#they're just two girls who are in love with each other in every universe

[rustingcat]

Here's a sketch from the fantastic fic One Single Thread of Gold by @autisticlenaluthor

I hope things will get better, darling. For now, I offer you this sketch:)

[rosesaints]

hello i saw ur yuuta piece and loved how u write !! could u write smth similar perhaps for megumi 🤧🤧 he needs more love .. 🍀

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟcollege student!megumi fushiguro hc dump

pairing: megumi fushiguro x f!reader warnings: 18+ mdni, mix of sfw and nsfw content under the cut, a very obscenely american depiction of college, just me pouring my heart out to the most perfect underrated college bf ever. wc: 1300

college student!megumi fushiguro who enrolls in university as a biology major, minoring in english on the pre-veterinarian track, carefully selecting his college after agonizing over whether or not he wanted to be a writer or a vet, ultimately choosing the latter after an impressive tour of a research lab with leaders on the field who eagerly and enthusiastically answer every single one of his questions, no matter how miniscule or thorough. goes home with a stupid grin on his face that yuuji won't stop taking pictures of—"yuuji, would you chill the fuck out? it was just a college tour."

college student!megumi fushiguro goes home and quickly accepts his offer, orders two sweaters from the university's online tour, visits tsumiki at the hospital and tells her all about where he plans to go for the next four years.

college student!megumi fushiguro who has a very, very eventful freshman year—

he takes public transport around campus, has an old, beaten up pair of headphones that he probably got from thrifting, listens to beach house, cocteau twins, the neighbourhood, cigarettes after sex, sometimes songs that nobara and yuuji have recommended to him in the groupchat. acts like the brooding, silent type, until you accidentally knock into him during a nasty bump on the road, and he very quickly loses his composure and helps you out, beats himself up afterwards for not getting your name

finds you later at his biology lab, pleasantly surprised and trying to force down any visible signs of excitement when you get paired together for the rest of the semester. lets you take his phone without any fuss to type your number down, keeps the heart you've left besides your name and texts you that night to make plans to go on a date work on the lab report due that week

mentions you offhandedly during the debrief dinner he has at least a couple times a week with yuuji and nobara, frowns when they freeze and look at each other in that skitterish, excited way that they do when they're in on something together. "megumi, you never, ever talk about girls!"

he finds every excuse to see you outside of class. "damn, i guess we're gonna have to work on the report later, i'll see you at 6?" or "i think we need to talk about the objectives over some lunch at this new sushi place in town, anyway—"

you go along with it because it's so painfully obvious, but you don't have the heart to break whatever cool guy, aloof persona he's kind of determined to uphold (megumi, please, for the love of god, just learn how to ask someone out on a date)

he works hard to find new places he thinks you'll like and at some point, you guys just stop working on reports altogether and just start having fun around campus

sends you game pigeon texts throughout the day, lets you win at 8ball, but never, ever backs down from word hunt. he will score 30k points over you and not break a sweat.

rolls up his lab coat once in class and your brain short-circuits, man has an insane sleeper build, grabs your microscope slides for you and easily returns your microscope for you. "you okay?" "yup! completely and totally fine!"

i cannot stress enough how oblivious he is, though. you guys go to parties together, he grabs your drinks for you, holds your waist when someone gets too rowdy, and leave together. somehow, this man still thinks you don't reciprocate his feelings.

he wants to confess, he does, but there's all these logistics and things he has to plan for, has to do it in just the right way, at the right place, wracks his head at night trying to think of a way to just tell you. yuuji calls him fucking stupid one night and for once, he agrees.

gets too busy fussing and concerning over what he would do when the time comes, doesn't even stop and consider the fact that you might just beat him to it!

"'gumi," he literally has his head on your lap while he's doing an assigned reading for class, and it's probably one of the most peaceful days he's had in a while, but the way you smile and say his name makes his heart skip a beat. "wanna go out with me?"

man, it's like the floodgates open after that. he gets so much more direct and confident—"we're gonna go volunteer at that animal shelter this weekend," and "i'm picking you up for dinner, is chinese okay?"

not the type for public displays of affection, but makes sure you're in his orbit all the time, somehow. glances across the lab when your professor blunders in the middle of the lecture, a hand on the small of your back while he maneuvers you through the street, places his hand above yours on the train while you're holding onto the pole

takes photos of you all the time, has a collection of different cameras, makes yuuji take photos of you and him on nights out with the disposable camera, photos of you looking absolutely adorable on the digital camera, and dumb, funny photos of you that you hate but he loves

nights spent at his dorm watching trashy reality shows (he acts like he doesn't give a shit but gasps louder than you whenever someone gets slapped), studying for your next exam only to end up making out on the floor, cooking ramen noodles just to end up making out on his twin bed, getting ready together and making out when he hoists you up to the counter and knocks all his (and your) shit over. "gumi, i still have toothpaste in my mouth—" "hm, i like mint."

loves loves loves to kiss you. will have hours-long make out sessions in his dorm or yours, will keep going even if your roommate walks in, doesn't even register their presence—too focused on whatever flavor of lip gloss you've got on or that cute top you're wearing that day

his second favorite thing to do is to leave marks in places only he can see. doesn't mean to do that, he swears, but you can see a ghost of a smile when he helps readjust the straps of your dress to hide a blooming hickey on your shoulder.

has this dumbstruck look on his face when you have sex for the first time, gasps and grips your ass with a strength that you were only vaguely aware of when you sink down on his length for the first time, low groans and narrowed eyes. "god, i think you're gonna kill me."

slowly ends up being the one to control the pace, bouncing you up and down on his dick for his own pleasure, even as you're squealing and scratching his back and deliriously trying to thrust back, only to be overpowered

could eat you out for hours, but also loooooves receiving head, loves the way your eyes shimmer when you take him deeper into your throat, the gagging, lewd noises that you make and the way you look up at him, asking if that was good. "that was fucking amazing. 10/10, no notes."

remember how he takes photos of you all the time? he has some polaroids of you in some.... scandalous positions hidden in his drawer that he likes to... use in times of desperation

doesn't initiate a whole lot at the beginning because he's still in the "learning phase," but once he gets you to cum within two minutes, it brings out his competitive spirit. "wonder how many more times you can cum again... think you got another two in you?"

basically living together by the end of the year, because he sleeps better when you're near and his whole dorm is littered with mementos that remind him of you. has that coffee blend you love in his kitchen cabinet, your toothbrush on the other side of his, and when he comes back from lecture to see your smiling face hanging upside down from his futon, thinks he might just want to spend the rest of his life with you.

© ROSESAINTS ! — do not repost, translate, plagiarise or claim any of my works as your own. requests are OPEN .ᐟ

[sunlighthroughthe-ashes]

this is to answer the anon who sent in an ask about the latest ep — tumblr is being weird and my reply wasn't showing up on the tags. so here it is:

beauty can often be bleak — entirely without mercy in the way it swallows us whole, holds us hostage with its exquisite ache — loveliness can cut; and that's exactly what this episode did. i cried watching sunjae die for the umpteenth time — how he waited to see the police arrive before he let go of the murderer's hand, ensuring sol's safety with his last act on this earth. "thank you for being born," he'd told her earlier. "i'll fight till my very last breath to make sure you keep living," his eyes said as he fell off that cliff. and he did — sunjae SMILED at her during the final seconds of his life: because the sight of sol still brought him sweetness. even then. even still. even after everything.  the parallel of him descending into water, just like his death in the very first timeline — was a clever, if deeply painful touch. sol's decision to go back in time and erase their first meeting was gut-wrenching to witness. as a viewer — it was devastating beyond belief to see the dissolution of a love story that went against time and fate to exist. as a fellow writer, it was a stroke of narrative brilliance — in every timeline so far, sunjae has spent fifteen years loving sol alone. to turn that around, and have sol love him in secret for fifteen years, while sunjae hasn't even met her — it's a perfect circle of symmetry. it's one thing to lose your memories — an entirely different heartbreak to never have had the chance to make them in the first place. sol made a cruel decision — but it was the only one she could have made to keep sunjae alive. he would have gone to her, and died for her in every universe — that was the inevitability of his love. so she had to make him not love her anymore. and the only way to do that was to make sure they never met. this is the tragic beauty of her sacrifice — sol gives up their shared past, in order to protect sunjae's future. to make sure it's still possible. this girl literally gave up the love of her life, the boy she crossed space and time for — just so he could live. 'sonaki' might not exist in this timeline — but sol's movie about sunjae and their relationship does. whichever universe they find themselves in, these two will always turn each other into art. because that's what true love does — it becomes eternal. it takes on a life of its own.  sunjae will love sol in this new future, too. how could he not — they're tied by the red string of fate. some threads just can't be broken — no matter what you do.

[thankskenpenders]

Sonic Prime: "Season 2"

Eight more episodes of Sonic Prime are out! They're labeled as "season 2" despite just being the next eight episodes of the first (and presumably only) season, allowing Netflix to market it as multiple seasons without having to give the cast and crew raises. They love doing that shit to their original cartoons. Ugh.

Anyway! Last time, I gave the show some leeway because it was still finding its legs. This time, though? We're now two thirds of the way through the series, and sadly, I think it's time to accept the truth:

While there are parts I like, a lot of this show... kinda sucks?

This multiverse sucks and Rouge was robbed

Previously, I noted the pattern of each universe spotlighting a different friend of Sonic's (Tails in New Yolk City, Amy in the jungle world, Knuckles in the pirate world) and predicted that, hopefully, Rouge would get her time to shine next. And with 16 episodes left, surely there's time to explore new worlds that are more interesting than the jungle and pirate worlds. Those were just the warm up act. Right?

...Right?

Nope! That's it! There are no more worlds.

This multiverse show where anything is possible really is just about another Eggman-controlled dystopia world, a jungle world, and a pirate world. That's all they came up with! Just those three, and two dead worlds that don't really count - one a featureless wasteland, the other a ghostly echo of the original Green Hill dubbed "Ghost Hill." (Sonic's friends appear here as holograms stuck repeating a single line each. It gets old immediately.)

The jungle and pirate worlds and their inhabitants being so overwhelmingly generic becomes unforgivable the moment you realize this is all we're gonna get. It just leaves me wishing they'd thrown this whole concept out and finally made a normal Sonic cartoon with no twist in its premise. A few of the new takes here are good, particularly Nine as a darker riff on Tails, but so many of them don't feel anything like the fun characters they're supposed to be. They're stock cartoon characters wearing the Sonic casts' skins.

I'll admit my bias is showing, but god, Rouge is REALLY done dirty by this setup. The normal Rouge we see in the first episode is so fun for how briefly she appears, but then in all the other worlds she's reduced to a generic action girl with zero personality. What's her purpose, exactly, when every AU version of Amy is ALSO a straightforward action girl? It drives me absolutely insane that they gave us a PIRATE ROUGE and she doesn't care about treasure. They do nothing with this! How!!!!!!!! She's just never gonna get her turn. It's so obvious that Rouge is only in this show so that they can have another girl, but you could swap her out with another character like Blaze and it'd make no difference.

Speaking of the pirates, though...

The way things play out in the pirate world is so stupid

Previously, with the Paradox Prism shard within reach, Captain Dread Knux was regressing into his old obsessive personality. I'm fine with this. Sonic and Dread both want the shard, they're gonna fight over it. Obvious stuff. But the actual impact it has on the story is maybe the stupidest bit of writing in this entire show so far.

Basically, while fighting a couple of the Eggmen and their robots at sea, Sonic has to briefly run over to the enemy ship to fight them and grab the Paradox Prism shard while Dread and his crew remain back on their ship. Dread goes "Oh my god, look! Sonic's abandoning us! Traitor!" While Sonic is... like 200 feet away. Still in clear view. Fighting the guys who are trying to kill them. Retrieving Dread's beloved treasure for him.

And yet, Dread's crew buys this! And when Sonic runs right back over with the shard in hand, they're all like "HOW DARE YOU BETRAY US" and turn on him.

It's just. What?!

This isn't a huge part of the "season," but I highlight it as maybe the worst moment of the show's character writing. I'm reminded of Thorn Rose's backstory from last time, where she was depicted as suddenly snapping one day when she saw her friends pick one too many berries in the jungle. Sometimes a character just needs to pivot for the story to work, and they aren't really interested in getting there smoothly.

The Chaos Council fucking sucks

I tried so hard to like these guys, but they drag the show down so much.

The choice to have a team of five different Eggmen really just means that Eggman has been split into five one-note characters. Four of them revolve entirely around the most trite, predictable, boomer-ass jokes based on their ages. The teenage one is whiny and just wants to play video games. The young adult one is a vegan hipster who does yoga. The old one is cranky about all the whippersnappers and has a bad back. The baby is a baby. These are jokes that would've been tired if this show aired 20 years ago.

The odd man out is Mister Doctor Eggman, the middle-aged one with a toupee who's the stand-in for regular Eggman. But even he kinda sucks. The other four all being one-note joke characters means that he has to be the straight man of the group, so he's just very dry and serious and plot-focused without any of Eggman's fun eccentricities. He's neither particularly funny nor particularly sinister, which is just about the worst place for an Eggman to be.

He doesn't even have any incompetent robot lackeys to bounce off of, because the unfunny alternate age Eggmen fill the quota for bumbling secondary villains. But also, like... Orbot and Cubot are in this show! They were in the first episode! Where are they? God, I never thought I'd miss them so much...

But, okay. It's not ALL bad.

The highlights

There's a recurring theme here, which is that the best episodes are the ones where Sonic is pitted against a foe who can match his speed and they just let the animation carry it.

The first of the new episodes is mostly about Sonic fighting Shadow, and BOY is their fight fun to watch. Said fight happens because Shadow blames Sonic for shattering the universe and doesn't trust him to fix things. Shadow wants to restore their world, but he refuses to see the various AU counterparts as the same people Sonic once knew, and he doesn't really care what happens to them. Ultimately, though, he begrudgingly accepts that Sonic really is the only one who can hop between dimensions for Plot Reasons, and therefore lets him go try to do things the nice way. He sadly spends most of his time waiting around in the void between worlds, but in the last episode of the batch he and Sonic get to team up against the Chaos Council's forces and it's very cool.

As far as recent interpretations of Shadow go, this is a good one. He's a great foil for Sonic, which just makes me wish he could travel with Sonic to the different worlds. He's cynical and overly pragmatic in his approach, but his points aren't entirely wrong. His anger feels justified. They even let him have some snark! And Ian Hanlin is really great in the role - definitely a contender for Shadow's best voice ever. He just sounds so natural.

The other speedster Sonic fights is Chaos Sonic, the Chaos Council's take on Metal.

He can talk! Deven is basically doing a Jaleel impersonation for him? People are very mixed on this.

The idea behind Chaos Sonic is to turn Sonic's obnoxious smack talk and zingers back around on him, and I don't hate this idea, even if a lot of fans find him annoying compared to Metal Sonic. (Some comparisons have been made to Archie's Shard, but I assume this is a coincidence.) Like the rest of the script, his dialogue certainly isn't anything to write home about, but the fights he gets into with Sonic and co. are so damn fun and dynamic that I have to like him. I also like how expressive his eyes are on his dome screen face, and the animators have a ton of fun with the fact that his torso and head can rotate 360 degrees.

Unfortunately, he's destroyed at the end of his debut episode. I'm praying he gets rebuilt, because this show desperately needs better villains than the Chaos Council.

Again, the animation in Prime is maybe the best animation in any official Sonic media, period. I just wished I liked the characters and worlds enough to be invested in more of the fights. It's hard to care about the dozenth group battle against the generic Eggforcer bots and the baby in his Fisher-Price mech.

The note we end on

After fighting a giant glowing replica of the normal Eggman for... some reason? Episode 16 ends with Sonic and Nine getting into an argument over what to do with the Paradox Prism shards. Sonic wants to restore his original world, but Nine still wants to create a new, better world out of the one that's just an empty wasteland, believing he doesn't belong anywhere else. Nine angrily runs off with the shards, and Sonic is distraught as he realizes that Shadow was seemingly right about how he shouldn't trust Nine.

I kind of like this conflict, mostly because Nine is the standout character of this show. But my main problem is that we don't know what will happen when everything is fixed.

The logical assumption is that the alternate worlds will just... stop existing, right? That must be the idea if Sonic and Nine are treating restoring the original world and creating a new one in the Shatterverse as mutually exclusive options, right? If the Shatterverse disappears, will Nine and the rest all stop existing, too? The show seems unwilling to discuss this possibility, so I'm left not really knowing what the stakes are in this conflict. Nine becomes a whole lot more sympathetic and Sonic becomes a whole lot more monstrous if restoring the world will erase most of this show's cast from existence, but the thought that this could even happen doesn't seem to have crossed Sonic's mind. Sonic seems to want to take his AU friends back to the regular Green Hill - he at least wants to introduce Nine to his normal friends - but like... he can't really do that, can he? They're not gonna have four Tailses running around.

I don't really know what direction this is all headed in. I guess we just have to keep watching, even if I'm past the point of accepting that this show is mostly very mid.

It's just frustrating that everyone else working on this show is clearly giving it their all while the writers at Man of Action phone it in for so much of its runtime. The scripts drag this show down so, so hard. There are moments and episodes I like, but you have to slog through so much mediocrity to get there.

[sunsetkerr]

SAMMY'S GIRL (ii) | s.kerr

summary: MORE headcanons on your relationship with sam, read part one here.

pairing: fem!reader x sam kerr

notes: getting out lots of little headcanons because they're just so much fun to do. sammy's girl is my favourite of all my girls (completely bias, sorry) but if you want to see what other 'wags' are in my lil universes, check out my masterlists!! each 'wag' is also going to get their own tag, so check those out for little file facts, or ask questions/send thoughts so we can add to them all!! lots of love

as previously established, you’ve grown up with sam right

you’ve known her through every little phase and every weird obsession she’s ever had

you know her deepest secrets and she knows yours

its honestly quite jarring because you both know each other better than you know yourselves

you’re not at sporty as sam, only relaly dabbling in school netball for carnivals and stuff when they needed extra girls

but sam would try and include you as much as she could in all aspects of her career

if she was having a solo gym day, or just going on a walk

guess whos coming with!?!!!

its you!!!!!!

if she wants a swim at the beach for recovery

she is making sure that you tag along

(not just to see you in your bathers, its for recovery, have some professionalism please)

sam has spent half of her life without you and having to settle for seeing you through a screen

so once you’re in london with her permanently, she is making the most of that

she needs to shower? you’re passing her body wash

she’s hungry? shes making two servings and you’re eating with her

she wants a coffee? youre heading to your favourite spot

you are always around

and sam isn’t having it if you’re not

when she does have to go away?

youre getting texts from guro, erin and millie complaining about her

‘omg she wont shut up about you’

‘if sam doesn’t stop talking im gonna clock her y/n, i won’t be held responsible for my actions’

‘she’s at a new level of pathetic, please come get your girl’

but they understand, they love you too

the entirety of the chelsea squad know you’re at every game

they have a dedicated seat for you in the family and friends section

everyone is away that it’s your seat

millie’s fiancée wards people away from it

he once had to face the consequences of sitting in your seat

he wouldn’t wish an angry emma hayes or sam kerr upon anyone

but its not all about sam

she is just your biggest cheerleader

you were able to finish your degree online and were lucky enough that your credentials in australia carried over to the uk 

so you started working there

im picturing sports journalism???????? you were forced to be around sport your entire life that it kinda just became a natural thing

you were so well-informed on so many different sports it was crazy

sam loved plugging anything you were writing

you posted a new article? she’s sharing that shit on her instagram story

you won an award for a piece? she’s at the ceremony

you’re working overtime to get a project finished? she’s ordering you dinner to the office

as much as sam is a professional and very famous athlete

she’s still just sammy to you

and she’s never forgotten that

but to her, you are the best thing to ever happen to planet earth

and she makes sure that everyone knows

living with sam is lots of fun

you relish in all of the time you get to spend together

call it making up lost time

sure, she leaves her stuff everywhere

but you’re guilty of that too

you still hold each other accountable

‘sam you didn’t do the dishes’

‘okay and you didn’t hang out the laundry’

‘… fair enough’

making dinner together is just chaotic 

sam can only cook breakfast, she excels at smashed avocado

so she really lets you take the reins on dinners 

she succumbs to the sou-chef life

you force her to watch movies with you

she argues and says that tv shows are better

(even though you know she’s completely invested in whatever film you’ve chosen)

you have a little brother who just idolises sam

and he has since the day he was born

he was a classic accident child, a real surprise for your parents

but watching him grow up was just the best

hes the biggest women’s soccer fan you know

he’s up-to-date on all of the woso drama

definitely can tell you the entire timeline and drama of the mcfoord relationship 

so when he’s old enough

sam flies him over to the uk all the time

he just loves sam so much

he wears her jersey to every game, saying he doesn’t want anyone elses

(maybe maccas, but that’s a different story)

and sam is estatic to have him there

definitely walks out with him as her mascot on multiple occasions

sam isn’t super touchy feely in front of others

but when shes drunk, she can’t help it

she just wants to hold you and she doesn’t care who’s around to see it

sam really loves watching men at bars or in clubs try to hit on you

just to go and ruin their fun

it’s her favourite pastime really

sam’s extra sappy and clingy when tired

after a big night or a tiring game, she wants to curl up next to you and have you hold her until she falls asleep

sometimes it’s a foreign feeling for you

sam is almost always the big spoon

so you really drink in the feeling whenever she feels vulnerable enough to let you hold her for a change

sam is also extra attentive when you’re not feeling well

she’s so doting and always checking in on you

if shes around, you’re being waited on hand and foot

‘are you okay? do you have a temp?’

‘let me get you some water’

‘i don’t like the sound of that cough, y/n’

if she’s away for a game, your phone does not stop ringing

she’s always texting when she has a spare minute 

and if she has more than ten minutes to spare, she’s calling you to see how you are

sam just adores you

the fans adore you even more

the amount of tiktok edits of you and sam are crazy

the one of you in the stands after her goal against england in the world cup went viral

the way you jumped out of your seat and almost threw yourself over the barrier was on the news the next day

the clip continuing as sam ran over to your section, as you both shouted in celebration to each other

or the clips in the matildas doco series of the two of you

the lesbians went feral for that shit

everyone wants what you have

everyone wants you

you are that bitch

sam knows it too

and she’s not afraid to let people know just who you are

because you’re hers 

forever and always

[suhnflowerstay]

game night

bang chan x afab!reader

a/n: this is based on a real life situation so it might not be super relatable (no description of what reader looks like besides the fact that they're afraid of sitting on his lap)

and it is not representative of any characteristics the idols have or anything lol it's moreso therapeutic. it does require the knowledge of Jackbox Games. quiplash is a game where you get a prompt and you anonymously write down what you think is the funniest answer and everyone votes for the funniest one. i'm posting this twice because i originally wrote it for mark but my sister thought it was well suited for chan as well soooo yeah!

wc: 2.9k

tags: toxic situationship vibes (like really toxic), smoking, high emotions, angst, smut, sad ending

You and Chan had known each other for a few years. You had initially met on vacation and got each other's contact information to keep in touch. You were talking all the time and FaceTiming nearly every day. You were friends, such close friends that you decided to go to the same university. Once you moved to his area for college, you were spending all your time with each other. Eventually, the sexual tension between you began to build and before you knew it, your situationship began.

A few months before your friends with benefits relationship with Chan began, he had been sharing with you how messy his previous arrangement was. You had seen other girls come and go because they could never handle him sticking by his word and refusing to commit to them. You were also not interested in commitment, so you felt comfortable going into it. You knew exactly who you were friends with, so you assumed you would be fine. You were just friends who had a sexual attraction to each other. There was no reason that having sex would have to complicate things, right? Wrong.

Yes, there are people who can have a healthy friends with benefits style relationship. Sex is easy to detach from for some more than others. Your relationship with Chan was anything but detached. You were best friends who had sex, and the gray area was extremely gray. You were practically dating without the label, and that brought a lot of negative feelings bubbling up. But you both didn't want commitment. You were terrified of being vulnerable in that way and he, well… he just loved the attention.

Chan's cousin Felix was hosting a game night with some friends, and he wanted you to come along and meet everyone. When you two arrived at Felix’s house, you introduced yourself, and the first words out of his mouth were:

“Are you the one that called on Christmas?”

Immediately, Chan jumped into action to try to shut Felix up. He stood in front of you and blocked Felix from view, mumbling, “No, that was someone else.” You knew he had a previous situationship leading up to your current situationship with him; this was no secret. You knew this because you were the one to talk him through the end of that relationship. You just hadn't realized how intense it must've been if Bang Chan was bringing that "friend with benefits" to meet the family.

You had small talk with Felix, asking him what his major was, and he asked you yours. He offered you drinks and snacks, and you took a seat on the sectional with Chan taking the seat right next to you. You two were in your own little world, giggling about god knows what while he had his arm around you, when all of a sudden the door behind you swings open.

“CHAN PLEASE TELL ME YOU HAVE DONE THE ENGINEERING HOMEWORK!” the disheveled boy yelled. You giggled because of how insane this random man appeared with his backpack barely slung over his shoulder, hair a mess, running up to take a seat on the couch diagonal to you two.

“Y/N, this is Minho. Minho, this is Y/N.”

Minho’s brain is going a million miles an hour, and the first thing he thinks to ask is:

“Are you two dating?”

You and Chan look at each other, and he says, “No, we’re just friends.”

“Oh," the disheveled man says, "Well, it looks like you two are dating.”

Minho proceeds to talk to Chan about whatever homework they had, and his whole demeanor has you nearly falling off the couch with how hard he has you laughing. He has major himbo energy and says everything with so much passion. At one point, he ends a story he's telling with, “WHATEVER FUCKOOO!”

Soon, more of Felix and (kind of) Chan's friends start showing up. A taller guy who catches your eye greets you. He says his name is Hyunjin and makes light conversation with you, asking how you know Chan and Felix and asking how long you've lived in the city. There are also three guys in the corner smoking, and one of them catches your eye as you hear his distinct giggle while he laughs with his friends. Is Chan only friends with hot people, you think. The last guy walks in and very quietly says hi and immediately walks across the room to sit between his friends. Chan lets you know that the shy guy, also known as Jisung, is really shy with strangers, but he's sure Jisung will warm up by the end of the night.

Felix loads up Jackbox Games, and your group plays Trivia Murder Party for a few rounds, and then, a guy named Seungmin says he thinks the group should play Quiplash. There are a few rounds where you make some pretty good jokes, and all of the guys hype you up, telling Chan he brought someone super funny to game night. You even make a quip at Chan's expense, and Minho high-fives you for doing so. At this point, you've had a few drinks, and you aren't drunk, just tipsy. But you absolutely need to pee. You ask Chan where the bathroom is, since this is his cousin's house, and he leads you to the bathroom, waiting for you outside the door. Once you’re done, he drags you to the empty bedroom across from the bathroom and lays back on the bed, pulling you down you on top of him.

“Are you having fun?” he looks up at you.

“Mhm," you hum, "are you?”

“Yeah."

"Your friends are nice. Minho's super funny. I can't believe he's real,” you giggle.

"Yeah, he is... ok, c'mon. Let’s go back before they think we’re having sex or something," he says abruptly. You thought his response was weird, but you didn't think too much about it.

Upon returning to the living room, you see your seat on the couch was stolen by a few of the guys, and you are now forced to sit on a recliner in the corner to watch the game from there. There’s only one seat though, so you just stand while Chan takes the seat.

“What are you doing?" he questions, "Come on. Sit down.”

You pause. “I-I'm okay. I don’t want to like hurt your legs or anyth-”

Chan pulls you down on his lap, so you’re forced to sit down on him. He asks if you want to smoke, and you take a singular hit, not really interested in doing that, and watch the game from afar. Minho has his eyes trained on you two, and you feel his stare. You turn to look at him, and he yells from across the room, “Are you sure you guys aren’t dating?”

You giggle saying, "Yes, we’re sure we aren’t dating."

He tilts his head to the side like a confused kitty and proceeds to ask “So, are you guys cousins?” and you cannot stop yourself from keeling over because what does he MEAN?? What kind of line of questioning is that? Why would his brain jump from dating to cousins? You look at Chan incredulously as you both laugh and confirm once again that you are just friends.

You two keep watching the game, rather than participate, and go back to your own little world until Chan decides he’s ready to go home. You follow him out, saying a single goodbye to everyone in the room. Everyone bids you goodbye in their own way with many of the guys saying how nice it was to meet you and how you should definitely come to game night again. You two walk out and Chan unlocks the car before remembering he has to go back in to get something from Felix. You sit and wait in the car, smiling to yourself, and text your best friend about game night. You make sure to mention the beautiful man you met and how funny it was that he asked if you and Chan were cousins.

Once he enters the car, he slides his hand onto your thigh.

“Did you have fun?” he asks, leaning in to give you a kiss.

“Yes, actually. I really didn't think I would, but that was so nice and all of your friends seem so cool! Minho is such a himbo it’s so funny... I can’t believe you guys are taking the same classes.” you add.

You don't notice, but Chan's hand clenches the steering wheel. He doesn’t say anything and begins the drive home. You stop by the grocery store on your way home to pick up some snacks, and everything between you and Chan seems pretty light hearted.

You get back to his place, shower, and change into pajamas. You two sit on the couch for a bit longer watching shows and just snacking, cuddled up together. You get up to go to the restroom, leaving your phone behind on the coffee table, and when you come back, Chan is in a noticeably different mood. His body language is tense, and he’s moved away from your original spot.

“Channie… what’s wrong?” you ask, still standing.

“Nothing. What are you talking about?”

“It just seems like... like there’s something bothering you,” you insisted.

“Why would anything be bothering me? You’re literally making something out of nothing!” he snapped.

Now, you're officially in a bad mood.

“Fine then! Forget I even asked,” you huffed, collapsing onto the opposite side of the couch to go through your phone.

Half an hour later, your anger has subsided, and you're back to being invested in the show you’re watching. Then, the leading man betrays his love interest.

“Ughhhhhh," you drone, "Why does every man suck? Like even him? You have to be joking.”

“I bet Minho would never do that…” Chan mumbled mockingly from his side of the couch.

“What the actual fuck did you just say?” you snarled.

“Nothing.”

“Please do not fucking tell me that you’re upset over Minho, a man I only just met a few hours ago,” you scoffed.

“Oh, so you’re counting the hours,” Chan said, not even looking at you.

“Chan, shut the fuck up! What are you saying right now? What is your deal? I don’t even know or care about Minho!”

“You sure seemed to care when you texted your friend about how hot and funny you thought he was,” he said, finally looking up at you to see your reaction.

“Motherfucker, you went through my phone? Again? Are you fucking joking? Why would you do that?”

“I didn’t! I saw you texting it,” he tried to say, but you knew that was a lie because you had texted your friend right when you got into the car. He absolutely went through your phone, but this was not the first time.

“You’re a fucking liar, Bang Chan. I know you didn’t see me texting it. And either way, what does it matter to you? Newsflash! In case you weren't aware, I’m not your girlfriend! You made sure of it, and you also made sure everyone knew that tonight!”

Chan scoffed, “What did you want me to say to them? 'Oh yeah we’re fucking’?”

“it doesn’t matter what you say to them because we aren’t anything. And that means you don’t get to be upset over me texting my friend that i thought your friend was attractive," you emphasize, "You’ve done far worse or would you like me to remind you about your sexting with Soyeon or sending good morning and goodnight texts to Sana when you couldn’t even find two seconds to text me back even if it was just to let me know you were busy?"

Chan sits there knowing he can't say anything to that.

"You have even less of a right to be upset because of all the shit you pull all of the time, so I’m not going to apologize for sending my friend one text about a cute boy I will probably never see again." you finish.

“So you would want to see him again?” he tries to say steadily, but his voice cracks.

You look up and see that Chan is looking at the ground now and has tears in his eyes.

“Chris…” you put your arm around him and embrace him.

“I get it, though, like he’s so much more than I could ever be," he sniffles, "He’s so funny without even trying, and he’s just so cute and attractive and everything about him screams 'y/n's type.' I don’t blame you for being interested.”

He pushes himself up to lock eyes with you. “It’s only you, you know? I know you saw the texts or whatever with other girls, but I only care about you. No one else could ever be you. I promise that at the end of the day, no matter what, I only want you.”

He looks down at your lips and hesitates before he kisses you. The kiss starts off slow and slowly progresses into a more passionate, needy one. Chan is grabbing at your hips, your stomach, your arms, whatever he can get a grip on. He starts whining and pulls away, “Please take off your clothes, babygirl. I need you.”

You both strip down in his living room. Chan carefully lays you down on the couch and lines himself up with your pussy before slowly pushing himself in all the way without any issue. You guess high intensity and emotional situations just make you wet now after all the arguments you've had with this man.

“Fuck, baby, you’re so tight," he praises, "You always make me feel so big. it always feels like the first time.”

You moan and beg Chan to move, and slowly, he does. While there’s still a desperate neediness in the air, Chan is moving slowly and intentionally. He keeps his eyes fixed on yours while caressing your body. He praises every inch of you that he touches, littering you with compliments. He traces a finger along every curve and focuses on tracing circles on your tits, teasing your nipple ever so slightly before finally taking the buds between his fingers. He squeezes them, eliciting moans from your "pretty little mouth" as he calls it. He keeps one hand focused on your breast while he uses the other arm to hold himself up as he leans down to kiss you, maintaining the slow but steady rhythm. You wrap your legs and arms around him, pinning him to your chest. This position makes it so much more intimate, and you swear that he's hitting even deeper. The combination is pushing you right up to the edge. By the way Chan starts moaning, you can tell he feels the same.

“Fuck baby, I'm so close,” he groans

“Please cum inside me, Daddy. I need it so bad.”

“Ugh, f-fuck, beautiful, I can’t until you do. Please cum with me baby girl and- fuck- and I’ll fill you up as much as you want.”

His words send you over the edge, catapulting you into a strong radiating orgasm. Your hands are grasping at his arms and back, leaving scratches in their wake, you're sure. It’s very different from what you’ve previously experienced, muted but long lasting, and you can feel it all over. Your orgasm triggers his, and he continues to fuck you through it until the overstimulation becomes too much. He pulls out of you and grabs some wipes to wipe you and himself down. He lays you down in bed and makes his way to lay down right alongside you. He sits up and places his hand on your cheek, turning your head to make you look at him.

“I-" he hesitated, "I’m sorry I went through your phone again,” he says, rubbing his thumb back and forth along your cheekbone.

“It’s okay, Chan,” you reassure him.

“I just- I knew you’d like him. I could tell from the way you were looking at him and how he was looking at you. Minho is never interested in other people let alone other people’s relationships. I knew if he was asking if we were dating, it was so he could ask you out, and it made me freak out," he sighs.

“You have no way of knowing that, Channie,” you reason.

“Regardless, I meant what I said. I know we aren’t official, but I'm only loyal to you.”

He lays back down, and you say nothing.

You say nothing because this is a conversation you have often.

You say nothing because as much as you want to commit to Chan, you probably also aren’t ready.

You say nothing because the previous statement is probably a lie you tell yourself to make yourself feel better in this relationship you have with him.

You say nothing because you know there will be more instances of you finding text messages with other people in which he gives them more compliments/attention/time than he gives you.

You say nothing because you know he isn’t loyal to you at all, and you’d rather not start another fight tonight.

You say nothing because there is nothing here to fight for.

You say nothing as he falls asleep in your arms, and you see his phone light up with a text.

minho: hey can i get y/n's number

[monzaaasharl]

Speedy Spice

Summary:: The daughter of pop icon, Geri Halliwell, and Team Principal of Redbull Racing, Christian horner, starts her journey into formula one.

Author's note:: This is heavily influenced by @sebscore 's the grid's delight because I love it so much. I made this series because I love f1 and the spice girls, and i thought it would be fun to mix two of my favourite things create this. My requests are always open unless said otherwise. I hope you all enjoy, and feel free to tell me your own thoughts and headcannons if you want to! I'm also trying to make the titles of each fic a spice girls song (or just britpop) and I will put every song that I use at the top of the fic for you to listen to. Don't be a ghost reader please! Reblogs are also very much appreciated! Hope everyone enjoys <333 🫶🫶🫶

Disclaimer:: Just so it makes sense, the children that both Geri and Christian had before they got together irl will just be they're own kids, like not stepchildren (because speedy spice needs to be a big sis) and they can't be with other people because in this universe Geri and Christian got together many years before they did irl

Requests:: Open

Original idea:: here

Driver x Reader Masterlist Monzaaasharl

Masterlist::

Who do you think you are?::

Y/n Horner is announced as an official 2024 Formula 1 driver

Mama::

Geri Halliwell-Horner shows how proud she is of her daughter

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Current Taglist::

@/treehouse-mouse @/champomiel @/honkyscats @/nightreader16 @/cherry-piee @/welovediaaxx @/trouble-sistar @/namgification @/awhbigail @/itsjustkhaos @/sam-is-lost @/fluvsof @/blueberry64857959 @/2pagenumb

[loving-family-poll]

Ultimate Incest Tournament - Round 2

Homestuck fanart by Timsel-kun on deviantart

Propaganda under the cut:

Beverly/Elliot:

Hot lesbians both played by Rachel Weisz! And they're canon in the book it's based on, and like HEAVILY implied to be for realsies in love and fucking in the show. Great lesbianism, great incest

There's literally a scene where elliot is listening intently to beverly having sex in the next room, and she like moans listening to it ok

Beverly's gf breaks up with her cuz she's weirded out by the twins relationship

Beverly likes to attend a support group for ppl with dead siblings and pretend her sister is dead like the psychosexual issues here.....

beverly and elliot were literally trying to have a child together. Elliot (a gynecologist) artificially impregnated Beverly MULTIPLE TIMES

Dave/Rose:

Daverose blondetwin sweep because they were codependent without ever meeting from growing up seeing each other in their dreams

What does it mean to be an abused teenage boy growing up alone and seeing a girl in your dreams every night who is also your best friend. and when you finally meet her you go on a suicide mission together even though nobody was asking you to die with her. and then you are the only two human beings left in the recognizable universe on a cold meteor surrounded by aliens but you’re glad it’s with her. and when you finally touch the girl from your childhood dreams she looks exactly like you. because she’s your sister

I don't have words for how good these snarky assholes are together. DaveRose is brain chemistry changing. They both put up so many fronts, and engage in so much snarky wordplay, and are constantly trying to get under each other's facade. They play off each other so well, witty and sharp, I need them to be together always

We all die & we all die alone are the two cold truths of the universe but dave and rose broke both simultaneously by ascending to godhood together

Their twincest wins because it is just so confusingly tragic? profound? dave leaving rose behind in a doomed world, dave following her to the bomb. they are both so closed & cut off & curt its hard to imagine the depth of these things. but that is their love language: giving up their lives for each other over and over, in a confusing and fumbling and heartfelt love song. i can’t say i love you but i know we’ll die together anyway. because we’re made of the exact same stuff. i’ll find you again at the last moment. that’s love.

THEY DIED TOGETHER, YOUR HONOR

Confirmed canon by the author, (something happened) between them. Parallels of dying by each other's sides in EVERY timeline. They are THE womb-to-tomb. There is nothing platonic about winking at your brother while talking about crushes, that shit is incestuous. Seer/Knight archetype. They will die protecting each other.

do you realize love someone if you don’t follow them on a suicide mission into the gaping maw of a literal fucking sun after they knock you out and psychoanalyze you in your dreams? the blueprint of the “ethereal androgynous blonde boygirl twins” trope. witch/knight dynamics. they find each other to die together in every timeline no matter what (but they’re still emotionally constipated teenagers who bicker and make fun of each other in pesterchum). kids with grown-up powers. perfect little freaks of nature. what if we looked exactly like each other’s eyes

[kiachiako]

hold fast | l.jn

pairing | jeno x female!reader

synopsis | After finding hand scribbled messages in a novel of the quaint bookshop you work at, you start a paper dependent back-and-forth with an anonymous penman; a small part of you, however, hopes that your brother’s cold best friend may have a hand in their mysterious appearances.

content | brother!jaemin, brother!jaehyun, au, fluff, language warning

wc | 11.1k

song | all the stars — kendrick lamar, sza

a/n | my first longer fic, hope u enjoy it! leave any and all feedback, i’d love to hear ur thoughts :))

…

Maybe it was the caffeine rushing through your veins at the ripe hour of 3 am, a seemingly perfect time to sneak out of your parents' house. Or maybe it was the desperation to get away from your textbooks haunting you out of sleep, leading to an all-nighter in which you almost caved into the temptation to burn your hellish flashcards. When the devil couldn't reach you, he sent not only a brother to torment your every waking moment but a Satan reincarnate called physics summer homework. Who assigns homework during the summer anyway?

Wanting to get away from the stress of life for a while, you had planned to walk out your front door unbothered. But of course, nothing goes without the notice of your twin brother.

Neon lights highlighting the sharp angles on his face, Jaemin's eyes trailed your walking form as you attempted to sneak out through the living room an hour earlier. With his gaming set-up littered with empty wrappers and neglected work, you returned his stare with disgust as he reclined on the couch without a care in the world.

Fortunately, Jaemin cared more about the game he was winning than you traipsing out in the dark alone; judging by the screaming that was blaring through his headphones, he'll be up playing with his closest friends into the late morning.

They're all like him: infuriatingly annoying and always too loud. So loud that you purposely make plans to go out whenever you see his friends pull up to the Na household. You're sure that at least some of them are kinder than your brother, but you've never stuck around long enough to find out.

Although it might not appear so to others, you and Jaemin's relationship is anything but bad; he cares for you in the most tsundere of ways, and his constant teasing is simply the nature of his own personality. You know that he will call you in a good two hours to make sure you're alive (although he'll probably argue that the call is not out of love, but because his hoodie has mysteriously disappeared which you or may not have "borrowed" a week earlier).

Your relationship is complimentary like that, unspoken care for each other masked under the daily mocking and ignoring each other at school. Now that your eldest brother, Jaehyun, is away at university, it's just the two of you. You cover for each other when you want to skip out on a few classes or when Jaemin has a girl over that your parents didn't know about, and that works perfectly fine for you. Tonight is no exception.

After unlocking your bike from a nearby pole and walking it down the empty suburban street, it only took a quick ride to reach your final destination.

And that brings you to your current position; staring at the bookstore window with a set of keys dangling precariously from your fingers. Technically this wouldn't be breaking in, right?

At an hour in which the late party-goers have finally stumbled home and the early risers have not yet awoken, there is no one around to see you enter the quaint storefront at said ungodly hour. And so, against your better judgement, you quickly unlock the door and slip into the darkness.

You had chosen the bookstore job over the summer for a reason; it provided not only a quiet place to get away from when the chaos got too much at home, but you were surrounded by endless entertainment. People-watching from behind the counter with a pile of to-be-read books and a glass of iced tea had been your expected routine for the past few months, and it has been more than fulfilled as summer break reaches its end.

The store owner is a kind old woman who insisted on raising your pay within the first week, but she's rarely in town to care for the shop. That leaves you to yourself with a variety of intriguing customers, a plethora of mystery novels, and air conditioning (thank god) to escape to during sticky august heat waves.

And that is also why your soul absolutely leaves your body in shock when you whirl around to face Mrs. Lee — your boss who, by the way, said she wouldn't be back for another month. A surprised noise leaves the back of your throat, awkwardly bowing to her as she stares at you in amusement.

"Mrs. Lee, funny to run into you at this hour. You're back earlier than I expected," you say, wracking your brain for a plausible excuse to why you'd be at the shop six hours before opening time.

"Yes, honey," she replies, turning to the side to put her bag down, "I wanted to come back a little earlier so you wouldn't have to take care of the shop on your own when school starts."

You nod and move a little farther into the shop. "Sorry for coming so early. I just needed somewhere to go for a little bit." The old woman turns to you, her eyes crinkling as she smiles kindly at you.

"Never apologize, Y/N. I understand that we all have our own struggles, hmm?" and with another mysterious smile, she turns her back to you and disappears into the back room.

Still left a bit confused, you shrug, make your way around the counter, and settle into the plush cashier's chair.

With the dim moonlight filtering through azure-tinted display windows and a stinging smell of citrus keeping you company, you find your eyes growing heavier and heavier as the night ticks away.

…

You think you've made it to heaven when you wake up to a halo of sunlight blinding your eyes into oblivion.

And, of course, the blaring ringing of your phone buzzing incessantly on the counter in front of you.

Still in a bit of a haze, you reach for your phone, only to answer to a—

"Jesus fucking christ, Y/N, do you know how long I've been calling you? And," you move the device away from your ear as Jaemin's screeching voice carries over into the previously peaceful bookshop, "where the hell is my black hoodie? I don't care if you're passed out in a ditch somewhere, just get me my hoodie back before school starts tomorrow."

"Shit," you mutter under your breath as you look down at your clothes sheepishly, realizing that the soft fabric you were sleeping on is actually your brother's favorite piece of clothing. Pulling out the remnants of a used blunt from the front pocket, you roll your eyes. Yup, definitely Jaemin's.

Reluctantly dragging yourself from your cozy sleeping spot, you mumble, "okay okay, Jaem. Chill out for a sec, hmm? I'm alive." You make your way over to the door. "But I won't be soon if you keep shouting in my ear like that. You're about to give me a permanent migraine."

Jaemin scoffs before you hear three beeps marking the end of your lovely conversation. Of course he would hang up on you.

After a quick bike ride back to your house to freshen up — in which you thankfully did not run into your brother — you stop by a coffee shop for an americano and make your way back to the bookshop to open up.

Mrs. Lee waves at you with her oversized sunhat and myriad of trinkets in tow, before leaving the shop all to you for the day.

A few uni students and an old man come in throughout the quiet august afternoon, looking for the average last minute history textbooks and poetry collections. You smile at every customer and drink your much-needed caffeine before resuming to the task of cataloging new shipments, a very null job for such a warm day.

And you're still in that state of mind when he walks in. Like a fever dream, if you have to call it something. His pale hair reflects in golden sunlight as it falls comfortably against the nape of his neck, a small pack of cigarettes poking out of his back pocket. Delicate silver chains fall right down the center of his chest, and you can't help but wonder where you have seen a person this stunning. He strikes such a familiar chord in the back of your head, but you just can't pinpoint it.

He carries an untouchable aura, glancing at you before passing to reach the books that reside in the depth of the shop.

So, with your legs comfortably curled up beneath you, you squint at him for a second before deciding that figuring out how you might know him is a waste of brain power.

After he walks away, you try to re-immerse yourself in your novel multiple times, but you can't help but glance up at whatever he's doing. Head tilted, your eyes follow him in curiosity as he confidently makes his way into the romance section. It’s a complete contradiction too, the dark clothing and motorcycle helmet tucked under his arm being the last thing one would expect on an avid romance reader. You like that, no shame.

He disappears out of view, the scent of lime and cedar cologne lingering after him. You grow more confused as he stays in that aisle for ten, twenty, thirty minutes (not that you're counting or anything).

He finally walks out with a non-readable look on his face and his hands empty, devoid of any books. His eyes shine as if he knows something you don't while walking casually past your spot behind the counter.

"Uh, have a good afternoon...?" you call after him as he shoots you a small smile before pushing his way into the summer heat, leaving nothing behind but the pungent smell of citrus and an air of mysteriousness.

"I- everybody is so weird today," you mumble to yourself, shaking your head and leaning back into your chair.

You make a mental note to check out that romance corner later. What could possibly be in the romance section that could keep him in there for over thirty minutes?

You've never had a thing for romantic novels or romance in general, especially after seeing your parent's marriage hit its rough patches and your heartbreaker of a brother in action. Jaemin has an allure about him that makes girls fall right into his trap, and you've watched too many of his flings run out of his room sobbing.

Your mom and dad describe him as "charming." You don't see it.

…

"See what, Jaemin?" You stare at him incredulously. "You're imagining things, there is no damn stain on your clothes." Shoving past your brother with a mouthful of cereal, you call out "we're literally late, hurry up!"

Jaemin shoots you a dirty look, chucking his student ID at you. "I swear to god Y/N— if I see a drop of coffee on my hoodie today, you better sleep with one eye open."

You ignore him and make your way out the front door, taking a deep breath of crisp morning air before you feel a hand knock into the back of your head. Hard. Your brother sticks his tongue out at you cheekily before making his way over to a sleek, black motorcycle. Something he bought to fit the "badboy" agenda he and his friends are so intent on fulfilling.

Swinging your leg over the vehicle behind him, a loud rev fills your neighborhood before you're shooting through the suburban streets that lead to your school.

Two blocks before you reach the entrance, Jaemin stops to let you off. It's always been your tradition; ignore each other's presence at school and no drama will ensue. You know just how much some of his secret admirers would probably go insane if he was seen riding to school with a girl behind him.

"I hope you have a shitty first day," your brother says, still convinced that you spilled your drink onto his sweatshirt this morning. Giving him an irritated look, you wish him the same and turn to walk towards the entrance separately.

Slipping into your assigned homeroom five minutes later, you're met with a girl throwing her arms around you in a bone-crushing hug, her pretty face framed by freshly bleached, blonde hair.

"Sol, you're going to annihilate my lungs if you don't let go of me," you say, pretending to struggle to breathe. The girl behind you giggles, wrapping her arms tighter around you.

"I haven't seen you in a whole month and this is how you treat your best friend? Damn Y/N, I'm hurt."

You and Sol nudge each other playfully, setting your bags down and catching up on each other's summers. The daughter of wealthy business owners, she spends her summer break at her grandparents' estate in Jeju, preventing you from meeting each other.

"God, it's been so long," Sol looks at you with a smile, hopping up to seat herself on the empty teacher's desk. The bell hasn't rung yet, resulting in a half empty classroom and the noise of chatter flooding in from the hall and the open windows. She taps at your school uniform's short skirt teasingly. "We look hot, ready for the first day of hell or what?"

You grin, seated on a student's desk with your feet propped up on a chair.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't, now would I?"

…

Only half way through the day and you're ready to go home and drop dead on your mattress. You forgot how tiring school is both physically and mentally, especially with the thought of all the homework assignments you've collected today already.

You collapse against the lockers next to Sol's in the back of the classroom, her eyes scanning your tired face for a few seconds before turning to her handheld mirror.

"Is it just me or do you want to die," you say, turning your head to watch Sol touch up her lip tint.

"Not just you girl," she replies, grabbing the sleeve of your uniform and dragging you down the hall. "Now let's go eat. Food heals the soul." Your eyes light up at the mention of lunch, pace quickening through the crowded halls.

Entering the school cafeteria is like watching a drama unfold before your eyes. You either belong to a group or you don't, the sound of laughing and chatting echoing off of your academy's high ceilings.

Right away, your eyes are drawn to the right after hearing an especially familiar laugh.

With a groan, you nudge Sol's arm.

"Fuck my life, truly." She looks in the direction your eyes are so conveniently averted from and laughs like she's never heard a funnier joke in her life. "I can't believe I didn't think to ask him what lunch he has this semester..." you trail off, Sol still laughing next to you — she's one of the only people who know about the interesting brother-sister relationship you two have, or even the mere fact that the infamous Na Jaemin has a twin sister in the first place. She knows you would die in annoyance to even be mentioned in the same sentence as him, especially with the stupid persona he holds up to his classmates.

And then there's Jaemin, sitting with his group of friends in all his glory. You look around, spotting a few girls at surrounding tables nudging each other and giggling about how attractive they are (something that you could definitely go without hearing about).

You tap Sol, nodding to your own group of friends across the cafeteria.

The moment you turn away just happens to be the moment your brother catches sight of you, his smile wiping right off his face. He glances down at the silver bento box you're holding, mouthing something incomprehensible to you with an annoyed expression on his face.

You pause and look down at the box, letting out a groan when you realize that you must have taken Jaemin's lunch instead of yours this morning. You would honestly rather buy lunch from school, but your parents insist on taking leftovers from dinner instead.

Sol glances at all the girls staring at your brother's table, looks at you, and breaks out in a man-eating grin. "Good luck with that," she whispers to you, referring to the first time you're going to be interacting with your idiot of a sibling at school. "I'll be over," she points, "there!" And with that, she leaves you alone to fend for yourself while your friends get free entertainment.

You sigh before begrudgingly making your way over to Jaemin. You can feel the eyes on you, but frankly, you can't bring yourself to care anymore. Jaemin has caused you this much trouble throughout your life already by making you walk to class when he could simply drop you off at the entrance. A little interaction won't hurt.

"—and I know right, she's not even all that. I swear, the nerve of girls these days..." a boy with striking features and blonde streaks through his hair trails off mid sentence, his eyes glancing up and down your figure as you stroll up to your brother.

You stare at Jaemin for a second before tossing him his lunch, the box hitting the table much harder than you intend it to.

"Hey hey, woah there," Jaemin raises his eyebrow at you, "no need to be so aggressive with me."

You frown, gesturing to your lunch in his hands. "Can I have mine now—"

You're interrupted by a hand on your arm. "Who's this Jaemin, a new thing of yours or what?"

You and Jaemin almost gag at the same time. He turns to his friend, incredulous.

"Didn't I tell you that I have a sister? I could've sworn that I've mentioned it before," Jaemin says pointedly at the boy next to him.

"Shush Jaem, I would've remembered if the Na boys had a sister with those genes," he's fast to reply, shooting a grin at you.

"Shut up, Hyuck."

"Her name—"

"Shut up."

"My Kakao—"

"You can shut up now. Before I hit you for real," your brother threatens, raising a fist playfully for added effect.

Mark butts in with a helpful, "Jaem boxes now too."

Your sight unfocuses as Jaemin and his friends continue to add on and bicker among themselves, your eyes wandering to the end of their table.

That's when you catch sight of a familiar mess of white hair, his soft gaze trained on his laughing friends as he fiddles with his silver rings. His uniform jacket is thrown casually over his shoulders, your school's emblemed tie dangling loosely around his collar.

Your eyes widen. The boy from the book shop yesterday. He's my brother's friend?

It's as if you get caught in a trance while staring at him, like you wouldn't be able to physically look away even if you wanted to. He looks simply unreal from where you're standing, the afternoon sun painting shades of gold onto his face as a halo of light seeps through his hair.

You flinch in surprise when his gaze flicks over to you, looking up through his lashes with a hard, unwavering gaze.

Before you can look away, your brother pushes you at the hip and stares up at you with an expression you know all too well: can you leave me the fuck alone now.

You sneak one last glance at the white-haired boy — who’s staring back now — before snatching your lunch from Jaemin’s hands and rushing to your own table. With a groan, you drop your head onto the table as your friends rub your back soothingly.

“Shh, Y/N, I know that must’ve drained you. It’s okay-” Sol laughs, patting your head.

She stops mid sentence when you lift your head up with the most dazed expression she’s ever seen on your face, eyes glazed over and hand trying to hide a smile.

“What happened for you to have a look like that on your face,” Chaeyoung questions, squishing your face between your fingers as you pout at the table.

“Guys,” you start, before letting your head drop down to the table once more. “I think I’m in love.”

…

“What am I even doing,” you mumble to yourself, unlocking the front door with your fingerprint before slipping inside.

You never come home right after school, usually going to the convenience store with your friends or straight to the bookstore to work the evening shift. But, of course, stupid hope has left you with the possibility that he might be at your house today.

Why? Well, your brother may have specifically told you not to come home because he was having friends over for the night. ‘Friends’ means him, and you don’t even know his name yet. You pray that whoever’s-up-there will grant you this in the least.

It had been a pain to get out of the grasp of your prying friends right after school ended, their bombarding questions of, “oh my god, who,” “you better show him to me tomorrow,” and “is he cute,” being too much for you to handle.

It was a blessing that Mrs. Lee had let you off for the day, half of your friends had cram school to occupy them, and the other half had classroom duties as punishment for getting caught drinking at the karaoke bar by the academy director (“I’m just sorry we got caught,” Miyeon had huffed, after trying to convince you that the cheap soju was worth it).

Now you can stay in your room and eavesdrop freely on your brother’s friends as much as you please, and you plan on doing just that.

Touching up your makeup as you lay on your bed, you wait patiently for the familiar rev of a motorcycle entering your house’s gate.

A ding interrupts your train of thought, your phone lighting up beside you.

[My Sol-bear 🫶🫶, 4:39PM] is he here yet

[You, 4:39PM] BRUH WHAT

[You, 4:39PM] HOW DIDYUO EVEN KNOW U PSYCHO

[My Sol-bear 🫶🫶, 4:39PM] ik everything bbg

[My Sol-bear 🫶🫶, 4:40PM] why else would the i-hate-being-at-home Na girly be at home huh

[You, 4:40PM] fuck u bro

[My Sol-bear 🫶🫶, 4:40PM] fuck me yourself

[You, 4:40PM] um bet

[My Sol-bear 🫶🫶, 4:42PM] no bc u better introduce urself to him or i will come over myself and MAKE YOU

[You, 4:42PM] that’s hot

[My Sol-bear 🫶🫶, 4:42PM] Y/N.

[My Sol-bear 🫶🫶, 4:43PM] i’m expecting a marriage date at approximately 8 pm so u better not let me down

Just when you’re about to type out a reply, you hear the familiar whirring of the gate opening before a small click of the front door. Sudden muffled chatter fills the house as you hear your brother enter with his posse in tow, their loud voices and continuous laughter ruining the silence that you had had the pleasure of keeping for exactly ten minutes. You’re pretty sure someone just got shoved against the wall too.

It’s only when they settle in the living room after a while that you decide to make your move, descending slowly down the staircase so as to not make any noise.

You decide to make your grand entrance when Jaemin conveniently gets up from the couch as he talks, heading to the open kitchen to get junk from the fridge. You’re surprised at the number of friends he has over, at least six pairs of eyes following his movements from the living room as he puts drink after drink onto the countertop.

You adjust your sweatpants to sit lower on your waist and fiddle with your top (and yes, you did wear it for your brother’s friend, it took everything to ignore the feminist in you to say you didn’t dress for that man) before moving nonchalantly into everyone’s view, an empty glass in hand that you most definitely did not prepare before-hand.

Jaemin looks up in confusion when his friends go silent, his eyes finally following their gazes to you. You?

“You,” your brother stares at you pointedly, “why are you here.”

You stare at him back.

“Um, why would I not be here? This is my house too, Jaemin. Remember? My name is Y/N. I have the same address as you. I’m your s-i-s-t-e-r,” you roll your eyes, moving to stand beside him at the fridge. He only ignores you in response, shoving you lightly and mumbling a ”move over, will you.”

“God Jaem, you didn’t tell me your sister was here. I would’ve brought flowers and shit,” Donghyuck flirts, moving away from the couch and towards the two of you. You give him a small smile before scanning the couch behind him, face dropping in disappointment when you don’t see your mystery boy.

Where is he?

Jaemin’s other friends, however, are looking at you in curiosity.

“So this is the hot sister,” one boy speaks up first as if coming to a revelation, “I’ve seen you around at school for sure.”

“What the fuck,” Jaemin hisses. “Never say that in front of me again.”

“Wait,” Renjun, who you know from your classes, his eyes perking up as he observes you. “You guys kinda do look alike, Jaem. I can’t believe I never noticed that the only other Na in our class looks like a carbon copy of you.”

You and your brother squint at each other.

“...I don’t see it,” Jaemin speaks up first, shrugging. “Anyway, we’re gonna game for a bit and then order chicken takeout. You want your usual, right?”

You nod and thank your brother before waving goodbye to the boys in your living room, their enthusiastic greetings and waves making your eyes crinkle.

However, just as you turn to go back up the stairs, you run face to face into the same hoodie-clad figure that walked into your shift just a few days ago. His eyes flick down to you as move back a bit, surprised by his sudden proximity. The two of you are so close that you can even smell his cologne, the citrus-y, cedar scent clouding your head.

“Oh Jeno, there you are,” Jaemin barely looks up as he walks over. “Was starting to think you got lost or something. Wouldn’t be surprised,” he mumbles the last part, smirking when Jeno shoots him a glare.

Jeno. I finally have a name to the face.

“Jenoo!” Donghyuck shouts, rushing over to where you stand in front of the said boy.

“You almost missed meeting Jaemin’s sister,” he says enthusiastically, linking his arm with yours before making you wave at Jeno. “The one he was so intent on hiding from us!”

Jeno looks away from his friend to meet your eyes once again, staring at you for what seems like minutes. It’s only after you glance away awkwardly that he mumbles a small “hmm” before making his way to where his friends are engaged in a (very) pointless argument about League. Your gaze follows him as he relaxes into the seat beside Renjun, arm thrown over the back of the couch like he’s in some sort of editorial magazine.

You almost die on the spot.

You also almost forget that Donghyuck is standing oh-so-conveniently next to you, and just happened to see that whole interaction play out. It’s only when you feel a nudge from the boy next to you that you snap out of your daze, just in time to catch Donghyuck’s knowing grin.

“So it’s loverboy, huh?” he teases as you elbow him back. He laughs before leaning down to whisper in your ear.

“Good luck with that one, Na.”

…

You groan into your hands as Sol outright laughs at your misfortune, her head shaking as if she’s just heard the funniest joke of the century.

“He just said ‘hmm’? Jesus Y/N, what did you do to this man,” she asks as you pout at her, the empty bookstore’s AC hum the only sound filling the silence.

You just shrug in response, upset with the fact that Jeno doesn’t have any interest in you in the first place. You could’ve liked any other one of Jaemin’s friends — who, by the way, were all very good-looking and much kinder than you expected for any relation to your brother — but no. You just had to choose the one whose first word to you wasn’t even a word.

You’re still in a mood about the whole thing when Sol gets up to leave for her evening job at a cat café, the dark rain clouds outside and humid air seeping into the shop doing nothing to help you.

After sulking a bit more, you decide to organize the shelves in the back of the store. It’s comfortable; the smell of wood and paper never fails to ease your constantly running thoughts, the soft glow from stained-glass lamps illuminating Mrs. Lee’s timely, leather love-seats situated between each mahogany shelf.

You go down each aisle, pushing spines back into their places and reordering by author name, slowly making your way into the dreaded romance section.

You start at the bottom, blowing dust away from the old books that struggle to be sold to everyday customers. As you make your way up, you notice a splotch of white at the very top shelf in the corner of the store. The darkness that surrounds the space makes the white gleam even brighter, a closer look revealing that it’s the pages of a book that are turned outward, not its spine.

“Wha-” you mumble as you squint at the book whose spine is turned inward. “What kind of idiot…” You trail off, slowly coming to the silent realization that there could only be one person who had wandered off into the shelves of romance this week (and reach that high up).

Jeno.

With a new determination, you grab the shop’s rolling ladder and slowly make your way up to the fabled book. You reach your arm out and snatch it from its place, blowing a thin layer of dust off its cover.

Your eyes scan over its cover: Pride and Prejudice. Pride and Prejudice?

You flip through the book in confusion, pondering why this novel specifically would be so important to him. You almost skip over the tiny splotch of writing on the inner cover, it’s messy handwriting easy to miss as you bring the book up to your face to read it.

[personal copy] 

“Is not general incivility the very essence of love.” 

Return to same place when done.

You turn the book around in your hands, confused at the words and wondering if it really is Jeno.

Making your way back to your place at the front of the store, you settle down and decide to read it anyway besides your hatred for the genre. With a warm mug of tea and small box of Pepero to keep you company, you find yourself drowning in the world of Jane Austin as the seconds turn to hours.

One exception can’t hurt.

…

You see Jeno in the cafeteria a week after you find the first book, the copy tucked neatly under your arm as you walk with Chaeyoung and Miyeon to your table. You can hear snippets of their conversation as you pass them, your friends giving you a look when they catch sight of Jeno (it was an unfortunate case of, “Y/N, if you don’t tell me which of these boys has you rushing home at the bell everyday I will pour bleach in your koi’s tank and won’t feel sorry about it,” that led to your entire friend group’s incessant teasing whenever Jeno simply breathed in your proximity).

You snap your head around when you hear Donghyuck’s voice above the others, his laugh bringing everyone’s attention to their table.

“Oh my god, Jeno’s reading a fucking romance book right now,” Donghyuck’s mouth drops open, genuinely concerned about the fact that his friend isn’t even the slightest embarrassed to be flipping through the pages of the thin novel. Jeno doesn’t even look up when your brother jokes that he didn’t know his best friend was “this soft.”

You clutch Pride and Prejudice a bit tighter in your arms as you move away from them, mind whirling as the possibility of the book in your hands being Jeno’s increases by the second. You’ve even been seeing him a lot more often at your house and on the weekends, even though he rarely leaves your brother’s gaming setup in the basement; but hey, the fact that he’s even there makes your heart want to drop out of your chest.

…

It’s a cool September afternoon when the next book comes to you, and its random appearance questions everything that you think you’ve figured out so far.

Mrs. Lee has left the bookstore to you once again, refusing to hire any other help for some odd reason; Jeno hasn’t come into the shop since the first time you saw him, so there’s no way he could’ve gotten it into the shop without you noticing — you swear that you have a sixth sense reserved solely for him.

So then how come there’s a book flipped inward smack dab in the middle of the romance section this time, its frayed pages standing out as you stand frozen in front of it?

You can’t help the nerves that bubble up in you as you pull it from off the shelf.

Its velvet cover is a mix of nectar and ambrosia, the sweet smell of sugar wafting across the shop as you bring the thick book to your spot at the front counter. Flipping the cover open, you’re surprised to see a familiar title: Norwegian Wood.

Humming in anticipation, you search through the text to find a certain hand-written message that could possibly serve as an explanation. It’s situated on the last page of the novel this time, the black ink bleeding delicately onto its yellowed page.

[personal copy] 

“‘Letters are just pieces of paper,’ I said. ‘Burn them, and what stays in your heart will stay; keep them, and what vanishes will vanish.’” 

Burn this book when you’re done with it, or return it here if you don’t; your decision would still speak ten-thousandfold to me.

You gape at the messy hangul’s intent, reading it over and over again before pulling out your own pen and making the split-second decision to write a little message back.

I disagree. Don’t you think you’re taking Murakami’s words a bit too literally here? Sure, sentimental value might always stay with the art’s viewer, but being able to keep personally meaningful pieces will forever be more valuable as a takeaway.

You cap your pen with a huff before slotting the novel back where you found it, its spine turned outwards for your own petty reasoning.

He doesn’t know what he’s talking about, you think to yourself.

…If it’s even Jeno… you add on, disappointed at your new development.

Now that he hasn’t even returned to the shop, could you have gotten the person’s identity wrong this whole time?

…

“Sol! That hurts ass,” you complain, tapping the girl’s thigh in succession as she attempts to curl your hair.

“Shush, babe. Beauty is pain,” she retorts, meeting your eyes through the mirror as she kneels behind you. Your room looks like a teen movie set, makeup sprawled across the floor around your criss-crossed figure as you hold up jewelry to your neck to choose from. “Chae, Miyeon, and Yuna are coming in ten mins to pick us up so if you mess up my masterpiece, I will actually end you.”

You get up from the floor slowly, changing into your going out fit before joining Sol at the floor length mirror.

“Oooh Y/N, we actually look so hot right now,” she exclaims, posing with you for fun before frowning. “Jungwoo better ask me out today at Johnny’s party.”

“He will, he will,” you reassure her, gathering up your purse. “He’s 100% in love with you, and even Jaemin can see it. He literally asked me if you two were a thing.”

Sol looks at you with wide eyes, the sheer excitement in them making you happy too. At least one of you is having luck in their love life.

“Wait, imma run to the bathroom real quick and then we can leave, okay? Can you tell them to wait out front?” Sol nods at you before returning to her phone as you slip into the dark hallway of your quiet house.

After washing your hands quickly, you open the door to a body running right into you, causing you to lose your balance and stumble into the wall.

“Shit,” a voice sounds out, two hands steadying you as you regain reality before your vision finally focuses on the boy in front of you, “you okay? You didn’t hit anything, right?”

You can only stare at Jeno, his concerned tone catching you off guard.

This is the first time he’s actually speaking to me.

“I- yeah. Yeah, I’m good. Are,” you stumble over your words, becoming acutely aware of the fact that his hands are still on your arm and waist, “are you hurt anywhere?”

He shakes his head before mumbling another apology, his deep voice being the only thing you can focus on.

“Jaem’s downstairs and we’re doing some project,” he rambles a bit, taking his hand off your arm to brush his hair back. You can’t help but feel disappointed at the lack of touch, but the shyness he’s displaying completely catches you off guard.

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Jeno. You practically live in our basement,” you reply, lips pulling up into a small smile. For the very first time, he smiles back at you.

“I’m sorry if I scared you, Y/N.”

And with a dozen more awkward apologies, you rush out to Yuna’s car five minutes late with a warm blush on your cheeks that hadn’t been there before.

…

By the time the third book appears, you’ve already anticipated it enough to clear your schedule for the afternoon. Determined to finish it as fast as possible, you bring the copy of 엄마를 부탁해 (Please Look After Mom) home with you to read on the comfort of your own house.

There’s a long letter written out in the front cover of the novel, it’s now familiar handwriting making you focus on their words and opinions that seem to know exactly how you think. You smile down at the phrases they use, the little references from the previous book appearing every so often.

Hours pass by as you emerge yourself in the world of So-Nyo, your pen scratching out every thought you have and every question that flickers through your mind. Your reply to their last message takes up both covers this time, your lips pursed as you focus intently on your writing.

With your headphones fit snugly around your head, you startle when Jaemin appears four inches from your face.

“Jesus Christ Jaem- what was the reason,” you push his face away, your line of sight just missing the fact that his best friend has just taken the seat next to you on the living room couch.

You startle a second time when a hand taps your shoulder, your eyes widening when you see Jeno offering you a glass of water from your side.

“You haven’t got up in a while,” he says softly, wrapping your fingers around the glass.

You’re surprised he’s even noticed, the sweet gesture catching Jaemin by surprise as well. Your brother looks between the two of you suspiciously, narrowing his eyes when he zeros in on Jeno staring at the book in your hands.

“That’s not weird at all…” he says, still put off by the foreign look on his best friend's face. “Anyway, you going to our party today? Sol told me that you guys were coming.”

You almost choke on your water, looking up at your brother in confusion.

“Me? She said that we- what?” You stumble over your words, surprised — you really shouldn’t be at this point — that she was going to yet another party for the second night in a row.

Your brother holds back laughter at your reaction, knowing Sol and her tendencies all too well by now.

“Uh huh, it’s at Jeno’s house this time,” he adds on as you turn your head to give a questioning look to said boy. He just shrugs, face nonchalant while Jaemin is visibly elated. “His parents literally left like six cases of beer in their cellar. What do you expect us to do, not make use of it?”

The look you give your brother has him sticking his tongue out at you, leaning over to tap your forehead.

Before you can reciprocate, Jeno hands you a thin pen, its silver plating glittering in the light. You look up at him in confusion.

“Yours is running out of ink,” he points out to you, referring to the pen laying in your open book. The last parts of your writing have faded, your mouth open in an “oh” as you realize that he’s right.

You think about your next action carefully.

“Jeno,” you say, leaning a little closer. He tenses at your voice saying his name, something he hopes you don’t process. “Thank you for noticing.”

That one line seems so much deeper than it does at surface level, the two of you sharing a moment of mutual understanding. You feel like you haven’t even had a proper conversation with this man, yet there’s definitely some sort of tension here that wasn’t there before.

Jeno gives you a small grin before getting up to follow Jaemin to the basement, his leather bomber on his shoulders and backpack in tow as he spends another one of his evenings in the Na household.

…

“No. Way,” you exclaim, dropping your bag and books on the ground of your foyer, Jaemin next to you doing the same as you both gape at the figure in front of you.

You rush forward as he opens his arms, your “Jaehyun!” ringing through the house as he pulls you into his chest. His familiar warmth relaxes you immediately, your arms still latched around his as Jaemin comes over to greet your older brother.

“Hyung! Why didn’t you tell us you were coming back from uni already,” Jaemin frowns, walking into the kitchen where your parents sit and watch their childrens’ reunion with adoration.

“Don’t be upset, Jaem,” Jaehyun ruffles his younger brother’s hair, “Yonsei had an early break so I wanted to surprise you guys before I go back to Seoul.”

Your twin lights up at the word Yonsei, his dream school triggering an immediate response as he begs Jaehyun for more details about his life at university. The conversation continues until dinner, the two of you elated to have him back home for even a little bit.

Jaehyun’s dimples make an appearance as you and Jaemin argue over who gets to sit with who for dinner, the latter huffing when you refuse to let go of Jaehyun’s arm.

Your older brother was like a lifeline when you were younger, always acting as a peacemaker whenever you fought with Jaemin or over-stressed yourself from school. Both of you look up to him so much, his kind nature and ability to get along with anybody acting as a guide for how to survive high school. The age gap of four years was never an issue for the three of you, and you got along as any normal siblings would with your own ups and downs.

You lean your head on Jaehyun’s shoulder after dinner, his presence alone comforting you greatly as Jaemin leaves to attend to the front door. You don’t even look up when you hear two new voices in the house, their footsteps getting louder as they reach where you and your older brother are.

Jaemin observes closely as Jeno and Donghyuck enter his living room, the former’s expression twitching in the slightest that he almost misses it completely.

It’s only when Jaehyun mumbles a confused, “why is he glaring at me,” that you accidentally meet the dark eyes of Jeno, who’s staring intently at your brother with a look you’ve never seen on him before.

Jaemin shakes his head with a smile, nudging Jeno in the process.

“Chill bro, that’s my older brother-”

“That’s Jaehyun? The Jaehyun?” Donghyuck interrupts with a sense of awe, situating himself next to your amused older brother before bombarding him with questions (you pretend you don’t hear the “how the hell did you hack the administrative office’s computer system? And find a way to get edibles through room check? You’re a fucking legend at school, you know,” from Donghyuck).

Jeno’s face visibly relaxes when he hears the name Jaehyun, tossing his bag next to his friends’ before making his way to the rest of you.

Was he… jealous?

You shake the thought from your head. No way.

Yet you can feel Jeno’s eyes on you as Donghyuck talks your brother’s ear off, while you refuse to meet his stare. You think you might combust, and your possible delusions certainly do nothing to help you.

A ding from your phone comes at the perfect time, the “We’ll break down your door if you don’t open it in five, four, three…” text from Chaeyoung giving you the excuse to jump up and drag your friends inside the house.

After your friends introduce themselves to Jaehyun — and raise their eyebrows at you after seeing the infamous Jeno on your living room couch — they take over your bedroom upstairs and trifle through your closet. You just let them, throwing your exhausted self onto your bed.

“We’re heading over to Jeno’s first, ‘kay?” Jaemin yells up the stairs. You shout an incoherent sound back, closing your eyes immediately after.

After an hour of fighting sleep while your friends get ready, they force you into a tight-fitting top and skirt and fuss over how many guys will definitely obsess over you tonight. You’re frankly after only one person, and his recent actions confuse you to the point that your brain hurts every time you think about him.

...

When you arrive at Jeno’s estate, the party’s already in full swing. You can see people stumble around in the front lawn, the heavy bass of music filling the entire block as Yuna links her arm with yours to pull you along to the entrance.

It’s crowded and hot as you enter, Sol being stolen along the way by her new boyfriend. The sound is deafening, with Johnny controlling the music in the corner and people all over each other, their figures spread throughout the Lee property. You don’t even see any of Jaemin’s friends, their tall statures no match for the sheer number of people there are.

“Holy shit,” you hear Miyeon say. “Did they invite the entirety of Korea or what?”

You finally get an answer after at least ten minutes of mingling around, when you finally see a truly familiar face. Donghyuck’s signature smirk appears in front of you and Yuna as you head towards the kitchen for drinks.

“Crazy right?” He laughs, the brown liquid in his solo cup sloshing around as he drags the two of you to the counter. “We weren’t expecting this many, but Jaehyun said that we should throw a big one if we’re gonna throw one at all.” You roll your eyes at your older brother’s classic antics; you can even imagine the exact tone of his voice as he relayed that to Donghyuck earlier in the day.

“Just big?” Yuna’s eyes go comically wide, turning around to survey the number of bodies in the kitchen alone. “Nah, this is like fucking Project X, Hyuck.”

His proud grin alone tells you everything you need to know.

You lose Donghyuck a few minutes later, his dark red hair hard to catch as he weaves between guests to seemingly greet them all. Yuna pours you her own concoction, your eyes following her movements with worry as she pours three times more parts soju to cider, the alcohol content making you dizzy already.

“I’m a lightweightt, Yuna,” you remind her.

“Y/N, just let loose tonight, hm? You never drink more than a few shots and this party is way too hype for you to not be drunk for it,” she sing-songs, pushing the drink towards you. “Bottoms up.”

With a weary look, you down the sweet mixture in one go and cringe as it leaves a bitter aftertaste.

Without even a moment to pause, you let your friend pull you towards another group of people from your school in the next room. The alcohol reaches your head fast, your face warming as you’re handed another shot from a classmate. Time goes by too fast for you to keep track, your motions blurry and eyes hazy as you get pulled along to new locations every few minutes.

The clock reads 1am, and two rounds of truth or dare, one game of paranoia, and another tense match of beer pong later is when you’re finally able to get away from all the activities. You take a seat by yourself on the staircase, leaning your head against the wood railing to stop it from pounding so much. Focusing on your breathing, you pray that the hangover that will greet you tomorrow morning will be a tame one.

“Need some company?” a sudden voice offers in front of you. You will your eyes to focus in the dim lights on the person’s face, but all you can hear is his heavy breathing as he leans closer to you. The smell of marijuana on his breath makes you lean back, uncomfortable at his advances.

“No, thank you,” you turn your head away, trying to show your disinterest as he places his hand on the stair next to you. The smoke from his breath rises in rings in front of him, fogging up your vision even more.

“Come on pretty, we’ll have fun,” he promises, moving too close as your personal bubble decreases by the second. He grabs your arm and tightens his grip around your wrist. “I know you want it-”

“Lay off, man,” a voice sounds out from behind you, a dark figure coming down the stairs to move between you and the stranger protectively. “She already said no.”

Jeno.

You don’t know what expression he’s given the man, but it sure is enough to make him back away. He gives Jeno a glare before reluctantly letting go of your arm.

Offering a hand out to you, you let Jeno support your weight as the two of you make your way up to the quiet third floor, the party still at its high downstairs. He helps you into a room at the end of the hall, and that’s when you realize it’s his room.

He seats the two of you on his bed before returning with a glass of water.

“Drink,” he orders softly, wanting you to sober up a bit before attempting to talk at all.

You sit in silence with him for a while, your quiet breaths and low hum of a record player spinning in the background being the only noise to fill the space as he watches you.

“I’m drunk,” you say to no one in particular after a long stretch of silence, your little frown making Jeno look at you in amusement.

“I’m glad you’re aware,” he deadpans. “Have more of this.”

You just look at the water in his hands, a weird sense of déja vu overcoming you as you recall a memory of this same exchange happening just a few weeks ago.

“Okay, dad,” you grumble, the sudden surge of liquid confidence showing that you already know you’ll regret in the morning. “You’re not my real dad.”

“At least you’re coherent enough to recognize that,” Jeno snorts, lifting an eyebrow as you finish the water anyway.

“I didn’t know you could use big words like that,” you mutter, getting distracted by drawing little designs on his bed comforter. “You only ever say like ten words max to me.”

Jeno’s eyes soften at your words, not even being able to reply before you change the subject.

“Why aren’t you down there with everyone else,” you ask, watching his freshly washed hair drop little rivulets of water onto his hoodie. They dampen the fabric, the little cross around his neck just barely visible underneath. “It’s your house.”

“Not really my thing,” he mumbles, relaxing on the bed next to you and leaning his head against the wall. You nod in understanding, mirroring his position before falling into a stagnant silence once again. Your eyes close on their own, a sudden fatigue overtaking your body. “You- you can rest here for a while, if you want. I’m just finishing a paper for class anyway,” he offers suddenly, turning to look at you.

“For real? One of Jaemin’s friends doing homework on a Friday night? I’m impressed, Jeno,” You yawn, tilting your head at him.

“For real.” His shy smile and averted gaze going unnoticed by you. “I’ll get a more comfy shirt for you from my mom’s closet,” he adds, making sure you’re okay by yourself before leaving you alone.

You take this chance to look around, your tired eyes scanning his room. His decor is unexpected, the dark and chic aura he usually carries not reflected at all in his personal space. The room is neat, a plethora of old film posters and polaroids lining the wall with his guitar hanging proudly next to his bed. Little letter blocks spell out the characters in Jeno’s name on his desk, the rest of the space being taken up by stationary and picture frames of his friends and family. There’s a record player a few feet away from you, the library of vinyls taking up the whole bottom shelf of his bookcase.

You gasp. The bookcase.

Your mouth opens in awe as your eyes scan the plethora of titles, with genres ranging from decade-old biographies to the fabled romance novels that your brother constantly teases him about. Model cars sit in a glass case at the top, right next to a stack of books that take up the width of the shelf.

Wait.

You squint your eyes to read the spines of those in the stack, your brain sobering up in seconds as you register what’s in front of you.

Pride and Prejudice. Norwegian Wood.엄마를 부탁해 (Please Look After Mom).

“No way,” you breathe out, leaning off the bed so you can make sure your eyes aren’t deceiving you.

“I’m back,” Jeno comes in suddenly, closing the door behind him. “my mom didn’t really have any shirts I thought you would like, so here’s mine instead. It was just washed like-”

He pauses, knowing something’s wrong when you don’t answer him. Looking up, he follows your gaze to the top of his bookshelf.

“You’re,” you swallow, getting up, “the one who- it was you?”

Jeno stops in his tracks, the forgotten shirt hanging limply from his arm as you make eye contact with each other.

He wants to deny it, say it wasn’t him who left little notes for you in the bookshop whenever he saw you feeling down, but he just can’t. He can’t do that to you.

With a sigh, he seats himself on the hardwood floor and just stares at the books in a contemplative silence.

“I think I knew who you were long before you ever noticed me,” Jeno finally confesses after a few minutes, the usually confident boy glancing out the window with a new sense of bashfulness.

Your heart beats faster at his words: Lee Jeno? Knew… me?

“I’d figured out that you were Jaemin’s sister long before he told us. He’d accidentally left his phone unlocked when I was over one afternoon last year; you and him are his lockscreen, you know,” he flicks his eyes over at you as you sink down to sit on the floor across from him, this new wave of information taking time to process in your brain. “To be honest, I started to notice you everywhere; at school, at the noraebang, even getting off of Jaem’s motorcycle one morning like a block away from the academy.”

You roll your eyes at the last part, Jeno’s added commentary of “why does he even do that,” causing you to nod your head fast in agreement.

“You gotta tell Jaemin that that whole ploy was completely pointless,” you say, shaking your head at just one example of your brother’s incredibly stupid ideas. Jeno laughs at your indignant expression, obviously familiar with said stupid ideas.

“And then,” Jeno continues, resting his arm just behind you against the bed frame, “you got that job at the bookstore downtown during the summer,” You smile subconsciously, just the thought of your second home filling you with warmth. “Mrs. Lee is my grandmother, you know.”

You turn to him incredulously, mouth open in shock.

“You’re kidding, Jeno,” you say, eyes wide as you stare at him. The gears in your head working at 100 kilos an hour, you finally understand the one thing that’s been living in the corner of your mind for the past few weeks. “So it was you who put the books there for me to find. You have the keys to the shop too, don’t you?”

Your questioning draws a sheepish grin out of the boy, and that’s when you realize that your conclusion is spot on.

“I couldn’t help it,” he continues, leaning closer to you. “I just couldn’t introduce myself to you in person when it actually came to doing it. And, on top of that, Jaemin would absolutely murder me. You’ve seen his reaction to Donghyuck’s flirting, and he’s not even serious half the time.”

He sighs, looking at his lap.

“Grandma says you’re the only reason why her shop is still open, and I just wanted to be able to communicate with you in the one way I know I can.”

You nod slowly, understanding Jeno more and more as he talks. Literature. He knows his way around literature.

“And then we actually met, and I really froze up that time,” he sighs, putting his fingers up to his temple in frustration. “I couldn’t even say anything to you.”

“Oh my god, Jeno,” you say, “was that what the ‘hmm’ was about when I first ran into you in our kitchen?” He nods, cheeks dusted with a faint blush. “That was truly a humbling experience, I literally told Sol about it and she laughed at me.”

Jeno groans in embarrassment as he throws his head against the bed, arm covering his face so he doesn’t have to relive that moment.

“You looked really pretty that night though, you know,” he mumbles through his arm, laughing when you bring your hands up to your face in mortification. He reaches out to gently take your hands away, his fingers circling lightly around your wrists. “It’s true.”

Jeno pauses just a few inches away from you, his gaze locked on yours as you both still in tandem. You could lean forward just a little and your noses would be touching. Before either one of you can move, however, the blaring sound of your phone’s screeching ringer goes off.

You can hear the huff of disappointment from Jeno as you pick up the call, putting the phone up to your ear.

“Y/N, where the fuck are you,” Sol’s voice shouts into the speaker. You can hear the bass of the party’s music blast through her side of the call, stifling her voice as she strains to listen for a response from your side. “Jungwoo’s gonna drive us home ‘cuz he’s a freak and somehow still sober.” You hear a faint “shut up, you know you love me,” in response.

“Give me two minutes and I’ll be down.”

You hang up the call quickly before turning your attention back to Jeno, who’s no longer beside you.

He stands in front of his bookshelf with his back facing you, thumbing through the novels on his shelf until he finds the one he’s looking for. He holds out the book for you to take, a bright expression on his face as he waits for your reaction.

“What’s this?” you ask, taking the novel between your hands and reading the cover.

Jeno makes you keep his copy of Agamemnon, your questioning eyes left unanswered as he pushes you out of his room with a smile.

“Tell me about it on Monday, yeah? Wanna hear your thoughts.”

…

Weirdly enough, it didn’t stop at just Agamemnon. Jeno started bringing you a book from his personal bookshelf every week, his excuses running along the lines of “I thought that you might like this” to a blatant “I wanted to see you.” Your heart still fluttered whenever you opened the front cover to a small, hand-written message from the boy, his intellectual fountain never running dry when it came to discussing his opinions with you.

Even Jaemin started noticing the shift in your relationship, smacking Jeno on the arm when he would accidentally die in their game from staring at your figure on the couch. He would make sure to visit your room before leaving for the evening, stopping for ten, twenty, thirty minutes more than expected.

And with time, it turned out that Jeno and you had more in common than you originally thought. Your love for music had you listening to his playlists later in the night than you’d like to admit, a playlist of yours dedicated specifically to his recommendations called J<3. You’d rather drop dead than let him see the sappy name though.

Your friends had noticed the change too, your occasional visits to your brother’s table in the cafeteria resulting in incessant teasing from your friends.

“100,000 won he’ll ask her out tomorrow,” Miyeon exclaims, putting her hand down on the caf table with determination.

“Nah girl, you’ve got it all wrong. 100,000 he’ll do it today,” Sol counters, a knowing look on her face as you hide behind your backpack in embarrassment. She may or may not have also run into Jeno buying a bouquet of flowers on the way to school, the said boy silencing her from blabbing with a tteokbokki bribe.

You secretly hope they’re onto something, the possibility consuming your thoughts as you push your way into the Lee bookshop for the afternoon.

What you didn’t expect to see was an untitled book sitting in the middle of your work space, its crimson binding setting apart from any other you’ve seen before. Before you can flip through it in curiosity, however, you notice a small catalog number pasted on its spine.

“Huh,” you mutter, “B612… B612…” you make your way down the shelves until you get to the B600s, placing you coincidently in the romance section of the store. “B610… here!”

You can feel the excitement bubbling up in you as you notice the slot where the book should be is already filled, an unfamiliar title greeting you. Pulling it from its place, you flip it open.

Giving a new meaning to romance. 

— J.

A small tap on your shoulder causes you to turn around in surprise, the familiar eye-smile of Lee Jeno meeting you face to face.

“Hey,” he whispers, taking the book from your hands. You let him move in closer, your back hitting the wall before he reaches up to tuck a piece of your hair behind your ear.

“Hi,” you smile up at him, the cold jewelry adorning his fingers clinking slightly as he rests a hand beside your waist.

“I was wondering if you’d like to go stargazing with me tonight,” he proposes, eyes flickering between yours as he awaits a response.

“I’d love to, Jeno,” you answer. “Definitely not the same stargazing where you have a bouquet of my favorite flowers ready, right?” you add on, a teasing lilt in your voice as Jeno’s face morphs into one of betrayal.

“Sol is pure evil,” he utters, eyes lost as you giggle at his expression.

He focuses back on you as the sound of your voice rings in his ears, the sight of your happy face leading his line of vision to your lips. You barely notice until he’s already a hair away, his warm breath shocking you back into reality. Jeno’s eyes meet yours, as if asking for silent permission.

You don’t know who leans in first, but it doesn’t matter when you feel his hands slip behind your waist and pull your body into his, slotting your lips together with a gentleness that takes you by surprise. Your arms come up to rest behind his neck as his mouth moves in sync with yours. You feel like you’ve been waiting for this moment for forever, the satisfaction of it finally happening driving your eagerness as you move impossibly closer to him.

Jeno tastes like candied citrus, sugar-tainted coffee and everything in between — he follows your movements easily, reciprocating with equal and innocent desire. His lips chase yours as you tilt your head for him, not stopping until you force yourself to take a breath.

He leans his forehead against yours, his touch soft as his hand brushes against your cheek lovingly. Pressing one last sweet kiss against your mouth, he reaches around you to grab the unnamed book that had led you here in the first place.

“For our story,” Jeno smiles, fitting the leather-bound into your arms.

Ours.

…

xoxo

2022 © kiachiako | all rights reserved.

[maximoffromanoffs]

WANDANAT’S KIDS UNIVERSE

description: the moms are out on one of their regular date nights, aunt yelena looking after the girls. when Wanda realises her wife’s had a little too much to drink, she makes the responsible decision to take her wife home, but doesn’t think about how the girls are going to react to their mother being completely drunk.

—

Date night. It was a regular thing that the couple made sure to do at least once a month, to rekindle their love and spend a night just the two of them.

Each time the girls bicker about who is going to look after them, especially when all of their favourite people are free, so Wanda made up a rule. Every time this happens, the family play a game before the mothers’ date night, and whoever wins gets to choose their babysitter for the night.

Charlotte always chooses her aunt Yelena, Grace opts for uncle pietro, and Rose wants to see her grandma Melina any chance she gets. Clearly Lottie won the game today since Yelena is looking after the girls, which may or may not have left both Grace and Natasha with a pout as they lost, never being good sports when they lose a game.

Before the mothers left, the doorbell was non stop ringing, as well as banging on the door until someone answered. *knock knock* “HELLOOO”, That someone being Natasha who wanted to slap her sister for being so annoying. As soon as she opened the door, Yelena launched past her, catching sight of her niece Lottie, grabbing hold of her and spinning her around in her arms. Of course she then greets her other two nieces, and then returns to her sister and Wanda to say hello.

It takes a moment for the mothers to get their things together, making sure to say their goodbyes to their children. Wanda kisses each of her daughters’ heads before waiting by the door for Nat, who was telling her sister to make sure she looked after the girls. She then quickly mumbled her goodbyes to everyone, before meeting her wife at the door to leave. Just before the door closes they hear Natasha shouting "Be good Yelena!" making all the girls giggle at that.

Throughout the night Yelena was in fact not 'good' in Nat's words, in fact she had both Wanda and Nat rather stressed.

Not only was she sending videos and photos of the kiddos and her with nerf guns, at one point Charlotte and Yelena teaming up on Grace, resulting in them hitting her straight in the face; at another point the three of them sneaking up on Rose- who wasn't interested in taking part and all of them hitting her from different angles. There was also evidence of a complete mess in the house: what seemed to be flour all over the floor behind them, nerf gun bullets left in just about any place you looked, and to top it all off there was blankets and pillows stacked in a massive pile in the middle of the living room.

Wanda could see her wife's blood boiling as they sat at what was supposed to be a chill and romantic evening for the two of them, and she tried her best to calm her down. "Natty it'll be okay, we can just forget about it, have a nice time and then we can lecture Lena later and make them tidy everything up in the morning. We'll sort it out." When Nat stops and waves the waiter over, it confuses Wanda, but as soon as she asks for "4 of your strongest shots" she doesn't know whether to laugh and join in, or cry.

When the shots arrive, Nat takes one without even saying anything, then she shouts her thanks to the waiter. She picks another up and points it in Wanda’s direction while raising her eyebrows, as if to offer her one. Wanda furrows her eyebrows and shakes her head “Someone’s gotta drive us home," Nat just waves in her direction, dismissing the comment with a shake of her head "Taxi?" Wanda debates her wife's offer but ultimately declines, not wanting to return home to a complete mess and 4 children, when they're both drunk.

The dinner actually went quite nicely after the alcohol helped Natasha to forget about what was going on at home. The two spending a lovely night together, almost reminding them of their earlier stages of their relationship- being all lovey-dovey with one another. Nat couldn’t help but admire her wife, not only staring at her, but reaching for any part of her she could: her hands, her arms, her cheeks.

She makes Wanda let out the biggest smile when she mumbled about “I’m so glad I have you, you’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

After many love-filled kisses, and laughter throughout the night, Wanda decided it was about time to get home and tend to the children they’d left in the care of a bigger child for the night.

Linking her arm with her wife, Wanda led Natasha to the car and made sure she got in the passenger seat safely. Nat didn’t make that easier for her, considering she insisted on driving them home because that was ‘always her job’. “No NO I drive, always drive us, ‘s my job.. not yours,” as she points a finger at Wanda. Letting out a chuckle Wanda grabs her hand, shaking her head while saying “It’s your job baby but I’m going to do it tonight.” Despite the pout on Nat’s face, she does let Wanda manoeuvre her into the seat, and put her belt on, before getting in and driving the two home.

Wanda’s too slow when they get home to actually help Natasha get out of the car, because she’s already out and in the front door, leaving it wide open.

After cursing under her breath she gets out the car and rushes inside after her, being greeted with her three daughters and their aunt laying on the massive pile of pillows and blankets they have, and just as she’s about to grab Nat, she lunges forward, jumping and landing basically on top of her kids. Of course she aimed for Yelena, but missed because her vision is a bit altered right now.

Upon realising their mothers are back, the girls all rushed to greet them, not expecting to see them again tonight.

Grace and Lottie rushing over to Wanda because they jumped up before they could get squashed by their mom. While Rose was still laying so she shifted to lay in her mom’s arms once she had flopped down.

Wanda greets her twins with a smile “Hi my babies” as she leans down to kiss both of their heads. She holds them closed absentmindedly stroking their hair as she asks Yelena “So did everyone behave?”

Yelena laughs responding with a wink and “What does it look like?”

Wanda cant help but smile, just glad her girls are happy, as she suggests “right my loves, I think it’s bed time.”

What she does expect is when her youngest two whine in protest, saying they want to watch one more movie.

However what she doesn’t expect is for the other two adults to agree. To be honest, all it took for Yelena to agree with her was a harsh look her way, and she was mumbling her goodbyes and leaving to go home for the night. But not her wife. She was sat pouting, pulling Charlotte and Grace to her sides- who were also pouting. They all knew Wanda couldn’t resist.

All while this was happening Rose was kind of just minding her own business. She could tell her mom was drunk because she barely ever acted how she was acting, so she chose to stay close to her mama for right now, knowing she was sober; while the twins were sprawled out next to Natasha.

Wanda cant help but let then watch another film “Okay you win, we can watch one more, ONE, and then bed, okay?” She receives eager nods in response, which are shortly cut off by screeches and giggles as Nat starts to tickle Lottie and Grace.

After a moment of catching their breath, Nat moves to rest against the sofa, so the twins can cuddle into her easier. Once they do, she lets out a gasp, saying “where’s my mini?” as she starts trying to sit up, yet failing because of course she has the twins sat against her.

Lottie laughs at her mom saying that, knowing she means Rose, who is like a mini Natasha, Grace pinches Nat’s side, clearly unimpressed with her squirming about.

Wanda also laughs before saying “Hey now, I’m stealing her since you stole my little ones. You can’t have them all!”

Wanda moves to sit right by Nat, of course still with the twins laying on Nat, then pats her lap “come here baby,” making Rose cuddle up to her too.

Wanda cant help but let out a relieved sigh at having all her family within arms reach for the moment, she kisses each of the kids cheeks before leaning over to give Nat a kiss too.

What she again doesn’t expect from her currently unpredictable wife, is for her to grab hold of her cheeks and keep her against her lips, seemingly forgetting the girls are literally on top of them right now. Natasha is strong though and Wanda can’t quite break the hold she has on her, not that she wants to push her away but they usually try to keep it down around the kids.

Both Grace and Charlotte shriek and shout “EW,” Grace even ending up pushing her hand between her mothers’ mouths so that they can’t kiss anymore. That does work to stop them, Nat acting a little annoyed, while Wanda flushes red a little embarrassed, but she presses a kiss to Grace’s palm- that separated her and her wife. Lottie turns away and buries her head into her mom’s side so she doesn’t have to look at the sight. While Rose just diverted her attention elsewhere, until she felt a kiss to her temple, making her look back up to her mama.

The temporary peace is disrupted again when Grace shrieks and wipes her hand on her mama, mumbling “that’s so gross.” Wanda can’t help but feel offended as she scoffs, saying “excuse me, you love my kisses.” Grace hums in agreement “yeah but not after i have to watch you and mom do that!”

Wanda flushes at that, feeling embarrassed again, while Rose giggles at her sister’s words. Wanda gasps saying “huh you think it’s funny too? I didn’t hear you complaining when I kissed you!” Rose just snuggled into her in response.

While this is happening, Nat and Charlotte are laying quietly, both sort of in their own little worlds. Nat seems to be partly thinking about something, and also reaching out to hold her wife’s hand, or stroke her cheek or hair.

For a little while everyone seems to focus on the movie, enjoying the feeling of being surrounded by family.

Until everyone is disrupted for a second time, by Charlotte this time, jumping up and instantly covering her ears with her hands. “EW EW EW WHAT MOM WHY DID YOU SAY THAT?”

The others kind of jump in surprise, not expecting the outburst and also not hearing Nat actually say anything to cause the outburst.

Wanda tilts her head confused as she asks “Why did she say what lovebug? She didn’t say anything out loud?”

Lottie can’t do anything other than stand there with her hands over her ears, wanting the erase what she heard and visualised.

Since she got no response from her daughter, Wanda turned to Nat instead, who still seemed zoned out. Despite never liking doing this, Wanda couldn’t help but look into her wife’s mind briefly to see what she was thinking about, that spooked her daughter so much.

When she does she wishes she hadn’t, opting to slap Nat’s arm, “Nat! Come on seriously, we’re watching a film with our kids and that’s what you’re thi— hold on. Lottie? How did you know that’s what she was thinking abo- oh my gosh.. you can read minds?!”

Lottie gasps, asking “I can?!” Just confirming Wanda’s thought because Charlotte still had her hands over her ears. “Woah.”

“But mama i don’t want to hear mom thinking about having se-“ with Wanda swiftly cutting her off “okay okay I know honey, I’ll help you to control it okay?”

Lottie nods saying “thank you mama,” making Wanda smile “you’re welcome sweet girl, now I think it’s bed time.. I’m exhausted.”

[myoddessy]

I’ve just found you from whoetoshaw’s blog and WOW! I love your blog! 💞

🎀 anything with Freezy?! Maybe like a reunion/rekindling type-thing from back then to now? Like friends who were shipped back then and date now? I hope that makes sense 🥲 Xx

aww, thank you!! I was waiting for a prompt like this 😭 I hope you like it!

September 2016.

January 2017.

liked by calfreezy, wroetoshaw, joeygraceffa, and 872,519 others

yourusername Through My Eyes 2016 out now. So much has changed for me over the past year, I (finally) got my own place, I've met so many new people, and we hit 5 million subscribers!! Thank you all so much for all you've supported me through this year, and let's hope for an equally amazing TME of 2017! 💞💞

ynfan4 Oh I've been waiting for the highlight of my year!!

taliamar Good to see my festival feature is still the best part of the video. So proud of you girl ❤️

ynxcal4ever At 14.52 when it's just Y/n and Cal in their kitchen for the last time before she moved out and they remade the first ever thing they cooked together 😭😭 I'm so emotional right now

calfreezy I would say I had a glow up but after watching this I realised that I've always been mindblowingly attractive

yourusername The real reason I had to move out was because your big head was leaving dents in the wall anymore and I didn't want to feel like I was living with two Harrys xoxo 😘😘

wroetoshaw Oi! What did I do?

yourusername Broke my LED mirror by throwing a controller at it.

sdmnsundayz Y/n is a Saint for putting up with them.

January 2020.

liked by youtube, oliviarodrigo, miniminter, and 1,982,370 others

yourusername Through My Eyes 2019 is out now. Enjoy a year of travel across the world and the family who kept me strong through all of it. Thank you all for every line we've crossed and every milestone we hit this year, I love you all so so much 💘💘

calfreezy This is my favourite one out of all of them

yourusername Is it because you're in pretty much every frame?

calfreezy Obviously

freyanightingale Ibiza you will always be famous!

taliamar We need to go back ASAP

yourusername Opening scene to the next tme planned? I think so

ynslover 'Cal and Y/n' this, 'Y/n and the girls' that, yes it's cute but can we take a moment to appreciate how STUNNING she looked in this video???

ynfreezy LITERALLY. Like shes always been stunning but something in the foreign air made her a literal goddess it's not even funny

calsfreezys the bi panic was panicking HARD

taliaxynxfreya Currently crying over the fact that Y/n and Cal were together in most of the shots

w2minter There's no way they're not together.

January 2023.

liked by emmachamberlain, gracieabrams, faithlouisak, and 3,419,778 others

yourusername through my eyes 2022, you are my soul. despite me saying this every time I post one of these videos, I mean it now more than ever. from hitting 25 MILLION subscribers (what???), to hosting interviews at the MET gala, to truly falling in love, thank you to you all, and thank you to the universe for guiding me to where I am now. I truly cannot put my gratitude into words 💞💞💞

faithlouisak beautiful girl, beautiful video, beautiful vibe. the best part of every year xx ❤️❤️

yourusername love u more than words can describe ❤️

calfreezy I guess the amount of clips of you laughing makes up for the lack of me

calfreezy barely, though

calfreezy I better be heavily featured in the next one

yourusername I'll make a whole video dedicated to you if that's what you want

ynfan124 how do his tantrums work on you 😭

yourusername I've learned through many years that its better to just give him what he wants

mintertalia Y/N SOFT LAUNCHING???? this is a make or break for the cal and y/n shippers

yn2s yall still exist? give in, it's been years, if they were going to reveal something then they would've done it by now

mintertalia bro stfu you're a ship account for two people who've called each other siblings 😭

yourusername just posted !

liked by ksi, calfreezy, mikesmic, and 3,998,770 others

yourusername @calfreezy satisfied?

YNXCAL NO FUXKING WAY

ynslover YOU CANNOT JUST DROP THIS ON US QUEEN

calfreezy it'll do

yourusername what if I broke up with you

calfreezy you'd miss me too much

taliamar cuties!!

freyanightingale what happened to soft launching it? 🤣

yourusername got bored, felt like causing drama

[beanghostprincess]

Modern ZoLu AU where Zoro and Sanji are initially closer friends with Ace & Sabo cos they are closer in age and don’t have much to do with their younger sister Luffy except that Sanji one called her cute for which Zoro called him a creep bc of age difference (Luffy still a minor).

Now Zoro was gone for two years to train sword fighting with Mihawk and reconnects with old friends when he’s back. He goes to a party at Ace’s place and meets a cute boy with messy hair and an energetic personality. Zoro’s automatically flirting with him. At first Zoro had no idea who he was but he had known Zoro and dragged him into conversations and around the party.

Sanji comes in later. Within the last two years he had a lot of realisations about himself and isn’t as straight as he used to be. (How much he changed is up to you)

Anyway, now he greets Zoro by calling him a creep in return. Zoro doesn’t understand why and Sanji has to explain to him that the boy he’s chatting up is Ace & Sabo’s now little brother Luffy who went from girl to boy by cutting his hair short, getting top surgery and somehow gain a scar under his left eye.

Zoro instantly panics about what Ace and Sabo are gonna do to him. But can’t find the self control not to flirt with Luffy. He’s irresistible. At least Luffy isn’t a minor anymore.

Help 😭 What do you mean age difference? It's only two years- But yeah, Zoro would use any opportunity to call Sanji a creep so I believe that would happen somehow.

No matter the universe, Zoro is down bad for Luffy. But I honestly think Luffy would be the one to approach him first because he finds Zoro interesting and he remembers him from when he used to come over two years ago. So they start talking but Luffy doesn't mention that they know each other already, and Zoro is instantly captivated by this guy's stupidity because that's what happens in every AU with these two. They're just equally dumb and in love. Soulmate type of thing. They're flirting or, you know, doing their version of flirting. In which 'Do you want to see my swords?' isn't a sexual innuendo but like, genuinely, Zoro is talking about swords the whole time and Luffy loves it.

Zoro doesn't find out that's Sabo and Ace's brother until Sanji tells him. Sanji won't stop laughing and saying he's completely fucked because his older brothers go feral whenever somebody tries to touch Luffy, but Zoro doesn't pay much attention to it. I think he wouldn't care, tbh. Luffy is independent and he can make his own decisions.

I personally think it'd be hilarious if Luffy and Zoro started dating or having something romantic going on and the only reason why Ace and Sabo don't like it is not because they're overprotective (they are not, actually, those are just rumors and actually the only one who acts kind of protective is Sabo) but because Zoro? Really? Zoro? He's such a gym-bro in every universe and he won't shut up about swords. The only thing he's good at is maths and he won't stop falling asleep everywhere. The guys love their friend, but Zoro???? Besides, Sabo is just worried this relationship might distract Luffy from studying (<- Older brother who raised Luffy like he was his own really doesn't want Luffy to stop studying like Ace did. There's a whole drama about it because Luffy doesn't want to study either but it's different with Ace and-- Yeah. You can tell where this is going).

I think Zoro wouldn't be scared at first, and when he is a bit concerned for his safety is only because Sabo has that "Hello :) What were you two doing so late at night together? :)" type of mom creepy energy.

[moodywyrm]

basketball!abby is so in denial before her n reader get together (as always, chubby!reader cs she is me n i am her n we just love abby <3333)

anywayyy, abby always says her relationships are not that serious and jus pure fun cs all the girls she's with jus wanna fuck but when you come into her life??? and treat her like A PRINCESS?!!!?! SHE'S SO HEAD OVER HEELS BUT SO IN DENIAL over if you like her or not!! (you do)

like, 'yea we're not together but look at this picture of her i set as my wallpaper :]' , or 'nah, we're jus friends but we have matching bracelets n i HAVE to wear them at all times cs she made them or it's rude! >:(' n 'she doesn't like me or anything but she made me a playlist, my fav food >///<'

all her friends are literally like 'yeaaa.... mkay - _ -' n as soon as you n abby get together!! they're telling you everything!!! 'yea this dork refused to admit she liked you cs you're the first girl to genuinely love her right, they're still a little skeptical but what sells them is when abby comes to practice (wearing your bracelet n a pink water bottle bedazzled by you) n her hair done into two Dutch-braids

cs abby doesn't let ANYONE touch her hair, n when you pick her up from practice with flowers, snacks for everyone n wearing a necklace with her initial (your bday gift that was actually your idea) n abby literally starts buzzing n GLOWING the minute they mention you're here, they KNOWWW that you guys will last for a LONGGGGGG time

- 💌

baby this is so fuckign cute im gonna scream. bonus point uhh listen to Therese by Maya Hawke if you want to fuckign Cry over this. also we're combining this with the bookworm reader universe bc I said so and it gives us an entry point

because that's correct! After Owen, when Abby realized she liked women, she was having just a rotation of (safe) hookups. Hence her and Manny's scheduled debriefs. But then you showed up! You two met in her class and suddenly she didn't really want any of her hookups? suddenly she was replacing 11pm hook ups with 11am 'bookclub meetings' and coffee dates, explaining to her hookups that she just wasn't really interested anymore

but she's Not developing romantic feelings. No (liar). she wants you physically, yeah, she thinks you're fucking gorgeous, but she also just wants to be your friend. your very good friend. it doesn't matter that you make her giddy when you text her good morning, asking about her day, telling her about things in your day that reminded you of her. bringing her coffee and snacks when she's studying, filling up her water bottle before she heads off to practice. comforting her when the overwhelming crush of anxiety that comes with college starts to weigh on her. complimenting her hair when she, for the first time in years, comes to class with it not in a braid. doesn't matter that she thinks of you when she goes to bed and when she wakes up and she dreams of you sometimes, that she daydreams about you. doesn't matter that she hasn't hooked up or even considering anyone else in the time that she's known you, or that she's told all her friends about you. doesn't matter that her wallpaper is a picture of the two of you at a vintage market that you dragged her to.

but her friends see all of that! they see the smile on her face when she's texting you or talking to you or talking about you or thinking about you. the way she sits down and eats the snacks you prepared for her after practice, sharing lil bits with Nora (who now loves your cooking and needs Abby to get it together so she can get more). they see the way she starts spending more time in the library so you two can study together, sometimes they even spot her when you two are studying in a lil corner, tucked together and whispering to each other, the both of you smiling like fools. they know she is in Deep man. but she still won't admit it!!

Every time someone brings you up, she's just like "Yeah we're really good friends :)" and in reality she has developed such crippling romantic feelings she wants to baby you and be babied by you and adore you and do all of that romantic crap she saw in movies as a kid.

And all her friends are like "Friends. Uh-huh." while very pointedly staring at the TWO bracelets you made her, one beaded and one made of embroidery thread, as well as the lil ribbon braid you tied around her water bottle, all the lil gifts you've given her. They see how you look at her, like she hung the moon in the night sky, how soft you get with her and only her. And vice versa! They see how gentle Abby – Abby, who Owen called mean and snarky when they were dating, who was known for being kind of cocky and a jerk to people who didn't really know her – is with you, how kind and how sweet, how she always considers your needs. They know you're meant to be together, it's just a matter of when.

So none of them are surprised when Abby tells them that you made a move! You kissed her during one of your movie nights, and that was that! And everyone is like fucking finally girl. But the ones who are really concerned are Nora and Manny, who love Abby to bits and want nothing but the best (that autocorrected to Thebes and it made me giggle, thought you should know) for her. And they haven't seen her this intensely in love like ever, so they're scared!

But then Manny is hanging out with Nora and the team before practice, and Abby comes in and they just pause. Because her hair is braided into two braids, which she never does on herself, her bracelets looped around the neck of her water bottle, which has your ribbons tied around it. And she looks So Happy. Manny and Nora share this look and it's just pure platonic love and happiness and knowing that Abby, their Abby, found her person. Because No One is allowed to touch her hair, she didn't even like it when Owen did it. But here she is, hair neatly combed and parted and braided, tied at the ends with two hair ties in your favorite color.

Manny stays for the duration of practice, helping out where he can, but he's not on the court so he's the first one to see you step in, wearing shorts and one of Abby's zip up hoodies, the zipper lowered enough to show a cute lil "A" charm strung onto your everyday necklace. In your hands is a mini cooler holding snacks for the team, and when you announce your presence, everyone, and I mean Everyone, sees Abby light up. Like a fucking firefly (pun not intended).

Immediately she's off the court, running towards you, letting you set the cooler down before scooping you up in a hug, pressing a kiss to your lips before pulling away and going "Hi honey" in the sweetest, if exhausted, tone.

Nora and Manny are just watching from the sidelines, munching on the snacks you brought, looking at Abby and how fucking happy she looks. They genuinely don't think they've ever seen her look this happy with anyone before, but they're glad. Because they watch you shove her water bottle into her hands, insisting she take a drink while you grab her a special snack, pulling her over to the bench and making sure she eats before you two head home. And they see how gentle, but firm, you are with her. How you brush her hair away from her face, how you redo a braid that's started to come loose, taking care not to pull at her hair. And they see how Abby places a kiss at your knuckles, holding your hand so softly, being so sweet with you.

Yeah, they really fucking glad you two found each other.

[howdoesagrapewrites]

𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙮𝙘𝙡𝙚

Cw: fluff, poly!fem!reader x Pavitr Prabhakar x Gayatri Singh

Part two: Y/N and Gayatri meet Gwen, Miles and Hobie

>You were Gayatri's best friend

>Have you ever seen those two girls who cannot be separated for the life of them? The ones that do every school project together? The ones that feed each other at lunch while giggling? The ones that are always wearing matching bff necklaces or rings? Ok, those best friends

>And everyone knew you and Gayatri were a package deal, if she made a new friend, they were your friend too, if you made one, it was hers too, if someone gave the other weird vibes, then you would minimize contact with them

>You were attached at the hip since middle school

>You remember the first time you decided to put makeup on, you took your mom's makeup kit and Gayatri used all the knowledge she gathered from 2010's youTube makeup tutorials to apply it on you, you did the same. It looked patchy, you didn't powder, and used awful toned shades, but it was enough for you and for her (every photo belonging to that time period has been purposefully destroyed)

>Your friendship with Gayatri always seemed perfectly normal to you, it was all just girls being girls, admiring her for afar, loving her (platonically!!!111!!!11!!!!) more than anything you've ever known, feeling at home when she hugged you and you could smell her hair, thinking no one else in this world could understand you like she does, getting mad when boys flirted with her (they're not good enough for your friend!!!)

>just girls being girls

>"I'm glad you didn't go out with Akshay, he looks nice, but I heard he's a flirt" Gayatri stated while putting on mascara in the school bathroom, you mindlessly fixed your hair

>There had been a handful of boys who would leave notes in your lockers, or timidly offer to walk one of you home, but most often than not, they were met with rejection, from picky excuses, to the classic "my dad won't let me date"

>It happened a couple times, but the boyfriends wouldn't last more than a week before you simply decided there was no spark, and ran to each other's house to gossip about it

>"I'm giving up on boys, none of them understand me, or treat me that good, they're so weird" Gayatri complained and paused to bring another spoonful of kulfi to her mouth "You make me feel better than any boy anyway, maybe you're my prince charming" she laughed angelically, bright eyes and her lips glossed over with some lipstick and some remains of the frozen treat you were sharing. That happened some time ago, and even though she laughed, she didn't accept anyone else after that, but she was just joking, right?

>You were sure there wasn't a force in the universe that could separate you from your best friend, even her family loved you as one of their own, there was nothing to be done

>Until you locked eyes with a guy that bumped into you in the hallways

>You stared at him and heard him mutter an apology, but you were too busy scanning all his features to register what was happening

>The mystery boy was a transfer student that started going to your class

>His name was Pavitr, and you would sometimes speak to him, he lived closer to you than Gayatri did, so after you got to her house in the walk after school, there was a solid 10 minutes you had alone with Pavitr

>He was so energetic and joyful, you didn't want to admit you liked him, but there was only so much hotness in you cheeks one could attribute to the spring sun in Mumbattan

>Gayatri was friends with him too, he was just as happy go-lucky as he was with you, you liked that he didn't make neither of you feel excluded from conversations or inside jokes, would he be the same way if you two ever got to date?

>The fantasy of dating Pavitr felt weird, incomplete, you couldn't leave your bestie behind like that! Yes, friends get in relationships, but you weren't just friends, you were best friends forever, super extra duper close friends, soulmate friends!

>But your fantasies came crushing down when she told you "Pavitr's so cute, you know? He's so different from the others, I think I like him, like, like-like him"

>Pavitr Prabhakar was off limits now, you shouldn't even look at him now

>You wouldn't throw the most important friendship you've ever had out of the window for a boy, even if that boy was pretty, the prettiest, and he was kind, and funny, and outgoing, and could light up the whole city with a smile

>sucks to be you, I guess

>a few weeks after that, they started dating, and you wanted to be happy for them, you wanted to be SO BADLY HAPPY, but you felt abandoned, jealous, and so sad

>You had to admit an ugly feeling always boiled in your stomach when Gayatri went on a date, or someone was clearly head over heels for her, but that was because they weren't good enough

>But Pavitr was good enough, he was the best guy, the only man you'd ever trust to date your friend, but the feeling remained

>a little less angry and more sad, but still remained

>They were still close to you, invited you to all their dates, that they would call group hangouts, but you could tell were dates

>At first it was fun, but you always lowered your gaze or pretend to do something else when they hugged, or kissed

>After every kiss, they would both exchange a look with you, but then look away and say something to break the ice, by their eyes, you could tell they were ashamed or saddened, maybe they didn't want to leave you behind and pitied you

>So you stopped going out with them when it clearly was a date, only showing up if there was more people, or if you saw them individually

>"wanna go to the movies w us tomorrow? :)" -Gayatri

>"too busy:/ got homework to catch up on" -you

>"dw luv, I can go your to place and help you w it" -Gayatri

>"ur a bad influence, I'll get distracted" -you

>"true" -Gayatri

>No, you didn't have homework, but seeing your crush and you best friend being cheesy was not the weekend plan you were looking forward to

>When you walked next to Pav, you were stiff and quiet instead of your normal self, he was your friend, but it felt so bad when you could hear your heart beating faster for a boy who was taken, taken by your favorite person in the world

>"I hope Gayatri got better from her allergies, I haven't seen her since last week" Pav said, hoping to break the ice

>"Didn't you go to the movies on Saturday?" You questioned

>"Oh, you couldn't go, it's not the same if it's not the three of us" he answered like it was the most natural thing in the world

>Was really your third wheeling so great to them that they cancelled a date because you weren't there?

>You thought about that for weeks, and wondered how many times it happened since you started to avoid them

>Today Gayatri behaved weird, no one else noticed, but you knew her like the back of your hand,

>She told you she needed you to go to her house after school, it was important

>You didn't push the subject, since she clearly wanted to discuss it in privacy

>A million possibilities ran through you head as you walked to her house, you were scared

>When you came into her room, Pavitr was there, why didn't she tell you? You thought it was a rude thing to do, but she was clearly in distress so you tried to not be so quick to judge

> You sat next to her on the bed, and saw how both of them interchanged nervous looks, Gayatri started speaking, not as nervous as her boyfriend, but still

>"I- I got something to tell you, well, I have a- Pavitr has a crush on you"

>"...What?!" You looked so offended right now, A crush? On you? On someone else? When he was dating the prettiest most amazing girl in the world?! If you were dating Gayatri you would never, ever-

>"It's okay! It's not like that, I like you too!" Her voice interrumpted your mental rambling. Ok, this got way more confusing "I knew I loved you, but I didn't want to ruin our friendship, and when I started liking Pavitr I thought it was over, that we'd go back to being friends, but it felt awkward when you weren't around, and it felt like cheating when we spent time alone"

> Pavitr started "Gayatri is really so amazing, and I love her so much, but I love you so much too, and I thought it wasn't right to her, so I wanted to break up, but she had the same issue. I guess the thing we want to say is, would you give us a chance?" He flashed that charming smile to you, and paired with Gayatri's love-filled gaze, you almost melted

>Of course you liked her, you were so oblivious, that explains literally everything you have ever questioned about your dynamic with her, but maybe you were scared too

>"I'd love to" you shyly responded and held their hands

>Maybe not all relationships have just two wheels, maybe tricycles are thrice as fun

[goginaporter]

rina + iconic couples in media

this is my fun way of responding to the alternate universe prompt for @rinaweek <3. rina and their parents in every universe, finding each other and falling in love. alsooo this post was slightly inspired by this absolutely brilliant edit linked here (x) and if you want rinatroyella or rinajacey edits, please lmk and I'll send my favorite ones <3333

troyella

the essays that can and have been written about troyella and rina are extensive (and I'm happy to do a longer form one in a separate post). but from being the new girl x boy who's never moved, girl encouraging boy to audition for the musical and actually commit, kissing in the rain, starring in the school musical together, to making a huge commitment to the other person on a stage in front of a bunch of people, rina is quite literally troyella reincarnated. and yeah, lots of people can argue that troyella is perfect as is, that they didn't need another version. and on one hand, i agree. but the way in which rina takes core parts of troyella's story while standing on their own as a ship is beautiful and truly does justice to the original franchise by anchoring the story around these two, both individually and as a couple, just as was done with troyella in the original trilogy. my favorite troyella parallel moment from s4!

4x01 - ricky sneaking into gina's room just like troy would come into gabriella's room through her balcony

4x02 - the note ricky gives gina in the hallway to meet in their secret staircase is just like the note troy slips in gabriella's locker in hsm to meet on the rooftop. (honorable mention to them auditioning for and getting the roles of troy and gabriella in this ep as well <33)

4x03 - of course, it has to go to their rendition of can i have this dance. their voices sound gorgeous and though the choreo they do has similarities to the original, they've made it their own.

4x04 - this one is kinda reaching but I wanted something for each ep! in hsm2, sharpay forces troy to sing a song with her, one she prepared for the talent show, instead of allowing him to go on a date with gabriella. in a similar vein, though with considerably less scheming from dani's side, dani is selected to replace gina as gabriella because she is so busy with the movie, though this is done behind her back.

4x05 - has to go to the rain kiss obviously. although troy and gabriella only ever kiss under sprinklers, it's the same vibes. there's also a still (not included in the scene) of the rain kiss of ricky holding gina's waist as she throws her arms up that's so reminiscent of troyella in the rain during cihtd.

4x06 - ricky and gina running down the hallway at the beginning of the episode feels like a direct parallel to troy and gabriella running to auditions in hsm. also rina fighting to save the show is super similar to gabriella (and troy once gabriella convinces him) pushing for the theater department to put on a show about them for their spring musical.

4x07 - they're literally playing troyella in this ep so I could say so much. i'll just use this space to talk about how much I love them in a night to remember and how much it looked like they were dancing at their wedding. I will say that terri, gina's mom, telling ricky about gina's movie with a smile on her face, reminds me a lot of gabriella's fans setting troy up to talk shit about her on camera to convince her to focus on the decatholon. also reflects sharpay telling troy about stanford, again with a smile on her face.

4x08 - again, this ep is rife with toryella coding because they're literally playing troyella, but the show goes super meta in having them sing the right here, right now reprise as ricky has just found out that gina is potentially moving across the world to film her movie, just as troy finds out about stanford and struggles with gabriella not being there for the rest of their senior year. on a much less angsty note, ricky singing love you forever to gina has the same vibes as troy choosing gabriella and going to school close to her, not to mention that lines in the song directly reference the song "high school musical" (which you can read more about here <3). gina also deciding to move the movie to salt lake is very much her "I choose basketball but I also choose theater but more than all of that, I choose gabriella" her version is "I choose filming this movie but I also choose theater but more than all of that, I choose ricky" just a beautiful perfect scene all around.

these s4 moments only scratch the surface of the troyellarina tether but i'll stop ranting for now and move on to rina's teen drama parent sets.

jacey

after s1, tim federle did an interview where they asked him about him about the ricky / nini / gina triangle, he directly mentioned dawson's creek in guiding his writing process, stating that at the center of his thought process was "how do I surprise audience members with who they're going to ship?" (x). for those who don't know the jacey lore, to make a long story short, their love triangle centered around joey, pacey, and dawson. joey and dawson were childhood best friends and joey has a crush on dawson. pacey and dawson are best friends and joey and pacey do not get along initially. after events of life, dawson asks pacey to "look after joey" at the beginning of s3, the two get super close and eventually catch feelings for each other and they secretly date as they figure out a way to break it to dawson (sound familiar?). they do break up but come back together at the end of the show and are endgame. the parallels between jacey and rina exist both on and off screen. dawson and joey were the initial endgame for the show, just like rini was the show's s1 endgame. however, electrifying chemistry between katie and joshua (jackson) & sofia & joshua (bassett) in their respective shows changed everything. rina is one of the strongest examples of continuing this legacy of disrupting the initial plans concocted in the writer's room to make way for insane chemistry. some of my fave jaceyrina parallels

rina and jacey having a formative, chemistry presenting moment in a car (rina in 1x05 during homecoming, joey and pacey in 1x during their science project)

the sheer parallels between them in 3x19 of dawson's creek and 3x08 of hsmtmts with their kiss scenes. just watch here (x) and here (x) to see. the "stop me" "wait" parallels actually make me go crazy

joey tutoring pacey in 3x09 and gina (presumably) becoming ricky's tutor after 4x06

i'm rewatching 3x09 in preparation for this and jacey has a scene where dawson catches them talking about pacey helping joey with a ballroom dance scholarship thing in exchange for tutoring and he asks them what no one can find out about and a) pacey sucksssss at improv just like gina it's like that 4x02 scene with rina and ashlyn and b) it also feels like rina with the chocolates, again with ashlyn LMAOOO in 2x04

ALSO in this ep (wow it's a goldmine), when dawson and jen catch joey and pacey ballroom dancing, they're forced to join the class and the instructor psychoanalyzes both couples. for jacey, she mentions that the tension and bickering between them suggests their underlying attraction for one another. this is literally what val (their choreographer!!) does after watching rina perform wdykal in 3x05

too much to explain for the final scene of this episode but i just encourage everyone to watch 3x09 to get the same sense of a major scene in a coat check and an ensuing apology

pacey telling joey he remembers everything in 3x22 and ricky telling gina he's never forgotten a thing she's said in 4x03

pacey telling joey that the simple act of loving her is enough for him and that she's "off the hook" and ricky telling gina that of course she has to go and be a star, as well as singing lyf not knowing that she was staying in slc, so he just wanted to let her know that he loved her for the sake of it, not to convince her of anything

pacey having to tell joey something but lying to protect her (and ricky having something to tell gina but lying to protect her (3x07)

naley

another paragon of teen drama royalty is naley. literally the best people ever and it makes sooo much sense that rina is similar to them because they're actually rina's grandparents. naley birthed troyella, who birthed rina. a beautiful family tree. anyways, naley doesn't seem to, on the surface at least, seem to have a lot of parallels to rina. a shy tutor girl and a cocky basketball player who get married after knowing each other for less than a year? (though I will go down with my headcanon that rina gets married super duper young, will not be taking any arguments). despite this, at their core, naley's love for each other is so reminiscent of rina's love for each other, not to mention some incredibly direct parallels that the two have, listed below:

nathan dropping haley home after a party & ricky dropping gina home after homecoming ("yeah, this is my house" & "so, this is where I live")

connecting over dubious circumstances (nathan requesting haley as a tutor/getting close to her to get back at lucas & gina convincing ricky to stay in the show so she could get gabriella, attending hoco with ej to psych nini out but instead connecting with ricky)

nathan putting haley's hand to his heart after telling her it's racing (it was because of drugs but still, it beats for haley) and ricky putting gina's hand on his heart after telling her that his heart's racing (i'm telling y'all this scene is the same, just with the characters and setting swapped)

alllllll of naley's s2 angst is like the intense and more painful version of rina's angst in s4

naley invented rain kisses (even if they existed before them, no they didn't) and rina obviously does justice with their own rain kiss in 4x05

when nathan proposes to haley (their first proposal), he tells her that "I could love you forever." audience, what's the title of ricky's love song for gina? i rest my case

haley being nathan's tutor and gina being ricky's tutor <3333

nathan sneaking into haley's bedroom to study and makeout and ricky sneaking into gina's bedroom to sing and makeout

nathan and ricky being haley and gina's biggest fans when it comes to their careers, putting their success over their personal feelings (nathan collecting clippings of haley's tour, paying chris to let her record music & ricky decorating gina'ss trailer, encouraging her to go to nz to be a star)

rina served cheerleader x basketball player (though at different times and both were fictional but wtv) just like naley

this was super nonexhaustive as rina also has parallels to jam, mondler, sethmer, romeo & juliet, and so many other ships. however, I'm lazy and didn't want to write all of those out. maybe I'll return to them another time, but for now, pls enjoy this <3333

[dyemelikeasunset]

would you be able to include flag country names for the dom&mor characters lineup? ty!

(i love how diverse all your art and characters are, i wish i could read thru all about your ocs and stories like browsing through a wiki in an autism way)

THANK YOU!! In fact I can do you one better and write little blurbs for everyone! Including our leading ladies too of course Under the readmore:

Mor's side

Morgan: Jamaican American Lesbian. Mor's parents came from Jamaica but she was born in the US, where she grew up with her mom in Boston before moving to NYC. Mor went to university for a BA in Graphic Design and met most of her friends there. She works from home these days. Mor doesn't really realize she's the resident Pretty Girl in her group of friends (she has bad self esteem)

Lexi: American Nonbinary Lesbian. Lex met Mor in high school when they both played on the softball team, and they both came out to each other. They've been able to stay friends all these years cause their tastes in girls are wildly different. Lexi belongs to a different group as the rest of Mor's friends since they didn't go to the same college, but they're Mor's very annoying ride-or-die

Panos: Greek Ethiopian and Bisexual. Panos met Mor through their shared degree and has been a mentor and big brother figure for her since. They help onboard her to a lot of projects, and the two of them rely on each other professionally. He never really stops talking about his wife and daughter-- it's the price everyone has to pay, since he's so reliable and understanding and helping everyone all the time

Ryan: (Sansei) Japanese American and Gay. Out of Mor's art friends, Ryan is the one who's most practical about his job. Instead, he puts his energy into being a menace in his dating life. He loves to gossip about his and Mor's very messy love lives and is convinced Morgan is just as much of a heartbreaker as he is behind her innocent facade. She has unfortunately told Ryan all her dirty laundry so he teases her relentlessly every chance he gets

Barjis: Malay Trans and Bisexual. Barjis came to the US with their boyfriend to pursue their degree and also start their transition. They have a surprisingly cute illustration style and work with Panos and Mor often. They love to talk animated movies with Morgan, and it's one of the few things that gets them to talk a lot. Very skittish and tired all the time, and has a bit of a fear of "normies"

Elsa: Norwegian Lesbian. Elsa is Mor's unwitting rival in love because they always crush on the same girls (Ryan loves to tease her about this). Elsa is currently losing (Mor: 7, Elsa: 2) but she's not bitter, just single and sad. She's currently working in web journalism even though she wants to publish her novel. Friendly and considerate, but awkward

Dom's side

Dominique: Korean/Chinese and Asexual. Dom was born in Beijing but grew up in Seoul with her mother. She started working as a model at 16 and moved to the US alone when she was 18. She's currently coming back into the modeling world after a 2 year hiatus. She's charming and good at socializing, but she doesn't really know how to make friends, which frustrates model coworkers who want to be closer to her

Farid: Afghan French and Gay. Farid became a model in his late father's footsteps, so he's often accused of being a nepo model. He's fussy and annoyed easily, but he can never refuse helping people. One of Dom's only real friends, he's a bit like a little brother to her and relies on her a lot. He has a bad habit of dating married men and acting like it doesn't matter to him (it matters. A lot.)

Maithili: Indian Canadian and Pansexual. Maithili is breezy and easy-going, but behind her dreamy facade is a very level-headed personality. She works with Dom often for body diversity shoots, but she'd really like to do more high fashion. Very flirtatious, calls Dom and Farid her "work boyfriends" all the time

Wynter: British Trans woman. Wynter started modeling a little later than her peers. She was scouted after a big transition point, so modeling has brought her a lot of euphoria. She's one of the more mature personalities in Dom's life, and looks after her and the other models a lot. She lives with her boyfriend and is hoping he'll propose soon

Evita: Argentine American and Bisexual. Evita started as a social media influencer and has been able to make her way to the runway as a petite model. Despite their nonchalant persona, they work very hard and are very passionate about their job. Her current romance hangup is how oblivious Dominique is, and she knows she needs to move on

Inessa: Russian (and no fruity business). Inessa met Dom backstage at a Fashion Week while having a breakdown that Dom helped her through, so she's been attached like an inprinted duckling ever since. The type of straight girl who is obsessed with pretty women in a platonic way, so she really wants to get to know more about Dom's cute new girlfriend