, writing for LITERALLY THE ENTIRE TRIGGER HAPPY HAVOC CAST LMFAOAOAOAO (excluding hifumi, yasuhiro, and the two despairs doe bc i’ve already made that clear)

also some character’s sections are shorter than others im sorry i just couldnt think of as many bullet points for them *tiktok cry emoji*

edit: I FORGOT CELSESTE FU K SORRY

spoilers under the cut!!

★ 彡 ★ ミ ★ 彡 ★ ミ ★

makoto naegi

when he realizes he likes you, he doesn’t necessarily panic or anything, but he does get nervous

nervous around you, that is

y’all saw how he was with sayaka

if he says anything that might sound intimate then he’ll immediately rephrase it or reassure he didn’t mean anything by it

he really only does have good intentions but his wording just kinda flops sometimes

he appreciates how you listen to him and value what he says

you don't make him feel dumb or inferior compared to a bunch of ultimates with actual talents

he’ll muster up the courage to tell you eventually

let’s hope his luck comes through 😁

byakuya togami

now when THIS man realizes he likes you, he a bitch nigga bout it 😐

he can't believe he fell for a common plebeian such as you

but it was hard not to

the way you preferred to get to the point

the way you were aware of your situation and didn't sugarcoat how you felt about it, although you certainly were nicer with it than him

he's ruthless

anyways

you knew your priorities and spent no time trying to use your resources

he noticed how much you had in common; in you, he saw himself

and we all know how this mf feels about himself 😐

he’ll be quick to defend you in class trials

he won’t realize he’s doing it but he just subconsciously protects you

but just because he doesn't notice it, don't mean the rest of the class brushes past it as well

yeah they on his ass LMFAOO

kyoko kirigiri

kyoko is very good at keeping her composure so she won’t be very obvious

she’ll probably just hang around you more

she’ll also defend you in class trials, calmly

“oh, it couldn’t have been [name]. i remember seeing them in their dorm around the time the murder took place.”

hifumi probably finna say some dumb shit like “aye what was you doin in their dorm doe” but anyways

she finds you respectable

if you have anything to contribute, she’ll let you take the floor

when she tells you, she’s very composed, but also very indirect LMFAO

she’s not too sure on how to express her interest in you but maybe she’ll go about it like “well, [name], now we’ve made it here, would you like to step back into the world with me?” or somethin else along those lines idk

take her hand

pls

toko fukawa

y’all know her whole “master togami” shtick

yeah so 😁😁😁😁

no but fr, toko ofc still has her borderline stalkerish 🧍🏾‍♀️ tendencies

she’ll often find herself staring at you, either in the library or in the morning meetings everyday at breakfast

but she isn’t as straight forward as she is with byakuya

i actually think she’d be mad shy and non confrontational

the whole thing she kept up with him ? yeah, never again

if you approach her first then she’ll be able to get a few words out but for most of the conversation, she’ll just nervously play with her braids

you’ll most likely put two and two together

unless ur a makoto kinnie bc then you’ll have to wait till someone else puts it in place for u but anyways

if you decide to approach her about it, you’ll kinda be backing her into a corner bc she’s just bad at deflecting things lmao

she’ll eventually confess (begrudgingly but hey i mean its better than nothing)

expect much stuttering and a gesture like giving you a small gift

and not to be that writer that uses japanese terms in english writing but toko seems like a tsundere but not really if that makes sense?? so she’d probably shove it in your hands and if you try to say something then she’ll just try to play it off as not a big deal lol

calls u a baka 😍😍

aoi asahina

i know y’all all see how she is with sakura

yeah.

aoi is the kind of person who’d like to spend time with their crush rather than shy away from them

she values you and your friendship very much

bring her donuts

just trust me bring her donuts

she doesn’t really realize she’s into you like that for a while but believe me, she is, the whole time

and yeah i think she’d be nervous to tell you bc that’s just natural but ultimately she’d be cool about it

uh oh looks like we goin for a swim

sakura ogami

similar to kyoko, she’s very calm

despite her big and bad appearance, she really is a sweet girl

she cares for you and your well-being very much

will indeed go on x games mode for you

the way she tells you is very sincere and well spoken

kith her

naow

im sorry this is like the shortest one i couldn’t think of much for her 😔😔

leon kuwata

flirtatious ass mf

and he’s lightskin

so this just cannot go well

y’all know that bit where it’s like the guy yawns and stretches his arms up and then wraps one around your shoulder

yeah that’s literally him LMFAOO

he’s very confident

he was fairly well known with the ladies at his old school so you know he’s rhockin wit it ‼️

but

you feel.. different than usual ??

those girls were just lil flings n dates bc he was nice enough to accept their confessions and it boosted his ego anyway so it was a win win

but you

he was genuinely interested in you since he had saw you the first time

he didn’t just acknowledge your appearance

he learnt about your personality and your hobbies and what you liked and such, and he really cared and wanted to hear you talk about it all

he felt the need to really make an effort to show you how much he respected and had affections for you

he doesn't tell you in a grand way

probably just asks you out to a movie or somethin

he's chillin

mondo owada

you know

for being the biggest, baddest, most respected biker gang leader

or just for being in a biker gang period

mondo’s a huge softie lol

yeah he gets violent but he’s a sweet guy who cares about and is loyal to his friends

so mfs need to be nice to you

or they gettin whooped

when he decides it’s time to tell you how he feels, he thinks over his words and he’s all confident there’s no way you’d reject him but then he sees you in the halls and goes 🧍🏾 LMFAOOO

he’ll push through but it’s like he’ll walk up to you and look away from you because he refuses eye contact and just go

“so y/n, would you wanna.. tch.. come to a drive-in movie with me or somethin’?... dumbass.”

real smooth mondo i think you got em good job

please tease him LMFAOO it’d be so funny

he’d probably yell but you can tell he’s not mad so you just keep going with it

but once you’re done tormenting him, you do agree to the movie, don’t worry 🙏🏾

also mondo would call his s/o doll

that is all

chihiro fujisaki

my fav dude in a dress <3

chihiro would be quite shy, but that’s just how he is tbh so no surprise there

he’s very kind so he’d check up on you often just to see how you are

he cares about you v much

the way he confesses is one that consists of a red face as he offers you a box of candy or something similar

and he’d feel honored that you reciprocate his feelings

he’d be very scared to tell you his secret but once he does, he’s delighted to hear it doesn’t make any difference to you

he doesn’t know how he got so lucky with you

not only because woooo they like me back but also because you like him despite,, well everything about him LMFAOO

sweet lil boy

i’d feel like he’d talk about you to alter ego a lot

and when u meet the program for the first time, he’s like “oh! you must be [name]! master’s told me all about you :)”

sobbing i miss him

kiyotaka ishimaru

okay here’s the thing

if taka were to like someone

i can’t tell whether he’d be more strict because he doesn’t want them to get in trouble (and also so it would hopefully divert any suspicion that he DOES like you since he treats you the same as everyone else, only more)

or if he’d hold back more because he favors them LMFAOO

so imma write a lil bit for both

in the case that he was even stricter:

he’d prefer to be around you because he believes the best way he can make sure you stay out of trouble is to make sure you don’t get into any in the first place

of course it’s impossible to monitor you every second of every day but he does his best to make sure you’re doing well

if he sees you do anything out of line, he’s shutting that shit down IMMEDIATELY

but in the case he let up:

he’d still lecture you but noticeably less than the other students

if your feet were resting on top of a desk, he’d ask you to move them and then leave you alone rather than yell at you and forcibly move them himself

if you notice his behavior towards you in comparison to the other students do not tease him about it he will go as red as his eyes /hj

either way he’s confessing to you with a polite but exaggerated bow while holding out a well thought out letter with both hands

sayaka maizono

she will tell you

idk why but i feel like she’d be straight up lol

she’d make sure she’s sincere

she is the ultimate pop idol and all so she wants to make sure you know that she really does like you and isn’t playing a sick joke on you or anything

ok bc

while i do think she’d tell you

i’d feel like she’d be a little indirect just to see how you feel

like she’d give you a free ticket to one of her upcoming concerts with a kind smile

and naturally, you're like :o

and of course you come to support her

and seeing you smile at her from the crowd and cheer her on was the encouragement she needed to push her to ask you out

for real this time

she asks if you wanna come to a concert with her and ur like “oh yeah i love ur shows!!” bc ur dumb and then she’s like “no i mean.. for another artist” and eventually it hits you that she’s asking you out and ur like “oH YEAH YEAH SURE THAT SOUNDS GREAT YEAH OK” LMFAOO

———

i really hope that this is good LMFAOO this is my first time writing for dr so 😃👍🏾

fun fact i finished toko’s section first and taka’s last 😁😁

and i’d like to thank @mius-imagination @bloodygir n the rest of the discord for helping me figure some of these characters out *simultaneously whips and nae naes*

bye ive been working on this for like weeks this took forever

———

edit: here’s a deleted section bc i kept blanking for this character 😍

[sageinacage]

Hi! Saw your post about Sap and Tubbo and I’ve missed their dynamic sm so I wanted to send in a request! How about lee Tubbo and ler Sapnap? Maybe Sapnap wanted to see if Tubbo was just as ticklish as he was back then and uses one of his favorite tactics a bunch, raspberries?

Still the Same summary: sapnap wants to know if tubbo is still as ticklish as before, in his own sapnap way. a/n: sorry for the wait :( low motivation bc of personal stuff happening, but im doing a bit better so i wanted to get this out asap! hope u enjoy :D warnings: swearing, sapnap is Evil (/lh) w/c: 1.6k DSMP, Platonic

~

Everyone always says it’s easier to clear your thoughts from a high altitude. Why is that? No one knows, though no one is going to question it either. It’s always nice to enjoy the breeze from up above.

The only problem is, finding that high altitude and then having to climb up to it.

Tubbo closed his home door behind him, glancing around to find some sort of easy-access place he can sit for a while. As the boy walked around, he was quick to notice the gentle breeze that brushed against his cheeks and over his nose.

He sighed, enjoying the perfect weather present on this day, deciding to start walking down the path to town. As he walked, he chuckled as he recognized the spot he was standing at.

The day he and Sapnap had a playful bicker. It involved Tubbo making fun of the demon for miswording something, and a playful fight lasting afterward. The boy chuckled to himself, then his eyes widening.

Thinking about his old friend reminded him of the hill they used to hang out on. The perfect altitude to sit at, might he add. Now walking with intention, Tubbo smiled at the old memories that were unfolding in his brain.

“Here it is, it feels like it’s been years,” Tubbo spoke softly, arriving at the same hill he and Sapnap used to goof off on ages ago. He smiled contently, plopping down on the grass, and leaned against an oak tree that sat on the hill.

He let his head relax back, enjoying the nice breeze brush through his hair and the convenient shade the oak tree provided for him. The people were right, this is a good place to clear some thoughts up.

Meanwhile, a certain demon was also heading somewhere to relax for the day, wanting a break from all the serious ‘bullshit,’ as he would call it. Sapnap looked up at the tree that rested on his favorite hill and saw a figure under it.

He smiled to himself, recognizing a certain ram hybrid settled underneath the shade of the luscious tree. With a mischievous smirk, Sapnap tip-toed up the hill, avoiding any crinkly leaves or twigs along the way, motivated to startle his old friend.

Oh, how much Sapnap missed being so goofy and carefree. It was honestly a natural instinct to playfully mess with Tubbo, almost like how siblings always try to push each other's buttons. It’s safe to say he saw the boy as a little brother.

“Tubbo!” Sapnap squealed, whipping his head around the tree with a giddy smile. “Sap… Sapnap?! Where did you even come from?!” Tubbo gasped, holding his heart dramatically at the sudden scare.

“From down the hill, you goof.”

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t, why’re you smiling then?” Sapnap sniggered, earning an eye roll from the ram. “Because you’re annoying, and it’s making me smile because of how annoying you are.”

The demon snorted a laugh. Tubbo really was the sassy boy he always remembered.

The two settled underneath the tree together, just catching up. They really needed it, it was obvious on both sides that they both missed each other dearly.

They missed the playful bickering and fights they’d have over literally nothing, maybe a piece of bread if anything. Tubbo especially missed the warm feeling he got while around Sapnap. Was it the feeling of coziness inside of him, similar to the feeling of home you get when you’re around someone you’re genuinely fond of- or was it just that Sapnap is warm because he’s a literal fire demon? Probably both.

All was content and nice until Sapnap had to bring up a redacted memory, one Tubbo couldn’t think about without a wild blush spreading across his face.

“Hey Tubs, do you remember the tickle fights we used to have? Well, not exactly fights since you never put anything up- Ow!” Sapnap rubbed his shoulder where the boy flicked him, a grumpy but obviously flustered scowl painted on his face.

“Embarrassed, are we? C’mon, it’s not like you’re still that ticklish anymore!”

The embarrassed squeak that left Tubbo really just made all the dignity he had left drain away.

“...Or are you?” Sapnap continued, his curious glance turning into a dark grin. “Hey there- buddy, friend, mate- you d- don’t gotta… gotta do it… actually I think it’s getting late and I should be getting home!” Nervous giggles poured out of the boy, shuffling backward on the grass.

Sapnap just shook his head. “I don’t think you’re going anywhere, Tubbo. Not until I get my answer!~”

Oh shit. A surprised squeal left Tubbo as he was wrestled onto the ground, though the boy was strong as well and fought back. “Oh, actually fighting back, are we?~ Now that’s a change!” Sapnap teased, making Tubbo’s body go limp.

‘Teasing makes him go all jelly, got it.’ Sapnap thought with a snicker, looking down at his friend.

“S- Sapnap… dohoHON’T- SAHAPNAP!” Tubbo barked out a laugh, trying to twist on his side away from the prodding fingers on the right side of his ribcage. “Nuh-uh, you aren’t going anywhere, mister!” Sapnap sniggered as he pushed the boy’s hips on the ground, drilling his thumbs into the bones in the process.

A loud shriek left Tubbo, failing to buck Sapnap off of him. He fell limp against the grass, knowing that he wasn’t gonna get out of the predicament anytime soon. Not that he exactly wanted to, though.

“Remember you can tell me to stop whenever you’d like me to, bud.” The demon’s face softened into a more reassuring look, slowing down his tickles. Tubbo nodded, opening his mouth to speak before being interrupted with another screech.

Sapnap’s fingers found the sides of his lower stomach, massaging his fingers into the soft skin. This seemed to be successful, Sapnap found.

“SAP-HEHEHEHAHA- F- FUHuhuck ohohoff!” He continued to squirm, stomping his hooves in the plush grass behind Sapnap. “D’awww, Tubbo!~ That wasn’t very nice, was it? Maybe I should remind you of my favorite tactic?” Sapnap raised an eyebrow, relishing in the immediate anticipatory high-pitched giggles that emitted from the smaller boy.

“Do you remember? I think you do, champ! I think you remember all the nibbles and raspberries I used to give to your cute lil’ tummy- and oh how bad they tickled!~ Are you excited? I think you areeee, I can hear your tail thumping on the grass!”

Note taken; Sapnap was still as evil as before.

“Y- Yohou’re so mehehean!” Tubbo whined, covering his bright red cheeks, his shirt riding up with his arms raising. “Uh oh, Tubbo… Look what I have here! A perfect snack right in front of me!~” The man cooed, dragging his dull claws over the ram’s belly before leaning down and blowing a big raspberry right beneath his belly button.

“SHIHIHIHIT! N- NOHOT THAHAT!” Tubbo shrieked, arching his back up. “Not this? Alright, your wish is my command, champ! Guess I have no choice but to do this instead…” He chuckled slowly before beginning to gently nibble on Tubbo’s lower belly, moving up the side to nibble near his waist.

Fuck Sapnap and his stupid stubble, and his even dumber fangs.

“SAAAAHAP- NONONONOHOHOHO!” Tubbo pleaded, weakly pushing at Sapnap’s head, but the damn thing didn’t budge even a centimeter. “No? Okay!~” He giggled, going back to plant another raspberry over the side of his belly.

Arching his back again, the ram dug his hooves in the grass to try to ease the sensations at least a little bit, but the ticklish stubble dragging around his tummy kept making him go limp. “F- FUHUCK YOHOU- Y- YOHOU’RE SO BAAAHAD!” Tubbo retaliated, yet again trying to twist away but his hips were only pushed back down onto the grass.

“I think you need a little manners lesson, don’tcha think, Tubso?~ N’awww, don’t pout at me, you know I’ll just have to do… this…” Sapnap huffed in a breath, Tubbo squealing in anticipation, but then silence.

Tubbo relaxed his muscles as the raspberry didn’t happen- never mind. It happened.

“FUHUHUCK- PLEEEHEHEHEASE!” Tubbo’s body went completely jelly, the tickling too much for him to fight back anymore. Sapnap looked up, a shit-eating grin on his face. “You were so bold a few seconds ago, what happened? Hmmm?~ Cat got your tongue, Tubbo? Let’s fix that.” He chuckled, wrapping his arms around Tubbo's waist so he couldn't buck away from his attack.

Raspberry after raspberry, Tubbo knew he couldn’t handle it anymore. “STOHOHAHAHAP! E- ENOHOUGH!” His voice was squeaky and tickled-out, taking deep breaths as he laid down completely limp on the soft grass.

“You alright there, Tubso?”

“Mahahaybe…”

“Here, let me help.” Sapnap smiled, but it was softer this time- way different than the evil grins he was giving while tickling the life out of the poor boy. The demon laid the ram across his lap, gently carding his fingers through his plush hair.

“C- can yohou… keep gohoing? But- gehentle this t- tihime?” Tubbo stuttered out, Sapnap audibly cooing at the sweet boy. “Of course, it would be my pleasure- seeing how evil I was earlier.” He jested, earning an exaggerated noise of agreement from Tubbo.

He snickered, tracing his dull claws in random shapes over the boy’s belly, letting them graze up and down his sides and back down to circle around his hips. The affectionate light tickles were making the tickled-out boy sleepy, as he curled up in the warm demon’s lap and softly snored as sleep swept over him.

“Sleep well, bud. I’ll be here when you wake up. I’ve missed you, y’know that?”

[shortprince-cos]

The Woes Of An Emo

Summary: Tune in this week for Virgil thinking this is all a coincidence! And some Logicality pining. As a treat.

Warnings: Swearing, not having much money(?). I think thats about it? Tell me if I need to add anything else!

{Masterlist} {Previous}

Thanks to @irritating-lady-knight for beta reading this for me!!!

Chapter 5: Maybe This Is Fine?

~~~~~

Princey's date was called off?! How?! Who on earth wouldn't like him?! Virgil was furious, who the f**k says that they don't like someone until after they accept the date?!

...wait.

Virgil was such a hypocrite.

onthevirgeofananxietyattack: what?! What happened?! Who do i need to murder

princeofyourdreams: no one, im fine. he was just too nervous to say anything

Virgil wished he didn't relate so much to mystery guy, then maybe he would want to punch him.

onthevirgeofananxietyattack: well, are u ok?

princeofyourdreams: of course i am! I can conquer any challenge! Dont worry about me!

onthevirgeofananxietyattack: are u sure?

princeofyourdreams: seriously, anxiety, im ok. One disinterested boy isnt going to ruin me.

onthevirgeofananxietyattack: ok, good. Hes obviously not good enough for you anyway

princeofyourdreams: shut up haha

Well, Princey seemed to be doing ok. And maybe Virgil was a tad more excited then he should be, but can you blame him? He's had a crush on Princey for a year, and he might actually have a chance now!

Well, as much of a chance you could have when you've never even seen each other.

Now all Virgil had to do was go on this not-a-date date and live. Yay.

---

"Ok, now if you run out of money, ask him to pay for you."

"Dad!" Virgil scolded. "I'm not going to leech off my friends!"

Remy just chuckled. "C'mon Virge, live a little! It's not everyday you actually step outside. With a couple of boys no less."

Virgil turned red. "It's a friend date, Dad." He grumbled.

Remy turned to where Virgil was in the passenger seat and tilted down his shades to look him in the eyes. "Sure it is."

Virgil grumbled something as Remy pulled the car in front of the mall. "Here's your stop, babe."

Virgil rolled his eyes as his mouth betrayed him by smiling. "Whatever, I'll see you later."

"Love you." Remy added while Virgil stepped out of the car.

"Love you too, Dad."

Virgil eventually made his way over to the food court, where everyone was meeting.

Virgil was also questioning why he suggested this hang-out anyway. It was going to be so awkward! How was he going to have a good time with the guy he rejected, a nerd who could probably kill him, and a "friend" he only started talking to two days ago?

Why did he do this?

"Viiiiiirrrrrrrgiiiiiiiiiilllllllll!!!!!" Patton was suddenly running towards where Virgil was standing in the food court.

"Uh- wait-" Virgil got trapped in a bear hug (how? Patton is so small!) as soon as Patton reached him.

"Patton, try not to kill the poor fellow." Roman chuckled as he walked up to the trap that Virgil was caught in.

Patton eventually let Virgil breathe as he let go. "Sorry! I just got excited! I don't normally go many places!" He exclaimed.

"Well, we'll have to take you to more places then, Patton." Logan smirked as he approached the small group.

Roman chuckled again as Patton blushed and silently thanked him. "Well then!" Roman announced. "Where shall we go first?"

"Hot To-"

"No, Pumpkin King, we're not going to Hot Topic." Roman immediately interrupted.

"Then why did I even come?" Virgil whined playfully.

"C'mon, Roman! Hot Topic does have some really good Disney stuff~" Patton pushed in a teasing tone.

Roman let out a long, exaggerated groan. "Fiiiiiinnnnnneeeee. We can go."

"Yes!"

"Yay!"

"Satisfactory."

"Wow. Y'all are a bunch of nerds." Said Roman.

"Says the guy who cried when they changed Mickey Mouse's art style." Logan shot back.

"ListEN IT LOOKS LIKE ABSOLUTE CRAP AND ISN'T TRUE TO THE ORIGINAL!"

"Roman, please, I don't want to spend twenty minutes talking about-"

Roman quickly pulled out his phone and displayed two Mickey Mouse pictures with different art styles. "Look, Logan. Look at how they massacred my boy."

---

And after that debate, they made their way to the dark and ridiculously edgy Hot Topic, unfortunately located next to the very bright and pink Justice store.

"I must go, my people need me." Virgil joked as he walked through the doorway.

"Of course this is where your people are, where else could you find the emos?" Roman rolled his eyes playfully.

"Oh, do you know people here, Virgil?" Logan asked innocently, clearly not understanding the joke.

"No- it's- it's a meme."

"Don't even try, Angstintator, no one could ever teach Logan the way of memes." Roman announced, slowly drifting towards the Disney section.

"Well, they are nonsensical. They make zero sense most of the time!" Logan defended.

Patton suddenly gasped like a little kid in a candy store. "Vi, Ro, Lo, look!!!!!!"

They all looked to where Patton was pointing, and saw it.

They holy grail of cute things. Something that could almost (almost) rival Patton himself.

A Pusheen plush that was holding a cookie. It was beautiful (to Patton at least).

Patton squealed and grabbed the closest person (which happened to be Logan) and held his hand while dragging him towards the plush in excitement.

Logan immediately flushed and trailed after Patton helplessly.

Roman chuckled at that and returned to looking at the Disney merchandise, while Virgil made his way over to the band t-shirts.

"Look!!! Look at it!!!! It's so cuuuutttteeee!!!!!!" Patton fawned. He checked the tag for the price and immediately frowned. "Shoot..." He mumbled under his breath.

"What's wrong?" Logan asked, then checked the price. $39.98. Not too expensive, but expensive enough to be a pain.

"Ah. Not bring enough money?" Patton slowly nodded at the question, looking...guilty? Or maybe disappointed? Logan didn't really know, only that it was making Patton upset.

Logan frowned at that. Someone as bright and kind as Patton shouldn't be unhappy! Patton deserved to be happy at least 100% of the time, Logan thought.

"Logan!!! Come here!!! Look at this!" Roman called from behind a shelf somewhere, knocking Logan out of his thoughts.

"Uh- excuse me for a second Patton." Patton nodded with a small (was it sad, too?) smile as Logan went to find Roman.

Roman was located behind a shelf filled with more Disney merchandise. "What, Roman? I was kind of busy." He asked, clearly annoyed.

"Yeah, busy failing at wooing him." Roman rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Seriously Logan, how could you be so dense?"

"Do you want me to provide a list of examples and events that you were being 'dense' at?"

Roman simply groaned. "C'mon Logan, think for a second! Patton doesn't have enough money for the plush that makes him smile. A smile which you love seeing. Therefore, what do you do with that fat wallet of yours?"

It suddenly clicked in Logan's head. "Oh. Oh! Do you think he'll be happy about it?"

"Of course he will! He'll adore you!" Roman pushed Logan out from behind the shelf. "Now go gettem!"

Meanwhile, Patton was talking with Virgil.

"Hey, Virge! Did you find anything?"

All Virgil had to do to answer the question was look at Patton with the pile of shirts in his arms.

"Uh. Yeah." Virgil replied, thinking of how embarrassing this was.

Patton giggled a bit. "Do you need help carrying that?"

"Please." Virgil sighed.

Patton took some of the shirts and other clothing items (were those fishnets?!) out of Virgil's hands.

"So, are you doing ok?" Patton asked.

"O-oh. Yeah, I'm ok. I'm just worried about...if Roman is. Like, what if he's mad at me? I bet thats what he and Logan are talking about right now-"

"Slow down, Virgil." Patton interrupted. "I'm sure they aren't, and I really doubt that Roman's mad at you. If he was mad, he seems like the type to show it."

"That's...probably right." Virgil mumbled.

"Just calm down a bit, and have some fun! You are having fun, aren't you?"

Virgil smiled lightly. "Yeah. I am."

Patton smiled too. "Then let's go have more fun!"

And with that, Patton grabbed Virgil's hand and dragged him to the next shelf, looking through more cute things.

~~~~~

{Next}

Dear all of the people who thought Virgil would figure it out this chapter,

HA! Y'all thought WRONG! Virgil and Roman share the same brain cell, but neither of them use it!

Taglist in reblog

Reblogs are appreciated!💖

[ssamie]

five. similar routines

oikawa tooru x fem langa!reader

(hq x sk8 the infinity)

warnings: spelling mistakes, swearing, 2k+ words, u have langa’s blue hair sorry 

gen masterlist.            “snow” masterlist.

"you know, oikawa-san.." she started off with a sheepish hum "yes?" oikawa hummed with a smile 

"i thought you were only picking me up so we can walk together." she said 

"exactly. that's why im here" oikawa said with a chuckle 

"so.. why are you in my room so early in the morning?" she deadpanned as she looked at him, as he sat on the foot of her bed "you're here way too early, oikawa-san" she said with a yawn

"well, i thought i'd get to know your mom too since she's also new to the neighbourhood ya know? shes very nice, by the way." oikawa chuckled out 

"my.. mom..?" she sent him a weirded out look 

"hey! not like that!" oikawa shrieked out "if anything, you'd be the only girl i'd have eyes for, FYI" he said with a wink. "oh.." y/n said with a laugh. "well, it's whatever oikawa-san." she said as she stood up from her bed. 

"did you eat breakfast yet? i feel like you have since you're already dressed up and all.." 

"but if you haven't, you can eat with me." she offered as she looked at him expectantly by the door 

"i ate already, but we can have coffee together" oikawa suggested with a smile as he followed her out "oh. but you'd have to make it since i suck at making coffee." she said "oh come on, you can't be that bad" oikawa mused as he ruffled her already messy blue locks 

"i'll drink whatever you make, don't worry" he said 

"okay but i warned you." she replied with a sigh 

oikawa sent one last fleeting glance to her room before he closed the door. he took note of the snowboards displayed by her wall and her skateboard so delicately situated by her desk. as well as the slightly messy collage of pictures stuck to her wall, most of them being pictures of a redhead. 

"oikawa-san?" she called out, looking back to see him lagging behind. 

"oh sorry, i'll be right there, y/n-chan!" 

"this is coffee is probably more bitter than a rotten ballsack." oikawa muttered to himself as he reluctantly gulped down the beverage.

"did you say something, oikawa-san?" y/n hummed with a smile

"i said this coffee is probably better than any drink there is!" he exclaimed

"really??" y/n asked with sparkling eyes "then i'll make you coffee every morning starting now!" she said with an excited smile

oikawa paled as he watched her relish in the compliment with a smile, it's almost as if she was oozing with sparkles."ah.. y-you don't have to.." oikawa stammered out with a quivering smile

"oh.." her smile fell

oikawa mentally gasped and hastily shook his head "no, i take that back!" he exclaimed "you can make me coffee! in fact, you can make me a gallon everyday if you want!" oikawa rambled with in a frantic tone

"okay, oikawa-san" she smiled "that would mean we'd meet every morning too, haha" she chuckled

oikawa froze at the statement and nodded with an accomplished smile. "yup. sounds good!" he said. he then turned away and dramatically cried a single tear. "so worth it.." he muttered as he sipped on the devil spawn of a drink.

"anyways, should we go?" she asked him. "i can leave my board if you want me to walk with you." she said "no it's fine, i'll just keep up" he said 

oikawa hummed to himself as he envisioned the two of them making their way to school. y/n was skating while he holds her hand, the both of them laughing and smiling like two protagonists of a shoujo manga. 

"let's go, oikawa-san" she called out to him as she puts on her converse instead of her school shoes and grabbed her board. 

"right." oikawa hummed as he happily followed behind, watching her get on the board and placing her phone in her pocket. "you'd keep up with me right?" she asks him "i won't go too fast if you want.." 

"no, no. go do your thing, i don't mind~" oikawa cooed with a smile 

"okay then." she sent him a smile before fully skating away and leaving a trail of dust behind. 

"eh?" oikawa blinked in confusion as he watched her skate in a baffling speed and jumping effortlessly over bumps and obstacles. it was so different from what he's seen the first time he saw her skating to school. he was almost certain she was just one of those mediocre skater girls that everyone likes solely because they're pretty. 

"oikawa-san, why aren't you following?!" she yelled from atleast a block away 

"huh? well i didn't think you'd leave me behind like that!" oikawa whined as he ran towards her with a huff "you said to do my thing!" she yelled back 

"right, right, my bad!" he laughed it off as he patted her back "i'll slow down if you want" she offered with a laugh 

"yeah, i'd love that.." 

from his front porch, iwaizumi watched them with an unamused look on his face. "flirting already?" he groaned "its seven in the morning, when will i ever get a break from this?" 

"wow, didn't think you two would get so close so quickly" hanamaki teased as he pointed to y/n who was fixing the nets 

"um can someone help me put this up-" 

"oh that? it was pretty easy" oikawa shrugged it off with a smug grin "she just couldn't resist me and my charms, ya know?" 

"i'll do it for you, don't worry!" oikawa cut her off as he skipped towards her and proceeded to put the nets up himself 

hanamaki sweat dropped as he watched the brunette continue to chat her up while she simply nods along "more like you couldn't resist her.." he sneered. matsukawa joined in as they three in teasing comments to the captain, all while oikawa tries to shut them up. 

"hey, let's eat out after practice, y/n-san" yahaba suggested with a flirty smile 

"oh, sure.." y/n replied, tilting her head in confusion as his face contorts into one that resembles the handsome squidward. "cool. i'll come." oikawa interjected as he stared yahaba down. 

"oh uh- i meant me.. and her.." yahaba sweat dropped 

"yknow what, why don't we bring the whole team!" oikawa let out an obnoxiously fake laugh as he announced the plans to the whole gym. "geez. he's down bad" matsukawa said to hanamaki as the latter nodded along 

"jesus christ, that dumbass.." iwaizumi sighs as he watched oikawa subtly give yahaba more tasks than the others 

"are you free later iwaizumi-san?" y/n asks him as she hesitantly tugged on his sleeve. iwaizumi raised a brow and nodded. "yeah, why? did you need something?" he asked 

"i know i said i'll stop trying but i still wanna know how to play volleyball" she said "can you teach me? coach said you're the ace" 

"oh sure" iwaizumi gave her a thumbs up "but didn't shittykawa teach you already?" 

"it didn't really work" she frowned "maybe you'd be a better teacher". iwaizumi sweat dropped as he heard a dramatic gasp followed by a thud from afar. he didn't even need to turn around to know that it was oikawa. 

"sure, i'll teach you the basics" iwaizumi sent her a grin. "thank you!" she exclaimed happily before walking off and doing her work 

"iwa-chan, you traitor!" oikawa exclaimed as he tried to tackle him down, only to be blocked by iwaizumi's arm. "shut up. its not my fault you can't even teach her how to hit a damn ball" iwaizumi rolled his eyes 

"i can, okay! it's just her..." oikawa chuckled sheepishly "she doesn't know how to hit it properly" 

"huh." iwaizumi hummed "maybe she's right, maybe you're just a shitty teacher." 

"you'll see for yourself!" 

"i can finally play volleyball!" she announced excitedly as she munched down on her food "really? how'd you learn that?" kindaichi mused with a soft laugh 

"iwaizumi-san taught me! he's really good" she said with  sparkling eyes 

oikawa spluttered as he felt an imaginary arrow pierce his chest. "ah.. that's.. that's great y/n.. good job" he squeaked out with a quivering smile. "maybe you're right.. maybe i was just a shitty teacher" oikawa shamefully admitted to iwaizumi 

beside her, oikawa silently sulked as he gloomily nibbled on his burger. "oikawa-san, i can finally serve too" she told him with a smile 

"glad you're aware" iwaizumi snickered. "anyways, i'm gonna go ahead" iwaizumi said as he stood up and stretched. "i have a shit ton of work to do so i'll leave ya guys to it" 

"iwaizumi-san, won't you walk with us?" y/n asked him "we're neighbours too right?" 

"ah actually, sure-" iwaizumi cut himself off as he caught a glimpse of oikawa looming over her shoulder 

the brunette was giving him an exaggerated frown, paired with his 'puppy dog eyes' and even some tears for the effect. its not that iwaizumi was swayed by the expression. frankly, he just didn't want to look at it any longer so he denied. 

"actually.. you guys can walk together. i think my mom needs me now. stay safe though" he said. y/n nodded and waved him off while oikawa send him a grateful smile and a wave. iwaizumi simply flipped him off and waved the rest goodbye. 

"so, anything else you want, y/n-chan?" oikawa cooed as he watched her chomp down her meal 

"milkshake.." y/n muttered with a delighted look on her face. "milkshake it is!" oikawa exclaimed. he then turned to yahaba who was grumbling by the corner and grinned. 

"cmon then, yahaba-kun~ she said she wanted a milkshake! chop chop!" oikawa chuckled. yahaba rolled his eyes but pulled out his wallet anyways. "why am i getting treated like this?" he silently sulked 

"well you were the one who invited us after all" oikawa mused. "i invited y/n, not all of you!" yahaba whined 

by the side, hanamaki and matsukawa simply watched, sneering and laughing to themselves while they ate. "this is gonna be a long night" hanamaki let out a sigh "who cares? yahaba's treating us" matsukawa shrugged 

"i never said that!" yahaba shrieked out 

"how do you feel?" oikawa asked her. "full.." she replied with a satisfied sigh "thanks for inviting me, everyone" she said 

"no problem, y/n-senpai!" kindaichi replied as he and kunimi waved her goodbye "bye guys!" the rest of them said as the team dispersed to their own routes. 

"guess its just us now" oikawa mused as he stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets. "right." y/n nodded as she slowly skated beside him 

"sure, oikawa-san. i'd like that" she smiled 

"let's walk together tomorrow too" oikawa suggested. "i'll invite iwa if you want" 

"this'll be like our routine from now on" oikawa cheered "us three will be best friends in no time" he sent her a  wink 

"best friends.." she muttered "i already-" 

"-have a best friend, i know" oikawa finished her sentence with a laugh "it's fine to have more than one best friend, ya know?" he mused 

"more than one.." she hummed thoughtfully "someone other than reki..?" she muttered to herself 

she looked down at her feet and her board, then back at oikawa and the slightly starry sky. it was quite similar to the daily routine she has with reki. skating together to school, eating out, and skating back home. it provided her a strange sense of deja vu. 

"that sounds nice." she said with a smile 

oikawa smiled back and put his hands behind his head as he walked. "yeah it does." he agreed 

"i look forward to being best friends with you guys" she said 

sorry for the spelling / grammar mistakes if there are any :<

"me too, y/n."

[dented-nado]

So so- James gets sick (you decided how sick he is loll) and Walter/Stolas/both take care of him

Im sorry sickfics are just so wholesome

Takes place before William, Grelle and Ronald were reapers (or even alive at) – For the reaper realm is sort of more in a colonial era vibe, but in the human world it’s currently 1568.

James is a character that’s had one appearance in my Black Butler Fan-Comic Will to Live – Stolas is an upcoming character – and Walter is a fan character that’s formed on our discord server lol.

Hope you like this!!! I kind of hinted at Walter’s existence and helping, but I ended up writing more about Stolas trying to get James just to go heckinnn rest lol. Hope that’s okay!

=====

Anyone who worked anywhere within the reaper realm in England would tell you their general manager was being particularly nasty. There was a rumor going around that his eyes were turning red with rage, Red.

Stolas, being the current head manager of the London Reaper district of course ended up hearing about the rumor. One of those little things that would come up during coffee breaks. Sometimes rumors spread quickly, many of them ended up not being true or over exaggerated… all of them had been there are REALLY long time after all, and sometimes rumors were the only thing that made their grueling jobs a little bit interesting.

This one… however, made Stolas sigh, he knew James too well, if those under him are especially scared of him at the moment, something was up.

Many of his coworkers thought Stolas was insane for remaining cheery with James, or they feared him too by proxy. Stolas wasn’t stupid, he knew why everyone was scared of James – James did it on purpose for Christ’s sake. However, since he had come on some 200 years ago and had many an interaction with the guy, finding himself unphased by his scare tactics... (he had seen men much more monstrous than James after all), he couldn’t help but feel some sort of…. Sympathy? No, that might not be the word? Maybe sometimes he just got a glimmer of the kind of man James could be and wanted to reach out and pull that glittering little gem out. He just hoped he wasn’t seeing something that wasn’t there.

He gazed at the large grandfather clock ticking away in the corner of his office, such a device was new to him, but he had picked it up a little quicker than James had who had kept time by candle for much longer than most of them.

He had 10 more minutes before his break would be over…

Stolas closed his large book he had snuck in to read on his breaks, it was one on the Tudors he had gotten quite lost in. Normally more ancient societies piqued his interest, but it was harder to get good accounts… he half wished he could just explore those ancient cities and discover their secrets himself. But… alas… here he was, not that he could have gone far in his human life either.

He downed the last bit of his tea before sitting up, making sure his ink well was covered and his quill was secure for when he inevitably came back to work.

He walked out of the London office and down the hall, tapping on James’s office door cheerfully, barely waiting for a grunt before coming in.

“What do you want?” James accused, looking up from his paperwork.

Now he did look quite the sight, more tired and grouchy than usual – and judging from the redness of his nose, it was irritated.

“Well now, I had heard you were especially difficult to deal with, and now I know why!” Stolas said, pushing his glasses up his nose and grinning.

James sighed, leaning back and rubbing his left eye slightly, they looked a bit bloodshot.

“Maybe if everyone did their job correctly…”

“Yes, then you wouldn’t be so cross all the time, blah blah blah, I’ve heard the script.” He took a few steps forward, leaning on James’s desk, something only he seemed to get away with. “You’re sick.”

“You’re pissing me off.” James snipped back, baring his teeth.

Stolas shook his head. This man was like trying to be friendly to a wolf on a good day, a rabid one on a bad day.

“Why don’t you just take the day off James? If your sick its not as if you can help it.” Stolas offered.

“I can get up, I can walk, I haven’t sprouted any pustules, not that reapers could get such a horrible thing thank god…” He paused, rubbing his hands together as if having the urge to wash them. “Unless I keel over, I’m still coming into work. Any reaper disease can’t be serious, it won’t kill me.”

“You’re a stubborn man James.” Stolas said, deciding to state the obvious. “What does Walter think?” He asked, furrowing his brows.

Walter was supposedly a ghost from James’s old life that followed him around. Stolas wasn’t entirely convinced he existed, or if he was a ghost in the sense of something James had been through that haunted him, or perhaps was his way of coping with the state of things. He cared for James enough that he didn’t want to try and tell James what he was or wasn’t experiencing… he couldn’t see through his eyes after all. If Walter was real… well… maybe it was good that James still had someone around to keep him grounded. If he wasn’t… what could he really do about that?

“Walter can mind his own business too.” He growled stubbornly, seemingly reading the same sentence on his paperwork a third time over, getting more frustrated.

Stolas narrowed his eyes, he slammed his hands down on the desk briefly, startling James a bit as he suddenly crossed over to his side of the desk, leaning down from his decent height and pointing his finger only inches away from James’s face.

“Either you let me take you home willingly, or I pick you up and carry you kicking and screaming.” He said very seriously.

James’s eyes widened before turning into a glare, leaning up and meeting his gaze with his own threatening one. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Wouldn’t I?” Stolas grinned.

James didn’t have time to run. He growled as Stolas tackled him and lifted him up out of his seat, having no problem lifting the bearded man up onto his shoulder.

“STOLAS SANTORI YOU PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!” He barked.

Stolas chuckled, he could tell all of James’s teeth were razor sharp just from the tone of his voice.

“You stay out of this!” James then barked, seemingly pointing at thin air in irritation, and Stolas was almost sure the air got colder.

Stolas walked towards the door, ignoring James struggling. “Last chance, I can put you down and you can go with me and retain some dignity…”

James stiffened and stopped flailing before sighing and going limp. “Fine, FINE! Just put me down or I swear I’ll have you- GAH!!”

Stolas followed his order and let James fall off his shoulder, only barely catching his balance.

James breathed heavily before coughing a bit, trying to straighten his hair and jacket. “If… If I’m penalized for being gone today…”

“I’ll take full responsibility. You can say you were kidnapped.” Stolas responded, walking out into the hallway with James in tow.

“…If I were to say you kidnapped me and disrupted my work… you could be put on trial.”

Stolas simply slipped his glasses off, cleaning them as they walked. He knew the halls well enough by now he probably could have found his way around without being able to see at all.

“If it happens… it happens.”

“How can you be so calm about such a thing?” James snapped before sneezing, grumbling, and pulling a handkerchief out of his coat pocket to blow his nose into.

“If that’s my fate, who am I to argue with it. I prefer to do what I think is right James, not what is easy or safe. And right now… seeing you rested is what I believe is right.” He said, looking down at James sincerely as they walked out of the building.

James hung his head for a moment, grinding his teeth slightly before walking again to head to his assigned home, Stolas not far behind.

“You’re a fool.” He said simply, and quietly.

Stolas just laughed. “Maybe. Most people seem to think so for getting within 2 feet of you.” He said softly, nudging James with his arm.

James felt miserable, he was annoyed, and on some level, he was scared.

But despite all that… he smiled.

[bordeleaubeau]

when worlds collide - ryder donovan

chapter two wc: 6868

you pull the black sweatshirt over your body, the duluth east logo spread across the front, along with hounds hockey’ written across it. you swapped your black leggings for a pair of dark washed jeans, deciding you look decent enough for ryder’s game. you keep your hair down, running your fingers through it before grabbing your phone out of your pocket to send a mirror photo to ryder.

y/n: attachment: 1 image

how do i look?

rydes dono: rydes dono loved an image incredible

y/n: sorry, i’m probably messing up your pregame stuff, aren’t i?

rydes dono: not at all. i only just got to the rink, i’m not even in the locker room yet, no worries y/n/n

y/n: good, because i thought you also deserved to see a photo of our girl. i figured we could use it in our scrapbook thingy

attachment: 1 image

you send ryder a photo you had taken of saylor, where you grabbed an old hat you had from one of your american girl dolls and placed it on saylor’s head, along with a little button up jacket.

rydes dono: she almost looks as good as her mama

y/n: oh shush, donovan. don’t you have a hockey game to warm up for?

rydes dono: okay okay fine, i’ll let you go since you’re so eager to. sit as close to the glass as you can on the visiting side, and then i’ll meet you in the lobby after the game got that?

y/n: sounds perfect to me. see you after donovan:)

rydes dono: see you y/n

y/n:  oh, and try to go easy on my dad, will you?

rydes dono: no promises;)

you find yourself smiling at your phone. your dad had already left about an hour ago, and all you were waiting for now was for josie to tell you she was here with kennedy. once you got that text from her, you were grabbing your lanyard and your baby carrier with saylor in it. william was long gone as well, along with your mother, leaving you the last to leave the house.

“there’s our favorite future donovan!” josie yells out her driver’s side window as soon as you step out of the house. you shake your head with a smile trying to hide your blush as you go to get into the back seat. 

“oh come on, y/n. you gotta give us more details. because i’ve been on the edge of my seat since you told us about class today,” kennedy says, looking over her shoulder at you as josie pulls out of your driveway. of course, the second you had told kennedy about the little incident - or moment, rather - in child development, kennedy went insane. as predicted.

you heave out an exaggerated sigh, grabbing your phone from the pocket of ryder’s sweatshirt and opening it to your messages thread with him, then handing your phone to kennedy. as soon as she sees the name at the top her eyes are lighting up. 

she starts mumbling the texts you guys were sending back and forth, and a gasp falls from her lips. “y/n m/n!” kennedy screeches, whipping around in her seat to shove your phone in your face, as if you didn’t already know what the text messages say. you have a shy smile on your face. “he likes you, you big idiot!”

“i wanna know!” josie yells, stopping at a stop light. “gimme her phone, i wanna see!” kennedy hands josie your phone, and josie starts yelling just as loud as ken had been. “kennedy’s right! i don’t know why you’re saying he doesn’t!”

“okay, okay, gimme my phone,” you giggle holding your hand out for josie to give you your phone as the light turns from red to green. you see ryder had snapped you, so you open up snapchat and see ryder along with logan and ricky. ryder is in the middle of laughing, ricky is smirking and logan is grinning like a fool. you can’t help but screenshot the photo. “look at our boys!” you give your phone right back to kennedy who begins to squeal.

“look at logan!” she gushes, and from the backseat you can see the grin on the blonde’s face. 

josie pulls into the parking lot of the duluth heritage sports center, looking over her shoulder at you with a smile. “ready to see your baby daddy?”

“shut up!” you laugh, reaching forward to hit josie’s arm. the three of you get out of the car, you reaching over to grab saylor’s carrier. you walk into the arena with the girls by your side, already earning a few weird looks from people in the lobby. “i knew this was gonna happen.” you grumble. 

josie sighs, “they’re just judgemental people, y/n. don’t worry about it. it’s not like the baby is real or anything.”

“ryder likes to think so,” you roll your eyes at the thought, following the girls to the ticket booth to buy your tickets for the east game. once all three of you have your tickets you walk into the rink that’s still fairly empty, going straight towards the front row behind east’s net. 

“i know dono wanted us by denfeld, but, that’s not gonna happen,” kennedy sighs, getting comfortable in the seat to the left of you and pulling out her phone, smiling when she saw that logan had snapped her. “look!”

you and josie both giggle at the blonde's reaction, watching her blushing cheeks as she fumbled to unlock her phone. she opens the snap and her smile widens, angling her phone towards you to see the photo of ryder and logan. “smile!” kennedy says, and you do so before she snaps the photo and sends it to logan. 

“i wouldn’t plan on him answering you, kenny. boys got a pregame schedule, you know that,” you advise her and kennedy nods, knowing exactly what you meant. kennedy wasn’t exactly a stranger when it came to hockey boys. 

“yeah, he sent me that ten minutes ago. they’re probably gonna get ready to- never mind!” kennedy starts to giggle as the red box appears next to logan’s name, and then you feel your phone buzz in your hand. 

rydes dono:

tell kennedy she’s throwing my boy off, he can’t stop smiling at his phone

you laugh out loud, quickly typing a response. 

y/n: as if i’m not throwing you off yours? ryder donovan aren’t you supposed to be warming up soon?

rydes dono: been thrown off since you sent me that photo an hour ago, not gonna lie y/n/n

rydes dono: and only gonna be more thrown off when we come out to warm up, that im sure of

“would you look at that! ryder donovan, flirting with you in plain sight. come on, y/n. even a blind person would be able to see that,” josie says as she reads your texts from over your shoulder, a smug smirk on her face. “god, you’re both goners.”

y/n: don’t blow it, dono. it’s a big game for you guys. 

it’s only a matter of time before the rink starts to really fill up. you’re minding your own business, looking down at your phone before kennedy starts to repeatedly hit your arm. “y/n, y/n, y/n, y/n!” she squeals, pointing up towards the walk way the teams normally warm up on. 

sure enough, ryder is leading his team out to start their warm ups and logan is right behind him. you watch as ryder slowly starts to scan the home section, and once his eyes land on you you watch as a smile crosses his lips. he stops dead in his tracks causing logan to run into his back, and then logan shoves ryder to get him moving. you watch their lips move, but of course you can’t hear what they’re saying, but ryder shakes his head and laughs as he begins to lead the boys in leg stretches.

“okay, that was adorable,” josie smiles over at you. “he’s got it bad, y/n. and i’m the first one to call it.”

kennedy’s mouth drops open and she leans forward to look at josie, “nu uh! i was. cool it, jose. i called the first shot.” kennedy pouts, her arms crossing over her chest. but regardless of how annoyed she is, her eyes are trained on logan and there’s a smile forming on her face. 

“y/n!” you hear the voice of the girl you expected to be here, but hoped to god she wouldn’t be. her hand rests on your shoulder and you turn around to face her. “love the sweatshirt. surprised ryder would actually let you wear it, you know, he doesn’t give his sweatshirts to just anyone. i think i would know.” 

your eyes narrow at the brunette girl, “someone’s jealous she’s never worn dono’s sweatshirt, isn’t she?” you ask keira, and besides her one of her friends has to hold back her laugh. 

“yeah, no. dono’s not exactly my speed… anymore.” keira rolls her eyes before sitting back in her seat allowing you to face forward once again. 

“just ignore her, y/n. chances are she’s lying,” kennedy mumbles next to you, low enough that keira can’t hear you. “plus, would ryder even go for a girl like her? i highly doubt it. you’re much better than her, and i don’t think i’m biased.” kennedy’s nose is turned up, a sweet smile on her face.

“thank you ken, i love you.”

“love you too, y/n/n.”

you smile at kennedy, looking down at your phone as you feel a buzz.

rydes dono: was keira giving you any trouble?

y/n: what do you mean? and you’re not supposed to be on your phone right now

rydes dono: i saw her talking to you. just let me know if she says anything to you alright? i’ll deal with her

y/n: got it. talk to you after the game, rydes. and good luck:)

rydes dono:  thank you y/n. i’ll see you after, and that sweatshirt still better be on.

you can feel the presence of your two best friends looking over both of your shoulders. “you’re delusional, y/n. i swear.” josie shakes her head, arms crossing over her chest as she stares out towards the ice where the boys were bound to come out at any moment.

“do you guys not realize how flirty ryder is? he’s like this with everyone. at this point you guys are really just getting my hopes up.”

“y/n that boy took one glance at you and he fell head over heels - should i say skates? for you.”

“kenny, you’re the one with a little bit of inside knowledge, why don’t you spill?” josie asks, leaning forward to look at the blonde. kennedy looks like a deer caught in the headlights, eyes wide and frozen in place. she had been caught. “kennedy ann. if you don’t tell us all the information you have right now i’m not buying you caribou on monday.”

kennedy’s eyes glane around, her eyes lighting up when she thinks of an excuse. “i have to go to the bathroom!” she announces rather loudly in the rink, rising from her seat. you grab the fabric of her sweatshirt and yank her back down in the seat. 

“kenny if you leave now you’ll miss logs come out for warm ups. you don’t want that, do you?” you cock your head to the side, waiting for kennedy’s reaction. she lets out a sigh, sinking into her seat, folding her arms in her chest. “that’s what i thought.”

“yeah yeah, whatever,” the blonde grumbles under her breath, eyes glued to where the boys would eventually come out for their warm ups. “but just so you know? my lips are sealed.” kennedy puts her thumb and index finger to her lips, mimicking a zipper across her lips before folding her arms across her chest once more.

“so, big sister. did our boy william give his jersey to any lucky girl tonight?” josie asks, and as if it would help, you turn around in your seat into the sea or black and red. everyone pretty much looks the same, and you suck in a breath.

“yeah, i dunno, actually. i’d assume he’d tell me, but, who really knows? will doesn’t really like giving his jerseys out, it’s a superstition type of thing i guess you could call it.” before josie could respond, because obviously kennedy wouldn’t be, you hear saylor start to cry at your feet. 

“duty calls, mama,” josie smirks as you reach down to pick up the baby. you let out a sigh, and as if the timing couldn’t be any more perfect, that’s the moment the boys run out to the ice. 

you rock the doll in your arms as you grab the set of colored keys, grabbing the blue one for food and holding it up to the doll's chest. you look up at the ice, eyes glued to the number 22 for a few seconds, but your attention then goes back to saylor who’s still crying. you then grab the yellow key for a diaper change, and just like that she stops crying. 

you place her back in the carrier, and when you look back up, ryder is skating by, eyes glued to you as he does so. “look, look, look, look!” kennedy squeals from beside you, her hands repeatedly slapping your fabric covered arms. “look at logan!” her cheeks flush pink as she watches the dirty blonde skate right behind ryder, a smile mirrored to ryder’s on her face.

“thought your lips were sealed, kennedy?” you ask smugly, and as soon as kennedy realizes she had said something she lets out a groan, her head falling back in her seat. 

“did we really think it was going to last that long, y/n/n?” josie has an amused smile on her face, clearly entertained at the fact kennedy didn’t even last a full five minutes. you shake your head, eyes scanning the ice for the number 17, and when you spot william, of course he’s glued to ryder’s hip as they sit in the neutral zone to do stretches together. 

“look at him,” you pout, pointing to where the two boys are, and it isn’t too long before logan skates up right next to them making sure to cover them in snow. 

“look at him!” kennedy mimics you, her eyes doe like as she stares at the boy she fancied for nearly two years now. ken lets out a blissed sigh, like she always did, and keeps her eyes trained on logan. but you can’t blame her, because you’re doing the exact same thing for ryder.

you watch the boys as they warmed up, going through their normal sequence of doing shooting drills, their own stick handling, and stretches. ryder ends up right in front of you behind the net with a pile of pucks, passing them out to the two lines the boys formed to do one timers. 

ryder starts to skate slowly, his eyes scanning over their side of the eyes spending a few seconds looking over his team. that doesn’t last too long, however, as ryder is looking to the right and logan comes up from the left, hitting ryder into the boards right in front of where you and the girls are sitting. the two boys laugh, both of their heads turning to look at you and kennedy. your eyes meet ryder’s and he gives you a soft smile, gloved hand raising off his stick to wave at you. you give your own shy wave to ryder before he gives you one last smile and skates away with logan behind him.

william is the next of the pack to make his appearance, a huge smile on his face as he skates past making sure to wave at the three of you. he stops besides logan and ryder, the three of them talking before william skates off to garrett.

eventually, warm ups end and both teams leave the ice so they can zam it. you watch your dad walk off the visitor’s bench and into the locker room, already knowing this game wasn’t going to end well. you hear kennedy sigh, “gosh, our boys are so cute.”

“your boy is so cute,” you correct her, earning a pout from kennedy. “what? i’m not wrong. logan’s your boy.”

“and ryder is yours whether you like that or not,” josie points out and you glare at her. “what? i’m not wrong?” she mocks you. “come on. ryder would not interact with you like that if he didn’t have some feelings towards you.”

you let out a frustrated sigh. “i’ll believe it when he tells me. and he wont.” you say, giving the brunette a pointed look before you feel your phone vibrate in your hand.

rydes dono: that picture didnt do you any justice y/n

y/n: what’s that supposed to mean? and ryder, get off your phone, i’m serious. you are not going to get in trouble because of me.

rydes dono: you look better in person than the photo. and dont worry about me

y/n:  too late i am. i’ll text will to get you off your phone

rydes dono: okay fine i’m going i’m going! bye y/n, i’ll see you after the game.

y/n:  see you ryder

“oh come on, you have that smile on your face and you’re trying to tell us you don’t like him and that he doesn’t like you? that’s bull, y/n.” josie grabs your phone out of your hand, scrolling to look at your messages, stopping at the ones from earlier again. “seriously, y/n.” with a shake of her head josie locks your phone and hands it back to you. 

“he’s telling you without telling you. he isn’t upfront with his emotions, so this is his way of saying it,” kennedy says, trying her best to get through to you. “being friends with logan has its perks, you know. i know more about ryder than you think i do.”

“guys can we please not talk about this right now? at least not when i’m here. i’ll be back, i’m just gonna go grab a drink i guess.” without another word you get up from your seat, exit your row and start up towards the stairs that lead out to the main concourse.

no part of you wants to believe ryder actually likes you. because you know in the end, chances are you’d get hurt. that’s the type of guy you thought ryder was - pure happiness in the moment but it would only be a matter of time. 

you let out a sigh walking up to the snack stand, scanning the options as if you hadn’t already memorized them and couldn’t recite them like the back of your hand. out of the corner of your eye you can see a brunette girl that can’t be any older than fourteen staring at you. you try to ignore her to the best of your ability, but you ultimately fail when you look over at her. 

“who are you?” she asks, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion as she glances to the number on the sleeve of ryder’s sweatshirt.

you give the girl a skeptical look, glancing towards the line as it slowly moves forward. “who are you?” you retort. 

“i asked you first.” 

since she glanced to the number, you figured she at least knew who ryder was seeing as that was her main focus. “i’m y/n. i’m ryder donovan’s-”

she cuts you off with a gasp, her eyes widening. “you’re y/n! ryder’s partner for that baby thing!” she exclaims, and as soon as the words leave her lips you can feel the heat on your cheeks. 

“and who are you?” 

she smiles, “clara. ryder’s little sister.”

yeah, not exactly how you planned to meet - part of - ryder’s family. 

“well it’s nice to meet you clara. i know it’s only a little project we’re doing together, but it’s still nice to meet at least one of ryder’s siblings,” you give her a smile, taking a step forward as the line moves forward once again. “do you want anything?” you ask, gesturing towards the snack stand. she’s hesitant. “come on, clara. it’s the least i can do.” 

clara lets out a sigh with a smile on her face. “i’ll make sure ryder pays you back, okay? but an icee sounds really good right now.” 

“good choice, girlfriend. that’s exactly what i was gonna get,” you smile down at the young girl. “what flavor?”

“blue raspberry please. if you like any other flavor you’re insane,” she jokes and you can’t help but let out a laugh.

you step forward since you’re ready to order, ordering you and clara both medium sized icees and handing the cashier a five dollar bill. you drop the change into the tip jar and it only takes a few seconds before you’re handed the icees and you give one to clara. 

“thank you, y/n,” she smiles gratefully at you and you nod. “you know, i’m a little shocked he gave you this.” clara gestures towards your sweatshirt and you can’t help but let out a laugh as the two of you walk through the concourse. 

“you know, that’s what everyone has been saying.” 

clara shrugs as she sips on her icee, the brims of her mouth already starting to turn a vibrant blue. “it’s the truth. ryder doesn’t let anyone wear his hockey clothes. he doesn’t even let me! and between you and me, i’m his favorite.”

“clara i like you already,” you laugh, nudging the girl in her ribs gently. “i’ll walk you to where you’re sitting okay?” 

clara nods and you do exactly as she says, waving to the small brunette that resembled ryder in an uncanny way. you walk back to your seat, not even noticing the grin on your face until kennedy pointed it out. 

“what’s got you so smiley, y/n/n? because ryder wasn’t out there.” kennedy teases. you had been gone so long they already cut the ice and the boys were out waiting for the opening face off. 

“yeah, your smile is kinda freaking me out. not gonna lie,” josie mumbles, stealing a sip of your icee. “still cannot understand how you drink blue raspberry.” 

you ignore josie’s comment, “i met ryder’s little sister. and she’s the sweetest thing ever.” you smile, eyes trained on ryder as he goes to take the opening faceoff. your two best friends both gasp and you grin. “so that happened.”

“did she know who you were?” kennedy asks as the game goes officially underway. the three of you keep your eyes on the ice, but still focused on each other. 

“that’s the thing,” you smile to yourself. “she saw the sweatshirt. so i said my name and i started to say how i was ryder’s partner, but she already knew that. so either all he did was talk about the project to his family or he actually talked about me.”

“it’s also not uncommon to know you, y/n/n. you’re will’s sister. instead of people ging up to will and saying, ‘you’re y/n’s little brother!’ you get, ‘you’re will’s older sister!’” you laugh at josie because she was absolutely 100% right. will was on pace for a sixty point season - as a freshman. in high school.

your eyes go to the number 17, watching as will skates up to hit a player on denfeld - and will isn’t the smallest either, so you watch as the boy in white falls to the ice. when he falls, it seems like all of east’s student section is on their feet cheering for will as he receives a pass from logan. you and the girls are banging on the boards, a wide smile on your face.

“that’s my baby brother!” you laugh, unable to contain your smile. you look over to the bench, seeing your dad shaking his head with a soft smile on his face. only one that you or will would be able to tell was a smile, though. because to anyone else it would look like a frown. 

logan stops quickly, dropping his pass to will who skates behind denfeld’s net and quickly banks the pass to ryder. will scrambles to get in front of the net, battling it out with one of denfeld’s defensemen as ryder takes the slapshot. will jumps to try and get out of the way of ryder’s shot, but his stick tips it right over shawn easty’s right shoulder and into the net. 

“will!” you jump up in excitement, everyone along the boards banging on the glass as ryder throws his arms around your younger brother who’s almost as tall as him on skates. 

“that’s goal number, what. twenty-five on the season?” josie asks from besides you, her eyes glistening. you turn back to face the ice, watching william go through the handshakes on the bench before the second line goes out. you look to your dad, his shoulders dropping as he lets out a sigh, hand going up to run down his face. 

“goal twenty-five of the season.” you confirm before sitting back down in your seat with a smug smile on your face. “ryder wasn’t joking when he said they were going down tonight.”

kennedy lets out a giggle, “c’mon, y/n. has that kid ever even had a bad game a day in his life? it’s ryder freaking donovan for crying out loud!”

the first period ends, you having to tend to saylor only once or twice, luckily making you miss the goal denfeld scored to tie the game up at one a piece. but there was still thirty-four minutes of hockey to play, and you had complete faith in ryder and your boys.

just like normal, you and the girls talk amongst each other and scroll through your phones. if the boys were able, you’d text will and ryder about how they both played an amazing first period. but since they wouldn’t be able to, you sit through what feels like an eternity of the girls teasing you.

the second period doesn’t exactly go as planned.

halfway through the second period, denfeld ends up scoring a goal, making them lead 2-1. ryder slams the blade of his stick on the bench out of frustration, his head shaking and you can see him yell a few colorful words before he jumps over the bench. you couldn’t blame him - the defense had been struggling that night. 

“they’ve got time, y/n. plenty of time,” josie reassures you, placing her hand on top of yours and giving you a quick smile. you nod, knowing she’s right. but every minute that goes by, the chances of the boys winning dwindle down. even with there being twenty minutes after the third period - denfeld would have most of the momentum to try and finish it off.

you just pray will doesn’t get into his own head. if he did that, he wouldn’t be able to live up to his potential and his normal game. and this was the game he really needed it, because you knew that boy wanted to show your dad in the worst way what he was capable of - and if it had to be against his own team, so what? makes even more of a statement. if there was anything one needed to know about william, it was that he loved making statements. 

when the boys come out for the third period, ryder makes his quick one lap around their side of the ice. when he he passes by you he gives you a soft smile, before once again, going to take the opening faceoff for the period. a clean win for ryder and he passes it back to logan, who then attempts a pass to ryan but it gets intercepted by a denfeld forward who then breaks away towards lukan. 

lukan is in position, shuffling along and following where cole olson was skating. but lukan isn’t enough for cole, who’s release is quicker than he originally anticipated. the puck flies over his shoulder, and at the opposite side of the rink denfeld’s student section goes wild.

“it’s over.” 

“kennedy don’t say that!” you sigh, but you can’t help think of it yourself. the boys are exhausted from rushing from each side of the ice, and you weren’t sure if they’d be able to keep up for the remaining seven minutes of the period.

coach randolph shakes his head and his hand rubs over his mouth before he calls for a time out. surprisingly enough, he doesn’t yell at his team and quickly draws out a game plan for them. when the ref blows the whistle, ryder’s line goes out for a center ice draw. 

ryder takes a quick little turn around center ice before he sets up for the face off. he loses it, denfeld’s center passing it back to a defenseman. will ends up pickpocketing him, passing the puck to logan and letting logan enter the offensive zone. he dekes the defenseman and fakes his shot to the right of the goalie, but tucks it in on the left.

“that’s my boy!” kennedy squeals, her arms wrapping around you out of excitement as she jumps up and down. “he said he was gonna score for me tonight. and he did!” 

you laugh, pulling away from the blonde. “he did,” you confirm, glancing up to the scoreboard. there were two minutes left and east was only down by one. so if they were able to pull this off, you’d go to overtime and hopefully finish the job. but anything can happen. 

“they’re gonna do this, they have to,” josie mumbles to herself seeming as if she’s trying to convince herself more than anything. you grab her hand as ricky’s line goes out, squeezing it hard.

the clock continues to tick down, the puck seeming to stay more in the neutral zone more than anything, but once the boys are able to get it into denfeld’s zone it’s like they’re trying anything and anything. but easty is able to stop and block mostly all the pucks that he faces - until ricky tucks the puck in his five hole.

“did he just score?” kennedy asks in disbelief, her eyes staying on the ice before she finally pulls them away to look at you and josie who mirrored her expression. but judging by ricky’s celly, he had most definitely scored, and the refs weren’t calling it off.

“holy shit.”

the clock ticks down until the end of regulation leaving for what would for sure be an end-of-your seat worthy overtime period. randolph of course starts out with ryder, will, and grant as their starting three. right away, denfeld is starting down towards lukan, but he makes a quick glove save allowing a quick little rest for the boys. ryder wins the faceoff, passes it to grant before grant is starting down the ice. he passes the puck to will, who goes to pass to ryder, but then will gets tripped and slides right into easty in front of you. the whistle blows, but one of denfeld’s players immediately goes to roughhouse with will.

“he didn’t do anything!” kennedy screams as if the boys could hear her through the glass. “god you’re a fucking idiot, aren’t you?”

you shake your head at kennedy, but your eyes then go to ryder who yanks the denfeld player off will. he doesn’t hesitate to cross check the kid and exchange a few words with, and for a split second you were worried ryder would actually end up fighting the kid. but he was smarter than that. 

the ref breaks the two of them up and points ryder in the direction to the penalty box. you read ryder’s lips, who lets out an, “are you fucking kidding me?” before taking his helmet off and running his hand through his hair.

yeah, it was a sight. 

“look at him,” josie sighs, and you look over at her with furrowed eyebrows.

“please, jose. back off my baby daddy.” 

kennedy and josie both let out ear piercing screeches and you shake your head with a smile at the two of them, surely not doubting the fact your cheeks were surely flaming red. you bite back your smile, your attention going to the game unfolding in front of you. a majority of the overtime period is spent in denfeld’s end, but none of the shots seem to go past easty. the time on ryder’s penalty ticks down, and you watch as the puck gets taken back into east’s zone. just as the boys kill the penalty, will gets a hold of the puck and shoots it over to ryder who sprints down the ice on the breakaway.

he’s skating right towards the net, right where you and the girls are sitting, a look of pure determination on his face. he dekes out easty, puck going over his shoulder and into the net. you jump up, a grin on your face as ryder spins around, his hand lifting off his stick to point to you. you bang on the boards as he skates over, his back hitting the boards as will and grant tackle him in a hug. 

will gives you a little wave as your student section goes crazy before the boys all go to high five the bench. then they do post game handshakes, and then you, kennedy, and josie are headed out to the lobby where you told the boys you’d meet them.

“that was crazy! did you see that move, y/n! the hands on that kid, wow, i just-”

you cut kennedy off in the middle of her excitement by placing a hand on her arm. “kenny, breathe. but yes, that was an absolute gorgeous goal. i mean come on, it’s ryder.”

“i wouldn’t expect anything less from the kid, honestly. he pulled through when he needed to,” josie shrugs her shoulders and there’s a smile on her face. “and not to mention ricky’s tying goal.”

“so all three of our boys scored tonight, i see that as a win,” you smile, and of course that’s when saylor starts to cry. you sigh, setting her down on the bench along the wall in the lobby to rock her before grabbing the keys. you fumble with them, grabbing the blue one for food, and she immediately stops crying. “and now, it’s a waiting game.”

like normal, it takes about twenty minutes until the boys slowly start to come out into the lobby to find their friends and family waiting for them. your eyes stay trained to the door, and when you see the blonde haired boy followed by your little brother, you can’t help the grin on your face.

“there’s my superstar,” you smile sheepishly at ryder, who tries to hide his smile by biting his lip.

“i’m not the superstar, willy is,” ryder shakes his head slightly with a smile, logan and ricky both following after him. ryder somewhat shocks you by wrapping his arms around your body, and in turn you wrap your arms around his neck. 

before you end up doing something stupid, you pull away from him. “yeah right, says you. you had the game winner. you don’t need to be humble about it rydes.”

ryder rolls his eyes, “i’m serious, y/n. your brother was the star of the show tonight.” he says while running a hand through his still damp hair from his shower. 

“both of you were.”

ryder shakes his head and you scowl at him, “nope, all willy. speaking of, you should probably go talk to him and your dad.”

“but rydes,” you pout, your hand fumbling with the fabric of his dress shirt. you ignore the looks you’re sure your friends are giving the both of you, and ryder smiles down at you, hand reaching to brush a strand of hair behind your ear, lingering there for a few more seconds than either of you anticipated.

“sweets, it’s okay. i have to go talk to my family. we’ll meet back here in five minutes, okay?” you still pout, but your cheeks blushing pink at the nickname. ryder’s eyes look over your shoulder where you assume his family is still waiting for him.

“five minutes tops, dono, you got that?” you ask, your pointer finger jammed right on his chest as you look up at him with the most stern look you can muster. but it’s ryder, and he looks right through that. 

ryder smiles, his hand wrapping around your wrist to set it back at your side. “okay, y/n/n.”

“okay, i’ll see you in a few.”

“yes you will, and take ken with you. i don’t need logan making googly eyes are her while trying to talk to his family.”

you glance over to kennedy and logan. kennedy is a blushing mess as she talks to logan, and being completely honest? logan doesn’t look that much better either. you smile and then turn back to ryder, “i will, she’ll want to see her superstar anyway. oh and rydes? try not to miss me too much.”

ryder pouts, “i thought i was your superstar. and don’t worry, you’re always on my mind, baby mama.”

you can feel your heart flutter in your chest. “you’re my superstar. meaning you’re only mine. but i share willy.” you say with blushing cheeks. “and don’t try to flatter me, dono.”

“you’re right, i am all yours. and it’s not flattery if it’s the truth, l/n.” 

with that, ryder sends you a wink before walking towards his family. “ken, c’mon, we’re gonna go talk to will really quickly.” you call, taking kennedy’s attention away from logan. she pouts, but you raise your eyebrows at her. 

“okay, okay! i’ll be right back, log.” she presses a quick kiss to logan’s cheek before she walks over to you. “did you see that, did you see that?” she giggles like a school girl that had her first kiss. “but y/n, you’re coming with us to old chicago by the way. ryder was gonna ask you to go.”

you smile, trying to bite your lip. “got it.” you reach your family, and just like you had suspected there’s a bit of tension. but that doesn’t mean you hesitate on throwing your arms aroun your little brother. “willy you played so good buddy.”

will laughs in your arms, wrapping his own around you. “thanks, y/n/n. it was a great game to play in.”

when the two of you pull away you allow kennedy to hug your brother while you hug your dad. “sorry daddy. you guys had your moment.” you joke with him and he gives you a half hearted smile.

“it’s okay, honey. win some you lose some. but do you have any plans after or are you gonna go home with us?” your dad asks, and you look over at kennedy hoping your parents wouldn’t see your blushing cheeks.

“oh lord,” your mother sighs, but nonetheless there’s a smile on your face. “what’s that look for?”

“jose, ken and i are gonna go out to eat i think, right ken?” you ask and kennedy nods. “of course if that’s okay with you guys.”

you mom shrugs before she looks over at your dad. “i don’t see why not. just make sure you’re home by midnight okay?”

you’re nodding right away. “okay momma. i’ll see you guys later. bye, i love yous!” you blow a kiss to your family and kennedy says her goodbyes before heading back over to the group where the boys all came back from talking to their families. logan nudges ryder and he looks up, a smile on his lips when he sees you.

“i’d like to let you know, y/n/n, you took five minutes and ten seconds.” ryder says, half smirking as he puts his phone into the back pocket of his dress pants.

you roll your eyes with a smile as you reclaim your spot right next to him. “oh shut up rydes.”

“i’m just saying.” ryder puts his hands up in defense, and you shake your head laughing at him before you look up at him with a smile. 

“but i’m here now, and that’s what matters right?”

“right.”

“that’s what i thought rydey,” you can’t even get the nickname out without blushing, and you watch as ryder’s face turns pink as he smiles.

“let’s just go get food.” he shakes his head laughing. “and i hope that’s okay with you, because we’re forcing you to come with.”

you shake your head, “it’s not force if i wanna go, is it rydes?”

ryder chuckles, his cheeks turning an even darker shade of pink. “well then why aren’t we in my car already?”

“what are you waiting for, dono? lets go.”

chapter three

[need-a-new-hobby]

the descent into hell isn’t easy

s1 ep 2

so i got 2 notes on my last post so imma keep going

did simon just compare jace to mick jagger?!? HA!

did clary just say that she thinks jocelyn is at the center of their war?!? WhAt? look, i get that this girl wants to find her mom, but assuming that the entire shadowhunter race (also they call themselves a race) is fighting over her mom is just... idek what to call it? Arrogance? Naïveté?

also did noone think to bring the body inside?

i swear alec is so done with jace and his mundanes. his entire thing is just ‘another one?’

i’m sorry, i think my eyes just rolled down the back of my skull with the whole ‘best friends’ thing. 

can i just point out that matthew daddario is just watching isabell flirt with simon with such amusement? it’s adorable.

my god, i forgot that they torture their tutor to get info on the circle. i know hodge deserves this later, but seriously, how could clace do that?

‘i hate to make you suffer like this.’ are y’all serious? she’s borderline torturing this guy for info. somehow she makes me angrier by apologising. 

also this kinda thing is so classic. ofc none of them know their own violent history. did no-one bother to find out growing up? i hate to say this but if clary’s right about one thing, it’s the insanity behind not knowing their own history.

also, this scene is one of the first that made me sorta dislike clary. rewatching it just makes me angrier.

‘what is a g. i. joe?’ them not knowing clary and simon’s pop culture references is the funniest. refer to mick jagger above

also where the hell was she planning to go? and clary’s explanation of what a g.i. joe is is kinda off. i always assumed a g. i. joe was like an all-american hero (see steve rogers)

yikes! clary stepped on mom issues. i have no empathy/sympathy for her, she needs to calm down

‘in the shadow world, no training and no plan gets you killed’ - the first sane thing i’ve heard jace say all season.

kay, jace has got to be some kinda genius to go from ‘my memory’s blank’ to ‘your memory’s been wiped’. my memory goes blank all the time. i don’t remember what i had for dinner last night.

one more implausible thing, how doesn’t she know what a warlock is? i mean she’s 18, it’s 2016, has she not heard of Harry Potter, or LOTR for that matter? she’s simon’s best friend, she has to have come across it at some point in time.

kay, first of all, we all saw dot fall through a window about maybe 10 ft high, crack her neck on a fence and fall on the pavement. how is she still alive? 

also, i know luke’s meant to be a good guy and all, but he literally just treated dot like crap considering all she’s been through. and insinuating that she can’t be trusted when he himself was a circle member is just plain discrimination. 

also, she gets it. ‘if anyone can help, it’s magnus bane’. i get it, my baby is super powerful, but please don’t get him killed. i can already sense the magnus bane sass™️

izzy’s so pretty! and her hair is flawless. but the way she says ‘he’s the ultimate protector’, i just can’t

btw, love the inclusion of the ‘izzy can’t cook’ gag from the books. but kinda implausible that she can make porridge but completely burns toast. nvm, the porridge looks nasty (sorry, iz, i still love you though, bad porridge and all)

can i just ask that if jocelyn fray’s real name is fairchild, why would searching her pseudonym come up as restricted? also, hodge very conveniently forgot to tell them that jocelyn was married to valentine or that her real name was fairchild. that’s just sloppy.

also luke’s friendship with his boss is so pleasing to watch (terrible phrasing i know) i mean so often female captains are seen as these stoic, always angry and fierce officers with terrible relationships with their underlings. it’s nice to see her joking around with a colleague. 

clary’s uncomfortability with izzy’s clothing is canon, but she’s basically wearing a camisole. it’s a lot less revealing that izzy’s regular clothes. at least there’s no slutshaming! plus she’s gonna be wearing a jacket on top, but ofc everyone’s comfort levels are different.

I’m so glad that Clary and Izzy are both so positive towards each other. I mean compared to the books, not that bad

‘do you know how to fight demons?’ to ‘i’m an internet search away.’ simon’s the best. 😍😍

i mean, who in their right mind would approve the mission? sure, they’re not teenagers, but they’re messing with Valentine, for crying out loud. besides, we all know how much the clave prioritises down and out warlocks.

‘little girl’

‘clave thing,’ someone needs to educate this selfish matchstick. first of all, she can’t expect alec to turn his back on the clave, they need the clave’s resources to keep the institute running. second of all, she doesn’t really need to go. think about it, if alec, jace and izzy can track down a shapeshifter to a nightclub, they can handle a warlock. besides, she’d just be dead weight anyway. i just hate that clary doesn’t get better than this.

haha, alec’s salt kills me. ‘well, since you have all the answers...’ 

oh, so she’s not gonna explain the vision giving gemstone lolling around her neck? fuuun

‘you were kidding about the runes on the floor killing me right?’ alec’s smile aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. i love one grumpy cat smile so much. also this is like his first smile in the 2 eps

sorry, but magnus’s face when dot grabs his arm, just like ‘bitch who do you think you are?’ 

instant priorities people. see, magnus understands the concepts of ‘risk’, ‘danger’ and ‘consequences’, unlike one matchstick i won’t name. (“I’ve been busy trying to save our people from certain death”)

hahaha, the foreshadowing -> “are you really gonna risk your life for a shadowhunter?” - this is why magnus is my fave.

okay, couple really weird things i have to point out. first off, clary sucks at running. i get that running in heels is hard, i can’t even walk in them, but i can’t believe that the entire institute doesn’t have one good pair of sneakers. second, alec is just walking in the back, that’s how slow they’re going. third, are they seriously just following clary around the club on some strange whim instead of attacking the club strategically? 

but seriously, her running though. her arms are just waggling around. seriously, guys, sneakers.

kay, clary is way too hyper right now. alec never said they were giving up, just that it wasn’t safe and they had to get back to the institute. which is absolutely true, if circle members are after dot in pandemonium, they’re probably in the vicinity

im sorry, but watching alec and izzy know exactly what jace is planning with the silent brothers and in sync just going ‘jace, no’

‘a process that can also kill you, so there’s that.’ i mean, what’s the downside?

‘your bedside manner is abysmal’ - kay, i’m still kinda pissed off rn so that’s probably coming across here, but dude, you are both adults and she needs to know the risks involved. how tf was he supposed to say that...not abysmally? sorry, im a big alec defender. i think its an older sibling thing.

wait, 18 rules? damn, jace has to have like a record or something. i reckon 18′s probably exaggerating. i’d guess at 10, maybe 12.

hold up, he’s asking clary to decide whether she should get her memories wrenched out of her by the silent brothers w/o knowing the risks involved? not a sound decision.

why is she so fucking smug towards alec? it’s kinda hard to see at first, you have to replay it a couple times. maybe it’s just me cuz im writing this late at night but her attitude towards alec really gets under my skin.

also, i think satan is on simon’s van. that’s not at all disconcerting

also, why is this all happening at night? and wasn’t isabelle making breakfast before? 

‘are you kidding? i was born afraid.’ first of all, mood. second of all, proof why simon is my child.

tbh, i really wanted to see a better brotherhood between jace and alec. like, it is still better than in the books, where jace practically ignores alec’s existence until he gets injured by Abaddon. (a moment i wish was in the tv show, but too complicated, i understand.) but i think in this scene, where they discuss the steps they’re taking, you kind of see the chemistry between them. well, not really chemistry, maybe more just their relationship. 

first off, alec tries explaining to jace that even though clary’s made the decision, they’re responsible for her wellbeing, something that isn’t in the book. i really appreciate this bit, primarily because you see why alec is so fussy about missions. as the season progresses, you see the kind of pressures that are on him, something that makes me hate clary all the more

second, jace counters this by giving him the bigger picture. this is a step they need to take to find valentine. i think that’s something the books don’t give you either. you kinda start seeing that without jace, alec gets stuck on the minor details i.e. rules, stipulations etc. and without alec, jace wouldn’t be able to calculate the risks of each decision, which i think is key to understanding them as parabatai.

third, alec’s soft little ‘you were never a stray’ tugs at my heartstrings every time. jace really is family to them, a brother for them and i love that he sort of forces that down; that despite their last names, despite their bloodlines, they will always be brothers, a sentiment i absolutely adore

haha, jace c*ckblocking simon since 2016

i’m still not over the notion that valentine is holed up in chernobyl, of all places. i am really glad though that they didn’t follow the trope of the US being like the only country in the world, or New York being the only city on the planet.

did i mention how confused i am that dot is still alive?

yeah, did not miss jace’s arrogance

‘kay despite the fact that i hate everything about her, i have to commend clary on how much she loves her mom. i mean, i know a lot of people who wouldn’t do the same. and despite the fact that jocelyn lied to her for 12 years (based on what she tells magnus later on) she’s still willing to do whatever it takes.

‘you’re clary freaking fray, you can do anything.’ cue alec eye-rolling in the back. look, it’s not that i have anything against simon and clary being vocal about their bff status, it’s just that a) i would never talk to my best friend like that and b) it is thoroughly making me cringe

kay, i’ve rewatched this scene a dozen times and here’s what i noticed

‘i have seen every horror movie ever and the funny best friend who gets left behind...dead man’

cue isabelle laughing

jace: you’re not that funny

alec is just so done with these f*cking mundanes. “the rune energy will kill any mundane that dares to enter, so please.” motions for the mundie to keep going. 

kay, before i keep going, i’ve noticed this post is going on for a bit, and re-reading, i feel like i have to clarify why i dislike jace’s arrogance but not alec’s. i think it’s mainly because jace’s arrogance stems from a need to be superior to others, which is common with victims of child abuse, or so i’ve read. knowing this makes it a little harder to hate him, but this kind of behaviour, while is justifiable, often leads to them tearing down another person’s self-worth, which you can kind of see in the books. alec’s arrogance mainly stems from being exhausted from dealing with other people’s bullshit, which i can’t really dislike. i’m an older sibling myself, so i kinda know what he goes through dealing with siblings and such. you’ll see with the next point.

‘talk about sacrifice, i’m missing a financial analysis class.’ first off, what kind of class starts in the middle of the night? second, i’d rather be in the city of bones than in financial analysis. third, i feel alec’s exasperation.

‘yeah, i can’t be around this, so imma mind the perimeter.’ *gestures to simon’s entire body*

i dunno why clary’s hugging simon like that, it’s not like he’s the one going down there. i’m gonna move on before i overanalyse and come up with more ways why i don’t like clary

izzy keeps making simon uneasy and I LIVE FOR THESE MOMENTS

aight, imma keep it honest, i skipped the whole city of bones/clace section the first time cuz they’re so boring. but it’s pretty much just jace making stupid jokes and clary being kinda whiny.

‘looking better in black than the widows of our enemies.’ a line that lives rent-free in my head.

also, he keeps saying she’s a shadowhunter now, but she hasn’t done much shadowhunting. she doesn’t even know what the clave is

aand now they’re holding hands. great. very professional y’all.

silent brothers. looking creepy since the dawn of nephilim. but for my book stans, where’s brother smackariah?

imma be honest, i feel bad for the silent brothers. i mean, they’ve devoted themselves completely to the shadowhunter profession, mutilated themselves for the attainment of knowledge, and yet, the first thing that comes to mind is fear instead of admiration. yikers.

“if you are not strong enough, the soul sword will kill you.” this show needs to stop getting my hopes up

“it literally never stops talking.” i love alec with all my heart.

i know i shouldn’t but it’s so funny that they keep referring to simon as ‘it’

“my father is valentine.” cue matchstick running. 

alec is the only sane person on this team. how is he the only one that doubts clary’s loyalty? i mean, i’ll admit he could have phrased it better, but book!Alec is canon for being straightforward so i’m shrugging it off. jace should’ve been a leetle understanding and for once, i think clary’s reaction towards alec was justified. finding out she’d valentine’s daughter, and then being accused of espionage isn’t a fortunate series of events. but alec is correct in his own right. as head of the institute, he needs to make sure. again, he’s always mindful of the consequences behind his actions. even when simon is kidnapped, he doesn’t act rashly, even though no-one would blame him for sticking an arrow through Raphael for kidnapping Simon. (don’t get me wrong, i love raphael.) but he doesn’t, keeping the accords in mind. they’d all be screwed if they broke the law, and alec would be held responsible.

that’s all folks. tune in tomorrow for episode 3

[seokjinsdisciple]

Switched

jinyoung x reader

when you switch places with your twin sister to teach English in South Korea. You quickly find you’re worse at the job than you think. Luckily, kindergarten teacher Jinyoung helps you navigate the waters of teaching and help your class pass their end of the year exams. 

requested, unedited

warnings: oh boy where do i even begin, sub jinyoung, baby boy and mommy used excessively (im not sorry), overstimulation (sort of), nipple play, jinyoung is just really subby and cute ok, let me know if im missing anything bc this is a mess

word count: 3.1 k 

There was a certain way that your twin sister had about her that made it impossible to say no. She had used this against you her entire life, and it hadn’t stopped as you grew out of teenagers and became adults. In fact, her requests got more and more demanding. Which is how you found yourself on a 15-hour flight to South Korea. 

It was a simple switch really, she had gotten pregnant and wanted you to fill in for her. She had spent about half of the year teaching English to 6th graders and couldn’t leave for half of the year. You were pretty positive that she had just told you that so she wouldn’t have to pay rent on the year-long lease she had signed, but honestly, you were kinda excited. Not about the kids, you had no idea what to do with them, but more so about living in a different country kinda thing. 

The flight was long, and you spent the whole time watching movies, unable to sleep. So, admittedly you were exhausted when you stood in front of your new apartment. You made your way inside, and you had to be honest, the apartment was way nicer than your home back in the States. It was nowhere near as big, but it was filled with nicer, comfier furniture and a giant bed that you couldn’t resist. 

You awoke with a start, rubbing your eyes and groaning. You had no time to waste since your first day in the classroom was supposed to be today. You hadn’t made any plans for your students, but you didn’t have enough time to make one. Scurrying around the apartment you pulled together a business casual outfit, grabbing a piece of toast from the toaster and hurrying out of the apartment with only one shoe on. The other shoe balanced delicately in your hands with a cup of coffee, and your toast. 

By the time you made it into the school, You were more put together. You were still extremely nervous about meeting the students and you were praying that they would be nice to you. You weren’t too fond of kids, and, unlike your sister, you were terrible at interacting with them.

Your thoughts of the day were taking over, and as you desperately searched for your sister's classroom, you bumped into a broad chest. 

“Hey, you ok y/s/n?” A handsome man asked, his sweater showing off his broad shoulders. You had no idea who this guy was, but damn your sister for failing to mention that someone so handsome existed. You smiled at him, your cheeks heating up as you stared, looking for some sort of name tag. You couldn’t find one.

“I’m ok, just kinda lost for some reason,” you laughed, “My brain hasn’t started yet, I guess.”

“Ah, well maybe I can point you in the right direction?” The man said, looking at you quizzically, you were clearly failing at convincing him you were actually your sister. If he had any questions, though, he didn’t ask them. Instead leading you down a winding hallway and into a classroom. 

“Ah, it’s good to be back,” you smiled, praying that he wouldn’t be too suspicious, “Thanks for your help!”

The man just took one glance behind him, before deciding to just close the door of the classroom. 

“So you’re the twin, right?”

“Uh, I don’t know what you mean…” You tried, glancing at the desk and seeing the picture of you and your sister. She could be a real idiot sometimes. The man just raised an eyebrow at you, glancing at the picture on the desk and then back at you. 

“Listen, I know you aren’t y/s/n,” he stated, “she’s never this nice to me. Plus, what kind of teacher forgets where their classroom is?”

You let out a nervous chuckle at his accusation, it was only the first day and you had already been found out. 

“Don’t worry,” he added, “I’m not gonna tell anyone. My name’s Jinyoung. It's nice to meet you…”

“YN,” you said, taking his outstretched hand and shaking it, “I really don’t want to get my sister in trouble, so it would be really great if you kept it a secret.”

“Like I said, I am not gonna tell anyone,” he smiled, “but you are going to need to learn everyone else's names if you are going to try and pull this off.”

That was how you found yourself studying the school’s website, trying to memorize faces and names, with Jinyoung’s tips about their respective personalities. One thing you learned was that your sister wasn’t liked here, probably another reason she hadn’t wanted to tell you who she was working with. You got to talking with Jinyoung and learned that he was a kindergarten teacher. You and Jinyoung talked through your planning period, at least that’s what he called it, and when you told him you had no clue what you were doing, he suggested putting on a movie, an English movie of course. 

You stared at the list of names on your roster, Jinyoung laughing at your pathetic attempts to pronounce their names. He had to write out the pronunciation just so you could get it somewhat recognizable.  As you called the students of your class up during the first period, you had them write an English name that you could call them by. It was just easier and the kids seemed to be relieved that you weren’t going to butcher their names, although you did feel kinda bad about not calling them by their names. You explained to them that you'd be spending this semester watching and dissecting movies before putting one on. 

As time passed, this became your teaching method, watch a movie with the kids, and go over any questions about words that they had after the movie. You weren’t really sure if this was an effective way to teach English, but you didn’t have any better ideas. Jinyoung had become your only friend, as the rest of your school hated your sister, it just made sense. Especially because he knew about your little secret. It had become apparent that the two of you were attracted to each other. Both your students and he had started asking if the two of you were dating. You, of course, denied it, because he was just your friend. No matter how handsome he was. You shook thoughts of Jinyoung out of your head as you started to clean up the pizza party you had to help calm down the kids. You had never met kids who were as stressed out like these ones. Plus their exams were in a few days, and they needed a little break. 

You let out a quiet curse word as a cough rang out from behind you. 

“Any pizza left for me?” Jinyoung asked, his presence beside you sending you into the same thought process that you had been in before. You cleared your throat, reaching for a plate to hand to him. 

“The leftovers are all yours,” you smiled, chuckling at his over-exaggerated hand heart that he sent your way. 

“I was wondering if you wanted to get a drink tonight?” Jinyoung asked, a mouthful of pizza making his words hard to understand. 

“What?” You laughed, “Chew your food first you monster.”

He just laughed with you, covering his mouth as he chewed, “Sorry, I was wondering if maybe you would want to get a drink with me tonight?”

“Ms. Y/L/N, you have to go with him!” One of your students whined, apparently he had forgotten his coat for recess. Jinyoung just grinned at you, and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes. 

“Stay out of it,” you warned, shooing the boy back to recess. Your focused honed in, ignoring a grinning Jinyoung and busying yourself with tidying the plates and napkins. 

“You should listen to him,” Jinyoung sang, heat flaming your cheeks as you looked at him. 

“I’ll get drinks with you, but only if you SWEAR not to tell your kindergarteners, deal?”

At this, Jinyoung just chuckled, “It’s a deal, I’ll pick you up outside of your room at promptly at 4:30.”

It was your turn to laugh, the banter that the two of you often shared making a warm fuzz to fill your tummy. The fuzz that was normally only achieved through alcohol. You ignored the periods after lunch, your thoughts filling with Jinyoung. To be fair, most of the conversations your students were having were about you and Jinyoung too. The word of the date spreading quickly through the 6th grade, and you were assuming through the rest of the school. 

Your nerves didn’t pick up until your students were dismissed. Frankly, you couldn’t stand the thought of grading worksheets when you knew what was in store for you later. You needed some time to relieve some stress, and you had a feeling that Jinyoung would help provide that for you. 

Jinyoung was at the door of your classroom right when he said he would be, and his over the top bow made you chuckle as you collected your things. You weren’t sure exactly where you were going, but you knew Jinyoung would take you somewhere nice. He did. 

When you walked into the Korean Barbeque restaurant, the smell of cooking meat filled your nose, and the sound of it sizzling on the grill had your heart beating faster. You hadn’t realized how hungry you are until you sat down and heard your stomach grumble. 

“You should really take care of that,” Jinyoung laughed, lazily perusing the menu. 

“Well then, order me some food,” you smiled, taking your hair down from the bun it was in. When you look back at Jinyoung, his eyes were darker, and if you could’ve seen his crotch, you were certain there would be a noticeable bulge. 

“Excited for the food?” you asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

“I’m thinking about dessert,” he smirked, his tongue wetting his lips. 

This flirty banter continued all throughout dinner, your arousal growing by the time the both of you had finished your 3rd soju bottle. 

Jinyoung’s cheeks were flushed red and you couldn’t help but smile at his drunken ramblings. When he paid for the dinner and stood up, he wobbled a little bit.

“Woah, there,” you laughed, watching his ears burn red as he steadied himself. 

You walked together out of the door, his balance much better than it had been when he stood up. 

“Listen, I’m not that drunk, just feeling a little fuzzy,” he said, his already red cheeks flushing even more. 

“It’s ok Jinyoung, I’m feeling fuzzy too.”

You walked in silence for a moment, but you could feel Jinyoung’s eyes burning a hole into the side of your face. When you turned to look at him, he had a goofy grin on his face, and you couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“I like making you laugh,” he whispered, grabbing your hand and interlocking it with his own. His hands were cold, but they warmed you up from the inside out. His thumb rubbing gently over your hand as you walked. He had your heart beating out of your chest, and by the time you made it to your front door, his body was pressed flush against you. His arms wrapped around your waist, and you both waddled into your apartment, Jinyoung refusing to let you go. When his face landed in the crook of your neck, your stomach flipped. 

“Your hair smells good,” he sighed, his soft tone making you close your eyes and rest your head on his shoulder. You stood like that for a while, peaceful silence almost causing you to fall asleep. When Jinyoung started tonguing at your neck, you couldn’t help but let out a low whine. His actions sped up, and when you were desperate enough, you pulled him along behind you to your bedroom. Your lips found his, softly pressing against each other. His hands roamed your shirt, squeezing your boobs he deepened the kiss. When you pulled away, you both threw your shirts off, his hand reaching around to undo your bra. That’s when you first noticed it. 

One hand became two hands trying to remove the garment, and then with two hands came a pout. You held back a smile as you reached behind yourself and unclasped the bra in one go. His pout just deepened, and ears so red they could probably be seen from miles away. 

“Jinyoung,” you whispered, placing a chaste kiss on his lips as you pushed him gently down on the bed, “are you a virgin?”

Jinyoung’s hands found your waist, and as he pulled you onto his lap, he buried his head into your chest. You ran your fingers through his hair as he gently shook his head no. 

“I’m just inexperienced,” he whispered, his head refusing to come out from your chest. You continued to massage his head, a whine leaving his throat as you helped him relax. When he started to nuzzle into your boobs, you weren’t expecting him to lick your nipple, and then take it into his mouth to harden it. He repeated his actions on the other side, your breaths hitching every so often as he sucked and bit. When he finally looked up and met your eyes, you almost squealed at how cute he was. His nose and cheeks were flushed a deep red, and his eyes were watery.

“Oh, baby boy,” you whispered as his pout deepened a low whine leaving his lips at the nickname, “What’s wrong?”

“-m ard,” he mumbled, hiding into your chest again. You just cooed at him, running your hands through his hair again. 

“But baby, I have barely even touched you,” you said, “Do you want me to help you?”

You just tsked when Jinyoung nodded into your chest, speaking a little louder than before, “Use your words, baby boy.”

Jinyoung looked up at you, his lip trembling at your harsh tone. You caressed his cheek to soothe him, and that's when he said, “will you- will you please touch me?”

That was it, you were done for. You normally considered yourself to be a more sub leaning switch, but boy was this subby little baby making you go crazy. You pressed your lips onto him, reaching your hand down and pressing on his bulge. Jinyoung almost didn’t let go of you as you climbed off of his lap, but one glance at him had him looking down and loosening his arms from around your waist. 

When you undid the button of his pants and allowed you to pull them down his legs you praised him. His pretty cock bobbing at your words. 

“Do you like being complimented baby boy?”

Jinyoung nodded again, letting out a whimper as you slapped the inside of his thigh, “Yes, I do mommy.”

If you thought you were a goner before, you didn’t know what to think now. It was clear Jinyoung was going deeper into subspace, and holy shit you didn’t know how much you liked being called mommy. 

“You’re such a good little boy, Jinyoungie,” you smiled, pressing a kiss to the tip of his cock, “and you have such a pretty cock.”

His whines at your teasing only intensified as you complimented him, “Look how big it is, baby,” you smirked, wrapping a hand around his cock and tugging once,” but you don’t even know what to do with a cock like this, do you baby?”

“N-, no mommy,” he hiccupped as you sank your mouth all the way down his length. 

“It’s ok, love,” you smiled up at him, “Mommy will take care of you.”

His sniffles were just so cute, you couldn’t stand to tease him anymore. You slipped your skirt off, placing both of your hands on Jinyoung’s cheeks. 

“Are you sure about this?” you asked, running your thumbs gently over his cheeks as he nodded, “Words, Jinyoung.”

“Yeah, god yeah, please,” he whined, gulping as you straddled him, sinking down until you had all of his length inside of you. 

“You tell me if you wanna stop, ok baby?”

“Yes,” Jinyoung whined, letting out a broken moan as you began to ride him. His fingers gripped your hips, pretty moan after pretty moan leaving his mouth as you chased your high. You were worked up, he had worked you up. He was just so good, and once you set eyes on his cock you knew you wanted to feel him in you. Now, you could maneuver yourself so that he was hitting you in all of the right places. And your sweet little love was so so close, you could tell. His hips were almost running from you, sinking as far as he could into the bed to try to take some of the pleasure away. His moans gave him away as he clung to you. 

“Mo-mommy, need to, need to come,” he whimpered, tears pricking his eyes at your silence. You kissed his nose and picked up your pace.

“You can come, little love,” you moaned, your heat clenching around him. He muttered a string of thank-yous, as you felt his cock twitching inside of you. You just kissed him, not wanting to hear his overstimulated moans as you kept riding him. But his mouth broke away, scrunched face as he moaned. 

“M, mommy,” he whined, face still red and scrunched. You tried to calm him, slowing your hips to try to relieve some of the overstimulation, but that's when you felt it. His cock twitching in you again. You let out a groan and came with him. Your eyes rolling back into your head as you clenched around him. You relaxed around him, your hands finding his cheeks as you took a deep breath. You quickly looked up when you felt the wetness on his cheeks. 

“What’s wrong love?”

“I was bad,” he sniffed, “Youngie came without permission.”

“You weren’t bad baby,” You smiled, pressing several kisses all over his face until he laughed, “you were the best boy.”

You let him pull you down across the bed, snuggling into your side and nuzzling into your neck. You fell asleep, and so did he soon after, both of you worn out.

You and Jinyoung spent the entire weekend together, laughing, making out and growing his experience. When you arrived at school on Monday, you were glowing. Your kids begged you to tell them if you went on that date, but you refused. At least until it was time for them to start their exam. In fact, you promised to tell them what happened (minus some details of course) if, and only if, they passed their exams. 

Not a single person in your class failed.

[sparklingskz]

shoot your shot | hwang hyunjin

▸ genre: fluff, basketball player! hyunjin

▸ description: the evolution from being on your phone during basketball games to staring at a certain hwang hyunjin.

▸ word count: 3.9k

▸ warnings: swearing

▸ a/n: i had to include bandana hyunjin in there somewhere im sorry lmao also this was proofread at 1am so I apologize for any mistakes >.<

“COME ON!! SHOOT IT, MINHO!!”

Jisung’s shouting instantly made you look up from your phone, pausing the pretty interesting game of Angry Birds you had going on. A second later, you saw how the ball was thrown in the direction of the hoop, and it circled the rim a few times before it finally went in. The referee blew his whistle right before loud cheers filled the auditorium, Jisung still screaming for Minho.

The game resumed its normal course, and you went back to your phone. That didn’t last long, though.

“Are you really going to stay on your phone the whole game?” Jisung asked, plopping down on the bleachers right beside you.

“Hey! I look up when they score,” you tried to defend yourself.

“Yeah, but you’re missing all the action.”

You rolled your eyes. “You just continue cheering for your boyfriend, I’m fine over here.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Jisung mumbled, avoiding your gaze.

“Sure,” you smiled and went back to your phone.

Well, it was true that you weren’t really paying attention to the game that was happening in front of you. However, you were actually there, sitting in the bleachers, and that probably counted as school spirit, right? Right. 

In all honesty, attending the games wasn’t the worst thing ever. Yes, you weren’t really invested in your school team, but with Jisung cheering right beside you it sometimes made you want to cheer for them too. They were known faces in the halls, almost everyone wanting to talk to them and admirers seeking for some kind of interaction.

How Jisung was able to catch Lee Minho’s attention will forever remain a mystery, though. What you knew is that they were on speaking terms, and according to your best friend that didn’t happen to just anyone. They were the popular guys, but they weren’t assholes. Thankfully.

Back to the gym, after some time the game ended, your school’s team scoring another victory for their bag. After everything was wrapped up, everyone started to exit the place, chatting animatedly about the game they had just witnessed. You saw how Jisung had his eyes fixed on Minho, who was drinking water along with the rest of his team.

“Are you going to go and say hi?” you asked, hitting his arm playfully.

“Wouldn’t that be too much?” He eyed him with a hint of nervousness in his gaze.

“Nah, you should go for it. I’m going home though, so good luck!” You quickly pushed him (softly, of course) in Minho’s direction and started heading to the exit, not before a low “asshole” was heard coming out from your best friend’s mouth.

-

So, remember how you said you didn’t really know any of your school’s basketball team members? That changed the day right after the game you attended.

You were making your way through the school halls towards your locker, text books in hand and backpack secured over your shoulder. Everything went to shit when you felt your phone ringing in your pocket, and you had to start maneuvering very carefully as to not drop your books and to manage to get your phone out.

You knew you had failed when, all of a sudden, you clashed with another body and you both almost fell down to the floor together, but managed to stay with both feet on the ground. Sadly, your books weren’t so lucky.

As you were about to lean down to pick them up, the other person beat you to it, handing them back to you in a swift motion. 

“I’m so sorry, I was totally not watching where I was going,” the boy said, straightening up. That’s when you noticed he was one of the guys from the basketball team, as you remember seeing him in the court.

“No worries, it was my fault too,” you said, throwing him a small smile.

He reciprocated your smile, and you noticed how his eyes crinkled when he did. “I’m Hwang Hyunjin, and you?” he asked.

Oh, that’s a name you had definitely heard of. Main player of the team, most popular, best grades, good looking… You get the gist.

“I’m y/n,” you responded. “What had you in such a rush?”

“I wanted to find our coach before class to ask him about our next practice.” He shrugged. “Do you go to the basketball games?”

“Most of them, yeah.” He didn’t have to know you spent basically all of the time on your phone, though.

“How come I haven’t seen you, then? I feel like I know our crowd pretty well.” He tilted his head in curiosity.

“Uh, I don’t look up much, I guess.”

Hyunjin chuckled. “Well, I’m going to search for you during our next game, so you better be there and cheering.”

“Is that a threat?” you asked, your voice adopting a playful tone.

“Guess you’ll have to find out.” He shrugged, right as the bell rang to signal the start of the school day. “I need to run to class, so see you later!”

“See you!” you said as he turned around and started walking in what presumably was the direction of his classroom.

You were about to head to your locker to quickly put your books away when a very agitated Han Jisung appeared next to you.

“Were you just talking to Hwang Hyunjin?” he inquired.

“Uh, yes?”

“Holy shit, how did you do it? He’s like, the coolest guy on the team,” he said excitedly. “After Minho, of course,” he added as an afterthought, and you laughed.

“We ran into each other and it made me drop my books. He just asked for my name, nothing very special.” You shrugged.

“Of course it’s special, it was Hwang Hyunjin,” he said in a “duh” tone.

“Stop exaggerating and let’s go to class.” You quickly closed your locker and started walking in the direction of your classroom, thought about a certain boy flooding your head.

-

During the next basketball game, you could definitely say you were paying attention now. Rather than your focus being completely on the game, though, your eyes seemed to be following only one player.

Hwang Hyunjin, of course.

He was quick on his feet, passing the ball amongst his team with skill probably only acquired through long hours of practice. You could tell he was pretty good, scoring almost all the times he threw the ball to the opposite team’s hoop.

(Also, he was wearing a bandana, which made him look disgustingly good. But that’s just an extra fact.)

All the staring could come off as stalkerish, so you tried diverting your attention from the boy every once in a while. This resulted in you finding out that basketball was actually kind of fun to watch, so you quickly joined in on the cheering for your school’s team (not being as loud as Jisung, though).

Suddenly half time rolled around, and the team gathered in the sidelines of the court to drink some water and speak amongst themselves. That’s was the moment you saw Hyunjin scanning the crowd, and when his gaze landed on you he broke out in a smile and nodded his head at you. Ignoring your kind-of-fast heartbeat, you waved and smiled back in his direction, right before he turned his attention back to his friends.

The game resumed, and you could say that Hyunjin’s gaze met yours a few more times after he noticed your presence. Right after scoring, his eyes would quickly meet yours in the crowd and a small smile would adorn his lips when he found you cheering for his team. You didn’t know why he was suddenly… interested? in you, but the easiest thing to do was to blame the text books incident.

With the blow of a whistle the game came to an end, your school’s team getting the win, of course. Like last time, chatter filled the gym as everyone was leaving, but Jisung again had his eyes fixed on the sidelines, or, more specifically, on Minho.

“I’m going over there, so I’ll talk to you later?” He asked, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to make it look good.

You looked over to see where Minho was standing, and spotted Hyunjin right next to him, chugging a bottle of water, hair pushed back.

“I’ll go with you,” you said, earning a surprised look from Jisung. Then, he glanced over in the direction you were looking and a knowing smile took over his lips.

“Oh, that’s why,” he muttered, nodding towards Hyunjin.

“Shut up.” You didn’t say anything more, and the both of you started heading towards the boys. Once there, you were regretting the decision just a little bit.

(The bandana looked better up close.)

Thankfully, Jisung engaged in conversation first. “Good game guys! You played really well.”

“Thank you Jisungie, glad to see you cheering.” Minho smiled widely towards the boy, and you noted the nickname he used. You would have to tease Jisung about it later. Then, the both of them started talking between themselves, leaving you and Hyunjin in a somewhat awkward silence. You turned to glance at him, and he spoke first.

“So you came, huh?” he said, smiling.

“I told you, I always come to the games.”

“But this time I actually noticed you were here, so it’s completely different.”

“Oh? How so?” You tilted your head, trying to tease him a little.

He seemed to think for a moment, but didn’t arrive to any conclusion. “Just is.” He shrugged.

“Bet you say that to everyone,” you said in a playful manner.

“Hey! Don’t make me sound like a player, I’m not.” He pouted. “I hardly talk to people outside of the team.”

He’s talking to you, though, your brain helpfully provided, before you promptly shut it up.

You didn’t have a chance to respond, as he changed the topic. “Well, how was the game?”

“It was pretty fun to watch, to be honest. Everyone on the team is really good, I can’t imagine how hard you guys practice." 

"How about you see for yourself? You should swing by sometime; we practice every day after class.”

Oh? You weren’t expecting him to just casually invite you to watch him practice. Did it mean anything? Was it because he wanted you there? Did he think you were just interested in the sport? Were you overthinking this? Most probably.

“Oh, I’ll try to see if I can make it one of these days,” you replied.

That’s when Minho suddenly irrupted in your conversation. “Was that an invitation to our practice I just heard?” He raised his eyebrows in Hyunjin’s direction, directing him a sly smile.

“Maybe,” Hyunjin responded, and you noted how his cheeks turned a bit pink.

“Oh! Would love to see you there, y/n,” Minho said in an overly sweet tone, directing an even more overly sweet smile towards you. You could bet it was just to tease Hyunjin.

You were a bit unsure but still smiled in return, turning to shoot a look at Jisung that basically said “hey I think it’s time we leave now”.

Jisung thankfully got the message, and quickly spoke. “Well, we have to get going now,” he said with a pout, which Minho also returned. “We’ll catch up with you guys later, or in practice like some other people.” He directed a pointed look at you.

You rolled your eyes at your best friend, then quickly exchanged your goodbyes with the boys so you could leave the gym, going up the stairs towards the doors.

“I hate you,” you hushedly told Jisung.

“You love me,” was the only thing he retaliated.

-

Turns out now you had an invitation to watch the team’s basketball practice, and you were really unsure as if you should use it or not. Wouldn’t it be weird?

Well, other people watched practice all the time. Mostly admirers of the boys, to be completely honest. Because of this, you being there shouldn’t be that weird, right? Right?

Between all these thoughts and words of encouragement from Jisung (Hwang Hyunjin invited you to his damn practice and you’re gonna waste the opportunity?? you realize he’s going to be sweaty and hot???) you ultimately decided to give it a try and go. But you weren’t going to watch the whole thing; you would go and watch, like, the last fifteen minutes. That would be enough.

And thank God you decided that, because when you entered the gym and settled on a seat towards the back, the moment you spotted Hyunjin with his messy hair, throwing the ball around with his teammates,  you knew it was better that you weren’t there for the whole duration of the practice. You weren’t sure you would’ve survived, in all honesty.

The same way it had happened during the actual game, Hyunjin looked over to the bleaches and his gaze met yours, and he smiled and threw a small wave at you. You waved back, a bit of shyness taking over you as the rest of the people watching glanced in your direction, probably thinking “who did Hwang Hyunjin just wave to”.

You spent the rest of practice just watching in silence, your eyes following Hyunjin’s movements most of the time. They were organizing and trying out some plays and strategies for their next game, and you could definitely tell that they all had pretty amazing skills. Especially Hyunjin, who didn’t own the title of captain for nothing; he was one of the fastest players out there, leading his team to victory with very well timed passes and shots to the hoop. Plus, his concentrated face when talking to the rest was attractive, you weren’t going to lie.

Some time later practice was called to an end, and you watched as Hyunjin said goodbye to his friends before looking over at you. He motioned for you to come down to the court with him, and you did exactly so, ignoring the way your heart sped up a little when you finally arrived next to him.

“Hey! I’m happy you made it,” he said with a smile.

“Yeah, I had some free time after finishing an assignment and decided to swing by. Nice practice, by the way.”

“Oh, thank you. Wanna sit?” He pointed to the benches right next to you.

With a nod of your head you both sat down, Hyunjin putting down the basketball ball he was holding previously on the floor. You immediately fell into an easy conversation, chatting about school, your interests, and anything, really. You discovered Hyunjin was a very easy person to talk to, as he always seemed to have the right thing to say, and he listened attentively when it was your turn to talk.

After a while, everyone had already left the gym, but you didn’t really feel like leaving yet. That’s when Hyunjin pointed to the ball resting at his feet and asked, “Have you ever played basketball?”

“Never have touched one of those in my life, if I’m being honest with you,” you quickly admitted.

With that, Hyunjin stood up. “Well, you’re going to do it now. Come on, up.” He motioned for you to stand up and started walking towards one of the hoops.

You rose from your seat and followed him, a feeling close to dread filling your every step. You weren’t really in a position to feel confident in your basketball abilities when Hyunjin, also known the best player out there, was present and paying complete attention to you.

He started to show you how to dribble the ball, which, fair enough, wasn’t so difficult. Then, you just started moving around passing the ball between you two, which caused it to escape from your hands a couple of times. After a few tries, though, the movements and the ball started to feel more familiar and less awkward. Finally, it was time to try shooting it to the hoop.

Firstly, Hyunjin demonstrated how to do it, explaining how your hands should go, how much strength to use, and how to throw the ball. You probably missed around half of the explanation, but it was totally not because of the fact that you were staring at him instead of listening. Definitely not.

Then it was your turn, and you tried copying what Hyunjin had done, and threw the ball. It lacked a bit of direction and you probably used too much strength, as it landed right behind where it was supposed to go. 

Hyunjin quickly let out a “don’t worry, we’ll try again.” He went to get the ball, and returned to his position next to you.

“Look,” he said, and handed you the ball, moving so he was standing right behind you. “Your hands go here.” He put his hands over yours and raised them so the ball was hovering in front of you, and adjusted your hold of it so your hands could be in the right position (mind you, they were still under his.) “Bend your knees a little, and then… shoot!” He impulsed the ball with his hands along with you, the both of you throwing it towards the hoop with a swift motion.

And it went in.

“There you go!” Hyunjin exclaimed, and you turned around to celebrate with him, when you noticed his hands were kind of still holding yours and you were pretty close to his face.

Time seemed to stop as you started into Hyunjin’s eyes, and he stared right back, still holding you. You noticed him shooting a quick glance to your lips, and you felt your heart skip a beat.

“Y/n… Can I-” he started saying.

In that very moment, you heard the gym doors open with a loud noise, and the both of you quickly moved away from each other as if you were struck by electricity, looking over to the now opened doors. There stood Minho, his eyes comically open and his mouth forming an “o” shape.

“Uhm, I left my phone here, let me just-” he said as he very quickly ran down the gym stairs, grabbed his phone and went back up, you and Hyunjin following his every movement with your eyes as neither of you wanted to look at each other. When Minho closed the doors behind him, you seemed to snap out of it.

Before Hyunjin could say anything, you quickly blurted an “I need to go.” You made a beeline for the stairs, grabbing your things in the process and ignoring Hyunjin calling your name as you exited the gym.

-

What would any sensible human being do after almost kissing their crush and getting ultimately embarrassed in the process?

Avoid them, of course.

Some progress was made, though: after staying up that night overthinking every little interaction with the boy, you arrived to the conclusion that maybe you did have a crush on him. It developed really quickly, the few times you had talked being enough for your feelings to grow. You still needed to get to know him better, but that could be arranged.

(Not when you’re avoiding him, your brain helpfully provided.)

Jisung had a very strong opinion on the topic, assuring you that Hyunjin returned your feelings and that you shouldn’t be turning in the other direction every time he appeared around a corner. He also promised to scold Minho for interrupting your “moment” in the gym (he was actually mad at him, which made you laugh), as who knew what would’ve happened if he didn’t come in at that precise instant. 

Even with Jisung’s constant pestering, you weren’t really confident in facing Hyunjin again. Yes, he was the one that may have tried to initiate something, but you still were unsure (hey, you didn’t say you were being reasonable, just scared). In conclusion, you would avoid him until further notice.

Well, your plan went to shit pretty fast.

About a week after the incident, you were walking in the direction of your next class alongside Jisung, who was animatedly telling you about the new song he was in the process of composing. Then, all of a sudden you felt someone go up to you and an “excuse me” being blurted towards Jisung. The person then started to drag you by the arm in the opposite direction with them, and that’s when you noticed that it was none other than Hyunjin. Of course it had to be.

Your pleas of “Hyunjin, let me go!” and “What are you doing?” were completely ignored, as the boy just kept guiding you to God knows where. The students who were in the halls turned to look at you two in curiosity until you arrived in front of a door, which Hyunjin opened and dragged you inside with him. He quickly closed it, and turned the lights on.

You were inside a fucking supply closet.

“You’re avoiding me.” Hyunjin blurted out before you could say anything, crossing his arms.

“Well, hello to you too,” you said in a sarcastic tone.

“You’re avoiding me,” he repeated himself, emphasizing the words.

“No I’m not! We didn’t really talk before, so when you think of it nothing’s really that different.” You were really trying to talk your way out of this one, it seemed.

“I was and am interested in talking to you now, and you aren’t letting me.” You were about to retaliate again, but he was faster. “You literally turn around every time you see me.”

You weren’t really sure about what to say next, because he was right. However, the silence didn’t last long, as Hyunjin was the one who spoke again.

"Did- did I mess things up? The last thing I wanted was to make you uncomfortable, I’m really sorry if I did,” he said, softening his hard exterior a little.

“No no,” you were quick to reassure him. “It’s my fault. I was, uhm, embarrassed after everything that happened, and didn’t really know how to face you.” You were looking at the floor now.

“So you aren’t mad about the fact that I tried to kiss you?” He inquired, and he suddenly took one step closer to you.

You looked up, and your heart skipped a beat at the proximity. “No, I’m not,’ you muttered, looking into his eyes. You noted how pretty they were, a little mole decorating a spot under one of them.

"So… Does that mean I can kiss you right now?” He stepped even closer, your faces mere centimeters apart.

Despite the way your heart was thumping inside your chest, you didn’t hesitate to respond with a nod of your head. Not even a second later Hyunjin’s lips were on yours, your eyes closing and hands immediately settling around his neck, while his found a place on your waist.

Holy shit, you were actually kissing Hwang Hyunjin.

The kiss was soft and slow, the both of you acting a bit timid around each other but still being in complete sync. Being this close to him caused you to experiment a different kind of rush; you wanted to keep kissing him forever.

For your dismay, humans need oxygen to breathe, so you broke apart after a few moments. However, your faces remained impossibly close, and you were still holding each other.

“Go on a date with me,” Hyunjin whispered as if he was trying not to ruin the moment, looking softly into your eyes.

His words caused you to break into a smile. “Of course,” you replied, and you felt like a big weight was lifted of your shoulders.

Hyunjin smiled too, and leaned forward to reconnect your lips.

[haikyuuscreaming]

omg hi! you started off your blog greatly, im so proud of you! do you think you can write an angsty scenario for akaashi? where his crush likes this guy and wants help from him and he feels all sad :( but she ends up confessing to him! i love your writing so far, keep it up!

UMM so i accidentally got really invested in this so it’s WAYY longer than a drabble and i often write long stuff bc of ao3 so this might sound a little more like that kinda fanfic style instead of a tumblr scenario? mainly cos im really a sucker for this stuff hehehe love you anon

also ! the request made it sound sort of akaashi-centric so i hope you dont mind? there will still be a lot of reader-chan here though! please dont leave yet and i hope u enjoy

again ALSO i wrote this half on my laptop half on my phone so please dont mind if it seems a lil clunky in some areas 

3092 words jesus ok here you go

-

Crushes weren’t necessarily a new sensation for Akaashi. Just an uncommon one. In fact, the last time he remembers even being attracted to someone was in first grade when everyone had a crush on this popular girl. He’s not even sure if he really liked her, or just found the idea of it interesting.

Now, second year of high school, Akaashi finds himself in trouble. Because for once, he really, really, really likes this girl. You. 

He can’t even fake himself out of this, because every damn time he looks at you, he feels all warm and tingly and his stomach feels less calm and he can hear his heart bump against his ribcage and god, his face even flushes a little bit.

(A little bit inconvenient when he accidentally finds himself staring at you and daydreaming.)

Akaashi doesn’t like this feeling.

I mean, yeah, Akaashi has somewhat of a sense of confidence in his looks, manners, and ability to make friends. He’s not exactly the top in each subject he thinks, but it lets him pass through high school without too much of a depressingly lonely life. He could easily befriend you and steal your heart, his inner ego-brat says.

But.. but what if you reject him?

He should become closer to you.

(For the record, he doesn’t not like the feeling. He kind of likes the serotonin boost you give him. But he definitely, more than kind of likes you.

A lot more.)

And one day, in the spring, he finds himself paired up with a special biology partner. With familiar, sparkling eyes and the cutest, most gorgeous voice he’s ever heard that always makes his heart fucking backflip.

Akaashi doesn’t think he can survive this.

His teacher blares, “Start brainstorming ideas for your science fair project! It’s due in a month, you know!”, but Akaashi blocks out the noise because all he can focus on is you, goddamn it. He can only focus on the way you push your hair out of your face, the way your lips upturn into the most stunning smile he’s ever had the fate of encountering, and he really hopes he doesn’t get h-

“Akaashi-kun?”

(Fuck you and your completely gorgeous voice that drives him up the wall and makes him want to kiss you.)

“Oh– sorry, yeah?” He kind of hates himself for how his voice lilted a pitch higher.

You laugh, sounding like a goddess. He hopes that it means you don’t hate him. “Ahaha, I was just wondering if you have any ideas for the science fair? It’s a pretty big chunk of our grade, and I am… not the smartest when it comes to AP Bio..”

Akaashi thinks quite the opposite, but he isn’t currently in the position to contradict you.

“Um…” He pauses and thinks furiously. He comes up with some borderline generic idea that has enough room for a unique twist. And your eyes brighten.

“Waaaoo, Akaashi-kun’s a genius, hm?”

(God, he thinks he might have a little more than a crush on that teasing grin and glittering pair of eyes.)

He musters the courage to smile without looking stupid. “Of course.”

Two weeks later, he wants to sink into a hole.

Yes, it might have been his request that you two meet up to work on the project, but that was because he knew you were a procrastinator! You would start the project the night before if he’d let you!

But it was not his idea to do it at his house.

Now he has to live with the fact that you’re lying on HIS bed, spread-eagled in your sweater and shorts, complaining about how lazy you are.

(He wonders how you’re so comfortable about wearing shorts to a male classmate’s house. You two aren’t even that close, although you claim otherwise.)

“Come on, get up,” he rolls his eyes. “We have work to do.”

“But I’m so tiiiiiredddd… and lazyyyy…. wouldn’t it be such a gentlemanly act of Akaashi-kun to do the project for me?” You flash him a sweet smile while stretching out even more on the bed.

Snorting, he watches you sink into his mattress and roll around idly. “Hey, don’t you need the grade? You can’t pass if you make me do your work.”

Sighing, you hum in defeated content. “Well, it was worth a try.” You reach out your hand and tousle his wavy hair, and he almost flinches at the touch. He hates to say it but he loves it so much that you’re so affection with him, and Akaashi knows he would give anything to keep you teasing him with all this attention.

“Yeah.. yeah, it was,” he murmurs to himself before letting himself sit down next to you. He notices how you scrunch your body from a spread-eagle to a cute, curled up position to make room for him.

“Mm, so how are we gonna do this?” you ask, with a subtle mixture of bored and curious seeping into your tone. Then, he watches your features melt into a warm, mischievous smile as you hum, “Unless you just wanna nap and cuddle or something.”

(Holy fuck.)

Akaashi forces himself to scowl playfully and he shakes his head, sighing loudly in mock disappointment. “I don’t know what to do with you.” And equally as teasing, he adds, “I should just kick you out and not treat you to lunch if you’re going to be like this.”

“Noooooo!!!” you whine in this adorably frustrated and threatening voice. “Don’t you dare starve me or I’m feeding you to the rats.”

He chuckles. “See, that’s what I thought.”

But of course, your face wraps into a devilish grin as you say in a singsong voice and throw your arms around him (which makes him flush and makes his heart go WABAM), “It doesn’t matter though, ‘cause I got this whole-ass meal right here~”

“Shut up.”

(But you both know he never means it.)

Thanks to Akaashi (and your obliging albeit lazy participation), you two blow the science fair out of the way and get an A. He’s never seen you so delighted about a grade.

“I’m so happy~” you never shut up about how grateful you are for him, not that he’s complaining. “This is probably the highest mark I’ve ever gotten in this class.”

“Don’t over exaggerate. You’re not too bad at Bio,” Akaashi remarks. “You just need a tutor, probably, if you’re struggling.”

(By the way, he is ecstatic that you two are ACTUALLY FRIENDS!!! He’s even met your dog!!)

“Hmmmm…” You eye him warily before shrugging. “Whatever you say, Akaashi-kun.” Your eyes flit around before returning on him, and you start rambling about the newest anime you’ve gotten into and how it’s practically on-par with the manga, and how hot one of their characters are-

(For some reason Akaashi really zeroes in on that part.)

He really feels like he has to contribute something to the conversation, so he puts in, “Wow, [Name]-san, you’re such a fangirl.”

You snort loudly and put two peace-signs to your face like some kawaii anime girl, doing this mock-sweet smile. “Waaaooo, you’re rightttt. I’m Akaashi-kun’s number one fan!! He’s so cute when he’s yelling at me to do my work and super hot when he helps me with homew-”

He swears to god his face is radiating an inhuman amount of heat and he rolls his eyes before shaking his head and jabbing your side lightly. “Didn’t I tell you not to say that?”

“Ummm, maybe.” Your ‘innocent’ grin tells him otherwise. “But you know, you’re right, Akaashi-kun,” you cross your arms and give your cute little smirk again. “I am a genius, and I’m suuuper good at Bio. I just need someone to channel it.” And you lean forward until both your noses are touching, and Akaashi thinks he’s about to explode. “So maybe you could help me out?”

The subtle pleading undercurrent in your voice compels Akaashi to straighten up a little bit without flushing even redder. Keep cool, keep cool.

(He prays that his skill of keeping a poker face will hide the blood rushing around in his dick.)

“Well, what time?”

This time around, he finds himself at your house instead. You both are sitting at your desk, ‘working’ on your math and Bio homework. In other words, just talking.

He’s confident now in that the two of you are close friends. He’s learned that from afar, you were a sweet and confident yet perfectly kind girl. That was the girl he based his feelings off of. During your Bio project, he found the cheeky, sly and vibrant yet chill girl who always teased him but was still nonetheless sweet.

And now, under that facade, you were an anxious mess with a shit-ton of insecurities.

(He thinks it’s funny how you boast that you’re just like Shrek. You have layers.)

Akaashi glances at you, groaning with your head down onto the table. “I hate math..” he hears you grumble.

“Hey, you’re not too bad. You just have to be careful when plugging in your equations,” he counters.

“But what if I can’t remember my equations??”

“We both know you’re fine at remembering them.”

“I’m gonna fail.”

“Have faith in yourself, because I do.” And Akaashi is being completely honest. His confidence in you being just fine and being able to pass all your classes is strong because he’s seen you work (after procrastinating). “You just have to work on not putting things off until the last minute.”

You make a frustrated noise before resting your chin on your propped hand. “Sometimes I feel like I’m just.. destined to be set back, y’know? Like, everything I do is gonna somehow backfire on me.”

He knows the feeling, especially late at night in bed, stressing over what tomorrow might bring him.

“And like… I have this whole thing set up for me. When people know me as a classmate, I’m an average student, right? Then when we’re like… ‘friends’, I’m all weird and tease-y.” You let out a loud sigh. “And to the unlucky people who get to this stage, I’m a mess.”

“Stop.” Akaashi’s surprised at how firm he is. “I’m grateful to have met you and to have become your friend, [Name]. You’re going to be fine, you need to trust yourself more. Because I trust you more than anything.”

(Yes, he is on first-name basis with you!! Yes, he trusts you even more than he might even trust Bokuto!!)

Your lips twitch into a small smile, one that he’s grown to love and adore. He’s confident that he’s so fucking deep in love and he doesn’t know how to move on. “You really think so?”

“Of course I do.” He flicks some crumpled-up post-it at you. “Since we’re not doing any homework anytime soon, what else do you want to talk about?”

Your gaze becomes a little more shy and nervous. “Umm… Weeell, I need help.”

“I mean, why else would I be here?”

“No, seriously, Keiji-kun. Seriously!!” You throw mock-fit, despite obviously looking anxious.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m listening. Sorry.”

“Uh. Um, so…” You blink and pretend to look focused on doodling on the corner of your math paper. “There’s this dude I like. Like, I reaaally like him, which is surprising even for me.” You laugh a little bit, and as Akaashi feels his heart start to tear in half, he forces out a chuckle to match. “He’s suuuper pretty– I think that’s the word for it? Pretty. And he’s kinda funny in his own way, and he’s really sweet and listens to me all the time even when I don’t deserve his time. And I dunno, I think he might like me back? Also, I really really really like him. But I don’t really know how to confess…

“Because you know, I’m kinda wack like that, haha. I’ll probably screw up the confession and make things worse, and, well, I need help.” You finish your ramble with a loud breath and you collapse your head onto the table, groaning.

“Uh–” Fuck, oh fuck him, fuck his life. “I mean… I think just a heartfelt confession would do? Something simple and sweet that says you really like him, in case somehow your words don’t work.” Akaashi feels like he’s sweating, a lot, and he feels even more frustrated than ever. His heart is crashing against his ribcage, and his mind is a fucking mess.

You frown a little bit, and suddenly a gush of words fly out of your mouth like a stream bursting from a dam. “Oh my god, what if I’m reading the signs all wrong and he doesn’t at all like me back? I mean, I wouldn’t blame him because I’m kinda ugly and have this weird personality thing going on and I’m shit at math and Bio-”

“Stop.” Akaashi forces himself to intervene, mainly because 1) you’re literally the light of his life and 2) he feels like he has to leave really soon after dealing with the news. “Shut up, [Name]. You aren’t ugly at all, and I, for one, enjoy your weird personality. And I already told you, you’re fine with academics.” He makes himself make eye contact with you, peering up from your arm covering your face, and says, “If he rejects you, he isn’t worth your time at all and you should move on.”

(Preferably with me.)

He watches you exhale, like he just unwound a tight spring from inside of you, and your shoulders relax and you melt from your anxious state, just a little bit. “You’re right. If.. if he doesn’t feel the same, I’ll just forget about him.”

“Because you’re a genius.” Akaashi tries to hype you up, but he still feels like crumbling. Falsely checking his phone, he stretches and stands up. “I have to go now, sorry. My mom asked me to pick up my little sister from tutoring.”

“Huh, already?” Confusion flits across your face, and it hurts him even more to just leave you after you confided in him, but he knows he has to leave before he says something he might regret. “Oh, okaayy.. see you tomorrow then. Thanks for helping me out.” You yawn before standing up to hug him goodbye.

“No problem.” He says it casually, but Akaashi feels his mood drop faster and lower than ever. He hugs you back, but he breaks away fast.

After leaving your house and collapsing onto his bed in his locked bedroom (with his 11-year-old sister knocking on the door and curiously asking what’s wrong), he can’t help but feel hurt that you couldn’t even tell him who your mystery crush’s name was.

A week passes by, and neither of you mention the conversation at your house. It doesn’t matter either way, since you two are still so casually best friends. At the same time, he desperately wants to push the matter just to find out who it is.

Otherwise, Akaashi has noticeably been more quiet and moody to the point that he doesn’t know how to control it. Sure, he keeps up the same as he would before your conversation, but he can’t help but feel his heart sink everytime he sees you. His mind is ecstatic every time he talks to you, while simultaneously wanting to tear itself apart.

He’s tried getting rid of feelings for you, in literally every way possible. From avoiding thinking about you (which backfired horribly because he ended up thinking more about you) to focusing on other girls (ew, none of them were even capable of creating the same effect on him as you do), he’s tried it all and it’s all failed.

Akaashi realizes his silent slump has gotten so bad to the point that Bokuto made him sit out a few practice matches in the gym just because Akaashi was nowhere near the spot that any of the team expected him to be at.

After school, he meets with you near the vending machine as always. You buy two cans of coffee, one for you and one for him.

As soon as he takes the can gratefully, you clear your throat.

“Yeah, [Name]?”

Glancing around before staring him in the eye, you start, “Keiji-kun, before you run away, I just…. I just wanted to let you know I really really really like you. Like, a lot.” You start speaking kind of fast, so Akaashi can’t process what you’re saying.

“And I mean it. Ever since the Bio project, you’ve been so nice to me and you’ve been such a great friend even though I made it hard sometimes, and along the way I just caught feelings. You honestly mean everything to me, and I appreciate you so much for everything we’ve been through. I- I think, I love you, Keiji. And I hope you accept my feelings.” You smile, almost nervously but nonetheless sincere, and Akaashi thinks he’s about to explode.

“I- I,” Fuck, oh my fucking god, he thinks to himself. He’s shaking a little bit– that’s how happy he is. “[Name], I..” God fucking damn it, he can’t even express how happy he is. He feels his cheeks blossom and he feels his lips quirk into this goofy smile.

But then he watches you shy away a little bit as you hurriedly say, “I- I mean, sorry. It’s okay if you just wanna be friends-”

“No.” Finally, Akaashi can use his mouth and then he gently takes your cheeks in his hands and closes the gap between you two, lips connecting in a display of pining and affection.

He practically melts into the kiss, he’s never been so happy. He thinks he’s actually about to implode; he’s been dreaming about kissing you like this, against your soft, plush lips. And finally he’s able to call you his, to call you the one. When the two of you finally break away for air, he’s breathing hard and his mind is a mess, which is rare considering his usual stoic state.

Akaashi has also never seen you so flustered and blushy. He murmurs into your ear as he takes your hand, “Feelings are 100% reciprocated.”

“I can tell,” you laugh breathily, and he’s so happy to hear that some of your anxiety has dissolved in that sweet kiss. He’s absolutely infatuated with you in every aspect. He leans in for a soft, quicker kiss on the lips and savors the feeling of warmth he gets. “Dork.”, he whispers.

“Only for you.”

[kimnjss]

for part 22 !! this is long im srry ahfduhdfu

“Now laying in his lap felt like a crime. As if you were stood in self-checkout, constantly glancing over your shoulder as you scanned an expensive pair of shoes as one of those 79 cent candy bars.”

said it a couple of times, i’ll say it again. the way you write is SOOOO SOOOO good. we can feel so much and see so much which are prolly like ,,,, the most important things in writing ?? also, poor y/n. POOR POOR Y/N . she cares so so so much for miju like bruh their friendship rlly b toxic like this huh :--(

“But you can’t shake the look on Miju’s face you conjured, watching the two of you with that pouty frown of hers, arms crossed over her chest.”

the fact that this whole girl bestie crush issue is sooooo shallow but bec miju has so much issues (she needs help), y/n finds the need to constantly feel guilty ??????????? i so so so feel bad. not @ me being a miju apologist before yIKES cant believe she made our girl try to drop out of ballet ????? fucking dumbass bitch im gonna slap her so strong

“As if he’d let it go. As if he’d pick up on the slightest abnormality in your mood and just let it slip. Let you drive yourself mad with your racing thoughts and not let him in, not let him take on some of the weight. As if.”

so this is where i started crying !!! i think it’s like the nature of people to just ,,,,, idk ask when they feel something’s wrong but they dont really care enough to actually CHECK up on you ??? if that makes sense ??? i’ve had my fair share of people doing this. they’d ask but then get sidetracked and forget you were someone to worry for. this is probably why this y/n and this jimin might be my favorite. they feel so real, the emotions are so raw. i’m rlly glad our girl has jimin by her side now. he’s exactly what she needs. not just as a lover but ,,,,, as a person. yknow ??? like someone to just ground her whenever she’s so high up her mind. someone to be with her as in WITH her. i love love love that.

“No idea what’s wrong with you, but safely relieved that it’s not him. That he could help you work through whatever it is.”

i hope u know my standards for ppl is so so so high bc of ur au-s i SWEAR to god where r the fellas like this huh ???? hUUUUH ?????

“’I don’t know… I just… keep thinking about Miju.’ Jimin lets out a scoff, rolling his eyes in a really exaggerated way.”

jimin, u, me, same

“You’re really thinking about a girl while I got my hand on your ass? Is there something I should know?”

I LOVE HIM SM PLSSSS *INSERT CRYING EMOJI IM USING LAPTOP SO* I LOVE HIM I LOVE THE HUMOR I LOVE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

“His face softens at the sound of your words, becoming serious for you.”

i nominate loy! jimin for best boyfriend PERIOD if he doesnt win, RIGGED

“That’s a terrible idea.” The door slams behind the new voice, your body instantly lunging from Jimin’s lap to the vacant space behind him”

like everyone else, i tot this was miju too HAUFHDIUHFUDHUF

and then we came to the part where jimin was having his crisis bc he wants The Sex but our baby is just not having it. i actually really like the way you portrayed it. whenever he’ll talk about wanting to fuck, he’d always say but he understands and he respects. that’s reality baby. he’s a man of honor but obv he has his ~hormones~ and i cANT STRESS ENOUGH how much i love you for writing that !!!!! they jus feel real ok like . how do u even do this ???? HOW IS YOUR MIND CAPABLE OF WRITING THINGS LIKE THIS YOU TALENTED TALENTED BABY

  // ok now that i just reread it, i jus found out that they talked abt the ballet thing in this chap LMAOOOOO i thought it was when they were in the dance room ajidjfijoifjafiodj //

“Can’t wait to fast forward past all this shit. Feel like I haven’t seen you smile in a while.”

cried to this too. like ,,, cried VERY HARD. i turned my phone off AHAHHAHAHA this is pAINFUL . y/n’s going through so much and i jus feel feel feel so bad (also hits close to home) . i feel like im always gon think of this line now whenever i feel a small inconvenience afiudhuihdui . CANT WAIT TO FAST FORWARD PAST ALL THIS SHIT . WANNA SEE MYSELF SMILE AGAIN

“Surprised that he even cared about the difference, but he did.”

when i read this, yes, i cried HARDER . we all need a loy jimin in our lives huh ?? . he's just ,,,, It. like It . jimin loy best boy !!!! also @ yn. DESERVE !! youve always been the older sis, the good good friend, with jimin, u can rest bby. u can lay low, u can do whatever u want :--( u deserve it

“Did you just call me your girlfriend?”

AFHUDSHFJKAHDFJKSHAJKDHFJKAHFKJDSHFJ THERE WE HAVE IT FOLKS BYE

“No.” There’s an exaggerated roll of his eyes. “I’ve only been referring you like that in my head for the past month for fun,”

im having so much fun imagining a jimin in my life FOAHDSIFHIDSHOIFHIO ihy sm for making me realize how dry my love life is CAN I PLS LIVE IN THIS UNIVERSE N TRY TO FIT MYSELF IN BETWEEN THESE TWO AJAJAJAJA (no i wont yn deserves this but whatever mom i wANT HIM)

“I want you to be my girlfriend. So that I can be your boyfriend. And we can be boyfriend and girlfriend to each other, together.”

look at them go :--( cringey babies idk theyre so so so so so so so so nd i cant stress enough SO SO SO SO ADORABLE

“Go ahead. I’ll protect you.”

IM FUCKING SCREAMINGAHDHUFDHUSHIUHAFUIHDSFUI I LOVE HIM OKAY MUM I LOVE HIM CAN I PLS HAVE HIM WHERE DO I FIND (but also, IVE BEEN SAYING IT but like thank thank thank thank fuck they found each other. though y/n has kook, jimin is jus different ,,, i mean obv right but yes im just so so so so glad. y/n doesnt need to always be strong and dependent now. she can just be her and jimin loves that. SIGN ME UP UHUH UHUH

and then we have this whole talk with the moon and y/n quoting him back. i think loy yn and jimin best couple ????? I WILL FRAME THE WHOLE MOON TALK OKAY BYE ,,,,,,,, but fr thats so wholesome and i feel so honored i get to read this FOR FREE. it’s just soooo *insert that aww-ing emoji the one w big eyes* . i love them so much im willing to risk it ALL. theyre so so so so amazing. YOURE AMAZING. i LOVE IT.

[gt-adventures]

Hey Little SongBird

(SFW GT fantasy adventure short story.)

A Tale of the Mystic Woods 

Staring: Yonah HaEsh the half-giant wizard. and guest-starring Ophir, the mostly human bard. 

Summary: Ophir the bard needs a story to get back in the good graces of the Bards Guild and ventures into the Mystic Woods to find one. And what a story he ends up in! In the clutches of the Great and Terrible Yonah HaEsh. Can Ophir, through story, song, and dance, touch the evil “man-eating” giant’s wicked heart and avoid a terrible fate? (yes of course he can!) 

Warnings: Yonah’s job is to be a villainous fairy tale giant (and wizard). That means the whole “fee fi fo fum” and threatening to eat people routine, and he’s really convincing. At no point in this story does he ever intend to follow through on the threat. ALSO Ophir tells a fairytale that ends slightly gruesomely (I actually changed it to be less so… still) 

---

I hate the stereotype of bards being horny tricksters who use their voices to seduce people into infidelity. Any such stories are complete poppycock and base slander. Bards are more than pretty faces and lovely voices. We are first and foremost story tellers, entertainers! Actors and chroniclers! Often risking life and limb to get you the stories you love so much. Those fancy sword moves and fight dances you see on stage aren’t just for show.  

But still. Going into the Mystic Woods in search of my next story was not a great idea. Solo’ing an adventure into such a dangerous realm was asking for death, with no one around who could tell of it. And yet. I had run out of new material and was desperate. Why didn’t I just purchase rights from another bard through the guild? You might ask. Clever, very clever, but that’s what low rankers do. The apprentices, the journeyors. Not Masters such as I. At least. Not ones who are blacklisted from the guild for not properly crediting a story. How was I to know it wasn’t public domain! It seemed pretty generic to me. 

Another problem with being blacklisted? No one wants to adventure with you. Not anyone high ranking enough to help me anyways. 

Regardless, to earn back my place in the guild I needed a new story, an impressive story. So I gathered my supplies and took the first teleport to the City of Luster, closest city in the Kingdom of Orr to the Mystic Woods. Sure, other cities exist at its borders, but Luster is the only one with a direct path into the Woods. A path that is safe, to a point. 

It’s also a great place to get a few last minute supplies. For example, a small ukulele. My previous instrument, my precious goldenrod Oud, was repossessed by the guild. I needed something cheap and lightweight. And also I was banned from purchasing from most craftsfolk because, and I’m sure you’re tired of hearing this, im Blacklisted. 

Luster is so large that I was able to find the ukulele in a pawn shop. I wasn’t after a ukulele, that’s just what was there. 

Right! I was ready to go.  

Whistling the first ever song I wrote, and tuning my new old ukulele, I set off down the road. 

And Into the Woods. 

---

Maybe I should lower my standards? Surely the guild won't be too hard on me?

Or perhaps it would just take more than a day and night in the woods to find a story. 

The first day I found some gnomes preparing for a small feast of the half-moon glory. I was confident that something would happen at the party. Something had to go wrong, and maybe a hero, maybe I, would save the day! Or night, as it would be night. No such luck, it was a very nice celebration, absolutely no issues. Wasted a day!! 

Not that i'm on a time limit. 

The gnomes were so nice, and they made the most delightful floral scented cakes. They enjoyed my songs and tales about heroic gnomes and I left their camp with a flower crown and a sack of cakes. 

I felt like today I would find a story! 

Nope. 

In this forest of wonder and magic and monsters and secrets, I ran into nothing. I even played music to attract trouble but Nooooooooo, guess even the beasts of the woods knew I was blacklisted! 

It was late afternoon when I found some interesting deer tracks and decided to follow. 

Bards aren’t known for our stealth but I’m going to tell you a secret. What’s the guild gonna do! Blacklist me? 

Anyways the secret is: certain Bards learn to play notes and pitches that cancel out our footsteps and create silence. 

I followed the prints to find a small herd of very interesting deer! 

They had really interesting patterns, each one slightly different but only if you looked closely. That meant I needed a closer look. 

So focused on the deer I didn’t watch my feet and I tripped. The deer ran off. 

“HEY!” a shrill voice called from somewhere in the trees, “What did you do that for?”

No idea who was yelling at me but I was taking no chances, and like the deer I bolted. But not fast enough, not nimble enough. 

An arrow shot by my leg and stuck in the ground. I stopped. And stood perfectly still. 

“idiot.” the voice was now right behind me! 

I turned. And looked down. It was an elf! With plum purple skin and dark green hair. 

And they were laughing. 

Then another elf fell from the trees to land silently next to the first. This one had dark green skin and straw yellow hair. Their long ears were standing straight up reaching higher than my eyes. 

They were laughing too.

“What’s so funny?”

“You responded to ‘idiot’!” Said the purple one. 

Ugh. Elves!!

Then they got suddenly more serious. 

“Can’t believe it! We’ve been hunting those deer for days and you happen to trip when we got them in our sights!”

“I’m, sorry?” 

The second elf elbowed the first, “he couldn’t have known we were there, Damian! Not his fault!” She spoke in elvish but I’m fluent. 

The first elf, Damian, looked up and half groaned half sighed, “and I suppose, Bridget, that I should apologize to the human for almost shooting him?”

I don’t know why I spoke up but I did. 

“It was an impressive warning shot!”

Damian’s ears stood up again then folded back and a little red flush appeared on the purple cheeks. As did on Bridget’s but for a different reason. 

“Yes. Warning shot,” they said. 

This time I managed to keep my mouth shut. Not a smart idea to quip about an elve’s bunting prowess. I still wasn’t happy to learn they were trying to shoot me! 

“You’re an adventurer?” Asked Bridget.

“A bard!” I said.

“Need a place to stay tonight?”

The shadows were lengthening, I hadn’t noticed. And then my stomach growled. 

“I sure do. But are you sure? I mean I did scare the deer-“

Damian shouldered their bow and nodded, “It wouldn’t be very elven to leave a stranger in the woods.”

Even not hunting they moved so silently I couldn’t take my eyes off them as I followed them to their village. We stopped by the temple, as it is the respectful thing to do when entering the village. It was set up for fall, done up in browns and oranges and paper chains. On the altar was a single brown leaf. The first one seen by a member of the village. 

I’m not elvish but I still prayed to Autumn for my hometown to have a bountiful harvest. 

I sat on the floor in the common dining hall as my new… friends, sat on stools made of tree stumps. They may not have caught any deer but there was some sort of roasted meat concoction wrapped in sugary leaves, crystallized to give it crunch, making a sweet and savory combination I’d never experienced before. The same sugar crispy leaves were used to scoop a sort of nut and vegetable curry. Delightful! I could write a song just about the food. 

I of course told them why I was in the woods, since they were curious. 

And they told everyone how I tripped and fell, exaggerating it greatly. All the elves laughed but knowing elves I was better off. They enjoyed slapstick comedy. The fact that I was able to laugh at myself seemed to gain me favor. 

One elf, with lighter green skin and dark brown hair laughed like the rest and yet, their eyes were deep in thought. They were a strange one, I think. Even by elf standards they had a strange name. 

Jacuzzi? Who names themselves jacuzzi?

Then they spoke. 

“So, you need a story?” They asked. I nodded.

“I think I can help you,” they said, “at the very least point you in the right direction.” 

At their words a lot of the company got quiet. 

“If you’re that desperate, there’s,” they paused, as if they were still considering whether or not to tell me, “A wizard. If you encounter him, you’re sure to get a proper story.”

I couldn’t think why this made the elf act so strange, plenty of mages made it their job to participate in tales. Though. With wizards they were usually evil, if not a member of an adventuring party. Nonetheless! A story about a wizard sounded fantastic. 

“Where does-“ I stopped myself from finishing that stupid sentence. Nowhere in the Mystic Woods stayed put so asking for directions was complete folly. 

“What’s the best way to, uh, find him?” 

Jacuzzi shrugged “The birds have the most up to date information. But you’ll know it’s his place when you find the tower in the garden.”

Lots of wizards had towers, few had gardens. That was more of a witch thing. 

“He’ll be there? Tonight”

“Probably, he can't- well he’ll be there. If not tonight then by the morning. Don’t mess with his things.”

“Why-”

“He considers it extremely rude-  You don't want to be rude”

Sound advice. 

“Hold on tonight?” Damian re-entered the conversation. “Are you mad? Traveling the forest at night is dangerous! Especially alone.”

“So? I’m trying to get into trouble. Doesn’t make a difference if I find it at the tower or on my way.” 

My confidence wasn’t entirely fake. I had a good meal, I wasn’t tired. I could knock this out by morning! 

“Thank you, for everything.” 

I swear I heard giggling as I departed. If these elves were pulling one over on me well! I don’t know what I would do but I’ll think of something. I had a wizard to find. 

It wasn’t long before I realized why I should have waited for morning. 

No! Birds! 

From Who could I ask directions? The sun was about to set. It was only early autumn, the days were still a decent length, but it would be dark real soon. No birds, no people. 

Wait. I spoke too soon. There were footsteps. It was a slim chance but maybe they could help me. 

“Young man, what are you doing? Don’t you know it’s dangerous to be out at night alone?”

The voice had a deep and soft quality that wasn’t human. But they were speaking Orriandish. Really folks, dont meet strangers in the forest that you can’t see. They’re usually evil witches or sorcerers or cyclops ogres. Yeah, one-eyed ogres are skilled talkers, luring people to them. It was only after I answered I realized this could be an ogre. 

“Aren’t you out alone too?”

“Why yes-” the voice was closer and then I saw them. 

Thankfully it wasn’t and ogre. But it was a witch, and a dwarf one. Uncommon. Probably not evil. It did explain why they were confidently out at night. Dwarves had pretty amazing night vision. They had the traditional black robe and hat, and a cat sat down beside them. It was a really large cat, which was amusing next to the short witch. Their long braided beard was decorated with trinkets, which was a quaint look I must admit. 

“But I live here.”

I stood up straight, which I guess was a bit rude. 

“How do you know I don’t?” I stammered, “I could!”

The dwarf stroked their beard, “I guess it’s possible, do you?”

I sighed and slouched, “No…”

“But I am looking for trouble.” I explained my story and the dwarf listened, smiling kindly. 

“So the elves told me I would be guaranteed a story if I found this wizard who has a tower and a garden-”

The witch’s eyebrows raised. 

“- you know this wizard?”

The cat mrowed loudly, his tail swishing on the forest floor a bit faster. 

“I do indeed,” there was an extreme fondness in their voice. 

“And you know where he is?”

The witch laughed, “I’d say this was coincidence, but in these parts there are too many of those to be truly coincidental. I do in fact know the currently location, and it’s close by.”

“Really!” I almost danced with excitement. 

Unlike the elves the dwarf had no hesitations. They pointed me in the right direction, and informed me of a few roadblocks and landmarks. 

“Thanks so much!” I waved back at them and didn’t look where I was going and almost tripped. 

Almost. 

“And light your lantern!” 

Oh right, duh! 

Finding the tower was easy with the witch’s directions. They’d even told me the thorns were fake and the vines safe to climb up. That should have raised red flags, or some color, but I was so focused on achieving my goal. 

Now, we bards aren’t really known for our… physical abilities beyond dance. We can fight sure, but a fifty-foot climb is gonna leave most bards gasping for breath. I'm proud to say I was merely on the cusp of wheezing, though I was having difficulty standing. 

I needed to rest. So I lay on the windowsill. 

Which I failed to notice stretched so that I could more than easily lie down.  The cool night air and stone felt so nice. I looked into the tower. 

And my heart stopped. 

I’d gotten a brief glimpse before nearly passing out, but it was different now. 

Exactly the same. 

But. 

Bigger. 

You might know, my readers, that wizards are all human. All of them. Non-humans aren’t allowed to attend the academy. I’m sure those like I, being a quarter fairy, might be let in, but... This- this giant sized workshop didn’t make any sense. A giant could not be a wizard no way. Why would the elves say this was a wizard’s tower? Did they not understand the difference between wizard, witch, and sorcerer?

But the dwarf witch, they had to know! They had not corrected me. Plus, the workshop did have a very wizard feel to it.

What was going on here? 

I needed a moment to process so I rolled over to look outside. Looking inside made my head hurt. 

But a Giant Wizard. If that were real, what a story! If it were fake, then well, a giant mage is still exciting. I looked once more into the room. Three desks, one for material prepping and alchemy, one that looked like the main workbench, and one… like a spare workbench? It was not very organized compared to the other. And shelves full of things I could not identify. 

And on the floor, an open trap door with stairs leading down. Down to where the wizard must be. 

I was thankful I had noticed the shift in scale, or I surely would have fallen 15 feet onto the floor. Instead I got out my grappling hook and rope and rappelled down. With a flick, the hook dislodged. This place was large, I would need it again. 

I could have spent hours in this room, just taking in the immense magical collection, but that wasn’t why I was there. And I heard noises from down the stairs. Water? Clinking metal? I took each stair one at a time, slowly making my way deeper into the tower. 

Either the kitchen just happened to be one floor down or this stairwell was enchanted to take you to the floor you were thinking about. For just as I reached the landing I saw the massive doorframe that led into what was clearly a kitchen and small dining room. Small for the giant, who was at the sink washing pots, pans, and other things. 

He certainly looked like a wizard! A tall wide brimmed hat with a curling point, and robes that matched the garish colors and patterns. He had a neatly trimmed goatee and mutton chops, and long curly black hair tied behind his back. On his handsomely large nose rested thick square spectacles. Not only was he tall, he was just plain large. 

I know I talked about the false stereotypes of bards, but we weren't the only profession with them. People tended to think of Wizards as more delicate, as they spent all their time studying, never going out, forgetting meals. But this, man, for he looked more human than giant except for being over 20ft tall, well the only word for it was burly. 

I’d never imagined a wizard who, if you removed his wizard robes, put him in a flannel shirt and handed him an axe would be a picture perfect lumberjack. Now such a wizard was right before my very eyes. 

Suddenly I was not so confident. I should have lost my nerve back at the window, when I saw the scale of the workshop. But it just didn’t hit me until I saw the giant. I’ve seen giants before, they are actually larger than this person, that made him seem more dangerous. 

Oh. 

Oh no. 

This wasn’t just any wizard, or any giant. 

This one was evil. 

Maybe I could just leave! Yeah. I would just get the fuck out of here. I was not prepared to handle an evil giant wizard. 

I made my decision a bit too late. The giant stopped cleaning a plate to look up and sniff the air. 

Shit. 

It was futile to run, but it was my only option. I didn’t even make it up two stairs before the giant roared with delight. 

“FEE FI FO FUM!”

No no no! Not that! 

“I SMELL THE BLOOD OF THE HUMAN KIND!” 

Well technically I was quarter fairy but-

“BE THEY ALIVE OR BE THEY DEAD, I’LL GRIND THEIR BONES TO MAKE MY BREAD.”

Yeah… I should not have come here. Evil giants tend to eat people. I’d had a small hope that this smaller giant, who was very likely a proper wizard, wouldn’t. Also the line about grinding my bones to make bread? I’m no alchemist but I dont think powdered bones make for a good flour, and wouldn’t even be enough to make bread for a giant if it were! As far as I knew giants didn’t bother with such things and just gobbled people up. 

Which didn’t bode well for me as this giant made it stairwell in a few seconds and scooped me up in one hand, holding me up to his face. 

“How convenient, a tasty little thief” he smiled, revealing very giant-like fangs. His breath was horrible. “I was just thinking I needed some dessert.”

“Please! Mister Wizard, I did not steal anything, I am no thief! I’m a bard!”

The giant raised his eyebrows, but did not set me down, instead he turned and walked back into the kitchen. 

“A bard?” he asked, “what’s your name?”

“Ophir Shel Peh!” I said. 

“Not Jack then?” The giant tapped his chin, and his eyes found my ukulele. “Hm. Yes I would say you probably are a bard! I don’t get many of those.” 

He sat at the personal dining table. And set me in front of him, putting his elbows on the table, and his chin over intertwined fingers. It was silent except for his breathing, and my heart in my ears. Every breath he took blew around me, and it was just a little warmer than I expected. He didn’t say anything for a long time and I started shaking, adding my rattling bones to the noise. 

“Why are you here?” he asked before I fainted (I had… somehow forgot about breathing). 

“Adventuring!” I couldn’t say ‘for a story’! THAT’S CHEATING. But perhaps... Ah I can’t lie to you reader. I wish I could say I was perspicacious enough to consider this giant was a professional fairytale villain. But I had no idea. I was damn lucky he was though. And he’s really good. I understand why His Mystical Majesty hired him. 

Let’s get back to me being a complete dumbass shall we?

The giant’s face hardened and I worried I’d fucked up. 

“Adventuring?” he asked rhetorically, but I nodded, then he looked a little morose. 

“Shame, I was thinking of letting you go-”

He was!?

“-But I guess I have to eat you after all.”

He didn't sound at all troubled by it. I mean, he had threatened to do so. I backed up and he smiled, knowing he could snatch me up no matter what. I think he could tell I was going to ask why, even just to stall. 

“It’s nothing personal, I don’t like intruders on my good days. But I can’t have you out there talking about me, spreading the word of a merciful giant. You’ll only get more people killed. ” 

That was a lot to process but I got the gist. 

“I won't talk!”

He stood up and slammed his palms on the table so hard I finally fell down. 

“You’re a bard, it’s your job!” 

Unfortunately he was right. 

Then he looked a bit surprised by something, narrowing his eyes at me. 

“I suppose,” he said, “your job also involves performing?”

I nodded. 

“I don’t get to go out much,” he said, though I wasn’t sure that the entire truth “If you give me a good show, I might consider it payment for what would have been an extra special treat. I can smell the fairy blood on you.”

I tried not to make a face. My fairy blood made me smell better? Great. And there was always a chance he was lying, just to get a show and his dessert. Evil giants might be fairly honorable, but evil wizards were notoriously dishonest. So I had no idea with this evil giant wizard. 

“Wh-what do you want me to do?” I asked. 

He sat back down, perfectly copying his original pose. 

“Tell me a story,” he said. “And perhaps I will not eat you.”

Great. Legally there weren’t many stories I could tell. You might be asking, ‘Ophir! You’re about to die, what do you care?’ Well if I live and I'm found out, I’ll be expelled from the guild for life. I’m already in hot water. 

That… and the only stories I could think of were ones with evil wizards or giants, who ended up dead. Curse my stupid brain. But I couldn’t refuse, he would eat me! Guess I had no other choice. 

[(adapted from a real tale)

The story of Maestro Lattantio and His Apprentice Dionigi. 

It was an old tale, from the long dead kingdom of Italy, so anyone could tell it. A wild tale of a wizard and his apprentice battling it out in ways only two mages would. Wanting to be free of his abusive master, Diogini kept turning into things, animals, creatures, to escape. 

But Lattantio would transform into the exact creature or monster or animated object needed to re-capture Diogini. Eventually Diogini turned into a fish and swam down a river. Lattantio declared that he was through with these games and would kill him. Lattantio turned into a kingfisher hawk, intending to snatch him out of the water, but Diogini jumped into a basket carried by a handmaiden  for the princess. The handmaiden had been doing laundry, so being a fish wouldn’t do. He turned himself into a beautiful ruby ring. The princess found it in her pocket and he became her new favorite piece of jewelry. 

Then one day, the King became ill, and Lattantio was called in to cure him. He did of course, and in payment, asked for the princess’s ruby ring, for he could tell it was Diogini. But he could come back tomorrow for the payment 

That night, when the princess took off the ring, Diogini transformed back into a man. He apologized for his ruse, and explained that the wizard Lattantio was his enemy, and would do anything to get him back into his clutches. The princess, who at first was horrified, saw that Diogini meant her no harm, and he was as handsome a man as he was beautiful a ring. She asked how she could help. 

The next day, when Lattantio returned, the princess stepped forward and held out the ring. Then dropped it to the floor. It turned into a mouse, so of course, Lattantio turned into a cat. The princess whistled to one of the palace dogs, which leapt at the cat, breaking its neck. 

Diogini quickly returned to human form and separated the dog from the cat’s corpse, tossing it into the fire. The only way to be sure the evil was truly destroyed. 

Impressed by Diogini’s skill and at the behest of the princess, the King was happy to make Diogini the court wizard, and his son. 

]

I concluded the story, and looked at the giant, distressed to find he looked unimpressed. 

“That was,” he waved his hand in a dismissal manner, “diverting, but I could just have easily read that story.”

WHAT! I’d done voices! I was dramatic and expressive! How dare he say reading it from a book could be the same! But I couldn’t be angry because I was scared. 

“Though I suppose it was decent,” he continued, “just not enough to keep you alive.”

Crap.

“Dance for me,” he said, “and perhaps I will not eat you.”

It took me a few seconds to notice he wasn’t eating me, but instead was giving me another chance. But… Dance!? On this table? With my leather boots on? And my thick pants? And no music!? This was not good. 

“S-sure” I said, I was still shaking badly. 

Since there was no music I thought perhaps, something that conveyed real meaning through motion. I could hear the song in my head at least, so I wouldn’t falter or look like I was making shit up. 

I leapt and gestured, and waggled my body in the most embarrassing ways.  

“What is this crap?” said the giant after I had danced for only a minute. 

“Interpretive dance, mister giant,” I said, freezing in a most uncomfortable pose. 

“You’d better pick something else,” he said. “And give it some more personality”

All I knew was he had given me a second chance. Ok. So I didn’t have music, but maybe something rhythmic would be better. I didn’t have the right shoes but my footsteps were still very audible. 

So I went into a new dance. Hopping and stomping and tapping my feet. Then I started singing. I had been so stupid that I forgot I could do both at the same time. I basically re-invented a few ritual dances from my hometown, used to bless the beginning of each month. If I lived through this I would go home and teach everyone. 

The giant Watched me carefully from behind those huge glasses. Judge, jury and executioner. 

Finally I was sore and out of breath, jumped up to land with a mighty THUNK, ending the performance. 

The giant looked a bit sorry now. Why would he look sorry!?

“That was very impressive, and your singing was a nice touch, but I think such things would best be done with a group. Alone it was underwhelming.” 

What did he know! I’d danced my freaking ass off! I sat down and tried not to cry as I regained my strength. Why weren’t my best efforts good enough!? I was a Master bard. But I was at the mercy of the most subjective critic. I had to change tactics. Impressing him wasn’t going to cut it. 

“Well, since it’s getting late,” he reached out a hand.  

“Wait!” I shouted, nearly breaking my voice which would have been a death sentence. 

The giant’s hand paused, “That was so bold I’m inclined to do so, but not for long.”

“You, liked my singing?” I asked. 

The hand retreated. “You could say that.” Then he caught on. “Fine. One last chance.” 

He leaned back, crossed his arms, and cleared his throat. 

“Sing for me, little bard, and perhaps, I will consider not eating you.”

I scrambled to my ukulele. It was so old it was already out of tune, so I hurriedly tuned it, under the piercing gaze of the giant.  

“Your voice isn’t magical is it?” Asked the giant as I tuned the ukulele.

I smiled “No, it is. My fey ancestry. Never really tested its power. Mostly I’ve transfixed crowds or made them cry with the opening notes. I’ve also played monsters to sleep.”

He leaned forward as I realized my mistake and quickly added “but that doesn’t work if you know about it! Which you now do!” 

Thankfully he believed me. I was telling the truth, but there was no reason for him to trust me. 

“Well, just make it a nice song. I’ve got sensitive ears.”

Oh fantastic. That meant he could probably tell if I went out of key. I had a moment’s thought to play something screeching and horrible, to make him bleed from his ears, giving me a chance to get away, or at least cause him pain before he ended my life. No. My first choice of song was probably the best one. 

I sat down criss cross apple sauce, but back very straight. And I strummed the opening cords. 

[

In the quiet mystic morning  When the sun’s just graced the land O’er the horizon, lies a story And it begs to take my hand

Now that summer’s ceased its gleaming And the harvest’s past its prime In adventure I’ve found meaning But I’ll be homeward bound in time 

Bind me not, to the pasture Chain me not to the town Set me free to find my calling And I’ll return to you somehow

-

As the first instrumental break started I turned my attention to the giant. His face was as stoney as ever.  I wasn’t hitting my mark. So I continued. 

-

If you find it’s me you’re missing And you’re hoping I’ll return To your thoughts I’ll soon be listing  On the road I’ll stop and turn

-

The old strings were threatening to cut into my fingers but I just used the pain to fuel my voice, powering it with agony and sorrow. I saw the giant’s brows raise as my human sized voice grew to fill the giant room. 

-

For the wind has set me racing As my journey now begins To leave the path I’ll be retracing When I’m homeward bound again

Bind me not, to the pasture Chain me not to the town Set me free to find my calling And I’ll return to you somehow

-

The second, and last, instrumental break. I had started crying at the chorus and couldn’t see the giant through my tears. My last performance, and it was for my murderer. 

And still my song rang out. 

-

In the quiet  Mystic morning When the moon has gone to bed When adventure’s lost its meaning…

I’ll be homeward bound

Again

-

My ears were ringing from the sheer volume, I was clutching the Ukulele so hard it threatened to crack. I was numb from all my efforts. Now would be a great time for him to eat me, maybe I would feel no pain. 

Then, as my ears and eyes cleared up, I saw. 

The giant's eyes, red. Shiny trails of tears down his cheeks. His arms were still crossed but he looked like he was almost strangling himself. Still, I did not let myself feel any hope. 

“Dammit,” he hissed and sniffed, “I should eat you for making me cry.” 

No. No no no no no. 

“But I won’t” he sniffed again and got out a handkerchief, “You’ve more than earned your life.”

I collapsed and started crying harder. I had done it. By the gods. I had fucking done it. I let myself melt into the table, half passing out. I didn’t want to feel or think for an entire week. I guess because he wasn’t going to kill me, the giant let me lay there. 

When I finally sat up he was making tea! I very much wanted to get the fuck out of there but the tea smelled amazing, almost magical. 

He noticed me moving. 

“I find tea helps after a harrowing adventure,” he said cheerfully. 

His demeanor was entirely different. His face was softer, his voice was higher, his dark brown eyes colder, but considering they had been blazing before, it was a friendly warmth now. 

That really had been an adventure hadn’t it. One that really made use of my skill set. One that was perfect to turn into a story. It had great pacing too, with just a bit of tweaking. I’d already started writing out the flowery prose and accompanying staging in my head. My interpretive dance was going to be way better in the retelling, but don’t say anything to the guild alright? Everyone embellished. 

I had to scramble away as he set the table, which meant setting down a smaller table and chair for me, and then bringing over his own cup and the teapot. He touched the sides of the pot that must be hot enough to scald skin from bone like it was nothing, pouring out near boiling tea. I watched mesmerized as he used a bit of magic to pour the tea into my teacup. 

“Let it cool,” he said, as he took a drink of his own tea, “I’m not normally a fan of sweetened tea, but I thought a little extra honey would do your throat some good.”

I gingerly stood up and got into the chair. It was normal sized of course, since he was giant. But here I felt like a doll that some demonic girl had set up for a tea party. 

“Thanks,” I said, and indeed my throat felt raw. I couldn’t wait to drink the tea, but it was still too hot. 

“I should be thanking you,” said the giant, smiling and showing off his fangs, but it no longer felt so threatening, “That was quite a show! You must be a really high ranking bard.”

My face turned very red, “I- well I’m on probation,” I admitted, “blacklisted. So really, thanks for-”

I saw his eyes glitter, literally. 

“You- you never meant to eat me did you?”

He grinned even wider, “No, but I trust you won't include that in your tale.”

I shook my head. 

“I very much enjoy playing the big bad giant,” he mused, “But I have other work; I can’t have adventurers showing up all the time.”

Now I was curious, “If I may ask, what else do you do then?”

There was a short pause as he considered whether or not to tell me. I wondered if it was a grand secret. 

“I’m a royal wizard,” he finally said, and there was a massive amount of pride underneath his tone. And resentment. That was concerning. 

My jaw dropped, “You- A Royal Wizard?”

This might be the most interesting person I’d ever met. How did a giant, or giant-esq thing become a royal wizard!? How did a royal wizard end up running an evil tower? 

“You already got one tale, but if you’re not inclined to leave so soon, I can give you another.”

I definitely knew where this was going and I definitely wanted this tale. 

“But on one condition,” he said. “You cannot tell it until either I or the Mystic King is dead.”

“Are- you dying?” I asked. 

He laughed, “No, but I am still a villain. I try to keep a fairly low profile, but any day a slayer could show up and succeed in killing me.” 

That made sense, but now that I was not mortally terrified of him, I saw that this man was much younger than I’d previously thought. He looked barely 24, a young man, and he had to worry about slayers! It also meant it couldn’t have been in this job for that long, being evil must really suit him. 

“Hopefully it won’t be for years, which will give you time to make this tale as grand as possible,” he continued. 

He drank more of his tea.

“I’m not great story teller,” he started off, “but I suppose the tale of how a foolish half-giant with dreams of becoming a wizard, and ending up a prisoner in the woods, might be a good one.”

Prisoner? Even more layers. Yes. This should be a good one indeed. 

Though he was right. Gods, wizards! They have no concept of narrative flow! They don’t leave out details! 

And yet. It was riveting. Yonah HaEsh, for that was his name which I finally learned, was half giant, half FireWitch. His father, the FireWitch, got interested in magic, but he wanted more structured study, beyond what witches can do. So he disguised himself as human to attend school. He was found out eventually, expelled and arrested for infiltrating the kingdom as a dangerous magical monster. He was almost executed before he was offered a job here in the tower! And amazingly, the Grand Master of the school had taken pity on him and allowed him to continue his studies here and graduate, earning the right to call himself a wizard. 

I had forgotten about my tea by the end and it had gone cold. That was an easy fix apparently: he pinched the cup between his thumb and pointer finger. A few seconds later it was steaming again. 

I finally took a sip, it was incredible. I made a mental note to write a poem or a song about it. But I had other things to think about, to talk about. 

“It’s a great story,” I said, with a cockiness I should have tried to keep in check, “but it needs a lot of work. It’s a good thing I’ve got a lot of time. I’ll need to go out and interview people.”

I stood up, “Which means, I need to hear it again.”

Yonah raised an eyebrow, “Oh?”

“I should have been taking notes,” I said, “I need more specific dates and times and names! Oh and if you can tell me how your parents met, that would make for a great prologue.” 

He stood up too, clearing away his and my tea settings. But he didn’t clean them, just put them aside. 

“In that case,” he said, returning and offering his hand palm up, “We should take this upstairs.”

I still hesitated a bit, but I sat on his hand and was transferred to his shoulder. I’d never been on a giant’s shoulder before. I was tempted to touch his curly hair, since mountain giants don’t have hair, I thought it amazing that this half-giant had such thick silky locks. I settled to lean a bit towards his head for steadiness. Yonah didn’t say anything as he regathered the teapot and cups, and even got a few pieces of berry-nut bread and goat cheese. Then headed up to the workshop. 

Once again, he had a human sized desk that he set on his much larger one, and human sized pens (really nice ones), and a few human sized notebooks. Though I guess, since he can reduce to human size whenever he wanted (that was part of his “disguise”), and had many human friends, it made sense. 

“We can go in order,” I said, “But I think I want to start on what you got up to in school. We want people to really get attached to you and your friends so that they are on your side by the trial.”

Yonah liked that idea. I think he wanted this story to show him in a positive light, even if he was officially evil. 

We worked through the night. And my second cup of tea got cold. 

[FIN]

[PLEASE REBLOG and/or tell me what you think in an ask/message!]

FOR REFERENCE, HERE’S HOW THE SONG SOUNDS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VooU55wzSEc

Liked this Mystic Woods story? I have more!

For GT ONLY stories: gt-adventures.tumblr.com/tagged/mystic+woods+story

[I have to mention, that I have many more Mystic Woods stories, however those contain safe/soft non-sexual v/o/r/e... But lucky for you! i have filed them them separately! and (when needed) Every story comes with detailed content warnings!]

For ALL mystic woods stories:

vo/re-scientist/tumblr.com/tagged/mystic+woods+story (take out the “/” in vo/re)

[one or two of my GT-ONLY stories are on my not so secret vo/re blog but from now on I’m posting the GT-ONLY ones here! hurray!]

[inknose]

mdzs read diary part IV, the end

It’s inspiring how much self care wwx is gonna finally get now that his husband will go along with whatever he does, so he’s gotta look out for lwj’s well being if not his own. that is emphatically the STUFF

dragging my hands down I face as I read this, after all these chapters of getting up close and personal with ghouls bleeding from every orifice, slaying ancient beasts, rebelling against the entire cultivation world, the two of them are absolutely paralyzed by middle school crush sleepover math

chicken

he actually drew kissy doodles .... he....

IDK I THINK I JUST DOCUMENTED THIS PART CUZ I WAS STILL SCREAMING you cant expect me to have very useful things to say at this point

this is torture you are both so mushy you are so GONE

This part really stood out to me, it’s an attitude I feel like wwx implies with his inner narration a few times but most clearly says here: he’s not one for allowing himself to exaggerate how bad his circumstances are/could be even a little bit - he’s already lived through some extreme low points and found a way to keep going, so he never makes sweeping statements about what he couldn’t live without (Inner JingYi: you’re supposed to say you’d be lost without him here!!!) Instead he seems to accept as a given that being alive doesn’t guarantee him any pleasantness or joy at all, and as a result his feelings toward being in TRUE LOVE are surprisingly pragmatic, but also colored with such gratitude. There are a lot of things in the novel that struck me, like this, as being just a little to the left of familiar tropes/sentiments, and were more touching for it. Whether it be the influence of culture difference as opposed to what I’m used to reading in most western romance stories, or MXTX’s unique outlook, or a combination of both, it was really refreshing and made me pause over it. Not “I can’t imagine living without you” but “I could be living without you, but instead I get to be with you and I think that’s the best thing that could happen.”

ADJFDKFJ THE UST BEING SO STRONG THAT EVEN THE VILLAIN COMMENTS ON IT IN THE MIDDLE OF EXECUTING HIS EVIL PLANS IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT WILL NEVER FAIL TO MAKE ME LAUGH MY ASS OFF. hes like god damn! here I thought I had problems

it was at this moment that I realized we were doing this Now... I’m still recovering. What a scene. I am so glad I saw the most incredible fanart soon afterwards, bc the fact that someone has already drawn a perfect comic of this part means I don’t have to

I love you so much, you are so annoying, you are perfect... I like how he’s been experiencing openly requited love for all of ten minutes but he’s already figured out how to weaponize it to piss people off

doing!!! his!!! job!!!!!

ahh... it’s a really good story. JGY is a great character. One of the most interesting differences for me between drama watching vs. novel reading experience is that without an actor to bat his vulnerable doe eyes at you and smile faintly with his cute dimples, the book does not go much out of its way to try to lull the reader into a false sense of security around him or *endear* him to you the way the show does. But just by seeing events through wei wuxian’s POV, its still enough to evoke pity or understanding towards him. The overall impression is a bit more detached though, there’s less emphasis on the spectacle of how he could manipulate everyone closest to him and more of a general feeling of resigned tragedy that everyones the worst on this bitch of an earth.

I CANNOT DEAL WITH YOU FOR EVEN ONE MORE SECOND!!!!

I clearly paused to take note of less and less parts at the end & the extras due to: a) too excited to reach the end b) too spicy to photograph and c) too sleepy cuz I kept reading in the middle of the night. but I absolutely took the time for Bro We Are Teens appreciation corner:

I’d absolutely read 40 more extra chapters of their monster-of-the-week field trip antics.

god... poor Jin Ling now basically has to deal with divorced parents that talk shit about each other to him whenever he is saying with one of them. except they are both his uncles. just a disasterhood of all uncles from start to finish. AUUUGH wei wuxian and jiang cheng have fucked me up completely, I dream of them reconciling but I also REFUSE to believe it would ever be easy. let me know if theres a fanfic that absolutely tortures you for decades before they hug

HAHAHA oh no this man ain’t making it to immortality thats for damn sure. HE’S JUST GONNA TRY AS HARD AS HE CAN HIS WHOLE LIFE NOT TO LOOK AT HIM BUT THEYRE *MARRIED* SDLKFJSF ohhhh it’s too funny, like... the mundane domestic family drama IN the fantastical swords and sorcery setting is what really ratchets up these things from amusing to fucking hilarious I think

aaaa the end... final random thoughts? No not final, I would like to please keep discussing at length and exhaustively, all the time please - CQL has gotta be one of the best TV adaptations I’ve seen. ANY adaptation of anything would be lucky to be so good!! reading the novel has just made me appreciate it even more.

- I don’t think I can do justice to what I find most fascinating about comparing the two versions briefly, to do that I need to get drunk and ramble at my friends for hours but... the condensed version is something like this. Really all the significant differences between the two versions (besides the ones which can be attributed to censorship and therefore aren’t worth discussing) are a side effect of the structure of how the story is told - there’s barely anything changed arbitrarily. Aside from having a cold opening, the drama sticks to a very linear version of the story, and I think for a TV show or film, that’s probably the best way to do it. We see everything, we get shocked and tricked and betrayed and surprised along with the characters, we feel the biggest impact at the climactic scenes having experienced all the build-up. The novel on the other hand is not only much more non-linear in WHEN we learn bits and pieces of information, but that information is also obfuscated under wei wuxian’s multiple layers of Unreliable Narratoritis, which are as follows: 1) difficulty remembering things because of personality/avoiding painful memories/actual memory loss, 2) No Homo Goggles still on, and 3) a wry sense of humor that makes the reader unsure of how much they can trust his attitude toward things, especially near the beginning. The experience of reading is a puzzle the reader has to mentally piece together through all of the above listed camouflage, and the puzzle itself is a three-sided mystery: One - How Bad of a guy was Wei WuXian really, and how exactly did all the bad stuff in his life go down; Two - wangxian epic pride & prejudice gambits; Three - political murder mystery. (I love stories like this btw... though I fully admit I’m glad I watched first this time bc it might have taken me a long time to tackle otherwise.) Because of this, where the drama wants to pull you in and submerge you in all the most potent emotional parts, the novel in direct contrast deliberately side-steps around these things and asks that you hurt yourself by filling in the blanks. In fact the more intense emotions and painful memories involved, whether it be his relationship with jiang yanli, his DEATH, the darkest days of war times etc, the more the novel evasively withholds details. I actually really like both styles of storytelling but each one is obviously way better suited to its medium. ANYWAY.... THATS BASICALLY WHERE MY BRAINS AT WHILE IM READING GAY SWORD WIZARD BOOKS

- The extras are so saturated with domestic married bliss that it’s a good thing I stopped taking pictures because I’d just take a picture of every page. this is too much for me to take... I did jump the gun a few times and read a few fanfics while I was still mid-read of the book (I tried to hold out but alas I am mortal) and at one point after finishing I was like “wow what fic was it in where lwj says something cute and wwx kisses him in public but they’re in the corner of the restaurant so no one really sees... OH NO WAIT that was actually in there.” and ... and that’s the LEAST OF IT... *stares into the distance* theyre married wow

- I ofc couldn’t help but see a few vague blogs beforehand so honestly I was braced for something like, wildly ooc for the sake of porn to happen in the extras... I definitely appreciate how the incense burner porn interludes could be uhhh a lot for many people and not my personal cup of tea in terms of smut however [here follows the words of a poisonous frog who has dwelt her whole life in the rainforests of BL] the concept is also surprisingly SWEET SDFLKJF like wwx sees lan wangji’s darkest mixed-up violent teenage fantasies and he’s just like aww babe you had a crush on me!! just... good for them

- I swear I’m not gonna rehash every cute married thing they do but wei wuxian grading papers in the tub........................rEALLY GOT ME

- I want to Draw - ok thats enough if I keep going I’ll just write “wei wuxian grading papers in the tub” seven more times probably

[artificialqueens]

Not Nineteen Forever (15) (Branjie/Scyvie/Ninex)- Ortega

a/n: oh u thought the worst of the angst was over? it’s only just begun. apologies in advance hnggggggg. love is always appreciated here or over on my blog! love and hugs xxxxxxxxx

please note: this fic contains young adults often behaving in irresponsible/unadvisable ways with regards to alcohol, drugs and sex. if you are someone who feels as if they could be heavily influenced by fic and incorporate what happens in the plot into ur own life, pls steer clear!

summary: Brooke, Yvie and Nina are three flatmates who forged a friendship in their first year of university and picked up some other waifs and strays along the way. Now in their final year, there are feelings that need to be unravelled and confessions to be made whilst navigating drunk nights, hungover mornings, takeaways, group chats, library meetups, cafe gossiping, and the small matter of getting a degree.

last chapter: Scarlet helped Vanessa deal with the aftermath of the breakup, aided by lecture-skipping and the prospect of a pink-haired rebound. Monet was gearing up to ask Nina to be her girlfriend in the most elaborate of ways, and Scarlet and Yvie finally said the most important three words to each other since “let’s get takeaway”.

this chapter: it’s Valentine’s Day, Brooke is a living flip flop, and something happens that nobody saw coming.

***

“Ayo. We’ve got a mouse.”

Brooke finally got her jacket off that she’d been struggling with and faced Yvie, who was lounging on the sofa in their little living room in front of the TV. “Well isn’t that a romantic Valentine’s Day greeting.”

“Well we do,” Yvie shrugged, Brooke leaving her bag on the kitchen table and joining Yvie in front of Coronation Street. “This storyline has been going for about a year, I swear to God.”

“Should you not be out doing romantic shit with Scarlet?” Brooke asked, hearing how monotone her voice was but unable to take it back now. Yvie looked across at her and raised an eyebrow.

“She’s got uni. I’m picking her up from her flat at five, we’re going for drinks and then out to the restaurant.”

“Picking her up with what, your bare hands?” Brooke let out a small laugh, Yvie chucking a couch cushion at her and snorting.

“Shut up. I’ll get an uber. I might even get an uber exec, really push the boat out,” she quipped, Brooke laughing again. As her laughter died down, Yvie tilted her head. “So what’re your plans for tonight?”

Brooke groaned and tilted her head to the ceiling. “I’ll be fine. I’ll stick on some films, eat some chocolate. Maybe skype my parents. I’ll be fine.”

“You said that twice.”

“Well I will be.”

Yvie made a click with her tongue. “And we all know the hallmark of a person who’s fine is if they have to repeat it about twenty billion times.”

“Yvie Oddly, ladies and gentlemen, queen of exaggeration,” Brooke said sarcastically, Yvie giving a sarcastic flourish of her hand right back at her. In the conversational lull, Brooke checked her phone. All over her instagram page there were couples; disgusting, happy couples who really were just making an embarrassment of themselves with their totally cringeworthy captions. “Happy Valentine’s Day to my number one” with every heart emoji under the sun, “happy vday baby i love u” beneath a picture of someone’s boyfriend pulling a silly face, and the worst, “he’s ok”, the understated caption contrasted by the horrendously soppy picture of a couple that Brooke knew from back home kissing for the camera.

Brooke had a cheek, she supposed. She’d made her bed- breaking up with Vanessa, as difficult as it was, was supposed to make her happier and make everything go back to normal. But it hadn’t. Knowing how much she’d hurt Vanessa brought no happiness to her at all, nor did it make her life any easier. Seeing her post sad, slow R&B song after sad, slow R&B song to her instagram story didn’t alleviate her guilt, nor did her radio silence on the group chat. Brooke had seen her only once since the breakup- across the square on campus when Vanessa didn’t realise Brooke could see her, flanked by Silky and Akeria, wearing baggy clothes and not a scrap of makeup, her face and eyes puffy and red. There was nothing about Brooke that was relieved; she desperately wanted to be there for Vanessa, to dry her tears and talk shit about herself. She had the deepest desire to be a friend to her through the breakup she had been the cause of, because ultimately she still cared about her. Brooke didn’t know if that was normal or not. She was past caring or trying to figure it out.

What was she going to do tonight? Yvie was out with Scarlet, Nina was at Monet’s right that minute. Plastique had told her in the library the other day that she was going for drinks with Ariel (“the most casual of drinks”, she’d said, although Brooke knew it would be anything but casual). She didn’t know what the others would be doing. Akeria would probably drag Vanessa on a night out and Silky wouldn’t need much encouragement to go either. It looked like Brooke was in for a night by herself after all.

Mid-scroll, one of the uploads caught Brooke’s eye- a photo from months back at Vanessa’s birthday night out of all eight of them together, dressed up and smiling with their arms around each other. It was only a few seconds later that Brooke realised she was smiling at it, completely unaware that her facial expression had changed. She wished they could all go back to October. She would exchange all the hurt and the guilt and the sadness that she’d caused in exchange for pining for Vanessa for the rest of her days. Her eyes drifted down to the caption, and her stomach plummeted when she realised who it was posted by.

missvanjiemissvanjie Happy Valentine’s Day to my day ones! Best bitches I could ask for in my life. Love you!! 💓

Brooke scanned the photo again. She hadn’t been cropped out, even though she was on the edge of the photo- the curse of being tall, Nina had called it. Her heart began to spring to life. This was a good sign. Vanessa clearly didn’t hate her, and somewhere deep inside her was a want to be friends again and go back to how things used to be. Injected with optimism, Brooke clicked on Vanessa’s messages. She paused for a moment, looking back at the last ones they’d sent- the day of the breakup, Brooke asking to talk, Vanessa wondering if everything was alright. It felt like a harpoon to her stomach.

Trying to stay positive, Brooke typed out a message.

B: Hey. Hope you’re doing okay. I know we said we still wanted to try and be friends so I was wondering if you wanted to maybe hang out tonight? Just as friends obviously. Since everyone else will be busy. Let me know.

Brooke’s finger hovered over the “x”. She decided against it. Hitting send, she found herself waiting anxiously for a reply.

“How do you know we have a mouse anyway?” Brooke asked Yvie, her words suddenly registering. Yvie shrugged.

“Ran across the worktop about five minutes before you came in.”

“What the hell are we going to do about it, then? I don’t want to even imagine what Nina’s reaction’s going to be if she sees it,” Brooke shuddered.

Yvie laughed. “No, Scarlet’s going to be the same. I don’t know, she looked like a nice lil’ fucker. I think we should get a cage. Put a block of cheese in it and then keep her as a pet."

Brooke felt her phone vibrate twice. Picking it up to check it and seeing that both the messages were from Vanessa, she nonchalantly carried on the conversation. "So Scarlet would be fine with that, would she?”

“Scarlet isn’t here all the time.”

“No, just 99% of it,” Brooke raised her eyebrows, opening Vanessa’s messages.

V: lmao

V: Are you on crack. You broke my heart two weeks ago and now you’re trying to be my friend already. Have you never heard of a thing called a healing process?

Brooke felt her stomach tense. She hovered her thumbs over her screen to reply, but nothing she thought of seemed to make sense or be the slightest bit appropriate. Despondent, she was about to close her phone when another message shot through.

V: And I’m busy anyway. So it still would have been a no.

Well, that was that. Vanessa was out with Silky and Akeria, and clearly she wasn’t invited. That was fine. Brooke could have kicked herself. She instantly wished she’d never been so tone-deaf. It had been a stupid suggestion. Of course Vanessa wasn’t going to be best friends with her a fortnight after they’d broken up.

Brooke couldn’t help the fact that she missed her, though. Even just as a friend.

“Hey, panini head? Are you listening to me?” Yvie suddenly yelled, her best Gordon Ramsay impersonation catching Brooke off-guard.

“What?”

“I said, would you look after Mrs Tibbs if I went home for the weekend?”

Brooke rubbed her temples in confusion. “Who’s Mrs-”

“The mouse! Jesus, Brooke, have you been on this earth for the past five minutes?” Yvie laughed, then gradually a frown spread onto her face. “What’s wrong?”

Brooke hadn’t realised she’d been showing her guilt and disappointment on her face. She sighed. “It’s nothing. I just still feel bad. About Vanessa, you know.”

Yvie furrowed her brow. “Listen, girl, I know dumping someone is hard and it’s unpleasant. Shit, I would know, I’ve had to do it enough times. But there comes a point where you’ve got to stop beating yourself up about it. I mean you ultimately did what was best for the pair of you. It wasn’t fair to string her along if you didn’t want to be with her. It hurts her now, but it’s better in the long run.”

Brooke nodded. Part of her couldn’t help but wonder…

…it didn’t matter.

Brooke’s phone vibrated again. She hoped and prayed it wasn’t another text from Vanessa to berate her for her shitty idea. What was to come would actually make her feel a hundred times worse.

Okay Then: happy valentines day fuckers!!!!!!! even though im out being soppy tonight i still want u all to know that ur my main bitches and number ones and i love u all sm 💖💖💖

Akeria Sainsburys Bag for Life: You’re disgusting. Love you too hoe xxxxxx

Yvie’s Bitch: Awwwwwww Plastique!!!!! We love you too!!!!

Yvie’s Bitch: What’re everyone’s plans for Valentine’s Day?????

Scarlet’s Bitch: i don’t know i’ve got plans with this weird girl called……Scarface? idk i’ll probs cancel on her

Yvie’s Bitch: Suck my clit x

Akeria Sainsbury’s Bag For Life: Children PLEASE

incongruous silkworm spiced praline: HAPPY INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FUCKING

incongruous silkworm spiced praline: ME N KIKI GOING OUT ON THE TOWN LOOKING FOR THIRD DIVISION FOOTBALL PLAYERS

Okay Then: oh bitch aim high? second division xo

Brooke’s heart dropped twenty storeys when she saw who was typing. Their names on the chat had been quietly changed back, but Brooke still knew who it was.

cursed SatNav voice: Happy Valentine’s Day hoes 💓💓💓

cursed SatNav voice: Even though all you couples can suck a bag of dicks

Scarlet’s bitch: gladly, bitch 💜

Okay Then: Vanj are u not going out with Silk n Kiki?? bc if not ur welcome to join me n Ariel!! it’s just casual!!

incongruous silkworm spiced praline: YES PLASTIQUE IM SURE SHED LOVE TO THIRD WHEEL U AND UR HONEYMOON PHASE FLATMATE

Akeria Sainsbury’s Bag for Life: anna ou

cursed SatNav voice: 💓 That’s sweet but I’m busy tonight!! Thanks though boo

incongruous silkworm spiced praline: SHE GOT A DATE ANYWAY

Time seemed to freeze. Brooke couldn’t move. Couldn’t even breathe. All she was able to do was blink at her phone screen as the chat blew up around her. It was only after a few moments that she realised Yvie was looking at her.

“Hey. You okay?”

“Um. Yeah, no, I’m fine,” Brooke stammered, nodding and putting her phone down in a futile effort to seem relaxed. Yvie gave a laugh.

“Brooke, you can’t break up with her and then get mad she’s going on a date with someone else.”

Brooke bristled. “No, that’s not it, that’s not it at all.”

There was a small silence as Yvie typed away at her screen, her eyebrows raised in a defiant show of disbelief. In the silence, Brooke gathered her thoughts.

“I’m just kinda…I don’t know. Not hurt, but…I mean I thought she cared about me a bit more than to be over me in the space of two weeks.”

Yvie gave a gasp, clutching at her heart. “Oh! The fragile ego of Miss Brooke Lynn Hytes. The wings of a moth cannot compare, nor the web of a spider!”

“You know, you can be a really shit friend when you want to be,” Brooke spat, getting up without a second thought and storming through to her bedroom. She threw herself down on her bed and curled up into a small ball, wishing the world would give her a break.

Her ego was hurt. Her pride was battered and bruised. She supposed she’d been so used to being revered and cared for in the eyes of Vanessa that she found it odd for that to no longer be the case. Brooke sighed. Yvie was right- she wasn’t supposed to care this much, she was supposed to be happy. Fuck, shouldn’t this have been the ideal outcome? Vanessa had moved on already.

So why did Brooke feel absolutely gutted?

She sat on her bed in the cold of her room, stewing in her thoughts, trying to figure them out and failing. She didn’t know how long she’d been there for but it had clearly been enough time for Yvie to make a cup of tea, as Brooke found when her flatmate gave a gentle knock on her door and shuffled in with the Sports Direct mug in her hand.

“Hey,” Yvie began, crossing the room and putting the mug down on Brooke’s cluttered bedside table. She sighed and lay down on top of Brooke in what could have been a cuddle or an attempt at smothering her to death. “Brooky, I’m sorry-”

“Don’t. She used to call me that and…” Brooke began, sighing when she couldn’t figure out why she had an issue with it. “I don’t know.”

Brooke wrestled an arm free from under Yvie’s stomach and brought it to rest over her back. It felt more like a cuddle now.

“I knew she was going on a date, by the way. Scarlet told me the other day. I just didn’t think you’d give a fuck,” Yvie said quietly. Brooke exhaled and felt her ribcage deflate.

“I didn’t think I would either,” she said, feeling small. There was a pause. “What’s her name?”

“Monique. The girl from Monet’s party with the purple hair,” Yvie said. It felt like a stab through Brooke’s chest. She remembered Monique, she remembered the way Vanessa had laughed at her stories and the way Monique had looked at her and the obvious chemistry between them. “If it helps, Brooke, I don’t think it’s going to be anything serious. Scarlet said that apparently she literally gave Vanjie her number and was like ‘In case you ever want a rebound’. They’ve been messaging all week. Tonight’s more of a 'fuck Valentine’s Day’ drink than anything else.”

Brooke thought about Vanessa’s perfect body, about her touching Monique the way she used to touch Brooke, talking to her like she used to talk to Brooke, someone else making her come apart the way Brooke used to. Brooke rolled out from under Yvie, grabbed her pillow, and buried her face in it, letting out a long, loud groan.

“Do you feel like you fucked it?” Brooke heard Yvie’s voice ask matter-of-factly. Brooke brought the pillow off her face and whined.

“No! No, I made the right decision. I didn’t want to be Vanessa’s girlfriend. It’s just fucking…weird. It doesn’t exactly fill me with glee thinking of her with somebody else, you know?”

Yvie smirked. “Because you know Monique’s going to fuck her better?”

Brooke launched the pillow at her flatmate, Yvie giggling. “Sorry! Sorry! Fuck, okay, point taken. Inappropriate.”

There was a silence. Yvie’s joke still hung in the air.

“Well, as long as you feel like your decision was correct,” Yvie smiled gently, patting Brooke’s thigh. “Then that’s the main thing. And it’s natural to get a little jealous.”

“I’m not jealous.”

“Sure, Jan,” Yvie raised her eyebrows and began to slide off Brooke’s bed. “Look, I’ve got to go get ready for dinner. You sure you’ll be fine?”

“Well I said it about twenty billion times, remember?” Brooke deadpanned, earning her a laugh from Yvie. “Just go. Go have fun. Have the best night, baby. You two deserve it.”

Yvie leant down and gave Brooke one last little squeeze before leaving her bedroom and going back into her own. Now she was alone with her thoughts Brooke wanted desperately to silence them so she grabbed her laptop and shoved on the least romantic film she could think of- Kingsman. As she sipped her tea and watched a man get completely sliced in half from skull to anus, she thought that would only be slightly less painful than what her emotions were currently putting her through.

As Taron Egerton refused to kill his dog, Yvie shouted a goodbye to Brooke.

As Colin Firth went absolutely mental in a church and killed everybody single-handedly, Brooke grabbed her phone and deleted all of her messages with Vanessa.

As the end credits rolled, Brooke wondered what the fuck she’d done. Two and a half years of friendship gone and deleted in the blink of an eye. But maybe it was for the best.

Brooke had been scrolling Netflix searching for something else to watch for what could have been an entire hour when she heard four things in rapid succession- the heavy bang of the front door, a scurry of hurried footsteps across the hall, the bang of Nina’s fire door and then a rapid sobbing that poured out of whoever was in the room and through Brooke’s wall. Brooke’s previously lethargic body sprang to life and she shot off her bed, took three quick steps to her door and hurried out into the hallway where she knocked on Nina’s.

“Nina? What’s happened?”

The sobbing continued from inside, Brooke unsure if the girl had even heard anything. Hesitantly, she pushed on the door.

“I’m coming in, okay?”

With no response other than more sobbing and a snuffle, Brooke entered Nina’s room. There was her usual organised dressing table with her makeup strewn all over it, indicative of a rushed getting-ready process. On her usually tidy floor was a mess of tried-on-and-rejected clothes, and there on the Aristocats-patterned duvet curled up with her stuffed teddy was Nina, absolutely crying her eyes out. Brooke practically vaulted the end of her bed to get to her flatmate who was squashed in between her pillows and the wall in the foetal position.

“Hey, hey, hey! What’s wrong?” Brooke asked her, pulling her close and wrapping her arms around her. Nina batted her away weakly.

“Don’t, Brooke, don’t, fuck, getting held is just going to remind me of her and I don’t-” Nina descended into another burst of sobs, Brooke completely and utterly confused.

“Monet? I thought you guys were fine? Oh my God, Nina, she didn’t break up with you?!” Brooke asked, scared and trying to fight the sinking feeling taking root in her chest. Nina elegantly wiped her nose on her teddy and pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes, rubbing harshly and leaving her looking like a human panda.

“She didn’t break up with me,” Nina sniffed, finally seeming to calm down.

“Oh, thank fuck.”

“I broke up with her.”

This was at least twenty times worse than what Brooke had feared. Pulling away, she fixed Nina with a look of complete incredulity. “You did what?!”

Nina rubbed at her eyes again, this time with her fingers. “Yeah, because obviously I can’t have anything fucking half-decent in my life without completely sabotaging it or making it go to shit, can I? I broke up with her, I’m a fucking idiot. Happy?”

Brooke could only blink in response as Nina leaned back and let her head hit the pillow, her stare boring into the ceiling. Her thoughts were all colliding. This was the most sudden and unexpected event, and it had completely knocked her for six. “Rewind. I thought you and Monet were fine?”

“We were fine,” Nina sighed so deeply that Brooke wasn’t sure she would have any air left in her lungs. “I was so fucking happy, Jesus. But there’s always a catch, right? Nobody can stay that happy forever, it’s always got to come to an end at some point.”

She stopped and sat up, propping her head against the headboard. Not looking Brooke in the eye, Nina continued. “She started being really distant with me. Not replying to texts for ages, being really deep in thought when we were together. I’d ask her what was wrong, but…she’d just always say nothing was. I was over at her flat the other night, we’d had a nap together and I woke up and she wasn’t there. I went into her living room and she was there with two of her flatmates. They stopped talking the second I got in, honestly I might as well have caught them all in the middle of a massive fucking orgy,” Nina laughed humourlessly. “And then it clicked. It all started after I told Monet about you and Vanessa. Nothing bad…just about how you weren’t sure, and how it’s better to just break up with somebody if you’re having second thoughts about them. It all made sense. Her being distant, always seeming off, obviously talking to her flatmates about it and having to stop because I came in. She didn’t fucking want me anymore, Brooke.”

Shocked, Brooke could only put her arms around her friend as she leaned into her chest and began to cry again. Nothing about it seemed to fit. Monet was absolutely head over heels for Nina, anyone could have seen it. It all seemed so out of the blue and sudden. Brooke tried to think about the last time Monet had been over at the flat. It had been about a week ago and Monet had seemed fine- although, now that Brooke thought about it, Monet had seemed a little quiet. Almost nervous, Brooke considered. But she was still cuddling Nina and giving her small kisses and paying her attention. It didn’t make any sense. Brooke frowned. “Nina, are you sure she actually wanted to break up with you?”

“I wondered it too. Because I didn’t want to believe it, of course. But then yesterday we were just lying in bed doing nothing. She was on her phone and my head was on her chest. I saw what was on her screen just for a second and she’d fucking-” Nina sighed, cutting herself off. “- typed this guy’s name into Google. Obviously some guy she’s met and she’s trying to find him on social media. I actually felt like I’d been stabbed, Brooke. Obviously she saw me, because she only got as far as the first name and then closed her phone. But I know what I saw, you know?”

Brooke’s frown only got deeper. “But that makes no sense. Why would she look someone up on Google, what is this, the fucking 90’s?”

“Brooke, you weren’t there. You should have seen how quickly she shut her phone off, and she was instantly all over me and telling me how lucky she was and-” Nina’s speech was interrupted by a bubble of a sob. “Oh fuck, it hurt so much. And today she woke up with me and was all "Happy Valentine’s Day!” and all that shit. I couldn’t do it, Brooke. I couldn’t make myself look like an idiot any longer. I suggested going for coffee and while we were out I just…I just fucking did it. Oh my God, it was so so bad, Brooke. She looked so fucking destroyed and she was so pissed off with me that I thought it was all a mistake but…fuck, I didn’t know what to believe. I don’t know. I don’t even know what I’ve done.“

Brooke sighed, desperately not wanting to believe it was over between the two girls. "But didn’t she explain herself? I mean what did you actually say to her? Did you confront her?”

“Jesus, no! No, I didn’t want to make it look like I was this poor, lovesick, pining idiot who was making a fool of herself over her! I jumped before I was pushed. I pretended I was the one whose feelings had changed, that it wasn’t working for me anymore. It was all a crock of shit, but she obviously believed it.”

Brooke bit the skin at the side of her thumb. There was a silence. “But didn’t she try to make you stay? Didn’t she fight for you?”

“She-” Nina cut herself off. Brooke looked down and saw tears pouring down her face, and her heart broke. “- she just sat and looked at me. Something in her eyes just…shut down. They just went all glassy, like those black marbles you got as a kid, remember? Anyway I said my piece and she just…ugh, she just nodded. She just nodded and went "Right. Got it.” in the most cold voice and then she got up, put on her coat and left. And I let her.“

With that, Nina swept her hands under her eyes and heaved a gut-wrenching shudder of a sigh. Brooke was at a loss of what to say. She had thought Nina and Monet were made for each other, and the fact that Nina had thrown it away for the sake of what Brooke was sure had to be a misunderstanding was gutting. She heaved a similar sigh to Nina’s.

"Look at us. It’s Valentine’s Day, we’re both single, we’re both here regretting breaking up with someone-”

“Wait what?” Nina asked suddenly, eyeing Brooke with suspicion. It was only then that Brooke had realised what she’d said. Startled, she backtracked.

“Well, I mean, not regretting breaking up with her, just regretting causing her hurt,” she said, Nina nodding quietly. Although Brooke was still spooked. Why had that thought popped into her head, let alone out of her mouth? She didn’t regret breaking up with Vanessa. It was the ick, just like Plastique had said. She had changed her mind. She couldn’t exactly change it back.

Could she?

“Why don’t we watch a film? I’ll bring my laptop through, get snacks from the kitchen. You don’t even need to move from this room. Or this bed,” Brooke suggested, ignoring the dangerous thoughts swirling round her mind. Nina gave a sniff and a silent nod.

“21 Jump Street?” she offered hopefully, Brooke unable to help the small laugh that escaped her mouth at the suggestion.

“This from the queen of Disney?”

“Disney’s too happy for me right now,” Nina moped, wiggling underneath her duvet cover. Brooke screwed up her face.

“Too happy? C’mon, you’ve seen Bambi. And Lion King. And Big Hero 6. And-”

“Brooke I swear to God if you don’t go get your laptop and stick on 21 Jump Street,” Nina warned, not finishing the empty threat. Laughing, Brooke did as she was told. She could only hope that the film would be enough of a distraction to her and to Nina for the next two hours.

She had no idea what they’d do once those two hours were up.

[cowlovely]

The Losers Club + Maine

i feel like as a mainer, it's my obligation to make this post, so here i am

disclaimer: for the purposes of this post I’m pretending that none of the losers left derry until graduating high school because the alternative makes me sad

* to start this off, in case you were wondering, yes it was extremely unnerving to watch it (2017) the first time. the foliage/town layout etc. looks exactly like where i live

* you can bet your ass at least one of them works at a local convenience store or grocery store as a teenager, probably Wallgreen’s or Cumberland Farms (my bet's on Richie)

* this means that summer is a fucking nightmare what with all the tourists from Massachusetts and Quebec (affectionately called "massholes" and "queebs")

* the movie did not exaggerate swearing. i'm sure it's like that in other places too, but mainers swear a LOT. especially teens. we're very liberal with our f-bombs

* halloween does sometimes get snowed out here. We have snow on halloween more often than on christmas

* one unrealistic thing about IT (seems kind of stupid to nitpick a supernatural horror movie but I’m going to anyway): the kids didn't complain about humidity a single time. The average mainer complains about this ten times basically every day of summer

* this is just occurring to me now but?? bev living in an apartment building is kinda weird.....we have apartments, but usually in very small house sized residences, not huge ones like we see in the movie (but derry is bigger than the town I live in so idk)

* bill’s stutter would absolutely get worse during the fall/winter (it gets cold as fuck where I live, and Derry is way farther north)

* The beach is fun, but the water is not. The water is fucking ice cold. We get a weird warm current once every like. 15 years

* stan, excitedly calling bill: bill!! this [book/movie/show/whatever] takes place in maine!!!

* bill: I k-know. The others a-already all c-c-called me

* ^ this was literally everyone at my school when once upon a time was really popular

* I'd like to formally apologize to mike for the amount of white people in maine (if any of you were watching the movie like “why is everyone white” the answer is that maine is 94% white people and i wish i was joking)

* mike, stepping outside in the middle of winter: oh! it's not that cold today!

* mike's grandfather: it's -3 degrees mike (yes this is a real interaction I’ve had)

* at LEAST one of the kids turns out to be a stoner like....there's one in almost every friend group here

* i can confidently say that one of the kids has ruined some piece of clothing with tree sap

* eddie is really twitchy during the spring cause that's when everyone starts freaking out about ticks

* ben, his first winter there: im so excited for it to snow!!

* all the other losers, dead inside:

* there are just. so many antique shops. like at least one or two per town

* so much camo. so. so much. you can pretty much guarantee that every asshole boy in high school wears camo and hunts with his dad

* you either love moxie and whoopie pies, or you hate them. end of story. there's no in between (the kids are very divided on this, blood has been spilled)

* 99% of kids/teens in maine own something by L.L. Bean, but don't remember buying it (not a single kid in chapter one had an L.L. Bean backpack??? that’s bullshit Mr. Muschietti)

* richie at ben's house for the first time, practically choking: oh god that's definitely not real maple syrup

* If you don’t know what that means, you’re definitely not from New England

* Wicked is an adjective in maine, and the kids use it ALL the time (i.e. wicked cold, wicked good, etc). The fact that this is in the book and not in any of the adaptations is a hate crime

* The kids, every time they walk by an old building: it's haunted

* Honestly? Any time they walk by any building. Everything in Maine is haunted and everybody knows it

* Someone over the internet, to one of the losers: is there internet in maine?? (this legitimately happened to my brother and I will never stop thinking about it)

* Fluff is the SHIT (the rest of the kids nearly had an aneurism when they found out that ben had never had any)

* I know they have it in more places now, but until like the 90s/early 200s it was only in New England and like. I think a few states in the midwest

* The squirrels are sometimes violent and will occasionally throw pine cones at you. and they hit HARD

* I don’t know if this is just a southern maine thing or if it goes for the whole state but the fucking chapter eleven furniture ad. I don’t know if there’s a video of it somewhere but literally everyone here makes fun of it. I have no idea when they started playing it, but according to my parents it was before I was born

* billboards are illegal in maine!! this doesn’t really have that much significance to the losers but i thought it might be a helpful note for those of you who write fics

* Bill goes (or maybe used to go? you tend to do it more when you’re younger) fishing with his dad. Don’t know why, I’m just feelin it

* At least three of the losers took french in high school, it’s the one that makes the most sense practically (I’m thinking eddie, mike, and ben)

* Richie absolutely took spanish. I don’t know why I feel so strongly about this but he did

* I love the idea of Stan taking latin, but I know a lot of high schools probably don’t offer that (mine did, but they also have greek and arabic so clearly they’re an outlier)

* Central maine is mostly trees, so there’s a sort of divide between southern and northern maine. This is probably why the politics are so different between the two (some people up in the most northern part of the state wear confederate flags like what the fuck is that about)

* Someone please write or draw anything that includes the losers apple picking. I know that’s not unique to maine (duh), but it is REALLY big here

* I genuinely don’t know how much of this is common knowledge because I’ve never left new england