#this was once again a comic book cover class assignment

[kiisaes]

i redrew the original scott pilgrim vol.4 cover :)

the original under the cut:

[awritingtree]

The Glistening Sun and The Glowing Moon

Remus Lupin x Hufflepuff!reader

Summary: Remus Lupin has finally gotten a chance to spend time with his long-term crush but he messes up. Will she forgive him? Will he ever build up the courage to tell her how he feels?

@slytherinquill’s writing challenge: Prompt 16. ***A: *In a conversation with B* So… What do we do now?C: “In the other room* What did they say?!A: Stop eavesdropping if you’re not even going to be good at it!*** The prompts have been bolded :)

Someone please tell me if they know the new url because I never know when people change it

Words: ~3.3k

Warnings: scars, self-deprecation/hate, body issues, slight bullying about appearance, pining, fluff, tiny bit of angst, 

A/N: so I tried my best with how having scars and everything feels. I’m posting after ages because I'm really busy studying for my med school exam and tbh I was lazy. But I finally posted!! I hope you enjoy this xx

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱••••✩••••̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

Remus Lupin often found himself pondering what he had done to receive a cruel fate. What had he been thinking when he fell for Y/N Y/L/N, the girl that brightly lit up every room she entered. The girl who was not only smart but kind and modest too, the girl who excelled in her lessons with hard work and perseverance. The girl that was so beautiful, she was a walking masterpiece.

They could not be more different. While Y/N spoke to almost everyone, had friends in every house, Remus could only call seven Gryffindors his friends.

Remus cowered in fear; made himself look much smaller than he is to hide away from the rest of the world. But Y/N Y/L/N; Y/N would walk around with her head held up high, wearing the scar that stretched from the beginning of her right eyebrow, down across her nose and cheek and to her left jaw proudly. Remus had always noticed her around, she was good friends with Lily but she had never interacted with any of the Marauders. Well not unless you count the times she'd tell them to be quiet when they were causing a ruckus during class.

Remus had spoken to Y/N once, on a complete accidental note. He’d heard her complaining to her friends about how she was nervous about the upcoming Potions assignment as they waited for Professor McGonagall to allow them into her classroom. He had blurted it out thoughtlessly like a complete and utter fool.

“I could tutor you!”

His eyes had widened, his face flushing as she turned around with a confused look on her face, wondering who’d spoken. When her Y/E/C eyes fell on his blushing face she’d smiled softly.

“Really?” she had asked with a hopeful glint in her eyes.

Remus’ hair had flopped everywhere as he had nodded vigorously, stuttering out a quiet yes. Her friends had giggled at his flustered behaviour causing his scarlet face to redden further. But Y/N, Y/N had taken no note of his embarrassing behaviour and thanked him for his offer saying she would talk to him soon. The hope in his chest had blossomed like a sunflower under the spring sun.

But that had been a week ago and Remus had not yet held one conversation with her. He’d often witnessed her walking around the corridors with her friends who seemed to always start giggling when he passed by them, probably laughing about their previous encounter, one he believed he had completely humiliated himself in. The only interaction Remus had with Y/N in the past week was the smiles they shared whenever they saw each other and so, his hope dwindled.

“Why don’t you just ask her out, Moony?”

Remus snapped out of his daydream at the sound of James’s voice. He blushed as Y/N sent him a smile, realizing he’d been caught staring. Sending a shy smile back he looked away.

He slammed his head against the wooden table groaning, “Kill me. Just kill me, Prongs.”

“I thought Padfoot was supposed to be the dramatic one,” Peter commented.

Remus lifted his head to send his friend a glare as Sirius exclaimed in protest.

“Why don’t you just ask her out?” Lily asked kindly.

Remus leaned against his arm, the heel of his palm tucked under his chin as his hazel eyes drifted back to the girl sitting on the Hufflepuff table.

“She’s just so beautiful, intelligent, kind and I’m just… me.”

He sighed, placing his hands on his laps and playing with them, his blond hair falling onto his forehead brushing against his eyelashes whenever he blinked. All his friends frowned at his insecure thoughts, they hated the way he saw himself. They desperately wished that their friend could see the way they saw him, the way everyone saw him, but himself.

“That’s not true-”

“Hello, Remus.”

Remus' head snapped up at the sound of the sweet voice, the voice that sounded like tiny bells chiming in the wind to his ears.

“Hi- hi. Hello Y/N.”

Y/N giggled slightly at his stuttering but in a manner that didn’t make him feel like she was laughing at him.

“I was wondering if it would be alright if we met up at the library today?”

Remus let out a sound, flabbergasted. Y/N’s eyes widened, quickly proceeding to justify her request.

“I mean you said you’d help me with the upcoming Potions assignment! I thought I would take you up on the offer,” she said in a hurry.

Remus stared at her in disbelief. Only when a sharp pain shot through his shin did he open his mouth.

“Oh um. Yes. Alright. Of course. Today. Library. Potions. No problem. Okay. Yes.”

Y/N relaxed, smiling at him gratefully.

“Thank you!” she said, bouncing slightly in place, “Is after classes alright?”

Remus mutely nodded, dumbfounded, his mind still processing what was happening.

“Great. See you then!” Y/N said before heading back to her group of friends who were watching the entire scene play out at the Hufflepuff table, walking with a newfound skip in her steps.

“You are pathetic,” said Sirius as he watched his friend slam his head back onto the table.

It would surely leave a mark based on how loud the smack sound was.

He had once again humiliated himself in front of Y/N and this time he believed there was no way to redeem himself. There was no chance in hell that she didn’t believe he was a complete moron.

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱••••✩••••̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

Remus had been hyping himself up the entire day, barely concentrating on any word that left his professors’ mouths. He spent the full day preparing himself to not make a fool out of himself again.

He took a deep breath and shook out the nerves from his body before walking into the library at the end of the day towards the table where Y/N was already sitting.

Her Y/H/C was pulled back into a low ponytail, a few stray strands framing her gorgeous face. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she scanned the book open in front of her. The scar on her face was light, standing out prominently under the bright sunlight streaming in through the window she was sitting next to. In her hands was a quill which she was twirling around absentmindedly as she looked for information in the pages before her.

Remus stood afar for a while, admiring her simplistic beauty, one that never once managed not to take his breath away.

He slowly strode up to the table once he realized he had been staring at her for an amount of time that was borderline creepy. He quietly placed his bag near the foot of his chair as he sat down on it, slouching.

Y/N jumped in her seat at the quiet greeting he whispered. Her startled Y/E/C eyes relaxed as they landed on his figure. She pushed a strand of hair out of her face.

“Sorry,” she muttered, “I was a bit startled.”

Remus smiled endearingly at the sight of her crimson cheeks, “It’s all right. I should’ve used a better method to make you aware of my presence rather than scaring you.”

Y/N quickly pulled out her Potions textbook from her bag, removing another spare piece of parchment along with it.

“So where shall we begin?” she asked with a small grin.

The two got to work; Remus explaining the assignment and what was required while Y/N sat and listened. The sky outside began to change colours, the blue fading into an ocean of orange, pink, purple and red. The sunlight switched from a bright to a deep shade of orange.

Y/N admired Remus’ face as the setting sun cast shadows on his features. His light brown hair resembled a golden halo at the top of his head in the sunshine. His green-coloured eyes mesmerized her; she had always loved the colour of his eyes. They reminded her of the vast forest standing out at the edge of Hogwarts, the luscious grass, the mint that gave her the morning mint tea. Remus held the colours of budding spring in his eyes; ever-young, bold and beautiful. Y/N’s eyes trailed the shape of Remus’ eyebrows, the sharpness of his rosy cheeks, the prominence of his jaw. She outlined the curves of his mouth, his tongue poking out every few minutes to wet his pink chapped lips.

“Hello? Y/N?” Y/N blinked, almost comically, as Remus’ deep voice brought her out of her daydream.

Her cheeks unwillingly burned under his stare, ashamed that she had been caught daydreaming about him, not that he knew that in particular.

“Yes, yes. Sorry,” she said.

Remus peered at her through his eyelashes, “It’s okay. I know it can get a bit boring.”

Y/N paid no mind to his words, frowning as she noticed his slouching body, trying to make himself appear shorter than he was. His head was hunched over, his neck never fully straight, concealing his face from the world.

Y/N ignored the worried look on Remus’ face and reached forward to brush the hair covering his dreamy eyes out of his forehead. His hair was soft just like she’d had dreamt it would be.

Remus stared at her, his lips slightly parted in shock. The feeling of her smooth hand running through his hair putting him in a daze. Her hand trailed the side of his face, stopping under his chin lifting his head to stand straight up. Remus’ eyes dropped to the chipped wood on the tabletop as she whispered a question.

“Why do you hide yourself?”

Before Remus could respond, a band of Slytherins passed by their table snickering.

One of the members spoke, “Look what we have here. The scarfaces are friends.”

The group burst out laughing. Y/N went to stand up, enraged and ready to give them a piece of his mind but a hand pulling her back down stopped her. She turned to look at Remus confused as to why he was stopping her.

“Leave it,” he whispered, “Reacting will only make it worse.”

The pit of snakes walked out of the library yelling out other taunts and not quietening down even as Madame Pince shushed them.

Y/N gazed at Remus who could not seem to meet her eyes. Upon hearing the rustling of papers, Remus looked up to see Y/N packing her bag, upset.

“Y/N, wait!”

“I’m sorry Remus. Thank you for your help but I need to go,” she said before hastily making her way out of the library without giving him a chance to reply. Remus watched Y/N’s retreating figure defeatedly until she disappeared. Remus sighed, burying his face into his hands.

‘Why can’t you do anything right?’ he scolded himself.

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱••••✩••••̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

Another week passed by. During this week, Remus did all he could to apologize to Y/N but she would not give him the time of the day. She avoided him like the plague; leaving the Great Hall when he entered, sitting as far away as possible in the lessons they shared, took different longer routes to her lessons through which she knew there would be no chance of bumping into him. She even went as far as spending all of her free time in the Hufflepuff common room, never once stepping foot into the library.

Others didn’t know why she was so upset. No one knew what it was like to live with such imperfections displayed on their face for all to see.

Y/N understood that Remus didn’t like others to see his scars but that did not mean she didn’t. She had worked so hard to build her confidence up to what it was. She had put a lot of effort into priding herself on how she looked, not to be ashamed. She had taught herself not to cower away from her reflection or due to the weight of others’ whispers and stares. So when Remus, the one person she had expected to understand, had stopped her from standing up for herself, for them, she felt hurt.

It may be an overreaction and Y/N should’ve forgiven Remus by now but when he had told her to sit back and quietly listen to the horrendous opinions others had about them, she felt annoyed, offended, hurt. But most importantly she felt disfigured.

Remus knew he had messed up. He had messed up big time. He had never been satisfied with how he looked, the scars marking his face making him feel ugly. But that was until he had seen Y/N in their second year. The Hufflepuff girl with a scar similar to his, who wore the scar like a brave warrior.

Remus had believed he was helping her when he’d stopped her from fighting with the Slytherins but it seemed he had made things much worse because by not speaking up against their vile words. He had in a way confirmed their words, confirmed that the scars were ugly, a thing to be ashamed of and disgusted by. He had unintentionally said that he believed their words to be true, that he thought he was hideous, that Y/N’s face was repulsive.

“Talk to her.”

“What the bloody hell do you think I’ve been trying to do this past week?” Remus asked, annoyed as he shoved another piece of chocolate into his mouth.

It was his third chocolate bar of the day and it was only noon.

“I mean corner her. Give her no means to escape then she’ll have to listen,” Sirius shrugged, moving about their shared room to fall face-first onto his bed.

“Bad move. She’ll hate you even more,” James said, his voice muffled by his pillow.

“What other option does he have left?” Peter spoke up as he ate yet another piece of cauldron cake.

“I should just leave her alone,” said Remus quietly, playing with a loose thread on his sweater, “It’s clear she wants nothing to do with me.”

He gazed at the thread for a bit, his mouth turned down.

“I think I’m going to go for a walk. Clear my head,” he said, getting up and leaving.

Sirius lifted his head from his head to look at his two best friends, “I think we know what to do boys.”

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After a long walk through the grounds of Hogwarts, Remus was making his way back to the Gryffindor common room, his head in a much better mindset than before. The corridor was surprisingly empty but he guessed everyone must be in their rooms, catching up on some much-needed sleep or doing the humongous pile of work they’d been assigned.

Remus paused and looked around the corridor thinking he had heard some footsteps. He shrugged and continued on his way when his eyes saw nothing but armours and portraits. Suddenly a push forced him into a classroom, the door locking behind him.

Remus stumbled before starting to bang on the door in a panic. “Hey! This is not funny! Open up!”

“Don’t bother,” a silky voice cut his shouting short, “I’ve been trying that for the past few minutes and no one is opening the door.”

Realization dawned on Remus. He turned around to face Y/N, a guilty look on his face, “I think I might know who is responsible.”

“Your friends. I know, it became obvious when you were shoved into the door.”

Remus smiled apologetically, “I’m sorry. I don't know what they were thinking. They shouldn’t have-”

“Remus,” she stopped his ramble, “It’s okay. I know you weren’t involved in whatever they planned.

“You never seem to be,” she shrugged.

Remus looked at her curiously, “What do you mean?”

Y/N looked down at the feet, trying to hide the blush on her cheeks as she realized what she seemed to have admitted.

“Your pranks. I’ve noticed you usually don’t participate in many of them.”

Remus raised his eyebrows at her confession, “Yo- you’ve noticed me?”

Y/N looked up and gazed into his eyes, “I’ve always noticed you.”

Remus gulped, lost on what to do next, “Why?”

Y/N smiled at Remus walking up to him.

To Remus, Y/N may glisten like the sun but to Y/N, Remus glowed. He glowed like the moon hanging in the night sky taking attention away from the billions of twinkling stars. He glowed to bring light on the darkest of nights.

Remus’s eyes closed in pleasure, suppressing a shiver as she traced his scars endearingly.

“Why?” she whispered.

Remus let out a shaky breath at her proximity, her breath fanning his lips.

“Because I find you to be exquisite, Remus Lupin.”

Remus gasped as Y/N’s lips touched his. His eyes fluttered shut as their lips moved against each other slowly and clumsily, testing the new waters they found themselves in.

Y/N pulled away and began to press soft kisses against his scars. In between each sentence she spoke, “You are intelligent. You are kind. You are caring. You are beautiful.”

She cupped his face in her hands looking directly into his teary eyes, trying to make him believe that she meant every single word that fell from her lips from the bottom of her heart, “You are perfect Remus.”

Remus pressed his lips firmly against Y/N’s, encircling an arm around her waist bringing her closer as his other hand cupped her face and tilted it allowing him to deepen the kiss. Y/N’s hands left Remus’ face and buried themselves in his hair, tugging at it. Their lips moved passionately against each other, their senses overwhelmed with the amount of serotonin coursing through their veins.

They pulled away from each other with giddy smiles on their faces. Remus tucked her hair behind her ear before trailing down to admire the crescent moon necklace that hung around her neck, the metal cold against his warm fingertips.

“So... what do we do now?” Remus asked insecurely.

Y/N was stopped from answering at the sounds of rustling and whispering, “What did they say!?”

Remus sighed in exasperation before shouting, “Stop eavesdropping if you’re not even going to be good at it!”

A thump of a body falling against the floor and a few curses later, the sound of receding footsteps echoed through the otherwise empty corridor and classroom.

Remus smiled lovingly at the sight of Y/N trying to hush her giggles by covering her mouth.

“I’m sorry about them,” said Remus after her giggling died out.

“They are not much different from my friends,” Y/N reassured him, “They were chaperoning our study date last week. I’m surprised you didn’t notice them.”

“Study date, huh?” Remus questioned with a smirk.

“Well yeah,” Y/N shrugged, looking at her hands nervously fidgeting with the hem of Remus’ sweater, “At least I hoped it was.”

Remus chuckled, glad to not be the one who was flustered for once. He placed two fingers below Y/N’s chin to lift her gaze to his.

“Actually, I was hoping I could take you out on a proper first date tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? But it’s a-”

“Sunday, yes. But my plans don’t involve Hogsmeade.”

“That’s only if you have the time. If you want to,” Remus quickly added, hoping it didn’t look like he was forcing her into anything.

Y/N smiled lovingly, “I would love to.”

In Y/N’s opinion, the consequent radiant smile that overtook Remus’ face outshone the sun, moon and stars combined.

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[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

(grumble grumble) So another mistake on my part, as to be expected. Apparently Japanese homeroom teachers really do just. Stick with their class all day, and don’t actually teach stuff while they’re assigned homeroom duty. Which means he’s not teaching hero informatics (at least not while he’s in charge of a class) and so. Eh. Sorry about that, folks...

[No. 46 - Bizarre! Gran Torino Appears]

We hop in pretty much about where we left off before, with the kids discussing who they’ll be interning with. Mineta immediately declares his intent on going for Mt. Lady; Tsuyu, without even looking at him, calls him out on thinking lewd thoughts, which Mineta shakily tries to deny. 

Meanwhile, Ojiro think it’s odd that Mina didn’t get drafted despite how far she got in the tourney, which Mina agrees with. Ochako turns to check on Izuku, asking if he’s decided yet.

Izuku is… 

God, their expressions at Izuku’s intensity. Also Izuku oh my god you nerd. You’re really cost-benefit analysing your internship options. 

Next, we have the cover page, which is another fun comic book homage - and, interestingly, I think this is the same group that we eventually see taking part in the Nighteye raid several arcs from now. Make me wonder whether Hori was just starting to vaguely outline that arc at this point, or whether this was the inspiration for said arc. 

Anywho, back to the chapter. Aizawa explains how their internships start in a week. For this all-important decision, he’ll be handing out personalized lists to those who were drafted. They will be able to choose from among those who scouted them. For those who were not drafted, he’s passed out a list that contains forty agencies from all over the country willing to accept interns. They’ll choose from that list. Each has a different speciality and region. Give their choices some real thought. 

Kirishima immediately declares how he’s going for major crimes in the big city. Tsuyu, meanwhile, is interested in a place where she can deal with floods, wondering if they have that on the list. He then tells them that they need to submit their choices by this coming weekend. Sero is startled that they only have two days to pick, which means… hm. Give me a moment to once again readjust my timeline of events. 

(finishes recalculating) and that pretty much confirms that the Sports Festival was on a Tuesday, which. Huh. Odd choice. But what’s more interesting, at least to me, is that if this were to be a leap year, then the Sports Festival would fall on the first of May. If the Sports Festival is specifically schedules for the first of May and didn’t just happen to fall on a Tuesday, then that could help further narrow down the possible ‘years’ this story is set in. But I mean, it’s very circumstantial evidence for that, so I’m not gonna hold my breath on it. 

(Abet, I do find it interesting that there is a perfect leap year for this to be set, 2164, 150 years after the year the first chapter of BNHA got published [2014]. And since I calculated that quirks have to be around 150 years old, give or take a decade… well, shrugs.)

Back to the chapter. We see a list of Shouto’s offers (some of which really do seem like scam offers but like, I guess whatever works), with the Endeavor Agency in particular the focus of Shouto’s attention. He doesn’t seem particularly thrilled about it, but…

Meanwhile, Izuku is surprised Ochako is going with Battle Hero: Gunhead’s agency, since he’s a rough-and-tumble scrapper. Ochako does a cute little pose while confirming it, saying how he drafted her. Izuku comments on being sure Ochako had wanted to be a rescue hero like Thirteen. Ochako clarifies that her fight against Katsuki got her thinking; getting stronger opens up all sorts of possibilities, and just doing things the same old way is kind of limiting. Izuku seems to understand where she’s coming from.

Ochako then brings up something a little off topic - the fact that Izuku’s been trembling. Izuku explains that he’s practicing air chair, with us finally getting to see how he’s not actually sitting on his seat. Some of the others comment on hoe he’s a bit crazy for doing that during class, and that it’s pretty old school. Someone else (Izuku?) says that it’s a great way to train without moving, since it works your muscles while it’s contracted. Izuku then states that he has to get stronger. Tokoyami chips in with an adage about chasing two hares and catching neither. Tenya seems to have noticed something on his sheet...

(Meanwhile, Katsuki is incredibly irritated with all the noise, but notably doesn’t lash out.)

After classes end of the day, Izuku is the first to head out the door, only to be stopped by All Might literally skidding into a bow right at the front door. The class comments on it, with All Might giving them a quick wave. Meanwhile, Izuku is immediately on edge, since he’s notices that All Might is rather jumpy, but All Might just tells him to follow him. 

Subtle, the two are not.

As All Might explains how someone’s drafted Izuku, we see how much he’s sweating. Izuku is briefly distracted by the shock of actually having an offer. All Might says that the drafter’s name is Gran Torino, that he was once an instructor at UA for just one year - specifically, All Might’s homeroom teacher. Gran knows all about the situation with One For All, which is likely the reason he’s reached out to Izuku at all. 

Izuku’s imagination is going wild, thinking of how lucky he is to get an offer from such an amazing guy, before noting that that means there’s someone else in the OFA loop that All Might didn’t mention. ALl Might notes that Gran’s a good friend from the last generation, but that he retired so long ago that All Might forgot about him.

(Yeah, I’m probably gonna call BS on that and say that it’s more All Might didn’t want to think about him for too long due to the… everything between them.)

All Might’s voice develops a quake as he mutters to himself, wondering if Gran drafted Izuku because he thoughts All Might’s guidance wasn’t enough. But for Gran to make this scouting pick using his old name… so scary. All Might tries slapping his leg to keep it from shaking; Izuku’s finally noticed All Might’s nervous terror and is starting to freak out himself. All Might’s shaking intensifies as he holds up a sheet of paper, stating that while training Izuku is fundamentally his duty, Gran went to all this trouble, so he guesses he can let the man take a crack at it.

Considering the fact that All Might’s voice cracks at that, it’s kind of understandable that Izuku is now shaking in fear as well. 

All Might manages to snap out of it as he remembers the other bit of news he has to share - Izuku’s costume has been repaired! 

Meanwhile, in the staff room, Aizawa is going over what internship choices have been made so far. Snipe comments on it being internship time; Aizawa agrees, idly wondering how many of the kids made rash decisions. Snipe notes how it’s important, and to make them really think on it. Some of his own third years made choices they now regret…

(Snipe confirmed homeroom teacher? For third years? Wonder whether he’s in charge of Mirio’s class (3b) or Nejire and Amajiki’s class (3a)...) 

Aizawa agrees again, before his attention is caught by Tenya’s agency sheet. There’s only one choice on it: normal hero manual agency in Hosu City, Tokyo prefecture. Aizawa is sure Tenya had some better choices available, but a hero agency in Hosu… could it be…?

And with that, I’m gonna stop off here, since it’s the halfway point of the chapter and the next section gets into the beginning of the internships. Huh, it’s been a while since I’ve done half-chapter posts instead of full chapter, but then again, the Sports Festival did make it kind of hard to find a break in the action…

Anywho, see y’all next time for the rest of the chapter. 

[herohotline]

“Why Would You Want Me?”

Pairing: Hitoshi Shinso/You

Summary: Telling the story of how you and Hitoshi became friends, how he doesn’t know how to deal, and how you fall for him anyways.

Word Count: 2,300+

A/N: i kinda went fuckin OFF on this one. Hopefully, yall like all the small things i put in!

Boredom. 

That’s what Shinso felt most days- boredom and a constant ache in his jaw that begged him to yawn. There’s another feeling there, lingering around the back of his mind that makes him drag his feet and look at the tile when he walks in crowded hallways. It’s something similar to depression, and if that’s what it is- he supposes it was only a matter of time. 

He knows better than anyone else that he’s playing a part in his own apathetic and withdrawn behavior. Shinso knows that life could- would- be better than this if he tried a little harder, but he couldn’t find the effort in him to do so. 

His heart yearns for the life of a hero. But his mind? It’s so stuck in his own misery that he can’t do a thing other than continue to go to classes he’s too smart for and talk to people he borderline hates.

But then there’s you- and you’re a big fat question mark in Shinso’s life. You’re quiet and reserved, much like him, but there’s a light in your eyes that his own lack. This is General Studies, so he doesn’t even know your quirk- but he’s sure that you know his. Everyone does. 

Everyone hates him. He’s sure that you do, too. So he pays you no mind and goes on with his day, each one just as boring as the last- at least that’s what he tries to do. 

You take the first initiative- you actually talk to him. He’s vaguely aware that a group project has been assigned in the class, but he usually doesn’t pay it any mind since no one ever dares to pair up with him. But you hold out your hand and introduce yourself in such a normal way that he can’t help but look at you strangely. 

“What?” He asks you, purposefully. It’s practically a challenge. Would you answer him, take the chance of him hijacking your head? Or would you run away like everyone else?

You don’t even stutter or hesitate. “I said I’d like to be your partner. I think we’d do a good job.” Your hand goes back to your side once you realize he isn’t going to shake it. “Will you be my partner?”

Of course he doesn’t use his quirk on you- he never does. Shinso continues to stare at you as if you’re going to change your mind at any second and turn around. You don’t- so he does the only thing he can do in a situation like this. 

“Alright.”

He agrees. 

---

“Why’d you talk to me?” Shinso asks one day during your study session together for the project. The two of you sat quietly in the library, a board on the table you shared that you taped pretty blue paper on. 

“I needed a partner,” you don’t even spare him a glance. “And I was sick of you looking like that.”

He doesn’t even know what you mean but he frowns, offended. “Like what?”

“Like you’d rather die than spend another second in that classroom,” you purse your lips as you look at your handiwork, leaning back with a concentrated hum. You stick out your hand and wiggle your fingers- subconsciously he hands you the stickers. “You always look like that. I can take a good guess as to why, so I thought I’d do the least I could do and not leave you alone.”

“So you asked me out of pity?”

“Pretty much, yeah. What do you think?” You finally look at him, pointing at the board. Shinso squints at you, looking absolutely disgusted. 

“It looks like a second-grader put it together.”

“Fuck you, man!” You immediately shout at him, not even considering the fact that you’re both in a library. 

Shinso finds that he loves your blunt and carefree personality. No one has ever told him to fuck off in a library before- and he finds that he likes the way it makes him snort and laugh right in your face. 

---

Together, you earn the first non-perfect score Shinso has ever made since entering U.A. He should be upset, but he’s not. Especially since you continue to talk to him even after the assignment is done. 

He likes that you stick around, that you never hesitate to answer his questions, and that you never let him off the hook. You’re always calling him out- it’s small things like forgetting to bring a lunch and letting his hair grease up from not taking a shower- small things that show you care about him at least a little bit. 

You care about him enough to nag, so inevitably, Shinso finds himself caring about you, too. 

---

The two of you hang out in your dorm when classes aren’t scheduled. You tried hanging out in Shinso’s once, but it was so ‘boring’ to you that you just went to yours instead- Shinso really didn’t care either way. Most of the time you play games on your TV as Shinso read some of your comics. It was a nice, relaxing downtime that he never had before, so even though you both don’t talk he thinks that’s okay. 

You’re playing another dumb otome game today, something Shinso never fails to roll his eyes at you for as he pretends to throw up. You promptly tell him to go fuck himself as you keep dating the flashy, dramatic anime men on screen. 

“Who’s your favorite?” He finally finds it in himself to ask. There’s a reason you like these games, right? 

“Haru, hands down. I would gladly ride him and he would thank me afterward because he’s fucking gentlemanly like that.”

“You’re disgusting,” Shinso grows a look of disgust and sits himself down next to you, looking at the screen with a scowl. “Is that him?”

“No, this is Maru. He’s okay, I guess. I’m just trying to get achievements.”

“...Do they all have the same name like that?”

“...Yeah.”

“Wow.”

“Look, this is a judgment-free zone, okay!” You flush in embarrassment and Shinso grins- a Cheshire cat sort of grin. “This is Haru.”

The first thing he notices is Haru’s wavy, purple hair. His eyes widen and he can’t help but ask, “really?” 

“No, I’m absolutely fucking with you. This one is Taru.” 

He doesn’t hesitate to grab the pillow beside him and smack you upside the head with it as you cackle loudly at him. This time, he’s the one who’s red in the face, but he supposes he deserves it. 

---

It’s another off day, and Shinso should be heading to your room any minute now, but he doesn’t. 

He’s fresh from the shower, his hair still wet and dripping as he stands in the middle of his room. An odd, strange, and intense feeling drapes over him like a thick blanket and suddenly Shinso doesn’t want to go anywhere. He doesn’t want to get dressed, doesn’t want to eat and he sure as hell doesn’t want to go and see you.

Some part of Shinso really believed that this hard part was over, but things weren’t ever that easy. He doesn’t even register falling down on his bed and crawling under the covers, his body does it on its own, gladly embracing the empty feeling that came rushing back in tidal waves. 

He doesn’t see you that day- and you don’t come knocking on his door to see if anything’s wrong. You don’t say anything at all and somehow that makes the awful ache in his chest so much tighter. 

---

Depression is like that- acting like it’s not there never fixes it. The next day, Shinso slowly gets out of bed. He doesn’t eat and he’s late to class, but at least he’s there so that counts in his book. You’re there, watching him as he makes his way to the seat and slumps against it- he ignores you completely. 

When the first two classes end and it’s lunch period, you make your way to his desk and gently ask him what’s wrong. It irks Shinso for a reason he can’t quite place. Nonetheless, he assures you that he’s fine.

Why should you care?

Maybe you don’t. Maybe that’s why you walk away from him, leaving him alone in the empty classroom. Shinso’s fists tighten on his desk, nails biting into his palms in crescent shapes, and his jaw clenches. 

Of course you don’t care. 

---

“Hey.”

Shinso’s body doesn’t move and he doesn’t look up, but he can tell that it’s you standing next to him again. A loaf of bread and a bowl of stew is placed on his desk. 

“Have you eaten at all today?”

He doesn’t answer. 

“Are you okay?”

Silence. 

“...Why are you doing this?” He hears you sigh and then you sit on the desk next to him, leaning your elbows on your knees as you try to look at him. “Why aren’t you talking to me?”

“Why do you care?” Shinso’s eyes burn holes into the bread on his desk. It’s going to leave crumbs and grease.

“Because we’re friends, and I care about my friends. You know that we’re friends, right?” 

Don’t do this. Don’t ruin this.

It’s a small voice in his head- he supposes it’s his conscience. 

“I know,” he barely whispers. “I just don’t want to talk.”

“...Okay,” you nod and lean back, crossing your legs. “I won’t talk. Eat your food, though. You’ll feel a bit better.”

Shinso does it- and he hates that you’re right. The funk in his head isn’t fully gone, but the rest of the day flows easier thanks to the energy the food gave him. 

He’ll have to thank you later. 

---

“I’m sorry.”

It takes a few days, but eventually, Shinso comes knocking on your door with the best apology he can manage. 

It’s totally lame, but he means it. 

“It’s okay,” you let him in your room and close the door behind you and he notices how your eyes look him up and down. “I’m glad you’re doing better.”

“I’m glad I’ve passed your cleanliness test,” he shrugs. He did try to put on some clean clothes before he saw you- though he was tempted to stay in the dirty ones just so he could hear you nag. “...It’s just a funk. Comes every so often. I’m not… used to having friends.” It’s the best explanation he can offer. 

“I’m not, either, you know,” You smile at him gently. It makes his stomach flutter, and it’s kind of sickening, but Shinso supposes it’s a better feeling then what he was experiencing before. “I know it’s difficult… But I’m here for you.”

Shinso smiles, too. Because- deep down, despite the depression that skews his view on the world every so often- he knows that you’re telling the truth. 

“...Do you wanna play games?”

“Hell yeah.”

---

About a week after that, you do something completely unexpected. 

You confess. 

“You know… I was lying before.” There’s a noticeable red tint to your cheeks as you look up at the ceiling, directly away from Shinso. “That boy in the game before was actually Haru.”

“...The purple haired one?”

“Yeah.”

His eyebrows furrow together. 

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I was embarrassed!” You yell at him, and he thinks yeah, obviously. “Because I play dumb otome games and it’s weird. And I totally crushed on Haru because he looks like you.”

Oh.

“This is a really weird way of saying I like you.”

Oh.

“You play an otome game with a guy that looks like me because you like me?” He stares at you, and then he unwillingly snorts with a grin. “That’s so sad.”

“Shut the fuck up! I’m saying I like you, you fucking big-headed idiot, don’t change the subject!”

“Right,” Shinso hums. He’s relaxing against some pillows on your bed and he slowly sits up, his shoulders hunched as he stares at the blankets. “Why?”

“Why, what?” You give him an odd look. 

“Why would you…” He huffs through his nose. “Why would you like someone like me, anyway?” 

He feels like a dumb teenage girl in some dumb American movie, twiddling his thumbs on your bed as he wallows in self-doubt and waits for your answer. Shinso isn’t a guy who fishes around for compliments- he just genuinely doesn’t get it. 

Why would you want someone like him?

“Why shouldn’t I?”

Your answer makes him snap his eyes in your direction, wondering if you’re serious. You look like it, and you scoot closer as you take his hand. “I know you don’t think so, but there’s nothing wrong or undesirable about you. You’re a good friend, you make me laugh and you make me happy… And I don’t really control my feelings, you know. It wasn’t my choice to think about kissing a loser like you.”

His face flushes even darker. “You think about kissing me?”

“I dunno,” you shrug, even though you literally just said it. “Do you?”

Hmm. Shinso swallows, his throat feeling awfully dry and he looks down at your hand that’s clasped around his own. He shifts around uncomfortably under your stare. “I dunno,” he mimics you. “Maybe.”

Fuck yeah, he’s thought about it, but he’s not going to directly tell you that. You’d gloat about it for days, he knows you are because you’re just like him and he already knows he’s going to gloat about the fact that you said it. 

“Then, can I kiss you?”

His lips twitch. “Maybe.”

“That’s- that’s not. Dude. I need an answer, here.”

His lips twitch again, forming a grin and he laughs- a flustered small laugh that makes him feel pathetic and embarrassed. “Yeah.”

When your lips meet his, those self-deprecating thoughts melt away. It’s only a second, it’s just a peck- but Shinso licks his lips and finds himself wanting more. “Are you sure?” The boy can’t help but ask- at least he’s looking in your eyes this time. Your beautiful eyes that still have that shine when he first saw you. 

“Yeah, I’m sure,” and then you kiss him again.

[jamielea81]

When We Were Young

Chapter 2

Description: Leaving the only home your daughter had ever known wasn’t part of the grand plan. But then again, sometimes taking chances can change your whole life. And you should know that, you’ve been doing that since the start.

Pairing: Chris Evans x Reader

Warnings: Angst. A curse word or two.

Word Count: 2,700

A/N: Thank you for the wonderful response to the first chapter! Hope you enjoy this added twist. As always, this is strictly for fun and I mean no harm. Please let me know your thoughts as I love to read them. Likes and reblogs give me life.

Catch up with Chapter One

**

“I’m your..” Chris shook his head and looked at the assistant in the room and then at the photographer. “Jodes, I need a minute.”

Chris didn’t wait for a response, instead he slid his arm from around Ellie’s waist to grab her hand, pulling her to the far end of the room.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Ellington. Ellie for short,” she said, playing with her hair. “Look, I don’t want anything. Just wanted to see you in person,” she said softly, her nerves coming back to her.

“Why do you think I’m your father? You have to understand, this isn’t the first time someone has said those same words to me.”

Ellie bit her lip and nodded. “NYC Cryobank and Family Planning.”

“Fuck,” Chris swore softly, ducking his head. “How old are you are you anyway?”

“Fifteen.”

“It’s not possible,” Chris said shaking his head. “I was eighteen when I donated.” He licked his lips and patted his pocket for his phone.

“I’m pretty sure it doesn’t expire like milk,” she replied, Chris giving her a weak smile.

Ellie played with her fingers, not knowing what else to say. The whole speech she played over and over in her head was suddenly forgotten. Reaching into her jeans pocket, she pulled out a folded piece of notebook paper and stretched out her hand for him to take it.

“It’s my mom’s number. Figured it would be weird for you to call a minor.” Chris took it and shoved it into his back pocket. “Not that you have to call!” she added quickly. “I just wanted you to know that I exist. And we’re great. My mom and me, I mean. I’ve had a great life and wanted to see the person that made it possible for me to exist. Just don’t call tonight. She doesn’t know I’m here. If you decide to call, I mean.”

They looked at each other. Ellie trying to memorize his face. Chris trying to find himself in her eyes and smile.

“It was nice to meet you Ellie,” Chris said, a closed lip smile on his face, finality in his voice.

“Ye-yeah. You too,” she said, dropping her head and walking out the room. She wanted her mom and she wanted her now. This was a mistake and it was taking everything in her not to cry.

Ellie made it to the nearest restroom, walking past a line of girls that were washing their hands or fixing their makeup. She pushed into the stall at the end of the row, locked the door and sat down on the seat. She grabbed a large wad of toilet paper from the dispenser, flushed the toilet, and placed the paper over her mouth. The tears and her sobs started to flow. She hoped that both the sound of the toilet and the paper would muffle her cries.

**

It had been three hours since you received the call from the academy about your daughter missing class. Three long hours of not knowing where she was. Not knowing if she were safe. Gwen had done her best to calm you down as she usually did, but your mind was still reeling. The troubling thing is there is nothing you could do but wait.

The house was mostly unpacked except for your books that were going to be placed in the small bookcase in the living room and your office which you had not utilized in the nearly three weeks that you lived in Belmont. You couldn’t really call it an office per se, it was nook off the formal dining room that wouldn’t be used. Ellie and you were plate on your lap on the couch or out on the deck kind of people. You had a dining room table, but it was mostly a place for Ellie to spread out her school assignments and for the occasional crafting you did.

With your books all unpacked, the dining room table dusted, and the office looking it bit more like an office, you collapsed on your couch. Feet up, blouse off save for your cami, you were done with this day. Once she got home and knew she was safe, you were going to bed. You’d have to dream up a punishment. Ellie hardly got in to trouble. She occasionally mouthed off like teenagers did, but this was uncharted territory for you.

You heard the door open and you were immediately on your feet, rushing down the stairs to the entry way. Her face was puffy and red and you knew immediately something was wrong.

“Mama…” she started, having a hard time catching her breath. “I’m…so…sorry.”

You wrapped your arms around her as she started to sob on your chest. “Shhh. I got you,” you said softly.

When she started to settle down you urged her to follow you up the stairs. “Why don’t you take a hot bath and I’ll get your jammies ready and then we’ll talk?” Ellie nodded her head slowly. “You can use my tub. I’ve got the good bath stuff anyway,” you said, sending her a wink.

“Thank you,” she said with teary eyes. “I love you.”

“Love you too baby.”

Whatever happened was big and you hoped she would be honest with you.

**

A frozen pizza was currently baking in the oven. Tonight, was not the night for a home cooked meal as you were still too worked up as was Ellie. You had changed into pajamas as well despite it only being six in the evening.

Ellie was sitting on one end of the couch with her body turned to face you, her knees pressed against her chest. You sat on the other end facing her, one leg tucked under the other.

“I haven’t been truthful with you,” she started. “About a year ago, I found some information out.”

“What kind of information, Ellie?” This was sounding way too ominous for your liking.

“Christian. You remember Christian?” she asked, eyebrows raised.

“From third and fourth grade soccer when you played on that co-ed team?”

She nodded her head. “Christian’s really good with a computer. I’m pretty sure he’ll be working for the FBI one day. He uh, he was able to do some digging for me.”

“What in the world would he need to dig up for you?”

“He was looking into the donation center you used. I asked him to try to find out information about the donor you picked.”

“Ellington Rae,” you breathed out.

“I’m sorry mom. I just really wanted to know.” Her eyes started to well up with tears again.

You nodded your head and gestured with your hand for her to continue.

“Well, he found your case number and was able to find the donor number. He eventually found the name assigned to the donor number.”

You let out a slow breath, pinching the bridge of your nose.

“I went to see him today. He lives here in Boston. At least he does most of the time.”

“Ellie!” you shouted. “That’s not only dangerous but an evasion of privacy. We don’t know this person. He could be a bad guy. He could have a family of his own now.”

She was full on crying again and your heart was stuck between being angry and wanting to soothe your child. Of course, you pulled her to you, wrapping her in a hug again.

She pulled back, letting her hands fall into your lap. You grabbed on to both of her with yours.

“Are you okay?” You shook your head. “Of course, you’re not.”

“There’s something else,” she said.

“Do I wanna know?”

She licked her lips. “He’s Chris Evans. The actor.”

Well, shit.

“I don’t even know what to say to that.”

“I just wanted to see him mom. Not on the movie screen or in pictures online. I just had to see his face in person. Just once. I wanted to see if he smiled like me. Or see if his eyebrows shoot up like mine do when I laugh.”

You nodded your head numbly. Even though you barely talked to your own father, you understood the need to know.

“That’s where I went today. There’s a comic convention downtown and he was appearing today. I bought a ticket to get my picture taken with him. He’s only there today, so that’s why I skipped school.”

You released her hands, standing to your feet, and started to pace. “Was this whole move a lie Ellie? Are we here so you could meet this man?”

She covered her face with her hands but didn’t answer.

“Did we only move to Boston so you could meet your biological father?” you asked sternly.

“S’not the only reason. I’m so sorry mom. I wanted us to move here for Harvard, but I could have found another engineering high school closer to home.”

You shook your head. It was your turn to cry. The two of you had a very honest relationship and made decisions together. The trust was broken and you weren’t sure if it could be repaired anytime soon.

The closeness you and Ellie shared is why she knew from the time she was eight years old that she didn’t have a dad like other kids did. You were open and honest with her about the decision you made at twenty one. The two of you have talked about it several times through the years.

When she was twelve, she questioned whether you had gotten pregnant to escape your parents. You explained to her that wasn’t the reason. You had wanted to be mom. Had known that’s what you wanted more than anything.

You weren’t in a serious relationship and didn’t want a random hook up to father your child. You had friends you could have asked, but thought that would complicate things as those friends settled down with spouses of their own. You had just graduated from college and were spending four additional months in New York before your lease ran out. Your parents had expected you to come home to Kentucky and you had planned on doing so. You had money, more than enough. Not only did your parents send you a more than generous allowance every month for four years, you also had a large sum of money your grandma Ellie had left you that became yours when you turned twenty one. Her only request was to do something for you with it.

Researching and planning was what you were good at. Apparently, those skills came in handy when finding a donation and family planning center. Two consultations and an appointment later, you had a positive pregnancy test sitting on your bathroom vanity. After two months, you called your mother to tell her. To say that conversation went poorly was an understatement. You were throwing your life away according to her. She didn’t know Ellie was the result of a sperm donor. To this day, only Ellie and couple of close friends knew. Your mother and father figured you had been with a deadbeat guy who chose not to stick around. You were essentially told not to come home.

New York City wasn’t a place you wanted to raise a child. You had loved the city all through college, but rent was expensive and buying would be out of the question. You wanted some place that had that small-town feel. Somewhere a little quieter. When your classmate Peter offered you a place to stay in his home-town of Wilmington, you took him up on the offer. Living with Peter and his brother Caleb was a bit of a change for you. You often found yourself cleaning up after the two of them. It didn’t last long as you found employment with an employer that wasn’t discouraged by your six-month pregnant belly. You found a two-bedroom apartment shortly after, decorating the nursery in neutral colors because you wanted to be surprised.

Ellington Rae Y/L/N was born in the early hours of April sixth. Named affectionately after your grandmother. Your favorite person in the world, second now that you had your little Ellie. She came out screaming and never stopped. She was a fussy baby and you found yourself in tears almost as much as she were. But she was your everything and still is. Your parents came to visit when she was three months old. They visited yearly, often bringing gifts that a child did not need nor want. When she turned five, they sent money once a year for her birthday. The money went into an account for Ellie’s schooling and when she expressed dreams of Harvard, you were glad you did.

When she was three years old, you moved out of that small two-bedroom apartment into your bungalow near the beach and that’s where the two of you stayed. Friends became family and you were both happy. But now everything seemed to be a mess.

“It’s going to take time, Ellie. My trust has been broken but I’m mostly hurt that you couldn’t come to me about this. We should have talked about this. We could have come up with a plan together.”

You sit back down on the couch and pull her back to you. She’s still your baby even though she’s as tall as you.

“You’re right and I’m sorry. It was a mistake,” she said, shaking her head. “I gave him your number. You know. In case he wanted to call. Wanted to know me.”

She sounds so damn broken and you’re feeling broken over it.

“Okay, baby. If he calls, we’ll take it one step at a time. But if he doesn’t, it’s his damn loss because you are the best thing I have ever known in this world and that will never change.”

**

Two weeks had passed and Chris hadn’t called. Ellie didn’t talk about it, but you knew it affected her. Being rejected by anyone hurt. You couldn’t blame Chris entirely though. Him choosing to donate all those years ago was his choice. It was supposed to be an anonymous one. Now he knew he brought a life into this world. Accepting that had to be hard for anyone. Accepting that and being a public person was probably harder.

Punishing Ellie was harder on your than it was on her. She’s the new kid in town and at that age where life long friendships are formed, you didn’t want to exclude her from hanging out with her friends. So, you limited it to only weekends. She had to check in with you on where she was or if she went to a different location than what was planned. She was also in charge of dishes and taking out the trash. Her biggest punishment of all was knowing you lost a lot of trust in her.

**

Your phone rang only to stop ringing after two rings. You were in the kitchen, putting away this week’s groceries so you hadn’t been able to reach it. Taking a quick glance, you didn’t recognize the number. Figuring they realized their mis-dial, you went back to deciding which meat to leave thawed in the refrigerator and which to freeze. Exciting times.

It started to ring again. You turned away from the freezer to stare at the device sitting on the kitchen island. That same number appeared on the display. As the second ring rang out, you dared it to continue a third time. It did. You grabbed it with one hand, clicking the accept button with your other.

“Hello,” you answered.

“H-hi. This is Chris. I uh. This is Chris Evans.”

**

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[dark-strangeson-virgil]

High School AU!

Roman Ryder:

Junior, second semester 

Theater kid, but has never been the lead (in his freshman year he actually got a callback for the school musical and the director told him they were seriously considering casting him in the lead role, causing Roman to panic and spend that night in his room crying)

(He ran into the choir teacher’s room the next day asking for his name to be taken off the audition list, it was the only semester he didn’t do theater)

(He was crying because he felt like he was letting his teacher down and was disappointed in himself but just the idea of being in front of so many people made him want to throw up)

Clearly has some issues with self confidence and potentially a bit of anxiety, but began seeing a therapist in his freshman year after the callback incident and has been slowly been working on building his confidence

He decided to try again his second semester and has been in every school musical since, though he’s specifically requested to not get the lead because it’s still too much for him. The director is very understanding.

His dad and brother come to every one of his performances, and he can always hear Remus’ whistling loudest in the applause during curtain call

His friends usually come too, and knowing that they’re all proud of him really boosts his confidence

(Especially when he’s standing on the stage during the curtain call and sees Virgil clapping and smiling wider than he’s ever seen, looking so genuinely proud. Roman cried backstage after seeing that his first time, which may be slightly related to the fact that he’s had a crush on the boy for a while now)

His mother manages to make it to almost all of them, even though it’s difficult considering her hectic work schedule (she’s a trauma surgeon at the local hospital)

Despite popular belief, he does pretty well in school. He has an A in every class except English (He’s barely passing with a C)

He loves writing, but he doesn’t like having his creativity stifled with the strict guidelines of the essays they’re forced to write, and the old fashioned novels with outdated concepts they’re always forced to read in his class (not the typical high school assigned novels, more obscure ones that their teacher is convinced will eventually rise to popularity)

Loves writing in his spare time, mainly short stories

Multiple short stories of his have been put on the school website, though always under a pseudonym because he doesn’t feel comfortable with the idea knowing it’s his work they’re reading (he only submitted the first one because hardly any students even check the school’s website, but he could never be too careful)

His real passion, though (besides theater/singing, of course) is photography. Loves finding beauty in the world around him. Wants to be a photographer after college, ideally for natural geographic

HE. LOVES. ANIMALS. 

Like, all animals. Dogs, bats, fish, literally any animal. He’s not picky.

He and Remus own a pit bull named Emma who he absolutely ADORES

Owns and can play a guitar, but tends to only do so in the late hours of the night when he can’t sleep. Not really a super prominent hobby of his.

Only ever officially came out to his family and close friends, the first of which being Logan. (It was really awkward at the time but Roman laughs now, thinking back on how disastrous such a simple conversation became) (Logan was completely accepting, that wasn’t the problem, Roman was just a disaster and Logan was painfully blunt, but we don’t talk about it) Everyone else just gradually found out through the small pride pin on his backpack or his pride vans he wore often

Remus Ryder:

Junior, Second Semester

Is actually a pretty good artist, his emotions aren’t always super clear or understandable to him and his thoughts can be kind of erratic so it’s a good way to express what he’s thinking/feeling

Is a really good cook, usually his group of friends will hang out at his house after school and he’ll cook dinner 

Sometimes he adds interesting ingredients to try and “spice up” the recipes. Usually these ingredients worry the others, but he actually ends up making amazing creations most of the time. Trust his creative process people.

(There was that time Logan had to stop him from adding strawberry jam to spaghetti. And the time Logan had been sick and Remus had ended up putting 2 jars of pickle juice into a chili recipe. They ended up ordering pizza that night.)

(Sometimes he asks Roman to help because he feels like they aren’t quite as close as when they were kids, they’re in the same friend group and talk often but it’s not quite the same as when they were younger, but he’d never admit)

(Roman pretends to be annoyed, but he secretly enjoys spending time together just as much, getting to talk about things they can’t always talk to their other friends about)

Wants to be a graphic designer when he grows up, he really enjoys making art and  worries that if he just made it a hobby he would forget about it or not have the time.

He knows how much Logan likes talking about his interests, so he makes a point of looking up the things Logan talks about a lot so Logan actually feels like he’s having a conversation. (Of course, they’re all very Remus-y facts. Logan went through a HUGE ocean phase earlier on in his junior year, so Remus spent HOURS researching the creepiest fish that lurk lower in the ocean, but it’s really the thought that counts. Logan doesn’t mind his gruesome details so it’s a win-win.)

Oh and of COURSE Remus has a huge crush on Logan. Unlike the others, he doesn’t necessarily try to hide his crush. He just usually turns it into a bit of a joke, acting like he’s “jokingly” flirting with Logan because, despite his chaotic nature, one of his biggest fears is rejection so he doesn’t actually plan on confessing any time soon. 

He did really well in science after freshman year. He loved Biology and Chemistry, which surprised everyone at first. That’s curently the only class he has an A in.

He drags his friends to go camping at least once every summer because he really likes camping. He can be as chaotic as he wants and there’s nobody to judge him. (Well, his friends are there but he knows that they’re not going to judge him.) 

He tries to make bets with his friends a lot. Even over dumb things. He’s a money hungry little rat boy.

He’s not big on extracurriculars but he is a part of his school’s art club/honors group after school. He once did an extremely detailed painting of a green octopus, which won him first place in the district-wide art competition.

He is banned from Pixie Stix. Permanently. They used to have them a lot at sleepovers, but two separate times Remus mixed all 4 flavors and snorted them, then whined about his nose hurting for like an hour. After that they banned Pixie Stix.

Doesn’t really like traditional reading much, but he has a small collection of comic books that he goes to if he’s bored because they keep his attention much easier.

Logan Sharpe:

Junior, second semester

Is incredibly good in school but hates the public school system

Pays baseball, started in Little League as a kid as bonding time between him and his dad, then slowly began to enjoy having a way to get his energy out after spending hours sitting in desks at school and more time doing homework

He has a specific baseball bat that he’s had since he was a kid (it wasn’t his first bat since that was a flimsy plastic one, but he got it when he was pretty young) and he doesn’t actually use it often (unless he feels like he needs luck, it’s his only superstitious thing yes he knows it’s not logical it’s just one small thing iTS FINE-) but he covers it in stickers

After his friends saw it they began buying any stickers they saw that reminded them of Logan, just as small presents whenever they felt like it. His bat is almost completely covered at this point, and he’s resorted to layering stickers over less important ones, but he doesn’t care. He’s just very happy his friends are thinking of him :’)

Wants to be a vet when he grows up, for him it’s slightly less emotional than dealing with human patients but still makes him feel like he’s doing good (people tend to think he doesn’t have many emotions but he actually enjoys helping others and making people happy)

Plus he really does love learning, and the medical field allows him to just expand his knowledge even further

He has study sessions with Janus every Tuesday and sometimes Thursdays if one of them really needs it, and he actually really looks forward to them. They don’t talk much, they spend most of the time silently studying or working on homework for their own classes, occasionally asking the other for clarification on something. He has a hard time studying in big groups, especially considering his friends’ tendency to easily get distracted, so he likes being able to quietly focus.

Usually they carpool home together after these study sessions, and talk together on the way home. It’s nice having someone who he can sometimes have simple small talk with, but sometimes they have serious conversations and it surprisingly doesn’t feel weird. Neither of them are great at opening up, and sometimes having someone who’s just as unfamiliar as you with something can make it a bit easier.

Surprisingly likes baking, his dad works at a bakery (if you can’t tell he kinda looks up to his dad) so he’s been around baked goods since he was really young and has a ton of recipes memorized by now. Sometime’s he’ll join Remus in the kitchen on sleepover nights. He helps Remus a bit with the cooking, and Remus returns the favor by helping him bake dessert for all of them. Plus this way he can stop Remus from getting distracted or getting a bit too crazy with changing recipes)

(One time Remus tried to add strawberry jam to spaghetti and Logan knew he had to put his foot down. It took 20 minutes of convincing but he eventually managed to get him to put down the Crofter’s. Logan loves jelly arugably more than the others, but there’s a time and place for everything)

(Somehow it was this exact moment when Logan realizes he liked Remus as more than a friend, and he has absolutely no idea how that happened.)

Usually when his friends are sad he invites whoever it is over to bake, focusing on something else makes it easier for him to try to understand what they’re going through and give thoughtful advice. Plus both the process and the treats at the end usually help cheer everyone up)

(Yes he has gotten into a cliche flour fight with each of the others at least once, and they’re actually some of his fondest memories. He felt so carefree in those moments, just letting himself be happy without worrying about any judgement or his image.)

He actually did officially come out to his friends, but it was pretty simple. He pretty much just said, “I know that the majority of you (actually all of them but a few hadn’t quite come out at the time) have already announced the fact that you are gay, so I’m assuming none of you will be offended by the fact that I am as well. Anyways…”

He just kinda… said it and moved on. The others were a bit shocked but just went with the flow. (of course they all supported him though)

(He had actually been just a bit worried about how the others would react. Hr knew that it was illogical, considering many of them were gay themselves, but he couldn’t help worrying, so he tried to just get it out and move on as quickly as possible. Their small gestures of showing they accept and care for him, such as  Roman buying a rainbow-striped tie for him for his birthday, really make him happy because it validates his feelings and helps him understand there’s no need to worry when he’s with his friends.)

Virgil Alvaro:

Sophomore, second semester

On the school’s swimming team in the spring, has the record at their school for fastest lap with a breaststroke and butterfly stroke 

Best friends with Patton, they’ve known each other since 6th grade and have always been practically inseparable

Orchestra kid, he’s played the violin since 4th grade (Even with his stage fright he loves the concerts, because he can feel proud and accomplished from his work without having to be in a spotlight by himself, with all eyes on him)

Longer, black hair (like down to his shoulders) but dyed a purple-pink gradient at the tips (He was originally just going for purple but while looking for reference photos online Patton saw a purple-pink gradient and loved it, and Virgil loves making his best friend happy)

(Plus he actually really likes the colors, but don’t tell anyone)

Does debate in the fall, he likes how it helps him see sides to issues he hadn’t considered before. Some friends told him it may help with his anxiety, and it makes him feel like people care about what he has to say 

Loves showing up to support his friends in their extracirriculars (usually they all go together to support each other but even if the others can’t come he tries his hardest) 

Will never admit it, but he’s a theater fan so he loves going to watch Roman’s musicals (and it’s not at ALL related to his tiny crush on Roman, why would you think that? It’s not even that big a deal we don’t even need to brING IT UP-)

Is a decent student, mostly B’s with a couple A’s sprinkled in. Used to be a straight A student but eventually kinda broke down because the pressure to get good grades was making his anxiety way worse, so after talking with his parents they told him as long as we was trying in classes and he was passing they were proud of him

Yes he was one of those gifted kids who had a  high school reading level in second grade and got put in all the “smart” groups, but then got burnt out at the end of middle school. It’s why he’s such a perfectionist with his own work and it was a big contributor to his anxiety.

Absolutely LOVES history class, it’s been his favorite class since he was young

Is close with his history teacher (very sarcastic old man who somehow manages to be both strict on grading and one of the most fun, relaxed teachers he’s ever met) 

He isn’t always great at having difficult conversations, so instead of formally coming out he just kinda started saying “haha same” whenever one of the others would make a gay joke, or commenting on how cute a guy in one of their classes was

Wants to be a teacher after college, he enjoys feeling like he’s making a positive differnece in people’s lives, and he’s personally dealt with unsympathetic teachers who didn’t have faith in him and only made his anxiety worse, so he wants to stop that from happening to other children if he can.

Also, he hates the school system almost as much as Logan, so he’s hoping being a teacher will give him the opportunity to try and improve the way kids learn, even if it’s just in his classroom

His hoodie is a comfort item for him, if he’s feeling extremely anxious and isn’t able to reach any of his friends to help him calm down usually fiddling with his sleeves or zipper helps calm him down pretty well (even if it’s usually only a temporary solution, as one of his friends almost always comes to help)

He likes to share earbuds with either Roman or Patton. As much as he hates to admit it, he actually really likes the musicals Roman listens to and he and Patton’s music tastes actually overlap at some points (cough cough MCR) and listening to music with someone else makes him feel less alone

Patton Myron:

Junior, second semester

Everyone assumes that he’s not very smart, but he actually has mostly A’s with only 2 B’s (woith those being Gym and History, it's hard for him to memorize specific dates)

Does tutoring on the weekends, his best subjects are Science and Math since they generally involve less memorization and are easy to understand for him

He joined band his freshman year and has loved it since, is first chair trumpet

Also does marching band in the fall, and always invited his friends to come sit with him and the rest of the band in the stands (he also convinces Janus to join marching band their sophomore year because he feels like they don’t talk enough, which actually helps the two bond)

Ends up getting a huge crush on Janus second semester of sophomore year.

Uses SO MANY emojis in his texts. He thinks they’re absolutely adorable, and the others are not big fans of emojis but don’t have the heart to be annoyed by it.

Virgil started using emojis ironically occasionally, and it made Patton so happy! (Eventually it was habitual, and he’s not sure when he started actually using them unironically)

Met Virgil in 6th grade when they were paired up on a project about bugs, Virgil cried because he was scared of leaf bugs the first day of the project so Patton tried to make him as comfortable as possible to help him calm down, and their friendship grew from there

LOVES fashion, he loves trying things out even if they don’t always look good. He saw that “gay brunch” meme one time and spent the next week at school dressing up in each of the outfits. Roman caught on immediately and did it with him on the last day. (His favorite outfit was the frog one. “It’s just so adorable and comfy and I love it!”)

YES, he’s worn skirts to school. Not often, but when he does he looks amazing. 

 He’s always trying to get Virgil to try out more color/”spice”, as he says it, in his style. He knows standing out is scary for Virgil, so every time Vee steps out of his comfort zone Patton’s super proud of him and makes sure to let him know. (Look I’m a sucker for sweet BFF Moxiety)

He listened to Virgil’s favorite bands once to try and relate to him more when Vee was going through a particularly rough time and ended up actually liking My Chemical Romance. He gets sad sometimes even if he doesn’t talk about it, so he likes that their music discusses that, but that band in particular also seems to have songs that show you life does get better rather than just convincing you to wallow in the sadness, especially on Black Parade and Danger Days (Ex. Famous Last Words). It’s morbid optimism but he loves it. 

(Virgil actually cried when Patton told him, he had been really sturggling with his anxiety and knowing his best friend did that for him and actually liked his music got him when he was feeling extra sensitive. The two of them spent like 10 minutes fixing Virgil’s makeup in the bathroom, and only the two of them know about this.)

Never exactly came out, but is very open and proud. He has Vans that he painted rainbow that he wears at least once a week, among various other pride-related clothing and accessories.

Wants to be a nurse, he wants to do his part to make the world a better place

Gets a little overwhelmed when there’s too much noise, so he carries around a pair of earplugs to help keep him calm in loud classrooms/hallways.

When he gets sad (which happens more often than he admits) he does makeup. It’s a creative outlet that lets him get his feelings out, and he’s become amazingly good at it over the years. Occasionally he does makeup on the others, usually all together at sleepovers. (His favorite look he’s done was when he gave logan a galaxy-themed blue look. He was so proud of himself after that particular makeover, and Logan actually liked it!) He has the photo of all of them together in their makeup that night hanging on his vanity mirror.

One day Roman called him “puffball” as a joke, but now that’s sort of become his nickname within their group.

Remy Somnus:

Senior, second semester

Is head of sound for the tech crew in theater, has adipted all of the younger tech kids and will fight anyone who messes with any of his children

He’s the one who goes on energy drink and snack runs during tech week because that’s the only way the crew is functioning. None of them are sleepng or eating well. He even gets some for a few of his favorite actors (Including Roman, although Roman always tries to insist that Remy doesn’t have to do that for him.)

Him and Emile have also collectively adopted all of the others in their friend group (They’re the oldest so they have the right to) and HAVE turned into protective mama and papa bear over these children in multiple cases

He plays several instruments. Bass/electric guitar, flute (he was never a band kid, he just took private lessons when he was younger), the keyboard and the drums. He helped teach Janus when he was first trying to learn percussion

Wants to be a musician when he grows up

He's a vegetarian, and has been since middle school. He's been trying to learn how to cook from Remus so he can make his own meals rather than relying on Remus and Logan to make a vegetarian friendly addition to their meal of choice for him

Is not a morning person. Despite coming into school with Starbucks in hand almost every morning, it's still better to wait around 45 minutes after school starts to try and have a legitimate conversation with him, otherwise you'll likely just get grunting and mumbling as your response.

This bitch ADORES the vintage aesthetic. He wears his vintage’ ‘50’s leather jacket almost every day along with his sunglasses, and he has a whole collection of vintage t-shirts in his closet. Oh, and his record player is pretty much his most prized possession. When his friends don’t know what to get him for a present the go-to is always a record, and he loves it every time.

He does love older music, but he also listens to modern music so basically any album will make him happy.

He really loves cinnamon. He carries cinnamon gum around with him at all times. Some of his friends hate the smell, but they’ve learned to deal with it. Luckily, Emile also loves the taste of cinnamon gum. 

He tends to spoil his friends. He goes all out for birthdays or gifts of any kind, and ALL of their families attend the holiday parties at his house because they’re the best.

Is honestly a total softie. Although he loves planning elaborate, fun dates, his favorite times with Emile are when the two of them just stay in, make homemade dinner and watch rom-coms together.

He also loves when they watch horror movies because Emile gets all scared and cuddles up to him for protection and it’s absolutely adorable.

Janus Cameron:

Junior, second semester

Patton convinced him to join the band his sophomore year (he was very confused at first because although they had been in the same friend group, he and Patton had barely interacted at this point. He had actually begun to wonder if Patton just didn’t like him), he plays percussion in both band class and marching band. He doesn’t always say it but he’s glad he and Patton became closer because of it.

He’s actually had a huge crush on Patton since end of freshman year, so he’s very happy that Patton at least considers him a legitimate friend now (Can you tell I love YEARNING and PINING)

He has an addiction to hot cheetos, you’ll hardly ever find him without a bag in his backpack. He doesn’t know how it happened but at this point he’s just accepted it.

Sometimes he forgets to grab a bag before school, and usually Virgil will run to get him some during lunch because he doesn’t like his friends being sad. Even if Virgil for some reason can’t one of the others usually will.

Has ginger hair but is kinda embarrassed about it so he usually dyes it black. Only his friends know his natural hair color and they’ve only ever seen his roots.

He also has freckles like every ginger, but they’re concentrated on the left side of his face. The right side has a typical amount, while the left has an extreme abundance of freckles. Nobody knows how it happened, but it did.

Loves. Sparkles. 

He’s the kind of ultra sassy, dramaic gay that would adore sparkles and would absolutely rock them. For their sophomore winter formal he wore a black glittery vest, a yellow dress shirt, a black tie and black dress pants. (Patton literally swooned when he first saw him walk in, Logan caught it all on video and mercilessly teases Patton over it any chance he gets)

He reads a lot in his spare time. It’s calming and easy to lose yourself in. (Wow I really am projecting onto all of these characters huh)

His favorite books are mystery novels because he likes all the twists and turns and the satisfaction of the final reveal. However, he HATES cliffhangers. One time a book he was reading ended abruptly and what happened was unclear and he threw the book at his wall. It left a dent, and his friends point it out EVERY time they come over.

Sometimes when Patton, Roman or Virgil can’t sleep they call him and he reads to them. For Patton and Roman it’s super soft fluffy romance novels (that’s the only reason he owns any of those novels to begin wih. He really cares about his friends, even if he doesn’t show it) and for Virgil it’s sci-fi or fantasy because it really sucks him into a world completely different from his own.

Wants to be a marine biologist when he grows up. (Like Remus, he was a big fan of Logan’s ocean phase)

He obviously has a pet snake. He got her sophomore year and he absolutely loves her. Her name is Cuddles (Yes it was Patton’s suggestion. Janus loves the name too though.)

He loves video games and has a huge collection. He doesn’t have a lot of time to play, but he still tries when he can. Whenever his friends come over they end up playing all night because he has a bunch of old consoles. (Especially Nintendo. He owns every. Single. Nintendo. Console.)

He listens to jazz! Logan’s the only other one who really likes it but they add a few jazz songs to “The Playlist” anyways. (The playlist is what they play in the background whenever they stay over at each other’s houses, whether it’s for playing video games or cooking.)

Roman’s been trying to convince both him and Virgil to join the tech crew for theater so he has more friends in theater. Virgil’s pretty sold on the idea and plans to join his senior year (All it took was Roman’s puppy eyes and he had practically melted into a puddle and agreed on the spot). Janus knows it would be difficult while also doing marching band, but he knows he could work around it especially once marching season is over so he’s actually considering it.

Emile Picani:

Senior, second semester

Does both colorguard and winter guard, is the team captain. He joined as a sophomore and has loved it ever since.

He loves marching season, but he prefers winter guard because he loves having a full, detailed show

He also loves the weapon line! Saber’s his favorite (he’s also a really amazing dancer because he took gymnastics when he was younger so he’s frequently put on the dancing line), but he just adores the sport in general

Has been dating Remy since sophomore year (sophomore year was a pretty eventful year for Emile overall), people were confused at first but at this point it’s rare to see one without the other so everyone’s very used to it 

Wants to be a therapist when he grows up (wow, shocker I know), has a high sense of empathy and wants to help people any way he can. He’s seen some of the people in his life struggle with mental health and he knows how difficult it can be, so all he wants is to make some people’s journey easier.

Loves cartoons, but is kinda embarrassed about it. He wears cartoon-related shirts, but he never openly talks about it unless it’s with people he trusts. (One time in freshman year a kid in the grade above him made fun of him for his Steven Universe shirt and Remy had to be held back from going after the kid) 

Gets pretty good grades, mostly B’s with a few A’s. He knows being a therapist is going to require extensive work ethic so he made sure he had good work ethic early on in school so he’d be able to get through and get his degree

Blushes so easily. Literally the smallest compliment can set his face aflame. It's honestly adorable.

He just has that soft aesthetic. He loves cardigans, sweatpants, loose t-shirts, etc. He likes being comfy.

He has a whole wall dedicated to Funko Pops in his room. He’s even customized a few Funko’s to match some of his favorite characters that they don’t make figurines for.

He ALSO has a bucket of stuffed animals in his room, all of which he loves equally. He’s one of those people who worries about giving more attention to some of his stuffies than the others, so they rotate onto his bed. (He used to keep them all on his bed but he could barely fit so he developed this system instead.)

He and Remy try to have date nights at least once a week, like an adorable married couple. They really love spending time together.

One time on a date night they spent like 3 minutes just staring at each other from across the table at a restaurant with these goofy grins on their faces. This was pretty soon after they got together. The poor waiter had to bring them back to reality when he brought them their food.

(A/N: Wow. I’m really glad I finally finished this. I had this idea that was supposed to be a short introduction to these characters in this AU and ended up writing over 5K words. This is my first time writing anything fandom-related, so constructive criticism is appreciated. Big thank you to @coconut-cluster for giving me the encouragement I needed on the Logan sticker baseball bat idea, I was nervous and didn’t know how it would go. Thank you for reading!

[marvxlousqueen]

Warren Worthington- Share My Bed

word count: 2.7K ish 

warnings: small mentions of sex, a little cussing, FLUFF

summary: reader is always getting kicked out of her room and becomes friends with peter (maximoff) and meets warren, his roommate-- also i wrote peter as like a huge ping pong fanatic whoops sorry not sorry 

i’m such a slut for soft warren so :)) enjoy this please

One of the perks of being a student at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters was the opportunity to learn to control your special abilities to better protect yourself and others. One of the cons that (Y/n) had most recently discovered, was having roommates. Since the whole Apocalypse incident, a lot more mutants had enrolled in the school, either they heard about it from the news broadcastings and decided to find it for themselves or their parents enrolled them, fearing that they could get hurt if not trained properly (which is 100% true). (Y/n) thankfully didn’t have to room with any of the newbies, but she did have to move into Jean’s room. It could’ve been worse, at least she was close to Jean, having been friends with her since even before the thing with Apocalypse.

One bad thing about rooming with Jean was the fact that Jean and Scott like to spend time together. A lot of time together. Doing things. Meaning, almost every day (Y/n) was asked (not so politely) to leave the room for an hour or two. She often voiced her opinion on this. “Why can’t you guys go fuck in Scott’s room? It’s not fair! I have homework to do and I need to be in here with all my books and my desk, okay? I don’t care how horny you guys are, just suck it up!” 

(Y/n)’s opinions never seemed to have any impact on Jean or Scott. Scott would always say the same, short apology about how he didn’t want to risk scarring Kurt, Scott’s new roommate, for life (since Kurt was one of the more innocent students of Xavier’s school). Jean would always give her puppy dog eyes and whisper in (Y/n)’s mind, “I would do it for you and you know that.” 

(Y/n) knew Jean was right, she would do it for her, but luckily for Jean (and unluckily for (Y/n)) no boy seemed remotely interested in her. Ever since Jean and Scott had started up their after school fucking sessions, she had started to seek refuge in Peter’s room. Peter Maximoff was... interesting to say the least. He was quick on his feet and even quicker to make sarcastic remarks so she quite enjoyed his company. (Y/n) had first met him last school year when he single-handedly saved the entire student body and staff from being blown up. They had become quite the pair of friends since then, sharing music taste and enjoying a good game of ping pong (even if (Y/n) wasn’t able to keep up). 

Even Peter, one of the older students/trainees, had been affected by the roommate situation, which effectively put a damper on their hang out time. About a week after they started to hang out, Hank had stopped by to announce that Peter would be getting a roommate. Hank briefly described the boy as one of Apocalypse’s minions who was now in need of a new home so that he hopefully wouldn’t wander into dark forces again. 

Peter had not been pleased, at all. Professor Xavier had made him move his ping pong table into the ‘game room’ (which also included Peter’s old Pac-Man game and a crappy pool table) to make room for another bed. 

Two days later Peter’s roommate had showed up while (Y/n) was kicked out of her room. He was absolutely terrifying. (Y/n) immediately recognized him, even though he looked significantly different than he had during the battle. She recalled him having metal wings, which she had seen rip many of her fellow classmates to shreds. They were gone, replaced by feathered white ones. His face was the same, shaved sides of his head and threatening face tattoos, serving as a constant reminder of the things he did. (Y/n) wanted to ask how he had changed his wings so quickly, but was too scared to do so. Lucky for her, Hank had taken the opportunity to explain after Peter had asked a similar question. 

“We were able to remove the metal pieces and he grew his original wings back just fine. He will be on bed rest for the next few days though, still recovering.” He didn’t mention if they attempted to remove the face tattoos, but (Y/n) was too stunned to ask Hank about them. He grew back his wings? Holy shit that must hurt, she thought. 

The boy, Warren (which she had learned from Peter), had stepped out to get a bite from the cafeteria. “So, did Hank really say he’d be on bed rest for a few days? I don’t like that.” Peter had looked up at her, slightly confused, “It’s no big deal. He doesn’t seem to talk much. We can still do our thing.”

(Y/n) shook her head, “He scares me. Sorry, Pete. I’ll find somewhere else to hang for today and the next few days till he’s out and about.”

Peter wasn’t going to take this. First, he lost his ping pong table, then he had to get a roommate, and now he was losing precious pong time with a friend? Nope. Not happening. “Come on, (Y/n)! You aren’t leaving me like this! We have table tennis to play, and he’s not scary so come on!” She shook her head before standing up to leave. 

Peter rushed in front of her, using his super speed. “Nope, nuh uh. Please stay, I’ll get so bored!” (Y/n) rolled her eyes at this. “Peter, you get bored at everything!” 

“Exactly! Come on, I’ll get us pizza and milkshakes as a thank you.” After rolling her eyes once more, (Y/n) finally nodded. Peter quickly slipped on his goggles and gave her arm a quick squeeze. “Stay here, okay? I’ll be back, two minutes-tops.” Peter left before she could get another word in. (Y/n) moved to sit down on Peter’s bed, waiting.

Not even thirty seconds later the door opened (causing (Y/n) to stand up) and in walked- that’s not Peter, she thought. Peter’s roommate, Warren, shuffled through the door, hands full, struggling to fit with his half opened wings. “Do.. do you need a hand?” (Y/n) was hesitant in asking this, worried that she might actually have to hold a conversation with him. She was sure she wouldn’t be able to speak with his cold eyes staring her down. To her surprise he nodded, handing her a plate he was holding. “You know, most people eat in the cafeteria. We’re not really supposed to bring food back into our rooms... attracts roaches.” That sounded condescending, didn’t it? And why would I mention roaches, ew!

(Y/n) waited for a response, but none came. She moved to place his dish of pasta down on the desk that had been assigned as his. 

“I know.” His voice made (Y/n)’s head snap up, “huh?”

“I know I’m supposed to eat in the cafeteria. I was going to sit down, but there were no empty tables. I can’t just sit with people.” 

(Y/n)’s eyebrows furrowed at his statement. “Why-um, why can’t you sit with people?” His eyes finally met hers, moving up from where they were on the floor. (Y/n) had thought she would’ve found nothing but coldness in his eyes, but instead she found a certain warmth that she hadn’t seen in anyone before. 

“No one wants to sit with me. They’re scared of me, everyone is.” His head dropped again and he took a seat on his bed, remembering how Hank told him to keep his movements to a minimum. She felt awful that she was ever scared of him. He just wanted to be liked, get a fresh start. Right as (Y/n) was about to respond, Peter ran into the room, covered in some sort of pink substance, but still holding two boxes of pizza and two shakes, as promised.  

“Hey! Sorry I’m late, spilled a strawberry milkshake while I was trying to get out of there fast.” Peter placed the items on his desk, acknowledging Warren with a small nod. “Why were you trying to get out fast, Peter?” (Y/n) had heard enough about him from Professor Xavier and Hank to know he was quite the kleptomaniac. “I was, you know-just wanted the pizza to stay hot..?”

“Oh god Peter, you stole them!” 

“No! I mean-technically yes, but they were freshly made and the place was going to close without selling them. They would’ve been thrown away! And... stolen pizza tastes so much better.” (Y/n) rolled her eyes. She knew she shouldn’t expect anything less than criminal activity from Peter, but god he was just so damn cheap sometimes. “You have a problem, Peter. Like a serious problem.” 

“Oh shut up and eat your stolen pizza.” 

The rest of the afternoon was pizza and ping pong (on the table that Peter had snuck back in, which took up about the only open space that was left in the room) until Jean spoke to (Y/n) in her head. “You can come back. Scott is gone.” 

(Y/n) bid her goodbye to Peter and gave Warren a quick smile before leaving, tired and not wanting to be awake any longer. 

After (Y/n) closed the door Warren sat back up, trying to appear more friendly before speaking to Peter. “So-uhm. What’s her name? The, the girl..” Warren’s face felt a little hot, still shy talking to Peter. “(Y/n). She’s been a student here for a couple years now. She fought with us last year too, you might remember that.” Peter didn’t mean to bring up last year’s battle, but it just slipped out. 

“Yes, I remember.. I remember all of that. Regret it too.” In a sudden flash of silver, Peter was seated next to Warren, patting his shoulder. “It’s alright bro, no one blames you. I totally would’ve done anything a blue-god-mutant-dude-thingy told me to, especially if he was offering me rewards. I get it.” 

Warren felt his chest lighten, relief flooding him. He liked the idea of no one blaming him. Maybe this place will work out after all, he thought.

The next day after classes, (Y/n) was expecting to have to head to Peter’s room, but was surprised to not find Scott in Jean’s bed. “Where’s Scotty at?” 

Jean looked up from her books, “Special training with Professor Xavier. He’s coming over tonight though.” (Y/n)’s eyes widened comically, “Tonight? As in night time? What-what, just-no!”

“Come on, (Y/n). We’ve been dating for almost a year and haven’t slept in the same bed, it’s weird.” (Y/n) shook her head, still in shock at what Jean was trying to explain to her. “No! No no no! I don’t care how long you’ve been dating, I will not be kicked out of my room at night time! Where am I supposed sleep?” 

“I would do it for you, (Y/n). You know that.” (Y/n) groaned, knowing Jean would do it for her if she ever had a boyfriend over. “Fine... I need to go find somewhere to sleep tonight.” Jean nodded, returning to her homework. 

(Y/n) wandered down the hall to Peter’s room, knocking quickly. He opened the door before jumping back onto his bed. “Hey! Jean and Scott at it already? Seems early.” She shook her head, pushing his legs over so she can sit. “No they’re not. Scott is training and Jean decided it would be a genius idea to have him over tonight, like to spend the night. Can I sleep in here? Please..” 

Warren’s head flicked up at her words. He wasn’t sure how he felt about (Y/n) staying with them. He probably wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing she was there. What if I snored? Or sleep talked about her? What if I woke up with a boner and she saw? He wasn’t sure why his heart was racing so much. He had only known her for a day, but she seemed so.. so nice and carefree. He wanted that in his life, wanted her in his life. 

Peter nodded, “Jean and Scott are kind of assholes, you know, for doing that to you, but yeah sure. We can squeeze you in, right Warren? You okay with that?”

Warren nodded, eyes meeting hers. “Oh thank you so much! Let me go grab some pillows and blankets to make my bed on the floor.” She rushed out and headed back down the hallway to her and Jean’s room. She opened the door, seeing Scott already sitting on Jean’s bed. “You’re here early. Does that mean I can sleep in my own bed tonight?” Scott just looked over to Jean, hoping she would know the correct answer. “He’s still staying the night.” (Y/n) groaned, “Great... I need to grab some stuff.” 

“Oh lighten up (Y/n). It’s a Friday night, it’s not like we have classes in the morning.”

“Shut it, Summers.” She grabbed her pillow before slamming the door shut, already making her way back to Peter and Warren’s room. Their door was still open so she walked straight in and began constructing her bed.. until she realized she had only brought a pillow. She left again, headed down the hall to grab her comforter. As she reached Jean’s door she saw the sock on the handle, which meant they were already at it. Those two are like rabbits, I swear.

She slowly walked back into Peter’s room, feet dragging. “Hey Pete, I can’t make a bed. I don’t have any blankets so can I borrow some?” (Y/n) looked at Peter’s bed, hoping to see extra blankets she could use, but her eyes were met with just a single sheet stretched out. Right, Peter doesn’t use blankets.

Peter generates so much heat at night, he can’t sleep with more than a sheet on him. He shook his head, “I don’t have any, sorry. But you can just share my bed. It’s roomy and I don’t take up a lot of space.”

Warren’s eyes opened, he did not like the idea of (Y/n) sleeping in Peter’s bed. He wanted to offer her his blanket, but with his wings still recovering, Hank told him he needed to keep his body temperature up at all times. 

“Oh.. okay I guess, but if you try to make any moves, Maximoff, you’re dead.” He nodded, slight smirk on his face, “Can’t make any promises.” 

They spent the next few hours in the shitty game room playing pac man before playing an intense game of ping pong. At 10 o’clock, Warren was headed to sleep, body exhausted from regrowing his wings. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep, too busy thinking about (Y/n) being curled up in Peter’s bed, but he might as well try seeing as how he had nothing better to do. 

Since Warren and Peter are roommates, if Warren was going to bed that meant Peter was also going to bed. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, (Y/n) soon followed. Their bodies had a good couple inches between them, but she could still feel Peter’s movements. (Y/n) was woken up at 11 o’clock to Peter kicking her. She sat up and saw Peter moving rapidly. He looked like he was running in his sleep, continuously kicking her. (Y/n) scooted closer to the edge of his bed to avoid his legs, but after another few kicks, Peter kicked her off the bed. 

“Ow, fuck..” She whispered her words, trying not to wake up Warren (but of course he had been awake the whole night and heard her body hit the ground).

His raspy voice spoke out into the darkness, “Y-you okay?”

“No, Peter is a bitch to share a bed with. He literally kicked me off.”

Warren reached up to turn on his bedside lamp, seeing her laying on the floor, shivering. His mouth opened before he could stop himself. “You can share my bed.”

(Y/n) looked up so fast she could’ve sworn she got whiplash, “What?” In the dim lighting she was still able to see the blush form on Warren’s face. “I-I just meant... you know, since the floor is cold and I have a.. bed.”

“Okay.” Warren was surprised, seeing her jump up and climb into his bed. “O-okay. And s-sorry if my wings get in the way. Also they’re kind of hot so if you need to move the blanket we can.”

She shook her head, pulling the blanket over her. Warren saw that she was still shivering so he wrapped his wings around her, not giving it a second thought, holding her between the warm feathers. He felt her hand grab his arm, wrapping it around her waist. Warren’s face burned, but he loved having her so close to him, all his previous worries flying out the window.  

“Good night, Warren.”

“Night, (Y/n). Sweet dreams.” 

[headoverjojo]

Yo! Can I ask for some body swap with Fem S/O hi-jinks with bruno's gang? I need some fun in these trying times; these new episodes are tearing me apart ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )‧º·˚

Hi sweetie! A H this comes WAY too late, I’M SORRY ç.ç I just hope that what I’ve written may help to make amend for this terrible delay!! And I sincerely hope you may like it :,)

Body swap for Bruno’s gang with their s/o

(Under the cut for length!)

Bruno Bucciarati

Bruno just can’t believe it: it happened again! After all the Chariot Requiem mess, when his soul had been switched with Doppio/Diavolo’s, he’s here again, not in his body but in his s/o’s one. At least, he’s not in a body he hated so much… still, they can’t leave things as they were: they had to fight and to go back to their own body!

It wasn’t easy, however. The target seemed to be disappeared and, well… they had to stay in each other’s body until they found him. His s/o’, however, didn’t seem to be so worried; she was sure they would have found that bastard with a clowny stand, but why don’t enjoy it while they were searching for them? While Bruno was trying to be as discreet as possible, his s/o was having the time of her life. She had seen so many times her boyfriend gulping down his rage and indignation to favor diplomacy when the other part didn’t need it; it was time to show that no one had to mess with Bruno Bucciarati!

Bruno was so damn worried for it. She couldn’t do it, she could put herself -in his body- in danger, to damage delicate relationships he was establishing with various gang leaders! He wanted to cry when, when she had to met one of them, the most rebellious one, instead of faking a small smile as he always did, she pronounced a bold and loud “I’m tired of your bullshits, so fuck you.”. It was the end!! He had, however, to eat it all back, when the gang leader, after a solid couple of seconds of sheer stupor, just bursted in a loud laugh, exclaiming that finally he was seeing some fire in him! Bruno just couldn’t believe it. She had done way more in five minutes than him in a month, with that gang leader!

When they finally switched back to their bodies -not before having beaten the asshole and their clowny stand as they deserved-, Bruno was definitely another man. He had learned so much from the experience! He now knew more about his girlfriend’s body and how it worked… and he had learned that sometimes it was good to show a less diplomatic attitude, to obtain something!

Leone Abbacchio

Abbacchio wasn’t conscious when the whole switching mess happened, as he was still recovering from the almost fatal blow he had taken in Sardinia. So, when, while he and his s/o were fighting against a member of an enemy gang, he almost freaked out when he suddenly opened his eyes in his s/o’s body. Even if his training kicked back in few seconds, it was enough for their target to escape, leaving them in each other’s body.

It was a nightmare. He had problems to take proper care of his own body -he seemed perfectly healthy, but everyone knew he had a deep lack of sleep and a severe anxiety-, he didn’t want to ruin his s/o’s one! However, she reassured him as much as she could: they would have made it! They just had to find the target and to make them switch their souls back to their original body. It wasn’t difficult! And, meanwhile, they would have taken care of the other’s body; she wanted to really give her boyfriend’s tired body a blast!

Even if he protested -and for everyone was so weird to see her, usually so quiet and calm, talking in Abbacchio’s harsh way-, she was irremovable: his body was screaming for more sleep and she would have given it what it wanted. She, basically, put his body in a needed rest, while Abbacchio, in her energetic and vital body, was feeling… was feeling like he was just reborn. He hadn’t had so many energies since centuries! He felt like he could lift mountains! And, when his body was finally rested and ready, they had been unstoppable. Now that his body too was at 100%, they were a terrifying fighting duo!

When they were finally back to their body, Abbacchio noticed that he was still feeling full of energies. She had took proper care of his body, letting it rest, listening to its needs; it’s something he had to learn too, as he always pushed and pushed his body to its limit and beyond, making more damages than goods. In the end, other than the awareness that being small isn’t so bad -you’re nearer to certain hitting areas, all in all-, he learned that he really needed to take more care of his body. He couldn’t let his s/o’s work on it get wasted!

Guido Mista

Mista has already experienced how it is to be in a girl’s body, so, when it happened again, he just let out a heavy sigh and a “Oh, again, fantastic!”, but, at least, now it’s his s/o’s body, so he’s less embarrassed and he knows that she wasn’t going to insult his body, as Trish did! The switch, however, distracted them enough to allow the enemy to escape; now they had to deal with it until they would have found them again and reversed their stand power!

Until then, however, they both wanted to take the most they could from the experience. His s/o followed Giorno in his meetings, impersonating Mista, and she understood how important his work was when she almost got a bullet while protecting Giorno, when the Don’s car was assaulted by some members of an enemy gang; Mista too understood that his s/o’s life wasn’t so easy when he found himself being mocked by his s/o’s colleagues. While she was always diplomatic and just gulped down the many “fuck you”s she would have liked to tell them, Mista wasn’t like this; if he had to say it to someone, he said it without qualms. And he did so, surprising everyone so much that no one came near him to whisper some other malignity for the rest of the day. A cold and murderous glare, at the end of the day, was enough to make them shiver and to make sure they wouldn’t ever whisper bad things to her ever again.

Even with all the possible difficulties, it also had some positive aspects. They were understanding better each other and it was comical to see the other trying to adjust to the other’s body! His s/o almost choked in laughters when Mista tried to walk on their heeled shoes -it was disastrous, he seemed a drunk flamingo- and Mista pouted when she complained about his top-crop sweaters; what was the meaning of that?! She was too hot on her neck and arms and her belly was cold, how could he endure it?! He just scoffed, it all made even more comical, as he was scoffing with her face, and declared that it was fashion, baby, fashion required sacrifices! However, his s/o found a good use to the belly window when she noticed that the area was extremely sensitive; perfect for raspberries and being tickled…

When they finally switched back to their right bodies, they were relieved, of course, but also, all in all, happy about the experience. They had learned a lot more about each other, about their life, about what happened when the other wasn’t here; plus, Mista’s only day at her office radically changed how her colleagues treated her, and she was so grateful for this. Even with all the various inconveniences, in the end it had been a positive experience! And it had ended in the best way, so even better!

Narancia Ghirga

When the first switching mess happened, he switched with Giorno. It had been already weird and uncomfortable being thrown in another boy’s body, but in a girl’s one was even worse! He reacted a bit like Mista when it happened to him and Trish, with embarrassment and shyness, but soon enough he was back to business: the mission had the priority! It was too late, however; the target, that damn clown, had already escaped!

The first hours had been a tragedy. He didn’t know how to move, what to do… he didn’t want to embarrass her! He relaxed a bit just when she said him that it was all fine, with a kiss -and it was so strange to feel his own lips in that way, were they always so chapped?- and a smile. It would have gone all well! However, they had to keep up a façade and go on with their usual life and missions. As they weren’t always assigned to the same mission, sometimes they had to split up, and it happened that time too; G/N, in Narancia’s body, had to follow Bucciarati on an important mission -and, now, she realized for real how dangerous those missions were; she had seen him coming back scratched, bruised, but now she was realizing that those were just what Giorno couldn’t entirely repair with his Gold Experience- and her love -and worry- for him spiked up. She never knew he was always so near to death or, at least, to lose a limb…

On the other hand, Narancia came in contact with his s/o’s life from another perspective. He knew that university was difficult and hard, he had seen -and helped- her studying even to late night, but he never imagined it was so hard! He tried his best to keep a low profile, not to be noticed, but he lost his temper when he saw a whole row “booked” by one student, leaving a lot of students without a seat. Narancia couldn’t stand this kind of stupid injustice; it didn’t take long to group students against this asshole and, in few, glorious minutes, to win the seats. For a day, he was the class hero! Or, better, his s/o was the class hero!

When they switched back, Narancia sincerely forgot to warn her about her sudden notoriety. She was so surprised when, back to university, she was welcomed like a hero. What the hell happened?! When she came to know it, she could just huff a laugh. Of course… Narancia couldn’t stand an injustice when he saw one. Well, all in all it was good… now her life was a bit easier! And, when she saw him, she covered him in cuddles and kisses that made him chuckle and blush in happiness; what did he do to deserve so much affection? She just smiled, kissing him once more, saying that she was just happy that he was here, healthy and happy, with her; she couldn’t desire more!

Pannacotta Fugo

Fugo didn’t experiment the switch, as, when it happened, he wasn’t with the group but working in the backstage to bring as many Passione members as he could to Giorno and Bucciarati’s side, to smooth out Giorno’s path to the Don role. So, when it happened, he panicked so bad that Purple Haze slipped out, out of control, and its dangerousness, plus the little time Fugo needed to successfully call it back, allowed the target to escape, leaving them in the wrong body.

Before Fugo could start to worry himself sick on this, his s/o took the situation in her hands, first of all calming Fugo down. She knew how much he hated sudden changes and, well… that one was an enormous change, even if just temporary. She asked him to stay calm and to stay with her, not to let panic take him far from her; they needed to work together, as a team, to resolve this. And, together, they would have made it! Meanwhile, they needed to impersonate each other, not to rise any suspect in who hadn’t to know it. For Fugo wasn’t easy; he had been as far as he could from any university since that terrible story of abuses and entering it again, even if in his s/o’s body, hadn’t been easy. He was skittish and silent, so different from how she usually was! Seeing how much her friends were genuinely worrying made him realize that, for her, university wasn’t a bad and toxic environment. She had people who cared about her, she was studying something she was liking… in the end, he was so relieved and happy to know it, that he managed to overcome his panic and disgust and, for the first time in years, maybe in all his life, to enjoy a university class. Maybe it wasn’t so bad…

Meanwhile, his s/o had to deal with his life as Consigliere of the Don. She knew it was hard and stressing, but to this extent? Absolutely not. Now she could painfully understand why he was always so tired and exhausted when he came home… and she was so angry to see how Fugo was, even if not aloud, mocked. Mocked for his anger issues, for his crazy stand, for his apparent act of “cowardice” when he left the group, when everyone knew that it was thanks to him if Giorno already had allies when he approached the position of Don… she couldn’t stand it. She couldn’t stay silent and let her boyfriend be mocked like this! She really didn’t know how could he endure it all without snapping… but she wasn’t Fugo. She didn’t snapped -otherwise, everyone would have noticed he wasn’t Fugo, due to Purple Haze’s absence-, but did she speak her mind? Oh, she did. She called everyone out of their bullshit in a calm tone, like she was talking to bratty children; she knew that this was more annoying than any scream. And it worked; it put them all to their place, to her utter satisfaction.

When they finally were back to their right body -and they both made sure that the clown target couldn’t walk for a long time, after it-, both of them could notice some changes in each other’s life. Fugo, when he came back to the council chamber with Giorno, noticed that no one, now, was talking about him or speaking to him with a mocking tone, like it always happened; it was a so incredible change, it was like a breath of fresh air… he knew it was thanks to his s/o. And she? She was so pleasantly surprised when Fugo dropped by her university to share lunch and a class with her, she was so happy to sit at his side in class, to be able to present him to her friends… he had always been as far as he could from her university and in general university life, but now he seemed… he seemed like he had started to heal. Maybe, all in all, that switch hadn’t been so harmful…

Giorno Giovanna

Giorno still remembered with painful clearness that first switch, when Chariot Requiem unleashed that incredible power in order to protect the arrow. He still remembered how he felt to see his body, with Narancia’s soul in it, pierced and torn, how much he felt guilty for it… a cold dread clenched his guts when he opened his eyes in his s/o’s body, a little after the target had disappeared. Oh no, it was happening again for real…

However, he had to put aside all the bad memories and to deal with the current situation. He couldn’t hide in fear to try to avoid another Narancia casualty! He had to go on with his s/o’s life, while they both were searching for that asshole and their ridiculous stand. And so, he took her place at her working place, noticing, with a rising rage, how she was basically ignored. He knew she was quiet and cheerful, that she, usually, didn’t raise her voice, but this was not acceptable. She always had good and intelligent ideas, she deserved to be listened! And, so, he threw aside his original plan -to go unnoticed as much as he could- to step forward and act. He used his experience as Don to talk with firmness yet diplomacy, earning everyone’s attention; he exposed his s/o’s ideas, meeting everyone’s approval and surprise. He was feeling… well. He was doing something good and useful for his s/o. She was so smart and creative, it was a shame to leave her behind! Her voice deserved to be listened and he was happy to help her, at least for a little, to shine as she deserved!

On the other hand, she was trying her best to handle Giorno’s work as Don. It was more complex than what she thought! It wasn’t just paperwork, but also meetings, delicate alliances, he had to keep together an organization so big… after just few hours, she was beyond stressed! How could Giorno bear this all? Her admiration for him increased, as now she could understand him way better than before. She also understood how dangerous his job was when Mista quickly took her down, saving her, in fact, from some bullets shot from afar. This made her realize for real how near she had always been to lose him every day; it really gave her another perspective on his job and the risks linked to it.

When they managed to find the enemy and to force them to switch their souls back to their right place, no one was the same as before. When she came back to work, she found out that everyone, now, actually acknowledge her existence, they listened to her! And she knew she had to thank Giorno for it. And, now that she knew how Giorno’s life was for real, when he came home, she didn’t hesitate to hug him tightly, to kiss him and make him feel loved. She cherished, now, every moment, knowing how risky his life was, and she was so thankful to have him at home, safe and sound… it helped them both to be more aware of the other’s life!

[beardycarrot]

Alright! Now that I’ve finished Aliens Ate My Homework (kids’ books really are just a couple hour read for an adult, huh?), I have in mind some things that I think are important for the movie adaptation to stick to.

The look of the characters should be the easiest thing to nail... their outfits probably won’t match what’s described in the book (movies always feel the need to change that in some capacity), but I don’t really care about that. What I’m more interested in is how they portray the less humanoid characters. Pong, Grakker, and Snout can all be played by actors in costumes, but Tar Gibbons is described as having a lemon-shaped body with four legs, a long neck, and a turtle-like head with bulging bug eyes; that’s gonna be a fully CG character.

The other is Phil, a potted plant. Basically a big stalk covered in leaves and vines, with a flower where a head would be, who moves around with thrusters on his pot. He has a symbiotic relationship with creature called Plink, described as kind of a blue cat-monkey. I really like how this illustration portrays it; even if it looks more like some kind of cartoonie bug, I would be perfectly happy if this is the design the movie goes for. These two are also going to be fully CG, so unless they base it entirely on the description provided for Plink, base its design on an illustration from another artist, or just do their own thing with it, I can’t imagine them finding a way to mess these designs up... but who knows.

BKR, the evil alien, should be interesting. He’s described as having blue skin, pale orange spikes covering his head (I was picturing maybe a dozen four-inch-long spikes, but the spike density could also be interpreted as covering his head like hair), and... otherwise, looking like Shirley Temple? That’s gonna be interesting, but this is also the character I expect them to take the most liberties with. I can’t say why... maybe just from experience with this kind of adaptation.

There are a few major plot points that I think they have to adhere to. First, that the good aliens’ ship is malfunctioning (the illustrations portray the ship as a traditional flying saucer, but I don’t think the design matters much) and they’re stuck shrunken to two inches tall until the end. That’s... basically the only reason for Rod, the protagonist, to be involved. The aliens need to repair their ship, so Rod has to carry them around to investigate BKR.

Secondly, they need to eat his homework. It doesn’t have to be the papier mache volcano and math assignment portrayed in the book, but, I mean, it IS the title of the movie.

Grakker and Snout have an unspecified relationship... Snout is very, VERY clearly based on Spock from Star Trek (in fact, I think the third book in this series is called The Search for Snout, a play on the third Star Trek movie, The Search for Spock), so it might just be a close friendship, but they share a room on the ship while everyone else has their own, so who knows. At one point it’s mentioned that they’re “bonded”. Potentially Gayliens. I don’t remember what their relationship is like in later books.

Next, Rod is incapable of lying. There definitely won’t be a flashback to the traumatizing-to-a-toddler reason for it, but that’s Rod’s defining characteristic: he doesn’t, and can’t, tell lies. Who knows whether that will be included.

Finally, Rod’s dad having been missing for quite a while isn’t a huge part of the story, but it does play an important role. Him lying to Rod’s mom strengthened Rod’s inability to lie (you’re not told what the lie was, but it’s implied that this was the night he left), and towards the end of the story BKR claims to know where he went, and implies that he’s no longer on Earth. I don’t remember if this is a plot point in future books, but Bruce Coville did something pretty similar in My Teacher Flunked The Planet, so it could be. This is the kind of thing that adaptations will just arbitrarily change, though, so who knows.

So! With all that out of the way, it’s time to watch the movie!

...Okay, first thing’s first, the opening credits of the movie are set to shots of a model solar system, so I’m assuming that’s the replacement for the volcano. I’ll allow it. Also, William Shatner is in this movie? What? As who?? The only adult male character in the story is an android of a man in his thirties, and he’s only there for what would amount to two minutes of screen time at the end. Rod’s grandfather is mentioned, but only once, in the context of “this is my grandfather’s farmland”.

Alright, definitely a modern setting. I guess the model isn’t for a science fair, instead being something Rod’s filming on his smartphone with his mom, twin siblings, and... his dad. Now, this looked like is was going to be an adaptation fail, but it turns out this was a flashback to the night he went missing. Clever!

Less clever is this abysmal color grading meant to represent a dark and stormy night, and the fact that they live in a cul-de-sac instead of being out in the middle of some farmland... but that’s not that significant of a change.

For some reason the story now takes place in the winter instead of mid-May, making me wonder where BKR (in the guise of Billy Becker) is getting the bugs to smash against Rod’s head. More importantly, as revealed at the end of the book, most intelligent life in the universe is about three feet tall, which is why BKR is pretending to be a kid while hiding on Earth. Instead of being a foot shorter than Rod, however, he’s now taller. Weird. Rod also now has his cousin Elspeth staying with his family for winter break, for... literally no reason that I can think of. Elspeth is a character from the second book in the series, but she wasn’t even mentioned in the first.

Grakker isn’t quite book-accurate, but not entirely inaccurate either... except for the color of his skin. He’s supposed to be green. What the hell. They whitewashed an alien. On the upside, the dialog in this scene is all pretty book-accurate. Unfortunately, they lose a lot of points with Madame Pong, who is supposed to be a very calm, understanding, zen character... but comes across as a little condescending. Also, this:

What? What?? Why did they keep this book dialog, when the house is VERY CLEARLY part of some kind of housing development area? I legitimately have no idea what they were thinking.

I also have no idea what’s going on here. Elspeth is... I guess looking through family photos on a computer? Ignore the subtitles, that’s from a weather report on tv. What I’m curious about is what exactly is going on in the photo. That’s clearly Rod’s dad, from three years ago... but recent pictures of the twins? Did Rod’s mom, who apparently runs a pet photography business, Photoshop a family ski trip that never happened? Is that what’s being implied here??

We’re then introduced to the rest of the aliens, and... wow, I can’t describe my disappointment. Remember how I said Tar Gibbons and Phil would be fully CG characters? Yeah, that, uhh... that didn’t happen. I was hoping they would do as much of this movie with practical effects as possible, but I meant that in the “get good SFX people” way, not the “do everything as cheaply as possible” way. They’re literally both just guys in suits.

Yeah sure eye stalks and a thick neck are absolutely the same thing as bulging eyes and a long neck. More importantly, look at that clearly human body with extra legs just kinda hanging off the hips. Phil is just as bad. You can’t really tell from still frames, but yeah, he has two vines with leaves coming off of his human-body-proportioned stalk at shoulder level and moves like a guy in a suit... and for some reason, his flower is split into halves so that it can be puppeteered to move like a mouth. Despite the fact that in the book his flower doesn’t even play a part in communication. They could’ve easily just installed a light inside the flower and explained that he communicates through pod burps, and would’ve been perfectly book-accurate. Why make this specific change. Also, if you’ve read this far, you’re probably wondering where Snout is. Yeah, uh. Me too.

Anyway, they appear to have combined the characters of BKR and Arnie into one person to simplify things (but then why introduce Elspeth??), and for no readily apparent reason, changed BKR, which is pronounced how you would expect, into B’KR, pronounced... b’car. For no reason.

Good GOD is this movie cheap. I appreciate the set they created for the top of Rod’s desk, with the giant pencil and such, and obviously they’re going to use a green screen for scenes like this... but it looks SO bad in motion. Like, see how the shot ends at his knees? That’s because he’s very obviously running in place, in front of a green screen. Also, why are sixth graders learning about the Drake Equation, which concerns the statistics relevant to intelligent alien life in the universe, in math class? I guess it’s technically a math topic, but not the kind of thing you’d learn in pre-algebra...and for comparison, Rod’s math homework consisted of single-digit multiplication tables, the kind of thing you do in like, second grade.

I’m also not fond of the degree to which Grakker is a comic relief character. Like... throughout the book, he’s completely strict and serious, and most of the comedy comes from Phil, Gibbons, and Rod. The first time you see genuine emotion from him is when Rod accidentally injures Snout, causing Grakker to hold him tenderly and shed a tear (again, potential Gayliens).

This is supposed to be the inside of a thick black canvas backpack. Am I crazy? Did I not see the Universal Studios logo at the start of this movie? Why does it look like the cheapest of cheap made-for-tv movies? Anyway. They appear to have given Snout’s ability to slow time to Madame Pong, which is worrying. Did they just... remove Snout, one of most important characters in the entire book series? To what end? To fit in all the stupid pointless Elspeth stuff? If they were hoping to make sequels to this movie, well... bad news, because again, the third book in the series is called The Search for Snout. Okay, I gotta know, is he actually cut from the movie or just a surprise reveal for later?

Alright, I am now officially dragging this movie. Also, I guess we now know where William Shatner fits in... I hadn’t even noticed it was him. Also Also, is that furry pink lump with one eye supposed to be Plink? Why all the arbitrary changes? Did they just decide that since they couldn’t fit a person inside of it, they would give it no limbs at all? Why is it pink??

Eyyy. Roll credits! Yeah, I wish... I’m only halfway through this thing.

They made Rod’s best friend Mickey Asian, which is fine, he’s a very minor character and never really described in the book... but unfortunately, they also decided to make him Data from The Goonies. He’s an inventor. Because he’s Asian. Coooool character, movie. So far it’s lead to an unfunny Coke and Mentos gag and an unfunny Pop Rocks and soda gag (which resulted in projectile vomiting). They cut Snout out of the movie to make room for this stuff, mind you. I’m sure this is building up to some kind of payoff, but I’m pretty sure I’m not going to enjoy it.

Speaking of payoffs, there seems to be an implication that there’s some kind of paranormal activity at Seldom Seen, the hidden field on Rod’s grandfather’s property, and at Rod’s school. I can understand the field, in this version Rod’s dad definitely seems to be involved with aliens in some capacity, and that’s probably where he was keeping a ship or something... but the school is kinda inexplicable. Like, it’s covered in snow... and it’s the only place in town that’s seeing snow. I can only assume it’s BKR’s... sorry, B’KR’s doing, but I’m not sure why. Did they decide that being blue means he’s from a cold planet, and requires it to be cold wherever he is?

No idea what’s up with some of these changes. Instead of BKR’s house being like an unlived-in model home, it’s... a complete sty. The exact opposite of the book. Why. Also, that coffee table is completely covered in video game consoles... GameCube, Dreamcast, PS2, N64... but Rod says he’s got “all the latest video games”. Does he? Does he really? Was that line in the script, so the crew just bought whatever they could find? As for BKR himself...

I mean, I don’t see Shirley Temple, but it’s not bad! Rod wasn’t trapped inside a pocket dimension inside a CRT tv when he took his mask off, but they wouldn’t have been able to manage that scene with this budget anyway. So far, this is the only alien design I fully endorse. There WAS a point to him having a cherubic face in the book, but it’s never addressed, only implied, and I get why they would make him look more menacing.

In the book, BKR didn’t really have any goals. He just enjoyed being cruel for the sake of being cruel, and was hiding out on Earth because it was unlikely they’d find him there. In the movie, B’KR intends to destroy Earth by opening a wormhole (which is what’s causing the snow), and the good guys have about an hour to save the planet.

They kept another of Snout’s abilities, the Vulcan Mind Mel-- er, knowledge transferal, but gave it to Tar Gibbons. This is literally the only thing he’s done in the entire movie. For the record, this was originally the scene where Snout connects their minds, but Rod is startled by it and pulls back, causing Snout severe psychic harm and prompting the aforementioned emotional response from Grakker.

...They just had to get William Shatner to say Klingon, didn’t they. The climax of the movie is all him flying around spouting (sprouting?) plant puns, then Rod throws a banana cream pie (which was, apparently, part of someone’s science project) at BKR’s face... and finishes him off with foam shot from his papier mache volcano. I guess the shrunken spaceship expanding inside of a house, causing the roof to collapse and knock BKR unconscious, was too expensive violent for the movie... but why is getting him messy a solution to anything? Ah well.

Bruce Coville himself has a cameo as the judge for the science fair, which is nice. I think he might be the principal of the school... I didn’t really notice in the scene featuring the principal earlier, since that happened to be the projectile vomiting scene. I can only imagine he was honored to have his work recognized in this capacity... he’s a good dude, I’m sure he wouldn’t be as horrified as I am with the writing and quality of it.

Also the movie ends with the reveal of the actual size of the aliens... which is, uhh. About the size of adult humans. Hrm. Guess they just straight up decided not to get anything right, huh? Oh, and they reveal that Rod’s father actually is a member of the Galactic Patrol. So, that’s a thing.

Please don’t say that. God, was this movie bad. I would understand if they were passionate about bringing the story to more people and just didn’t have much of a budget, or if they made changes to better suit a visual medium, but that... is not what they did. I’m not the kind of person that demands an adaptation remains 100% faithful; if you want the experience of the book, you can just read the book. This, however, changes so many things. Like, in the book, BKR’s crime is cruelty. That’s the message of the book... that in truly civilized societies, kindness is the norm, and needless cruelty is a criminal act.

The characters in the book all either have depth to them or are interesting as sci-fi concepts, but the movie... Gakker is Mr. Slapstick, Madame Pong is Cool Collected Female, Tar Gibbons is... I dunno, wisdom obscured by things that just don’t translate into English and saying Warrior Science a lot (honestly the closest to his book counterpart, though HE was more interesting and actually did stuff), and Phil... yeah, just William Shatner saying plant puns. Bleagh.

Well, despite that end screen, it’s good to know that we won’t be getting any sequels. I mean, like I’ve already mentioned, Snout going missing is a major plot point in the second book, and the third is literally called The Search For Snout. What are they going to do, just skip to the fourth book?

...Oh hey, George Takei.

[ladyreapermc]

Fic: A Wish Your Heart Makes (Keanu x Reader) 2/3

Author’s notes: part 2 from Cinderella AU. Catch up on part 1 here!

Wordcount: 2294

Warnings: none that I can think of.

As Keanu headed down for breakfast that morning, he could swear that he still felt the taste of her on his lips.

Rationally, he knew he was being ridiculous, but it just felt like every aspect of his night with her was lingering. Her taste, her smell, the feel of her soft skin under his hands, the sound of her voice and laughter… Keanu couldn’t remember the last time he felt this smitten for someone, but this woman had caught him completely off guard.

Despite what tabloids liked to publish about him, Keanu wasn’t a womanizer, he just went out with friends. Were some of them gorgeous models? Yes. Did that mean he was sleeping with all of them? Of course not.

As a matter of fact, it had been quite a few years since he had an actual relationship. Business kept him busy and he preferred that way really. Business didn’t break his heart.

Though Keanu had to admit it felt really nice to spend time with her. The party had been so boring, and he was considering taking his leave when he crossed paths with her at the catering table and then again by the stage.

She had been honest and sweet. Keanu felt a spark he hadn’t felt in years. And the best thing was that he knew there hadn’t been any ulterior motive behind it, because he saw in her eyes, when his mask fell, that she had no idea who he was until that moment.

However, she ran away before he could say anything and he never asked for her name. Now here he was, watching everyone that crossed his path at the hotel, comparing them with his memory, wondering if she could be in the room with him.

As he surveyed the restaurant for a place to sit, he greeted some of the guests with a smile and a quick nod. Keanu knew several of his guests, most of them had been at the gala, but he didn’t feel in the mood to socialize. So, he picked a table tucked in the corner, occupied by a young woman dressed in the hotel’s uniform.

Keanu was almost sure she was one of the girls from the front desk, but his hotels had hundreds of employees each and even he wasn’t that good with names.

As he approached he noticed she seemed oblivious to the world around her with her headphones one and book in front of her. So, it wasn’t until Keanu stopped right in front of the table that she actually looked up, her eyes widening almost comically as she recognized him.

“Mind if I join you?”

For a moment, she just stared before she seemed to shake herself out of it and nod.

“Thanks,” Keanu replied taking a seat and noticing her book cover. “Emma, huh? Hopeless romantic?”

“I, uh, actually a big fan of how her protagonists defied societal norm and expectation for women at the time,” she said taking a quick glance at her own book and sighing. “Most of them at least.”

“Writer?” Keanu asked with a chuckle and she ducked her head, hiding her smile, which was a shame because from what he could see, it was beautiful.

“If I manage to finish my masters, maybe,” she said, glancing at her watch and letting out a small wince. “I should get going. Have a nice day, Mr. Reeves.”

She was hurrying away before Keanu could manage another word. Nearly running into Lawrence in the process. She apologized quickly and continued on while Lawrence took her seat in front of Keanu.

“Was it something I said?” Keanu asked, glancing at the path the girl had taken. What was it with him scaring all women these days?

“It’s Friday, she’s rushing off to class.”

Lawrence signaled a waiter who seemed to know exactly what he wanted because next thing Keanu knew, there were two cups in front of them, Earl Grey for Lawrence, cappuccino for him. Another moment and a different waiter brought them croissants.

“She’s a great kid. polite, hard worker, but was dealt a terrible hand these last few months.”

“What happened?” Keanu asked with a curious frown.

“Car accident four months ago. Parents died and insurance isn’t being forthcoming with the money, so she’s struggling.”

“Anything we can do?”

“Keanu, you can’t go around paying all of your employee’s bills. You’d go bankrupt,” Lawrence warned, eyebrow arched as he watched Keanu.

“I highly doubt it,” he snorted.

Keanu was quite aware of how much all his hotels earned a year. He was very far away from being bankrupt for helping out every once in a while.

“Just make sure she’s alright?”

After a moment of hesitation, Lawrence relented with a nod, drinking his tea.

“I couldn’t help but notice you were suspiciously scarce at the party last night,” he commented with a small smirk. “Anything you’d like to tell me?”

Keanu just huffed a breath, breaking his croissant in half. Of course, Lawrence noticed it. He noticed everything. So, he quickly told his friend what happened, watching as his smirk turned into a soft, knowing smile.

“That’s quite the tale, my friend. And you didn’t catch her name?”

“She ran off before I could.” Keanu let out a long sigh.

“Would you like me to check the guest list? Find out your mystery woman?”

“Are you trying to play matchmaker, Larry?” Keanu chuckled.

Lawrence had always been a little overly invested in his very inexistent love life.

“Well, you’re obviously not doing all that well by yourself,” He replied with a snort and Keanu gave him a mock glare.

“It wouldn’t do you any good. She was crashing the party.”

“Ah. No wonder you liked her,” Lawrence said in a teasing tone, making Keanu laugh. “What are you gonna do to find her, then?”

“I have no idea,” Keanu said, finishing the rest of his cappuccino before he stood up. “But I’m sure we’ll cross paths again if it meant to be.”

Keanu spent most of his day at the office, going over the hotel’s books and in meetings with his marketing team. Unlike most of his other properties, the New York Continental wasn’t doing as well as expected and they to come up with a solution or risk closing doors.

And even though he was quite aware of the importance of those meetings, Keanu couldn’t help but be distracted, his mind wandering to last night again and his mystery woman. Sure, he told Lawrence he would let fate take care of it, but it didn’t hurt to give fate a hand every once in a while.

So as soon as his last meeting of the day ended, Keanu headed down to the lobby, eyes scanning for the porter he had seen taking care of security for the gala last night, but even though all the faces were familiar, they weren’t the man Keanu was looking for.

He started to head back to the administrative areas to look for Lawrence or Adrianne when he saw a familiar head disappearing inside the staff’s break room and grinned. He would rather not resort to Lawrence just yet and the last thing Keanu wanted was to deal with Adrienne. The woman was very efficient but too nosey for her own good.

“Hey Austen,” he called out as he walked in, making the girl he met this morning look up startled.

“Mr. Reeves?”

“Keanu is just fine,” he asked, taking a seat across from her. “I need your help.”

“Sure,” she replied, a little hesitant, setting her pen on top of her notebook. He couldn’t help but notice the way she made sure her arms were covering whatever she was writing. “What can I do for you?”

“Were you working last night? Do you know the porter who was doing security at the gala?”

“Sam? Yeah,” she nodded, her face drawing into a frown. “It’s his day off. Did something happen?”

“I just need to talk to him about something,” Keanu replied as vaguely as possible.

It was one thing to tell Lawrence about his crush. Another thing to admit it to a complete stranger.

“You’re not gonna fire him, are you?” Panic flashed over her doe eyes. “You can’t! He has three kids and he’s the best porter around here. Ask any of the guests!”

Keanu couldn’t help the grin that appeared on his face at her quick defense of her coworker. He liked this girl already. Anyone willing the talk to her boss like that to defend a colleague was worth having around.

“I’m not gonna fire him, Brontë. I want to talk to him. That’s all.”

“Good,” she said with a tentative smile, her cheeks red almost as if only now realizing the way she talked to her boss. “Also, Brontë?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled awkwardly, gesturing to her and her notebook “Aspiring writer, right?”

“Emphasis on the aspiring.” She sighed, her gaze shifting down. “Not that I’m doing much writing lately.”

Keanu’s smile dropped, reminded of what Lawrence had told him about her. Having lost loved ones himself, he could imagine quite how much she must have been hurting right now.

Without thinking, he reached over, taking her hand. She had such small hands compared to his. Her palm soft and smooth against his calloused fingers as he squeezed lightly. He watched as she took a deep breath before pouring her heart out to him.  

Once upon a time, writing came to her as easily as breathing. There wasn’t a scrap of paper that could escape her assaults. But ever since her parents’ accident, she had been completely blocked.

She knew it was part of her grief. That she was still processing the entire thing and should give herself some time. It didn’t make it any easier though. Or her any less angry with herself. Because writing had always been the way she coped with the world. Not having it now made everything feel even worse. It was yet another thing that damn accident took it from her.

And to make matters worse, since she hadn’t delivered any of her assignments, she was dangerously close to failing her master and then the loan her parents took to pay for tuition would go to waste.

They had been so proud of her for choosing to do it, get a master in fine arts instead of taking the safe route of being a teacher and now they were gone and she was completely ruining it.

Keanu didn’t even know at what point he moved closer, gathering her in his arms, letting her cry against his shoulder. He just realized he had done it after he was already hugging her and rubbing soothing circles on her back.

After a while, she pulled away, sniffling, eyes red-rimmed, cheeks streaked.

“I’m so sorry, sir.” Her voice came out raspy from crying. “I made a mess on your shirt.”

“It’s fine,” Keanu assured with a smile, looking at the mascara stains on his shoulder. “Let me grab you some tissues.”

He moved to the employee restroom, hearing the noise of the breakroom door opening and Adrienne’s grating voice.  

“What do you think you’re doing? Amber is at the front desk all alone! Why aren’t you helping, instead of sitting here on your ass?”

“I’m in the night shift,” the girl replied, still sniffling.

“You’re already here! Might as well start!” Adrienne declared and Keanu rolled his eyes, stepping out of the restroom.

“I was under the impression night shifts started at six, Adrienne.” No matter how efficient the woman was in her job, Keanu wasn’t about to let her get away with being rude with other employees. “And it’s 5:30 right now.”

“Mr. Reeves,” she gasped, eyes going wide. “I didn’t know…”

“That I was here? Clearly,” he said with a dry voice, before turning to look at the younger woman. “Here you go, Shelley.” It dragged a tentative smile from her as she took the tissues.

“I just thought…” Adrianne trailed off when Keanu shifted his gaze back at her. He knew how terrifying he could be whenever he wanted to.

“That you should look for whoever was supposed to take care of the front desk with Amber and talk to them? Yes, I agree.”

“Yes, of course, sir,” Adrianne replied, her face so red Keanu was sure she was gonna pop a vein any minute. “I’ll do that right now.”

He watched as Adrianne took off, heels clicking on the polished floors before his attention shifted to back to the other woman, his serious expression dissolving as Keanu noticed she could barely contain giggles.

“What?”

“It’s just…” she started, her face opening into a smile and he had been right. It was beautiful and he smiled too. “She’s the one supposed to be out there with Amber.”

“Good to know,” Keanu replied. “Do you feel better?”

“Yeah, thank you, Mr. Ree… Keanu,” she corrected herself once he gave her a pointed look. “Maria from housekeeping has this really good stain remover. For the shirt.”

“Well, I do like this shirt,” he said with a goofy smile. “Lead the way.”

He followed her down to the basement where the Continental’s laundry room was located. Keanu waited outside, not wanting to startle any of the employees. Administrative people didn’t really come down here all that often.

As Keanu waited, one of the housekeeping staff pushed out a rack of recently laundered clothes. To his surprise, among the clothes was the red dress his mystery woman was wearing at the gala last night.

He moved closer, checking the tag on the plastic wrapper. Now he knew her name and her room number.

Fate must be on his side after all.

tbc

Tag list (give me a shout if you want to be added)

@poisonedjoinery @ringa-starr @curly-minnie @i-cant-remember-my-old-login

@caryled @beyond-antares @kathorax @krazycags01 @meetmeinthematinee

@red-pill-blue-pill @baphometwolf666 @soarocks @imagine-the-fanfics @moonlit-raven-haven @cumberbatchbaps @coolbreezeinkeanureeves

[mcatra]

Entrapdak Highschool AU fic (p.1)

It’s oh my god they were assigned lab partners hours 

Nerdy prep Entrapta x delinquent Hordak 

AO3 LINK

or Read under the cut 

‘Get into pairs, class. We’re starting a new science experiment today.’

Everyone starts shuffling into their respective partners seats, chatting idly amongst themselves. Hordak ignores them, choosing instead to glare at a fixed point on the wall. His grades were less than stellar, and it didn’t help that he always ended up doing partner work entirely by himself. If his classmates were afraid to work with him, it wasn’t his problem.

He's never had any need to talk to anyone who went to Etheria since the merger. The two rival schools had combined into one years ago, much to the chagrin of both. The Horde's facilities had been run to the ground, so the government had decided to combine the previously private all girls school to save on funds.

There was still a bitter feud between the former schools students, and their friend groups have stayed mostly separate. However Hordak had not bothered himself with befriending anyone, as both were (rightly) terrified of him.

Rumours had circulated about how he was part of a gang, or how he had mafia tattoos that he covers up, or he had beat up rival students and that's why he always came to school with injuries. This was further exacerbated by the fact that he had a short temper and a large stature, and the private school girls prejudice about the Horde didn't help.

All he was there for was to graduate, socialising was beneath him as far as he was concerned.

As he's mulling over the ways how he can somehow scrape through this class with the minimum marks, Hordak sees a shadow loom over him, and he scowls.

His substitute teacher pushes up his glasses and coughs politely to grab his attention. ‘Hi, Hordak was it?’ He says in a fake sweet tone that came off more as patronising.

Hordak doesn’t answer, which they seem to take as an indication to press further.

‘You don’t have a lab partner?’

A small gasp could be heard from his classmates, and he can feel their stares at the gall of the substitute for even asking.

‘I don’t require one.’ Hordak says coldly, glaring up at him. ‘I can do it myself.’ He didn't trust anyone else to do the work anyway, and hated the idea of being forced to talk to someone all term.

The teacher looks slightly taken aback, especially when he catches the eye of the girl with short silver hair silently indicating him to stop. He frowns, but is determined not to be usurped on his first day.

‘You will be assigned one whether you like it or not.’ His teacher says, to the almost comical sound of scraping chairs as his classmates inch away avoiding eye contact. An uncomfortable silence washes over the classroom and before the situation could escalate, a chirpy voice pipes up.

'I'll be his lab partner.'

Hordak looks around, taken aback. No one had ever dared to volunteer to be his partner before.

It was a short girl with long untamed purple hair past her waist. She was wearing their issued white lab coat, a plaid skirt, black boots and an obnoxious grin on her face.

He suppresses a groan. Not her.

Entrapta was the smartest in the grade, a preppy chatterbox who hung out with the popular crowd. The exact opposite of what Hordak was. Entrapta had fallen out of favour with the popular girls a while ago, and now was friends with some emo girl and her jock friend from the Horde.

Not that he was paying attention, of course.

She had tried to talk to him once junior year, when his home life was so bad that he had cut class just to tend to his wounds behind the boys bathroom block. Entrapta had seen him, just before he pushed down his sleeve to cover up the marks.

He had yelled at her to get out, which would send the normal person running- but the purple haired girl didn't even flinch. She had told him to wait a minute, and rifled in her bag filled with a comically large amount of items.

Tadaa, she declared, unearthing a box of obnoxiously pink and cupcake patterned band aids. You keep them, she had said before leaving, and he was left with a cocktail of emotions ranging from shock, disbelief, and mortification.

He had refused to wear them at first to make a point, but eventually caved seeing as he didn’t have any other forms of medical supplies which he desperately needed. Hordak still avoided her in the halls since then, unable to cope with the reminder that someone had seen him in any shape or form vulnerable.

-- 'So, I think we should get started on this..' Entrapta rambled, rifling through the equipment in the drawers. Hordak watched her begrudgingly. He really didn't understand this girl, and why she was trying to get involved with him. Didn't she know this partnership certainly wasn't doing any favours to her current reputation? Or was it out of sympathy, regarding their last interaction?

He watches her lab coat fly around her as she runs, collecting beakers and chemicals until the entire table is covered with materials.

'Put these on.' Entrapta handed him some safety goggles. He frowns, refusing to take them. She finally looked up from her experiment, a confused expression on her face.

‘Why are you doing this?’ Hordak says, deadpan.

‘What do you mean?’ She questions, and her expression is so innocent he almost second guesses himself. Almost.

‘What are your intentions?’ He presses more forcefully. ‘I don’t need your pity. If that's the reason why you volunteered, I can do it myself.' He didn’t like the feeling that he owed her anything, especially that he never asked for it.

‘Oh, is that all?’ Entrapta says, turning back to her experiment. 'I wanted to do it. Science is more fun when you have someone to bounce ideas off with! Besides, Scorpia paired up with Catra, and...' She trails off hesitantly, looking back at the popular girls who were currently fighting for the position to be the blonde girl's partner. Entrapta pulls the goggles over her eyes.

Hordak stares at her, before huffing quietly to himself. She was ostracized from her former friends, and to some degree he could understand. At least he knew she could pull her weight, if her grades were any indication.

‘Fine. Suit yourself.’

--- They continue as lab partners throughout the next week, and he slowly but grudgingly gets used to the tiny chatterbox that’s forced herself into his life.

At first he's determined to ignore her, but once she starts rambling about her hypothesis about cosmic forms and space, he breaks his silence to counter her (frankly wrong) theory. Instead of being offended, Entrapta gasps in giddy excitement, thrilled at his knowledge and demands to hear more. He tells her how it can't possibly be correct due to various theorems and how the universe was far larger than she can comprehend it. They go back and forth the entire lesson, looking up articles and old obscure satellite videos on his phone until their conversation gets cut by the bell.

He doesn’t think about Entrapta again until later that night, when he receives a text.

Unknown: HORDAK!! :)) there’s been a new breakthrough about the asteroid belt, u need to read the paper on it!! I sent you a link, let me know ASAP about what u think!!!

He looks at the text dumbfounded.

Hordak: How did you receive this number? Unknown: Oh i added you when you weren’t looking! during class :PP Hordak: That's a flagrant breach of privacy. Unknown: [image.attachment] [image.attachment]

Hordak squints at his screen. What had she just sent? A grey shaped blur?

Hordak: What is that. Unknown: 🤖🤖🤖🤖 Hordak: I do not understand. Unknown: [mp4.attachment] That's Emily!!! I built her myself!!! :)) 🔧🔧 Hordak: You made that? A fully functioning bot? Hordak: That is most impressive. Unknown: thanksss;;! :///) Hordak: I will read the paper and we can discuss it in person tomorrow. Unknown: :D

-----

True to his word, he meets up with her on their free period in the library. Entrapta is bouncing with boundless energy, pulling stacks of books from shelves which Hordak somehow finds himself carrying.

They were talking for a while (well mainly Entrapta was chattering while Hordak listened) until he noticed a group of girls staring at them.

He recognised them as the same ones from their bio class, whom which Entrapta had referenced yesterday.

What did you expect, of course she's with the Horde.

He can hear the short pink haired girl whisper to her group of friends, who exchange incredulous looks with each other.

The only thing that matters to her is science, not people. She doesn't care about us.

He feels a flash of irritation, and he turns to the now oddly silent Entrapta.

'Do you want me to dispose of them?' Hordak growls, getting up from his chair. He can’t believe that they were the company she had chosen to be with in the past.

‘A-aaah-’ She looks up from her book in alarm and drags him back down into his seat. ‘Please don’t do that.’

He frowns at this, surely she shouldn’t be tolerating this sort of bullying.

‘But they insulted you.’ He says petulantly.

'No, it's okay.’ Entrapta says vacantly, propping her study glasses down so it obscured her expression. 'Do you want to listen to some music?'

She offers him an earbud. Hordak takes it, but not before shooting a glare in the girls direction. They caught him looking and they scatter, and he rolls his eyes. Good riddance. They don't deserve her company in the first place.

---

'The way they treat you is unacceptable.' He fumes a few days later as they're walking to class. For some reason he's still feeling irritated, like an itch under his skin that he can’t get to.

Hordak had seen the way Entrapta's 'friend' Catra had blatantly copied her notes, or the other girls needled her for answers despite their thinly veiled hostility. Entrapta had just let it happen, even though they were just using her. He definitely would have destroyed them, but every time Entrapta just puts a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

'They're all fools! How dare they disrespect you like that. You have more intelligence than all of them combined.' He rages, but for some reason she's smiling.

'Thanks. For being mad on my behalf.' Entrapta says. 'But I'm okay. I like to help. It's not that bad now that you're here.'

Actually one would argue that the rumour mill actually gotten worse since they started talking, considering his unfortunate reputation. A part of him felt responsible for that, as he never really considered how his actions would affect other people. Well more like he had never cared about that in the past, but this was different- this was Entrapta and she didn’t deserve any of it.

Just let me protect you, but he wants to say impatiently, but he doesn’t.

--- They start studying together per Entrapta’s request, exchanging notes from shared classes and explaining things that the other had trouble understanding. This was probably an excuse to hang out more outside of class, but he didn’t mind.

Sometimes she leaves little encouraging notes in his workbook, 'You can do it!' accompanied by little doodles of herself. He would never tell her, but the reason for an uptick in homework completion is largely due to how he enjoys seeing her scribbly handwriting next to his meticulous print.

Slowly but surely his grades started to improve with the amount of study sessions they were having. When he comes back from an exam with an A instead of his usual low C's, she jumps for joy and practically throws herself into his arms. Caught off guard, he barely manages to catch her as she loops her arms around him. Entrapta’s tiny stature meant she could only reach up to his waist, so he can only see the crown of her head.

Hordak can’t remember the last time he’d been hugged, but this was...nice. She was warm, and kind of smelt like flowers. Her presence wasn’t all too bad, he decides.

----- Sometime during the week, he finds her in the science lab alone just before class, munching on an assortment of tiny snacks. 'Tiny muffin?' She offers from where she sat perched on the classroom table.

'There's no eating allowed in the labs.' Hordak reminds her, but takes the muffin anyway.

He watches her run around the lab, knocking over someone’s pencil case with her long purple hair in her rush. How does she dye that much hair?

'Isn’t it more efficient to tie your hair back while doing experiments?'

'Hm? Oh yeah, I probably should.' She says, tugging on a strand. 'Can you tie it up for me? I’m kinda busy.’

Hordak hesitantly accepts the elastic bands offered to him. A multitude of thoughts ran through his mind. I am definitely not qualified for this. What hairstyle would suit her anyway?

After a minute he very carefully takes half of her very soft hair and ties it up into a pigtail high above her head. He delicately pulls some loose strands from her face and ties the other half up to match.

She turns around to look up at him, and the light catches on her features, illuminating her for a few seconds. Hordak stares for a brief second, before his heart nearly jumped out of his chest as people start trickling in through the door for class.

She doesn’t seem to notice his momentary crisis as she looks over their instructions for the day.

‘We’re making crystals! Absolutely fascinating structures.' She adds a few chemicals to a beaker, and passes it to Hordak.

He’s still recovering from the previous trick of the light, in which he thought she almost looked... pretty? Simultaneously horrified and embarrassed at the thought, he snatches the beaker. He gingerly adds a few more and stirs it, watching the liquid inside change colour.

'Great job!' She beams, and he feels himself get warm at being praised. Did she have to keep doing that? What was happening?

'Now we can start heating it up.' She places it on the hotplate, and he nods.

'Day 27, we'll be studying changes of properties in matter and joining molecules in repeating patterns.' Entrapta says into her audio log in her phone. ‘Say hi, Hordak!’

‘I am not saying-’

'Hordak's my lab partner,' She continues talking into the recording. 'If I can recall, we met junior year, behind the boys bathroom-'

His stomach drops at the mention of their first encounter, and instinctually tries to snatch the phone from her grasp- but by doing so knocks Entrapta right into the beaker.

The beaker which was currently boiling.

He thrusts his hand between Entrapta and the beaker without thinking, and cries out in pain as the burning chemicals splash on him.

The beaker shatters on the floor in a loud crash!

'Hordak!' She rushes over to him, jumping over the mess to where he had sunk to his knees.

He’s clenching his hurt hand stiffly, but manages to grit out ‘I’m fine.’ It was just a burn, he’s dealt with way worse at home. Thankfully the other students seem to be too caught up in their own failing experiments and loud chatter to notice their accident in the isolated corner of the lab. Even the teacher was busy scribbling something on the whiteboard. Negligent when it came to things that actually mattered, like the safety of the students. Hordak slowly starts to clean up the mess, his shaking hands picking up the glass.

Entrapta smacks the shard out of his hands and grabs his arm.

'That's not important.'

She drags him over to the sink, and plunges both of their hands under the cold water. He feels a rush of cool relief, and he breathes out until he realises that her hands were still coiled around his. He feels his heart stop then start again but at a jackhammer pace, and his hands start trembling for a completely different reason.

Hordak tries to speak, but can feel his ears burn red from embarrassment.

The moment ends when Entrapta finally turns off the tap and gets some paper towels to dry off their hands. Luckily his hand was fine, but she continues to fuss over him for the rest of the lesson.

As he’s watching her, he thinks he recognises the emotion bubbling in his chest from earlier. 

Oh no, Hordak realises. This can’t be happening.

[mcrmadness]

Finally at my parents house I had all three: I was bored, remembered about my old art AND had motivation and time for start browsing my old art.

My mom has boxes full of our old art in her clothes closet and it’s like, full of stuff. I wonder where did I get my mild hoarding habits :DD So anyway, yesterday I just had this moment when I remembered about that box and made my way to the top of that closet (it’s very tiny and has small stairs and the boxes are at the back) and finally, again after years, I got to take a look at my old, old artwork :D

There’s everything from between the ages 7 and 13, I think. I have my “best” old arkwork here at home, I have put them in folders back when I still lived with my parents but that box is mostly drawings that I had no place to store so my mom brought in these boxes for each of us and we would then put all the old drawings there. There were lots of drawings I didn’t remember about anymore but also lots of drawings I did remember. I didn’t browse all of that yet - I’m gonna continue from that tomorrow - but I found lots and lots and lots of stuff that was me desperately trying to create something that would become comic book characters. I know for sure I created my first comic book characters when I was about 9 or 10 years old and I found papers ABOUT these characters and I thought I already had all that here. Since I have all of my “comic book history” saved. I have all the notebooks with those comics here, but didn’t realize I had so much more back at my parents’ house. (And there’s also lots and lots of dinosaur drawings. Most of them seems to have text at the back - I drew them for my dad with a little one-phrase story of what’s happening. It was usually always a dinosaur parent and their kid(s) wandering to somewhere to eat and drink. I might have grown up with the Land Before Time movies...)

Also, to quote my brother: “I see why you like The Sims games.” because I kept creating families. I even created some random cat-anthropomorphic family (I’d quess I was 8-9 years old based on my drawing style) and there were probably 10 papers of that family alone, of them dressed up in summer clothes and winter clothes. Them as a bit older. Then again bit older. And then much older. And I think eventually there were even a new generation in the last papers.

The most interesting one was probably the stuff I did at the last year of that art school I went to as a hobby once a week after school, I attended it for about 5-7 years. The reason for why I wanted to take a look at that box was because I remembered I had some of my old artwork and “sketchbooks” from the art school there and I was curious to know if I really learn a thing in there because the only things I remember from art school is that I had troubles staying in the class because of my concentration problems. I’d have rather been running around the hallways and investigating places with my cousin (who sometimes had to kinda hold me back by saying that we really can’t do that since we’re supposed to do arts here).

I just checked that diploma I got from the art school and it seems that I did in total 4 school years (240 hours) of that at first - this is dated to 2003 when I was 12. And I continued it the next year but it was a differen’t group, it was about drawing and painting, whereas these first 4 years were about the basics of art in general. I don’t remember if I finished with the 5th year or if I already started the 6th, I just remember I was in junior high and I was starting to lose my interest towards the art school. I think it was the 5th year because that year I got more into horses and started my new horse hobby (that eventually led into me becoming a professional equine groomer many years later).

BUT ANYWAY, I noticed I am very good at analyzing my art and handwriting and could use that to track the art to correct years as I didn’t often have any dates written on stuff, but just based on my comic style (as I just had to include these doodles _everywhere!), I was able to tell that “yes, I drew this one when I was 12, for sure!” And I was right. I estimated that this one acrylic painting I did was from when I was about 11 or 12 or so, and I found the “sketchbook”  and I actually had written quite a nice story there. Very cliché, but I really liked the writing style, especially for it being written by someone who was only 11-12 at the time. The sketchbook’s cover said IV which means it was tha last year of the basic education aka I indeed was 11-12 when I did all that.

Then my brother found some huge drawing that had drawings that looked like something I used to draw, I didn’t even remember about them anymore but I told him that those look exacty like what I did when I was 12 or 13. He also found some huge unfinished drawing that was done with charcoal and I didn’t recognize it, I had no memory of it so I said it’s probably something by my mom because I doubt I had such good drawing skills back then. Then I found a sketch book for that course and based on the comics again, I said it’s probably from when I was 12 or 13. And then I found the sketch of that CHARCOAL DRAWING. So it IS mine, after all? I don’t remember doing it at all, but it looks actually really good and I can’t believe it’s me who has drawn that. I also found a painting and the sketch for that painting from the sketchbook, and I couldn’t say if I used oil paints or acrylics on that. Somehow I have a feeling that it was oil paint but really the only thing I remember from that is how we built the frames on our own and stapled the fabric on it to really do the whole painting from scratch, like literally. The painting itself is not that good - I have never really been a painter. I’m more of a drawer - pencils, colored pencils and fineliners are my thing. I like details and small pictures, and paintings were always so big and huge things and hard to come up with anything because my details still were too small for painting. I like when I have full control over things I do and I could never achieve that with paint, I just never really understood how to work with that - watercolors, acrylic or oil - and I ended up actually hating that because I always only made a mess, and I kinda got an overdose from all that painting because I never really liked it but it felt like it was the only thing we ever did, or that we did that a lot more often than just regular drawing.

I also found some drawing I had done with pencils and I don’t know if it was for regular school or the art school, and it had no year or class number on it, it looked actually pretty good and I really liked how I had worked with the shadows. The human character looked like it didn’t belong into the picture, without him I’d have guessed it was from when I was maybe even 13 but with him I’d say I was rather 11. But it’s so weird because I had drawn there a tiny abandoned house, and the whole drawing was very abstract with some sort of weird cloud, and all that looked so much more “professional” than the human figure. So I have no idea when or where or what was that for, but I’d love to know what was the story behind that. It looked like some serious assignment.

Anyhow, I think I will take out that box tomorrow (or actually today as it’s 7am and I should be sleeping already) because my dad asked if we can browse the drawings together, and that could be lots of fun too. I really want to bring the box to home eventually. There’s so much interesting stuff and lots of memories in those drawings, and I think I might want to take photos of some of the most interesting ones.

[eddsworldwritingrequests]

Alright, how about this, the red army aren't actually bad, everybody who joins does so willingly, everyone loves being a part of it and it's done more good for everyone in the world then any one government ever could. All of this is because of one man, red leader. Tell us a day in the life of red leader. (If it was shippy that would be cute but you don't have to of course.) [Please post something to tell me you got this because my tumblr is being bad right now and just poofs my asks sometimes.]

(Okay, first post, beware that writing stuff on tumblr is new to me so if there’s a certain format you’d like to see, tell me–)

——————

Tord genuinely thought leading an army while you were all powerful would be easy. Call him naive, yes, but being all powerful meant having money, having people at your side. A single whistle or a ring of the bell could get people falling down to his knees, asking Tord what he wanted them to do. That’s what he thought it would be like. And if people were so willing to help you, then you could have them deal with the work. All Tord had to do was supervise, correct?

God, he wished it were so. Tord wished with all his heart that it could go along like that, but the way he sat in his spot, shifting every now and then, he knew for a fact that this dreadful day was never going to end.

He listened to the other drone on and on, watching anything but the higher-ranking member seated at the table, talking about lab reports that came back from the testing units. Apparently, Tord couldn’t pay anybody to look over something like this. Couldn’t replace somebody else to be seated here in his spot. Pat had made that very clear.

Yes, Tord knew he’d have to put in some hard work. After all, Tord was a leader for a reason. He was the famous Red Leader because of the amount of work he put into this, spreading this army of his, making the world a better place. A cliche line, but it was something Tord wanted to hold and make clear.

Sure, they seemed scary at first, such a huge band of people doing what they cared for all the while throwing over their government. They took over, Tord slyly making his way to the top before it was too late to rip that position out of his hands. Anybody would be frightened, seeing how the leader himself looked like something straight out of a comic book. Scarred face, faded lines streaking into the untouched side of his skin. The definition of a villain.

It also didn’t help how dramatic Tord was. Sure, a leader he may be, leading more than thousands of people under the flick of his hand, but he was still a child at heart. A… dirty child, sure, but an anime/hentai loving fanatic at most. He had that style, that obsession with being dramatic, no matter where he was, no matter the position. So many times Paul asked him to cut it out, saying he needed to be more professional, but nothing stopped Tord anymore. Nothing these days could stop the Red Leader from wearing his god-awful dirty, old trench coat. Lined with stains and rips from over the years, its black color faded lightly. It was a surprise that it still fit him in general, but even if it was a bit snug, the man himself didn’t let that stop him.

Dramatic, he sure was. With the scarred face, his occasional suit being switched out with a damn trench coat, and the metal arm he wore, well, it sent certain vibes to someone who knew nothing about the man. Looks alone could send someone inching away.

So, in all honesty, it was a surprise to watch the Red Leader whine at something so miniscule. To watch this man that had raised to the highest of ranks just sit back and pick his teeth lazily, finger wedging in between to get pieces of food unstuck. Eyes trained on the reporter before looking away again, annoyance lacing his features.

Red Leader had to sit through every meeting and approve them, confirm that everything was going accurately and to the way he saw correctly fit. It was a bore. Having to listen to how this member continued to drone on about how their scientists found another way to catch deadly sicknesses years before they could develop. Interesting, that’s what it was. That’s what it should be to Tord, but all he heard was the other go on about something that Tord already knows that they’re capable of. Something that shouldn’t even need his approval by now.

Report after report was given, the man seated in his chair giving a wave of the hand every time the presenter looked his way for confirmation that he could continue. It was boring to hear all these things they were doing. They were good and productive, working on that step forward to perfect things in a place that seemed to be going along just fine. Tord was happy with where things were, but he was getting a little sick of how nothing interesting seemed to happen. He was at such a rank, at such power where nothing seems fun anymore. Nothing at all because the Red Leader had basically done everything.

His eyes wandered, grey orbs floating along the other members that were listening. They all paid careful attention to the presenter, so quiet and lifeless that Tord had basically forgotten there were other people here.

Meetings were boring. Everything was boring. And as Tord sat, he found his fingers begin to click along the wooden surface, finding anything to distract himself with. He turned, waiting for his eyes to land on anything, anyone, but no one dared to stray from their attentive state.

No one but Matt.

The ginger was also seated in the board, having gotten to this position because he was one of the main man’s closest friends. A rocky friendship they used to have, problems from years ago that were now forgotten. Tord and the others weren’t all too close after his little stunt. His little try at forcing himself to distance from them. He didn’t want them involved in something like this, didn’t want the stress he was feeling at the time to spill onto them. It was better if they weren’t involved. Just people who benefitted from Tord’s overrule.

That hadn’t been the case, however. And Tord was sort of glad things worked out this way.

Tom worked in other departments, that little ball of spitfire finally finding some common ground with Tord. Edd didn’t come around too often when it came to work, but he was useful for outside jobs. Things that shouldn’t be connected with the Red Leader’s army. Edd wasn’t exactly an expert, but he was stealthy when it came down to jobs. Especially if he could get paid in goddamn Cola. The things that man would do for that sugar addictive drink.

And Matt. Well, he seemed more than happy to help Tord with the things he needed. Always happy to comfort the other whenever the Norwegian found something to complain about. Whether it be too much paperwork, or having to give some speech to new recruits, or writing a document to his “friends” in foreign countries. The redhead was always there by his side, helping where the others couldn’t.

Tord was grateful for that. Very much so, because the way Matt’s eyes flickered towards him before smiling made the Red Leader himself grow a bit more interested. His back straightened, sitting more properly in his chair than when he was a couple seconds ago. Fingers stopped their drumming, only for a moment so he could watch the ginger turn to the reporter once more before finally looking at Tord again.

Matt could practically read Tord’s boredom off of his face alone. He was so antsy, so desperate to just walk out and not deal with this. And, well, he could if he wanted to, no one would object, but Tord would get a real damn lecture from both Pat and Paul if he did.

Matt had heard most of the reports, his little notebook on the table filled with the basics of each assignment. The man standing with the transcripts in the front was on his last paper, explaining the next thing he needed signed from the man himself. And, while Matt was sure Tord wasn’t paying attention, he could always fill him in on it later. The ginger was the only one who could actually grab Tord’s attention when it came to something like this.

He knew that he could handle this with Tord later. So, for now, Matt decided to relieve the other from his boredom. Just for a bit.

Tord’s brows raised a bit, lips parting slightly with question as Matt came to scribble furiously on his notebook. A quick little note, something small he was writing before he let the pen settle in between the pages. He eyed the presenter to make sure he wasn’t looking before sliding the journal to the Norwegian.

Tord eyed it, gaze flickering up at the man as well, as if expecting to get in trouble. Tord was the boss here, the leader and superior man, yet he still found a bit of nerves tremble through his skin as he picked up the pen, staring at the words.

Like a pair of friends passing notes in the middle of class, Tord had to restrain his grin from just the sheer comparison he made with this.

I can tell you’re bored.

Tord glanced up at the man across the table once more before scribbling back.

you should know by now just how much i despise meetings

Before he could send it back, Tord drew a little sad face, grinning to himself all the while.

He slid it back, watching Matt’s eyes come back to the notebook before picking the pen up, writing even as his eyes glanced towards the front. Scribble then the journal slid towards Tord once more.

Would you like me to entertain you then?

Tord squinted at the paper.

what do you mean ginger stick

First of all, stop calling me ginger stick. I will leave you to your boredom.

Tord snickered, having to cover his mouth when receiving a look from another official. He looked around, then back down at the paper.

okay okay fine entertain me already

A narrow of his eyes were given as Tord watched Matt smile, teeth showing as he began to write. A devilish little grin it was as he looked up at Tord before looking back down at the paper. And over he slid it again.

If Germany was the fatherland and Russia was the motherland, then World War 2 was basically just a brutal divorce.

Tord snorted, quickly looking up with wide eyes as the reporter paused. They made eye contact, the Red Leader seemed to freeze in his spot before remembering that, hey, he was the boss here. He wasn’t gonna get in trouble. “Please continue.”

Matt grinned at him, a cheeky grin as Tord turned to narrow his eyes at him once more. Tord quickly wrote back.

im intrigued

He paused.

you’ve caught my attention

Matt smiled at him, eyeing the others seated at the table with a side glance. He hummed quietly, picking up the pen again and writing a bit more.

An octopus is just a wet spider.

Tord had to physically hold back his noise, a hand coming up to press against his lips. He stared up at Matt with wide eyes, not even bothering to send a glare his way as the redhead put on a wolfish grin. Lips were covered as Matt smiled, turning his attention as he waited for Tord to respond.

And that’s all they did for the next half hour. Matt would scribble some nonsense down and Tord would respond, react, sometimes input his ideas and his own thought. 

It was fun. And while Tord knew this would bite him in the ass in the long run, seeing how he wasn’t giving the presenter even a single percent of his attention, the Norwegian knew that he’d do this again if given the chance. A small shot of nostalgia, smiling at how the two friends continued their little note passing. Like when they were in highschool and Tord would have to send Matt a note in the middle of a test, saying he didn’t understand certain words because of the language barrier. 

With his gap tooth and accent, not to mention his obsession with anime and such, Tord stood out like a sore thumb back then. I mean, even now, he still did. With his charred, burnt face and his scraped up prosthetic. It was a wonder how he managed to snag the coolest friends ever, all the while looking like a cringey fanboy.

Small snickers were vibrating between them, the soft sound of a notebook being slided back and forth heard every few seconds. It was absolutely wonderful being here with Matt, having the entertainment of your friend with you in such a boring place. It made everything ten times better, really. 

More joyful as they grinned at each other, made faces, stuck their tongues out in mockery. It was all fun and games until Tord’s head was snapping towards the direction of a grunt.

A man clearing his throat, eyes narrowed. Eyes pierced into Tord, and the man found himself shifting nervously, mouth growing dry as he stared at Pat, who was standing beside the presenter. He was glaring daggers at the leader, making the man himself grow weak. 

“Tord.” He muttered, watching the boss squirm in his seat before finally positioning himself in a proper position. From the corner of his eyes, he watched Matt sit a bit straighter in his seat as well. “Should we approve this or not?”

Tord gulped. He didn’t even know what they were talking about, or if they were even still on the same topic. God, he didn’t even notice the big wooden doors open upon Patryk’s arrival. He only watched the other glare at him, the Red Leader slowly growing more anxious in his seat.

“Uh–”

“Out.” Pat demanded, nodded his head towards the door. 

Tord let his mouth hang open a bit, looking between the exit and the irritated man. He let his expression fall again, different from his giggly, happy one that was lacing his features only a second ago. 

After a few moments, Tord frowned.

“No.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to.” Tord muttered, staring at Patryk. He crossed his arms, brows furrowing as he watched the other. Watched as Pat blinked at him before beginning to round the table.

That got Tord jumping out of his seat, almost tripping in the process of scraping his chair back and pacing around the otherside of the wooden piece.

The Norwegian glanced at Matt, mouth pulling into another frown as he huffed a bit. He glowered when he saw the ginger hide his smile, posture still straight as he remained professional in front of the other two. Gosh, what a prick! No wonder they were friends. 

“Alright, I’m up! You don’t gotta do that…” Tord grumbled, angry at his sudden panic. He avoided the looks of other people, instead walking around the rest of the way before meeting Pat at the door. Despite being all high and mighty, the man couldn’t help but wince as the other grabbed his arm, opening the door. “Jeez…”

As they headed out the door, Tord took a final glance back into the meeting. He passed the multiple stares towards him before catching Matt’s eye. And, before Tord was pulled completely out of sight, Matt gave him a little wave, mischief clouding his look. Tord huffed, and finally, he was out of the room. Walking down the corridor, heels clicking loudly as Pat pulled him.

Oh boy. Maybe getting in trouble wasn’t worth it, but Tord had to admit. That was the most fun he’s had all week. A little smile rested on his face, even as Pat grumbled something under his breath when glancing at him. 

Yeah. Tord’s job was alright if he had his friends.

[taesthetes]

the duality of man.

Once again, soft boys with pretty smiles—specifically one named Park Jimin—will surely be the death of you.

pairing: park jimin x reader genre: fluff type: college au word count: 4,632 words warnings: none author’s note: based on a true story — except he was my marketing project partner and not on the dance team but we’re great buds now lmao i’m never gonna let him live this down

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Group projects are the worst. You would rather shove a cactus up your behind or rip out a dry tampon than partake in one of those again. Hell has places designated for professors who assign those grade crushers. However, there is an even more special spot reserved for the heathens who assign random students to a group.

Because here you are, sitting in the library and tapping the end of your pen against your notebook absentmindedly, as you wait for your group members to show up. Your friends all said Basic Drawing was a good, fairly easy class to take to check off your lower division art requirement. What they did not tell you was that there was a group project focusing on frame by frame drawing animation with the minimum of one hundred frames that was worth forty percent of your grade.

You are quite certain Kim Taehyung is not going to show up, purely based on the fact that you saw him do several keg stands last night. Hungover is never a good look on anybody, and everyone on campus knows that Taehyung would not be caught dead looking like a two on a beauty scale of one to ten. As for the freshman in your group—Jeon Jungkook, was it? —you passed by him earlier today, and he gave you his sketchbook, mumbling something about drawing out some of his ideas in there and that he will not be able to make it to the meeting because of an impromptu football practice.

So, that really only leaves you with—

“Hey, ________.”

Park Jimin.

From what you know about him, he is a quiet one and is good friends with Taehyung but more on the wallflower side. Jimin greets you softly, and you give him a small smile in response. He slides into the chair across from you, pulling out his own drawing book and pencil.

“Tae can’t make it unfortunately,” Jimin says, and you nod in acknowledgement before replying, “Yeah, Jungkook gave me his notebook. He has football practice.”

You slide the notebook towards Jimin, who opens it and flips through the various drawings. “These are all really nice. Check out this hummingbird one.”

He flips the book towards you to give you a better look. “Oh, wow. That’s amazing.”

“You think we should do this one for the project?”

You hum quietly, contemplating. “Well, we can’t make Jungkook draw all one hundred frames of it, and it might be hard for the rest of us to replicate the bird. Maybe we can find each do separate animations with a connection?”

Jimin’s eyes light up as he nods enthusiastically. “That’s a good idea! I think Tae likes drawing nature best, so if Jungkook’s bird can fly around until it lands on a tree branch and we can zoom out from there to show a full landscape. Tae would be down for drawing that part.”

“But what about you? What do you want to draw?”

“Oh! Um...” Jimin is quiet, contemplating over his answer before answering quietly, cheeks reddening. “This might be a little weird, but... I like drawing mechanical things? Not just cars, but like old telephones and clocks and devices... and yeah...”

He trails off, and you give him a reassuring smile. “It’s not weird at all! That’s really cool! Those are always so detailed, and there are a lot of reflective surfaces, and those are never easy. You must be really good!”

Jimin brightens up, pulling out his own sketchbook. “Really? You think so? I’ve been drawing this toaster, and I thought it would be cool to do an animation of bread popping out of it, but Jungkook’s bird looks really pretty, and it’ll fit with Tae’s art better, too...”

“We can still include it!” Jimin gives you a curious look, and you quickly explain, “How about if the bread pops out from the toaster, but in a comical sort of way, like how in cartoons, the toaster looks like it’s being squeezed before the toast shoots out, and then a sunny side up egg is placed on the bread, but then we do a sort of rewind on the egg? The egg returns back into the cracked eggshells, which come together back into a solid egg, and then the egg cracks open, but a baby hummingbird pops out of it. I really like drawing food, so I can do the toast and egg part of it.”

Jimin is silent, mouth slightly agape, and you flush a little, rambling on. “I know it’s a little eccentric, but I think our professor will like it, and—”

“You’re a genius.”

Your cheeks warm up even more at his compliment. “I, uh, I—thank you?”

Jimin laughs, eyes turning into moon crescents, and your heart nearly jumps out of your chest. “You’re welcome, but really, that’s such a creative way to mix everyone’s strengths and just wow. Jungkook and Tae will love this.”

You smile widely. “You really think so?”

“Of course! And, um, since our parts of the animations are connected, do you want to work on them together?” Jimin shyly asks, fiddling with the ends of his scarf.

“Oh! Yes, of course, when are you free?”

“If you don’t have plans after this, we can work on them now?”

“Sounds great! I’m done with classes, so I’m free.”

You give him another smile, and he beams back at you brightly. Your heart skips a beat, and you internally chide yourself. Curse your heart for being so weak against soft boys with pretty smiles.

But you swear, something about this boy in particular makes you think that he will be the death of you.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

You and Jimin manage to get through twenty of the frames needed that night and in the week’s class sessions, so he suggests meeting up in his and Taehyung’s shared dorm to work on the remaining ones on Thursday and Sunday evening. Taehyung would be busy with his play rehearsals around that time, so their room would be free. The two of you had already texted the group chat about the animation plans, and the others were quite enthusiastic about the idea. Taehyung had notified you all that he and Jungkook will work on their half of the project on Friday together.

You had finished all your Thursday classes for the day and made a stop at your dorm to collect your art supplies before making your way to Jimin’s dorm building. You are currently standing outside of the complex on the steps, texting Jimin to let you in. The sun was already beginning to set, and you can feel the weather getting chillier. You pull down the long sleeves of your shirt to cover your fingertips. You mentally chide yourself for not putting on an extra layer—Joy had warned you before you left your shared dorm, but you did not think it would be this cold.

“Hey, _______!” Jimin waves at you from the front door. You hurry over to him, the bag filled with art tools hitting against your side noisily, as the eighteen by twenty-four large drawing pad tucked clumsily under your arm nearly falls. Jimin quickly grabs the drawing pad, and you smile gratefully. “Thanks, Jimin.”

“No problem! Maybe next time, we should meet at your dorm—if that’s okay with you, I mean!” Jimin hurriedly adds, and you chuckle quietly. “That’s totally fine. My roommate won’t mind.”

“Great,” Jimin murmurs before stopping in front of an open door. “Well, uh, here’s my dorm. Feel free to sit anywhere! You can use Tae’s desk if you want—or mine! Either one is good!”

“Thanks, Jimin.” You set your items down carefully on the surface of Taehyung’s desk, which is surprisingly clean, compared to his art space you see every class. The two of you fall into a familiar groove as last time, one where Jimin draws his portions while you draw your solo frames of the eggs receding into the egg shells before cracking open once more. It may sound simple, but repeatedly drawing a realistic egg changing its position by a millimeter is tedious and quite frankly, a bit boring.

Last time, you and Jimin engaged in a game of twenty questions, but it ended up with thirty extra questions between the two of you. Amongst other things, you had learned that his favorite color was blue, he loves anything that is chocolate except for ice cream, he is a sucker for those Christmas Hallmark movies, and he still believes Candy Crush is the greatest game to ever exist, no matter what anyone says. He is a nursing major, hoping to become employed in the pediatric ward, and is minoring in studio arts with an emphasis in drawing, much like yourself. He also briefly mentioned being on the school’s dance team. You know your school has several dance teams, and although Jimin never specified, you can easily imagine him in ballet. You are not well versed in the types of dance, but from what you can remember when you saw The Nutcracker and Swan Lake as a child with your parents if that is anything to go by, Jimin would fit in with those elegant and graceful dancers.

“Do you mind if I put on some background music?” Jimin says, and you shake your head. “Go for it.”

The melodic, soothing notes of the piano fill the air before a lilting voice accompanies it. A couple minutes later, a softer voice is heard, and you are startled, peeking over to your project partner. Jimin’s gaze is concentrated on shading the corners of his subject as he quietly sings along. He looks over at you a few seconds later, flushing a pretty shade of pink.

“Sorry, I do that sometimes,” he apologizes, “Tae always complains about it when he’s studying. I’ll stop now.”

“No, it’s totally okay! Your voice is really nice,” you rush to say before wanting to smack yourself on the forehead. Your voice is really nice? That has to be the lamest compliment you can say. His voice is more than nice. It was absolutely wonderful and warm and—

“Really? You think so?” Jimin beams at you, and you lose your train of thought, flustered.

“Yeah, your singing is beautiful.”

“Thank you,” he shyly says. His smile becomes even brighter if that is even possible, and you feel that all too familiar rush of adrenaline to your heart as it pumps even faster.

The two of you fall into a comfortable silence once more as you work on your drawings. An hour passes by quickly, and soon, the two of you finish your respective parts and start to work on the joint portions: the frames that incorporate the toaster and the bread. You and Jimin manage to complete four frames before you take notice of the time. The bright 9:48 p.m. stares back up at you on your phone when a message from Joy pops up, asking where you are. You quickly type back a response before hitting send.

“Hey, Jimin, it’s getting late. Do you mind if we stop here?”

“No, of course! It’s dark out, let me walk you back,” Jimin offers as he helps you put your art supplies back in your bag.

“Are you sure? It’s a bit far...”

Jimin frowns at you. “All the more reason to walk with you. It’s far, dark, and late. You shouldn’t go out alone like that.”

He slings your bag over his shoulder, shaking his head when you reach for the drawing pad tucked under his arm. “It’s okay, I’ll carry it! Did you bring a sweater? It’s a lot colder at night, too.”

“... No, I didn’t,” you say sheepishly, tugging your sleeves down. “But it’s fine! We’re walking, so the exercise will keep the heat circulating.”

His eyebrows furrow slightly before he goes to one of his drawers, rummaging through it and taking out a hooded sweater. “Here, put this on.”

“No, it’s fine, I—” You start to protest but he interrupts softly, “I don’t want you to get sick. Please put it on.”

Defeated and knowing he is right, you grab the sweater, quietly thanking him as you slip on the warm article. It smells faintly of laundry detergent along with a mix of something woodsy and citrusy. The hem is long, reaching mid-thigh, and the sleeves extend over your fingers, enveloping your hands entirely. Jimin smiles at you shyly, ducking his head, as the two of you begin to walk out of his dorm.

“You look really cute, _______.”

Your heart hammers loudly in your chest as you bring up your hand to cover your face, blood rushing to your cheeks and a silly smile making its way across your face. You murmur a quiet thank you to him, and crimson blooms on the apples of his cheeks.

Once again, soft boys with pretty smiles—specifically one named Park Jimin—will surely be the death of you.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

“Our baby is turning into an adult!”

It is Saturday night, and Jisoo is wailing, clutching onto you tightly, as the rest of your friends are scurrying around to hang up streamers and put up balloons around the sorority house. Rosé and Yeri are struggling to tape up the banner, and Eunha walks in with several bottles of sparkling pink lemonade. You had picked up the gorgeous cake decorated with loopy cursive saying “Happy Birthday, Lisa!” from the shop earlier, and it was stored safely in the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, which was also packed with drinks. Sooner or later, Lisa will walk in with Umji, who was trying to keep her preoccupied for the most part.

“She’s coming!” you hear Soyeon yell, and there are a few more screams before everyone finds their places just as the door opens.

“Happy Birthday, Lisa!” A chorus of voices exclaims as the grinning birthday girl walks in. A pink sash and crown is placed on her amid the cheers. Someone pops a bottle of champagne and turns on the music as the multicolor fairy lights blink on and off above your heads. The party has begun, and Yeri starts to hand out the pretty pink Jell-O shots made earlier. The party is in full swing, and Joy pulls you onto the dance floor among the other girls.

Several shots, a game of beer pong, and a slice of red velvet cake later, you may be more than a little bit tipsy, but you are having the time of your life. Jennie pulls you aside and away from the loud music, eyes sparkling with mischief, as she waves her phone in front of your face to show you a text from her boyfriend.

“The surprise is here.”

“What?” Your mind is slightly fuzzy as you try to concentrate and read the message. And as if on cue, when you reach the last word, the front door opens, and a group of boys come in. Your mind finally registers the connection between the text and your university’s hip hop dance team in front of you.

Oh, right. The surprise.

Sowon and Eunbi tugs Lisa forward to sit on a chair that has been placed in the center of the dance floor, and all the girls start to scream, raising their glasses, before quickly fumbling for their phones to videotape as the boys start to dance around the guest of honor. Shirts are thrown off, body rolls are done, and the birthday girl—scratch that, every girl in the room—seems to be highly enjoying it.

Jennie pulls you closer to the front. “C’mon, I need to get a good video of Jongin.”

“Why take a video when he’s going to give you a personal recap later tonight?” You hear yourself saying. Wow, your mind to mouth filter really takes a hit when alcohol comes into play.

She laughs, her cheeks turning a rosy shade, before she yells above the noise, “You’re right, but it doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the current show right now.”

Well, you cannot argue with that logic. And you deserve some eye candy after a stressful week filled with pop quizzes and semester paper deadlines. You reach for your phone, opening up the camera function, and start to film, focusing first on Lisa’s reaction. Grinning and cheering along with the rest of the girls, you zoom out to get the whole group dancing before your eye catches on one figure in particular.

Oh my god.

Your eyes widen and your mouth pops open in surprise as you drop your arm, phone loosely grasped in your hand. Your other hand comes up to cover your mouth in shock. You really had too much to drink because that cannot be—

Jimin makes eye contact with you, and he stops mid body roll.

You were right.

Jimin is going to be the death of you.

“I need another drink,” you shout to Jennie, quickly tearing your eyes away from him. She nods in acknowledgement, giving you a thumbs up before continuing to cheer on her boyfriend. You lightly push your way to the kitchen, making a beeline to the fridge. Taking out two bottles, you take two shots first without a chaser, ignoring the slight burn in your throat. You then mix vodka and soda into a red cup for yourself, chugging down half of it immediately afterwards. You really hope the effects of alcohol will come soon.

“Hey, can you pass me the vodka?”

“Yeah, here y—” You pause, turning over to face the familiar voice.

“Hi.” Jimin smiles at you sheepishly. His shirt hangs loose on him, unbuttoned still, with the sleeves rolled up. You try hard to concentrate on his face.

“H-hey, Jimin.” You take a sip of your drink. Maybe another sip, too, for good measure, you think to yourself before downing the rest of it. “So you’re a part of the hip hop dance team...”

“Uh, yeah, Jongin told us his girlfriend wanted us to, um, dance for a party.” He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “Oh! Sorry, I’m probably making you uncomfortable, I should button this up.”

He reaches for the one of the middle buttons of his shirt, fumbling for a bit, and you cannot help but let a laugh bubble up from your throat. He halts, looking up with a questioning gaze.

“It’s just—you were literally out there, stripping and body rolling for everyone to see, and you’re worried about making me uncomfortable now?” You smile, the hazy feeling of alcohol making its way into your mind along with  the familiar skipping of your heartbeat all because of this all too endearing boy standing in front of you. “You’re really cute, you know that? Like not cute in the physical sense—I mean, you are, you have a cute face and cute butt but also wow, your body is like sculpted by the gods—but wait, I’m getting sidetracked, what was I saying again?”

Leaning against the counter, Jimin has an amused grin on his face now, and you are flustered, face warm from not just the alcohol. He laughs, reaching forward to tuck a loose strand of hair away behind your ear, and your face feels as if it is on fire. “You were calling me cute. But not in the physical sense, but also yes in the physical sense.”

“Oh! Right.” You find yourself nodding, and Jimin lets out another chuckle, smiling widely at you. “So as I was saying, you’re really cute, like your personality is adorable and soft and I have fun doing the art project with you and you make me hate group projects a lot less and you look really kissable, did you know that?”

“No, I didn’t know that, but thank you for telling me.”

Well, you hear no rejection in that, and the alcohol running through your veins gives you that boost of confidence to finally act on your feelings.

“So can I kiss you?”

Jimin is positively beaming at you, and you think his eyes look more sparkly than ever. He reaches over to softly grasp your hand and intertwine your fingers with his. You admire how soft his hand is, squeezing it lightly, before giggling to yourself when Jimin squeezes your hand back gently.

“How about this? How about you give me a kiss on the cheek now, and tomorrow, when you have had less to drink, if you still want to, you can kiss me?”

“Okay!”

Positively giddy, you lean over and press a kiss against his cheek. Jimin’s eyes crinkle as the corners of his lips upturn into another wide smile. He gazes at you tenderly as you stare at him with all the stars in your eyes.

Maybe, you think blissfully, you already died and went to heaven because you just kissed an angel.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

You awake past five p.m. the next day, extremely glad that it was a Sunday. You are beyond grateful that you are experiencing no sort of hangover. You are briefly reminded of Irene telling you all to appreciate your youth because once you are out of university, your body just somehow knows and you will be suffering the worst kinds of morning hangovers after only a couple sake bombs the night before. Reaching for your phone, you flick through the mass of notifications, such as several Instagram ones for photos you were tagged in, no doubt from last night. Joy had texted you, saying she went to Sungjae’s place. You scroll back to the top, eyes widening when you read it.

[ 4:27 p.m. ] Jimin: hey, we’re still meeting up at your dorm to finish the art project? At 6?

Hurriedly, you swipe open his message and type out a response.

[ 5:13 p.m. ] you: yes! I’m so sorry I just saw this

Immediately, the three bubbles pop up, and a new message appears.

[ 5:13 p.m. ] Jimin: it’s cool, no worries!! I hope you’re feeling fine. See you soon!

You send back a quick confirmation text before throwing your phone aside with a groan. A rush of memories from last night hits you from your mortifying confession to Joy dragging you home soon after, and you just want to bury your face into your pillow and go back to sleep. Maybe last night was just a bad dream, and you did not make a complete and utter fool of yourself in front of your project partner.

Unfortunately, you are very much awake, and after laying there for thirty minutes, you pull yourself off your bed with a heavy sigh and start to get ready, brushing your teeth and washing your face. Embarrassed or not, you refuse to throw your grade out the window over a boy. You are going to get through this project no matter how painfully awkward it will be.

You change out of your pajamas and tug on a sweater and a pair of leggings that were thrown haphazardly on your desk chair. You finish just in time as the lighting up of your phone screen indicates another text from Jimin. When you check, it’s a short message saying he is at the front of the building. You respond, telling him you are coming down right away, before grabbing your room key, and going down to meet him. You take a few deep breaths in the elevator, hoping to calm down your racing mind and heart.

You see Jimin standing outside, drawing pad leaning against his leg and bag over his shoulder. Distracted, he taps away at his phone with one hand, while the other clutches onto what looks like a drink from the nearby coffee shop. You push open the door, greeting him nervously.

“Hey.”

He looks up at you, tucking his phone in his pocket, and seems startled for a millisecond before grinning happily. “Hey!”

He extends the drink towards you, and you hesitantly take it. “I figured some hot chocolate might help after all the drinking from last night. I wasn’t sure if you like coffee, but everyone likes hot chocolate, right?”

You smile gratefully at him, hands curling around the warm drink. “Thank you, Jimin. I love hot chocolate.”

“Yeah, of course! My friend works there, so I get a pretty good discount if you ever want to get another one. With me. Only if you want to!” He looks a little flustered as he follows you into the building and onto the elevator.

Your smile only grows wider as you begin to relax, taking a sip of the drink. “I’d love that. And I want to apologize if my drunken self made things super weird last night.”

“O-oh! Actually, I wanted to ask if you remembered what you said last night,” Jimin says and you nearly freeze in your steps as you get off the elevator. You would be lying if you said you had not hoped he would just accept your apology and move on.

“... Yeah, I do remember all the embarrassing things I said,” you mumble, unlocking your door and gesturing for him to come in. He walks in, carefully leaning his drawing pad against your desk and placing his bag alongside it. After closing the door, you carefully place the cup of hot chocolate on your nightstand before turning to face him.

“Were they all true?”

He stares at you, biting his bottom lip nervously, as you anxiously fiddle with the strings of the hooded sweater you pulled on, scared to answer. Taking a deep breath, he continues, “Because I think you’re really cute, you know that? But not just in the physical sense, but also yes in the physical sense. And you look really kissable, especially when you’re wearing my hoodie, did you know that?”

Shocked, you are frozen for a few seconds as your brain finally processes what he said. And then, you look down with a thudding heart and realize you are indeed wearing the sweater he lent you days ago.

“And,” Jimin speaks up, and your eyes meet his. He reaches over and takes your hand, interlocking your fingers once more. “My offer from Saturday still stands.”

His words from last night echo in your mind, and you can recall him gazing at you with the most tender smile. How about this? He says, how about you give me a kiss on the cheek now, and tomorrow, when you have had less to drink, if you still want to, you can kiss me?

And yes, you still very much want to.

So you do.

Jimin’s lips are soft and gentle, pressing against yours delicately, as his hands cup your face and your eyes flutter close. You can feel his heart thudding rapidly inside his chest, and you know yours is as well. Your fingers curl as they tug on the ends of his scarf, bringing him even closer to you.

When you finally pull away, Jimin places a small kiss on the tip of your nose, causing you to adorably scrunch your nose up before burying your face in the crook of his neck. He laughs, wrapping his arms around you and hugging you tightly. You are absolutely too cute and too soft for him.

He swears, you are going to be the death of him someday.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

You all receive an A on the completed animation. And you will have to thank Taehyung and Jungkook one day for not coming to the first group meeting. Who knew having group members who don’t show up would pay off for once?

[ununniliad]

Return of Just Another Multi-Writer Cascade That Will Probably Never Have an Ending.GEKIJOBAN: "Friendgame"

The cover is a lovingly hand-painted portrait of Net.Access punching LAN.os right in the face.

----

A universe, not of hard and unyielding matter and energy, but of connection, affinity, the fundamental forces that bind people together - the Friend Zone!

And within that universe - the planet known as Rostir, home of the ghosts of millions of never-realized characters! And home to something else! Home of one of Looniverse-20's most powerful artifacts - an Absurdity Stone! In specific, guarded here is the soul of the Absurdity Stones, the mytheopeic center of everything that is the superhero genre - the Characterization Stone!

And upon that planet's misty magenta fields, beneath its violet sky with its soft robin's-egg clouds, lands the ship of - LAN.os!

The insipid purple man, fedora on his head, wearing a tailored business suit with the Crossover Queen's insignia on the lapel, walked down the ramp, followed by an average-looking, slightly slouchy black guy in a Moon Girl T-shirt, looking around and taking pictures with his phone.

"Haha!" shouted LAN.os, raising his chin, looking over the mist-covered landscape, soft like the dreams of a Lisa Frank unicorn. "Guardian! I summon you from your slumber. Awaken for LAN.os, son of the greatest warrior in the cosmos!"

The mists drew together before LAN.os, and out of them arose the shuffling, shadowy ghost of a character who never was - Ultra-Nazi-Squared, a concept for a net.villain who was dropped when the cultural view of Nazis as an easy default bad guy suddenly stopped being a Thing.

"lan.os of inferior," murmured the phantom. "you seek the stone... as have so many others... fools, all... once, i held the stone..."

"Skip the backstory, pathetic wretch, and take me to the site of my greatest victory!" LAN.os raised his fist in the air and shook it mightily.

The average-looking guy took a picture of the phantom. "This is going straight up on the Discord."

The villain-who-never-was lead them to the shore of a great lavender ocean, lapping at a beach of multicolored sugar sand. LAN.os grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Finally, my day of triumph and power approaches! Finally, the day the scales will be balanced - in favor of me!"

"Fat chance!" There was a THOOM! and water and sand sprayed up in the air as a figure landed on the beach. 

The wave crashed back down on LAN.os, who sputtered and flailed, suit and hat completely soaked. "Pff! Pfahfh! What!? Who! Who dares challenge LAN.os, second to the Crossover Queen!?"

"Who do you think, buster!?" There in the breaking tide stood a figure. She was dressed in a black catsuit with a red, blue and gold starburst on the chest and a stylish brown leather jacket with cybernetic wings on the back. On her head was a red fedora that worked a thousand times better on her, and on her hands were high-tech blue-and-silver gauntlets. She was the Keymaster of the Omnilooniverse. She was Net.Access.

"YOU!" LAN.os shook his fist at her. "Of course... I should have known you would come to oppose me!"

Net.Access shook her head dismissively. "Sorry, but I have bigger things going on. How'd you get back in the Friend Zone, tho? I figured I'd never see your weird chin here ever again."

LAN.os laughed. "Fool, I am stronger than you knew me! I have made... EXACTLY ONE FRIEND!" He grabbed the average-looking guy and squeezed him against his side. "DOUG, from the comic book store!!"

"Uh, hey." Doug wriggled in LAN.os's grip and waved to Net.Access. "Sorry about this."

She acknowledged him with a nod. "Pardon me if I don't applaud."

"Your praise is meaningless to me, so there! But I have entered the Friend Zone, and located the Characterization Stone, as part of the Crossover Queen's plan! Soon, we shall enter a great crossover, where I take my time obtaining all the Absurdity Stones, one by one, each one that I obtain bringing in at least half a billion dollars in the US, and even more worldwide! And when they are brought together, I-- I mean, she-- shall rule triumphant!" LAN.os looked around shiftily. "I'm definitely not planning to betray her. Just ask Doug!"

Doug nodded. "Yeah, totally. He comes to game nights and talks about how he's not planning to betray the Crossover Queen all the time."

"And now..." LAN.os turned toward the ocean. A great whirlpool formed on its surface, a swirling nexus ready to pull anything down into the briny depths. "The Characterization Stone requires a sacrifice! And I--" He lifted Doug up over his head, in both hands. "I shall sacrifice my exactly one friend!"

"Hey, wait wait what!" Doug squirmed around, dropping his phone in the sand. "LAN.os. Dude. We talked about this."

"Yes, Doug! I remember our great debates on the trolley problem, and my promise that I would not sacrifice any of the gamers with which we play! But you see, Doug!" LAN.os roared in triumph. "I HAD MY FINGERS CROSSED!"

Net.Access rolled her eyes, sliding her hand down her face. "Okay. Enough. Let him go."

LAN.os cackled in maniacal glee. "Now, we shall have the ultimate climactic bat--!"

Net.Access snapped her fingers and the beach underneath LAN.os turned into a quicksand trap from a 1950s adventure movie. He yelped as he was pulled down to chest level immediately. Net.Access tossed a vine to Doug and he climbed out gratefully.

"Like I said. I didn't come here to fight you." From the pocket of her jacket, Net.Access pulled a cube - or, rather, a Kube; one of the Kubrik's Kubes, once-mighty cosmic artifacts, now powerless pieces of multicolored plastic. "I came here to fix a mistake."

"Insolent woman!" LAN.os charged up his prodigious cosmic strength-- but by the laws of '50s adventure movies, flailing around only caused him to sink faster, and by the time he stopped, the quicksand was up to his shoulders. "As soon as my army--"

"You can't take an army into the Friend Zone, LAN.os, I know it's just you and Doug on an automated ship." Net.Access tossed the Kube up in the air, caught it, looking off in the distance, memories playing across the back of her eyes. "Do you remember, when we fought before?" She shook her head, laughed. "No, you wouldn't. It's not the kind of thing you pay attention to. But..."

She sighed, smiled wistfully at a happy moment. "After Victoria and I saved each other... we were talking to everybody, and I was like... well, I hope this teaches the Writers to finish what they start. And everybody agreed. But..." She shook her head. "But we were wrong. I was wrong."

"It wasn't..." Net.Access turned to look at the place the technicolor sky met the pastel sea. "It wasn't the unfinished stories that caused the rifts and put the Looniverses in danger. I thought that that's what it was, when I saw the great pattern at the heart of the cosmos, and the missing pieces that were breaking it apart. But..." She looked around, turned to Doug, just so she could have an audience who might listen. "But it wasn't the stories that hadn't been written. It was the stories that wouldn't be written. It wasn't just that the Writers weren't writing endings, they weren't writing anything. Because of guilt. Guilt over having left things half-done."

Doug nodded, eyes wide, not understanding a word, as a tide of mist rolled in from the fields and covered the beach in a whispering haze. LAN.os, nose-deep in the mist, sneezed.

"The impossible standards, the need to catch up, to..." Net.Access waved her hands in the air. "To climb a mountain when you've already fallen and hit every rock on the way down! Before you can do anything new." She sighed, taking off her hat and running her hand thru her hair. "That's how I failed Intro to Hamburgerology. Got caught on an unfinished assignment, never turned it in, stopped going to class... to be honest, I'm still not sure why they put sesame seeds on the buns."

"Uh, are you getting distracted?" asked Doug.

"My victory speech would have been a lot better," grumbled LAN.os. "It would have had lots of references to famous European philosophers. Sounded really smart."

"Right. Anyway, what I'm saying is, me and the whole narrative around the rift crisis might've made things worse." The wings on Net.Access's back started fluttering, and she rose up in the air. "So I decided to do what I could to fix things. To be honest, I was already in the Friend Zone before I sensed you coming. You're not what I came here for at all."

LAN.os snorted, turning his head away. "Humph! Women and their easy excuses..."

Doug sighed. "Did you even read the 'feminism 101' articles I kept linking you?"

"I... I skimmed them, I swear!"

Net.Access rose up over the whirlpool. "To summon the Characterization Stone..." She held out the Kube in front of her. "I summon our future." She closed her eyes. "The future where all those long-forgotten stories would be finally finished. Where everything that we hoped to see flashed before our eyes in a perfect moment. Where we could resolve everything, once and for all, and seal it with a perfect 'The End'."

The Kube began to glow, softly at first, then coruscating with silvery color, filling with the energies of dream and desire. "Once, I sacrificed a perfect, finished past for an unbounded future, bright with possibility. Now, I sacrifice a perfect, finished future, so that that unbounded possibility may be accessible to all, each day free of the guilt of ages, each day open and new!"

Net.Access lifted the Kube over her head, and the mist rose up from the beach, up from the magenta fields, up towards her. As the mist rose, it spiraled around itself, became a solid shape, like a tornado in reverse.

The tip of the tornado slammed into the Kube. It shook, and Net.Access held on with both hands, brows knitting as a torrent of unrealized possibility streamed recklessly in, the silver light brighter and brighter with each moment until it was eye-searing.

Net.Access lowered the Kube, holding it out before her, directly over the maw of the whirlpool. "I release the Writers! I release the plots! I release the guilt! I..." Her hand opened. "Release!" 

The Kube fell, tumbling end-over-end until it disappeared into the churning sea.

The whirlpool collapsed in on itself, and a column of light burst from the water. In the middle of that column was a fist-sized hunk of ruby, unfinished but scintillating with crimson light.

Net.Access reached out. Lighting crackled from the surface of the ruby into her outstretched hand, and she flinched, and turned her head away, eyes closed. But when she looked back, her eyes were glowing red, and her hand closed around the Characterization Stone.

"NO!" yelled LAN.os. "That was a meaningless sacrifice! Something you valued for the wrong reasons - something you had to let go of for your own good!"

Net.Access smirked, fedora perfectly perched on her head, eyes bright with the light of the Stone. "That's the most meaningful sacrifice you can make." She held the Stone in the air, pointing into the sky. "Let the wheels of characterization, stopped so long ago, grind into action once more! CHARACTEEEEEER... GRAND GROWTH!!"

Crimson lightning crackled around the Stone, around her body, and shot into the sky-- slamming against it like it was an invisible dome, and causing the dome to crack wide open, a gash that caused the alien light of a yellow sun to stream thru.

And thru that gap zoomed an enormous fishing hook, glinting golden, arcing thru the air and slamming into the sand. The hook was attached to a line, and the line pulled taut, pointing off thru the crack; and pulled thru by the line came a young man and an armored being. 

The man wore a white trenchcoat with shimmery silver trim over a white spandex bodysuit with silver boots, a silver belt with a gold buckle, and a gold, shield-shaped chest emblem with a silver fishing hook on it. The being's armor was composed of smooth plates, gunmetal gray for most of it, blue on the gloves and boots, with a shining white breastplate, a blue circle on the left panel, a blue square on the right, and a blank blue faceplate. Doug watched them fly down, mouth in an O of amazement, and snapped several pictures.

They landed with a thump! on the beach. "Net.Access, are you okay?" said the man. "I sensed an enormous plot hook right before that-- I mean, that rift opened." He looked concerned, youthful brow furrowed.

"I'm sensing intense cosmic energies from the object she's holding," said a deep, smoky voice from the armor. "It may be some form of cosmic plot device, tho from the spectral analysis, I can tell it is not the Cosmic Plot Device."

The Characterization Stone pulsed in Net.Access's hand, and a burst of crimson energy pulsed from her eyes. "Nnnn... okay, that's enough of that... Plot Hook Lad... Betamax... can you give me some kind of containment unit?"

"One moment." Betamax pulled seemingly random panels off her armor; beneath each was an identical panel, which rose into place. She brought them together, assembling a sleek gray-and-blue sphere with an iris on it, which she threw up to Net.Access; Net.Access dropped the Stone into it and sighed. "Whew."

"So do we-- WHOA is that LAN.os!" Plot Hook Lad took a step back.

"Hah, yes!" crowed the cosmic villain, raising his fist. "And now that you have secured the Characterization Stone for me, I will-- whoop, sinking, sinking..."

"Yeah," said Net.Access. landing on the beach. "Long story."

"He desired that object, and you stopped him," said Betamax.

"Okay, short story." Net.Access adjusted the iris on the containment sphere, and a trickle of crimson energy streamed out like mist. "But that's not important, the important thing is, talking about what's been going on in your lives lately."

"...you know, I know you've been spending a lot of time with your girlfriend lately, but you could have, like, sent a text or something," said Plot Hook Lad. "No need to unearth interdimensional artifacts."

"I believe it is for the artifact," said Betamax, whose voice was near-monotone yet excellent at conveying a subtle amusement.

"Right," smiled Net.Access, the drama of the previous scene slowly dissolving, the guilt that had been released easing away.

"Oh, well." Plot Hook Lad laughed, a bit of his old awkwardness showing up. "Why don't you go first, Betamax, and I hook in?"

"All right," she said. "As you both know, I was originally known to the LNH as Irony Man II, showing up after the original Irony Man retired, on a secret quest to find the Messiah of Sincerity so that we could recruit the cosmic being known as the Laziness to stop the cosmic beings known as the Serious Business."

"Right," said Net.Access. "I wasn't around for that whole thing; how did it go?"

"Well."

"...well?"

"Yes." Betamax's featureless head gave a simple nod. "We accomplished our goals."

"Ah." Net.Access scratched her head. "...okay, well, what's been happening with you lately?"

"Well, I decided to stay in the present, for now, as a member of the Legion. I took on the new moniker of Betamax, to signify an embrace not of technology as a simple arc of ever-increasing progression, but as a branching infinity of possible futures, and a reminder that simply because one is more 'advanced', one is not necessarily better."

"Wow," said Net.Access. "That is simultaneously really deep and excessively convoluted."

Betamax gave a small bow. "Thank you."

"Yeah, once that whole thing was resolved, I came back to the LNH too," said Plot Hook Lad. "They helped me get my life back in place, it was... really hard dealing with all the emotional stuff, but, like, better than the alternative, right?" He gave a chuckle and pushed his hair back. "My family's great... everything's okay now."

Net.Access took a step towards Plot Hook Lad and pulled him into a tight hug. He made a little noise of surprise, then returned it; after a moment, they separated. "So," said Net.Access, "how'd you come back to life, anyway?"

He grinned. "Oh, Masterplan Lad brought me back to life."

"Masterplan Lad!?" Net.Access blinked in surprise. "He never said anything about that!"

"Well, he hasn't done it yet, of course." Plot Hook Lad's grin widened, and he crossed his arms.

"...uuuuuh-huh." Net.Access found herself smiling despite herself. "And you're not gonna follow up on that, are you."

"Nope!" Plot Hook Lad bounced in place impishly.

"Okay, okay," said Net.Access, shaking her head cheerfully. "Well, get some cosmic-y types over here to contain LAN.os. Maybe stick him in the Ultimate Black Hole if that's still around? And if it's not, y'know, evil. ...it's probably evil tho"

"I shall contact my sources," said Betamax, walking over to the quicksand.

"Ha-HA!" cackled LAN.os, exulting. "LAN.os never loses! Now, Doug!"

"...now what?" said Doug.

"Activate the device I gave you, of course!"

Doug rummaged in his pocket. "You mean this weird silver thing with the red button that you said not to push?"

"Yes! Push it, Doug!!"

Doug sighed and handed the device to Betamax. "Dude, you literally tried to kill me."

"...for friendship, Doug! Or, well, causally linked to friendship, at least!" LAN.os attempted the puppy dog eyes, and Net.Access had to look away.

She looked toward Doug. "Are you okay? Physically, but also, uh, emotionally."

"Physically, yeah." Doug rubbed his thighs. "Emotionally... this has been a weird day."

"Yeah, it really--" The containment unit pulsed in her hand. "Hhh. Uhh, lemme just take care of this..."

Her outfit dissolved, reforming into a sepiatone version of Babe Ruth's uniform. She took a step back, winding up...

"Wait! No!" LAN.os shouted. "Fool! I'll have to find another-- I mean, make more-- I mean..."

Net.Access launched the containment unit over the ocean. It flew, arcing high into the air... and at the very top of the arc, burst apart, the Characterization Stone trailing crimson fire until it splashed into the sea and was gone.

She dusted off her hands. "Leave that for Earth-20 to deal with." She turned back to Doug, ignoring LAN.os's shouts. "I think it's gonna take a while for them to deal with this guy. Want a ride back?"

"Sure," said Doug, "but can't you only leave with a friend?"

Net.Access took his hand.  "When you go thru big weird cosmic stuff together, you're friends. That's a net.hero rule."

"Oh, well..." He rubbed the back of his head with his other hand, a bit shyly. "That sounds good. Thank you."

Net.Access lead him off the beach, down across the magenta fields. "I'm sorry if this is blunt, but... how'd you become friends with that guy, anyway?"

"Heh. No, I guess there's no good way to ask." Doug shrugged. "Honestly, he showed up at game night one week and just... really seemed like he needed something normal in his life. So we let him play. And like... honestly, for a while, it seemed like he was just... having fun just enjoying himself. But then... I don't know what changed."

Net.Access nodded in commiseration. "I think... some people can't let go of what they've convinced themselves they have to do. Even if it's not nearly as healthy for them as letting go and just having a good time."

"Yeah. You think I should, like..." Doug looked over his shoulder. "Cut him off?"

"That's up to you. But I would establish some boundaries, at the very least." 

"Yeah..."

They came to a tall, spreading tree with bark of rose gold and leaves of, surprisingly, emerald green. Beneath sat a well-composed, human-looking being, deep in a book, his umbrella leaning against a tree.

"Masterplan Lad!" Net.Access waved, and Masterplan Lad looked up. 

He waved and stood, putting away his book and taking up his umbrella as they walked over. "I see you met a new friend," he said.

Doug scratched the back of his neck, smiling. Net.Access chuckled. "Yeah, this place does that to you."

"Did you get done what you needed to?" said Masterplan Lad, adjusting his bowtie.

"For now." Net.Access looked off into the sky. "They'll probably need reminding."

Masterplan Lad nodded, a small, rueful, hopeful smile on his face. "They always do."

Masterplan Lad took Doug's hand, and together, the three of them walked forward; and as they walked, they shimmered into soft, multicolored light, and they faded from the Friend Zone. But they could return anytime they felt like it, without grief or pain. And, reader, so can you.

[knjredwluv]

Red. [1]

Red (n.)

Red could signify the color of love, passion, determination, and strength. Red could also signify blood, fire, war, desire and energy. Red is an emotionally intense color.

Title: Red

Words: 4.7k

AU: Yandere/Obssessive relationship 

Characters: Jungkook x Reader. Hoseok x Reader. OT7.

Warnings: 17+ explicit language, angst!angst!angst!, slight implications of smut, some fluff and soft moments (super fucking sappy), noona kink (if you squint reaaaaally hard), yandere/obsessive relationship (this isnt a healthy relationship and i dont promote any of this), mentions of killing, hallucinations, has very descriptive angst!!

Summary: “After the things that happened, you decided to start anew. Everything was how you thought it would be; it was simple but perfect–until you saw your name on a black envelope. Out of curiosity, you opened it; and now, you wish you didn’t.”

LIST FOR RED

CHAPTER 1

You held your phone to your ear using your shoulder. You huffed as you tried to multi-task being on the phone, walking to class and carrying a shoulder bag, laptop, books and a cup of coffee in your arms. “Can you please just do it? I have to head back to Jimin’s because he left his wallet.”

“____, as much as I love you, I will not go to your brother’s house without you. You know the look he gives me for being with you already– and you want me to go there to drop off your boxes for you.” You chuckled as he rambled and emphasized on the task you requested him to do.

“Babe, that’s just how he looks at everyone, okay? And plus, you’re bigger than him. I remember having a man for a boyfriend not a baby.” you giggle as you teased him.

“For fucks sake, ____, Your brother is a fucking cop. He looks like he hates me and he is a licensed official who can put me behind bars for, I don’t know, laughing at you when you do some stupid shit” You laugh at this because you know you’re one hell of a klutz.

“I’ll give you a blowjob if you do it” You whispered into the phone, nonchalantly. As expected, there is a small pause until you heard a groan.

“Fine, I’ll do it. You owe me big time, baby girl.”

You ended the call and texted your brother saying that Jungkook is heading over to drop off your things for your parents.

—

Bro

[12:34] Y/N: yoon

[12:34] Y/N: Jk is heading over there to bring my stuff

[12:35] Y/N: u home right?

[12:37] Bro: Nah

[12:37] Bro: not home work called but Mina is home she shuld be awake

[12:38] Y/N: Mkay ill tell him

[12:40] Bro: 👍🏻

—

Jeon♡

[12:45] Y/N: Hes not home but Mina is

[12:47] Jeon♡: Ok yessssss

[12:47] Jeon♡: but im still expecting something 👀

[12:47] Y/N: fck outta here jeon and do what u gotta do

[12:47] Jeon♡: Damn ok live u

[12:47] Jeon♡: love*** ♥️♥️

[12:48] Y/N: 🥰 love you 2

—

You shoved your phone in your bag and walked to the library. The weather was really nice. it complimented how you were dressed up for today.

Thank God, it was just for today.

Your Art Club meeting is really gonna screw you up. You really hope you ace this meeting since you stayed up all night making the power point. You’re also drowning yourself in caffeine and hoping it doesn’t spill on your new blouse. The branded shirt costed you more than your monthly grocery; and it’s not like you find it a hassle to be stylish but it’s definitely something different. It’s way different than the go-to vans and a pair of jeans with the Uni’s hoodie. Oh how you wished that’s what you were wearing right now.

After the meeting, you walked up the steps and opened the door to the University’s library. You were greeted by Namjoon, who was on his way out.

“Hey, ____. What brings you here? It isn’t Thursday today, is it?” He asked you casually while checking his Gold Casio watch. Namjoon is used to your frequent visits to the library. After working in the library for 4 out of 5 years of his Uni life, he’s accustomed to seeing you on the same desk, at the second floor, by the window. Sometimes, you’re caught doing homework, checking out Literature books or books of Art History, or probably just reading a comic book or webtoon that Jungkook told you about.

“Oh no, It’s Tuesday but I just needed to catch up with some work” accidentally bumping your elbow to the door causing you to almost drop your books but luckily, Namjoon’s instincts were fast. You quietly thanked him. “I got math to do”

“Well then,” He turned and waved “Ms. Ryu is expecting me. Good luck with math”

“Alrightie, see ya”

You walked to your usual spot and placed your laptop on the desk. You opened it and typed in the password. You grinned at the screensaver.

Oh god, it never fails to make you smile.

It was a screenshotted picture of Jungkook with ice cream of his face on your second date. It was a funny memory if you recall what happened.

“Stopppp, you’re going too hard. I might fly up” You said giggling and holding on the seesaw like it meant your life depended on it. Technically, it kind of did.

“Okay okay, i’m sorry” he said laughing at how you looked.

Both of you continued using the seesaw while casually talking about nonsense like what if aliens came and decided to rule Earth or if there was a zombie apocalypse, what you would do.

“Now that I think about it, I would find it weird that there’s two grown adults using a seesaw and eating ice cream– BUT CUTE” saying it with emphasis.

“Your right, it’s not something you see everyday” He shrugged and laughed and went back to lick his ice cream.

“Yeah, you don’t see muscle pig tatted good looking e-boy eating ice cream while using a seesaw, everyday” You teasingly said.

“What was that?” He said looking at you. You knew that he heard because his ears were starting to turn red but it didn’t stop his lips altering to a smile hearing the compliment. It was probably even boosting his ego hearing that the girl he likes called him good looking. He knew that and he always, mentally, thanked his parents and the Man above for mixing his genes well.

“Huh?” biting your lip, smiling and trying not to laugh “Oh nothing” shaking your head. You took out your phone to take a snapchat video of him holding onto the seesaw with his ice cream cone on the other hand.

He urged you to repeat it, not because of what you said, but because of how the blush crept up your face as you said it. He noticed how red your cheeks has gotten and how you adorable it is to see you this flustered.

“Say it” he whined, exaggerating the act knowing that he was being recorded. He bounced a little hard on the seesaw which caused you to jump a little. He smirked at your shocked look.

“Hmm, You wanna play that game huh?” Still taking a video, you playfully copied what he did to you which caused him to jump a little forward and the ice cream on his hand, now on the ground. His chin and mouth covered in with the dessert and his black shirt having evidence of the incident.  

“Awwww Jungkook, I’m sorry” You cooed and pouting at him. You couldn’t help but giggle at the sight in front of you as you walked towards him, zooming into his face. He had a fake pout and a slight smile. Putting your phone at the back of your pocket, you took the napkin from around your cone and started to wipe his chin.

“I’m so sowwyyy”

He stared at you mischievously. You glanced into his eyes and continued to wipe his chin. He pulled your wrist down and held the sides of your face and gave you a peck on the lips. You gasp at the sudden kiss but also the feeling of the sticky sugar treat around your mouth.

“It’s okay, now we’re even” He said laughing at you, with the little pout on your face.

You smile at the memory. It reminds you how lucky you got when meeting Jungkook because not only is he caring, smart and loving, he can also be a dickhead who doesn’t take people’s shit. The duality, right? But hey, with the exception of your brother, Yoongi. He kind of isn’t ashamed to admit to you that your brother is quite intimidating and, sometimes, scare him. You’re pretty sure your brother also enjoys seeing Jungkook shit his pants whenever he sees him. His career choice, of being a police officer just adds up to the thrill of it. Although, Jungkook could be a bit younger than you, it doesn’t stop Yoongi from being protective of you. But that’s only if he is judging based on façade. Besides, he’s known Jungkook for long enough to know that he’s a keeper.

The loud sound of a book falling by the computer area brought you back to reality. You sighed and took out your math handout and begin on working out the problems.

“Now back to this shit.” You muttered. You didn’t mind doing your assignments and homework but what really irked you is that your professor never collects it. It was just the usual. He gives out assignments, expects you to do them and then pop quiz at the end of the month.

Taking a break, you leaned back into the chair and took a sip of the ice coffee you brought. You looked around while stretching and cracked your joints. It sent you a wave of relief throughout your body after solving, for God knows how long, algebra equations. You checked your phone and realized you’ve been sitting down, doing your work for 47 mins.

You stared out the window enjoying the scenery of the field and the school’s garden. What caught your eye is a group walking to the parking lot, but in this group you saw someone who thought would be familiar. You tilted your head trying to identify this person. It made you move closer to the window and you sat there with your chin on your hand, squinting your eyes for better focus. It was as if you were burning holes into this person’s back. Ironically, It was like he felt the heat behind him and he turned around. He turned around to face who could be his friends. Seeing his face, it sent chills down your spine. Blinking and shaking your head, thinking that you could be hallucinating or day-dreaming. You looked up again and couldn’t make out who they were because their friends were blocking the one who you wanted to see. Your mind became blank once again and you looked at your ice coffee.

“I really shouldn’t be drinking you, you’re starting to make me see things” you thought.

You thought that it could be the coffee. It’s already your 4th cup for the day. Although, at this rate, you don’t know if your body is immune to it because you still feel sluggish as you did this morning. You hold your head with both hands, elbows on the table, feeling a slight headache. It’s like feeling all your brain cells dying because of the caffeine overdose. You decided to shake it off and continue doing your work.

You were startled when the chair in front of you and beside you was pulled open and there sat Jimin and Taehyung. Your hands placed on your chest, you swore you that you just let out a loud shriek causing people to look at your direction.

“What the fu– don’t just randomly do that you shitheads” You whisper-yelled. You try to recover from the sudden appearance of the playful couple.

“We saw you here, hope you don’t mind we come and join you on your little study sesh”

“Not at all” You said “Oh yeah, here,” You searched in your bag for the thick leather wallet and handed it to him “Good thing you came”

"Thought you would be in class?” You asked while he shoves his wallet at the back of his pocket

“Well we finished early, Mr. Xing said he’s gonna call off for the day”

“Yeah, Poor man, been coughing all day and couldn’t sound out a syllable”

“What’s up, ____. Looking like you were shitting bricks before we gave you reason to shit bricks. What is that?” He came closer to check the assignment I was doing and to his dismay, it was math.

“Oou, well, that explains, but you good?”

“Yeah, head hurts and was thinking ‘bout some things” you mumbled.

“Well, you gotta stop overthinking, it gives you wrinkles. ‘N you know what they say about wrinkles~ they’re a sign of old age~”

“Wow, Thanks Tae” You rolled your eyes, chuckling at the two. You stayed in the library with Jimin and Taehyung talking and doing assignments and projects.

Now, you are found in Jimin’s car, releasing stress by singing your souls out to 2000s R&B. You insisted that you walk but, of course, he didn’t take no for an answer.

You were born in Daegu but your family moved to Seoul when you and Yoongi were very young. A few years ago, you decided to move in with your brother and his wife. Despite being born in the area, you felt out of place until you met Jimin and Taehyung. They were your the first set of friends that you met when you moved to Daegu. It was an easy friendship because not only that they attended DAU, Daegu Arts University, you three have the same Art History class. You’re not gonna lie but you might have had the slightest crush on Jimin during first year of Uni–that was until you find out the two were together. Hey, it didn’t hurt though, the two were like soulmates.

Checking your phone, you saw time was only 4:27 PM. You sighed realizing that you’ll have the apartment to yourself until Jungkook comes home, from his shift at the tattoo parlour, later tonight.

He was already working there when you met him. He moved away from Busan to pursue his dream in music. He asked his parents if he could move to Daegu and attend DAU. Of course, it took a toll on his parents but they let him do what he wanted. The best thing they could do was support their son on his dream; He aced a job at a tattoo parlour and he has little shows at the bars downtown, all while he was studying. He realized that it gave him satisfaction and he, secretly, took a break from school–which now, it led to him being a full-time worker at the well-known tattoo parlour. He finds that it’s nothing different if he would have finished; seeing that he didn’t need to be a college graduate to get his job. Despite those circumstances, his creativity and love for Art and Music gets him paid; and that’s what matters to him and you–that he’s happy.

“Alright,” You shut the door and tapped on the trunk “thanks boys, see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, bye, _____. Sleep well tonight, You look too sleep deprived”

“I will, drive safe, text me when you’re home”

You walked up the stairs and reached your apartment. You entered the code of the door’s lock and the door makes sound, signaling you that the doors open. You entered, taking off your shoes and hanging your coat on the coat rack. Walking towards the living room, you put your bag on the ground next to the counter which separates the living room and kitchen. Plopping down on the couch, you sighed in relief of the feeling being home and laying at the soft surface. You focused on listening to the humming of the air conditioner and then you felt your eyelids becoming heavy with every tick of the clock.  

You were awoken by the smell of food and it made you realize how hungry you were; smelling the food definitely made your stomach growl that you felt the strong vibrations. You sat up and looked around and adjusted your vision to the light. You turned around and saw Jungkook’s back. You stood up and quickly stretched and walked towards him. As you approached him, he turned around and noticed your sleepy figure about to engulf him, which was intended to be a back hug.

“Hi sleepy” He says. He placed the spoon and tupperware on the counter, hugged you back in return and left a kiss on your temple. You hummed and just hugged him tighter. Inhaling his scent of body soap and aftershave.

“Mina gave me some food when I went over there; She said you should try it and gave us a lot of it” You hummed in response.

“What is it?” Your voice husky from sleeping

“It’s a chicken stew. C’mon, get ready we’ll have dinner in a few, I’m already making rice”

“I wanna stay like this still” Your hold became tighter and he just rubbed your back. Your hunger was replaced by the feeling of ease and comfort in his embrace. You moved your face from his chest and faced him with your eyes closed and smiled at him.

“Don’t forget your little promise, baby.” He said while placing kisses all over your face. His hands sliding up and down your back and moved to grope your ass, giving it a little slap. Your eyes opened and fake disappointment washed over you.

“I really thought it was going to be a sweet moment, Jeon. You really had-” He cut you with a peck on the lips.“-to say that.” He chuckled.

“C’mon, Noona, I can be really sweet.” You rolled your eyes at him.

“Oh my god, you’re really fucking lucky I’m a sub or else, i would have-” You cut yourself off and you smirked at him.

“Hm, feisty now, isn’t she?” You remove yourself from him and grab a cup to drink a glass of water.

“I’m sorry, JK. I’m exhausted today. I promise, on date night, okay?”

“Something happened today? I saw how busted you look on the couch when I came home– didn’t wanna wake you until I finished heating up the food” Now it was his turn to hug you first. He sat on the stool and pulled you by your shirt and wrapped his arms around your waist. He stared at you with his doe eyes until you finished drinking and placing the glass on the counter.

“Just a club meeting but I didn’t sleep last night. I had to finish the powerpoint and afterwards, I went to the library to finish off somethin’. Jimin and Tae was with me though, no worries. They dropped me home too so.” You sighed and look at him.

“That was the meeting you were talking about right? How was it? How’d it go?” He asked

“Remember the man I told you about?” He hummed in response “Well, he seemed really impressed with my presentation and the art display we made and he spoke about visiting again,” You began playing with the long strands of his fluffy, wavy hair “He said that he’ll think about doing a workshop, all expenses paid, for learning art techniques and maybe even visiting the national museum”

“I’m proud of you, ____. I know you worked hard for that. You know, being the Co-President of the Art Club.” He gushes as he rubbed circle with his thumb on your waist.

“Oh my– stop, let me get changed” You tapped his chest and leaned forward to peck his nose. 

You walked out the kitchen and headed to the bedroom and stripped to your underwear. You grabbed a towel heading to the bathroom for a quick shower. You gargled with some mouthwash and change into some boy shorts and Jungkook’s oversized sweatshirt.  

---------

“____, the table’s ready!”

“Coming, coming!”

You skipped to the kitchen and sat on the high stool opposite of Jungkook’s. You both ate dinner and shoving the last chunk of carrot into your mouth, you stacked the dishes and placed them in the sink.

“Are you scheduled to play tonight?” You asked turned your head to him as you washed the utensils.

“Yeah, Hyung said to meet at the subway. I’ll probably head out at around 30 35 mins from now?” He said questioningly, turning to look at the wall clock. It was currently 7:50 PM.

“Yup, in 30 mins or so– oh and please don’t wait up for me again. Am not sure when I’m coming but I’ll come home before it hits 1, okay?” He informs you while he removes his top and heads to the bathroom.

A little story of Jungkook and Seokjin’s relationship, Seokjin is Jungkook’s good friend who helped him move to Daegu. Jungkook and Seokjin were pretty much like roommates before you came into the picture. Besides being roommates, the pair were performers at the local bar.

That’s also how you met Jungkook. You saw him and Seokjin performing a ballad when you were with your group of friends. Eunbi, your close friend and also Seokjin’s girlfriend, introduced you to them that same night. You thought he was very attractive–like duh, who wouldn’t? You both talked and got to know some things about each other and it led to both of you exchanging numbers, texting often, meeting up for coffee or lunch. Several months later, that’s when he decided to ask you to make it official. You would visit their apartment often; it can be whenever they practiced ballads and their self-composed songs or you guys decide to have a movie night with Seokjin and Eunbi. For others, it may sound like the relationship was rushed for deciding to live together 1 year and 3 months into the relationship. It didn’t feel wrong though–as cliche as it sounds. You felt that this new start was something just like you imagined it would be.

You were snapped out of your thoughts when Jungkook bent down to grab his bag that was next to you and to kiss your forehead.

“I’m heading out.” He slings the big black backpack on and walked towards the door. He stood by the front of the door struggling to put on his sneakers. “Sleep early my love” he sang stretching out each syllable. You giggled at the soft curse he did when he nearly stumbled over the slippers behind him.

“Take care,” You turned your head to look at him and to surprise you noticed his outfit.  “Oh my.. Please tell me you have a light shirt in your bag. You really gotta stop wearing all black. It’s too dark outside kook. Trust me, I’ll really buy you some twinkle toes” You said worriedly, remembering the incident that almost happened a few days ago. Stupid driver + Late night + Boyfriend in dark clothing + Walking = Not a good combination.

“Don’t worry, _____. Look, I got the shoes with the light reflectors. It’s not twinkle toes but it’s something” He smugly said with hands on his hips. You couldn’t help but laugh at him.

“Okay, love you, text me if anything. Go sleep early for real, it’s an order”

“Love you too” You said sending him a flying kiss, to which he pretended to catch and smack on his cheek before he closed the door.

You decided to get ready for bed. You turned off the lights in the living room, kitchen and the mini hallway. You walked in the bathroom to do your skin care and brush your teeth. You walked in the bedroom while using your phone, checking for updates on your social media. Peeling the covers open, you laid down and tucked yourself in. You set an early alarm for the next day and put your phone down. You stared at the wall, deep in thought. You were reminded of the familiar face you saw when you were at the library. Yes, it’s been almost roughly 5 years but sometimes you can’t help but remember the painful memories. It was still vivid to you. You rubbed your face with your hands.

“I can’t believe you would do something like that. Do you not trust me?”

“___, What the fuck are you talking about? I trust you! Why are yo-” You scoffed.

“What do you mean, what the fuck I’m talking about, you know damn well what the fuck I’m talking about.” You turned to face him.

“____.” He calmly looks at you and held your arm but you pulled away.

“Why the fuck would you send threats to my classmate? I told you we were just doing a project and it’s not like we were alone… I don’t even know him that well for you to accuse me of something”

“I didn’t even accuse you of anything, ___. Stop saying shit right now.” He rolled his eyes and turned away from you. You looked at him is disbelief.

“So texting someone like ‘hey, im ___’s boyfriend, and i need you to back tf away from her. I see the way you look at her’ blah blah blah and ‘if not, i know where you live and i swear ill torture tf outta you’ is not a threat? You’re already accusing me and someone else for doing something we didn’t do” He noticed your rage and turned around and walked towards you.

“___, It’s not like that, i prom-” You cut him off

“And you pulled a knife on him…” You say softly.

“W-what? H-how… What are you saying right now, ___. You sound stupid” There was a pregnant pause until you couldn’t hold back a hiccup. Your tears running down your face.

“I saw you. In the parking lot. After you dropped me off, I was gonna run after you when I saw that I left my bottle behind and there you were…” You looked up at him with glossy eyes

“There was my fucking boyfriend with a knife on my classma–” You jokingly said, with enthusiasm, as you turned around waving your arms towards your boyfriend as if you were talking to an audience. You nervously chuckled at the situation. You were in disbelief that you couldn’t even finish your sentence. You choked back the sob.  

That night was when you realized your boyfriend was fucking crazy. He was out of his mind. It was just like what those movies would talk about when the lead character has a girlfriend and she’s literally crazy; doing anything to get his attention. Except it was the opposite, it was him and definitely not you. What scares you the most is that, it happened, not twice, but more than 5 times. It’s not like how the movie depicts it to be anymore. It’s reality and much more scarier than that. He doesn’t know but you know he’s the one who stares at you from across the room of where you sat. You know, that he’s the reason why some people don’t talk to you the way they used to. It was all because of him your life started to feel like a living hell.

You shook the memories away. You checked your phone. 9:39 PM.

“That’s the past” You muttered to yourself.

“That’s way in the past, ___. You’re here now, Almost 5 years. You’re just hallucinating this again” You sighed. You reached to the nightstand and drank some water. You opened the voice recording app on your phone and clicked on the file that Jungkook made.

He knows about your story. He knows about everything. He knows why you moved and why you decided to change your life; and you loved how supportive he was of it. You can’t stress enough how thankful you are to be with someone like Jungkook.

File: a_lullaby_for_my_someone.mp3

“Hi, _____” His clear voice filling the quiet room “,I know you aren’t sleeping right now–and that explains why you turned to this recording, Ha. Anyways, That’s why I made this very special lullaby for you. Here’s my rendition to our song…”

And that’s when he started strumming the guitar.

Put your head on my shoulder

Hold me in your arms, baby

You placed your phone on his side of the bed and hugged a pillow. Finally adjusting your sleeping position, you closed your eyes and your previous thoughts were pushed aside as you focus on your boyfriend’s singing

Squeeze me oh so tight

Show me that you love me too

Your breathing becoming slower and free from panic

Put your lips next to mine, dear

Won’t you kiss me once, baby

Just a kiss goodnight, maybe

You and I will fall in love