#when a group of us have put in a lot of effort to decorate the shared living space and put up a tree

[choking-on-roses]

Here's a thought.

If you want things to "feel" like Christmas, you need to put some effort in.

Put up those Christmas decorations even though it's a chore.

Buy a gift for someone even though the shops are crowded and wrapping gifts sucks.

Make plans with people you care about even if it's a pain in the ass.

Buy a stupid Christmas sweater and wear it. Do some Christmas baking.

And most importantly, go find the people in your life (probably women lbr) and thank them for all the tireless effort they put in to make sure you had a festive Christmas in your childhood.

Don't just sit around and refuse to contribute and then complain that it doesn't "feel" like Christmas.

[ethereal-night-fairy]

Mistletoe Kisses Part 1

Poly!141 x GN reader

Let's see which one of the boys can get the most kisses from you during this Christmas season.

Poly Masterlist

AGELESS BLOGS AND MINORS WILL BE BLOCKED.

Words: 1.1k

The base has been weird for the last couple of weeks. It's unfortunate that not many people were given permission to leave and spend time with their families this holiday season. You and taskfore 141 had an upcoming mission to leave for right after New Year's day so everyone was stuck on base preparing. You've tried your best to liven everyone's spirits by decorating the common room and mess hall with lights and a Christmas tree. You had even managed to jokingly put some mistletoe in strategic places to get some of the recruits laughing. It was a little joy and laughter in an otherwise shitty situation. Gaz and Soap seemed to be having a great old time utilising the mistletoe every chance they get. It was endearing to see that they had such a close friendship.

Your friends back home were like that too. Kissing and hugging each other for laughs. It was quite nostalgic to witness it on base. You've seen The Captain and your lieutenant having fun with the mistletoe too. Giving each other kisses on the cheek or forehead. They did the same when they caught anyone else from the taskforce underneath it. You've been extra careful not to loiter around it. Though Soap and Gaz have tried but you just ended up scurring off before they could pull you underneath it. The base seemed a lot more festive and full of joy and were glad the effort you put into everything was paying off.

You had managed to also get small gifts for everyone, even the new additions to the base. It wasn't anything special, just small little gifts of sweets and chocolates. Though you did splurge a little with your teammates getting Price his favourite cigars and Ghost his favourite bottle of bourbon. With Soap and Gaz you were more playful with your gifts. Soap was going to receive some scotch and a scotch glass with the Scottish flag on in. You know since he's so patriotic. Gaz was a little harder to shop for but you ended up settling on hand knitted jumper. He had mentioned to you that his nan used to gift him one every Christmas. So an idea popped into your head to knit him the most god awful jumper anyone has ever seen. It was a poor looking jumper but you had tried your best. You wanted it to look tacky but in a cute way. Though you severely overestimated your knitting skills. It did look tacky but also poorly made. Who knew knitting would be so hard? You also got him his favourite alcohol. Hopefully by the time he opened your gift the alcohol would make it look a lot nicer than it was. Everything was prettily packaged and put under the captain's tree in his office.

You place the last of the dinner prep in the fridge. Everything was seasoned and marinated. All you had to do tomorrow was put everything in the oven and make the gravy and sides. You were glad the guys were warming up to you. For the longest time it felt like you were intruding on the tight knit group of theirs. They were very affectionate to each other more so than any other group you've seen. It made sense that they were cautious about you in the beginning. But recently you feel much closer to them. They were beginning to show you the same affection they reserved for each other. It was a surprise the first time Gaz had engulfed you in a bear hug after a mission had gone wrong. You both had barely made it out alive. Since that scare you felt they paid more attention to you. They always seemed to be on high alert when on missions with you. The casual hugs and pats were received more frequently now. They even started flirting with you like they did with each other.

You'd brush it off as military humour. A lot of the recruits did that too, it was nothing new. So you didn't really mind when their hands would linger jokingly while moving you to get something. Or when someone tried flirting with you at a bar one of them always had their arms wrapped around you. They also liked pinning you down during sparring sessions. They would laugh at you when you couldn't escape their hold. It was really frustrating sometimes. Then again, hand to hand combat wasn't your strong suit. But it was all fun and games between teammates so no harm done. The only thing that was getting a bit much was them trying to kiss you under the mistletoe. They were treating it as a competition. One you didn't want part in considering they probably made a bet on it. They did these stupid bets quite often since getting closer to you. You shake your head as you go to get ready for bed. You had an early start tomorrow.

You slide into your warm covers happy and content looking forward to the next day.

-

“How have none of us managed to get at least one kiss from them?”, Gaz huffs as he sits on the captain's desk. Price caresses his hips and thighs as he goes over the plan of the upcoming mission.

“You muppets probably scared them off”, He blows out a puff of smoke from his cigar as Gaz moves away from him annoyed.

“It doesn't help that they know where all the mistletoe is placed”, Ghost comments as walks behind Price's chair as he discusses his formation and position for the stakeout.

“Aye we only have till tomorrow. We should move the mistletoe”, Soap offers as he inspected the wrapped presents under Price's tree. Gaz comes up behind him smacking his head when he catches him trying to open his. “Come on then let's go move the mistletoe while they're asleep”, Gaz drags Soap by the arm who's rubbing his head. They leave to change the locations of the mistletoe you had placed at the start of the month.

“Sometimes I wonder how they managed to pass selection”, Ghost murmeres under his breath, managing to get chuckle from his Captain.

“Did you wrap the present we all got them?”, Price inquiries while writing something down on the file.

“It's under the tree with the rest of them….Do you think they'll like it?”, Ghost asks eyeing his Captain and lover. Price looks up from his file with a twinkle in his sapphire eyes.

“we'll find out won't we?”, He gives Simon his warmest smile, before giving him a tender kiss when he bends down.

Copyright © by ethereal-night-fairy. 2023. All Rights Reserved. Writing not permitted for reposting, transcription, translation or use with AI technologies.

[ipseitydelrey]

idk if you do headcanons but I wanna know what you think each member of the BAU team would get you for your birthday?

<33

hi !! yes i def do general headcanons too, and this is such a good idea 🫶

birthday bash ☆ the B.A.U.

characters aaron hotchner, spencer reid, emily prentiss, derek morgan, jennifer jareau, david rossi, penelope garcia, tara lewis, luke alvez, elle greenaway; can be seen as platonic or romantic with any character

content just some general headcanons

aaron hotchner is incredibly observant and he cares for his team, so he will make sure you get at least a basket-full worth of stuff. he’ll likely say it’s from everyone on the team, even if he did pay for everything in the basket himself. he also goes out of his way to get presents for people he cares about (à la the halloween special where he got that darth vader mask for jack). included in the basket are some office supplies, flowers (of course), candies, and maybe a replacement of something you broke (like your favourite mug).

spencer reid will make sure to get you something that is functional from both an aesthetic standpoint and a practical one. of course, he’ll likely get you rare books with the pages yellow and worn from use, but are still delightfully charming, even if you’re not that interested in the contents of those pages. he’ll also treat you to a sort of last-minute-birthday-breakfast if you’re all called in to work, where he’ll get you your favourite pastry and coffee/tea, just the way you like it. antiquities are also a go to, whether it’s jewellery or otherwise.

emily prentiss is an enigma when it comes to gift giving; nobody knows what she’s getting for you, and nobody knows if it’s going to be a joke present or a genuinely thoughtful one (or some combination of the two). one present she might get for you are aphrodisiac chocolates because “you’ll never know if you get lucky” (her words).

derek morgan likely wouldn’t get you a genuinely thoughtful gift at first if you were relatively new to the team. but after some time on cases and at the office and such, he will put effort into his gifts. so for your first birthday with the team, he might play it safe by getting you gift cards; but after getting to know you more, he’ll get you something that is geared to your tastes, but it will be a gift that will remind you of him. although, he is just as likely as emily to get you a joke present, if not more.

jennifer jareau’s presents are quite rushed on account of her having to balance being an agent and a mom, but she does put a lot of heart into them. she knows more than anyone how taxing the job can get at times, so expect some well-deserved spa day coupons that she managed to find strewn around her place. it’s possible she’ll get you a couple instead of one. she will also likely give you a couple drawings henry and michael made, and you can bet that you’ll hang that up on your fridge at home.

david rossi in the early seasons (especially season three) would very likely not even plan on getting you a present unless he was reminded by hotch. however, in the later seasons, rossi definitely acts like the wine aunt who gives you straight up cash as a present. expect anywhere from $100 – $1k+, he has to use up the money he got from being a best-selling author somehow. also alcohol; he will get you expensive bottles of whiskey, scotch or wine, no room for argument (unless you have a legitimate reason).

penelope garcia goes all out for your birthday; obviously she puts the most effort in her gifts and more. for her presents, she will buy quite a lot, to the point where she might spend maybe half her pay check on the presents. her gifts mostly consist of decorations mostly for aesthetic purposes, but has little to do with everyday use. possible presents coming from her include paintings, pillows, fidget toys and mugs, all of which are very colourful. but she doesn’t just stop there with presents; she will likely organize a group dinner (or maybe a group breakfast, just in case of a possible case).

tara lewis is simultaneously the least expected and most expected member of the team to be a chaotic gift giver. she will also likely get you a joke present but while emily would get you something along the lines of a prank present, tara’s presents would be subtle and remind you of inside jokes either within the team or just between the two of you. also, expect alcohol, quite a number of the team will get you a bottle, including tara.

luke alvez definitely tries the hardest with his gifts (after penelope, of course), especially if he’s newer on the team. he’ll ask around for any ideas, either on what to get you or what kind of person you are with the team so he can figure it out for himself. if you have a dog (or two…or five), he will spoil the dog rotten with new toys, biscuits or dog accessories — which he probably collaborated with penelope on.

elle greenaway’s presents are ones that you shouldn’t really open with most of the team present because of their explicit nature. she’ll probably get you incredibly revealing swimwear (yet another collaboration with penelope), and also alcohol — specifically hard liquor. those are likely to be the only presents that you can actually open in front of everybody on the team without getting a lot of stares.

taglist @queermaxwooo @pleasantwitchgarden @hbwrelic @kissesforapence @theoraekenslover join the taglist!

[acidsoju]

FESTIVAL

genre: romance, fluff, slice of life, college au, non idol. pairing: guitarist! beomgyu x college student! reader warnings: lots of fluff, kinda corny, , alcohol use, a little suggestive at the end. word count: 7.7k summary: you thought this year's festival was going to be a bummer like last year's, until you found yourself stuck spending the three whole days of it with that pretty guitarist boy that caught your eye.

JESUS, THE PLACE WAS CROWDED. You had never seen so many people agglomerating on campus like today― suddenly feeling very lucky for being stuck at the mini bar your class had set for this year’s festival, wiping glasses and pouring down alcohol to your teachers in hopes they would remember this small act of kindness from you when they graded your exams.

Today was just the first out of three whole, long days where your university held this fun festival celebrating its students and allowing them to have some fun for their hard efforts throughout the year. The student council members had taken care of everything; from decorating the whole place with banners and garlands to the big scenario that stood in between the main building’s entrance and the people around campus.

On stage already were some majors from dramatic arts displaying and ending a modern version of Romeo and Juliet; Romeo being, in fact, your dearest friend Yeonjun, who blew kisses to the public after bowing and receiving a bucket of flowers that was thrown at him; his keen eyes spotted you leaning against the counter, softly smiling at him and he lifted a flower in your direction, charmingly winking his eye at you. You raised a cup filled with some sweet alcohol and threw your head back, feeling the burning liquid sliding down your throat.

As night fell upon you, more people arrived and your mini bar became the top spot to hang out so you found yourself pretty busy making some drinks to your classmates and some more teachers, who would tell you to drink with caution but still accept the free drink you offered them.

“Hey y/n, you should take a break" was what told you one of your classmates, tightening the apron around his waist. “You’ve been on since we opened up, why don’t you go take a look at the festival? This year’s supposed to be bigger than the last one.”

Well, that you could tell. Still, thanking your classmate and taking off your apron, you did just as advised and walked around campus, looking curiously at other classes’ stands, greeting some people you knew, laughing at others failing their attempts to win some prizes at the games. It was a really nice atmospher... until it wasn’t and you were falling to the cold floor on your butt.

You blinked in astonishment a few times, people rushing around you but not with any intentions of helping you; instead, they all gathered -even more if it was possible- near the stage where colorful light reflectors starting pointing around― to the night sky, moving to the people who cheered on loudly. What was it? Had the student council brought some group like Seventeen? Because if it was that, then you would have to break into the sea of people to be on the first row.

“Comfortable down there?” your eyes flicked up to boy standing tall in front of you, lights blinding you for a second before they moved away from your eyes and let you take a proper look at him. A stretched palm appeared in your camp of vision. “Need a hand?”

“… Yeah, thanks” you said grabbing the warm hand that pulled you up easily, your chest bumping against his; your eyes met a pair of brown, shiny eyes with amusement reflecting on them. Forcing yourself to let go of the hand that wasn’t letting yours go, you cleared your throat, putting some distance between your bodies. “Well… goodbye.”

“Ah-“

You turned on your heels and went back to your class’ mini bar; your classmate rising an eyebrow at you for your short break but still accepting gladly your help as people didn’t stop gathering around it. With your apron back around your waist, you started to make the ordered drinks and delivered them to the small tables organized in front of your stand.

“Ah, ah- Hello, one, two, three” a gentle, deep voice echoed through campus, caughting everyone’s attention; the people in front of the scenario cheered loudly and all eyes were suddenly on the single figure of a boy sitting down on a chair in the middle of the stage, a guitar resting on his lap and a soft, unbothered smirk plastered on his face. “Good afternoon, N University! How are y’all feeling on this fine summer night?”

It was that boy who had helped you up just a few minutes ago. You leaned yourself against the counter bar, enjoying the little time you had to take a break thanks to him caughting all the attention. You actually felt intrigued, your eyes fixated on him as he chatted and interacted with the growing crowd. He looked so at ease even with so many people staring directly at him― that did impress you.

“For those who know me, it’s good seeing you again! And for those who don’t…” you weren’t sure because you weren’t that close to the stage but for a second it seemed like his eyes stared directly at yours, his eyebrows moving up slightly before his eyes were somewhere else. You gulped. “… My name’s Beomgyu, nice to meet you.”

Then his slender fingers started strumming down a soft melody that was followed by his actually really pretty voice. You closed your mouth the moment you realized it had been open this whole time in amazement and enjoyed the melodies he created, the music piercing through your ears and your mind. It wasn’t a song you knew; could it be a song he had written?

Your thoughts completely disappeared from your mind when you ­-surely this time- locked eyes with him, his voice never faltering while singing the nice verses and his smile widening playfully, his eyebrows jumping smuggly, like they were waving at you.

“Your friend’s really good” said your classmate leaning against the counter next to you. You frowned, not really looking away from the boy on stage whose eyes didn’t move from you either.

“He’s not my friend” you mumbled.

Beomgyu sang a few more songs; some of them you knew and some others, you didn’t but still sang along to the ones you recognized while you continue to serve the people waiting for their drinks once they woke up from that small indulged dream Beomgyu’s voice put them in. After his show ended, other people went up on stage and carried on with the festival activities.

“Y/n, I’m sorry to ask you this but could you take care of things here on your own for a moment? My girlfriend really wants to take a look around” said your classmate pleading with his hands, almost falling t to is knees in front of you; it was probably the busiest time you were having but still, he had made you take a break and you felt like you owned him so you nodded and laughed at his excited self running to a girl waiting for him on the back of the mini bar barely taking off his apron and throwing it behind the counter.

It wasn’t long till you regretted letting your classmate go― the tables were full and some people very impatient. You hurried the most you could but still got some complaints that made you feel awful and your mind started buzzling in annoyance as you started making more mistakes in the making of the drinks; that was why you didn’t hear when someone stood on the other side of the counter and leaned in, observing you as you cursed under your breath for another mistake in the pouring percentage.

“Hello again” you almost jumped away when you looked up only to find Beomgyu resting his chin over the palm of his hand, smiling softly at you. He chuckled at the confusion tinting your face. “I was coming here to have a drink at first, but it looks you’re kinda busy so I thought-“ he walked around the counter to where you were, his smile widening as you took a step back; he crouched down to grab the abandoned apron on the floor and quickly tied it up around his waist. “-you would like some help.”

You were in no place to decline his offer; honestly, you were crazy if you rejected it.

“Yeah, thanks” you said peeking at the full tables waiting for you, a sigh leaving your lips. “Could you go over there and take their orders? I’ll make the drinks.”

“On it, boss.”

Soon, you both found a nice pace at things; Beomgyu would go to the tables, write down the drinks they’d order and come back to stick the small notes on a line while you’d make them in the order he took them, placing the ready-to-go ones on your free side of the counter, where Beomgyu would grab them and quickly delivered to the tables.

“What’s this?” he asked eyeing a pair of small glasses next to you that he didn’t remember writing down; you softly pushed one to him and grabbed the other one, lifting it up in the air.

“A shot for us, the hard-workers” you stated almost taking the shot when you were stopped by the grip on your lifted hand, your eyebrows narrowing.

“Love shot!” he exclaimed with a big smile on his face, intertwining your arms and pulling you closer; his eyes never left yours while he threw back his head and downed the liquid. You imitated him and felt your face flush red but you weren’t sure if it was because of the alcohol or because when you looked again to the front, you found his face closer than before nodding in satisfaction. "Atta girl."

“Excuse me? I’d like to order!” called someone from a table behind, popping up your little bubble.

“Coming!” replied Beomgyu letting go of your arm and walking away.

It was really late when people decided to leave and it was even more late when you and Beomgyu finished up cleaning and piling up the tables behind the counter, ready to be used for tomorrow. You arched an eyebrow when your classmate returned just after cleaning everything up but understood as soon as you saw the lipstick marks around his neck and his disheveled state.

“So, so sorry” he said apologetically, eyes filled with guilt. “I really did lost track of time, I’m so sorry, y/n.”

“It’s okay, really. I mean, at first I really wanted to murder you with my own hands but I forgot about it because someone else helped me" you looked over your shoulder at Beomgyu, who stood and looked away pretending he wasn’t caught hearing your conversation, whistling innocently.

“It’s really late, though. Would you like a ride home?” you classmate offered. It wasn’t a bad idea but before you could agree, because you were really tired and didn’t feel like taking a taxi, a voice came from behind you, suddenly so close that you flinched surprised.

“It’s fine, I’ll take her home” said Beomgyu, his warm breath fanning over the top of your head. Your classmate scanned the boy suspiciously before looking at your concerned.

“I thought you said he wasn’t your friend.”

Your cheeks burned.

Your classmate apologized once more before walking away, hand in hand with his girlfriend. Around campus, the reflectors stared turning off one by one. Grabbing your bag and hanging it on your shoulder, you stood awkwardly before the boy, dark brown eyes never left you as you moved around.

“Thanks a lot for today, Beomgyu…” you mumbled, finding the tip of your shoes much more interesting -nor really- than the pretty boy in front of you. Still, trying not to be impolite to your literal savior, you lifted your gaze and locked eyes with him. “I own you a big time for this.”

“Two, actually” he replied, his hands slipping in his pockets, a lazy smile drawing in his face as he shrugged. You scoffed; you didn’t think he would count helping you up as a favor. “It’ll be one if you let me take you home” he took a step closer, arching an eyebrow when you flinched. “Do I make you nervous, boss?” He practically purred, enjoying the obvious fact.

He took another step closer already making you tilt your head up to look into his eyes, glinting in the night as he towered over you; liking the way you visibly fought not to break the eye contact that unspeakably turned into a staring contest between you two.

“So, gorgeous? What do you say?” his hand left his pocket as he twirled a lost strand of hair in his finger before putting it behind your red ear. “I’m taking you to my place if you don’t answer me.”

-

You never were one to break people into your house. Mostly because it was a house full of people; from your old granma to your youngest siblings who were like little devils; whatever time it was, someone would be at home. Your parents were the less frequent there, only coming back home after dinner due to their jobs; your older brother had moved into his own place but still spent most of his free time in the family house, even thought his room had been transformed into a storage room; and your grandma practically never left, always baking and taking care of your siblings.

 So, when that night Beomgyu said: “Y’know… I actually live really far from here.”

You couldn’t help but to burst out laughing on his face, his coquettish smile dropping the second you did and looking at you like you were some sort of mad person.

“Well, that’s really sad, buddy” you said after you calmed yourself down, a few amused tears in the corners of your eyes.. “We don’t have any guest room, I can give you some money to grab a cab if you want and then we’ll be even.”

“Don’t wanna” he replied immediatly, a small pout in his lips appeared barely a second before it stretched again into his cheshire smile. “How about your room?”

This time it was your smile falling from your face.

Beomgyu grabbed your hand and pulled you closer, chest pressing against chest. His warm breath hit against your face and you looked up, surely looking terrified because Beomgyu couldn’t hold the laugh that came from him when he took a good look at your face.

“It’s really late, what if something happens to me on my way home?” he said almost in an inaudible plead, his thumb drawing circles in the back of your hand. You opened your mouth to protest some more but got cut off by him, already sensing you weren’t giving in. “I promise we won’t get caught, I’m sneaky like a cat.”

It wasn’t like your brother never broke someone in while he lived here, you thought while you dragged Beomgyu up the stairs of the silent house. You motioned for him to stay silent pressing your finger against your lips before you tiptoed down the hall till your room, closing the door silently behind you and sighting in relief after succeeding at sneaking the guy in.

Beomgyu peeked around your room, watching carefully every little thing you owned; from the books piling up in your desk to your cute pink panties thrown in a corner of the room. He couldn’t help but laugh at the cute cherries that adorned your underwear, his laugh soon being muffled by the palm of your hand covering his mouth, his smile softening underneath it, his eyebrows raising at your boldness.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up" you whispered, pleading with your eyes. A light came from the hall behind your door and you looked over your shoulder in terror, quickly recognizing the steps of your father approaching. You, faster than ever, pushed the boy onto your bed before you threw yourself in and covered both bodies with your bedcovers, trying to hide the visible bulk on your bed that wasn’t you.

“Sweetie? Is that you?” asked your father from the other side of your door after softly knocking on the wood. You bit down your lips, praying in your mind that he wouldn’t open the door and that the boy underneath the cover could stop fucking squirming and brushing his hands against the exposed skin on your waist.

“Y-yeah, dad. I’m home” you answer trying to sound like you always did. You held your breath the few seconds of silence before your father spoke again.

“It’s really late, get some sleep, honey” he said sweetly before walking away from your door and back to his room. After you heard his door shutting down, you breathed again.

“Coast is clear” wou whispered lifting up the cover to look at Beomgyu. You felt your cheeks burn; his big, warm hands were grabbing your waist while his face was almost pressed down against your stomach, the rest of his body siquirming in between your legs as he stretched them.

“Aw, I was really comfy down there” he whined, drawing circles on the skin of your waist while pushing himself up, his head falling next to yours over you pillow and the hold in your body making you turn around to face him. “Hello” he purred.

You lifted up your hand to softly brush away the little hairs falling against his eyes; he leaning into your touch and brushing his nose against the palm of your hand, before placing down a kiss on the same spot, humming at the warmth your body radiated.

“W-we should get some sleep” you said stumbling on your own words while looking down at his darted open lips against your hand. He licked his lips.

“We should” he mumbled, leaning in closer to your face, his breath hitting against your lips while his eyes looked down on them eagerly. “Shouldn’t we?”

You opened your mouth to answer but nothing really came of as you felt so confused. Beomgyu saw the perfect opportunity and took it, closing the distance between your lips. You inhaled sharply, your senses getting intoxicated by his scent and feeling yourself melt under his touch. Your already opened mouth giving him all the access he wanted to explore around with his hot tongue.

His soft lips taking control over yours and his raw tongue owning your mouth completely made you pressed the bottom of your body against his; his lips curled up into a smirk against yours at your action before he pulled away, the hold in your waist tightening. His eyes scanned your panting-self, satisfaction washing over his face as he hummed delightful.

“We really should get some sleep” he said, hand going up to cup your face and caress your cheek. You nodded lost in the reminiscence of his taste and feeling your eyelids heavy, probably due to being actually exhausted, and turned around, your back pressed against his chest when he pulled you closer and your legs intertwined. Beomgyu’s face buried in the spot between your neck and shoulder, and inhaled deeply before falling asleep.

-

Festival’s second day was on. And surely, it was even busier that the first one. Feeling yourself already exhausted after the frenetic morning you’d had sneaking out certain boy from your room without your whole family noticing plus the popular your mini bar stand became, your first shot was around seven p.m.

If you were completely honest, you had slept really well. More than ever, in fact. Walking up in the middle of the night embraced in the warmth of a pretty boy’s body was heaven compared to waking up alone and cold. But you weren’t going to be honest.

“You sure I won’t die if I fall from here?” Beomgyu had asked you, eyes looking down from your window to your yard while you quickly packed some things in your bag; you had tried to pull the most convinced smile for the boy’s reassurance but you clearly failed at it when his lips darted open and he gulped loudly. “What about a goodbye kiss first?”

You rolled your eyes at his smooth comment, trying to ignore the warm feeling up in your chest, and placed an open palm against his chest; Beomgyu was sure you were going to kiss him but he surely was surprised when you pushed him out of your window to your balcony, driving him to the edge.

“A kiss if you survive.”

After looking at Beomgyu clumsily slidding down the big tree outside of your window, praying that nobody from your family would be near the scene the moment his feet would touch the floor, and sighing in relieve while he waved at you with a proud smile on his face, you went down your stairs hearing the familiar sound of people having breakfast together.

Your grandmother at the end of the table smiled sweetly at the sight of you and motioned for you to take a sit and have some breakfast with the rest of the family, which you, of course, couldn’t refuse. You took a seat down in between your younger siblings and in front of your parents, who greeted with you with the same love as always.

You almost felt relived that you weren’t caught when your phone vibrated on your pocket and you choked out on a piece of toast after reading the message from your brother.

bro: yo bro: *attached image* bro: caught this dude coming down from your fucking window ???? bro: r u okay bro: should i take him to the cops or you: OMG DONT bro: … bro: i see … bro: my sisters all grown up now bro: im definitely taking him to the cops

When you had gotten out of your house and saw no one around, you panicked and called your brother only to find out he was just joking about the whole ‘taking your boyfriend to the cops, I’m not that old fashioned y’know’, had he said.

“So... he just walked away?” wou asked your brother throught your phone, after repeating at least three time he wasn’t your boyfriend.

“Yeah, he said he lives nearby or whatever.”

“Ah.”

Moral of the story was, definitely ask the boy you’re breaking into your house for his number first.

“Baby, where are you?” you snapped back into reality when Yeonjun placed his hand on top of your head, forcing you to look up at his curious eyes. “Been talking to you for like five minutes and nothing.”

“… Sorry, didn’t sleep that well last night.”

Yeonjun hummed nodding to your excuse, looking at you with worry in his eyes. You felt a little bad lying to him but, as said before, you weren’t going to be honest with yourself.

“Lucky for you, you have me all for yourself today" he said smiling sweetly, taking off the hand from your head. You smiled gratefully; Yeonjun had been helping at the mini bar since it opened early as his play was only yesterday: ‘schedules for each day are different’ he had said when you asked him why wasn’t he on stage already.

Did that mean Beomgyu wasn’t performing tonight?

“Maybe you should take a break? I’m sure me and Soobin can handle this by ourselves for a while” Yeonjun pointed with his thumb at the poor overwhelmed boy who had been dragged into the situation by him, cheeks red as he went on and on delivering drinks to the tables.

“Maybe later” you said, don't liking the thought of leaving these two boys in charge. Soon, after washing your face trying to wake up properly, you got into work again. Soobin was grateful to you for switching up with him the task, now he behind the counter making the drinks and you taking order and delivering.

“Hey, what’d you like?” you automatically asked walking to a just taken table, eyes fixated on the notepad on your hand waiting to write down the order.

“You, gorgeousy” you looked up at the voice that had been haunting you all day; a pair of brown eyes looking back at you delighted, a playful smirk drawn on his pretty face. Beomgyu leaned in the table, chin resting in the palm of his hand. “Long time no see, missed you so much.”

You licked your lips, stopping the smile on your face from widening too much. “We saw each other this morning.”

“Oh, I know, just wanted you to remember it” you internally sighed; if only he knew you hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. His eyes trailed behind you, an eyebrow raising. “Guess you don’t need my help today.”

You looked over your shoulder; Yeonjun was taking the order of some table filled with pretty college girls who sent flirtatious smiles at your friend and he received them and delivered back as usual, his eyes going up at you from time to time. As he caught you staring at him, he motioned at the boy sat behind you curiously, who answered only moving your lips: ‘tell you later’.

When you looked back at Beomgyu, you didn’t meet his eyes but his chest. Looking up, his smile was still there but didn’t reach his eyes this time. You tilted your head; he was so easy to read.

“You wanna help?”

Beomgyu licked his lips at the sight of you, so sweet with your shiny eyes looking at him only.

“I wanna help you” he tilted his head closer to yours, your foreheads almost pressing together.

That day all of you worked even harder; Beomgyu was sent to help Soobin make the drinks behind the counter which, it seemed, wasn’t a decision he liked so much. As you went on and on serving tables, your muscles became sore and your eyes heavy. The only moment you did stop was when people’s attention got caught by the ones performing on stage; you’d lean yourself over the counter and chitchat with Beomgyu, taking a love shot ‘as a tradition’ he said, and forcing Soobin to take one too, even thought he had said he was a terrible drinker.

“Baby, I’m so tired!” Yeonjun reached your side, sliding his arm over your shoulder and pressing down his cheek on top of your head. “Oh, what a blessed upon soul you are, being gifted a friend as loyal as I” He recited dramatically; a hand extended on the air. “For this big ass favor, you shall buy my meal till death falls upon me” you couldn’t help but giggle at your friend.

Of course, your laugh stopped when a glass was put down hardly against the counter; the attention shifting to Beomgyu who poured down some dark liquor with a snarl in his face. Yeonjun snickered and shifted his position, standing behind you and looming over your shoulder while his hands clasped around your waist. Soobin could only look alarmed at the boys.

“O’ beauty of this world, if a penny you shan't have, a kiss I shall accept in your debt's place-“

“Yo, Shakespeare boy! Go wipe clean that table” Beomgyu snarled at your friend, cutting him off and throwing a piece of clothe at his face. You heard Yeonjun snickering on your back. “… Oops.”

“Where did you get this one?” your friend whispered in your ear, only for you to hear before going to do as such. You stared open-mouthed at Beomgyu, whose eyes didn’t meet yours as he made some more drinks.

“Hey, why are you so jealous?” you asked him, earning a glare from his pretty, snappy eyes. He opened his big mouth, gasping dramatically.

“Who’s jealous? I’m not.”

You snickered. “Oh, please. You are good at singing, not acting.”

Beomgyu pouted, looking away, his ears burning red. “Whatever.”

Day two ended around the same hour as day one. This time things got clean up faster as you were two more people than last night. You were glad that, at the end of the night, Beomgyu seemed to get along pretty well at least with Soobin. While his relationship with Yeonjun… Well, that made your head hurt. You internally wrote down not to get them together on the same place ever again if you didn’t want becoming a babysitter.

“So you got a boyfriend and never told me?” Yeonjun mumbled next to you as you piled up the last chair behind the counter, taking advantage of the fact your guardian dog was busy chattering with Soobin. Your friend sighed dramatically and looked at the horizon. “I don’t know how I’ll get over this.”

“He’s not my-

“Oh, oh, oh, oh, here he comes, ha, seriously…” Yeonjun laughed softly watching live how Beomgyu noticed him talking, oh so close, to you and opened his mouth offended, before jogging to your side, his pretty hair flying back.

“Hey y/n, let’s go, I’m so tired already, you only use me to help you out” he whined grabbing your hand and pulling you closer to him, glaring over your head at Yeonjun whose lips stretched into a cocky smile.

“Oh? But I was planning on taking her home tonight?” god, it seemed like your friend loved the drama.

“No way!” Beomgyu hugged you closer. “She’s staying over at my place tonight.”

“I- what?”

-

“Welcome!” Beomgyu exclaimed, pushing you inside his house, practically beaming.

You looked around the place; it had some really nice and comfy vibes, just like him, also it was surprisingly tidier that you imagined when Beomgyu told you he lived alone. The warm lightning made the place looked cozy already, but the house decorations reminded you of your grandma’s room.

Beomgyu’s big hands placed themselves on your back as he pushed softly into the kitchen and took out a chair for you to seat. You watched how he moved around the kitchen fetching a plate filled with chocolate chip cookies for you and a cup that was filled with warm milk. Beomgyu, with a cup of his own, took the chair next to you but moving it around for him to be facing you instead.

“I don’t like Yeonjun” he blurted out, sipping down on the warm milk. You laughed; he was such a easy puppy to read.

“I realized.” “He’s so annoying.” “He’s my friend.” “Well, he shouldn’t.”

You rolled your eyes and munched on the cookie, humming delighted at his taste, trying to change the topic. “Hey, these are really good. Where did you buy them?”

“Really? Gimme some” he leaned closer and opened his mouth, waiting for you to fed him the cookie. You scoffed but still put the cookie at his mouth reach, mumbling a soft ‘hey’ when his teeth purposely yet softly nibbled down at your fingers, a playful tingling in his eyes. He hummed munching down at the cookie while your eyes were focused on the crumbs in the corner of his lips.

“Come here” you said grabbing his chin with a hand and wiping away the crumbs with your thumb. Your eyes went up from his lips to his eyes staring intensely at you, freezing you on your spot. Beomgyu leaned into your touch and bumped his nose against yours, brushing it softly.

“You still own me a kiss” he licked his lips, a smile widening in his face.

“I know.”

Your hand went up from his chin to his cheek before closing the distance between you two; Beomgyu tasting like chocolate cookies and warm milk. His hands grabbed each side of your face and leaned closer to you, as closer as one could sitting down on some chairs in the kitchen. His lips moved so experimentally over yours, tracing the fine line of your lips with his tongue before meeting your own.

Beomgyu got up from the chair, never breaking the kiss apart, and towered over you. His hands found a place in your waist before he helped you up, this time your body leaning against his as he pressed his back against the kitchen counter for stability.

“This is bad, so bad” he mumbled under the kiss, drunk on the taste of your lips. “I could get used to this, to you, gorgeous.”

“Doesn’t sound that bad to me" you replied, pecking at his bottom lip one, two, even three times, completely focused on your very important task. Beomgyu smirked, his thumbs caressing the exposed skin on your waist.

“Of course it doesn’t.”

That night you ended up under Beomgyu’s covers, bodies intertwined while being drunk on each other kisses. You were the first one to give in to sleep, laying over Beomgyu’s chest, cheek pressed against it making a pout form on your pretty, swollen and darted open lips. His fingers caressing sweetly your hair, inhaling your scent and falling to sleep hypnotized by the sound of your heartbeat against his.

-

If Beomgyu had to count on the best things that happened in his life, number one would be the first time he played on a stage with a full crowd and the second one would have been the moment he opened his eyes that morning and found you sleeping soundly in between his arms. The way your chest softly raised up and down at your steady breaths, your barely opened lips that he so badly wanted to kiss the moment his eyes fell upon, your hands barely holding around his frame.

God, you drove him insane.

Giving in to his intrusive thoughts, his arms rounded your waist and pulled you closer to him, hugging you against his body as he inhaled your sweet scent; you groaned in your sleep, annoyed. Beomgyu brushed the tip of his nose against the skin in your neck making you squirmed under his touch. Following an invisible trail up to your ear, your senses awakened when a sweet, very deep spoke into it, hot breath making you flinch.

“Morning, gorgeous.”

Well, wasn’t this a sight from heavens? Beomgyu lazily smiled at you, while you blinked a few times adjusting to the light in the room and looked groggily at the boy in front of you. Maybe you were still dreaming? You reached out your hand and brushed his disheveled hair back; how was his hair softer than yours?

“You’re real” you mumbled, a yawn in between, earning a soft laugh from him.

“Aw, were you dreaming about me?”

“Yeah, a nightmare” you replied with a softl laugh, his smile disappearing from his face, and you quickly pecked his plump lips transforming the fine line of his lips into a small pout. “Morning to you too,” then you lifted up your body from the bed, making Beomgyu felt so cold at the body heat you took away from him, while you looked around the place. “you’re rooms so pretty.”

“Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” “That’s not how it works.”

Beomgyu was about to pull in a hug again and covered the both of you with his bedcover but you got out the bed faster than he thought. He whined silently as his hands went to the back of his head, keeping up his head to look at you. “Where are you going? Come back, I’m cold.”

“Gotta go home and change clothes…” you said, lazily picking up your phone from inside your bag and replying to a few texts from Yeonjun and your parents. “Maybe take a shower, if there’s time…”

“You can do that here” your eyes flicked quickly from your phone screen to his grinning face before snorting, typing down a short ‘crashed at some friend’s last night, we drank a little and it was kinda late, ily see u later xoxo’ at your father. “I need to shower too, anyway.”

“Anyway, I don’t have any clean clothes in here.”

“Use mine.”

“Wow, you’re really making it difficult for me to go, uh?” you smirked, putting your phone back down and walking to the edge of the bed where the boy laid. His hands quickly found the back of your thighs and pushed you over him, humming at the weight of you down on him and the pleasant heat of your body warming up his own, his hands brushing up from the back of your thighs to your waist.

“I lend you some clothes, you wash up here, I’ll even make you some really good breakfast,” his thumps sweetly drew circles in your skin, glinting eyes staring into yours expectantly. “what’ya say?”

“… Fine, you win. But I really should go home tonight.”

If Beomgyu had to count on the best things that happened in his life, number three would be the sight of you just out of the shower wearing his pretty big clothes, waterdrops falling to the floor from the ends of your hair, while you chew on the breakfast he had made for you.

“I really like your house" you said, again mesmerized by the grandma-like furniture that made the place look so cozy. Beomgyu beamed at your words.

“You can move in here with me then” you almost choke on the coffee after hearing him speak. A shade a pink tinted his ears at your reaction and he licked his lips, smiling kinda embarrassed. “Too soon?”

Nodding, your eyes too focused on the really good scrambled eggs in your plate, you replied. “Too soon, Gyu.”

-

Festival's last day was thrilling; people seemed to tripled by second and, of course, that meant more work to do. As always, you were thankful for all the help you could get; Yeonjun had brought, besides Soobin who had been the first to arrive after you, a few more friends of his from his drama club who had no problem helping a friend of a friend out. While Beomgyu had apologized at least five times on your way to the festival for not being able to help today, after hall he had a performance to do.

“Bottoms up!” cheered Yeonjun, grabbing your wrist and pulling you into a small circle of people, all your friendly co-workers, where in the middle were placed the tiny glasses for the shots. Yeonjun hissed after taking his shot. “Today we got wasted, I say!”

“Probably y/n should, she’s the one who had work here all three days” pointed out Taehyun.

“Right, let’s get our girl wasted!” agreed your dear friend, filling up the glass for another shot for you specifically.

A few hours passed and you found yourself pretty tipsy, your handwriting messing up more each time you got someone’s order down. The boys decided to put you behind the counter, switching with Soobin who took your place taking orders. You made the drinks the best you could, trying not to spill more alcohol that you had already but still, it was hard as your gaze was too unfocused. Pouting as Yeonjun giggled at your drunken-self, you placed down the bottle and rested your head on your hands, trying to maintain your balance.

“Ah, fuck…” You hissed at the sudden squeak from the speakers that made your head hurt like hell, shifting your gaze to the stage. Scrunching your eyes, you were able to tell it was Beomgyu already on stage, the guitar on his hands, the pretty smile on his lips, the mischievous glint in his eyes as he looked around and finally found you staring at him. Your ears heated up and you didn’t fight the smile on your own face, sighting as a teenager on her first love you mumbled for yourself: “He’s so cool…”

“Ew.” Said Yeonjun beside you.

“Imma take a break now, ‘kay?” You told your friend, your eyes never looking away from the boy on stage as you walked away from the mini bar, not really hearing Yeonjun’s response.

You stood somewhere that wasn’t that much filled with people, grabbing a light pole and leaning against it for support as you watched mesmerized at the boy, strumming his guitar, his pretty, really pretty, voice reaching your ears from the speakers. The way he’d tilt his head to move the hair out of his face, the way his soft lips brushed against the mic; he was shining, you thought. He’s a real star.

You don’t know how much time passed as you watch Beomgyu’s performance, but when you realized it had ended and he was no longer on stage, you blinked alarmed and look around. What way was the minibar again? Taking a few steps wherever you thought it was the right path, you staggered and almost fell to the ground if it weren’t for the hand grabbing your arm and pulling you back.

“Hey, watch out! You okay? Oh my god, are you drunk?”

The sweet voice of the boy reached your ears and you smiled, turning around and throwing your arms over his shoulder, your feet barely touching the floor with your tiptoes.

“Hi baby,” You whispered, your face so close to his that your hot breath hit against his lips, your eyes too focused on those pretty, soft lips you liked to notice the surprised look on his face. Still, his arms wrapped around you, mostly to support you from falling on your own feet again. “god, missed you so bad, you looked so hot up there, I really wanted to go up and kissed you in front of everyone here…”

Beomgyu cooed, his eyes sparkling in delight. Just how much had you drink while he was gone?

“Someone’s pretty wasted here,” he said softly, watching how you mindlessly brushed your upper lip against his bottom one. “What should I do with you, gorgeous? I don’t think you can go home like this.” Beomgyu wasn’t fond of people ignoring him when he talked, but he found himself enjoying this little moment where you, cheeks tinted pink, eyes glossy fixated on his mouth, completely ignored every sound that reached your ears; it was pretty fucking cute. “Let’s go back to my place, okay?”

Beomgyu, who didn’t think things through, barely managed to dragged you back to his home, after having take you back at the minibar to pick your things up where he found that annoying one of your friend panicked trying to call you. Yeonjun was cautious of letting his drunk friend go anywhere with a man he barely knew, but couldn’t quite fight your big, pleading eyes in his direction while you hugged Beomgyu’s arm.

“It’s not like it’s my first time staying at his place.” You mumbled at your friend, not really noticing the cocky smile on Beomgyu’s face.

The boy pushed open his door and hold it while softly pulling you inside. After placing down your and his own things on his couch, he led the way to his bedroom, his big hand grabbing yours and drawing circles with his thumps in the back of your palm.

“Let me get you some clothes to sleep, gorgeous.” He said, sitting you down on his bed and turning around, his back facing you, while opening up his closet. The pair of pajama shorts and the t-shirt in his hands fell to the ground when he turned around to you, again, and saw how you slid off the -actually, his- shirt you were wearing, a cute, black bra holding your breasts.

You smiled lazily at the boy and unbuttoned your jeans, ready to pull them off too, when his hand grabbed yours stopping you from removing another piece of cloth. You looked up, confused, eyebrows furrowing, into Beomgyu’s panicked eyes.

“What?” You mumbled. “I’m hot.”

You are, thought Beomgyu fighting the insanely strong urge to look down.

“Here,” he lifted up your hands and placed down his new clothes on your before taking a step back, ears visibly so red. “change into this- W-wait! I’m still here!”

Beomgyu walked out of his bathroom in his pajamas, praying he wouldn’t found naked laying on his bed. Not today at least, you were drunk.

“Hey gorgeous, feeling okay?”

You sat on his bed, legs crossed and a pretty pout on your lips. Beomgyu offered you a glass of fresh water that you almost emptied while he opened up the bedcovers and placed down the glass on his bedside table.

“Come here.” He hugged you from behind, falling on his back and taking you down with him. You turned around, adjusting your body over his before your lips were tracing an invisible path up from his jawline to his lips. Beomgyu closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of your lips against his skin and returning the deep kiss when your lips connected.

His hands lazily rested on your sides, brushing up and down your skin while your moved to straddle him, one knee against each side of his hips. Tilting your head slightly, you deepened the kiss and opened your mouth to trace the line of his lips with your tongue, hearing a soft sigh spacing from the boy.

“Open your mouth, please…” You said, barely putting some distance between your mouths. Beomgyu licked his lips, eyes fluttering open to watch the needy look on your face. He complied, lips barely parting open before you closed the distance again, your tongue softly moving into his mouth and caressing his.

Kisses were everywhere. From his mouth, you travelled to his cheek and then down to the line of his jaw, biting softly at the sharpness of it earning an almost inaudible hiss from the boy underneath you.

“He-hey, we should… god, we should stop here.” He sighed, eyes betraying him and closing at the feeling of you kissing and biting the skin of his neck. You ignored him and continued your job arduously, wanting to his more of the sounds Beomgyu could make. But you were impeded from it when the boy swiftly switched places with you, now your back pressing against the mattress and him straddling your hips. “Relax, gorgeous, I don’t want you doing anything you won’t remember tomorrow.”

You squirmed underneath him and pleaded with your eyes, earning a mocking smile from his lips before he leaned in and planted a chaste kiss on your forehead, his hands holding firmly your waist.

“Let’s get some sleep, okay?” He whispered in your ear, before kissing against it feeling as you shivered at the touch. Then he went down and hovered over your neck, humming at your smell. “If you’re good tomorrow maybe I’ll let you continue where you left off…” His hot breath against your skin made your own got goosebumps. Beomgyu trailed down his face, reaching the level of your stomach and brushed his nose against your exposed skin, eyes looking up at yours. “Sounds good, gorgeous?” He whispered against the skin in your abdomen, before placing a last, soft kiss on the spot.

You sighed, wanting to feel more of his lips on your body but still nodded. Beomgyu smiled and laid down beside you, arms always tugging you closer.

“Sleep tight, gorgeous.”

[emojellyace08]

Lookism Characters when it's your birthday!!!

A/N: It's my birthday todayyyy!!! So if you share the same birthdate with me or you happen to scroll this down on your own special day and if you're not on the mood, this is for you!

Daniel Park/Zack Lee/Eli Jang/Sally Park/Mira Kim/Crystal Choi/Mary Kim/Zoe Park/Jace Park/Jay Hong/Heather/Jake Kim/Yoojin/Jihan Kwak/Gapryong Kim/Jinyeong Park/Sinu Han/Lua Im/Brad Lee/Jerry Kwon/Yui Kim/Joy Hong/Duke Pyeon/Jason Yoon

The really super sweethearts tbh

They're the ones who will remembers everyone's birthday (especially when you're superrr close with them).

So they will call the others to have a group meeting or create a group chat with over 40 members on it to surprise you on your special day! "GUYS ATTENTION!!! IT'S Y/N'S BIRTHDAY IN 4 DAYS WE GOTTA SURPRISE THEM!!!"

They will assign who will buy the décor and food (they will all share the budget!).

Will think of many plans and ideas to surprise you (It can turn out a little wacky though but at least they have put effort on it!)

Vasco/Doo Lee/Jiho Park/Olly Wang/Goo Kim/Yuseong/Warren Chae/Jibeom Kwak/Tom Lee/Kuroda Ryuhei/Sinu Han/Gongseob Ji/Alexander Wang (add in Zack Lee ; a little bit if you're really close)

They're the super noisy ones lmao

I can imagine the others getting so annoyed from them since they can't keep quiet when they're still preparing for the surprise (don't blame them they're super excited!).

So when you came inside the dark room and you opened the lights, they will scream and screech at the top of their lungs "HAPPY BIRTHDAY Y/NNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!" xD.

They're also the super hyped ones while singing Happy Birthday even though they're out of tune LMAO (the others looks so done while you just stand there in the center with the cake lit with the candles be like 🧍‍♀️).

Even while eating, they're still super talkative while there's lot of food smudges on their face (how the hell can they still speak? Because their vocal chords are SUPERIOR).

Jay Hong/Joy Hong/Jiho Park/Crystal Choi/Goo Kim/Gun Park/DG/Yoojin/Tom Lee/Mitsuki Soma/Charles Choi

The super rich ones. They have the budget to buy the décor for themselves but the others insisted to pay for it and help too.

Will also buy you a very expensive gift like designer clothes, jewelry, shoes or anything that you really like but you can't afford! The others will be just like "Woah! They bought the limited edition jewelry of f/b for Y/N!"

They just really love you so much so they bought the most expensive gift for you that they can find so you'll feel very special! (Though just don't use them as a sugar mommy/daddy it can turn them off).

They will smile, chuckle and pat you on the head if you're super happy with their present "WuahHhhHHh THANK YOU SO MUCHHHHH YOU DON"T HAVE TO SPEND TOO MUCH MONEY ON ME NEXT TIME!!!" "As long you're happy I am too".

They just wants to see you smiling all the time even if it's not your b-day they hate you seeing sad (like everyone hates seeing you sad :)))) .

Daniel Park/Zack Lee/Eli Jang/Warren Chae/Sally Park/Mira Kim/Vasco/Jace Park/Mary Kim/Zoe Park/Heather/Jake Kim/Jihan and Jibeom Kwak/Hudson Ahn/Johan Seong/Yuseong/Jerry Kwon/ Line Man/ Lua Im/ Sinu Han/Brad Lee/Duke Pyeon/Jason Yoon/Jichang Kwak/Young Jinyoung Park

Will feel insecure about their gift (or if they don't have something to give for you).

Like don't blame them they're just in high school they're not like super rich (for young Jinyoung Park too).

They will be the ones who will either buy you cheap but cute items that you like and it's wrapped in beautiful gift wraps, make it hand-made or they will write a super long letter with your favorite decorations and stickers on the envelope (they're so precious).

They will be hesitant first to give you their present but after encouraging themselves, they will be super shy and lovey dovey while giving it to you "Ha-Happy Birthday Y/N... Hope you like it".

But after reading their letter you'll probably burst into tears lol (they're so good at expressing their feelings through writing it down on a paper that it makes you feel appreciated and loved so much since you're so nice to them).

They will also comfort you for crying and they will feel bad for making you cry because of the letter lmao "Y/N ARE YOU OKAY WHY ARE YOU CRYING?"

Over all sweethearts tbh "WUAHHHH THANK YOU FOR THE GIFT YOU DON'T HAVE TO SPEND ON ME TOO MUCH MONEY ON ME DUMMY THE SURPRISE IS ENOUGH!!!" "So-sorry for making you cry though..."

Johan Seong/Samuel Seo/Gun Park/Goo Kim/DG/Taesoo Ma/Vin Jin/Magami Kenta/Jiho Park (villain arc)/Cheon Taejin/Mandeok/Yui Kim/Mitsuki Soma/Xiaoleoung

"Why the hell am I here?" vibe.

They're just here for the food (they might not even know or care for the celebrant if you're not close with them lmao).

But they're still going to buy a gift for you if you know each other.

Acts like they hate it, but they secretly love birthday parties (Goo's an obvious party monkey so he really loves making chaos on birthdays like throwing and smudging the cake on everybody's faces lol).

Will secretly turn on birthday song remixes and sus shit on the bluetooth speaker lmao.

ADD IN!: Duke Pyeon/Daniel Park/Jay Hong/Jerry Kwon/Warren Chae/Vasco/Jiho Park/Brad Lee/Lua Im/Goo Kim/Line Man

They're the camera man with the shaky hands.

The pictures they take will be a little bit blurry and shaky while Goo is just doing it on purpose to piss you off (the others are really doing their best don't get angry).

They just wants to enjoy and spend some time with you without the others bossing them around (please save them).

Jiho Park/Vasco/Joy Hong/Warren Chae/Zoe Park/Goo Kim/Kuroda Ryuhei

They're the ones that will unintentionally spoil the surprise.

They will get so excited that they will spill the tea from you without realizing that they're talking to the celebrant and the others will cover their mouth shutting them up. "WE'RE HAVING A SURPRISE PARTY FOR Y/-" "OKAY WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT???!!! Sorry Y/N..."

They will apologize to the others while there are tears building in their eyes "Sorry guys! I just got so excited I won't do it again!" (while Goo is just doing it on purpose to tick the others off he's such an asshole lmao).

[avatar-anna]

Sweet

just a little blurb about pre-one direction harry on valentine’s day. enjoy!!

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

“It’s not much, but I thought it would be nice to make something instead of buying a gift,” Harry said. “If you think it’s stupid and you don’t like it, I’ll totally understand.”

Harry looked so nervous. When you greeted him at your locker this morning, you didn't understand why he wouldn't meet your eye and kept stumbling over his words. He was generally quiet, but you could normally have a conversation. it wasn’t until he offered you the paper plate stacked with homemade brownies cut into hearts that everything clicked. You’d asked him who the lucky girl was, and Harry just blushed and said he was kind of hoping you would be.

You didn't know Harry all that well, about as much as you knew any of the people you grew up with in your small town. But you had last names that were close together in the alphabet, so you’d become used to seeing him often in school—sitting next to each other in class, next to each other on picture day, and when you were old enough, having neighboring lockers. He was nice, if not a little quiet, and you both had your own friend groups. All you knew about him really was that he had an older sister and was in a band with his mates, and you were pretty sure Harry would only be able to come up with a few small details about yourself as well.

Exchanging of pleasantries had been the norm between you and Harry for years, but now he was flipping the script, and you were honestly quite stunned. As far as you were aware, Harry had never made any indication that he liked you, yet here he was offering you homemade baked goods on Valentine's Day.

“I—I don’t think it’s stupid,” you said. “I’m just surprised, is all. I didn’t think you...liked me that way.”

A blush formed on Harry’s pale cheeks. “Really? My friends have teased me relentlessly because I’m shit at hiding it.”

How did you not know? You weren't upset by any means. Harry was kind and cute. He always lent you an extra pencil in trigonometry, he let you copy his notes when you fell a little behind, he asked to you about the books you would sometimes read in class, and one time he—Oh.

So maybe there were signs, but you just thought he was being friendly.

“I’m really flattered, Harry. Thank you,” you said, meaning it. It couldn’t have been easy to muster up the courage to do something like this. “Can I try one now?”

“Oh, um, sure. I guess.” Harry looked scared, like he worried you were going to spit the brownie out the second you tasted it.

Carefully, you took one of the brownies off the plate. They were all decorated in pink and red frosting with sprinkles on top. Just by looking at them, you could tell that Harry put a lot of time and effort into making them for you. It honestly made your heart flutter. No one had ever gone out of their way to do something like this for you before.

You took a bite, covering your mouth a bit as crumbs began to fall. The brownie was chewy and soft on the inside, the frosting soft and sweet. Around another bite, you said, “These are delicious, Harry!”

He grinned. “Thanks. I—I work in a bakery on the weekends, so I have a bit of practice.”

“You work in a bakery?”

“Yeah,” Harry said, scratching the back of his neck nervously. “I mostly work the register, but sometimes I help in the kitchen. And everyone there is really nice. Well, they’re all older women so of course they're nice, but the gossip’s good, though sometimes it’s embarrassing because—Sorry, I’m rambling.”

“That’s okay. I think that’s the most I’ve ever heard you speak,” you joked. You honestly didn't mind the way he rambled. It was cute. Then, realizing you didn’t have anything to gift Harry in return, you said, “I feel a little bad, though. I haven't got anything for you.”

“That’s not why I—I’m not expecting anything from—You don’t need to feel bad,” he managed to say. “But...maybe we can sit together at lunch?”

You grinned at him. “It’s a date. See you, Harry.”

Before either of you could think anything of it, you kissed Harry on the cheek, right where you knew a dimple appeared whenever he smiled. When you pulled back, his entire face was red, but that only made you smile wider.

Without another word, you took the plate of brownies from Harry and turned on your heel and practically skipped to your first class of the day.

[fizziepopangel]

"Nice try, fuckhead."

Despite his gruff exterior, Husk is actually quite sentimental and before ending up at Hazbin Hotel, he didn’t have many people he cared for who actually cared for him. Unbeknownst to the others, he keeps every special little gift Charlie, Angel, and Nifty give him in a box he keeps hidden under his bed. He has group pictures that Charlie’s given him, and doodles Nifty’s done, and a hat decoration Angel got him for his birthday. He would die if the others found out about this, he has a reputation, ya know.

Constantly says “I’m too old for this shit” before engaging with anyone else in the hotel.

Angel Dust’s constant over sexual flirting tends to make him feel mocked since his insecurities and past experiences in both life and hell won’t let him believe anyone coils be attracted to anything about him.

Before he died, Husk was a street performer, often scamming people with his sleight of hand and magic, but sometimes playing saxophone or guitar on street corners for tips.

While he can play guitar and saxophone, he prefers the saxophone since it was the first instrument he ever learned.

He was allergic to cats when he was alive so he was pissed when he became a hell cat despite knowing he’s not allergic to himself.

Husk is the type of cat that will drop everything to chase a red dot. He has in fact spilled drinks because Angel aimed a laser pointer at the wall and Husk absolutely lost his shit chasing it. Angel now carries a laser pointer everywhere just to exploit this for his entertainment.

He lets Charlie pet him on the rare occasion that Vaggie can’t cheer her up when she’s upset because Charlie thinks it's adorable hearing the old bar cat purr.

Despite hating his cat-like appearance and tendencies, he doesn’t get angry about the laser pointer thing or the purring thing since it makes Angel and Charlie happy and although he’d never admit it, it makes him happy making them happy.

Husk will also never admit that he secretly loves when Charlie pets him because touch is his main love language and he doesn’t get it very often.

Because he enjoys touch and cuddling, he often pet sits for Angel and falls asleep cuddling Fat Nuggets. The small demon piglet loves falling asleep against the hell cat's soft fur.

Despite Nifty being pretty fucked up and Husk not wanting to know half of what he knows about her, he’s rather protective of her since she seems to be attracted to anything with a dick and a ‘bad boy’ attitude. He sees her as the annoying little sister he needs to look out for.

Husk was an overlord before meeting Alastor and tells Angel that he sold his soul to keep his power. Although Angel thinks it was an exaggeration for his benefit, Husk is actually quite powerful as a demon still, something Alastor didn’t take from him so he can use him as needed.

When Vaggie tries to reshoot the commercial for Charlie and asks Husk to lower the script from in front of his face, the reason he gets a little defensive is because his eyesight is rather poor when reading so he genuinely couldn’t see the words and she didn’t give him enough time to try to memorize anything he was supposed to say… Despite knowing he should, he refuses to wear his glasses outside of his own room though.

His drink of choice is usually whiskey neat, but every so often he enjoys fruity cocktails.

If asked, Husk would absolutely put on a magic show for the guests of the hotel. He’s always happy to show off his magic and sleight of hand when someone is interested in it.

Husk can fly but he claims it’s too much effort to keep himself in the air. In reality, its not the effort that bothers him, but rather the fact that his back and wings tend to get sore after long periods of flying so he tries to minimize his time doing it.

Although most cats dislike baths, Husk loves hot showers and baths. He takes them a lot to help with back aches, but it also results in his fur always being clean and soft due to his frequent shampooing and conditioning of it and he often has a very clean scent to him beneath the stench of alcohol.

Husk died after gambling away all his money and being unable to pay violent loan sharks back. After dodging them for months, his gambling addiction ended up resulting in his downfall when they were able to find him.

While he was alive he was married and though his own marriage never resulted in any children of his own, Husk was an amazing uncle to his brother’s children. The way he cared for his nieces and nephews resulted in Husk being a more patient and supportive demon with his fellow hotel employees since he considers them to be his new family.

He would absolutely try to kill anyone who told any of his fellow hotel residents that he considered them family because Charlie, Angel Dust, and Alastor would never let him live that down.

[sadboi-writer]

Dear Jack (Series)

Chapter Six: Road to Wasabi

Summary: Jack doesn't have a present for Rudy's birthday, so he lies and says Bobby Wasabi is coming to visit. Rudy insults Bobby, which gets him fired. Now the kids have to break and enter to get Rudy's job back. Throw in some ninjas and good-old fashion movie plot.

Word Count: 4.2K

Warnings: Canon-typical violence, cursing

Masterlist ~ Chapter Five ~ Chapter Seven

Y/N felt like pulling out their hair. Everything had to be perfect, they had spent months planning this for Rudy. From decorations and food, to the guest list. This surprise party had to be perfect.

It already wasn't going well. The balloons were the wrong color, Jerry had picked up the wrong chips, and Jack was nowhere to be found.

Kim insisted Y/N go into the locker room to cool down. Because they were just running themself up the wall worrying like they were. After about ten minutes Kim sent Jerry to keep Y/N company since he was getting on her nerves.

Nearly an hour and half after he was supposed to be there, Jack finally strolled in.

"You're late," Kim grumbled

Jack quirked a brow, "For what?"

"Rudy's surprise birthday party, remember?" Eddie asked, "Y/N's been planning it forever. They've been freaking out since we got here."

"I thought Rudy knew about it?" Jack asked

"He does," Eddie confirmed, "He went over the details with Y/N two weeks ago when he found out."

"Shh, he's coming!" Rudy's own voice rang out

Rudy reached in and flicked out the lights. Before strolling and turning them on, as if he hadn't just turned them off.

"Surprise." The group said with no enthusiasm

Rudy placed a hand on his chest dramatically, "How did you know it was my birthday? Are you guys trying to kill me?"

He put on a cake hat.

"You better not have brought gifts!" He said, obviously expecting gifts, "But, if you did, now would be the time to load me up!"

Jack frantically chased after Milton, "Hey man, I don't have anything, can I get in on your gift?"

Milton shook his head, "Absolutely not! I put a lot of time, effort, and money into this thing!"

Milton handed the neatly wrapped gift to Rudy.

"This is from Jerry, Eddie, and Me." Milton told him

Rudy ripped it open, " Oh! Joke-a-day toilet paper! Get out! My cousin had this at his house. I literally laughed myself off the bowl! Thanks you guys!... Now, I don't want to turn this whole gift thing into a competition, but Kim, it's time to Top That Gift!"

Jack ran after her, "Kim, do you think I could get in on your--"

"Forget it, Jack," Kim cut him off, "I've got a winner right here. Just go ask your girlfriend."

Jack stood dumbfounded, fully realizing Y/N wasn't there for the first time.

"Unlike some people, I actually put a lot of thought into my gift. I hope you like it, Rudy." Kim said

Rudy ripped open the wrapping paper and gasped, "A signed picture of Bobby Wasabi? My hero, my idol, the man I patterned my life after? 'To whom it my concern, Bobby Wasabi'. That's me, I'm whom. I'm concerned! All right, Jack. Rock. My. World."

The group joined Rudy in crowding around Jack. Kim had a smug smirk on her face.

"Yeah, Jack,"Kim teased, "I'm sure Rudy saved the best for last."

Jack inhaled, trying to think quickly, "Well, you know, I was thinking... you know, everyone knows how much you love Bobby Wasabi. And I asked myself what could be better than a picture, right?"

"Only the man himself!" Rudy chimed, "Wait, wait, wait a minute. Are you saying what I think you're saying? You found a way to get Bobby Wasabi to come down here so I could meet him?"

"Yeah," Jack nodded hesitantly

Rudy bounced on his feet in excitement, "Wait, the founder of this dojo, an international movie star, someone who hasn't been seen in public in 20 years is coming to see me? I can't believe it!"

"None of us can believe it, Jack," Kim challenged

Milton spun around blindfolded with the piñata stick.

"Let's get this party started!" Milton cheered

His swings got out of control and he started moving sporadically around the dojo. Just as Y/N exited the locker room, now much calmer, and carrying a wrapped gift. Milton hit them with the stick and promptly tripped over them.

Once everyone had gotten Milton off of Y/N they each took their leave. Y/N was left alone with just Jack and Rudy. Y/N sat next to Rudy on the bench, handing him the wrapped box.

"What's this?" Rudy asked, genuinely surprised

"Your present,"Y/N explained," It's from Jack and I."

Jack's eyebrows shot up as Rudy looked between the two.

"Jack got me two gifts? That's so nice of him," Rudy said as he started to tear into the wrapping paper, "Seven tickets to the Light it Up Cinema?"

Y/N shrugged, "We rented out a theater for all day Saturday, we're having a Bobby Wasabi movie party!"

Rudy gave Y/N a quick hug before going and giving Jack one too.

"Best birthday, ever!" Rudy cheered as he went to his office

Jack looked at Y/N, "I didn't know you included me in your gift."

"Yeah, Kim said you'd forget so I just put your name on the card," They joked, "I didn't know you got him your own, I didn't mean to step on your toes there."

Jack shook his head, " I didn't. I panicked and told him Bobby Wasabi was coming to meet him."

"Jack, you didn't!" Y/N insisted

"I did!" He lamented

"Bobby Wasabi hasn't been seen in years, he'll never agree to come meet Rudy!"

Jack sighed, "I know!"

Y/N stood, "Let me brainstorm, we'll figure something out."

Y/N grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze before leaving the dojo.

The next day at school Kim was still making fun of Jack for his lie.

"I cannot believe you told Rudy that Bobby Wasabi was coming." She teased

"I couldn't believe it either! Words just kept exploding out of me!" He replied, "It's like I had a case of liarrhea!"

"He's never gonna show, Jack." Kim continued, "And Rudy's gonna be crushed!"

"Bobby could show! I mean, my grandfather was his sensei! I found his number and left him a message. It was Y/N 's idea."

Kim frowned, "This could be bad. Remember how disappointed Rudy was when he lost the Name-the-Baby-Panda contest at the zoo?"

Jack shook his head at the memory, "Oh, I know. He put on his crying boots. I know what I said was wrong. But, I mean, who's crazy enough to believe that Bobby Wasabi is actually coming to our dojo?"

Of course, as he said it Jerry, Milton, and Eddie came running down the stairs.

"I can't believe Bobby Wasabi is actually coming to our dojo!" Jerry hollered

Y/N trailed down behind them, an amused smirk on their face.

Jerry hopped down the last couple steps, "Look, Jack! Bro, since Bobby's coming for Rudy's birthday, we've decided to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"We spent the whole night in Jerry's garage writing his comeback movie!" Eddie proudly showed off the script they had written

Jack glanced at Y/N, seeing the dark circle beneath their eyes. Of course Jerry had talked Y/N into helping them. Y/N gave Jack a tired smile and a small wave.

Kim took Jack by the shoulder and walked him a few paces away from the group.

"Wow, you hear all that, Jack?" She asked, "Our friends spent all night in a garage writing a comeback movie for Bobby Wasabi."

"What's bad about that?" Jack replied, "What if they wrote a really great movie?"

Milton chuckled, "Oh, It's better than great! It's epic! Bobby Wasabi is the biggest martial arts action star in history."

"An absolute hero!" Y/N chimed in

"But now he'll battle with the most diabolical force he's ever faced!" Eddie continued

"It's half piranha, half octopus!" Milton built up

"It's PIRANHAPUS!" The boys cheered together

"Eight arms!" Jerry demonstrated

"Nine mouths!" He continued

The four gnawed at the air.

"And one bad attitude!"

Jerry, Eddie, Milton, and Y/N lined up in a clearly rehearsed version of their ideal of Piranhapus. Flailing their arms and gnashing their teeth. All while Kim and Jack stared on.

After school, Eddie, Milton, Jerry, and Y/N sat together staring at the waste of money before them.

"We paid your cousin 50 bucks to make a model of Piranhapus,"Eddie grumbled, "And this is what we get?"

The model was a basketball with hose arms. It looked like shit to be completely frank. Y/N put their head in their hands, a headache forming over the boys bickering.

"You should be happy he gave us a deal." Jerry insisted, "I mean he took our vision and brought it to life!"

Y/N shook their head, "My little brother could have made this, Jerry!"

"Isn't he 4?"

"Exactly!" They snapped back

Eddie placed a hand on Y/N's shoulder, "Dude, we can't show this thing to Bobby Wasabi. It's a joke!"

"No, you know what's a joke?" Jerry snapped,"That tacky ending you wrote. Bro, you ruined our movie!"

"My ending is perfect!" Eddie defended, "No one could even see it coming!"

"Of course they can't see it coming!" Milton finally spoke, "How does a walrus operate a hang glider?"

"Guys, come on-" Y/N tried to intervene

"You know what? Well, here's what we think of your ending!" Jerry interrupted

He ripped out the last page of the script and ripped it into tiny pieces, throwing it across the table. It landed on Y/N's lap and a little bit in their hair. But, Y/N was more focused on the boys fighting in front of them.

Eddie stood, "That's it!"

Eddie lunged at Jerry and started smacking him. Milton jumped on Eddie's back and the three continued to fight as Y/N tried to pull them off of each other.

"Guys, stop it!" Y/N shouted, "Come on! This was supposed to be fun!"

Jack and Kim entered the food court and saw their friends fighting. Jack ran to them.

"Hey, guys, what are you doing?" He shouted, "Stop! Get away! Come on!"

He gently pulled Y/N back before roughly grabbing one of Eddie's shoulders as Kim grabbed the other. Once they were separated, Kim went to check on Y/N.

"What is going on?" Jack asked

"This Bobby Wasabi movie is tearing us apart!" Milton answered

Milton plopped down in a chair next to Y/N, allowing them to lay their head on his shoulder. Kim pushed Jack to the side.

"Jack this is crazy!" Kim whispered harshly, "Just tell them the truth.'

Jack sighed, "You're right."

He slowly approached his friends.

"Guys, you remember how I said that Bobby Wasabi was coming to our dojo?" Jack began

"Yeah," They answered in unison

"Well," Jack continued, "The truth is...-"

Before Jack could finish a man walked by and took one of Jerry;s falafels. Jerry stood angrily, pointing his fork.

"Hey, beef meats!" Jerry called, " Who do you think you are?"

The man turned around, flicking his hair out of his face. Y/N was on their feet in a second.

"Holy mackerel," Y/N whispered, "That's-"

"I am," The man said, throwing the falafel onto Jerry's fork," Bobby Wasabi."

Bobby turned and entered the dojo.

"Woah," The all awed

Y/N was quick to run inside after him. Y/N watched as Rudy left his office. Rudy looked in confusion at Bobby staring at their trophies.

"Uh, sorry ma'am, we're closed." Rudy said politely beginning to approach, "If you're looking for the Large and Loving It Dress shop, it's on the other side of the mall!"

Bobby turned to Rudy, "What was that?"

Finally, Jack and the rest of them sprinted inside.

"Rudy! Rudy!" Jack shouted, "Your birthday presents' here!"

Jack pointed at Bobby.

"It's Bobby Wasabi!"

"Yeah!" Jerry corroborated

"You wanna know why he's here?" Jack gloated, " Because when I say I can deliver, what happens? Oh, that's right, I deliver!"

Y/N chuckled anxiously at Jack's display.

Rudy laughed, "That's a great joke! You hire some big betty to squeeze into a dress and then wobble in here saying he's Bobby Wasabi! It's hilarious!"

Y/N sucked in a gasp, "No, Rudy, really-"

Bobby cut them off, "You don't think that I am Bobby Wasabi?"

He stood beside a cardboard cutout of himself. In all fairness to Rudy he did look quite different. Rudy gave him an unimpressed look.

"No ma'am or sir, I do not." Rudy agreed

Y/N barked out a chuckle. Bobby Wasabi and Jack shot them a look.

Bobby approached Rudy, "That is it!"

He began screeching and attacked Rudy. Rudy easily beat him, flipping him like it was nothing onto the mat.

The whole group was cringing. Y/N warily approached Bobby, offering him a hand up as Kim and Milton ran to do the same. Jack ran to Rudy.

"Rudy, this is no joke!" He insisted, "That really is Bobby Wasabi!"

Rudy finally seemed to believe Jack.

"Oh," He exhaled, stood next to Bobby, "Oh. OH!"

"Oh, Bobby, I'm sorry Mr.Wasabi!" Jack said as the group moved to help Y/N, Kim, and Milton in their effort to get him up

"Mr.Wasabi, I'm so sorry fro the misunderstanding." Rudy apologized, "Um, welcome to my dojo!"

Y/N could practically see the steam coming out of Bobby's ears with how angry he was.

"This is not your dojo," Bobby huffed, "This is my dojo, and you are fired!"

Bobby flipped his hair as he left the dojo. No one knew what to say, so they also left.

Y/N stayed back with Rudy, who was absolutely distraught.

"Everything will be okay, Rudy!" Y/N insisted, "I'm going to figure out how to let you keep your job

Rudy shook his head, "Go home, Y/N."

Y/N pulled him into a hug.

"I'm not giving up on you, Rudy," They told him, "Please don't give up on me."

Rudy gave a weak nod, and Y/N left him to his business.

The next day at school, Kim was still going after Jack for everything. They were all walking together, save for Y/N.

"Nice birthday present, Jack!" Kim exclaimed, "You got Rudy fired. Maybe next year you can give him a balloon and push him down the stairs!"

The five sat down near Jerry's locker, at the foot of the stairs.

"The worst part is, the Bobby Wasabi comeback movie is dead!" Milton complained, "Say goodbye to my Hollywood dream."

Y/N came down the stairs.

"What's Rudy gonna do without a job?" Kim asked

"He'll be fine! Guys like Rudy land on their feet!" Jack replied, " I wouldn't be surprised if he's already found a better job!"

"Not exactly better," Y/N cut in, "But, it's a job."

Jack quirked an eyebrow at them, "What do you mean?"

"Let me just show you guys."Y/N said as the final bell of the day rang

Y/N took the group to the mall, and into Reptile World of all places. As they walked in, Lonnie ran by wailing about a toothbrush. Y/N nodded toward Rudy in his new uniform.

"Hey guys!" Rudy greeted, "What are you guys doing here?"

Rudy's smile didn't quite meet his eyes.

"You know, we just came by to see how you're doing," Jack answered

Rudy waved him off, "Yeah, don't worry about me! I'm doing swell--swell, I tell you."

Rudy began to tear up, and Y/N stepped forward to gently pat his back. Then.Rudy ran off into the back room crying.Y/N watched a wave of guilt fall over Jack.

"Guys this is my fault." Jack admitted, "Rudy's a third degree black belt, and now he's scrubbing turtle butt!"

Jack paused to think. Y/N looked him in the eye, a glint of mischief in them.

"Bobby Wasabi took away his job, and Bobby Wasabi is gonna give it back." Y/N plotted

Jack gave them a high five.

That night they found Bobby Wasabi's mansion. They stood outside the gate as Eddie repeatedly pressed the buzzer.

"He's not answering!" Eddie complained, "How do we know he's even in there?"

Kim rolled her eyes. "Well, someone just ordered a truckload of pastrami!"

They all backed away from the gate. Jack sighed.

"Guys, it took three busses to get here!" Jack said, "So we're just gonna have to break in!"

Y/N turned and saw Milton slip through the bars of the gate. He gestured for them to follow, they did with a bit more effort than he needed. but Y/N also got through.

"Not happening, man," Jerry said, as Y/N squeezed through, " Guys like Wasabi have million dollar security systems." Y/N pointed at a big red button for Milton to go press. When he did, the gate opened. The group entered while Jerry still meandered on about different security measures Wasabi would have.

Y/N grabbed Jerry by the collar and shoved him toward the front door with the others.

Once they got inside, the group stayed as quiet as they could. Peering around corners and trying to stay together. They came to a new hallway.

"Oh no," Kim warned, "That's not good."

She pointed to a "Ninja Xing" sign on the wall. Jerry scoffed.

"Oh come on, it's just one of those gag signs you buy at the car wash!" He insisted

As he finished his sentence four ninja's landed on the ground in front of the group.

"Oh, really, Jerry?" Y/N teased

"Jerry, I don't think it's a gag,"Milton whimpered, "NINJAS!"

The group all ran screaming, splitting up. Jack and Kim ran in one direction, Eddie and Milton in another, and Y/N and Jerry in the third.

Jerry and Y/N got to a dead end and started trying door handles. As they did one of the ninjas came up on them. Jerry paused as Y/N took a swing at the ninja.

"So, what's going on with you and Jack?" Jerry asked as he landed a kick

Y/N whipped their head to him, "What are you talking about?"

Y/N slung the Ninja over their shoulder and to the floor.

"You two are being weird around each other since Truman messed with us." Jerry replied

"We got into a fight," Y/N huffed, standing off of the unconscious ninja, " And I yelled at him that I have a crush on him. But, we're good now, we're ignoring it."

Jerry laughed, "No you're not."

"He is."

Before Jerry could reply, the ninja stood and struck Y/N on the back of the neck. Knocking them out. Jerry held his hands up in surrender.

The ninja picked up Y/N and carried them over his shoulder as they guided Jerry by the back of his neck. They were brought straight to Bobby Wasabi. Y/N was dumped unceremoniously on the ground in front of Milton and Eddy who had evidently also been caught.

"Show some respect!" Milton complained as Y/N hit the floor

"What did he do to them!" Eddie yelled

Bobby waved his hand to silence them, "You lot are in so much trouble. You broke into my house, which means when I call the police you are going to jail. Including Sleeping Beauty there."

They stood dumbfounded.

"Sausage me!" Bobby ordered

One of his ninjas threw two hot dogs into buns another ninja was holding, which were then handed to Bobby Wasabi.

"That's the most incredible thing I've ever seen!" Eddie said in awe, "Sausage me!"

The ninja moved to throw sausages to Eddie.

"Don't you dare sausage him, Evan!" Bobby interrupted, "Take them away! Leave the unconscious one."

Milton yelled, "Fine! Take us away! But when we leave, your big comeback movie leaves with us!"

"How's that now? What?" Bobby stood, "What?"

The ninjas let go. Jerry hautily approached.

"It just so happens we wrote the greatest movie of your career,"Jerry boasted

"A little something called Bobby Wasabi vs. Piranhapus!" Eddie continued

Milton got next to Bobby, "It's half piranha, half octopus!"

"So it's a little piranha with eight tentacles?" Bobby asked

Jerry jumped up on Bobby's other side, "Try a giant octopus with vicious piranha teeth at the end of each tentacle!"

Bobby chuckled, "Ohhhh! I want to fight that thing so bad! I can almost taste it!"

Bobby paused.

"No, that's a little sausage juice left in my mustache."

The boys proceeded to explain the plot to Bobby Wasabi, who listened adamantly. Milton and Eddie sat next to Bobby on the right, while Jerry sat on his left with the still unconscious Y/N in his lap.

"The End." Milton finished

Bobby broke into tears, " That's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard!"

The alarm started blaring and Bobby was immediately on his feet. Jerry scooted away, holding Y/N closer.

"Either security's been breached or my pot pie's ready!" Bobby announced

The doors burst open, revealing Jack and Kim still being pursued by three ninjas. Jack faltered seeing Y/N unconscious.

"Hey, Bobby, I've been looking for you!" Jack announced

"Get them!" Bobby ordered

The rest of his ninjas went after Jack and Kim. Milton and Eddie helped Jerry move Y/N off to the side, out of danger. Y/N gently stirred to life just in time to see Jack tap Kim's hip for her to jump on him and kick three ninjas away.

Jerry pushed some hair out of Y/N's face.

"You're okay," He whispered

Y/N nodded and fell back asleep.

Kim and Jack made quick work of the ninjas. Leaving Bobby positively impressed.

The ninjas got up and moved to restrain Jack and Kim. Bobby stood.

"Hang on a second!"Bobby shouted, "That was the perfect Flying Dragon kick."

Jack stood proudly, "My grandfather taught it to me."

"Well, I can't think that your grandfather would approve of you breaking into my house." Bobby said

"No," Jack agreed, "But, he would approve of me standing up for my sensei."

"Your sensei called me a man lady." Bobby pointed out

"It was an honest mistake!" Jack countered, " You've got a ponytail and that thing you're wearing kind of looks like a dress."

"It's a kaftan! It's breathable, wrinkled-free, and great for those on-the-go days!"

"Mr.Wasabi," Jack replied," what was the one thing that all of your movies had?"

"Hot chicks, explosions, and a sassy orangutan sidekick." He answered with no hesitation

"Everyone loved Dr.Bananas!" Jack agreed

Everyone in the room agreed.

"But your movies also had you!" Jack continued, " A man that lived by the Wasabi code. That's the code Sensei Rudy still lives by."

Jack looked to his friends who joined him in the Wasabi code.

"We swear by the light of the dragon's eye," They all said

Bobby looked at them and finished the saying, "To be loyal, honest, and never say die."

"Wasabi." They all finished

"Bobby look, Rudy's far from perfect. But he's more than just a great sensei. He's our friend." Jack insisted, " Do the right thing. Give him his job back."

Y/N's eyes fluttered open, and Jerry gently helped them to their feet. As Bobby contemplated his options, disco music filled the air and a random man came in dancing dressed from the 70's. He grabbed a plunger and danced his way out.

"I hit my head harder than I thought," Y/N said

"Okay, who was that guy?" Kim asked

Bobby shrugged, " I have no idea. I'm just glad that you could see him too."

The group left, Bobby promised to meet them at the mall the next day to give Rudy his job back. Jerry kept his arm around Y/N to keep them steady.

At the mall they waited for their parents to pick them up. Jack checked over Y/N as soon as he could.

"Are you okay?" He asked

Y/N nodded, "Just a headache now."

"I was really worried about you."

"I'm okay, I promise."

Their voices weren't above a whisper. They looked into each others eyes. Jack started to lean in when a car horn honked. It was his mom. He turned around quickly.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He promised

Y/N nodded and left on their walk back home.

The next day Y/N pointed Bobby toward Reptile World. The group stayed outside waiting anxiously to see Rudy. After a few minutes, Bobby came out carrying Rudy like a bride. Eddie stood and started clapping prompting the rest of the food court to join in. Y/N went to the doors of the dojo and held it open for Rudy. As he entered the dojo Rudy pulled them into a bone-crushing hug.

"Thanks for everything," Rudy gratified

Friday after school they started filming Bobby Wasabi vs. Piranhapus.

"Bobby Wasabi vs. Piranhapus take one!" Jack announced clapping the slate'

Lonnie ran out of his shop yelling, "Help me! It's horrible!" A giant tentacle came out of the shop door ad wrapped around him, pulling him inside.

Bobby turned to the camera and recited his line,

"CUT!" Milton shouted

Milton approached Bobby.

"Bobby, baby, bubby!" Milton coaxed, " You're killing me! Where's the energy?"

Bobby nodded, "You're right, I phoned that one in!" Milton turned to Eddie on boom.

"Eddie, go in there and tell Jerry and Y/N to take it easy with that giant tentacle, they're going way too big!" Eddie nodded.

Jerry and Y/N jogged up bickering.

"It's totally your fault!" Y/N blamed

"Hush!" Jerry demanded, "Hey, guys, sorry we're late! They wouldn't let us on the bus with this thing!"

"They let us on the bus, but kicked us off when he smacked the driver with it!" Y/N clarified

"Wait a minute," Eddie said, " If you're here with this, then what was--"

As they looked at Reptile World, Lonnie slammed against the window covered in goop. They all quickly packed their things and ran.

Y/N ran into the dojo with Jack close behind. They looked at each other and burst into a fit of giggles.

[shebeafancyflapjack]

Anyone else kinda fascinated to know what the ghosts lives with Heather was like before her death?

We know she had no kids, no nieces or nephews. If she had a husband then he clearly died years earlier and given that when Julian dies she's just sat alone for hours I doubt he was around then.

She was born into money but didn't seem to have a lot by the end given that the house was in disrepair and there didn't seem to be any signs of a big care team around to support her in her last days. How long did it take for her to be found? She must have had someone go in to check on her. But given that Alison only inherited the house, no money, presumably she either gave what she had to charity or there was nothing to give.

The ghosts care about her enough to all be there when she dies so she's not alone. Kitty likes her enough to hope that she'll stay.

But I get the sense she didn't really "live" in that house all that much. She didn't seem to put any effort into leaving her mark decorating wise. During her time we only ever see it used for events like the Tory fundraiser and Pat's archery. The ghosts all seem to have missed a lot of events that would have been seen on TV like the moon landings and even just knowing about Friends as a show so I don't think Heather watched a lot of TV.

It must have been very quiet and lonely but they all just got used to it for all those years and having the house mostly to themselves bar the odd event which would be exciting but not overwhelming.

So when Alison and Mike come along with the idea of turning it into a hotel, Robin asks Julian what a hotel is and of course Julian is going to explain based on HIS experience of nights in hotels - people coming and going having sex and parties. Julian wouldn't have brought up the positive things that go on in hotels like the events, the big group talks and clubs, the weddings and dances etc.

Of course they're gonna hate the idea of having the privacy and space they've had for sixty years or more disrupted by randoms invading their rooms constantly.

But of course that's not what they really end up.

And I wish we'd just spent some time seeing that in the ending, having the ghosts realise that it wasn't as bad as they feared, like sure it's not as good as living with Alison all the time but it shouldn't have been down to Jim assuring the audience in an interview that the ghosts would be OK and would go on "many adventures".

[tedwardremus]

Comfort and Joy

It was Christmas Eve, and the village of Godric’s Hollow was quiet except for the soft sounds of singing coming from the small church in the center of town. Lights twinkled and lined the shops on the high street as last-minute shoppers hurried past to get ready for the holiday. It was an ordinary winter night except if someone were to walk by one of the little houses in the village and peer in through the window they’d see shiny shimmering baubles flying around the sitting room. 

A young wizard with untamed black hair named James Potter, who was the owner of the house, held his 5-month-old son, whose dark hair was starting to grow in as messy as his own, and laughed gently at the wide-eyed look on baby Harry’s face as the baubles zoomed by.

“You enjoying decorating your first Christmas tree, Harry?” James summoned a gold bauble closer to Harry who tried to grasp the ball with his tiny little hands. “Look at you! You’re going to be a great quidditch player, aren’t you? Lilly! Check it out, your son is going to be the youngest seeker ever!”

Lily came into the room from the kitchen, the scent of cinnamon and chocolate followed her in. Even though it was going to be a small dinner tomorrow, just the three Potters, their neighbor Bathilda Bagshot, and of course James’ best friend, Sirius Black, Lily had spent the best couple of days prepping food and baking desserts. It was a lot of effort for a four-person dinner (Harry didn’t count as he’d be eating mashed parsnips) but James knew Lily was using the cooking to keep herself busy. When one was confined to stay inside, hiding for an unknowable length of time, spending the week cooking for one dinner was an easy way to pass the time.

“Oh, Harry! Are you helping Dada decorate the tree?” Lilly cooed as she took her son from James’ grasp and ran a hand over the tiny whips of dark baby hair. James swished his wand and all the floating baubles circled the tree once more before landing on their designated branches.

“You missed a spot on the tree, Potter,” Lily quipped as she sat herself down on the sofa and adjusted Harry so he could feed. 

“I take no criticisms or feedback regarding my decorating, Evans.” But James flicked his wand anyway with a smile and the ornaments rearranged themselves on the tree so they were more evenly dispersed. 

James joined his wife and son on the couch, pointing his wand at the wireless to fill their quiet house with Christmas carols. James wrapped his arms around Lily bringing his family physically closer to his side and with a content sigh, Lily rested her head on his shoulder. As James looked down at his feeding son, he began to idly slip Lily’s dark red hair through his fingertips.

If a seventeen-year-old James Potter had wandered into a divination class and a classmate told him that in one year's time, at the age of eighteen, he’d join an underground resistance group and be married to the love of his life he’d simply shrug. Of course, that all sounded correct, nor surprises there. But if the student had then told him that a year after that, at the age of nineteen, he and Lily would be expecting a baby he’d probably laugh at the thought. Furthermore, if the classmate went on to say that at the age of twenty James would remove his family from the front lines of war to go into hiding because a prophecy had put his son in ultimate danger, he’d think it all a ridiculous prank.

But that is exactly how his life had turned out.

And even though Harry’s arrival into the world was unplanned and happened a lot sooner than Lily or he had anticipated he didn’t regret it one bit. He loved being a father and he absolutely loved that he got to be Harry’s father in particular. Everything Harry did was amazing, James was in awe of every little move and sound he made. He was pretty sure no baby in the world was a perfect as their Harry.

“Did you hear from Remus yet? I still have the tin of Christmas biscuits I made for him and some pain potions.” Lily interrupted his thoughts.

James tore his eyes from his family to look at the clock on the fireplace mantle. “I don’t think he’ll be stopping by tonight.”

“I worry about him. I don’t think he’s been taking good care of himself. He acts like it is such a burden for me to brew him potions but it really isn’t. It’s nice to feel useful like I'm still helping the cause, you know.”

James looked back at Lily and attempted to sound reassuring, the longer they stayed in hiding the more they worried about their friends and felt helpless to ensure that everyone was safe. “I know. And Remus knows that too. He's just being exceptionally Moony about everything lately.”

“Whatever Dumbledore has him doing is messing with him. He should ask Dumbledore to give him a break or something.”  

“He won’t do that.” James ran a frustrated hand through his messy hair. “How about this? We can ask Sirius to pop by Moony’s parents’ house after Christmas and leave -” With a little gurgle and a giggle Harry interrupted the conversation. “You finished eating, mate? Want to join the conversation?”

Harry’s attentive eyes looked up at James as he switched his attention from Lily to his son. “You looking forward to Father Christmas tomorrow? Did you ask him about the new Comet racing broom?”

“Oh please, James, do not corrupt our son into a quidditch playing hooligan before he can even walk.”

“What are you talking about, Lil? You saw the way he followed the ornaments around the room! He’s going to be a natural!” James exclaimed. Harry was too young to get on a broom but next year he’d be the right age for a toy broomstick and James was greatly looking forward to teaching his son how to fly.

Lily nuzzled herself and Harry closer into James and started humming along to the Christmas tune on the wireless. A warm wave of comfort washed over James. She still smelled of cinnamon.

Despite the terror. 

Despite the isolation. 

Despite the prophecy that threatened to take all of it away. James couldn’t recall ever being happier than the Christmas he spent holding his wife and their soft, giggly, beautiful baby boy in his arms.

[cadet-aviator]

Meeting the Admiral (1)

The officers in the barracks near my school would often have receptions or dinners, and they ‘invited’ a group of us to be there, for what they called ‘conviviality’. Sometimes these were nice occasions where the older officers would chat to us, inquire about our families, our plans and such. Sometimes we were just there for decoration: nice fresh faces in perfect uniform performing as a silent honour guard. 

Since I was an exemplary cadet (and I didn’t have much to do, in the evenings, or in the weekends, other than cadet things) I found myself a guest at these events fairly often, sometimes twice a month.

It may seem a bit odd, perhaps, that a 13-year old would find it fun to mingle with older men, officers, people in authority, and talk to them for a few hours over a glass of Sprite while being totally subservient and polite, but that never crossed my mind. I was being paid attention to, more than at home. 

I was usually quite proud of myself, having passed inspection. I felt ‘perfect’ and even (dare I say it) ‘pure’.

I loved my uniform. I was a master of the tie knot – it would never slip. The crease in my shirt sleeves was razor sharp.

And I was full of admiration of these high ranked officers, who also looked perfect, and who appreciated my efforts in turn. You might say: I was a bit of a lonely child, and I found some warmth there, plus the reassuring effect of simple, rigid rules and regulations.

Then the level was raised. One day, the event was a bit more official than others, as the commander-in-chief of the Malaysian military, an Admiral of the Fleet, was in attendance. This was a serious thing not only because of his rank, but because he was related to the reigning royal family. For a lot of the people that meant he had a status beyond his military rank, perhaps not god-like, but certainly worthy of a certain reverence. 

There were two things which made this a special experience for me.

First of all, the pre-event inspections were even more meticulous than before.

I was instructed how to show deference to His Excellency: I had to kneel and prostrate myself, face down.

I had to be taught exactly how to do this. It took 30 minutes, easily, before the staff felt I was ‘humble’ enough.

The second thing was: His Excellency knew my father. They had had dealings, as my Dad was something like the Military Attaché too – he was not in the military himself, but everything having to do with security and military co-operation (i.e.: arms deals) between the two nations was part of his job. Apparently, the relationship was very friendly.

I would find this out the first time I was presented. I did what I was told, made the sign of obedience and respect, put my face on the floor.

I heard my name whispered by the Admiral’s aide.

When my presence was acknowledged by the Admiral, I was to raise my upper body but stay on my knees, head bowed, until I was dismissed – only then was I allowed to stand, and this was ‘to attention’, no casual chatting or mingling, the focus was always on the high guest.

I was raised up, and His Excellency very kindly talked to me.

He said what a pleasure it was to meet the son of such a distinguished diplomat, and how pleased he was to see a foreign boy so enthusiastically involved in Malaysian cadet service.

I did what was expected. I responded how honoured I was to be in his presence and how wonderful cadet service was, etc.

And then he made me an offer. This would seriously change the course of my young expat life.

(All images are AI-generated)

[hyperfixated-homo]

The Disney Trivia

Ao3 Link (leave a comment if you wanna! it would make my day <3)

Summary:

It's been months now since the side's have made up, and started actually treating each other like family. Now, with everything back together, they have the brilliant idea to play a game of trivia!

In which, Virgil and Roman are the hosts (who knows more about Disney than those two?) and also may be dating, we'll get back to you on that one.

Patton and Janus are flirting the whole time.

And Remus just thinks Logan is neat.

A/N: Holy god that is the most I have ever written in a single session ever. I don't regret it at all, this was amazing asodijowajd. I missed a lot! But it was kinda necessary because the fic would have been hella long otherwise and some of it was contradictory. I hope you guys like it :)

Word Count: 5117

Ships: Mociet, Prinxiety, Intrulogical

Warnings: Mentions of Remus' heart squishing? I don't think there's anything to be really concerned about lmao

“Why are we doing this again?”

“Because DISNEY Logan!”

“That’s not exactly a sufficient answer, Roman.”

Patton smiled at the two of them as they started bickering. Even now, months after their little family sorted through their drama and everyone started getting along, it seemed like some things would never change.

The sides sat together in a large debate hall, apparently a dreamspace Logan had created a while back for a video with Virgil. Back then it had been the two of them arguing over Thomas’ negative thinking, but now it was being used for something much more fun. The side’s first ever proper group trivia!

It was an idea Roman had a couple weeks ago, during their family game nights (which mainly consisted of uncontrollable chaos). He had thrown it out there randomly during a game of Kahoot, but forgot about it shortly after.

It wasn’t until earlier that week that it was brought up again.

Virgil had come up to him shyly asking if he still felt down to do a proper game of trivia, and had suggested the first theme: Disney!

Roman had agreed instantly, and the two of them spent a couple days planning and researching for the game.

The two of them would be running the game as hosts, while the other sides were split into groups of two. Janus and Patton had been dubbed team Mociet, while Logan and Remus were in team Intrulogical.

Patton was more than a little confused when Remus started giggling at the names, but shrugged it off.

The room had been decorated more interestingly for the fun occasion. Roman and Virgil had stated that they wanted to go all out for this trivia, even if it’s more of a joke than anything else.

The curtains behind were closed, colored black as they were before, but now had added detailing that made it a less monotone background. They had strung up simple banners on the wall, and there were more than a couple new lights in the room that they wanted to use for aesthetic purposes. The floor had been changed to carpeting that had a full rainbow gradient from one corner of the room to the other.

But most importantly was the art.

Hundreds of paintings of Disney characters lined the walls. Different, stylised versions of every princess, prince and villain imaginable had been drawn on them in bright, vibrant colors.

Logan was very confused when he saw them, noting that they wouldn’t be seen much anyways since the attention would be on the judges and the stage, so he didn’t understand why they would put so much effort into it.

Roman said that it didn’t matter.

(The amount of fun that he and Remus had painting them together more than made up for it.)

It was a very neat set up! And according to the boys, there were a couple other things too that they hadn't even shown yet, because they wanted it to be a surprise for when the game actually started.

“Wow, they’re still going?”

Janus’ voice cut through Patton’s thoughts, snapping his attention to the snakey side on his left.

“Huh? Oh- they stopped arguing about the scoreboard ten minutes ago. This is a new argument.”

Janus looked at him with a deadpan expression that Patton couldn’t help but smile at.

“It’s not that bad. We just need to wait for Virgil to get the cards! He’s not going to take that long.”

Janus’ eyes softened quickly, and he turned to look back at Logan and Roman. “Yes… I suppose so. We’ll just have to wait.”

Then he turned back around, suddenly seeming a lot more competitive. “What’s our game plan?”

Patton blinked. He had absolutely no clue what Janus was talking about.

“The what now?”

Janus sighed, fondly exasperated.

“How are we going to win this Patton? You probably know at least a little bit about disney. I’m going to be fully honest, I know virtually nothing. I would say that the teams are fair in that sense except Logan’s a massive Marvel nerd and Remus knows almost as much about Disney in general as Roman, so it really isn’t. We’re at a massive disadvantage here.”

Patton blinked, again.

And Janus sighed, again.

“Do we not- is there no game plan?”

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhh,” Patton looked between him and Roman. “…be nice and hope for the best?”

Janus looked at him for a moment, then once again turned away, mumbling something about how hard it would be to gaslight Virgil into giving them points. Patton was about to make a concerned remark when the door slammed open and the anxious side himself walked into the room.

“Alright losers, stop the fighting. It’s game time.”

Roman audibly squealed, immediately stumbling over to his stand.

“Okay everybody stand in your area. Go stand- you too remus, you stand normally by your podium. We’re starting! Play the music! Why isn’t- LOGAN, THIS IS YOUR DREAMSCAPE, PLAY THE MUSIC!”

Logan rolled his eyes, but complied with the prince’s request, snapping his fingers. The Disney theme started playing, and suddenly the lights shut off.

As the music swelled, new, brighter spotlights slammed on, and the four contestants were surprised to see that they’d been changed into stunning suits and corsets, similar to their outfits at the courtroom but clearly glamorized by Roman. Their podiums had changed as well, the old wooden stands being covered fabric of their own colors with their symbols at the bottom.

Before they had time to even mention the change, another bright spotlight illuminated their hosts. Virgil and Roman were also wearing new clothes, much more layered outfits with more designs sewn into them. Virgil was sat down behind a tilted table that no doubt hid the question cards, while Roman stood in front of them.

The short intro theme faded into a bright show theme, something Patton vaguely recognised.

Roman jumped forwards, welcoming them to the show and going over a prepared speech that played in time with the music.

“Welcome everyone to the first ever Sanders Sides Trivia! Not about us, but being played by us! Today we have a very special theme, suggested by my darling emo nightmare behind me,” Virgil blushed and gave a little wave “DISNEY!”

Patton cheered. Remus joined in, and then all four of them were clapping for Roman.

His eyes were alight as he walked in front of them, posture bubbly in a way that it only ever was when he got the chance to be on stage.

“Thank you! Thank you all!” He took a mock bow.

“Today on the stage we have our two wonderful teams! First up, Team Mociet! Featuring everyone’s favorite father figure, Patton, and the slithery snake himself, Janus!”

Remus whooped from beside them, and Logan and Virgil clapped for them loudly.

Janus loudly said “Totally hate being here today, how dare you invite me.”

Patton waved at everyone, unable to stop himself from giggling.

“And as their competitors today, we’ve got our brilliant book nerd, Logan, and his partner in crime (who may or may not have actually committed some crimes), Remus!”

He and Janus cheered for them, and Remus laughed maniacally while the two of them waved as well.

“I am, of course, Roman Sanders, and this is Virgil! We will be your hosts today everybody!” he continued. The four of them together gave them a round of applause, Patton and Remus yelling out compliments over the loud noise.

“Thank you, thank you. And thank you all for coming! We’re going to go over some ground rules first, before the game can officially start, so we can just jump straight into it!”

He made his way behind the table, as he said that, sitting down. The next part was apparently Virgil’s job to present.

“We’re playing by a point system. You are given points for getting questions right, giving us a good argument or just being cool in general. We’d set better requirements but honestly, I’m sure that all of you guys would find a loophole no matter what rules we set. So we’re not doing that. Points are given based entirely on how me and Roman feel about your answers.” He leaned forwards in his chair, and rested his head in his hands, elbows on the table.

“We can also add points at any time in the game!” Roman chimed in quickly “Not just during question times! For example, padre, I’m loving the attitude right now. Plus ten points!”

There was a loud ring, and then the curtains opened behind them to show a big board, with the two teams' scores on it. Team Mociet had ten points.

Virgil continued. “We can and will take away points, too. Not for getting questions wrong, but for other things. Arguments we don’t like, trying to cheat, sabotage, all that good stuff. Like, say, that stupid hat Janus is still wearing. Minus ten points. Bad hat.”

There was a sort of power down sound, and they watched the points be erased and go down to zero.

Janus didn’t say anything. He just looked at Virgil with the most “are you serious right now” face he could muster. Patton tried his absolute hardest to not laugh next to him. He mostly succeeded.

Virgil was not phased.

“Also, fun fact, even though we can’t actually participate or win, me and Roman can also get points. Because we’re just superior to you guys in every way. We have pretty general rules here, no changing the answer, no physical fighting, no attempted murder, the usual things. Basically just don’t break our monopoly rules and we’ll probably be fine.”

“We’re also not going to win anything.” Patton wondered how long Virgil and Roman had rehearsed this for them to be this in sync. “This is obviously just for fun. No need to get too competitive. I’m looking at you Logan.”

“That’s bold coming from the guy who played checkers with Janus for five hours because he refused to stop until he won a game.” Remus called out.

“That’s not what we’re talking about right now.” Roman replied “And honestly, you would have too if you saw how close I was. There were so many times I almost won. We tied at least-”

“ANYWAYS!” Virgil interrupted him. If Roman started rambling now they would never actually play. “That’s all we have to say. We might add or change some rules later on if things are too chaotic.”

“Right, right. Okay! With that all out of the way, let the games begin!”

A happy little tune that sounded somewhat similar to the ending of a looney toons episode played, and the lights flickered on again.

There was silence for a moment in the debate room, and then Virgil spoke quietly.

“So… how was that?”

“Guys that was amazing!! Oh my goodness I loved it!!” Patton was practically vibrating on the spot from pure excitement over the performance that the two of them just gave.

“Oh I absolutely despised the personal nicknames. Horribly kind of you.” Janus couldn’t seem to keep a smile off his face, clearly also very hyped up.

“I was not expecting the lightshow, I will admit. It was a brilliant choice to use that blackout period to change the scenery, we were all invested quite quickly.” Logan commented.

“Very good idea. We all look hotter than a hooker on a Friday evening in these clothes!” Was Remus’ response. An interesting complement, but a complement nonetheless.

Their judges were clearly happy with the positive reception, Roman hardly able to keep still in his chair and Virgil’s eyeshadow glowing a bright, glittery purple.

“Then let us not waste any more time! Onwards, to the competition!”

Patton let himself relax into a more comfortable standing position, as the category of the first questions were announced.

They would have an absolute blast playing this, he was sure. He just wondered if it would get as chaotic as their previous family times.

———

Everything instantly fell apart.

Well, instantly was a bit of a stretch. Everyone behaved for at least five minutes, usually the game nights spiral downhill as soon as it starts!

Patton just needs to keep looking at the positives. If not, he might literally explode.

“THUMBS both ARE and ARE NOT FINGERS, ROMAN. Some people, especially those in the medical field, do refer to them as such for simplicity's sake, but the truth is that the answer to that question is SUBJECTIVE. They have a DIFFERENT ANATOMY, ROMAN. I DID NOT ANSWER INCORRECTLY.”

“LOGAN THE QUESTION WAS HOW MANY FINGERS MICKEY MOUSE HAS. IT ISN’T THAT COMPLICATED.”

“DEFINE A FINGER FOR ME ROMAN. DEFINE IT. TELL ME WHAT A FINGER IS. IS A THUMB A FINGER TO YOU? IS IT? DOES EVERYONE HERE CONSIDER A THUMB A FINGER?”

Remus raised his hand lazily, pretending to not find this entire situation hilarious. “I don’t think a thumb is a finger. It’s a digit.”

“REMUS STOP SUCKING UP TO LOGAN LIKE THAT FOR MORE POINTS-”

It was honestly sort of amazing that they’d managed to start screaming at each other so quickly. They hadn't even gotten to the actual “debate for points” questions. These were just regular trivia. And yet they somehow managed to start a debate. About fingers.

When Virgil said that they could gain points by “giving a good argument”, Patton didn’t think he considered how far Logan and Janus were willing to go to convince the others that they were correct. Maybe he forgot that one debated for fun and the other liked to pretend to be a lawyer. This was bound to happen eventually.

Although, Patton wasn’t really focusing on that right now, but rather the fact that Janus was trying to change the points on the scoreboard behind them again.

“Jan! Stop that!” He whisper shouted.

“Stop what? I’m not doing anything.” He lied. Like a liar.

“Stop trying to give us points, we’re tied already, it doesn’t matter!”

Indeed, the two teams were tied at 30 points each, after seven questions. So far, they had been pretty simple, and the reason that their team didn’t have more points was because Virgil had randomly decided to subtract five from them, because he “felt like Janus was up to something. Nothing in particular but… something.”

He was right, obviously. Janus was trying to steal the question cards from the host table with one of his spare hands. But Virgil didn’t know that.

“No, you're right. I’m sorry sweetheart. There’s no point in cheating this early in the game, it’ll just make the others suspicious and make it harder to do so later on. I’ll save that one for later” Janus winked.

“That is not what I meant and you know it mister.” Patton crossed his arms, as if that would make Janus take him more seriously.

“Do I?” His mischievous smirk only seemed to grow.

“Yes! You do!”

“Sorry about that darling. I’ll get it eventually, promise.” Even if Patton wasn’t literally face to face with him right now, he would be able to hear the smirk in Janus’ voice.

“That’s-”

“FINE. YOU GUYS CAN GET TWO POINTS. IS THAT OKAY?”

“FINE.”

“FINE.”

Roman threw his hand up and the scoreboard behind them changed to show the numbers 30 - 32.

All four of the other sides just stared at the two of them.

“Okay, Virgil, what’s the next question?”

He looked Roman up and down, squinted, and then looked away.

“Uh… when did snow white come out.”

“Alright. JANUS.” The deceitful side jumped slightly, then turned to Roman, smoothing out his outfit as if it never happened.

“Right. What’s the question?”

“Minus five points for not paying attention.”

“Wha- excuse me?” Janus stared at Virgil in shock. “That’s not fair-”

“Shoulda been listening dude. You keep forgetting that we can do that. Pay attention.” Virgil smirked at Janus’ barely concealed rage. “The question is what year Snow White came out.”

Janus rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Pfft, easy. 1957”

Roman stood up quickly, and in a dramatic gesture moved to point at Janus “HAH, WRONG! It was-”

“No, it’s not! It’s totally 1947! Are you just making stuff up to make me lose?”

Roman stared at him, immediately stumped. He spluttered out a “What? No! I promise it’s-”

But Janus was quick, and also an expert gaslighter. “Then did someone change the date on the flash card? Because it was definitely 1937! How could you get such an easy question wrong!?”

Roman’s mouth opened and closed a couple times, as if he was trying to refute the statement but couldn’t find the words.

“When did it come out then?”

Virgil rolled his eyes in response. “1937. Dude you were off by like twenty years.”

“No he wasn’t.” Remus’ voice. Yet again speaking purely to add on to this meaningless argument, adding flame to the fire. “He said 1937.”

Virgil looked at him like he’d grown four heads. “N- dude did you miss that entire conversation? He said 1957.”

“He did also say 1937, though.” Said Logan, as if he was helping them in literally any way. “Are we still counting it if he changes his answer before the actual answer is revealed? His final date was 1937.”

Roman just stood there, trying and failing to process their questions. Virgil answered for him.

“We. We’re not accepting that. Final decision. We’re the hosts here, and he’s not getting any points.” Then he turned to glare at Janus again. “Matter of fact, minus five points for trying to trick us.”

Now it was Janus’ turn to splutter, exclaiming various forms of “what the hell, Virgil?” and “why??? Just why???”

Patton sighed, leaning down to lay his head on his stand.

“Patton! This next question is for you!”

He snapped his head up to look at them, smiling on instinct. “Yeah! I got this!”

“I thought it was one question per team-” Logan tried to interject but Roman steamrolled over him.

“How many years was Genie from Aladdin trapped in the magic lamp?”

“Oh! Uhh… like a hundred thousand years right? It was a really long time!”

Roman looked at his card, then at Virgil. He just shrugged. “Close enough.”

The princely side turned back to Patton, a beaming smile on his face. “Great job popstar, 10 points for you! You’re doing fantastic!”

“Ten poi- he didn’t even get it right?!”

“Shush up Logan, he deserves it. Anyways, Remus!”

Patton found himself smiling as well. The fact that his kiddos would give him points even when he got it wrong, ah he loved them so much!

He looked over to see what Janus thought, only to see him quickly turn away to look at their friends. He caught a glimpse of a smile on his face though, a moment of fondness in his expression.

And then Patton found himself smiling a whole lot more.

It was nice. This was nice. Maybe a little bit chaotic, but when were they not?

Besides, it wasn’t that bad.

———

At some point during the trivia, Virgil and Roman had started to give themselves points. Which was fine, they had mentioned that they would do so at the start after all!

But then they started doing so increasingly often.

Like, every couple minutes often.

For things like how cute the other looked, or how smart they were, or how well they worked together.

And they gave each other a lot of points. Like, hundreds of points. Way too many points, considering the fact that it was over double the amount of points the two teams had combined.

So Remus and Logan, the competitive bastards that they were, of course immediately decided to comment on it and start a debate on whether it was appropriate to give each other points for things like “the color of their eyes” (Roman you can’t give your team points every time you look at Virgil because you think he’s pretty. If we could all do that then what is even the point of the point system in the first place?)

And the hosts immediately took offense, justifying it by saying that they were the ones in charge here, so obviously they got to decide what was and wasn’t a good reason to give someone points.

Which prompted Janus to start another debate about how unjust it was that the two of them were in complete control in this situation even though it was not through democratic election, thus making them the unofficial rulers of a self proclaimed biarchy.

To which they responded that since it’s not a government system, it doesn’t work like that.

And now they were talking about kingdom hierarchy, in the middle of a disney debate.

And yet again, Patton could not find reason to care, because Janus was once again attempting to change the scores in their favor.

“Jay! We said that you couldn’t do this!”

“We said? I think you mean you said, my dear. I never agreed to anything.”

Patton threw his head back tiredly. “Janus, that’s cheating. It’s not fair to the others! We aren’t even winning anything, there’s no need to keep trying to find ways to win!”

“Oh but Patton, I need to do something to assist you! After all, you’ve almost been carrying me this whole game!”

That was true. Virgil and Roman had tried their absolute hardest to find ways to discredit Janus’ every answer, and take away points from him at any chance they got. In direct juxtaposition, they gave Patton as many points as they possibly could, even for completely incorrect answers.

(Patton didn’t really know how to explain that the points didn’t really mean anything to him, and by now was answering wrong just to see how Janus would react when they gave him the points. The fact that they were somehow still above negative points was honestly just a bonus.)

“C’mon sugar, let me do this? Please?”

Well. If Janus was going to play it like that, then Patton was going to have to bring out the big guns as well.

He turned to him, opened his eyes, and gave him is best pouty face.

He saw the exact moment Janus’ face went from “smug flirting” to “oh no he’s cute”.

He had to fight to not blush at the way the snake looked at him.

(Janus couldn’t stop looking at his eyes, his lips, the soft curves of his face as he tried to win him over. Patton looked every bit like the sweetheart Janus kept calling him.)

He sighed, closing his eyes, and pretending that he wasn’t completely melting on the inside. “…I suppose it doesn’t matter that much. If it really upsets you, I’ll stop.”

Patton’s face split and without really thinking about it, he launched himself forwards to crush Janus in a hug.

Arms wrapped around him by instinct (too many arms for a normal person, probably, but Patton had always thought that more arms meant more comfort). He laughed out a small thank you, burying his face into Janus’ suit.

“Yes, yes, I’m amazing, I know. Go back to your stand, you’re making me look soft.”

Patton laughed at the comment, but did indeed stand up and go back to his podium (he didn’t mention the fact that despite the complaints, Janus didn’t try to separate himself from him until Patton did).

The others had been arguing for far too long now anyways.

“I’m just saying, we should definitely have guillotined more rulers! It would have fixed so many problems!”

Wait, what?

“Remus, that would be RIDICULOUS. They didn’t have the concept of free will, or rights back then. They just would have elected another bad ruler!”

“Guys what the hell are we talking about.”

The conversation died instantly. The four of them looked at each other, and then at Janus, and then back at each other.

“I uh… I have no clue.” Was Virgil’s reply.

Which was typical. And also understandable. But maybe not what they should be doing right now.

“…okay. Can we get back to trivia now. That’s… that’s like the only reason we’re here in this stupidly fancy room, still standing up, still killing my legs. Can we wrap this up please.”

Roman snapped into action, getting the cards and moving swiftly on to the next question.

“Right! Yeah! Y'know what, we’re going to do a couple flash rounds. Me and Virge will just call out some questions and whoever answers first and most accurately gets points. Good?”

They nodded.

The game continued.

———

“Order!” Roman called out in the loud room. “Order in the court! This is the FINAL question! Up for debate here my guys, gals and nonbinary pals. Completely subjective, alright?”

Everyone hushed up, ready to answer the final question.

“Who is the best Disney prince?”

“Flynn Rider.” Four voices called out simultaneously.

The hosts paused for a moment, before looking at each other, and then back at their contestants.

“Correct. Five hundred points for everyone. Good game!”

“Well, this was a miserable experience. I despised every part of it.” he smiled at Virgil and Roman, not out of mischief or irritation but of pure, unfiltered care. “Thank you for organizing this. It was wonderful.”

Patton nodded aggressively next to him. “Yeah!! We got super side tracked but by golly was it fun!”

Roman laughed, and Virgil’s eyeshadow seemed to brighten a few shades to match the pink growing on his cheeks.

“Yeah it was… it was fun or whatever.”

“It was enjoyable.” Said Logan from beside them. His voice was low, a little raw from how much yelling he did in the two hours they spent doing the trivia. “Even though it devolved quickly into something that was most definitely not trivia.”

“Maybe next time we should have another group host it.” Remus said. “Y’know, like the winners of this game get to choose a theme for the next time.”

All of them seemed to perk up a little at that idea.

“Who won?” asked Janus.

“Not you guys.” was Virgil’s immediate response.

Janus hissed at him. Virgil hissed back.

“Did we even count the points?” Roman squinted at the board behind them, as if closing his eyes would make the massive numbers on them make more sense.

“I believe you stopped trying to actually calculate it when you started adding thousands onto the board. Much less the millions.

Roman shrugged. “Eh. That’s fair. We don’t really know who won then. Maybe we can hold a vote or something.”

Logan hummed. “That would be appropriate.”

Patton felt a hand rest on his, atop his podium.

He smiled, and closed his eyes.

For a moment there was peace. The group was tired out, energy completely depleted after that rollercoaster of emotions.

“…Maybe Janus should be disqualified though. I would consider changing the question cards and the scoreboards quite an easy disqualifier.”

“He did WHAT.”

———

Maybe it was a little bit mean for Remus to tell Logan that Janus had cheated right at the end there. Everyone was tired after all, so there was no point in wasting any of their remaining energy on questioning how he did it.

But Remus was petty.

And Janus did try to mess with his score.

All is fair in love and war.

Besides, who would he even be if he didn’t try to cause a little chaos right at the end?

He looked over at the other sides from his spot in between his and Logan’s podiums, bent in a position that would probably be impossible, if he weren’t an imaginary person who could make his spine disappear if he wanted to.

Janus was trying to justify himself to a group of three angry light sides, although it was clear that most of that effort went into trying to explain his methods to Patton. Said moral side was making an attempt to scold him that would probably be more effective if he looked in any way mad, and not just like his kitty had clawed up his favorite couch cushion. Roman and Virgil were leaning together in their seats, heads leaning on each other and holding hands.

He turned to look at his teammate. Logan stood resting his elbows on the podium in a rare moment of relaxation. He was observing the “fight” just as Remus was before, but usual cold expression was replaced with a soft, happy smile.

Something about it made Remus’ heart squish strangely. Maybe he was having heart palpitations.

He untangled himself enough to poke Logan's leg with his foot.

“Psst.”

Logan turned to look down. The fondness remained on his face, albeit with a little bit of added confusion.

He looked really hot from down here, damn.

“What is it you need, Remus?”

“If you could see any marvel scene in real life right now, to study, what scene would it be.”

Logan furrowed his brow and tilted his head. “…Comic book or movie scene?”

Remus shimmied, moving around so that he could stand up.

“Either.”

Logan took a moment to think, looking away from him in concentration. “Hm… there’s a fascinating scene in the marvel comics where the Scarlet Witch removes the abilities of all mutants from planet earth, almost by accident, because she doesn’t want them and the humans to keep fighting. Although, I suppose that’s not exactly a visitable scene, since her powers are never really thought to be observable in that sense.” He looked at Remus again, who was now standing up. “I would want to see what Tony Stark’s lab looks like. I know most of the science there isn’t real by any means, but it would still be fascinating to see how he would theoretically create his suits and weaponry.”

That sounded really smart. And complicated. And like it would take a lot of effort.

Remus reached out and grabbed him by the hand.

And suddenly, they weren’t in Logan’s dreamscape anymore, but Remus’.

Although it didn’t look like what his dreamscape usually looked like.

There were tables and tables of tech all around them. Holograms and metal scraps and projects were laid out that looked incredibly similar to the ones in the original Marvel movies. There were some odd choices of weapons, for sure, some of them seemingly old fashioned and not at all what would actually be in Ironman’s lab.

It didn’t matter.

And it didn’t matter how much energy it took Remus to make the room. Or how much his head hurt trying to remember basic mechanics so that he could make anything here believable.

None of it mattered.

It was all worth it, for the way Logan screamed in happiness.

[shslskaterboy]

Got any more Akira headcanons to share? I could use some more objectively correct info about the borblo

Hobie my beloved Hobie you know I absolutely do

Autism ❤️

I think I have said it before but fuck it were saying it again, I really like the idea of his glasses being his metaphorical safety blanket. They act as a physical barrier between him and the world and I think they would make eye contact less itchy for him (this is actually an idea I play around with in my fics a lot so if you’re paying attention it’s a good indicator of his mental state)

I believe wholeheartedly that he can cook (strikers is right there it gave us the evidence) but I think he often struggles with cooking for himself. Just too much time and effort and it would be so much easier to just eat whatever, but when he’s got an external motivator (ie other people who are depending on him) then he finds it very doable to cook proper meals

He was totally one of those kids who could read an entire book in one sitting. Absolutely ravenous about them, book fairs were his shit, he would get an entire pile of books (most of which were about special interests) and then read them with his big autistic eyes 8000 times

I like the idea of him helping Ryuji do his hair and being really good at it bc he’s very meticulous and good with his hands. Boy really maxed dexterity and he’s making full use of it by never getting even a speck of bleach on his boyfriend’s skin

He dresses well, albeit rather plain as a teenager, but I think he gets a lot more comfortable expressing himself when he’s older on account of having a secure group of friends to back him up. He is just such a guy who would have piercings and have such a collection of accessories and shiny things to decorate himself with, and I think he would have such fun with it

Genderfluid Akira. Need I say more? He’s literally the most gender guy ever and I think he should use whatever pronouns he wants forever and wear pretty dresses and put makeup on and make everyone confused all the time

And finally I think he’s in gay love with Ryuji and they kiss about it all the time 🥰

[delopsia]

So when the 3 move in together how much input do each of the boys give on decor? Did they have to settle with like “this is your room to do whatever you want to” for each of us? Like an office concept for each of us? Or did they all just let one person do most of it? Or were they all cohesive and in sync abt decor?

I feel like they each have a wall/section of wall dedicated to each person’s achievements like displaying some of bobs navy stuff and Rhett’s riding accomplishments and our whatever we do. And in the middle they would maybe have a picture of the 3 of them (I feel like their marriage certificate because they can’t get legally married was scribbled onto the back of a paper place mat (in crayon) in a restaurant and they could 100% edit one to look better but they are all sentimental abt it)

Also I feel like the favorite toys have been almost included into the decor of their room just because they get used so often that once they get cleaned it’s almost silly to put them away away

I like to think its a mix of separate rooms and collaborative decor!

Bob's got a personal office, which is where a lot of his decor winds up migrating to. He had a nice setup in his old apartment, but a lot of the decor was very neutral. He was never really home often enough to see a point in settling on a theme, so he kept buying things that would match just about anything. Which means a lot of his things will fit right in with Reader and Rhett.

Rhett never had much to his name; his biggest possession was his truck, and his two-decade-old bed was not worth hauling. All he brings (aside from clothes) is a bunch of plaid blankets, a couple of pictures, an Xbox, a stereo he found at a yard sale in 2011, way too many CDs, and a wooden boot jack.

A lot of it falls down on the Reader's sense of style and how they decorate. If they bring a bunch of decorative items, then chances are the decor is going to compliment that by default; if not, then they take some time to explore different decor styles to figure out what suits them the best. Regardless of how they decide, it's a group effort.

Everyone gets to have their input on the main, overall style, but everyone has their "own room" in the house to retreat into. Bob's got his office, Rhett's got a cozy game room down in the basement, and the Reader has their choice of what room they have. Marrying two introverts naturally leads to a value of separate spaces, places to retreat and express without unintentionally stepping on the foot of another.

I love the idea of them having a big collage wall right by the front door, full of photos of them from over the years, with their wedding photo in the center. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't already warp this mythical world into allowing a trio to be married 😭

The toys just hang around in the open until one accidentally winds up in the back of a picture dfkjhg. After that, a drawer is cleaned out in the bedside table for the favorites because Bob would never recover if he'd sent that photo of his new shoes and someone had pointed out the bright blue strapon in the background...

[olderthannetfic]

I think something a lot of folks don't consider as well about Canadians Americans and all of us white folk who say we are X when we really mean our ancestors came from X country, a lot of us aren't that far removed from those countries and while we've lost a lot of the culture in an attempt to homogenize we still have little bits and pieces usually in food or in slang that was passed down. On my dad's side I have mostly German ancestry and that means that the lasts names are all over the place because their names where Anglicized to make them less German during the war which has made it a nightmare to try and actually track information about ancestors. My mum's side is primarily Irish and Scottish my great grandmother according to my mum still had an accent and my grandmothers house still has hangings and other bits of decor that have family crests and other emblems. We cling to our culture because our ancestors tried their darndest to get rid of it in an effort to in some cases distance themselves from unsavoury comparisons which is how you have Germanic names spelled ten thousand different ways even within the same family (I've got a set of great or great great uncles who's last names where all Anglicized slightly differently) or who just wanted to fit in so that they weren't othered, because while for the most part North America isn't blatantly xenophobic to white immigrants anymore that hasn't always been the case and being different put a target on your back. We cling on to what we know because it's all we have, to try and connect with our in some cases not so distant ancestors.

--

The diaspora vs. people still in the place conflict exists with all groups, usually with the same anger about authenticity and appropriation.

In this case, it's magnified by the perception that Americans are annoying and ubiquitous, but the tension would be there even if the US declined in prominence considerably.

[muzaktomyears]

As Ringo Starr observed, “There was the love-and-beads personality and the bag of anger.” The first really did blossom in India, whether it meant putting in the hours to learn the sitar under the great Ravi Shankar or finding tranquillity in Rishikesh in the company of the Maharishi. The problem with the spiritual pursuit is that it can be mistaken for a quick road to enlightenment, particularly among Westerners discovering Eastern traditions, and Harrison proved to be no more rapidly enlightened than the next would-be yogi. The Beatles’ press officer Derek Taylor recalled a transatlantic flight on which Harrison was chanting his mantra. When a concerned flight attendant asked if everything was all right, he snapped: “F*** off. Can’t you see I’m meditating?”

quote from the Times review of Philip Norman's George Harrison: The Reluctant Beatle

George Harrison by Philip Norman review — the tetchy, much mocked, reluctant Beatle

Harrison was a sensitive soul overshadowed by his bandmates but he blossomed musically after the Fab Four broke up. By Will Hodgkinson

If the title of Philip Norman’s biography makes you wonder why anyone would be reluctant to be a Beatle, the first few chapters provide the answer. Coming from a loving, supportive, working class family in Liverpool, George Harrison was 14 when an amiable Paul McCartney invited him to join a loosely congregated skiffle group called the Quarrymen. To which the group’s acid-tongued 17-year-old leader John Lennon responded: “Who’s that bloody kid who’s always hanging around?”

It didn’t help that Lennon’s guardian, Aunt Mimi, a frightful snob, took in Harrison’s teddy boy gear, Scouse accent and sticky-out ears and dismissed him as exactly the kind of riff-raff her nephew should not be hanging around with. As Lennon recalled, “He came round to [Aunt Mimi’s house] one day and asked me to go to the pictures with him. I pretended I was too busy.”

Did it get better for that bloody kid once he was officially a Beatle? No, it did not. So quiet that one early associate remembered him as “the Invisible Man”, Harrison was routinely subjected to all manner of indignities — he lost his virginity in a Hamburg bunk bed while John, Paul and the band’s original drummer Pete Best looked on; and when he vomited on the floor of a Hamburg flat in a drunken stupor one night, the other Beatles christened his puke of shame “the Thing” and decorated it with matchsticks.

Given this early treatment, you can see why it was so hard for Harrison to be taken seriously by his tormentors in the years to come. It meant that however good his songs were — and few can argue that Isn’t It a Pity and All Things Must Pass are not profound, moving highlights of the hippie era — Harrison was forever struggling to get them onto Beatles records.

He must have felt his moment had come when All Things Must Pass, his triple album released in November 1970 in the wake of the Beatles falling apart, stamped all over the others’ solo efforts by going straight to No 1. Yet, like an older brother who knows how to twist the knife, Lennon even cut that down. “Every time I put the radio on, it’s ‘Oh my Lord,’” Lennon said of My Sweet Lord. “I’m beginning to think there must be a God.” Lennon appraised Harrison’s signature spiritual singalong with a demeaning “all right”, claiming that Harrison only ever managed to bash out a tune in the first place because “he was working with two f***ing brilliant songwriters and he learned a lot from us”.

Norman has fashioned an authoritative portrait of Harrison that leaves you liking and feeling sympathy for his subject while being fully aware of the tetchiness — quite common among people aiming for a higher state of consciousness, funnily enough — that was never far away.

As Ringo Starr observed, “There was the love-and-beads personality and the bag of anger.” The first really did blossom in India, whether it meant putting in the hours to learn the sitar under the great Ravi Shankar or finding tranquillity in Rishikesh in the company of the Maharishi. The problem with the spiritual pursuit is that it can be mistaken for a quick road to enlightenment, particularly among Westerners discovering Eastern traditions, and Harrison proved to be no more rapidly enlightened than the next would-be yogi. The Beatles’ press officer Derek Taylor recalled a transatlantic flight on which Harrison was chanting his mantra. When a concerned flight attendant asked if everything was all right, he snapped: “F*** off. Can’t you see I’m meditating?”

One person who did understand Harrison was his first wife, Pattie Boyd. She lived with him in a gothic mansion near Henley called Friar Park, filled with Hare Krishnas and rockers, leading her to ask Harrison’s assistant Chris O’Dell, “What’s he got in his hands today, the prayer beads or the cocaine?” Boyd made up a third of the most famous love triangle in rock history, with Eric Clapton not only writing Layla about her, but also consulting the New Orleans musician Dr John, who he suspected of having voodoo powers, about casting a spell to make Boyd fall in love with him. After Harrison caught her canoodling with Clapton in the garden of Robert Stigwood’s house, Clapton announced, in the faux casual argot of the era, “I have to tell you, man, I’m in love with your wife.” Harrison dealt with it the only way an emotionally constipated former Beatle knew how: by challenging Clapton to a guitar duel.

All of this is imparted in an affectionate but detached tone, leading to an impression of a man who, although burdened with an apparent inability to lighten up, generally sought to do the right thing. His 1971 Concert for Bangladesh started the trend for charity rock endeavours and collected together everyone from Bob Dylan to Shankar in what Rolling Stone magazine called “a brief incandescent revival of all that was best in the Sixties”. He funded Monty Python’s Life of Brian by actually betting the house on it, negotiating a bank loan secured against Friar Park.

By the time he settled down with his second wife, Olivia, and their son, Dhani, he seemed to have arrived at some kind of actual peace rather than just the prayer bead-wearing sort. He reconciled with McCartney while working on the enormous Beatles Anthology project in the mid-Nineties and rediscovered his sense of humour too. In 1999, after a mentally ill intruder at Friar Park stabbed him repeatedly, Harrison announced that the intruder “certainly wasn’t auditioning for the Traveling Wilburys”.

Norman is something of a one-man Beatles industry. In 1981 he published the million-selling Shout! The True Story of the Beatles before continuing with biographies of Lennon and McCartney, but hopes of writing one on Harrison were dashed in November 2001 after a mean-spirited obituary he wrote ensured he would receive no cooperation from Olivia or Dhani.

In the event it doesn’t seem to have mattered too much, with Boyd in particular helping to fill out the story of a sensitive man and the part he played in late 20th-century life. Harrison doesn’t come across as a reluctant Beatle as such, more a normal guy who found himself in extraordinary circumstances and, lacking McCartney’s professionalism or Lennon’s cynicism, didn’t know how to handle it. The quiet Beatle, only 58 when he died, was simply trying to work it all out, just like the rest of us.

(source)