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#1. why does it need to be a straight romance why does it need to be a romance at all like im not saying you cant have ships obviously but li

respectthepetty · 2 days

Note

do you happen to have any other bls with toxic kings up your sleeve? i’m as giddy as you when it comes to ming! i’m newer to bls, so there’s a good chance i haven’t seen whatever you suggest.

Anon, I have an entire roster of toxic characters because

I LOVE TOXIC BITCHES!

Like 2 Chainz rapped on one of my favorite songs, "I love bad bitches, that's my fuckin' problem" which is why I HATE when a story won't allow characters to be toxic. Like we all know the character IS toxic, but the story keeps telling us he isn't that bad or he is only that bad because reasons. Regardless of the reasons, the character is a bad bitch so why not just let him fucking own it, which is truly the reason Only Friends pissed me off so much.

Case and point, my favorite characters were Ray and Nick. Ray was calling Sand a whore every two seconds and throwing money at him, while Nick was recording non-consexual sex tapes, yet the narrative wanted me to think they were just sad dudes who were slightly problematic.

NAH! Nick straight up said he was trash! THEY WERE TOXIC just like everyone else in that damn show!

Which is why I liked Kang in Dangerous Romance because I don't feel like the narrative eased up on his toxicity. In fact, I feel like the story said Sailom was into it with that master/servant scene at the very end.

So in order for me to love a toxic character, they must 1) be considered toxic by the story, and 2) stay toxic, so I'm going to give you a list of ten of my favorites, but know that spoilers are coming your way too. Also know that I do not recommend anything, ever, so these are not recommendations. These are merely my favorite toxicitos.

Mis tóxicos favoritos

presented in no particular order

Todd - Not Me

This man had his lover (it's canon to me) beat into a coma. Then, he went and grabbed that man's twin brother and made him take on his lover's persona all so he could overthrow his competition and be the number one evil capitalist. And then, AND THEN, he was excited to see his lover, Black, return even though he knew that meant he was probably going to die. Honestly, his entire relationship with Black was toxic, and I desperately need more of it. Not Me 2: Blackout when? WHEN, GMMTV?!

Rio & Kido - The Novelist Series

Rio blew Kido in front of an old man in broad daylight, so they could get a book deal. That's just one of the many fucked up things these two did together, but they were even worse apart. Rio lied to a college student for months about his arm being injured and writing pornographic novels just to turn on the college student and fuck him because . . . he was bored? It's deeper than that, but it kinda ain't. Rio and Kido did toxic shit to feel alive and that's my special brand of toxic. I will never make excuses for them. I like them this way.

Yai - Big Dragon

The very beginning of this show, as in the very first scene, is Yai and Mangkorn having sex AFTER Yai drugged Mangkorn in hopes of sexually assaulting him and recording it. AND MANGKORN IS INTO IT! Yai tries to steal Mangkorn's phone and ruin his life too, but Mangkorn is so in love with Yai, that he is willing to play along with whatever Yai does including fighting Yai. This is one of my favorite BLs for a multitude of reasons, but the biggest is because instead of trying to tame Yai, Mangkorn just decided to match his toxic energy! I love that for them.

Songpol - Club Friday

Bank plays toxic very well, which is why he has two characters on this list, even though this show isn't technically a BL. Club Friday is already a hot mess express, so to be the most toxic character in a show filled with toxic characters means that Songpol was TOK-SICK! He cheated on his boyfriend with multiple men. When his boyfriend left him for a woman, he showed up outside of that woman's house calling her a whore. He then went to their wedding just so he could fuck his ex in a bathroom (on his wedding day). He continued to hook up with his ex, and sent a video to his ex's wife of them having sex, only for her to tell him to move into the house and continue having sex with her husband! AND THAT'S ONLY THE SECOND EPISODE! He was serving telenovela villain, and I want him back.

Vegas - KinnPorsche

The scene: Vegas' beloved hedgehog has just died and he has carried out a tiny funeral for him while the bodyguard he has been holding hostage AND TORTURING comforts him, but instead of sitting in that grief, Vegas tells the bodyguard that the bodyguard is probably turned on by seeing Vegas weak, then proceeds to fuck him. Skipping over the fact that Vegas drugged Porsche, killed Tawan, got Big and Ken murdered by extension, and a plethora of other horrible shit, Vegas was a HUGE red flag from the very beginning, and I wanted him to choke me so badly. *bites knuckles*

Charn - Laws of Attraction

He had his reasons, but the story and his husband didn't let that be an excuse for his toxic behavior. He tried burning down Tinn's house, with Tinn and his grandmother in it, and Tinn was very upset about it. Not enough to not sleep with Charn, but enough to get his point across that if Charn wanted to burn something down, he needed to focus on burning down the oppressive heteronormative government, so we could all have basic human rights. Toxic, but for the cause.

Chalothon - The Sign

I knew he was a problem because the way he handled his patients, but he truly proved how toxic he was when he told Phaya he would kill Tharn before letting Phaya have him. I'm mad that the show made him good in the last episode, with most of if being off-screen, but I'll always remember how he committed psychological warfare on Phaya for eleven episodes in hopes of making Phaya seem crazy, and actually made Tharn, Phaya's soulmate, question Phaya's sanity.

Mol - 180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us

The only woman on this list and she isn't even queer. That's how toxic this chick was that she made it on a this list being a heterosexual, which was a major part of her toxicity. She is a top-tier gaslighter to her son. She doesn't actually consider Inn her friend. She uses feminist rhetoric to be homophobic. She manipulates every situation in her favor by using tears. I could write a list just about her being lead paint toxic, but the most fucked up part is that she got to ride off into the sunset with her son in the passenger seat being miserable, which is what she wanted. No other BL parent could reach her level. Korn and Gun from KinnPorsche exist, yet this woman would eat them alive without hesitation, then go throw a party for herself. She really is that bitch.

Yong Jie - HIStory 4: Close to You

I'm not going to bullshit around him being a whole ass problem. This motherfucker is the most controversial pick on this list, and I am well aware of why he is hated by the people, but the story told us he was the devil. The show treated everything he did like stalking, physical assault, and sexual assault as horrible, and he got knocked out for it. HIStory 4 is my favorite BL, ever, and part of it is because the story let this toxic motherfucker BE toxic. I love how much I hate him, and I love how much the story allows me to hate him.

So - House of Stars

This show was a mess, so I was not expecting this man to come out as THE toxic king to rule over every other toxic character. What made him so toxic is that I had no idea just how toxic he was until the exact moment I realized it, and that's why he is one of my favorites. He was sneaky. He was playing everyone against each other. He was letting the bodies stack up. He was Tan from Dead Friend Forever without anyone figuring out he was Tan. One person realized part of his plan, but even then, that person was not aware of how committed to the bit So was. This smile was the very last scene of the show, and it really proved that this boy ruined everyone's lives only to walk out of it completely unbothered. You know, king shit.

#toxic kings #I love toxic bitches #it's the unhinged behavior and mind games that always gets me #house of stars #history 4: close to you #180 degree longitude passes through us #club friday #kinnporsche #big dragon #laws of attraction #the sign #not me #the novelist

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winkwonkwankwenk · 3 months

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Could you do Alastor's annoyed/needy reaction after reader was gone for awhile working on their own work but he doesnt want to admit he missed reader/is jealous he's not #1 priority.

This was fun to write because I hc him as clingy once he's comfortable- well, comfortable-ish. Good luck getting him to be vulnerable.

Word Count: 1k

SFW/NSFW

☆*: .｡.Summary .｡.:*☆

Alastor shows you a side of himself he's never shown before

You’ve been busy at the hotel all week, helping Charlie sort everyone seeking redemption. It’s exhausting, listening to story after story about all sorts of sins. Most of them were about greed, humans who were so desperate they made deals they couldn’t escape. There were a few stories that made you laugh but you forced yourself to keep a straight face. You had an eerie feeling you were being watched, often turning away from your clipboard to see if an Imp was trying to sneak up behind you.

But it wasn’t an Imp.

“Hey…Al…” You say it hesitantly, it’s not often you see him with claws out and pitch black like his shadow, pupils radio dials. “Is everything uh, alright?”

“Of course, of course.” He’s shrinking, slowly but surely. His arms are crossed over his chest, eyes diverted to the wall. “Everything’s just peachy, Darling.”

Something tells you it isn’t, but you nod and return to work. He watches, eyes narrowed and corners of his mouth twitching down. Did you seriously just walk away from him? He’s been waiting to talk to you for days, for you to come ho- to the broadcasting station. Yes, he needed help with scripting, quite the exhausting task to do alone now when he was used to you being around. Can’t you spare a glance? Just one? He sinks back into the shadows, sulking and shoulders slumped.

He can’t focus and it’s irritating, his mind keeps returning to you no matter the task. Hells, it’s impossible. He’ll have to work on the script another day, maybe another week, who knows how long you’ll be busy with all the souls pouring into hell. There’s a pandemic going on in the human world, at least that’s what the reports say. How annoying. If only the humans would heal, then he’d have you to himself.

Why does he even want you to himself to begin with? He doesn’t have time to dwell on romance, at least that’s what he keeps telling himself. It’s not like the two of you are exclusive, you’ve barely discussed what you are. He leans back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose. Then the door opens and he nearly trips while scrambling up, holding papers in his hands as if he’s been busy writing away.

“Darling, welcome back.” He’s trying to be casual, trying to act as if he wasn’t following you from the shadows a few hours prior or daydreaming of you moments before. “Are you hungry?”

“Thanks but I can’t stay for dinner, I just need a change of clothes-” You pause, eyes widening. Did he just…frown? “-Al, are you sure everything is-”

“Fine. Perfectly fine.” He hisses through gritted teeth, hands clenched into fists by his sides. “You should return to work, I’ll just be here. Alone. Admiring hell ablaze.”

“Always with the theatrics.” You sigh and sneak over, hands snaking under his suit to his chest. You grin when his breath hitches, “What’s the matter? I won’t know if you don’t tell me.”

“Oh, nothing, just you’ve been too busy with Charlie’s tasks to help with mine.” He hides his flushed face in your neck. It feels foolish now, being so agitated about something so small. He’s too ashamed to look at you, “Perhaps I’m overreacting-”

“No, you’re right. I’ve been neglecting you, haven’t I?” You peck the X on his forehead, “I’ll go see if I can find someone to go help Charlie.”

“She still has Vaggie, she’ll be fine.” He pulls you back when you dare move away, desperate to feel your skin against his again. “Stay. Please?”

Oh. That’s new.

“Alright, sit down and I’ll brew some coffee.” You dip into the pantry-like kitchen of his office, jumping when you turn around. He’s pressed up against you, arms wrapped around your waist. You squeal when he leans down, holding him back with your hands planted on his chest. “Al, wait!”

“I’ve been waiting all week.” He growls, leaning in again, this time claiming your mouth hungrily. He lets out a frustrated huff when you lean away, “Can’t we just stay like this for a moment longer? I don’t want coffee, I want you.”

You didn’t know he could do puppy eyes. It doesn’t help that his ears are down, smile closed into a stretched “U”. You cup his face and kiss him, listening to his happy hum. Finally, the wait is over, you’re in his arms again. He’s not sure what you’ve done to him to screw with his mind but he doesn’t care anymore, as long as you’re focused on him- only him, he doesn’t care.

“Al, I need you to give me a moment to change. I’ve been in this shirt for too long.” You mumble against his lips, shuddering when his tongue flicks out and laps up your drool. “You’re so impatient today.”

He’s giving you that look again, the one where he looks ready to eat you. You quickly shower, acting as if you can’t see him watching- he’s not even bothering to hide in the shadows now. You barely get a moment to throw a towel on before he’s got you up in his arms, squirming as he coats your face in wet kisses.

“Did you really miss me that much?” You hide your laugh with your hand when his ears perk up, “You’re so expressive today.”

Enjoy it while it lasts, he thinks, knowing damn well he’s always like this around you. It’s pitiful really, the strong overlord now weak for a sinner girl he was introduced to by Charlie of all demons. He’ll dwell on that later, right now he wants to savor the warmth of your body against his.

“I suppose your presence is…more tolerable than the others.” He whispers, cheeks tinted the same hue as his hair. He jerks his head away when you smirk, “Fine. More than tolerable. I find it quite nice.”

“I also like being around you, Al-

“Ahem-” He clears his throat and turns away, hand covering his mouth and cheeks. “-You should get back to Charlie now, I’ve taken enough time.”

“But-”

“I’m sure I’ll see you at the hotel in the morning!” He hastily guides you outside, hands on your shoulders to keep you faced forward. “Have a lovely night!”

Okay, what was that complete one-eighty? Your eyebrows furrow and you knock but he does some weird voicemail as if you hadn’t just seen him- and this also wasn’t a phone. Weird. You decide to leave him be for now, though you’re curious what he’s doing inside that he wanted you out so suddenly. From the way he was acting, you thought the two of you were going to have a busy night. Maybe you had annoyed him. You did the opposite actually, he just didn’t want you to see him like this.

Flustered? As if. You had just caught him off guard. Nothing more, nothing less.

He had to keep telling himself that.

Like my writing? Check out my Ao3!! Reblogs appreciated!! I have an ongoing Alastor x Reader fic right now that updates weekly!

Join my discord!! This is how I announce most story updates!

Lastly, fill my requests up!! Don't be shy 😋 I'm currently only writing xreaders

#wink writes 💗#hazbin alastor #hazbin hotel alastor #alastor #alastor x reader #alastor hazbin hotel #radio demon #hazbin hotel #hazbin

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little-fairy-forest · 11 months

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The interview

pro hero Dynamight is questioned on his choice of partner. Will Dynamight be honest with the press about his secret love life?

Bakugo x gn! reader, fluff, romance, foreign reader, protective bakugo

Pro hero Dynamight wasn't interested in the whole world knowing about his private life. Numerous news outlets and journalists try and squeeze the tiniest amount of information out of the stern hero, ending with no information worthy for a click bate title for their blog.

Dynamight only shared what he sees as 'necessary' to the public. His workout routine? sure he will demonstrate what he does in the gym, what he eats in a day? sure but he does the voice over. He is very strict with what gets posted about him. He can't always choose what the press posts about him, knowing the hero will react a certain way if the information is twisted beyond belief.

You both wanted to make sure your relationship was private from the public as you liked your privacy. Even the slightest hint of bakugo having a partner will put you in danger of villains. So when Katsuki was approached by a tabloid to do a questionnaire, he insisted his assistant and manager triple checked the questions to make sure he was safe and prepared.

---

"So Dynamight! Welcome to our annual hero questionnaire to start the hero year after the popularity polls - congratulations on number 5! that is an amazing achievement for a young hero like yourself. " The host asks bakugo as he waits for the questions to start. The sooner, the better so he can go home.

"Right, lets get into the questions, firstly how did you and your partner meet"? the interviewer was listening with big ears as Bakugo huffs and bluntly explains how you guys met

"They where workin' with Earphone jack, they arrived to Red Riots birthday a few years back. Couldn't take my eyes of em" Katsuki says with a small smirk paired with a light chuckle back on the fond memory

"That's wonderful, Did you wait long before getting together after meeting?" Katsuki slumps back in his chair, thinking about his answer before replying to the eager interviewer

"After a few dates I asked them just before I dropped them home, Couldn't let them make the first move– I'll always be number 1" Katsuki says with a shit eating grin on his face as he waits for the next question confidently,

"That's so sweet, but why did you want to date a foreigner? do they understand much Japanese at all?" The interviewer didn't seem to pick up on the level of disgust his question brought to the hero in front of him. More questions like this, and he will blow a fuse

"What type of fuckin Question is that huh? Doesn't mater to me where they're from. Once they aren't a pain in the ass" Katsuki tries to blow over the question like his agent told him to when he is asked an inappropriate question. Unfortunately this interviewer didn't get the memo.

"Is this an arranged quirk marriage?" The interviewer jumps straight to the question most of Bakugos haters want to know. He has a large follow across the world, but his haters really know how to piss him off. They can say all they want about him, but you? that's too fucking far for this blond boy

"So what? you thinking we're gettin married for some quirk marriage or some shit? what makes you think that, huh? because they have a cool fuckin quirl? or is it because they're from (home country) and Japan is on the decline of arranged quirk marriages?" Katsuki asks sternly as he sits up in his heat, He was moments away from blasting the man in front of him to the moon if he even dared make a racist comment about you next

"Look at the people from that country! they're in need of strong quirks as their ratio to quirkless to quirk users in on the decline. They also seem very comfy in your penthouse sitting on their ass all day, rather working a hard job like you do Dynamight. No hate is meant from my answer, but it is alright of you having an arranged quirk marriage. " How dense was this interviewer. Bakugo has found a hater who clearly is asking biased questions. None of his real fans would care who where why when and how he gets married.

"They work so god damn hard. They don't need the media blowing smoke up their ass for just lifting a finger like most pros sniff for. Not only do they own their own franchise, but they are also the ambassador of (luxury brand) . What do you do? except asking people invasive questions all day?" The film crew was hinting to the interviewer to cut the questions short before the explosive hero kicks off.

"Think we're done here, don't message my team." Katsuki stood up before walking off the set, leaving the interviewer pissed off as he wanted to ask more invasive questions to the fiery hero. Too bad he didn't follow the script

---

@heronews247 : pro hero Dynamight storms of out interview after hurtful remarks towards his fiance !😲 follow for more updates 🔔

@heronews247 : pro hero Dynamight threatens any news outlit with a lawsuit if they make racist comments towards his fiance 🤯

@Ilovedynamight33 : any true Dynamight fan knows not to make fun of y/n! they give us all the gossip! 😍❤️

@RedRiot : very manly 🥹💪@OfficalGodDynamight stading up for y/n!

@OfficalGodDynamight : Whisper lies about @y/nlovelylife your days are numbered.

-> Masterlist

#bnha #little fairy forest #bnha imagines #mha headcanons #mha fluff #mha x y/n #bnha headcanons #bakugou katsuki #bakugou fluff #bakugou katuski x reader #katsuki bakugo #dynamight #bakugou #bakugo katsuki #bnha katsuki x reader #katsuki bakugou #katsuki x y/n

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mondsphere · 24 days

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Luo Binghe: Original Drafts Edition! Who and why?

“[…] in fact, in his original outline, Bing-gē hadn’t even had a romance plotline; he had been doomed to fade away, alone and unaging forever.” — The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, Vol. 4 (Mo Xiang Tong Xiu)

The drafts version of Binghe! Not Bing-gē, nor Bing-mei, but a secret, third thing! (I’m partial to Bing-xióng (兄) myself, just for thematic cohesion. Bing-mei remains as he is: Shizun’s special glass-heart maiden.)

So! Who is this elusive, mythical Binghe we never got the chance to meet? What is he? How do I get to pick this one’s brains?

Why is he haunting me! What does he want! So much to think about.

Listen: I love my trash sons, both the racoon and wet dog variations, but I am curious about this handsome demon lord who did not bed thousands, and did not steal his shizun to lovingly coax him into a loving and respectful marriage. Alas, Airplane-bro, as is custom, has left me hanging.

The solitary quote above has been floating around my brainspace for months. Intermittently, I would look up at the sky and sigh a big sad dog sigh, and think of this lonely demon-man emperor who seems to be both perfectly representative of No-Shizunitis Suffering Binghe, and on the exact opposite end of the line. I have spent many a night trying to rearrange the blocks of both SVSSS and PIDW like a sad toddler with no plan but plenty of amorphous longing.

Thus, Bing-xiong. My beloved new toy.

We know he is left alone and unaging. This means that:

He does not marry even once. (Sorry, Other Bing Variants. This one came broken.)

He is not defeated, killed, or left to suffer his not-father’s fate of sulking under a mountain.

From 1) we can assume two more things! Xin Mo either gets fixed/doesn’t influence this Binghe the same way, or: Xin Mo is completely written off à la Airplane Retconning, making Binghe potentially even more individually powerful than his younger counterparts.

(Or he just. Takes people’s cultivation ad-infinitum. Interesting thought, but too straight-forward for my tastes. Airplane’s thoughts? Unknowable.)

From 2) we can also assume Binghe cannot die, is under the influence of the Protagonist Halo unto infinity, and will only be put out of his misery once the heat death of the universe deems it a worthwhile endeavour. Either that or the story ends, but. It tickles a miserable part of my brain pink to think Binghe will not be let off even then.

Anyway. Bing-xiong, of course, has the same source material to work off of. Up until the Abyss, and including it, the plotline should be if not the same, adjacent enough to be indistinguishable.

However. This means:

Bing-xiong never got coerced into sex by Qin Wanyue, thus not starting him on the path of sex-dependency/addiction, avoiding Bing-gē’s fate by virtue of the Butterfly Effect. (Read this post because it explains Bing-ge's whole thing better than a lot of things I've seen.)

Again, Xin Mo implications.

Alternate Universe Shenanigans make an appearance. (Shen Jiu’s fever and death was actually meant to happen, Bing-ge just got very, very unlucky and his Universe’s Yue Qingyuan very, very lucky. For a few years. Either that or there is a Shen Yuan for every Binghe! Again: sorry, Bing-ge. You need to find your own. Middle child issues…)

Once the drafts/original outline got lost, all bets are off and now the characters become real people, without narrative influence. This also has the very fucked up implication that Bing-ge is actually a result of exclusively external forces and would have never gone down that path if not forced onto it by Airplane’s unwitting hands. I do and do not love this version. Very Mo Ran-esque, if looked at from afar and squinting.

Other options I’m either too not-high to think, or too high to put together. (Cold medicine is insane?)

I am fascinated by this… Schrödinger’s Binghe. A jaded, lonely emperor left in the ashes of his world, gazing upon his own history and finding fucking nothing and no one. Metaphorically and, like, practically, if I’m understanding Airplane’s musings correctly. Isolated, cursed by his own blood in a completely new and fucked up way!

I need Airplane to speak with me for like, half an hour. This is paramount to my mental health, I’m losing my braincells by the hour.

What happened to this impervious, cocky, badass demon bastard lord to become so alone? How did it happen? Why did it not happen to the other two, or at least Bing-ge, who has had every horrible and shitty thing possible and impossible piled onto his head? What the fuck is up with Xin Mo? Why isn’t it eating away at Big Bro Luo? Or, worse: why is it eating away at him in such a way that instead of turning into a violent yet charismatic, horror-creature of a man, it turns him into the existential terror-fate I’ve contemplated and abhorred since I was seven?

Tianlang-jun as the final boss. Discovering Huan Hua Palace Master’s crimes, deceit and… stuff. Perhaps even uncovering Shen Jiu’s backstory.

Ooh! Worse! Or better? What if he finds out everything, after having followed Bing-gē’s path, and simply… gives up? A grown up Bing-ge, minus the marriage and surrogate-lover part(s).

(More unlikely than other options, but still there, I guess.)

Fucking insane of MXTX to do this to me, personally and specifically.

I can only speculate forever, I guess! Left… alone and pondering forever.

So. Not a Bing-ge, and not a Bing-mei. A Bing-xiong, if you will.

#svsss #luo binghe #svsss meta #if you like. want it to be #the fact that this is the first post on this blog is upsetting but also completely in-line with who i've become as a person #i'm sure someone else said it better than me asp #this is all to say i'm trying to plan a longfic with drafts!binghe as my one and only 2024 project #and it is eating away at me #because i understand and also NOT #the concept itself is so ????#its insane that one single line of text from mxtx from almost a decade ago can do this to a person #lbh #lbx #hey why would i say this to me

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starlight-bread-blog · 3 months

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Why Lokius Should Have Been Canon

This is a sort of combo of two metas that didn't quite get point my across. Some parts will be copied directly, but there's a lot of original content. I will discuss the ship between Loki and Mobius, their place in the show, and the MCU at large. My focus for this meta won't be parallels or motifs, because these things border on well-written friendships. But there will be some of that.

Romance in the MCU

There are a lot of straight couples in the MCU. (Almost) Every main hero is in some heterosexual relationship, Loki included.

(That's not all, not remotely).

But in the LGBTQ+ department... uh.. I think it was mentioned that Valkyrie had a girlfriend... uh... America Chavez had a pride pin... and Loki:

One line. Queer experiences are never a focal point of a show/movie the same way heterosexual experiences are. And that needs to change.

Romance In the Show

Wrong, toxic, or unsuccessfu romantic love is a recurring theme in the show.

Sylki

Sylki was an icky relationship right off the bat. They are the same person. I can't find the post at the moment, but someone has pointed out in their post that them being the same person is referenced in every episode in season 1 (edit: here it is), which is when the romance took place. This made their romance uncomfortable for many viewers.

(Some consider Sylki a toxic relationship, but for this post, the topic is too large to handle with the nuance I'd like to handle it with).

When he's drunk, Loki compares love to a dagger, stating that it hurts you, but when you try to find strength in it, it's not real.

youtube

Which is exactly what happens. Sylvie pushes Loki into a portal and they never get back together.

The Love Triangle

In 02×03, Ravonna Renslayer is infatuated with Victor Timely, but he leaves her behind and betrays her when Miss Minutes told him to. One episode later, we discover that they were indeed an item, and established the TVA together. He Who Remains deleted her memories and they never rekindle their love.

Later in the episode, is the best example of "wrong" romance in the show. Miss Minutes, the AI clock, confesses her love to Viktor Timely. He, obviously, freaks out and shuts her off. Nothing ever comes of this.

Brad and Dox

This one is small, but a big indication to romance being a theme. In 02×01, we're shown this:

The gap in the age of the actors is uncomfortable, and a character in universe has this reaction to it. It is never mentioned again.

So what does all of this leave us with? Not much. None of this properly ties to the finale, or anything really. If I were to write the show I would cut a lot of this out, since it serves no purpose. But it does make you keep romance and its shortcomings in mind. The writers want it to be there, in the back of your head.

Loki and Mobius

Finally! I got to talk about them. The two people in question. First things first, who are they, together? They became really supportive, close friends.

Fans even drew parallels to Chaos & Order, which is a very important theme in Loki. But I'm not here to unpack them. These things don't necessarily make them in love. So what does make them in love? I'll present you my evidence, and you ask yourself,

Would it be valid to suggest romantic implications if a man and a women are:

1) Extremely thouchy with each other.

2) Riding on a tandem bike together.

3) Willing to suffer a fate worst than death for another.

4) Falling on each other after that^

5) Literally the Interrupted Declaration of Love trope. (Ex)

6) Being framed in a circle.

7) Waiting & giving permission to attack.

8) Fixing themselvs before seeing the other.

Of course yes. Maybe you think some of these are a strech, but ultimately, people would point out romantic connotations across the board. And I'm here, pointing them out right now. Some scenes between Loki and Mobius have romantic implications.

Conclusion

Loki is a queer protagonist in the MCU, a universe that lacks representation of queer experiences. His show constantlty reminded us of romance, sometimes for seemigly no reason. In the second season, they wrote him and his best friend with romantic implications. And then, nothing. It should not have been nothing. Lokius should have been canon.

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cupidjyu · 9 months

Text

detention for romance

hyunjae x reader

summary (because this is strangely long): as the president of the student council, you're faced with expectations. what you don't expect is to be put in detention with the student that you've heard endless negative rumors about... but he's not as bad as you had thought

genre: school au, unrealistic high school romance (yawns), flirty hyunjae, gosh he is such a waist grabber, he punched someone, but its all okay!!! he has a little sister, close proximity in a library lol, soft moments, falling asleep on his shoulder, oblivious reader, constant constant bickering, getting together, kissing, high schoolers who unrealistically make out (yawns again), slight neck kissing, cursing, younghoon sunwoo cameos notes: im not even going to talk about it word count: 10.5k (woops)

Whenever the name Lee Hyunjae was spoken in a noisy classroom, bustling hallway, or bathroom with a leaking sink, it would always be accompanied by a wince. People would contort their faces in worry whenever someone even mentioned his name or they would take the long way to get to the history classroom if it meant they wouldn’t have to come face-to-face with him.

Lee Hyunjae. The student in class 1-B was closed off and considered the scariest one ever. Some never dared to speak his name, behaving like he was that one villain with no nose from those Harry Potter movies. He never talked to anyone and if an unknowing new student ever tried to, he would stare at them silently. Some people say that he glares. Some say that he rolls his eyes.

“I heard that he’s in a gang and murders children for money,” Your classmate once said. Class 1-A loved to talk about him, hence why you strangely knew so much. You looked up from your sketchbook.

“Children? Of all types of people?” You squinted.

“Doesn’t he seem like the type to hate children?” She replied. “C’mon, you’re the president of the student council.”

You frowned. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“You’re supposed to be smart.”

You shut your mouth at that. Maybe, you were book-smart. Street smart? You could never decipher why people hated Hyunjae so much. But then again, you never saw him before. Maybe he was just quiet. Or maybe he really was in a gang and murdered children for money. All you knew was that he was not part of your business so you couldn’t care less.

Besides, you had a student council meeting to host after this.

—

“What do you mean you lost the one thing that we needed?” You whined, staring straight at Sunwoo. “This event is the last one of the year and you—“ You sighed, pinching the area between your eyebrows.

“I’m sorry,” He cried. “It’s not my fault someone crashed my car on the way here and they fell out.”

You pouted. “Are you okay at least?”

He grinned, motioning to himself. “All in one piece.”

The one thing was actually the flower garlands for the spring party that you were tasked to plan. They were supposed to hang from the ceiling, along with string lights to resemble a pretty forest. Being the president of the student council was quite tiring. In fact, you never even intended to become one. You just happened to have decent grades.

The spring party was in just a few hours and if there were no flower garlands, then the highly anticipated party would be empty and disappointing. You couldn’t quite afford the embarrassment, especially from how many tickets you had sold.

“What do we do?” You sighed. “You can just start decorating with what we have then.”

A few of the students nodded. As they left, another member, Younghoon, approached you with a small smile. He was tall and often looked innocent like he had done no wrong. But really, he was anything but that. He loved to joke around and break the rules. You wondered how he even got into the council with such a record.

“You know,” He started, leaning against one of the rickety desks. He wobbled slightly against it, ruining the “cool” facade he decided to put on. “The main office has some of those garland things. Last year, they had a flower sale so they used those as decorations. I saw them in the closet when I was caught cheating on a test.”

You stared at him with a bored expression. “You got caught cheating on a test?”

He groaned. “Yes, and I failed the class. But that’s beside the point! You should go to the office and get the flower garlands. You’ll be just in time.”

You really contemplated it for a second. “Can I really? What do I say?”

“Nothing.” He shrugged. “The principal doesn’t let any student borrow supplies for parties and such.”

You frowned. “You’re of no help then.”

Younghoon gave you a confused smile. “What do you mean? Just… kindly borrow them. Just for one day.”

You gaped at them. “You mean to steal them?”

He nodded as if that was the simplest thing ever. “Just sneak in and grab them. What could go wrong?”

“I am no thief,” You grumbled.

“Then I guess your party will suck then.”

You gasped. “You take that back.”

“Never.” He stuck his tongue out and then he turned towards the door. “Just think about it, won’t you? Code to the closet is 1026 by the way.” He winked as he turned down the hallway with a small wave.

You were left in the empty classroom speechless. There was no way you would steal from the school. That would result in serious consequences and you couldn’t ruin your reputation. With an abrupt shake of your head, you headed out.

And then you stopped. To the right, was the gymnasium where the party was being set up. To the left, was the main office with the flower garlands. You bit your lip, whipping your head from either side.

You ultimately turned left.

“What am I doing, what am I doing?”

–

Why did every single door of the school have to creak? Holding your breath, you peeked inside. Your eyes surveyed the room. It seemed that everyone else had left except for two people, talking in the very corner. This was the perfect chance, as you could see the closet, just on your right.

As quietly as you could, you stepped inside, hurrying over the old-looking closet that looked like it could collapse at any moment.

Just get the flowers and get out.

Your hands were practically shaking as you turned the lock.

1…0…

“Punching a student is not tolerated in this school.”

You inhaled sharply at the familiar voice of the principal, but you turned back to the lock, determined to go unnoticed.

2…

“Miss, I had my reasons.” Another voice, younger, almost like he was in your grade. He sounded tired and annoyed.

“That boy ended up with a broken nose. What possible reason could there be for that?” The principal was stern.

You paused for a second. But still, there was one more number left.

…6

With a proud smile, you silently unlocked the closet. And there it was, like an oasis in a dry desert, the flower garlands. They were prettier than the ones you had previously. Your smile grew. Oh, the party was going to be beautiful.

You were just about to grab the flowers and escape when the younger student spoke up again. “My little sis–”

“What are you doing over there?”

Clenching your jaw, you froze. Then you whipped around, only to face the principal who was staring back at you with an angry expression. Behind her, was a tall man. He must be a student as he was dressed in the typical uniform. His tie was loose and his shirt was untucked, which usually resulted in being dress coded. He didn’t seem to care though as he tilted his head at you with a nonchalant expression, one hand in his pocket.

You smiled nervously. “I was borrowing something.”

“You aren’t permitted to take anything from there. How did you even get the code?” The principal spoke sternly. “You should be setting a better example. As president of all people.”

You frowned. “But, I needed it for the par–”

“You don’t need it.” She interrupted you. “What you do need is detention. Both of you.”

“What?” You exclaimed. “I swear that I–” But it was of no use, as she was already writing your name up, as well as the other student’s. You peered at his chest only to find that there was no name tag. You sighed. This was not how you expected things to go.

“Detention.” She handed both of you the paper. “In which you both will be sweeping the art room, organizing the library, and cleaning classroom 1-B.”

“Miss,” The man complained, stepping forward. You widened your eyes when you realized just how tall he actually was. “All they did was try to steal stuff. How is that–”

The principal only raised her eyebrow at the word “steal.”

You nudged his shoulder harshly. “You’re not helping,” You whispered frantically.

He gave you a small smirk. “Well you’re not very good at stealing now are you?”

You flushed at that. “I was just trying to–”

“No more objections,” The principal stated. “Attend the party… or whatever. But you will report to detention tomorrow afternoon.”

You sighed and walked away. The man, whom you’ve now nicknamed “dickhead,” quickly caught up to you. You glanced at him with narrowed eyes, refusing to say anything. Close up, you realized that he wasn’t bad looking. He had a tall nose bridge and deer-like eyes that would be considered kind-looking if it wasn’t for the constant teasing look on his face.

“Stealing from Miss principal,” He spoke up, his voice laced with amusement. “I admire your bravery.”

You rolled your eyes, walking faster. He continued to trail behind you. With annoyance, you whipped around, already agitated from the past events.

“Why are you following me?” You frowned.

He smiled. “Don’t you need a date for this party? I’m trying to ask you out.”

You widened your eyes, your throat closing up suddenly. “Wh–what?”

He stared at you for a good minute. And then he motioned to the side with a laugh. “Just kidding, my locker’s right here.”

You groaned and turned around. Your hands clenched into fists as you stormed down the hallway.

“Dickhead.”

Little did you know, that he was watching you rush down the hallway with curious eyes.

–

Cursing at the couple who decided to make out right in front of your locker, you rushed down the stairs, your hands fumbling to fix your hair. Turning the corner, you were met with the entrance of the art room.

To say the least, your friends and fellow classmates were in much shock when they found out that you of all people had gotten detention. Again, you couldn’t care less. You just needed to get this over with.

Perhaps this could be a great learning experience! You smiled painfully.

I hate this.

Peeking through the window of the door, you could see that same man, sitting at one of the tables. Again, his uniform was awfully undone. The tie was loose like before and this time, the top two buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned. You sighed, looking down at your uniform. Neat and ironed, because you were always expected to set an example.

Slowly, you opened the door. He looked up and his lips immediately lifted up into a coy smile.

“You’re late.”

“There were some… issues.” You shivered at the thought. Out of all places, they were kissing in front of your locker?

He laughed at your expression and he stood up from the table. And then he squinted at your name tag.

“Your name is?”

“You can’t read?” You furrowed your eyebrows.

“Bad eyesight.” He grinned.

“Y/n,” You sighed.

He nodded. “I already knew that.”

“What?” You stared at him with confusion.

“President of student council,” He stated. “I hear about you a lot.”

“Then why’d you ask…” You muttered to yourself.

“Formality reasons.” He shrugged. “Like you would for me. You probably hear about me a lot too.”

You frowned as you reached over to pick up the brooms, handing one to him. He stared at it blankly, and so you sighed with frustration and thrust it into his chest.

“I don’t know you though,” You replied.

He raised an eyebrow. And then he stepped closer, looking down at you with a disbelieving look. You gulped, taking a step backward.

“You’re funny,” He whispered.

“I’m not trying to be.”

“You really don’t know?” He widened his eyes. “Lee Hyunjae?”

And that was when the world suddenly came crashing down on you. It all came together like pieces of a puzzle. The constantly messy uniform, the smirk on his lips, the whole reason that he was in detention in the first place? Punching a student.

You gasped, taking an even wider step backward. His eyes almost dimmed at your action along with his smile faltering with… something like hurt.

“You’re Hyunjae?” You mumbled.

He nodded. “And now you’re going to run away like everyone else does.”

“No.” You shook your head. “I’m just wondering…” You spoke with astonishment. “You’re not even that scary.”

He gaped at your words, his broom almost slipping out of his hands. “Scary?”

You snorted. “You have no idea what my class says about you.” You turned away for a second, beginning to sweep up all the colored pencil shavings and cut-up paper.

“Amuse me.” He appeared by your side with a small smile. You watched as he began to help you clean up the floor. You shouldn’t be so surprised but with what so many people say about him, you couldn’t help but be a little bit shocked that he was doing a basic household task.

“Are you in a gang?” You looked up at him with a stifled laugh.

“Yes,” He spoke. You eyed him suspiciously. “No,” He finally sighed. “That would be cool though.”

“Do you murder children for money?”

He winced and looked at you. “Do you believe these things?”

You shrugged. “Just curious.”

Hyunjae groaned, batting your broom with his, causing you to glare at him. “I’m a perfectly normal student.”

“Okay…” You muttered. “Then why’re you in detention for punching one?”

He grew silent at that. When you looked up at him, you could see that his jaw had clenched. He didn’t answer the question either, as he abruptly walked away to clean up somewhere. You stared after him, trying to decipher his strange reaction.

After a few more lazy broom sweeps across the floor, you turned to him, only to see that Hyunjae had stopped. He seemed to be staring at an open sketchbook on one of the tables. Quietly, you walked behind him. That was when you realized… that was your sketchbook.

Other than managing school things, you secretly enjoyed drawing in one. It was when you could escape from all your responsibilities, instead choosing to focus on doodling and perfecting a pretty picture. And you must have left it here the other day when it had mysteriously gone missing.

With a squeak, you lunged forward and shut it closed.

He jumped and stared at you in shock. That was when you came to the realization that he was sort of… cute when surprised with the way his eyes were round and his lips parted.

“Those drawings were not mine,” You rambled.

He stared at you, unimpressed. “Thanks for confirming that they’re yours.”

You sighed with defeat. “You weren’t supposed to see them. It’s private.”

His eyes searched yours. “I didn’t turn a single page. It was just open. Besides…” He trailed off. “That one drawing was very good.”

You gulped, suddenly feeling your cheeks grow warm. “Oh,” You stuttered. “Thank you.”

He gave you a small smile. Suddenly, all of those rumors that you’d heard of him had completely dissipated from your mind. You straightened up, studying him with perplexion. He wasn’t half bad. Just… a little quiet.

He pulled out one of the stools and sat down, inviting you to do the same. Cautiously, you did so, facing him with sudden nervousness.

“Can you show me another?” He asked, his eyes filled with genuine curiosity. “If you’re comfortable.”

You faltered over a breath. You watched him for a second, wondering if he was going to maybe burst out into laughter and claim that he was just joking. But instead, he only stared back expectantly.

“Okay,” You whispered. With shaky hands, you searched through your sketchbook, choosing one of your favorites. Hesitantly, you turned it around. He studied it quietly. And then he looked back up at you with a soft smile.

“Aren’t you talented?” He murmured.

You were sure that your cheeks were completely red now. Shutting the book with a loud bang, you looked down at your lap. “Shut up.”

“I’m being serious,” He chuckled. “My little sister likes to draw too, you know.”

You looked up at him in surprise.

“Little sister?”

He nodded, a sudden fond expression taking over his usual bored one. “She’s adorable. And she somehow looks up to me. I advise her not to.”

You gave him a soft smile. “She must look up to you for a reason.”

He snorted. “I try to set an example. But I’m afraid she’ll become closed off like me. She’s very bright.”

You could practically feel your heart bloom. The way that he spoke of her with such a gentle voice put a funny feeling in your stomach.

“You must love her.”

“I do,” He said with an affectionate tone. “That’s why I’m here in the first place.”

You furrowed your eyebrows at that, toying with the broken spine of the sketchbook. He quickly noticed your confusion and he sighed.

“She wanted these drawing supplies. You know, the ones with unicorns and colorful rainbows on them. So naturally, as a great older brother, I bought them.”

You laughed at that. He gave you a small smile back.

“But I was also late to school so…” His ears turned red. “I had to bring them here.”

“And?” You watched him curiously.

“The other guys in my class noticed.” He frowned. “They threatened to steal them and when they found out that it was for my little sister, they even said some mean things about her. They haven’t even seen her before.”

“Oh,” You breathed out, guiltily. “Is that why you punched one of them?”

He nodded with a sigh. “It’s okay. She was happy to receive them.” He grinned fondly. “She even gave me a hug.”

“So you’re the protective type,” You wondered. You looked at him with kind eyes. “I’m sorry about what happened.”

He shrugged. “As long as she’s happy.”

You gave him a slight smile as you stood up from the stool. Motioning to the door that led directly to the school courtyard, you turned to him. “Would you like to take a walk? We're done here anyway.” Unfortunately, you couldn’t leave right after finishing cleaning since the principal had set a certain mandatory time for both of you to stay here. Quite stupid in fact.

But, you adored the school courtyard. Especially when it was bright and sunny, all the flowers along the trail brought a certain peace to your usually stressed mind.

Hyunjae looked at you with slight surprise. “Me?”

“Who else?” You frowned.

He shrugged. “Don’t know. No one usually asks me these types of things. You’re a nice change of pace.”

Your eyes softened at that. Well, up until he—

“Getting clingy for me already?”

You gawked at him. “No? Oh my god, I was being a perfectly nice friend, and you…“

Hyunjae raises his hands up like he was being arrested as he heads for the door, gesturing that you go first. He laughed, “Sorry, sorry. And are we really friends now?”

“If you would like?” You looked at him unsurely.

“Great.” He gave you a kind smile.

As you walked, the afternoon sun beaming down on you, the two of you fell into a comfortable silence.

“So you’re just a quiet person?” You spoke up.

He turned to you. “I guess so. I promise I don't usually punch people.” He winced at the thought.

You snorted. “I get it. You were just being a good older brother.”

He hummed as he kicked at a pebble, watching it roll away.

“How was the party?” He asked quietly. “And don’t tell me you actually needed a date because I would have gladly—“

“Oh we don’t have to talk about it,” You whined. “It was a mess. Everyone was disappointed and I felt like such a failure.”

He smirked. “I mean it wasn’t all a failure.”

You looked at him. And now that you were getting a proper look, you found that he was much better than decent-looking. He was handsome. You’ve witnessed the kind side of him already and so the teasing smile on his lips began to become almost… charming.

“How’s that?” You narrowed your eyes. “You weren’t even there.”

“But I saw you. On the way home.” You could’ve sworn he did a once-over as if he was imagining you in your party attire again. “You looked beautiful.”

Your retort was caught in your throat as quickly as a spark of fire. Almost tripping on a crack in the ground, you cleared it and turned away.

“Thank you.” You squeezed your eyes shut, knowing that he was still watching you intently. “Still think it was a failure.”

When there was no response, you looked back up only to meet Hyunjae’s amused expression. He was smiling at you softly and his eyes sparkled with a hint of mischievousness.

“What is it?” You spoke cautiously.

“Nothing.” He tilted his head slightly, his eyes wandering to one of your ears. “Your ears turned red.”

Stuttering, you shoved him harshly in the chest. “Shut up. And your uniform! It’s all messed up.”

He grinned wider, leaning close so that he could whisper right into your ear where supposedly, they were red from embarrassment.

“It’s a stylistic choice.”

Inhaling sharply, you pulled away, his low voice leaving shivers down your spine. “W-well it’s a horrible one. So face me.”

He easily complied, shockingly. Your fingers hesitated at his chest, multiple red alarms going off in your head asking what the hell are you doing? Ignoring them, you began to button up his white dress shirt. Accidentally, your fingers brushed against his bare skin in which you could see that he gulped. You smiled slightly, glad to know that you also had an effect on him.

Then, your hands came down to his loose tie, pulling it right up to his collar. You desperately tried to ignore his watchful eyes, looking down at you.

“Done,” You breathed out as you tried to avoid his knowing eyes. “And tuck your shirt in yourself.”

“So you’re not going to shove your hands down my pants today? Disappointing.”

“You dirty-minded moron.” Checking your watch, you realized that you could have left long ago.

But he stopped you, his hand catching your wrist.

“Your hair.” He approached you this time, his large hand smoothing down a lock of hair. Just as you thought he was done, he tucked one piece behind your ear, his touch gentle and almost caring. “There.” He smiled. “I returned the favor.”

A quiet “thank you” was all you could muster. Your heart was beating abnormally fast. It didn’t help that he decided to tuck another piece of hair behind your other ear, his fingers brushing softly against your cheek.

“I didn’t know I looked like a mess,” You muttered.

“Still pretty to me.” He smiled.

And so with a wave, you said goodbye to Lee Hyunjae who wasn’t so scary after all. With a quirk of his lip, he waved back.

—

“Look who’s late this time?” You lifted an eyebrow as you leaned against one of the many bookshelves. Contrary to popular belief—by that you mean, your classmates who still think that you’re some literature god who can decipher every single piece of Shakespeare just by skimming through the plays—you didn’t often come to the library.

It was rickety and had odd lighting, making everything seem orange and dark. In front of you were two carts, filled with books that needed to be returned to their rightful home. What a boring detention task. How’s this supposed to teach you to do the right thing?

Hyunjae approached you with an obviously faked guilty look. “Sorry about that.” His voice was oddly croaky. As if he had just woken up. “I fell asleep. Physics is really boring.”

So he really did just wake up.

You gazed at him wordlessly. And then you walked forward, pushing one of the carts straight into his stomach. With how tired he was, he couldn’t quite register the feeling yet.

And then he groaned in pain.

“Y/n.” He scowled.

You smiled cheekily. “Let’s get this over with.”

“After you,” He sighed, motioning to the first section labeled Historical Nonfiction.

As you two wandered the various bookshelves, placing the books back, the two of you had a few casual conversations. Sometimes, Hyunjae would make you laugh. And sometimes, you would just feel the need to fix his tie and collar all over again.

“Your uniform,” You grumbled. “It bothers me.”

He smirked. “Want to button it up for me again?”

You swallowed thickly. “No. Do it yourself.”

“But I like when you do it for me,” He replied, unabashed.

“Be quiet,” You snapped, slapping his hand with a book in which he winced.

It grew quiet after that. Still, the silence was never one that was awkward or made either of you uncomfortable. It was just… simple. The shuffling of your clothes and the thump of books being placed on the shelves. But there was one question that continued to linger in your mind.

“Hey, I have something to ask.” You turned to him.

“Hm?”

“Who were the guys who made fun of you? And the one that you punched?” You asked.

He paused, looking at you indecisively. “And what are you going to do with them if I tell you?”

“Nothing,” You replied. “Just curious.”

He eyed you suspiciously but he ultimately exhaled deeply. “There were only two. One being the guy who ran against you for student council…”

Your mouth dropped open at that. Oh, how you hated that guy. He was obnoxious, had an incredibly loud and squeaky voice, and he absolutely loved bothering you. He once even tried to sabotage one of your events.

“And the other was the captain of the football team. The one I punched.”

Now you were gaping at Hyunjae like he was crazy.

“You punched him?”

“Yeah, and?” He widened his eyes cutely.

“But he’s seems so… strong,” You wondered. You had seen the way he plowed through other players in games.

He gave you a slightly crooked smile. “But look who’s broader?”

You grew quiet at that. And you must be insane because your eyes quite literally scanned over Hyunjae. Were his shoulders always this wide? And the way that his sleeves were rolled up slightly to reveal his arms were so–

“Focused?” He teased, leaning closer.

“Mhm,” You breathed out. “They’re assholes.”

He gave you a half-hearted smile. “Well, what can I do? At least I get to spend more time with you.”

You rolled your eyes, reaching back into the cart. Reading the number on it, you internally groaned when you realized that it was meant to be on the very first shelf. The one at the very top. Biting your lip slightly, you reached up. To no avail, you couldn’t quite extend far enough.

That was when you felt a chest being pressed up to your back. Hyunjae’s chest. He took the book from your hand, his skin brushing with yours as he placed the book for you. Gulping thickly, you looked up, only to meet his soft eyes. He lingered there for a moment, leaving you to realize that he smelled good. Very odd observation to make.

When he finally pulled away, you stared at him with utter shock.

“Shy, dear president?” He whispered. “Your ears are red again.”

“I’m–” You jerked a thumb behind you, desperately trying to escape. “I’m going to go. Th-thank you.”

“Anytime.” He gave you an annoyingly flirty wink as he pushed his own cart. The two of you went your separate ways.

You hummed to yourself as you worked on your own section. But you slowly stopped when you realized just how lonely it was without Hyunjae around to tease you or talk about random topics. Still, you prevailed. After what happened, you weren’t sure if you could face him again.

With a tired sigh, you pushed the cart, rounding the next corner. That was when you saw two boys. One had an annoyingly high-pitched voice, almost like a stupid mouse. You recognized him. The other walked with his chest funnily puffed out. You also recognized him. The football captain. So Hyunjae really is broader, you wondered to yourself.

But then you froze. Hyunjae is right here, in this room. And if they saw him–

Leaving your cart behind, you whipped around, weaving through the many bookshelves. With rapid breaths, you searched for him, only for you to ultimately run straight into his firm back.

He jumped, turning around.

“Y/n?”

You didn’t reply. Without a second thought, you grabbed hold of his wrist and pulled him along. You dragged him into another section. Then, you pushed him against the bookshelf, pressing your body close up to him. Again, you were surrounded by his scent which still smelled incredibly good, much to your demise.

He stayed silent, studying you with a tilt of his lips. You stared back up at him. You should be explaining but instead, you seemed to be in a trance over how warm his body was and how his lips were very–

“What’s this?” He finally purred, his voice low.

“Shush,” You whispered. When you realized that he was staring down at your lips, you shut your eyes and pressed your forehead against his chest shyly. “I saw them. I’m trying to hide you.”

“Oh,” He breathed in slight surprise. Then he huffed out with amusement. “I don’t think this is really working,” He teased. “They could still see me. Plus, it seems like it’s you who’s hiding. In my chest specifically.”

Clearing your throat, you lifted your head and looked up at him with embarrassment.

“But that’s kind of you.” He grinned.

“Shh.” You pressed a finger to his lips. He only smiled wider. The two of you stayed in that position for a few more minutes that almost began to feel like hours. His hands were straight at his sides as if he were afraid to touch you. You were still pressed up against him, your hand resting on the bookshelf and the other toying nervously with the hem of your clothes.

Once you were sure that there were no more voices, you pulled away, brushing yourself off. You were about to make a joke to clear the tension that had suddenly built up when you heard a man talk. Specifically, the football captain. The one that Hyunjae had punched.

“Hold on,” He called out to the other boy. “I need a book for my Greek mythology project.”

You glanced at the nearby sign that clearly, ironically, and very unfortunately read Greek Mythology. You turned back to him with panic.

“Hyunjae–”

He stared at you silently. You gasped when you felt a hand snake around your waist.

“Do you trust me?” He asked.

“What?” You replied with alarm. “You’re asking me that now?”

“Do you?” Hyunjae repeated, furrowing his eyebrows.

You gulped. “Yes.”

And in just a second, he had flipped you around so that the ridges of the bookshelf jutted into your back this time. His hand tightened around your waist and his other hand wandered to your upper back.

“Wha–”

“Close your eyes.”

Your mind was already rushing with a million thoughts. But you still followed his order, shakily shutting your eyes closed. That was when you were only left with your sense of hearing, smell, and touch. You could hear him, feel him shuffle closer. You could hear his breath against your ear. Why was he so close? And then you felt his lips–his very warm lips–brush against your neck.

Inhaling sharply, your whole body went rigid.

He didn’t do anything else, you soon realized. He simply lingered on your neck, breathing slowly as his hands continued to pull you closer. Hyunjae had you trapped in his arms, his lips just centimeters away from the spot under your jawline. Yet he never made contact. Except for that accidental brush that sent goosebumps down your whole body.

That was when you heard the guy’s voice again and his footsteps approaching.

“It’s here– what the hell? Nevermind. And get a room.”

And then the footsteps receded.

After what felt like forever, Hyunjae stepped away. He seemed to be experiencing the same effect with the way he was breathing heavily and his cheeks were tinted red. But this was his doing after all.

You opened your mouth and closed it repeatedly, trying to find the words to say. And then you shoved him by the chest.

“What was that for?” You exclaimed. Your hand came up to that same spot on your neck, which felt warm from his breathing. You felt a flush from head to toe. “You almost– kissed me.”

“That was the point,” He replied. “To make it look like we were making out and having the time of our lives.” His eyes continued to linger on your lips and that specific area on your neck. “What perfume do you use? It smells amazing. Pretty like you.”

You froze. And then you groaned with frustration.

“I didn’t– wear perfume today,” You muttered. “And was that the best you could do? We couldn’t– run away? You had to…” You trailed off, the sensation coming back to you all over again. “Do that thing?”

“What thing?” He smirked. “Almost kiss your neck?”

“Yes,” You mumbled. “That.”

He thought for a moment.

“Because,” He whispered, leaning closer. “This is more fun.” He adjusted your crumpled collar, his hands lingering there, before looking back up at you with a teasing smile. “Your ears are red again.”

And then he walked away, leaving you to stare after him in complete shock. Lee Hyunjae was not scary at all. In fact, he made your heart beat faster. Much, much faster.

–

“Can I take you out somewhere?” He had come up to you after all the books had been put away. You still couldn’t quite look him in the eyes. And it seemed that he noticed as his eyes glinted with mischievousness.

“Okay,” You replied, still avoiding his eyes like your life depended on it. “Where to?”

“I’ll tell you when you look me in the eye.”

His finger hooked under your chin, forcing you to anyway. You inhaled sharply.

“I’m looking now,” You whispered with your voice wavering.

“I was thinking, roller-skating?”

Your eyes brightened at that. “Oh yes! That would be so fun. We’re going to have so much fun.” You turned on your heel, bounding out the door.

You missed the way Hyunjae gazed at you with fondness.

–

“This is not fun,” He muttered. His knuckles were practically white with how hard he was holding on to the railing. You giggled at the sight as you easily glided past him. He watched you with a glare.

“Do you need help?” You called out to him, taking note of the way his legs wobbled like a baby deer.

“I do not,” He huffed, trying to save his pride. But then he paused. “Can you… maybe?” Now it was his turn to not look you in the eye.

“Of course.” You smiled, appearing by his side. You held out your hand in which he stared at it in confusion. “Take it,” You urged. “And follow me.”

It was strange to see how easily his flirty persona had completely disappeared at this moment. You liked this side of Hyunjae: his eyes round and nervous, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration, and his lips pulled into a concentrated pout. All it took was for him to choose to go roller skating. Even though he couldn’t even roller-skate himself.

Hesitantly, he took your hand in his. You ignored the way that his fingers and palm fit so perfectly with yours. You also tried to ignore how smooth and warm his hand was. And the fact that you had already felt his hand before. On your waist.

You still never quite got past that moment. Something about the memory put a butterfly-like feeling in your stomach.

“Set your feet wider apart.” You slightly pulled him away from the railing. He looked at you with an adorably nervous expression. You laughed. “When you step, try to lean on each side. So you can balance.”

He followed what you said and soon enough, the two of you were skating down the rink. Smoothly? Not really, with the way he constantly stumbled like a deer learning how to walk. But it was enjoyable, the way he would occasionally smile at you, his hand tightening on yours.

“Hyunjae, you’re a professional now,” You joked.

He scowled adorably. “You’re so funny. You enjoy my embarrassment.”

“Maybe I do,” You snorted. “You’re getting better though.”

He looked at you earnestly. You could see the way the purple and blue lights, lit up every feature of his face, creating a view that could fit perfectly in a soft-colored painting. It seemed that the lighting also affected you as his thumb began to caress your hand.

“You look pretty,” He whispered, only loud enough for you to hear.

You widened your eyes. “Hyunjae–”

“And you make me smile,” He confessed. “So thank you. For trusting me, even when others don’t. I promise I really don’t punch people on the usual.”

You laughed, your eyes crinkling. “Of course I’d trust you. You’re very charming, did you know that?”

He only scrunched his nose in response, but you could see that his ears have tinted red, even under the blue-ish lighting.

“Your ears are red,” You pointed out.

“Haha.” He narrowed his eyes.

–

Now, the two of you were walking home together. Though you did insist that you could do so on your own, he refused to leave your side. He even gave you those stupid puppy eyes that you couldn’t reject.

“Did you have fun?” He peered at you, anxiousness flitting across his expression.

You smiled reassuringly. “Definitely.” And you don’t know why you did it, but you reached forward and took his hand in yours. His eyes went wide in an adorable way as he gazed down at your connected hands. You could even see him struggle to hold back a smile.

Then, he schooled his expression into a teasing one again. The one that you’ve grown to become used to.

“Hey, do you know what this means?”

“That we’re very good friends?” You gazed at him innocently. You held hands with your friends so that must be what it means. Right?

“That we’re— what?” He stared at you in utter disbelief.

“Good friends?” You stared back. His firm grip on your hand loosened slightly at that. “Because we’re hanging out. Are we not?”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “I thought this was a da—“

But then your house came into view. You turned to him with bright eyes.

“We’re here,” You sighed. “Thank you, Hyunjae. For a wonderful hangout.”

“Hangout,” He choked out. He reluctantly let go of your hand as he still held into the tips of your fingers. “Yes, hangout. I had fun.” His smile was almost painful, forced.

You grinned, pulling away, the constant spark between your hands finally being broken. You gave him a small wave in which he did the same.

Lee Hyunjae who was a good friend. A friend who almost kissed you and held your hand the whole night. A great friend.

—

“Am I being friend-zoned?” He muttered to himself, kicking a can that lay astray on the sidewalk.

He mulled over all the possibilities. It was either you were just incredibly oblivious, or you didn’t like him back and were trying to let him off kindly. He sighed, pouting to himself.

His mind darted back to all things regarding you. He would never admit how much you made him blush just over the thought of your smile. And the way you filled him with warmth, he sometimes daydreamed of just pulling you into a hug.

Suddenly, his cheeks began to hurt. Ah. He’s smiling to himself again like a lovesick fool.

“Fine,” He groaned, slapping himself. “I’ll just get over this stupid crush.”

Should be easy.

—

Being president of the student council had its sorrows. When you said that the party was the last event of the year, apparently you were wrong. The principal suddenly wanted you to set up a fundraiser in three days' time.

Not to mention that you had exams to study for and projects to keep you up late at night. You’re not only stressed but a little bit—no—very sleep deprived.

With a pained sigh, you flopped your head on the desk, hitting your forehead with a thump that only worsened your headache. You felt someone poke your shoulder so you were forced to look up.

“Could you please do my homework?” Your classmate pleaded. “I have a date tonight but I’m failing this class.”

Another poke on your shoulder. You turned.

“Can you send me the instructions for the literature project?”

And another except on your back. You turned around again.

“For the fundraiser event, how many tabl–”

Abruptly, you stood up from your desk, your chair creating a loud sound that made everyone else in the classroom jump. You pinched the crease behind your eyebrows.

“I have a headache,” You told all three students who were pleading with you to do their work for them. Two of them simply grumbled and turned away. But one, she was your favorite of all, looked at you with kind eyes.

“You should go to the nurse’s office.”

With a deep breath, you nodded and headed out the door. Again, you were met with a choice–a fork in the road, per se. To your right, was the nurse who could treat your pounding headache. But to your left was the stairway to the rooftop of the school.

You turned left again.

Bursting through the doors, you took a long inhale as you enjoyed the fresh air. Luckily, the weather was bright and blue, perfect for clearing your head. Other than the drawings in your sketchbook, you had another secret. That was the rooftop.

You often came here whenever your brain was fuzzy with unnecessary thoughts. You liked to sit here alone, doodle on a blank page, and just be yourself. All alone.

Except you weren’t.

When you turned to your usual spot, a wall that was at a certain angle where you could see all the prettiest clouds, there was someone else sitting there.

“Hyunjae?” You peered at him.

He looked up at you with slight surprise as he pulled off his earphones. He looked attractive like this. He was sitting against the grey wall, one leg extended. His hair was messy and tousled from the wind and he had that signature smile on. You couldn’t quite tell if it was teasing or genuine. But you liked it anyway.

“Y/n,” He breathed out and then he patted the spot next to him, inviting you to sit. As you did, you immediately felt comfort from the way his shoulder pressed against yours, his warmth taking away that chilling feeling that clouded your mind the past few hours.

“What are you doing here?” You asked, turning to him. You inhaled slightly when you realized just how close he was. You took the time to run your eyes over his soft features, your gaze lingering on his bottom lip for a second longer.

“I hate physics,” He deadpanned. “And you?”

“I’m just tired,” You laughed bitterly. He took note of your tone and he shuffled even closer to you so now your legs were touching.

The two of you fell in silence. You played with your fingers with nervousness. You didn’t even know what you were nervous about. Was it him? Was it the way that he continued to look at you with so much softness in his eyes?

“You know, Hyunjae,” You started, your voice low. “You’re not all too bad.”

He huffed out a laugh. “I thought that we’ve established that a long time ago.”

“But what you said earlier. While roller-skating.” You faced him with a soft tilt of your lips. He gazed back, a strange tenderness behind his expression. “You make me smile too.”

“Oh. That’s… good,” He replied breathlessly. “Did you come here just to tell me that?”

“No.” You rolled your eyes. “I really am tired. You call me dear president but I’m tired of being one. I came here to clear my mind.”

He was quiet for a moment.

“Would you like me to leave?” He questioned.

And he didn’t even move but you were already grasping his wrist in your fingers.

“Stay,” You whispered. “I like being with you.”

His eyes widened at your words and you could even see, under the afternoon light, that his cheeks have tinted pink.

“I’m going to flunk physics class if I keep skipping,” He muttered but he still relaxed next to you.

“I can teach you,” You offered. “When I’m not exhausted.”

“Mhm,” He hummed with amusement. “You do that. When you’re not exhausted.”

You didn’t reply. Instead, you leaned your head on his shoulder. It was warm against your cheek and honestly made a great pillow. You could feel him stiffen for a second but he slowly leaned closer so that your neck wouldn’t hurt. Your fingers stayed on his wrist, holding it loosely as his hand laid out on your lap.

Quietly, he leaned his head against yours, encompassing you in warmth and… something else.

After a while, Hyunjae lifted his head to check up on you, only to find that you had fallen asleep on his shoulder, your cheek smushed (adorably, in his opinion) into it. He was glad that you weren’t awake, or else you would notice how fast his heart was pounding. Then he glanced down to where his hand was still on your lap, your fingers wrapped around gently.

He gulped thickly as he turned away. He couldn’t move but he desperately wanted to. When he had said that he would get over you, it seemed almost impossible now with how strong his feelings had become.

“I really like you,” He whispered. And he hoped that he would one day tell you when you were properly awake.

–

As time passed, you grew closer to Hyunjae. From a student that you had only merely heard rumors about, to a friend in which you’ve started to notice the way his lips moved for some reason.

It also seemed that the principal had forgotten to schedule your last detention. Not that you minded, but it made it harder for you to see him. But of course, he took it as his responsibility to take you out to places whenever he could.

And the rooftop slowly became a two-person thing. Usually, you ended up falling asleep on his shoulder. He would always reassure you that he didn’t mind.

Lately, you’ve noticed that he had grown quiet. A lot more than usual. Of course, he teased you but you’ve also taken note of the way he often liked to just look at you. If you were talking, he would gaze at you with soft eyes. Or if you smiled, he would smile back, looking at you as if you had hung the stars in the sky.

It was the night before school. You had things to prepare but mostly, you laid in bed, bored. But you lifted your head when you heard the doorbell ring. Furrowing your eyebrows and glancing at the time, you realized that you had no deliveries or guests to expect.

Rushing to the door, you turned the knob. You widened your eyes.

Hyunjae. He was dressed in his usual school uniform. Except something was different. His collar was ironed, every button was properly done, and his tie was pulled up correctly. His hair though, was still tousled. It always has been. It reminded you much of a puppy.

In his hands was a bouquet of flowers. Held close to his chest, you could recognize pink roses. You once read in a book that it meant innocent love. He looked straight out of a romance comic book. Charming in his school uniform and lovely with the flowers that complimented his golden skin.

Your eyes traveled down and–

You choked.

There was a small girl on his side. His little sister. She was grinning up at you and you couldn’t help but notice the resemblance. They both had the same deer eyes and an adorable smile. The only difference was her height which only reached up to Hyunjae’s mid-thigh, as well as her chubby cheeks.

You turned to Hyunjae.

“What are you–”

“Babysitting duty,” He blurted out. “But I just need to tell you something. If you would listen.”

You gazed at him for a moment, taking in the sight. He shuffled on his feet and you could tell that he was incredibly nervous.

“Okay,” You replied in surprise. “What is it?”

“I…” He trailed off as if his mind had suddenly gone blank. But then his sister tugged on his hand. He crouched down so that she could whisper in his ear. You watched, completely endeared.

“Right.” He cleared his throat. “I want to tell you that I…” He trailed off again. His cheeks turned red. He looked down at her. “I forgot again.”

His little sister groaned. He smiled sheepishly as he turned back to you.

“I like you.”

Your lungs felt like they were punctured as the pieces all clicked for you, just like they had when you found out his name back in that art room. The flowers in his hands which probably mean everything about romance and the fact that he fixed up his uniform for you; the soft looks whenever you would laugh; his constant flirting that you had imagined to just be his humor; it all meant something.

“You… what?” You uttered.

“I like you. I have for a while,” He said with his voice wavering. “And I was supposed to tell you this huge speech that we–” He glanced down at the small girl. “–prepared together. But I get nervous around you so I forgot.”

“Hyunjae…”

“And I don’t know if you return my feelings.” He frowned. “But I just wanted to tell you that I have this gigantic crush on you. She would know.” He gestured to her again. “She always points out how I’m always blushing.”

“Blushing?” You widened your eyes.

“Because I’m thinking of you,” Hyunjae whispered.

“Oh,” You breathed. “But why me?”

“I love everything about you.” He gave you a soft smile. That same one that you seem to see every day now. “Your smile is pretty. You’re just very beautiful. Inside and out. All the time.”

You felt like your face was on fire and that you might just suffocate from how fast your heart was beating.

He sighed, noticing your silence. “You don’t have to return your feelings or say anything ye–”

“I like you too,” You squeaked.

His lips parted at that, the flowers falling to his side. “You do?”

“Yes, I think.” You smiled sheepishly. “I’m new to this, Hyunjae.”

He grinned, looking at you teasingly. “I can guide you, dear president.”

“Don’t call me that,” You groaned.

“I can call you anything,” He muttered, stepping closer. You looked up at him, your eyes studying his soft expression. “Gorgeous.” He tucked a piece of hair around your ear.

“Hyunjae,” You whispered.

“Or would you prefer breath-taking?” He teased.

“Neither.” You squeezed your eyes shut.

“It seems that you like both, sweetheart.”

“Mister,” You warned. “There is a child present.”

He widened his eyes and he stepped away immediately as if he had just remembered. Hastily, he turned to his little sister who was staring up at the two of you innocently.

“If you speak of this to mom…” He narrowed his eyes. “She’s going to kill me, you know?”

The girl only giggled and made a zipping motion to her mouth.

You snorted at the sight.

“Hyunjae,” You spoke up again. “How long have you liked me?”

He smiled. “A long time. You’re awfully oblivious, Y/n. That time we went roller-skating was meant to be a date. And why do you brush off my flirting everytime?”

You stuttered, “I– I’m sorry. I thought–”

He laughed, gazing at you fondly. “As long as you know now.”

You hummed, leaning against the doorway. “I guess you have me now, handsome.” You looked at him slyly.

His eyes were adorably wide now. He straightened up. “Repeat that?”

“Handsome?”

“Yes, that,” He breathed out.

“Handsome.”

He turned to face his little sister. “Hold this.” He placed the bouquet of flowers in her small hands. And then he immediately stepped forward and hooked a hand around your waist. He quickly pulled you in, causing you to stumble slightly and fall into his chest. Steadying you with a small smile, he brought you into a kiss without a warning.

You gasped in surprise but you slowly relaxed into it. Your hands wandered to the back of his neck, causing him to hum with satisfaction. The kiss was soft and innocent with barely any movement and his lips were even softer than you imagined. You could sense that he was going to deepen it but you were interrupted by a small, “Gross!”

The two of you pulled apart, only to see that his little sister had cutely stuck her tongue out. He scowled playfully before reaching down to pick her up in his arms, as she tightly held onto the flower bouquet in her small hands.

“This was your idea in the first place, dummy,” He grumbled, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, causing her to laugh adorably. You smiled at the sight.

Lee Hyunjae wasn’t scary at all. In fact, he was just a huge softie who had fallen in love with you.

–

You could be going on dates with Hyunjae but instead, you were still serving detention with him. After your first kiss with him, it seemed that the day after, the principal suddenly remembered to schedule your detention time.

With a sigh, you swept the classroom. Classroom 1-B, specifically Hyunjae’s classroom.

“I daydreamed a lot about you here.” He brushed past you with a small smirk.

Your cheeks flushed. “About… what?”

“A lot.” He walked past you again, this time letting his hands fall to your waist for a moment. You inhaled sharply at the sensation. “Your lips.”

You gulped, turning to him. To no surprise, he was staring straight at your lips.

“I daydreamed about hugging you.” He suddenly appeared behind you, wrapping his arms around you into a firm back hug. You couldn’t help but smile at the way he nuzzled his nose into your shoulder.

“Hyunjae,” You whispered. “We’re supposed to be cleaning right now.”

He smiled, holding you tightly. His lips only hovered over that spot on your neck. The spot that he had almost kissed back in the library.

“But we’re alone. Just the two of us,” He muttered back. You swallowed thickly, willing yourself not to let your eyes wander down. The whole day, during classes, you kept thinking of them. What it would be like to kiss them again.

Really, your only kiss with him was the one on your porch. The one that was interrupted by his little sister.

“We have responsibilities,” You shakily replied.

“But don’t you want to know about my last daydream?” He pulled away, his hand still placed on your hip.

You breathed deeply, knowing very well that your ears were red right now, which he loved to point out.

“What… is it?” You glanced at him nervously.

“I daydream about kissing you.” He leaned close from behind, letting his lips brush against the side of your cheek. And you had hoped. Really hoped that he would whip you around and pull you into a deep kiss. But much to your disappointment, he only walked by, off to pick up some crumpled test papers.

With a groan of frustration, you set your broom down.

“You can’t just say that and not–” You sighed, shutting your eyes with embarrassment. “Not kiss me.”

His eyes sparkled at that but he only spared you a glance.

“But apparently you think cleaning a classroom is more important,” He hummed. “I respect your opinion. So I guess you’ll just have to wait for my kiss.”

You glared at him for a moment. But he only tilted his head, his lips quirking up slightly. With an annoyed sigh, you picked the broom up and began to sweep the floor again. This time, a little bit faster and more aggressively.

Hyunjae only chuckled at your actions.

And purposely, like the absolute lunatic he is, he would brush past you, letting his hands trail somewhere on his body. Every time, you would scrunch your eyebrows, trying to contain the sudden need to grab his collar and pull him into a harsh kiss.

“Focus.”

“Shut up.” You glared.

“You can shut me up later.” His eyes again, traveled downwards.

Once you were sure that the floor was clean enough, you practically threw the broom off somewhere. Storming over to where he was waiting for you, leaning back against the teacher’s desk, you faced him.

“Are you going to kiss me now?” You said.

He smiled. “Should I?”

You frowned. “Because we’re finished so–”

“Can’t get enough of me?” He quirked his head. He stood up. Again, you were reminded of just how tall he was. “Can’t stop thinking of my lips?” He took a step forward. You took a step backward, blinking nervously.

“What are you doing?” You whispered.

“You want to kiss me so bad, don’t you?” He teased, continuously backing you up. “That you rushed all of your cleaning just so you could press your lips to mine?”

You gasped when you realized the back of your thighs hit a student’s desk. He only continued to step closer, forcing you to sit up on the desk. He watched you with a glint in his eyes. And then he stepped in between your legs, caging you between his arms and hovering over you with his hands resting on the desk on either side of you.

“Hyunjae,” You breathed out, your hands resting on his chest.

“So should we do this properly?” He asked, his voice dropping to a low tone. His gaze followed your lips, making you hold your breath. “Since she’s not here.”

Out of context, this would sound like a horrible love affair. But you only snorted since you knew that he was talking about his little sister.

“Are you saying that your sister is a bother?” You laughed.

“No.” He grinned. “But I can’t afford her to witness this.”

“Witness what?”

He smiled. “You know what I’m talking about.”

“Enlighten me,” You whispered.

“Should I?” He chuckled softly, as he shuffled even closer so that your chest was against his. You could even feel his breath fan over your lips. He tilted his head with a lazy smile.

You laughed, leaning your forehead against his. “Yes,” You whispered. “Or else I’ll take the lead.”

“I would love to see that,” He teased.

And much to his surprise, you took hold of his collar, and you finally, finally, pulled him against your lips. He let out a muffled sound but he almost instantly melted against you.

Groaning with satisfaction, his hands came off the desk, instead choosing to take hold of your lower back and waist, his fingers digging into your skin. This kiss was much, much different from your first one. This one was filled with a flame that couldn’t be put out. As his lips moved against yours fervently, one hand traveled down to the side of your thigh where he pulled you closer.

You hummed as you tangled your fingers in his soft hair, tilting your head to deepen the kiss. Easily, he obliged, kissing you so hard that you felt your hands go weak, going slack and resting on his chest. He never seemed to slow down either, only breaking away so that he could find his way under your jawline.

“So this finally happens,” He muttered. And he leaned back in, kissing down until he found that spot–the one that he had only lingered on before in a rickety library. Now, he was pressing kisses to your skin as he meant it. You gasped at the feeling.

“Hyunjae,” You breathed out, tugging at his collar as you tilted your head against the sensation. You could even feel him begin to smile against your neck.

“Perfume?” He whispered.

“None,” You gasped.

He pulled away, searching your eyes with so much softness you felt like you could just melt right then and there. “You smell good. Sweet like candy.”

“Shut up,” You grumbled, leaning forward so that you could hide your face in his chest. His hands came to the small of your back, pulling you into a hug. It was gentle and innocent, much different from the kiss.

And then his hand came under your chin, lifting you up so that he could press his lips to yours. This time, the two of you savored the moment, moving slowly. Both of your eyes were shut and your cheeks flushed.

“She’s only five years old,” He whispered against your lips, breaking apart reluctantly. You could tell that he was trying to catch his breath as his hands wandered across your waist. “This is PG-13.” He grinned.

You laughed. Or you tried to until he shut you up with another kiss.

“You look beautiful,” He said, his eyes gentle on yours.

“And you look like a mess.”

“And who’s fault is that?” He glanced down at his crumpled collar where you had grabbed it and initiated the kiss in the first place. You smiled up at his messy hair and his pink cheeks. Then your eyes met again.

“Can I kiss you again?”

“Please.”

And he did so, pulling you closer by the waist. You were so focused on his lips that you hadn’t noticed the voices out in the hallway.

“We just need to get the flyers for–”

The door creaked open. The two of you broke apart. You looked down at the way he had you pressed up on a desk and you choked. It must be an odd sight, seeing the so-called quiet, intimidating student making out with the picture-perfect president of the student council.

And it was Younghoon and Sunwoo–members of said council. Their eyes were wide and their mouths had dropped open. Sunwoo had even let go of the book in his hand, causing a loud thump on the floor. Younghoon’s eyes trailed from both of your spit-slicked, swollen lips down to where you were all up against each other, Hyunjae’s hand still on your waist.

You stared back and Hyunjae only pulled away slightly with a smug smirk.

Sunwoo’s eye twitched.

“What the fu–”

#deoboyznet #fics 💞#requests 💞#hyunjae fluff #hyunjae x reader #the boyz imagines #the boyz reactions #the boyz fluff #tbz fluff #tbz imagines #the boyz x reader #tbz x reader #the boyz scenarios

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bearhugsandshrugs · 10 months

Text

Baldur's Gate 3's tragic endings – Pt. 1

There was talks about Larian's devs and one (romance) ending that was so heartbreaking they hardly got through making it. Since then, lots of speculation about which character this was about has been going on.

I personally have two theories as to who it could be (and why) so let me get into it. I'm going to start with the most popular theory so far (from what I've seen): our favorite bitey boy.

Astarion

He seems like the most popular choice for anticipated heartbreak (with the heart breaking being ours, of course). His carefully constructed mask of cruelty, arrogance, and delusions of grandeur would fit the narrative of betrayal and regret for more good-hearted Tavs for sure. Yet... I believe the path with him will ultimately depend on whether or not Tav can tear down this mask and address the underlying issues.

He's been alone for centuries, alone in the sense of being abandoned and abused, with no end to it in sight. As a result, he took refuge in his newfound condition (he's the only companion who wants to keep the tadpole and merely control it) and dove right into power and revenge fantasies (he wants to become more powerful than Cazador). It's a completely understandable defense mechanism. A low approval Tav will get nothing out of him, he's too guarded for that. But a medium or high approval Tav will learn more and more about his experiences, and, most importantly, plans. (Referencing EA only here)

Here's the thing though: No one willing to get that much power without second thought tells a stranger (or worse: friend) about their plans. I firmly believe that Astarion simply doesn't know better, coming out of centuries of torture so bad it made him forget his own natural eye color. I also believe he wants to be stopped and guided onto a better path – subconsciously of course. (Why bother asking how the world sees him? If power would be the true ultimate goal what should he care?)

So, what about that tragic ending? I think the betrayal and regret theories are spot on.

When researching a cure for vampire spawns in the DnD rules I found something interesting: True Resurrection, a spell that can be cast by druids or clerics, can bring back a vampire (spawn) that has been dead no longer than 200 years. Which is exactly the number of years Astarion references as being under Cazador's thumb. Coincidence? (Nah.)

I think ultimately the party will fight Cazador and Astarion will have the choice of either drinking from his former master, thus turning himself into a vampire, or killing Cazador and then letting an ally (Halsin? Shadowheart? Someone else?) resurrect him (as vampires are technically dead) with said spell, curing Astarion of his condition.

An Astarion who witnessed Tav being selfish, power-hungry, or cruel, might increase the chances of him turning his back on them. Why cure himself and accept his (former) victimhood if he could become the master (and abuser) instead? Why bother being good and complicated when Tav sets the example that only power and selfishness gets you to where you want to go? I can see this ending play out. And I can see this ending being really sad. Astarion becoming a vampire, maybe even attacking Tav in the process, or with Tav having to fight and kill him next – yeah, that's tragic alright. (But also please don't let anything happen to my snarky boy. I need him.)

Wait a minute. Why should Astarion be the only one who could betray someone?

So I'll do you one better: Tav does the betraying.

Thinking in ultimate roleplaying choices, a Tav that is selfish, cruel, and/or power-hungry (fueled by the abuse of their ilithid powers??), could absolutely give Astarion back to Cazador – in return for power, or favors, or even something lowely as gold (or shits and giggles). Picture this: Astarion, anticipating the long awaited revenge with his new friend and ally (or even lover!!!) Tav, walking straight into the trap Cazador and Tav laid out for him. The ending that would leave him right where he started – a prisoner to his abuser once more, betrayed by the first person he opened up to in centuries; the first person he let see him, maybe even beyond his mask.

And now that we're sufficiently sad, I'm going to take a break before writing the next option for the most tragic ending (tm) I can think of.

Let me know what you think!

Part 2 here

#bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #astarion #bg3 astarion #not sure if really spoilers as this is theory only at this point #bitey boy #tragic endings theories

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spidervee · 1 year

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easy (like you) • jake seresin x fem!reader

↳ marbles series // part 1

summary: jake doesn’t always think before he acts and you tend to do enough thinking for the both of you. this is the story of your friendship and five years spent apart; your budding romance and broken hearts. part one -> on a rainy afternoon you run into an old friend and realize that some moments make a friendship

words: 3.1k

warnings: 18+ only; cursing; reader's nickname is jersey; no use of y/n; frat parties and football players; flirting and sexual tension; heavy making out and some touching; virgin!reader; protective!jake; childhood friends to strangers to almost lovers; thoughts and validation always appreciated; not edited because reasons; part one of eight

You start work at the campus library on a Tuesday, the sky overcast and dull with the threat of rain and the air laid heavy with humidity. It’s still July, early enough that the semester hasn’t quite appeared on the horizon and the library hosts only a few scattered patrons, mostly graduate students who arrive upon opening, settle into a secluded corner, and hunker down for six or seven hours of frenzied typing. In their hunched shoulders and the dark circles under their eyes, you catch a glimpse of a possible future self—there are a few versions of her running around in your head these days, vying for attention and the plans to make themselves your reality.

Fewer patrons translates to fewer books in circulation and your boss grants you the kindness of reshelving, suggesting it will help you familiarize yourself with the place. You appreciate the opportunity to get lost amongst the stacks, the smell of old books curling into your nostrils as you run your fingertips along delicate leatherbound spines. In the months to follow you’ll learn that your affections are torn between the aged Romantic poetry collections on the fifth floor and the crisp new medical textbooks that live on the second. But on this particular Tuesday, your first of many, you find yourself in the company of Walt Whitman—and the myriad of scholarship surrounding him—when you hear the telltale sound of a downpour against the tin roof overhead, as if the sky has opened up and let loose all its fury. Cringing, you suddenly remember the exact location of your umbrella—hung neatly off the back of your closet door in the dorm room you share with another freshman on the entirely opposite side of campus.

If you’re lucky, the rain will stop by the time your shift is over in—you check your wrist for the time—twenty-six minutes.

You’re not. And it isn’t.

In the front vestibule, you briefly debate the merits of dashing through an apocalyptic storm versus camping out underneath one of the uncomfortable-looking cubbies on the Humanities floor.

“Wanna share?”

A voice, thick with the Texan twang you’ve not yet grown accustomed to since moving back to Austin last month, draws you from your inner turmoil. Glancing over, you wish you’d just been decisive enough to scurry back to the safety of the stacks because there’s a man standing next to you who you’re pretty sure is a movie star, with his straight white teeth and his chiseled jaw and his carelessly confident posture.

“Better yet,” he grins at you, offering you the handle of a bright orange umbrella emblazoned with a University of Texas logo, “Why don’t you just take it?”

There’s something familiar about him but you choose not to ask, lest he think you’re flirting with him. Still, the boyish grin that tugs at the corners of his lips is one that sends you reeling into years earlier and you nearly stumble over your own feet as recognition barrels into you.

“Jake?”

He blinks and for a moment you think you’ve made a mistake. But then he’s tilting his head and pulling expensive-looking aviators down the bridge of his nose—why the fuck does he need them in this weather anyways—and really looking at you.

If you weren’t sure before, you are now because, sure, you might have been only thirteen the last time you saw Jake Seresin, but there was no forgetting those sparkling green eyes and the mischief that constantly simmered just beneath their surface.

“Holy shit, Jersey? That really you?” He sounds happy, if more than a little disbelieving, when he finally speaks. Inwardly, you breathe a sigh of relief that he remembers you as well—you’re not sure you could have survived the mortification otherwise.

“Yeah,” you try for a small nonchalant grin, as if your entire world hasn’t just exploded, “Hi.”

“Hey.” Jake laughs, and the sound is deeper than you remember—well, no shit, you tell yourself, he’s a man now. “This is fucking insane,” he says, his smile deepening and as puts the umbrella into your hands. “Here. Lead the way.”

You’re not sure what possesses you to simply do as he says—take his umbrella, open it up against the wind, and start walking. A small bit of guilt eats at you because you’re not tall enough to maintain coverage for you and Jake so he’s getting drenched as he walks quietly alongside you, the wind and rain creating too much noise for real conversation anyways. His longer legs are easily keeping pace with your own hurried strides and, with that iota of guilt subsiding, you almost laugh at the confidence Jake exudes, as though he knows he looks good soaking wet with a t-shirt clinging to a lean and muscular chest and locks of blond hair sticking to his forehead, falling into the greenest eyes you’ve ever seen. It’s comical and you wonder if you’ve fallen asleep somewhere between the 19th century romance novels and awoken in a weird parallel version of your boring reality.

What other explanation is there for running into the boy you’d first met in the seventh grade when your mother had been transferred to Austin for work? The boy who’d laughed when you told him you’d just moved from New Jersey but you absolutely were not from there, thank you very much, and who had bestowed the city’s name upon you as a way to playfully torture you for the two years you spent living down the street from him. The boy who you’d wanted to be your first kiss, more than anything else, who’d told you he was going to be the best pilot the Navy had even seen and, no Jersey I will not join the Air Force it is not the same thing, The boy who you’d wept over when your parents announced you were moving, again, because it wasn’t fair that you had to leave behind your entire life (Jake) and all your friends (Jake) and everything you loved (Jake) all over again.

You’ve not much time to contemplate your unexpected reunion because soon enough you’ve reached your dorm building and are diving for shelter underneath the awning in the entryway while Jake takes his umbrella back, not that he’s got much use for it now. You mumble a shame-faced thanks, which Jake quickly shrugs off, insisting that the flu he’s doubtless going to catch will be worth helping you.

And then, the words you’ve been hoping and fearing. “I’ve missed you, Jers. It’s been too long.” Jake reaches out to brush a drop of water off your shoulder in a way that is all-too-familiar. “You should come by mine,” he suggests, “We’re having a welcome back party next weekend.”

***

Standing on the porch of Jake’s frat house the following Friday, you try not to imagine yourself as fresh meat, an unwitting feast for a house full of horny pledges.

You’d spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to choose an outfit that you’re still not entirely thrilled with, worried that the thigh-kissing hemline sends the wrong message and that the red lipstick is too bold a choice. So worried, in fact, that you’d almost tapped out and just curled up in bed, but your roommate had already invited her boyfriend over and you really, really weren’t in the mood to listen to them try to have sex quietly while you awkwardly drank tea in the shared living room and pretending not to hear the bed creaking.

So, with no other option, you slip into the house, hoping to go unnoticed for as long as possible as you’ve only rehearsed two bits of small talk on your walk over and have absolutely zero opinion about the Longhorns other than to smile and nod.

A drink, that’s what you need.

Unfortunately for you, the kitchen is empty save for one very large blond man who looks like he could play linebacker—you think, at least, as you’re not sure what size linebackers are meant to be in relation to all other football players.

He begins talking and you can’t even pretend that you don’t know his words are directed at you because you’re the only other person there and he’s asking you about your name and your major and why’re you all by yourself, cutie and how’d you find your way over to this party?

Opening the fridge allows you a moment of reprieve from the conversation, its hum a gentle comfort as you mindlessly rifle through the various beers stocked on otherwise bare shelves.

“Uh, Jake invited me.”

“Seresin?” He sounds disbelieving, as though Jake Seresin would never have invited you to a party like this. It makes you wonder how much he’s changed since you once knew him. He’d obviously gotten hotter—Jake had always been a cute kid, the one that adults weirdly laughed over being a future heartbreaker. But you had the sense they weren’t wrong. That day at the library, before he’d realized it was you, had he thought you were some other girl, one he’d bedded?

Things go downhill from there and before you know it, you’ve lost all personal space mr. maybe a linebacker and can’t quite seem to work your way out from where he’s wrapped a thick arm around you.

Jake finds you like that, and, for a moment, when his eyes meet yours he looks annoyed. Then, his expression shifts in such a way that it makes you wonder what he saw etched upon your face because he scowls and puffs his chest out at the man next to you.

“Tyler, get your fucking paws off my girl.”

The man—Tyler—who’s been monopolizing your space immediately takes a step away from you and you welcome the relief of no longer smelling the beer on his breath. He mumbles an apology to Jake, something about not knowing, and you don’t keep track of where he slinks off to, instead focusing on how intensely Jake is watching you.

“C’mere,” Jake breathes, reaching out and tucking you into his side, the smell of his cologne instantly making you feel safer—this, a smell you don’t mind at all. In a swift motion, he pulls the Longhorns cap from his head and sets it atop yours, grinning as it falls ever so slightly over your eyes. “No one else is gonna bug you if you’re wearing that, Jersey.”

“Thanks,” you mumble, a little embarrassed at needing to be protected—or wanting to be.

“And don’t you leave my sight.”

You want to protest, argue that he should have met you at the door instead of being distracted by pretty girls in short shorts and crop tops, but he’s smiling at you again in that way of his; the one that makes your heart flutter.

***

Somehow, you end up in Jake’s bedroom, two beers deep and a little tipsy and still wearing his cap, though now it sits backwards over your hair.

“Never imagined I’d see you again, sweetheart.”

“Sweetheart,” you roll your eyes to hide the pleasure such a nickname gives you, “Does that work on all the girls ‘round here, Jake?”

“You’d be surprised,” he shrugs nonchalantly, spreading his thighs wide as he falls into a seat on his bed, and motioning for you to come nearer. You hesitate—Jake’s grown up now, but isn’t he still the same little boy you used to skip rocks with out by the pond behind his family’s barn? Aren’t you still the same shy little girl hiding a biting tongue between worrying lips?

“Hardly,” you counter, taking a step closer to Jake, weighing your options carefully in your mind as you do. He doesn’t seem bothered by your slowness, watches you from under thick lashes as you kick across his bedroom floor, in your socks now because you’d kicked your sneakers off at his bedroom door.

“So, first thing’s first,” Jake chuckles, changing the topic, “Why Texas?”

The question catches you off-guard and you have to stop yourself from opening and closing your mouth as you formulate a response. This was decidedly not one of the rehearsed topics of conversation. Since when had Jake asked deep questions?

“I missed it here,” you reply, because it’s the only thing you can think to say and it’s an honest answer. Because you did miss Austin, and the late nights you’d spent by bonfires in Jake’s backyard and the way he’d helped you learn to ride a horse and the treks through the corn fields on that horse.

“Don’t be shy,” Jake coaxes, “You can say that it’s ‘cause you missed me.”

By now you’re standing between his thighs and looking down at him, at the way his arms are taut where they’re supporting his weight and the way his gaze is tilted up to drink in your features and the way his shirt is unbuttoned just a bit more than when you first saw him downstairs.

“Jake.” Your voice is little more than a whisper and suddenly everything seems serious. Jake’s hands move to the backs of your thighs as he sits up a bit straighter, his eyes near level with your chest, though he keeps them focused on your face.

“You’re so pretty, Jersey,” Jake breathes against the fabric of your dress, “Always been so pretty and so sweet.” He gives your legs a little squeeze and you part them slightly so he can slip one hand between your thighs, resting it just above your knee. You’re worried at how embarrassingly warm you feel and think, for a moment, you need to step away because you should not be doing this.

But then another voice, a louder one, asks you why shouldn’t you? You’d been hoping to have your first time before starting college and now, with the semester only a couple weeks off and Jake magically reappearing in your life—why not?

“I had such a crush on you when we were kids,” Jake continues with a chuckle, his fingers drawing little circles on the sensitive skin between your legs. “Wanted you to be my first kiss so bad. Damn near broke my heart when you moved again.”

No, no, no. He can’t be saying things like that. Can’t be giving utterance to the thoughts you’ve long-since buried because that’s truly not fair. Still, his words send warmth blooming through your abdomen and you feel your panties getting wet as Jake’s fingers continue their exploration.

Gently, Jake’s other hand guides your wrist towards his crotch, leading you to press your palm flat against where his jeans are bulging. You can feel him harden further under your touch and you gulp, unsure what to do, gently rubbing your open hand up and down his zipper a few times.

Then his lips are on yours and he’s kissing you as though he’s been starved, as though you’re the thing keeping him tethered to this world. He squeezes you between his thighs, pulling you ever closer to his body as he forefinger finds your underwear and swipes carefully across their seam and you gasp at the sensation.

It’s all a bit overwhelming—your brain fuzzy from breathing in through gasps between kisses, your fingers trembling where they toy with the buckle of Jake’s belt, awaiting instruction, your ears ringing with the music from downstairs and the pounding of blood in your ears.

And you can think of nothing to do so you stop, a little panicked, a little afraid, and entirely confused. Your shoulders have tensed and your hand has frozen in its spot on Jake’s lap where you simply stare at it, willing it to move.

“You don’t seem super into this.” Jake says lightly as he pulls back, hands immediately withdrawn from your body and thumbs hitching into the pockets of his jeans. He doesn’t sound angry, just matter-of-fact. You’re knocked back into reality like you’ve just been dunked into a cold swimming pool and pull your own hands back, wringing them together.

“I am,” you insist, “I’ve just…it’s…”

He tilts his head to look at you, as though he’s trying to read some great cosmic truth in your sudden hesitation. Then he sighs. “You’re a virgin, aren’t you?”

Good lord, hearing it out loud is mortifying. You want to up and run, but Jake is there, wrapping an arm around you and shaking his head as he pulls you gently into a seat on his lap—it strikes you as ridiculous that you think it gentlemanly he’s avoiding placing you near his hard-on.

“I can’t,” he sighs again, “Not without buying you dinner, taking you to some museum you’ll love and try to explain to me, and truly earning it. Earning you.”

“But, I want to,” you protest, trying not cringe at how whiny you sound.

“Really?

You say nothing, which is more than enough of an answer for Jake and he slides you from his lap to his mattress.

“I can’t go home,” you whisper, “At least, I don’t think I can.” Jake looks concerned and you launch into an explanation about your roommate and her boyfriend and not wanting to be rude or spoil the delicate beginnings of a friendship.

Jake nods along, amenable to the story even though you’re certain it’s silly, then stands and moves over to the unkempt bookshelf on the other side of the room. He rummages around for a long moment before turning back to you with an open gamebox and a devilish smirk.

“You still play Scrabble?” Jake asks, tossing a stray tile up and then deftly snatching it out of the air.

“Still not particularly well,” you shrug, “I’m bad at exploiting the bonuses.”

“Figured you were still a nice girl,” Jake teases and you feel your stomach twist at his words. “Let’s do this. I’ll order a pizza, you’ll kick my ass at this game, and then we’ll see where we’re at, yeah?”

You nod, grateful for his tact, if more than a little surprised at it. Maybe Jake’s three older sisters had managed to teach him a thing or two, despite the constant bickering you remember.

“Yeah.”

Jake smiles and sets to work putting the gameboard out. “I meant what I said last week,” he says without looking up, “I missed you, Jersey.”

“Missed you too, Jake.”

You don’t kiss Jake again that night. In fact, you don’t kiss Jake again until two years later.

#jake seresin x you #jake seresin x reader #jake seresin blurb #jake seresin drabble #jake seresin #jake seresin fic #jake seresin series #jake hangman x you #jake hangman x reader #jake hangman seresin #hangman seresin #hangman x you #hangman x reader #hangman fanfic

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khruschevshoe · 5 months

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Jim and Oluwande got the worst end of the deal. I'd even say they regressed as both characters and partners and anything they had built up in s1 was almost completely stripped away from them. The way they're portrayed together and apart in s2 is not only unlike the characters we saw in s1, but their rich storyline was reduced to extreme side characters used only as plot devices in a way they absolutely did not have to be used. I LOVED them in s1, and I was so disappointed by what s2 did to them and their potential growth, which I think applies to pretty much everything in s2, not only them.

Mind if I piggyback of this ask to go into all my critiques of the handling of Jim/Olu in Season 2? Thanks!

OFMD Critique: Tealoranges, Dropped Storylines, and Wasted Potential

God, the issues I have with the writing of Season 2 extend in so many directions. Jim's character, I felt, was well-handled for at least the first two episodes but then slowly starts skewing wrong as early as episode 3 (I am still chewing glass over the way their reunion scene with Oluwande was written- or, rather, NOT written). Episode 4 was good, but everything after that? Someone said that Jim in the back half of the season feels more like Vico than Jim, and though I do love and appreciate Vico, it's completely true. Jim doesn't feel like the same character we've come to know, whether from Season 1 or even what is set up in early season 2.

And yet, I STILL feel like they're written better than Olu, if you can believe it? So, I haven't talked about this much, but I feel like Olu is done dirty from almost the moment he is introduced in Season 2. At least Jim (through editing alone, but hey, we'll give the show the smallest benefit of the doubt) gets an acknowledgement that they miss Olu during that flashback sequences while they talk to Archie- Olu doesn't even get that. I read about a deleted scene that would have had Pete and Olu desperate to reunite with Lucius and Jim in episode 1 and I feel like that was DESPERATELY needed to make the Season 1 finale -> Season 2 jump make any sort of sense. I like Zheng, but for the love of God, her romance with Olu (which I had my own issues with for the disservice it does both their characters) is not worth destroying the tealoranges build up from Season 1. Just cut something from the first episode or one of the Zheng/Olu scenes from the second episode to make it make sense.

Then, moving onto later in the season- I've posted about how Olu and Jim deserved the grand, epic reunion otherwise 1x10 and everything set up with them in Season 1 doesn't make sense. Could the writers of the show have possibly redistributed some of the glorious cinematography from Ed and Stede over to Jim and Olu? All I need is one shot of their reunion (a proper, emotional one, not played for laughs or friendship or whatever) framed by the sun to parallel Ed and Stede's being framed by the moon and I would have been happy on that front.

And then later in the season...I was down for the poly elements if they could have been executed better. Fanfics have shown that the Archie plot could have been executed well. But the fact that Zheng is straight up NOT MENTIONED until 2x7 by Olu? And then Jim says that he's been pining for her the whole time? I'm sorry, but it doesn't compute. Show, don't tell. There's a reason why I'm down for Jim/Archie/Olu (if executed well), but can't see Zheng/Olu at all.

But of course, 2x7 comes along and we get the "family who fucked" line. And the implication that Olu could have ever left the Revenge without Jim, when in Season 1 he became a wreck because Jim left for A FEW DAYS, much less was FORCEFULLY SEPARATED from him for MONTHS. Then in the finale, at the lupete wedding, they were separated out, him with Zheng and them with Archie, and, well, at that point...I was tired. I'm not gonna lie. Because this wasn't questionable or problematic writing, it just fundamentally DIDN'T MAKE SENSE.

And this is just on a romantic relationship POV. I hated seeing Olu lose his leadership arc from Season 1 and his loyalty to Jim and his nuanced emotional level-headedness/sense of logic. Season 1 really felt like it was slowly building up the idea that the ideal Captain was neither Stede nor Blackbeard but someone a bit more rational, a bit more grounded, a bit more communicative with his crew- someone like Olu. And he gets shoved into the back in Season 2 and reduced to the guy who can't sort scrolls or know that the BOATS ON A MAP MATTER. He gets no influence on plot or major decisions when he was often the voice of reason in Season 1 (we all remember Lucius being a romantic voice of reason in Season 1, but rarely remember that Olu was a major supporting deciding factor in a number of decisions made on the Revenge).

And as for Jim, I wanted more exploration or even just acknowledgement of their trauma post episode-4. I wanted an actual organic continuation of their character arc post-vengeance quest and post-Blackbeard, not just them getting defined by "funny knife thrower with a girlfriend and an ex-boyfriend who they want to get with his crush." They were so much more than that, and it killed me to see the two people who were basically main character 3 and 4 in Season 1 get shoved aside for unneeded subplots about Ricky and Zheng or Gentlebeard's three separate breakups when Jim and Olu's plotline had so much more potential than any of that. They weren't just star-crossed lovers- they were a slow burn ship built of absolutely interesting, complicated, and well-developed characters who brought out the best in each other with a DEVASTATING midpoint to their arc and it honestly would have made a better season not just for them as characters, but for the show overall if someone had just realized that the parallels between a couple that fights and claws to stay together no matter what (tealoranges) and a main ship that was still figuring itself out (Gentlebeard) would have SLAPPED.

(I am now picturing a version of this season where instead of the Izzy fakeout death/Gentlebeard reunion in the beginning of the first episode, we get an Olu/Jim reunion in episode 3 to parallel whatever reunion the writers wanted to slap together for Stede/Ed. I would have actively cried over the Olu/Jim reunion and it would have drastically improved the season.)

#oluwande boodhari #jim jimenez #tealoranges #my asks #ofmd critical #ofmd season 2 #meta #analysis #jim x oluwande #jim x archie x oluwande #rant #just in case #garlicule rides again

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konata-izumi-kinny-writes · 2 years

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Sfw Headcanons of Dating Jack Skellington

This man is so sweet fr fr, he needs a hug 🖤

[WARNING: mentions of horror movies]

HAPPY SPOOKY MONTH, YAAAALL!!!!

🖤 boi where do i start lel

🦴 Mans is a big cuddler

�� like for real, hes so sweet

🦴 Lots of kisses from this big boi

🖤 Like, for real, hes the most affectionate thing out there

🦴 king of the pumpkin patch, AND romance

🧡 Will scare anyone who makes you sad or angry. And he won't scare you unless you tell him you're okay with it.

🦴 hes a huge flirt. Like, the BIGGEST flirt out there

🖤 make things for him, HE'LL LOVE IT

🦴 hell, he loves you

🧡 Jack makes the best Cider and Hot Cocoa

🦴 His favorite thing to do for a date, is getting caramel corn and going for a walk with you under all of the trees.

🖤 the sun shining through the orange, yellow, and red leaves makes for a beautiful atmosphere

🦴 yall play fetch with Zero too :3

🧡 Wear a skeleton costume :)

🦴 He will either, 1: find it funny, 2: be confused, or 3: be flustered

🖤 I have no idea why, but i headcanon that Jack can play the piano and cello. I have no idea why but it just fits imo

🦴 Sing with him :D

🧡 wait- you expect me to not headcanon a disney character to be musical??... you're insane LMFAO

🦴 Pumpkin bread with chocolate chips is one of Jack's favorite things, if you like baking, make this for him lol

🖤 If you don't live with him and in a seperate house he will walk you home every single time, doesn't matter if you live next door or not.

🦴 HE👏 WANTS👏 YOU👏 SAFE👏 AND👏 IN👏 ONE👏 PIECE👏

🧡 Speaking of which, he's pretty protective of you, but not to the point where its suffocating

🦴 So its basically canon that he knows how to sew right, thats straight up.

🖤 BUT HEAR ME OUT!!!!

🦴 he makes monster plushies with it AND NOBODY CAN CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE

🧡 Like c'mon now, how can you own a sewing machine and NOT make plushies?!?! Its UNHEARD of /j

🦴 Have autism? Or anything similar to it?? HE STIMS WITH YOU!!! (Its because he thinks its fun :3)

🦴 Annoy Jack with bone puns, his reactions are priceless 🤣

🖤 His pet names for you are, Dear, Darling, and Pumpkin

🧡 He likes horror movies, if they're too much for you to handle, thats okay. Jack can always settle for less scary movies.

🦴 His favorites are The Descent, the Saw movies, Trick r' Treat (He thinks Sam is adorable), Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark (because of the nostalgia from the books), and the Fear Street movies

🖤 If you can't handle those scary movies he'll watch mellow ones with you. Like Hocus Pocus, Spooky Buddies, Halloween Is Grinch Night, etc.

🦴 He loves animals... spooky ones.

🧡 This boi wants a Bat, Frog, Tarantula, Snake, Black Cat, or maybe another ghost dog :)

🦴 As long as its not venomous

🖤 It'd be nice for Zero to have another playmate :D

🦴 okay so, while this talks about snuggling in bed and body anatomy, this isn't in a nsfw way so bear with me here lol

🧡 While yall are snugglin, you can flick his ribs to make them sound like a xylophone. You can totally play a song 🤣

🦴 Hes totally interested in your muscles, fat, and skin

🖤 like ???? How tf are you so squishy?!

🦴 He's not complainin though, he loves you how you are <3

🧡 He has cute lil monster outfits for you, Jack lets you pick out your clothes but he just has them for you just in case :)

🦴 Okay so... lets get one thing straight (unlike me LMFAO)

🖤 As a monster, Jack doesn't need to sleep, but he does.

🦴 But this means sometimes he doesn't sleep at all and just wanders around the house at 3 A.M.

🧡 and its actually lowkey scary when you run into him at those times

🦴 He just looks way scarier than usual without even trying. And oh my gosh.

🖤 There have been MULTIPLE times where Jack accidentally scared you half to death while you were looking for a snack 🤣

🦴 When all is said and done, Jack Skellington is a really sweet dude who means well. A very loving person :)))

Thanks for Reading,

HAPP SPOOP MONTH

#jack skellington x reader #jack skellington #spooky month #spoopy #spooptober #fictober #konata izumi kin writes

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shortpplfedup · 7 months

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Only Friends Character Rankings Episode 10

We're in the final act now, as Jojo n'em focus on 'Redemption'. Last week y'all tapped Nick as the most honest in reckoning with himself, and now it's everybody else's turn for a reckoning.

🔺1. Boeing (2)

You're totally his type. Like an upgraded version of me.

Walk in, fuck shit up, that's the Boeing way, and I am GAGGING for it. I don't have a clue who the target is or what his game is or exactly but he is playing it EXPERTLY. Is he trying to get Top back? Is he trying to get back at Top? Where does next week's Sand diversion fit in? DID HE AND MEW REVENGE FUCK I NEED TO KNOW?! (I ALSO NEED TO SEE!).

🔻2. Nick (1)

Don't we deserve each other?

Nikolai my stalker baby, why did my heart swell three sizes when you got your man? Honesty remains the best policy, and owning your own shit is a fast track to understanding and accepting others. Nick tried, he genuinely gave Daddy Dan an honest and fair chance, and it COULD have been something, but the heart wants what it wants and Nick's heart wants Boston. The look on his face when he saw his photo as Boston's lockscreen, the way he BAWLED when Boston admitted he missed him...peak romance I tell you.

🔺3. Boston (4)

I don't usually take good care of what I own.

I'm not really meta-ing about this show, but the PRECISION with which Jojo n'em sliced and diced the audience's slut-shaming ways via this character got me. I am INCANDESCENT on Boston's behalf that his so-called friends were so willing to believe Atom's nasty little lies. Because Boston might be a slut, and he might have gone a little Top crazy, and he might stir up some drama when he's feeling some typa way, but he's not a sexual predator, and HE DOESN'T LIE. And despite it all people who call themselves friends to him SHOULD know that. He shouldn't have fucked Atom yes, but Atom straight up asked to get fucked. Boston DOES have lessons to learn about controlling his impulses and filtering the things that come out of his mouth, but these hypocrites ain't the ones to teach him. I'm glad that Nick got over himself last week just in time to be there when Boston truly needed him, and I hope that if they decide to try a relationship that Nick keeps the letting-Boston-be-Boston energy he's discovered.

⭐4. Ray's Dad

Ray's Dad in his one prior appearance seemed like a man at the end of his rope, and I'm glad my thinking was borne out. This story keeps telling us that nobody is a monster, nobody is a villain, everybody is just a person, and Ray's dad is a person like all the rest of them: he cared about his wife, he's watched helplessly and increasingly angrily as his son went down the same path, but he didn't know how to get through to him because he's limited, as we all are, so he did a lot of the wrong thing. I don't think paying Sand to get Ray into rehab was the wrong thing though, that was the act of a desperate man. Him giving Ray the straight dope about how to treat people was a long overdue fatherly lesson. Has he been neglectful? Indubitably. But I'm rooting for him.

🔻5. Sand (3)

Do you think I’m a man with no dignity?

Sand is the beneficiary of me being salty about Mew and Ray joining the 'I saw Goodie Proctor with the devil' mini-mob, but I could have TOLD him that a man who continuously and repeatedly calls you a whore is going to believe the absolute worst about you when the chips are down. I'm lowkey mad he gave back the money, because Ray is gonna call him a whore whether or not he's getting paid. I know Sand lives for the drama sparkle Ray brings to his otherwise dull life, but come ON dude.

🔺6. Mew (7)

If you blow it again this time, I'll blame myself for being dumb enough to trust you.

Mew joining in the fun with Boeing is probably gonna bite him somehow but right now I am LIVINGGGGG. Mew keeping Top up at night staring at the ceiling on a regular basis is the only way I'm gonna truly enjoy them being together, because game recognising game is my favourite brand of toxic relationship. If these two spend the next 50 years trying to get one over on each other I will be so satisfied.

🔻7. Ray (5)

I'm not addicted to alcohol. I can stop whenever I want.

Ray spending the entire episode in various stages of denial, his irritation with the idea of rehab and refusal to take it seriously, that explosion that was ALWAYS coming at Sand, and his final, quiet realisation that he has a fucking problem and he needs to fix it to stop hurting the people around him was phenomenal television, anchored by a bravura performance by Khaotung. Ray is gonna have a lot of amends to make once he starts drying out, including saying everything he said to his therapist directly to Sand. Can he truly change? Let's see.

🔻8. Top (6)

I'm sure if he stops being mad at me, we can make it long-term.

I finally figured out why no matter what I'll NEVER like Top and he doesn't pass the vibe check: his instincts and reactions are to lie, hide and cheat when he doesn't feel on top of things. He and Boeing may not be fuckin', but whatever is going on there smells like deceit and mendacity, and he is DESPERATE to hide it from Mew. The look on his face when Boeing is around is exactly how he looked around Boston after that car. Give me an honest slut over whatever this is any day of the week and twice on Sundays. I keep saying that Mew is part of Top's self-actualization, and the way he talks about him with Boeing in this ep just adds fuel to my fire. Is that enough to sustain a long-lasting and successful relationship, absolutely, so many couples are JUST like this.

🔺9. Cheum (12)

Find your own way to graduate. And we will forget we were once friends with you.

OOH this girl pisses me off. Having finally decided to mind the business that pays her, mostly because she's annoyed Atom seems to prefer talking to Boston than talking to her, she's all too willing to believe Atom's lies about Boston and run up pointing her j'accuse finger. I genuinely can't get over how UGLY that scene at Boston's was, how Cheum pulled out some of the same shit that gets levelled at queer men, promiscuous or not, and threw it all at Boston. When she said she didn't believe that Atom was the aggressor because he likes girls, that hit me in the fucking chest. Boston must have done something to Atom. He must have coerced him, blackmailed him, forced him, right? It's so grotesque.

🔻10. Atom (9)

Getting my heart broken by a girl won't kill me.

Speaking of grotesque, what a nasty bit of business this was. Hurt people hurt people, that's kind of the whole ethos of this show, and the lies Atom told were designed to ruin Boston's life like he feels Boston ruined his by GIVING HIM EXACTLY WHAT HE ASKED FOR. I very much doubt Atom is gonna stop at Cheum too, he's out to destroy, and spreading around this kind of shit about somebody who's already judged for being 1) queer and 2) promiscuous is absolutely destructive. This shit was the vilest thing anybody has done on this show by a country mile.

#only friends the series #bless this mess #only friends weekly character rankings #i support gay wrongs #only friends #only friends series #bl meta series

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performativezippers · 16 days

Note

Could you share your thoughts about beats in writing, please?

OKAY HERE WE GOOOOO this is going to be long but honestly it could have been so much longer so oops!

tl;dr: Beats are when things in the story happen.

So in a mystery novel, for example, when does the crime occur? when do they think they've solved it, but they're wrong? when do they realize they were wrong? when is their life in danger? when do they know who did it? when does the reader know who did it? when is the b-plot introduced and when it is resolved?

These typically happen in a similar place in each mystery novel, because of course it wouldn't make sense if it went: (1) you think you know who did it, and then (2) the crime is committed. Right? or if the very first person they suspected did it and they catch them immediately! that's never what happens because then what's the other 200 pages of the book?

so there is relative order, and you know it even as a passive reader, so then the question is how spaced out are those things throughout the fic or manuscript?

in a romance, it's the same. typically we see:

meet cute/first meeting/first canon meeting (the pilot) e.g. alex meets maggie at the airport and they fight over jurisdiction, or jane and maura work a case together as usual but it's the first one where jane is scared, aka a new start to their existing relationship

why aren't they together off the bat? (aka why is this a romance novel and not a romance sentence?) e.g. alex thinks she's straight and they're good friends, or maura dates elon musk types and jane is, you know, not that

complication e.g. alex comes out and then asks maggie to be her gf but maggie says no because alex is fresh off the boat, or maura starts dating jane's dumbass brother

false high (if there is a third act breakup, this is the happy time before that) e.g. alex and maggie get together and are very happy kissing the girls they want to kiss, or maura dumps tommy because her life with jane is more important to her

low point (this is often the 3rd act breakup, but doesn't have to be) e.g. alex freaks out when family conflicts with romance and dumps maggie, or jane kills maura's dad

KISS KISS KISS (aka the happily ever after) e.g. alex apologizes and sanvers stays together forever because the show was cancelled, or jane performs surgery on maura in the woods and then they kiss forever because the show was cancelled

SO, all of those things have to happen, and beats are when. you can of course put your plot points whenever you want them. it's your life and your art and your hobby!! have fun! but if you want to learn "craft" or whatever, or get traditionally published, you need to know when the conventional beats for your genre are, so that you can show you know what you're doing.

You've noticed beats even if you haven't thought about them. Sometimes a fanfic feels like it's going on too long or ending too abruptly, which is because they didn't place their beats carefully. Maybe it's taking forever to get past the set-up, and then the ending feels rushed. Maybe they got to the end of the plot but kept writing little one-shots or vignettes that don't have any tension in them. Almost all pacing problems can be solved by beats!

There are two main beat sheets I use for writing romcoms, Save the Cat and Romancing the Beat. There are book and workshops for both. My spreadsheet I use for every book uses Save the Cat beats, which was originally developed for screenplays. Here's a screenshot of that from the spreadsheet i use religiously:

I try to focus on

inciting incident at 0 or 10% (catalyst)

fun and games 25-50%

mid point high right around 50%

Things get bad from 50-75 until dark night of the soul from 75-80%

Redemption 80-90%, climax around 90%, final snippet less than 1,000 after end of climax

I do the math on my word count and ideal final word count to reverse outline where i am. in my book that's going to be published, i was really struggling with how to fill the 50-75% chunk; it was perfectly paced up until the shattering of the false high at 50%, and I knew what would happen after the dark night of the soul at 75%, but my project was to figure out how i could keep the plot driving forward and interesting while the MC's mood and situation tanked for a full 25% of the book. It turns out in the most recent draft, that stuff is 52-86%, and is stuff i really love. i was able to work in other plot points earlier that had time to breathe and got the space they needed in that portion, as well as find the balance between 20k of boring moping and maintaining tension while the romance was tanked.

it's very very hard to use beats in a fic you're posting as you're writing it (which is most of the fics i post), but even having it in the back of my mind helps. For the Ultimatum fic i'm writing and posting now, i knew before i started posting what the midpoint false high would be, plus the dark night of the soul, plus the endgame. it's important to make sure any b-plots, or in the case other couples, get their shit resolved around the same times as Kacy does, so that we don't need too much wrap up/exposition after the kacy climax.

what other questions or thoughts do you have about beats and plot pacing? send them to me!

#ask zipps #writing advice #writing fiction #writing fanfiction #writing original fiction #writing beats #save the cat #romancing the beat

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tojisbbg · 2 years

Text

✭ 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 ✭

❝i just wanna see you shine ‘cause i know you are a stargirl.❞

♡ shinichiro sano ♡

pt.1, pt. 2

a/n: this is my first time writing on tumblr so i decided to write about shinichiro first cuz finding fluff/smut about him is so rare. i hope you enjoy! let me know your thoughts in the comments. <3

➢ content: childhood friends, fluff, romance, friends to lovers, shinichiro is whipped for y/n, smut, not checked for grammatical errors.

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

“what’s wrong?” you asked the driver, watching the man grunting in frustration as he kept on trying to churn the ignition key to get your car started again, but the car refused to budge.

“not too sure, ma’am. it was working perfectly fine this morning when you sent me out to pick up your luggages. maybe the cables aren’t working too well or something. sorry, i’ll try to fix the car up as soon as possible.” he slightly stuttered, getting a bit nervous as he thought that you’d be like one of those cruel bosses that fire employees for things that they’re not responsible for.

“hey, don’t get so worked up, it’s okay. i think i have a solution.” you grinned, making your driver look at you with pure confusion.

“you know how to fix cars?” the look on his face was priceless, as he stared at you dumbfounded.

“no, but i know someone who does. i’m gonna uber there, meanwhile, you stay here and have the car towed at this location. i’ll see you then.” you suggested, making your driver shrug as he went along with your plan.

you arrived in tokyo early this morning, not even having the time to get some sleep at your own house.

well, new house, to you at least. you brought your parents a huge place a few months back, which wasn’t too far away from where you lived before. but, it’s been about five years since you’ve last stepped your foot back in japan.

you’ve been studying in the states, getting cast in for movies and tv shows during your rookie years, which surprisingly shot you straight into fame. you’ve been quite busy with your acting career, not even having the time to tend your own needs, such as making time to focus on your mental and physical health.

you’ve shed off a couple pounds, probably a little more than just baby fat. either way, you were happy and satisfied with the way you looked before and now. after all, a certain someone would always remind you of how gorgeous you’d always look in his eyes.

you felt really guilty for losing connection with all of your friends and families, barely even having the time to speak with your own parents. which is why you were happy that you were back home. hopefully, everyone would cut you some slack.

your uber finally came to a stop, politely announcing that you’ve arrived to your destination. you grabbed your purse and thanked the uber driver as you got out of the car. you looked in front of you, the huge shop that had many motorcyles lined up, glistening from the bright lighting from inside as you beaked from the glass windows.

s.s motorcycle shop.

unknowingly, your lips curled upwards into a smile. happy was an underestimating term to describe how you were feeling right now. you just felt so proud of shinichiro for being able to make his dream come into reality. you always knew that he could make it, and you weren’t wrong.

he’s just too fucking amazing.

for some reason, your knees felt heavy and your heart pounded inside your chest from anxiety. you felt it a little difficult to breathe, turning away as you tried to decide whether you should step in or not.

would he still remember you? is he mad at you for not calling him for thanksgiving or on christmas? what about mikey, will he ever forgive you for not calling to wish him a happy birthday?

the question that bothered you the most was, what if shin had a girlfriend? were you too late?

the mere thought of that made your eyes water, as you quickly tried to shoo it away, not wanting to ruin the eyeliner that took you ages to perfect.

fuck it.

you breathed out before pushing the glass door, hearing a small chime of little bells on top of your head, indicating that someone came.

“inupi! could you take that for me?” you heard someone in the back yell, immediately recognizing who owned the voice. to your surprise, his voice didn’t change much, aside from getting an octave deeper.

“yeah, i gotchu, shin!” the other person responded, to which you soon saw a fairly tall man walking towards your direction from the back. he was in an all blue jumpsuit, wiping his greasy hands on the rag as he inched closer.

he had shoulder-length blonde hair, a huge scar covering the upper left side of his face.

“welcome to s.s motorcycle shop, what can i help you with?” he asked, offering you a small smile.

“uh, can i talk to shinichiro?” you fiddled with the rings on your fingers, getting a bit awkward from the conversation. the guy thinned his lips, shaking his head.

“sorry, he’s a little busy right now. but, i got him covered at the moment. so, what seems to be the problem? flat tire? oil change? engine leaks?” this inupi guy tried to insist you on allowing him to help you with your services.

“i don’t think shin’s gonna mind sparing a few minutes of his time to catch up with his childhood best friend.” you bluntly responded, catching him off guard as inui looked at you with a face of slight disbelief.

“huh?” he blurted out.

“oh, by the way, i’m y/n. the tow company is bringing my car here in a bit. my driver should be there too, so just give him my name. thanks, inupi.” you patted his shoulder before walking off to head towards the back of the shop, leaving poor inui confused and flustered.

you turned the corner and saw a small room where a beautiful lavender colored motorcycle was currently being worked on. you leaned on the doorway, watching shinichiro tighten some screws with a wrench as his back was turned towards you, him being completely unaware of your presence. the surrounding ground was littered with different tools.

“you think you could squeeze in some time to look at my car for me, sano?” you asked, a smirk dancing on your lips as you saw shinichiro’s movements coming to a halt. his head turned to look at you, his eyes widening to the size of two full moons.

“what the fu.. y/n?!” he frantically yelled, dropping the wrench out of his hand as he quickly got up, rushing over to you as he caged you in a hug. you chuckled in his embrace, feeling his arms tightening around your waist as he dug his face in the crook of your neck, as if he was afraid that you’d run away from him again.

the familiar smell of gasoline and other vehicle parts filled your nose, a strange form of comfort to say the least. you remember the days in your middle school and high school days where you’d spent the evenings in front of shin’s garage as he fixed his grandpa’s car or mikey’s old worn-out moped while your deftones playlist was on shuffle in the background.

“i missed you so much, y/n.” his voice came out as a muffled croak, as you soon felt something wet on your shoulders. shinichiro sniffled, a little embarrassed to pull away and have you see him crying to you like a baby when he was supposed to be a grown man.

but, he couldn’t help it.

he still remembers as clear as day, waiting for you in front of your house patiently so that you both could walk to school together as per usual. he had big plans for that day, wanting to try out the new noodle place that opened up down the block. after some time had passed, he realized that it was pretty unusual of you to be this late.

so, he went up to your door and knocked. your mother soon opened it and saw the boy look at her with a concerned face, quickly asking if you were okay. she tried to explain the situation as calmly as possible, not wanting to hurt him as she knew how close you both were.

the woman saw how his face dropped, eyes becoming glossy as he tried to avoid making eye contact. your mother felt bad for him, but she tried to reassure him that you’d be calling him soon and that your return would also be soon as well. she told him to come over for dinner that night with the rest of his family.

shinichiro walked to school alone that day, for the first time ever. the days where you couldn’t make it to school would be if you were sick, to which shin would miss school as well in order to nurse you back to health. so, walking alone to school felt weird and wrong, but it was something that he would get used to as many years passed by.

to shinichiro’s dismay, he never got a phone call or text from you. he tried many times to reach out to you, leaving so many voicemails and emails to your business and private numbers and emails. he even tried to contact your manager, to which she told him that he should hear back from you shortly. but of course, with the sea of emails and voicemails from directors and fans, shin’s methods of trying to get a hold of you would go down in the drain.

“i missed you too, shin. i’m so sorry for not calling.” your voice broke, eyes stinging with tears as you felt him crying a little harder in your arms. you stroked the back of his head, mumbling so many ‘sorry’s’ to him.

he suddenly pulled away, looking down at you with a pretty smile. he was still as handsome as ever, even if he was just wearing a simple white t-shirt and black jeans. shinichiro wiped away his tears before cupping your face between his warm calloused palms, a pout forming on your lips as he squished your cheeks slightly.

“i can’t believe my stargirl is back. woahh, look at that gorgeous face that i missed looking at every day. damn, y/n. i missed it all so much. those pretty doey eyes staring at me while fixed a tire or something, this cute little nose, squishy cheeks and your cute litle lips. fuck, i really missed you, y/n.” he breathed out, leaning forwards to place a loving kiss on your cheeks, a small tint of pink now painting them.

“you’re still smooth with your words, sano. you’re making me feel like i’m in high school all over again.” you giggled, ruffling his hair as he chuckled.

“hey, tell you what. i’ll leave the shop early today so that we could have dinner together with mikey and emma. mikey will most likely have a stroke, but i can’t blame him, he missed you so much for the past five years. in the meantime, i’ll have your car fixed up by tomorrow morning.” shinichiro smiled, looking at you with the most gentle eyes known to mankind. it set your soul on fire, to have a man look at you with such love and adoration. it was like you never left, he never changed, always being as generous as he could.

“sounds like a plan, i’ll see you at dinner then.” you excitedly beamed, going on your tippy-toes to press a soft kiss on his cheek. he stood there, awe struck as he looked at you with hearts in his eyes.

you waved him goodbye before leaving the small room as you walked to the front of the shop. you pulled the glass doors to exit the shop, seeing your car parked on the side, you driver attentively watching the blonde who was examining the condition of your car’s engine.

“miss y/n!” your driver called out. inupi now redirected his attention to you as you walked closer to them.

“thanks for getting my car here, you could go home for today.” you dismissed the driver as he thanked you before leaving.

“you famous around here or something, miss y/n?” inupi asked, slightly mocking you which you found to be quite amusing.

“uhm, something like that. i’m an actress.” you replied, seeing him cock an eyebrow.

“that’s pretty cool, never knew shin had famous people on his friends list.” he mumbled to himself, trying to connect some of the cables that were latched onto your engine.

“i’m not as famous as angelina jolie or something. still pretty much a rookie, so i have a long way to go.” you added on, trying to not come off as an arogant person.

“i see, well, i’ll be sure to search you up later on and watch some of your movies for sure.” inupi chirped, making you laugh as you both waved each other goodbye before you went your own separate way.

...

the clock struck eight in the evening and you just finished spraying on some perfume. it was a simple dinner at the sano’s, just like the olden times, so you decided to keep it simple and casual with a t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

you made sure to grab the three gift bags that you prepared with care all evening, your room now a huge mess from how messily you rummaged through your luggage to pull out these presents.

“y/n, give this to shin for me, please.” your mom gave you a foil pan that you knew was filled with her famous tirimisu.

“will do, ma’am. i’ll see you later, mom.” you said, opening the door before closing it behind you, deciding to walk to shin’s house since it was two short blocks away.

you arrived shortly, ringing the doorbell as you waited for a couple of seconds. the wooden door opened, revealing your best friend who was in a very cheezy apron.

“y/n! i just finished setting the table, come in.” he scooted to the side, giving you space to get inside. there was a particular smell in the sano residence that made you feel at home, the scent of comfort and memories.

not a single thing has changed about how his house looks like, it’s exactly the way it looked like five years ago on the night where you last had dinner with them.

“i brought tirimisu, my mom made it.” you informed him as you walked into the kitchen, nearly bumping into his back.

“really? damn, how did she know that i’ve been craving for her tirimisu recently.” shin chuckled, taking the foil pan from your hands to put it in the fridge.

“where’s mikey and emma?” you looked around, eyes scanning the living room but the both of them are nowhere to be found.

“emma’s at hina’s house and mikey is at one of his toman meetings. but, i called them both a few minutes ago, they’re on their way.” he answered while reaching his hands back to untie the knot of the apron. you saw his eyebrow furrow as he ‘tsked’ in annoyance, he accidentally pulled the wrong string and tightened the knot. you saw him struggling, going behind him to offer your help.

“here, let me help.” your hands brushed against his, a small electrical current running between the brief touch, as you soft fingers began to untie the knot.

for absolute no reason at all, this strong urge to hug the man in front of you overwhelmed you. you couldn’t register nor process why.

was it because he smelled like home? how his touches bandaged all the wounds littered on your body? his voice like some kind of drug to calm down your nerves?

without thinking twice, you closed the distance between both of your bodies. you wrapped your arms tightly against his waist, snuggling against the muscular clothed surface of your back as you breathed him in.

shinichiro froze on the spot, not knowing how to react at all. it’s been five years, and it felt like time was going a little too slow for him. all those days where he stayed awake late at night, thinking about how you were doing and why you didn’t talk to him in any form of communication.

for the longest, he thought that maybe you forgot about him. shinichiro wasn’t a hard man to read, in fact, he was like an open-book to be honest. there’s no way that you could miss the flirty comments, or how his cheeks and the tips of his ears would go red when he got flustered, how he dressed extra nice when you both would go out to eat after school and even much smaller actions.

making sure to have you walk on the sidewalk where you weren’t near the road, holding your hand while crossing and looking both ways for you when you were too busy reading the upcoming play’s script, making sure to remind you to eat and drink water, and just to breathe and relax.

you were just a little too slow to realize.

shinichiro remembered breaking his own heart with the mere thought of you getting into a relationship with another man. of course, he would support you and cheer you on no matter what. but, it would be hard to always give you a bittersweet smile and pretend that everything was okay.

he saw the way you helped him raise his siblings, envisioning a life where the two of you would date, get married and start a family. whenever he had a bad day, dreaming about that would instantly make him smile.

he only wished that it was reality.

“i’ll never leave you again shin, i’m so sorry for not calling or texting. when i came back to japan and saw you for the first time in five years, i felt like a piece of me was finally restored. god, i can’t explain to you how much i missed you and how much i yearned for you. you’re home for me, shin.” your voice came out a muffles as your embrace tightened a little with each word, not wanting to ever let go of him.

“i’m so happy you didn’t forget me, y/n. i was so scared to lose you, holding onto the little bits of hope left inside my heart and mind that one day you’d come back and surprise me in my shop. but back then, it was only a scenario that i would think of before going to sleep.” shinichiro turned around, stroking your hair before leaning down to plant a soft kiss on your forehead.

the little moment you both share would soon be interrupted as a series of doorbells rang.

“it’s them! you could hide in my room, y/n. go, go, go!” he exclaimed, pushing you towards the stairs in a hurry. he waited for your footsteps to reach all the way to the top, hearing the sound of his door closing before heading to open the door.

“what took you so long, shin? i thought i was gonna die from hunger.” mikey complained the second his older brother opened the door, quickly entering the house as he kicked his shoes off.

“this little brat made me wait ten minutes in front of that hina girl’s house because of some silly fashion show they were having in her room.” grandpa sano mumbled under his breath as he followed in after mikey.

“any complaints from you, emma?” shinichiro chuckled, but the blonde simply shook her head.

“i’m not overdramatical like them, i had a pretty good day. what about you, shin?” she asked as she was the last one to come inside, shinichiro locking the door behind as emma sat on the couch to open her shoes.

“that’s good to hear. my day was pretty okay, a little busy at the shop.” he smiled, bending down to help unbuckle her heels.

in the span of just a few minutes, all three of the sanos that just arrived home freshened up and were ready to dine in together to the freshly home-cooked meal prepared by the elder sano sibling.

you crept up behind a wall, seeing all of them slowly being seated, mikey being the one faced away from you.

“if only y/n was here then you wouldn’t have been so lonely all the time, big bro. she needs to come back soon, i still miss her. she probably forgot about us.” mikey sadly said, lowering his gaze towards his food as he suddenly felt a loss of his appetite when he glanced at the empty space between him and shinichiro where you would sit during meals.

your heart shattered to pieces when hearing his words, no longer being able to hide away. you tip-toed towards him, your presence catching emma and grandpa sano’s attention as they both looked at you with wide eyes.

emma was nearly ready to scream but you quickly place a finger on your lips to signal her to not make a sound.

“what’s the matter? you seem like you saw a ghost, emma.” mikey laughed.

you covered his eyes, the pair of chopsticks in his hands dropping as he tried to take your hands off of his face.

“the hell?! emma, is this one of your stupid friends from school again?? listen here, i’m not hanging out with you after school alright!” the blonde said through gritted teeth, making you bite back a laugh.

you slowly release you hand as you craned down you face to meet his eyes.

“not even me, ‘jiro?” you said and he stared at you blankly.

“i think i’m going nuts.” mikey stammered out. you gave him a warm smile before pulling him into your chest.

it took him a minute to finally realize that it was really you.

“y/n? OH MY GOD, Y/N!!” he screamed on the top of his lungs, nearly popping your ear drums before pulling you into a hug that made it difficult to breathe.

“you grew up so much, little sano. oh my, look at your hair!!” you squealed while ruffling the long blonde locks, the boy in your arms sobbing as he refused to let you go.

“i missed you so much, y/n. you big fat jerk, how dare you not call us!! i waited every birthday for you to wish me, trying to predict a lucky day that would come where you would return.” mikey hiccuped as you rubbed your hand on his back, trying to soothe him as you apologized.

shinichiro looked at you lovingly, his eyes sparkling at how tenderly you treated his siblings. the way you gently caressed mikey’s hair while patting emma’s back as she sobbed into you chest.

you were perfect.

you’ll always be his stargirl, shining brightly even through his darkest times.

he never realized how madly in love he was with you, not until you were thousands of miles away. shinichiro still sometimes felt that feeling of his heart sinking at the thought of you never coming back.

but you did and he never wanted to let you go again.

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pythagoras180 · 2 months

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Why I Hate Adrien

So a few people have asked me why I hate Adrien so much. I've given it some thought, and I've realized that my hatred comes from 3 sources:

1. Adrien is a passive, useless character and a waste of screentime.

Adrien is a very passive character. He doesn't really have goals that he works towards outside of romance. He doesn't feel like a real person with a real life. He's just an object for the actual main characters to fight over. And to be clear, not every character needs to be active or well developed, but thei screentime should correspond to this. Adrien takes up a massive amount of screentime in the show. And since he ended up being worthless, I feel like he personally wasted my time by appearing so much. His screentime could have instead been used to develop the other characters.

2. Adrien is a creator's pet.

While Adrien doesn't really do anything in the show, I think I still may have felt bad for the character if I felt like this was because the writers didn't like him or something. Thing is, Adrien is the complete opposite, as the writers are clearly biases *for* him at every turn. He's almost always portrayed as right, even in situations where he clearly isn't. "Chameleon" clearly portrayed his "advice" about Lila as good, even though anyone with basic respect for their peers wouldn't be okay with letting them be lied to. There's episodes like "Kuro Neko", where Adrien is very clearly in the wrong amd being unreasonable, yet he's still clearly framed like we're supposed to feel bad for him. Part of the reason he has so much screentime is because the writers love to insert him in every situation they can. Even his status as a passive character can be considered as the writers favoring him. They think he shouldn't have to do anything because he's such a precious boy, so everyone should just do everything for him. I'm not inclined to like a character that I feel is getting special treatment just because of who they are.

3. Adrien does horrible things.

Those last 2 points definitely provide potential for me to dislike a character, but I don't think it's possible for me to actually do so if that character hasn't done anything wrong. Well, despite what the writers want you to believe, Adrien has absolutely done a lot of horrendous things. There's the fact that he continued being friends with Chloé despite her remorseless bullying of Adrien's "friends". He keeps trying to date Ladybug despite her repeatedly rejecting him, to the point where it's straight up harassment. This culminates in "Kuro Neko", where he quits his job of protecting the city because he keeps getting rejected (again, this is portrayed as symptomatic). Like I mentioned before, he tells Marinette to let Lila continue lying to everyone else. And why does he do this? I honestly don't know, and neither does anybody else. There's no rationalization for this moment. But the point is, Adrien put Lila above everyone else for some reason. He also emotionally cheated on Kagami, hurt her feelings, and barely cared afterward. He didn't have to do anything to make up with her, that just worked out on its own. He tried to Cataclysm multiple people despite knowing that it can be fatal, and the only time he displays real remorse over it is when Monarch is on the receiving end. Oh, but he only feels bad for like a minute, then he's fine (I believe that that was just to make Ladybug's exposition about not being able to fix it fee more natural, he wouldn't have shown any remorse if that wasn't necessary). Oh, and then there's that one moment in "Passion" where he pretends not to know what the consequences of making a wish is and tried to convince Ladybug to let him make one. If she said yes, he would have sacrificed somebody else to heal Nathalie. The show has made it clear that this is morally wrong. To me, this is the moment where Adrien became irredeemable. Also, in the Paris Special we find out that Adrien became a mass murdering supervillain in an alternate universe because he's sad that his mom died. He didn't have any grander plan, not scheme to bring her back like Gabriel did. Nope, he just killed people because he was sad, that's how they presented it. I know that this is technically a different person, but the alternate characters from tbe special are meant to be pretty close to the originals, just with different circumstances. So I think this shows who Adrien really is deep down. So yeah, I think Adrien is one of the most despicable "good guy" characters ever.

So that's the reason I hate Adrien, in 3 parts. I wouldn't hate him nearly as much if it wasn't for all 3 components. Kind of a perfect storm really, and I don't think I'll ever hate another character this much, for this reason.

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #adrien salt #ml salt #ml writers salt

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drottni · 6 months

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LBFAD Rewatch Part 11:

1. The way he can't even LOOK at her as he tells her "I knew this was a dream from the beginning " 😭😭😭😭

2. XLH's master reeling in her two boyfriends with bait. Like "come here you poor miserable little fishies. I got some juicy worms for you."

3. idc how epic of an intro you get Lady Arbiter and her little pet dragon, YOU DONT JUST HIT MY BOY DFQC LIKE THAT. NO. *angry glares* Also my poor baby just closing his eyes and bracing for it like "ah shit here we go again". Him thinking he just deserves it 😭🥺 Can he just have a break plz.

4. "So she has been saving me since we first met. And I have been hurting her." 🥺🥺🥺

5. Changheng: The splitting process is very painful. No matter what you must persevere.

DFQC who has been through every torture life could throw at him: -_- Bro. I got this.

6. DFQC as soon as Changheng leaves: *cue music* I am in my plant parent, cottage core, countryside girlie era. I am gonna be so full of love you will have to come back to me.

7. If he doesn't plant you like a seed, carry you around in a pot like a baby, water you with freshly collected dew with gentle drops, take you for morning sunrise walks, talk to you continuously, and watch over you even while sleeping, he ain't it. WHY WAS THIS SO ROMANTIC. SHE IS LITERALLY IN A POT OF DIRT AND I AM GUSHING OVER THE ROMANCE. No one is doing it like them.

8. XLH having to create straight up physical barriers between her and DFQC so that he can't come close enough to see that emotionally she's barely holding on. How his pleading eyes and sweet apologies are two seconds away from making her cry. She can barely even muster anger towards him.

9. The bridge scene: *exists*

Me:

10. I knowwww its stupid and breaks her entire plan of keeping him in the dark and is a totally senseless move on her part BUT I LOVE THAT SHE CANT RESIST AT THE END. THAT LITTLE GESTURE SHE DOES TO MAKE HIM SMILE. THE WAY SHE CANNOT PHYSICALLY STOP HERSELF FROM SAYING "PLEASE SMILE PLEASE BE OKAY I AM DOING THIS FOR YOU I NEED YOU TO BE OKAY"

11. DFQC: For her, I will alter fate.

Me:

12. THAT KISS. SPOKE A BOOKS WORTH OF WORDS. THE WAY IT CONVEYED ALL OF THEIR PENT UP EMOTIONS AND APOLOGIES AND I LOVE YOUS AND GOODBYES! I WILL DIE FROM JUST THE POWER OF THAT KISS ALONE. HOW IN THE HECK!

13. DFQC: There is nothing in this world that can shake me.

Taisui: *grasping at straws, panicking* What if the love of your life forgot about you? What then?

DFQC:

14. The fact that its DFQC who reminds XLH aka "Goddess who says she will only care about the 3 realms now and not personal desires", that she has to kill him to save the three realms. The fact that her love for him is and always will be stronger than anything else. The fact that he knows this is what must be done and is the one to convince her to do it! AHHHHH KILL ME.

#love between fairy and devil #lbfad rewatch #cang lan jue #esther yu #dylan wang #drottni #dong fang qing cang #dongfang qingcang #xiao lan hua #xiao lanhua #why was this in my drafts for so long

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