#love makes her blind and stupid but she also can’t not be genuine

[moghedien]

So I think in most things, Xan (the gith egg baby) would be like a completely average kid but Lae’zel would genuinely be like “Incredible. Few would be able to finger paint with such dexterity. You can see the images with clarity and passion that most artists would only dream to achieve.” because she would genuinely believe that but with everything he does

[queenvhagar]

honestly I think the show runners are being genuinely stupid right now cuz a part of the reason got season 8 was a disaster was of course due to no proper buildup and bad writing but I honestly think it was the marketing and all the press tours of the actors like they all genuinely made it seem like daenerys wasn’t a very flawed individual and alot of scenes that should’ve been presented as oh that’s actually a very dark thing she’s doing we’re instead turned into girl boss moments. The majority of the audience wasn’t mentally prepared for the turn cuz in-universe practically no one had realistic reactions to her and called her out. This especially backfired cuz alot of people that were watching the show were not reading the books and making theories. ( like dude at the very least your actors shouldn’t be so horrified and shocked like forget following the marvel way of keeping scripts secret for months just follow the Alan Rickman snape thing and let them know so they perform accordingly )

Now instead of learning from that they want the love dany got before season 8 from the audience but it’s like now you know how this ends for rhaenyra this is not a secret but again alot of the audience watching this probably hasn’t read the books so you have to lay down the groundwork otherwise you’re going to end up in the same position once again cuz the book-blind audience will only see that oh rhaenyra has been making all the right decisions why is she also turning ‘mad’.

They should be thinking longterm right now and how to make sure the prestige of the show remains even after it’s over but that won’t happen if again you are purifying these characters and fundamentally changing who they are but still want the same plot beats to happen.

at this point I can’t easily picture the outrage for rhaenyra taking an evil turn later on and how the show runners are sabotaging her

I do hope they aren't planning on downplaying Rhaenyra's mad queen arc, because that would completely ruin her character (though what we've seen from this season so far, there's little hope of a book-accurate Rhaenyra arc happening).

How it's going now I can almost see it being the threat of Aemond and Vhagar and stories of their devastation in the Riverlands being the reason people rise up against the dragons and Targaryens as a whole (instead of it being Rhaenyra's paranoia and cruelty, as well as Helaena's death, that causes the people of King's Landing to turn against Rhaenyra, kill the dragons, and drive her out of the city). The way Aemond has treated the smallfolk so far, how he will in future episodes, according to the leaks, and this episode's highlighting of all the sheep being sent to Vhagar despite the lack of food in King's Landing, along with the smallfolk apparently loving Rhaenyra and the Blacks despite them causing the blockade and Meleys murdering hundreds... it seems to be conveniently setting up the blame of the fall of the dynasty to go towards the Greens completely.

I wouldn't be surprised if Rhaenyra continues to be absolved of wrongdoing... although it would clearly be a much more interesting show if the writing would start allowing Rhaenyra her fire and exploring her superiority complex and the impact it has on how she rules and others view her.

If they continue to present her as some flawless girlboss and somehow also want to include the mad queen arc though... they'll be in for a rough ride.

[lavenderbexlatte]

day 21 - virginity

txt 1.4k words female reader insert Reader x Choi Soobin NSFW

🖤 warnings: virgin!soobin 🥰, a lovely first date, penetrative sex, unprotected sex, good communication, ain’t nothing wrong with having a first time yall enjoy that shit 🖤

kinktober masterlist

connect with me! / masterlist

Baby-faced, is the first thing you think when you meet him.

Blind dates aren't usually your thing, but your friend who'd set it up on your behalf had insisted that this one would be worth it. Trusting Yeonjun's taste in stuff sight unseen also isn't usually your thing, but hey, there's a first time for everything. He's got some hot friends, which is why you agreed, but you'd never met this one before.

It's going really well, despite any reservations you might have had about going out with one of Yeonjun's friends. The restaurant is nice but not obnoxiously so, and you dressed comfortably well. And the guy himself is a delightful surprise.

Soobin is tall, boyishly handsome, and a little bit baby-faced.

He's been a good and utterly engaging conversationalist, despite not saying too much, and he laughs at every single one of your stupid jokes and stories. That's what he's doing now.

"I can't believe people do that," he says, chin resting in the palm of his hand as he gazes at you.

He looks like a goddamn print model. You kind of can't believe this is just some guy that Yeonjun went to college with, who works a job and has hobbies and stuff.

"Old people are like that," you reply.

Soobin leans forward a little more onto the table. "Not even the whole tangerine?"

"Absolutely not, just one section that she peeled out with her old lady hands."

"Do they know about germ theory?"

You grin. "Germs don't exist when there's weird good deeds to do."

He's looking at you with wonder in his round pretty eyes, listening to your stories about old ladies pushing fruit on you at the local park like he's never heard something more entertaining. They're just your usual inoffensive date stories, but he's hanging on your every word.

It's refreshing, honestly. Some well-intended attention.

Somehow, when you return your gaze to the table rather than the dish across from you, the main courses are already gone. You'd talked your way through the entire meal without realizing it.

"Did you want dessert?" Soobin asks.

From anyone else, that would be a line. But you can tell with a half glance that he's really asking.

"Not here," you decide. "Wanna go get ice cream or something? Coffee?"

His smile makes his dimples pop. "Sure."

Ice cream turns into sharing one spoon back and forth because the other fell on the ground, which turns into kissing on the cement bench outside the Baskin Robbins, which turns into a delighted and flushed-faced Soobin following you into the stairwell of your apartment.

He looks stunning in the low, flickering light on the landing outside your door. Good enough to eat.

"Sure this is okay?" he asks.

"Of course."

His expression is playful, open. "On the first date?"

"If you want to."

"I do."

It takes you a second to remember to close the door, because Soobin is using his considerable height to box you in against the wall and kiss you breathless again. But your neighbors don't need the show you're about to put on.

"D'you usually take people home on the first date?"

You pull back to study him at that one.

It doesn't seem like a judgmental question. Rather, he seems incredibly genuine about it, even if it's a a strange thing to ask. Not slut-shaming or anything. Soobin is just looking at you curiously, still pressed in close.

"No, not usually," you answer, giving him the benefit of good intention.

"That means I'm special, then," he muses.

"You're pretty cool," you rib him.

He pouts, bow-shaped lips sitting prettily. "Hey. Just cool?"

"And handsome. And tall."

"Those things are genetic, that doesn't count."

"You laugh at my jokes, that's all I need," you says.

He laughs at that, too, but even so, he's sheepish. He pulls back a little more. His body language has changed, and you wonder with no small amount of panic if he didn't mean well, after all.

"What's wrong?"

"I guess...okay, full disclosure time," he sighs, "I'm a virgin."

Oh.

That's all?

"B-but, like! It's not a big deal, to me. Like, I still very much want to do this," he says quickly.

"Yeah, of course," you agree.

Soobin's expression is the most adorable kind of absolute confusion. "Wait. You're not. Like. Mad?"

"Why would I be mad?"

"The...virginity?"

"If you don't mind, I don't mind," you say, perplexed.

You didn't think it was something that needed so much discussion, but apparently it is. Your own first time wasn't a big deal. Lots of people's aren't a big gesture, a big emotional moment, or something. It was just the first time, of many. No reason it can't be that way for him.

Explains all his questions, anyway. Probably trying to feel out if you were going to laugh in his face and kick him out.

"I might not be very good," he says.

"As if anyone is the first time. I swear, it's fine. More than fine."

It looks like the weight of the world has been lifted off his skinny shoulders, as he darts in to kiss you again. "Okay. Okay."

"Relax," you say, giving him a fond squeeze. "It's gonna be fun."

Soobin looks even taller all spread out in your bed.

Keeping things even, you'd decided, is the recipe for success. You'd taken off your clothes and his in equal layers - his crisp shirt and jeans, your one-piece, no one more or less exposed than the other. And it seems to be working to keep the atmosphere fun and pressure-free since Soobin is grinning up at you where you're sat straddling his lap, with his fingers toying at the band of your bra.

"This is the hardest part," you advise him soberly, barely keeping your laughter in check.

"I'm aware."

He push-pull-releases the clasps all at once, with one hand, and you stare at him as the two halves fall apart at your sides.

You point a finger at him. "Cheater."

"I'm a virgin, not a loser."

Now that really does make you laugh, and you shrug the garment all the way off and discard it.

Taking things slow is another part of that successful recipe. You're doing your best, anyway. Soobin is eager, and there's only so much you're willing to do to suppress that. His glee is infectious, and before you know it, he's rolled the the two of you over so that you're pillowed on your back and he's pecking messy kisses down your torso.

"C'mon, I've waited my whole life, don't make me wait more," he says.

"Impatience will get you nowhere," you reply sagely.

He nods, as if considering your wisdom, and plucks at the band of your underwear.

"Can I take these off?"

"Of course you can, what're you waiting for?"

When they're gone, you can feel his appraising stare on you. People don't usually pay this much attention, think this much about every piece of the process, no matter how careful and invested they are. First time or no, Soobin is something else.

He licks his lips, maybe subconsciously, as he asks, "Do you want me to-"

"No," you interrupt.

"But-"

"No, I just want to feel you."

The truth is that he's so cute and thoughtful and so excited to be doing this, and you've thought he was unbearably attractive since he walked into that restaurant, and you've admittedly been dripping wet ever since he mentioned he was virgin, and you'll be more than fine knowing that he's having a good time. He can even the score, as it were, later.

But that's a lot to tell him, so you just pull at the band of his boxers, and he gets the hint quickly enough to discard them.

"Okay," he says. "I'm...gonna..."

"I wanna."

You take him in hand, yourself - how the hell has he gone this long without getting laid, he's hot and throbbing and thick in your hand, fuck - and line him up.

"Gonna..."

That first push in is delicious for you, but for him, it's something completely new, and it's a wonder to watch him. The guttural noise he makes, trailing into a whine, the long line of his throat as he buried his face in your shoulder.

Gentle cants of his hips - you're not sure if it's his own pleasure kneecapping his control or if he's worried for you, either way it's appreciated - ease him in, inch by glorious inch, until finally his hips meet yours, and there he is.

"You," you pant, as he gets settled, "Are no longer a virgin."

[elendsessor]

i genuinely love the qadištu both conceptually and how they play a part in vengeance but it can’t be understated how good of a faction they are franchise-wise, or at least with mainline.

most conflicts stemming from the classic smt formula isn’t just luci v god but also the dangers of placing complete and utter faith in one person/group aka cult like mentalities. while it definitely holds up and likely always will, the fact that it only goes back to the same luci v god conflict is genuinely wasted opportunity.

only real deviations came from nocturne, strange journey, and base 5/vengeance. yes in 3 and 5 that’s still technically going on in the background, but it’s not the main focus.

nocturne was a fight between ideologies that aren’t strictly aligned to the law/neutral/chaos thing. they’re flexible, hence the existence of reasons. this is probably still the best alignment system only because of that freedom and how every outcome is heavily flawed and extreme. however, this might also be due to how nocturne structures its plot aka in a parable not in a traditional storytelling way.

5’s canon of creation was also relatively flexible, plus that conflict is technically already over and done with. god is dead, lucifer won, only reason angels are involved is because they want to uphold the original order since that’s all they knew how to do. abdiel only went fucjing insane because she was living in denial. there are still technically factions but by the end with all the nahobino stuff, it was more a fight between pairs than a fight between factions.

strange journey until the third half was about the earth dying due to its inhabitants aka humanity constantly harming it, with the demons being a force of nature. unfortunately it does devolve back into the same old same old but the remnants are still there.

i think the important thing to keep in mind is the lack of a true big bad. regardless of how bad an option seems, you’re allowed to pick that side for one reason or another. 4 apocalypse was the first real instance of a definitive bad group.

the qadištu are a bit of an expansion of the divine powers in that sense. both are operating separately from the main conflict. what makes them so different is not just goals in a plot sense but execution.

the divine powers is another group that preys off people by having them put too much faith in them (and later “flynn”). they’re fulfilling this messiah complex. while they ultimately get their stupid cosmic egg, krishna and friends never truly win since he gets killed off before making a new universe.

in comparison, the qadištu not only succeed, but their means of getting what they need is a lot more fitting. they didn’t need blind faith.

with how the usual faction conflict works, they do prey upon the need for a leader like i explained, but the solution is at least a bit more simple: don’t. yeah easier said than done. however, it’s still something that can be fallen back on. broken away from.

for the qadištu to gather magatsuhi, they prey upon emotions. after all, that’s what magatsuhi comes from. it’s easier to scare people, and the solution isn’t “don’t get scared.” humans are naturally emotional. you’re in a subway and some stripper and her fucked up dog start killing everyone around you. you get kidnapped then get asked the simple question about what you don’t like about yourself then some weird lady eats that part of you—even might straight up eat you in your entirety based on the answer. everyone starts getting strangely ill out of nowhere and are in constant pain. of course you’d feel strongly about this stuff.

demons in mythology often prey upon human weakness, yes, but this does go beyond faith. it goes into basic emotions that we all recognize as negative/sinful but naturally partake in, which is why demons are often the seducers (especially female ones due to the sin of lust). we can recognize being lazy as bad, but we all end up getting lazy at some point. the issue comes from how often we decide to be lazy, or having those emotions like pride and wrath get out of control. in that sense, the qadištu are significantly more powerful and more compelling than “don’t trust cults.”

they’re constantly three steps ahead throughout the entire plot as a result, and that’s what makes them so threatening. you can’t win.

their goal was to summon tiamat, and even if aogami lived, they already had so much magatsuhi and caused so much suffering to the people of tokyo it wouldn’t truly matter. everything’s fucked beyond belief. you also can’t truly side with them, especially since that just means you die and there’d be no more game.

the final act of vengeance is the aftermath of failure, hence the vengeance part.

i’d love to see more factions in the series take up these sort of roles instead of the usual cult manipulates the masses role. it’s really interesting and feels like a natural evolution of the formula.

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

@ckhalloween23

Here is my submission for the Week 2 prompt "Witches"--a preview from a new fic I'm working, Flower of Lemon and Feather of Shrike! I decided to do a deep dive into Yasmine's drastically OOC Season 4 behavior, and explore a scenario where its origin is...a bit more sinister than poor writing or repressed lesbianism aknskfnhdrf

This one isn't just for the YasMoon girlies, but in fact for all the girlies who thought Yasmine Nolastname was big boi screwed over in S4, and deserved better!!! Even the foulest of bitchy bullies don't deserve to be reduced to a trophy girlfriend and a prop for a male character's storyline, especially when said male character is a pretty garbage boyfriend when it comes right down to it </3 (More on that later!!!)

This one is also for the MoonPiper girlies, because god, were we fucked over too D: Also actually (mostly) canon compliant, except H*wkM**n never ever get back together and stay broken up forever and always amen peace and love on planet earth <3 <3 <3 <3

There's no world where I will acknowledge this stupid ship got undeadified like a horrendous, nonsensical, chemistry-devoid zombie when it had long since run its narrative course and played its role in both Eli and Moon's arcs can you tell awehakureyigsrf

This is Moon's POV and Yasmine and Moon-centric, but I left the shippier parts ambiguous since I wanted to make something that my non-shipper friends can enjoy too ^^; There are feelings on Moon's side but as far as I'm concerned that's basically canon lmao like did you SEE that girl in S4??? She was so thirsty for Blondie that I'm genuinely shocked the showrunners didn't tell Hannah Kepple to stop kanhdskufhd Definitely tried to leave Yasmine's feelings more up in the air, though! Interpret her however you like ^^

Fic preview under the cut! As always, moodboard pic credits available upon request!

***

The phone line cuts off, and Yasmine’s name disappears from the screen.

Moon curls into her pillow, erupting in ragged sobs. She can’t remember the last time she’s felt this helpless.

This entirely consumed by pure, raw emotion.

Her mind is a whirlpool, everything Yasmine spat at her twisting around and around and around. None of it seems real.

Because Moon can’t wrap around her head around meaning nothing to Yasmine. She can’t make sense of a world where she was only a pawn—someone for the repressed queen bee to “experiment” with. Someone to cater to Yasmine’s whims and fulfill her every desire and ask nothing in return.

Yasmine was everything to Moon. Moon was nothing to Yasmine. And how did that make any fucking sense?

Moon’s hands knot into the covers, a scream ripping from her throat. Somewhere amid the blinding torrent of heartbreak and rage, she finds herself tearing incense sticks from her drawers and lighting candles with shaking hands.

She always swore to herself she’d never touch the rear section of her spellbook, pages marked with a black tab. But if Yasmine can’t keep her promises, why should Moon?

Her chest burns as she recites the incantation.

“By flower of lemon and feather of shrike I bid you know what this pain is like”

*

“Maybe we could meet in the middle? Like a…sexual Venn diagram?”

Yasmine’s face twists in disgust. Moon only rolls her eyes.

She would tell Demetri to stop being a creep, but she knows he doesn’t mean it. Just playing the part he thinks he should after girls have started noticing him.

And Moon knows what it’s like to hide your authentic self to better fit a mold. She’s eternally thankful Piper taught her better.

“So what’s under the blanket?” she prompts.

As Demetri begins his demonstration, Yasmine’s expression shifts. “Not bad. My parents might not have to pay for an A this time.”

Moon can’t help feeling a bit surprised.

So Yasmine’s taking the “be a little nicer” advice to heart, at least. A hint of gratitude toward anyone is a first.

And then the soccer ball comes.

Her panic strips away her new cordiality. Moon knows exactly where her friend’s mind goes.

She’s about to be the “dumb blonde” again—the vapid, useless pretty girl who always has to bribe her way to a pass. And it makes her feel so disgustingly helpless.

“Do you have another one?” A last-ditch attempt to save her grade without her family’s intervention.

As she watches the altercation play out, Moon could slice the tension between Hawk and Demetri with a knife. She’s never quite fancied herself an empath, but there’s something hauntingly familiar about the way Demetri’s entire body is trembling.

She sees herself, hunched up and bawling her eyes out. She sees the overpowering grief that tore free a side Moon didn’t even know she had.

Thank the gods nothing came of that episode.

When Sam arrives, Moon gives her a pleading look. Off she goes to rescue their big-mouthed friend, prepared to cut into Hawk with all the steel Moon could never quite work up.

“Are we gonna fail?”

The whisper in Moon’s ear is so lost. So broken.

Yasmine’s always been a mess. Moon supposes she should be flattered she’s one of the only people who’s ever gotten to see it.

“No.” She sighs. “Demetri’s smart. He’ll figure something out.”

*

“You’ll never guess what I saw yesterday.”

Sam leans over at the start of history class, smirk dancing across her lips.

“What?”

“Yasmine and Demetri are a thing.”

Moon knits her brow, confused.

“What’re you talking about?”

Sam sniggers. “I turned a corner in the hall and saw them making out, clear as day.”

Despite her best efforts, she can’t hide her alarm.

“Oh my god. Does she know he’s…?”

Demetri’s passes at Yasmine weren’t exactly genuine. Moon always thought Yas would be more intuitive about that sort of thing, especially considering the way she talked about Demetri when he first started hanging out with them.

“He’s what?”

“Um…never mind.”

It wasn’t Moon’s place to divulge Demetri’s business, especially when he hadn’t even figured it out himself. Or…didn’t want to admit certain things to himself, at least.

“Yasmine was pissed when Miguel and I caught them,” Sam goes on. “It was so funny. She insisted she’d never go out with him, but…you know. Unless you slipped me some LSD at lunch and I’m hallucinating, I have my doubts.”

She laughs again, clearly tickled pink by the whole thing. Moon only frowns.

“I’m so confused. All she’s ever done is complain about him.”

Her friend shrugs. “Denial’s not just a river in Egypt, I guess.”

“No, like. She thinks basically every single one of his interests is annoying. And she told me once that listening to him talk is like when you hit your brakes too fast and your whole car screeches.”

“Well, you know Yas. She thinks she’ll combust if she says something nice about anyone.”

“Right, but…” Moon narrows her eyes. “She’s picky as hell when it comes to dating. I, um…I would know. And Demetri’s the furthest possible thing from her type.”

“Opposites attract?”

“Not like that. I saw him try to explain basic particle physics to her one time and she nearly went to sleep. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg.”

“Maybe it’s just a physical thing. We both know how crazy hormones can be, right?”

Moon hopes for Yasmine’s sake that Sam is right. Otherwise…

Well, there’s probably no need to entertain that possibility.

*

“I love it when you talk nerdy.”

Moon’s so caught up in Yasmine’s sweeping, graceful movements that it takes a moment for the statement to sink in.

She always smiles when she watches her best friend. She can’t help it. Yasmine moves like a mountain waterfall—majestic and larger than life, all while flowing so seamlessly.

It isn’t until Yasmine lets Demetri pull her in, giggling like an elementary schooler, that Moon’s smile falls.

No, you don’t.

Because Moon knows Yasmine, and she knows she has a hatred for “nerd shit” that could rival Hawk at his worst.

She despises anything that makes her feel small. Unimportant. Insignificant.

Moon remembers the look on Yasmine’s face when Sam leaned away from their popular table, exchanging easy chemistry banter with Aisha. She remembers the dejected pout when lunchroom conversations turned to AP homework, Sam and Demetri so engrossed in what Yasmine called “stupid school garbage” that they forgot the blonde girl was even there.

Because as much as Yasmine makes out like she couldn’t care less about anything, she doesn’t like to be reminded that she isn’t book smart. That the math and science that come naturally to Sam and Aisha and Demetri and even Hawk don’t make a lick of sense to her.

Sure, Demetri’s knowledge was useful when it got Yas a good grade. But on its own?

It only reminds her how inadequate she feels. How inadequate Moon knows she’s always felt.

And it was good, in a way, that Aisha tearing Yasmine’s popularity asunder showed her that the world didn’t revolve around her. But Moon senses the deep hurt Yasmine still carries, seeing glimpses of the worlds she’ll never know how to be part of.

So when Yasmine says she loves Demetri’s “nerdspeak,” lust and desire rolling off her in waves, it feels like she was the victim of some Freaky Friday body swap.

People change. Of course they do.

But not like this. Not enough to forget their very sense of self.

“Save me a seat at lunch? Specifically…this one?”

The smack of Yasmine’s hand hitting Demetri’s asscheek reverberates through the hall. Moon has to laugh at the sheer absurdity.

Yasmine hasn’t lost her fire in some ways, at least.

And Demetri doesn’t seem to mind. Perhaps Moon’s assumption was wrong.

She and Yasmine head off to class, her friend fawning nonstop over her geeky boyfriend. Moon smiles and nods along, pushing down the unease swimming in her chest.

Moon picks up a whiff of Yasmine’s perfume, and realizes that it’s lemonflower.

*

Dragging Yasmine away from Demetri at the prom is like trying to bathe a cat.

Moon finally gets her alone after a few songs, suggesting they grab some punch for Demetri and the others. Yasmine eagerly agrees, her entire being lighting up at the thought of doing her boyfriend even a miniscule favor.

There’s something unsettling in the way it’s so mind-bogglingly different from the Yasmine of a few months ago, who would rather chug drain cleaner Heather Chandler style than revolve her entire being around the needs of some boy.

Maybe there’s a way to breach the subject without arousing suspicion.

“I can’t believe you flew all the way back from Australia.” Moon forces a laugh as she ladles punch into Yasmine’s cup. “I didn’t know you were that into him.”

“Oh, Moon!” Yasmine giggles, leaning her head on Moon’s shoulder. “I’m in love.”

She tries not to think about how soft Yasmine’s hair feels against her skin.

“And the dress, too!” Moon reminds herself that Yasmine is very happily spoken for. “You really went all out. It’s kind of cute how you’re embracing nerddom for him.”

Odd, but cute. That’s what Moon has to tell herself.

“You think he liked it?” Yasmine leaned back, twirling around. “It’s not too much, right? I don’t want to seem like I’m trying too hard to impress him. I know guys aren’t into that kind of thing.”

Moon has to laugh again.

“Since when do you care what guys like?”

“Since I found one worth caring about, obviously.”

She sighs, a faraway look in her gray-green eyes. Perhaps she really is in love.

It’s just that Moon always imagined love would feel deeper than this.

“I’m sure Demetri loved it,” Moon concedes. “He’s really happy you came back for him. I can tell.”

“Funny, when I first showed up, he and Hawk were huddled off in some corner brooding, like the idiots couldn’t just dance with each other if they wanted. Almost felt bad taking Hawk’s boyfriend away.”

She snickers, and Moon feels strange.

She decides to change the subject.

“It’s crazy. I mean, imagine what you would’ve said a year ago if I told you you’d be smitten with Demetri Alexopoulos at junior prom. I remember when we first started talking again, you must’ve bitched for twenty minutes about that time he hit on you at your birthday party.”

Yasmine’s silent for a moment.

“He was being a creep.” There’s a steely edge to her voice that wasn’t there before. “He says he’s been watching me from across the lunchroom and I’m supposed to be flattered by that?! Like, dude, who even are you? Why are you talking to me?”

Moon raises her eyebrows.

“A couple weeks ago in science you were gushing about how sweet the ‘admirer from afar’ thing was.”

“Did I?”

Yasmine scowls in disgust. Just underneath it, Moon could swear she picks up a streak of panic.

“Yeah! He kept blowing you kisses across the room, and you giggled so loud that Mrs. Elmes yelled at you, remember?”

“Oh, god. That’s embarrassing.”

She says it like it’s some undignified moment caught on camera at a party—tripping and spilling her drink on someone, or the like. An odd way to talk about a behavior she has more often than not these days.

“He’s still such a weirdo.” Moon wonders if she’s imagining the trace of the Old Yasmine’s scorn. “He’s so, like, awkward about it when he puts his hands on me to dance. Like he’s scared my weird girl body is gonna burn him like a hot plate or something. I mean, we’ve been dating for four months!”

Moon’s stomach squirms.

“Probably just doesn’t want to do anything you might not be comfortable with,” she says quickly.

“He could freaking ask.” Yasmine curls her lip. “But I don’t even think it’s that. He’s an uncoordinated mess. He can’t dance for shit, and I have to do all the work.”

“Hey, don’t be mean!” Moon elbows her gently. “All this stuff is new to him. He never had a girlfriend before you.”

“Yeah. And it shows. Half the time I can’t even tell if he’s like…enjoying himself, you know?”

Yasmine grunts, reaching up and itching the side of her head. The strobe lights catch on something falling from her hair.

Her expression abruptly shifts.

“Oh, my poor baby!” she gasps. “We’ve been leaving him hanging over there, haven’t we? I miss him already. Come on, I’m gonna cry if we miss the slow dance.”

And just like that, the disdain is gone. Yasmine bustles off, snatching her punch and sweeping back onto the dance floor.

Moon looks down at the table, and her eyes land on a gray feather.

A tiny thing, from a tiny, fierce little bird. Beak hooked, meant for killing and piercing like a raptor. Loud, screaming, crass. Unrefined. Ready to jump to violence at the slightest provocation, especially when it gave them an excuse to show off.

Everything Yasmine isn’t.

And, ironically, everything Demetri wants.

Moon’s gaze drifts back and forth between the dance floor—where Yasmine and Demetri have resumed their grinding—and the corner where Hawk stands alone. Hawk’s eyes don’t leave his best friend once.

And, every once in a while, Demetri looks back. Yasmine is none the wiser.

Moon stiffens, guilt trickling over her like hot wax before a hair removal. She downs the rest of her punch in one gulp before going outside and calling an Uber.

I’m such a fucking bitch.

Whatever Demetri and Yasmine get up to at the afterparty, she doesn’t want to be around for it.

*

“So how are things with Demetri?”

Moon keeps her tone light as they finish their food court tacos, but she sees the new charm bracelet around Yasmine’s wrist. And she knows damn well what that means.

“He’s so annoying.” Yasmine wastes no time diving into a rant. “He never fucking listens. I try to talk about stuff I care about or that I think is interesting, and he’s always acting distracted or changing the subject or whatever. I was telling him this cool thing I read online about the history of georgette skirts, and he didn’t ask a single follow-up question. I’ll bet the world’s shittiest sponge is better at retaining crap than him.”

“Sheesh.” Moon makes a face. “I’m sorry. Boys are the worst sometimes.”

“And that’s not even all.” Apparently Yasmine wasn’t finished. “Not ten minutes later, he’s rambling on and on about this blaster thing he unlocked in some video game. It was the verbal equivalent of having cement poured directly into my brain. And he has the nerve to call me boring?!”

“He did?” Moon scowls, genuinely peeved. “That’s so rude!”

Perhaps Demetri wasn’t as sweet and thoughtful as he always came across.

“Wouldn’t be the first time.” Yasmine frowns right back. “So he gets all snippy with me because he’s being a soggy paper towel of a human being and obviously I’m zoning out. He starts quizzing me on all the dumb bullshit he was blathering about, and I finally snap and tell him he’s boring me out of my fucking mind. And then he gives this whole speech about how at least he’s spending his free time learning strategy and problem-solving and hand-eye coordination, and all I’m doing is looking at clothes online.”

They walk over to the trash and throw out their taco wrappers. With both hands free, Yasmine’s free to gesture more fully and furiously.

“Girl, I got so mad that I called him an antisocial freak and told him he was damn lucky I ever gave him a shot. That was probably kind of messed up, but whatever. Sam doesn’t cut him down to size enough, so I have to pick up the slack. Anyways, I was storming out of the restaurant, but he did the following-and-groveling thing. And sure enough, we ended up at Kay again.”

Yasmine looks down at her bracelet-clogged arm, a forlorn expression swimming over her pretty features.

“I don’t know why I keep letting this happen.” She sighs. “It’s like trying to plug up a boat leak with fucking office tape.”

“Why don’t you break up with him?”

“I wish I could!” Moon’s caught off-guard by the genuine despair lacing Yasmine’s words. “I’ve rehearsed the speech a billion times. But…every time I’m around him, it’s like I’m hit with some kind of emotional tidal wave. And suddenly I can’t bear the thought of ending things.”

She looks so lost. So frantic. So helpless.

“I see him and all I can think about is how much I want him,” she goes on. “No room for anything else. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, and it freaks me out.”

Once upon a time, Moon might have called that love. She knows better now.

She wants to reach across the table and take Yasmine’s hand. Reassure her that this is what overpowering teenage crushes are like. That of course your mind finds ways to make hormones and attraction centered around one person seem like the be-all end-all of everything. Hell, she remembers feeling that way about Hawk before she came down from the high and realized how incompatible they were.

But Moon doesn’t. She can’t.

“Something’s not right with me, Moon.” Yasmine’s voice is quiet and fragile—a tone Moon hasn’t heard for a long time. “Sometimes, I don’t—I don’t feel like myself. You remember that week you were in Cancun? I went to the mall with Sam and Demetri, and Sam was complimenting the lemon balm perfume I had on, but you know I never wear lemon-scented shit. Like what am I, a cleaning product?!”

Moon laughs, gladly taking Yasmine’s implicit offer to lighten the atmosphere.

That was one thing Moon always appreciated about her. She never passed up an opportunity to use snarky bluntness to make a joke out of something unpleasant.

It’s part of why her and Demetri’s connection hadn’t surprised Moon. At least not initially.

The strange thing was that their bond got as far as it did.

“At first I thought it was because something stuck to me when I walked through the perfume section of Macy’s,” Yasmine goes on. “But we all went through there, and I couldn’t smell any lemon shit on Sam and Demetri. Am I going crazy or what?”

Moon pushes away the sinking feeling in her chest.

“Maybe it’s Sam who’s imagining things.”

“That’s what I thought, too.” Yasmine’s voice grows terse with panic. “But then Demetri starts bragging about how I always wear the lemon perfume when I go out on dates with him. With the air of someone who, like, actually believes what they’re saying. And I don’t know what the fuck he’s talking about.”

“Like Demetri knows anything about perfumes. He probably got it mixed up with that bergamot one you like.”

Her reassurance doesn’t appear to work.

“Whatever,” Yasmine huffs. “Let’s talk about something else, yeah?”

Moon lets Demetri slip from the conversation, fading into mental oblivion as they leave the food court and head for H&M. Yasmine brightens almost immediately, losing herself gushing over cute pink dresses and fuzzy purple sweaters and champagne-tinted heels. The afternoon passes easily, sliding in and out of changing rooms and twirling and laughing in front of department store mirrors.

For a while, Moon can almost forget the overpowering fear emanating from her closest friend. She can almost forget feeling like the world’s cruelest sociopath.

*

When Moon knocks on the door to 44101 Portico Place for the first time in months, she’s only half expecting an answer.

It’s 5:00 on a Wednesday, so plenty of time for any after-school extracurriculars to finish up. But, of course, showing up anywhere unannounced always has the potential to go disastrously wrong.

Demetri helped her develop a healthy dose of pessimism. She isn’t sure whether to be grateful.

The door opens after only a couple minutes.

“Moonshine? What’s going on?”

Moon offers a strained smile. “Hey, Pipes.”

Piper frowns at her across the threshold, looking more concerned than angry. It makes Moon feel all the guiltier.

“Is everything okay?” Piper asks.

“Sorry to bother you. It’s—it’s about Yasmine. And you’re one of the only people I felt like I could ask.”

She winces at the flash of hurt in Piper’s face. Her ex leans on the doorframe, crossing her arms and cocking an eyebrow.

“Go on,” she says, tone resigned.

“So…” Moon takes a breath. “Remember when you said you couldn’t be with me until I figured my feelings for Yasmine out?”

“Yeah?”

“I…may have done some light spellcasting and accidentally hexed her into falling in love with a gay guy.”

Piper blinks a few times, taking a moment to process everything. Finally she groans, running a hand over her face.

“Jesus Christ, Moon. Come in—I’ll get us both some fucking edibles for this.”

Piper’s living room is exactly how Moon remembers it—cream-colored couches, tasteful wall décor, chic modern fireplace. A goofy, surfboard-shaped coffee table that Piper’s parents had once tried to sell at a yard sale, but little Piper screamed and cried and beat the ground with her fists until they relented to keeping her favorite piece of furniture.

Now, Moon props her sandaled feet up on a bar that runs underneath it. The metal is cold against her skin.

She tries to focus on that. Sensations in the here and now. Things immediate and tangible.

Not the abstract mess she’s caused.

Piper returns after a few minutes, placing a glass of carrot ginger lemonade and a small gummy on a coaster. Moon picks up the gummy, tentatively taking a nibble.

Piper chuckles. “Don’t worry, it’s not that many mils. I don’t want us to be totally baked.”

Moon takes a more generous bite.

“So.” Piper sits next to her and takes a sip of her own concoction—some kind of purplish whey smoothie. “What did you do?”

Moon gathers her thoughts, working through how best to phrase it.

“You remember when we first met?”

“Sure.” Piper smiles thinly. “Our parents dragged us to that dumb gala, and I found you sobbing your eyes out in the bathroom because your ex-best-friend threw you out like you were nothing. And then I went on to find you have a terrible habit of swooning over the world’s most horrendous shitbags.”

She lets out a small laugh. “I guess so, huh?”

Piper rolls her eyes. “I told you. Over and over and over.”

“I know, I know.” Moon sighs, wearily admitting defeat. “About a week before that party, Yasmine and I had a phone call. And she just…cut into me. Said so many awful things. And I get it. I mean, her sweet sixteen got ruined and then as like…icing on the cake, I ditched her for the people she hated. But I don’t think anyone’s ever broken me down like that before.”

Piper tosses a comforting arm around her shoulder. For a moment, they’re back on tile floors under harsh fluorescent lighting, puffing blunts and snickering about fake people.

“I know,” Piper says softly. “And when I found you, you were still pretty shaken from it. I hope I helped.”

Despite herself, Moon leans into her.

“You helped more than you know.”

“Clearly not enough to stop you from going out and doing some sort of supernatural fuckery.”

Moon laughs softly. “That’s the thing, though. I think it was already too late.”

“What do you mean?”

She takes a breath.

“That night, after Yasmine hung up on me…I don’t know. It felt like my whole life shattered. I guess in a moment of weakness, I pulled out my spellbook.”

Piper narrows her eyes. “You said you only ever used that thing to ‘cleanse the house of bad energy’ or whatever. Or give yourself good luck charms on tests. Not—”

“—cursing people, I know,” Moon finishes. “I was so upset that I wasn’t thinking straight. I recited this whole incantation that was supposed to make Yasmine know how it felt to want someone who would never want her back. And, um…I guess the love gods interpreted that as her getting down bad for a guy who doesn’t even like women.”

“Wait. Isn’t that the same guy who did an MTV-style roast of your weird ex that one time?”

Moon sighs wearily. “That’s Demetri all right.”

“I knew it.” Piper pounds her fist into the couch triumphantly. “Of course he’s gay. Straight dudes don’t pull that kind of petty shit.”

“He’s not exactly subtle, is he?”

“Nope.”

It’s Piper’s turn to sigh, eyeing Moon with an almost pitying look.

“Are you sure Yasmine doesn’t genuinely like him, and just has a shit gaydar? Or she’s really deep in denial? I know I’ve pined after my fair share of straight girls.”

Moon shakes her head. “I second-guessed myself for a long while. Thought maybe I was wrong about Demetri. Or maybe Yasmine had changed so much that she really is into the whole geek shtick now. But…”

She takes a long sip of her carrot ginger lemonade, hoping the intense flavor will somehow give her strength.

“She acts like an entirely different person whenever we’re with him. And…not really in a good ‘he makes her want to be better’ type of way. More like she’s forgotten everything she likes and every aspect of her being that isn’t related to her boyfriend.”

Piper stares at an abstract, avant-garde wall painting, deep in thought.

“Maybe she’s, like, stuck in a codependence loop,” she says. “You said she was pretty clingy with you freshman and sophomore year, right?”

“That was different, though. She acted one way alone with me and one way out in public, sure. But it made sense. Whenever we see Demetri, it’s like Yasmine’s being mind-controlled by one of those thirsty freshmen who think Demetri’s the hottest guy in school because he won a karate fight one time. Then as soon as I get Yas alone, she doesn’t seem to remember half of what she said or did. And when I fill her in, she gets super embarrassed. Not that Yas can’t put on a façade if she needs, but…why would she intentionally make an idiot of herself if she’s gonna be mortified an hour later? She’s not impulsive like that.”

Piper shrugs. “Hormones make people act stupid. I did some truly absurd shit the first time I was trying to get chicks to notice me.”

“Hormones don’t make you go into a weird trance that your brain bleaches right after. People only wish that happened.”

“Maybe Yasmine’s lucky enough to have a brain that can bleach on command,” says Piper cheekily. “Or maybe she’s way too proud to admit she’s being dumb over a boy, so she tries to like…will it out of existence through not acknowledging it.”

“It’s not just about the embarrassment, though.” Moon sucks in her breath. “Every time she realizes about the memory gaps, she’s scared. Like she knows something’s wrong with her.”

Piper groans, leaning back against the couch and sprawling her arms across a cushion. “Can we prove she’s not being a diva? Leave it to Yasmine to make a fucking ocean’s worth of fuss about the same teen angst literally everyone deals with.”

Moon winces at the scorn in Piper’s voice.

It really is a shitty move, asking her ex-girlfriend for help with a girl she knows Piper can’t stand. That Piper has a damn good reason to hate. Assuming the worst about Yasmine’s romance troubles is only fair.

But what other choice did Moon have? It’s not like her scientifically-minded friends, with their AP classes and their blocked chakras, would believe her about a magic spell gone awry.

“She starts smelling like the spell components whenever she’s near Demetri,” Moon says flatly. “And a couple of them came out of her hair. It’s not stuff she’d ever wear otherwise.”

Piper sits back up, suddenly fully alert with her arms crossed.

“You could have led with that.”

“I thought the weird, erratic behavior was more important!”

“As if I’d have a hard time believing that girl would have mood swings.” Piper’s grimace falters slightly as she rolls her eyes. “Like. Moonshine, that’s your type.”

“Shut up!”

Moon swats her. Piper chuckles briefly before her expression grows pained again.

She processes everything for a moment, groaning again and putting her face in her hand.

“Christ, girl,” she mumbles. “If this is real…yeah, that’s a pretty big fuckup. I’m not the biggest Yasmine fan, but yeesh.”

“I know.” Moon makes a face. “Trust me, I never meant to mess with her mind like that, but—”

“—you were hurting so much that you did anyway.”

“…more or less. I think, deep down, I didn’t believe anything would happen. It was to make me feel better in the moment.”

“Yeah, I know you.” Piper looks up, offering her a small smile. “I think you’d have an easier time permanently giving up smoothies than intentionally hurting someone.”

“I just feel so awful!” Moon wails, guilt bubbling up and erupting out of her like a volcano. “I know Yasmine hasn’t been the best person, but she should be able to at least choose who she loves. Even if that’s never going to be me.”

“So…did you come here so I could make you feel better?” Piper scrutinizes her. “Because I won’t lie—I’m kind of at a loss right now.”

“I don’t know.” Moon sighs again. “I came here because you’re the only person I trust who I figured would like…entertain this whole thing. Anyone else would call me crazy.”

Because at the end of the day, Piper may be rough-edged and butch and intimidating, but she’s open-minded. She’s willing to hear anyone’s point of view, and tries to embrace every walk of life. And she’s never one to dismiss possibilities outright, no matter how absurd they sound. No matter how “weird” the people saying them are.

It’s part of what initially drew the two of them together. Well…that and acai bowls.

“Right. So you want solutions.”

It’s almost embarrassing how fast Piper deduces it.

“That…that would be great.”

Piper takes a long sip of her health smoothie, slurps echoing around the room.

“Seems like a proximity thing. You said she acts more lucid when she’s away from Demetri, right?”

“Right.”

“So make plans to hang out, get her alone, and snap her out of it.”

Moon bites her lip. “I’m, uh…not sure how.”

“Demetri makes her act like she’s not herself, so…” Piper shrugs. “Remind her who she really is.”

Moon chuckles hollowly.

“That’s the other thing. I don’t entirely dislike the person she’s become thanks to the…Demetri thing. She’s a lot nicer, for one. And less judgmental.”

Piper seems to be holding back laughter.

“So…you want Yasmine to be her true self and get her free will back and all, but you’re worried that when she does…she’ll be someone you and everyone else will personally find less palatable?”

Moon glowers at her. “Well, when you say it like that, it sounds bad!”

A snicker finally worms its way out.

“Yeah, because it’s an incredibly shady thing to say.”

“You know that’s not what I meant.” Moon huffs. “Look, isn’t there some way to undo the spell without undoing her growth? Because like…in a weird way, I feel like she has grown as a person since she got magicked into being obsessed with Demetri. Is that bad?”

“Not necessarily, but you’re being awfully picky for someone who doesn’t even know if or how they can reverse their own paranormal fuck-up.”

“I thought you might know of a way to do some kind of partial reversal. Make her stop being crazy about Demetri, but keep some of the good ways she’s changed?”

“Sooooo.” Piper slurps more of her smoothie, expression growing insufferably smug. “Considering that fucking around with the nuance of this already-opaque-sounding spell is an objectively terrible idea…the way I see it, you have two options. You can break the spell and let Yasmine be whoever she wants, even if it’s someone who kind of sucks. Or you can leave her to be this weird enigmatic love curse’s braindead meat puppet for the rest of her days—with the perk that she’s more pleasant to be around. So what’s it gonna be, Moonshine?”

“But surely there’s some way to—”

“Uh-uh.” Piper cuts her off. “Look, I don’t know any more about this stuff than you do, but I doubt we’re talking about a spectrum here. Can’t have your cake and eat it too and all that. Either we lift the curse, or we don’t, so…what do you want to do?”

After a long moment, Moon sighs.

“I want Yasmine to be free.”

“So you need to do what I said. Remind her who she really is.”

“Even if…‘who she really is’ turns out to be mean and self-centered and kind of awful?”

“Eeyup. That’s Yasmine. Take her or leave her.”

“Even if it undoes all her personal growth from the last year?”

“That’s the conundrum, isn’t it?” Piper leans nonchalantly against the back of the couch, arm on the headboard. “We don’t know how much of that was the spell, and how much was the real Yasmine wanting to improve herself. So we gotta let the real Yasmine out and hope for the best, yeah?”

Moon looks down at her lap and smiles, shaking her head. “People won’t be too thrilled to have her back.”

“Then that’s going to be her problem, not yours. If you’re such a bitch that you need magic intervention to make you tolerable, then maybe you deserve to lose all your friends.”

It sounds harsh, but Moon can’t argue.

“Hey, c’mon.” Piper scoots over, playfully nudging Moon’s side. “I know how much you cared about her. That’s why it felt like your world was ending when she cut you off. And why you were still hung up on her while we were together. So there must’ve been something in there you thought was worth fighting for.”

And of course there was.

Because this was Yasmine. The same Yasmine who danced like a dork and smiled with dimples as soon as no one was watching. The same Yasmine who yanked Moon into every single one of her snapchat stories, no matter how mundane. The same Yasmine who didn’t think twice about defending Moon’s honor when she thought Sam was talking shit, and told Sam to get the hell out of Moon’s Benz.

The same Yasmine who talked about her and Moon as a single intertwined unit. Unfathomable to her as something that would ever split, until that fateful night on the beach. The same Yasmine who trusted that wherever one of them went, the other would follow.

Sure, there was plenty about her that was cruel and vindictive and conceited. And she’d spent her time at West Valley High so drunk on her own power that she kept digging herself a deeper and deeper grave, earning the hatred of most of her classmates. Good looks could only got you so far when you leaked poison and bile from every pore in your body.

But who is Moon to decide which traits Yasmine gets to keep, and which are magicked away? Who is Moon to remold Yasmine into a watered-down, docile amalgamation of what had once been her assets, when not so long ago, Moon fell in love with the entire picture?

And now Yasmine’s a hollowed-out shell of a person, all empty smiles and lifeless giggles. A painting cobbled together by some computer program—beautiful and polished and splendid on the surface, but a closer look reveals the details are all off.

A closer look reveals something without a soul, no light behind those sharp gray-green eyes.

“Fuck,” Moon says miserably, head sliding into her hands. “I want my best friend back.”

“So go get her back, then.” Piper nudges her again. “And maybe go easy on the evil curses this time? I don’t know, just a suggestion.”

“Oh, stop.” Moon scoffs, but there’s no real venom in it.

Piper rolls her eyes, although not unfondly.

“I wish I’d known you back then.” She laughs, shaking her head. “I could’ve told you from the jump that fucking with the occult was a bad idea. Yes, even when a girl breaks your heart. Which, in my opinion, is the highest and most profound type of pain.”

“Naturally.”

Moon sighs wearily, smile fading.

“I don’t know if anyone could’ve stopped me, honestly. When she—when she broke what we had, it was like I’d fallen into some rushing river and I could barely keep my head up. And I was headed right for one of those tall waterfalls with sharp rocks at the bottom from adventure movies. For whatever reason, lashing out felt like the only way to get a breath of air.”

Piper hums thoughtfully.

“I will say that this all makes me feel better about how I reacted the first time someone rejected me. I liked this girl Lila in the sixth grade, and when she found out, she called me a fat ugly dyke in front of all her friends. So I filled her locker with sweaty gym clothes.”

Moon wrinkles her nose as Piper cackles. “Ew, Pipes! You’re disgusting!”

“Okay, but I don’t summon Satan to make my crush want to fuck a gay guy senseless.”

“I did not summon Satan—”

“Sorry, Satan’s right-hand man Joe the Sexual Orientation Confuser.”

“Imagine if there were demons that actually did that.” The concept is admittedly intriguing. “They get sent up from the underworld or wherever solely to make cosmically cursed straights fall in love with cosmically cursed gays. And cosmically cursed gays fall in love with cosmically cursed straights.”

“Shit.” Piper grimaces again. “Wonder what I did to piss Joe off.”

“You’ve really liked that many straight girls?” Moon has to giggle.

“You have no idea,” Piper mumbles. “And trust me—your ex wasn’t the first guy to assume I played for the other team.”

“Not sure his heart was in that one. I think he wanted get a rise out of me, honestly. No offense.”

“Oh my god. The sheer irony.”

“He really thought I’d get jealous of my own girlfriend. As if there’s any girl I’d care about my unserious two-month fling hitting on.”

And then they’re both laughing, swaying on the couch and clutching at one another to keep from toppling over.

“Hi, I’m your run-of-the-mill punk poser and I think I get more ass than a proctologist!” Piper grabs the couch arm, attempting to do dramatic poses as she talks. “I know you’re frantic to have me back, even though my only skills are yelling and punching my friends for no reason!”

“Stoooop.” Despite herself, Moon only laughs harder. It’s probably just the edible finally kicking in. “You’re so rude!”

“Like your ex even knows how not to be an inappropriate, boundary-crossing weirdo.”

“He’s getting better!”

“Because he’s finally learning after his 7th attempt that asking a girl you just met to fondle your gelled-up hairdo isn’t going to wield results.”

“He wouldn’t—”

“He totally would, though!”

Moon snickers, shaking her head.

“Fine, yeah. He would.”

As the laughter dies down, Piper’s phone buzzes. She picks it up, frowning as she reads a text on her home screen.

“Hey, I gotta run soon. One of the kids from the dojo is hosting pizza night.”

“Oh, right. How’s that going?”

It’s amusing, really, how easy it is to forget Piper’s in Cobra Kai now. If the dojo’s truly the all-powerful, all-corrupting force Eli claims, then Moon’s ex-girlfriend must be entirely immune. Even if she and Piper haven’t spoken in a while, Moon hasn’t seen any evidence whatsoever of Piper caving to some kind of deeply-buried inner asshole.

Not that it was buried too deep, in Eli’s case.

“It’s fun. Good exercise during the gymnastics off-season.” Piper shrugs. “Some of the people in my class take it way too seriously, though. Like it’s high school karate, not the fucking Cuban missile crisis!”

“Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard.” Moon makes a face. “I was…kind of worried for you when I heard you joined. They treat it like a cult.”

“Oh, please.” Piper scoffs. “Like I’d ever buy into those sorts of stupid dramatics. I mean, don’t get me wrong—it can be fun to spar with people who’re so intense about it that they act like their fucking life is on the line. Makes things interesting. But I’m mostly there for the free shit.”

“Really?” Moon cocks an eyebrow. “You always seem so excited on your snapchats.”

“Yeah, like, it’s good energy. Everyone’s super passionate. But it gets to be a little much sometimes, you know? The senseis treat it like this huge life-or-death thing. Like sure, placing in a global tournament would be cool, but it’s not that big a deal? And sometimes I wonder how much my teammates are actually, like, enjoying themselves, and how much they’re stressing over nothing.” Piper purses her lips disdainfully. “Honestly? I’m going to rack up as much free equipment as I can, and then I’m gonna ditch them for Topanga or something. They seem way more chill.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Moon frowns. “I know they can go psycho when someone quits. Look what happened to Hawk.”

“Any of those bitches come at me with a razor and I’ll beat their ass into next week.” Piper rolls her eyes, unfazed.  “And what the hell are the senseis going to do? Call the cops on me for quitting their dojo? They’ll get laughed off the phone.”

“Just…be careful. I don’t want Cobra Kai hurting anyone else I care about.”

Before she can stop herself, she reaches out and squeezes Piper’s hand. The other girl turns and fixes her with a pale green gaze, expression unreadable.

“Okay,” she says quietly, tone turning serious.

Piper’s phone buzzes again, and the moment ends.

“Damn,” she mutters, glancing at her texts. “I forgot I said I’d bring jaeger bombs. I’d better get ready.”

“Oh, sorry.” Moon pulls away, embarrassed. “I don’t mean to take up too much of your time.”

“Don’t worry about it. I hope I could help.”

They stand up, and Piper starts to walk her out. Moon stares at the floor, suddenly feeling anxious again.

She stops right before they reach the front door. “What you said to do with Yasmine…what if it doesn’t work?”

“You better hope it does, because otherwise you’re going to have to consult the dark web or something. And then you’ll have to wade through about 70 sites with the most degenerate porn you’ve ever seen before finding anything useful.”

Moon laughs, tension easing.

“I guess I’ll deal with that when it happens. Or if.”

“Exactly. One thing at a time.”

“Well…I’ll let you go.” Moon offers Piper one last smile, opening the front door. “Have fun at your pizza party, okay?”

She’s halfway onto the porch when Piper catches her wrist, pulling her back.

“Hey, Moonshine…”

She turns. “Yeah?”

“I meant what I said before.” Piper bites her lip, meeting Moon’s eyes nervously. “About, um…if you sort through this whole Yasmine thing, and you ever decide you want to try again…all you have to do is ask.”

The surprise on Moon’s face must throw her for a loop.

“I mean, I’m not saying I’m going to sit on my ass waiting around,” she amends quickly, grip loosening. “I can’t promise I won’t move on. And I’m not, like, some piney mess who’s got nothing better to do than try and ‘win you back’ or whatever. But if you’re ever feeling it, and Yasmine’s not an issue anymore…just ask. The worst I’ll do is say no.”

And before Moon knows what she’s doing, she steps back inside and wraps Piper in a tight hug.

“Thank you,” she murmurs into the thick, bushy hair she remembers loving so much. “For helping. You didn’t have to, and I appreciate it.”

“I know.” Slowly but surely, Piper hugs her back. “But someone has to check you before you cause some domino effect that sends half the school into a sexuality crisis.”

***

Some author's notes, in no particular order:

I will literally die on the hill that Demetri is a bad boyfriend. All he's ever done IN CANON has been to objectify and generally be gross with Yasmine??? And the lead up to the whole icky "sexual venn diagram" comment was basically "hey, you should settle for me because I'm popular now and everyone thinks you're a laughingstock <3" Like wow! What a great way to treat the girl you're supposed to be "101% in love with"! And in S4 onwards he doesn't appear to know jack shit ABOUT her and just puts her on this pedestal as his "dream girl" while never actually mentioning anything about her personality.

I'm honestly not surprised that the natural progression of their relationship in S5 was (most likely) Yasmine getting fed up with Demetri not giving any visible shits about who she is as a person, and getting into fights with him the second she starts asserting her own wants and needs outside of him. And of course he gets her shallow jewelry gifts to placate her, which is just further proof he doesn't know her at all--it reads like he just saw on the internet that "girls like jewelry." And it's not like it actually solves anything, considering he's gotten her so many apology gifts that she can "barely lift her arm"! Tbh it pisses me off to not end that people whine and bitch about Demetri being a "bad friend" (which is so easily disproved it's not even funny) and don't make a peep about the gross way he treats his own fucking canon love interest. Please roast my trash son Demetri Alexopoulos for the RIGHT reasons!!!

I really did my damndest to keep Yasmine as canon-compliant as possible here. I do think she and Moon messed around in S1 and no one will ever be able to convince me otherwise, but I tried to keep everything we see of her here consistent with how she acts onscreen in seasons 1, 3, and 5. Season 4 is the obvious odd man out, which...needless to say is kinda the point XD But you take S4 out of the mix and accept some weird fluke was going on that was making her act that way, and we get something semi-plausible to work with! Hopefully she comes across as in-character (from what little we see of her!) here.

Also she does not love it when Demetri talks nerdy. Aisha and Sam's S1 salt conversation proves that she is not about it when people talk about nerdy school-related shit that reads like an inside joke she can't get in on (which applies to...most school-related things, considering she's shown to be kind of book dumb). She loves when Demetri gets her good grades, but she doesn't like. Have any inherent interest in school-related "nerdy" things??? And has never been shown to??? "Character development" shouldn't come out of nowhere and involve characters randomly getting into things they have never been shown to be drawn to actually!

I also hope I did an okay job writing Piper here! I wish I could write more MoonPiper, but we get!!! So ANNOYINGLY little of them and of Piper in general??? Like seriously, I went back and rewatched all the Piper scenes in the show, and there's like. Maybe 5 or 6 in THE WHOLE SHOW??? I barely have anything to work with and it is AGGRAVATING because I really love Piper and MoonPiper as a ship!!! And I want to do it justice that isn't just me projecting my own headcanons and theories because I don't know what else to do!!!

I really do think Piper is Not As Invested in Cobra Kai as everyone else though, lmao. Like she is there for shits and giggles, and also free merch. She respects herself too much to become a slave to the "cobra kai for life" bullshit lol

It IS incredibly funny to me that Moon gets more homoerotic scenes with her Super Totally Straight Best Friend than with the girl who was canonically her girlfriend. Like I love both ships, I really do, but when they give Yas and Moon SO many fruity scenes while their boyfriends are also being fruity, what did they EXPECT!!! Of COURSE I'm going to write YasMoon like my life depends on it!!!

Also, Moon saw that nacho nonsense with Hawk and Demetri in S2. She saw Hawk yank Demetri onstage during Valley Fest. She saw Hawk get all snippy about Demetri hitting on girls at the beach. She saw Hawk throw a hissy fit because his boyfriend bestie wouldn't join his evil dojo. She damn well knows they're gay!

And so does Piper ajadhskufbhd these girls weren't born yesterday!

Hoping to get this entire fic up on AO3 sometime in November! :3

[g0rechan]

741-741

That’s the number you gave me when I was posting similar things like your last post.

Use it.

I love you. Ik this sounds parasocial but idc. You’re my only friend. I have no friends irl and chatting and vibing with you online has got me through incredibly difficult times for me. I was so lonely and still am, I had strong urges to commit suicide but you got me through it.

Please, use it. You’re an incredible person who’s funny and pretty and creative.

Call me a parasocial bitch all you want but I really want you to get help.

I did, I did call that number. I cried so hard and -aside from the time my dog died- it was genuinely the first time I’ve cried in such a long time.

I’ve been in such a dark place for god knows how long. It’s been so damn stressful and insane. The only thing preventing me from killing myself is friends, my art, fashion, and the events I get to attend with people. I love hanging out with friends, it distracts me from all my worries and all the bad that I know about.

I didn’t start feeling this way until I had to start adulthood with no preparation whatsoever and worry about paying bills and break my back to put a payment on my car that shouldn’t even be that ridiculously high (seriously, fuck capitalism).

And my parents tell me that I need to get over it bc I’m an adult and that stress is a part of life and that I’m not mentally ill, I’m a spoiled brat. Like WTF?! Yeah ik life is stressful, but I’m not allowed to be stressed??

I’m sure they were just as stressful as I am when they started adulthood. Especially since my mom was a fucking teenager when she had me and had to work jobs while my father was attending night school at the time since he had to drop out to support his family.

Ig they just don’t remember? Or maybe because they’re both in the upper middle class quadrant that they feel like they’re so much better than people who are struggling- Yes, I still live with them but I can’t consider myself as part of their family with how fucking irritatingly unhelpful they are.

I wanna go back to who I was as a teenager. Not caring, loving everyone… not being the bitter, angry, vindictive bitch that I am now. Before I used to be so happy when others were happy, but now whenever I get a manic episode and I see, like, idk a rich person or rich and upper middle class kids who didn’t have to grow up in poverty like I did, I feel bitter. Like, physically. I can feel it building up inside me and spewing into my mouth.

And once I get out of my episode, I feel so fucking stupid. It’s so childish and terrible, the last time I felt this way was when I was like, what? 12-13?? I’m like, “cmon, Miliani. Really?”.

I tell myself I should be happy, I have many friends and everyone is always telling me I’m so pretty, and artistic, and so many boys and even girls have crushes on me and try to get me stuff for free sometimes.

And I’m upset because, what? I don’t have money?? One minor thing that won’t make more of a person if I did??

… I don’t want to be rich. I just want to be financially comfortable. That is fucking all. And if I can’t be financially stable, I’d at least want people to care. I want people to understand.

I also just wanna have a connection with my mommy again instead of her being angry at me. I want to just be happy with what I have.

It sucks bc I can feel happy sometimes, but the bad thoughts always come back. It’s like my brain doesn’t want me to be happy. I talked to the suicide hotline and they recommended that I’d see my school counselor to get free accommodations for getting a proper mental diagnosis…

Overall, I don’t hate myself or my life. It’s just mental illness and the stress of this new stage in life is taking an absolute fucking toll on me.

I’m just glad that I finally know the root cause of my problems now instead of attacking myself and others in blind rage.

I’ll help myself, like I did with you. I feel good that I was able to help you through all the sad and stressful things in your life.

As of now, the thoughts are gone. They’ve come and gone all day, everyday. I know the thoughts will come back but til then. I want to strive to be the best version of myself. I want to learn to love and again. I want to be that caring, selfless, sweet girl again. And I know I can do it, with the help of friends and therapy.

When I learn to love myself, I can learn to love others again.

Thank you.

[starry-hughes]

i saw an opportunity for angst and i took it…

“mooch has the oddest love for certain foods. like no one knows why she likes things so much that don’t make sense”

it’s the beginning of their relationship. tyler learned pretty fast about mooch’s love for the most random foods, because of that one time that it was like 1-2 in the morning, and she was crying because there wasn’t any *insert random food* left.

but quinn and jack were always kind of blind to her love of these foods, and never really caught on. (luke was very much aware because of the repetitive times she’d text him during math “moose can you go find me *insert random food*?”)

and so one afternoon mooch has tyler and pick up this random combination of foods that she had a newfound love for.

and quinn and/or jack are sitting at the kitchen counter when he walks in with this food. and they’re like “who in the hell eats that?” and about that time mooch comes running in, in near tears because she’s genuinely wanted this food for so long but never had the time to go get it. and one of the brothers jumps to conclusions. (dare i say quinn… i seem to be good at quinn angst🫣)

he’s a “perceptive” and very protective older brother, who sees mooch’s emotional swing and weird cravings for *insert combination of foods” and he’s grabbing at tyler’s shirt

“i asked you to do one thing you asshole! and you can’t even respect that?! you just had to go and knock up my babysister?!” (an older brother talk he had with tyler? because i think he had one?) and tyler is panicking because quinn is his girlfriends older scary brother, but also… he didn’t knock mooch up? and mooch is trying to grab at the two of them, but jacks holding her back because he thinks that’s the right thing to do-

and mooch just screams “i’m not pregnant you dick! let him go!!” and he realeases tyler’s shirt and mooch is running for him. she tells him to go to her room, and as he walks away she turns to quinn. “i thought you’d know me better than that. i’m not your clingy little sister anymore, and i might be 17 now, but im not stupid. and by the way, i’ve loved this food combination since i was 9 years old, so thanks for not paying as much attention to me as i thought you did.”

because yes quinn jumping to the conclusion that she was stupid (and made herself a teen mom) hurt, but the idea that her older brother who claimed to know everything about her, didn’t know this one simple thing about her hurt her angsty teenage heart more.

and quinn is just stunned because him and his baby sister never fought. and he turned to jack (who’s stunned as well)

and he’s now having a mental breakdown and asking jack “why the hell did i do that? why did i say that??” and is scared because did he really not know his sister as well as he thought? what else did he not know about her? (because at this point he’s either at umich or vancouver*i can’t do math for shit, and it’s early*) and he’s suddenly scared that because he’s so far away, his sister is growing without him, or better yet, he’s forgetting things about mooch because they don’t talk as much as they used to.

(this is extreme self projection of whenever i move away and was scared shitless that my younger cousin was growing up without me🥲)

-🫂

i feel like she would also shout, “and for your information, not that you have a right knowing, i have never slept with anyone! not tyler, not an ex!” and she storms off

[lucy-ghoul]

sooooo, yesterday i watched hotd s1 finale. here are my (semi-coherent) thoughts:

i've had one (1) day to simmer down my instinctive "wtf??" reaction and ponder on some writing choices - actually, two notable writing choices. first, this is no got s8 levels of disaster, but i'd already noticed a couple of red flags in ep9 and so i was - i am - guarded, though my emotional investment is nowhere near as high as my peak asoiaf/got era. i'm way more detached, and if i came off as pissed in some prev posts it was more of a general 🤷🤷 feeling concerning old disappointments in correlated or different media. (having said that, the larys/alicent feet thing is atrocious.)

i see they're still going strong with the childbirth from hell saga - i've already written about it in an older post, and i quite liked it, however gory and heartbreaking it was.

i don't buy the daemyra choking (not in a kinky way) scene. there's nowhere near enough build up for that. yes, daemon killed his first wife (which btw wasn't in the book) but they hated each other and she wasn't a targ. from d. pov's that's quite an important detail. (not that i’m excusing it, you know.) i don't even buy that "he's grieving that's why he acts (more) irrationally and with 0 impulse control (than usual)" because while he's ready for war and legitimately angry at the thought of his brother being murdered (tho viserys had been rotting away for years, last time they saw each other he could barely stand/talk, it was only a matter of weeks, maybe a couple of months at best before he died, they should have been prepared for this & the greens response) he doesn't act that out of control. let's be honest here: daemyra was always problematic and people shouting ~grooming! weren't completely wrong, but the writers also sold it as High Romance. the Stupid Fangirls weren't that blinded by their silly girly brains: d&r were framed as being genuinely in love despite the painfully obvious problematic elements. (& the incest is the least problematic thing here, since this is westeros and they're targs.) i think one of the directors even compared their love to what she feels for her own husband. so no, we weren't dreaming it up, they just couldn't find a balance between Toxic Incest Couple & Soulmates Being Soulmates, and obv they had to put a ~Bad Man is Very Bad, Girlies, Don't Try At Home~ bs Morality Play that seems so damn popular in this day and age. mind you, we all knew shit was going to hit the fan with nettles' appearance (i'm still worried about her portrayal, she's just a young girl and daemon is so much older than her, and i have no idea how they’re going to develop/frame their relationship) but somehow i had not foreseen him being physically abusive to his wife (who just gave birth to their stillborn daughter and lost her father btw). i was expecting him to lash out but... not like this. after their (fabulous ngl) wedding i haven't been much invested in daemyra anyway (i thought their decades long budding romance was much more appealing) but despite what i said above, one thing d/r fans were wrong about was expecting that hbo could actually make a medieval fantasy wuthering heights 2.0 and deliver lmao. no mainstream media would do that, not in the current ~think of the girls!!! climate. this is like believing that the star wars sequels were a gothic female-gazey romance that featured rey's sexual awakening + happy ending with the local parricidal ex darksider - the romance was there, don't get me wrong, but no hollywood-made pop culture piece of media could ever deliver. we also know d/r history from f&b, it's not all sunshine and rainbows... tho it's not comparable to jaime&cersei either. this is no valonqar situation - if and when that happens in asoiaf, motives and characters can't be compared only because d. and jaime share a love for poor impulse control and incest; the framing for their ~love affair and the choking act is also radically different. this feels like a punishment for the girls who tend to romanticize daemon and his feelings for his niece, as a "sharp reminder" of who he is and what is capable of (and that women, even dragon queens who are more than mere consorts and childbearers, can be victimized and have shitty husbands ig). except that however awful and poor little meow meow he may be, he didn't do any of this marital abuse bs in the book as far as we know. which brings me to:

i have a small problem with the people who say "f&b is no real account of the dance, these characters can't be written as ooc because we basically don't know them! it's all headcanons and bias!". theoretically i agree: there are at least 3 different versions of any major event, and what intrigued me the most about this show was the premise of Unreliable Narrator Extraordinaire. which path would these writers follow? because logically one should also say: "is this what really happened in the dance?" like, aren't these people (hired by hbo, paid a shitton of money, apparently asoiaf fans themselves) also writing down their own interpretations? unless grrm himself is behind everything (foot fetish and wife-choking included) who are these people to say this is what actually happened? they didn't create the characters and the plot etc., we're seeing them through their eyes and bias as well. why are the Poor Naive Girls who romanticized the Bad Dark Prince (aka they knew he was a big asshole but didn't think he had it in him to actually assault the woman he loves) the ones to be so awfully biased and affected by media illiteracy, to the point i’ve already seen the usual crowd online gloating over it like “ha ha the bitches had it coming”? one could say this is just another version of the dance... which would actually be more compelling imo. this also brings me to:

grandma vhagar being nostalgic of her war crimes era and gnam gnam lucerys to the oblivion. i have... very mixed feelings about this. i agree that making aemond more than an evil cackling anime villain is a good choice but idk about this tbh. idk how they could have spin it differently either tho, so i give up. people say "at least he doesn't actively seek war out so he doesn't look like an idiot" except he looks like an even bigger idiot because no one in their right mind would chase down their four-and-ten nephew and his dragon (said to be “five times smaller” than vhagar) through the sky while they're riding a huge ass fucking beast that could dwarf a mountain and actually fought in the conquest just to pick out his eye, and not expect it to horribly escalate. like, if you make two dragons face each other (especially if one of them is as powerful and ancient as vhagar is) what do you think is going to happen? realistically, i mean? maybe aemond didn't want to go that far but omg he should have foreseen this from a mile. like, sweetie maybe you didn't study your history and lore so well. and for the "he's just a teenager he doesn't know what he's doing" crowd: in a short span of time this ~poor baby~ is going to burn down the riverlands, hundreds of people will die. the incident that sparks the dance being an actual accident, tho... lmao sorry but that sounds like a joke. like, no matter how you spin it, if you like or love or hate it, it still robs the character of his agency, and therefore the story of poignancy. and i'm not even 100% sold on ~the dragons randomly eating people alive even when their riders strictly forbid them too~ because yeah, i can see that, a dragon is no slave and of course they're not mindless beasts but actually quite intelligent etc. but on the other hand i for one can't wait for drogon to fire up kl of his own free will - maybe he'll just hate that fugly city, who knows - so that ~dany (aka an actual 16 year old victim of rape and abuse who liberated thousands of slaves in a continent she was exiled to as an infant) is going to burn children alive and be put down like a mad bitch because that's somehow comparable to lotr shire chapter!!1~ disk horse can finally die its miserable death.

so, yeah, mixed feelings about these two (2) plot points, particularly the ~daemon is physically abusive now~ thing. also dk about whitewashing the blacks anymore, rhaenys killed a fuck ton of civilians in ep9 for no conceivable reason (something that in the books and in peaceful times only the worst of the worst are willing to do, no matter how much these elite assholes don’t care about the smallfolk) and now daemon is even more evil than he was in the book. aegon ii may be... well, aegon ii, but with aemond being somehow more humane and whatever they're doing to alicent the blacks are the ones that actually wreak more havoc - and i’m not even touching the blood and cheese thing. at least aemond's fuck-up kinslaying was accidental lol. jokes aside i overall liked this ep more than i did ep9 and while it’s not bad bad... no mistake, this is no high television either. i’ve seen what great tv can do (it’s exceptionally rare tho, more than people think) and this doesn’t look like it except for some acting choices + scenes.

[blogblogbloggittyblog]

may 11-14, 2022

im gonna try to write about my feelings again because maybe thatll make me feel less like shit all the fucking time. i dont even understand why im so upset about this. like. i think its cuz i romanticized the shit out of him and let myself believe that he liked me and i kinda allowed myself to be vulnerable around him and that he was there when me and noah broke up so he like kinda helped me a lot that night and idk he is rly nice and maybe i was literally in love with him or still am. and maybe the problem is that i realized how shitty that i am that he couldn’t even wanna be friends with me. maybe im such a selfish manipulative bitch that even he couldnt handle it. and i thought that he liked me and maybe that made me feel good about myself. but also i felt like shit because i fucking cheated on noah basically. and he told me i deserved better and i thought he would be the better one but he had a girlfriend and that already made me feel like shit and that time we kissed it was the most pathetic thing ive ever done because it was bad. it was bad and he thinks im pathetic and idk how to stop it i think the root issue is that i think that he thinks im a pathetic stupid idiot bitch liar. and maybe i am. god i hate him but i have no right to because all ive heard is good things about him. god. what the fuck. i need to move on from this but i quite literally dont know how to do that without getting some sort of closure but also THATS SO FUCKING STUPID BECAUSE U DIDNT DO ANYTHING AND HE DOESNT OWE U ANYTHING god.

-----

think the main issue is that im not a good person and i hate people who are better than me and i guess that makes me even worse. like i hate cameron because she’s quite literally perfect. and it makes me fucking hate myself. shes so pretty and confident and smart and articulate and talented and she has all that i want rly. i saw her and thomas adams today and it literally made me wanna die. im never gonna have that. no matter how much i delude myself into thinking that im this nice hot smart person. no one has ever wanted me for more than a year. if that. i hate myself. i genuinely can’t think of one thing i like about myself. because im not good at school. im not good at art, i havent made a single decent thing in like half a year, i dont do anything outside of school, im ugly, and not skinny, and a liar and im not a good daughter. i hate myself. i think i like being in relationships because then the person can fall in love with some weird fake version of me and i can believe that maybe im half-decent. harry is just another example of how i cant maintain relationships that i care abt. i dont even think i have any genuine friends. im pretty sure they all dislike me severely. god. i. suck.

-----

im literally in love w him or smth because he’s so nice and i want him to fucking like me too i wish he did how do i get him to like me but also i want noah back because it was so much easier and i could just love him and he loved me and it wasn’t turbulent and weird. and dustin is nice but that’s abt it. i like him but that’s all there is to it and i feel bad for like asking him on a date cuz fuck. but harry is different because he doesn’t even like me lnao and i want him to like me so bad i want him to be in love with me and go out w me and be my fucking bf and it’s so stupid and pathetic but i like him sm

-----

impermanence of life it’s funny how i really thought we were gonna be together for a long time and how i thought i’d love him for so long not just him but seb too like i thkught she was it like that was the end and it’s so scary how blinding and deceiving and deluding it is to be in love or at least think that u are. even when i tried to be so so so overly pessimistic and realistic with noah i still rly thkught we’d be together for at least a couple years i mean im glad we didn’t cuz like then it’d be even fucking harder to get over it but yeah and i loved him i loved him so much and he made me light up and he loved me too and he also wanted to be with me and that somehow makes it even worse the fact that it’s a mutual temporary affliction jt sucks

-----

and like it’s so fuckinf scary how in love i was even with noah like so blindly in love or maybe it was good and i just don’t remember i wonder if there’s another universe where we’re still together . i don’t wanna be in it because i know we could both find someone who fits with us better but god it sucks when someone loves you so much and makes you feel so good but then they slip away even if they don’t want to

[dadsbongos]

I found your blog recently and I immediately fell in love! I don’t know if you take requests at the moment but if you do...

Do you think you can do a Izuku one-shot or head cannon where Izuku is a UA traitor (who have amazing acting skills, no one can suspect him) and one day he found out there is another UA traitor and he found out it was his s/o who he have been dating since middle school. How would he react? And could it be fluff?

If you don’t take requests at the moment or these kind of requests then please ignore this! I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable in anyway. I have this idea for awhile and I don’t really see anyone did this kind of thing yet or I am just blind and can’t see.

I really like your blog and I can’t wait to see more of it! Take care and be safe, make sure you eat/drink and rest well! Thank you for your time!

-(๑╹ω╹๑ )

i know you wanted fluff but i saw this and imagined the sitcom material immediately also i'm so glad you like my stuff! that's really sweet and i appreciate you for reading <3 thanks bro

Requested: Izuku Midoriya Warnings: villain deku au?, fem reader Word Count: 773 ~~~

“Meet with the other traitor and hand them these.”

“The other what?”

Izuku was in shock. He thought he was good - after all, nobody suspected that he, the ultimate All Might fanboy, would be the traitor - but whoever the other one was, must’ve been some kind of seasoned actor at sixteen.

“There’s another one?”

Tomura narrowed his eyes at the boy, voice drawing up to mock him, “‘There’s another one?’” he slammed the file on the bartop and slid it over to Izuku, “Yes, there’s another one, dumbass. Give those to her, she’ll be waiting in the common room of your dorms - tonight at midnight. Don’t fuck it up again.”

“Okay, I almost asked Kacchan if he’s the traitor one time and suddenly I’m the bad guy?”

Tomura’s glare only grows stronger at the question.

“Fine, I’m going.”

Izuku can’t possibly imagine which of the girls it is.

Ochaco could use money, but it wasn’t like Tomura was handing out stacks of cash for this - besides, she’d gone to Mic privately to give him her points, so she was probably being genuine.

Momo’s ears flush red when she lies.

Mina was… generally out of the question on account that there was only room for one outgoing, bubbly girl and that was Himiko.

Kyoka’s aloofness reminded Izuku of a less extreme Dabi, and Tomura hated Dabi so there was no chance he’d have two Dabis on one team.

Tsuyu was almost killed by Tomura at the USJ and as much as Tomura threatened to wrangle Izuku’s neck - he would never actually.

You were an absolute angel.

And Toru…

Well, she…

Izuku rolled his head to the side as he sat in his dorm, ashamed of himself for not remembering her sooner. It was probably Toru. Like, come on, disappearing at the landslide zone in USJ with Shoto and not saying anything to him? As if.

With an hour left until midnight, Izuku sees his phone light up with a text from you.

girlfriend :D hey izuku! sorry i couldn’t text much, homework was kicking my absolute ass :( but i think i’m gonna go to bed

.

.

.

You stare down at the message you’d just sent your boyfriend. Honestly, you feel a little bad lying to him, especially since he’s such a huge All Might fanboy. But you know this corrupt society that worships heroes who only seek money and fame can’t go on, even if that means hurting your sweet boyfriend.

boyfriend :D aw no worries babe i’m gonna go to bed too so :P sleep well :) goodnight i love you!

Your poor, sweet, spamming-prone boyfriend.

i love you too izuku!

Only half an hour is left until you have to meet up with Denki. Or, you’re assuming it’ll be Denki. That guy has to be playing up his stupidity. And nobody’s Quirk actually has that much backlash. Except for Izuku, but he’s such an honest, kind guy - so he was out of the question.

No way, no how, no chance it would be your honest, caring, heroic boyfriend from all the way back to middle school.

.

.

.

“Izuku,” your voice is strained to avoid screaming, “what the fuck are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here?” he shakes his head before pointing at you, “What are you doing here?”

You two stand in the common room - at midnight - staring at each other. In his hand is a file. One he’d been told to pass to a “her” and one you’d been told to collect from “him”.

“You…” Izuku points at you, eyes wide, “you?”

“You?!” you whisper-yell, storming over to cup your boyfriend’s cheeks, “Who even are you? Is your name really Izuku?”

“Yes!” he whisper-yells back, taking your hands before pressing the file into them, “And I am really your boyfriend since junior high who loves you a lot.”

You stare down at the file in your hands, “I love you a lot, too.”

“So, we’re good? Just suddenly finding out that the other person is secretly a huge criminal working under Japan’s most wanted villain. But, overall, still good with each other.”

Grinning, you nod, “Yeah, exactly that.”

“Good,” he presses a kiss to your forehead, “Good.”

“Does this mean we should tell Shigaraki we’re dating?”

“I already told him.”

“And he… didn’t say anything about me being the traitor?”

“He did not.”

.

.

.

Meanwhile, at the bar, Tomura is snickering to himself when Kurogiri asks why he’s been so giggly since Izuku left.

The man just shakes his head before explaining, “Just thinking about how pissed those kids are gonna be when they realize I didn’t say anything about them both being traitors…”

[inukag]

Hello. I wanted to ask one thing. Why is everyone, including Rumiko, saying that Inuyasha and Kikyo dated? Maybe I'm just TOO stupid and blind, because I only read the manga and didn't watch the anime, but I didn't see anything hint that they were dating... Eh, they hardly even knew each other. How long had they known each other before Naraku's trap? Or the moment where Kikyo asks him to become a human is date? I don’t understand, where is the love and trust that everyone constantly talks about? I saw something like affection for each other, but love...

Honestly when I first read the manga I thought Inuyasha and Kikyo were labeled as “exes” because it was the simplest way to explain their situation, even if it’s hard for me to see them as such since they had so few interactions pre-betrayal. I mean, even during their last conversation when Kikyo dies the only "happy memory" they have of their time "together" is still just them sitting 5ft apart while Kikyo talks about the jewel, which makes it pretty clear to me that they never really had the chance to start a romantic relationship. I think we’re supposed to feel bad that Naraku “prevented them from being happy together” but that falls flat to me when we learn that the jewel is the real villain and Kikyo’s plan to make Inuyasha human most likely would have gotten them both killed.

In the story itself tho, I think it makes sense for most characters (Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Koga, Kagome, etc) to assume Inuyasha and Kikyo were "dating" before the betrayal. They weren't there to see it and Inuyasha never explained anything to them, so they can only guess what his relationship with Kikyo was really like. Also Kagome not knowing anything about Inuyasha and Kikyo’s past is 90% of what drives the “love triangle”. Like in the Mt Azusa arc when she says “Inuyasha has a past with Kikyo that I can’t make him forget, I understand that!” she has no idea what this “past” is, and it’s one of the main sources of her insecurities. If she knew that Kikyo is jealous of how she healed Inuyasha’s heart, and how Inuyasha wasn’t open with Kikyo like he is with her, Kagome would be a lot less insecure and Rumiko wouldn’t have been able to drag out the love triangle drama for as long as she did. 

There might be some cultural differences to consider as well. If you remove Miroku groping Sango and his “bear my children” schtick, him and Sango did not have that many genuine romantic interactions before he proposed to her. From what I’ve heard romance is a lot more “subtle” in Japan, especially in that time period. 

And finally If you haven't seen the anime anon, there's a 1 hour long special episode that adds a lot of nonsensical "backstory" to Inuyasha and Kikyo that makes it seems like they had this long, hyper-romanticized relationship. Inuyasha gives her his mother's rouge and Kikyo decides not to put the subjugation beads on him, which makes a lot of anime-only fans believe that they did trust each other and would have lived happily ever after if it weren't for Naraku (which also isn't true as I said before, since Kikyo’s plan to make Inuyasha use the jewel is the real reason why their relationship failed).  I mean, personally I’m not in the “Inuyasha didn’t actually love Kikyo he was just confused” camp, I think Inuyasha is someone who cares deeply and quickly about people who show him kindness and Kikyo was that for him so I do believe he loved her. I don’t believe Kikyo truly loved Inuyasha tho, but that’s a discussion for another day. 

[imagine-a-life-like-this]

Just Friends (K.TH, C.BG)

Word Count : 6590

Warnings : break ups, heartbreak, swearing

Synopsis : a friendship started on a blind date, a new relationship with an old flame. an unexpected love.

She sat on her couch as Beomgyu paced in front of her, going on about some wedding he has to attend. “Why did I say I have a date? I don’t have a date. What am I supposed to do? I can’t just show up alone. Ugh why didn’t you stop me, Y/n!” He collapsed into the spot next to her, resting his head on her shoulder.

            “I wasn’t there when you told them you were dating someone, stupid.” She shoved his head off her shoulder, making him pout at her. She’d never tell him, but she has a weak spot for him. He has her completely wrapped around his finger without even realizing. He’s completely clueless to her growing feelings, feelings she wishes were there when they first met.

            “Choi Beomgyu?” She asked hesitantly as she approached the table. His head snapped up from his phone, making eye contact with the prettiest girl he’s ever seen. Quickly, he nodded, standing from the table, and ushering her to sit. “Oh thank goodness. You’re the third person I’ve approached. I was scared I’d never find you.” She laughed as she picked up the menu in front of her seat.

            “Blind dates sure are something, aren’t they?” He joked back, picking up his own menu, pretending he hasn’t already practically memorized the entire thing while he waited. Not that she was late, he was just far too early, far too nervous.

            When Soobin told him he had the perfect girl for him, he was skeptical, wondering how Soobin would know such a girl. But as the days passed leading up to the blind date, Soobin told him more and more, and Beomgyu was really excited. Ready to move on and make new memories with someone new.

            Within minutes, she surpassed all expectations. She was so kind to everyone, which Beomgyu found was quite rare these days. She was also hilarious, able to turn everything into a joke, and easily banted with him. She had something to rebut everything he said. He hated to admit it, but Soobin was right. She was perfect.

            She didn’t expect reuniting with her childhood best friend would lead to him setting her up with his new best friend. It was definitely welcomed though, with her just getting out of a long term relationship. A relationship she expected to last forever. But, she supposes, some loves aren’t meant to last. Some loves are just stepping stones to the love that will last forever.

            But as she sat with Beomgyu, genuinely enjoying his company, she heard a far too familiar laugh. One that used to make her smile, but now brought tears to her eyes. Across the restaurant she was sitting in, sat Kang Taehyun with another girl.

            She could feel her heart break all over again, as if he was breaking up with her all over again. Telling her that his feelings had faded over time, and he wanted to see other people. She remembers the nights spent in her bed, hugging her pillow, and wishing for him to take all his hurtful words back. Tell her it was a cruel prank and that he still loved her.

            Beomgyu saw her getting distant suddenly, completely zoning out and focusing on something behind him, or rather, someone behind him. He puts the pieces together and reaches his hand out to hold hers, asking if she was okay, or if she wanted to leave. “No, no. I’m okay. I’m enjoying myself. I want to stay.” She smiled at him, but even he could tell she was pretending.

            She was pretending she was okay, that she was ready to move on and date someone new. She was pretending that she didn’t have any lingering feelings for the man who crushed her. She was covering up her hurt with a smile that was so obviously fake. But Beomgyu pretended he had no idea, smiling back at her, and trying to distract her as best he could.

            When the date came to an end, Beomgyu walked her back, his hands in his pockets. They walked side by side, her telling him stories of her and Soobin from their childhood. She would laugh at the dumb things they did, and at the end of each story, she would smile fondly.

            “This was really fun, Beomgyu.” She smiled as they stood outside of her apartment complex. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to ask her out again. But he knew she wasn’t ready to move on, no matter how badly she tries to convince herself she is.

            “It was lovely, but I think we should just be friends.” The words were so hard for him to get out, almost as if they were choking him. Her eyes widened, and he knew she was going to ask why. He could see the thousands of questions swirling in her mind. “It’s nothing against you, Y/n. You’re quite honestly my dream girl. But you’re not ready to move on yet, and that’s okay.”

            “You saw right through me, huh.” She giggled to herself. “I’m really sorry, Beomgyu. I swear it has nothing to do with you. You’re wonderful, and I really did enjoy the date. It’s just, Taehyun and I were together for a long time, and I’m still trying to process the breakup.” Beomgyu nodded, understanding her a little too well.

            “I get that honestly. It took me a while to process the end of my previous relationship. Take the time you need. I’d still like to be friends, though.” She smiled, agreeing to be friends as the two exchanged contact information.

            The date ended completely different from how Beomgyu pictured it. He pictured walking her to the door, hand in hand, as they planned a second date. He pictured a goodnight kiss that would take his breath away. But instead he got a new friend. A friend he was totally smitten with.

            “Do you think Taehyun would mind if I borrowed you for the wedding?” Beomgyu asked, pulling her out of her memory. “It’ll only be for a few hours. I’ll ask him.” He pulled out his phone, quickly sending Taehyun a text, asking to borrow his girlfriend for a few hours this upcoming weekend.

            “Why are you asking him before even asking me?” She laughed, staring at Beomgyu with a fondness in her eyes that makes his stomach do somersaults. He likes to pretend that she’s realizing her feelings for him, falling for him the way he fell for her long ago. But he knows her heart belongs to Taehyun. So he takes the small moments of fondness and lets her go back to the one she loves.

            “Hey.” A familiar voice greeted her as he took the seat next to her. “It’s okay that I sit here, right?” He asked, looking at her with guilt in his eyes. She wanted to say no, wanted to tell him to get lost, but instead she nodded. “How have you been?” He asked, barely looking at her as he took out a notebook and pen.

            “Been better. But doing okay.” She answered, also not looking at him. Instead she fiddled with her pen, a telltale sign to Taehyun that she was anxious. It hurts his heart a little bit to see her so anxious around him when she used to be so comfortable. She used to say he was her safe space, he was her home.

            But he know he did this. He’s the reason she can’t be comfortable around him. He fell into the trap of popularity, wanting so desperately to be noticed and to be liked. But it cost him love. A pure love. A true love meant just for him. “I’m sorry, Y/n.” He whispered, turning his head towards her, fully facing her for the first time since he sat down.

            And she was beautiful. Even more beautiful than he remembers. And his heart clenches knowing he can’t reach out for her hand, run his thumb over her knuckles, and help her calm down. He hates himself for letting her go for something temporary. Something that didn’t feel even close to as nice as being in her arms felt.

            Nothing could compare to the feeling of her playing with his hair as they watched a movie, completely ridding him of all his worries. Or the way she knew just what he needed at any given minute. How she would show up to his house with his favourite coffee, leaving him to study a little longer while she hung out with his family. Cooking dinner with his mom in the kitchen.

            He would emerge from his room, expecting her to have gone home, but she would be sitting in the living room with his sister, gossiping about who knows what. No one else has done the things she does. No one else has made him feel the way she does. No one else has gotten along with his family. No one else has made him fall completely head over heels in love. Not the way she has. And she did it so effortlessly.

            “Don’t apologize.” She responded, turning her head only slightly to look in his direction. “Because of you, I got to meet someone who understands me better than anyone else.” She explained, turning to face him completely, watching as his face fell.

            “You’re dating someone?” He asked, his smile a little too wide when he watched as she shook her head. “Do I still have a chance?” They sat in silence for a minute as she processed his words, wondering if he was asking what she thought he was.

            And as much as she wanted to say no, she knew that was a lie. Even after all this time, spending all her free time with Beomgyu trying to move on, she still loved Taehyun. “Yeah.” She finally answered. “You do.”

            It was a slow start, but her and Taehyun worked things out. But things felt different. The passionate, fire-filled love she once felt with him, slowly turned to ash. The first time they dated, she wanted to spend as much time as she could with him. Wanted to learn absolutely everything about him. But this time around, she finds herself blowing him off more and more to spend time with Beomgyu.

            And she knew Taehyun could tell things were different. It was hard to ignore. Whenever they were together, she would always talk about Beomgyu. What they did the previous day. A gift he bought her that she had been wanting for ages.

            Over time, the jealousy Taehyun felt whenever she brought up Beomgyu turned into gratefulness. He was grateful to Beomgyu for being there when he couldn’t. Grateful that someone was able to bring her smile back. And though he could tell he was losing her, if it was Beomgyu, he could let her go.

~

            “You are breathtaking.” Taehyun whispered as she stepped out of her room, the dress he helped her pick out hitting her in all the right places. She was stunning, and Taehyun couldn’t help but feel a little envious that she was Beomgyu’s date.

            He placed his hands on her waist, pulling her close to him. How could someone look even more breathtaking while this close? The way she did her makeup complimented the dress perfectly. Everything about her took his breath away.

            “Have fun. I’ll see you when you get home.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him in for a quick kiss as Beomgyu blew up her phone with notifications that he has arrived. “I love you.” Taehyun called after her as she walked towards the uber Beomgyu had ordered for them.

            “I love you too!” She called back before getting into the car. “Holy shit.” She said as she looked at Beomgyu, her eyes wide at how unbelievably handsome he looked in his suit.

            “What? Do I look as bad as you do?” He teased, nudging her with his elbow. But she couldn’t speak. In this moment, she understood what Taehyun meant by breathtaking. Beomgyu was just sitting there, but he completely took her breath away. She couldn’t even come up with a rebuttal, absolutely taken by how effortlessly he was driving her crazy.

            “You’re fucking hot.” She blurted out before she could stop herself, causing the uber driver to stifle a laugh, but neither of the passengers noticed. They were both too wrapped up in each other.

            Beomgyu was speechless at her outburst, trying to calm his pounding heart, but there was no use. Every time he felt calm, her words would echo in his mind, causing his heart to speed up once again.

            He tried not to stare at her, knowing he wouldn’t be able to help himself. Because she sat there looking absolutely stunning. He’s never laid eyes on a girl as beautiful as she is. No one else could compare to her, and he’s internally smacking himself for letting her go so easily.

            Beomgyu was heading towards Y/n’s apartment, her favourite food from her favourite restaurant in his hands. He knew she had been having a hard time the last few days, and decided he wanted to cheer her up. He had a pep in his step knowing he got to spend the rest of the day with his favourite person, trying to make her smile. The smile that makes him fall for her even more. He would do anything to see that smile.

            But he stopped dead in his tracks when he reached her building, seeing her laughing with a guy. Even from where he was standing, he could see the stars in her eyes as she looked at him. How her smile was so much wider than it ever was with him.

            And then the guy pulled her closer to him, bringing her in for a kiss. He watched as she wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him closer to her, as if that was possible. And he could actually feel his heart break.

            But he faked a smile when she noticed him and called him over. “This is Taehyun.” He recognized that name. He was the reason she wasn’t ready to move on, and he was here, sweeping her off her feet before Beomgyu had the chance. “Whatcha got there?” She asked, pointing to bag in his hands.

            “Ah.” He completely forgot his original plan, taken aback by her new relationship with an old flame. “I bought your favourite takeout because I knew you were having a hard time.” He handed her the bag and watched as her entire face lit up, mending his heart only slightly. That smile was meant just for him.

            “You are the best, Gyu.” He smiled back at her before taking his leave, spouting some bullshit about an essay due, and walking away from the two of them. She was happy, and at the end of the day, that’s all that mattered to him. He wasn’t going to bother fighting a losing battle. Taehyun won before Beomgyu could even try.

            The two walked into the venue where the wedding was being held, gawking at how beautifully it was decorated. “Everything looks so expensive.” She whispered to him. He couldn’t help but laugh at her amazement.

            “Ah! I just knew when you told me you had a girlfriend that it would be Y/n.” Beomgyu’s mom gushed, bringing her in for a hug. “You look absolutely beautiful, Y/n.”

            “Thank you. You too look beautiful, Mrs. Choi.” His mom beamed at Y/n, and the sight alone warmed Beomgyu’s heart. He knew he was screwed the first time he introduced Y/n to his family. The way she fit in with them immediately. The way his entire family welcomed her with open arms, telling her to come back soon. The way his mom was always talking about her. He knew from the first day they met, but the longer he knew her, the more it was confirmed. She was perfect. For him and in general.

            “Let’s go to the arcade.” She said suddenly as the two were sprawled out on her bed, a movie playing the background that neither of them were paying attention. They were talking about life, ignoring whatever what was happening in the movie, instead opting to stare at the ceiling.

            Though, Beomgyu was actually looking at her the entire time. Watching as she scrunched her face whenever she was thinking. He noticed her eyes tracing imaginary images on the ceiling as she spoke. She was completely oblivious to the fact that he was completely enamoured with her.

            “So suddenly?” He chuckled as they both sat up.

            “I’m bored.” She shrugged.

            And so the two headed for the arcade, challenging each other to just about every single game in the arcade as they walked. “No way. I’ll totally kick your ass at air hockey.” She told him as she stepped in front of him and spinning to walk backwards.

             “Well I’ll kick your ass at DDR.” He teased, sticking his tongue out her, a gesture she quickly returned, before tripping over a rock, sending her falling towards the ground. Without hesitating, Beomgyu reached out, grabbing her arm, and effectively stopping her from hitting the ground. “Be careful.” He said softly, pulling her closer to him as she got back on her feet.

            She was so close, her lips just inches away from his own. And he couldn’t look away. He wanted so badly to close the gap between them, but they were just friends, and she had a boyfriend. No matter how tempting kissing her was, he backed away, letting go of her arm in the process.

            He had no idea the effect he suddenly had on her. He had no idea that she was leaning closer to him, hoping he’d take the leap and press his lips to hers. He had no idea that Taehyun had completely slipped her mind, as if he no longer existed. Beomgyu had taken over her mind, and he was completely clueless.

            They mingled with some of the guests, Beomgyu’s arm wrapped around her waist as he led her through the crowd. They found another couple their age and introduced themselves. Both Beomgyu and Y/n completely forgot that they weren’t actually dating as they talked with this other couple.

            Every question the couple asked, they both answered with ease. A story of how their relationship came to be easily forming, as if they weren’t lying. As if they were truly telling their love story.

            And before they knew it, they were agreeing to a double date and exchanging contact information with the couple. They didn’t realize what they had done until they walked away to go greet more of Beomgyu’s family.

            “Shit. Do you think Taehyun would let me borrow you again?” He asked quietly, trying to make sure no one found out that he wasn’t actually dating the girl of his dreams. That he was just borrowing someone else’s girlfriend and calling her his for the day.

            “We can always just not text them.” She said with a shrug. The longer she acts as his girlfriend, the more she wishes it was real. She didn’t want to go back to her place where Taehyun was waiting for her. She wanted to go home with Beomgyu. Laugh with him about some of the outfit choices. She wanted to go on the double date. And she hated just how badly she wanted to be with Beomgyu. Because she knows she lost her chance.

            “I can’t believe I introduce you to the perfect guy for you, and you end up back together with Taehyun.” Soobin whined, throwing his head back in his seat. “You were supposed to get over him, not get back together with him.”

            “Well to me, Taehyun is the perfect guy for me.” She answered before taking a sip of her drink, impatiently waiting for her food. “He’s my first love, Soobin. He’s my weakness.”

            “I just wish you would have given Beomgyu more of a chance. I really think he’d be good for you.” Soobin was looking at her again, with a pout on his face. She knew he meant well, that he just wanted both his friends to be happy.

            “We agreed to be friends, Soobin. We actually hang out all the time. He’s really good at getting me out of my head and making me feel better.” Soobin smiled at this information, knowing her better than she thought he did.

            As the evening progressed and they updated each other on their lives, his suspicions were confirmed. She kept bringing up Beomgyu and all the things they’ve done together. How he seems to know her better than anyone else, knowing exactly what she needs even if she doesn’t know. How he’s there for her when she needs him without even asking him.

            Soobin already knew that Beomgyu was enamoured with her. It was a secret Beomgyu couldn’t keep to himself, spitting it out almost immediately upon seeing Soobin. But the more she talked, the more Soobin realized that Beomgyu’s feelings weren’t as one-sided as he thought. She was falling in love with him without even realizing it.

            She was convinced that she still loved Taehyun because she was still hurt over their breakup. Because she was jealous seeing him out with another girl. Because she still got butterflies when he was around.

            Their love was a wildfire destroying everything in its path. It was speeding down a dead end street. It was bungee jumping off the tallest bridge. It was skydiving for the first time. Their love was the colour red. A loud, raging, passionate kind of love. They fell too hard too fast. It was a feeling that couldn’t be replicated. A once in a lifetime kind of love.

            But the fire burned out. The car stopped before it could crash. Jumping from the bridge no longer brought excitement. Their feet were planted flat on the ground. The red had faded. And they had fallen out of love just as fast as they fell in love. But they refused to believe it.

            The love that was once passionate was now just easy. Like a routine you do every single day that you soon get bored of but can’t quit. It was like brushing your teeth. Or washing your hair. It no longer brought excitement. It was just a routine.

            Soobin knew from the difference in how she’d talk about Beomgyu and Taehyun. How she excitedly told Soobin everything her and Beomgyu did. Everything he bought for her. Everything he did for her. She was smiling, and her eyes were bright. It was a look he hasn’t seen on her since before the breakup. Since before she left to see the world before returning for the next school year.

            But when she brought up Taehyun, the light faded. She talked about him the way one talks about a friend they ran into while running errands. If it were anyone else, he’s sure they’d confuse the two, thinking Beomgyu was her boyfriend.

            And she could tell by the look on his face that she had fucked up.

            Her and Beomgyu took their seats as everyone prepared for the bride to walk down the aisle. Their intertwined hands rested in her lap as they watched the groom and groomsmen make their way down the aisle.

            And when the doors opened again, everyone stood. Their hands stayed locked together as they watched the flower girl make her way down the aisle, followed by the bridesmaids, and then the bride herself. Y/n was amazed by how beautiful she looked in her floor length, princess-like gown.

            She’s met Beomgyu’s cousin multiple times at family get togethers he would drag her to, and she remembers her being such a laid back girl. Always in leggings and an over sized t-shirt she obviously stole from her soon-to-be husband. So this look was jarring for her.

            Beomgyu couldn’t help but smile as he watched her reaction, not even bothering to look at the bride. He thought she was absolutely adorable in this moment, her mouth slightly ajar, and he eyes wide. He wished he could take a picture, save this moment forever. But instead, he committed this moment to his memory, knowing he’d look back it in the future and still think she was the cutest thing he’s ever seen.

            “Do you ever think about how different things would have been had I been over Taehyun when we went out?” She asked as they laid on the blanket in the grass, looking up at the stars. Soft music was playing from his phone that laid between them. Beomgyu turned his head to look at her, seeing that she was still staring at the stars. He could tell she was drawing shapes with her eyes, and he wondered what she saw in the stars.

            “Sometimes.” He lied. He always thinks about where they would be. If they’d still be together. If they would have realized they were better off friends. If they would have grown to hate each other.

            But he knows if he ever had the honor of calling her his girlfriend, he would do everything he could to keep her by his side. He knows he would never stop loving her. He’s pictured an entire future with her. A grand wedding, a couple of kids, a big house, an undying love. But it’s not his future to enjoy. And he hates that he fell so hard when he knew he didn’t stand a chance compared to Taehyun.

            “What do you think our relationship would be like?” She asked. She’d never admit it, but a part of her thinks about what it would be like to be Beomgyu’s girlfriend all the time. That sometimes when she’s curled up in Taehyun’s arms, she thinks of Beomgyu. That a part of her wishes Taehyun was Beomgyu.

            “I think we’d be like we are now.” Beomgyu answered, still looking at her. And she turned her head to meet his eyes, a slight blush brushing across her cheeks when she realized he was staring at her. And he thought she looked absolutely beautiful. “You’d be my best friend and my girlfriend wrapped in one.” His voice was soft as he spoke, but she was barely paying attention to his words.

            She was too busy tracing his features with her eyes. His sharp jawline. His long eyelashes. His round nose she just wants to boop all the time. His soft looking lips. The same ones she’s dreamed of kissing. She couldn’t believe how deeply in love she fell for Beomgyu without even realizing.

            “Were you even listening to anything I said?” He chuckled, pulling her out of her thoughts. His beauty was distracting. There was no one else like Choi Beomgyu. No one could make her feel that way he does, and she comes to the realization that maybe Soobin was right all along. Beomgyu was the perfect guy for her, and she let him go.

            As the couple recited their vows, talking about the feelings they feel when they’re together. Talking about the moment they knew the other was the one. She sat there, going through all her memories with Beomgyu.

            All the times he showed up with takeout and the two spent the day watching movies or binging a new tv show. All the times he would help her when she was struggling with something. All the times they would just lay and stare at the stars, talking about life. Thinking about the what ifs.

            He was the first one she would call when she had good news or bad news. He was the first one at her door with his hands full of her favourite things to cheer her up. Whenever she was bored, she would call Beomgyu, and he always there.

            And she realized no matter how hard she tries to deny it, Beomgyu is her one. He’s the one she wants to spend the rest of her life with. She wants to argue with him just to kiss and makeup minutes later. She wants come home to him after a long day and just lay in his arms as he plays with her hair, whispering little nothings into her hair as she slowly falls asleep.

            She wants the good days and the bad days. The days where they don’t feel like doing anything. And the days they’re filled with energy and bouncing off the walls. She wants to wake up in his arms and see him already looking at her with a fondness in his eyes.

            She wanted to love wholeheartedly and not feel scared he’s going to fall out of love with her. She wants the security she knows Beomgyu can give her. His unchanging feelings obvious to her, even after all this time. It’s a security that Taehyun just can’t give her. She’s worried every single day that Taehyun is going to change his mind again. Decide that he doesn’t love her.

            But the thought of Taehyun not loving her doesn’t hurt her the same way it used to. She doesn’t lay awake at night wondering if Taehyun is regretting his decision of getting back together with her anymore. And she knew what she had to do.

            So when the ceremony ended, she told Beomgyu she needed to go. That there was something she had to do. “It can’t wait until after the reception?” He asked. And realistically it could wait. It wasn’t urgent. But she knew if she stayed any longer, acting as Beomgyu’s girlfriend, she would do something she’d regret.

            “I’m so sorry. I’ll make it up to you, I promise!” She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before heading for the uber she had ordered.

            “That’s so cheesy.” Beomgyu cringed as the ending credits rolled. “Do girls actually like grand gestures like that?” He asked, looking towards Y/n, who just shrugged.

            “I’m sure some girls do. That’s why these movies are so popular.”

            “What about you? Do you like grand gestures like that?” She quickly shook her head. She never understood why girls seemed to swoon at the idea of someone confessing their love so loudly, so publicly.

            “Absolutely not. I like the small things. Like remembering my coffee order. Or knowing how to calm my anxieties. Small acts of love that show the persons true heart. It’s much more romantic to me than the giant bouquet of flowers and holding a boombox outside someone’s window.” Beomgyu chuckled, taking a mental note. He’s sure at this point, he could list her orders at every single place they’ve frequented. He always paid a little too much attention to the girl that was supposed to just be his friend.

            “That definitely sounds more romantic. And a whole lot less embarrassing.”

            When the uber pulled up outside of her house, she practically ran inside, seeing Taehyun sitting on her couch, watching some show she doesn’t recognize. “Oh hey.” He said, pausing the show and giving her his full attention. “You’re home a lot earlier than expected. Everything okay?”

            “We have to break up.” She spat out before she could stop herself. She wasn’t sure what else to say. She didn’t want to beat around the bush and lead him on any longer. Honestly, she should have ended things months ago when she came to terms with her feelings for Beomgyu. But she believed it was just a passing curiosity. Something that would fade with time. But it didn’t. It did quite the opposite.

            “Oh.” He said. Not quite the reaction she was expecting, but she also wasn’t sure what she was expecting when she came here. “Can I know why?” He knew the reason already, but he wanted to know if she was going to be honest. He needed to hear it from her as a form of closure.

            “I don’t love you the way I used to.” She answered. “I fell for Beomgyu.” She admitted, tears springing to her eyes. Regardless of her feelings, breakups still suck. It still hurt her to let go of Taehyun permanently. She knows that if she chooses Beomgyu now, she can’t choose Taehyun down the road. This was it.

            “If you love him, you shouldn’t have left him at the wedding alone.” Taehyun chuckled, trying to hold back his tears, trying to play off the hurt he was feeling. He lost her a long time ago, that he knew. But he hoped he had a little more time before she realized. A little more time to love her the way he should have the entire time. A little more time to have her love him so purely.

            “I felt guilty. I felt like I was leading you on, and I just couldn’t do that anymore.” Taehyun smiled at her. Even now, her kind heart shows. She ran away from the man she loves to let Taehyun go. She came all this way just to release him from the chokehold she has on him. Even though it meant leaving behind the man she loves.

            “Go get him.”

            “I’m not going to do that to you, Taehyun. I’m not going to be the person that starts dating someone new so quickly after ending a relationship.” He couldn’t believe the sacrifices she was willing to make for him. Sacrifices he didn’t make for her.

            “Listen, I knew a while ago that I was going to lose you to Beomgyu, okay? I came to terms with it already. So go get him before it’s too late. Because believe me when I say, you’ll regret being too late.”

            She knew he was talking about her, about them. How when he came back into her life, it was already too late. She had started falling for someone else while he was re-falling in love with her.

            “I’m so sorry, Taehyun.” He shook his head, taking a step forward to wipe away the tears that fell from her eyes.

            “Just promise me you’ll be happy.” She nodded, linking her pinky with his and sealing the promise. “Now go.”

            The sun had began to set while she was in her uber back, hoping she would make it in time before he went home. She knew the reception had to be coming to an end, and all she could do was hope Beomgyu was there.

            Usually she would stare out the window, look out into the horizon, and watch the sunset. She would read the passing signs, and peer into other cars as they passed them. But she couldn’t focus on any of that, too focused on making it time.

            She chuckled to herself thinking back to their talks about grand, romantic gestures. How cringy they both found it, but as she got closer to the venue, she wouldn’t mind embarrassing herself in front of his entire family if it meant she could call him her boyfriend.

            By the time she arrived, she could see everyone filing out of the venue, and she wondered if Beomgyu has already left. Her heart sank when she couldn’t see him among the crowd of people gathering outside to say their goodbyes. She wonders how late she is; if there’s even a point in confessing. Maybe she’s read all the signs wrong as he truly only sees her as a friend and nothing more.

            But then she sees him emerge from the building, talking to his cousin and her new husband, and just jumps out of the car, catching the attention of almost everyone. “Oh dear, you came back. Beomgyu said you weren’t feeling well and had to go home. Are you feeling better?” Beomgyu’s mom spoke as she made her way closer to the crowd of people.

            “Yeah, I’m feeling a lot better. I’m sorry I bailed halfway through.” She kept glancing towards Beomgyu, who seemed to be completely entranced by the conversation he was having, not even noticing she had returned.

            “Nonsense dear. Your health is more important. But I’ll let you get to Beomgyu. He was really worried about you, please reassure him you’re okay.” She nodded, giving the older woman a quick hug before ascending thestairs towards Beomgyu.

            “Y/n, you came back.” Beomgyu said with wide eyes, looking between her and his cousin with shock written all over his face. She couldn’t help but think about how adorable he looked. And the words came out before she could stop them.

            “I’m in love with you.” His attention was solely on her now, the shock on his face becoming more obvious with her sudden confession. The bride and groom looked at the younger couple with soft smiles, the groom placing his hand on Beomgyu’s shoulder.

            “Looks like the next wedding we’ll be attending is yours.” He teased, before the bride and groom left the two of them alone.

            “Please say something before I die of embarrassment.” She told him with a breathy laugh, hoping she didn’t look as scared as she felt. But Beomgyu was still silent, staring at her with the same shocked look on his face. “Are you alive in there?” She joked, waving her hand in front of his face, which finally pulled him out of his shock.

            “What did you just say?” He asked, unsure if he heard it correctly. He didn’t want to confess his undying love for her if he misheard her. He didn’t want to make a complete fool of himself and lose her friendship. Because even if it hurt watching her with Taehyun, he prefers that pain to the pain of losing her.

            “I said I’m in love with you.” She repeated, more confidence in her voice this time. “I left to break up with Taehyun because I don’t love him. I love you.” He broke out in the biggest smile she’s ever seen, which made her smile just as wide.

            “I love you too.” He cupped her face, bringing her face closer to his before whispering another love confession. “Holy fuck am I ever in love with you.” And then he pressed his lips to hers.

            His kiss felt different than Taehyun’s. Taehyun’s kiss was always filled with feverish passion, whereas Beomgyu’s kiss was filled with a love she’s never felt before. It took her breath away and made her dizzy. She could kiss him everyday for the rest of her life and know that she’ll always feel this feeling. The dizzy breathlessness as if she just ran 5 miles on an empty stomach.

            It took only one kiss for them to know that this was it. That this kind of love was made for fairytales. It was the kind of love people dream of; the kind of love people write stories about.

            Their love was like crawling into bed after washing the sheets and covers, feeling the warmth envelope you as the smell of clean laundry surrounded you. It was like waking up to breakfast in bed made by your favourite person. It was laying on the ground as you count the stars littering the sky. It was the smell of the brewing coffee when you walk into your favourite café.

            Their love felt like home. Like this is how it was always meant to be. Like the world was leading them to this very moment. The moment when they realized their love could drown oceans. The moment they realized they’ve been falling for each other this entire time. The moment they realized they were never just friends.

[thefanficmonster]

Let Them Talk

Corpse Husband x Reader (Female) ft. Sykkuno

Warnings: Swearing, Jealousy

Genre: Fluff, a bit of Angst

Summary: We can all agree Among Us is a fun game on its own but what makes it ten times better is playing it with the right company. Y/N could agree 100% Being a streamer herself, she loves playing with the streamer gang that includes her boyfriend and best friend. But, what happens when her boyfriend starts doubting her feelings for him due to her close relationship with her best friend.

Requested by @cheetoscat . Thank you so much for your request! Sorry it took so long to write, I hope the final product is worth the wait. Enjoy! Love, Vy ❤

Y/AU/N - Your Among Us Name

I settle in my gaming chair, adjusting my webcam one last time before joining the Among Us lobby with my friends. 

“Hi everyone!“ I say into the mic, a smile plastering itself on my face. Discord is a magical thing, man. It’s so easy to forget that the people you are talking to aren’t around you or within arm’s reach. You could be separated by miles and miles of land or - in our case - oceans as well. Distance becomes negligible when you hear your friends’ voices, their laughter; when you have a good time together despite being each behind a screen, often times alone.

Well, I’m one of those lucky ones that isn’t alone. No one knows that, though. Everyone thinks I’m a single, self-employed girl that’s straight out of college. And they are 90% right. Only thing is - I’m not single. That would be a shocker in and of itself, but revealing who’s changed my relationship status would be a bomb with a whole new intensity.

Speaking of my significant other who shall remain unnamed - just kidding, it’s Corpse - his form materializes in the doorway of my recording room. I give him a hand signal the camera isn’t able to capture, alerting him of the fact that my mic is on. He replies by blowing me a kiss and walking off down the hall to his recording room where he’ll be stationed for the next three or so hours.

I owe this relationship to my best friend Sykkuno. I’m a pretty new and not very well known on the platform, however, thanks to him I haven’t only obtained a boyfriend, but a following of a little over million subscribers as well. 

It all started with an invitation to fill a spot in the Among Us lobby him and his friends had created. It took him quite a bit to convince me to join, but I eventually caved and agreed. Suddenly, there I was. In a Discord call, in an Among Us lobby with some of the most well-known names on this platform. I’m talking YouTube legends. I was that puppy playing with the big dogs. The newbie tagging along with the big leagues. Or at least that’s how I felt until we all started vibing - talking and teasing each other as though we’ve known each other for years and not minutes.

When I joined the call, Corpse wasn’t present. After everyone else introduced themselves, Sykkuno informed me that we were waiting for Corpse to return. The name sounded really cool to me and I was genuinely very excited to meet this Corpse guy.

And then, out of the blue - no prep, no warning...

“Did you get someone to fill the spot? Oh- Hello, Y/AU/N.“ 

…he started talking and he had me star-struck. Apparently, he also had me a blabbering mess cause I remember blurting out: “Whoa, who’s this guy speaking in bold and underlined at the same time?”

The entire lobby, including Corpse, laughed. Sean, or Jack like they called him most often, answered my question, “That is the voice of God, Y/N. Its source is named Corpse, though.”

Heat spread from the bottom of my neck to the tips of my ears. I was mortified by my own stupidity. I was well aware they couldn’t see me and I was incredibly thankful for that, but I simply could not get myself to open my eyes. “I’m so sorry.” I said through nervous laughter.

“No, no, I like that description. Bold and underlined at the same time, huh?“ His voice sounded even more pleasant when it had that teasing, mischievous note to it. That thought popping up in my head only made things worse for my self-esteem and only made me more embarrassed, causing me to hide my face in my hands. “You sure it’s not in Italics as well?“ 

His question got a weak laugh out of me. “Nope, definitely not. Nothing Italic about it.“

Yes, I don’t even know how some terrible jokes about MS Word fonts got me as far as a romantic relationship, but they did! We’ve been living together for quite some time now, dating for even longer - hiding it just as long. It’s not that we have been actively trying to hide it or something, we just wanted to see how long it would take someone to become sus of us. When we realized no one would notice, we decided that if any rumors about us started, or even fans shipping us, we’d come clean. That hasn’t happened either, so we haven’t had the proper chance to address our relationship and neither of us minds.

At this point, I’m honestly afraid of revealing it to the gaming squad. Sykkuno especially. He’s my best friend, after all. I can see him being hurt by the fact that I kept a secret so big even from him. The last thing I wanna do is hurt my best friend but it’s already too late for that, it’s inevitable.

“Y/N have you looked at Twitter today?“ Rae, another streamer I’ve become close with over the months, says urgently.

Overlooking the tension in her words, I answer: “Nope, haven’t had the time. Why? What’s up?“

Before Rae can say anything else, Sykkuno joins the conversation, his voice somehow even more urgent than Rae’s. “It’s nothing, Y/N. If you see it, just don’t let it bother you, ok?”

Hearing such a tone from Rae isn’t unusual, but hearing it from Sykkuno is completely different and a lot more worrisome. “Well if it has the potential of bothering me it can’t be nothing. What’s going on?”

Just then, my phone dings with two notifications. I check to see they are messages from Rae.

“I sent you screenshots. Sorry, Sykkuno. She has to know in order to address it and defuse it as well. I know better than anyone how fast these rumors can spread, especially if no one reacts to them.“ She says, her tone barely apologetic at all.

I open the screenshots she has sent me and I find myself frozen in shock. Some old pictures of Sykkuno and I have been posted on Twitter by some random user. These pictures have started an entire thread of suspicions surrounding our relationship.

The pictures in question are from a New Year’s Eve party a mutual friend of ours held two years ago. Sure, in the pictures we are a lot closer than what would be considered a platonic proximity. And yes one of the pictures is of me kissing his cheek. Yes we were both a bit tipsy. I acknowledge all those things and yet none of them are concrete reasons for these rumors to have started piling. 

“This is silly.“ I finally say after maybe five minutes of silence on my end. ”This is absolutely ridiculous! And why are people so serious about it as well? Actual, important matters get discussed more nonchalantly than the potential relationship between two online personalities! What is this world we live in?“ I know I shouldn’t let these rumors get to me like this, especially not on camera. Still, I can’t help it. I feel it’s so unfair to Corpse. He has to put up with this as well and it’s by no means easy for him. I’ve been shipped with people from our group in the past and he always took those rumors to heart despite acting like he didn’t care. Neither of us should get worked up, but him getting upset about them creates a domino effect with my emotions - causing me to be hit just as hard as him, in some cases harder.

Rumors of the past aside, this one is the worst by far. Mostly cause even Corpse himself suspected something between Sykkuno and I at the very beginning, when we were still acquaintances, barely crossing into the realm of friends.

I pull up Twitter to look for the whole thread, barely sparing my stream chat a glance in the process. It seems pretty split - those who agree with me and those who think Sykkuno and I make ‘such an adorable couple’. The thread is ridiculously long, and if we take into account that it was only started approximately five hours ago, you can either view it as impressive, amusing or sad. Why sad? Because someone has dedicated so much time and effort into fueling the fire of a weakly supported theory.

I love Sykkuno with all my heart. Everyone knows that - fandom, streamer squad, Corpse and Sykkuno included. I love too much and too platonically to ever even dream of having a romantic connection with him. I thought that was more than obvious, but people are either blind here, or just grasping at straws. One thing’s for certain - they’re stepping on a nerve.

“Hey where’s Corpse? Did he disconnect?” Felix asks, gaining my full attention. My eyes dart to the monitor, searching through the little avatars in a desperate search for the one of my boyfriend. It’s nowhere to be found.

“He just messaged me saying his connection is unstable but he might join us later.“ Rae says, “You guys can invite someone to fill...“

“Bathroom break.“ I interrupt, not waiting for a response before shutting my mic off, putting the ‘BRB‘ graphic on my stream and yanking the headset off. I basically run down the hall to Corpse’s recording room, my heart pounding like a bass drum.

“Corpse?!“ I call out to him, one hand already on the doorknob. When five seconds pass by without a response, I barge in. 

Inside, I find his usual spot on the gaming chair empty and his slumped figure seated on his bed.

“Corpse?“ I try again, watching for even the tiniest change of body language. He remains still as a statue, not bothering to look up at me either. 

His hands are gripping the edge of the mattress, his head hanging low. His eyes are covered by the short curtain of his dark messy curls. I can’t gauge much. Is he angry? Is he sad? Both? How should I approach the situation?

Before I find the answer to any of those questions, I am kneeling in front of him, our height difference eliminated. I gently pry his hands off the mattress and take them in mine, holding them firmly but tenderly. With one hand I reach up to tilt his head so his eyes can meet mine. He complies, his tear-filled brown orbs meeting mine. Those tears have the same effect on me as fifty sharp knives stabbing into my chest. These tears focus their attack straight on my heart, tearing it to pieces.

“Baby....“

He cuts me off, “Why is it always someone else, huh? Do they deem me not worthy of being with you? Do they think you deserve better?” His voice wavers, “Well, they might be right. They are correct and there’s little I can do to prove them wrong. They mean you well, Y/N - pairing you with guys better than me. Those are some loyal fans you’ve got. They only want what’s best for you. And so do I. If ‘best’ is being with someone else then...”

It’s my turn to cut him off. I put an end to his nonsense ramble that’s slowly killing me by pressing my finger against his lips. The sternness of my gaze is beyond me as I get up and walk over to his computer setup. I put on his headset and hop into the call as well as the lobby with his avatar.

“Hey Corpse’s back!” Toast says, “Good to have you back buddy.”

“No, not Corpse.” I say in a casual, nonchalant voice.

“Wait, wha-“ Sean’s voice shows just how confused he is, representing the confusion of the entire lobby actually.

“I know all of you are streaming so this message will be heard by several different audiences so I’m gonna make myself perfectly clear.“ I take a deep breath, “Sykkuno and I aren’t dating. He’s a lovely guy and he deserves to find a girl who will treat him right. That girl isn’t and won’t be me though. I am already treating someone right. Someone who treats me more than right as well. An amazing person. A man-child with a heart of gold. You know him, to a certain extent. He goes by the name of Corpse Husband, but I prefer to call him ‘Love of my life’. Thank you for your time and attention, goodbye.“

I exit the call and turn around to find a stunned Copse looking at me.

“That was meant for you just as much.“ I say with a fake strict attitude, one hand on my hip the other rested on his desk behind me, “Were you listening?“

Within milliseconds, he’s on his feet standing directly in front of me, his lips inches away from mine. “I heard and memorized every word. But...” he pauses for a moment, “I think you have no idea how big of a chaos you just created.”

I smile mischievously, “We’ll worry about that later. For now...” I close the gap between us, connecting our lips in a sweet and passionate kiss. 

@susceptible-but-siriusexual  @simonsbluee  @save-the-sky  @hacker-ghost  @itsminniekat  @bi-andready-tocry  @imtiredaffff  @jazzkaurtheglorious  @hereforbeebo  @fandomgirl17  @chrysanthykios  @maehemscorpyus  @loraleiix  @letsloveimagines  @annshit  @i-cant-choose-a-username-help  @enigmaticmaze  @divine-artemis  @waterlilypat  @idontknowwhatthisisfam  @evi-ka  @classyandfabulous00  @redperson58  @lilysdaydreams  @the-fuck-up-of-today  @slashersdream  @chiefwombathoagiepizza  @solowheein @mythicalamphitrite  @axen-gers  @luckygirl144  @nj01

[bibbykins]

Insufferable

A/N: The long-awaited flashback is here! It's short, but it is here! I hope this can really show the turning point in Jungkook's and MC's relationship and I would love to hear everyone's thoughts. As usual, tips are not required but greatly appreciate. Hope you all enjoy and have a wonderful day/night!

Note: This is a part (specifically a flashback) of The Household's Bunny series, so I recommend reading at least the Prologue before this one

Word count: 3.6k

Pairing: Soft Yandere! Jungkook x Chubby! Reader

Summary: Roommates are bound to have arguments, especially when one of them is as temperamental as Jungkook, but you didn't expect the first argument to get so unbelievably personal.

Warnings: abandonment issues, mommy issues, allusions to past abuse, family issues, crying, yelling, vomiting, panic attack, exhaustion, some soft yandere thoughts, some possessiveness, jungkook is mean and the MC gets a little mean too

There was something so constricting about memories of a shitty childhood. There were times when looking in the mirror felt like searching for the child in you so you could give her the hug she desperately needed. There were times when waking up felt like a check to make sure you were no longer in the home you had to grow up in far too quickly. However, the comfort of being in a different home only came so far when you didn't have anyone beside you or even emotionally available enough to talk to.

You stayed in bed for hours before it felt like a good idea to move, almost waiting for the mirage of change to fade before it brought you back to the gym with your mom or your uncle's apartment littered with whiskey bottles and leaky tear ducts.

Sometimes putting your best foot forward each day felt so hard with all-consuming loneliness clinging to your heels.

You had started your day going through your memory box. Hindsight said that was a poor idea. The box was a sure way to get you into a bad mood. You liked to think you breezed past all the stages of grief, but just because you accepted reality didn't make it hurt any less. The box was a strong reminder of that much as it sat with a melancholic aura. The creme color faded and the thorned vines connected to roses only added to the malicious undertones of its existence to your mental health. It was full of childhood photos, your birth certificate, school achievements, and the last known address your mom had.

Ah, your mom. What a way to bring clouds to your sunny day. You don’t know why you put yourself through the turmoil of the memory box. Maybe you were hoping it would be easier by now. You were always wrong. Looking through childhood photos and finding no love in the eyes of your mother when she looked at you and watching the love in your uncle’s eyes fade with your mother’s presence. You got to the fated birthday card, thumb rubbing over the defunct address longingly. You held the envelope in your hand, inspecting the birthday card she sent you. Three words in the repetitive note written on the inside caught your eye, and not the ones you so desperately wanted from her.

Feeling a familiar pressure behind your eyes, you tossed the card aside and stood. It was time to eat, go on a walk, do anything other than this. You found your way to the kitchen and came across a silent and solemn Jungkook. His jaw was clenched, but it felt like it always was around you.

Your relationship with Jungkook so far was not very complicated, in the way it was nonexistent. He either didn’t care about talking to you or he actively didn’t want to, you really couldn’t tell. This didn’t stop you from trying, though. Like an idiot.

“I’m making food, did you want any?” You asked from your place seated on the couch, and the silence that was his response for deafening, “Okaaaay.” You sang awkwardly, “I just know that you usually don’t eat throughout the day and-”

“And what do you know?!” He snapped, blinded by his pure and unbridled, but most important unprovoked, rage of you. Your eyes widened and your body jumped. Holy shit, you had never heard him yell like this, “You don’t know anything about me, or in general, so just stop trying so fucking hard!” He was harsh in his tone and it lit your whole nervous system on fire. What the hell did you do to him?

You shook your head, not sure why he was yelling about, but it made your throat feel like it was going to close, “Look, I was just trying to be polite, but you don’t need to talk about me like you understand-”

“Understand?! What’s there to understand?” He challenged, eyes wide like he was expecting you to say something but he continued, “You’re some spoiled girl living here rent-free because your precious dad doesn’t want to take care of you.”

Your heart caught in your throat as it shattered. He was right, your dad didn't want to take care of you, but not in the way he thought. Why was he doing this? Has he genuinely felt this way all along? Was he just holding in his anger until you poked the bear a little too hard? “You don’t need to yell at me.” You stated firmly and it seemed to only make things worse.

“And you don’t need to fucking be here in the first place!” He spoke, temper long lost and you could hear his voice mix in with Jungyoon’s, all he needed was a bottle of whisky and a set of calloused hands, “You didn’t need to fucking live here-”

“You don’t know anything about me.” You spat out. Now, you were losing your temper. You could take a beating, but for only so long, especially as an adult, "And it's not like you're paying rent either, so what do you know about me or my living arrangements?" You hissed and you watched his eyes flare, making you nearly regret your provocation.

“No, but I know how you look naked-”

“Fuck you.” You spit the word out at him, something you haven’t done to another person for a while “Don’t weaponize my work or play a game that you absolutely will lose.” You warned, “I know all about you, and I can use that, because you’ve been a star since you were 15, and that sucks, that makes you mad, doesn’t it?” Your temper effectively lost as you ripped into the rage-filled man before you, “Yet you don’t know anything about me, and that must piss you the fuck off, huh?” You stood from the couch, tears building in your eyes before you could stop it.

“I know enough, spoiled rich girl.” He seethed and you laughed humorlessly at this worldwide pop star calling you spoiled and rich.

“Not only are you wrong, but you’re also a poor listener.” You shot back, “I’ve told you all before Jungyoon isn’t my fucking dad, he’s my uncle.” His mouth opened but you cut him off before he could start, “He can’t stand the sight of me so he travels for work.” Your tears are undoubtedly falling, but you can’t stop, “And you’re talking to me like this because what? You had a scandal or something?” You gave him his chance to talk and boy, he took it.

“Mona told me you know your mom.” His voice was like venom, “So, why the fuck are you here? You have your blood relatives.” He exaggerated the word like it meant anything to you, “Why are you here, disrupting our lives, acting like an innocent orphan girl around actual fucking orphans-”

“I never said I was or acted like an orphan!” You exclaimed incredulously before scoffing, “That’s why you’re mad? Because you never knew your mom and I did? Because I know who my blood family is?” You could laugh at how ridiculous that was, “I know them, so what? Where does that get me?” You looked at him expectantly but he didn’t talk, “I knew my mom, and guess what? She just didn’t fucking want me.” He was silent, but you still couldn’t stop, “I’m sure if your mom could’ve got to know you, she would’ve kept you, because you’re not insufferable to be around, you’re just a fucking asshole.” You wiped at your cheeks furiously, “But me? I had 15 years to prove myself and it still wasn’t enough. I still wasn’t enough. Jungyoon never wanted me either, he got stuck with me and had to cope.” Your voice began to break and you had to take a breath, “I was the insufferable one, so-” You stopped, finally as you regained your sense of reality and watched Jungkook who had an unreadable expression and the realization of the word vomit you spilled out to him hit you like a train as you exhaled quickly, rage in your voice quickly replaced with soft melancholy “I am the insufferable one here, so there.” You shrugged, face a wet mess, “Hope that brings you peace.” Your stomach was churning as you turned on your heel, unable to hold in your sobs. You couldn’t bear the awkwardness of waiting for the elevator so you opted to take the stairs.

You sobbed louder as the door slammed shut behind you, but you didn’t want to linger so you bolted down the stairs, the bile in your stomach signaling that you needed to find the nearest trashcan and quickly. You made it to the ground floor and spilled your guts into the small trashcan. Yelling always made you unbelievably ill, whether it was getting yelled at or yelling, the sickness it made you feel overflowed. The yelling only reminded you of-

You vomited again at the mere thought. You cried harder when you finally finished, breathing becoming staggered as you began to panic.

Fuck, they’re gonna kick you out, and then you’ll be alone again. You lost your temper, people don’t like other people who lose their temper. Why couldn’t you just mind your own fucking business and leave him be? You’re stupid. Why do you think you’ve been alone all your life? It’s because people don’t want to be near you. You’re-

“Insufferable.” You mumbled, numb, even if for only a moment.

Sure, Jungkook provoked you, but you knew better. You didn't go to therapist after therapist throughout your adolescence for nothing. You felt as if you set yourself back eons after that outburst. He didn't need to know all that about you, ever. He probably didn't even care to know, and you said it anyway, like you were gunning for gold in the trauma Olympics. You didn't want to minimize his struggles, you just wanted him to shut up and stop yelling at you. You let your eyes flutter closed as you cried. How can you complain about being alone when you're like this?

You don’t know how long you stayed there, sitting next to a trash can full of your vomit as you wallowed in your self-hatred. The all-consuming loneliness the boisterous house subdued returning with full force. Jungkook was right. You didn’t need to be here. You were only disrupting their routine.

You blew out a sigh as you staggered to the elevator, fully set on going up to your room and crying yourself to sleep after you clean up. You brought the trashcan with you, not having the heart to just leave your puke down there. You thanked your lucky stars when Jungkook was no longer on the second floor as you went to the kitchen and rinsed your mouth before going to take out the trash and take out your burnt oven pizza. Finally, you were headed back up to your floor. You watched the numbers tick by with tired eyes. You glared at the empty trashcan, electing to take it with you instead of making the trip back down to put it back. Surely, they wouldn’t need it for a few hours.

The elevator dinged as you grabbed the black plastic bin and then you were met with Jungkook. Relief flashed across his face before irritation settled on it, “Where the fuck were you?!” He asked hurriedly as you trudged past him, too exhausted to fight. You were running on autopilot the whole way up here, and you couldn’t bear another spat.

“I was on the first floor.” Your voice was low, trying to communicate you were done arguing as you lifted the bin as proof. You then set it down and went to your bathroom and began brushing your teeth.

He scoffed, “You were on the first floor for 30 minutes?” He asked as if he caught you in a lie but you nodded as you rinsed your mouth.

You were down there for thirty minutes? No wonder you felt so tired.

“Yep.” You popped the last letter before correcting yourself, “Well, I spent like 10 minutes cleaning up that bin, so not exactly.”

“Why?” He asked as if you were being ridiculous, as if he wasn’t the one on your floor demanding answers.

“I vomited.” You spoke simply and before he could ask, “Yelling makes me puke.” You were so blase about it he sighed in frustration.

You walked to your room and froze when you saw your memory box strewn about, and it was like a dam broke all over again. You looked at the photos, at the eager little girl looking for love in places she would never find it.

Old habits die hard.

Before you could even stop yourself, you sunk to your knees in garbled sobs and broken cries, “Hey, hey, wait.” Jungkook’s shaky voice did nothing to bring you back to reality as you cried. His hands placed themselves on your shoulder, making you flinch violently, much to his horror.

Fuck, he didn’t know how to do this. He didn’t know why you were crying, but he knew it was his fault, at least in part. Even if at this moment it wasn’t, his outburst surely didn’t help. Fuck, he’s so dumb. Fuck, he shouldn’t have talked to Mona just moments before seeing you.

The envy of even seeing your own mother’s face ate up at him and he took it out on you. Not to mention that he made you vomit from the yelling. He suddenly felt more like an arrogant asshole than he did before as his hands now hovered over your form and he took a moment to look at your room.

Scattered on the floor were childhood photos and ribbons from competitions. Things Mona kept in her own house, having a whole wall filled with every one of their achievements. Even Jin had a photo album of their things. And you, you kept all these for yourself. You were the only one who cared enough to save these things and he wondered how much you threw away to maintain space in the small empty box. Fuck, he didn’t know how to do this.

You sighed shakily, “You can just go.” You cried, “You don’t have to be here.” You don’t know what he could possibly gain from watching you cry.

“I know.” His voice was calm, even, “Can I help you up?” He asked and you wanted to look up at him in confusion but you didn't want him to see your tears.

You both had just ripped into each other, and here he was, wanting to help you. Why would he do that? Why would he stay when he doesn't have to? Why would he want to help you up after a fight?

Too tired to even think about questioning him and no longer angry at him, you simply scoffed, “Can you?” You sighed, not having the energy to stroke his ego and stand up without his help.

You never let people bear your dead weight, not wanting the awkwardness if they couldn’t carry you, but right now, you just wanted to lay down.

He snorted lightly, happy to hear anything other than a sob for you, “Don’t worry about me, you just cry and mind your business.” He spoke lightly, and the comment made you fight a smile. Then, he lifted you with so much ease, you figured he was trying to show off as he placed you on the bed. He looked at you after he sat on the floor before his eyes caught onto the gold foil of a 16th birthday card. You were wiping at your face as he read the card against his better judgment.

I know you must be confused, and I can’t help that. I wish I could pretend to be a mom, but I can’t. I can’t be your mom, and I never should have tried. It would be best if we forgot each other. I just can’t keep pretending, and I know you can see it, even if you don’t want to.

I’m so tired.

-Mom

Now, he felt even more like an asshole. He also felt a little bit angry that your mother could just leave you behind without so much as saying sorry. She wrote like she was a teenager and you were her mother. She obviously didn't put much thought into the seemingly last message to her daughter and it made his heartbreak for you, “That was the last I heard of her.” You snapped him from his thoughts and he looked at your puffy face, “She had left months earlier, and then I got that, but she moved before I could try to see her one more time.” There was a distant ache in your words as you looked at Jungkook sitting amongst your memories.

“Is she… still alive?” He asked, not sure why he felt the need to know.

“Not sure, but it doesn’t make much of a difference, I guess.” You blew out a sigh, before looking at your papers and folded posterboards, “I was cleaning out my memory box, and I’m not sure why I do it when I know it just upsets me.” You could still feel tears leaking from your eyes as Jungkook picked up a photo of you on your 14th birthday, posed between Jungyoon and your mom. You had a bright smile on your face and they looked at the camera with a tight expression, “You can really see how much they didn’t want to be there, but that's the happiest they look in all of the photos.”

He wanted to say you were wrong, but he could see it. He could see the happy little girl trying to make up for the unhappy adults around her. He knew he should’ve asked Mona why Jungyoon didn’t try to call or visit or why she was so eager to take you in if you knew your family. He should’ve just known better. Yeah, he understood how it felt to be alone growing up, they all did, but by the time they were all 17 they had a home that wanted them. You were going to graduate from college soon and you still felt unwanted.

No thanks to him.

“I’m sorry.” He blurted and you looked at him with wide eyes, “For being an asshole, I’m sorry- and for making you cry. I just…” He shrugged, “You’re right. I was jealous you knew your mom and I already was suspicious of you and I- I’m dumb, and I’m sorry.” He looked at you, eyes a bit glossy and you wondered when was the last time someone apologized for making you cry.

“It’s okay.” You smiled weakly, “You are dumb, but that’s okay.” You chuckled when he frowned, but eventually, he also broke into a short laugh, “I think… we’ve felt a lot of the same things in different ways, so I can’t blame you.” He wondered how you could be so forgiving, and he was scared of how many times that has gotten you hurt, “I like living here and I like all of you, so I hope I can get you all to like me too, even if just a little.”

“Don’t accept less than you deserve.” He spoke firmly before he started picking up your memory box, putting things neatly back in.

“Wh-”

He waved his hands nonchalantly, “You, sleep, I’ll clean this up and order some food.” He didn’t look at you as he said this, mostly to hide his blush, "If...If you want, I can give this to Jin. He has a whole place he keeps our stuff like this… he's really sentimental." He stumbled, still refusing to look at you.

However, he jumped when he heard you hiccup a cry. Ready to apologize, Jungkook was just about to turn to look at you until he heard you speak, "That… That sounds very sweet of you to do." You wiped a sentimental tear away as the blushing boy remained frozen.

"It's Jin's hobby, not mine." He deflected before waving his hand at you, "Sleep, I said." He frantically demanded.

You could see his ears getting red and you smiled, “Yes, sir.” You mocked in your work voice and made him freeze for a moment as you erupted into giggles while he whined, “Okay, okay, I’ll sleep.”

Eventually, you surrendered to your exhaustion as he delicately put away your papers and photos. He hummed lightly, smiling as he came across your debate team awards. No wonder he lost the fight before it even started. He turned around after lifting the box and sighed almost dreamily as he watched your sleeping face. You were beautiful, delicate, and puffy from the tears. He had the urge to keep apologizing for being such an asshole, but after looking through your achievements and your photos, he resolved to just keep proving it.

He wouldn’t let you get hurt again. Not by him or anyone, especially your mother, even Jungyoon was on thin ice.

His blood boiled at the thought of your mother for a reason he couldn’t understand. His hand extended shakily as he pulled the covers up to your shoulder and you hummed contently, making his heart melt a bit at the little smile you had. He wouldn’t fuck up with you again, not like this. He would be nice, at least a little, and first and foremost, he would order food you liked.

He froze.

Fuck, what food do you like?

He relaxed. Well, he could just ask the guys.

Fuck, they’re gonna ask questions.

Fuck, they’re gonna kill him when they found out he made you cry.

He looked back at your sleeping form, not having the heart to wake you up. He sighed, looks like he’ll just have to bite the bullet. He dreaded each moment as he quickly made an untitled group chat with the guys since you were added to their original one. He could only hope Taehyung wouldn’t change the group chat name to something stupid.

Tip Jar

[discopig]

That other girl (Thomas Shelby x Reader) [Part 2/3]

Okay so I’ve made a few improvements, first one being I won’t be writing at 2 AM after 4 hours of sleep because I read back part one and honestly wanted to shoot myself, I also added paragraph/scene dividers because the first part was very messy and I kept fucking up the tenses! My imagination has been going wild for this fic so I need to calm myself. I don’t intend for this to be a long story, I hope to finish it by the next part. Hope you guys enjoy :))

Part 1 | Part 3

Warnings: implied family abuse, swearing (doesn’t even need to be a warning)

Word Count: 1,452

You stared at the woman at the door, what seemed like millions of thoughts rushing through your mind at once. She was beautiful. Not to say you weren’t beautiful yourself, but insecurity seemed to be the main component of the blood flowing through your veins at the sight of her. She looked like the models you would see at the fashion shows your mother would take you to as a kid, and she made the plain barmaid’s uniform look like the most expensive piece Chanel could offer.

The woman’s eyes darted between you and harry as she spotted the two of you together.

“Thanks for the help” Harry said, taking the glasses from the basket the woman carried them in. As though he forgot something, he quickly turned around after placing them on the counter behind the bar. 

“Grace” he acknowledged the woman, “this is Y/N, your co-barmaid” he said, turning to you.

You were secretly hoping she was just here on delivery for the shop Harry had bought the glasses from, and wished so deeply she wasn’t the barmaid he had mentioned earlier, but alas, she had to be. 

“Oh, it’s very nice to meet you” she smiled extending her hand towards you

“Likewise” you gave her a small smile, taking her hand and shaking it

“Harry’s told me a lot about you, about how you help him around the bar and whatnot, how good you are at dealing with the rowdy customers” You picked up on her Irish accent

"Well, that’s nice to hear. Are you not from Birmingham?” you questioned

“Oh no, I’m not. I only got here about a week ago. I used to work at a bar in Galway, so I got quite lucky to be able to get a job at a bar here” she replied.

Quite lucky I sprained my fuckin’ ankle you mean. You mentally scoffed at her

“That is quite lucky” you laughed

By now Harry had left to sort out the glasses in storage, so you figured you might as well pry for something out of her

“So Harry tells me you’ve been serving the Shelby boys while I’ve been gone, you know they’re trouble?” You asked, staring into her eyes, trying to gauge any sort of reaction you could receive. She seemed unfazed.

“Well, they’ve been quite nice to me, given me lots of tips” 

“Is that so? Who’s been giving you tips?” They never gave you tips, even on the busiest of nights when you were running back and forth serving their requests for beer which seemed to come through ever 10 fucking seconds

“Uh, the tall one” John. Damn him.

“Ah, I see, hopefully it was good money” you ‘beamed’ at her, trying to be friendly 

“Good enough” she laughed back

“So what brings you to Birmingham?” 

“My father passed away and I just needed a change of scenery” she replied, her eyes showed sadness, so you figured her father passing couldn’t be a lie, but a change of scenery in Birmingham? Yeah right. Maybe on some farm surrounded by chickens and mosquitoes, or in some tropical American city, but not in Birmingham. Most people want out, not in, unless they have good reason to favour the latter.

“I’m sorry to hear that” 

“It’s okay, he was quite old anyways, I had expected it at some point” she replied with a half smile, eyes still sad.

You both sat in silence for a moment until you spoke “I’ll be back next week to help out” you looked towards the door, more customers starting to pile in, Harry back from the storage room, rushing to get their orders, and back at Grace “things are starting to get busy, I won’t hold you any longer. It was nice meeting you” you smiled at her, getting up from your seat and heading  out of the Garrison, trudging to the betting shop.

The Shelby family were in the midst of a family meeting, discussing business you honestly didn’t care much about, thoughts racing with how you were going to have Thomas’ head on a stake. 

“That copper, is going to try and bring this family down with every fuckin’ cell in his body” Thomas exclaimed

“What copper?” you asked. Thomas looked at you like you had just asked him if the sun was a rock

“Campbell. We’ve been talking about him this whole meeting Y/N” you could tell he was annoyed, but you didn’t care

“When did he get here? When did this start?” you asked

“Why does that-” Thomas started

“Answer the fucking question Thomas Shelby” you interrupted

“About a week ago, he worked as a copper in Ireland, and has come with his troops to Birmingham to try and ruin all of my fucking plans. Keep up please!” He replied, clearly frustrated.

Ireland?

You knocked on the door to Thomas’ office and waited before you heard a low “Come in”

You walked into his office, Thomas looking down at some papers, and sat down on one of the chairs at his desk

“How are you liking the new barmaid?” You asked, staring him down.

At the mention of the barmaid he looked up at you, a mix of panic and annoyance flashing in his eyes

“She does her job Y/N. What else can I think of her? He replied with a sigh at the end

“Oh I’m sure she does her job well enough for you to be having secret meetings with her” you replied, venom laced in your voice. You were starting to get angry, and him behaving as though he was annoyed by your presence wasn’t making it any easier

“Y/N what are you-” 

“Don’t fucking what me Thomas Shelby! Harry told me all about the lovely interest you’ve taken to her, enough so to meet with her every fucking day! Did you fuck her?! If you did you better tell me because so help me God if I find out from-”

“I did not fucking sleep with her Y/N will you PLEASE calm down?” Thomas yelled, his voice booming through the office

“If you didn’t sleep with her then what did you do?”

“We just talked” he answered, as though everything was normal

“Just talked?! Have you forgotten that you have a girlfriend Thomas, a girlfriend who had a sprained fucking ankle and couldn’t walk, who you could’ve come to any time to just talk?! You think I’m supposed to believe that’s all you did? Why would you just talk to her and not me?!” You were screaming again, your anger reaching a tipping point

“Because she isn’t like you Y/N!” 

You looked at him, visibly confused

“She didn’t grow up with daddy’s loaded bank account in some posh city, she’s genuine, like a breath of fresh fucking air in this place! She gets me, and I get her, and she happened to be there when I needed someone to talk to! Is that so bad?!” You stared at him dumbfounded, not only had he implied that he could not come to you -his girlfriend- when he needed someone to talk to, he also brought up your family and history, knowing damn well the riches your family had, meant nothing to you, constantly overshadowed by the yelling, bruises and loneliness.

The true weight of his words seemed to register with him as regret flashed in his eyes under your dumbfounded, yet angry gaze

“Fuck you Thomas Shelby. Fuck you. She’s working with that fucking copper”

He moved to say something but you quickly interrupted him

“I know you did your stupid background checks, I asked Arthur about it. She’s not from fucking Galway, she never worked in any bars, meaning she lied about everything, and she, your lovely Irish angel shows up at the same time that copper does, and you still willingly walk into her presence every damn day while your girlfriend is alone, to talk?! To fucking talk?!”

Thomas was visibly getting angrier as you accused her of working with Campbell, moving to defend her

“Don’t you think you’re going too far?! I get you’re jealous but you can’t just make shit up!”

You scoffed 

“Polly was right about men only being able to think with their cocks. Even you, the oh so smart Thomas Shelby, are a blind fucking idiot. Fuck you, I never want to see you again, you hear me? You can go talk to that fucking barmaid as much as you want” You spat, leaving his office with a loud slam of his door, catching John’s worried eyes as you stormed out of the shop. Your ankle was radiating with pain, but you ignored it as you stormed home.

Fucking Shelbys.

[aliasimagines]

It Was You All Along // Dave Lizewski

requested by a lovely anon 💕

Can u write dave x fem!reader where reader Always had a crush on him but he kinda ignored reader bc of Katie but then someone popular asks reader out and he gets jealous and y/n dresses up super hot and he realizes he fucked up

word count: 1809

a/n: i hope this is close enough! ❤️ (i couldn't think of a different title but this one reminds me of Agatha All Along xd)

"Hey, Dave! My folks are gone for the weekend and I thought we could have an X-men watch party. Wanna come?" 

"Sorry I can't, I'm hanging out with Katie." 

"Again?" you ask a bit louder than intended,causing a few people to look at you in the hallway. You continue with a lower voice "Aren't you like, tired of all the lying? Like, what if she finds out that you're not actually gay, hm? Cause you know she will, eventually." 

"Why do you care so much?!" Dave says, clearly frustrated. 

You raise an eyebrow. 

"Oh why would I? Maybe because we have been best friends since diapers, you stupid asshole!" you say not caring if some students hear you or not, anymore. "But you know what, you are right. I shouldn't care. Go play pretend with Katie but don't come to me, crying when you end up getting your heart broken." 

"Don't worry, I won't." he snaps back. And you turn around and leave but not before flipping him off. You felt the angry tears rolling down your cheeks as you zigzagged between the chattering teenagers. 

You couldn’t  believe how Dave could be so blind! He only had eyes for Miss Perfect. Whom by the way, is a real bitch and would go back to ignoring Dave or calling him a freak if it wasn’t for his little gay act. 

Somehow you made your way over to the restroom and locked yourself into one of the booths.

Dave couldn’t even see you as a potential “love-interest”. Eventhough you were the one who always were there for him, you were always there when he called, running to him like a lost puppy. And he couldn’t even care less. And you hate him for it. But you hate yourself more for still liking him. 

It’s not like you can do something about it, if you could, you would have. But that’s not how it works, so you are just crying your guts out on the toilet trying not to think about Dave.

In all honesty, you have no idea how you made it through the day. You almost cried during biology but you caught yourself after a few lonely tears. You could feel Dave’s gaze on you but there was no way you would look at him. As soon as the last bell rang you were out of school, hurring past Tod and Marty, not being in the mood for them either.

The next day wasn’t any different, you didn’t hang with Dave, Tod and Marty like you normally do. You didn’t sit with them at lunch, instead walked over to the only empty table you saw and placed your tray there. You mounched on your food, completely unaware of your surroundings until you hear the chair next to you being pulled out. You look up to see Matthew Greendale, resident hottie of the school sit next to you. 

"Hey, sorry, it's not a problem if I sit here, right?" he asks. You eyed him suspiciously. 

"No, it's fine." 

It's fine?! You mentally scold yourself. You never even spoke to this guy, outside of literature in first year. Why would he sit next to you? 

"I didn't want to sit with all the other "popular jocks" he answered you unspoken question while taking a bite of his canteen-hamburger. “They’re fun and everything but it’s nice to get away from them sometimes.”

You think of your friends who are sitting a few tables away and you can’t help but agree with Matthew.

“Yeah, I feel you.” you say without thinking.

“Hey..We used to sit next to each other in freshman year, didn’t we? It’s y/n ,right?” 

You nod with a smile, honestly being surprised that he remembers you.

“Yeah!”

“I haven’t really seen you around a lot. But when I do you are always hanging with those comic book nerds.”

“Hey! Comics are great.”

He puts his hands up in a defense.

“Oh no! I didn’t mean it as an insult. Some comics are good, my little brother made read one last month. It was actually great.”

“What comic was it?”

“Oh, uhm..It was about some kind of blind dude in a devil costume.”

“Daredevil?” you ask with a giggle.

“Yes, that one!” he laughs too.

The two of you continue talking until the end of lunch break. He is surprisingly fun to talk to and he even offers to walk you to your next class after lunch. You had such a good time you didn’t even think about Dave, heck, you didn’t even notice him literally glaring daggers into Matthew.

“What’s up with you, dude?” Tod asks snapping Dave out of it. 

“Yeah, Dave. What the shit is going on with you and Y/N?” Marty asks too.

Dave forrows is eyebrows. Yes, what the shit is going on with the two of you? Every since yesterday's 'fight' with you he can't stop thinking. About how he spends most, if not all of his time either with being Kick-Ass or, rather with Katie. It used to be different. He spent every second with you and he just threw you away so he could maybe get laid. And sure, Katie may be hot as fuck but she is.. Well, she is not you. 

"We had a fight, yesterday. I.. And she was right." he explains with a grimace. "But why the fuck is that Greendale asshole is with her?" 

"You jealous or something, dude?" 

"Wha- Of course I am not jealous! Why would I be? You guys are nuts." 

Jealous… The word rolled around in his mouth like a new flavored milkshake he never tasted before. 

Could he be… Jealous? He never thought of you that way, you were always his best friend. Just that. But.. The more he thinks about it the more he can't stop that twist like feeling in his stomach. 

That night he can't focus on crime fighting. All his thoughts are tied to you. Whether he likes it or not, memories of you keep popping up in his mind. How didn't he notice your beautiful smile before? And your laugh? It's like a beautiful melody. And… Gosh! When did he become such a sappy teenager? Oh and another thing.. He kept trying to think of something else, anything else like Katie for example but he doesn't care anymore! 

Dave goes home early with a frustrated growl. The remaining hours of the night he spends with tossing and turning and daydreaming instead of sleeping. 

(the next afternoon, Atomic Comics) 

Dave bangs his head against the wood table once again. A tired groan leaves his lips when he hears Tod almost choking on his iced coffee. 

"What the tunk, Tod?" Marty and Dave ask almost at the same time. The dirty blonde haired boy keeps pointing outside the huge window that they are sitting next to at Atomic Comics. 

"Is that fucking y/n?!" 

Now all three of them look outside the shop and see you, all dressed up nad seemingly waiting for someone. 

"Holy fuck!" Dave whispers. He stares at you, with his mouth a gap before jumping up from the booth they were sitting at and rushing outside the store. 

"Y/n! Y/-" he yells almost tripping on thin air. 

"Dave?" you question, quickly turning towards him. Damn, you missed him. No! Yeah, you did… "What do you want?" 

"What do I- What, can't I talk to you?" 

"If you wanted to talk you would have in these past days!" you say. Yes, you might have missed him, but it's not like you're gonna show it. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I am waiting for my date to show up." 

"Your.. Your what, now?!" 

"My date" 

"You can't go on a date!" 

"And why is that, Lizewski?" 

"Lizewski? Really, you're calling me by my surname? Are we in such a bad place right now?" 

"I don't know, you tell me. Are you going to tell me what i can and can't do, hm?" 

"I didn't mean it like that. I just…" 

"What, it's fine when you say it but when I do it with you about Katie I'm the bad friend?" 

"No,it's just-" 

"Sorry. Matt's here." you point to the street across the road where you saw the boy walk towards you. "I gotta go." 

You start walking away but Dave grabs your wrist. 

"Please, don't." he mumbles. 

"Why not?" you snap at him but your expressions soften upon your eyes land on his saddened face. 

"I- because I don't want you with him. O-or anyone." 

You raise an eyebrow. 

"What?" 

He took a deep breath before looking around. Matt was waiting patiently by the traffic light so he could cross the road. Dave quickly began explaining. 

"You were right. About Katie. I was such a dickhead, I am so sorry, y/n. I am sorry for ignoring you over her and and.." from the corner of his eye he sees the traffic light turn green. "Shit! I don't want you to go out with Greendale cause I.. Because I like you. Like really fucking like you. And oh my god you look so fucking hot in this outfit, not that you're not always hot but holy shit. I know we are just friends and you don't think of me that way but I ju-"

"Oh my god! Do you ever shut up?" you yell before pressing your lips to his. Dave stumbled back a little, but quickly recovered and kissed back. Your hands cupped his face and his hands grabbed your waist in response. You both tilled your heads, deepening the kiss earning loud knocking from Marty and Tod as they watched the whole scene through the window. Not that you noticed any of it. You didn't hear the passing by car honk at you nor the yells or whistles. You also did not notice Matthew walking away with a sad smile after seeing the two of you. Your touches intertwine and you're pretty sure you heard Dave moan slightly which causes you to giggle into the kiss. You both pull away gasping for air. You look down at your shoes, hoping to hide your flushed cheeks. Dave scratches his back and looks around nervously only to see his two idiotic friends making kissy faces. He lifts his middle finger for them before clearing his throat. 

"So.. Khm.. I guess you like me too?" 

You let out a soft chuckle.

"Yeah, I do." you say looking at him with a smile.

"That's.. Fuck. That's great." he replied genuinely happy. "Wanna get out of here?" 

You nod and you take off. You take Dave's hand and he intertwines your fingers with a smile. Maybe he is truly a superhero. He helps people and he gets the girl of his dreams. The happy ending. 

Dave Lizewski taglist : @sethcohenluvr @your-hispanichufflepuff