#god running a tournament was so much fun. such a fun week of my life i also read war for the first time that week

[ofpd]

the top ao3 ships bracket is being run extremely well i must say

[thewritingrowlet]

The Grand Prize, ft. tripleS Yoon Seoyeon

tags: male reader, first time anal, creampie, anal creampie, raw

word count: 8k+, almost 9k

author's note: the smut in this story is split into two parts with some basketball plot in between. Hope you like it! :D

p.s. I slipped an inside joke made with @praeluxius' username, so prael if you see this <3

It is December, you’ve been dating Seoyeon for over 3 months now; it has been a very fun and healthy relationship even though you have been spending less time with her despite living together as your schedules don’t really match hers; you’ve been busy with the basketball team as its captain and year 3 classes while Seoyeon has found a new busyness with the student council— “I want to continue my student council career, oppa”, she had told you after the Freshers’ Week. Not many know about your relationship, apart from your teammates and some friends of hers, as you both have agreed to keep things to yourselves. Your teammates were surprised that you have a girlfriend considering how long you’d been single, while Seoyeon’s friends thought that it was crazy that she managed to steal the basketball team’s captain’s heart and started dating him so soon. Honestly, you still can’t believe the way life has been turning out recently, but you’re ecstatic to see what else might turn up for you and Seoyeon.

[🐶❤️| 17:08]

Oppa, I’m going home after this meeting

What about you?

Have you eaten btw? I can bring some sandwich if you want

She texts you as you’re getting ready for warmup. Might as well reply now since you won’t have the chance to for the next few hours, not forgetting to apologize since you’re probably coming home late.

[🏀| 17:09]

I have practice, luv, will come home late

No need to wait if you want to sleep first

I had some noodles earlier, should be enough

Seoyeon hates you for not eating enough, so you make sure to not skip meals especially on the days when you have practice. She’s even brought you some food to eat before practicing before, which was how your teammates found out you had a girlfriend. She also made you eat in front of her, refusing to leave before you finish the food and return the box to her to bring home. You’re thankful for her attention and god-tier cooking but this habit of yours is really hard to rid, “baby, I love your food but I’m just not hungry at the moment”, you’ve told her once, to which she responded by pouting and looking rejected.

[🐶❤️| 17:09]

Okay, oppa

See you at home

Don’t get hurt

Luv u much

Her texts, no matter how simple, always give you a boost of energy and motivation, and with that, you’re taking on practice with excitement.

It is now a few minutes to 9pm and your team is wrapping up tonight’s practice. You’ve been practicing seemingly tirelessly for a few hours and your limbs are on fire thanks to the different drills your team has been doing. Coach Park has been increasing the frequency and intensity of the practices as the university is aiming for a top 3 finish under your captaincy in the upcoming national tournament; “we believe that you can lead us deep into the playoffs, captain”, the dean told you on Monday before practice, putting expectant pressure on your shoulders. You don’t have to worry about motivating your teammates since everyone knows how prestigious this tournament is but as the captain, you’re the one with the heaviest burden; everyone (including your beloved Seoyeon) will be counting on you throughout the tournament. You promise Coach Park, your team, and yourself that you’re going to give this run everything you have: “it’s ours, guys, believe that”, you tell them as the closing words for tonight’s practice.

You call an Uber after showering because you don’t feel like walking to your apartment after that exhausting practice. A few minutes of Uber ride later, you’re now at the front door of your apartment. As you’re entering the password, you hear footsteps from the inside, most likely Seoyeon’s as she’s running to greet you at the door.

“Oppa, you’re home! Welcome home!”, she says, the excitement obvious in her voice. “Yes, baby, I’m home. Sorry for coming home so late”, you say as you hug her and kiss her head. She presses her face on your shoulder, hugging you tight, “I know you’ve been working hard for the team and I’m proud of you, oppa, but I also miss you so much. Can we have a date soon? Maybe in the next few days? I-I hope th-that’s not too selfish of me”. Your heart sinks at the realization: you’ve been so busy with class and basketball that you’ve forgotten to make time for your lovely girlfriend. “I’m so sorry, baby. I don’t have classes or practice tomorrow; what do you say we have a little date at home? I can try and cook for us”, you say to her, hoping for a chance to make it up to her. She then looks up to look at you, her eyes hopeful that you’ll come through with your promise. “Okay, oppa. I’ll get home as soon as I can tomorrow. I’m curious what you’ll cook for me”, and with that, your date is set; you’re going to create your parents-approved spicy honey grilled chicken and fried rice for her and (hopefully) blow her mind with it.

-

A new day has arrived, the morning sun is beaming at you through your windows, but your sunshine is still in dreamland; “Seoyeon, baby, wake up. You have classes, don’t you?”, you say softly to wake her up. “Ngh what time is it?”, she says while gathering her soul after her deep slumber. “It’s almost 8, baby. I’ll run the shower for you so sit still for a bit, okay?”, you peck her lips as you get off the bed to prepare the shower for her. When you return from the bathroom, you see her peeking at you from under the covers, “any spoilers for today, oppa?”, she asks you, the covers muffling her voice a bit. “Of course, sweetie, it’ll be sweet and spicy”, you tell her as you get into bed to kiss her; you’d like to think that a kiss in the morning is like kick-starting a person, and that’s definitely the case for Seoyeon. After showering, Seoyeon leaves for campus half-running to avoid being late; “see you later, oppa. Love you”, she says, before giving you a peck and running out the door.

-

The clock now shows 15 minutes to 3pm, you have just over 2 hours to prepare the dishes. You start by taking the chicken out of the fridge and making the sauce mix for the grilled chicken. After glazing it for the first time, you throw it on the grill and let it cook, brushing more sauce as it goes so that the flavors can really seep into the chicken. Once they’re done cooking, you put them to the side to free up the space to make fried rice. For the fried rice, you start by tossing in some of your mom’s pre-made seasoning base into the flaming hot wok. Once that’s nice and fragrant, you throw in some diced chicken and let it get cooked before you mix in some well-beaten eggs. You then add in some salt, sugar, MSG (is it really fried rice without MSG?), sweet soy sauce, and hot sauce to give the fried rice its flavors. With about 20 minutes to spare before Seoyeon gets home, you’re finally finished and decide to take a shower first.

-

“Oppa, I’m home—what is this smell? It smells crazy good!”, she says as she enters the apartment, heading straight to the dining table. “Welcome home, baby, how was your day? I made you some spicy honey grilled chicken and fried rice—all using the recipes my parents approve of”, you welcome her into a hug and peck her forehead. “My day has been great, oppa, and it’s only getting better. Thanks for the meal!”, she says, getting a chicken thigh and some fried rice. You take a seat at the table and dig in together, “you like it, love?”, “this is soooo goooood, oppa. Didn’t know you were this good at cooking, what happened?”, she says with a full mouth. “I’d like to think I’m decent at cooking. I came up with this grilled chicken recipe when I was in high school, I’m glad that you like it”. It is one of those moments where the food is so good, you can’t help but enjoy it in silence because you’re just blown away by the taste, so the both of you just shut up and keep eating until the end of the meal.

-

You two get ready for sleep after cleaning everything up. You see her put on one of your T-shirts and a pair of shorts— “guess I’m not getting lucky tonight”, you think to yourself. As if hearing your thoughts, she notifies you, “I’m on my period today, oppa. I’m sorry”. “There’s nothing to be sorry for, sweetie. I would be more concerned if weren’t having your periods”, you assure her as you pull her into the bed. “But-but I should reward you for the meal”, she says as she palms your crotch, making you hard instantly. “Baby, please, when did it become an effort-reward relationship, hm? There’s nothing I’m asking you to do other than to cuddle and sleep next to me. That’s not too selfish of me, is it?”, you say to her while pulling her into a hug even though your cock is rock hard and ready for some action. “You’re always so sweet, oppa. Thank you for being so kind to me all the time. Will you be okay, though?”, “you deserve the best of me all the time, sweetie, and yes I’ll be okay”.

-

The rest of the month went by rapidly for you. Your team has been spanking your opponents left and right, breezing past round of 32, round of 16, and quarterfinal before anyone realized what had happened. “Alright, men. I know we’ve been dominating our opponents so far, but it’s only getting harder from this point onwards. We need to be in the right mindset and condition for it”, Coach Park said in the locker room after the quarterfinal. “Since the semifinal is on Saturday, I’ll see you all on Thursday for practice and we’ll rest on Friday. We’re going to practice some designed and after-timeout plays”, the coach continued.

The coach came through with his words: your team has been spending the last 2,5 hours running various plays designed for different players, including yourself. Coach Lee, one of the assistant coaches, has personally put together a handful of mid- and long-range scoring plays to create as many opportunities as possible for you. You’re worried that maybe the upcoming opponent has picked up all the tendencies that your team has—such as going through you heavily to score—but you can only hope that things will work as planned.

-

-

Saturday morning, it is. You wake up at around the usual time, while Seoyeon is still sound asleep. You didn’t do anything much last night since you were absolutely drained from Thursday’s practice. You look at the sleeping beauty: she seems to be in peace at the moment, sleeping oh-so-cutely on her side of the bed while being covered with a blanket up to her neck. After giving her a peck on the forehead, you get off the bed and head to the bathroom to take a shower. Your team don’t need to travel too much today since the stadium for semifinal and final is only 15 minutes away from campus, so you’re not running as tight on schedule as for the previous games.

When you get out of the shower, Seoyeon is already awake. She’s leaning against the headboard while scrolling mindlessly through her phone. “Mmh? Good morning, oppa”, she says when she sees you, arms reaching out for a hug. “Good morning, baby. Are you going to watch the game today?”, you ask her while hugging her and showering her with pecks. “I am, oppa. I’ll be sitting pretty close to the court, so look at me every now and then, okay? Good luck, captain. I love you”, she says to you as she pulls out of the hug.

-

Here you are, just under 3 minutes, says the countdown timer on that big ass TV in front of you, before the semifinal starts. You can hear the crowd’s excitement from deep in the tunnel, ready to support their favorite teams in the upcoming game. You take a deep breath to calm yourself and focus up. Turn to your team, time to fire them up: “let’s go, boys; we’re so close now. Let’s win this, alright? Win on 3—1, 2, 3!”.

After firing them up, a match committee personnel gives you a flag in the university color with the logo in the center of it, “this is new”, you think. As you take the flag from him, the arena announcer is yelling the team names and gets replied with loud noises from the crowd. Before you walk out, you make sure you look as cool as possible by leaning the flagpole against your right shoulder and putting on a cold face. Once the guy gives you the signal to go in, your team and the other start walking out to the court.

You stand in the center of the 5 starters of your team, right under the rim. Before the ceremony ends, you want to look for Seoyeon so you can find her easier during the game, “you see my girlfriend, bro?”, you whisper to your teammate next to you. “Hmm let’s see—oh, behind the other team’s bench, I think. Is that her?”, he points to show you, so you look closely at the area he’s pointing at; and there she is, wearing one of your old jerseys that she probably found in the wardrobe. You give her a little out-of-character wink to acknowledge her presence and she winks back so cutely, making your heart rate jump.

After the first quarter of the game, it becomes obvious that the opposing team is more organized in terms of defending and adjusting to your team’s offense. You’ve been decent, though, putting up 9 points of your team’s 22 through the first quarter. Coach Lee tells you that you shouldn’t be too fazed by their defense since they’re going to get more lenient as the game goes on due to exhaustion from defending so intensely.

Another 10 minutes of playing have finished and now you’re in the locker room to have more conversations on how to adjust to the current state of the game. True enough, they’ve gotten more laid back with their defense, letting you take 4 shots, which you made 3 of, from the 3-pt area. However, they’ve also gotten hotter with their shot making, trailing by fewer than 8 points the whole quarter. The plan for Q3, Coach Park says, is for you to be more active on defense, especially around the perimeter, and play a more relaxed role on offense since you’ve got a bunch of points in the bag already.

After exchanging some motivations and talking to some people, it’s time to head into the locker room. Before you do, though, you look at Seoyeon who’s smiling and clapping her hands. She gives you a seductive wink and a lip bite while putting a hand over her crotch, mouthing “I’m yours tonight” to you. You can’t afford to get a boner right now, so you look away as soon as she’s done signaling to you and head into the locker room to celebrate the win and talk to the coaches.

Since you’re starting Q3 from the bench, you have some time to catch up with Seoyeon who’s now on your side of the court. You look up to say hi and get some motivation from her. “Oppa, you’re so good! They’ve let you score so many times this game, oppa!”, she says, the excitement and fascination flowing out of her lips freely with every word said. “I’m just following the plan the coaches have set up, love. I’ll be playing less intensely on offense, though. I’ll show you what defense is”, you tell her, your confidence through the roof.

With less than 4 minutes left in the quarter, Coach Park subs you into the game— “great job, man”, you tell your teammate as he’s coming to the sideline, “shut these guys down, man”, your teammate says before grabbing a towel and sitting down. So, you do just that; you chase your assignments around the court on man-to-man defense, diligently switching back and forth with your teammates to prevent unfavorable matchups. Before you know it, the buzzer sounds, indicating the end of the 3rd quarter.

It is now the 4th quarter, the last 10 minutes of playing to secure a top 2 finish. Your team has an okay-ish lead of 10 entering the last quarter. The plan is to widen the gap by shutting down the opponent on defense while looking for easy scores on the other end, taking advantage of the fact that they’re tired despite being tired yourselves.

You try your best to not look at Seoyeon this quarter so that her cheering doesn’t distract you from doing your job in the dying embers of the game. Your plan doesn’t last too long, though, as you scream in her general direction after forcing a turnover. You see her jumping up and down as she cheers for you, looking as fired up as you are about the defensive play. With this comfortable lead, it’s only a matter of time until the game ends and you’re sent to the final stage, fighting for fame and glory one last time this year.

True enough, the final buzzer sounds loudly, and with it, the crowd’s emotions are divided: those who root for your team are screaming in joy, while the others are on their knees following the loss. “Hey, man. You did well. I’m sorry that it had to end like this. Let’s get on our feet, eh?”, you say to an opponent, pulling him up to his feet and hugging him—the feeling of losing while being so close to the goal is all too familiar to you.

-

You arrive at your apartment after taking a shower and chatting with a bunch of people about preparing for the final game. As you enter the bedroom, you see Seoyeon sitting on the edge of the bed, her body wrapped in a bath robe, “hi, oppa, welcome home. Did you catch what I said before you head into the tunnel?”, she asks, her hands getting ready to take the robe off. “I think I did”, you say before whispering in her ear, “you said you’re mine tonight, didn’t you?”, your deep voice sending shivers down her spine. “That is correct, oppa, so—", she says as she takes off the robe and kneels in front of you, “—do what you wish to me”, she adds, her mouth open and ready to take your shaft. You immediately drop everything you’re carrying on the floor along with your sweatpants and boxers and plunge deep into the warmth that is her mouth. She gags loudly and closes her eyes as she feels your tip hit the back of her throat. You lift her chin to look into her eyes; they tell you that she is so deep in the sea of lust, she might as well start drowning. You start thrusting in and out of her mouth, forcing her to take you deep into her mouth and making her gag every time. You want to turn it up a notch, though, “I want to try something else”, you say to her as you lie her on the bed, her head hanging off the edge, “You know where this is going, baby. Open”, you tell her before thrusting into her from a different position. You can’t help but let out groans and deep moans as you stuff her throat with your cock while playing with her tits. One last time before pulling out, you stick your cock deep in her throat and hold it there for a few seconds, making a mess of Seoyeon’s face as spit gets all over her face. Soon, you feel Seoyeon smack your thigh repeatedly, hoping that you’ll pull out and let her breathe. So you do just that, and she immediately gasps for air, “oh shit, oppa. I thought you were going to knock me out with your cock, fuck”, she says. “No, but I’ll be rough tonight. You know the safe word; say it if you want to stop”, you say, notifying her of your intent.

Feeling like you’re about to cross the line, you let go of her neck and pull out so that you two can catch some breaths. You see your hand leave a red mark on her neck, as she breathes with her mouth to get as much air into her lungs as possible. “Baby, you okay? That was too rough, right? I’m sorry”, you say, your mind no longer possessed by your cock. “Hah, hah—I’m-I’m fine—fuck. You were so rough, oppa. Didn’t know you had it in you like that”, she says, her eyes glassy from unreleased tears. “Do you want to stop, baby? Say the safe word, maybe?”, you ask to make sure that you still have her consent. “No, o-one more time. I’m so close, take me across the line, oppa”, she says, while grabbing her legs and folding it like earlier. “Let go of your legs, baby. You must be tired”, you say, while going in for a kiss. When you pull away, you see her put on a loving smile, “yes, baby?”, you ask her, not quite catching her signal. “I love you, oppa, so damn much. Now— “, she says while rolling onto her stomach, “—take me again, like this. You can be rough again if you want to”. “Okay, baby. Don’t forget that you can say the safe word”, you say, as you ride her thighs to fuck her from behind.

You tell her to move up in the bed, “you want me to wear a condom or no?”, you ask Seoyeon, who now has her head on the pillow while lying on her back. “Oppa isn’t talking as sweetly and softly as usual, I hope it means that he’s enjoying this”, she thinks to herself, “umm, yes, please”, she replies. You’re never one to do something to a girl without her consent, so you put on a condom before climbing into bed with her. You then get between her legs and fold them over her torso, “hold your legs for me”, you say sternly while aiming your length at her entrance. Unsurprisingly, she obeys right away. She holds her legs over her body by wrapping her forearms under her knees. Just as you’re about to push in, she fuels your fire, “give it to me, oppa, make me take it”.

After being shown the green light, you push your cock into her tight hole, making her scream instantly. “Yes, yes, yes, fuck me, oppa”, she eggs you on. You put a hand on her neck and start squeezing it, and you feel her pussy get tighter around your cock, “oh, you like this, you slut? Fuck, so tight”, you say, attempting some dirty talk while thrusting roughly; you hope she doesn’t mind being called that out of nowhere. “Fu—oppa, please, ughhh”, she tries to say with the last bit of air in her chest, as a tear starts running down her face and her hands try to loosen your grip on her neck.

You plunge deep into her instantly, making her scream into the pillow. You like this angle as it makes Seoyeon feel tighter for you; “fuck, baby, you’re tighter like this”, you say with a deep groan. “Oh, oh, yes, I’m always tight for you, oppa”, she replies, her voice muffled by the pillow, moaning with every thrust you’re giving her.

As you’re thrusting deep and fast, you see Seoyeon’s forbidden hole every now and then, peeking at you from behind her cheeks. You want to stimulate her more to get her closer to her orgasm, so you take your thumb and rub her small hole with it, making her gasp in surprise and turn her head to look at you. “Oppa, please, not there—please, please, please”, she says, panicking at the thought that you’re going to put something in her ass. You respond by grabbing a handful of her hair and pulling it, making her arch her back, “you’re mine, aren’t you? Have you forgot, you little slut? You’re entirely mine”, you whisper aggresively in her ear, getting rougher with your thrusts. “I—fuck, fuck, fuck—I’m cumming!”, she exclaims with a loud scream—you’re lowkey worried that a neighbor might call the cops on you considering how loud she’s screaming.

“Cum, you slut, cum all over this cock”, you reply to her, not letting up the thrusts. You finally pull out when you feel her juice pushing you out, her legs shaking due to the hard orgasm. “Good job, baby. I’ll get some water then it’s time to chase mine, okay?”, you tell her while petting the back of the panting girl softly before leaving to get some water.

When you return with some water for the both of you, you see Seoyeon still laying on her stomach while looking at you, seemingly sad about something; “oppa, you weren’t really trying to get in that hole, were you?”, she asks, referring to your stimulation on her asshole, “i-is my pussy not good enough, oppa? Bu-but you were my first—ah, I’m so sorry, oppa. I-I’ll do better next time”, she continues, tears gathering in her eyes.

Your heart shatters at her words; you only meant it as a stimulation to get her closer to her orgasm, not to point out that something’s lacking—"tell her otherwise, now”, your heart screams at you. “Oh, love, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it like that—I was just trying to get you to your orgasm quicker. It is true that I was your first, and I’m forever honored and grateful for that. You’ve been the best girlfriend for me, so there’s no need to worry about being lacking, baby”, you tell her before pulling her into a hug and carrying her to the bathroom.

“Let’s get cleaned up, alright? I think we’ve had enough tonight”. “Bu-but you haven’t cum yet, oppa. Plea-please let me down, let-let me finish the job”, she says to you half begging. “It’s fine, baby, I’ll manage. Let me take care of you, okay? I went so rough on you, I’m sorry”, you say to her as you open the bathroom door. “Can you stand up on your own, sweetie? Do you need a stool?”, you ask her before putting her down. “A stool, please, oppa. My legs are like jelly right now”, she replies to you, drawing a prideful smile on your face.

Now that the shower has finished, you give her one of your jerseys to wear to sleep—the length enough to cover your little girlfriend down to her thighs—before putting her down on the bed. You wrap her in your arms while she tucks her head on your neck; “oppa”, she begins, “congrats on making it to the final”, she says. Surprised to hear her bring it up out of nowhere, you let out a chuckle, “it’s all thanks to you, sweetie; thank you for cheering me on, baby”, you reply. You can’t see her face, but you know she’s blushing right now. “Promise me that you’ll win, oppa. I, uh, may or may not have a present prepared for you—but only if you win”, she continues. “Present, hey? I like the sound of that. I’ll try my hardest, baby”, you say, feeling motivated by the promise of getting a present.

After setting the stool down and making her sit on it, you turn on the shower and start cleaning her up. You start by rubbing her nape and back with some soap before lifting her butt up so you can clean her cheeks. You then rinse the soap off her back and move in front of her to continue.

When you get in front of her, you kneel and put a hand on her knee, “How are we feeling, sweetie?”, you ask her to gauge her emotions. She looks down at herself before looking at you, “oppa, you love me, right? You won’t leave me just because I didn’t let you in my ass, right? Please tell me you love me. Please, oppa”, she asks, her voice trembling from sadness. She needs assurance and comfort right now, and you’re ready to give her whatever she needs to make her feel better.

“I love you, baby. Please believe me when I say that I’m not going to force you into anal until you’re ready, whenever that may be. Even if you end up never feeling ready for it, I’ll still love you with all my life; there’s no doubt in my mind about it”, you tell her with all the sincerity you can muster. “Please don’t feel burdened by any of it, baby. I won’t leave you, no matter what happens tonight”, you tell her while hugging her tightly, your promise true and sincere as ever. When you finally pull away, you see a small smile drawn on her face, “feeling better, love? Let’s finish this and then go to sleep, okay?”, to which she nods enthusiastically, straightening her back to give you access to clean her front.

-

It’s been a few days since the semifinal and that night where Seoyeon tried being a subby baby for you—she chickened out when you teased her asshole, though, blue-balling you in the end. The grand final is right around the corner and you’ve spent the last few of days preparing for the last dance. You’re nervous out of your mind at the prospect of playing in the grand final, unconsciously speaking less day in and day out. Seoyeon notices this and tries to help you ease your mind as much as she can, being the angel of a girlfriend that she is, even when you forget to thank her—basketball is taking the entire space in your head right now.

After going through the past 2 days mindlessly, it’s now Saturday morning again, 12 hours before the final game of the season. You woke up not-too-smoothly, letting out a panic gasp as you felt your soul get shoved back into your body. You panic even more when you can’t find Seoyeon in bed, so you immediately jump off the bed and run out of the bedroom.

After doing so, you hear sizzling coming from the kitchen. “Is that Seoyeon?”, you think to yourself. When you go to the kitchen to investigate, you see Seoyeon in front of the stove, busy doing something. “Good morning, oppa! I’m making some steamed eggs for breakfast”, she says cheerfully when she sees you. Relief fills your head right away, so you hug her from behind without saying anything and rest your forehead on her head, “I panicked when I couldn’t find you in bed”, you mumble into the back of her head. “Sorry, oppa. Just wanted to make you some breakfast to cheer you up before tonight”, she says to you. You keep hugging her until she notifies you that she’s done cooking and asking you to sit at the table.

“My mom taught me how to make this, oppa. Hope you like it”, she says wishfully. You’re so captivated by the steaming pot of steamed eggs in front of you that you almost forget to thank the person behind it. “Ah, almost forgot—thank you, baby. You’ve been so kind to me these past few days—months, really. I’ll take you on a date after this is all done, okay?”, you say to her. Seoyeon can’t help but blush at your words, “oh-oh, I was just trying to help you, oppa. You-you’ve also been so kind to me”, she says before covering her face with her hands—you find it adorable that she still gets shy with you despite having been dating for a few months.

“Thank you for the meal!”, you exclaim excitedly before sticking a spoon into the pot. You let out a satisfied groan after the first spoonful; it is so soft and well-seasoned, absolutely astonishing. “This is amazing, baby. Thank you so much”. “I’m glad you like it, oppa. I was so nervous if I made it wrong”, she replies.

-

After finishing the meal, you excuse yourself to go to the bathroom while Seoyeon washes the dishes. You then open the wardrobe to get some clothes and the jersey for tonight. As you dig through your part of the wardrobe, you find a piece of paper folded in half lying on top of your jersey. With a curious mind, you open it; “Oppa, this is Seoyeon—obviously”, the first line says, “I know you’ve been stressed out about the grand final, but I want to remind you that you’ll always be my number one regardless of the result tonight. Love you always, captain. Signed, your Seoyeon”, the rest of the letter says, her signature drawn on the bottom.

As you finish reading it, you see Seoyeon enter the bedroom, “oh you found it already, guess I didn’t hide it well enough”, she says while smirking, pointing to the piece of paper on your hand. You can’t believe how lucky you are to be in love with such a sweet girl, so you can’t help but fall on your knees wordlessly. Surprised by the sight in front of her, Seoyeon rushes to you, “oppa, are you okay? Are you sick?”, she asks in panic, hugging you and putting a palm on your forehead. “Seoyeon, I.. I love you so much. Thank you for everything”, you say while looking deeply into her eyes. Seoyeon hugs you tightly after hearing your words, “no, thank you. I love you so much too. Go win this for me, okay? Fighting, captain”, she says to you.

-

It's only a few minutes before the grand final starts. You find yourself in the darkness of the tunnel again. “You’ll always be my number one”, Seoyeon’s words are repeating endlessly in your head. Your thoughts are cut short when you see the same guy and the flag from before make another appearance; “for you, captain”, the guy says. You grab the flag from him and put it against your shoulder like before.

Unlike last time, though, everyone’s wearing a jacket now. Everyone wears it normally while you wear yours like a cape, making the name of the university clear for everyone to see. The guy gives you the signal to enter and start the pre-match pleasantries which you’re not paying attention to, your mind locked in for the game itself—you do hear the crowd cheer when the announcer says your name, though, so that’s nice.

The first half was hard; your team were trading points and exchanging leads back and forth with the opponents. During the break, Coach Park was putting more emphasis on steadying the game and scoring consistently in the second half while being tight on defense. Before heading back out, Coach Lee pulls you to the side; “we need you to score from deep, son. They’ve been covering you loosely this game, you must take advantage of that”, he tells you, to which you reply by nodding your head in acknowledgment.

True enough, they’re allowing you to have more space on the floor as you’re able to have uninterrupted looks to shoot every few possessions. As instructed by Coach Lee, you take advantage of it as much as you can, making 4 out of 5 shots from long range. Your team is now leading by 8, the largest in the game so far. Feeling uncomfortable, the opponent’s coach calls a timeout, sending both teams to the bench to talk. After the timeout, Coach Park decides to sit you on the bench for the rest of the quarter, giving you some time to catch up with your girl, who’s sitting in the same seat as last time. “Oppa, what are we thinking?”, she asks you. “We’re trying to keep this lead, baby. Pray for us, okay?”, you say to her, making it as simple as possible for her to understand.

3rd quarter ends with your team leading by 4; not big enough a lead to be comfortable, but you’ll have to make do with what you have. “10 more minutes, guys, come on”, you tell your teammates during the huddle, “let’s win this shit”, you add at the end. The approach now is to be intense on defense, forcing hard matchups and turnovers to turn into easy fastbreaks on the other end of the court. You’ve been taking a few elbows to your body throughout the game, hurting you little by little; “that’s basketball for you, just man up”, your brain says.

After forcing another turnover and turning it into an easy bucket, the opponent calls their last timeout with 1 minute left in the game. Coach Lee takes the floor this time, “we’re almost there, boys. Hang on for 1 minute and you’ll win it. Let’s go”, he says, before explaining some defensive schemes for the last minute of the game. The huddles break when the horn sounds, notifying both teams to get back on the floor with 1 minute left.

The opponents have the ball coming from the timeout. The guard is bringing the ball up the court while making a horn sign with his fingers. Everyone knows what to do, so each of you gets ready to react to the play. Unfortunately, despite having prepared to defend such play, they still manage to score 2 points off an offensive rebound following a miss, cutting the lead down to 2. After getting the inbound, you start bringing the ball to the other side with less than seconds left on the clock, calling for the circle play as an attempt to put this game to bed by scoring from deep in crunch time. You pass the ball to a teammate before cutting inside and circling outside the 3-pt line again—hence the “circle”—while another teammate sets a screen for you, leaving you wide open to shoot.

As you shoot, adrenaline slows down the time, making it feel like it takes the ball forever to fly through the air and into the hoop. After keeping your eyes on the ball the whole time, you finally see the ball go cleanly through the basket, hitting nothing but nylon. With it, the crowd roars as you’ve grown the lead to 5 with almost no time for retaliation. After getting back on defense one last time, you hear the final buzzer roar through the arena— “is it done? Did we win?”, your brain wonders. As if hearing your thoughts, a teammate hugs you, “yo we won, man, we won. Can you believe that? We won!”, he says, screaming at you. After him, your other teammates start piling up on you one by one; “ah yes, we did win”, your brain confirms.

-

After exchanging emotions with everyone, you’re now left alone in the court. You find yourself on your knees trying to process everything that has happened, your emotions still at bay. Shortly after, you look up to find Seoyeon, immediately spotting her. She’s bawling her eyes out while having her fists in the air.

You run up to her so you two can share this moment. You hold out your arms and she fills it right away, “oppa, you did it, you won!”, she says, her voice shaky from the emotions. “Yes, we did, sweetie. We won, and it’s all thanks to you”, you reply to her as tears start running down your face. After hugging for a few seconds, you pull away from her, “I’m going to the locker room, see you at home, love”, you tell her. “Don’t forget, oppa, I have a present for you, a huge one”, she replies to you, a mischievous smile drawn on her face.

You ended up spending an hour celebrating with the team and a bunch of professors who attended the game. You’re now in the Uber heading home, all refreshed and cleaned up after showering. You’re excited at the prospect of getting a present from your beloved—not long to go until you reach your apartment. As soon as you arrive at the door, you enter the passcode. “Huh, no sound from Seoyeon”, you think to yourself. “Seoyeon, are you home, baby?”, you say loudly as you try to find her. “In here, oppa”, you hear her say behind the closed bedroom door.

After putting down your stuff, you knock on the door and enter the bedroom. You’re met with Seoyeon, who has her bathrobe on like last time, making your heart rate jump through the roof in excitement. “Congrats on winning the tournament, oppa”, she starts, “and with it, you’ve won the grand prize”. “Thank you, baby, and what’s this grand prize you’re talking about?”, you ask, ready to get lucky.

“Your prize—“, she says while taking a few steps back and taking off her robe, revealing a very sexy black lingerie, “—is me”. Your cock hardens instantly at her words, “oh, really?”, you reply to her, your head full of lust— “when did she buy that?”, your brain asks. “Yes, oppa—or should I say, daddy”, she says while getting on her knees, “I’m entirely yours, daddy. Do what you want to me”.

You walk up and kneel on one knee in front of her, getting on her eye level, “Safe word?”, you ask. “Same as always, but I don’t plan on using it tonight. Let me please you, daddy—use me”, she says, not folding to your deep gaze. You stand back up again to free your cock from its constraints, and that’s when she adds fuel to your fire, “All yours, daddy, including my ass”. Surprised to hear her offer her ass to you, you look at her, “I hope you’re sure because I’m not asking again”, you warn her. “I’ve given you my cherry, might as well give you the other one”, her reply stuns you. “Get on the bed like last time”, you command her.

You walk over to the bedside table to grab a condom. Seoyeon sees this, and she rushes to you and holds your arm; “fuck me raw, daddy—breed me”, she says with lustful gaze. Your cock gets hard quickly at her words, “careful with what you wish for, slut”, you say while holding her by the chin and she replies by smirking seductively. “Get on your hands and knees, now”, you say impatiently.

Once she’s in position—her head hanging off the edge while the rest of her body is in bed—put your cock into her mouth. You see her chest go up and down with every thrust, trying to stay calm as your cock is lodged in her airway. Naughty as you are, you palm her neck with one hand. You feel her throat bulging every time you push deep into her mouth. This, however, makes her lose control and start gagging loudly. “Oh shit, I’m getting close”, you groan and she lets out a muffled whine as a reply. You pick up your pace, planning to cum in her moist mouth. A few thrusts later, you feel your cock twitch: a signal that you’re cumming.

Trying to show her some mercy, you pull your shaft out but leave the tip in. “Fuck!”, you say as you cum in her mouth and make her choke on your cum. She waits for you to finish spurting your baby batter before tapping your thighs, asking for you to pull out. Once you do, you see that spit has run down her face. “Show me”, she opens her mouth filled with cum, “so?”, you ask. She puts her doubts aside and swallows it, earning a chuckle from you. “You’re such a good girl, aren’t you? Move up, get comfortable”, you say as you help her move up the bed, “I’m your good girl, daddy. I’ll do anything for you”, she says.

She’s laying on her stomach limply while you leave to get water. “Drink, baby. You’ve been screaming a lot”, you say to her sweetly while putting the glass close to her mouth, letting her sip some water. “Thank you, daddy. You’re so sweet”, she says with a grateful smile on her face. “So, what now?”, you ask her, hoping that she’ll keep her promise from earlier. “Fuck my ass, daddy. Take my last cherry and make me yours entirely. I’ve prepared the lube, it’s in the bottom drawer”, she says to you, her eyes full of lust again, ready to give you her last virginity.

You kneel behind Seoyeon and stick your cock deep into her pussy, making her moan at the first penetration. “You want daddy’s cum? You think you deserve it?”, you say with a hoarse voice while aggressively thrusting into her. “Daddy—oh, I—ah, fuck—I’m your good girl—fuck—please give me your cum”, she says while moaning and cursing out loud. Not one to deny such request, you push her down so that only her ass is in the air. “As you wish, slut”, and with it, you start picking up your pace: giving it to her deep and fast, making her grip the sheets tightly while screaming into the pillow.

“Oh God, you’re stretching me, daddy—fuck!—keep going, please. Breed me, please!”, she begs you. “Zip it, slut—fuck, how are you still so tight after all this time?”, you say before pressing her head into the pillow. “I’m not too far away now”, you announce, while Seoyeon is still screaming into the pillow, “I’ll need to give her a lot of water after this”, you say to yourself, taking a mental note. “Fuck, I’m cumming. Cum with me, baby”, you say, breaking your dominant character before thrusting one last time and leaving your cock stuck deep in her pussy, filling her second hole with baby batter. You notice that she’s also having her orgasm as shown by her shaking legs and thighs. You pull out after the both of you have come down from your high—your cock is now shining thanks to her slick.

You walk away from her and open the bottom drawer, and would you look at that: a sealed bottle of Prael Gel lube. “When did you buy this?”, you ask her. “Wouldn’t you like to know”, she says before chuckling, “do it, daddy—I’m begging you”. After slathering lube all over your cock, you get into the bed again, “how do you want me?”, she says as she gets ready to get into position. “Just lay on your stomach and spread these cheeks for me”, you tell her, spanking both cheeks and making them red. “As you wish, daddy”, she says while her hands are spreading her cheeks, letting you see the forbidden hole.

Once you’re in, you start giving her deep but slow thrusts and let her asshole adapt to the large shaft lodged in it, “my God you’re so tight—fucking hell”, you exclaim while her anal muscles are squeezing your cock. “Alwa-always am, for you—oh my God, fuck!”, she screams into the pillow again when you reach the deepest point, “you’re going to ruin me, daddy—please ruin me, I’m nothing without you”, she says, making the fire in you rage wildly. “I’m going faster, keep squeezing my cock”, you say to her. Seeing her press her head into the pillow serves as a green light to you, so you start going faster while still hitting the deepest spot in her ass. “God I’m gonna cum again”, you groan as you’re inching closer to your third orgasm tonight.

You get on top of her and set your knees on either side of her thighs. You slowly move forward until your tip reaches her rear entrance. Seoyeon gasps and turns her head to look at you, “slowly, daddy, please—be gentle with your slut; it’s her first time”, she says to you, “did she just call herself a slut?”, you think. You just give her a nod while pushing into her ass—her muscles are not letting you in, “relax, baby, let me in”, you say to her.

You’re not entirely sure if she actually relaxes as you keep pushing forward and forcefully break in into her ass. You finally get past her sphincter, stretching her asshole and molding it into the shape of your cock. “Fuck, daddy, you’re so big! Please be gentle, please, please—God, fuck—it’s-it’s my first time, daddy—AHHHH!”, her screams are muffled by the pillow but still loud enough to reach your ears.

Not wanting to leave her behind, you lift her ass up into the air again and begin rubbing her clit. “Cum with me or I’m tying you to the bed”, you whisper in her ear. Upon hearing your command, she replies, “oh, oh, daddy, please let me cum with you—AHHHHH PLEAAASE”. The way her asshole squeezes your cock is foreign to you, so you can’t help but let out deep groans of your own. After thrusting in and out about a few dozen times while her moans and whines fuel your lust, the familiar feeling of reaching ejaculation is creeping up on you. You rub her clit faster to get her to cum with you while you keep fucking her ass. “Seoyeon, I’m cumming, take it all!”, “DADDY PLEASE”, she screams in return, and with it, you’re releasing in her ass while she squirts for the first time.

Despite feeling weak in the core and wanting to fall over, you pull out of her ass, being shown the gape your cock has made of her ass. Seoyeon is not making any sound right now, so you hope that she’s just drained and still fine. You peck her on the back of the head before going to the bathroom to start the shower.

After making sure that everything is set in the bathroom, you go back to the bedroom and touch her back, “no, no, daddy. Pochacco, please—fuck—I can’t take it anymore. Please, I’m begging you”, she says while panicking, saying her safe word for good measure. “Hey, hey, calm down, baby. We’re done for tonight. There’s nothing to worry about, okay?”, you soothe her while petting her head softly. “Let me take care of you, alright? The shower is ready”, you say to her before carrying her to the bathroom.

You sit her down on the stool since you figure that she won’t be able to stand up on her own after getting wrecked in all 3 holes. You start cleaning her back as usual before kneeling in front of her. “Oppa, did you like it? I-I hope I did well”, she says. “Baby, it was amazing and you did excellent. Thank you so much”, you say before going in for a kiss. “I thought my ass was on fire, oppa—“, she says after pulling away, so you hug her as a gesture of apology, “—but I think I liked it, you felt much bigger in my ass”. “Are you saying we should do it again? I think it was amazing”, you ask with hopefulness in your voice. “O-oh, yeah, sure”, she says before looking away, subtle pink tint on her cheeks.

-

You two get back into the bed after showering to start cuddling. You’re half-mindedly petting her head that’s currently tucked against your chest, inching closer to sleep before your brain reminds you of something. “Hey, baby, what happened? I thought you weren’t ready for anal?”, you ask her. “Ahh, oppa”, she whines cutely and slaps your chest lightly, “a friend told me that she had just given her anal cherry to her boyfriend as a birthday present, an-and I figured that maybe I could do that as well should you win the tournament”, she continues. “I must say that you’re crazy but I’m also thankful”, you say before kissing her head, “but where did the daddy kink come from?”, you follow up. Before saying anything, she pulls away from the cuddle and gets on top of you, “I.. want to be yours, like yours yours, you know?”, she says before looking away from your deep gaze, “I figured that I could be your subby baby and let you do whatever to me to prove my sincerity”.

You’re absolutely stunned by her answer, “you know you didn’t need to do all that, right? You know I love you”, you say to her. “Yes, yes, you always say that you love me, but I still want to do it. Please, oppa, accept me”, she says. You pull her down and hug her tightly, “of course, baby. I love you so much, okay?”, you then whisper in her ear, getting back into the dominant character, “you’re mine from now on, and you’ll do whatever I ask you to, you understand?”. “Yes, daddy. From now on, I’m your slut”, she replies, her voice laced with submission to you. Satisfied with her answer, you wrap her in your arms once again and take her to the dreamland while the gears in your head start spinning, trying to come up with things to do to her in the future.

[poetrysmackdown]

some informal thoughts

hello! hope the holiday season has been kind to all of you. and i hope all my jewish followers had a lovely hanukkah! anyways, since i said a few months ago that i’d pick poetry smackdown back up sometime around this time of year, i thought i should make a post. the gist of it is that i’m still quite busy, i have a break that’s about three weeks shorter than I was planning on, and i don’t currently have the mental bandwidth required to read, contemplate, and sort through poem submissions in a way that does justice to them, even if i were to recruit some friends to help out. since running a tournament format requires at least five weeks of continued engagement once it’s underway, and since i’m not at capacity to offer that right now due to the change in my schedule, i’m gonna have to bow out for now. sad bc i was looking forward to it!

my hope is that i’ll have some more time over the summer to hunker down with it, in which case you’ll be hearing from me. it’ll frankly depend on the kind of job i land in for the summer, but i find that my unemployed spirit can typically keep me doing stupid shit regardless of workload...to a point. i don’t want to make any promises because i don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up just to let them down again LOL. i do admit the amount of exposure the first tournament got has made me feel like more of a perfectionist this time around, doubly because i don’t feel that i’m very suited to being a public online presence (even a relatively quite small one)—i’m bad enough at responding to emails for my own real life responsibilities, let alone tumblr asks for the silly responsibilities i invent for myself lol. that’s not to say i no longer want to do it, or i don’t enjoy it, or even that i don’t feel capable of making a really interesting bracket—just that if i am working to put something new together, and if people are taking the time to submit poems they care about, then i don’t want to half-ass it.

my second admission is something like this. I made the original bracket as a celebration of poetry and our relationships to it. yes it was silly and competitive, and the poems were very tumblr, but still, celebration was the intention—I wanted to have conversations about poetry. I stand by the bracket format as a fun and valuable way to foster conversations about poetry, but truthfully, the poems i’m wanting to have conversations about right now—the poems that we should be talking about right now—are ones that i'm not comfortable putting in a bracket. I reblogged The Baffler’s Poems from Palestine collection on here earlier, and Najwan Darwish’s “Who Remembers The Armenians?”, which I still often find repeating through my head when I'm traveling from one place to another, walking home or riding the bus. I came across this beautiful thread recently where people have been translating Dr. Refaat Alareer’s “If I Must Die” into their own languages (this just makes my translator's heart sing!!!!!!). @havingapoemwithyou has been posting some great poems from and for Palestine as well—check out their tag here.

There's always more to add, and I'll be posting more on here as I come across it, but that's what I feel anyone should be focusing on right now when it comes to poetry. i think poetry can be an escape but it should never be a distraction. does that make sense? i wouldn't be against doing a one-off poll here or there, but it feels weird to be making a tournament for poetry right now, or anytime soon. i feel like what free time i have right now is still best utilized helping my friends with organizing in the real world. and god, a bit off-topic but while I'm talking, fuck poetry foundation—I have so much respect for all the poets keeping up the boycott, because while i think it's a simple decision, it's not always an easy one (Aurielle Lucier discussed that here).

anyways, if you read all of this, thank you for your time!! I could go on and on, but really this was just meant to be a message telling y'all that there won't be another tournament for a while lol. even so i'll be trying to use this small silly platform as best i can until palestine is free because that's the absolute least i can do.

[flowitch]

thoughts on dynamite tonight (out of order):

-rvd still slays

-jack perry wearing outfits/gear inspired by ecw ppl is very funny i am enjoying him as a shithead heel

-thank god anna, daniel and tay are free from jas. now keep building up anna, when tay comes back revert her back to her ultra babyface badass gimmick, push daniel to the moon, and also keep matt & angelo w anna bc they’re funny

-MAX AND ADAM TWICE IN ONE NIGHT????? best day of my life. also them vs aussie open of all teams this was made specifically for me

-roddy is so gay and pathetic i love him dearly. keep going w the kingdom stuff and get the neck brace off him and back to wrestling. i wanna see roddy have banger matches please thank u🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻shoutout to the aew gay love triangle

-the kingdom vs better than you bay bay is something i am interested in

-im not ready for max and adam to break up😔

-why the FUCK is saraya in this tournament and not willow??? i mean i know it’s probs bc she’s british but like really??? it’s gonna end up being shida vs toni vs britt vs saraya and only 2 of those people can wrestle well. saraya has no business beating skye blue who they’ve been building up for a while now and is miles better than her.

-the mogul embassy is fucking fantastic i love them so much. i have such a deep love for swerve strickland man he’s amazing. and ar fox has been a great addition so far i really like it. also prince nana is still amazing per usual.

-commentary making a big deal ab sting returning from injury is so funny bc 1. the injury in question was like. missing a tooth or something and 2. he disappears for weeks at a time after each match so this isn’t anything new

-the post match beat down to the lucha bros was crazy bc there are run in saves every week in aew so no one saving them was so weird

-kenny interview next week let’s goooooooo!!! we’re def getting him vs takeshita and i’m very excited ab it

-i wonder if there will be 2 coffins for the coffin tag match at wembley or if it will be a larger coffin to fit 2 people

-max and adam at the trampoline park was so funny 😭😭😭

-honestly considering paying for roh

-bucks vs hardy’s was fun per usual. so excited for them vs ftr!!! praying bucks win🙏🏻it’ll be a great match regardless

-speaking of the bucks is matt okay😭he comes out every week w a new arm brace and more tape on his arms. he stresses me out man why are u held together by hopes & dreams

-fuck you don callis you bald bastard

[starlight-time-machine]

Week in Review

04/07/2024 – 04/13/2024

Sunday

Week 9 of missing Cipher Academy

Monday

It’s a Manga Monday sort of week (instead of the usual Manga Sunday).

Woah, new character in Girl Meets Rock…I do like that the social web continues to expand, it feels true to life of the band and choir circles I used to run in in high school.

FENG!!!!!!!!!! YEAHHHHHHHHH (Undead Unluck) I’ve really grown to like this tsundere single father – the way Fuuko has filed down his fangs is so funny and endearing (as opposed to the horrible monster he was last loop when he killed my other favourite character, Shen). Plopping a guy literally all about physical combat into this intellectual word game is just the sort of unexpected twist that keeps things interesting, and I’m really excited to see how he fares (despite martial arts being his main focus in life, I do think he’s intelligent and crafty enough to maybe make some clever moves).

Oshi no Ko was fine. Didn’t really need a sympathetic backstory for the mysterious child god but okay.

Dandadan was fine. I liked the one honor student looking guy leading the charge of the delinquents, but Otarun entering the scene was definitely the highlight. This stretch of the manga just feels a little like meaningless spectacle (which, now that I think about it, worries me a little with regards to the anime. Dandadan’s fights are always high octane city destroying spectacles, so I hope Science Saru will be able to keep up…).

Magilumiere fine.

Chainsaw Man fun, mostly because people made funny Quanxi and Asa memes.

Tuesday

Busy today

Wednesday

Finally got around to watching the new Game Changer episode, and it was a definite improvement on the last one. Watching the layers of fuckery unfold was great, though I feel like the PA prompts were a little unbalanced in terms of the “gameplay” since they’re all nice people who would probably never say no to a PA outright.

Thursday

Today’s menu is chicken and mushroom broth with a side of mini pizza pockets (don’t judge me) for the DunMesh episode, which paired nicely once they got past the snot stuff and went to the potage stuff. After a few heavier episodes, I appreciate Kui balancing the tone out with some more slapstick comedy chapters, and Trigger has done a great job adapting the comedic beats (as they always do). We got the infamous Chilchuck birds and the bees scene, as well as the human face gourd sight gag and stone tsukkomi Marcille, and it was just a fun time overall.

Friday

The Drag Race lip sync tournament was alright. (I refuse to type out “lalaparuza” in earnest) I’m glad to see Mirage get some redemption, though I would’ve liked to see her go all the way, but Megami’s redemption was an even greater sight to behold. She just imbues her lip syncs with so much character and personality, and seeing that win over Mhi’ya was honestly pretty cathartic. (Lowkey I think Plasma should’ve won against Mhi’ya too, but whatever…) But in general, I wasn’t particularly wow’d by any of the lip syncs. I don’t know, last season just had so many heavy hitters (Sasha, Anetra, Jaxx, Marcia Marcia Marcia) that made the tournament genuinely exciting, but of this season’s batch I think only Mirage is on that same level to me (sorry Mhi’ya and Morphine…you can definitely dance but I wanted something more…). I’m cautiously excited for the finale next week – it’s looking like it’s Sapphira’s to lose, but I really hope Nymphia can pull through…

Saturday

Wanted something easy to watch in the background while I did other stuff so I booted up season 5 of Glow Up, which I hadn’t watched yet. Glow Up is one of those reality competition shows that I casually keep up with because I like seeing people be creative, but after Ophelia’s amazing run in season 2 I haven’t cared much about the other contestants/winners so far. Also I know next to nothing about make-up, so it’s kind of funny when I see something and I’m like oh that’s nice and then the judges are like that’s horrible and disgusting I can’t believe they’ve done this lol. I only managed to watch one episode today, but I do like how much Glow Up emphasizes the industry/working side of things and how almost all of their main challenges let us see the contestants not just utilize their make-up skills but also their ability to communicate with clients and supervisors. The classic first episode “do a look that tells me about yourself” challenge is always fun too, because you get to see which MUAs actually have a unique perspective and which just draw some hearts and call it a day. I think the person who did the bald cap anxiety look was my favourite – I appreciated how they didn’t go super literal with it, instead evoking the raw feeling of anxiety itself. Good stuff.

[unlikelyempathpruneauthor]

Can you make a fic about when the sandlot boys see you with your twin brother(you don’t look alike and they never met him) and they see you hug him and benny gets jealous:)

My Dummy

a/n: thank you so much for requesting!!! i also love this and i hope it’s what you wanted! also i have been working so sorry if i didn’t respond quick but here you go!! love you🥰 also they may be some typos

You and your family had just moved into the new neighborhood finally away from the cold and into the hot summer days. Within days of living here you had made many friends, who happened to be a group of sweaty guys. They had the same sense of humour as you and well, the girls around here were not as much fun as you would say.

You had met Benny first at school and well the friendship had blossomed since then. Then of course feelings were involved, with Benny admitting them to you first as you added one and well here you are a couple weeks of dating.You would hang most of them time and when you were at the sandlot you would be cheering them off, since you didn't really know much about ball. You were more into soccer, but you didn't let them know about that. When the guys weren't around though Benny would make it his personal goal to teach you more about his favorite sport.

“Come on, it'll be fun, plus, we can finally have some alone time.” he said as you hid your smile as he came up to you holding your hands, “ugh, fine, just don't make fun of me okay?” you said as he nodded, “sweetheart, i could never, you're too perfect.” he said as you two walked over to the sandlot and as expected it was all alone leaving you two playing until the sun had set and walking you home yet again another perfect day with benny.

With hanging out and spending time with Benny , there was never time for you to explain your life. You had a twin brother, however he was away for soccer tournaments and well, he wouldn't be back until another month. Or so you thought. You didn't really mention him because you two were distant when he was away. However when he was home you two would spend the day together. You two might need a break from one another, but you sure missed one another when he was away.

You were at the sandlot yet again and ham had spotted a guy, “hey, we got a newbie!” he says as you look with a frown. Then you saw it was Parker, your twin, he was back.

“That's not a newbie, it's parker!” you said running over to him as parker had spotted you and he plastered a smile on his face missing his younger sister. Once you were arm's length away from one another you two hugged one another for more than a minute. From a far benny had seen how long you hugged him from and how tight his arms wrapped around you. He never told you anything about a guy named parker.

“how are you here?” you asked as he scoffed, “please, i'm only here for mom.” he said as you playfully punched him, “i'm serious how are you here? I thought you had more tournaments?” you said as he shook his head, “yeah i did, they got canceled for some fires up west, so they decided to cancel the whole thing and well i'm here for the whole year.” he said as you smiled hugging him again.

Yeah yeah walked over to Benny along with the guys, “who do you think he is?” yeah yeah said as the other guys commented in the conversation, “probably her college boyfriend.” Betram said as the guys agreed, “yeah, she is quite the mystery girl.” squints said as benny scoffed, “no she isn't dating anyone.” Benny said, clenching his jaw as the guys looked over at him with, “how do you know?” scotty said. He stood quite and shrugged, “well I mean she's hot, anyone would go for her.” kenny said as they all needed besides benny, “yeah i'm surprised you didn't got for her benny.'' Timmy said as Tommy nodded, “yeah why didn't you benny?” he said leaving Benny in a very uncomfortable situation. You two had agreed to keep your relationship private from the guys not wanting to create conflict with them being your friends too. Parker said that you were going out for dinner and you walked over to the guys as they walked over to you as they were waiting for you to say something.

“Hey guys, i have to go, i'll see you guys later okay?” you said as they all nodded including benny as you looked over at him with a smile as you walked along with your twin brother finally catching up with one another. After dinner you had decided to go over back to the sandlot in hops benny would still be there. As you reached it he was there alone. Sitting on the ground which concerned you. As you reached where he was sitting he sat down not wanting to look up. He didn't know how to feel other than well of course jealousy but he didn't want to admit it.

“Benny, you okay?” you asked as he shrugged, “i don't know anymore.” he said as you frowned, “what do you mean?” you asked as he shook his head, “i don't know, maybe parker can answer that.” he said as you grew flabbergasted, “uh, excuse me? What do you mean?” you said as he sighed and just looked at you, “i mean you and parker seem very close, i mean he even looks older, so i get why you hid him, you probably weren't able to do long distance and broke up but now he's here getting you back, which i am not okay with sharing, your mine. And if we have to tell him to move back to wherever he came from, let me do that.” he said as you just looked at him in all seriousness and began to laugh.

He looked over at you confused and asked, “now what are you laughing about?” he said as you looked at him and grabbed his hand, “benny first off, gross, and second of that would be illegal because he is my twin brother, you pervert!” you said giggling as Benny was faced with second hand embarrassment.

“What! Why did you tell me that?! God love, you had me worried.” he said as you shook your head, “benny why didn't you just ask? It's not that hard to ask, you know?” you said as you two broke into laughter as the tension in the air cleared.

“Okay, I'm sorry, I am, I'm just, we just started dating, I didn't know how to act.” he said as you nodded, “it's okay to be jealous, everyone gets jealous.” you said as he scoffed, “i wasn't jealous,” he said as you smiled, “yeah okay whaveter benny.” you said as you two laughed again.

You two sat as you watched the sunset, he then walked you home as you talked more, “oh my gosh, i can not wait until you meet my whole family so i can tell them about this.” you said as rolled his eyes, “no please dont,” he said as you nodded, “yeah they might think you're a perv or something.” you said jokingly as you walked over to him and pecked him, “i'm kidding baby, my family including my brother are gonna like you i just know it.” you said as he smiled, “you really think so.” he said as you nodded and kissed again and he hugged you, “well i just know my momma is gonna love you as much as i love you.” he said as you two brought your heads close to one another foreheads touching as you smiled, “Well i hope so too, and i love you too benny” you say as you give one another one last hug and kiss before leaving one another. He sure was dumb, but to you he was your dummy. You love that dummy no matter what.

[skzsauce01]

The Student Council President Reads Shoujo Manga?!

Synopsis: You discover that the student council president, who claims to hate romance, reads shoujo manga. Slight influence from Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War.

Warning: none

Word Count: 4.2k

Pairing: fem student council vice president!reader x student council president!Hyunjin

After forgetting your textbook in the classroom, you expect to be the last person to arrive to the student council room, but it appears that you’re actually the second.

“Vice President, you left your manga here last night,” Secretary Kim greets. He glances at you momentarily before returning to his paperwork.

You shut the door behind you. “My manga? I don’t remember— Oh.”

Sitting on the mahogany desk is a tote bag that you recognize is the president’s. You loaned President Hwang the first five volumes of The Life of A Dragon and Its Rider two weeks ago. When you peer inside the bag, you find that he forgot to take off his manga protectors. You keep telling him that he doesn’t need to take such a precaution since you trust him, but he always does so anyway. Even your old battered copies are wrapped in plastic.

You take the topmost one and hold it to the light streaming through the window. Not even the outline of the title can be seen. You voiced your confusion at his choice of using opaque protectors before; how would he be able to differentiate between different volumes or different mangas? His answer made you laugh: it was how he got away with reading during class. The image of the student council president doing such an illicit thing seemed ridiculous, and he pushed his hair back in embarrassment as he recounted the time the teacher almost caught him. Then you stopped laughing and wondered what the symptoms of a heart attack were. Your rib cage felt like it was going to smash open.

Now as you peel off the protector, the same feeling returns. The corner of Dragon Rider is blue and purple, not dark red. Did he spill something? No, none of the pages are wrinkled with water damage, and he would never be so careless so what exactly—

“Oh my goodness!”

Secretary Kim, pen twirling in his hand, looks at you curiously. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, yes!” you squeak out, hiding out the manga behind your back. “I just… I just… it’s nothing! Everything is okay!”

“Alright then.”

While he goes back to his papers, you hurriedly turn around and check the book. It’s the same as it was a few seconds ago. Instead of a fearsome dragon and its hardworking rider on the cover, there is a teenage girl flanked by two boys with wolf ears. The title reads Tsukiko of the Wolves. You flip through, discovering with both amusement and disbelief that it’s a shoujo manga. There is nothing wrong with reading shoujo — you’ve read a fair share yourself when you were younger — but President Hwang is the least likely person you would expect to have a secret love for them. You regularly loan him your shounens to read, and he eagerly discusses each volume with you. He frequently complains about the romance, saying he’s reading it for the adventure, not for the love triangles.

This has to be a mistake. He has a younger sister who you’ve seen at the bookstore occasionally. It’s possible that they share a bookshelf and that he accidentally grabbed hers on accident. You put the protector back on, set it aside, and reach for the next book on the stack.

You have no real idea if it’s another shoujo or not, but NecRomancer sounds like one. The summary on the back describes a girl panicking about her newfound powers of resurrection and the attractive man she just brought back to life. You open to the middle of the manga and let out a squeak when you see the naked corpse on the page. It’s just another accident, it has to be. President Hwang is close with his sister, so it’s only natural that his manga would be close to hers. You try the next book in the stack, hoping that it’s one of yours.

The corner reveals a dark red cover, and you hold your breath, keeping an eye on Secretary Kim. He is still preoccupied with his work, muttering sentences and scribbling things down. You fully peel back the protector, and Why Do I Not Remember You? is written across the cover in glitter. Could this be his sister’s bag? No, she doesn’t use protectors.

You mindlessly thumb through the pages, seeing but not really seeing the crying woman being comforted by a stranger. Then at the flashbacks of broken beer bottles and a ring. The chances of this being a mistake are lessening. Once is a coincidence, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern. Does this mean that…

The student council president reads shoujo manga?

You quickly replace the protector. Your heart pounds, and possibilities swim in front of you. At the very best, he will be mortified if he knows that you found out. At the very worst, the entire school will find out. President Hwang’s reputation will be tainted, and with the upcoming reelections, his reputation is of the utmost importance. If he’s not president, you might still be vice president, but what’s the point then? It’ll be no fun without him.

No one can find out about this.

Suddenly the double doors to the student council room burst open, and you drop Why Do I Not Remember You? onto the desk. President Hwang slouches in the doorframe, resting his hands on the handles, completely out of breath. A Blueprint Books bag hangs in his grasp. That must be the one containing your manga.

He looks up from the floor, and you realize you are directly in his line of sight. Your hands fly to the ribbon around your neck, and you begin to untie and retie it.

“President, are you alright?” you distantly hear Secretary Kim ask. “What happened?”

“Nothing happened. I’m alright.” President Hwang’s voice comes out strained as he notices you standing behind his desk, three books out in the open. “Vice President, I see you discovered the manga as expected.”

“I was just counting to make sure I got all five back,” you reply with a fake smile. He can’t know that you know because he will never speak to you again out of embarrassment. “You left the protectors on, by the way.”

He walks toward you. You are the perfect picture of innocence. He will not know. “Did you… check them?”

“No, I was in the middle of counting them. Why?”

“It’s nothing,” he says, but you can hear the relief. “I left the wrong bag for you last night. Working late must be getting to me, haha. Here you go. The Life of A Dragon and Its Rider.”

You peek inside, and sure enough, the volumes are there with no opaque protector to obscure the title on the spine. You clutch the bag in front of you like you can use it to hide the truth you have just uncovered. President Hwang stacks his shoujo manga back into his bag and tucks it underneath the desk. His face has gone pink, and he fans himself with the latest edition of the school newspaper.

“What did you think of it?” you ask to distract him. “Isn’t the artwork amazing?”

Mission successful. President Hwang’s eyes go glassy as he recalls the story in his head, and he stops his fanning. “It is. And the worldbuilding too! The academy is so different from the usual school settings, and the dragon breeds are so cool. Also, Hirajima is such a tsundere. He’s going to end up falling in love with Kimi, isn’t he? Ugh.”

“I won’t spoil it for you,” you cryptically reply. The president is holding tightly onto his facade, which you need him to do. “I’ll lend you the next five volumes tomorrow. Just wait until you get to the tournament arc. You’re going to love it.”

He groans and leans back into his chair. “Was that sarcasm?”

“No! Tournament arc is always the best arc! That’s why Feast of the Gods is so popular. Every arc is pretty much a tournament arc.”

President Hwang lights up even more at the mention of the fantasy cooking-themed manga. He borrowed it from you last month and loved it so much that he bought matching keychains for the entire council. “Secretary Kim is the bird's milk, Treasurer Lee is the silkworm flour, you’re the delphinium rose syrup, and I’m the volcanic pepper,” he explained.

“Why are you the pepper?” Treasurer Lee complained. “You can’t even handle spice.”

“Because I’m hot.”

While both the secretary and treasurer cackled and while the president grew increasingly embarrassed by his own claims, you did your best to focus on your new keychain and not him. He looked too attractive loosening his tie and running his fingers through his hair. He looked like a manga character come to life.

President Hwang’s comment snaps you out of your daydream. “The ending is good! I can’t believe that Ryuzaki actually—”

“Shouldn’t you two be working?” interrupts Secretary Kim’s flat voice. He peers at the two of you over his glasses and flicks his eyes towards the suggestion box he must have brought in earlier. “Especially with reelections coming up soon.”

“We’ll talk later,” President Hwang whispers to you. “I want to discuss my theory about Kimi and Bando with you.”

“Yeah, of course. Let’s go through the suggestions now before Secretary Kim gets mad.”

You walk over to the door and grab the suggestion box. It’s heavier than expected, and you hold it flush against your chest to keep it from slipping out of your grasp. President Hwang notices your struggling and meets you halfway. He nearly makes you drop it as his fingers brush yours while he takes it from you.

“Thanks,” you stammer out. Your hands are empty, so you toy with your ribbon again as you follow him back to the desk.

“No problem,” he says. He lifts open the lid and takes out the first paper on top. “Shin Ryujin is asking for more funding for the Tennis Club again. Speaking of tennis, have you seen the animations for Bleeding Heart? It’s so good.”

Though Bleeding Heart starts off like a shoujo, it devolves into a mystery. If it weren’t for the knowledge you have now, you would have teased President Hwang for watching it. Instead, you enthusiastically nod. “They play croquet, not tennis, but yes! They’re so smooth!”

“President, Vice President.”

You and President Hwang exchange sheepish smiles. He softly sighs and scans through the paper, playing with a lock of hair. You imagine him doing the same as he reads. Why is the image of him secretly reading shoujo manga so charming? You shouldn’t find it so when he has this much at stake. He needs to be reelected.

“What do you think?” he asks, pointing at a proposal that you should have been reading with him, interrupting your thoughts. He edges closer to you, and breathing is suddenly difficult. He smells like laundry detergent. “Are new uniforms justifiable?”

“Yes, I think so,” you choke out. “Excuse me for a minute.”

You practically run out of the student council room, stopping only when you reach a small alcove in the hall. It’s dim and quiet, and you can hear your heart trying to break out. You press your hand over it, trying to push it back inside. Heart attacks don’t feel like this, or so says the medical website you consulted. Your heart thunders against your wrist, and its beat perfectly matches your pulse.

Steady.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

It eventually slows, and you return back to the room with more composure than you had earlier. Treasurer Lee has finally shown up, and you decide to help him with calculations instead of reviewing proposals with President Hwang. It’s better this way.

During the weekend, you head to Blueprint Books and wander down the aisles, trying to find the manga President Hwang reads. You know what he likes for shounens, so what is it for shoujos? You mindlessly swing your tote bag back and forth as you scan the shelves. He Doesn’t Know My Secret, Steampunked!, Squirrel Princess. It’s been some time since you visited this section of the store. As you look to the next shelf, you notice a familiar keychain hanging from someone’s pocket. When you do a double-take, to your surprise and horror, President Hwang is standing at the end of the aisle. He looks different when out of uniform. Good different.

Maybe you made a noise of some sort because before you can turn around and leave, he glances up from the book he holds. His eyes meet yours.

Disbelief. Confusion. Panic.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” he shakily asks as he slides the manga back into place. He’s mostly calm, that’s good. If he can lie to you about it, surely the entire school will be a simple feat. “Is there a new release?”

You shake your head. “Just browsing. Are you buying something for your sister? I know you don’t like romance that much.”

The relief in his voice is palpable when he says, “Yeah. Do you have any recommendations?”

“What does she like?”

“What do you like? You read a lot of manga.”

The question makes you pause, and you recount all the conversations you’ve overheard during lunch. Shounens are more of your thing now, but you're not above shoujos. “I’ve heard good things about Best Friend Boyfriend and I Wouldn’t Change A Thing.”

“Have you read them?”

“Not yet, but I always hear people talking about them.” You shift from foot to foot. A change of subject is much needed. “How’s the campaign going?”

“It’s going well, I think. Yeji and her friends are asking everyone in their year to vote for me, so that’s cool. The Japanese Culture Club is apparently doing the same,” he answers. He thumbs his pepper keychain, and you instinctively reach for your complementing one. The tiny syrup bottle is cool on your skin. “What about you? You’re still going to be my vice president, right?”

‘My’ makes you warm. “Of course! Just worry about yourself. Han Jisung really wants your spot.”

“I’m not letting that happen. Trust me, on Friday, the principal’s going to announce me as president again. And you’re going to be vice president. Secretary Kim and Treasurer Lee are going to be there as well. We’re going to be the student council until graduation.”

He says it with so much determination, you can’t help but laugh. “I really hope so. Hey, I’ll bring you the next five volumes of Dragon Rider on Monday. Just give me six through ten whenever you’re done.”

“Thanks. Do you want to borrow one of—”

“There you are!” President Hwang’s younger sister bounds into the aisle with a shopping basket filled with stationery. She furrows her eyebrows when she notices exactly which aisle her brother is in. “Don’t you have enough al—”

“I’m going to be late for dinner!” you interject. You step backwards, nearly bumping into the cardboard cutout of a manga character. “See you in class, President. Have a nice day. Bye.”

As you speed walk in the opposite direction, you hear his sister quietly ask him, “Wait, was that the vice president?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, I'm so sorry.”

You don’t hear if President Hwang replies anything because once you’ve turned the corner, you sprint out of the bookstore. It’s not until you’re home that you realize that you never found out what kind of shoujos he enjoys.

The days leading up to Friday are fraught with worry. Han Jisung is campaigning hard for the position this year. His small band of dedicated followers pass out flyers at the school gate every morning and trade lollipops for votes. Despite that, the president is unbothered.

“Did you watch the new episode of 00 Daniel?” he asks you on Wednesday.

You place your shoes inside your locker and shut the door. “Today’s the last day of voting, and you’re concerned about that?”

“I think the mission’s going to go badly this time. It’s been like five missions since his last screw up,” he continues like you said nothing. “There’s no way the season is ending without setting up for the next one.”

“President.”

“He’s not going to win, I promise. Treasurer Lee took a survey a few days ago, and I’m in the lead. The Mathematics Club’s survey confirmed the same thing.”

You start heading to your class with a resigned sigh, and President Hwang follows you even though he’s in a different room. He tugs on the sleeve of your blazer.

“You have nothing to worry about, Vice President,” he reassures. He lowers his head down to meet you at eye level. “It’s you and me until graduation, okay?”

You quickly nod and try not to burst into flames right on the spot. He’s too close yet not close enough.

“I think you’re right about 00 Daniel,” you stutter. “They’re taking too long to find the target too. I’ll see you after school then. Class is going to start soon.”

He retracts himself, a bit disappointed that you don’t want to speculate now. “Okay, we can talk later. See you.”

“See you.”

You two head to your respective classrooms. As you slide into your chair, you notice the boy next to you has a red candy wrapper on his desk. The girl in front of him has a purple one.

You really hope the Mathematics Club is right.

When Friday arrives, your stomach is in knots, and you feel ready to pass out at a moment’s notice. The traffic lights are slow today, making your usual stroll to school longer than usual. Students your age all the way down to elementary, pass you by, laughing and chatting with their friends. How can they be so relaxed when the results of the election come out this morning? You bet the paper announcement is already tacked to the bulletin board at the front of the school.

“Good morning,” comes a familiar voice.

“Good morning,” you reply back. President Hwang easily falls into step with you and holds out a tote bag to you. “Oh, you finished all of them?”

“Yeah. That last battle was crazy! I can’t believe it ended like that. And the epilogue! I knew it would happen! I feel so bad for Bando and… You okay? You look a little sick.”

“It’s nothing.” You take the bag from him and hold the books to your chest. You peek inside to make sure the protectors are off and to check that he gave you the right bag. No shoujo manga this time. “Are you nervous?”

He’s surprisingly apprehensive when he asks, “About what?”

“The election?”

“Oh. No, not really. Are you?”

“A little bit,” you lie as the two of you walk through the gate. The bulletin board is surrounded by a crowd, and you’re ready to march through to see what the paper says. Please let President Hwang be on there. “Let’s go.”

But the president is soon stopped by Han Jisung and his followers. Han Jisung holds his hand out, and you hold your breath as he opens his mouth.

“Congratulations on winning, President,” he says with a good-natured smile. He shifts his gaze to you. “And you as well, Vice President.”

You let out an audible sigh and quickly cover it with a cough when everyone looks at you. “Thank you.”

President Hwang shoots you a knowing grin, making you blush, before exchanging pleasantries with his defeated opponent. In the meantime, you push through the crowd to double-check the results. There it is in black ink: Hwang Hyunjin as President. Relief floods through your body, and you happily accept the other students’ congratulations and swap theories about the upcoming season of 00 Daniel with your fellow manga and anime fans.

“Told you,” President Hwang later says after he manages to get away from Han Jisung. He shuts your locker door with one finger. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Hey, are you going home now?” President Hwang asks. With no changes in the student council, everything is business as usual, including Secretary Kim and Treasurer Lee leaving as soon as they can on Fridays.

“Yeah. Are you staying late again?”

“Not today. Want to walk home together?”

“S-sure.”

While he reorganizes the papers on his desk, you fiddle with the strap of the tote bag. It’s not the first time you’ve walked home with the president, but it sends you into a panic every time. The golden sun and orange sky makes everyone look beautiful but him especially so. It’s difficult not to be tongue tied around him when he looks exactly like the lead of a shoujo manga.

Manga. The thing that accelerated your feelings for him in the first place. His good looks and his sweet talking charm were enough for you to notice him, so learning he shared the same hobby as you? Discovering that he adored coming up with theories?

You were smitten.

“You ready?” he interrupts.

“Yeah.”

The two of you make it to the front entrance before he stops and turns to you. “Actually, before we go, can I show you something first? It shouldn’t take too long.”

“Sure. What is it?” You follow him through the school, taking note that he seems to be headed to the courtyard.

“Have you read Limitless?”

As you step over a pile of fallen cherry blossoms, you rack your brain. You read it a long time ago, mostly because it was on every recommendation list online. “The shoujo about the math tutors? It’s been some time, but yes. What about it?”

President Hwang stops in the middle of the courtyard and faces you again. The sun is behind him, the rays of light forming a crown on his head. “Well, there’s a scene near the end that I thought you might like.”

The end of Limitless…

… features a confession scene in the school courtyard.

He gently takes your hands. “Do you remember the first day we were elected? I was the first person in the room, and I was so nervous to meet you because I didn’t know that much about you. Secretary Kim and Treasurer Lee said you were really kind, but I was still nervous. Then you ran into the room with a bunch of manga and almost tripped over the rug. You laughed it off and held out a book for me to shake since your hands were full.”

“It was the first volume of Feast of the Gods,” you whisper. That day is burned in your mind. “Lee Chaeryeong just finished the first ten volumes and gave them back to me.”

“And then I asked you if I could borrow them because I wanted to read them but Blueprint was out of stock. You said yes immediately, and that’s when I knew that you and I would be a great team. When you wanted to listen to me talk about the chapters I read, that’s when I knew I liked you. And when you continued to offer me other series to borrow, that’s when I knew I had to tell you. So,” he breathes, “here it is. I like you, and I want to be with you.”

“I… I like you too.”

He breaks out into a grin and wraps you in a hug. He still smells like laundry detergent, and you bury your nose in the collar of his shirt.

“What do we do now?” he softly laughs as he pulls away. “The shoujo mangas usually stop here and cut to a new scene.”

The words fly out of your mouth without thinking. “So is that why you’ve been reading shoujos? For the confession?”

His smile falters but recovers soon after. “Yeji gave it away last weekend, huh? Ah, I was hoping you hadn’t heard her.”

“Actually… I found out when you gave me back Dragon Rider the first time,” you admit. You twirl the ends of the ribbon around your neck. “I took off the protectors and saw some of them. But there’s nothing wrong with liking shoujo! I was just surprised since you always say you hate romance.”

“I mean, I did. I started reading them for confession tips, but then it turns out some of them are really good. Like Limitless? And then I started reading my sister’s, and I kind of like them now. Is that weird?”

“No. Honestly, it’s kind of cute.”

“Really? You’re not weirded out by that?”

“Not even a little bit. I don’t care what you read as long as you’ll talk to me about it after.”

“Well, I finished Winter Fireworks recently. Have you read it before?” When you shake your head, he takes a step closer and leans down. “It ends like this.”

As it turns out, the story ends with a kiss.

~ ad.gray

None of the mangas/animes mentioned actually exist. They’re just riffs of other fics we’ve written. Was this just a giant ad for them? Yeah, kind of lol. In order of appearance:

The Life of A Dragon and Its Rider ➞ Normal (Hyunjin)

Tsukiko of the Wolves ➞ 42nd Moon (Hyunjin)

NecRomancer ➞ Magic Words (Hyunjin) 

Why Do I Not Remember You? ➞ Eternally Yours (Hyunjin)

Feast of the Gods ➞ God’s Menu (Felix)

Bleeding Heart ➞ King of Hearts (Bang Chan)

He Doesn’t Know My Secret ➞ Harmony, Melody (Seungmin)

Steampunked! ➞ Matters of the Head and Heart (Felix)

Squirrel Princess ➞ Squirrel and Wife (Han)

Best Friend Boyfriend ➞ Ruin My Life (Lee Know)

I Wouldn’t Change A Thing ➞ Even if Things Were Different (Han)

00 Daniel ➞ Apologies in Advance (Lee Know)

Limitless ➞ love you to limx (Han)

Winter Fireworks ➞ Ringing in the New Year (Bang Chan)

bonus after credits scene

It’s only when the two of you are crossing the bridge do you realize what he has done. “You just spoiled the ending for me!”

“Sorry, I forgot.” After a few seconds, he asks, “Can I give you more spoilers?”

You reach for the front of his blazer. “Yes.”

[rvspberry]

Idk if I’m gonna end up posting this on AO3 because it’s very different from what I usually write.

But below the cut is some Johnny Lawrence sexuality crisis angst with a happy ending if you feel like it. (Heavy Christian themes and Lawrusso ending ahead.)

He was righteous, on high, the Almighty personified. Forgiving, and gracious in victory, and good through and through. Set his mind to something and he could make the whole world come alive.

That’s how Johnny felt at the Tournament, at least, when the entire crowd swarmed the floor and lifted LaRusso onto their shoulders, and Johnny snagged the first place trophy. Handed it up like an offering, a sacrificial lamb — all that Johnny had at stake, all that he’d lost, given freely and openly to this holy being.

The crowd grew louder. Johnny called out, “You’re alright, LaRusso. Good match.”

Got a pained, “Thanks,” in return.

He’d touched someone holy and lived to tell the tale.

~

Once Johnny is at Bobby’s house that night, since Sid and Laura flew to Miami for the week before Christmas, he asks Bobby to pray with him.

“You okay, Johnny?”

Johnny glances up to find worried blue eyes looking over at him, sizing him up — no, not quite. Measuring him, trying to gauge Johnny for what no one could see. Bobby’s eyes are such a different blue than Johnny's, clear and crisp but never cold. Johnny wonders if Bobby sees anything, if Johnny shows anything.

“I just…” Johnny rasps, gripping the glass of water in hand again and taking a hesitant sip. They told him at the hospital that he’d have to rest. Asked if he wanted to press charges, but Johnny just shook his head. “I need some guidance.”

“No better place to look to than to Jesus,” Bobby agrees, reaching out to take Johnny’s hands. He closes his eyes, and Johnny pauses for a brief moment, body going stiff, before he follows suit. Takes a deep breath as Bobby begins. “Our Father, who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name.”

Daniel.

“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” Bobby continues.

Johnny squeezes his eyes tighter and tries not to let his grip tighten, too.

“Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Please forgive me. Please. Daniel. I’m sorry.

“And lead us not into temptation—”

Daniel’s eyes. His grin, his mouth, his lips. Daniel’s body. The confident smirk when he gets up into Johnny’s face.

“—but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,” Bobby finishes, squeezing Johnny’s hands. Johnny blinks his eyes open, jaw clenched, to see Bobby giving him a small smile. “Forever and ever. Amen.”

“Amen,” Johnny repeats weakly, clenching his teeth against the urge to cry. To sob.

To throw himself onto the floor and mourn the loss of a life he’d had for years now, the life he’d fought so hard for. The life of a champion, of a winner, the life of a kid from Encino Hills. The life of someone normal, a leader, head dog even though he came into this life late, no rules established, flying blind and feeling his way into his place.

“You’re sure you’re okay, man?”

“I’m not,” Johnny chokes out. Hangs his head.

There are too many thoughts in his head, too much guilt and shame, and he can’t focus on one without the other flaring up to take his attention. Back and forth, back and forth, between Kreese almost killing him and Daniel’s sensei saving him and Daniel winning the match, to needlessly tormenting Daniel all semester and making a bigger ass of himself each and every time. Over and over, like it was on a loop.

“Do you want to pray again?” Bobby asks, voice dropping lower. “Sometimes it helps. The… repetition. Try to focus on the words this time. Focus on God. Let the spirit take you.”

Take me where? Johnny thinks, but he just tightens his hands around Bobby’s and nods.

“Our Father, who art in heaven…”

~

When Bobby leaves at the end of the summer to go to college in Oregon, a special school for religious studies, he leaves Johnny with his new number and a prayer book.

“If things get hard, turn to God,” he reminds Johnny. Pats Johnny’s back while they hug tightly. Johnny hasn’t been apart from Bobby since they became best friends at thirteen, both newly enrolled in Cobra Kai. “God has a plan for all of us, and you can find all your answers in the Lord, man. You just have to be open to hearing them even when they’re not the answers you want.”

Johnny keeps the prayer book. Says a prayer every night. Calls Bobby once a week, like clockwork, and stops drinking. He gets kicked out of Sid’s house when he turns 18 in July, gets a job as a handyman, then starts apprenticing for a carpenter, then starts working construction. It’s hard work but it’s honest work.

~

Every time his eyes turn to one of his coworkers, when they catch on the sweat and grime smeared over their muscles, or the curve of their ass, or the line of their jaw, Johnny recites one of those prayers in his head.

Dear Lord, please give me strength when I am weak, courage when I am afraid, love when I feel forsaken, wisdom when I feel foolish, comfort when I am alone, hope when I feel rejected, and peace when I am in turmoil. Amen.

Every time he gets asked out for drinks by his well-meaning colleagues, he politely declines and spends ten minutes praying in his car after his shift is over, hands blistered, muscles aching.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among sinners and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Every night, Johnny lays in bed and freestyles his prayers. God needs to know, he probably already knows, but he needs to know that Johnny doesn’t want to be like this. He wants to change. He wants answers. He wants to be open to them, just like Bobby told him.

~

“Go out tonight,” Bobby laughs when Johnny calls him on a Saturday at his usual time. “Just get out and have some fun. Go to a movie. Buy yourself dinner, whatever. Go meet someone. You’re just working and sleeping. You need to live a little, Johnny.”

Is that what God wants me to do? Johnny thought to himself. To go out and find a woman to settle down with? Is that God’s plan?

It’s what Johnny’s supposed to do, right?

“Okay, okay,” Johnny groans into the phone, ready to slam it back onto the receiver when Bobby whoops in elated triumph. “Some good, clean fun. Fitting for the best friend of a pastor’s son.”

~

Johnny goes to the movies. The new sequel to Alien, aptly titled ‘Aliens,’ looks halfway decent. Definitely not a good clean movie, but Johnny can live a little. It’s on its last leg, only playing the earlier showings, so Johnny snags the ticket since he figures he can be mostly alone that way. He loiters in the lobby trying to decide between popcorn or an overpriced box of candy to go with his soda. The bored teen behind the counter pops her gum and rolls her eyes as she waits for him to make up his mind.

He doesn’t fidget as he looks in the glass case, even as much as he wants to. It’s been conditioned out of him.

“Back straight, shoulders down, chin up, Mr. Lawrence.”

“Hey, can I get a large popcorn please?” comes a voice from beside him.

Johnny glances over, shaggy hair whipping around his face, and spots the one person he thought he’d never see again. Daniel LaRusso looks the same as he did before — a little taller, maybe, his long limbs filled out a little more, but still the shrimpy kid who kicked his ass.

Same eyes, same voice, same body.

Same mouth.

Dear Lord, please give me strength—

“Johnny? Johnny Lawrence?!” Daniel’s words cut through his prayer.

Johnny inhales sharply. He has to control himself. Give me the strength when I am weak, courage when I—

“Holy shit, man, look at you,” Daniel laughs, tapping Johnny’s bicep tellingly. A year-plus in construction had done wonders for his body, and his arms in particular. “Like a brick shithouse. Are you on steroids?”

“No, I work construction.” Johnny doesn’t know why his voice sounds so rough. He clears his throat and tries again. “Hi, LaRusso. Small world meeting you here, I guess.”

“Yeah, man! You here with anyone?” Daniel glances around, as if trying to pin someone else in the lobby to Johnny, but there was no one to match him up with. No one to match up Daniel with, either.

“No. You?”

“Flying solo today,” Daniel croons, running his hands down his chest. Johnny blushes and looks up at the ceiling.

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee—

“What movie are you seeing?” Daniel asks, taking the tub of popcorn from the teen and passing a bill over the counter. He snagged a handful and popped a few butter-soaked pieces into his mouth.

“Uh…” Johnny glances down at his ticket. “Aliens.”

“No way! Me too!” Daniel says around chewing the popcorn. He pauses and looks at Johnny with his head cocked curiously. “You wanna watch it together?”

~

O, my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You. I detest all my sins because of your just punishments, but most of all because they offend you, My God, who are all good and worthy of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.

~

The movie theater is empty. There’s butter on Daniel’s bottom lip, shining in the dimly lit room. Johnny licks it off in the black silence of the end credits.

Kissing Daniel feels like coming home. It feels like touching something divine, and Johnny’s stained gold in all the places they touch.

Is this God’s plan? Johnny asks himself. Daniel’s fingers tug at his hair, nails scraping gently over his scalp. Johnny pulls Daniel across the seat and into his lap as he swallows Daniel’s moan.

Below Johnny’s hands, Daniel feels like an answer.

[crystal-moon-101]

I wanna hear your take on Benlie and/or Benkai. You don’t have to ship them, just say a few things you could have done to make them smoother and healthier, friendship or romance. You could even have both if you have an idea on a better, cleaner break up story.

Ok, so I’m a Benlie person, 100%, and while I don’t ship Ben and Kai, I definitely think they deserved to be handled better. So I have rewritten how those relationships, along with a few others of Ben’s love life, have gone, and I’ll share it here. Warning, this does get a bit long, and does have some violence at a certain point, but I hope you enjoy my take on it!

So the start of Ben and Julie’s relationship in Alien Force is mostly the same, though I did adjust it that they somewhat knew each other before hand, having seen each other in school, especially since Ben’s soccer practice took place at the same time and same kind of area as the girl’s tennis practice.  Ben asks her out, Ship appears and becomes her pet, Julie starts understanding the alien better, sees Ben have 14 moth children, the basic stuff from canon. However, my major changes start during season 3 of Alien Force, the part of the series that took quite the nose dive in terms of character arcs. I still have it that Ben and Julie start to have issues and argue, but in believable ways, and they still clearly love each other. The issues arise when Ben does start to get cocky a little, due to all the praise he’s getting from saving the galaxy from the High-Breed, and his accomplishment surrounding that are huge, since he hasn’t won something like that before. Again, doesn’t help that half the galaxy keeps praising him and treating him like a God, but Ben does still be a hero, and even starts to get anxieties since now he’s starting to deal with bigger issues, more people demanding for him to help their planets around the galaxy, and Ben wants to be that hero for them...but there is only so much he can do. He does love the admiration from everyone, feeling special and all that, but he does start to make him feel different, in and odd way...He’s struggle to connect with his human grounds now, due to constantly turning into aliens and spending time out in space, his relationship with earth just isn’t the same anymore. And even them, aliens around him treat him as something else too, like he’s not human or an alien, he’s something else, and not knowing what makes him nervous. To mask all of these fears, he uses his over-confident nature like a mask, and it does get pretty bad for a month or two until Gwen, Julie and Kevin make him see reason. Meanwhile, Julie is struggling in her own right after the High-Breed war. She was happy to have fought in it to protect her home and people, but after seeing a proper glimpse of the alien worlds outside of earth...she will admit that scares her. She didn’t go off world like when Kevin, Gwen and Ben did, mostly waiting for them on earth and did missions there with them, even lending them Ship when they needed it. While she didn’t judge Ben and was willing to live with idea of aliens after their first date, like adopting Ship, she still have a lot to process about there being alien life. It’s much harder on her than it was for Ben, because he learnt about it when he was young, his entire family knew about it and could support him through it, and even the Omnitrix provided better understandings for him. Julie...she didn’t have any of that. It was just her dad, Ship and her, and while Ship was a good start, he was still just one tiny piece of the outside world around her. She knew she’d have to accept it over time, now that she knew the truth, and especially when earth starts learning that truth too, but at times it felt like she wasn’t allowed to process. She doesn’t blame Ben for it, as he’s so use to it all by now, but there have been many moments where he seems to forget she is very early to this whole alien concept compared to him. She was afraid she couldn’t catch up, and even has moments where she didn’t want to take a step forward, afraid of what she might find. So she started joining less and less missions with Ben, Gwen and Kevin, and while she still hanged out with them, she tried not to get involved with their alien business. She will admit, maybe a part of her wished she didn’t know about alien life at times, to have a life back when things seemed more simple.

So these deep feelings from both Ben and Julie spark arguments, because both are unsure with themselves, thus unsure in relationships with others, especially each other, with Julie thinking she couldn’t keep up with Ben, and Ben thinking he couldn’t slow down for her. And it all eventually led to a point where things had to stop... And unlike Omniverse’s god awful handle of the break up, I instead had it like this. Julie is the one who starts the conversation, having called Ben over to her. She’s honest with him, saying that it’s just not working out, and that they should find different people that work for them. Ben does beg a little at first, saying he’ll try better, but Julie knows that right now they can’t be a happy couple and need space, and Ben eventually agrees, but it still hurts. It hurts more when Gwen and Kevin leave too, and Julie also goes on a tennis tournament in France, so Ben has to deal with the loneliness he feels for a while, even when Rook joins his side. Meanwhile, Julie meets Herve in France, who was taking photographs for sport magazines. The two talk and eventually hit it off, Julie somewhat clinging a little as Herve is very much the down to earth and normal human guy she thought she wanted, someone who wasn’t related to any alien business. She does miss Ben, a part of her not letting go, and while the two agreed to remain friends, they did drift a little over time. They would still voice chat, send some text and Ben would check up on her tournaments when he could, but both of their lives got rather busy and they drifted away for a couple of months, though still dearly missing each other. Ben takes his time to heal, still dealing with all the other problems he’s facing, especially the whole “Am I human, am I alien, am I something else?” and “How much of a hero am I without the watch?”. His friendship with Rook grows pretty well, and he settles somethings with Gwen and Kevin since they moved to university. So most relationships of his are going well, expect for romantic relationships...  He struggles to settle and commit to most of them, and mostly dates around for a bit, spending some time with people like Looma, Rook Shar, even Attea on one date. He does eventually settle with Ester for a bit, and the two seem like a good match. Both fun loving, eager for adventure, and enjoy each other’s company. And Ben did try and make it work, he really did, Ester was a great girl and he wanted the best for her but...again, it was hard for them to keep up with each other. Ester is a girl full of energy, and very much wants to do something 24/7, and while she doesn’t fault Ben, she will admit she does get lonely when he spends so much time off on missions she can’t join in, and the two break it off when Ben couldn’t be what she needed. But they are still close friends and hang out pretty often. Again, alone in his love life, Ben felt hopeless in it. Was he cursed to be single for the rest of his life? So when Kai came back into his life, his first proper crush he can remember, he will admit that maybe he jumped into things too quickly. There was no Kenny time traveling nonsense in this version, no fate tying to together, rather just two young teens jumping into a relationship neither ended up wanting. But they stuck with it for a while because they felt like they had to, despite the arguments and bickering. Both were scared to be alone, as Ben couldn’t lose another girlfriend, and Kai realized just how lonely her work made her feel. They didn’t hate each other, they just weren’t in love. It didn’t help that, since Julie returned to Bellwood with Herve, Ben felt jealous at Herve. Which annoyed him, because Herve was actually a really nice person, and gave Julie a lot of love. Really, it was more Ben angry at himself that he couldn’t provide the things Julie needed...And while Julie and Ben did talk and hang out from time to time, Ben was distance often, even when Julie reached out to him. It was just...seeing her so happy, living a normal life, Ben didn’t want to taint that with his presence.  It wasn’t until one fateful day that things started to turn around, though the start was pretty bad. It was another day, another fight with Vilgax, who was rampaging through the streets, clashing with Plumbers, Ben and Rook. Julie and Herve had been nearby when it started, and the two decided to help get civilians to safety, splitting up at one point to cover more ground. Julie ran into Rook and Ben, who tried to usher Julie away, but unfortunately Vilgax noticed her, and saw Ben’s panic of worry for Julie to run. It didn’t take long for Vilgax to remember who this young teenage girl was, and decided to use her as hostage against Ben. Seeing his arch nemesis using someone he secretly still loved as hostage, not to mention he had a pretty bad week before hand, Ben just...kind of snapped. He didn’t go easy on Vilgax for once, switching between multiple aliens rapidly to stomp Vilgax into the ground. (Side Note: I have the headcanon that, while Ben can do rapid transformation, if he does so many in a short amount of time, he does get a mild side affect of his emotions being amplified, due to his brain having tumbled around from the quick transformations.)   By the time the Plumbers and Rook arrived, the two city blocks had been trashed and Vilgax was burred into the road. Due to the side affect of multi  rapid transformations, Ben was protectively holding onto Julie, who had passed out from some injures from Vilgax (Nothing major, but the stress of it did make her lose conscious). They managed to pry Julie away, while Ben was taken away to calm down, needing to give his body and mind for a rest. Julie was taken to a Plumber hospital, and she woke up fairly soon with mild injures that wouldn’t be too much of a hassle to heal over the next few weeks. Many visited her, including Herve, her dad, Gwen and Kevin, along with Ship her stayed by her the entire time. It took a long while for Ben to show up, mostly because he was nervous and felt ashamed by how he acted, but Gwen gave him a good peep talk and convinced him to go.   It started off a little awkward, but simple, Ben checking how she was feeling, with her also making sure he was ok too. They catched up a bit, even laughing over some old memories, which eventually lead into a small discussion about their past relationship, both finally properly apologizing for how they acted, even clearly up a few things that were worried over, like Ben admitting that he had been avoiding Julie because he thought it was better for her, and not because he hated her or anything. Buttt, one thing lead to another and well...the two kissed in the heat of the moment, both going in for it, and for a few seconds it was bliss...until they both realized what they were doing, and understanding that one, Julie was still dating Herve, and second, Ben was still dating Kai. Flustered, Ben rushed out of there, with Julie panicking over what they did.

The two keep it a secret, not wanting people to know what happened between them, and when Julie got out of the hospital, they kind of awkwardly avoided each other, needing to think about things. They clearly still held feelings, but they were both dating other people and were scared to mess up with each other again. Cue them somehow almost always bumping into each other, like the gods themselves were trying to make them suffer, and their feelings becoming more and more obvious, but neither making a move of any kind. Ben confides in Kevin, Gwen and Rook, even admitting to his feelings and the kiss to them, and while they give him advice, they know it’s up to him and Julie to sort things out.

But Ben avoids it again, not ready and unsure in himself. He already messed up many relationships before hand, including with Julie, so what if it all went downhill again...And Julie questioned herself, she had been avoiding space and alien life for so long, thinking it would make her happy, but she starts to realize that no...it’s not making her happy, trying to deny something outside of her bubble just wasn’t working anymore, especially with her feelings towards Ben. However, after some long thinking, Ben decides to at least do one thing. So he organizes a get together with Kai at a cafe, needing to talk to her. The two have a sit down and Ben explains that this relationship isn’t working, and that they shouldn’t keep trying to make something that isn’t there to happen. Kai agrees, both feeling some stress loosen from their shoulders, and they still decide to be friends, feeling much more comfortable with a relationship like that, even sharing a nice hot chocolate together at the cafe. And so while Ben goes to deal with the other problem in his love life, Kai may or may not end up catching up with Ester in the process~ While Ben makes plans on what to do next, he and Rook are ended up being called over to a Plumber Prison base, to make plans to move Vilgax finally. Little did they know, Vilgax prepared for this. You see, a part of him already knew he’d be capture again, sent to this base to await movement, so the last time he was here, he built up some allies on the inside, and eventually the outside. He also knew Ben would show up, so he made a plan to make sure the Omnitrix wouldn’t get in the way. After how Ben stomped him into the streets before, Vilgax was looking for some nasty revenge. Not really kill Ben...but something more traumatic.  So when Ben and Rook show up, surprise surprise, Vilgax isn’t in his cell. While Rook talks to some of the guards, Ben searches Vilgax’s cell for clues, only for it to suddenly turn on, along with it’s defenses, including an electric shock that surprises Ben, and causes the watch to bug out, unable to be used. Rook check on Ben, but next thing anyone knows, alarms start blaring and almost all cells open, and prisoners start running while. Since Ben’s watch is down, and many people here hate him, Rook wants to keep him safe and tries to escort off the base. But Ben being Ben, he wanted to help, and rushed off to try and help some injured guards here and there, with Rook following. However, some prisoners, who were secretly working under Vilgax, skillfully guide Rook and Ben away from each other, and eventually trap Ben in a lone room, but not by himself. There, Vilgax was waiting for him, and since Ben didn’t have the watch to help, he was screwed. Vilgax knocked him around a few times, though being careful enough to not instantly kill Ben with his strength, before deciding finally to make the hero suffer. (Warning here for those who are squeamish) He does so but taking the tip of one of his claws, and dragging it down Ben’s arms, damaging his nerves. He would have done more, if not for Rook, the guards and some Plumber bursting in and chasing him off, saving Ben before he could bleed out, but the boy did pass out and wouldn’t wake up for a long while. People were, of course, scared...particularly Ben’s friends and family, who visited him everyday, mostly Max and surprisingly Azmuth, who also fixed the watch to help in Ben’s recovery. Gwen and Kevin ended up being the ones to inform Julie what happened, when she noticed Ben wasn’t around, and hearing that Ben almost died...it scared Julie. She didn’t want to lose him, of course, but also the idea that he could have died while they still had issues to fix...she didn’t want it to end like that, for things to be so messy and unclear. So when Herve saw her look down and upset, and getting her to explain what happened to Ben, the two talked. Herve admits that for a while he knew Julie still had feelings for Ben, and could tell that things weren’t so cut and dry between them, especially when he got to met Ben himself. He also admits that maybe Julie and Herve are, in a way, maybe a little too perfect for each other. Their relationship is stagnant at times, with not a lot of growth because never healthy challenges the other. So with no hard feelings whatsoever, Herve says that if Julie wants too, the two can break up but still remain friends, and Julie thanks him, agreeing too and even asking that she hopes he can still be her photographer. And for the next few weeks, Julie visits Ben with some of the others from time to time, hoping he’ll be ok so they can talk... Eventually, Ben wakes up, Azmuth having been there when he did so, and helps to catch the young boy up on what happened. Ben notices that, while his arms have been healing finely enough, his nerves are a little slow in the process, having not fully recovered, shown by him unable to keep his arms and hands steady, constantly shaking when moving them. It scares him, even when Azmuth reassures him that they’ll heal thanks to the watch...Ben just can’t help but feel like if they don’t heal, then he may have to give up the hero business in the end, even if that’s just his fears playing tricks on him.  So during his recovery, people come visit him, making sure he’s ok. Until eventually, Julie shows up, wanting to make sure he’s ok, and knowing they had to talk. They couldn’t keep putting it off, especially after something like this, and Ben finally agrees to stop running and to finally clear things out. They discuss a little more about their past relationship, about their insecurities during it, and where they go from here, both mentioning they’ve broken up with Herve and Kai.  They talk some more, relaxing in each other’s company, and admit to their feelings, both deep down knowing they want to give it another go. And since they’ve had time apart, learnt from new experiences, they decide that maybe they can try, taking it slow and see where it will go. And the two kiss, and for once in a very long time...it feels right. As said, they take things slow, and after everything that happened in the past few years, things actually go well for them. There are, of course, hiccups there and here, but they’re matured enough to know how to talk things through, and solve problems together.  Ben does start to recover more and leave the hospital, and while he nerves aren’t fully healed by them, they will eventually. And while the two go one small dates during his healing, catching up and being blissfully happy with each other, they end up bumping into Kai and Ester, who appear to also be dating now. One thing led to another and the four end up going on double dates fairly often, having fun times together, Ben 100% supporting his two exs dating, seeing how happy they are. Julie, Ester and Kai even like to share cheesy stories of when Ben was their boyfriend, and he loves to play alone with it too.   And that, is my take on Ben and Julie’s relationship! 💚💗

[patchofsunlight]

congrats on 800!! Can I request a jealous bakugo?? where he really likes the reader but they’re always with todoroki

UHHH FUCK YEAH I LOVE BOTH BAKUGOU AND TODOROKI LET’S DO THIS

warnings: cursing, unedited, shouto is your best friend, bakugou is a jealous dumbass. I had so so so much fun writing this i SWEAR

Todoroki was your first friend at UA

even while he was still very reserved and quiet, you made it a mission to befriend him. He didn’t talk a lot, but he seemed sweet, and you simply decided you wanted to know him better

so you did. At first, Todoroki didn’t understand why you were so set on being friends with him, but little by little you carved your place into his life and heart

you become best friends and he appreciates you so much! you’re always together and he invites you over when his dad isn’t around and his siblings absolutely love you

at one point they ask you if there’s something else in your friendship but you’re both quick to shut it down

“So… What’s going on between you two? Are you dating or something?”

“What? No!” “Of course not, sister. We’re just friends.”

“Oh, alright.”

you’re really close though and spend a lot of time in each other’s company because you simply like to

and then there’s Bakugou

you tried to talk to him and maybe make friends during your first weeks at UA but he shut you out so fucking fast

you were kinda hurt to be honest

but you quickly understood that he was like that to everyone, so it wasn’t personal, which made you feel a bit better

until the Sports Festival, that is

Bakugou can’t help but notice how well you fight and how hard you work

you’re on Todoroki’s team for the Cavalry Battle

and you’re so absolutely necessary for the team’s victory that he can’t help but start paying a little more attention to you

he always thought you were an annoying, stupid extra

but you’re proving him wrong, and he’s here for it. It’s nice to know there’s actual competent people besides him at UA

during the Battle Tournament you obliterate all your opponents you’re unstoppable

Bakugou is so fucking impressed he doesn’t even notice how Todoroki, the emotionless boy, is constantly cheering you on from the crowd

everyone is completely shocked because yes, they knew you were friends with Shouto, but they weren’t aware you guys were close enough for him to force his stoic expression from his face for once and actually smile and cheer and give out positive reinforcement

like what

you end up on the semi-finals with Bakugou

and you really give him a run for his money

he had noted that you were a lot stronger and smarter than you looked, and actually fighting you proved that even further

you only lost for a slip up, to be honest. For the first time in weeks, maybe months, you were paying attention to Bakugou Katsuki. and, God, you hadn’t noticed how good-looking he was

Shouto was the most beautiful boy you had ever seen in your entire life, that was for sure, but there was this moment during your battle when Bakugou smiled and your brain short-circuited

so he blew you off the ring, obviously

he was surprised he was actually able to get you. He thought you would somehow escape it, and he wondered what had taken your focus away

he wasn’t even aware of the small smile that graced his lips for that millisecond. He just stared at you, looking all powerful and strong and ready to destroy him without hesitation and it just happened

none of you talked about it

when he battled Todoroki, he heard you scream “Go, Shouto!” 

and it made his blood boil

why the fuck were you cheering for fucking Half-and-Half?

Were you dating or some shit?

you certainly should be cheering for him, since he was the one who defeated you which meant you had to recognize his superiority

right?

but no. there you were yelling, “You can do this, Shouto! You can do this!”

you even called the bastard by his first name

ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous

when you saw him tied and muzzled to the first place you were completely livid

you tried to argue and stop it but no one listened to you

when they finally let Bakugou go, you came to him, eyes glowing with worry and anger.

“Are you okay? They shouldn’t have done that. How do you feel?”

“Get out of my way, extra. Don’t fucking worry about me.”

Todoroki’s ear perked up at hearing someone mistreat his best friend

but he knew you could handle it, so he stood close by, watching

on any other occasion, you would’ve felt hurt, sad even, but you could see the shame in Bakugou’s eyes. The embarrassment.

“Alright. See you, Bakugou. Hope you get home alright.”

and you left, walking towards Shouto with a soft smile before going away with him

Bakugou would never admit it, but he appreciated your words more than anyone else’s.

once more, that smile took a place on his face without him even noticing

after that, Bakugou became a lot nicer around you

he would quietly mutter a “hello” when you passed by his seat during the morning

and at one point he even let you borrow his notes to copy during this one day you got the flu

sometimes you would see him studying at the library and you would smile widely and sit next to him on the table he was occupying

if it was anyone else he would definitely yell at them to leave

but he didn’t really mind your company. Having you around was strangely nice. Not that he would ever say that out loud, of course, but yeah. It really was.

you were a part of the stupid rescue team that went after him when he was kidnapped

he was only made aware of that way later, since you stayed behind with Shouto and Momo

and it kinda made him mad because wasn’t fucking IcyHot your boyfriend or some shit? How could he let you get into dangerous stunts like this? Was he an idiot?

when you moved into the dorms, Bakugou noticed how you were always around Todoroki

he noticed how you were always in each other’s rooms and how you had lunch together and how stupid bitch ass Half-and-Half knew how you liked your coffee and always had it ready for you in the mornings

it made him see red, for some reason. He hated seeing you with Shouto.

he wondered why didn’t you want to be around him like that. Did you think he was ugly? Rude? Did he smell bad?

Not that it mattered, of course. He didn’t give a shit about some dumb extra like you

except he really did

couldn’t you be away from Todoroki for a single second? Did you really have to stay around him all the time? That’s some fucking bullshit right there

you shouldn’t waste your time with stupid IcyHot, you deserved better than that! You were powerful and smart and nice and gorgeous and Todoroki was an idiot

right? Right! You would have a lot more fun being around other people that weren’t Shouto!

so he suggested it, albeit quietly, to his friends. They were having lunch and Shitty Hair was spewing useless information like he always fucking did, and he muttered it. Bakugou didn’t talk a lot during lunch, so his words had heads turning to him almost immediately

“We should invite Y/N to have lunch with us someday.”

Dunce Face opened the biggest fucking smile and he regretted all the decisions he had ever made in his entire life

“Why, Bakubro? Do you have a crush or something?”

“Shut the fuck up, you fucking bastard!”

Shitty Hair giggled, “Calm down, bro, it’s fine. Yeah, I think that would be nice. Y/N seems like a really fun person, don’t you think?”

he shot you a quick glance. You were sitting with your friends (including damn Deku and stupid IcyHot), and you were laughing. You looked so beautiful when you laughed and he didn’t even notice the slight movement of his lips

“Wait, is Bakugou smiling?”

“I TOLD YOU TO SHUT THE FUCK UP BEFORE I—”

the next day you found yourself sitting between Bakugou and Todoroki on the Bakusquad table

Bakugou didn’t think inviting you meant inviting fucking Half-and-Half but that was a given, apparently

however

he figured he didn’t mind Todoroki that much if you kept brushing your shoulder into his when you moved, or if you kept laughing next to him

He invited you over his room to study one day because you had mentioned you were struggling with math during lunch

and then suddenly you were always hanging out. Study dates, movie nights, sparring matches, and he even cooked you dinner once or twice when everyone else went out to eat and you both stayed behind to work on some homework

honestly everything was going amazing and you were spending time together and Bakugou would never admit it but he was growing to really fucking love having alone time with you

and, God, how could you get more beautiful every time he saw you?

then

“I won’t be able to hang out this weekend, I’m going out with Shouto.”

He froze on the spot.

“What?”

“Yeah! We haven’t gone out in quite some time, so he invited me out to a date.”

“A… A date?”

“That’s right. We are just going to visit his mom, get some dinner, and then sleep over at his house, I think. It’ll be nice, I’ve missed him a lot lately.”

Bakugou felt his blood fucking boil

“Why would you even want to go on a date with stupid Half-and-Half? He’s an idiot.”

“What? Why are you saying that?”

“I’m sure you would be a lot happier going on a date with me. I’m a lot better than that dumbass, you hear me? I’d buy you those stupid sweet things you like.”

You were struggling to keep yourself from smiling at this point

“You mean chocolate?”

“Yeah, that bullshit. And I’d pay for dinner. We’d get whatever you want, and I wouldn’t take you to visit my fucking mom. That’s so lame and stupid, just like damn IcyHot. And we’d have a movie night, like the ones we always do. I’d even let you choose one of your dumb movies.”

“You’d let me choose the movie? You never do that!”

“Tch, whatever. Go out with your fucking boyfriend, I don’t fucking care. It’s your loss!”

You giggled and it sent him in a frenzy

“What the fuck are you laughing at, dumbass? I’ll kill you!”

You grinned and his heart jumped wildly inside his chest.

“Are you jealous, Katsuki?”

that’s his first fucking name. you called him by his first fucking name

he blushed SO hard

“No! Of course I’m not! Don’t say stupid shit like that!”

You giggled again

“You know, when I said I was going out for a date with Shouto, I meant a friendly date. We’re nothing but friends. Besides, I like someone else.”

“Tch.”

He was still blushing.

“Katsuki?”

He snarled, “What?”

“You’re the one I like, stupid.”

“Don’t you fucking dare call me stupid, you—wait, you like me?”

“Yes, very much.”

he somehow blushed even harder. With red cheeks and crossed arms, he stared at everywhere but you

“Well, then fucking tell Half-and-Half to fuck off. I’m the one who’s taking you on a date.”

you laughed and, God, the sound of your laugh and your voice and your giggles were things he absolutely adored

“Sure, Katsuki. I’ll let him know.”

once more, an accidental smile overtook his lips.

[killerqueenishere]

The ball | Draco Malfoy x Slytherin! Reader

Warning: Maybe some swear words and fluff and this is kinf of long

Description: You are in Slytherin and friends with golden trio and Draco and here is coming a Yule Ball, will Draco ask you to go with him? (AU where Voldemort is defeated in the first war and Slytherin and Gryffindor are on good tearms and Malfoy and golden trio are friends)

A/N: sorry for any spelling mistakes English is not my first language

Enjoy

You were sitting with Hermione on transfiguration when professor McGonagall announce that there will be a ball, through class room was mixed emotions, some of the students groaned at the idea of going to the ball and dancing all night, while some was very excited for the upcoming event.

When class was dismissed you walked with Hermione towards great hall "We need to get dresses" she said "Well there is Hogsmade trip tomorrow, we can go and buy dresses" you smiled at the girl next to you.

"Hey why didn't you waited on us" said Ron a bit angry behind you two "Well you know way to great hall yourself" you said walking inside the big room, waving to Hermione you walked to Slytherin table with Draco.

Hogsmade

Hermione and you left boys at the very beginning of Hogsmade, you two headed towards Gladrags Wizardwear to look for night gowns.

"Wow" you mumbled under your breath "How are we going to decide what to wear whit so many beautiful dresses" you looked around "Well we need to try, besides we will know the right dress when we see it" she said walking further in the shop "Like this one, it is mesmerising" she said while touching the soft material of the pink dress "it is beautiful, you should try it" you said looking up at her.

While you waited for her you wandered around thw shop looking at dresses that was there, they were all beautiful but you just didn't thought that they were for you.

"Y/n" you turned around, when your eyes layed on the nervous girl in front of you, you immediately smiled "You look beautiful" gou said making her a bit more relaxed "Really?" She asked "Really, it looks beautiful on you, you should buy it" she nodded her head looking at herself in the mirror "You are right, I will buy it"

You were back to looking at the dresses, sighing slowly when you didn't found anything "Have you found something" Hermione said walking towards you "Nope" you said popping the p "let me help you"

She was looking for dress, you kind of lose hope that you will find good dress "What about this one?" She said holding baby blue silk dress "It is beautiful, but" she nodded "Okey" she said turning to look through dresses again, but before she could show you next dress you started walking away from her, towards the grey dress that catched your eye.

You walked towards it like enchanted, touching the soft fabric of the dress and following the flowers that were on her, you were in awe "Hermione" you said that so low that you were sure that she didn't heard it "Wow, it is beautiful" she said from beside you "Yeah it is" you said smiling "That then means that you find the right one"

Walking towards tree broomstick with big smiles on your faces and bags in hands, Harry, Ron and Draco were already in pub waiting on you two, they had butterbear in front of them while talking about Quidditch

"Hey guys" you said sitting next to Draco, tree boys gave you two a bright smile "Have you heard who is coming to the ball?" You asked expectedly "No" Deaco said looking at you with furrowed eyebrows "The Weird Sisters!" You cheerfully said "I cannot wait to see them live, especially the drummer" Ron groaned "Ginny is obsessed with them" Harry looked confused "Who are they?"

"They are the best rock band ever! They are amazing" low sigh left your lips "I hope that they will play my favourite song 'Magic works' such a beautiful slow song"

Hogwarts

You were currently walking towards the secret sport near Grear lake, you discovered that place in your second year with Draco, you two would often come there to just talk or sit in silence, you two fould comfort in each other, that is one of milion reasons that you feel for him.

Just as you got out from castle Hermione run up to you "You won't believe who asked me to go with him" she said "So Ron finally got some balls" you said laughing "Well actually no" hearing that you stopped laughing to look at her "Actually Krum asked me to go with him and I said yes" she said "Since Ron will not ask me than I will go with Krum" you nodded "What about you? Did Draco asked you" you shook your head "Nope" Hermione groaned "Boys" she shook her head "Yeah well if someone ask me than I will say yes"

One week until Yule Ball

"Hey Y/n" you turned to your left to see who that is and you saw Cedric, an older Hufflepuff who was in the tournament "Hello" you politely smiled at taller boy "Can I ask you something" he said while one if his hands filed to his wavy hair "Sure" he cleared his voice "Do you want to maybe go with me to the ball" he askrd "Sure" even if you didn't want to go with him but since the guy who you want did asked you you accepted "Cool" he smiled before he started walking away.

The Yule Ball

You did Hermione's hair and make up before doing yours, in the middle of you applying your lipstick Hermione walked out od bathroom "Hermione you look beautiful, Krum will love it" she smiled "Thank you so much" you hugged her "you are welcome" you said "Go and change or we will be late" you nodded while going to bathroom

(Your look)

You walked down the stairs with Hermione by your side, in front of great hall was Harry and his date, Krum was looking lovely in Hermione but your eyes landed on platinum haired boy talking with one Slytherin girl, she was beautiful, she had black silk dress amd hair hair feel down her shoulders in waves, you turned your gaze to Cedric, you weren't able to look at Draco and her it pained you.

Cedric took your hand in his while smiling at you "You look beautiful" blushing a little you thanked him.

You were in awe, the great hall was beautiful and soft piano piece was played in the background, turning to face Cedric, taking his hand in one hand while you placed other on his shoulder, you began the first dance.

You felt guilty for thinking about Draco while talking or dancing with Cedric but you couldn't help yourself, you catched yourself looking occasionally at platinum boy

"Why didn't you go with him?" Turning your head to look at Cedric you asked "with who?" He smiled "With Deaco, you've been looking at him almost all night" you looked down "I'm sorry" he placed his finger underneath your chin so he coulf make you look up at him "Don't be sorry, we cannot help who whe like, I was planning on asking Cho but she already had a date" he tried to smile but he failed "Well Draco never asked me to go with him" you admitted "I'm sorry" he said "For what? It is not your fault"

"What is wrong with Cho?" You asked turning away from Cedric "it looks like they are talking her to hospital wing" you looked at Cedric only to see sad and worried expression "You should go to her" you said "What about you?" You smiled at him "I will be fine, now go and be with her" Cedric hugged you while mumbling thanks.

You were leaning on a wall watching everyone having fun, this was supposed to be fun night, you were supposed to go with Draco, you were supposed to dance now but instead you were left alone, you didn't blame Cedric for leaving to go to Cho, you would do the same thing if you were on his place.

"What are you doing here alone" turning away to look who that is you said "I could ask you the same thing Draco" he moved to lean on the wall next to you "Well my date left early" you nodded "Well Cedric is in hospital wing with Cho" you answer to his previous question "Ah yes I saw her going to the hospital wing, I think that she is allergic to something that was in punch" he laughed softly "Hey that is not funny at all!" You said while playfully hitting his arm "Sorry, you are tight"

"Poor Cho" You said while looking around "Yeah" Deaco agreed, than you heard all too familiar tune of your favourite song from The Weird Sisters and smiled a bit.

"May I have this dance with you" Draco asked as he extended his hand to you, you looked at his soft hand and than at his icy blue eyes "Yes you may" you said while talking his hand in yours.

You two danced softly and in the middle of a song you placed your head on his chest listening to his heartbeat, you wanted to stay like this forever, you wanted to always be this close to him

"You know, I actually wanted to ask you to go with me" you pushed your head away from his chest to look at him "Why didn't you" you asked "Well I honestly wanted to think of a special way to ask you and than one day I saw Cedric asking you and you said yes to him and well and my heart broke a bit so I asked the first person that came my way" he said looking away "Wait, I thought that you didn't want to go with me amd I said that next person who asks me that I will go with him, I didn't had Idea that you wanted to go with me, I was so disappointed and sad because I am not going with you" Draco now looked at you "God this whole thing was a bit messed up" he laughed softly and you could listen to that sound your whole life "I really like you and when I saw you tonight I wished so much that you are going with me" you two stopped dancing and his hands were now on your neck "I really, really like you too" you smiled at him "Good, now I can finally do this" and his lips met yours in a soft kiss, he tasted like green apples and mint, his lips were softer than cotton, you pulled away after few moments smiling at each other.

This night ended better than you expected it to.

[bsd-elle]

Thoughts on the SK8 The Infinity Episode 12

So the final episode just aired. And I’m having majoorrr mixed feelings.

This show was truly something that kept me going, with it’s story, animation and the whole found family thing. I have loved this show from the beginning and I will till the end.

But as a lot of people in the fandom I do have some strong opinions on the finale

First off, I just want to say that everyone is allowed to have their own opinion but please do not send hate or any negative energy to studio Bones and Hiroko Utsumi. They have worked incredibly hard on this series. In fact I put them on a pedestal for giving us something so poignant and wonderful during such trying times. I looked forward every Saturday to watch the new episode and that feeling, that rush while watching it, never changed throughout the show’s run!!

Now on to my thoughts on the finale.

1. Shipping

I saw many people in the fandom criticizing the studio for queerbaiting. Now I can definitely not give an accurate perspective on this, as I am not part of the LGBTQIA community, though I am a strong ally.

Let’s talk about the main ships: Renga and Matchablossom

Renga: In my opinion they’re pretty much canon. All the hints, the loving looks, Langa jumping to hug Reki, Langa basically saying Reki is his happiness, Reki wanting to skate beside Langa (Infinitely). In my eyes, they’re canon.

Of course it would’ve been amazing to have a canon queer relationship, but we have no idea what happens behind closed doors. The rules in Japan, unfortunately are totally different from other progressive countries. As someone who lives in a country where they just decriminalized gay marriage, seeing canon queer relationships is honestly rare.

I think they did whatever they could to show that Renga is canon.

I mean come on, Langa basically said he liked Reki in episode 8

I think it would be very very cool and progressive to have a them outwardly admit to it, but we know both these dumbasses never finish their sentences. lol

I’m happy with the way their relationship evolved.

Matchablossom: I honestly can’t give a clear reasoning to this, because personally I don’t ship them. But the thing is, they could be canon, who knows?

I mean everyone was talking about how Joe went out with 2 girls in the end sequence and because of that they aren’t canon. But by that logic we couldn’t ship them from the beginning, since Joe kissed girls in the first episode.

I mean I totally headcanon that Joe is a bisexual king, so that means he could be hanging out them girls while still majorly crushing on Cherry.

Who knows, maybe Joe brought the girls to Cherry’s signing on purpose to make him jealous. Lol

Let your imagination run wild, people. It’s up to your own perspective. I personally don’t ship them, but I don’t think it’s queerbaiting when you pretty much have several hints to them caring deeply (love) about each other.

2. Story

This is where the critiquing comes.

One of the main reasons why I loved and still love Sk8 was one, obviously because of Renga and two because I absolutely loved the story.

From eps 1-11 the story was so compelling and written in such a fantastic way. Every week I’d have some assumptions and every time it would completely blow my mind.

In particular ep 10. When I originally saw the title “Dap not needing words” I was so worried.

They need to talk, they have to communicate. But wow, that episode was just phenomenal, if you guys want me to make a review on each episode I would be happy to, I have so much to say.

Sure, ep 10,11 was wayyy too rushed, but I just know it’s because they had to fit a lot of story in such a little time period. If they had maybe 24 episodes, they would’ve knocked it out of the park.

Either way I had no complaints.

My issue with ep 12 is the beef: Adam Vs Snow

I thought animation wise and as a beef it was really impactful (similar to Reki Vs Adam)

But why God, why did they give Adam a redemption

I’m sorry but he doesn’t deserve it.

I knew for a fact that as much as I wanted Adam to go to jail (so badly), I knew it wouldn’t happen. That was just not possible (in my eyes). I thought they would take a page from Fugou Keiji: Balance Unlimited, where his family (those evil ass aunts) and send them to jail (for clear mental, physical abuse and who knows what else), and Adam would go in isolation somewhere.

There he could properly heal from his trauma and abuse, work through it, heal his relationship with Tadashi and just work to be better.

There was a part of me that expected the show to end with a typical “oh we’re all friends and everything is forgiven” bullshit and I prayyedd that wouldn’t happen

But boy was I wrong

Why did they try to sympathize with him?!?

I get it, he’s clearly had severe trauma and abuse, and he uses skateboarding and entering the “zone” to get away from his terrible reality.

But why did they have Langa say this to him??

“Skating is fun because you can do it with your friends!”

It’s sweet that he’s trying to teach Adam what Reki taught him, but this implies that Adam is his friend. Or atleast that’s what he wants

“hey, you’re a crazy monster and you assaulted my friends (boyfriend), but I still wanna skate with you, cause it’s fun with friends”

I’m sorry, in what universe is this.. your friend?

Your actual friend, Langa, who taught you everything you know, who’s been with you from the start, he has been attacked and traumatized multiple times by Adam. Not to mention several other people.

I could’ve accepted it if they used the line

“Don’t ever end up on your own”

That makes more sense in this context, it’s like saying “hey you evil monster, you’re crazy but don’t end up alone, treasure the people in your life”

I think that implies more on the sense that Adam has to figure shit out on his own, by himself. Not with Langa and the people he’s assaulted.

Then it would make atleast a bit more sense to heal Tadashi and Adam’s relationship.

You just cannot build up a character like Adam, for 12 episodes and then completely forgo that for the sake of “friendship”, that just makes no sense

Not to mention, Kirako the detective, the fact that she worked so hard and got absolutely nothing, is preposterous.

That whole thing put a really bad taste in my mouth.

Also, during the beef, like I mentioned, Langa basically implies that they should have fun because they’re skating with friends.

This basically just throws out Langa’s friendship with Reki.

I mean Reki was so badly hurt and injured after their beef, both the times.

Yes, he did have a lot of fun and that was the point of ep 10, 11 to show Reki that he didn’t have to skate to be the best (like no one ever wass.. dun dun dun. If you know that reference, here’s a chocolate) he skated to have fun(even though in my eyes, he’s the best)

Ep 12 was that arc for Langa, for him to realize he also skated to have fun.

But when you’re condoning and encouraging Adam, idkk.. it just rubbed me the wrong way.

I didn’t like it at all. They made him into a gag character in the end scene, which is literally the opposite of what he’s been pictured for the past 11 episodes.

3. Side characters

Shadow did not deserve that in any way whatsover.

He was completely glossed over. I thought his injury would be a pivotal plot point for improving his relationship with the manager, but they just used it as a way to remove him from the tournament

Tadashi, babyy, that’s Stockholm syndrome

When I saw that dog comment:

Godd... he deserves so muchhh moree..

So, overall the finale, honestly disappointed me. But my love for sk8 is everlasting and the finale will never change that

4. Future

Hopefully, and I pray for this

A season 2, movie, OVA or anything tbh.

There’s so much potential

Reki and Langa go to Canada, they visit Oliver’s grave, Langa teaches Reki snowboarding

Kirako finally arresting Adam

Tadashi becoming true friends with Langa, Reki and the gang

Shadow getting the love he deserves

Matchablossom canon

Renga canon

Miya getting the apology he deserves

But whatever it is, Sk8 the Infinity owns my heart and I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life.

Other than reading Renga fanfiction

[imaginethatneathuh]

The Hanged Man: Mad Sweeney - American Gods

Mad Sweeney x friend!reader, platonic

Sweeney comes to you for a chat and you give him a wake up call.

Part of @dragon430′s Tarot Card Challenge, editing by her as well.

Requested by Anon -  Can you do a Mad Sweeney using The Hanged Man?

CW: Disillusionment, maybe some hints at depression, and mentions of death.

Word count: 1.4+ K

The town and bar are real places in Michigan. If you ever get the chance and are in Michigan, stop by the place. The food’s good and the people are cool.

•

Slow days were pretty common on weekdays. Any bartender worth their shoulder towel can tell you that. Compared to Fridays and Saturdays, the rest of the week, especially where you worked, were slower than molasses going uphill in winter.

Working at a bar in small towns is either Hell on Earth because it’s pretty much the only place around, or it’s Heaven on Earth ‘cause the town is so small. Your place, the North Bar, was a small, albeit popular, place in a village nestled in a valley. Every major place was on one street right through the middle. Like something out of an Old Western movie, but that’s just how small towns are. The North Bar got busy some nights and not so much on others. Best food around (not that that is saying much), and everyone makes sure that there is something to do, like Karaoke nights, corn hole tournaments, or pool. There’s always something, even if it’s not fun or popular with people.

A cousin of yours called your little town the “Lakeside of Michigan”. You couldn’t say whether or not that was true, but you preferred to call Lakeside the “Luther of Wisconsin”.

You wiped some crumbs into a trash bin as you cleaned a table. The Lunch “Rush” was over, and no one but you, the regulars like Chuck, and the other employees were here. It’s not like there were many of you, just one or two servers, the cook, dishwasher, and another bartender. Plus the owner, but she was busy in the back.

Good ole Chuck mulled about in a drunken state before sitting at the bar. You tossed your towel over your shoulder and shook your head.

“Come on, Chuckie boy. I think it’s about time you head on home now. You’ve been here since we opened and had plenty,” you said.

The old, balding man grumbled.

“Don’t make me call your daughter.” You crossed your arms. “Cause I can, and I will.”

He muttered som protests but after a hard glare from you, he stumbled up and out.

It’s not like you wanted to kick him out, but, hey, last time you let him drink to his heart's desire, you ended up having to call the Sheriff. You liked Chuck too much to let him spend any more time down at the jailhouse. He’d come back later anyway.

As you got back behind the counter, the other bartender, Joan, nudged you.

“Can I take off? You ain’t gonna need me here till later, anyway,” she said, gesturing to the now dead bar.

You shrugged. “Sure. I ain’t gotta problem with that.”

“Thanks!”

Once upon a time, you were much like Joan, ready to get the fuck out as soon as you could. Nowadays, it wasn’t too much like that. To you, there wasn’t a point in running off seeing as how, from all the years you’d been working, things never changed. Well, not for the town anyway. For you? You lost that enthusiasm that Joan had. Wasn’t the big of a loss anyway.

You’d been working here since before the North Bar had changed hands. Hell, you’d been here since the place was first takin’ root. And before it, you worked at the Grocers. And before that, at the wood mill. Course, if anyone asked, you’d say it was your ancestors who’d gone and done all that. You took after your cousin like that.

Because you’d worked here so long, you were the de facto boss, especially when the owner wasn’t around or too busy. But even she referred to you when things were going nuts. She frequently asked you for advice, and you were happy to give it.

As Joan went to clock out and leave, a man entered your bar.

With just a look, you knew he wasn’t from here. You knew everyone in town, and he, sure as Hell, Michigan, wasn’t one of them. From the smell and the feel of the mountain of a man, you knew he wasn’t human either. After a look over, you recognized the pesky Leprechaun.

“Sweeney, you’d better not drink me out of my liquor, ya hear?” You growled, scowling at him.

The Leprechaun sat at the bar, the stool groaning beneath him. “Just because ‘a that, I think I might.”

You glared at him, arms crossed.

“Southern Comfort ‘n Coke,” he said. The redhead stretched and sighed. “Been stuck in that fuckin’ car too long. Damn thing’s got me all stiff.”

As you got him his drink, you rolled your eyes. “Try being smaller. That might help.”

It was his turn to glare at you. The tree of a man never really cared for your sarcasm.

“What are you doing here, Sweeney? This place is too outta the way, too ‘blink, and you’ll miss it’ for you to be here on accident.”

He leant against the wooden bar and rubbed his neck, groaning. “It took me fuckin’ ages to get ‘ere. Drove right past it more times than I can count. The place is fuckin’ invisible. Fuckin’ villages, I swear. Shite’s the worst.”

You slammed your fist down, the liquid in Sweeney’s glass jumping and spilling over the side. “What. The fuck. Are you doing here? I will not ask again.” You stared at him, scowling, with both hands on the bar top.

He held your stare. “You’re the only one I could think of to talk to, Y/N. You know things. Understand things. Things I can’t.”

Sighing, you straightened. “I’m a bartender. That’s our little slice of magic even in a world without it.”

Sweeney nodded slowly.

“What do you need to get out?”

You were a bartender. Everyone talked to you about everything. From marriage disputes to petty arguments, everything found its way to you eventually. When people needed an ear and advice, the people of Luther’s first thought was you. Just like Sweeney and others like him.

You supplied the drink as Sweeney talked. And, boy, oh boy, did he talk. His pain never seemed to end, and he never let up to let you say anything. Which was fine by you. Sometimes, people just needed an ear to rant into.

The Leprechaun started to slow in his ranting.

“I’m stuck, Y/N. So fuckin’ stuck,” he said. “I can’t stay ‘ere. It’ll drive me madder than I already am. But, I don’t know where else ta be or ta go. The bar life, the fightin’ life, it’s all I know. Everythin’ else is a blur. It’s not like I can leave the States either. I’m stuck ‘ere, in this rut, and it feels like if I move, I die.”

You nodded quietly and poured him another drink. “Then die.”

The Mad King looked at you.

You shrugged. “It’s better to die living than live already dead.” You pointed to the door, liquor bottle in your hand. “I seen too many folk come through my doors living like the dead do, same thing every day. They ne’er change and ne’er want to. Sometimes, I get them to live just a little with a game or two of pool or corn hole. Sometimes I even get people to play Euchre. Maybe some songs to lighten their mood and food to heavy their stomach, but ne’er for long. Some live like the dead, and some die living. Some live life, some don’t. I’d rather die living fully than live like I’m already dead. Maybe you should try it.”

He took in your words. Slowly, but he got there. Eventually. “Then why do ya stay here?” He asked.

You blinked in surprise at his question. It was true. You walked through those doors every day doing the same thing every single goddamn day, only sometimes changing it up. You lived like most of the folk ‘round here, but you always explained it away as: “They need me,” you said, shrugging it off.

Sweeney finished his last glass in one gulp before setting it down with a thud. “Seems to me, you need them more.”

They worshipped you just like your cousin’s town worshipped him. Albeit in different ways, but still. It wasn’t like you made this town or anything, but you had lent a helping hand. Their worship kept you alive. Of course, you needed them more.

He stood to leave, but first, he leant over the bar and said, “Thanks for the chat. It helped.”

You nodded as the redhead left. Quietly, you hoped you would never see him again.

You would, eventually, much to your chagrin.

[rainydayhogwartsimagines]

Hey, Sister (Fred x Reader)

Summary: Harry’s older sister goes to Beauxbatons and spends the school year at Hogwarts. However you seemed to have met a student who has his eye on you.

Notes: Set in a non Voldemort au. Honestly I came up with this one after I wrote the little sister one where she likes Draco. It’s been in my head ever since, hope you guys enjoy it!

_________________

You were a sharp and quippy person when you were a little kid. You got that from James, most definitely. Remus was your favorite of the uncles, him always encouraging you to strive for greatness. James took up a job with the ministry, sometimes having to travel. The family would sometimes get to go with him and that was the case one year in France. You got to see Beauxbatons in person and became HELLBENT on going. James naturally didn’t want you to go, after all you were his babygirl and he didn’t want you that far away. While Lily shared your sentiments, she saw how you looked at the place. She couldn’t tell you know. And we all know Lily runs the Potter household.

So you went, enjoying your time there making friends, having fun and coming back home for the summer and holidays. You loved your little brother and he loved you, telling you of all the fun events in Hogwarts, wishing that you got to see and spend more time with him. This year was different though. You came home for the summer as usual but you didn’t have a ticket to fly back to France. “Y/n, are you not going back to Beauxbatons?” James asked quietly. “We’re participating in the Triwizard tournament this year. We’re going to Hogwarts!” you said making Harry practically scream and hug you. “CAN SHE GO TO THE BURROW WITH ME PLEASE!?” Harry asked almost like a five year old. Lily chuckled. “Alright, but the first two weeks she spends them here. We missed her too y’know.” Lily said making Harry hug you tighter. “Christ for a fourteen year old you’re strong!” you wheezed. “I get that from Quidditch.” Harry said making you roll your eyes. You spent the two weeks at home, telling Remus and Peter all about your time at the school while doing slightly borderline illegal shit with Sirius. Finally though, you went to the Burrow, Harry practically bouncing with excitement. You walked in and Molly hugged you, instantly making you love the woman. “Harry has told me so much about you!” Molly said. “Harry has mentioned this place so much I almost know the entire layout already.” You chuckled. “Ron! This is my sister Y/n!” Harry introduced. You curtsied (A fun little thing that became a habit after joining Beauxbatons), making Molly smile. “So polite!” She chuckled before someone came downstairs. Fred was unaware you were even there, grabbing an apple before looking over and seeing you. He locked eyes with you and your heart basically drowned out any sound. “Who... Who’s this?” Fred asked. George walked in, also looking at you. However Fred was GLUED to you. “This is Y/n!” Harry said with a smile. “...Harry... You have some fantastic genes.” George said. “That’s my sister you jacka--” “Harry.” You halted him, nodding to the adults present. Fred extended a hand to you and you shook it, noticing his hands were calloused but still soft. Your eyes reflected off of his and he was captivated. “She’s going to Hogwarts with us this year for the Triwizard tournament.” Harry said. “Is she now?” George asked. Fred seemed to be speechless by you. “Yes, Beauxbatons is very proper though, I’m kind of terrified that kids from our school will be EATEN ALIVE.” You admitted. “We’re not... That bad.” Ron said. “Aren’t you worried about ‘being eaten alive’?” George asked. “No, if anything I know me and you two will get along.” You said. “And why’s that?” George asked. “Because I am a prankster at Beauxbatons.” You answered. “Pretty and a sense of humor, Freddie you must be dying right now.” George teased, noticing his brother’s prolonged silence. “She should hang with us.” Fred finally said. “hmm. Might take you up on that.” You said with a smile.

Then came the first day with the Beauxbatons. Fred saw you in that uniform and nearly dropped to the ground. Your hair was in a low ponytail, resting on your shoulder as you sat with your school. Fred for the life of him, could not fucking focus on ANYTHING Dumbledore was saying. He just kept staring. George was smiling like a git, noticing his brother being infatuated with you. “The Beauxbatons will be staying with the Gryffindors.” Was the only thing Fred heard making him look at Dumbledore and then you. “Let the opening feast commence!” Dumbledore announced. You got up, sitting next to Harry and Fred. “Excited for the tournament?” You asked Harry. “Meh. I’m just glad you’re here, you’re never here.” Harry said making you rough up his hair. “So you’re his sister?” Hermione asked. “Yes I am.” You nodded with a smile. “How is someone like you related to him?” Draco asked. “Shut up Malfoy.” Ron and Hermione said in unison. “And you must be Draco.” you said. “Yes I am. At least someone will be introducing class to Gryffindor.” Draco said. You looked at Harry and smirked. You turned around and faced George. “You said you’re a prankster?” You asked. “Yes dear, best in the business.” George said. “Great. I need your assistance. Both of you.” You said with a look of deviousness that made Fred’s heart practically bang in his chest. So there you three were, sneaking into the Slytherin dorm at an ungodly hour to ensure no one would find you. The maurader’s map Sirius gave you also helped out with this little venture. “Where the hell did you even get this?” George asked in a low whisper as you gripped a “Nair” bottle. “I have some fantastic uncles.” You whispered. You ended up shaving the boy’s eyebrows off in his sleep, sneaking back to the Gryffindor common room. You sat around and George practically passed out while you sat on the couch with a mug of tea looking at the fire. “Think you’ll sign up for the tournament?” you asked Fred. “Maybe. Might could use the prize money for George’s and I’s business.” Fred shrugged. “Is that the prank shop you have set up?” You asked. “You know about that?” Fred asked. “Harry tells me everything that goes on here.” you admitted. “I know that you and George are best friends. I know Ginny is shy but really smart. I know that you play quidditch. I know that you and George are very intelligent but don’t show any particular interest in academics like Hermione does. And I know that you have five brothers, one’s a curse breaker, one studies dragons, one is working for the ministry and the other two go to school with you.” you said. Fred rose a brow. “You listen to your brother talk that much?” Fred asked. You chuckled. “When you’re always away from home, you tend to cherish the moments you have with those around you.” You said looking at him. “...Why not come home?” he asked. “I’m not sure... Part of me is scared to ask my parents I guess.” you shrugged. “I’ve met your parents and I’m pretty sure James would practically piss himself of happiness with the way he talked about you.” Fred chuckled. “So you’ve heard about me too?” You asked. “God yes. You’re all anyone wanted to talk about when we celebrated Christmas with them.” Fred chuckled. You chuckled and leaned back with a yawn. “You should get some sleep, we have classes in the morning.” Fred said. You nodded and left, making Fred stare into the fireplace. You really loved your family...

The next morning while you were brushing your teeth you heard a VERY loud scream from the boy’s bathroom, making you smirk. You sat down at breakfast with Fred and George. “Heard the scream?” Fred asked. “How could I not, the kid gave moaning myrtle a run for her money.” You snorted. “I still think we should’ve dyed them.” George said. “Come now George, eyebrows grow back... We’ll dye them red and yellow to show he’s loyal to Gryffindor.” You said making Fred smile. The time finally came when names could be put in the cup. You put yours in, giving no particular reason except for “just felt like it.” Fred and George put their names in, Ron following soon after to impress Fleur. Soon you all sat in the Great Hall, waiting for names to be drawn. “Viktor Krum” “So you guys all signed up?” Neville asked. You all gave noises indicating yes. “Fleur Delacour.” “hmm.” you rose a brow, not realizing Fleur actually put her name in. “Fred Weasley.” Your eyes widened and everyone looked over at the poor bastard who’s drink just shot out of his nose. 

He came back to the common room with a bewildered look of shock on his face. “There’s our champion in the works.” George said. “My name was actually drawn. What the absolute fuck do I do now?” Fred asked. “We train.” You said, walking out of the girls dormitory in a blue sports bra, black leggings and your hair pulled back. “Wha-- Wha- hmm?” Fred asked, a blush about to come over him. “Fred, you’re acting like you’ve never seen a girl without her shirt.” George said in his ear. “It is different when it is her.” Fred said through his teeth. “I said: We train you. You’re about to go into a deadly competition of wits and physical stress. You need to be sharp and prepared.” You said. “Still, Y/n knowing how you train, don’t you think that’s a little much?” Harry asked. “Again. Deadly competition. None of us know what the hell is going on.” You said. “I’m down.” Fred nodded. “Of course you are.” George said making Fred kick his shin. “Great. Get changed, meet me by the lake.” You said walking out. “I’m so sorry.” Harry apologized. “For what?” Fred asked. “You’ll see.”

 “FRED WOULD YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GIVE ME TWENTY!” “Alright! Jesus woman, even Oliver doesn’t push this hard!” Fred said as he did push ups. “She is going to eat that boy alive.” Ron said watching you two from a distance. “Thank God we’re here to see it.” George snorted. “Do you usually train this hard!?” Fred winced. “I go to a school where fencing is an elective and you can get stabbed, yes Fred, I train this hard.” you said. “Can I please take off my shirt, it is WAY too fucking hot.” He whined. “I’m shirtless. Dude, I don’t care.” You said. He sat up, taking off his shirt and you cracked your neck before noticing abs. Oh Christ... Oh Christ he’s hot. He rose a brow. “Like something you see Princess?” He asked out of breath. You rolled your eyes. “We need to practice hand to hand combat.” You sighed. “Sorry. What?” he asked. “Dueling, actual dueling tends to happen. And I cannot stress this enough Fred, you are in a deadly competition. For all we know a gladiator fight could be a trial.” You said. “Still... I really don’t want to fight you--” You swept his legs out from underneath him, gripping his arm before he could hit the ground. “Shut the fuck up, quit treating me like a girl and fight..” You said sternly. He gulped, standing up straight. “Arms up.” You said, raising yours to your face. He copied your movements. “hit me.” You said. “Y/n--” “Hit me.” you repeated “I really don’t think--” “hit. me.” You said. “No--” “hit me-” “Y/n-” “hit me.” “If you say that one more time--” “Hit. me.” you said. He swung, you rolled under the punch and winded him. “Christ Y/n!” He wheezed. “You have to keep fighting Fred. Come on.” you said. “How did you even--” “Fred.” “Okay! okay.” He stood up, going back to his original position. You took a swing, him blocking it. “Good! Again!” you said. He took a swing, missing, but managed to avoid your next hit. “Good, you’re doing good.” You nodded. “Can we stop?” He asked. “Would Viktor or Fleur stop?” You asked. God damn your persistence. You took a swing, Fred gripping your arm and managing to pin you to the ground hanging over you. “Where’d you learn that one?” You asked. “Five brothers... Five.” he reminded. You laughed and he smiled, still holding your hands above your head. His knee was between your legs, face close to yours. He slowly let go of your hands and you did something he didn’t expect. You cupped his cheek and caressed your thumb against it. He swallowed, you looking in his eyes. What was going on in that pretty head of yours? You pulled back your hand and wiped your hand on your leggings. “You have dirt on your face.” You said. Oh. That’s what that was. He pulled back, sitting on his legs and running his fingers through his hair. Was it that necessary to look this attractive?  “We can stop. But we will do this every morning until your trial.” You said. “This hand to hand combat thing is terrible.” Fred sighed. “It’s for your survival.” You said, drinking from a water bottle. “You say that, but I’m beginning to think you liked being under me.” He said. You chuckled and shook your head. You stood up. “I never said I didn’t.” you said with a smirk, walking back to the common room. 

Fred swallowed hard, watching you walk away. Every morning from that point on you two would train, Fred getting quicker with his movements. You practiced dodging, running, anything you knew really. As he did this though, there were plenty of moments where he definitely caught you staring, eyeing him up and down. Course he was guilty of doing the same thing. Ron and George would watch you two basically mentally undress each other, Harry completely oblivious to what was clearly happening. Finally the first trial came. “Dragons!? I’m going to be in a ring with-- Charlie what the fuck!?” Fred gaped at his brother who couldn’t help but tell him. “Later today you’ll have to draw them from a bag. I’m sorry, I just got the news you were in this.” Charlie said. You walked into the common room, eye brow raised. “What’s going on?” You asked. “The first trial will be me in a ring with a dragon.” Fred said. You frowned. “Are you fucking serious?” You asked. Yep. Definitely your father’s child. “Afraid so.” Charlie said. “Who’s this?” You asked. “Charlie.” Fred sighed. “The one who studies dragons... Hmm... Any tips?” You asked. “Bob and weave. Serpentine and rocks are your friend.” He said. None of that made sense until today. Fred panted, leaning against a rock. “COME ON FRED!” George shouted from the stands. You were next to him, giving Fred a look of “you can do this.” Some how that was the motivator that Fred needed. He sprinted to another rock, closer to the gold egg. He dodged its tail, remembering how you showed him how to do a barrel roll. “KEEP YOUR FORM FRED!” You yelled. He chuckled to himself at your coaching and kept low, narrowly missing attacks until he had the egg in his hands. The dragon geared up and you frowned. Oh no. “BOB AND WEAVE!” you screamed as Fred noticed what alarmed you. He sprinted, taking his brother’s advice and serpentined across the ring before reaching the exit, earning a loud cheer from the crowed. 

“HE DID IT! Y/N DID YOU-- Y/n?” You were already gone, sprinting to the tent. Fred was out of breath when he got to the tent. You ran in and hugged him, nearly knocking him to the ground. He let out a relieved laugh and held you to him like you were the most precious thing to him. “You did it! I am so proud of--” you pulled away slightly, looking in his eyes as your noses were nearly touching. He kept you close, looking at your eyes and then your lips before George ran in, cutting his attention away from you. “You crazy bastard! You did it!” George said as you pulled away. “I literally thought my ass was toast.” Fred said making you laugh. You looked at the egg curiously. “Party in the Gryffindor common room!” George shouted. You kneeled slightly so you were eye level with the egg. “As long as I can sit. Down.” Fred said making George laugh. You pressed the egg, opening it before hearing the loud shriek come from it. Fred and George jumped as you slammed it shut. “What the bloody hell was that!?” George asked. "The egg!" You said, baffled by what it did. You ended up partying with the Gryffindors it of course being loud and fun. But FINALLY it died down and you could relax in peace. You looked at the egg and Fred sat next to you. "Why does it make noise?" You asked. "I have no idea. But it's loud." Fred said looking at it. "I'm still stuck on the fact that it makes sound, there has to be a reason it does." You said. Fred looked at it and sighed. You rose a brow. "Something wrong?" You asked. ".... I'm way in over my heard." He said. "What do you mean?" You asked. "Y/n, my challenge was a fucking dragon. The next one is probably going to be worse... What if I can't handle it?" Fred asked you. "Then you don't win." You said. "But that's not going to happen." You added. "Why are you so confident in me?" Fred asked curiously. "Because I have heard you do some off the wall shit. You're smart, you're quick, you're strong. You can do this." You said. He opened his mouth but you rose a brow to the little girl walking from the dormitory. "Gabrielle, is something wrong?" You asked. "I can't sleep and Fleur is already asleep. I didn't want to wake her." Gabrielle said. You patted your lap and she sat, you pulling her close. "Want me to sing the song?" You asked. Gabrielle nodded and you chuckled with a beautiful smile that Fred loved to see. You played with the girl's hair, brushing it out with your fingers as a way to relax her. "Hold me close and hold me fast this magic spell you cast this is le vi en rose." You sang surprising Fred as Gabrielle seemed to curl up in your lap. When you kiss me heaven sighs, and though I close my eyes I see Le vi en rose." You said, the girl's eyes slowly closing. "when you press me to your heart, I'm in a world apart where roses bloom and when you speak angels sing from above, every day words seem to turn into love songs." You continued, Fred absolutely mesmerized by your voice and smile. "Give your heart and soul to me and life will always be Le vi en rose." You finished, leaving the room completely silent aside from your breathing and the crackles from the fire in the fireplace. "Works like a charm every time." You chuckled in a low whispered. "You're close?" Fred asked in a low whisper, nodding to Gabrielle. "Fleur and her both. That year I wasn't there for Christmas I was with them." You said softly. Fred watched you with Gabrielle. "She's a light sleeper, I think I'm going to end up sleeping here." You chuckled. "I'll stay with you if you want." Fred said. "...I'd like that." You said with a smile. Fred couldn't help but smile at you. God you were so beautiful. He couldn't focus around you, he would trip over his own two feet sometimes, George pestering him nonstop. You turned back to the fire and Fred moved slightly closer to you. "I wouldn't worry about the competition." You said to him. "I'm... It's hard to do this when your mother's voice is going off in your head 'OH GOD THAT'S NOT SAFE'" he said making you chuckle. "I have faith in you Fred... You've got this." You assured, this sincere look. You two sat in silence for a while, Fred thinking nothing of it until your head landed on his shoulder. He looked at you and smiled, pressing a kiss to your forehead as you slept. "Goodnight Princess."

You woke up the next morning on him, blankets covering you, Gabrielle and Fred. You got up, Gabrielle dressing for the day and you getting up with the egg. Fred finally woke up, finding you with the egg on the floor, staring at it from all angles. "....What the hell are you doing?" He asked. "I'm Sherlocking. It's not working." You said looking at the golden egg. Fred sat cross legged next to you. "this is really bothering you." Fred snorted. "Why does it make noise!?" You repeated your question. "By this point I want to just drown the damn-- wait." You gasped. "New murder plot?" Fred asked. "No! I figured it out! You need a bath." You said handing it to him. ".....Y/n what the hell?" Fred snorted. "Oh-- come on." You said pulling him up and walking to the bath. You started filling the tub and he rose a brow. "....Y/n, what the hell are we doing?" He asked. "We could go to the girl's room but you'd have to deal with Moaning Myrtle." You said. "No, why are you so insistent--" you took the egg out his arms and "about a bath? Are you trying to see me naked?" He asked making you blush and roll your eyes. "We're not actually taking a bath you dolt." You said. "Speak for yourself, I still have ash in my hair from yesterday." Fred said stripping making you turn around. "You're welcome to join me." He yawned. "Just go underwater and listen to the egg." You said, your back turned. "Compromise, I keep my underwear on and you listen to it with me in case I miss something." He said. "Why are you so determined to--" he said nothing, putting a hand on your forehead and pulling you back into the bath. "FRED!" You screamed, a loud splash from you as you fell in. "I'm all wet you moron!" You yelled. "I know, I tend to have that effect on girls." Fred laughed as you splashed him. You shook your head and went under, making him raise a brow. You didn't resurface for a while but you shot out when you did. "I WAS RIGHT!" you said making him nearly fall over. "The egg sings!" You said. "What--" you yanked Fred under, looking at the egg it sang. "Come seek us where our voices sound, We cannot sing above the ground, And while you're searching, ponder this: We've taken what you'll sorely miss, An hour long you'll have to look, And to recover what we took. But past an hour - the prospect's black Too late, it's gone, it won't come back" you both popped up for air and Fred coughed. "You were right!" Fred said. "I know, I'm a genius. But I'm getting confused, this is a mermaid singing... Are there mermaids somewhere on campus?" You asked. "In the lake that we usually train by." Fred nodded. "Great. So the next trial is in water... You're retrieving something... What though?" You asked. "I'm not sure... It said I lost it." He said. "Lose anything lately?" You asked. "No." Fred muttered pondering. His focus was broken by the wet clothes currently clinging to your body, showing your curves in way that made it very hard to even form words. "Would you stop staring!?" You said splashing him. He gave you a cheeky grin, splashing you and you sighed. "You're a child." You said.... Before splashing him back. You two continued this goofy little routine and he wrapped his arms around you, flinging you both into the water. You laughed and he smiled. You two were panting from the laughter and stared at each other. Fred was almost prepared to risk it all in that damn bath if it hadn't been for breaking the eye contact and pulling the egg back up. You went back to dorms, changing before leaving to class. "Y/n, dear would you mind coming with me?" Mcgonagall asked. Fred's next trial began and it was fucking cold, breaths being visible. "Of fucking course it's cold." Fred whined. "Where's Y/n?" Harry asked. ".... She's not with you?" Fred asked. "No, I thought she was with you." Fred said. "I've been thinking she was with Fleur." George said. Fred walked over to the girl. "Hi, have you seen Y/n?" He asked. "Ze lake." Fleur said. "What?" Fred asked. "Ze challenge is to retrieve a precious item lost..." Fleur reminded "I know that, I'm asking--" then it hit Fred, him locking eyes onto the dark waters. "No." Fred said. George frowned as Fred walked back over, pacing. "Fred what's going on?" George asked. "She's in the lake!" Fred said. "Champions take your places!" Dumbledore announced. Fred stood at the edge, Neville slipping him something to breathe underwater with. "Thanks Longbottom." Fred said. "On your marks." Dumbledore said. "Good luck Weasley!" A boy shouted. "GO!" was all Fred heard before downing whatever Neville gave him. jumping and colliding with the water. It was fucking cold. He was swimming, looking for you frantically before noticing a tail slink past. Shit. He swam as quickly as possible, finally finding you. He untied you, using his wand to keep the mermaids at bay before Krum got Hermione out of there. "I cannot believe they put my fucking sister in a LAKE. IN WINTER. MY MOTHER WILL KICK YOUR ASS!" Harry yelled before George slammed his hand over his mouth. "Calm down! Fred isn't going to let anything happen to her!" George assured. Viktor came back up, Hermione shivering from the cold. Fred came up soon after, you gasping for air as you left the lake. "Christ it's fucking cold!" You breathed. Fred hugged you tightly, nearly making you fall back. You noticed Fleur empty handed as you pulled away and frowned. "Fleur, où est Gabrielle?" You asked. "Je n'ai pas pu la faire sortir du lac!  les sirènes!" She answered frantically. "What's wrong?" Fred asked, his hand on your back. "Gabrielle is down there still!" You said. The worry and pure fear in your eyes nearly broke him. So... He jumped back in. "FRED!" You screamed, running to the edge with a bunch of other students. One second seemed way too long now, all of you watching-- waiting to see what would happen before he shot back out with Gabrielle. Fleur hugged Fred, thanking him for retrieving her sister.⁸ You hugged Fleur and Gabrielle both, thankful your friends were safe. Fred wrapped himself in a towel before you stood up, walking over to him. He was talking to George when you turned his head by putting a hand on his cheek and kissed it. His face was almost hysterical but it was soon replaced by determination as he slinked his arm around your waist, pulling you forward and kissing you. George and Ron both almost slammed Harry down to stop him from disrupting this. You let out a laugh as he rested his forehead on yours. He noticed your hands were freezing, picking them up and warming them with his breath. "I'm glad you kissed me." You chuckled, him letting out a small laugh. "I've been waiting to do that all fucking summer." He said making you giggle. You and Fred were more... Couply now. Training would take adorable turns when he'd just pick you up after you charge at him and kiss the side of your head. You and him were close, him absolutely adoring you. Despite you two now dating, you never held back in training (Fred would be forced to use full strength because damn for the dainty thing you looked like you could pack a REALLY strong punch), you'd ease up on the yelling sure. But never once did you go soft on his ass when it came to combat. Fred had a new challenge today though. Dancing. Look, the boy is a fucking goofball, his idea of dance is a scene from footloose. You were helping Mcgonagall teach the class seeing as dancing was something you HAD to learn in your second year. Mcgonagall would hide the forming smile when she saw you with Fred, teaching him this. "Fred it's one, two three, come on now." You chuckled. "Love, I cannot DANCE. Not like this." Fred said. "Anyone can dance, you just have to have the right teacher. Maybe I should get Mcgonagall to teach you--" he pulled you closer "Don't you dare." He said with a laugh. You smiled, showing him. "There we go! See I know you could do it!" You chuckled. "Say, this is for that dance..." Fred began. "Mmhmm?" You asked. "Would you maybe want to go with me?" He asked. You snorted. "Fred we're dating. It was implied you and I were going together." You laughed. "I wanted to ask you formally Love, I can never be too sure." He said making you nod with a laugh. "At least you didn't ask me like George did Angela which was just him doing terrible movements while Snape geared up to kill the boy." You snorted making Fred laugh. Hogsmeade was now approaching though, making you very excited. Fred wasn't too sure why until you dragged him to the three broomsticks with Harry. "UNCLE MOONY!" You squealed, hugging a man with a scar on his face. "Y/n! Oh it's so good to see you!" Remus chuckled. "Uncle Padfoot! My man!" Harry said, hugging Sirius. You hugged Peter and motioned for Fred to come over. "Hey, you're the Weasley boy!" Sirius recalled. "Yeah, Sirius right?" Fred asked. "Yep! Good to see you!" Sirius said. "What brings you to us?" Remus asked. "Y/n's persistence." Fred teased making you smile. "You've become good friends!" Peter said. ".... They're dating Worm tail." Harry said making all of the men now stare daggers at Fred. "Dating?" Remus asked. "Does Prongs know?" Sirius asked. "No." Harry said. "Oh please don't tell him until I can see his face." Sirius begged. "Where is mum and dad anyway?" You asked. "What?" Fred asked.  "You've already met them." Harry said. "NOT IN THIS CAPACITY!" Fred whined. "Reminds me of Sirius with Marlene." Peter snorted, resulting in Sirius smacking his arm. "Actually I have something to tell all of you." Sirius said. You finally saw that red hair though and you smiled. "Mum!" You said. "Oh god oh god oh god." Fred muttered. "Y/n! Fred-- George? Which one of you are you?" Lily said. "Fred ma'am." He said, now nearly sweating through his shirt. "What's wrong with this kid?" James asked. Sirius resisted a loud laugh as you pulled a chair out for your dad. "Dad. Sit." You said. "....Why?" James asked. "Sit." You said using the same stern voice your mother does. He sat as an instinct. "Fred and I have started dating." You said. James' jaw dropped and Sirius snorted. "You're dating my baby girl?" He asked. "Congratulations dear." Lily said to you. "Thank you mum." You said. "YOU'RE DATING MY BABY GIRL!?" James screamed. "Oh God." Fred whined. "Dad, calm down." You said. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU." James yelled. "Fred... Run." You said. "Legs. Won't. Move." Fred whined. You gripped his hand and sprinted out, James running after you. "THIS IS NOT WHAT I HAD IN MIND FOR A FUCKING FIELD TRIP!" Fred whined. "Running practice!" You said with a laugh. "I'M GOING TO WRING THIS FUCKER'S NECK!" James screamed. "JAMES WOULD YOU CALM DOWN!?" Lily yelled. Students noticed you and Fred running but thought nothing of it until a fucking parade of adults ran after you two. "What the hell is going on!?" Cedric gaped. "....Potter." McGonagall said gritting her teeth. 

James cut you off with a deranged look in his eyes. "DAD WOULD YOU FUCKING COOL IT!?" You asked. "MY BABY GIRL!? THERE ARE AT LEAST FOURTY DIFFERENT GIRLS ON CAMPUS AND YOU CHOSE MY DAUGHTER!?" James asked. Fred gulped and looked at Lily for help. "JAMES. CALM. DOWN." Lily snapped. "HOW ARE YOU CALM!?" James asked motioning to Fred. "She's sixteen James, I'm honestly amazed she hasn't dated anyone before this." Lily said. "Wait I'm your first boyfriend?" Fred asked looking at you. You had your face in your hand, letting out a long groan. "Prongs, he is a good kid! She could be doing worse!" Sirius said. "Sirius, have kids! Then you'll get it!" James groaned. "That's why I'm here you prat; Marlene is pregnant!" Sirius said making the group turn to him wide eyes. "YOU CHOSE A FUCKING HOMICIDE ATTEMPT TO TELL US YOU'RE HAVING A KID!?" Remus asked. "Surprise!" Sirius said. "TOO MANY VARIABLES. BRAIN CRASHING." James yelled. "Dad knows the word variable?" You asked. "Apparently." Lily nodded, equally surprised "I WANT TO KILL THE BOY, CAN I KILL THE BOY!?" James asked. "No. That's homicide." Lily said. "I WANT TO KILL SOMETHING BY HUGGING RIGHT NOW I'M SO CONFLICTED." James yelled. You walked up to Sirius and hugged him. "I am so happy for you Uncle Padfoot. This kid is going to be so loved." You said with happy tears falling. Sirius hugged you tightly. "He will have the greatest Godmother in the world." He said making you pull away with wide eyes as Remus held back James from choking Fred behind you. "I'm--" "I was going to ask you formally, you and Harry both are the godparents until one of you gets married then it's you and your spouse." He said calmly. You hugged him again and he saw the sight behind you of Lily smacking James upside the head as Fred used Harry as a shield. "I like the boy by the way. He looks at you the same way your parents do... er... Did." He corrected seeing Lily successfully closeline James as he booked it forward towards Fred. You winced as you saw it. "Lilyyyy!" James whined. "CALM. DOWN." she said. She got up gripping Fred's arm and putting him next to you. "We approve--" "Lily!" James whined. "WE. APPROVE." she snapped. You blinked a few times as James grumbled sitting cross legged in the snow. You all went back to the three broomsticks Fred sitting close to you as James gritted his teeth. "So do you know what gender it is yet?" Lily asked. "We find out next week." Sirius said. "I'm proud of you Sirius." Remus said. "What about you and that Tonks girl hmmm?" Sirius asked, nudging his side. Remus flushed pink and you smiled. "I've met her before, she's a sweet girl. Kickass. But sweet." You nodded. "Hmmm. While we're on the topic of love, Fred." Sirius said. Fred looked up. "What drew you to our little Y/n?" Sirius asked. Fred swallowed and blushed making you raise a brow. "I... I just got to know her and I... I don't know I just..." He sighed. "I love her." He said making everyone look at him alarmed. "You... Love me?" You asked. "Yeah... I wanted to tell you for awhile and not in front of your family but I do." He said. Remus smiled as you kissed him, smiling and putting your head on his shoulder. James twitched but Lily stomped on his foot making him yelp. "We're glad you two are together dear." Lily said. "Thank you mum." You said with a smile. The conversation went on, you keeping your head on Fred's chest as he played with your hair, occasionally saying something. James wanted to loathe this kid. But he just... He couldn't. Fred was so irritably like him that he just liked him.

You all got back to the school and you smiled, poking Fred's cheek as he was deep in thought. "What's going on in that pretty head of yours?" You asked. "...I think I have like... Twenty orders I didn't do today." Fred said. You kissed his cheek and he smiled. "And they can wait because you're here." He said kissing you. You chuckled. "You should get them done Freddie." You said, kissing his forehead before walking to the dorms. You sat on the cot that was Fleur's, talking to another British student from Beauxbatons that you regularly hung out with. "So you and that Fred boy." She said. "Someone's in lovvveee." Another girl said with a chuckle. "He's perfect." You breathed with a smile. "There's just something gnawing at me." One of the other girls said. "Hmm?" You asked. "What happens once we leave?" She asked. "What do you mean?" You asked. "We go to school in France. We don't exactly live close together Y/n." The girl said. You frowned. "I... Never thought about that." You admitted. "Don't worry about it." Your friend said. "But--" "Y/n most relationships fail because people are too focused on the future than to actually focus on the present. You and Fred will cross that bridge once you get to it." She said. You nodded. "When did you become so insightful?" A girl asked. "I'm not sure." She shrugged. You took that advice to heart living in the present with Fred. Not one moment came that you weren't smiling. When the Yule ball came, Fred was a mess. He was supposed to be presented. And on top of that he was supposed to participate in that ridiculous dance. Harry insisted on walking you down the stairs, saying that you could trip and break your neck. You assured him that wouldn't happen but still allowed him to do so. When Fred saw you all worry just... Instantly left him. He swallowed hard and looked at you as you dusted something off of Harry's shoulder. "Have fun Harry." You said him smiling and running over to Ron. You turned to Fred and smiled. "Look at you! My God you're handsome." You said with a smile. "Y/n you're..." He seemed speechless. You rose a brow. "God you're beautiful." He said. You smiled and he chuckled. "You're almost ethereal." Fred said with a chuckle. You kissed his nose, taking his hand and walking over to the other contestants. "Vous êtes belle Y/n!" Fleur said making you smile. "Toi aussi Fleur!" You chuckled. You and her went back and forth in French for a while, talking about something to do with how she felt about the next Trial and Fred watched you talk. How in the world were you keeping up with this? Like how are you this perfect holy fuck. The doors opened and you took your place next to Fred, walking about holding his arm. "You've got this Love." You said with a smile. "Can we talk about something to keep my mind off this whole dancing thing?" Fred asked. "Of course. So birds am I right?" You asked making him laugh as you took your place. "Sorry, your immediate conversation topic that you chose is birds?" Fred asked. "I hate geese." You said. Fred snorted and shook his head, dancing with you. "I'm more of a cardinal guy myself." He said making you smile. "Would it be cliche to say doves are pretty?" You asked as you danced, not missing a single step. "Doves look like fancy chickens." Fred said making you laugh. "I thought you were going to say fancy pigeons but you do with chickens!?" You laughed. "Pigeons are just street chickens, change my mind." Fred said. "Chickens can't fly!" You laughed. "Meh. Doesn't change them from being birds." He said making you laugh harder. The two of you finished the dance a slow song soon followed, Fred pulling you into his arms and you smiling. You kissed his nose and he smiled before clearing his throat. "Y/n... I really don't mean to be a downer... But what happens when you go back to France?" He asked. Your face dropped and you cleared your throat. "....I don't want to leave you." Is all you could say. You looked so pained in that expression and he held you close. ".... I'll wait then." He said. "What?" You asked. "Next year we're in our last year. We can wait Y/n... If you want. We'll send letters, we'll see each other on the holidays..." He suggested. You nodded. "I want. I definitely want." You said. "Then it's settled. I'll just wait for you." She shrugged making you smile. You kissed him, him smiling against your lips. "....Doves are still not chickens--" "They are fancy chickens!" He declared. "What are penguins then!?" "ARTIC CHICKENS--" "OH MY GOD" 

You and Fred spent every waking moment together, savoring every memory that you two have you two made. Finally it was the day of the last trial. He was kind of panicked but you were there. "You've got this Love." You said to him. He kissed you, resting his forehead on yours. "I love you." You said. "I love you too..." He said. "CHAMPIONS TAKE YOUR PLACES." The announcer said. He sighed, kissing your knuckles before walking out. You sat with Harry and George. "Nervous for him?" George asked noticing this expression on your face. "A little." You mumbled. "Mum and dad wanted to see the last trial, they're around here somewhere." Harry said. "They are?" You asked. "Yeah." He nodded. You got up and walked around until you found them. "Mum. Dad... Can I talk to you?" Fred stood at the start, clearly nervous. "Good luck Weasley." Krum said. "I'm surprised you know my name." Fred chuckled. "You're a contestant. Of course I do." He said. Fred shook his head and Fleur cracked her knuckles. "You're dating Y/n, correct?" She asked, the French accent being clear as she spoke. "Yes." Fred said. "Hurt her and I kill you."  She said making him open his mouth before the noise sounded off and they all booked it through the maze. "Christ this is creepy." He thought to himself, moving through the area. He stopped for a second, trying to figure out if he just accidentally went in a big circle when he felt something on his arm. He looked and saw the maze reaching out. His eyes widened and he booked it, running as fast as his legs could carry him before literally slamming into Krum. He turned around. "Weasley!?" Krum asked before noticing the maze behind him. "SHIT!" Fred yelled before sprinting down the maze with Krum behind him. Krum however tripped. Fred hesitated before Krum screamed "RUN!" and he nodded, booking it. He saw the cup, sprinting to it and gripping the handle. It was then he realized it was a port key, him hitting the ground hard as he landed. "Ow, holy fuck." He winced. He sat up, you sprinting to him and hugging him. He chuckled and you scattered kisses on his face. “You did it!” You said, him raising a brow before seeing the crowd who was cheering with the band playing as Harry, Ron and George all ran down. “SUCK IT PERCY!” George yelled earning a snort from you as Fred stood up.

Gryffindor had a massive party, all of you celebrating with smiles. “So what are you even planning to do with the money?” Ron asked. “What, hoping for some cash?” George asked, smacking him upside the head. “I’m using it for the business. We’re capitalizing on this bitch.” Fred said, earning a laugh from you. “I knew you could do it.” You nodded with a smile. “My coach also was very helpful, you beautiful thing you.” he said, kissing you with an arm around your waist. “I was serious about my threat.” Fleur said watching him. “You threatened Fred?!” You asked. “She did. But it was more of a ‘you hurt her you die’ situation. I’ve got a whole line of students who will brutally kill my ass if I do something wrong.” Fred said. “Myself included.” Harry said making you roll your eyes. “What can I say? I’m lovable.” You joked. “Oh yes you are.” Fred said earning a gag from Ron. “I feel like I just interrupted something.” George said. “Warning, you might want to back away from Y/n, her parents are coming.” Hermione said. Fred immediately stood back and you snorted as pure fear fell over his face when James entered. “Congratulations kid.” James said looking at him. “Thank you sir.” Fred said. James squinted at him, eyeing him up and down. “This place has not changed at all, holy shit.” Sirius said. “What are you guys doing here?” Harry asked. “Meeting with Dumbledore for something, passing the time while we have it.” Remus answered. Gabrielle ran over to you, talking to you about something making you giggle. Fred smiled, watching you talk to other students with your arms over Gabrielle. Remus took notice and put a hand on his shoulder. Fred looked over and then back at you. “Have you two talked about France?” Remus asked. “We’re going to try to stick through the last year of school... See each other on holidays and such.” Fred said, clearing his throat, his attention obviously still on you. “Think you’ll make it?” Remus asked. Fred watched you rough up Harry’s hair earning him swatting your hands away and Gabrielle giggling. “I’d wait a hundred years if it meant I could see her again.” He said, Remus nodding with a smile.

The last week of school was hard, you not wanting to leave your brother, new friends and Fred. The last night being one of tears and partings. You and the Beauxbatons sat together, Fred watching you with this expression that just... God he didn’t want you to leave. “ Of all the money that e'er I had I spent it in good company” A girl at the table sang, making you look up. “And all the harm I've ever done alas, it was to none but me” another sang. Great. The ending serenade. “And all I've done for want of wit” You sang with them. “To memory now I can't recall” you sang. “So fill to me the parting glass” You all sang, slowly raising glasses. “Good night and joy be to you all So fill to me the parting glass” The students sang, slowly rising “And drink a health whate'er befalls Then gently rise and softly call good night and joy be to you all” You all sang. “Of all the comrades that e'er I had” Fleur sang out, an arm around you as you held glasses up. They're sorry for my going away and all the sweethearts that e'er I had”  You all sang, looking at the scene around you. “They'd wish me one more day to stay but since it fell into my lot that I should rise and you should not” You all sang, students from Hogwarts joining in. “I'll gently rise and softly call good night and joy be to you all fill to me the parting glass and drink a health whate'er befalls then gently rise and softly call” You sang, walking to the Gryffindor table and Fred smiling sadly as he rose and held you. “Good night and joy be to you all” He sang with you making you smile. You extended a hand to George and he took it, hugging you as the school sang with the Beauxbatons. “I’m going to really fucking miss you.” George said. “Ditto Weasley.” You said, crying with smile. “since it fell into my lot that I should rise and you should not I'll gently rise and softly call” The voices around you sang as you shared a group hug with students from Gryffindor. You weren’t ready to let this go, not now. “Good night and joy be to you all so fill to me the parting glass and drink a health whate'er befalls then gently rise and softly call good night and joy be to you all” You all sang, more students slowly beginning to have tearful goodbyes. After all, other students had become good friends with students from the other schools. “Good night and joy be to you all” you all sang.

The next morning was honest to god one of the hardest things you’ve ever had to do. You gave tearful goodbyes to all of your new friends. But the pain of leaving only worsened as Fred approached you. He hugged you tightly, burying his face in the crook of your neck as you gripped his shirt. When you pulled away he pressed a kiss to your forehead and he blinked a few times. “I told myself I wouldn’t cry but damn it this is hard.” He said, letting out a sad laugh. “God, this is stupid! We’re seeing each other for the summer!” You whined, also crying. You kissed him one last time and hugged Harry before walking with the other girls. You gave one last glance to the group and walked away. George put a hand on his brother’s shoulder, pulling him close as to say “I’m here for you.” The next few days Fleur noticed you not showing much emotion. Your laughter was absent and she could tell you really got attached to Hogwarts when you went. You however were released early, school ending because of the tournament. You came home bags in hand a week before Harry would. Even James could tell something was making you sad. He hated seeing his little girl hurt this much. Lily however had a trick up her sleeve. She knocked on your doorway and you looked over, sitting in your window just watching the summer rain. “Hey mum.” You said softly. “Hi darling... Can we talk?” she asked, shutting the door behind her. You nodded at your desk chair and she sat down. “What’s eating at you sweetheart?” She asked. You cleared your throat, tears in your eyes as you spoke. “I don’t want to go back to Beauxbatons mum.” You said. She rose a brow. “You don’t?” Lily asked. “No... When I was at Hogwarts I just... I felt like I was home...” You said softly. “There’s a lot of reasons why I want to leave if  you need to hear them--” “Sweetie” “One: I want to be close when Marlene has the baby” “Sweetie” “Two: I want Harry to be there for my last year” “Y/n.” “I’d be closer to you guys” “I’ve already enrolled you into Hogwarts Y/n.” Lily said. You blinked. “What?” you asked. “And I got you something else.” She said. She handed you a packed bag and you rose a brow. “You’re staying with the Weasley’s.” She said. You threw your arms around her and James saw you off later that afternoon. 

Fred was relatively quiet on the train ride back, Ginny noticing him looking like he could break at any second. “Freddie... Are you okay?” She asked. “I miss her.” Fred murmured. Ginny hugged her brother and he basically moped the entire time walking to the car. He sighed, Arthur even taking notice to the newfound sadness over Fred. George sighed and poked his brother. “So when are we putting that prize money to use.” George asked, hoping to distract his brother. “Hmm... probably after graduation.” He said. “Right. Well maybe we could set up a plan over the summer.” George suggested. Fred nodded mindlessly and Harry sighed “You’ll see her for the summer Fred. Which is in like... A week.” “I know, I just miss her Harry. Let me mope in peace please.” Fred sighed. They got to the Burrow, Harry walking in and walking upstairs. He saw you and you put your hand over his mouth. “I’ll explain in a minute, go back down and tell me when Fred gets here.” You said. Harry nodded and walked back downstairs, wide eyed. “Harry? Are you alright? Did George gag your drink again?” Ron asked. “No uhhhh...” Fred walked in. “NOW!” He said and you walked downstairs. Fred’s eyes widened and he literally dropped everything, hugging you tightly. You chuckled in his arms and held his face. “What are you doing here!?” He asked. “They let us out early but I have more news.” You said. “is it good news?” Fred asked. “I’m finishing my last year at Hogwarts.” You said making everyone LOSE THEIR MINDS. You all celebrated that night, not one moment of you being seen without Fred. The night ended with you , George and Fred sitting outside with cider. “To the future.” You said holding out your glass. George and Fred clinked glasses with you before you all drank. 

The future was so fucking beautiful. You and Harry met your god daughter Olivia Juliet Black and basically vowed to kill anyone who even so much as looked at the kid wrong. You ended up working with Fred and George, opening the shop with them after graduation. Fred proposed and of course you said yes, later marrying that same year. Remus later married Nymphadora, them having your other god child, Teddy Edward Lupin. Bill Weasley ended up marrying Fleur, you being her maid of honor. You gave birth to your son Atlas Nicolas Weasley. There was not one day of your life that you didn’t enjoy. But let’s not focus on the future now. Let’s live in the present. 

“I cannot believe your sister actually transferred.” Draco griped. “Choose your next words carefully boy. I’ve got two bottles of hair dye with your name on it.” You said. “I KNEW THAT PRANK WAS YOU!” Draco gasped. “Shit.” You winced making Fred snort. “I’M GOING TO END YOU!” Draco yelled, wand drawn as you bolted down the hall with the twins, the sounds of your laughing echoing through the halls.

[dripkingpetey]

bestfriends forever-b.boeser

oh god here i am once again with a brock fic😐 i’ll be trying to do the requests that i’ve been getting over the weekend but please don’t get mad at me if i don’t end up getting to them. oh also! the flashbacks are in italics just an fyi!

brock boeser x oc!

2436 words

“Come play hockey with me Kyia!” Brock exclaimed at his bestfriend from his bedroom window over to hers, they were next door neighbours, with the windows in their respective bedrooms facing each other.

Kyia still remembers it like yesterday, Brock always asking her to play or hangout with him. Except right now, Kyia was in her car crying, she had just dropped off her bestfriend at the airport and he was heading to Vancouver. Obviously she was happy about Brock going to the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks, she didn’t want to leave him though. Brock and Kyia have been bestfriends even before they were born, with their mothers being bestfriends. They have never had to be separated before, even when Brock went to college for hockey, she ended up getting accepted into the same university. 

It took awhile for Kyia to stop crying but when she did, she started driving home, thinking about all of the memories with Brock even though it was likely that she would see him in a couple of weeks. She started playing her and Brocks playlist, they had started it when Brock got his first iPod after a hockey tournament when they were 9.

“Kyia! Come over I have something to show you.” Brock waved his arms furiously to get Kyia to hurry up. “Okay, okay I’ll be over in a sec.” Kyia giggled at how excited Brock was, slipping on her shoes before making her way over to Brocks house.

“Look it’s got all of these cool songs that we can make playlists with too.” Brock exclaimed enthusiastically as he hooked the iPod up to their family computer, making a playlist title ‘Kyia and Brocks swag times’ which was quickly denied by Kyia and changed to ‘Brock and Ky’s playlist’. “You’re boring you know that right?” Brock mumbled. “Yeah but you couldn’t live without me.” Kyia grinned at Brock as they searched up all of their favourite songs to add. 

Though that playlist has had many different versions for each year, they always put every song into the original playlist, making the total amount of songs over 1000. 

Brock had sent a snap to Kyia almost as soon as she got home, it was almost like he knew. Kyia opened it and it was a photo of Brock smiling with a heart emoji in the text bar. It wasn't unusual for Brock and Kyia to be saying I love you and stuff to each other, they’ve always said it and it would be weird for them to stop. Kyia didn’t want Brock to see that she was crying even though he knew, she responded to him with a text that said. “I miss you so much already, how was the flight?” Knowing that Brock had already taken off and wouldn’t see the text till he landed in Vancouver.

“Did you have a fun day?” Kyia asked over FaceTime to Brock, he was in his hotel room in Vancouver, getting ready for the start of training camp. “Yeah, traveling was exhausting but I got to meet some of the guys on the team today and they’re all really nice.” Brock smiled at you, the same beaming smile that could always cheer you up whenever you felt down. “That’s good.” Kyia said, not knowing if she should really tell Brock how she was feeling. “You should go to bed, it’s getting pretty late in Minnesota.” Brock said while running his fingers through his hair, referring to the 2 hour time difference between Vancouver and Minnesota. “I guess you’re right.” She mumbled, wanting to be with her bestfriend right now. “Ky, I miss you too. We can see each other soon, if I make the roster after training camp. You can fly to Vancouver with my parents for my first game.” Brock tried to make you feel better even though he missed you even more. “I guess, goodnight I love you.” Kyia said even though she didn’t want to end the call which resulted in Brock having to hang up after he said goodnight as well. 

-

It was hard on both Brock and Kyia, not being able to see each other almost everyday. Brock was focused on training for the upcoming season and Kyia had been busy with all of the school work she had, which all resulted in Brock and Kyia barely talking for two weeks, not to mention that the time difference made it even harder.

“I made it! I made the roster!” Brock exclaimed over the phone to Kyia which reminded her of when he made the roster for UND’s hockey team.

Brock rushed right to Kyia’s dorm room, knocking quickly as she got up to answer it and she was met by a big grin on Brocks face which quickly turned into him pulling Kyia into a tight hug. “I made the team.” Brock exclaimed, she was the first person he told after he found out. “You did it!!” Kyia was proud of him, she knew how hard he had been working for a spot there and he did it.

“You did it!” The same words came out of Kyia’s mouth as she teared up in happiness for him. “Holy fuck, you did it Brock.” There was a giant grin on Kyia’s face and she was sure Brock did too. “Yeah, I can’t believe it too.” Brock sighed along with a light chuckle. “Okay I gotta go tell my parents, do you want to FaceTime later?” 

“Wait, I’m the first person you told?” Kyia had expected that Brock would tell his parents first and her after. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I tell my bestfriend first?” Brock smiled even though she couldn’t see. “Awh, I love you, go tell your parents.” Even though Kyia knew it, it was still nice to hear that Brock was her bestfriend. “I love you too, you might want to start booking the plane tickets.” Brock joked but that’s exactly what she did, Kyia rushed to her computer to look at flights after he hung up. 

-

It was all-star break and Brock hadn’t been home in Minnesota for weeks, so he took advantage of that. Despite going back to Minnesota for Christmas, he was already missing it there, especially Kyia. “What are you up to?” Brock asked over FaceTime to her while sitting in his old truck he had in Minnesota. “Not much, just planning to sit around in bed all day.” Kyia mumbled. Brock being all the way in Vancouver was much harder than she thought it was going to be, it sucked to not see him and it was taking a toll on her mental health. “Fuck I gotta go, me and Petey are going out for lunch. Talk to you later?” Brock lied, knowing his plan was all coming together. “You know where I’ll be.” Kyia sighed while taking a sip of water. “Love you, I’ll talk to you later.” They both said at the same time.

Brock almost started giggling because that’s how excited he was to see Kyia. Her parents already knew so hey let him slide into their house, moving quietly before opening Kyia’s door to surprise her. “I’m home!” He exclaimed but quickly furrowed his eyebrows together when he saw Kyia crying, she didn’t even realize Brock was in her room till he started speaking. “Are you okay?” Brock said quietly, hugging Kyia while she was laying on her bed. “No, but I’m better now that you’re here.” She mumbled with a slight smile at Brock, she was crying about him, about how much she missed him and wish he never went to Vancouver. “I missed you.” Kyia laughed while turning around so she could give her bestfriend a proper hug. “I missed you even more Ky.” Brock chuckled as he tucked the loose strands of Kyia’s hair behind her ear. 

Brock would be lying if he said that he didn’t want to kiss Kyia right in that moment, with their faces inches away, looking at Kyia’s beautiful smile, their faces getting closer and closer like two magnets. But he knew he couldn’t do it, he would chicken out.

For the next three days, Kyia seemed like she had been brought back to life. The sad, Brock missing Kyia was gone, it was like Kyia was herself again. 

“She’s so much happier when she’s with you, you know? It’s been tough for her for the past couple of months.” Brocks mom, Laurie said quietly to him as they watch Kyia play with his dogs. Brock didn’t know what to do, all he could do was sigh, sigh and worry about how Kyia was going to be when he goes back to Vancouver and Kyia would be here by herself again. “Brock?” Laurie asked, trying to get his attention off of Kyia. “Yeah mom?” Brock quickly snapped out of it. “You know that she’s in love with you right? And I think you feel the same way.”

“But-” Brock tried to say something but quickly got cut off by his mother. “But we’ve been bestfriends forever.” Laurie mocked Brocks voice as he slumped down into his chair. “I know the two of you have never confessed it, you probably don’t even know that you’re in love with her. But I can see it.” Laurie said as she looked at Brock who was lost in his thoughts, staring at Kyia as he took Lauries words in. “Maybe I am.” He mumbled quietly and Laurie laughed. “I’ll leave it up to you two.” Laurie sighed, getting up and patting Brocks knee as she headed into the kitchen. 

It was the night before Brock had to fly back to Vancouver and Brock and Kyia had to spend every last moment together, before he had to go back for god knows how long. “I’m gonna miss you.” Kyia mumbled and pouted, she was laying on her bed on top of Brocks chest, tracing little circles on his chest with her fingers while he played with her hair. “Me too Ky, me too.” Brock sighed, closing his eyes so he doesn’t start tearing up. 

“What if you went to Vancouver with me?” Brock asked while him and Kyia were both half asleep. “Just for like a week or two.” Brock quickly added, hoping she would say yes.

“I could.” Kyia mumbled, looking up at Brock who was smiling at her. “All of my classes are online this semester anyways.” Kyia said as she watched Brocks face light up even more. “This is gonna be so fun.” Brock chuckled and kissed the top of her head.

It was a couple of days after Kyia and Brock got to Vancouver, Brock tried to show her around to get Kyia used to the surroundings. “Hey, do you mind if a couple of the guys come over for drinks later? They said that they wanted to meet you today while we were at practice.” Brock asked while looking over to see what she was doing, chuckling when he saw that she was playing with Milo and Coolie once again. “Yeah, I just gotta get ready though.” Kyia looked over to smile at Brock, she didn’t want to admit it but she was falling hard for him, those feelings have always been there but being in Vancouver with him for some reason just fuelled it. 

“Ah yes, so this is the lovely Kyia we always hear about.” Jake smiled at you before introducing himself. “So you talk about me huh?” Kyia raised an eyebrow playfully and everyone watched Brocks face turn into a light shade of red. “He never stops talking about you.” A tall blonde swede who she later learned was Elias, sighed with a chuckle before getting a little punch from Brock. 

“So, who wants some drinks?” Brock said quickly, trying to steer the conversation to a different topic. “You know what I want.” Kyia smiled as Brock went over to the kitchen to make her drink as well as grabbing a couple of beers for Elias and Jake.

Kyia learned a lot about what Brock was like on the ice and in Vancouver, not that he was any different than normally, it was just fun to hear the stories of him in Vancouver.

Elias and Jake had headed home, leaving a tipsy Brock and a drunk Kyia alone. “I love it here with you.” Kyia smiled as she heard those words come out of Brocks mouth. “Me too.” Kyia slurred while sitting closer to Brock, snuggling her head into his chest as he rubbed his thumb along her waist.

“I really missed seeing you everyday.” Kyia mumbled and pouted at Brock. Their faces were inches apart once again, and both Brock and Kyia were fighting the urge to just kiss each other. “Can I kiss you?” Brock asked quietly, cupping his spare hand onto Kyia’s bright red cheeks. “Yeah.” Kyia said with a smile before Brock pulled himself closer to her, kissing Kyia softly as she returned the favour. Neither of them said anything after they pulled away, they just sat there and cuddled till Brock had the guts to say something. “I love you.” Brock mumbled, expecting Kyia to be asleep. “I love you too, not as friends, more than that.” Kyia said softly as she looked up to see Brock smiling at her. “Me too.”

-

Brocks favourite thing to do in the off-season was going back to Minnesota and spending everyday on the lake and that’s what was happening right now.

“Hey.” Brock grinned while sitting down next to Kyia. “How many beers did you have?” Kyia sighed, quickly folding down the corner of the page she was reading and placed her book down so she could pay attention to Brock. “A couple.” 

Brock leaned his face right up to Kyia’s and kissed her face over and over again before whispering some nonsense as she giggled and smelt the alcohol in his breath. “I love you too Brock.” Kyia quickly pecked his lips before he rested his head on her chest. “What if we got married?” Brock mumbled, not expecting Kyia to hear it even though he wanted her to. Kyia didn’t know what to say, she knew that Brock was the one but she didn’t know if he truly meant it or he was just drunk. “Actually?” Kyia questioned and Brock lifted his head up to look at her. “Yeah.” Brock grinned because that’s all he knew what to do. “One day,” Kyia smiled as Brock laid his head back down on his chest and she played with his blonde hair.

[uomo-accattivante]

This is a great article about how The Card Counter managed to finish principal photography after getting shut down mid-March due to COVID-19.

Also, it includes this interesting description from Paul Schrader about Oscar Isaac’s character, William Tell -- “So now I have a character and he’s in his room, he’s alone. And he has a mask on. And the mask he wears is a professional poker player. And the problem that runs alongside him is that he is a former torturer for the U.S. government. So it’s a mix of the World Series of Poker and Abu Ghraib.”

Having somehow weathered his way from enfant terrible to wizened survivor, Paul Schrader is a filmmaker who is simply not finished yet. Every time it might seem his career is on the wane, he resets, revitalizes and comes back again.

Just a few years after his 2014 film “Dying of the Light” starring Nicolas Cage was taken away from him by financiers — leading Schrader to disavow the movie — he received his first Oscar nomination (for original screenplay) after directing “First Reformed,” which was released in 2018 and starred Ethan Hawke as a troubled small-town minister.

Schrader’s work is marked by emotional intensity, intellectual vitality and an aesthete’s appreciation of style. His filmography is full of unusual corners that are still being discovered. The 1979 film “Old Boyfriends,” directed by Joan Tewkesbury with a screenplay by Schrader and his brother Leonard, was recently rereleased on home video. As was the 1990 film “The Comfort of Strangers,” directed by Schrader from a screenplay by Harold Pinter.

He’s been directing films from his own scripts since 1978’s “Blue Collar” starring Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto. He went on to write and direct such films as “Hardcore,” “American Gigolo,” “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters,” “Light Sleeper” and “Affliction.” His celebrated work as a screenwriter for director Martin Scorsese includes “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull,” “The Last Temptation of Christ” and “Bringing Out the Dead.”

Never one to shy from controversy onscreen or off, he directed Lindsay Lohan in the 2013 Hollywood-set thriller “The Canyons,” written by Bret Easton Ellis.

In March, Schrader was about three-quarters through the shoot for his next film, “The Card Counter,” in Mississippi — with a cast that includes Oscar Isaac, Tiffany Haddish, Tye Sheridan and Willem Dafoe — when the production was shut down due to the growing pandemic. In July, Schrader was able to shoot for an additional five days to complete production.

During the break in shooting, “The Card Counter” was picked up for distribution by Focus Features.

Schrader recently got on the phone to talk about the unusual circumstances of the film’s production and completion. A film critic before he became a filmmaker, Schrader not only had startling insights into his work, but also thoughts about what filmmaking and exhibition might be like in a post-COVID world.

Before we start talking about the production on the movie, could you just describe the story? What is “The Card Counter” about?

Well, I don’t want to get too deeply involved in the plot, but what I will say is over the years I’ve kind of developed my own little genre of films. And they usually involve a man alone in a room, wearing a mask, and the mask is his occupation. So it could be a taxi driver, a drug dealer, a gigolo, a reverend, whatever. And I take that character and run it alongside a larger problem, personal or social. It could be debilitating loneliness like in “Taxi Driver.” It could be a midlife crisis like in “Light Sleeper.” It could be an environmental crisis like in “First Reformed.”

So now I have a character and he’s in his room, he’s alone. And he has a mask on. And the mask he wears is a professional poker player. And the problem that runs alongside him is that he is a former torturer for the U.S. government. So it’s a mix of the World Series of Poker and Abu Ghraib.

How did you come to put those two things together?

I’m always looking for that. I’m looking for deep-seated problems, either personal or societal, and some kind of oddball metaphor. The more you get closer, you run these two wires next to each other, the more sparks you see flying across. And it’s in the sparks that the viewer comes alive. If the wires ever touch, there’s nothing left for the viewer to do. But if you keep these two wires really close to each other, the viewer will start to spark from one wire to the other. And that’s the greatest thing you can give a viewer or a reader, an opportunity to be part of the creation.

Let’s talk about the production and everything you’ve been through. Take me back to March. What was it like for you when the production had to shut down?

I have learned in my dotage how to make a quality film on a low budget. So the film I used to make in 40 days I now make in 20. And so “First Reformed” was 20. I had shot in Biloxi 15 days. Now I knew coronavirus was going to be rising, because when I heard that Macau shut down, I said, you know, it’s just a matter of time. Macau is the wealthiest gambling center in the world and I’m here in the gambling center of the Gulf. If Macau shuts down, it’ll reach Vegas, it’ll reach here. And we were doing a scene, a poker tournament with 500 extras. And I remember I said to the A.D., “We can’t put 500 people in a room without one of them being positive.” And sure enough, one of them was. Two days later, we not only closed down, all of the Gulf was closed down.

Fortunately, when I went back, I had shot my big crowd scenes. And also I had shot my sex scenes, which I would have hated to try to do under these restrictions. So all I had left when I went back was a number of scenes in the prisons, and four more scenes in the casinos, some driving scenes. So I was in pretty good shape. But I really wanted to finish the film.

And Oscar Isaac, he was on his way to Hungary to do reshoots for “Dune.” And he wanted to put off this reshoot till after “Dune” — to do it in September because he has a big beard and he didn’t want to shave off his beard. I said to him, “Oscar, there’s a window open right now in Mississippi.” I said, “If we don’t jump into this window while it’s open, this will become one of those famous films that never got finished, and we’ve got to exploit this moment.”

So I talked him off the ledge and he agreed to do it. And we were able to put everybody back together and do our week of prep and five days of shooting. It was very strange, and in a way it was kind of fun, in a summer camp sort of way. But I would hate, hate to make a whole film this way. It was an adventure for five days, it’s a nightmare for five weeks.

In the break from March to July, were you on high alert that you could come back at any moment? Were you editing the footage you already had?

Here’s what happened. I was editing. My editor is in New Jersey and my assistant editor is in Tennessee, so we’re all editing virtually. And I had four major dialogue scenes between my principal characters that I had not shot. Then I was able to screen virtually the film for a number of people I respect, like Scorsese, who is the executive producer, like [filmmaker and programmer] Kent Jones and other people. And what I asked them all is, “I have four more scenes to shoot. I can rewrite them. What am I missing? What do I need to add? How should I write these four scenes?”

And I started getting feedback about what they felt was missing. So I was able to rewrite these scenes and make these relationships much better. And not all productions get to do that. It’s a very expensive reshoot, but it was built-in that three-quarters of the way through, I have an opportunity to rewrite one-quarter of the meaningful character scenes. So I did, I rewrote it. And I realized what was missing. And I wouldn’t have realized that if I was shooting at the top. I would have only realized that in post. And I would have walked around the room kicking myself in the ass, saying, “I wish I had the opportunity to reshoot some scenes.”

How was getting everything back together?

As soon as Mississippi allowed us to come back, we came back. And of course nobody’s working, so everybody’s eager to come back. They are hyper-conscientious because they know they are only being allowed to work by the grace of God. And so the masks and the PPE and the hands and the distancing, you don’t need to tell any of the people this. They’re so happy to be at work. They have no problem with any of that.

You can only have one person within six feet of your actor at a time. That person could be hair, it could be makeup, it could be props, it can be the director, it could be another actor. And you kind of queue up. And a thing that I realized, we had a warehouse. So we did rehearsals for every scene in this warehouse. And I told the actors that when we get to the location, to the casino, the prop people will be in there, the lighting people will be there and then you will walk there with your mask on, and you will take the positions that you took in rehearsal. Then I will roll camera and you will take your masks off and we’ll play the scenes. So that’s how we did it.

Given everything that it takes to get to shooting, once you were back on set with the actors, did you still feel like they could give you the performances that you needed? Was it difficult to get to a place of artistic creation given all the other concerns that everyone has?

Because they had done the rehearsals, they had gone through the permutations of their performances before. So the only thing different for them was that they were in a real space rather than a fake space. As I explained to them, there would be no time for exploration on set. All the exploration you are going to do, we’re going to do here in the warehouse. I don’t want to hear one peep from you about changing anything once we get into this hothouse environment. So however many hours we have to spend in the warehouse, let’s spend it.

How close to finished are you with the movie now, considering you had a lot of it already cut together?

Basically, I’m finished, down to an hour and 49 minutes, which is where I think it should be. Obviously, I have to do the score, there’s the post-prod and the special effects, but the thing is that there’s no pressure to finish the film anymore at this time. I was talking to Focus, and I could give them the film in a month. They don’t want the film in a month because they don’t know what to do with it in a month. They said, you just take whatever time you need, which is the opposite of the way studios usually talk. I also have final cut, so it doesn’t really matter. What I deliver, I deliver.

When you made “The Canyons” you talked a lot about your feelings regarding the theatrical experience, VOD and streaming and contemporary filmmaking. What impact do you think the COVID shutdowns will have on movie theaters?

There’s a certain kind of film like “The Canyons,” which should be made for VOD, which is a kind of exploitation film. And there’s another kind of film like “First Reformed” that has to be mounted by film festivals and art-house cinemas, so that it has an identity prior to VOD. So if you’re on VOD and you see an Ethan Hawke film about a minister, you’re not going to say, “Oh, let’s watch that.” No, what you’re going to say is, “Oh, I heard about that film. I heard it was good.” Well, how did they hear it was good? They heard that from film festival reportage and they heard from their friends who have seen it at theaters. So that sets up VOD.

The opposite case is a film like “First Cow,” a film that was crushed by not having a theatrical window. And everybody is, “Should I watch ‘First Cow’?” They have no context. So what’s important for a film like “The Card Counter” is we have to give it context. We have to go to the festivals and we have to go to the art cinemas to tell people what we have in our hands. Then we can go to VOD, where the real money is. So “First Reformed” went to Telluride, Toronto, Venice and New York. That set the table. I would love to set the table for this one. I can go to all those festivals. That’s not a problem for me anymore. The problem is: Are festivals going to happen?

Do you think theaters are going to come back?

Not in the way they did. There are only four reasons for theaters to exist anymore. And this situation has accelerated these trends. Like symphonies and operas and live theater, concerts, they need a reason to exist. One reason is family cinema, because parents love to see their kids interacting with other kids. Animation films will always have an audience. Another is extraordinary spectacle. IMAX, virtual, whatever they come up with. Something you can’t see at home. The third is date movies for high schoolers, which is horror and rom-coms. Or rather, dirty rom-coms.

And then the fourth is club cinema. Which used to be called art cinema. But with these new institutions that are a combination of social institutions and cinematic institutions. So the Metrograph in New York has one restaurants and two bars. There’s more square footage devoted to eating and drinking than there is to watching movies. And yet it’s always full because people want to be in that environment. So then alcohol’s become the new popcorn. And those club cinemas, which were pioneered by Alamo, they will continue to exist because people want to be part of the club, people want to buy a membership. They want to eat and hang out, and they want to know which films have been approved by the club. Which is something you cannot get from VOD.

When “First Reformed” was coming out, you spoke about how you had made it thinking it could be your last film. And yet you seem so reenergized over the last few years. Do you feel that way? Have you been able to hit the reset button in some way?

Oddly, yes. I’m in the middle of a new script, which is about a horticulturalist. And what has happened in my case, following the disastrous situation I went through with “Dying of the Light,” I said, I would no longer work unless I had final cut. And once I got final cut, I was free. When I began, you didn’t really need final cut. When I was working in the studio system, all those other films, you were working with people who knew movies, who liked movies. Who you can talk to, you could disagree with — things would get changed, sometimes they’d get better, sometimes for worse in your mind, but you were working with people who liked movies, who watched movies. In the last 15 years, I’m dealing mainly with financiers, who not only don’t watch movies, don’t even particularly like them. And how can you have discussions with these people? And that’s what final cut freed me from, because I realized I couldn’t talk to these people. I wasn’t talking to [studio executives like] Barry Diller and Thom Mount and Ned Tanen anymore. I was talking to Joe Schmo from some hedge fund and I couldn’t talk to Joe Schmo. The only way I could talk to him was to have final cut.

I’m certainly excited to see what becomes of “The Card Counter.”

The new one is quite good. Focus told me not to hump it too much because that’s their job down the line. But you can take my word for it, it’s quite good.

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