#actually the obnoxious side of me could write an essay on what this moment reveals about his character and how he views himself | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jcmorrigan · 3 years

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Blakeworther,,,but college

OKAY. I SAW THIS LAST NIGHT AND WAS THINKING ALL THROUGH LAST NIGHT AND THIS MORNING BECAUSE THIS HAD TO BE GOOD

Blakeworther: ORIGINS (hopefully actually canon-compliant?)

-Vincent didn’t want a roommate. But RMU has a policy that unless a first-year has an extreme medical condition that requires them to room alone, they have to double up due to high attendance rates vs. limited dorm space. So unfortunately, Vincent needs to stay in the same room as this “Victor Blake” person he’s never met before and probably won’t like.

-He opens the door to their room on the first day. Victor is already there, decorating his half of the room. And you think Victor is a flirt nowadays? This is a Victor straight out of high school, with lingering teenage hormones. He takes one look at Vincent, gives him a coy smile, and just goes “Hello, beautiful.” And winks.

-Vincent goes “Don’t talk to me” and starts setting up his side of the room.

-Well, that’s rude. Victor tries to engage in conversation a couple more times, but Vincent makes it clear he is NOT HAVING IT, so Victor eventually gives up and pouts. (Vincent really is pretty. But more importantly than that, Victor kind of wanted his roommate to be his friend. That seems like a requirement for the college experience.)

-Oh, well. If they can put up with each other for one (1) year, they can request new roommates for their second year.

-Vincent sets off for his 8 a.m. on the first day. Psychology 101. He gets going at about 7 because he NEEDS to make a statement by getting there first. Back in high school, he was valedictorian, and he must continue to show people how classy, smart, and punctual he is.

-He arrives at the classroom. Seemingly empty. He strides through the door -

-The next thing he knows, he’s on the floor. Someone has screamed. He thinks it’s him. He’s disheveled, his books scattered. What just happened?

-After assessing the situation and going over the split-second incident that is retroactively gelling in his memory, he realizes that he walked through that door, and somebody who was waiting on the other side of the wall, just around the corner and out of sight, leapt out and JUMPSCARED him the moment he walked in.

-He looks up at the perpetrator who stands above him, giggling his ass off. This asshole is wearing a bright pink shirt and he’s admittedly kinda cute but also this was unforgivable.

-Victor: “What the HELL was that for?” Pink Shirt Man: “I knew someone would come along who thought they were first, and I wanted to make it clear this is my territory. I was here for fifteen minutes before you.” Vincent: “Why the HELL were you waiting here for fifteen minutes - “

-He makes a point of gathering up his books VERY ANGRILY and stomping to the furthest corner of the classroom to sit as far away from Pink Shirt as possible. Then glares at him venomously.

-So. A word on Albert. He grew up an only child with very few friends. He’s got a roommate too, but the guy’s an introvert in dark glasses who barely talks, spends like all his time watching anime, and is visibly just scared of Albert. So that friendship is out the window.

-(Yes. It’s Winston. He has not had an easy life.)

-This leaves Albert, who has no idea how to appropriately interact with people but has way too much pent-up energy, trying to figure out how to get people’s attention so he can make friends. But when I say he has no idea, I mean he has NO idea.

-So he sits down in the front row where his stuff was previously and just turns and STARES AT VINCENT until the rest of the class files in. Vincent keeps his eyes turned anywhere but at this Pink Shirt Creep because who stares at somebody over their shoulder for ten solid minutes?

-Albert chalks this up as a victory. Sure, this dude hates him, but that’s more attention than he was getting before!

-For the rest of the class, Vincent is hoping they can just move on and have a normal day in which he knocks every question fired his way out of the park. But that’s not what happens. What happens is this PINK SHIRT ASSHOLE in the front row keeps answering questions without being called on, and not even seriously. With the most MORBID sense of humor.

-Prof: “What are the three ways to study the brain?” Albert: “Smash open the test subject’s skull, rip it out, and have fun.”

-Vincent KNEW the answer was “lesion, stimulation, recording” and he’s so mad.

-He leaves this class grumpy.

-He’s on an alternating schedule, so block A of classes one day, block B the next. His next classes for A day go well and he gets to show off a fair bit of his intellect. But then the last class of block B and it’s art.

-Guess who’s there? Not Victor, unfortunately!

-Vincent walks in the door and THE PINK SHIRT ASSHOLE is there and Albert just waves at him “Hello” and Vincent is in hell.

-Same thing. Albert spends the whole class being obnoxious and annoying, but in a way that gets the other students to laugh. And Vincent just stews.

-Over the next few days, Vincent spends a lot of study time in his room rather than in the library because it’s quieter. Victor respects that Vincent will complain if there’s too much noise and so wears headphones when he’s working because he likes music in the background.

-One day, he accidentally rips the headphone jack out of the laptop and the song he was listening to blares over the dorm. He fixes the volume, already going, “Well, sor-ry for the accident - “

-Vincent: “Actually, I like that song. Have you listened to the album or do you just like it as a standalone?”

-Victor: “I...I saw them in concert, actually.”

-They have the first real conversation they’ve ever had since they moved in together because they ended up liking the same song. And they’re happy to be talking about it. This is good! Maybe they can be friends after all!

-First exam in Psych 101. Vincent feels pretty confident. This is a test he didn’t really put too much effort into studying for because he’s confident he memorized everything from high school. Well...as it turns out, he didn’t. But he fudges it as best he can, sure he’s at least doing better than the simpletons of the class. He’s the only one who takes this seriously, after all.

-Exam results come back, and the prof reveals that he’s graded on a curve. One student and one alone got a 95% on the exam; the rest failed horrendously.

-Vincent is about to rest on his laurels when the prof says “And that person is Albert Krueger.”

-Who the hell is -

-PINK SHIRT ASSHOLE stands up and bows playfully.

-Vincent now has a name for his nemesis. ALBERT KRUEGER. He’ll remember that and not be happy about it.

-So he’s chatting with Victor a lot more now as they hang out. Victor has a problem one day because one of his econ courses has a particularly picky prof who’s failed every single one of his essays to date, and he’s afraid he’s going to actually fail his favorite subject.

-Vincent takes a look at that prof’s notes. To his eyes, it’s easy to see what arbitrary hoops the prof wants Victor to jump through. It’s also easy to see that Victor actually is doing what’s asked of him and grasping the material; the prof just demands these extra trappings, probably as a power trip.

-Vincent knows exactly how to write the next paper to make it fit requirements. And so he says, “If you don’t have a problem with plagiarism, I can get the next one to pass.”

-Victor: “Well, don’t make it too perfect, or they’ll catch on.”

-Vincent writes Victor a solid B- of a paper. And it’s graded with the expected B-. Victor is SO thankful and calls Vincent a genius.

-About time someone around here did. Since it strokes his ego, Vincent offers to do any paper Victor wants for him, free of charge.

-Meanwhile! In art class, they’ve been assigned a midterm visual art project. Vincent can already tell that his piece is...good but not great. You know who’s making a fantastic landscape painting that everyone else in the studio ahhs at every day he works on it? AAAAAALBERT KRUEGER.

-Vincent is trying so hard not to explode.

-Vincent and Victor decide to eat lunch together because they like each other now. They head on down to the cafeteria, load up their plates with food, go to get the last two puddings on the shelf -

-Somebody takes the last two puddings.

-GUESS WHO?

-Albert: “I believe it is they who snooze who must lose.” He didn’t even want two puddings. But while people can get temporarily impressed with his prowess, annoying people is the only way he can REALLY get lasting attention. Most people go “Albert’s painting is so cool!” and leave. Vincent, though? Vincent keeps on making a SCENE out of it and Albert likes that. So he made sure neither Vincent nor Vincent’s friend could have any pudding.

-Vincent and Victor sit down, pudding-less. Victor: “Who was that guy?”

-Vincent explains the whole thing. He rambles for almost the whole lunch period about how much he HATES Albert. Culminating in how he knows that Albert’s art project is going to get highest marks and make Vincent’s look so much worse by its very existence.

-Victor: “You know...I have a plan, but it’s not entirely legal. If you want to get back at him, though...” Vincent: “I’m listening.”

-They break into the locked art studio after hours and RIP ALBERT’S PAINTING INTO SHREDS. That’s, like, twenty hours of work just gone. They leave no evidence.

-The following day, Albert approaches the two of them at lunch: “I know it was you. You can’t lie to me about this. From now on, we are at war. You, Vincent, are my mortal enemy. And you, Vincent’s accomplice, I know were talked into this by him, but you’re on the thinnest of ice.”

-Vincent’s fine with this. Victor thinks it’s funny and doesn’t own up to having come up with the idea.

-Anyway, Vincent and Victor start hanging out more, so when there’s a school dance, they decide to go together. Just as bros, not as PARTNERS what are you even - no. Platonic. Heheheheh

-And they have a good time dancing! Vincent doesn’t normally like this sort of thing, but Victor’s into it, so they’re cutting a rug.

-A small throng of students is gathered in the middle of the floor, watching some spectacle. Victor wants to see what’s going on. So he brings Vincent over.

-Everyone’s watching a particular student just absolutely breakdance with the greatest of skill. And GUESS WHO?

-Vincent enters RAGE MODE

-Victor: “Oh, no, here we go.” (Secretly thinking to himself that Albert did have some sexy moves indeed.)

-Vincent storms in and CHALLENGES ALBERT TO A DANCE-OFF. Albert accepts. Victor calls himself a third competitor so as not to be left out, and Vincent rules that either he or Victor winning will be a victory for Vincent.

-Well, Albert gains more applause by a LANDSLIDE. Vincent and Victor are good dancers, but Albert is FANTASTIC. Vincent complains the rest of the night and Victor’s just “Look, I know he was gorgeous and he got all the attention but please pay attention to me”

-Things continue like this until the next semester, when classes are shuffled and FINALLY Vincent is free of Albert.

-You know who walks in to find Albert just staring creepily at him from the front row of his first class? VICTOR.

-It’s Biology. Right away, the class gets a partner assignment, and the prof sticks Albert and Victor together.

-Might as well make the best of this.

-So they get to just awkwardly chatting. Victor tries to keep himself level-headed. Albert still doesn’t know it was Victor’s idea to destroy his painting. So they’re just playing it cool.

-And...it’s actually kind of fun to talk to one another?

-Albert lets slip that he likes bio a bit better than psych, but everyone’s expecting him to take up the position at Krueger Health Corp. Victor’s just like “So fuck ‘em. Switch majors.”

-Albert then blurts “Have you ever wanted to dismember someone who wronged you?”

-Victor: “Yes. All the time.”

-So for the first time, somebody is giving Albert attention that is NOT rivalry and is NOT just marveling at his talents and antics. This is new. He’s not sure how to handle it.

-For the rest of the semester, Victor is technically on Team Vincent, but he still waves at Albert when they pass on the grounds.

-Vincent and Victor go off campus to a house party with alcohol! Albert doesn’t actually show up to steal the spotlight this time. And...that kinda pisses Vincent off. Where IS he? He usually shows up to these things -

-Victor tells him to pleeeaaaase stop obsessing about Albert, please. (But Victor also kinda wishes he was there and isn’t sure why.)

-Later in the night, some beefy upperclassman starts a fight and threatens Vincent. Vincent and Victor are both buzzed and riled up. Victor jumps in and decks the guy to protect Vincent. The guy decks him right back and HARDER. So Vincent tackles the dude because now HE’S protecting Victor.

-They both end up in the hospital with broken bones. Roommates, again. And when they look at each other across their hospital room, they realize something has changed. That they now know they would defend each other to the death, and each has to repay the loyalty of the other. They’re in this for the long haul, and most certainly not going to request new roommates.

-They get their classwork shipped into the hospital and have some nice calm chats with each other, away from the buzz of student life.

-Albert, however, suddenly has his archnemesis and his lab partner both MISSING and it’s driving him insane. Where are they where are they where are they

-When they get released from the hospital and finally go back to campus, Albert has to refrain from RUNNING UP TO THEM AND HUGGING THEM BOTH. HIS LIFE HAD NO MEANING

-Instead he says “Pity. I’d’ve hoped that you’d die and be out of my hair.”

-Vincent and Victor can’t really admit how much he was the missing piece of their lives either.

-It’s gonna be a few interesting years at RMU.

#vincent edgeworth #victor blake #albert krueger #blakeworther #vincent the secret of myers #vtsom #therapy with dr. albert krueger #twdak

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fizzypunks · 4 years

Text

its a date but its not a date

fandom: My Hero Academia/ Boku No Hero Academia word count: 3.8k/oneshot rating: t summary: hizashi takes shouta to a little festival and insists its not a date... just pure fluff bc <3

ship: Aizawa Shouta/ Hizashi Yamada | Erasermic

note: this reads better in AO3 because it keeps formatting for italics, which tumblr does not!

AO3

___

Yamada Hizashi wasn’t a timid person – it wasn’t even a quirk thing, it was just his nature, and it was something he was proud of. Sure, he’d been called loud and obnoxious, and some have been less than kind about his quirk when it’s gotten out of control. His quirk control wasn’t great for a very long time, but none of what he’d been called or heard had really changed the way he carries himself, and that includes his extroverted nature.

He was, however, a panicked person, when it came to matters of interest .

Love.

Whatever .

And, because love was the one thing that made him think twice about what he says, what he does or doesn’t do, that has landed him in the exact predicament that he’s facing right now.

Hizashi tapped his pen against his essay, the half filled pages of his stationary blurring together into a mass of lines and half-assed penmanship. He’d been staring at it for the past five minutes, when he’d given up on trying to ignore his annoying problem.

Shouta .

It’s been getting harder to ignore the stupid pull of something he’s recently identified as yearning that comes every time he thinks of his best friend. Stronger than any hurricane gale, it pulls in every thought he has until there are no more to be had. Just Shouta, and his messy hair, and the eyes he thinks are pretty despite always being so blood-shot.

Hizashi groans, faintly feeling heat spill across his cheeks. “God, why must I be so fucked?”

It’s not like he’s even asking him out on a date – no, he’s not bold enough to do that in their last year and semester of school– there’s no need for distractions like that right now, whatever outcome may or may not come from it…. no, he’s just asking to take Shouta to the Autumn festival at the park, because Shouta should do something fun and get out of his room and not explode from stress.

The poor guy has been spending all his time studying and stressing and sleeping even less , so of course Hizashi would want to help his friend out and get him to relax.

Yeah, that’s what it was – one friend asking another friend out because stress is bad.

That doesn’t change the nervous skip in his heart right now, as he sits at his desk and thinks about…

Hizashi groans again, tipping back in his chair and hooking his foot against the back of his desk so that he’s less likely to tumble. Theoretically, at least.

Why does it feel so significant right now? He’d asked Shouta to do countless things with him! He’d gotten him to agree to go to the movies a bunch of times, and to a party or two, and, most recently, he’d even been able to rope him into going to a karaoke club! He didn’t sing, they left earlier than he’d planned, but Shouta had fun!

Hizashi narrowed his eyes at the white ceiling and the ceiling fan that whirled past his vision, playing with the very edge of the wooden panel that kept him from tumbling onto his carpet.

This wasn’t supposed to mean anything, but somehow it did.

It felt like a declaration, no matter how he phrased it in his head, and he doesn’t understand the logic behind it.

Fine. Whatever! I’ll just ask, and be blunt, and do it right before I leave so there’s no room for thinking, and it’ll be okay!

Something like, “Hey, Shouta, let’s go to this festival! It’ll be so much fun! PLUS, I think you’ll look cute sharing cocoa with me!”

Hizashi’s eyes widened, his foot slipped in that one moment of lost focus, and he fell –

“ Fuck!”

It was a little too loud, bordering on quirk use, but he had other problems to think about beside that .

He rubbed the back of his head.

“Man…”

If he can’t even imagine it the right way… how was he supposed to actually ask? It would be pretty stupid to try when he knew he could act a little too carelessly and, potentially, damage the good friendship they had going on.It was probably better left un-asked.

Unsaid, un-asked, and out of mind.

It was most certainly not out of mind, that is clear.

Shouta is sitting across from him, half-mast eyes scanning the copy of his English text book in a way that looked a lot more performative than informative. Their booth was tucked more toward the back of the cafe, and it would normally be a bit more secluded and quiet, but midterms brought students from the woodwork and into any coffee-scented establishment, which their happened to be.

What great luck.

All around them was the sound of machines grinding coffee, books being shifted around, and light conversation in between bouts of half-silences – and a heavy vale of constant movement that proved to be less than ideal for studying, despite all the students trying to do just that .

It was to be expected this time of year, but it was still enough to bother Shouta. He concentrated better with silence, and he happened to be struggling a lot more on English than he does on his other subjects.

Hizashi, thankfully, understood the material enough for the both of them and then some, and already finished his homework – the papers in front of him were notes, ready to be explained the moment Shouta needed it, with hand-writing that was still pretty bad but…

For Shouta, he’d made an effort. The result was somewhat-legible scribbles lining the papers, and when he referenced it, Shouta didn’t have to ask too many questions about, “what is this right here?”

“I’m not going to pass.”

Hizashi turned his eyes to Shouta, like he hadn’t been trying to find a reason to look at him longer. He was wearing a big, thick red scarf, which his hair was somewhat tucked into. He didn’t look up, he just kept his eyes on his text book. His irises weren’t moving on the page.

“Oh man, don’t say that! How’d you think you’re gonna pass if you don’t believe in yourself?”

“It’s because I don’t believe in myself.”

Hizashi grabbed his warm cocoa and took a sip, if only to busy his hands with something . “Shouta! I don’t like this type of negativity!”

“Well, you’ve chosen the wrong friendship then.”

“Or, maybe, the right one!”

Shouta looked up, and Hizashi held his gaze. His eyes had been given a break over the past few days of written work, so the redness that often lined them was almost completely gone.

His skin looked soft too…

His hair, it was fluffy and cute, also..

“Hizashi?”

He’d been staring and not talking and he leaned back into his seat like a magnet to metal. He started laughing, holding his drink up to his face. “Well, maybe I can cheer you up! What are friends for, right? And maybe it will turn that attitude around, ya think?”

“You’re not making any sense?”

Hizashi hated that it was true but there’s no going back now – his mouth was ten steps ahead of him anyway, and not even he could stop it.

He smiled widely at Shouta. “I mean, maybe I’m here to make sure you don’t stress yourself out so much! You always do so much but never check yourself, and I’m here to fix that!”

Shouta huffed, head bobbing just a bit. Then he smirked and Hizashi had to concentrate on his breathing. “And how do you propose you’d do that?”

Oh, it was so easy – this was the opportunity the gods gave him after seeing him fall on his ass just a few days before.

Hizashi leaned forward, and set his elbows down on his notes, a hot cocoa between them. “One word. Festival .”

Shouta’s eyebrows quirked down just a bit, and he tilted his head to the side, his hair tilting with him. “Festival?”

“What do ya say? The park next to my neighborhood has one this weekend, and it’s free, and there’s food, and I really wanna go!”

Hizashi grew pink at the admission, fought against the urge to cover his mouth, but Shouta didn’t comment.

Then, a little surprisingly, instead of arguing or finding reasons why it wasn’t logical to take time away from studies so close to exams, he gave him a smile.

A small, intentional, Shouta smile. “Sure.”

Hizashi tried to not sound over-enthused – just nodded his head and almost squeezed his cup too hard. “Yes! I finally got you to agree to do something!”

“You always get me to do things.”

“Yes, and I did it again!”

Shouta rolled his eyes, and turned his attention back down to the English he’d never really understand.

Hizashi was certain he looked fine. He wasn’t sure if it was great , but it was probably fine, and whatever.

Beside, had many other things to worry about, that were a lot more important than whether or not his shirt matched his shoes. Like, for one, how he still couldn’t quite shake the feeling of significance .

It was back, that nagging intrusion into his thoughts that insisted that something was supposed to be different this time. As he looked over his outfit in his body mirror, pulling over his heavy, long jacket, he had to remind himself that there was nothing different about today. Even if he really, in his heart, wanted there to be something different.

Huh.

So maybe the difference was the amount of yearning – Hizashi sighed, thinking about his feelings last year and comparing them to now.

He huffed, a huge sigh finally making itself known.

Yeah, the feelings he had now were bigger and grander than they’d been last year and they threatened to take over his life if he let them…

Hizashi sighed, rubbed his hands over his face, and pushed his hair back only to reveal his pink, flustered expression to its fullest.

“Sweet lord, have mercy on me! I am an idiot with a crush!”

He collapsed onto his bed and waited out the last of the thirty minutes before Shouta was going to arrive at his door.

Shouta knocked, and Hizashi was already ready – his heart doing flips like he’d never experienced, but oddly enough, it didn’t feel bad. It felt exciting, and loving, and when he opened the door to the crisp autumn air, it felt like home .

Stop that!

Shouta, for all his questionable outfits, looked nice . And he always looked nice, but now he was wearing black boots, and brown khakis that somehow sort of matched Hizashi’s own, and a black tee underneath a black jacket.

He never went anywhere in the cold without a scarf, either, and today was no exception. A red variety was ceremoniously draped around his neck, loose enough to not be covering his face.

Hizashi tried not to beam, but felt the shape his eyes took at the other and knew it wasn’t working. “Ready?!” He asked, a little too loud.

“Yes… you said it was close, right? At the park?”

Hizashi nodded, stepping out and slipping his hand into a pocket to make sure he had his keys and wallet. Confirming quickly, he shut the door behind him, again, with a little too much enthusiasm.

He was buzzing . Some type of energy that he normally had built up in him, that he normally kept pretty good reins on, was taking over –

He was so excited, but, even more – he was just happy .

He looked to Shouta, and smiled, and then led the way down his steps and onto the quiet street. The sky was clear, save for some cloud further down on the horizon. The trees were starting to make themselves barren, and the smell of wood burning fires started to break out as soon as the sun hit its peak.

The neighborhood, secluded and at peace, was quiet, and Shouta walked beside him in comfort.

Hizashi never struggled to say anything, and now is no different – except it is, when he thinks he’ll say something dumb like “hey i like you so much, you make my world right, also I love you. ”

He can’t say that.

But he really, really wants to.

He’s wanted to for years, and he’s almost said it more than once, and now he’s let the silence build around them…

Shouta often takes mercy on him, and so he did it again this time. Their pace was slow and there was a little bit of space between them, and he sighs. “This is really nice.”

Hizashi smiles, keeps his eyes on the road as it winds forward. “I’m glad you think so! We’ve stressed so much, it’s a good weekend getaway, don’t you think?”

Shouta laughs – it’s more of a chuckle, but it’s a laugh where Shouta is concerned. “Yeah, you’re right. I needed this, a lot, I think…”

They reach the corner, looking for cars that weren’t coming. The crest of trees a few blocks ahead could be seen above rooftops, and that’s where Hizashi fixes his gaze. “Me too,” he says softly, and leaves it at that because he’s always on the verge of too many words.

“You seem really… energized.”

Hizashi fumbles with his hands, pretending to warm them up and not like he’s nervous. “When am I not!”

Shouta hums, and it’s so deep and close that it makes Hizashi wish he could just…

But then Shouta reaches out, and grabs at the hands Hizashi is cradling in front of him, blunt and to the point. He takes Hizashi’s left hand and slots their fingers together in his right, and Hizashi knows he can feel the clamminess…

He looks back, sputtering, his heart erratic, “Shou – wha– I’m –”

Does he know this is messing with me?

And Shouta, in that calm, stupid way he always carries himself, smiles. “Maybe that’s what I’m here for.”

He squeezes their hands, and Hizashi must look confused because Shouta laughs.

“You always try to bring me up, so I think I can help bring you calm… You seem nervous, so,” he looked at their hands, swung them just a bit for emphasis. “Calm.”

Hizashi feels every bit of himself crumble, falls away like a cliff against a storm, and smiles because it’s all he can do. He blushes and he can feel how it spreads, and he doesn’t say anything because every sentence ends in I love you .

The festival was a pleasant and home-y affair, and after they’d gotten there, they’d learned that it was quite bigger than either of them anticipated. Though it was still a neighborhood one, hosted by the local families and park itself, it was still filled to every corner.

They’d gotten there during the peak of the sun, but it quickly descended as they wove in and out of the scattered foot traffic. The air was crisper where the lake sat in the center of the park, and the trees casted half shadows around the food and merchant vendors.

They were walking around for less than an hour before the lanterns and torches were starting to light around them.

Shouta still held Hizashi’s hand, and once he’d accepted the lovely fact, he’d loosened up enough to feel like his mouth wasn’t going to get him into trouble.

“Wow! Shou! Look!” He pointed out, across the deep blue lake, to the hovering lights that surrounded it.

Shouta hummed warmly. “It looks very nice.”

Hizashi was still smiling, still enamored by the lights as they floated out across his vision – the way the cool air from the dipping sun brushed against his skin and somehow made all the warmth in him that much warmer.

He quickly cast his eyes down to Shouta, and found him looking at him.

Hizashi’s ears burned and he looked away really fast, heart thumping deep in the cage of his chest.

Oh don’t you dare say it. Don’t you DARE.

“Um…” He said softly, intentionally because otherwise his quirk might get the best of him – he didn’t know if he was embarrassed by his enthusiasm, or by the way Shouta was watching him, but it all went away when Shouta tugged them along the side of the lake.

It’s a few more moments before Hizashi gathers up the right words to say – the ones that aren’t gushy and filled with emotions he’s certain Shouta wouldn’t reflect.

“So!” He starts, looking around now that they were near the cluster of food stands. The air was filled with burning wood, meat, sauce, alive with the sound of simmering and laughter. “Want food? My treat! We can’t walk away without trying everything at least once!”

“I didn’t know you were rich enough to do that.”

Hizashi chuckled. “I’m serious, though. Whatever you want!”

Hizashi ignored the eyes tilted his way, right before leading off to Hizashi’s right. Hizashi turns around enough to look at the little stand and it’s cloth menu.

It was a takoyaki shop, with different bao, and there was no line.

Hizashi smiled, and it was his turn to tug Shouta forward. He couldn’t really look at him, not just yet any way, but he could hear the light lilt in his voice when he ordered from the kind eyed older man at the register. Hizashi made his order quickly, and paid, and they walked away with various stacks of food.

It wasn’t even a question where they’d go, and they found a spot under a tree to sit with their food.

The grass was cut, and the little hill they sat on overlooked a great deal of the sprawling festival that surrounded them. Up here, the voices that surrounded them, the chatter, the laughter that Hizashi was not interested in, was duller – muted, and when Shouta hummed in hungry appreciation at his bao, it made his heart ache all the more.

He snuck a look to his right, graced by the mercy of Shouta closing his eyes. He’d just taken a bite, had unravelled most of his scarf to do so, and was now enjoying it for all it’s worth.

Hizashi’s eyes softened at the sight.

God.

And Shouta opened his eyes, in his direction like he just knew.

Hizashi looked down and took his bao. “This looks good! I should eat like this more.”

“You should take me to more festivals, too.”

Hizashi choked a bit – he recovered fast, and cast a glance toward Shouta. “Sure thing!”

This feeling...

Maybe this is what he had been feeling – the lead up to whatever moment this was. The way Shouta really took the time to look at him, not through him. Like he was paying attention.

Maybe…

Hizashi held his oversized bao in both hands and looked forward. It suddenly didn’t feel like such a bad idea to speak. To say whatever it was that he was going to say, because for Shouta, it would always be okay…

Didn’t make him feel any more at ease, not with the stupid thought in his head that maybe he was misreading whatever today was. Who knows, maybe Shouta always paid attention to him like this? And sure, the hands thing… that was new, but maybe Shouta just really likes holding hands but he needs to be comfortable with the person, and now after three years he’s finally comfortable with Hizashi?

If you’re gonna say something…

“Hey,” he started.

Say it now.

“I’m having a really good time.”

He doesn’t take his wide, blown-out eyes from the festival. It was dark enough that every lantern stood out like little stars, and the breeze was so nice…

“If you want… we can, um, do this again. I’ll find another festival, but I can’t guarantee it’ll be free this time, but I’ll try! And I’ll see if I can sneak in some home made food too so we can spend more money on like, cute stuff from the merchants. I saw this plush down there, actually, and it was a cat , so maybe –”

No, Hizashi wasn’t a timid person – but, still , it was probably for the best that Shouta was the first one to move. He grabbed Hizashi’s hand, urging it away from the bao so that he could hold it again.

He’d pulled his attention to the forefront, and his eyes to finally meet his, and he realized that Shouta had moved so much closer…

The dark of his eyes was so close, and he was smiling …

“You talk a lot when you’re nervous.”

There wasn’t a way to hide the flush, so Hizashi looked down, feeling too open. “I’m sorry…”

He couldn’t see his eyes, but he could see his smile. “I like it, though.”

“What about if I say I like you... Will you still like it?”

Please…!

Shouta didn’t leave him any time to doubt.

“It makes it a lot easier… for me to say I like you, too… yeah, I’d like it…”

Hizashi’s entire body was fireworks – explosions and exclamations and that same buzzing energy that gripped him every time he thought of Shouta. He grinned, and looked up to see Shouta was just as embarrassed and flustered as he was.

He’d normally have to look away, but he assumed he had permission now, and…

God you’re so pretty…

His eyes, his eyelashes, the way his eyes bend against his smile and how he’d never seen him smile like this before…

Hizashi abandoned the bao in his lap and pushed away the hair that framed his face, slowly, not sure if it was too much to hold his face –

“I’m – I’m sorry, can I?”

Shouta nodded. “And you can kiss me too, in case you weren’t sure…”

That was all the reason he needed.

He’d had so many reasons, so many countless reasons he loved him...

He cupped his jaw, still acutely aware of the way Shouta was still holding on to his hand in the grass –

It was cold, that was true, but right now he was warm with nerves and excitement and love , and he leaned in –

His breath, so warm –

His lips, so soft –

And neither of them were particularly experienced or daring, so after a few seconds when he finally parted their lips just a bit, they pulled away, just enough to speak.

“Mmm, you taste like bao,” he said, and then wished someone was there in his brain to stop whatever dumb shit was trying to get out.

Shouta just laughed. “So do you.”

The rest of their night was spent on that hill, kissing and talking and, eventually, finishing their food. When they finally left, Hizashi found that plush cat at the vendor near the entrance of the park and gave it to Shouta. Shouta blushed, and Hizashi glowed with comfortable warmth, glad that he can now get cute things for his boyfriend.

#erasermic #yamada hizashi #aizawa shouta #aizawa #writing #oneshot #mha #bnha #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #long post #xpost #prompted for fluff and autumn...#my discord server is so nice ahhh #fluff

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travllingbunny · 5 years

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The 100 rewatch: 1x04 Murphy’s Law

I’m a new fan of The 100, who first binged it last year, August to November. This is my first full rewatch of the show. I was planning to start it anyway and finish it before the season 6 premiere on April 30, and when I saw that Fox Serbia was airing a rerun (Monday to Friday, 40 min. after midnight, with repeats the next day), starting on 1st February, it was a great opportunity to start my rewatch in HDTV on my beautiful new TV. I decided to do write-ups and tag other fans on SpoilerTV website, as I did when I was first watching the show. But my posts turned into full blown essays. So, finally, after over a week, I’ve realized: Why don’t I post them on my Tumblr blog, too? I’ll copy my write-ups of the first 7 episodes, and then I’ll post my rewatch posts after I watch each episode. (The next one, 1x08, is on Monday’Tuesday.)

Spoilers below for all 5 seasons of the show. I go of on a tangents and make a lot of references to future events.

Rating: 7/10

The first 3 episodes took place over something like a day or two, This one happens a week later. Which is a way to avoid having to show Clarke's immediate reaction to Wells' death, and to have to spend a lot of screentime on her mourning, because most of it took place off-screen (we just see her at his grave, and later talking to Finn about him and how good he was to her while they were growing up). At least Finn got an entire episode, even though it lasted just about a day in-universe. This is something that TV shows like to do - have the characters mourn for an episode or a few scenes for a dead character and then never have them mention that person again. Well, at least they did have Wells' father see apparitions of his son multiple times and mention him several times, including when he was dying.

This episode instead isn't at all about Wells, but starts with the Delinquents learning that he wasn't killed by the Grounders and that it was instead one of them, using Murphy's knife. The title of this episode, Murphy's Law, aside from being a pun, also describes the chain of events not just in this episode, but the show in general: everything that can possibly go wrong, will go wrong. This a really good episode right until the last 5 minutes or so. The interactions between Clarke, Bellamy and Murphy are really interesting. Murphy is at this point at his peak obnoxiousness. He's basically acting in the textbook "How to make enemies and alienate people" way. In the first couple of episodes, he was only antagonistic towards Wells, but now he's using his position as Bellamy's sidekick to bully other Delinquents for no reason at all, to try to make himself feel bigger, out of his own envy and hate and resentment, and his inferiority complex. To use a Buffy reference, if Murphy was a high school Mean Girl, he wouldn't be "Queen C" Cordelia Chase, he would be one of the Cordettes - people who latch onto someone more powerful and popular (in this case, Bellamy) and then bully others through that newfound 'power'. The infamous scene where he urinates on another Delinquent happens when he's overseeing the work (the Delinquents are building a wall to have a defense against a possible Grounder attack, since they still have almost no weapons) after he's first mocked that guy for not working hard enough (implying 12 year old Charlotte would work harder), and then mocked him when he said he needed water, but then Bellamy told Murphy to go and get him water. And that's probably why Murphy then urinated on the guy, he couldn't take it when Bellamy took the guy's side, so to speak, and cut down his position of power (or what Murphy sees as such) by sending him to fetch water. Hey, look, here's Manny Jacinto as one of the boys bullied by Murphy. Of course I didn't notice him before, he appears for like a second. Even with knowing Murphy's later development, there's no two ways about it, he was a total dick at this point. Which makes the situation more ambiguous when he's blamed and almost lynched for something he didn't actually do - Wells' murder - though he had threatened to do it, and together with Clarke jumping to conclusions and accusing him of it, because Wells was murdered by Murphy's knife, and the fact that most Delinquents obviously really dislike Murphy at this point (no surprise) leads to that result. What happens to him is wrong, and someone should have apologized for it. But that doesn't excuse him at all for what he does next, trying to make people kill Charlotte instead, after she has confessed, and then, after realizing no one is supporting him, doing his best to kill her, including threatening Clarke's life at one point. I wouldn't think this needed to be pointed out, but I've seen some people in comments to YouTube reaction videos to this episode actually, in all seriousness, argue that he was right and that Charlotte should have been killed. WTF? What's wrong with people that they don't get the whole being 12 year old thing? I know that USA has the weird habit of putting minors on trial as adults, but even then, I'm pretty sure even US legal system doesn't go that far to execute 12 year olds. At which point did the writers and viewers decide that Clarke was "the Head" and Bellamy "the Heart" (which the show made explicit in the season 4 finale, and then overturned in season 5)? I've always felt that was a huge oversimplification and I'm generally not too fond of it. Season 1 Clarke was pretty impulsive in some situations, especially in this episode (it was her best friend who was murdered, after all), immediately deciding that Murphy is the killer and should be punished, while Bellamy argued that this would be a bad idea, because it would create unrest and make the Delinquents turn on each other, and that it was better for them to keep thinking it was the Grounders who did it. Which was maybe cynical, but pragmatic and rational. (BTW, I don't think Bellamy made a connection that Charlotte was the killer - he probably forgot about giving her Murphy's knife or thought someone else took it, but in any case, I don't think it would have occurred to him that she would do it.) Then Clarke actually confronts Murphy angrily in front of everyone, which causes the avalanche of disastrous events, as the boy that Murphy bullied earlier and a bunch of others immediately decide to hang Murphy and ask Bellamy to do it.

Clarke had a lot of moral certainly at this point (which will be eroded slowly over the course of the show) but sometimes it was a bit too straightforward (she didn't stop to think how people will react - you could say, she didn't know her audience that well as Bellamy did), and here she realized that things weren't that simple - she wanted to get some kind of justice, but didn't want Murphy killed, and seeing what she had caused, she admits to Bellamy "I was wrong earlier, you were right".

But where Bellamy goes really wrong in 1x04 is decide to "give people what they want" - in this case, a culprit they want and his death. It's one of his biggest mistakes in S1 and one that will come to bite him in the a.$s, especially at the end of the season when Murphy starts his revenge spree, which will be directed at the guys who first wanted to hang him, but most of all at Bellamy himself. And Bellamy will learn his lesson, an opposite one from Clarke, that you need to do the right thing and not just give the crowd what they want (in 1x12 he tells Clarke "Crowds make bad decisions, just ask Murphy").

The moment when Bellamy goes ballistic and starts acting on pure emotion - and tries to kill Murphy immediately - is later after Charlotte commits suicide, due largely to Murphy's pressure - because of course he would react like that to her death. Guess what, Finn acting decently (actually decently, not just on the surface) didn't last. We find out he was exploring woods by his own and found an old shelter, but he didn't tell anyone. Instead, he gives Clarke a pencil to impress her (right after she's told him about how Wells used to give her stuff when they were growing up, and that she didn't realize at the time that he was denying himself things to give them to her... hmmm). Later he reveals the shelter to Clarke when they need to hide Charlotte from Murphy and his gang. Clarke asks why he hasn't told anyone, and immediately thinks about how they could use things, but Finn tries to justify himself, saying that the food has all expired and there are no weapons, and besides, if he had told everyone, then they couldn't use the shelter now that they need it. So how does that work - he foresaw they would need to hide someone from the rest of the Delinquents?? Or he was just waiting for a chance to use that shelter to show it to Clarke and just Clarke, impress her and show her how good he is to her and how much she needs him? Am I being too harsh on Finn? He does some good things in this episode, like do his best to stop the crowd from hanging Murphy. But still... I never liked him much, my perspective on him is different now, after I have seen season 2 Finn with his "I killed all those people for you, Clarke!" thing, At the time I first watched this, I assumed that Finn was meant to be likable, but that the combination of bad writing and bad acting made him unlikable. I didn't know what it was about Finn that rubbed me the wrong way or that didn't resonate with me. But now I see more and more reasons to dislike him, and I think that his character is more consistent than I initially thought, but that he was never meant to be a really great guy, and that his romance with Clarke was just supposed to create drama and angst rather than be a great ship people would root for. (The whole thing with Raven really shows that.) Maybe I was too harsh on Thomas McDonell, though. He wasn't as good as some other cast members, but he's not that bad, now I have Tasya Teles' acting to compare it with. (I'm sure Tasya is a nice person, but she just can't act.) It's kind of funny that the climax of this episode is focused on Clarke and Bellamy being shocked at Charlotte's death in such a way that it seems like their child just died, and then arguing about leadership (it's already pretty clear that the two of them are those who decide on most things), as Finn just looks on. This may be the crucial moment where their co-leadership begins. Clarke argues "We don't decide who lives and who dies". It's so ironic that she will later during the show be expected and asked to decide just that, more than once. Meanwhile, on the Ark, we get to meet a couple of new characters - Kane's mother, a preacher, who'll be around for a couple of episodes, and Nigel, a woman at the Mecha station who runs a black market, and who, I think, won't ever appear again. But she gets Abby arrested by Kane, and also, through her, we get to learn more about Raven's backstory - that her mother was an alcoholic and that she used to prostitute herself to get stuff. Life on the Ark, especially those of lower classes, seems so freaking wonderful... The last few minutes of this episode initially annoyed me a lot, because it seemed like a return to the cheesy teen soapy bullcrap of the first couple of episodes. The love triangle was set up - Raven takes the pod by herself, since Abby can't go, and is arriving to Earth, while we get a confirmation that Finn is the boyfriend she wants to save - just as Finn and Clarke end up kissing and having sex for the first time. Now that I know and love how this triangle is eventually resolved, I don't hate this so much, but this scene is still really cheesy and feels like the classic TV insta-romance. And it's not just that, I also hated the scene where Octavia kisses Jasper, after praising his courage (for "standing up to a bully" -? I still have no idea what she was referring to, it's always confused me) and telling him that heroism gets rewarded. Ugh. And then Monty gives him a high-five. One of the things I hate the most in fictional romance is when romance/sex is portrayed as a reward that someone - usually a female - gives another person - usually a male, for performing heroic deeds. Gross. I'm so relieved, because of that, that the Jasper/Octavia ship went nowhere, even though I wasn't a big fan of how her romance with Lincoln was portrayed in S1, either.

#The 100 #the 100 rewatch #the 100 1x04 #murphy's law #clarke griffin #bellamy blake #john murphy #raven reyes #wells jaha #octavia blake #jasper jordan

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actuallylorelaigilmore · 6 years

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I too am in a TWW rewatch, because well I enjoy torturing myself by watching competent articulate political types. (That and the great tv) I'm really struggling with Will. He seems like such an creep the further it goes on yet all the female characters seem to like him. I feel like I'm missing something. Do you have any views on him?

I have views on everything!! :D Seriously though, nobody’s ever asked me about Will so what a great chance for an essay. (This got REALLY long, fair warning.)

First, a disclaimer. I’ve never been very active on Twitter, but when I started using it, I mostly followed TWW actors. I occasionally tweeted at them, and I never expected responses, because they were amazing actors from this show I revered, and I was a random fangirl on social media. But two of them did, and were SO nice, and it shocked me so much back in the day to realize how kind and down-to-earth TWW cast is, when I had just seen the series and hadn’t yet found tumblr or watched interviews. It really made an impression on me. Richard Schiff called me ‘very sweet’ and won my heart forever, and Joshua Malina was also totally friendly and nice, so much so that I felt bad for never really liking his character much.

That’s right, I too used to think Will was obnoxious. But once I realized the actor was kinda awesome, I reconsidered his character and gave him a chance. So I’m glad you asked me, as I’ve been on both sides with Will and really love him now.

IMO, Will Bailey came in not just as a replacement for Sam, but also as a character with very different values, who was meant to contrast with our heroes at a crucial time.

Mid-S4, when Will is first introduced, we meet him as a skilled, idealistic writer who’s also got strong organizational and leadership skills. That’s different from any of our faves, since both Sam and Toby are talented wordsmiths, and both are idealistic in their own ways, but they’re also both oriented towards behind-the-scenes work. Toby is very team-focused and loyal but he would like it if everyone would leave him alone and let him do what he’s good at–messaging and writing and trying to nudge the people around him onto the path he thinks is best. When CJ is promoted above him to become COS, he cares even less about the professional snub than Josh does, because it’s not something he wanted.

And while Sam has political aspirations, he never really shows leadership qualities. He’s an excellent second to Toby and even for Josh when needed, but he’s also shown to be the least canny and experienced of them all, and you could argue that being in front of the camera as a candidate for office doesn’t always equal being a leader, if your staff is really running the show for you, which is what Sam’s campaign looks like. Everyone around him coordinates the details and runs things to leave him space to just be The Guy. But Will Bailey is both the guy running the show behind the scenes AND the guy who can get on camera and speak about the politics and ideals of his campaign because his family and professional background made him much more well-rounded. Heck, he’s even in the armed forces on top of all that! He’s portrayed as good at all the things he does.

Now, what’s interesting to me is that Will, as he’s first introduced, is much more confident and idealistic than he is later on. Early Will goes through a serious transformation, from Toby’s new second to an independent operator who lacks the loyalty the others have to a man more than to a party. To some extent, Will’s rebellious, ‘you need me more than I need you’ attitude was there from the moment Sam showed up to his winning campaign, but I think that who Aaron Sorkin (who had worked with the actor a lot before) conceived him as changed after Sorkin left. The showrunners for S5-7 saw an opportunity in his character’s feisty campaign background and turned him into someone with even less personal loyalty and more detached pragmatism.

The fact is, that’s not what Sorkin-era TWW is about. One of the reasons the later seasons are so different is their clear-eyed look at campaign chaos and shifting loyalties and all the small on-the-ground work that we didn’t see with President Bartlet. The earlier seasons are very much about our found family of staffers and the First Family and watching them fight the status quo that constrains them because they won. They always want to do better, and be better, and as much as they acknowledge the reality that you have to win in order to change the world, the show still promises us that it’s the change that actually matters, and it isn’t worth winning if you have to sell your soul to do it.

So if there’s a spectrum along which everyone falls, based on how much they’re willing to ‘go along to get along’ versus making trouble for the sake of their beliefs, Will Bailey is on the exact opposite end from say, Amy Gardner, with our core characters in the middle. I’ve rambled about Amy before, about how her values and priorities are so different from our heroes that she’s an antagonist even as she works with them a lot of the time. Will has the same complicated relationship with the people we’ve been rooting for for years, but for drastically different reasons. Amy is at odds with the West Wing because she’ll do whatever it takes to win the argument and get what she wants, pulling the Democrats to the left whenever possible.

Will, though–especially in S5 and beyond–is at odds with the West Wing even when he’s in the West Wing, because for all his ideals, he has no problem with compromise. He sees nothing wrong with moving to the middle if it helps you win, if it gets you more power. He’s willing to look like an idiot for the White House, he’s willing to go in front of the press core and be beaten up for days if it will help the cause, he doesn’t hesitate to jump to a new campaign that he thinks could win, because winning is how you get the things you want. Probably, being a diplomat’s son has something to do with how accommodating he is, and how able Will is to justify any position, any choice. We’re told he’s very good with words, but he was probably also good at Debate in school, because he can clearly turn any situation around as needed.

Which means that while Will’s instinct is to adjust and Amy’s is to dig her heels in, they share the one quality that makes any TWW character harder to like: they answer only to themselves. Above all else, their ‘constituency of one’ is themselves rather than a specific politician or even the party. Will is a Democrat, but he’ll happily buck the party wisdom in favor of what he thinks will win. And that puts him up against Toby, the President, Josh, etc, at different times because he bases his choices on his own ideals and they’re just different from those of the Bartlet Administration, which spends 8 years fighting to stay progressive and deciding it’s better to go down fighting than do or say things they don’t believe in.

Will is also an interesting foil for Donna after she leaves the White House, and not just because they become coworkers and good friends. Along with the fact that she left Josh and struck out on her own, most of her post-Sorkin conflict with Josh is actually based on WHO she went to work for and how differently she and Josh see that decision/what it says about her and her time working under Josh. By going to work for Russell, Donna shows that she’s less concerned with finding the perfect underdog candidate and more interested in a future that keeps up Democratic progress after President Bartlet leaves office. She is never dedicated to Russell as a man, and over time becomes visibly concerned with his flaws as a man and a candidate. But tellingly, Will isn’t any more personally loyal to Russell than Donna is–and he’s the one running the man’s whole campaign!

It says a lot about Will that for all the moments when Russell shows himself to be less than honorable, Will clearly disagrees with his actions…but he stays. Because Russell was never why he left the Bartlet Administration, or why he took on the new campaign. He took it on because he’s good at winning campaigns, and in Russell he saw someone who could win, and he may have even admired the antagonistic streak that came out once Russell became VP. Russell also had no interest in the ‘cult of Bartlet’ and quickly proved that he wouldn’t even have the level of respect that Hoynes had for Josiah Bartlet as a man. Most of the characters on TWW consider that strike one against Russell and a major character flaw, but Will doesn’t. He respects the President and the office but he didn’t know Jed before the MS reveal, he sees him from more of a removed distance, and his White House job is a JOB to him more than a calling.

Again, some of this was less true during the Sorkin era. The Will Bailey who lost the ability to speak when he was officially offered Sam’s position is much more in awe of the gravity of it all, and it’s hard to see that guy jumping ship to support a moderate candidate that nobody in the White House even likes. But the hints of who he ends up as were there from the beginning, the way he tells off Sam and Toby even before he works with them–he’s always an outsider.

So the outsider factor, that makes it harder to like Will or any TWW character that doesn’t automatically get along with the others. Ainsley Hayes may be ‘the enemy’ as a Republican, but she is amiable and smoothly tries to change minds–and when she isn’t able to, she opts to live and let live. Will is harsher, more combative at times, and I don’t know if it’s just me, but that makes me feel defensive and protective towards the staffers he’s arguing with. After all, I adore them and I barely know him, how dare he?

But of course, his actions and his beliefs make perfect sense from HIS perspective. He’s had a successful career, and being a part of the Administration was never a goal of his, so he doesn’t need to go out of his way to defer to their judgement or stay quiet in the face of their superior wisdom. He was raised to know how to work people and get his way, but he was also raised with incredible privilege and confidence and if he was banished from TWW inner circle it wouldn’t be much of a loss for him. Being an outsider isn’t a problem for him, he spent his life that way as a diplomat’s son, so he never feels the need to conform the way he would have to in order to really become a part of the gang.

Honestly, the only reason he ever gels as a part of the group is because Josh leaves and Toby is fired and they need Will to speak for the White House–finally he’s the ultimate insider, he’s the Bartlet mouthpiece, and the only original senior staffer left is CJ, so once Will and Kate bond they’re the center of the staff that’s left, and he has somebody on his side. (And once he’s off the campaign trail, the show goes back to highlighting his neurotic and geeky side, because he can’t be the ‘win at all costs’ guy anymore and needed a new focus.)

So here’s why I think it can be hard to like Will: he often seems like an entitled, immune-to-criticism, antagonistic opportunist. At his worst he seems to think the means justify the ends, despite his progressive beliefs in general, and that means he’s the guy who could get almost anybody elected–which is great when it’s S3 and Bruno Gianelli is on Bartlet’s side, but less so when Russell seems like not much of an improvement on Hoynes in terms of decency and intelligence and Will has the skills to actually make that guy President.

BUT, (and I can’t guarantee this will help you but I think it’s important because Will does exist as a complex, multidimensional character, and that’s a good thing even though it means he has flaws) at his best he is an adorable dork who wants to make the world better, will take jobs because he believes they need doing even if they’re not his own personal dream, is willing to put himself in danger to save and protect others, and is not just talented but also very knowledgeable about the same kind of geeky Constitutional and political history that Jed Bartlet is.

What I’m trying to say is that Will, as much as anyone on TWW, is the product of his good and bad qualities, and both sides of that equation come from his core traits. His ability to ignore others’ criticism because he’s secure in who he is can be annoying when it’s Toby or Josh trying to talk sense into him, but it also means he survives hazing with friendly ease and stands up for the White House’s positions like a pro. He cares more about winning than fighting the narrowest version of the good fight, but he’s not wrong that winning is better for progressive goals than losing for the sake of ideological purity (hi 2016, I have not missed you). He isn’t loyal to the Bartlet Adminstration above all else–but if everyone were, then the President would be a dictator. Intra-party fighting can weaken a party but it also allows for diversity rather than a cult mentality.

So, here’s what it comes down to. Will isn’t Sam, and that means Toby could never really like or trust him, even if he had become more loyal. Will is a political relativist, which means Josh was never going to agree with his choices, as Josh has always put people first and hates having to compromise. Will is a privileged white guy (played by a Jewish actor, but never canonically established as Jewish) so CJ tolerates him but doesn’t genuinely like him for some time, because that’s just how she rolls. Leo leaves Will under Toby’s purview, and Jed has even less direct interaction with him. He spends a lot of his time battling a group of young female interns we never see again (tbh I can’t stand those scenes and if that’s where you get your creep factor, I get it). Given how disconnected he often is from the central cast, is it any wonder he’s mostly underappreciated and ignored by fans as well?

As for why the female characters on the show don’t seem bothered by him, even when you are, I think there’s a couple of possible explanations. First of all, TWW is a show that doesn’t show us that much–we have to assume that all of these characters, who practically live at work, spend a TON of time together offscreen, just by the nature of their jobs. If most of that time is similar to Will’s comedic scenes, where he’s a giant nerd with bikes in his office whose response to stress is the fetal position, then presumably his coworkers see his flawed human side, in an endearing rather than annoying way.

And secondly, we as viewers don’t have that perspective. We don’t even have the benefit of being these characters living in the early ‘00s, when it was a given that the government would be full of overconfident oblivious men and that’s just what women were expected to handle with poise and sweetness. Clearly things haven’t changed much over the years when it comes to White House staff and a backdrop of misogyny at work, but for a lot of us as viewers the world has progressed.

So Donna gets along with Will as her boss who can be kind of dense or morally ambivalent sometimes, but she’s also spent almost a decade dealing with the most powerful men in America. As an assistant, for most of that time. To her, even Will’s worst moments are barely a blip in the grand scheme of things. And CJ is totally unimpressed by Will’s smarts and talent because she works with the smartest and most talented men she’s ever known, but he serves a purpose and doesn’t get in her way, so she has no problem with him. Kate rose to power through the ranks of military men and has definitely seen, and probably injured, worse guys than Will Bailey. All the women of TWW have spent their careers dealing with men of varying character. I mean, even compared to some of Sam’s comments, Will must seem downright harmless.

TL;DR Can Will Bailey be a patronizing know-it-all who puts his own interests before party and found family? Absolutely. Is he a bad guy? Not at all. He’s just a different kind of good guy than those The West Wing conditioned us to admire and root for.

#an unexpected ode to #will bailey #thanks for this ask it really made me think!!#tww #the west wing #meta #rambling #mine #replies #karma1987uk

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xofanfics · 7 years

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Show & Tell

Genre: fluff, smut, slight angst

Pairing: Moon Taeil x Reader

*REQUESTED* “Hi! Can you do a scenario with taeil and you being acquaintances. You’re both shy so you get to know each other and become friends. He wants to get together with another girl so you help him with that by experimenting with intimate activities 👀but you realized you have feelings for him”

Summary: Taeil likes a girl that you have class with and, as your friend, he asks for advice. Being shy and slightly inexperienced, he asks you how to please a woman. So you decide that showing is better than telling.

The university was huge. You were sure to get lost. When your roommate suggested going to explore campus, you decided not to. That was a mistake and now you were lost, definitely lost. People walked past you, confident in their strides. You were sitting on one of the wooden benches, looking left and right, right and left. Cooper Building? Where the hell was that?

You were standing across from the cafeteria, but you had no idea how to get to class from here. Taking out your phone again, you looked at the campus map again. It made no sense to you. A few minutes later, you were still walking around campus. By now, it was pretty empty. The only people that were left were people who either didn’t have class or the people that were running late. You were positive that, right now, you looked like the clueless freshman that you were.

You thought of turning around and just heading back to your dorm, where it was safe, but you saw someone walking in your direction. He seemed like he might be an upperclassman or, at least, someone who knew where he was going. He wasn’t very tall, from what you could see, and he was carrying a guitar on his back. You hurried after him, to catch up, hoping that he was friendly and wouldn’t stare at you with a what-the-fuck-do-you-want face.

“Hey!” you called. He turned around, in search of the person that called him. His eyes landed on you and he slowly stopped in his tracks. You approached him with your best smile. “Hey. I’m sorry to bother you but do you know where the Cooper Building is?”

He nodded. “I’m actually going there now.” He shot you a small smile. “It looks like we’re both being late.”

You returned his smile. “Do you mind if I walk with you?” He shook his head and you walked side by side with your new acquaintance. “My name is Y/N.”

“Taeil,” he said. “Nice to meet you.”

You had the same class with your new friend, you realized once you got inside the building. So Taeil walked in first, with you behind him. As you feared, the whole class looked back to see who was entering the huge lecture hall. So did your teacher, for just a moment, before continuing with what she was saying. It didn’t seem to bother Taeil, but it definitely bothered you. You hated drawing attention to yourself and you could feel your face beginning to burn with embarrassment.

You followed Taeil to the back row, which was fairly empty. You sat in the seat at the end of the row. Luckily, your professor was just going over the syllabus and hadn’t started going over any material. You took out your notebook, pens, and highlighter, placing them onto the desk. From next to you, Taeil chuckled.

“What?”

He shook his head. “It’s nothing. You’re just…very prepared.”

You raised your eyebrows at him. “Is that a problem?”

He said, “I mean, no…but you don’t need all that stuff. It’s just an intro class.” He took his laptop out of his bag. “In this class, you don’t even need to take notes…She puts all of the notes online.”

“I like to write out my own notes,” you said, opening your notebook to a fresh page.

Taeil smiled. “You say that now, but you probably won’t feel like that in a few months when you start to get overwhelmed.” He paused. “I’m a junior. Trust me, I know…”

Taeil was right. You were halfway through the semester and you were already starting to feel overwhelmed. There was so much reading. So many discussion boards and reflection essays and peer reviews. You’d stopped taking notes in psychology a few weeks in. At this point, it was November. You were almost done with the semester, thankfully. Which meant that in about a month, you’d be done with class and ready to start your winter break.

Taeil lived in the area, you found out. Over the course of the semester, you had grown close to him. He was definitely your closest friend that you’d made so far. Unfortunately, the friend that he had been close with had transferred schools. Taeil was shy usually but, for some reason, he felt comfortable around you. You supposed that you were just friendlier and more open that the other people he met. It had been easy for you to become friends with him.

One day, he sat next to you in class like he usually did. He seemed to be waiting for something, you noticed, as he kept looking up and scanning through the classroom.

“What’s with you?” you asked.

He shook his head, but you knew him well enough to know that he was lying.

“Are you waiting for the Japanese international student to get here? Nami?”

His eyes widened at your response. “How do you know her name?”

You smiled. “‘Cause I have English with her. She’s a freshman, too. She’s really sweet.”

“You talked to her?”

You nodded. “She sits in the row in front of me. We talk sometimes…What, do you like her or something?”

He cleared his throat and opened up his laptop, mumbling, “Maybe…”

“You should ask her out,” you said. “I don’t think she has a boyfriend or anything like that.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“It’s not, but it doesn’t hurt to try, right?”

He sighed and started browsing on the internet as the two of you waited for class to start. And, for fifty minutes, you were bored to death. You even found yourself dozing off a few times. Psychology was supposed to be interesting, yet you were falling asleep on Pavlov.

When class let out, he said, “She didn’t come today…”

“Maybe on Monday you can at least talk to her. Have you ever even had a conversation with her before?”

He shook his head as you walked out of the lecture hall. “She has no idea who I am…”

You were done with class for the day, thankfully. “Hey, are we still doing movies later?”

He said, “Yeah. Come over around nine. Is that good?”

You nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll see you then…”

And then you parted ways, you headed toward the freshman dorms while Taeil headed to the upperclassmen dorms.

You showed up at Taeil’s dorm with a bag of tortillas and a jar of salsa. He smiled upon seeing you through the glass doors. “Hey, Y/N,” he said, opening up the door to let you inside. You followed your friend through the student lounge, where a few students were watching a basketball game on the TV. As you walked by, you heard them arguing over which team would win. You couldn’t help but chuckle. Boys and their sports…

“Sorry,” he said, as you waited for the elevator. “They can get really obnoxious.”

“It’s no big deal. You should hear the girls on my floor on Friday nights…”

The elevator came, the doors opening to reveal a group of five students getting off. You followed Taeil onto the elevator and he pressed the button for the sixth floor.

“So are you actually going to talk to Nami?”

“Uh, I dunno, maybe.”

The elevator doors opened, arriving on Taeil’s floor. His suite was around the corner, where he shared with three other guys. Because he was a junior, he had the option to have his own room. If you had movie night, it would always be in Taeil’s room. That way you wouldn’t have to worry about bothering your roommate with the three of you being uncomfortable in one room. He opened the door with his key, leading you inside to his room. His room was in the back of the suite, away from his other roommates. You walked past his roommates’ closed bedroom doors.

“I think everyone is out right now,” he said. “It’s too quiet.” You chuckled as you recalled Taeil complaining about how loud they could get. You plopped down on his bed after you took your coat off, placing the chips and salsa on his nightstand. Taeil closed the bedroom door and turned his TV on. He grabbed the remote before sitting next to you, leaning on the wall. “I have a confession.”

You looked up at him as he flipped through the channels. “What?”

“The reason I’m nervous about talking to Nami is because I have no experience…”

You raised your eyebrows. “Really? I guess I just assumed…”

He shook his head. “I’ve never even dated anyone before.”

“So does that mean you haven’t had sex either?”

You saw his cheeks slowly beginning to turn pink. “I haven’t. What if I start talking to her and ask her out and stuff? What if she loses interest because I’m not experienced? I mean, most guys my age have already done it. They know how to please a woman and I’m just here…clueless.”

You felt bad. You didn’t know that your friend felt like this. His confidence was low due to his lack of experience. To be honest, you weren’t experienced either.

“Don’t feel bad,” you said. “I’m not experienced either…”

“I thought you were…”

You shook your head. “I haven’t dated anyone either, to be honest.”

“Really? You’re so pretty.”

“Thanks, but no. I never had a boyfriend before. There must be something wrong with me or something.”

Taeil smiled. “Don’t say that. You’re a great girl. A guy would be lucky to have you.”

Maybe he was right. Maybe there wasn’t anything wrong with you. It wasn’t like you were the most straightforward girl out there. For all you knew, there was someone out there that had a crush on you but you had no idea. For a moment, you wondered if Taeil ever thought of you in that way or if he only thought of you as a close friend. Taeil was handsome. He wasn’t the tallest or most muscular or the most attractive guy on campus, but he was definitely handsome. And he was smart and talented, too. He was a genuinely nice guy. Hearing him say that you were pretty and that you were a great girl made you curious about him.

But then you remembered that he liked that Japanese student, Nami. You said, “Thanks.”

“I mean it,” he said. “Really.”

Hearing his genuinity made you smile. “Thank you, again. You’re a good guy, too.”

“I guess, but girls don’t like good guys. They want guys that treat them like crap. Guys that know what they’re doing…” You put your finger on your chin, making Taeil chuckle. “What? You look like you’re plotting something.”

“What if we tried something?”

He raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“What if we messed around a little?”

“You want to have sex? Like, your first time? With me?”

You nodded. “Why not? I trust you. It’ll give us both some experience.”

“Are you sure?”

You nodded. “We can teach each other.”

You were shocked at yourself. You had never been this straightforward in your entire life. Part of you expected Taeil to laugh, to assume that you were joking. But apparently, he was just as serious as you were. You wanted to know what it was like. You wanted to know what the hype was all about so that you could relate to the friends you had that lost it already. You wanted to know if it hurt like they said it would and if it felt good.

He surprised you by leaning in to kiss you. He pulled away first. “I’m sorry. I should’ve asked first.”

“It’s okay,” you said, moving closer to him. This time, you kissed him first. He didn’t pull away. Instead, he pulled you into his lap so you could straddle him. “Are you sure you haven’t done this before? You’re a good kisser.”

His lips curled up into a smirk. “I could say the same about you, Y/N…” Then he closed the space between you with another kiss. Then he pulled away so that he could kiss on your neck. He heard you inhale sharply as his lips met the sensitive skin on your neck. He swirled his tongue around in a circle.

“Does that feel good?” You nodded and he continued. You let out a soft moan as he started to suck on your neck and planting soft kisses on your collarbone. As he kissed you, you pulled at the bottom of his shirt. He stopped so that you could pull it over his head. Then he helped you get yours off, revealing your black bralette. Taeil moved on to help you out of it, taking a moment to study your breasts. They were bigger than he thought. He could never tell from underneath your clothes. He took them in his hands. His touch was cool and you could feel your nipples getting hard.

No one had ever touched you like this before. It felt good, you had to admit. At your center, you felt warm. You were throbbing already and he’d barely touched you. Taeil bent forward to kiss your breasts, sucking on your nipples. You bit your lip, holding in the pleasure while he sucked.

He pulled of his pants a moment later, after he’d pulled down yours. This left both of you in your underwear. You weren’t wearing sexy panties or anything but according to his gaze, you didn’t think he seemed to care. He was on top of you, looking down at you.

“Are you okay?” he asked. You nodded and he kissed you. This time, his tongue made its way into your mouth. You allowed him in, letting his tongue glide over yours. You liked this. You had never kissed anyone like this before. Out of all the guys you knew, you were glad that this was happening with him. He pulled away for a moment. “Do you like being fingered? Do you want me to finger you?”

“Yes,” you whispered with a nod. You didn’t really like fingering yourself, but you wanted Taeil to try it on you. Maybe you’d like it coming from someone else’s fingers rather than your own. Taeil pulled your panties down slowly, your wetness clinging to it.

He said, “Tell me if you don’t like something, okay?”

“Okay.” A few seconds later, he slid in one finger. It was a foreign feeling and you couldn’t be sure if you liked it or not. He asked if he should put another finger in and you agreed, so he did. This felt strange too and it kind of felt uncomfortable.

He saw your body tense. “Is it too much? Does it hurt?”

“A little,” you admitted, “but it’s going to hurt no matter what.”

“I feel bad. Maybe we should just stop.”

You shook your head. “I can take it. Keep going.” So he moved his fingers in and out of you, a slow motion. Your body was getting used to the feeling of having something inside. It felt okay, but you wanted more. Your body craved more. “Rub my clit…” So he did, with his thumb, rubbing in a circular motion that made you moan.

It was the first time Taeil had heard you moan and he enjoyed hearing it. In fact, he wanted to make you moan more often and louder than that. He rubbed your clit slowly at first, but then picked up speed. He was fingering you and rubbing your clit at the same time. It was driving you crazy, making you whimper for some sort of release. Your hips bucked up, with each thrust of his two fingers.

Taeil removed his fingers from inside you, completely coated in your wetness. To your surprise, he put his fingers in his mouth, sucking your wetness off of his fingers. “I want to see how good you taste…” And with that, he got between your legs. He was so close that you could feel his breath against your skin. Taeil started digging his tongue into your clit. The rougher he was with your clit, the louder you moaned, he noticed. He licked long stripes up and down your clit. You could feel yourself getting wetter and wetter, soaking wet.

“Do you want to try having sex? You’re wet enough…”

You nodded. “I want you.”

He took off his boxers, revealing his fully erect cock. He was thicker than you expected. How would it fit? “Look what you did to me…” You smiled as he leaned in to kiss you again. As your tongues collided, he positioned yourself with your entrance. He pulled away, studying your face. He pushed your hair from your face and said, “If you want to stop, just tell me, okay? I’ll go slow.”

He started to push inside of you. It hurt. There were no ands, ifs, or buts about it. It was the first time anything bigger than a finger was going inside of you. You should’ve expected it to hurt. Your lips parted at the sharp pain. Taeil studied your face, looking you in your eyes. He expected you to say for him to stop, to get it out of you right now, but you didn’t. So far, the tip was in. A few more inches and you’d be filled up with his length. You bit your lip to keep you from crying out as he began to thrust in and out of you to get it deeper inside. He made small movements, thrusting back and forth.

It was a little easier now that most of it was inside of you now. His lips met your again, to distract you from the pain. You moaned into his mouth as your tongues collided. It was starting to feel good now and you couldn’t help but moan. This feeling was foreign. Sex felt a little different than you thought it would but the feeling was just as good as everyone claimed.

He let out a sigh. “You’re so tight, Y/N…Does it feel good for you now?”

You nodded, looking up into his eyes. You wrapped your legs around him as he thrusted deeper inside you. He kissed on your neck while he thrusted. Your hands rested on his back, trying your best not to dig your nails into his skin.

“You feel so good…”

You could feel him breathing more heavily in your ear and he thrusted in you deeply. He picked up the speed a little, just to see what you liked. He could tell in your face that you were loving it. He could feel himself getting close. Taeil didn’t want to finish just yet. He wanted to give you an orgasm, too, but he knew that he probably wouldn’t get it on the first try.

“I think I’m going to cum soon,” he whispered.

You nodded as he groaned and started pounding into you harder. Your lips parted and your moans were getting louder and louder, filling the room. For a few seconds, you wondered if any of his roommates were back yet. Did they hear you? You were curious but, at the same time, you didn’t care. Having sex with Taeil felt too good.

“Cum on me, okay?”

“You sure?”

As you nodded, he pulled out of you and wrapped his hand around his cock. He jerked it quickly for a few seconds before he came undone. He covered your breasts in his warm, sticky cum, letting out a grunt of relief. You bit your lips as you looked down to see the mess he’d made.

Taeil got out of bed and grabbed a towel from his closet. “Did you want to take a shower?”

You nodded slowly and got out of the bed, careful not to drip anywhere. Taeil opened the bathroom door for you and ran the shower for you. He kissed you one more time before closing the bathroom door behind him. As the shower water ran over you, you thought about what just happened. Part of you couldn’t believe it. You had sex and with Taeil, at that. He was one of your closest male friends at college.

You thought about the fact that he kissed you, just moments ago. He’d taken such good care of you during it all. He was careful not to hurt you and wanted to make you feel good. You wondered if he had feelings for you. Now that you were thinking about it, you realized that you liked him. It was a feeling you kept hidden away, never to question. A feeling that you’d continue to keep hidden away since he liked Nami rather than you.

By the time you got out of the shower, Taeil had fallen asleep. He’d changed into a T-shirt and shorts. His lips were slightly parted and you could see his chest rising and falling. You smiled as you started putting your clothes back on. Taeil stirred, opening his eyes. With a yawn, he said, “What are you doing?”

“I’m gonna head back,” you replied.

Taeil sat up with a frown. “You’re going to leave?”

You giggled. “I mean, you’re the one who was asleep just now.”

He smiled sleepily at you. “Well, I’m just a little worn out. You know?”

“I’m sleepy too…”

“Why don’t you just sleep here, with me?”

You were taken aback by his words. “What about Nami?”

He shook his head. “What about her?”

And with that, you climbed into bed with him. He covered you with the blanket and pulled you close to him in a spooning position. “I have a confession…”

You turned around to face him. “What?”

“I always wanted to kiss you…”

You smiled and planted a kiss on his lips. “I always kind of liked you.”

“I didn’t think you’d give me a chance…”

“Guess it’s a good thing I was feeling bold today, huh?”

#moon taeil #taeil #nct taeil #nct #nct 127 #nct u #nct angst #nct fluff #nct smut #taeil smut #taeil angst #taeil fluff #nct reactions #nct scenarios #nct imagines

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dracimalfoy1988292 · 3 years

Text

(ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 35: ᴡɪʟʟ ʏᴏᴜ ʙᴇ ᴍʏ ᴠᴀʟᴇɴᴛɪɴᴇ?)

Valentine hadn't spoken to Lily in a week and a half. Remus had wanted to speak with Lily, but she'd been avoiding the group as if they had the plague.23

Marlene was caught in between- she hadn't a clue as to what happened between Remus and Lily, being that she didn't know he was a werewolf. Even Macey was left out, and the two girls only assumed that Remus and Lily had an argument, and then Lily and Valentine had an argument about Remus' and Lily's argument.

It was all very confusing, and Marlene was back and forth between her boyfriend and her best friend.

Valentine had already told James what all had happened, and he'd listened thoroughly, giving advice. Valentine had told him that she felt slightly bad for going so hard on Lily, but in the moment she was angry at Lily for having the audacity to call Remus what she had.10

And now the group was awkwardly spread out in Charms class, the room silent as they partners participated in silent work.

Valentine was diligently working, hoping to complete her assignment before class ended so she wouldn't have homework, however when she glanced up, she was caught off guard as she found James Potter's eyes drilling into hers.

Seeing that she'd finally met his gaze, he grinned before pulling his face into a silly expression, eyes crossing and eyebrows rising. Valentine bit her lip so she wouldn't laugh out loud, not wanting to distract the others from their work, especially in the deadly silent classroom.

Valentine's face turned red as she held in her breath, and her face in response to James' face made the boy himself crack up, resulting in both Valentine and James disrupting the class with loud and obnoxious laughing.

James shamelessly snorted, but Valentine attempted to disguise her laugh as a cough, but it was far too late as everyone in the class had turned to locate where the loud noises had come from.

Valentine scratched her head in discomfort as everyone stared. James sat straighter, clearing his throat.

"Is there something funny?" Professor Flitwick asked.

"I have allergies," Valentine nodded, spewing the words far too quickly to be believable. Flitwick looked to James.

"I-uh... I didn't mean to?"

Flitwick disregarded them and Valentine made a point to ignore James' for the rest of the class, not even responding when James had thrown a piece of paper at her forehead reading

Hi. I'm bored. Can we sneak into the kitchen for snacks after this? I really want food.

So when class had finally gotten over, James had found Valentine walking down the hallway and quickly joined her side.

"Happy Halloween," James announced, using his hands to grab her shoulders and he jumped out the shadows to scare her.1

Valentine jumped, heart skipping a beat as she nearly dropping her book. "You twat!"

James rolled his eyes, taking the heavy books from Valentine's arms and helping her with carrying them.

"I know what you should be for Halloween," James started, peering at the blonde from the corner of his eyes.1

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

James smirked. "My girlfriend."13

Valentine laughed, pinching James' cheek.

"You're so cute," she said in a baby voice, leaving a pink mark on his cheek from where her fingers were.

"I'm not kidding."

"Okay."

"Okay? Not the reaction I was expecting," James admitted sheepishly.

"What is there to say?" Valentine asked. "You want me to be your girlfriend? I guess I have no choice."

"No choice? Way to make me feel wanted," James wailed dramatically, clutching his chest.

Valentine rose to her full height, whispering in his ear. "Oh, you're very wanted."19

James paused, watching with raised eyebrows and flushed cheeks as Valentine continued walking. He snapped from his daze, walking faster to catch up with her.

"Only girlfriend and boyfriends say things like that to each other."

"I guess it's a good thing I'm your girlfriend, then," Valentine informed him with a shrug.

James' lips parted. "Who knew you were so daring."

"Jamie, you have no idea how daring I can be," Valentine responded slowly, and James found his eyes drawn to her lips.

"Was that supposed to be sexual? Because that's how I interpreted it," James whispered.20

"Get your mind out of the gutter," Valentine sighed, James following behind her into the Hufflepuff common room so they could put away her belongings.13

"Get your words out of my mind out of the gutter."

"What?" Valentine queried, confused and unsure of what he'd just said.

"Sorry, I'm very frazzled right now. Digesting a lot of information at once," James explained, and Valentine set her books on her shelf, James doing the same before he jumped onto her bed.

"How convenient. A bed," James spoke, looking at Valentine through thick lashes. "You know something else that girlfriends and boyfriends do?"25

Valentine groaned. "You have the worst timing! And we have a party to get ready for."

James pretended to look to a watch around his wrist. "According to my calculations, we have four hours before the Halloween party."

"Four hours? Wow, sounds like plenty to time to get my homework done," Valentine decided teasingly, moving away from the bed only for James to lean over and grab her waist, pulling her down atop him on the bed.

"How convenient," James repeated his previous words. "My girlfriend accidentally fell on top of me onto a bed. The universe must be trying to tell us something."

"My fist is about to be telling you something if you don't-,"2

James shut up Valentine as he captured her lips with his, the two moving instinctively against each other.

The broke away for a breath of air, and Valentine combed her hair from her face.

"I'm not-,"

This time she kissed James, her hands trailing up his abdomen, one resting on his shoulder, the other in his hair.

"Joking about-,"

James flipped the two over, Valentine now beneath him as he used his elbows to support himself on either side of her head.

"The party," Valentine finished breathlessly

James grinned, his hot breath fanning her face as his mouth moved from her lips and down, tracing her jaw. Valentine's fingers started playing with the buttons on James' shirt, beginning to undo them one by one.

"Ahem."

James pulled away, lazily glancing to Macey who had her hands on her hips and lips stretched up, and Celia besides her.

"Oh, don't stop on my account."12

Valentine's head hit the pillow underneath her and she sighed. James sat up, still straddling Valentine, his shirt halfway unbuttoned to reveal his toned chest. His lips were red and his eyes were wide, both his and Valentine's hair ruffled.4

"What're you doing here?" Valentine asked, not opening her eyes.

"What am I doing here? In my dorm? Where all my things are? Gee, I really don't know. It's not like this is my room or anything," Macey sarcastically continued, leaning against the wall. "Did you want me to leave or . . ."

James let out a loud noise of irritation, moving from on top Valentine to his feet, beginning to button back up his shirt. Valentine propped her head up, watching James fix his hair and glasses.

"Just a reminder to lock the door next time," Macey told them. "And to use protection."

"Yeah, it would be a shame to have another one of you running around," Celia pointed out, gesturing towards James.

James shot the light-skinned girl a look before he pressed one more kiss on Valentine's lips.

"I'll see you soon, yeah?" He asked, backpedaling to the bedroom door.

"Yeah, see you at the party," Valentine confirmed. James nodded, shooting her finger guns before he disappeared out the dorm door.

"Seriously?" Valentine asked her two friends in exasperation. All she got in response was a suggestive smile. "You two act as if you weren't coming here to do the same thing."

"I have no shame in admitting that you are right," Macey concluded. "But since you are unfortunately here, I guess we can wait."

"Can you just... leave?"7

Valentine stared at Celia.

"No, Cecelia, I'm not leaving," Valentine sighed, pulling herself to her feet and walking to her drawers.6

"Don't call me that," Celia commanded.

"Yes, dear," Valentine sand sarcastically, shifting through the clothing for her outfit. "Oh, apparently James is my boyfriend now. I dunno."

"You dunno? Did he say something?" Macey asked, laying on the bed with her hands tucked beneath her head. Celia at besides her, but not too close.

After the two had spoken at the Hogsmeade trip, they'd made a pact. They wouldn't actually have a relationship but they'd hook up and be non-exclusive. Valentine found it total rubbish, but it wasn't her relationship to worry about.

"Yeah, he pretty much asked."

"He asked? Surprised he didn't do some grand gesture," Celia implored, picking at the abundance of silver rings wound around her fingers. Her hair had grown, it now cascading down her back in ebony waves. Her eyes were just as green as ever, well defined with dark eyeliner pulled in points on either side of her eyes. She had blood-red lipstick on, and her cheeks were pink; the color prominent against her pale skin.

"Can't believe you're going to this Gryffindor party anyways," Celia added in distaste.

"You could just go, you know? No one would care," Macey told her, but Celia shook her head.

"I wouldn't be caught dead in the Gryffindor common room."

"But you'll be caught dead in the Hufflepuff common room?" Valentine asked.

"Yeah. I have friends here. I'd be a sitting snake in a den of lions if I went to this party. It wouldn't end well, trust me. Besides, I'd much rather get a head start on my Transfiguration essay."

"Nerd," Macey joked, and Celia grinned, shoving Macey away. "You'll be in the dorms writing shit and I'll be getting wasted. Lame."

"Hey, don't drink too much, though," Celia warned. "You have that presentation tomorrow morning."

"Awe. You care. Who would've thought?" Macey cooed.

"I don't care," Celia spit the word as if it had a sour taste on her tongue. "I just would hate for you to embarrass yourself because it would embarrass me."

"Sure," Macey alleged, poking Celia's nose. "Keep saying that."

"I will, thank you."

_______________________

VALENTINE ITCHED HER CHIN, her skin unused to the scraggly white hairs tucked beneath neck.

"You look sexy from shoulders below," Macey told Valentine honestly. Valentine blew a gust of hair from her lips, shaking her head.

"Nah, I look hot all over. Look at this," Valentine announced, running her hands down her body.

"I still cannot believe you actually went as that."

Valentine smiled, taking in Macey's costume. Macey looked good, that much was said for. She wore fish-net tights with a black leather skirt, a black and white top that was cropped, her hair pulled into a broad. She had definitely hit the 'sexy pirate look' on the head.1

Valentine, on the other hand, had dressed completely different. She wore a short, emerald green velvet dress that had flowy sleeves and came down mid-thigh. On the dress was a pattern of crescent moons, matching her earrings. Valentine wore a pair of boots, and then she had a strap on beard stuck to her face and a pointy hat on her head. She'd even gone as far as to straighten her hair so it wouldn't get fizzy.

"Merlin is an icon. We curse his name so often I figured I should pay him some respect."1

"Some respect that is. What are you going to tell your parents when they ask about Halloween? That you dressed as a Slutty Merlin?" Macey snickered. "I bet James was expecting you to dress as some sexy mermaid or devil or something, and instead you look like Albus Dumbledore after one too many glasses of Firewhiskey."11

"The disrespect I'm hearing right now is astronomical," Valentine refuted, giving the Fat Lady the password before she swung open, reveling a crammed common room decorated with floating Jack-o-lanterns and and orange streamers.

Valentine and Macey slowly walked in, scanning the busy room for anyone they recognized. The common room appeared far different than usual; the normal light replaced with an orange bulb, giving the room an ominous glow. Long tables were set up, a game of cup pong taking place. There were assortments of fruits, cakes, candies, and drinks, and of course the first Marauder Valentine came across was Peter, the boy eating a large portion of candy corn as he chatted with a Hufflepuff girl Valentine recognized as Holly, a girl in their grade.

Valentine slowly approached them, throwing a wink at Peter, and he grinned.

"You know, Valentine, you look like my grandfather. But I doubt he could ever pull of that dress."1

"Your grandfather must be one sexy son of a snitch, then," Valentine exaggerated, twirling a strand of grey hair around her finger.

Valentine turned at the sound of cheers, eyes widening as she found James and Sirius descending the staircase.

James slowly walked down step by step, dressed a pair of long red dress pants and a nice white shirt. By his eye was a makeup-painted heart, and on his face was a blinding white smile, his hair standing up oddly (as usual), and in his hands was a toy bow and arrow.20

Sirius' outfit, however, put Valentine on edge. Out of his normal robes or muggle band T-shirts, Sirius wore blue jeans and a plaid shirt with various rips all over. The shirt was open, his chest on display, and he had fake fangs in his teeth with artificial blood dripping from them.

Valentine glanced towards the foot of the stairs to Remus, happy to see him doubled over in laughter.

I can believe that git dressed as a werewolf.12

Valentine cracked a smile, and waited for James to walk over to her, but she was struck confused as James continued to stand on the stairs.

"I have an announcement!" He roared, loud enough for anyone in the common room to hear. The music died down and chatter came to a stop, eyes flickering to James in curiosity.

"Can Valentine Lotus join me up here, please?"7

Valentine was suddenly very grateful for the facial hair, seeing it his her identity fairly well. Macey, however, took the opportunity to shoved Valentine forward, stumbling into a clearing.

Cursing her friend under her breath viciously, Valentine tugged down her dress and ascended the stairs.

She was extremely aware of the howling laughter currently coming from both Sirius and Macey.

"What are you doing?" Valentine hissed as she met James. When he didn't respond, Valentine waved a hand in his face. "James!"

"Sorry! I was caught off guard, I wasn't expecting to see you dressed as... this."5

"I'm Merlin," Valentine said self consciously, very aware of all the eyes on her.

"You don't say," James muttered, eyes still trained on her short dress rather than beard. That much didn't surprise her.

"James! They're all staring at us! What are you doing?" Valentine harshly whispered, and James finally came from his stupor, looping an arm around her waist.

James goofily grinned, a nervous look flashing in his eyes as he took a deep breath in preparation.

"Will you be my Valentine?"12

People gasped, chatter broke out, and people started speaking excitedly.

"It's Halloween, not Valentine's Day, you idiot!"

James rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know that, thank you. Godric, I though Merlin was supposed to be smart."

Valentine narrowed her eyes.

"I'm Cupid!" James explained, holding up the bow. "And I want to know if you'd like to be my Valentine."1

"Is this some elaborate way to ask me to be your girlfriend?" Valentine dubiously queried.

James nodded enthusiastically.

"I already said yes, James!"

"Well, yeah, but if I did it this way it's cute and it gets the word out that we're dating!"

Valentine sighed, unable to stop her lips from turning up. "Yes, I'll be your Valentine."

The audience cheered. Valentine hid her face in her hands, laughing into her palms as James pulled her into his chest, hugging her.

"I hate you," she said in his ear.

"You love me," he shot back cockily.

"That was so cringey. Was there no other way you could've done that?"

"No, there was, I just thought this one would be the most embarassing."5

"It was."

"Good."

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